After buying some puppy essentials: food, collar, leash, bed, and a few toys, we left the puppy at the vet to make sure it had all its shots. I didn't want to leave my 'child' alone, but I knew I had to.
Naoto: "Why are you moping?" Naoto asked while driving.
Layla: "I'm not moping. I'm just thinking about Mochi." I said, sinking into the passenger seat.
Naoto: "The dessert?" he asked, confused.
Layla: "No, the puppy. I named it Mochi." I said happily.
Naoto: "No, no, you can't name the dog that." He said with a bit of disdain in his voice. "It's a male dog if you're going to name it, it needs a stronger name." He said, posing his argument.
Layla: "Why not? I like it. It fits him well. Plus, it's way better than naming it 'dog'". I argued my point. "What kind of name is 'dog' anyway?" I scoffed.
Naoto: "Mochi is way too cutesy of a name. He needs something manlier like Oscar or Daichi. How about Max?" he asked.
Layla: "Max...Really?" I questioned his choice. "That has to be the most common dog name I've ever heard. I would have expected a bit more creativity from a designer, but I guess not." I said, taking a jab at him. "How about this? I'll call him Mochi, and you can call him Max." I said, proposing a compromise.
Naoto: "Won't that confuse him?" he asked.
Layla: "Well, I'm technically only going to be with him for three days, so he should be fine," I said, reasoning with myself.
Naoto didn't respond. He just grunted to himself, before sighing. He continued to drive with a slightly disgruntled look on his face. I just figured he was grumpy with the name, Mochi.
I turned my attention from Naoto to the window to watch the buildings as we drove through the city. I sat quietly, taking in the scenery until I saw a store I desperately needed.
Layla: "Oh, a shoe store, I need to go there! I've got to get some sneakers before I go to see Sato."
Naoto: "Why do you need sneakers for that? We are just going to collect your bag."
Layla: "Yeah, I know, but Sato always finds a way to make me dance whenever we meet."
Naoto "Really? He's not that bad," he said, coming to Sato's defense.
I looked over at him with a look letting him know it was that bad.
Naoto: "Nevermind then. We should probably go get you some sneakers." He said, making a U-turn.
As soon as he pulled up to the curb outside the store, I unbuckled my seatbelt, not wasting any time.
Layla: "Okay, I'll be right back." I said, one foot already out the door.
Naoto: "I'm coming with you." he said, turning off the engine.
Layla: "Really?" I asked.
Naoto: "Yeah, just let me make a call." he said, picking up his phone.
Layla: Ummmm...ok." I said, putting my foot back in the car before I closed the door.
I waited silently, listening to the line ring as he made his call.
Naoto: "Hey, I'm heading into a few stores on the strip." he said into the phone. "Yeah," he said, then hung up the phone.
Layla: "Ready?" I asked.
Naoto: "No, not yet. Just give it a minute." he said, looking over at me.
Layla: "Okay," I said, slightly confused as to why we were waiting, but instead of asking, I just slunk back into the seat and waited until he was ready.
We sat in silence for a bit before he spoke again.
Naoto: "Okay, we can go in now." he said, getting out of the car.
Layla: "Oh, now? Okay, I'm coming." I said, startled by his sudden cue before he left the car. I quickly followed him as he B-lined to the doors of the store.
When we entered, a sales associate met us at the door. My eyes wandered around the room, as Naoto and the young woman spoke. Strangely enough, the store had no customers, just two other employees, excluding the lady that meet us at the door. It probably wouldn't have felt so strange if I hadn't noticed that there were customers in the store just before Naoto did a U-turn. Before my mind could speculate, the lady led us upstairs to a better selection of sneakers.
After taking a few sneakers, we liked off there displays. There was a nice pile of shoes in the middle of the display room. The stark contrast between our taste in sneakers was evident. All the ones I chose were as plain as they could get, and Naoto's looked like some on dropped a bag of skittles. As I tried on a few pairs, Naoto watched me, trying to gauge my reaction. I assumed Naoto got tired of my indecisive nature because, after a while, he disappeared. After trying on what felt like a thousand pairs of sneakers, Naoto walked back into the room with a box.
Naoto: "Thank you for your help. I don't think we need to look around anymore." he said to a sales associate before he walked over to me.
"Yes sir, we'll start putting back the shoes." She bowed then gestured to the rest of the employees to come in.
Layla: "I'm sorry I wasted your time. I think I'll buy these." I said, looking down at the last pair I tried on.
The pair I had on wasn't my style, but I needed sneakers, and I didn't want to waste any more of Naoto's time.
Naoto: "Is that all you think about when you're with me?" He briefly paused. "Wasting my time?" He asked, sounding almost dishearted at the thought.
I couldn't disagree with what he said, but agreeing just seemed so sad. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I retreated to my fail-safe, folding my lips.
Naoto just smiled and shook his head.
Naoto: "Here, I think you'll like this." He said, handing me the box he had in his hand.
I opened the box, and a smile slowly crept across my face.
Naoto: "Go on, try them on, see how they fit." he encouraged me.
I quickly slipped off the pair I was wearing and try on the ones he gave me. My smile grew even more as I admired them in the mirror. They were perfect.
Naoto: "I'm guessing you like them." He said, looking at me.
Layla: "I do. How did you know what I'd like?" I asked curiously.
I hadn't been around Naoto long enough for him to know my likes and dislikes or so I thought. It took my ex almost a year to remember my favorite color, let alone pick clothes out for me. Damn near impressed, I waited for Naoto to tell me how he chose these sneakers.
Naoto: "That's easy. I looked for a pair that were like you." He paused briefly. "You aren't the type of person that likes to stand out in the crowd, which I find amusing because of how beautiful you are. It's hard not to notice you." He paused, looking at me. "I looked for something that quickly caught my eyes without yelling at me."
I smiled at his response. Even though I'm sure he wasn't trying to flatter me, it still made me giddy. I walked around, testing the sneakers out, trying not to smile too much.
Naoto: "Try them out, give me a little something. See if they are comfortable to dance in." He said, coaxing me to dance.
Layla: "No, they're great. I don't need to dance in them." I said, sitting to take them off.
Naoto: "Oh, come on now, show me a little something," He said, making me stand again. "Excuse me, could you turn the volume up a bit louder," Naoto asked one of the employees.
A young man bowed and 'scurried' away.
Layla: "Naoto, we can't just dance in here." I said, trying to deter him before the music that played as ambiance raised louder.
Naoto: "Who said we couldn't?" He asked, bobbing to the music.
Layla: "Naoto." I said, 'stoned-face' before he started to do the prep.
I burst out laughing as he pulled out all the old school hip-hop moves the matched the vibe to the song that played.
Naoto: "Oh, I get it. You're just scared that you're about to get schooled. I get it." He said, teasing me. "It's okay if you're scared, I understand." He said, doing the running man.
I burst out laughing, unable to stay composed as he danced around me.
Layla: "Who's scared?" I said as I began to 'rebook' to the beat.
Naoto: "Hey, there we go." he said, following me.
We danced around the room, incorporating old 90's hip-hop moves. Our dance party moved downstairs, as Naoto slid down the rail to the main floor of the store. There wasn't a dance move we didn't do. We cabbaged patched, roger-rabbitted, and 'kid'n'played' all over the store. During the song, there was a little dance break where Naoto and I began to 'milly- rock.' Throughout the whole song, it felt like we were both on the same wavelength. It felt good, dancing with Naoto always did. He had a way of making me forget anyone was around. This time was no different. It slipped my mind that there were other people in the store until I heard the applause of the employees after our dance ended. Naoto and I bowed, thanking the employees for there applauses, then he gave me a high five as we caught our breath.
Naoto: "So, what do you think? Do you like them?" He asked, looking at my shoes.
Layla: "I told you before they were perfect." I smiled.
Naoto: "Good, then shall we go." He said, heading to the door.
Layla: "Oh, wait! I have to pay for the shoes." I turned back.
Naoto: "No need. I already paid for them." he said, still walking towards the door.
Layla: "What...how...when?" I asked.
Naoto: "Don't worry about that." he chuckled to himself.
Layla: "Oh, you're sneaky."
Naoto: "Don't worry, you'll come to love it. It's one of my best qualities." he said, looking back at me, smiling.
Layla: "Really?" I said doubtfully.
Naoto: "Yup. That and I'm terrible at naming dogs." he smiled.
I laughed, remembering his inability to name his new puppy. I followed Naoto to the door, thinking about how much he made me smile.
The moment we exited the store, I froze. Flashing lights and a wave of faces greeted us like a punch to the stomach. Instantly shellshocked by the crowd, my heart paused briefly. Like learned behaviour from Takanori, I panicked. It felt like I jumped clean out of my skin and was already halfway to the car by the time I blinked. Without a second thought, I shouted the only two words that came to mind.
Layla: "Naoto, run!" I yelled before running.
Channeling my Usan Bolt, I turned on my heels to run. My 10-yard dash was thwarted by an arm that held me in place right above my elbow. Naoto stood looking at me, confused, as he held my arm.
Naoto: "Layla, why are you running? Does it look like someone's chasing you?" he asked, looking from me to the crowd.
Quickly scanning my surroundings, I realized five large men were holding back the crowd.
Layla: "Oh, I guess not." I barely whispered, feeling slightly foolish for trying to run.
Naoto: "Let's go into another store until everything calms down." he said, taking my hand after putting himself between me and his fans.
Layla: "Okay." I agreed.
Despite the boisterous crowd, Naoto walked with me, unfazed. Freshly ruffled feathers and in a slight daze, Naoto held my hand, guiding me to another store. His surreal calmness in this situation threw me. He was completely unbothered by his fans yelling his name and snapping pictures of us walking hand in hand. My mind harped on the uncertainty of how negatively he would be affected by being seen with me like this.
My poker face was obviously not as good as I thought it was because as soon as we entered the tint glass doors of the store, Naoto pulled me to the side and put me up against a wall. He tilted my chin up to look into my eyes. I looked at him, watching as his mouth move, unable to quite catch what he was saying. My mind was still foggy.
Naoto: "Layla." He said as soon as I could comprehend what he was saying. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.
Layla: "Huh...me? Yeah, why do you ask?" I asked, somewhat out of breath.
Naoto: "You're shaking, and you're breathing heavily?" he said.
I looked down at my hands that shook uncontrollably.
Layla: "Oh..." I said, putting them behind my back.
Naoto: "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you through that." he apologized.
Layla: "It's okay. I'm fine." I said, trying to convince us both. "Of course, I'm a bit more shaken than stirred." I cracked a joke to ease his worry. "But believe it or not, I'm more worried about what's going to happen to you. Your fans are going to have a frenzy, not to mention how your publicist is going to react." I said worriedly.
Naoto: "You're shaking, and yet you've found time to worry about me? You amaze me." He shook his head. "Are you only ever worried about me?" he asked.
Layla: "Shouldn't I be? You have more to lose."
Naoto slightly shook his head before holding my shaking hands in his.
Naoto: "I appreciate you worrying, but there's no need. If I'm not worried, you shouldn't be." He paused before speaking again." The call I made before we left the car was to make sure that the stores were 'cleared out' so we wouldn't have any disturbances while we shopped. I hired bodyguards, so I don't have to worry about fans. I have a publicist to take care of any bad press." He explained. "I also pay him very well, so I'm not too concerned about his reaction." He said straight to the point. "The only person I'm concerned about is you. I didn't factor in that you would have been overwhelmed by the crowd. That should have been the first thing I thought about before I decided to go out with you. I apologize," he said, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hands as he held them.
Layla: "Don't apologize, I'll be better next time. From what I'm hearing, the only way to be calm in that situation is for you to put me on your payroll like everyone else." I joked, and he let out a slight chuckle. "Look. See, I'm better now." I said, holding my hands up to show him I had stopped shaking. "There's no reason to worry about me." I smiled.
Naoto looked at me for a bit. Then he put his hand on my cheek before he partially smiled.
Naoto: "Okay. Did you want to look around, or did you want to go to another store?"
Layla: "We can look around. " I said before we walked further into the store.