True Confessions 4:
He punched the button on
the vending machine, selecting cold coffee as his choice of drink for the
morning. Noda, Minami, Kuma and Uchi were with him as usual, all talking in
excited tones about their bowling night out last Friday. As he opened up the
can of beverage, Shin allowed a small smile to come to his lips, remembering
just how it had all ended. He had finally found the nerve to make the first
move, although he now assumed it all happened in a rush of adrenaline and the
fact that it was nighttime anyway. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to do
it in the daytime without feeling too damn self-conscious.
He could still remember
how wide Yankumi’s eyes had become, could still taste just how warm and sweet
her lips had been. However, it was a great pity it had lasted for less than a
minute.
Yankumi had fainted.
He shook his head and
took another swig of his drink, walking in the midst of his friends and paying
no real attention to them. As soon as their lips met, she began to slump and he
had to reach out quickly to hold her up. He wasn’t sure if something else had
happened to her and panic set in. Slapping her cheeks gently and calling out
her name hadn’t helped much. He couldn’t believe it. Trust Yankumi to ruin such
a perfect moment for both of them.
He had to carry her back
home - piggyback style - and it had taken all of his strength to look into
Kuroda Ryuuichirou’s eyes and lie about his granddaughter’s condition. He
couldn’t very well tell them that he had tried to kiss the woman. He wasn’t
sure if that would sit too well with the members of her family…at least not
yet. And so he said she had drunk too much and they had fallen for it – no
questions asked. It seemed like Yankumi already had a reputation for getting
intoxicated easily. Making sure that she was taken to her room, Shin assumed he
would be allowed to go home, but Kuroda would have none of it. He claimed that
Shin had still not beaten him in a game of shougi
and demanded (kindly enough) that the young man join him for one more game.
Shin had ended up
spending the rest of the night at the Oedo household.
“Oy, Shin! Hurry up!”
Minami shouted.
He quickened his pace and
began to jog towards them. He wondered what Yankumi had thought of it…or how
she would react in class today. But whatever the case may be, things were now
beginning to get really interesting between them.
The word
‘embarrassed’ didn’t seem strong enough to describe how Yankumi was feeling all
morning. Although waking up to the story of having been carried home by Sawada
was bad enough in itself, what was even worse was the knowledge that she had
actually fainted when Shin kissed her last night! She could withstand
blows and punches from men ten times her size and yet, just a simple, lousy
meeting of lips caused her to lose her senses.
And besides it had been
her first official kiss and that damn brat had stolen it without her
permission!
For the umpteenth time
that day, she felt her cheeks flaring with color and even though Kyoto-sensei
was lecturing her again about something regarding 3-D’s test scores, she barely
heard a word. The ever observant
“So…did Shinohara sensei
make a move on you or what?” Kawashima asked with a wink as she nudged Yankumi
gently. “Don’t think we didn’t hear you talking to him on the phone last week.”
“Eh?” Yankumi snapped out
of her daydream and stared at the laughing women in slight panic. “Eh…no…no
it’s not like that…”
But I can’t tell them
that it’s because of Sawada either! I’ll never hear the end of it!
“Oh? So it’s not
Shinohara sensei you’re daydreaming of?”
Yankumi felt hot and
began to wave her hands desperately. “No…no it’s not…”
“Or maybe it’s Sawada?”
Kawashima chimed in as both ladies laughed.
“No, it’s not him! Why
should I give a damn whether he kisses me or not!” As soon as the heated words
slipped past her lips, Yankumi knew she was in trouble. She slapped a hand over
her mouth, watching as the women’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Heh…eheheh…it’s…I meant
to say that…why should I care if he kisses other students or not?” she
stuttered weakly. Shit! Shit! They aren’t going to buy it!
“Ah…well…excuse me.”
She began to make her way
out of the room, but
“Oh…no, no, I didn’t say
that…”
“We heard you loud and
clearly, Yamaguchi sensei,” Kawashima said with a wink. “Lucky! You get to have
the hottest boy in the school.”
“Eh?” How could they be
talking like this? Weren’t they supposed to be telling her how bad it was?
“He’s almost legal…just a
few weeks before graduation, ne?”
“Uum…you guys…”
“So you are rather plain
compared to Ayumi,”
Geez, thank you very
much for pointing that out, Yankumi thought, getting more and more claustrophobic by the second.
These women could be brutal when they chose to be!
“So how was it?”
Kawashima asked, tucking away her makeup into her bag.
Yankumi blinked in
confusion for a moment. “How was what?”
“The kiss, the kiss!”
I fainted…so I
couldn’t tell you!
But the image of Shin’s handsome visage filled her mind and she found herself
dealing with two excited women squealing at the blush that stained her cheeks.
“So romantic,” Kawashima
crooned in delight. “Forbidden love between student and teacher. Ah…just don’t
get caught though. So when you guys finally decide to do it…be careful.”
Do…what?!
“And make sure you tell
us all the juicy details,”
“Uh huh, you can count on
us! Bye bye!”
“Ah…bye…” And just like
that, the women were gone leaving Yankumi sinking to the floor in exhaustion.
She had barely said anything and yet the women were able to deduce all that had
possibly happened. Well, if they thought anything was going to go past the
kissing stage, then they were sadly mistaken.
She wasn’t going to allow
Shin to do such a thing again. She’d make sure of it!
It was a
cool afternoon – just good enough to spend it outside instead of the stuffy
classroom. Shin placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, idly
listening to his friends chatter beside him. The smell of sweet rice cakes
invaded his nostrils and his stomach rumbled with hunger.
“Here you go, Shin-chan,”
Kuma said, offering the treat to him. “I think I got enough for everyone.”
“By everyone you mean
only you,” Minami teased and promptly got himself into a headlock with the
bigger boy.
Shin laughed quietly at
their antics, chewing slowly on the snack. He propped himself against the wall
and watched his friends with a rather melancholy feeling settling in his heart.
In less than a month, they’d be separated from each other. It only seemed like
yesterday they had all met as first years in this school. They hadn’t really
liked him at first due to his aloof and quiet nature, but several fights later,
they had all come to respect and care for each other like brothers. It was
really going to be painful saying goodbye to them. Shin found that he was
beginning to dread as much as he anticipated the graduation ceremony.
He swallowed the last bit
of his rice cake and raised his knees, wrapping his arms around them. Everyone
had their plans and dreams for the future. Noda would become a fashion designer.
Kuma would take over his father’s ramen business and convert it into a Chinese
restaurant. Uchi had plans to become an architect someday while Minami had
plans to go work as an intern at a small financial institution. He almost
envied them – the unbridled pleasure in their eyes as they all talked about
their goals.
And what about him? What
dreams and goals did he have?
As if that wasn’t bad
enough, there were the feelings he had developed for a certain female. He was
sure that Yankumi had heard him blurting out his ‘like’ for her on the bridge,
but did it mean that she reciprocated his feelings? He doubted it. Although she
was naturally smart, she could be incredibly dense when it came to matters of
the heart – at least the romantic side of things. Shin was now sure that she
had never even kissed another man before. He was sure that she and Shinohara
had at least done that, but if her fainting spell was any indication…then he was
the one to share her first kiss.
He looked smug. What an
honor.
“Oy, Shin, we’re going
inside,” Uchi hailed. “Are you coming?”
“No,” he replied with a
wave of his hand as he stretched out his legs before sliding to a prone
position on the cool ground. “I’ll come when classes end.”
Someone called him a name
in a teasing fashion and Shin lifted a finger to flip him the bird, lashes
feeling heavier as the combination of the snack he had just eaten and the cool
atmosphere had him feeling incredibly lazy. He just wanted to sleep and…
“Damn brat.”
His lashes shot up
quickly at the familiar voice. Sure enough, Yankumi was leaning over the
railing looking down at the grounds below with her back turned to him. He hadn’t
even heard her come up here.
“Shouldn’t you be
teaching?” he asked dryly.
“Shouldn’t you be in
class?” she countered back, still not turning around to face him.
“I have gym…don’t feel
like it.” He lay back down and tried to close his eyes again. Trying to act
cool and nonchalant while your heart was beating as fast as a drum wasn’t so
easy to pull off, but he was managing it just fine. He wondered what she could
possibly want from him now. He was sure that after that moment on the bridge,
she would avoid him like the plague. He had deliberately missed class just
because of that.
“That was my first kiss
you know,” she said suddenly, causing him to blink slowly. Well, no one could
say that she wasn’t direct. “Damn you, Sawada.”
The smug look came to his
handsome features again as he drawled lazily. “I would have thought Shinohara
sensei would have done so…”
“That’s because he’s a
gentleman!” she snapped. “Geez, taking advantage of my innocence like that…”
“Oy…I’m not the one who
fainted.”
Her cheeks grew dark.
“Ah…well…it’s not because of…”
“Am I really that good?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,
Sawada.”
“So do you want me to do
it again to test it out?”
“No!” She spun around
quickly, ponytails whipping against her cheeks as she pinned a panicked gaze on
his smirking visage. “Listen to me, Sawada.”
She took a deep breath
and began the speech she had mentally prepared. “You are a student…”
“…for less than three
weeks…”
“…and I am your teacher…”
“…for less than three
weeks…”
“…and if you think I’m
going to allow you to continue to do this…”
“…then I have permission
when school’s over?”
“…you are sadly
mistaken…stop talking when I’m talking, you bastard!”
Shin’s smirk grew and he
sat up, staring intently at her. “So do I have permission when school’s over,
Yankumi?”
She flushed. “You…you…”
“What’s wrong? If I can’t
have you now…I can have you when I graduate, ne?”
“Nobody is having me,”
she retorted, folding her hands before her chest. She scowled. “I’m sorry to
have to say this, Sawada and I am flattered that you think I’m good enough to
be a love interest, but trust me when I say that I am not the kind of woman you
want.”
“I’m not afraid of your
position as the Ojou, if that’s what you’re concerned about,” he replied with a
light shrug.
“Eh?”
“In fact,” he leaned back
on his elbows, a small mysterious smile now on his lips. “I look forward to the
challenge. Shinohara sensei would make a fine opponent.”
Yankumi looked comical
with the genuine expression of bemusement on her features. Was Sawada actually
thinking what she thought he was thinking?
“Hah…haha!” She hadn’t
meant to laugh but it came all the same. She placed a hand on her stomach and
gave in to her mirth, wiping the tears that came to her eyes. “You…you and
Shinohara...sensei…”
He frowned in irritation.
“You don’t think I can win?”
“Brat!” she said between
giggles. “You don’t know anything about Shinohara sensei, do you? In fact, you
don’t know very much about me, do you?” She straightened up and managed to
stifle her laughter. Walking up to him, she leaned close and placed a finger
against his forehead. “You still have a lot to learn, boy.”
He growled softly and
tried to swat her hand away, but she managed to ruffle his dark locks teasingly
before taking a step backwards.
“Stop calling me that,”
he muttered.
“Stop calling you what?”
“Boy!” He rose to his
feet suddenly and began to walk towards her. There was that determined look in
his eyes again and Yankumi found herself backing away slowly, until her back
hit the wall. He placed his hands on both sides of her face and against the
wall, effectively trapping her in place. He stared into her flushed and yet
defiant visage, again feeling the heat that had the tendency to flare between
them whenever they were this close.
“Stay away from me,
Sawada,” she warned although her voice seemed to tremble a little. “I don’t
want to have to hurt you.”
“Go ahead,” he dared as
he leaned even closer.
His thick dark locks
brushed against her heated forehead and she bit back a low sound of pleasure.
Damn it! Why did he have to smell so good? And confuse her as well? She didn’t
like feeling helpless in any situation. Punching him now would be the best idea
and yet her body didn’t seem to want to cooperate. She was ashamed to admit
that she had begun to borrow some romance novels and videos to read and watch
in the sanctity of her room. Although, she had never really bothered with all
of that in the past, this time around…
Oh God…his thigh…what
is he doing?
“Eek…” It was a
breathless squeak that escaped her lips as Sawada’s mouth hovered over her ear.
It was just his warm breath against the sensitive flesh and she was already
breaking out in a cold sweat. She could feel his body now pressing gently
against hers and the hands that had once been against the wall, slowly reached
down to hold her trembling ones.
“Ku…mi…ko…” he said in a
husky whisper sending chills of undeniable delight down her spine. No one, not
even Shinohara sensei had been able to call her name in such a manner.
Say it again, Shin…
And as if he had heard
her unspoken plea, he repeated her name again, his lips now planting soft and
almost feather-like kisses along her jaw and neck. She arched unconsciously,
her lashes fluttering closed as the delicious tingling sensations left her
whimpering softly. A part of her, rather small now, wished that he would stop
with this – pleaded for her to get back to her senses and to realize just how
dangerous a situation they were in. If anyone came up here and found them, it
could mean trouble.
He was now sucking gently
on her neck and Yankumi felt like she was about to collapse again. Her knees
were giving way. She was beginning to feel light headed and as Shin squeezed
her hands gently as if in reassurance, she opened up her mouth.
“Stop…stop this…Shin…please…”
He didn’t want to, not
now, not when he had finally gotten her to submit to him a little. “Kumiko…I…”
“Oy, Shin-chan! Where are
you?!”
Shit!
Kuma’s voice was a harsh
wake up call and both pulled away from the other in panic.
“Shin-chan! Ah, there you
are. We’re about to go now…oh, Yankumi, you’re here too?”
“Ah…eh…yes…” she
stuttered weakly, running damp hands down her tracksuit as she bowed quickly in
an effort to hide her flushed and rather flustered countenance.
“Yankumi was just asking
about the tests,” Shin replied coolly and Yankumi had to lift her head in
surprise at how calm he sounded. With his hands in his pockets, rocking back
and forth on his heels, he looked as if he had just stepped out of class! How
could he be so composed when she was an emotional wreck!
“Oh…” Kuma nodded as if
it was to be expected. “Well, Noda and the others are waiting. Let’s go before
we’re late.”
“Eh? Where are you guys
going?” she asked quickly, hoping it had nothing to do with a fight.
“Karaoke,” Kuma replied
with a sheepish smile. “Shin’s treating us. Do you want to come with us,
Yankumi?”
“Eh…I don’t think…”
“No, she’ll only make it
boring,” Shin replied as he began to walk away with a small smirk. “We don’t
want her around, do we?”
She gasped and stomped
her foot. “I’m not boring! Sawada!”
Kuma was laughing and
failed to see the look Shin shot over his shoulder at the woman. He winked and
pursed his lips in the semblance of a kiss before placing his arm around his
friend’s shoulder to lead them back into the building.
Yankumi’s visage seemed
to be in a permanent flush as she slapped her hands upon her cheeks. What in
the world was going on? Why was Sawada Shin becoming more of a mystery and yet
a dilemma for her? Her skin still tingled from his teasing kisses and as she
began to walk slowly into the building, all she could hear was her name being
called in that husky voice.
Kumiko.
Shin…Kumiko…Shin and
Kumiko…
Hmm…it even sounded nice
together.
Eh! What am I thinking?! Deciding she had had enough
excitement for one day, she all but ran into the building, making sure she
steered clear away from a particular young man.
She definitely couldn’t
wait to be in the safety of her home again.