Gently, he lifts his fingers off the keyboard and looks up at me with a smile so beautiful, I nearly melt. “I never thought I’d be able to play the piano. I’m mediocre at it, but it’s fun.”
“Are you kidding? You’re the next Beethoven,” I tease, and it takes a godly strength not to kiss his flushed cheeks.
The silver shimmer in his eyes slowly dulls, his smile faltering and I want to lounge into the depth of his mind to strangle whatever demon just stole my cheerful Aoi right before my eyes.
“It’s getting late. I should get going.”
“Do you have to?” I ask, sounding as disappointed as I am.
“I’m on a deadline and I have to finish my work so I can dream of finally relaxing.”
Nodding, I get up from the stool and extend my hand, but he swats it away with a smirk. “I don’t need help. I’m capable of standing up on my own, thank you very much.”
“I know but let me do it anyway.”
He chuckles and grasps my hand as I lift him up. “Do you do that often?”
“Do what?” I walk up to the counter, thank Charles for his hospitality, and pay him the sum due for our drinks. Glancing back at Aoi, I notice him smiling politely at us before he follows me to grab our coats and we head out.
“Act all sweet and generous.”
“I wouldn’t call myself either of those things.”
“Then you’re either humble or blind,” he says and strolls away.
A sudden fresh breeze blows our way making Aoi shiver as he pulls his coat tighter around himself. Against my better judgement, I jog to his side and wrap an arm around his shoulder, pressing him against me.
He gawks up at me with a knowing smile. “I’m fine. It’s not that cold.”
“ButI’mcold,” I muse. “You can lend me some body warmth. You’re a walking heater, you know?”
“Am I?” he smirks and shakes his head but doesn’t move away from me. “Then I’ll allow your cuddly nonsense only until we get to the car.”
Damn, he’s got me grinning like an idiot.
“Do you want to go for a walk before I drop you off?” I watch him with puppy eyes, hoping he’ll take pity on my poor heart and grant me a few more minutes with him.
“You really don’t want to let me go, hmm?” He peers up at me, slowly detaching himself from my embrace and instead locking our arms. “If it weren’t for your handsome face and unnecessarily charming attitude, I would have told you to respectfully fuck off.”
“So you think I’m handsome and charming?” I gape at him and beam like a child on Christmas Eve.
“Is that all you gathered from what I said?” He shakes his head in disbelief and pulls me into a steady walk beside him. “God, you’re impossible.”
“I’m curious about something, though.”
He nods and keeps his eyes on the sidewalk as we stroll. “Tell me.”
“Do you not want a relationship withmeor is it just in general?”
His head shoots up, and I see the different waves of emotions dancing in his eyes, whispering truths he has decided to veil from the rest of the world. I don’t bother repeating my question and instead I wait until he’s ready to answer me.
If it ends up taking the whole night, it will have been worth it.
He exhales and observes a child walking with his mother, smiling wistfully. “Relationships require certain sacrifices. You need to put yourself on the front line and be ready to get your heart ripped apart for having dared to trust someone. I don’t entirely believe that love even exists. If it does, I haven’t experienced it yet. And if what I’ve experiencedislove, then I don’t want it.”
So someone broke his heart? Who the fuck was it? The report Linda sent me didn’t mention a single long term lover, though. I don’t get who it could possibly be, but I’ll make sure to patch up the lovely heart they broke.
“I did think it couldn’t be because you don’t like me.”
