The Pains of Guilt

Chapter 18

Alex POV

"What about..."

"I might have found a way to weasel out of it."

"And why couldn't you have done that two days ago?"

"I didn't think of it until an hour ago."

"What happened to giving him your word?"

"I didn't say that I wouldn't try to weasel out of it. I might get an earful from my mother but it’ll be worth it. Besides, I can't have other men trying their luck with you. I prefer to be the only runner in this race. What do you say?"

"I was wondering why you kept insisting on picking me up. Well, you saved me the trouble of wearing a stupid dress so I guess I owe you one."

"Then let's get going."

"Where are we going?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you.” I bent down. “Hop on.”

“Why?”

“It’s much faster for me to take you there on foot than by car. It’ll be just like old times. You know, when I used to give you piggyback rides when we were kids.”

“Ok, I guess.”

She got on.

“Are you on comfortably?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright then let’s go. You might want to hold on tight.”

Within less than a minute, we arrived at our destination.

“Here we are. Are you ok?”

“Yeah. Good thing I don’t get motion sickness. That was a fun ride by the way.”

“That’s good.” I put her down.

"An open field? Is this a date or a kidnapping?"

"Oh, Tisiphone, I know that I said that I'd rather have you all to myself but I'm not crazy enough to kidnap you. I know how much you like looking at the stars. That's why we're here and this was the best place I could find for a great view. This is more of a picnic kind of date."

I led her to where everything was already set up and we sat down. After a while, she laid down.

"Smooth move with the scented candles. It's vanilla, right?"

"Yes. I thought it'd work better for the mood than regular candles."

"I'm impressed that you thought of that."

"That was the plan."

"Then you'll be happy to know that it kind of worked. This might sound weird but for a long while, I’ve been curious to know what your horns feel like."

“I see. I’m not really sure how to describe them but it’s almost like wood and something else I can’t quite put my finger on. But I wouldn’t touch them if I were you.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’d be the same as me touching your ears. The same goes for my tail.”

“Oh.”

She didn't say much after that. She was actually eerily quiet for a while.

"You don't mind if I lie down, right?" I asked her.

"Go ahead."

I leaned back and laid down next to her.

"Did my answer make things weird and awkward?” I asked.

"No. I'm just wondering why you'd rather be here with me than at the ball. More so why you even weaselled your way out of going and why you like me that way."

"You want to know why?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."

"Let me put it this way: you're a rare gem. What I mean by that is that you give the impression of being innocent but at the same time, you give off a raw s****l intensity. And it seems so untameable and dangerous that it's dominating and intimidating but also intriguing and alluring at the same time. Not just that but you can be described as someone’s who steadfast but rebellious, soft-hearted but not naïve, authoritative and iron-willed but humble, harsh but fair, good with her head as she chooses her battles wisely and a force to be reckoned with when she sees fit. It's men who are arrogant, overconfident, risk-takers, dominant or who love a challenge that are attracted to you. To summarise it all, you’re a woman of substance. A beauty and a beast, a queen, and I guess very few men can appreciate that."

"Thanks, I think. But I honestly don't know how to react to that; it's not something that you, or anyone actually, hears every day. So, which one are you?"

"Obviously a risk-taker. That's why I'm going to do this."

"Do wha-"

I kissed her before she could finish her sentence.

"I’m sorry but I couldn’t resist stealing a kiss from you. Now that that's out of the way, how about some food?"

"I've been waiting for you to say that."

Besides eating, we spent the rest of our date joking around.

"I think it's time that we call it a night. You need to pick up Natsumi, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's get you home. So, was that a great date or what?"

"What I said or what?"

"You'd hurt my feelings."

"Ok, fine. It was a great date."

"Are you messing with me?"

"Maybe. But seriously, it was."

"Mission accomplished then. And it made it worth getting an earful from mother once I get back."

Takumi POV

I found myself opening my eyes and feeling kind of groggy. I guess I fell asleep.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up."

I looked to my side and found Twilight sitting cross-legged next to me.

"How long was I out?"

"I don't know." She shrugged "I only got here an hour ago."

An hour? I was about to ask what she doing for an hour until I noticed the manga on her lap. Some things really never change.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Natsumi was sleeping peacefully and it would've woken her up. Also, I'm in no hurry to be anywhere."

"She's still sleeping?"

"Yeah and like I said, I'm in no hurry to be anywhere. I think she'll want to say goodbye to you so I'll wait until she wakes up."

"Oh."

She went back to reading her manga and we pretty much sat in an awkward silence. At least, for me it was. I'm not sure about her.

"So, where were you?" I asked, trying lighten the mood up.

"Nowhere important." She raised a brow at me before her attention was drawn back to what she was reading.

"Still like manga, I see."

She only grunted in response. Ok, so small talk isn't an option. I doubt that it'll ever be.

"August 7th." She said.

"What about it?"

"I realised that I forgot to tell you when's her birthday. It's August 7th."

"Oh. Is that why you named her Natsumi?"

"No, I actually named her after my mom. It was just a coincidence. Earlier today, she asked me if she could see you every day so you'll be seeing her more often now."

"That's good."

Sure, she was looking at the manga instead of me while talking, but she was still talking to me. I consider it an improvement and I think it's because she's in a good mood. I wonder what caused it.

"Speaking of, I'm moving to a new place." I told her.

"When?"

"Tomorrow. It's not too far from here. I'll text you the address."

"Ok. Let me ask you something.”

“Sure.”

“A while back you asked me about giving you another chance.” Isn’t she full of surprises today. “Had Natsumi never existed, would you have asked me the same thing?”

“Yes.” And without a shadow of a doubt, that’s the truth.

“Why would you do that when you’re engaged to someone else? I mean, I’m sure you’ve thought of the non-existent possibility that I’d say yes.”

“It’s a complicated story. I…”

“Actually, forget it. I’d rather not know. You telling me would mean getting involved in your business and that would, according to fair trade, give you the right to get involved in mine. And I definitely don’t want that.”

So much for clearing up the whole misunderstanding.

“Anyway, how many times was it?" She asked.

"What?"

"How many times did she make you read the same book?"

"Enough to lose count."

"What about feeding?"

"It was...something. Honestly, in the few hours that I've spent with her, I learned a lot. For starters, she may look like me but she undoubtedly takes after you. Like how she got me to agree to something using emotional blackmail. She's unpredictable and full of surprises. I thought she didn't get your appetite but she did; she's just a picky eater. She's also stubborn but can be reasoned with. That's if food is involved. She..."

I was stopped when I felt Natsumi stirring a little. I think she was about to wake up.

"Papa, Mama back?"

Never mind, she's awake. Still sleepy but awake.

"Yes, honey, I'm back."

"Go home?"

"Yes, we are."

I gave her to Twilight.

"Don’t forget about her bag." I said.

I then went to go get it from the kitchen and gave it to her.

"Thanks for looking after her."

"No problem."

"We'll be leaving now."

"Yeah."

"Bye bye, Papa."

"Bye."