Seven Weeks To Love:The Shooting Star Miracle

I was disappointed right off the next day. Hakuron wasn’t there, he’d taken the day off, claiming to be sick. I believed him, he hadn’t looked too good when I’d seen him last night, after all.
It turned out I’d been right not to trust Ariel and Morgan. No sooner than I’d sat down at lunch did they ambush me, wanting every last detail. I gave the briefest answers I could get away with, but it took a while for them to get off my back. It didn’t help that Cara was just discovering all this, or that Ariel had decided to tell Stephanie about it last night on the phone, so she was sitting with us that day too.
“Seems like you two have it going on!” Stephanie said, a smile lighting her face. Her hair was red, and more wavy than curly.
“We do not!” I rolled my eyes. Recently I’d begun to like Stephanie more and more.
Ariel made a ‘pfff’-ing sound with her lips.
I glared at her. “Save me your sarcastic comments and lip noises, please.”
A corner of her mouth lifted. “What? I’m just looking out for your best interests.”
I gave her a I-so-do-not-believe-you look. “Yeah.”
“I’m serious!” She grinned when the look stayed in place. “Okay, maybe some of it’s for personal entertainment, but I swear, there is a reason I’m questioning and pestering you.”
I raised a brow. “And that would be?”
Ariel smiled. “Advice. Here’s what I recommend you do at this point. He’s home sick today, right?” I nodded. “So, take him some fruit. Fruit’s good for sick people.”
“I though that was soup?” Morgan said.
“Both, really. But she can’t very well knock on his front door, a bowl of soup in hand, and say, ‘I come bearing soup! Allow me to feed it to you!’ can she?”
Stephanie laughed, and Cara smiled. Morgan’s grin covered her face, and I rolled my eyes. I would not say something like that.
I ignored the part of me that argued I might just do something like that.
“I see your point,” Morgan said. “Fruit it is then.”
I glowered at the other four girls. “I am not taking him fruit!”

I stared down at the carton of strawberries I carried, trying to figure out just how I’d come to be taking them to Hakuron. I stood in front of his door now, shifting from foot to foot.
I’d gotten home, I remembered that, then, looking in the fridge, had seen the strawberries. I’d unconsciously grabbed them, and before I’d known it, I’d ended up here.
If Ariel had just kept her mouth shut…
I pushed away that line of thought that I had no doubt would lead to murderous intents, and ringed the door bell, stomach bouncing around like crazy as I waited for him to answer.
And waited.
And waited.
Maybe he’s too sick to answer the door? I thought, and reached out to grab the handle.
The door was unlocked, and so I stepped inside, closing it behind me. I looked around at the living room I stood in, liking the décor. It was all blacks and woodsy colors. It was nice, warm. Homey.
I walked across the room to a staircase leading up, a hallway next to it, and leaned in the frame.
“Hakuron?” I called. “Hakuron, you there?”
“Samantha?” The surprised voice came from my left.
I pulled my head out and looked in the direction indicated, promptly freezing at the sight that awaited me.
Hakuron stood there-in nothing but a white towel.
My eyes bugged out as I took in the expanse of his muscular chest and arms. His strong thighs. His damp hair. His steamy skin…
I swooned. Literally. For the first time in my life, I, Samantha Ward, swooned.
Hakuron took advantage of the moment, rushing past me up the stairs as I leaned against the wall, and I resisted the urge to watch him go up, knowing if I did I’d see even more and might actually pass out.
I made my way to the loveseat that sat in the middle of the room, television in front, facing the other direction. I sank into the light brown material, glad I’d made it before my legs gave out.
Jeez, this wasn’t what I’d come here for! I’d just wanted to give him fruit, not get a free show.
Though, a perverted part of my brain noted, he was incredibly sexy back there. And he’s oh-so nummy…
“Samantha?”
Hakuron’s voice distracted me, and I looked over my shoulder to see him at the foot of the stairs, in jeans and a T-shirt.
“Hi, Hakuron,” I said, voice slightly breathy.
He walked around to sit next to me, and I squirmed in my seat a bit.
“Sorry about that,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. “It must have been embarrassing for you. And I didn’t hear the bell in the shower.”
“I-it’s okay,” I said, and pushed the strawberries at him. “I brought these for you.”
“Strawberries?” He took them from me. “Thank you.”
“Ariel said that fruit was good for sick people, and, you know, I want you to get better and all. So I kind of just decided to bring them here when I saw them in the fridge. Would you have liked something else? I knew I should have gotten grapes…,” I rambled.
Hakuron smiled. “No, strawberries are fine. They’re my favorite, in fact.”
“Oh.” I looked around as he opened the case and popped the first fruit in his mouth. “Where are your parents?”
“They work a lot,” he said, still chewing. “I see them often enough, but the time after New Year’s is the busiest.”
“Ah.” I watched him eat for a minute. “Are you feeling any better?”
He grinned. “Yep.” He looked it, too. His skin wasn’t as pale as it was last night, and he looked refreshed after his shower. He still seemed a bit sickly, but he’d be better by tomorrow, at least.
A silence settled between us, and it made me uncomfortable. I had to fill it with something, anything.
“Stephanie says it seems like you and I have got it going on,” I blurted. Oh, crap. Not that. Anything but that. But it was too late, the words were tumbling from my mouth before I could stop them. “I quickly told her how wrong she was, though. I mean, it’s not right, us together, you know? Especially since you’re so attractive and I’m just me. It’s understandable if I like you, but how could I ever hope that my feelings might be retur-” I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from going further, turning away from him so he couldn’t see my face and the blush flaming my cheeks.
“Samantha?” Hakuron’s voice was soft. “Your feelings what? Returned? Tell me, Samantha.”
I refused to look at him, afraid of the expression I’d see there. Would he be angry, mortified?
“Samantha, tell me,” he repeated, voice still as soft.
What was the point? He’d figure it out eventually, anyway, even if I didn’t tell him. I sighed. “Hakuron, I, umm, like you. Like, like you-like you.” I bit my lip. “Don’t worry though, I won’t act on it. I know it would upset you, and I don’t want things to be awkward between us.”
Silence. Then: “You stupid girl.”
That shocked me enough to look at him. “What?” I sort of froze when I saw his face, though. It was glorious. He was smiling so broadly, his teeth showing white and sparkling, that it made my heart skip a beat. His eyes were tender, affectionate, joyous, and shining golden-brown so bright, they reminded me of honey.
“You stupid, stupid girl,” he repeated, then did the thing I’d least expected him to do.
He kissed me.
He pulled me forward and his lips descended on mine. They were warm and soft, and before I knew it, I’d melted in his embrace. His teeth nipped at my lower lip, which was trembling. He caressed my lips in such a way, I thought for sure I’d pass out, if the fire flaring inside me didn’t burn me to death first. Then, just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled away just enough to whisper four words. For words that made my heart beat fast, and my eyes near burst with tears.
“I like you, Samantha.”

That night I lay on my bed, cell phone pressed to my ear.
“Dammit, Hakuron! You gave me your cold!” I accused him, voice a bit nasal.
The laughter on the other side of the phone made my heart skip a beat once again. “It was worth it, wasn’t it?”
I blushed, but couldn’t argue that point. “Yeah, I guess.”
“You guess?” His voice was full of mock pain. “Come on, Samantha, you’re wounding my ego.”
I laughed, cuddling into Hakuron’s jacket. I listened as he ranted and raved about his poor ego, reveling in the knowledge that I had a boyfriend. A boyfriend that had given me best first kiss I could ask for.
I suddenly wasn’t so angry at Ariel for all her advice.
Hakuron had made my heart flip, my stomach churn, and my skin tingle. And something told me, as I listened to him complain once more about my bruising his ego, that as long as he was with me, life would never be boring.
I licked my lips.
They tasted like strawberries.

End Week One-Samantha