After a tragic accident tears apart their friendship group, once best friends Kenji and Darian have never gotten along.
Kenji thinks Darian is a goon who has nothing better to do than cause trouble and terrorize others. Darian, on the other h...
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I stood outside the door watching Darian get out of his car. I smiled as he made his way over to me with his lips curling up into a smile of his own.
"Hey," I said while grabbing onto his collar.
"Less talking, more kissing." His lips were soon on mine, and I was quick to reciprocate. He wrapped his arms around my middle, almost encasing me in his grasp, and I teased him with a lips-only kiss.
Right when I opened my mouth to grant him access, a voice said, "You guys do know adults are in the house, right?" Darian and I pulled away, and we glanced back at Honoka.
"Glad to see you, too, Honoka," Darian replied with a coy demeanor.
"Hey, Darian," she greeted before turning her attention to me. "Don't make Otou-san wait too long. He's already hesitant."
She turned around and walked back inside. Shit. She was right. Tou-san may have allowed Darian to come to the barbecue, but that didn't mean his guard was down.
Darian and I walked into the house, and as we removed our shoes at the genkan, I said, "You have to be on your best behavior."
Darian frowned. "I'm not a toddler, you know. I can behave." He sent me a mischievous look as we picked up our shoes after removing them. "But I can also be very bad."
"Stop," I groaned. "You're going to get us both in trouble."
"You're acting like your dad is a teacher, Kenji. Relax." He patted my back as we walked through the house, which was now filled with obnoxious barking.
Thank goodness Caroline locked those little monsters upstairs in her and my mother's room. Unfortunately, that didn't make them mute.
Then I stopped, and Darian did as well. "You're not a dog person, are you, Darian?"
Last I remembered, he wasn't, but things had changed. I couldn't assume.
Darian snorted. "Me?" he asked while pointing to himself. "I can barely maintain relationships with humans. How the hell am I going to make time for some animal?"
I grinned. "Good answer. Let's go." I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led the way. "I'm gonna try to relax and trust that you'll not fuck this up."
"It's my way of believing in you," I added as we got onto the patio, and the wonderful smell of yakitori filled my nostrils. Darian and I put our shoes back on. "Oh, and just a heads up. There will be no burgers or hotdogs at this barbecue. There will be all kinds of meat and vegetables, and my mom is even cooking rice in the kitchen."
