Oxytocin (Medicinal Love Book One) FIRST DRAFT ONLY

Chapter 7

She dropped off Prada in the house, then sprinted back over towards the smoky condo. Aija knocked a bit and was surprised to see the door was already somewhat open. She peeked in and seeing that nobody was in the living room of the house, crept in saying, "Hello?" Since nobody answered, Aija decided to take the plunge and ran into the kitchen where there was a pot full of burned rice. She turned off the eye on the stove, put the pot in the sink, and filled it with water. A slight hiss sounded from the pan but thankfully Aija still didn't notice anybody come in.  She turned the water off and when she turned around she jumped slightly, seeing a Golden Retriever watching her every move.

"Good dog..." she whispered, hoping that it was nice.

Its tail wagged and feeling good about the gesture, she managed to get past it without confrontation. "Good Boy." She repeated reaching out to touch the velvety golden fur on its head. The dog whined and licked her hand and Aija pointed toward the bedroom. "Go lay down." She blinked as the dog did what it was told, walking to the back bedroom. Whoever trained this dog was A+ in Aija's book.

Now that she felt that the danger had passed, Aija turned to walk back to her house. She then saw a notepad near the phone and grabbed it, writing a quick note to inform the neighbor what had happened. Aija then crept out the same way she came in.

"Now that I prevented an oncoming disaster..." Aija mused to herself as she walked back inside her house. "...time for a nice warm shower." She strolled to the bathroom, shedding her sweat-drenched sports bra.

<<<<< >>>>

After what seemed like hours, Hikaru opened his eyes and immediately jumped up crying out, "Shit! The rice!"  He hadn't meant to sleep so long and now he ran through the house noticing Yume jumping out of his way with a startled yelp. "Gomen, Yume!" Hikaru exclaimed as he entered the kitchen, frowning then when he saw the burnt rice in the sink. Hikaru scratched his head, wondering if he had done some unknown sleepwalking, but then he noticed a note next to the stove with some very delicate handwriting on it. He picked it up, rubbing his eyes. What he read made them widen:

Hello, neighbor! I'm Aija Edwards from

across the hall. I noticed some smoke coming from your patio and your

door was open so I came in to turn off your stove. Everything should

be all right now so I hope you don't mind. If you have any questions feel free

to come by.

Have a great day!

That can't be who I think that is... Hikaru thought in slight realization as he looked at his front door.

Could it?

Having no choice but to find out, Hikaru immediately rushed out of his door and across the hall. He knocked on the door and waited patiently then heard, "One moment, please."

Even the voice sounded familiar. Hikaru felt his heart thumping wildly in anxiety. The door opened and there stood the woman who had been plaguing his thoughts all night and day. His breath left him in a rush.

Aija's eyes widened, full of shock. "Hikaru?"

"...Aija."

Aija looked around in confusion and asked, "What are you doing here? How did you find my house?"