Kankei: Gray Skies, Chapter 3

chapter 3

Kayanna
Time passed. Dissolved really. It slipped away into the same abyss that managed to drive both Saiyo and I to the point of no return. Part of me wanted to reach out and grab it, to stop myself, to undo what we’d done. Another part of me said, “Are you crazy?”
We layed on the countertop.
"Don't leave."
I opened my eyes. I seemed to be frozen in my body, unable to move my limbs--unwilling to move my limbs. I didn't really want to move. But I had to. I had to leave.
I sat up and let out a breath in ecstasy. Oh wow, I thought, but refused to say. I really wanted to stay.
I found my towel still on the counter. I wrapped myself up with it. Again.
"So much for a massage..." I murmured. He grinned at me slyly with that gorgeous face. I walked over to the armoire, opened it, and began putting on my clothes.
"Ah. Shit," I heard him say.
Topless, and in the midst of pulling on my jeans, I looked out the small window that overlooked the hallway. Three faces peered in.
Ari, Ai, and Sung.
"Ah, shit." I echoed.
Saiyo grabbed a towel from a rack that hung from the lower cabinets and wrapped himself up quickly, sliding off the countertop. I finished pulling up my jeans, and wriggled into my shirt.
I'm not embarrased, I told myself. Sex is a perfectly normal act performed by two consenting individuals.
In this case, two incredibly willing, consenting individuals.
"I'm sorry--uh--" Saiyo frantically searched for his clothes. He picked up something black and slightly shredded. His shirt.
Did I do that...?
"Right--yeah--" I put on my shoes and hesitated.
I need an exit...
If I leave the room pretending to be all ‘dignified’ and sticking my nose up, that would be skanky, wouldn't it? But if I'm all shy and bashful...
Oh what the hell.
I reached for the door and opened it. Ari waited in sisterly shock. I walked past her calmly and into the waiting area. I dropped a hundred dollar bill on the receptionists' desk and strutted to the front glass doors. I turned pleasantly and gave a little wave.
"You all have a good evening."
I walked out the door and into the night without a second glance.

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Ari came out to the car less than five minutes later. She slipped into the driver's seat, but didn't start the ignition.
"What did you do to him?" She asked in awe.
"What do you mean?!" I laughed uncomfortably.
She started the ignition now, and pulled out of the parking lot. "Well as you know, he said he'd give us a discount because of the incident,"
Ari Thomas. Bargain shopper extraordinare.
"So when we got to the front desk he made change and wished us a good night, but he was sort of blushing and stuttering, and fumbling--definetly out of character for him since the last time I was there."
"At one point he stopped speaking English," I blurted pensively.
She glanced at me, supressing a grin. "Here's your change by the way." She handed me several bills and coins, and continued to drive.
"Anyway, not to mention the fact that he was still wearing nothing but a towel, so I mean--"
"Ari, do you really not know or do you just want to hear me say it?"
"Okay, you got me. I just...wow." She picked up her glasses from the center console and slipped them on. I nearly laughed. She only put them on during intense psychological discussion. "What would you say caused you to act in such a spontaneous and extreme manner?"
Now I did laugh. When I calmed down, I sighed and looked out the window. "I really don't know, Ari."
She nodded. "Would you agree that it could be due to your current lack of--"
"Yes, Ari, damn."
"Exactly how long would you say it has been?"
"Long enough, so can we please stop talking about it?"
"Would you agree it has been at least a year?"
"Yes, Ari! How the hell would you know, anyway?!"
"Just an educated guess. Now, would you agree that 'lust' reared its crimson head?"
I glanced over at her, slightly taken aback at her personification of a deadly sin.
"Crimson?"
"Answer the question."
"Well...yeah, I guess lust is the word..."
"How long had you been 'lusting' for our asian friend...what's his name?"
"Saiyo. And...I dunno...maybe...since I saw him at his garage."
"Where? When?"
"He owns Asian Autos on seventh. About two weeks ago when he fixed my car."
"He's the guy who fixed your car?"
"Yeah."
"Hm."
"What?"
"Pent up energy. Sexual frustration. Nothing."
Right. There was definetly more she wanted to say or ask, but right now, I didn't care too much.. Until then, I was still relaxing in the wave of calming euphoria that settled over me. I relaxed into her passenger seat and fell asleep.

Saiyo
I'd watched Ari leave the spa after Kay. I stood behind Ai's desk, rearranging things that were already perfectly arranged. I drummed on the desk with a pen before turning around to face my aunt and brother. Sung stood, his arms crossed over his chest. Ai lounged in her office chair, both of them watching me expectantly. Obasan broke the ice.
"Bad musuko," She chuckled. Sung joined her. "Screwing a client is definetly a massage therapist no no."
I shrugged slowly, unsure of what else to do.
Sung puffed out his chest and sat on the corner of the desk. "Now if I did it.."
I shook my head, irratated. Sung proclaimed himself as the ultimate ladies man, playboy, player, worldwide womanizer.
He supposedly had hoes in many different area codes.
Unlike myself.
I didn't really proclaim to be anything. All I wanted to do was run my spa, restaurant, garage, and Taekwondo dojang as smoothly as possible. His goal in life was to screw at least one girl in every nation. And with the money he made helping me run those establishments, he could, financially, do it. The point was would he. The answer to that was simply no, because the majority of women in the world had brains and wouldn't let Sung Kim Tuk within five feet of them.
And that wasn't a theory. That was pure factual observation.
Suddenly, Ai gasped. "Musuko, this is first time?"
Sung burst out into uproarious*check spelling* laughter. He slipped off the desk, clutching his stomach as he continued to laugh.
Then I really thought about it. It wasn't, but I wasn't exactly pleased with the memory. As a matter of fact, the memory just made me uncomfortable.
Her name was Yuri Tanaka. We were both sixteen years old at the time, and went to the same school back in Tokyo. We weren't dating or anything, and before she came over to my father's apartment, I'd never spoken to her before. Honestly, I didn't even know her name until after the fact. The whole thing isn't something I'm proud of. She came over one night, invited by my best friend Jimmy Chen and Sung, who was only fourteen. I was back in my room asleep. Our Dad wasn't home, which was lucky, because he had taken to depriving me of sleep and food since my fifteenth birthday days before. I was catching up on much needed z's. Yuri came over and hung out with Jimmy and Sung a bit before slipping back into my room. Little had I known, that between Yuri and her friends, I was some sort of project. I hardly spoke at all due to being mute until I was about ten years old. I kept my distance from everyone, and only hung out with my brother and Jimmy. She didn't turn on any lights, just approached me as I slept peacefully in the dark. I thought I was dreaming at first. I literally knew nothing about sex. Then I woke up abruptly to notice Yuri had eased onto my lap.
"Shh," She whispered. "Let me show you something..."
That's when I learned that Yuri was an old pro. I'm still not sure how long she kept me in my bedroom that night, but I do know that the next day, I was the newest gossip at school. It was the first time I had a rep for doing something...good. As Sung, Jimmy and I walked onto campus the next morning, everyone kept staring at me. Girls would wink and giggle, then whisper frantically as I passed by. Then, one of Yuri's friends approached me at my locker.
"Hi. Your name's Saiyo, right?"
I nodded mutely.
"Yuri told me what you two did last night."
My eyes widened. I still hadn't completely understood what happened that night, let alone know that it was fine and common knowledge.
Her eyes slipped down, then back up.
"You're really cute, you know." She nudged at a lock of my hair.
I didn't, actually. All I knew was that I had to dye my hair regularly or get suspended again for kicking some joker's ass. I was just beginning to figure out that was okay. My dad didn't give a shit. Nobody did.
"You know, if you ever want a good time you let me know, okay? My name's Mita." She winked and slinked away to her group of giggly friends that included a sly faced Yuri.
I still didn't get what the hell was going on. Then two familiar people ran up to me, skidding to a stop.
"Saiyo." Sung said breathlessly.
"Why didn't you tell us you screwed Yuri Tanaka last night?!" Jimmy exclaimed.
I 'screwed' her? Hm. I didn't know that. It was more like she screwed me. I shrugged lamely.
"Everybody's talking about you!"
Since when is that a good thing?
"You've got to have the biggest—“ We all looked down as he gestured awkwardly to my pants.
“--in the school!"
"And trust me, Yuri Tanaka would know."
Everything else may have been a bit jumbled, but this, I understood. When the first bell rang, my brother, best friend and I walked to class with a little cockiness in our step.
Maybe that is a good memory...
Now Sung, in his twenty-two year old form said through his laughter, "Trust me, Ai, she got her money's worth."
I grinned a little bit, and wondered if I would ever see Kayanna again.

Kayanna
The bright and sunny sunday after my birthday made me decide if I wanted to work or sleep. I opted for a bit of work only so I wouldn't fall behind. After waking up and taking a shower, I grabbed my laptop and headed for my spot. The coffee shop at the corner of Main and Seventh.
I remember when I was younger and thought, how the hell can someone hang out in a coffee shop? How stupid.
But Molly's wasn't any ordinary coffee shop. Not only did she sell some of the best unorthodox flavors of coffee, cappiccino, and tea, but she served casual breakfasts, lunches and dinners that I had no problem affording. It wasn't that I didn't like to cook. I just didn't. Besides, Molly was an old friend with a good head on her shoulders. That head just didn't get a lot of sunshine.
She sighed as I walked in. "Kay. You're late."
"Sorry, but I just keep forgetting how much you rely on me to pretend your food is good and attract customers."
"Do I smell arrogance? Your cappiccino is cold."
I sat my laptop on the table beside my favorite chair. The giant window allowed rays of sunshine to fall gracefully. "No, and warm it up."
"I really think I detected a hint of arrogance in that comment." She said, sitting a cup of steaming tea on my table. I looked at it blankly.
"Molly, what the hell is this?"
She looked down at the cup distractedly. "Oh. Wrong person." She turned around and began walking over to a man sitting alone at a table near the counter.
In mid-sit I hovered over my chair, staring at the man. He stared back at me. Saiyo. I really loved his face. If he kept staring, I might have another orgasm; and four in two days would definetly be a record. I recovered, and sat down, staring at my blank computer screen. Molly came back with my French Vanilla cappicino. I manuvered myself out of Saiyo's eyesight, using her as a shield.
"Molly! What the hell are you doing?!" I whispered frantically.
"I have no idea what you're talking about..."
Saiyo slipped over to my table, sitting across from me. "Would you mind if I sat here?"
"She wouldn't at all," Molly said loudly, walking away.
"Molly!" I hissed.
She shooed me behind Saiyo's back.
"Hi." I laughed, relaxing into my chair. He wore a simple pair of jeans, a shirt, and an open, black hoodie. His hair was down, and he looked well rested unlike the first time I met him here. He was either developing some stalker tendencies or I really messed up last night.
"I don't mean to seem like a stalker, but I wanted to see you again."
I resisted the immediate urge to ask why, but instead managed, "Oh?"
"I don't mean to rush either, but would you have dinner with me tonight?"
Not on your turf, I thought carefully.
"Uh.."
"Anywhere you'd like. Just let me. Take you out."
He said that last night. Let me. Just 'Let me" and nothing else. I pondered for a second.
"How about Angelini's on fifth?" I finally said.
"I love Italian. How's seven o'clock?"
"I'll meet you there."
"Okay." He smiled sheepishly and left, taking his drink.
Molly wandered over. I looked at her with a skeptical eye. "What did you have to do with that?"
She put a hand to her cheek in mock insult. "I would never interfere with your personal life! 8 o'clock when I was about to close last night he came in here and asked if I knew you. I said maybe, but if you're lucky you can catch her this morning at around 11." She shrugged. "He's punctual. And cute if you dig Asian guys."
I watched him walk to his car through the window. "I guess he's lucky, too."