The dinner was on Wednesday night. Sakura had called me on Sunday, letting me know the details. Apparently, it was a huge annual dinner between various families, including hers and Jin’s. The two had known each other since they were children and everyone had expected them to get married.

Honestly, what the hell had I gotten myself into? I was just a normal guy. I’d seen a cute girl and impulsively stepped in to help her out, but now I had to go to a big fancy dinner and pretend like I was her boyfriend? I didn’t even really know anything about her except that she owned a bookstore and she seemed to wear dresses a lot. And that she sometimes made my heart race when I saw her. Okay, maybe not just sometimes. Maybe like every time I saw her. I was really weak to girls with curly hair and long legs.

She kind of invited herself over to my apartment the night of the dinner. I’d closed up the bakery early to get ready. She wanted to help me pick out an outfit suitable for the occasion. I had no idea what to expect when I heard her ring the doorbell.

“, I’m still in my sweatpants.” I muttered, running a hand through my wet hair. I’d just hopped out of the shower. She wasn’t supposed to be here for another fifteen minutes.

I hustled over to the door, tripping over a pile of books on my way over. I loved to read, but I had too many books and not enough bookshelves. Stacks of books littered my home. I tried to keep it neat, but I wasn’t home long enough to really care about cleaning.

I opened the door to see her standing there, looking absolutely gorgeous in a sky blue flapper dress. Intricate beadwork decorated the span of the entire dress and dropped off in a fringe around the hem. She had her long hair tied up in a large bun at the back of her head and a beaded headband finished off the look.

“You look amazing.” I breathed, caught up in staring at her.

“Ah, thank you.” She blushed, looking down. “You’ll look amazing too, by the time I’m finished with you.”

I laughed as I stepped aside to let her in. “What, you don’t think I look amazing now?”

Sakura surveyed me from head to toe. I shuffled my feet, feeling like I was on display.

“You’re good-looking.” She decided. “I like your hair color. It’s like orangey, but it’s not brassy.”

“My sister did it.” I told her, running a hand through my hair. “She owns a beauty salon and she likes to practice on me sometimes. I’m lucky I ended up with such a conservative color this time. Once, she dyed my hair mint green. I looked like TOP from Big Bang, but not half as cool.”

Sakura giggled. “I can’t imagine that.”

“Well, it didn’t stay for very long. I didn’t want to scare away customers.”

We stood there staring awkwardly at each other for a few moments before I realized I should offer her something. I didn’t have many strangers in my apartment, usually just my sister and her kids. And a few friends I’d known since middle school. Sakura was definitely an anomaly.

“Do you want something to drink?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

“Nah, let’s just get started. Do you have a blowdryer?” She peeked behind me to see into the bathroom.

“Ah, yeah. Where should we do this?” I walked to the bathroom and she followed me.

“Just sit on the toilet seat and I’ll do it for you.” She smiled at me as she took the blowdryer from my hands and plugged it in.

“You sure are comfortable in a stranger’s home.” I muttered. I probably felt more nervous than she did.

“You’re not a stranger. You’re my adorable baker.” Sakura pinched my nose. I swatted her hand away, a flush rising to my cheeks.

“I’ve literally met you twice before today.” I reminded her. “Shouldn’t you feel at least a little uncomfortable about being alone in a strange man’s house?”

“Well, now I am.” She said, holding the blowdryer in front of her like a weapon. “Are you going to try anything funny, mister?”

“No, I’m not.” I laughed. “So you can get that blowdryer out of my face now.”

Sakura turned it on and ran her fingers through my hair, gently styling it as it dried.

I closed my eyes and let out a soft sigh. I was used to my sister doing my hair, but this was different. Sakura’s fingers were small and gentle and different.

I peeked open my eyes to study her as she hummed to herself over the noise of the blowdryer. She was strange, for sure. Or maybe she really did feel comfortable around me. My sister said I had that effect on women. Like a gentle giant, or something. I’d always brushed her off with a laugh, but now I wondered if maybe she was right.

After ten minutes or so, Sakura switched off the blowdryer and stepped back to survey her work with a satisfied smile.

“Good. You look good.” She decided, tweaking a strand or two.

“Thank you.” I mumbled, looking down.

“Alright, lead me to your closet. I brought some accessories so you can look like the Scott to my Zelda.” She grinned at me as I stood up and led the way.

“So we’re the Fitzgeralds tonight, huh?” I asked as I ushered her into my messy bedroom. Books were scattered all over the place, along with some clothes and dog hair. My husky, Jack, was nestled in the corner, fast asleep.

“You have a dog?” Sakura went over to him.

“Ah, be careful! He doesn’t like strangers!” I cried, quickly following behind her. She didn’t listen to me and patted his head.

Jack cracked open one eye and bared his teeth in a sleepy growl.

“Hey there, handsome.” Sakura said sweetly. “Aren’t you beautiful?”

“Seriously, Sakura, you should step back. He’s not friendly.” I tried to pull her away as Jack sat up and yawned. Sakura yanked her arm back from me and scratched behind his ears. He whined and nuzzled into her touch.

“Jack.” I said warningly, surprised at his gentle mannerisms.

“Who’s a good boy, Jack?” Sakura crooned, using her free hand to pet his back. Jack wagged his tail at her.

“Wow.” I crossed my arms and surveyed the two of them, impressed. “Jack’s never like this with strangers. Whenever I take him for a walk, he’s always growling and snapping at everyone. He’s so ornery.”

“He’s beautiful.” Sakura said softly, kissing him on the head. Jack sniffed her neck happily.

“Do you like dogs?” I asked, curious. What sort of charmer was this woman? Jack and I had both fallen under her spell.

“Yeah, I love them. But Jin was allergic, so I never was able to get one.” She sighed sadly and straightened up. Jack whined and butted her legs with his head.

Sakura made her way over to my closet and picked through it like she lived here. I sat on my bed and watched her. Jack hopped up next to me and put his head in my lap, regarding Sakura curiously.

“Why did you guys break up?” I asked softly. As her fake boyfriend, I thought maybe I should know something like this.

Sakura sighed as she looked through my shirts, apparently unsatisfied with the selection.

“Jin doesn’t love me.” She said sadly. “He thinks he does, but he’s just doing what’s expected of him. He’s always doing what’s expected of him. Went into business because his parents wanted him to. Dated me because his parents wanted him to. We’ve broken up before. Every so often, I think he realizes that he doesn’t want this life, doesn’t want me. And then he ‘comes to his senses’ as he calls it and begs me to get back together with him. And I always do.”

“You love him, then?” I prodded. It sure sounded like she loved him.

“Yeah.” She whispered. “But I can’t do it anymore. We’ve known each other since we were kids and we’ve dated for three years. I’m tired. I want to find someone who actually wants to be with me.”

“Are you so sure he doesn’t love you?” I absentmindedly Jack’s fur as I watched her stand on her tiptoes to try and reach a pair of dark grey pants on the top shelf.

“This may sound selfish of me, but he doesn’t love me the way I want to be loved. I know I should be grateful that someone loves me at all, but I’m not. I just feel burdensome. Like I’m the one always being taken care of while he’s sacrificing himself to please others. I don’t want to watch him live like that anymore, so I’m letting him go.”

“Sure is nice of you.” I said, gently pushing of me and getting up to help her. I stood behind her, my chest pressed against her back as I pulled the pair of pants down. My heart beat just a bit faster as I caught a whiff of her scent. So she wore Marc Jacobs’ Daisy perfume, huh? My sister sold that at her salon. I had thought only rich girls wore that. Maybe she was a rich girl.

I handed her the pants and she accepted them, avoiding my eyes. Was she only now feeling uncomfortable in a strange man’s home? About time.

“Thanks, Jimin.” She said softly, a flush spreading over her cheeks.

“You’re welcome, Sakura.” I replied cheerfully, trying to put her at ease. I wouldn’t try something on her.

“Tell me about yourself.” She demanded, albeit politely. She held the pants up against my legs, trying to imagine how they looked.

“What do you wanna know?” I asked, feeling shy. It’d been a while since I’d gotten to know a girl. I had been busy taking care of the bakery and my sister’s family since her husband had been called away for the military.

“How old are you?” She folded the pants and placed them on the bed.

“Twenty-four. What about you?” I held my breath as she fixed a stray hair on my forehead.

“Same.” She smiled, making my pulse quicken. She was so close to me. I wondered what it’d be like to kiss her. “Are you an only child?”

“No, I have an older sister.” I said, feeling awkward as we stood there, looking at each other. “Are you?”

She nodded. “Yup. I’m the only child and the biggest disappointment.”

“You’re a disappointment?” I asked disbelievingly.

“Yeah, cause I opened a bookstore instead of going into the family business.” She turned away from me and pulled out a grey flannel shirt from my closet. I’d forgotten I’d had that in there.

“What’s the family business?” I glanced up at the ceiling as she pressed the shirt against my chest, trying not to imagine what it would be like to hug her. How long had it been since I’d last held a girl in my arms?

“Textiles.” She wrinkled her nose as I glanced back down. I laughed.

“Not your passion, huh?”

“Definitely not.” She giggled. What a cute giggle. “What about you? Is your bakery a family business?”

Jack whined and jumped down from the bed, pressing his nose against my palm as if he detected my sudden change in mood.

“Ah, no.” I said, petting Jack’s head. “My parents passed away when I was five. My sister was fifteen, so we went to live with an aunt until she turned eighteen, and then she raised me by herself from there.”

I crouched down, turning my attention to Jack. I hated telling this story to people, hated seeing their reactions. It had happened so long ago, but I always had to brace myself to see the inevitable pity in their eyes.

“So that’s why you’re so close to your sister.” Sakura said softly, reaching down and my hair. I looked up at her in surprise. “Sorry.” She said hurriedly, drawing her hand away. “You had a hair loose there.” She turned her face to hide her blush. Cute.

“Yup.” I stood up and took the shirt from her. “She’s a nice lady. Although she does do crazy things to my hair sometimes.”

I took the clothes from Sakura and headed into the bathroom to change. I could hear her cooing to Jack and Jack’s happy little responses. At least that grumpy dog had finally found someone he liked.

“Me too.” I said softly to my reflection. “I’m such an idiot, getting interested in a girl who’s only using me to get rid of her ex-boyfriend.”

“Jimin?” Sakura called. “Are you almost done?”

“Yeah!” I answered, hurriedly buttoning up my shirt. I stepped out and went into the bedroom, self-consciously plucking at my clothes. “How do I look?”

She ran her eyes over my body. I fidgeted. She had such an intense gaze. “You look really nice.” She said, smiling at me.

“Like the Scott to your Zelda?” I joked, tugging at my hair. She smacked my hand away.

“Almost. Don’t mess up your hair.” She delved into her bag and pulled out a pair of sky blue suspenders and a matching bowtie. “It’s not a perfect 1920s costume, but it’s the best I could come up with in a short amount of time. Jin and I were supposed to go together, so I had to get everything ready last minute.”

“Is this a costume party?” I asked as she knotted the bowtie around my neck. She tried to put on my suspenders, but I took them from her and buckled them myself.

She grimaced. “Yeah, sorry, it’s so cheesy. There’s dancing, too.”

I gulped. “Dancing?”

She laughed at my expression. “What, you can’t dance?”

“I can dance.” I said defensively. “I just don’t like to do it in front of a bunch of strangers.”

“Well, let’s practice.” Sakura said, smiling. “Don’t you have a record player over in your living room?”

“Ah, yeah.” I said, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise as she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the living room. She let go of me and shuffled through my records, finally pulling out an old Billie Holiday one.

“Be careful!” I called anxiously. I hated people touching my things without permission.

Sakura rolled her eyes at me. “I’ve dealt with record players before. I sell some at my bookshop. You don’t need to fear.”

“What made you open up a bookstore?” I asked, bouncing on my heels as she put the record on. I loved this song.

“I like books. Why’d you open up a bakery?” She grinned at me.

“I like baking.” I grinned back.

“Alright, let’s practice.” Sakura took one of my hands in her and placed the other on my shoulder. I fumbled for a moment before holding her waist with my free hand.

We danced around my living room effortlessly. I rarely danced these days, but my ex-girlfriend had been a professional dancer. She’d take me out to dancing parties and we’d sometimes stay out all night, just drinking and dancing.

“You’re really good, Jimin.” Sakura said softly, looking up at me. Her dark eyes were framed by long, curly eyelashes.

“It’s been a while.” I replied, trying to block out the memories of my ex-girlfriend. They weren’t happy ones and I didn’t care to remember them anymore.

“I can’t tell.” She rested her head against my chest. I suddenly realized how tiny she was. She couldn’t have been more than 5’3”.

I pulled her closer and rested my chin on top of her head. What was up with this sudden atmosphere? Why were we slow dancing to Billie Holiday singing “All of Me” in my living room? “You’re not bad at this. Did you and Jin go dancing?”

“Only for formal events.” She said, drawing away. “He doesn’t like dancing. He’s not bad, but he’s not great either. You’re a great dancer, Jimin.”

I gave her a little spin and pulled her back into my arms. “You’re a good partner.”

She smiled up at me and I felt my heartbeat quicken. Could she feel it too, pressed up against my chest like this?

The song ended and she pulled away. I felt reluctant to let her go.

“Alright, well, we should get going.” Sakura walked over to the record player and removed the spindle.

“Okay. Wait, aren’t there some things I need to know? Like things couples usually know about each other?” I opened my bedroom door to get a jacket. Late April nights were still cold.

Jack ran into the living room and jumped up on Sakura.

“Jack, get down.” I scolded, grabbing his collar and picking him up in my arms. “You’re getting your fur everywhere.”

I shut him in the bedroom as Sakura pulled a lint roller out of her bag. She ran it over my body, oblivious to the heat rising to my cheeks. I snatched it from her as she got closer to my legs.

“I can get it.” I said, doing it myself.

“Here’s what you need to know.” She said decisively. “I’m twenty-four, I own a bookstore, I’m an only child, and Jin is my ex-boyfriend. My last name is Song. My dad’s Korean and my mom’s Japanese. You can just call them Mr. and Mrs. Song.”

“You’re half-Japanese?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah.” She said softly, looking away. “Does that surprise you?”

“Yeah, but not in a bad way. I mean, your name’s Sakura. I thought maybe you had some Japanese in you.” I shrugged, not really sure how to respond to her question.

“What do I need to know about you?” Sakura asked, glancing at me shyly.

“Um, I’m also twenty-four. I own a fairly successful bakery, I have an older sister, two nieces, and a nephew. My brother-in-law is in the military, so I look after them while he’s away. He’s away now, so I help her out with the kids a lot. Let’s see…I like to read. I play the saxophone. And I have a husky named Jack.”

“You play the saxophone?” She smiled at me, intrigued.

“Yup. I’m in a jazz band. We play on the weekends and some Friday nights.” I thought some more. “I think that’s about it. What’s our story? How’d we meet?”

“The same way we really met. You comforted me after stupid Jin broke up with me over the phone in your bakery. I came back the next few days and we really hit it off. I wanted your cake recipe, and you offered to teach me, so I stayed after hours one day and then you, uh, just sort of leaned in and kissed me and we’ve been dating ever since.” She blushed at the kissing part, avoiding my eyes and staring at her toes.

“That’s cute.” I said, chuckling. “Shouldn’t we kiss for real, though? Just in case someone suspects us and asks us to kiss on command?” I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively at her.

“Who would do that?” She muttered, reaching up and fixing my bowtie.

“Still, first kisses are always awkward.” I persisted, enjoying her bashful reactions.

“You just wanna kiss me.” She huffed. “But you’re right. First kisses are always awkward. People would suspect us. Besides, it’s not a bad idea to get more comfortable with each other. We have to act like a couple all night, anyway.”

Sakura looked up at me with a determined expression.

“So, are we doing this or what?” She asked, gazing up at me.

“U-Uh, yeah. Okay.” I stammered, suddenly feeling nervous. I placed my hands around her waist and drew her closer to me. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips at me. I stifled back a laugh at her ridiculous expression. Her eyes shot open and she glared at me.

“Why are you laughing at me?” She demanded, offended. “You should be happy that such a pretty girl is asking for a kiss.”

“I am.” I said, still chuckling. “Close your eyes.”

She obeyed, but didn’t pucker her lips again. I leaned down and softly pressed my lips against hers. Tingles immediately shot through my entire body, all the way down to my fingertips and toes. Sakura looped her arms around my neck and stood on her tiptoes, deepening the kiss. Damn, her lips were so soft. This wasn’t awkward at all. This was…perfect.

She pulled back after a few moments, her dark eyes sparkling.

“Wow, Jimin.” She whispered, smiling. “That wasn’t awkward at all.”

“Yeah.” I agreed, taking a deep breath. “I think we’ll really have them fooled.”

“You ready to go?” She took her hands away from my neck and winked at me flirtatiously. I shook my head, smiling.

“Yeah, let’s go. I don’t know if I’m ready, but let’s get it over with.” I sighed.

“Sorry, Jimin.” She said softly, patting my arm. “I know this is a big inconvenience for you.”

“What are you talking about?” I smiled. “It’s not every night I get to go out dancing with such a gorgeous girl.”

I opened the bedroom door to let Jack out as she waited for me at the front door.

“I’ll be home soon, okay?” I whispered to Jack. He my face.

“Jimin, we’re gonna be late!” Sakura called. I gave Jack a kiss on the head and met her. She smiled at me, her dark eyes shining like jewels and I once again wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into.