Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

leave a little early."
    Hinata's throat locked all his words away. He clutched his cupcake in the trembling fingers of one hand, setting his soda on the bench beside him so he would not spill the wonderful sweetness of his favorite drink. His chest heaved, and he drew in a few sharp edged breaths. "I— thank you, Andre."
    The big man paused on his way to the door leading down into the rest of Hinata's apartment. "It was my pleasure, sir." The gleaming white of Andre's teeth gleamed against his cocoa colored skin briefly. "Truly."
    Hinata sat in the early morning sun. He sipped his bubbly orange drink, before biting into the sugary goodness of his birthday cake. The stinging, phantom scent of almond blossoms receded, unable to hold sway over his senses in the face of the actual sweet lemon smell rising from the small confection in his hand.
    "Andre remembered." Hinata startled at the sound of his own voice. He sat up straighter, squaring his shoulders. Bowing to the two samurai, he silently thanked them for celebrating the day of his birth with him. The crinkle edged paper at the base of the cupcake was as brightly fuchsia as Hinata's impatiens. He peeled the baking cup carefully away from his breakfast treat, brushed stray crumbs from the paper and folded the small, brightly colored circle to slip into his pocket as he devoured the pastry. Gathering his books up, Hinata bowed in farewell to the samurai.
    CHAPTER 6
    Hinata looked through window of the limo. "Why are we here, Andre?" The vehicle idled in front of a small, plain building twenty minutes in the opposite direction from campus. Hinata pulled his gaze from the large plate glass windows fronting the building, and the gloriously wide expanse of highly polished wooden floors within to meet Andre's eyes in the rearview mirror.
    "Your father and brothers felt you would benefit from an outlet for the stress of working so much." Andre's eyes twinkled back at Hinata. A rumbling noise beside them drew Hinata's attention. Next to them in the otherwise empty parking lot sat a large white truck with the words Robertson's Signage lettered in black on the door. A wiry man with salt and pepper hair stepped out of the truck. Andre rolled his window down.
    "You want the sign up where the old one was?" From the man's lack of formality and the easy way he leaned into Andre's personal space, Hinata deduced this was not their first meeting. He scooted to the edge of his seat. His stomach filled with the fluttering wings of a thousand butterflies.
    "Yes, but before you start, may I show my young charge the sign?"
    The other man grunted, leaning back from the window. "Yeah, that'll be no problem. I'll have the boys lean it against the building." He strode back to his truck, rapping sharply on the window. Hinata's attention was drawn by the two younger men waiting in the cab of the truck for the first time.
    Both resembled the older man, one taller and broader but in every other way a carbon copy of what must surely be his father, or uncle, and one exact in height and build, but with strawberry blond hair. The blond cast a wide smile at the limo as he slid from the truck. The two men clambered into the back of the truck, bending and twisting as they unfastened various latches. Pulling back a thick protective covering, they stepped to opposite ends of the trucks bed, revealing the sign.
    "Oh. Andre, the sign says Kenkyusha School of Dance." Hinata's heart beat frantically against his ribs as he spoke again, saying nearly the same thing. "The sign has my family name on it." Andre's eyes met his once again in the rearview mirror. This time their clear depths were filled with utter seriousness. "Yes. Your father and brothers purchased this building for you. They asked me to bring you here today, and give you these." Andre held Hinata's gaze in the mirror as he stretched his right arm back, his hand holding a small ring of keys. "The utilities were turned on yesterday, and the phones go in tomorrow. Your friends Caroline and Rachelle have asked if you might hire them to share a part-time receptionist position."
    The glint of the silver keys shimmered in Hinata's vision. He tried to manage an appropriate response, but all he could squeeze from lungs suddenly four sizes smaller than they had been a moment before was enough air to support one small, breathy word. "Oh."
    Andre shook the keys gently. "Take the keys, sir. We have to get going. It wouldn't do to be late to the courses your