“Yes.”
I rest my head against his shoulder. “The idea of losing me is really that scary to you, huh?”
“Yes.”
His heartbeat grows more pronounced the farther from the crowded shore we get. It thunders against my ear beneath an array of uneven breaths. This isn’t a moment of love. This isn’t an instant of attraction.
This is something so much more.
Justwhoexactly are you, Dominic? And what in the world are we to one another…
Chapter 17
?
It’s all Japanese to me.
Alister
“This is…” The most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life, second only to August herself. It’s color coded. There’s a color key. It’s a document, sure, but it’s a document if adocumentwere aspreadsheet. Neat little rows of information. Crisp font. No flourishes.
“I know it’s not in a pretty binder, but all theprettywas December’s doing. My art of choice is text-based, less floral and collage. If it involves printing out photos on a teeny tiny machine, I’m out.”
Her art of choice is stunning.
Battling to settle my heart, I sit at the kitchen table after breakfast on this sunny Tuesday morning and force my attention to start at the beginning of the gift I have just been bestowed.
Preferred Physical Features.
I gulp.
Blond hair, light-colored eyes, tall, see Takumi Usui for reference.
Ah. Yes. Of course. Takumi Usui. The perfect, mischievous prince fromKaicho wa Maid-samawho can do anything flawlessly. He’s still topping charts as a favorite male lead to this day. So. No pressure or anything.
At the very least, she didn’t say Tamaki Suoh. Becauseblondis one thing, but textbook himbo is another.
Speaking of personality, I proceed into the next section and discover that Takumi Usui rears again—still perfect, stillunattainable in every way. But, perhaps worse, sitting beside him is Kyouya Sata, the male lead fromWolf Girl and Black Prince.
Otherwise known as: a full-blown sadist.
My brow might twitch as it furrows, and I become starkly aware that August is hovering above me.
Pulling my gaze off herperfect male leadcharacter sheet, I find fluttering lashes and expectant eyes. “Yes…?” I broach.
“They’re anime characters,” she clarifies, and it occurs to me that my unsettle must be coming off asconfusion. How…convenient. ConsideringDominic, unlikeAli, hasn’t seen an anime in his life.
“Ah,” I offer, then I pluck my phone from my pocket and do a web search forKyouya Sata personality. “Polite and kind to mask his true cold, manipulative, sadistic, and cynical personality.” Yep. That’s exactly what I remember from when she recommended this show in her introduction email. It was nestled snugly in betweenSoul Eaterand some truly visceral comedy nonsense about clothing aliens trying to take over the world. Sandwiched there, it stewed, unassuming. So I watched it. And I’m not saying I was hooked, but…I definitely enjoyed it more than a mentally stable individual might.
I glance back up at August. “Do I…want to look up the other characters?”
“Do youwantto know whether or not you’re capable of being my perfect male lead?”
Bracing for unattainable standards, I exhale and type inTakumi Usui personality. Most of the adjectives associated with Usui are a little more palatable, butperverted aliendoesn’t escape the summary, so I tap my finger to it before looking pointedly at August. “What am I to do with this?”
She tangles her fingers together behind her back. “That’s just what the female lead calls him because of how he flirts withher. Maybe focus on the other details.” She rests her nail against my phone. “Steadfast and supportive. Unwavering affection. Relentless teasing.” Dreamily, she sighs. “He’s my favorite. Mostly because of the incessant way he torments her.”
That checks out.
