Bittersweet Life
Chapter 2
( & ’s Side)
Song Title: Elsewhere by B.J. Lenz
I love the time and in between
The calm inside me
In this space where I can breathe
I believe there is the distance I have wondered
To touch upon the years
Reaching out and reaching in
Holding out, holding in
I believe this is Heaven to no one else but me
And I'll defend it long as I can be
Left here to linger in silence if I choose to
Would you try to understand?
Oh the quiet child awaits the day
When she can break free
From all the clings like desperation
Oh mother don't you see I've got to
Live my life the way I feel is right for me
You say it's not right for you
But it's right for me
I believe this is Heaven to no one else but me
And I'll defend it long as I can be
Left here to linger in silence if I choose to
Would you try to understand?
was playing the piano and singing a song she had written a few years ago when she was heart broken by her ex-boyfriend. She had never told anyone about this certain song, not even . She couldn’t understand why she had picked this song for today’s show, but from the cheering of the crowd she guessed it was a good choice.
After finished her song she bowed politely and stepped down from the stage. She walked back to her seat at the table she shared with , feeling good after all the cheering she had received; I guess it was a good choice. She sipped on her Campari and looked around the club.
came and sat at the table near her. “That song was fantastic! When did you write it, ?” asked excitedly.
“I wrote that song a long time ago,” she said, grinning. “I never told anyone though, it was after my heart was broken.” She smiled, looking down.
“Oh! You should have told me and Arisa. We are your best friends.” pouted and then started to laugh.
Both of them just burst in laughter and talked about different things, all the while they checked out the guys that were in the club.
“I have a feeling someone is looking at me,” said, looking around. She stopped when her eyes met a pair of pure green eye on a handsome face who looking straight at her; he looks familiar, she thought looking away. “I think I found the guy that is looking at me ,” she said slowly, tilting her head to the direction of the man who was looking at her.
“Umm… Oh! I think I have seen him somewhere,” said cheerfully, placing her finger on her lower lip. Maybe a little bit too cheerfully, making raise her eyebrow at her reaction. She kept looking at his direction until her gaze moved to his side and settled on the man that was accompanying him who looking at her intensely. He is so handsome; she thought with a blush, looking away.
“What’s wrong ?” asked curiously when she saw her friend look away. “Is everything ok?”
“Yeah, it’s just that his friend is looking at me so intensely and I am just a little embarrassed,” reasoned, peeking at the dark haired man with the corner of her eye.
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(Sanada & Niou’s Side)
Sanada and Niou had entered the club just as started singing her song. Both were mesmerized by the song and by ’s performance. Sanada had never heard a more beautiful voice like the one he was hearing at that moment, for he felt his heart skipping a beat. He felt like he was at float.
Niou on the other hand thought that the girl singing was good but what caught his eye was a dark haired woman walking gracefully towards the bar.
“Genichirou, lets go sit somewhere.” Niou walked to a table he had spotted a while ago.
“Where are you going Masaharu?” Sanada asked, following his silver haired friend sighing deeply. What did I get myself into? He thought, shaking his head lightly.
“We’re going to sit right next to your angel.” Niou winked at him as he sat on the table opposite and .
Sanada was speechless looking ever so intensely at . What on Earth is he doing? They ordered some drinks and sat there talking about nothing interesting while Niou was eyeing very carefully.
After a while of eyeing and staring contests, Niou decided he had enough of the games, so he got up from his chair and headed towards the girls.
“Hello ladies,” he said with a teasing smile.
“How may we help you?” asked indifferently, sipping on her Baileys.
“How cold!” The man said with a smirk. “My name is Niou Masaharu and I would like to know yours,” he said bluntly and sat at the chair next to .
“I see.” looked at him from head to toe “Well, you have to earn it,” she replied gracefully, flipping her hair with her hand.
Niou leaned towards , “The game is on,” he whispered in her ear and then got up and left. He returned to hid table and sat in his previous seat. He lifted his hand to his chin and focused his gaze on .
“Why did you go to their table?” Sanada asked Niou annoyed. “If you wanted to talk to her, you could have bought her a drink first.” He sighed in annoyance at Niou’s impulsive behavior.
“I needed to get a better look at your angel,” Niou said with a shrug.
“Better look at my angel?” Sanada repeated, getting irritated by the minute with Niou’s comment. “She is not my angel,” he said bluntly.
“She reminded me of someone and I needed to be sure.”
“And?” Sanada inquired a little bit to fast.
Niou looked at him through the corner of his eye. “She was the girl that you said was checking me out the other day,” he concluded with a devilish smile.
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( & ’s Side)
“He was the guy that you said was checking me out the other day,” said looking at wide eyed. “I told you he was not checking me out.” She pointed her finger at .
“Well, maybe I was wrong. Should we call them to our table?” winked at her friend and smiled. He is interesting, she thought amused, I haven’t had fun in a while.
“Do you think he is the kind of guy that would need an invitation?”
“I hope not,” said and eyed Niou carefully. So, lets see your moves mister.
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(Sanada & Niou’s Side)
“Let’s go Genichirou,” Niou said as he stood up taking his drink and walking to the girls’ table. “Ladies.” He sat at the chair near , placed his drink on the table and one arm on the back of ’s chair. “This is my friend Sanada Genichirou. He doesn’t like to talk much but likes to act,” Niou said with a smirk and winked at .
“Masaharu! Behave,” Sanada said sternly. “May we join you?” he asked bowing politely. She looked at him with a smile and nodded; he took a chair from another table and sat next to her.
narrowed her eyes looking at Niou. “I don’t think we invited you here,” she said indifferently, never breaking their eye contact.
He smirked. “Your friend did,” he said eyeing her in return. “You know, it takes two to play this game and I am a player.” He leaned closer to her and smelled the scent of her perfume.
“So am I,” she replied pushing him away. “You better keep your distance mister.” She hissed.
“So I see,” Niou chuckled with his hand covering his mouth, pretending to be an innocent young boy.
He definitely knows how to play; she thought wryly, I hope you know what you are getting yourself into ; she looked towards and Sanada.
“Nice to meet you Sanada-san. I am Tigger. Sorry to use my nickname, but it’s for safety reasons,” said politely.
“Nice to meet you too. I don’t mind, just be careful!” Sanada said with a serious tone of voice. He turned to look at . “Nice to meet you too….” He trailed off waiting for to introduce her self.
“Oh! Sorry, I am .” She said sheepishly looking down. Why am I acting like a small child?
Sanada looked at her carefully and wanted to smile when he saw that she blushed when he spoke to her. She is cute; he thought amused still keep his gaze on her. Maybe this was his chance to happiness. “You have a great voice,” he said softly.
looked at him wise eyed not expecting to hear him compliment her and blushed furiously. “Tha…Thank you Sa…Sanada-san.” She stuttered. What is going on with me? She kicked her self mentally; I am stuttering and blushing like a teenage girl. She turned and took her glass for the table to take a sip of her drink to calm down a bit; she looked at Sanada from the corner of her eye while her mind was trying to comprehend why this man was making her feel all fuzzy inside.
looked at her friend and smiled. She new too well not to figure out the confusion her friend was going through at the moment. She turned her attention to the man sitting beside her. The mysterious man that made her blood boil.
“They looked good together don’t they?” Niou whispered in her ear. “I like your nick. Tigger!” he chuckled and took ’s hand in his, kissing the top of it. “It sounds so wild,” he said with a wink and moved away from her to drink his beer.
’s heart skipped a beat when he had come so close to her. His hot breath triggered a line of shivers through her body. He was definitely playing with her. She looked at her hand and then at him. She was mesmerized by those green eyes. He was like her. Wild! She hadn’t been wild for a long time and the feeling was so nice, she thought that maybe it was time to let go of her seriousness and live a little on the edge.
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(Sanada & ’s Side)
After a while when all four of them had gotten comfortable with each others presence, they turned to talk between themselves as couples. They were curious about each other and wanted to know more...
“So you are a journalist!” Sanada repeated impressed. “I own a small Law firm with Niou.”
looked at him surprised. Law firm? She thought looking from Sanada to Niou and back to Sanada again. “He doesn’t look like a lawyer to me,” she said plainly. “He looks…creepy!” she shivered looking at Niou who was talking to .
“Yeah. He gives that impression to everyone,” he smiled glancing towards Niou. “Have you ever thought of singing professionally?”
“That’s my dream. But it’s a hard road to walk on. I am doing my best though!” she replied sweetly. “And you? Why become a lawyer?”
“I don’t know really, why I chose this profession.” Sanada looked at her seriously. “Maybe it’s because I like helping people who have their share of misfortune,” he sighed. “There are a lot of people that need help.”
“Yeah. We live in difficult times.” She said shyly. Get over it already ; She could actually carry a serious conversation with this guy. That was a new development in her life. She always thought that men didn’t care about serious conversations with women. That’s why she always tried to keep her socializing with men as less as possible.
“So…do you live in Tokyo?” Sanada asked shyly. Shy? Why am I being shy? That was something new for him. He always thought of himself as a straight forward person. Shyness was a new feeling he was experiencing.
felt the beat of heart rise rapidly at the intensity of his gaze. “Yes. We moved from Chiba 2 years ago. I live with …. Oops!” she smiled sheepishly bring her right hand to cover her mouth. “I guess she wouldn’t mind if you knew her name.” she stuck her tongue out and smiled sweetly at him. He is going to think I am a baby, she sighed inwardly.
Sanada blushed the moment she smiled at him. His heartbeat started racing in wild speeds. “I hope she doesn’t. I will not tell Masaharu,” he said reassuringly and reached for his drink.
“Do you live together?” asked out of the blue.
“Yes.” Sanada replied meekly. “Why do you ask?”
“Umm… You just called him Masaharu. So, I thought you must be very good friends. Maybe even living together.” She tilted her head “How is it living with him?”
“Masaharu is Masaharu!” Sanada sighed and drank his drink in one gulp. “It’s ok I guess. I am used to his antics,” He said with a small smile.
“I see,” she said and looked at Niou. “Do you have any hobbies apart from your work Sanada-san?”
“I play tennis. Occasionally,” he answered and waved to the waiter.
“Tennis?” she said cheerfully. “I always liked tennis but was never good at sports, just music. I also was one of the best students at school and did some tutoring at our old High school. and Arisa use to call me ‘Tutor girl’.” She laughed brightly.
His smile widened seeing her laughing so briskly. I could fall in love with her in a heartbeat; he thought amused but didn’t want to rush into things. It was too early. But everything about her was so mesmerizing, from her smile to her whole being. He was amazed that such a beautiful creature existed and was free for him to pursue.
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(Niou & ’s Side)
“Now,” Niou smirked and leaned closer to . “It’s just the two of us. Those love-birds won’t disturb us,” he said looking at with a devilish look.
“I see you still didn’t get the hint,” said eyeing him dangerously. “I am not interested.” She moved away from him and picked her phone to look at the time.
Niou chuckled. “Why are you lying to yourself? I do peak your curiosity.” He smirked and lifted his hand to her hair tucking a strand behind her ear. “I can see it in your beautiful eyes,” he said slyly.
rolled her eyes and smacked his hand away. “You really need to do better than that. Those lame phrases won’t even get you a date, let alone my name,” she said to him with a smirk. She then picked her drink and took a sip, all the while she was looking at him through the corner of her eye. He was looking at her with a grin on his face. What a beautiful combination, she thought amazed; silver hair and stunning green eyes that pierced through her heart.
They both went quiet for sometime just thinking when he finally spoke. “Are you going to keep ignoring me?” Niou asked playing with a strand of her hair. She has beautiful hair. She was a very interesting young woman. A work of art; she had a beautiful face, a great figure and a perky personality. Just the type of woman that would keep him interested. “If you ignore me any longer I will kiss you in front of everybody,” he whispered in her ear.
shivered at the closeness. “You should cut the bad boy act you know. I can see right through you.” She turned and looked at him grinning.
“Well. Since you have figured me out you wouldn’t mind if I do this,” he said and licked behind her ear. He pulled away amused at the sight in front of him. had frozen on the spot. Did he just…, she thought surprised; she could feel her heartbeat increasing and her hand tremble out of nervousness.
“Sanada-san, would you excuse me for a moment please?” he heard her ask so sweetly, pulling him out of his train of thoughts. He smiled and nodded.
“Thank you,” she said and got up from her chair.
felt her body rise… She looked at her left and saw smiling sweetly at her. Before she could do anything, she saw standing next to her. “Would you excuse us for a moment, please?” asked Niou politely.
He eyed her carefully and than he nodded. “Of course,” he said with a smirk adorning his lips.
“Thank you.” thanked him sweetly. “Let’s go Tigger!” pulled to the restroom with her.
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At the restroom
pushed inside the women’s bathroom and closed the door behind her. “Okay. What just happened?” asked laughing loud making the women that were there look at her.
was still stunned and she could still feel her hands trembling. “I…I don’t know… We… We were teasing each other and he… he suddenly…” She shivered at the thought.
’s cheeks where painted with a faint pink color… then, as realization hit her, her face turned red from anger… How could he do that to me in public? She thought infuriated, we just met! They were only teasing each other; she was furious; she leaned with her back on a wall and stabilized her body, now, her whole body was shaking!
“Oh my gosh . I think he managed to reduce you into a mush of goo in less than an hour,” said still laughing, looking at her friend being in that kind of state.
“It’s not funny!” said glaring at annoyed. “I will get back at him,” she said pulling herself away from the wall she was leaning. “He just took me by surprise, that’s all!” she reasoned looking at the image of herself on the opposite mirror-wall.
“Umm…that I want to see,” said amused. “What do you have in mind?”
“You’ll see.” Was all that said before she walked out the door heading back to their table; followed her with a big grin plastered on her face; when was this way it always meant trouble.
stopped a few meters before they reached there table. She turned and looked at with puppy eyes. “I need a favor,” she said pleadingly.
rolled her eyes and the site of ’s puppy eyes. So much form handling it herself, she thought amused. “What do you want?” replied with a smile.
“I want you to sit with him.”
“Ah...ok…” shrugged and walked past .
looked at her friend with no expression. I wonder how it will take to process what I asked of her. She tried to hold herself from bursting in laughs when froze realizing what she had asked.
halted abruptly. “WHAT????” she screamed making a few heads turn towards there direction.
“Did it take soooo long to register in your mind?” said trying to hold back her laughter. The look on ’s face was priceless. Damn, where was the camera when you needed it she thought amused.
“I want you to sit next to him.” She repeated whispering close to ’s ear. “I want him to get annoyed.”
“Is that your master plan?” said not very happy from the turn of events. She couldn’t deny a single thing and she knew it. “It sucks!” she complained frowning.
“Just sit with him for a while. He won’t do anything to you. You are not his type,” said gingerly and pushed her friend lightly to start walking again.
“Okay, okay. But you owe me ,” said with a defeated look on her face.
“Fine. Fine. I owe you. Go. Now!” pushed her again towards the direction of their table.
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(Niou & ’s Side)
When they arrived at their destination hesitated slightly but sat at ’s chair “Sorry for taking so long,” she said as cheerful as possible as she took her seat beside Niou.”
“You don’t mind me sitting here do you?” asked Niou smiling sweetly.
“No. Although I’d rather have your friend sitting beside me,” he answered indifferently sipping his vodka.
“Oh! Are you always this forward?”
Niou eyed her raising his eyebrow. “Do you want an answer to that question?” he asked her dryly.
“No. I think I am covered!” said moving in her chair uncomfortably.
“Why did you change seats?” he inquired not looking at her but opposite where was sitting.
“Umm… That’s because Tigger didn’t want to sit with you anymore,” said laughing trying to hide her nervousness.
“Is that so…” Niou muttered looking over at and Sanada sitting together. They looked like they were ignoring each other. He smiled. “Let’s go!” he grabbed ’s hand and pulled her up from her and left the club with her.
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(Sanada & ’s Side)
“Hope we didn’t miss anything important?” asked smiling at Sanada, as she sat next to him.
Both men were taken aback by the sudden switch but didn’t say anything.
“Do you like it here Sanada-san?” asked politely, she studied him carefully and decided to play it nicely as to not get on his bad side. He looked so…serious!
“It’s alright. It’s a change,” Sanada said dryly.
frowned at his tone of voice but she ignored it and tried to think something to ask him; at least try and have a decent conversation with the man. “Do you like sports?” she asked the first thing that came to her mind.
“I play tennis. Occasionally,” he answered mechanically. Déjà vu, he thought and frowned.
“I am very sorry to take ’s place. But I need to teach your friend a lesson,” said sweetly taking her glass and placing ’s on the other side of the table where she was sitting with Niou. “I am sure would like to sit and talk to you but I asked her to do me this as a favor,” she continued briskly. Why am I explaining myself to him? She thought inwardly.
“You don’t have to explain yourself,” he replied indifferently as he sipped his drink slowly.
“Fine!” said , annoyed at his attitude “You don’t have to be so rude,” she muttered and pulled her hair up in a pig-tail. She looked to her side and suddenly saw something she wasn’t please about. Without thinking…“HEY……WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH MY FRIEND?” yelled when she realized what had happened. She got up from her seat and before she started to run behind Niou she felt Sanada’s body standing next to her.
“MASAHARU!” he yelled, his irritation rising to its maximum level.
was startled at the power of his voice. A lot of people turned around and looked at them. was looking at Sanada with a shocked look on her face. Who are these people that they have crossed paths with us; suddenly she just sunk back to her chair defeated. “I hope that idiot friend of yours doesn’t do anything to her,” she said angrily once she gained her posture.
“Don’t worry. Niou maybe many things but he wouldn’t do anything bad at her,” Sanada said seriously, as her comment offended him.
“Yeah right!” she crossed her hands and looked away.
“He probably just took her outside only to annoy you.” He replied looking at her with an unpleasant frown on his face.
turned and looked at him stunned. “You seem to be very calm considering that he ran off with your potential girlfriend,” she retorted frowning.
“You shouldn’t frown like that. It makes you look ugly,” Sanada said nonchalantly.
What? He thought.
What? She thought.
They looked at each other in surprise and started to laugh. The tension had somehow lifted from their shoulders and they were relaxing, acknowledging each others presence.
“So, Sanada-san; could tell me a bit about Niou?” asked when she stopped laughing. She was very curious to find out more about the guy that had captured her interest so much.
“Well, Masaharu and I are lawyers,” he said trying to stop himself from laughing. He just felt so relaxed. Maybe getting to know her wasn’t a bad idea, since she was his potential girlfriend’s best friend.
thought she heard wrong. He is a lawyer? That trickster of a man is a lawyer? She screamed inwardly “Did…did you just say that...that Niou-san is a…”
“Lawyer. Yes!” Sanada said with a shrug. “We own a small law firm.”
“That is…awesome. But I would never picture him as a lawyer.” said laughing and picked up her glass.
Sanada looked at her and thought that she was rather beautiful. “Most people can’t picture Masaharu as a lawyer.”
“You don’t talk much. How come you are a lawyer? Layers are supposed to speak. A lot!” She asked looking at him curiously.
“I talk,” Sanada said dryly. “More than I use to anyway,” He sighed. He had changed, he was talkative and would express some feelings but when he was around women, he would close himself in that lobster shell he had created since he was a child. There was no changing that.
“Hmm… I wonder how you tolerate him being so wild,” asked with her curiosity increasing every minute.
“We went to the same Junior High, High and University together. I’ve known him all my life. I am used to his antics anyway,” He replied sipping on his drink. “Déjà vu” he muttered more to himself than to anyone around.
“Huh?”
“Déjà vu. I had the same conversation with -san.” He sighed.
didn’t know what to say anymore. That man confused her. First he was grumpy, than friendly…sort of to speak anyway...and then grumpy again. She just relaxed and leaned back in her chair looking towards the entrance of the club. Whatever he told her about Niou, she still didn’t trust him being alone with .
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Outside the club
“Hey…” tried to free her hand from Niou’s grip.
“Relax, will you?” Niou said to pulling her closer to him. “I wouldn’t try and do anything to a girl as clueless as you,” he said indifferently.
“Clueless...who do you think you’re calling clueless?” she said angrily and pulled her hand freeing her self. “Just because I am not as sly as you that does not make me clueless,” she said pointing her finger at him.
He looked at her stunned for a split of a second and then regained his posture. “You better not point your finger at me. I bite.” Niou shrugged and walked away. “Come on. I need to get some chocolate. My blood sugar is low,” he said smirking.
“Honestly you are a weird person.” rolled her eyes and followed him.
“That didn’t stop you from coming with me,” Niou grinned and put his arm around ’s shoulder.
Moving away from Niou, eyed him carefully. “You better not put your arms so freely on me. I’ll rip them off,” she said walking towards the convenient store at the end of road. “And for your information I didn’t come with you. You kidnapped me.”
Niou looked at her amused; she was fiery under that innocent looking girl she presented to people around her. Interesting, he thought walking behind her. He would enjoy teasing Sanada about his new found amour; how will Sanada cope with a woman like her; he just had to wait and see.
“Will you get moving?” yelled with her hands on her hips, startling Niou out of his reverie.
“Coming ma’am!” he grinned at her pouting face. “You shouldn’t pout. It makes you look ugly,” he said laughing loud and tapped her nose “Baaka!”
just looked at him, then turned around and went on her way to the convenience store again.
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In the club
“Where are they?” thought out loud looking at the entrance. She was feeling worried and wanted to go look for her friend, but couldn’t just get up and walk away...
“Maybe we should go look for them,” Sanada said noticing the worried look on ’s face. He knew that Niou was just trying to provoke , but they were gone quite a while now.
“Yeah. Let’s go. No matter what you tell me about Niou-san I still don’t trust him alone with ,” replied picking up their phones and bags.
Sanada paid for the bill and they both exited the club.
“Oh! I forgot to pay,” said suddenly as she stopped right outside the club door. She was about to turn back when a firm voice stopped her.
“It’s alright. I paid,” Sanada said slowly; he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants and walked towards the road.
opened her bag “Let me give you…” She said before she was abruptly cut off.
“Do not insult me,” Sanada said offended, who had stopped and was looking at her with a straight face.
“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just… I only… I…” she looked down defeated and embarrassed.
Sanada sighed heavily. “It’s alright. I am sorry for snapping at you like that.” He felt an arm come around his shoulders and looked to his side.
“Where are you going with my lady, Sanada?” Niou smirked devilishly.
“Get your hands of me Niou.” Sanada shrugged Niou’s arm off his shoulder and glared at him dangerously.
Niou just winked and moved away from him. “So where are we going?” Niou said briskly moved close to .
took a step back when she saw Niou advance on her like a predator. “We are going home,” she said walking over to . “Are you alright?” she asked worriedly.
“Yep… Why do you ask?” questioned, only looked at her raising her eyebrow. “Oh… Oh… that… it’s okay… we only went to the convenience store to buy some chocolate,” she said laughing. “Low blood sugar,” she whispered and winked at .
“Well, it was nice meeting you. Hope we see you around,” said sweetly and bowed to both men.
“Genichirou, I think we should escort the ladies. It’s very late.” Niou rubbed his jaw looking at Sanada ignoring .
“It’s okay Niou-san, it won’t be the first time we walk home alone,” said gingerly and circled her hand around ’s elbow. She pulled closer to her, smiled and turned around to walk away pulling along with her.
“Masaharu is right -san. We will walk you,” Sanada said bowing to the girl. turned red at his gesture and looked away embarrassed. There I go again!
“Al… alright. Let’s go then.” She smiled sweetly. Sanada’s heartbeat increased rapidly. Niou enjoyed the flustered look on his friends face. He made a mental note to tell Yagyuu about this.
They started walking towards the girls’ apartment. Niou was walking beside Sanada and beside . and Sanada were walking at very close proximity make light conversation.
was fuming. She was beyond displeasure. How can he pretend to ignore me like that; why do you care so much, she scolded herself. She was walking mechanically lost in her thoughts; she shuddered, feeling a pair of hands curling at her waist. She stopped. A few seconds later she froze, when she felt his lips on her neck.
“Wh… what… what are you… do… doing?” she said, startled unable to move a muscle.
“Nothing,” A voice purred near her ear sending shock waves through her body.
Finally, when she came back to reality she pulled herself away and looked at him. She smiled serenely. Niou shuddered. They started walking fast to reach their friends as if nothing happened.
As they reach the girls apartment “Maybe we should change numbers.” said sheepishly smiling wholeheartedly.
“I agree.” Sanada said smiling too. “Would you give me your phone -san so I could make a call on my phone?” Sanada asked feeling his temperature rising.
“Umm…yes, of course,” answered rummaging through ’s bag and handed Sanada her phone; she also gave ’s phone to Niou.