Addicted to the payoff

The next few days were lovely, nearly back to normal, even. The only problem was that their label was even more smudged than before. Such occasions could only resolve using one remedy. Girl-talk, according to Kimiko's calculations. So, that night she let Makoto know that she'd be visiting a friend so he wouldn't wait up for her if he got tired.

Stepping into the high-end club and past the line of hopefuls, Kimiko wore a silky red dress, fit snug like a glove. The name dropped was Shima, Tora. Behind the bar, the short-haired brunette shook a silver mixer. The cash nestled in her bosom fluttered but didn't stray from the shiny tank top.

“Oh my god, Kimiko!!” She called out with a wave after serving the drink.

The redhead smiled and approached the bar step by step, overwhelmed by the dense crowd. "Excuse me, sorry, um, excuse me."

“You three, make room for my friend here.” Tora said, waving them off like wayward cattle, which gave Kimiko room to have a seat of her own.

“Whatcha doin’ here girly? Haven’t seen you in a while.” Tora chuckled, her hand on her hip and a bar-towel over her shoulder.

“Oh you know, boy trouble.” Kimiko said.

“When are they not?” Tora winked. “Don’t worry, we can talk in a sec, it’ll die down in a few I swear.” She assured, although Kimiko knew that meant she'd wait at least thirty minutes. Tora’s talent for estimating time was about as good as an hourglass filled with marbles.

With a soft kick of her feet, Kimiko waited for her friend, completely unaware that a man was looking at her.

“Haven’t seen you around.” He said, his voice as smooth as his velvet tie.

Still, the woman’s blinders were snug on her head.

“Uh… miss?” He moved his head to the side to get her attention. Classically handsome man, if a bit older than Daichi. He had a black samurai ponytail and an expensive yet modern suit.

“Oh? Did you need something?” Kimiko asked, her voice a constant coating of honey.

He chuckled deeply. “Just your attention.”

She tilted her head curiously. “What for?”

He shook his head with amusement then stood up. “I wish I could stay to show you, but I’ve got someplace to be. Here.” He slipped her a business card. “If you’re interested.”

Kimiko eyed the elegant piece of expensive paper. “Okay, thanks!”

Once he left, she read the card. “Hm! A publishing company. Am I really that obvious?” She asked, being an avid reader herself.

“More like oblivious.” Tora snickered, walking back over to Kimiko's side of the bar after serving her last customer for a while. “He was coming on to you."

"He was?" She asked, as if she’d been told her skirt was put on backward.

Tora rolled her eyes with a smile, then leaned toward her against the bar. "Yes. How do you attract all the wealthy types anyway?” Tora grinned, one elbow resting on the counter.

“I um didn't realize I did.”

"Yeah, and I could use a few tips." Tora chuckled, tossing a few bar nuts in her mouth. “Now that I think of it, it’s probably the naivety that makes ‘em think you’ll be easy to please.”

“But… I am.” Kimiko said with some shame.

“You are, but not in the way that would be easy for guys like that. You’re the kind of girl that wants a man who writes poems for you.”

“Not… necessarily.” She said with a guilty smile.

“Oh right. You like Daichi right? Well, used to.”

“You haven’t been watching the stream too, have you?” Kimiko asked, a pot of anxiety brewing inside.

Tora shrugged. “Just the ‘Best Bits' compilation.”

The pink in Kimiko’s skin lost three shades of tint in under a second. “There’s… compilations?”

Tora winced. “Yeah… sorry. And uh, there’s some pretty weird ones too.”

Kimiko's head lowered notch by notch. Her friend placed a clean rolled towel down before she thumped down in distress. “My life is a mess. I wanted to marry Makoto the moment I first met him. I mean, how desperate can I get?”

“Nah, you’re not desperate.” Tora paused, hand on hip. “Well, maybe a little. But it wasn’t like it was without any reason. You liked him and you’ve been ready to get married since you were five. Sometimes you can’t help who you like.”

“I guess.” Kimiko sighed, then sat up again, her elbows on the counter, holding up her cheeks. “With me and Makoto… I can’t tell what we are anymore.”

“Pfft, you wouldn’t be the first girl.”

“Hm?” Kimiko looked at her friend with worry, and it made Tora falter for a moment. They’d been friends for years, but often Tora still forgot to hold back her bluntness with Kimiko.

“Well... I’ve seen him here before. He usually flirts with the first pretty girl who gives him attention then heads off with them.”

A darkened arrow shot straight through Kimiko's chest. She knew Makoto was non-committal and likely went out with much more people than she did, but to hear it out loud? It was… different.

Kimiko clasped her hands together under the counter. It was hard to breathe and she hoped someone would just turn the air back on. Luckily Tora didn't let her suffer for long.

“But the good news is, one of my friends told me that he came in not long ago. A woman flirted with him but he pretty much ignored her. I don’t know, maybe he is stuck on you.”

“You think so?” Kimiko asked, her wounds slowly patching up.

“Could be. It’s just…” Tora ran her hands through her hair with a sharp intake of breath. “I’ve seen a lot of guys like him. They usually relapse, and I don’t want you to end up crying on this counter like all the others.”

“Well... I guess technically I’m engaged to Daichi anyway.” Kimiko mumbled. “He sent me another text today. He says he wants to meet with me tomorrow night.”

“Oh god.” Tora rolled her eyes, lacking affection this time. “You’re not actually gonna do it are you?”

“Mm…" Kimiko hesitated, knowing Tora wouldn't like her answer. "The thing is, Daichi’s been my friend for so long, I ought to at least give him the chance to-”

“Kimiko. Really?”

“Just let me handle this okay? I’m not as docile as I seem.”

She said that, but all Tora saw was an adorable itty-bitty bunny showing tiny blunt teeth and a carrot for a weapon.

“Uh…huh.” Tora folded her arms. “So, are you gonna keep pursuing Makoto?”

“Eh? I haven’t been. He told me he didn’t want to have a relationship and I-”

“So you haven’t dressed up for him at all, haven’t been extra sweet or forgiving, none of that?”

“Well, I uh…”

“Clingy?”

“I’m not clingy.”

“Ain’t that the biggest lie of the century? Your nickname ought to be static!”

“No, because static can hurt people with little shocks on their fingers and I don’t-”

“Nakano, Kimiko.”

“I know! Okay?” Kimiko folded her arms on top of the counter and pressed her head against them. “It’s a problem.” Her voice was muffled.

Tora put a gentle hand on her back to comfort her. “It’s always the boys with the long hair and unhealthy coping mechanisms isn’t it?”

Kimiko shook her head and sat upright. “No. Not this time." Her small fists tapped on the counter for emphasis. "I’ll be better than that! From now on I'll only date men who are mature and express their feelings with kindness. Clear communicators only!”

“Is this your way of coming out? Because…” Tora teased.

thump

Kimiko’s head landed on the counter again.

Once she made it back home, the apartment was dark. Feeling worried, Kimiko checked her phone.

Went to the store brb :-)

Instant relief. Kimiko both loved and hated the happy warmth that pooled in her stomach from reading the message. He really was trying for her.

Was that why she liked boys like him? Was it more rewarding to have someone do something especially for you? Something they weren’t used to doing? Why did it feel better to have a man show affection when he was so desperate to hide it?

She sighed. Maybe those guys were right about her. She was pretty easy to please.

Slipping the phone back into her pocket, she went about her nightly routine.

Makoto opened the door but was only greeted by an invitation of empty darkness. He looked around. “Kimiko?”

The wind wisped through the apartment like a ghostly howl. “Kimi?” He repeated, looking around. His breath hitched. Did she leave me?

“Are you asleep?”

He knocked on the bedroom door but it swayed open without a Kimiko in sight.

He went to the tent and lifted up the sheet. “Kimiko?”

There sat Kimiko with her knees to her chest in an old oversized anime t-shirt, eating out of an applesauce pouch, her earbuds snug in her ears. Two big eyes blinked back at him. “Eeeep! I didn’t know you were here yet! Don’t look at me!” She grabbed her blanket and pulled it over her head. (Though she did take out her earbuds while under there at least.)

Makoto breathed a dense sigh of relief. "As if I didn't learn my lesson already. I'm never going to leave without a text again. I can’t even handle two minutes." He said, then crawled under the tent. “You look cute. Why're you hiding?"

Her head peeked out in a bob, her hair fuzzy from the blanket. “Cute?”

“Yeah, cute.” He repeated.

“Not cute like those anime girls…” She mumbled.

“Huh?”

“Yeah, the ones with the big…” She paused, looked to the side then back to him. “Personalities?”

Makoto chuckled.

“You know. Women with the perfect everything?” She said. “Like the girls you… used to date?”

Makoto’s expression softened then. “They were far from perfect, and so am I.” He said gently.

“I’m just talking about looks though.”

“What makes you think I’m not?”

“W-Well it’s just… when I was in school people used to make fun of me. I had big round glasses and two tight braids and gaps in my teeth too.”

“Sounds adorable. Got any pictures?” He asked slyly, leaning back against the couch.

Kimiko squeaked. “No way!” She shook her head. “The point is, that although I don’t look like that anymore I… I don’t know. I’m not the type of girl that everyone stares at when she walks in a room.”

“Mmm… that's not true.” Makoto said matter of factly. “I notice you, and whether it’s a good thing or not, other guys do too.”

"If that's the case then… how come the first time you compliment me is when I’m like this?”

Makoto looked completely bewildered. “Like what?”

Kimiko fiddled with the ends of her gym shorts then scrunched up her body into a ball. Somehow, defeated.

Makoto scooped her up into his arms like a forklift, blanket and all. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been close enough with a girl to see her without her makeup on.” He admitted.

The little hedgehog girl uncurled and looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I never lived with a girl before, never let her stay at my house, and never had one who’d want me to stay over at her’s. Or, if she did, I’d find some reason not to.” He explained.

“Really? Why?”

“I think I went after women I didn’t really care for so I wouldn’t be upset when we inevitably didn’t end up together.” He said.

“Oh, I see.” Kimiko said, deciding to let herself cuddle against his chest. She could practically hear Tora yelling at her for relapsing so easily. “So then… what about me?”

“Well…” Makoto mused, slight mischief in his eyes. “Guess you’ll just have to find out.”