Love and Truth (6 page)

I strolled along the flagstones and came to a tiny koi pond-I had never seen koi before; they were amazing. They pushed their mouths above the water, hoping I had something to eat. I wished I brought my phone so I could take a picture. I walked further and saw the zen garden. There were rocks clustered in five groups surrounded by white sand; bamboo, small maple trees and another trickling water fountain made of glazed stone. It was simple yet complex, and I instantly knew I would spend a great deal of time here. There was a small, dark wood bench just outside the stone edge of the garden and I sat down. A slight breeze limited the heat.

After a while I decided to stroll around the neighborhood. Mrs. Nakamura said there was a small café on the corner that had wi-fi and was a popular establishment among the younger people of the neighborhood. I went back inside and grabbed my wallet, phone, and laptop. I waved goodbye to Ms. Nobuko as I headed out the door and set the GPS function in my phone for the coordinates of the Nakamura home, just in case I got turned around. The café was fairly close by, looking to be a straight shot from the house. It’s small, but very cozy. I sat down at a small corner table and took out my laptop. I had a ton of emails from Annie and a few from my parents. I saw a reminder about check-in day at the dance academy on Monday, when the door chimed. I acted reflexively and looked up, immediately stunned.

I was staring into the green eyes of the beautiful boy from the street last night. I sat frozen for an instant before burying myself in my laptop screen. My heart raced and my palms started to feel sweaty. I had no idea what was wrong with me. My body was betraying me in every way possible. I struggled to prevent myself from looking up again, but I could feel his eyes on me. I tried to focus on my laptop, but it was no use. It was torture, so I glanced up. There he was, standing in line and staring right at me. I instantly felt naked, like he could see all of my insecurities and knew all of my secrets. Goose bumps spread over my body and I ran my hands up and down the tops of my legs to regain composure. I wanted to run and not look back, but I couldn’t move. The vulnerability felt like it was seeping through my pores. I heard a voice ordering in Japanese, and I looked over to see that it was him. He wore khaki cargo shorts that were frayed around the edges and a fitted, turquoise V-neck shirt that highlighted his golden tan. It spanned his broad shoulders and hugged his toned, muscular frame. His left arm was covered in the most colorful and intricate tattoos that I had ever seen. They ran all the way down to his wrist. He was six-feet tall, with a sexy jaw line, full perfect lips and dark chestnut hair. It resembled a military-style haircut, but was a little longer on top. I wondered if he was in the military, but then doubted it. He definitely wasn’t Japanese, even though he spoke the language fluently. I thought of Annie; she clearly cursed me before I left.

He paid and grabbed his coffee. He slung a leather satchel over his right shoulder and turned to walk toward me. I buried myself in my laptop again and peered up over the top of it.
Breathe, Nicole, just breathe.

“Hello, balcony girl,” he said in a low, raspy tone. I couldn’t believe he recognized me from last night.

“Huh?” I was lost in the most beautiful green eyes. He smiled, revealing the whitest teeth I had ever seen.

“You
are
the girl from the balcony last night, right? I was running my ass off, trying to get to my karate class, and you were on the Nakamura’s balcony. You were lit up by the moonlight and you took my breath away.”

My heart was fluttering and my mouth was dry. It was a pick-up line if I’d ever heard one but apparently my body was on board with his pickup lines. “That must be one of your better pick-up lines. That will get you nowhere with me, trust me.”

I straightened my shoulders and grimaced when he laughed. He leaned over my laptop and I realized he smelled like the ocean and cinnamon. I could practically feel his breath on my face. “Well, balcony girl, what
will
get me somewhere with you?”

He was cocky and self-assured.

“Mr….I’m sorry, what was your name?”

“I didn’t tell you my name.”

“Well, Mr. No Name. You’ll be getting nowhere with me, now or ever. I don’t know what kind of girls you’re accustomed to hitting on, but I’m not in that category. Plus, I’m not interested.”

He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “First of all, I don’t hit on
girls
. Second, I don’t have a category, and third, you, balcony girl, are most certainly interested.”

He winked calmly and walked toward a table in the far corner. My jaw dropped and I turned to watch him walk to the back and sit down. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. I tried to avoid looking at him, but I couldn’t. The third time I glanced to his table he caught me and I knew the universe was playing some sort of sick joke on me.

I was angry – at him and at myself.
Screw him and his self-righteous ass
, I thought. I gulped down the rest of my latte and closed my laptop. I left without looking in his direction. My face was flushed and I was mad. Pissed that I let him affect me the way he did and that he smelled so good. I was five steps down the street when someone gently grabbed my arm.

“Hey, balcony girl. I’m sorry if I made you mad. Please don’t hold it against me.”

I turned in shock and looked down at his hand on my arm. Electricity shot through my veins and I suddenly felt light-headed. He removed his hand and I looked up at him. He smiled gently, with eyebrows raised and his head cocked to the side.
God, those lips.

“I’m sorry for startling you, but will you forgive me for my behavior? I really wasn’t trying to offend you. You’re beautiful and I haven’t been able to get you off of my mind since I saw you last night. Seeing you here this morning took me a bit by surprise and I acted like an ass. Say you’ll forgive me so we can start over.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Jonathan Hayes.”

I looked at his hand and back to his face. I didn’t know what to say or do. This was all so unfamiliar to me and I was still mad. But something in his smile melted my angry veneer.

“Hi, I’m Nicole Harrison. I’m staying with the Nakamuras. Nice to meet you, too.” I turned to continue walking back to the house and he followed me.

“Do you mind if I walk you home?”

“Actually, yes. I do. I don’t know you. Why should I feel safe walking somewhere with a stranger?”

He laughed and raised his hand. “I assure you, I’m safe. You can ask the Nakamura’s. I’ve known them all my life. I went to school with Emiko.”

“So you speak perfect English and it seems like you speak fluent Japanese. You look like an American, but you’ve lived here all your life. You went to school with my host family’s daughter and you take karate. Is that all about right? So, what’s your story? And if you go to school with Emiko, why aren’t you there now?”

He sighed and shoved both hands into his pockets. We began walking and he stared into the ground

“I’m sorry for being intrusive,” I said. “But you’re walking me home and I think I should know a little more about you. Don’t you think that’s fair?”

“No, no it’s fine. You’re right. But I knew you were interested,” he said, winking and smiling wickedly. “Listen, don’t be so sensitive, babe. I’m just poking fun at you a little.”

“I’m not your
babe
. My name is Nicole. Please don’t call me babe again.”

“Okay, Ni
cole
.” He drew out the last syllable and I glared through him. “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?”

There wasn’t anything to say. I walked and stared angrily into the ground. I felt him staring at me and heard his breath. A few moments passed like this and I guessed he was getting the hint.

“I was born in the States,” he said. “My father was a Marine stationed here a long time ago. He met my mother, who is a native Okinawan, when she was just out of high school. You know, the whole military guy meets foreign Japanese girl; they fall in love, he whisks her away to the land of the free and they live happily ever after. I guess for my mom there was no happily ever after. My dad was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb and my mom was left alone in a country she didn’t know with a one year old baby.”

He looked back down to the ground and seemed tense. I felt horrible for asking.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I had no idea.”

“No it’s fine,” he smiled. “I was a baby. I don’t even remember him. My mom couldn’t conceive on her own, so my parents used a surrogate to have me. That’s why I don’t look Japanese. My mom tells me all the time that I look like my father. That I have his eyes and his smile.” I smiled on the inside, because his eyes and his smile were the two things I noticed first about him.

“So after my father was killed, my mother had no reason to stay in America. She came back to Okinawa and moved in with my grandparents; that’s where we’ve been ever since. I graduated high school two years ago. That’s why I’m not in school today.” He grinned and continued.

“My mom made sure that I maintained a strong relationship with my father’s side of the family. As a child, I spent my summers in Oklahoma with my grandparents. That’s why English comes so easy to me. Plus my mother had me in English lessons my whole life. She said my father would’ve wanted it that way.”

We approached the Nakamura house and stopped. “Wow, I can’t believe I just told you all of that. I don’t normally offer up the story about my life, even if someone asks. I usually just make something up. But you, balcony girl, I get a feeling you aren’t just anybody.”

He stood facing me and squinted. The sun was just above the trees behind me. I held my laptop bag at my side, and he turned to walk away. Suddenly, without looking back, he said “Meet me outside tonight at 8 o’clock and you can come watch my karate class. If not, I’ll hopefully see you around.”

He strolled down the street in the direction of the café, and I stood staring at him wondering what just happened.

I spent the rest of the day curled up on my new bed, my thoughts imprisoned by Jonathan Hayes; sexy, cocky, confident, arrogant, ocean-and-cinnamon-smelling Jonathan Hayes. I was gone less than two days and I already felt like Alice, plummeting face-first into the rabbit hole.

It was 5 pm and I knew the Nakamuras would be home any minute. I walked downstairs to find Emiko coming through the door.

“Nicole san, hi. How was your day?”

I stalled and looked away from her. I didn’t know how to answer her. “It was nice. I did some exploring.” There was no way to tell her that I met the gorgeous Jonathan Hayes, her former classmate, who turned my insides to goo and made all of my common sense fly right out the window.

“Oh, nice. Where did you go?”

“Just around the grounds of the house and down to the café on the corner. It was nice to get out and take a walk.”

She dropped her book bag and said she had homework to finish before dinner. I went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Ms. Nobuko was cooking and dinner smelled delicious.