Sipping water, casually strolling with Naoto as we talked, felt good. The cool breeze of the night helped sober me up and gave the night a pleasant atmosphere. Naoto and I spoke about our first impression of each other and what felt like a million other things. Skipping around from topic to topic, we landed on our childhoods. Unwilling to dampen the mood, I strategically maneuvered around my more unpleasant memories, relaying the good ones which were mostly with my parents. Not wanting to cry in front of Naoto, again, I forced myself not to get too comfortable with him. Naoto was so easy to talk to, and I knew I would share something I wasn't ready to share as yet if I wasn't careful. We went back and forth, sharing our memories, giggling at each other's silly moments. After asking about his parents, he told me they were quite traditional, but he mostly talked about his mom. A sweet smile crept across his face as he told me stories about her.
Naoto: "Actually, she used to work not too far from here, maybe a block or so." He said, finishing off a story he was telling me.
Layla: "Really?"
Naoto: "Yeah, there was a park near it where I used to play with my friends until she was off from work. I have a lot of memories in that park." he said, thinking back. "From primary school until the end of secondary school, I made a lot of good memories with my friends. Especially during the summertime, Koda, one of my friends, used to work there. There was a secret entrance in the back of the park, that he had made. A group of us would use it to hang out in the park after dark."
Layla: *Gasp* "So you're telling me I'm walking with a criminal." I said, teasing him. "Oh my, what will my mother think?" I joked.
Naoto: "Yes, you are." he laughed. "They say girls like bad boys," he said, jokingly popping his collar to look cool.
Layla: "Yeah, well, those are girls. I'm a lady. I like my men responsibly rebellious." I kidded, stopping to fix his collar.
Naoto: "Is that so?" He smiled mischievously. "So, Miss Kato, do you want to be a bit rebellious with me."
Layla: "I might. It depends. What do you have in mind?" I asked, slightly curious.
Naoto: " Come on, I'll show you." he said, taking my hand.
After jogging through the streets like a couple of teenagers, we arrived at the entrance of a closed park.
Layla: "I guess our field trip is over for the day." I said, looking at the chained up entrance.
Naoto: "Not quite." Naoto said, before grabbing my hand again.
Walking around to a shifty-looking part of the park, behind a few bushes, was a plank of wood blocking a portion of the fence. After moving the wood, Naoto pulled back the clipped wire so we both could sashay through.
Layla: "We must be insane." I said, looking at Naoto. "Are we really trespassing?"
Naoto: "Yup." he said, amused. "In all honesty, I'm surprised that this entrance is still here," he said, looking back at it.
Layla: "I'm guessing no one is looking for a hole in the wall when it comes to a park." I said, realizing how ridiculous we were right now. "We are terrible criminals. Next time we should do something noteworthy like rob a bank or something." I joked.
Naoto: "If you pick the bank, I'll bring the masks." he said, playing along with my joke.
As we walk through the park, he told me some stories about his time in the park with his friends. Seeing him talk about his youth was refreshing. It brought out a more playful side of him. I enjoyed seeing it.
Naoto: " And oh my goodness and the number of games of tag we played, you would've thought we were going into it professionally." He relayed fondly.
I laughed, and after hearing this, a playful thought popped into my mind. Compulsively, I acted on it.
Layla: "Tag, you're it." I said, tagging him before running.
Naoto: "You got to be kidding me." he said before bolting after me when he realized what I did.
I quickly scurried behind a tree, trying to have a better chance of remaining untagged. Sadly, it didn't last long because Naoto tagged me in no time. Naoto was now hyper, running circles around me while staying an arm's length away, knowing I couldn't catch him in my heels. Taking revenge for teasing me about my heels, I played a cruel trick on him.
Layla: "Ah." I yelled, bending over, holding my ankle.
Naoto was at my side in seconds, holding me. He seemed worried as he looked to see what was wrong.
Naoto: "Woah, are you ok?" he asked concern.
Layla: "Yeah, yeah." I winced at my fake injury. "I am now because I'm not it anymore," I said tagging him, before taking off running.
Naoto: "Oh, cheap move." He said before running after me. "Come here." He said, hugging me from behind and in one swoop lifted me off the ground and spun around with me in his arms.
Naoto and I laughed for a while after he put me back on the ground. We stayed giddy, giggling and nudging each other, as we continued to walk. Even though there were no lights on in the park, where we walked was well lit by the moonlight. Its rays through the trees made the ground look like shattered glass scattered all around us. We coasted until we came across a turned-off fountain.
Layla: "Oh, thank you, Lord, I can finally rest." I said, walking over to it to sit.
Naoto: "You wanted to sit this whole time?" he asked.
Layla: "After the game of tag, yes." I said, sitting on the ledge of the fountain. "Ugh, these things are killing me," I said, reaching down to take off my heels. "Oh my god!" I groaned, after putting my aching feet in the cold water of the fountain.
Naoto: "Better now," Naoto asked.
Layla: "Definitely." I said, twinkling my toes under the water. "Come on in, the waters great."
Naoto: "Nah, I'm good."
Layla: "Come on, don't make me the only crazy person here," I pleaded.
After giving into my pouty face, he joined me. We both sat barefoot in the fountain, not saying a word, just smiling at each other. I loved it. I wished I could stop time and stay like this forever.
Naoto: "This is not how I expected the night to go. I planned for us to eat, talk, maybe dance together but look at us instead." he said, looking at the water smiling.
Layla: "Well, we did do 2 out of 3. So, that's pretty good, right?"
Naoto: "Yeah, it is. It's great."
Layla: "You know what, we could still make it 3 out of 3." I said, taking out my phone.
Finding a song to dance to on youtube, I place the phone where I was sitting, then took Naoto's hand, persuading him to dance with me. As the music began to play, he pulled me in close, and we began to slow dance in the fountain.
Getting lost in the melody of the song, I rested my head on his shoulder, enjoying the moment. Wrapping his arms around me, he held me close as we rocked side to side. Overtaken by the romantic atmosphere of the night, Naoto and I held each other's gaze for a while. Then we kissed.
In cheesy romance novels, I've read, and they shared a kiss, but I never really knew what they meant until now. This kiss was way different from the ones we had before. Those were passionate, almost hungry. This one felt so right, not rushed, not steamy, but perfectly handcrafted for me. Not missing an ounce of intensity and emotion, Naoto kissed me like I was the center of his universe. The kiss was like an unspoken conversation between lovers, our lips, confessing how deeply we cared for one another. No kiss before it had ever come close to making me feel truly loved, convincing me that there was nothing more I could ever want.
'Our kiss' as I will rightfully call it, was cut short when droplets of rain fell on us before the flood gates poured out. Grabbing our stuff before running, we sought shelter under the trees until realizing they weren't sufficient enough to shield us from the rain. Leaving the park, we hustled under the covering of a closed shop and caught our breaths.
Layla: "What is it, monsoon season?" I yelled over the deafening roar of the rain.
Naoto: "No, it's." he paused after looking at me. Caught like a deer in headlights, he stared at me.
Looking down, confused as to why he responded like that, I quickly found out when I looked down at myself, dress soaked and clinging to me, nipples hard and, my seamless underwear showing. Hugging the wet piece of tissue I called a dress, I concealed my body. Realizing he was staring, he quickly took off his jacket, putting it over my shoulders, to cover me.
Naoto: "I'm going to get the car." he said, before running off into the rain.
Layla: "Wait! It still raining!" I yelled, but it fell on deaf ears because he was gone.
He must have teleported to the car because he pulled up not too long after, getting out of the car with an umbrella to shield me from the rain. Like a gentleman, Naoto walked me to the passenger side, making sure I got in safely. After we were in, he handed me some towels to dry off with and turn the heat up to stop me from shivering. The night must have been too much for me because my consciousness quickly slipped away as the heated seats melted my shivers, lulling me to sleep.