Perfect Paradise

Disclaimer: I own a Rukia key-chain and an Ichigo phone-strap.

Chapter 11: One Way To Spend A Date

If I didn't feel the cold marble of the pillar, maybe I would've thought that I was dreaming.

Because that was where he usually appeared, my dreams. His brown eyes, staring at me gently as his lips moved forming words, whispered them to my awaiting ears. His fingers moved under the sheets, entwined with mine flexed along his breathing. His spiky orange hair lied limply on the pillows, entangled with my own.

"Rukia? You okay?" Rangiku's voice snapped me back to reality.

"Wha…? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," I slapped my own cheeks even when I was sure it was already flaming red.

Rangiku tilted her head and narrow her eyes, "You know him?"

"What? No! Why should I?"

"Because you turned fire engine red the moment you saw him," she grinned.

Damn, was I that obvious?

Then her face turned shocked, "Fruit-san?"

"Could you give me a moment please?" I picked the bags from the floor and shoved them right into Rangiku's un-awaiting hands.

"What? Rukia, wait…" she started in protest as she fumbled with the bags, but I already left her behind the pillar and started making my way to the entrance.

Being honest with my self, I had always asked myself what the hell I was doing running away from him just because of that tiny little confession. It wasn't like a love confession, right? No wait, it was.

Okay, what I mean was, maybe it was some kind of spur-of the-moment thing. Or maybe he used to say that to women after he slept with them, who knew? It wasn't like I was gonna die just by staying a while longer and gave him a proper goodbye.

Being with him for almost a week in the island was maybe the closest thing to enjoying life that I ever had all my life. One life I'd like to consider as my other life, an alternate universe. A world where there were no Tokyo, no Kuchiki firm, just Karakura Island. No Byakuya, no Hisana, no Kuchiki family, no Rukia Kuchiki, just Rukia.

But seeing him standing in my world was like… a dream. A dream that was just too good to be true.

I rarely felt nervous all my life. Whether it was during exams, interviews, presentations, board meetings. And I got to hand it to one Ichigo Kurosaki, who was – just by standing there, doing nothing – had made me feel nervous. My knees started to shake and my hands trembled. My heart raced and I didn't know what to say. Yes, the cool, calm and composed Rukia Kuchiki from the Kuchiki firm had lost for words.

What should I say to him?

Ichigo, long time no see. Lame, uber lame.

Yo, dandelion head, how ya been? Great, Rukia. You're a gangster now?

Ichigo, I'm really sorry I left without saying goodbye. Can you ever forgive me? Che, I wouldn't even want anything to do with me either if I ever said those words, let alone forgiving me. Why didn't you just smack him in the head? That would draw his attention for sure.

What the hell are you doing here? Get lost! No, that's definitely not it.

My legs stopped moving when his amber eyes settled its focus on me.

I resumed approaching him, but I had to clear my throat first at the last steps in order to clear the sudden constriction in my throat and did the final checking on myself to ensure that this was indeed not a dream.

"Ichigo…," I began when I was within his hearing range.

"What the hell took you so long, midget?" he barked at me. Yes, the usual scowl was there too.

That's Ichigo Kurosaki for you. And he was not a dream. I could tell that by feeling a vein that instantly popped on my forehead.

"Did I ever ask you to wait for me here?" I couldn't help but crinkled my nose. Hey, let's see the bright side, at least I knew what I should say.

"Normal people would've left an hour ago. And you didn't even go down for lunch. What are you? A robot?"

"Well excuse me for being abnormal. I happened to have works to do, besides…," I frowned, "Wait, are you saying that you waited here from lunch time?"

"It's not like I had any other choice. This was the only place I knew you'd be. And that damn security guy wouldn't let me in without an appointment."

"Then why didn't you…," I felt strange feelings creeping on my neck and had to turn around to see what caused it. Only to find a large number of people – both familiar and unfamiliar faces – were staring at us with weird faces.

Shit, for a moment there I forgot I was in Tokyo, in Kuchiki building, not in Karakura island.

I flashed a smile to them before dragging Ichigo out of the building. After a brief inspection of the surrounding, I spotted a small café across the street. That was where I was taking him.

"What are you doing here?" I said finally after I shoved him to a seat.

"Beats me. You dragged me here so you tell me what I'm doing here. What's good here?" he reached for the menu on the table.

"The muffins," that was an auto answer and I felt like slapping my own face for doing that.

"Okay, I'll have muffins then."

"Forget the damn muffins. What are you, an inhabitant of an island called Karakura somewhere on the Caribbean, doing here, in Tokyo, Japan," I had to ball my fist in order to keep my voice down.

"I'll have blueberry muffins and coffee, please," he calmly ignored me as he smiled to the waitress who came to take our orders. The poor girl fell into the devil's trap and blushed.

"I'll just have coffee," I waved my hands hoping the girl would leave immediately. But she was still standing there, staring at Ichigo with dreamy eyes and a silly smile. It took her five full seconds to regain her consciousness after I cleared my throat for the second time.

"Charmer," I muttered under my breath.

My cellphone rang and I flipped it open. Rangiku's message displayed on the screen.

"I am seriously reconsidering our friendship. And not to mention that I am ashamed to have called a woman with no sense of taste like you an acquaintance of mine. That man at least worth 9 friggin' points! I am so gonna take you to an eye exam tomorrow."

I flipped it close without even thinking to reply. But it rang once again.

"P.S. Are you trying to kill me, Rukia Kuchiki? I have bruises on my hands for dragging your bags all the way to my car. Do I look like a donkey to you? You're gonna pay for the damages."

I almost chuckle imagining Rangiku with two oversized bags, wobbled to her car. But I just cleared my throat instead. Now was not the time to be laughing in front of this man.

"Well, are you going to tell me what were you doing in front of my building?" I said after our orders arrived and the long minutes after that when the waitress refuse to leave her spot in front of Ichigo, offering services that weren't meant for a waitress at a coffee shop.

"Waiting for you."

It would've been… romantic, if he wasn't said it while munching on his muffin. Instead of romantic, it felt… nauseating.

But curse you my heart for beating so fast.

"For what purpose?"

He eyed me for a moment before putting down what was left of his muffin.

Curse you voice for making me sound like I was hoping something.

"Look," he said, "I came here to collect a debt."

"A debt?" I almost shouted, and I had to admit the little bit of disappointment in my voice, "I do not owe you anything, Ichigo Kurosaki. I've already paid you for all of your services."

"I don't know if I should take that as an insult or a flatter, that you mention all of my services," he snorted, "But no. That's not what I meant."

So I folded my hands on my lap and leaned back on the chair, waiting for him to continue.

"You," he pointed his fork at me, "Owe me a dinner."

"Wha… A dinner?"

"Uh-huh."

"You mean… sitting at a table while having meals?"

"Yup."

I stayed silent.

"Are you actually being serious?"

"Do you see me laughing here?"

He stared right at me and I could tell that he was being serious.

I laughed, "Are you saying that you flew halfway across the world to Tokyo just to have dinner. With me?"

He snorted again, "No. I flew halfway across the world to visit my sister, my grandparents and the Ishidas. But yeah, I drove across the city to have dinner with you."

"Ishida's here? Which one?"

He smirked and leaned back on his chair before answering, "Both."

"They're here to visit your sister and grandparents?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I thought you were an excellent lawyer since you work for your brother's firm. I said I flew to visit my sister, my grandparents and the Ishidas."

"Shut it. My IQ seems to be cut down in half every time I'm around you."

"Gee, I'm flattered."

"Back to the subject. What do you mean I owe you dinner?"

"In every meaning of it. As far as I can remember, you said okay when I asked you for dinner. Before you… disappeared," his brown eyes bored into mine.

"I'm… sorry…," I said softly as I played with my coffee cup.

"For what?" he raised his cup to his lips and began sipping it slowly.

The little tiny bit of hope that still sparked in me tried to gauge his reaction, but his voice was too soft and his eyes were hooded by his bangs.

"For… leaving without saying… anything," I tried again.

He raised his eyes to meet my own and grinned. He somewhat looked… lethal.

"I never expected something more from a woman like you," he said.

I felt something inside me broke and my heart clenched. It felt hurt. Bile started forming in my throat and I had to look away.

"But one thing I do hate is debt. So I'm here to set your conscience clear," he said again.

But I wasn't listening. Actually I couldn't even speak for I was afraid that my voice will tremble. So I reached for my wallet as I cleared my throat and pulled out two notes of ten thousand bills.

"Consider this a compensation for the dinner," I didn't even look up as I said that and placed the bills on the table.

I slid myself out of the booth and stormed out of the café as fast as my heels and my dignity would allow.

As if God was on my side, I saw a taxi pulled over as I stepped out of the café. Without hesitating, I slid into the backseat and muttered my address.

When the door automatically closed, I saw a glimpse of orange rushing out of the café. But the taxi was already moving.

---

The valet helped me out from the car before taking the car key from Ashido's hand.

Yesterday when I came home to my apartment, the phone wouldn't stop ringing both in my purse and in my living room. And both were from Rangiku. Due to the fact that I was somehow pissed off about something that orange punk said at the café had made me forgot that I had a dinner date with Rangiku and her parents and went straight home. So after apologizing for the hundredth time to Rangiku, with a promise to pick up my stuff later on, I flopped down to the couch.

Ichigo's sudden appearance had first made me felt… flattered. Flattered that he flew halfway across the world for me. Well, who wouldn't if there was someone who would do that for you, right? So yeah, I was somewhat happy when I saw him standing in Kuchiki Building's Lobby.

But I also had to admit that I was disappointed about what he said. Why did he say that?

Oh, right. I left him without saying anything. So in way, maybe I deserve that.

But still…

I never expected something more from a woman like you.

That did hurt.

And that was when the phone rang once more. It was Ashido.

"I hope I don't disturb you," he said with his soft voice. If anyone who could swoon women with his voice, it was definitely Ashido Kanou.

"No. Not at all. I was just coming home from work," I sat up and began smoothing my skirt, afraid he would notice that I was wearing crumpled skirt and half-unbuttoned shirt, sprawling on the sofa.

"I see. Oh, I got your number from your secretary. I hope you don't mind. I was kind of embarrassed to admit that I was actually forgotten to ask for your number when I asked you out," he chuckled.

"No, It's fine. I'm glad you call me. I was started to think that… uh well I uh, glad you call," I slapped my face.

I guess relating to a man in a man-woman relationship was definitely not my strong point.

Ashido chuckled once more before answering, "Yes, me too."

There was a long pause before he cleared his throat and began, "So, about the date…"

And the next thing I knew, he was standing in front of my door, looking good like always with his suit, offering me a bouquet of flower.

So when he helped me in to his car, I thought that maybe this could work. That I could actually like this man.

As expected from a man like him, he took me to the best restaurant in town. I went there once with Byakuya and a client. And from what I heard, it took weeks just to get a reservation there. That alone already showed his true class.

"Ready?" Ashido smiled at me as he extended his hand, which I took delightfully.

"Reservation for Ashido Kano, please," he said when we were welcomed by the maitre d'.

"Reservation for Ashido Kano at 7.30?" the maitre d' said without even looking to his reservation book.

"Yes, we're a little early," Ashido realized. It was only a little after 7.

"I'm afraid it'll take us a few minutes to set up the table sir."

Ashido waved his hand, "It's okay. My fault," then turned to me, "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little excited about all this that I didn't realize the time."

I smiled reassuringly to him. But before I got the chance to said anything, the maitre d' interrupted us.

"Do you have a reservation sir?" He asked.

We soon realized that he wasn't talking to us, but to the next customer in line, so Ashido placed his hand on my back and led me to the side.

"Yes, table for Kurosaki please."

My head whipped so fast I could hear it cracked.

And there he was, standing in front of the maitre d' wearing a black suit, Ichigo Kurosaki. Behind him was a very beautiful girl with black hair. She was wearing a turtle-necked, long-sleeved, mid-thigh-long black dress, a pair of black leggings and a pair of black army boots.

When our eyes met, I felt curiously familiar with her face. But I guess I would've remembered if I ever met someone as gloomy as she was.

"Rukia," his voice forced me to tear my gaze away from hers and met his already familiar amber eyes.

"Ichigo," I said in my coldest tone.

I was hoping that it would stop there and he would continue with whatever he planned and leave me be with my date. But, again, one could only hope.

"Your friend, Kuchiki-san?" asked my date.

I closed my eyes for a second. I couldn't afford to ruin this date, not when I came this far for it.

"No, he's uh… an acquaintance," I smiled at him, carefully noting my tone so Ashido wouldn't catch anything from it.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo extended his hands towards Ashido.

"Ashido Kano. Nice to meet you,"

Ichigo didn't reply, instead he reached for the girl and pushed her into attention even when she looked pretty bored with all this.

"This is Karin Kurosaki, my sister," he introduced her.

Oh, so that was why she seemed so familiar. She was Yuzu's twin. Now that he said it, she did look a lot like Yuzu. A gothic version of her, to be exact.

She shook Ashido's hands first before facing me. I was taken aback when I felt like she was measuring me from head to toe – pretty much the same feeling when I first met his brother – before she took my hand.

"Nice to meet you," she said as I catch a glimpse of mischievous grin as she turned around.

"So, here for dinner?" Ashido then asked, out of courtesy, after a long awkward pause.

I fought the desire to roll my eyes.

"Yeah," Ichigo answered, "I was planning a dinner with my grandparents and my sister. But grandpa suddenly had a backache, and grandma didn't wanna go without him. So, here I am, with my sister."

"Oh, that's a shame. I hope he's all right," yet another courtesy reply from Ashido.

"He'll live," came Ichigo's curt answer.

And another awkward pause, only this time no one bother to throw another lame comment, and I bet everyone was wishing for the maitre d' to materialize from somewhere.

"Table for you is ready, Mr. Kurosaki," the maitre d' said when he appeared a few minutes later.

"You're not coming in?" Ichigo raised his eyebrows to us.

"No, we're still waiting for our table. We came a little early," Ashido explained.

"Oh, okay. So I guess we'll just…"

"Why don't you guys join us?"

I almost gagged at Ichigo's expression hearing that from his sister's mouth. Not that I had the right to, because I guess I wore the same expression as he was at the same time.

"Right, Ichi-nii?" Karin smiled to his brother.

"What? Karin, they…"

"What do you say, Mr. Ashido?" she deliberately ignored her brother's opinion.

Ashido paused for a moment before turning her head to me, "Well, what do you say, Rukia?"

That was the first time he called me by my first name. But I wasn't exactly paying attention to the details as I tried my best to send him a telepathy saying that it was a bad idea. Mind you, I was doing that while trying my hardest not to stomp on his $500 shoe.

But I was a Kuchiki first and foremost, and couldn't afford to show this possible-candidate-for-a-husband the dark side of his could-be-future-wife.

So I put on my Kuchiki smile and said, "I don't mind, if you don't mind."

True I said so, but I was really hoping he would get my point and waved the siblings away.

Ashido flashed me his Top-10-Most-Sought-After-Bachelors-in-Japan smile to me, and I almost swoon because of it. God, this man was a charmer.

"Well, that if you don't mind, Mr. Kurosaki."

Ichigo glared at his sister before turning to us. I noticed he glanced at me before facing Ashido.

"Not at all."

And just like that, my dinner date turned into a hell filled with fake smiles and empty comments. Wait, I made that sound like I had a lot to say. The fact was that I spend the appetizer and halfway of the main course in silent as I listened to Ashido and Karin discussing about the economical structure of the Edo Era and its role in the foundation of Japan's economics nowadays.

I never knew that Ashido was a history freak. And when a history freak met with history student… well, you do the math.

But at least I tried to be polite to pretend that I was paying attention by laughing at their jokes and comments, and went as far as giving them a share of my point of view on history though I sucked badly at it. Ichigo, who sat across the table, went dead silent from the moment appetizers were served. And he had avoided looking at me.

"So, how do you guys met?" Ashido's sudden question brought me back to attention as I was observing the scowling idiot across the table.

"Hm?" I took my glass of water.

"You and Ichigo," I notice his using of first name because Ichigo had refused to be called Mr. Kurosaki all night long, "I don't suppose you guys had an affair somewhere before, right?"

It would have been comical if I spurted the water in my mouth at his joke and managed to reduce my shock into a few little Kuchiki coughs. Yes, we do have our own signature coughs.

I saw Ichigo's lips curved slightly into a smirk, but I sent him my electric glare.

"No," I pretended to laugh, "He was my guide when I was away for my holiday at Karakura Island."

"Oh? I didn't know you're a guide," said Ashido.

"He's not. He owns the diving lodge I went to and it happened to be when the rest of his employee was out, so he had to be my guide," I corrected.

Ashido nodded, "I see. So you and me are on the same line of business, Ichigo. We provide the best of services for our clients."

Ichigo glanced at me before answering, "Yeah. I guess so. Best of services."

I felt my cheeks reddened.

"So how is business? I heard that Karakura Island is the most promising tourist attraction in the Caribbean nowadays."

Ichigo shrugged as he played with his food, "Business's good. It went up by 75% last month, after the new airport was finished."

"Wow, that sure is a lot. I guess you're pretty satisfied with what you've accomplished in such a young age."

Again, Ichigo shrugged, "I guess so."

"He's pretty innovative too," I said again as I tried to distract Ashido from his thought on the whole affair thing, "When no one thought of building a diving lodge, he came up with the idea. That's why his diving lodge is the only diving lodge in the island."

"Ah, a monopolist. Great job, Ichigo," Ashido raised his glass of wine before drinking it, "Was the service any good?"

I cursed myself and mentally slapped my face as I recalled the night when he appeared on the balcony when Ashido mentioned 'service'.

"Yes. He offered me a package of services including diving, snorkeling… um, let's see what else, a tour to a beautiful island," I blushed again at that, "Oh, and a cruise on his yacht."

"You rent yachts too?" Ashido turned to Ichigo.

"No. I just own one."

"Did you know that he built it from scratch?" I added.

"Really?" I saw Ashido's eyes glittered in awe and excitement, "I own a yacht and it broke last summer. I've spent thousands of yens to fix it. But something always felt wrong…"

I let out a relieve sigh as I successfully redirected Ashido's attention to something else than my relationship with Ichigo. I was about to called out to the water for a refill for my empty glass when I noticed that Karin was sitting silently and staring at me. I offered her a smile but she just kept staring at me. Feeling awkward being stared the whole time, I cancelled my previous attempt on calling the waiter and excused myself, saying that I need to go to the Ladies' Room.

The ladies' room was empty when I arrived so I went to the nearest sink and rested my palms on its cold marble tiles. The reflection on the mirror showed the usual pale, wide-eyed woman looking back at me. Unconsciously, I traced the line below my right eye and sighed.

"Why do I have to do this?" I said what was on my mind.

True that Ashido was an attractive man, a perfect match for a Kuchiki. But what I showed him wasn't me. It was the Kuchiki I wanted to show him, and I was also sure that it was the Kuchiki he wanted to see in me, the reason why he asked me out in the first place. What kind of marriage would we have if we started it out this way?

"They said talking to yourself is a step towards psychosis," a voice interrupted my musing, and I didn't have to turn my head to know who said that as a figure appeared on the mirror.

"Karin," I said as she came to my side, reaching for the tap and slowly clean her hands.

"So you're the one," she said.

I tilted my head, "Excuse me?"

She turned the tap off, "The famous Rukia Kuchiki who had finally tamed the great Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Wha…? What exactly are you talking about?"

The great Ichigo Kurosaki? What was so great about that man? He always got on my nerves everytime I met him.

"What I mean, you're the one girl who could make my brother flew all the way here."

I scoffed and turned the tap on, "He flew to Tokyo to meet you and the Ishidas, in case you don't know."

She leaned on the wall.

"Tell me something. You're the kind of people who believe that dogs are man's best friend and don't believe that they can actually bite people until it bites you in the ass, aren't you?"

I frowned at her, "Huh?"

She smiled at me, "Do you really think he's going to tell you that he came for you? I thought you knew him better than that."

"I…," I didn't know what to say and decided to shut up.

Karin walked over to me and tapped me on the shoulder, "He's selling the dive lodge and moving in to Tokyo."

---

The rest of the dinner went on in a blur as I kept pondering about what Karin said.

He's selling the lodge? I thought it was his life's work? He's moving in to Tokyo? I thought he couldn't leave Karakura?

Something inside me swell as I pondered upon the possibility of him moving in to Tokyo because of me. Then why the hell he said those words? He never expected something more from a woman like me?!

If he really was moving in to Tokyo for me, then why the hell he said things that would definitely pissed me off? And why the hell he was ignoring me throughout the dinner, and engrossed in a conversation over yachts with Ashido?

I didn't know I should be jealous of Ashido for making a conversation with Ichigo so easily or jealous of ichigo for dominating my date's conversation.

I groaned and called for the waiter for the nth time that night for another refill.

"Ready to go?" Ashido finally turned to me, and I almost sighed in relieve.

"Sure," I flashed him my finest smile.

And as we waited for the car, Ashido and Karin was, again, involved in a heated debate over some events in Japanese history.

"I have a collection of them in my grandpa's library," she said as she flexed her fingers, "That'll be a great add to your read."

"Then I would love to meet your grandfather sometimes," Ashido smiled.

The car arrived a second later and the valet gave the keys back to Ashido, who in return gave the boy a notable sum of tips.

"I'll tell you what," Karin looked at me and Ichigo before turning back to Ashido, "Why don't you meet him now? The books are gona be shipped to Hokkaido the day after tomorrow. Maybe if you could persuade grandpa to postpone it, you'll be able to read some of it."

"I…" Ashido jiggled with his keys and looked at me. His eyes were torn between wanting to go and being reluctant to me at the same time, "I don't know…"

I saw Karin nudged Ichigo using her elbow.

"I'll take her home," Ichigo sighed, "Don't worry, your date's safe with me."

Ashido turned to me and asked, "Do you mind?"

What kind of man who would trade his date with history books? I wanted to scream but, "Of course not," was what I said to him.

How I wish his shoes weren't worth $500, maybe I could pretend that I stepped on it by accident.

"Excellent," he gave me a quick peck on the cheek and turned to Ichigo, "Take care of her for me."

And with that, he left with Karin who sent Ichigo a grin before entering the car.

I sighed in frustration. That was probably the worst date I have ever had.

"That's my car," he said as a black BMW pulled up in front of us.

The valet boy helped me in to the car after he gave Ichigo the keys.

None of us talked after that, and after about 10 minutes later I realized that Ichigo didn't know where I live. But I frowned as I saw that he was driving in the right direction.

"Your friend gave me your address," he said after I asked him.

"My friend?"

"Yes, the bubbly Rangiku Matsumoto," he answered without taking his eyes off the streets.

"You've met with Rangiku?"

"Remember when I said Ishida's here? Well, Orihime got pregnant not long after their honeymoon, but her pregnancy was complicated. My dad then secretly told Ishida's father about it. He and his son wasn't getting along well, so we got pretty surprised when the old man showed up on the island and asked them to come with him to Tokyo. So… I met your friend when I went to the hospital."

Oh, that's right, she did work in Ishida Hospital.

"And she told you where I live?"

"Well," he flicked the signal as we turned left, "your address, phone numbers, mobile and e-mail."

I made a mental note to smack her on the head.

"I thought you've never been to Tokyo," I frowned as he turned to the right direction towards my apartment, "But you sure do seem to know your way here."

"My grandparents live here. I visit them frequently," he answered.

Having nothing else to say, I turned to the window and pressed my forehead to it.

Should I ask him about the lodge? I thought as I took a glance back at him in the corner of my eyes. I contemplated on the choices for another minute before deciding that I had to ask him.

But as I opened my mouth, the car stopped. I frowned before realizing that we had arrived right in front of my apartment building. After hesitating for a second, I decided that maybe I should ask him some other time. So I exited through the door into the cold weather of the night. My heart beat a little faster when I heard another sound of door being closed behind me before Ichigo appeared on my side.

"Thank you for…" I began, but the man didn't even stopped to listen and walked straight to the building. Wrinkling my nose, I followed suit.

He reached the elevator first and pressed the button. Right until it ding-ed open, he didn't say anything nor looked at me, so was when the elevator took us 4 floors up. I took a glance at his face when we reached my floor, trying to assess what he was up to. But his scowl was the only thing familiar to me.

Did he expect to be invited in? But knowing Ichigo, he would've just barged in the second I opened the door regardless he was invited or not.

My pace slowed when I almost reached my door. When I did stop and turned to Ichigo, I saw him scowling back at me. Still with an unreadable expression.

"Uh, thank you for sending me home," I finally said.

Damn my heart for beating faster again.

"Sure, good night," he muttered and turned on his heels, back to the elevator.

"That's it?" I said before I could stop myself. And the moment it slipped out of my lips, I feel like slapping myself.

As if in slow motion, Ichigo turned and walked back to me.

"And what do you expect me to do?" he growled low on his throat.

"You know what?" I snorted and reached for my purse and took out my keys, "Forget I ever said that. It was just a slip of the tongue."

I looked up to his fiery eyes before continuing, "Good night, Ichigo."

I cursed slowly as the key seemed to refuse cooperating after I failed to put it in place for the second time. As I made my third attempt, a firm grip on my wrist stopped me of doing so. And before I knew it, my back slammed to the door and his lips was on mine.

My eyes widened for a second and my mind was torn apart. My pride said that I had to push him away, but something inside me told me that I missed him. And I did miss him. I missed his voice, I missed his smell, I missed his hugs, I missed his kisses, I missed his taste, I missed… him.

And just like before, I gave in.

My fingers were tangled on his orange hair; my lips were open, giving him a full access of my mouth; my eyes were closed shut on their own; my tongue relishes his taste once again; and my brain seemed to only know one word: Ichigo.

I was so consumed by his ferocious kiss that when he suddenly took two steps back, I felt air were being sucked out from my lungs. My breaths came out in short pants, my eyes were wild, my lips were opened and undoubtedly swollen, my legs suddenly turned into jell-O that I had to use the wall behind me as a support.

But I wasn't the only one. From what I see from the man standing in front of me, the feelings were mutual. Only I could feel the bitter hatred in his eyes.

"Satisfied?" he snarled.

This time, It wasn't reflex that took over me. It was my heart. It was the hurt in my heart from being played like that that I couldn't seem to have control over my hand when it flew. The slapping sound echoed on the hall like a broken string, and my eyesight blurred as tears began to form.

The next second, I flung the door to my apartment open and slammed it closed behind me before I slid down to the floor with hands on my mouth trying hard not to let him heard my sobs. Only when I heard the faint sound of elevator closed back, that I remove my hands.

---

A/N: Uhhhh, sorry? Y'all know I love you all, right? Okay.