The Flavor Of Love (24 page)

“
Do you always talk this much in bed?” He sighed.

“
In or out of bed, I’m still me,” she saucily retorted. “Why do I feel as if you are ignoring my question?”

“
Actually, I have not been with a woman since Claire and the condoms aren’t mine, per se. I just know that Reko always has some and I can swipe a few out of his duffle bag.”

“
A few huh?”

“
Yeah, until the weather clears and we can get a couple of boxes of our own,” he grinned. Nibble.

Etta laughed. “Keigo, we won’t be able to go through a couple of boxes. We’re here only a month and at least one week will be taken by my cycle which is unpredictable by the way and then the kids will be here and we can’t do this too often with young people about.”

“
Like they aren’t going at it with each other while they’re here? We
are
talking about kids preparing to go into their senior year of high school, Etta.”

“
Oh, yeah.”

“
Etta? Why are you still dancing around my question? You know sweetheart, if you’re still not ready to do this, we don’t have to rush things.”

“
No,” she shook her head. “I want to be with you. I really do, it’s just…”

“
Just what?” Keigo urged.

She saw the concern on his face and realized how foolish she was being about this entire thing. Why were first times with new lovers always so awkward? Even if firsts were also exciting, she couldn’t wait until Keigo was routine and familiar.

Waking up and sleeping next to his face, staring at him across a crowded room knowing at the end of the night who you were going home with. That was more comforting to her than one lover after another could possibly be. She wanted Keigo to be the last lover she had for the rest of her life and she wanted him to feel the same about her.

“
I lied about needing to use the bathroom,” she softly admitted. “I was worried that you would be turned off by the fact that I haven’t groomed down there.”

Keigo looked completely baffled and then it was as if a light bulb went off over his head and he ginned. “Oh? Why do you women waste time worrying about these things?” He shook his head in amazement. “Etta, baby, you are priceless and I love you for it,” he declared before grasping her head in both his hands and placing a loud wet kiss to her startled open mouth.

Did he just say that he loved her? Did he mean love…LOVE, or ha hah, I love you?

“
Keigo, did you just say you loved me.”

“
I did and please don’t over think it, Etta. It is what it is,” Keigo said before rolling off the bed and walking over to where they’d dropped their towels. He drew one around his lean hips and tucked the edge of the towel in to keep it from falling.

“
Keigo, I--”

“
Look, sweetheart, you don’t have to say it back to me unless you’re ready and not until you can say it and mean it. I’ve had time to adjust to the idea because I believe I fell in love with you that first day in my courtroom when you clawed your way beneath my skin.”

A half smile came to her lips. She accepted his hand as he guided her from the bed and wrapped a towel around her. “What are you doing? Aren’t we going to--?”

“
Oh yeah,” he shook his head. “You can bet your sweet ass on it.”

“
Then why are we putting on towels again?”

“
Well, I’m thinking the reason we are lightheaded with stupidity and talkativeness instead of getting down to business is we are both starving and in dire need of nourishment after all the energy we spent today.”

As if right on cue, Etta’s stomach growled.

“
Sorry, my body is making all kinds of protesting noises today.” She grinned up at him sheepishly and accepted his hand as he reached out to take hers.

“
I like it. It feels as if we’ve been a couple for awhile. It's easy to grow accustomed to the natural things that come with being in a serious relationship.”

CHAPTER 11

She thanked him as he held out a chair at the small table for two. Sitting, she watched him move with barefooted ease around the small kitchen. It did feel natural and right. It was as if they had always been this way. A couple.

“
Oh my God, they’ve already delivered everything.” Etta bit down on her bottom lip. “Keigo, do you think they knew we were in the shower together?”

“
Etta,” Keigo quirked his eyebrow at her and said, “The bedroom door is open; the shower is running and neither one of us to be seen. They can only assume we both are at the very least in the bathroom with the door closed, together.” He leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss and placed a loaded melted ham and Swiss cheese sandwich before her. “Don’t look so worried.”

“
Thank you.” She pulled the sandwich closer to her. “I just prefer that the entire camp isn’t gossiping about us. I came up here to work and I don’t mix one with the other.” Her face reddened. “Err…not usually. Do you think Reko and Carla will keep this to themselves? And what is Nan going to think when I don’t come back to the room? Maybe this isn’t a good idea after all.”

Keigo chuckled. “You’re becoming your old chatty self. You must be getting over the shock of what happened today.”

“
Don’t tease me, Keigo. I’m serious. I’m not ready for everyone to know we’re together yet.”

“
Etta, I know you’re being serious. I just don’t appreciate what you’re saying to me. Nor do I understand it. We are both consenting adults, unless there is another reason you want to keep us a secret. Is there a color issue going on here I’m not aware of?”

Etta dismissed his question with the wave of her hand. “Look at the people I call family. You think I would roll that way? My point is more from a professional standpoint. You put me in charge over the kitchen staff and you’re over the entire camp, not to mention a well-known face. What would it look like with you sleeping with the help in a camp full of impressionable teens?”

“
I get your point, but no one dictates my personal life. Ever,” Keigo said pointedly. “Etta, I'm not going to go out of my way to broadcast our relationship, but I won’t try to keep it a secret either.” He reached out and took her chin in his hand and lifted her face to look at him. Staring into her eyes he avowed, “We are officially, privately and openly a couple. Do you understand me?”

“
Are you asking me or have you already passed your judgment on the matter?”

“
Both.” He reached out and tweaked her nose. “Go ahead and start while I go over here and heat up the soup.”

“
Let me do that,” she offered for lack of anything else to say after his declaration, or at least anything he would want to hear.
He's so damned stubborn when he gets something in his head
, Etta simmered silently.

“
This is easy enough for me to handle, baby.” Keigo winked declining her offer. “Besides, you waited on me hand and foot when I was under the weather. It's my turn to take care of you.”

Etta took a big bite of the ham sandwich and then from the dill pickle spear on the side. It was perfect, just like she showed Reko. She had to remember to praise him tomorrow. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she started eating.

The thing she did realize was that her mother was right about her opening herself to Keigo. Etta could only hope in time she could allow her heart to do the same. She wouldn’t deny to him or herself that she was falling for him. She just didn’t want to start placing words on what was happening between them, such as “love.” For some reason when
that
word comes into the equation, other words followed, such as: commitment, forever, always, marriage, hopes and dreams.

As she watched his movements about the kitchen, she would be the first to admit Keigo was the total package from the top of his head, to the tip of his… Etta’s eyes dropped lower at the outline of his semi hard-on. She felt a ripple of excitement and her heart danced with anticipation. If she set aside his physical attractiveness, she also admittedly found him to be honest, smart and loving to the point of distraction. He also could be bossy, pompous, demanding and stubborn as hell.

“
What?” He asked and brought to the table two steaming bowls of leftover wonton soup she had made for lunch earlier in the day with potholders beneath them. He placed one of the white porcelain Asian soupspoons in her bowl and the other in his. “You’re staring,” he accused.

“
Uh, nothing.” Etta shook her head and took another bite of her sandwich. She had been caught in the midst of her silent admiration. Did she mention he was a
distraction
?

“
Are you warm enough?” Keigo inquired with an unreadable look on his face. “I can put another log on the fire.”

She chewed and swallowed. “No, really, I’m fine,” Etta reassured him. She gathered some broth into her scooped spoon and blew on the contents first before placing it in her mouth. “Oh, that hits the spot. Aren’t you going to join me?”

“
Toddies,” he reminded. “Everything smells wonderful.” Keigo smacked his lips to get her attention and he leaned over her. She complied by feeding him a piece of pork filled wonton that she cooled
first by blowing on it. Keigo chewed with a silly grin of contentment on his face. “What more can a man hope for? A beautiful and creative woman that can cook and I feel blessed that you’re mine.”

“
Flattery will get you everywhere with me, Judge Sexy,” Etta murmured against his lips as he stole another kiss.

“
Okay, I better get the toddies together or there will be no more eating for either of us. At least not of the food kind.” His gaze became downright wicked. “I do plan on eating something before this night is over.” Keigo winked. “You can count on it.”

Etta’s chin dropped and her mouth rounded in an “o”. It didn’t take a genius or a psychic to figure out what kind of “eating” he was talking about. She shifted in her seat and resisted the urge to throw her leg up on the table to allow
his
dinner to commence. While she was playing wicked thoughts in her mind, Keigo was moving about in the kitchen and humming what sounded like a tune from way back in the day. “Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.” Etta decided she loved this playfully silly side of him.

It didn’t take long before Keigo was back with two large steaming mugs full of some cinnamon apple concoction that smelled wonderful.

“
Mmm, I’m seeing you have some kitchen skills of your own in the kitchen. Should I be worried?” she teasingly asked while reaching for the squeezed bottle of honey that he had in the crook of his arm.

“
Sure thing,” he grinned. “I’m a chef at anything that comes in a package with instructions.” He winked and dipped his spoon into his cooled soup and took a big spoonful. “Mercy, this is so good. Don’t tell my mother but I think it’s better than hers.”

“
No problem,” Etta assured him with a twinkle in her eyes. “Where is your mother? Does she live in San Francisco with you?”

Keigo shook his head. He picked up one half of his sandwich and took a large bite, leaving only a half in his fingers. “No, after my father died, she returned to Japan. She now lives with my eldest brother, Jin, in Yokohama City.”

Etta licked the butter residual that got on her fingers from the toasted bread and asked, “How far is that from Tokyo?” She dropped her fingers with a sheepish grin and grabbed a paper napkin from the holder on the table once she noticed the passionate hungry look in Keigo’s eyes.

“
Err, what was I saying?”

Etta guffawed. “Tokyo to Yokohama,” she reminded.

“
Oh, yeah,” he chuckled and shook his dark head. “It’s only a thirty minute drive south of Tokyo, on a good day that is.”

“
My friend, I told you about in the courtroom…”

“
The one that taught you Japanese?”

“
Well, he helped me become more comfortable in utilizing the language in conversational form. It was also him who taught me a more vulgar vocabulary.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Keigo. “So, if you want to talk dirty Japanese in my ear, let me warn you, it really makes me hot.”

“
You’re killing me over here, Etta,” Keigo groaned.

“
Anyway,” she said running her tongue slowly along the length of the pickle spear before taking a bite off the end. The majority of what I learned, I learned in college when I studied Japanese language and literature. But my friend moved to Tokyo last year and I’ve been hoping I could find some time to go and visit him, but I haven’t made it there yet.”

“
Good,” Keigo licked his full bottom lip ever so slowly. “When you go to Japan, I want to be the one that takes you there and show you around.” He paused before saying, “Take you to meet my family.”

Etta thought she would start drooling.
He is so fine
. Obviously, she wasn’t the only one throwing less then restrained hints at this dinner table. It took her a moment, but his words finally took a hold of her attention.

“
Did you say meet your family?”

Keigo nodded. Of course, I’ve met some of yours. Shouldn’t you meet some of mine?”