When I’d turned to face her, she was gorgeous. Bright turquoise eyes, curly brown locks that shaped her oval face. Her rosy cheeks matched her pink glossy lips, and her pale skin was flawless without a hint of makeup. She was five-five and wore a unicorn onesie – the hood over her head with its gold horn pointed upward.
"HOLY STARLIGHT! The whale shifter is a female. Her eyes! Are they real? Oh, is her hair real too? How does she get a color like that? It can't be real. Maybe it’s a...what's it called again..." she’d rambled on, then paused for a split second as if she was having a discussion in her mind.
"YES, a wig!" she’d continued.
I’d tried to hold back my laughter at her cuteness. Marcus did say Makoto had a frequent tendency to talk out loud – this was a perfect example.
Kai had been on the verge of laughing his head off, something I hadn’t seen in the many years I'd known him from our Galleria events. He’d always maintained his stature and rarely smiled unless accepting an award or during interviews.
From the way he’d looked at Makoto, to the wide smile on his lips as he’d attempted to hold back the rounds of laughter that tried to escape him, I realized right away he was in love with her. And from this first interaction, I could see why.
Junho hadn’t been as considerate as Kai; loud laughter had left him, which was another rare occurrence unless we joked around with the others. I’d pulled down my hood to give her a smile.
"Please tell me I didn't say that out loud. Pretty please?" she’d begged; her wide eyes and a pleading expression made me giggle, but I’d felt her concern for talking out loud.
"Well, since you’re hella cute in that unicorn onesie, I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. But to answer your question, my hair and eyes are real," I’d announced, unable to stop smiling.
"I suck at first impressions," she’d admitted shyly, a nervous giggle left her.
Oh trust me, I do too.
I hadn't realized she was Makoto until she'd introduced herself, but with all that occurred in less than three minutes, it was easy to put everything together and finally have a face to the name.
After our introduction and mini onesie photoshoot in the change room, both groups formally introduced themselves. Michael was the only one missing from my group, but he'd hopefully get to meet Makoto sometime this week. I bet he was curious to meet the woman who'd seemed to catch his brother’s attention as well.
We'd headed over to a dessert restaurant after Makoto disappeared for a split second, only to be found ten stores down, staring at the window of the pastry restaurant. I don't know how she was able to know exactly where the shop was, stating something about smelling chocolate and needing to investigate her stomach's well-being.
The restaurant was doing a sundae competition; finish the new double-decker chocolate sundae in twenty minutes and receive tickets to a free all-you-can-eat buffet at their partnered restaurant that was a mixture of Asian and Mediterranean food.
Of course, my competitive side had taken over and Makoto seemed to be just as thrilled to dominate the massive sundae. I was already prepared, having experience with devouring Cece's tubs of ice cream for years.
We’d accomplished it with two minutes to spare, but that was when the food coma hit me like a truck. Makoto looked just as exhausted with chocolate on her lips. Now, we were on our way home; Marcus and Junho said they would gather the rest of what we needed so Christian, Ethan, and Kai could come home with us.
Jaxson, Ryder, Daniel, and EliaseAnne were driving Junho's sports car back to the cottage while Christian drove us with his UBER VIP Escalade.
Now, I was trying to stay awake as we continued our journey on the toll highway.
"It was worth every bite," I muttered, resting my head against the leather brown seats.
"Mhm," Makoto agreed.
I peeked my eyes open to see her eyes closed; her head nodded off to the side.
"I think Makoto is in a food coma too," Ethan, who glanced back from his seat, pointed out.
Kai, who was on the far edge seat slipped his hand over her shoulder, encouraging her to rest her head on his shoulder.
She mumbled something that made no sense, but relaxed; her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm, signaling that she was asleep.
"Yup. She's not one to eat a lot, but give her a sundae or blueberry pancakes, and she'll eat until she can barely breathe," Kai noted.
"Yum, blueberry pancakes are awesome! We should make some for breakfast," I suggested, already thinking of the delicious plate of sweet, mouth-watering goodness.
"You two will totally get along," Christian pointed out, glancing at us through the rearview mirror.
"I have to admit, I agree," I replied, closing my eyes.
It was the first time in years I'd had another female friend. Cece had been my best friend for five years now, and though I loved her to bits, it would be nice to have one or two girlfriends to bug and discuss weird trends and gossip.
Not to mention the fun it would be going shopping as a group. It seemed Makoto hadn't experienced these interactions either, having looked intrigued by the multiple shopping outlets and asking a bunch of questions which Marcus and Junho alternated answering.
I must have dozed off, not waking up until I felt myself lifted out of my seat. From the earthy fresh scent, I knew it was Ethan; my body relaxed in his strong hold.
I'd just sleep for a few minutes.
DAY TWO – 07:00 A.M.
"Scarlet, you're finally awake. You hungry?" Ethan announced as I entered the massive kitchen.
I yawned, taking a look around. Ethan and Elias, who I assumed was EliaseAnne's brother, were at the stove cooking something which on further investigation smelled like pancakes. I grinned at the lovely smell; my stomach ready to feast on its divine taste.
Jaxson, Junho, and Christian sat at the oversized dining table, looking at their phones and talking about something along the lines of sports.
Kai, Ryder, Marcus, and Daniel were sitting at the kitchen island in mid-conversation. I noticed Mako's set of boys sat on colored stools which piqued my interest.
"When did you guys buy colored stools?" I asked, noticing the empty pink stool between Kai and Ryder.
Marcus glanced my way.
"We brought them along," he confessed.
"You guys have colored stools..." I tilted my head, realizing their stools matched their eyes.
They all fidgeted in place.
"It's a habit," Elias announced, flipping a pancake.
"Interesting," I commented, thinking it was pretty adorable that grown-ass men had colored stools they brought from another realm.
I let my eyes scan the kitchen, noticing a missing blue-eyed brunette.
"Where's Makot– oomph," I began, but something bumped into me.
I looked over to see a dazed Makoto, her eyes staring at the floor.
"Uh...Makoto?" I asked.
The others looked in my direction, noticing Makoto standing there.
"Is she okay?" Jaxson asked.
"Makoto sleep walks. It's normal," Ryder casually announced.
"Wait, did you guys pick up milk yesterday?" Daniel questioned eyeing Jaxson and the others at the table.
Marcus looked at Junho.
"I thought you guys picked some up before we met," he admitted.