Long Night Walk

After dinner, they walked around Kyoto. Mai and Isao said nothing. She couldn’t even look at him. Isao didn’t know what to say at first. He glanced at her once but looked away. It was a nice night out though.

“Uh…” Isao said. Mai didn’t look up. His words died in his mouth. Why was he so nervous? This was Mai he was dealing with. This shouldn’t be hard. She wasn’t even angry right now. She just seemed… confused. He had a good idea about what.

“Listen…” he began again. Mai still didn’t look up. Isao thought about how he would do this. He sighed and dropped his shoulders.

“Look,” he said. “Raja is an asshole.”

“I know,” Mai said. Isao chuckled a bit. They had that in common.

“He’s married to my mom,” Isao said.

“Uh-huh,” Mai said. The streets were crowded tonight. No one focused on them. Still, they would be recognized out here.

“Tell me something,” Isao said. Mai looked up but said nothing.

“What did I do for you to hate me so much?” he asked. There. It was out there now. Mai looked at him. She shrugged.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” the female vocalist said. Isao frowned.

“Seriously?” he asked. Mai looked away. Isao shook his head. He couldn’t get this woman. At least she wasn’t drunk. Maybe they could just talk. He frowned. Oh boy…

They came to a crosswalk. Neither had anything to say. Still, Isao had something he had to say.

“Hey,” he said. Mai looked up at him.

“What?” she asked. Isao cleared his throat.

“If it’s any consolation,” he said. “I did enjoy that kiss.” Mai’s cheeks turned bright pink.

“Shut up,” she mumbled. Her heart fluttered in her chest. Isao cleared his throat. They walked back to the hotel. Saying that put Isao in a weird place. He did like that kiss. But what does that mean? Could he be…?

Isao smacked his forehead.

“Get it together,” he said to himself. The vocalist took a breath. Then he remembered that he wasn’t alone. Isao turned to see Mai staring at him.

“What?” he asked. She said nothing. Isao rolled his eyes and frowned. Oh boy…

They still had a long way to get back to the hotel.