Authors: Ong Xiong
She refused to
respond to him for a moment before she coldly said, “I can shower at Michael’s
townhouse.”
Jae didn’t show
any sign of determent. He kissed her jaw and her collarbone. “You can get ready
here.”
Sue remained
silent.
“Sue?”
“May I use your
phone?”
“I thought you
didn’t know Michael’s telephone number?” He tried to tease her.
She didn’t think
it was funny. “I don’t know what I did for you to render such a lowly opinion
of me, but I would greatly appreciate it if you’d excuse me.” She made a move
to get away from him.
Jae tightened his
hold and kept her immobilized. “Stay with me.”
She did turn to
look at him then, but her look was not what he wanted to see. Gone was the tender
way she had once looked at him. Instead, what he saw were cold eyes glaring
back at him. “Why? What do you want, Mr. Park because I don’t have anything
else to give you.”
He leaned toward
her as if to kiss her, but he didn’t. She felt his hot breath against her skin
and his hard body pressed so intimately against hers. Even with all her
bravado, her body still reacted to him and her eyes betrayed her by gazing
longingly at his lips.
As soon as she
realized what she was doing, she looked away, but not before she saw him
watching her with a knowing look. Embarrassed and hurt, she turned her face
away from him.
He turned her
face back to him. He tilted her chin with his hand, forcing her to look at him.
He held her gaze
and he began, “I don’t have a lowly opinion of you. I don’t want to fight. You
injured your ankle because of me. I’ll make sure to get you back to Michael,
but before I do that, please, Suzy, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t mean
to hurt you.” He sighed. “All right. I won’t force you. Will you at least get
ready here?”
A long silence
passed between them. He was about to give up when she finally nodded.
Sue stared at
herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and a bit swollen from her crying all
night and her hair was in a mess of tangles. Sue forgot how fast Jae could
move. One moment she was in bed, and then the next moment she was in his
bathroom.
“Can you take it
from here?” he had asked after lowering her to her feet in the bathroom. She
only remembered nodding. “Call me if you need help—don’t give me that look. You
can’t be walking with that ankle.” He pointed to toiletries on the counter.
“They are yours to use. I’ll call for clothes to be brought up for you.” He had
placed a kiss on her forehead then left her alone. She took her time, taking a
very long shower.
Sue took a long,
deep sigh before covering herself with one of his robes. It was too large for
her and she needed to fold the sleeves. The hem was several inches pass her
feet and it made her feel like she was a child but this was better than leaving
the bathroom with a towel around her. Her contacts were hurting her eyes and
she had to take them out. She couldn’t see beyond a foot in front of her and
had to squint to see herself in the mirror. She brushed her hair then exited
the bathroom, tightening the sash of the robe.
The long warm
shower felt really good and now she dreaded going out to meet Jae, but she had
stalled long enough. She couldn’t hide in the bathroom all morning. She really
needed to get to Michael’s place.
Jae had changed
while she was in the shower. He had on a black dress shirt, sleeves rolled to
his elbow, the bottom of the shirt tucked inside a pair of black washed jeans
and accessorized with a simple black belt. The clothing appeared simple but he
looked like a male model on the cover of some magazine standing by the large
windows in the living room, his long legs slightly apart and his hands tucked
in his back pockets. He was barefoot.
Sue started to
move from the bedroom and in an instant, Jae was next to her already lifting
her into his arms. “You shouldn’t be walking on that ankle,” he told her.
“I know.”
“Then why are
you?”
“What should I
have done? Crawl?” she snapped.
He responded with
a smile.
“You can put me
down now,” she said once they were by the couch. He didn’t release her. If
anything, he seemed to have tightened his grip and held her closer. She tilted
her chin to look at him. He was giving her such a tender look, it made her
heart ache.
“I’m sorry,” he
said, his eyes upon her lips.
She watched him,
trying to decide what he was sorry for. She raised her hand and traced the bump
on his nose, aching for his love. “Me too,” she replied softly, feeling sorrier
for herself. She wanted to be in his arms and knowing that this was temporary,
a fluke of time, teasing her of what it would be like to have what she wanted.
I miss you
, she wanted to say, but she didn’t.
There was a knock
at the door and Jae had to put her down to get it. He was gentle when he
lowered her onto the couch, like she was a fragile piece of glass. Jae answered
the door and the man named Jackie entered the suite followed by a couple of
women, hotel staff by the look of their uniforms. One woman pulled a rack of
clothing while the other pushed. Jae returned to her while Jackie directed the
women where to place the rack. A server pushing a cart loaded with
silver-covered platters, a couple of glasses, a decanter of orange juice and a
jug of water entered the room after the women. Jackie motioned the man toward
the dining room.
“Would you like
to eat first or get dressed first?” Jae asked her, already picking her up.
“I’ll dress
first,” she said. He nodded and carried her to the rack of clothing. He lowered
her to her feet in front of the rack while the two woman left with the server.
“I guessed your
size but had the shop send different sizes just in case,” he said.
She murmured her
thanks before Jae left her by the clothes and turned his attention to Jackie.
Jae greeted Jackie in Korean then soon the two were speaking in rapid Korean as
they settled at the breakfast table.
Jae watched Sue
looking at the price tag of a lavender silk blouse. Her eyes widened and she
looked at another then she quickly checked the rest of the clothing. Sighing,
she turned away empty handed and started for the bedroom door. Jae excused
himself from Jackie and approaching Sue, he asked if there was something wrong.
“I can’t afford
these. I think I’ll just borrow your sweatshirt,” she replied limping away.
Jae stopped her
and turned her back to the clothes. “Just pick something,” he said.
“I have plenty of
clothes. I don’t need to spend a week’s salary on a blouse.”
“Just pick
something.”
“No,” she said,
brushing his hands away.
“Sweetheart, stop
being so stubborn.”
“I’m not your
sweetheart! I can’t afford these and I refuse to spend so much on just
clothes.”
“I’ll pay for
them.”
“You buy it, you
wear it!” She tried to circle around him but he blocked her. She pivoted
several more times, only to be blocked in all her attempts.
“What I mean is,
I owe you a dress.” Jae said calmly as he reached out to pull her robe closed.
She was so angry she didn’t notice what he was doing.
“My dress didn’t
cost as much as the cheapest item on that rack. If you feel you
owe
me
anything, a simple
sorry
would suffice. Don’t tempt me with that stupid
grin of yours, Jae, and don’t you dare pick me up again,” she said, backing
away from him. Jae had that look between amusement and irritation, she couldn’t
really decide, but he looked like he was going to pick her up again. And though
she loved being so close to him, being in his arms, she really hated the idea
of him treating her like she was incompetent. “Or I’ll do worst than bruise
your…your gluteus maximus!” Her threat didn’t cause a dent. If anything, Jae’s
grin only became broader as if challenging her to try. She could swear, his
smugness just increased and that made her even angrier.
Jackie laughed.
“Oh, God!” Sue
shrieked, grabbing onto her robe. She completely forgot all about Jackie. She
blushed. She was in a robe with Jae, practically naked. “You really need to
stop doing that!” she said, tightening her robe around her. He was smiling at
her.
“It’s not what it
might look like,” she said as if that explained it all. She silently cursed
herself.
“No worries,”
Jackie said between laughter. “Khyba
Hyung
explained to me. You might as
well pick something. All those are yours.
Hyung
already paid for them.”
Sue didn’t want
to argue with Jae further on the matter of her attire, especially in front of a
complete stranger. She gave Jackie a polite smile, thanked Jackie for clearing
up the confusion, picked something off the rack then retreated back to the
bedroom for some privacy. She gave Jae a warning when he advanced toward and he
backed down.
Jackie and Jae
watch as Sue limped her way to the bedroom. “Yah
Hyung
, you think she’ll
wear that?” Jackie asked.
“No.”
“Thought so,”
Jackie said with a chuckle. “Why is she limping?”
“She twisted her
ankle last night. Don’t start jumping to conclusions, Jack,” Jae warned as he
sat down at the breakfast table. Jackie nodded, still laughing as he took the
empty seat across from him and continued to fill Jae in on their usual morning
briefings.
In the bedroom,
Sue was close to tears. She had tried to be mean to him but that only back
fired and all she received in return was Jae’s amusement and her guilt. She sat
on the bed, contemplating whether she should wear the clothes on the bed: the
pretty, button-down, lavender silk blouse with the ruffled neck and the gray
slacks. The outfit alone cost more than three months’ rent. She sat on his bed
and touched the blouse, running her hand through the smooth fabric, internally
debating what she should do next.
Already feeling
sorry for her predicament, she buried her face in her hands and let the tears
flow.
In the living
room, Jae watched his bedroom door, wondering if he should just go in there.
She had been in there for a while and he was worried about her. He made up his
mind, excused himself from the table and went after her. He raised his hand to
knock on the door, but he heard her soft muffled cry and he paused.
Instead of
knocking, he carefully opened the door, cracking it enough to see her sitting
on the bedroom floor, by the bed. She still wore his robe; the clothes she
picked from the rack lay on his bed. Her knees were drawn to her chest, her
arms wrapped around her knees and her face buried in her knees, muffling her
cry. It was the same sad cry he had heard last night. It was the kind of cry he
had never heard before; the kind of cry that tugged at his heart and made him
ache.
He entered the
room and slowly approached her. When he reached her, he sat beside her. He
didn’t say a word as he wrapped his arm around her trembling shoulders and when
she didn’t fight him, he drew her to him. Her head rested on his chest and she
continued to cry. He held her until she stopped crying.
Afterwards, Jae
took her home.
CHAPTER
23
The karaoke party
for Katie was held at Hawthorne’s, Tony’s restaurant. Tony had his staff
transform a section of the restaurant into a karaoke bar for the gathering,
complete with dancers and a live band.
Michael picked
her up and again they matched. Before coming to New York, her sister Mai Yia
helped her shop for clothing. For the karaoke party, Mai picked a red tube dress
with a sweetheart neckline and empire waist. A small black belt decorated with
three cubic zirconium stones in the front accentuated her slim waist. For
accessories, Mai picked a cubic zirconium tennis bracelet and matching studs.
Sue wore her hair in a messy chignon with her bangs swooping to the side. She
kept her makeup light and natural.
When Michael saw
her, he whistled teasingly, looking her up and down. Never in her life had any
man whistled at the sight of her and she blushed. He kissed her hand, bowing,
and she grinned.
Hawthorne’s was
already packed with guests when they arrived. Sue was still limping from her
injured ankle and Michael wrapped his coat around her as he carried her inside,
despite her protest. “There’s a surprise for you,” Michael told her once they
were inside.
“Surprise?”
He nodded toward
something or someone behind her. Before she could turn to see, he took hold of
her arms and kissed her cheek. “I have some things to take care of. In the mean
time, your surprise has volunteered to show you around,” he told her
before letting go
of her arm. He gave her a wink, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.
“Shana?” Sue
asked, staring up into the seductive, made-up eyes of a six-foot-tall Amazonian
drag queen.
“Sue? OMG… Sue!”
Shana squeaked with delight, hoisting Sue into a tight embrace. “I didn’t
recognize you all dressed up, girl.”
Sue had met Shana
in Minnesota. Katie brought her home one night years ago in the dead of winter.
Sue had been up studying and in came this tall, very cold woman with an Adam’s
apple. The woman wore a leopard print mini dress, fishnet stockings and
four-inch knee-high boots. It must have been below zero outside and all the
woman wore was a leather jacket that hardly qualified as a winter coat. Her face
was bruised and bloodied.
Sue didn’t ask
questions. She just got up and prepared the pullout bed from the couch for
their guest.
Shana was not the
first to spend time on their couch in the living room of their two-bedroom
apartment. There had been others, but there was something about Shana that drew
the two young women to help her. After a warm shower and some warm food, Shana
told them her story.