The finale to Chet's story, written from his point of view. Looks like we finally have some insight on his thoughts. P.s. This story is merely fiction. Practice safe sex. ;) Have fun reading.
*****
February 14, 2008
"Hey, Chet baby. I have something for you." Asato leaned down to kiss me on the lips, which was rebuffed by a quick turn of my head. He shot me an exasperated look.
"What is it this time? You're sulking again."
I shrugged. "If you don't like it, why bother with me? Just date one of those babes in your group. They're stuck to you 24/7, anyway."
He raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Chet. I've never cheated on you, so what are you jealous about? It's not as though I call them to accompany me as part of my entourage."
I scoffed at him. "Yeah? Well, you don't exactly discourage their advances either, do you? Whatever. I'm out of here. Go fuck one of them whores, like I give a shit." I picked up my book bag and left the shady spot under the tree, heading towards the college's parking lot.
He was right, though. I was jealous. I was
always
jealous.
Good-looking, popular and smart. That's what Asato was. It was unfair that he was nice to boot, and was a model. His mom was some celebrity fashion designer, whereas I...I was the nobody. The bespectacled nerd that no one paid attention to, although my six-foot frame drew unwanted attention sometimes. It was difficult not to feel so insecure when everybody wanted a piece of my boyfriend.
I turned the key in the ignition. The engine started, then died.
"Fuck this lousy antique!" I cursed. After the fifth try, it finally revved to life. This car was fucking ancient. I think it belonged in my Great Grandfather's time.
I drove off the college grounds, ignoring some cat-calls aimed at my dusty, beaten-up vehicle. The only reason some of the popular kids even bothered acknowledging me was because of Asato. Not that I cared about them in the slightest.
I parked the car in the garage and proceeded to head up to my room.
"Honey, your friend is here! Why don't you bring some of these freshly-baked cookies up with you?" My mom looked positively thrilled that I had a friend coming to visit. And the only person who ever bothered to visit was...
"Mmm, I could smell those cookies from way up here. Thanks, Mrs. White! It's really nice of you." Asato smiled and took the tray of cookies from me, ignoring the irritation on my face.
How the hell did he get ahead of me anyway? Well, he did have a silver Audi, and we all know the outcome of sports car vs old-man car.
I stared at the middle-aged lady who blushed at Asato's charming comment. "Oh, you! I just know young men like you have an appetite for these things. I
always
look forward to you visiting us."
He grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief. "So do I, Mrs. White. Your cookies are the best and you always look younger each time I visit," and accompanied that with a wink, sending her into a fit of girlish giggles.
I rolled my eyes and climbed the stairs. Don't get me wrong; my mom is
happily
married but that rogue could probably charm the pants off anyone, middle-aged or not.
Asato nudged the door open with his left foot, juggling the tray plus refreshments, newly added, it seemed. I looked over at the gorgeous Japanese male munching cookies on my bed and shook my head, most of my anger dissipated.
"You'll never starve. If you're ever homeless, just head towards the nearest house, knock, flash that charm of yours and
voila!
Food."
He looked up at me and smiled. "Not mad anymore? Good. Oh yeah, I came over to give you the thing I'd wanted to give you before." He reached into his bag and handed me a wrapped box.
"Open it."
Puzzled, I took it from him. "What's this for?"
He blinked at me. "Duh. It's Valentines Day today."
"What? Oh. Oh, yeah. I guess it is. I, uhm, forgot." I'd never gotten anything for Valentines Day before, unless you counted chocolate cookies from my mom. It was only about 10 months ago that I'd started dating Asato, and I still wasn't used to gift-giving on special occasions.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I can tell." Before I could apologize for not getting him anything, he placed a finger on my lips to shush me up. "It's not too late for a present."
"Sure. Anything you want in particular?"
Asato grinned at me. "Yep, but open my gift first."
I stared at the package in my hands, undid the red bow and tore the wrap. It was a box of Godiva chocolates.
I couldn't resist smiling at him. "
Arigatou
. I'm addicted to them."
He shook a finger at me."Uh-uh. There's more. Look inside."
I lifted the cover and there were 15 chocolate cubes with a word engraved on each of them.
I.love.you. Will.you.be.my.Valentine? I.promise.to.love.and.cherish.you.
I stared at those words in disbelief. I was happy and touched; a painful lump had formed at the back of my throat as I struggled to say something.
"You like it? I had them custom-made for you," he said softly.
I could barely speak, and didn't trust the tone of my voice. It would probably surface as a squeak. I merely nodded in response.
He reached over, plucked out a cube with
cherish
inscribed on it and held it before my lips. "Try it.
Oishii yo
." I opened my mouth and allowed him to plop the chocolate right in. It tasted oh-so-heavenly and melted on my tongue. I bit down on that delicious morsel and
crunch
!
I stuck my thumb and forefinger into my mouth, only to retrieve a metal object. Questioningly, I looked at Asato. Solemnly, he extracted the diamond ring from between my fingers and cleaned the chocolate stains with his black Hermès jacket. He lifted my left hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on my inner wrist, sending shivers up my spine, before sliding the ring onto my fourth finger. Deep hazel-brown eyes met mine.