Two Smiles Beneath A Date

The day after the party for Akira’s return to the villa was a pretty uneventful one: the majority of the servants were in hangover and even the Natò family wasn’t feeling all that well, especially Priscilla, who really seemed to have drunk a little too much. So much that she remained in bed with a strong headache that made it impossible for her to do anything that day. Which meant that Akira had a free day which he could use however he wanted. And the first thing he did after his normal morning routine was go searching for Samai, wanting to see if she remembered anything form the last evening, as she really acted out of character and the servant with whom he talked said that it wasn’t like her to be so direct, even while she was drunk. He went straight for her room, without even thinking that it could have been strange for a man to visit a girl’s room like it was normal, and, when he got in front of her door, he knocked.

“Samai, are you awake?”

Then, he immediately heard a lot of noise behind the door, like someone had fallen out of the bed out of surprise, then he heard even more noises – probably the room was messy and Samai was reordering it to make it at least presentable, even though she had not to do that – and then, after a minute or so, during which he waited patiently, understanding that Samai would have opened to him at some point, the door opened and, before Akira, appeared Samai, her hair a bit messy, in a plain white dress that she probably used to sleep. Which meant that he probably woke her up, at which Akira felt sorry for her.

“I’m sorry for waking you up, Samai” said he immediately when he saw her.

“N-no, I wasn’t sleeping… I was just lying on the bed, thinking…” replied Samai, playing with her hair.

“Then why did you make so much noise when I knocked? It seemed like you were taken by surprise” asked Akira, curious.

“I wasn’t! It’s just… my room was a bit messy… and when I recognized your voice… I thought that I had to clean up a bit…”

“You needn’t do that, I’m not that important of a guest to clean up a room for” replied Akira, laughing a bit, then followed in his laugh by Samai, who invited him inside, and then, when he entered the room, shut the door behind herself. Inside of the room, Akira took a long look around the room, and mentally took note that Samai was as fast as a V12 when it came to cleaning: the room was immaculate, nothing was left out in the open, except for her uniform, a pair of socks, a bra and a pair of underwear that in any case were hidden under the uniform and were hardly visible. Her room was very similar to Akira’s one, with a wardrobe, a desk, a big bed, a chair, a little sofa and, of course, her private bathroom, but the walls were painted in a rather pale yellow and there were various paintings hung around the room. When he expressed his praise and surprise for her room, Samai blushed a bit, then asked him if there was something he wanted to talk about with her.

“Nah, I just wanted to see your beauty in the morning” replied Akira, as serious as he could, which made Samai blush even more. Seeing her red face, Akira smiled a bit internally and externally, then stated why he went to her.

“I also got here because of that, but I just wanted to ask you if you remember something from the last evening: you seemed a bit drunk, so I only wanted to check up on you”.

“Y-yeah, I do remember what happened yesterday. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you see, you kind of acted out of what your character normally is. You are normally so shy, so… I don’t even know how to describe it, but you normally give off an aura of being a calm person who stays on her own, but yesterday you did a 180-degree change. You were active, prepositive, seductive… I wanted to know if that is also another side of your character, or is just how you act when you’re drunk”.

“Oh, that… You didn’t like it, did you? I’m sorry, but, sometimes… when I am alone with someone I am comfortable with… it seems like a switch is pulled inside of me and I just change… for me it is just a natural thing, but… I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable; I’ll try to control myself…”. Those words sounded like she was excusing to Akira for being herself, like she being herself was wrong for some reason, a thing that Akira didn’t even think.

“Hey, I never said I didn’t like it” interrupted her Akira, wanting to make things clear before a misunderstanding between the two arose, “In fact, I liked it even a bit too much: you were so natural, so attractive, that it was a pleasure having the possibility to see that other side of you. I just asked that because I wanted to understand if you acted like that because you were drunk or because you were being yourself, nothing more”. Then, after making things clear, he added “Listen, when you are with me you can just act however you want, you don’t have to limit yourself or put on a mask: just be you, that would make me happy”.

Those words came out naturally from Akira’s mouth and made Samai smile in a gracious way that made her look like a painting. Then, she slowly advanced towards Akira and, when their bodies were mere centimetres away from each other, she whispered to him “So I can act like this when I want? Even if there are other people around that could misjudge us?”

“Of course you can: you are you, they are they. I don’t care what they think about us or you: what I want to do is pass time with the real you, not with a mask” whispered back Akira, his eyes locked on Samai’s face, as if thinking that they should have restarted what they were obliged to interrupt yesterday. Then, Samai, blushing, made some steps back, leaned forward and asked, a bit embarrassed, “Then, can I make you a selfish request?”

“Sure: ask whatever you want”.

“Since we both have the day off today, why don’t we go… why don’t we go on a date?”

That request surprised Akira: Samai wanted to go on a date with him? Well, he would have asked her the same thing – that was also why he wanted to see her, as, from the evening before, he had that thought in the back of his mind - so it was a win-win situation for them, but what really surprised him was her evolution. She went from escaping when he saw him to talking to him with a few phrases and a lot of silence to open up to him and, finally, to show him another side of her character and to ask him out. The shy Samai seemed like it had been mixed with an extrovert personality, a result that, at least for Akira, was more provocative than anything else. The answer to that question was in any case obvious, and so he just professed the words that he was now ready to say.

“Are you really asking me out on a date?”

“Yes, is… is that strange?” replied Samai, with a disarrayed face, not expecting that reaction from him. Still, in front of that spectacle, Akira showed off his sweet and somewhat warm smile and really told her what he wanted to say to her.

“Of course it is not strange, Samai: it’s just that I am happy that you were thinking the same thing as me. Of course I want to go on a date with you”.

That response made Samai beam with happiness, in a way that made Akira remember when he asked for Makoto’s cell phone number and she gave it to him. It was clearly not the same smile, but the energy they emanated was the same. She probably also wanted to embrace him, as he saw that she was tempted to move her arms forward, but she restrained herself and instead said “Perfect! Now I have to change and then we’ll be ready to start our day together”.

“Oh, then I am going to wait for you outside” replied Akira, heading towards the door.

“Why? If you want, you can stay here…” said Samai, with a shy but at the same time provocative gaze.

“I sure can, but you wanted to have a date, right? If you do that, the only thing we are going to have is going to be a home date, something a bit different, no?”

That phrase made Samai laugh, probably also to hide the embarrassment that probably that offer made arise in her, and she was followed in that by Akira, who then left the room and waited for her down in the hall, not wanting to put any hurry on her. There, he waited patiently for what seemed to be an eternity but in reality were just a few minutes, thinking about what to do on that date and also about the irony of that situation: he was going to go out with the same person he told the story of his love life to, professing his love for Makoto. Maybe he asked him on a date because she had nothing better to do or because she considered him a friend, but, normally, a date is a romantic experience, so that meant that she felt something more for him. Hence why the irony; he was going out with a person that knew about the strong love he felt in life and that probably had some feelings for him. Still, he also remembered saying another thing, this time to himself: he would have gone forward, no matter what, without letting his past chain him up anymore. That was the perfect occasion to see if he was capable of doing that. While thinking about all of these things, he heard the sounds of steps coming from the stairs, so he turned over to see if Samai had finished preparing. And, what he saw there, on the stairs, was a goddess. Her long black hair was covering a bit of her neck and of her back, while the front of her figure was made of a aquamarine dress, not too long yet not too short, decorated by a series of elaborated drawings of lines and such that gave the idea of something that would have hypnotized you if you stared at it for too long, just like the figure that was wearing it. Plus, at the lower end of the dress, which was frilly and looked like a skirt, a little white cloth exited from the right part of the dress, making it a little longer on that part while highlighting her legs. At her feet she wore a pair of white high-heel shoes that made her a bit higher than what she normally was, making her almost reach Akira’s height, but that probably made it difficult for her to walk normally, as he didn’t think she was used to wear them, being a maid who needs to do things in the least time possible. Her face was radiant, emanating an aura of happiness and joy that was a delight to see, and Akira could see from that that she also used a bit of makeup, her lips being covered by a faint red lipstick, her eyelashes made stronger thanks to the use of mascara, and probably some other areas had been interested by that action. Still, it seemed like the makeup she applied was really minimal, which gave her face a natural look even if she used artificial makeups to make her look even more gorgeous than what she was normally. Thankfully, no one else was in the hall to admire that spectacle: it was a vision made only and only for Akira, who enjoyed every second of it. When she got near him, the first thing Akira said to her was a simple yet effective “You are beautiful, Samai: more than I can ever describe by words”, which made her blush a little and smile, saying that she was happy he said that and that it was worth preparing herself like that if that was his response. Then, their date started. They went having breakfast – even though Akira already had it – in a café nearby, a lovely shop that was known to be a normal stop-over for couples during dates. Akira wanted to use a carriage for their movements, but Samai insisted that she wanted to walk alongside Akira for the whole date, just the two of them. There, they ate the famous chocolate cake that the local was so proud of and, when Akira saw the look of delight on Samai’s face when she ate a piece of that cake, he couldn’t help but smile, seeing how normal she was even in that beautiful attire which made Akira a bit cautious, as if she was something too beautiful to be real. Then, they walked under the trees that were to be found along every road in Zuvaskja, sometimes chatting about meaningless things but, for the majority of the time, just enjoying each other’s company while being one near the other, their shoulders touching more often than not. They stopped various times, wanting to try everything that Zuvaskja had to offer and that in the morning referred specifically to eating places, with a lot of street food stalls that sold some of the most known delicatessen of the country. It was surely strange to see a stunning lady and an elegant yet somewhat normal man stopping to stalls and eating street food, but they were free to do what they wanted during their date, and that was what they were doing: exercising their freedom of action. When midday came, they stopped in order to eat at a restaurant where they served the best boar meat dishes in all of the city and even then they enjoyed, more than the food and the place, to look at each other, admiring the other like it was a rare object that was to be destroyed when that date ended. They then went around the centre of the city during the afternoon, going to shops, making both of them try clothes that they would have liked to see on the other, stopping by a library to examine the books it had and to buy each other a gift to see if they could guess the taste of the other one… they did what a couple normally does in these occasion: staying together while doing unimportant things, enjoying each other’s company at the fullest. Then, evening came around, and it was slowly starting to get time to return home, after that delightful and fortunate day of relax and bonding. Still, they remained where they were, sitting on a bench in a park that was to be found around the centre of the town, near the inn where Akira stayed the first time he arrived in that city. Samai’s head was placed on Akira’s chest, while he was gently stroking her hair with his hand, her face transmitting the sense of peace that that action brought her and Akira’s one emitting an aura of happiness for the possibility of doing that. Then, Samai looked in his eyes.

“Did you enjoy our date together, Akira?”

“Of course I did: having the possibility to be near a beautiful creature such as you would make every man on this planet happy. Still, I probably should be the one asking if you enjoyed this date, considering that you were the one inviting me, so you probably had expectations, or something like that”.

“Exactly because I asked you out I wanted to know if you enjoyed it. For me, it would have been enjoyable no matter what we did: we would have been together, that was what I wanted”.

Then, silence fell on the two of them, while they were intensively looking at each other’s eyes like they were trying to see the soul of the other one. Then, Samai lifted up and sat on the bench, while Akira made her space, then she turned towards him, her face giving a serious vibe, even though she was still smiling.

“Listen, Akira. I want to say something to you, something that I’ve been thinking about a lot in the last weeks”.

After making that interlude, seeing that Akira was listening to her, she went on.

“When you first came, you were just another stranger for me, another person that could hurt me. But then, you talked to me, trying to make me feel at ease, and then I saw you near Priscilla, acting like a mix of a teacher and an older brother when you were with her. That made me understand that you weren’t going to hurt me, and that was when I started talking to you. But then, when you saved us from that hitman, I felt something inside of me, something I never felt in my entire life. And the thing is that I started feeling that even before that night, like something awakened in me without me knowing it. Then, you collapsed, and I stayed by your side for the whole time, trying to come to terms with what I was feeling. Then, you woke up, and my happiness was immeasurable: I was so happy to see you were alive, and in those three weeks I found the answer I was searching for. And I understood that it was exactly that when I opened up to you after your confession: I never talked openly about my past with no one, just like you, so I knew that there was something special in you that made me do that. And now… now I know how I really feel about you, what is that strange feeling that lingered in me for so long”. Then, she stopped and, looking straight into Akira’s eyes, with a blushing face, she said what she really wanted to say.

“Akira, I… I think I love you… when you are near me, you give me a feeling of happiness that disappears when you go away. When I am in my bed, I think about you, and it makes me feel strange. Even this morning, when I said that I was thinking while in bed, I was thinking about you. This is the first time I have ever felt like this for someone… so, please, Akira… I know you already met your soulmate, and you lost it, but please… will you love me like I love you?”

Those words sunk into Akira’s heart like it was a pillow made of roses: those words were so sweet, so pure, that Akira had to hold himself back from kissing her on the spot, as he wanted to first answer her.

“Samai… I may have lost my soulmate in my life, but that doesn’t mean I am not able to love anymore, or to fall in love with someone anymore. I have to say, from when I firsts saw you, I felt a sort of interest in you: you seemed to me like a scared kitty, someone that needed the help of another person to get out of her shell. How ironic: now that I think about it, the roles have inverted. I was the one in need of someone that could pull me out of my shell, and, when I needed that, you were there, helping me. I think that, from when I talked to you about my past and so did you, I started realising that I had already started to move on with my life, because there was someone for which I cared. Because I started caring about you. Samai… I love you, with my whole heart. So, yes: I will love you like no one else, until I am alive on this earth”.

Then, the two of them took the cheek of the other with their hand, and, after slowly getting their faces one near the other, looking deeply in the eyes of the other, they closed their eyes and kissed, a kiss so passionate, so fierce, that the two of them felt like they were one, like their breath was shared, as well as their heart beat. Then, after seconds that seemed to be like an eternity, they separated, a sweet smile on each other’s lips. After that, they stayed like that, kissing and cuddling, for a bit, until the sunshine started to disappear, at which they started going towards the Natò residence, hand in hand. Then, while the orange shade of the sun was slowly starting to succumb to the dark blue and black of the night, on the front door of the house, they gave each other a goodnight kiss, not feeling ready to immediately take the next step that comes with a relationship. And so, between those shades of colours, the love of two new lovers and the silence of a calm night, an uneventful day of relax passed, a break from the bad events that surrounded the last weeks.