Page 34 of A Boy Is a Gun: Part II
One
Taylor
Mia and I had beencooped up in the condo all morning.She was starting to get fussy, and honestly, so was I.Fresh air was a necessity before we both lost it.
The park bench outside the condo was in just the right patch of sunlight—warm, but not blinding.Mia babbled happily in my lap while I tried to remember the last time I sat somewhere without checking the clock every two minutes.
“Taylor.”
I looked up.
Jiro was standing there, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a coffee cup like he had nowhere else to be.His hair was down today, brushing his shoulders, dark and glossy in the light from the window.The sleeves of his hoodie were pushed up just enough to show the edge of the dragons inked on his forearms, their scales curling over muscle in a way that made me wonder how far the artwork went.
He looked...casual.Effortless.Like this was just another morning for him.But there was nothing ordinary about the way he carried it—easy but commanding, like he didn’t need to raise his voice to take up space.
I caught myself staring longer than I should’ve, tracing the line of his jaw, the hint of stubble that made him look less like the boy next door and more like the kind of man your mother warned you about.Except, he didn’t feel like a warning.He felt like temptation.
He lifted the cup to his mouth, and my eyes followed the motion like I had no control over them.When his lips curved into the faintest smile—like he knew exactly where my thoughts had gone—I felt my stomach flip.
“Hey,” I said, shifting Mia so she could see him.“Out for a walk?”
He smiled—polite, but with something underneath.“You could say that.Mind if I join you?”
Before I could answer, Mia was already leaning toward him, tiny fingers reaching for his cup like she had every right to it.He crouched down to her level, grinning when she squealed.
“Guess that’s a yes,” he said, and sat beside me.
We talked about nothing at first—how good the weather was, how Fresh Espresso’s peach jam could ruin a person for store-bought jelly forever.Then Mia’s shoe fell off, and while I fumbled to put it back on, Jiro reached over.
“Here,” he said softly, and I froze for a second as he lifted Mia out of my lap like he’d done it a hundred times before.She fit against him like it was natural, like she’d been passed to him a dozen times already.He bounced her gently, and she rewarded him with a high-pitched giggle that made my chest tighten in a way I wasn’t ready to examine.
“You’re good with kids,” I said, more surprised than I meant to sound.
He glanced at me over her head, a little smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.“Maybe I just like yours.”
I opened my mouth to answer, but Mia chose that moment to grab at his glasses, pulling them crooked.He let her, still smiling, completely unbothered.And for the first time in a long while, I forgot to check the time.
“You ever think about going out with me?”he asked, like it was the most casual thing in the world.
I blinked at him.“That’s...direct.”
“Figured I’d skip the whole subtle, mysterious thing.”His eyes flickered over my face, reading me the way people read menus—looking for something that might be a favorite.“So?Have you?”
I could feel my pulse in my ears.“I have now.”I smile.“Where are we going?What’s the dress code?”
The corner of his mouth curved.“What should you wear?Depends.I could cook for you—at my place, or yours.Or, if that’s too weird, we can meet somewhere public.”
