by C L Walker
I brushed quickly past her and almost knocked her over when my shoulder bumped into hers as I went to the stairs. I turned around on the first step to look at her again as she was unbuckling the straps of her white leather sandals while she glared up at me with a pout on her face.
I smiled sarcastically and said, “Murcia.” Then flipped her off and ran up the stairs to shower and change for a night that I thought was surely going to be the end of me.
Chapter 4
Kyla
I knew it was terrible especially because I never had any real intentions of going Mr. Tanaka, despite my frequent rebellious thoughts on the matter. Because I had been looking at the situation realistically, but then my mom involved my sister and the game changed.
For the night at least.
I only had a slim chance of gaining his attention, but I had to try. I didn’t want him to like my sister, I didn’t want another person to fall for her bullshit and get sucked into her world. So, if I could at least be a worthy distraction then I would fulfill my goal.
I looked myself over once more in my floor length mirror before I took a deep breath and braced myself.
I was wearing my red maxi dress that was made of a cotton mixture, it was thin and skintight until it hit the thighs and had long sleeves. It didn’t show any skin, but it didn’t need to, my bust, waist and butt were perfectly emphasized.
I wore my hair down, put on my favorite shade of red lipstick and kept my eyes clear aside from mascara. I painted a lovely picture, and I knew it. I was a woman. A woman that was going to outshine her sister for once.
Or so I had hoped anyways.
I heard my mom welcome him in while I waited at the top of the stairs and I heard his deep voice in return and cringed when I heard my sister introduce herself in the soft voice, she reserved for outside family members and strangers.
Even my grandparents fell for it and thought she was the sweetest thing and it helped that my mom didn’t tell them anything negative about her children. I could understand from her point of view, but it was frustrating being known as the ‘smartass’ in the family because I was sarcastic and didn’t fake sweet.
Thank God they all loved me anyways, but I still couldn’t stand watching everyone dote on Mya like she was a perfect child.
Once downstairs I heard my mom as I rounded the corner and stepped into the dining room behind her. “Okay you can sit there Sora,” she said, as she pointed to the seat to the right of my Dad who sat at the head of the table and my sister sat next to Mr. Tanaka.
Mya was all smiles, and she appeared to be practically drooling on her white cashmere sweater over the sight of him.
My mom ran into the kitchen to grab dishes, she made chicken alfredo, asparagus, and French bread.
I went unnoticed into the kitchen behind her and grabbed the cups and wine.
“Thanks, oh my don’t you look lovely,” she said.
“Thanks mama.” I smiled at her and noticed that she had changed into black jeans and a black sweater. “You do too.”
She was a simple woman, but she did simple well and she always looked like she put in more effort than she did.
“Be good.” She mouthed when we were about to enter the dining room once more.
She set down the food and took a seat next to my dad to his left, and I waited for her to move out of the way before I set the wine on the table and set glasses for everyone.
Mr. Tanaka turned away from my sister when he noticed my arm reach around him to set down a glass.
“Thank you, Kyla,” he said.
It was the first time he had said my first name and the sweet sound of it made my stomach flip.
The only problem was that he looked straight at my face and nowhere else which was already not part of my plan.
I smiled softly and took my seat across from my sister.
My dad gestured to the wine and Mr. Tanaka picked it up and asked, “Would you like me to pour sir?”
“Yes please,” Dad said with food in his mouth.
He had shoulder length dirty blonde hair and looked like a surfer that landed on the wrong side of California. My parents had lived on the beach down south until they had Mya and uprooted north almost into Oregon to raise their family.
He seemed hardly civilized, he owned a lumber company and was your typical man's man on the surface, but inside he was gentle and kind, and everyone loved him. Especially my mom, they’d been together since they were in high school, and I of course hoped one day to have a marriage like theirs.
Mr. Tanaka filled the glasses as they were held out to him and when he went to set the bottle down, I held mine out, and he looked up at me in confusion.
I held his gaze, as I waited for him to pull it together and poor me a glass.
My parents were cool with me having a glass of wine at dinner as they didn’t believe that making alcohol a forbidden fruit would teach me how to drink it responsibly.
Seconds went by and neither of my parents said anything, so he gathered that it was okay without anyone saying anything and he filled my glass as he watched me intently.
He set the bottle down and continued to watch me as I took my first sip. “You like wine?” he asked.
I licked a drop that slipped between my lips before it slid down even further, and his eyes darted to them for the briefest moment. It was so fast I later questioned whether it happened, and whether it was a casual observation, but either way, in that moment it set me on fire.
“Yes, I do Mr. Tanaka.”
My sister rolled her eyes beside him then she gave me a nasty look. My mom had informed her that he was my teacher, so I didn’t understand what she was expecting, of course we were going to acknowledge each other. I couldn’t begin to comprehend her level of immaturity.
He smiled as he looked at his plate and then met my eyes. “I know it’s sort of strange but since we are neighbors, I think it’s okay if you call me Sora when we aren’t at school.”
I smiled and nodded my head before I looked down at my plate and started eating my food again. I didn’t want to be obvious in my intentions, so I tried not to look overly interested in him as we continued to eat.
After about five minutes of easy conversation between all of us my sister took the opportunity to pull his attention back to her. “Sora you really haven’t been to the University District? It’s only an hour drive from here, you really need to come down, I could show you around,” she said, as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
I watched his face closely and tried to read what he was feeling but I had no idea if he was being polite or if he was interested in her.
“I’ll try to do that sometime when I visit my mom, she lives about a mile away from the city center.” He smiled at her, but it didn’t look sincere, it was nothing like the smile he had given me that morning when he was laughing at my pajamas.
If he meant those words, I was going to have a hard time not stooping to her level just to make sure they didn’t become a thing.
I looked over at my mom and dad and although they were chatting away my mom kept sneaking looks over at Sora and Mya.
Sneaky ass woman, I see what you’re doing!
“Oh, your mom lives there?” Mya asked, as her eyes shined with eagerness.
Sora nodded and took a large drink from his glass and glanced at me over it.
His long eyelashes shadowed his dark eyes and any thoughts I might have been able to read in them as our gazes met.
I didn’t realize it, but I had been holding my breath until he glanced away, and I finally let the air seep out through my lips slowly.
“How was it, Sora? I hope it turned out well enough for you?” my mom asked, and she reached for his empty plate.
“It was delicious, thank you for having me. It’s nice to have a home cooked meal, it was just me and my mom growing up and she doesn’t cook much so this means a lot.”
I saw a glimpse of sadness reflected in his eyes but in a flash, it was g
one. I wanted to chase it and see where it went, to see what lay beneath his well composed exterior but it wasn’t something I thought I’d ever be able to do. And just like that he was more than some hot guy, he was interesting, and I wanted to know everything about him.
My mom frowned for a moment but caught herself and smiled at him brightly. “Well then it was my pleasure and if that’s the case you’ll have to come over often. We always have room for more.”
He waved his hands out in front of him. “Oh, I couldn’t but thank you Mrs. Nilsen.”
It was strange seeing him be so polite, he looked terrified, like a teenage boy would be meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time. It was rather cute.
Mya cleared her throat and my attention snapped to her as I had forgotten she was there for a moment.
“What happened to your Dad?” she asked.
What the hell?
I tried giving her a look that said don’t go there but she ignored me.
Sora looked unaffected but I noticed his jaw tighten the slightest bit before he answered her. “He left when I was five.”
That was long ago but I doubted that even almost twenty years later it was an easy subject to speak of. My sister was such an idiot, that’s the kind of thing you ask someone after you know them well.
She took a sip of her wine and I thanked God above because I didn’t think she’d say more but I did so too soon as she was my sister after all. She was completely unaware of social norms, either that or she didn’t care for them.
“Why did he leave?”
Mother Fu...
I slapped my hand down on the table and everyone looked at me. “Oh, for fucks sake Mya who even asks that kind of question!”
“Kyla,” my parents said, at the same time and I ignored them both and continued to stare at my sister.
I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted to fire back because I embarrassed her, but then the image she was carefully crafting would fall to pieces around her, and I knew she wouldn’t risk it.
I noticed Sora looked between us a few times and appeared to be weighing his options.
When no one said anything, my mom spoke up again. “Kyla, darling do watch your mouth and put the dishes away.”
I stood up and my chair made a scraping noise against the wood floor, the only noise in the otherwise quiet room.
I continued to glare at my sister as I grabbed the plates my mom had stacked up before I took them into the kitchen.
Five minutes later I heard my mom as she said, “I made dessert if you’d stay a bit longer and let your food settle.”
I couldn’t hear Sora’s reply but when my mom came into the kitchen a few minutes later she informed me that he left because I more than likely scared him off. I was always to blame.
“Are you kidding? It was so insensitive of her to ask something like that in front of everyone, we are strangers to him, and he obviously didn’t want to answer because he said nothing after I snapped at her.”
She sighed as she pulled a pudding cake out of the fridge that she had made that afternoon. “I know it was, but you always make things worse you know. Learn to let some things be.”
I scoffed in response, easier said than done. “I can’t, it’s not who I am and the sooner you all accept it the happier we will all be.” I slammed the plate down that I was washing in the sink on accident because I was getting angry.
She put down the cake and put her arms around me, she hugged me tightly and said, “I accept and love the person you are. But you’re wrong in thinking it’s always a good time to speak the truth. I don’t know how Sora feels so I don’t know if he was thankful but it’s still something to think about.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll try. I do try, but she drives me crazy,” I said, before I pulled away and finished the remaining dishes.
She gave me a sad smile. “I know baby.” She pulled out a Tupperware container and put a big piece of cake inside. “Your dad and I are heading upstairs and your sister is taking a bath and going to sleep so you don’t have to see her again tonight. And you are going over to Sora’s and you’re going to apologize in case you did the wrong thing and embarrassed him along with your sister.”
I grabbed the container she held out to me reluctantly. “Seriously?”
She turned me around and pushed me out the kitchen door lightly. “Yes Seriously. Who knows maybe he was grateful, but it won’t hurt to find out. Also tomorrow please try to get along with her.”
“Tell that to the idiot upstairs, it takes two to tango,” I said.
I ran out the front door because I didn’t want to give her a chance to reply.
Why was it up to me to be the mature one? Mya was twenty-one years old; she should have been the more mature one.
I knocked on Sora’s door and he answered immediately, he had already changed into grey joggers and the white muscle T-shirt he had worn earlier in the backyard.
I glanced down at his toned arms, I was thrilled I could finally make out the images inked all over them, but I didn’t have time to take it all in.
One arm was geometric flowers and shapes, the other arm had a portrait of an old man that took up his entire upper arm, the rest I couldn’t make out before I raised my eyes to where they should have been in the first place.
I realized I was spacing out again as I stared at his eyes when I heard my name for the second time.
“Oh here.” I stuck my arms out straight and practically shoved the Tupperware into his stomach. “This is for you.”
He looked down at my hands but took a second to grab the container.
“Oh, thank you, tell your mom I said thank you as well,” he said.
Who knew bringing your neighbor cake could be so uncomfortable.
I stepped down his stairs backwards and said, “No problem, I’ll tell her. Goodnight.”
I turned around after he said goodnight and when I was halfway down the pavers leading to the sidewalk, I remembered that my mom wanted me to apologize and I had no choice.
When I turned back around abruptly to apologize to him, I was surprised to find that he was still standing inside his doorway. But I was even more surprised to see his dark gaze flick up to my face as he had been looking at my ass.
The fact that his eyes widen just so, and a look of guilt spread across his face confirmed my thoughts.
Ten points for me!
He took a step back when I jogged up the stairs to stand in front of him.
He masked his emotions as quickly as they had revealed themselves and he was back to being cool and unaffected.
But it didn’t change what I had seen, and I was going to hang onto the memory of that look in his eyes because it was dangerous and I knew it was all I was going to get out of him.
“I almost forgot to say I was sorry.” I sighed and glanced at my house, I wanted to say sorry for having a completely self-centered, ignorant sister but he didn’t want to hear that. He’d probably find my complaints childish and laugh it off as sibling rivalry. “I didn’t mean to make things awkward; I shouldn’t have said anything.” I let my voice trail away at the end and I knew it sounded like I lacked conviction because I did.
I still thought my sister was in the wrong and if I was in the wrong as well, she was still more wrong. I supposed I was justifying my actions with the failure of hers, but I’d dwell on that later.
He tipped his head slightly to the right and gazed at my face in a lazy manner. “Is that what you really think?” he asked, his tone soft and nonjudgmental.
I didn’t answer because I was busy being sucked into the sexy way his eyes took me in, as if he were trying to see all of me.
“You don’t seem like you believe you shouldn’t have spoken up,” he said, “in fact, I believe you still find your actions to be justified.”
Am I so easy to read?
More importantly why were brown eyes so warm and inviting?
“I can’t say whether it was called for, but I
know that I can’t help myself sometimes. Although, I am truly sorry when people get caught in the crossfire.” I meant that. I didn’t seek to hurt anyone, but there were always casualties in war.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, it was a small thing but to see someone who was your teacher come undone the tiniest bit was thrilling.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. To be honest it’s not a question I wanted to answer with a room full of strangers around me,” he said.
Of course, no one would be thrilled over being grilled around people they had just met.
“Good. I’m glad I saved you then.” I smiled at him and thought it was a good note to leave on, so I turned to walk away.
“Hey, wait,” he said, and I looked back at him eagerly. “This is awkward, but it has to be said. I don’t know if your mom was trying to set me up with your sister, but I’m not interested. So, could you please discourage them subtly?”
The poor guy looked so uncomfortable asking me and I admired his courage for it even though I laughed at him.
He stood straighter. “I’m not trying to be rude she’s just not my type and I don’t want your mom to think ill of me if I don’t contact Mya like she asked me to.”
I waved him off. “Don’t be silly, I’m not offended. I don’t know if you gathered but my sister isn’t my type of person either.” I gave him a reassuring smile and he relaxed some. “I’m curious though, what is your type then?” I knew I was out of line the second the words escaped from my lips but for a second, I had forgotten who we were.
He didn’t physically react to my question, in fact he looked bored with the direction of the conversation. “I’m not sure that’s any of your business Ms. Nilsen.”
Oh, back to Ms. Nilsen just like that.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“It’s bad enough that I have to ask a student to discourage her sister from pursuing me. Let’s not make it worse by talking about things you shouldn’t be concerned with,” he said coldly, and I felt the sting from the sudden change in his attitude.
What he didn’t understand was that the student wasn’t concerned, it was the woman in me that wanted to know but I wasn’t about to admit that and make things worse.