In Deep Kimchi (15 page)

“I would prefer to hear it from him, and anyway, I’m in Japan on business.”

Masaaki stopped laughing and started walking again. “But you are not opposed to dating a younger man?”

Having this conversation with him seemed so wrong. Why is so interested in Ichiro’s love life?

“No, but I’ve never dated anyone young enough to be my son. And while I’m putting it out there, long distance romances never work.”

“Ichiro would be perfect for you. He’s young and virile.”

“You sound like his father arranging a marriage.”

“I’m just trying to look out for what’s best for him.”

“And it doesn’t hurt if he gets a bit creative with the songs when I’m around him. I heard his latest
, Romanticism
. It was excellent.” She frowned. He and Harper shared the same ideals. When it came to making money, nothing was out of bounds. Why did men assumed that she was stupid just because she was a woman?

“See, you’re perfect for him.”

Kenshin pulled up with the limousine just as they made it to the stairs.

“I’ll go in and get the boys, but I want you to think about what we’ve discussed.”

“I need Ichiro to speak to me for himself.”

Masaaki laughed again. “You have a great sense of humor.” He disappeared inside the door without looking back to catch her expression.

Aomori and Masaaki piled into the limousine after they locked up the place. Satoshi won the honors of being seated next to her, with Ichiro and Yori across from them. Takumijo and Masaaki sat in the rear discussing the upcoming concerts. From what she could make out, both nights were sold out and were being held at the Tokyo Dome the following weekend. Apparently, she and the others authors were going as their guests.

Kenshin drove them straight to the hotel. She never realized how late it was until she saw Masaaki use his pass key to let them into the building.

Yori caught her hand as soon as everyone else had gone inside. “I will escort you up.”

“I’m perfectly capable of finding my own room.”

He rubbed his fingertip over the back of her hand while he held it. “Join me for a drink before we go up.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say no. “I don’t really drink alcohol.”

“One drink,” he insisted. He used his pass key to let them into the lobby.

Against her better judgment, she followed him to the lounge.

Chapter Ten

What was he thinking? Yori didn’t know. He didn’t even know why he was doing it. Things would have much simpler just to have allowed her to go up to her room. But she was looking kawaii, as John had put it, and he was jealous of all the attention she had received from the rest of the men at dinner earlier. Even Takumijo had softened up some toward her on the way back to the hotel and had talked to her about the concert.

It was still early by club standards. The disc jockey was spinning a melody of songs for lovers.
I’ll Keep Holding On
filtered out through the speakers when they entered. It was the type of song not to be wasted. “Dance with me.”

Shaundra did not resist him and wrapped her arms around his waist like American women preferred do when dancing slowly. He was not opposed to the closeness, even though he had been taught that a man should keep a proper distance. Now he understood why as one of Dido’s slower songs replaced the previous song. Its haunting rhythm and synthesized sounds woke up something inside of him as Shaundra rocked against him.
What an odd time to get an erection
, he thought as she snuggled closer to him. She did not act repulsed or try to pull away from him. She just continued to move slowly until the song ended and he escorted her to a private booth. A waitress appeared.

The young woman came over, recognized him and rewarded him with an inviting smile. “What will it be?” she asked him in Japanese.

“Two Shochu on ice,” he ordered.

Only then did she seem to notice Shaundra’s presence at the table. “Are you drinking both of them? That might be too strong for the American.”

“The American will be all right. Just bring us what I ordered.”

The waitress left, but not before rolling her eyes at Shaundra.

“What is her problem?” Shaundra asked.

“Nothing,” Yori lied. “How do you say it? Good workers are hard to find.”

“She looks upset. Do you know her?”

“No.”

The waitress returned with the drinks and placed them on the table in front of them, then walked away shaking her head.

Shaundra picked up her drink. “You sure you don’t know her?” She sipped and her eyes widened. “Ooh, this has quite a kickback.”

Yori sampled his drink, hoping the waitress hadn’t poisoned both of them. “Sip it slowly to get used to the taste.”

Shaundra tried the drink again. This time, she made a face but didn’t comment.

“Do you want to date Ichiro?”

Shaundra put the glass down. “Why does everyone have that impression?”

“He likes you.”

“I barely know him and there’s that age thing.”

“You’re thinking like a mother.”

“I am a mother, which is another reason why I shouldn’t get involved with Ichiro.”

“You said shouldn’t, not can’t.”

She picked up the glass again. “Same thing.”

“No it is not.”

Shaundra smiled at him from behind the clear glass. “Either way I don’t have an answer for you. Ichiro has not expressed his interest to me yet, so this conversation is senseless. I prefer a man to be direct with me. If he wants more, he has to ask me himself.”

Yori, too, liked the direct approach. “I understand.” Good, she had not said yes. That meant there was still hope…for him. He polished off his drink and signaled for another. The waitress returned, still in a funky mood. “Another round.”

“Not for me,” Shaundra replied. “This one already has me lightheaded.”

“Would you care for something different? Beer or maybe champagne?”

“Champagne does weird things to me.”

Yori chuckled. “Change my order. A bottle of champagne and two glasses.”

Shaundra giggled. The Shochu had her giddy. “What the hell? How often do I come to Japan?”

The waitress raised an eyebrow at him.

“You heard it yourself. If the lady wants champagne, then bring her the best.”

The waitress left and returned with the champagne bottled buried in ice inside a bucket and two frosted fluted glasses. Yori sent her off with his black charge card and a hefty tip to buy her silence. He lifted the champagne from the bucket, popped the cork and then filled both their glasses. He raised his. “A toast. To new friends and new relationships. Kanpai.”

Shaundra raised her glass. “Maybe.” She sipped and then emptied the glass.

Yori refilled it. The more she sipped, the more she giggled. He liked that. He polished off his drink.

“Ooh, I like this song,” Shaundra said as she struggled to her feet.

He liked it, too, especially since he sang the lead. Where had she heard it? He finished the champagne, rose and then took her hand. She wasn’t drunk, but she wasn’t acting exactly like herself either. Moments later, they were pressed together on the dance floor with his conscience bugging the hell out of him.

* * * *

Satoshi stepped away from the entrance of the lounge perplexed by what he’d just witnessed. Yori and Shaundra Morrison were locked in an embrace, dancing very slowly to one of Aomori’s ballads, and they looked oblivious to everything going on around them. So that’s where he had disappeared to when they’d gotten out of the limousine.

Satoshi turned and headed back toward the elevator, trying to find an excuse for not bringing Yori back with him. In this case, it was much easier to lie than tell the truth. There was no way he could say tell the others that he’d found Yori romancing Ichiro’s prospective girlfriend. No, that would cause much friction and send their youngest singer into a depressed funk again.

The elevator reached his floor and Satoshi walked down the long hallway toward their room, passing Shaundra’s room that was located around the corner from theirs. Takumijo and Ichiro were waiting back in his room so they could come up with some skits to do in-between songs at next week’s concerts. Maybe he should go back and get Yori. Sure, he’d be mad, but what the hell? It was better than inciting a war between his two best friends.

Satoshi was almost to his room when he finally made the decision to turn around and go back for Yori. He frowned, hating to be the one they depended on to do the right thing. He headed back down the long hallway and turned the corner. He stopped dead in his tracks. Yori and Shaundra stood outside her door locked in a passionate embrace. Neither of them noticed him, or anything around them for that matter. Yori held the shorter Shaundra up in his arms like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold. The lust radiated off of them and made the air hot around him.

Satoshi stepped back around the corner and listened as they uttered endearments to each other.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like me?”

“It’s not that,” Shaundra replied.

Good
, Satoshi thought.
Shaundra is resisting
. He slipped away from the area and headed back to his room, fearing being discovered, yet hoping no one else came out of their door and saw the mating couple. He hurried to his room, slipped the key card into the lock and entered. He found Takumijo and Ichiro playing cards.

“Where’s Yori?” Ichiro asked.

“He’s coming.”

Someone knocked on the door. Satoshi turned to answer it. Yori stood on the other side looking a bit disheveled and wiping his lips.

Satoshi smirked. Yori had struck out.

* * * *

Shaundra entered her hotel room and sat down on the sofa, trying to regain her composure. Her heart beat erratically in her chest and her face felt flushed and damp. “Whew, that was a close one.” She burped, tasting the champagne. The last time she’d drank champagne she ended up pregnant with Tricia. “Note to self, stay away from champagne.” Her eyes landed on her laptop, idle for the last couple of days since she’d met Aomori. She’d been in Japan nearly a week and hadn’t written a single word. “Too many damn distractions.”

Shaundra rose from the sofa. After a quick run to the bathroom to get rid of the alcohol, she returned to the living room, sat down at the desk and turned on the computer. She surfed the Internet for about an hour and caught up on the world news and what was happening back home in New York. The surfed to the
New York Times
, checked the crime stories, the fashion section, the obituaries and then, finally, the book section. It did her good to finally see her name up by the number one seller. Harper had eluded to it a couple of days ago, but she’d been too afraid to check.

She had to give it to herself. Drinking did make her braver and pulled her out of her comfort zone. Once her curiosity was appeased, she went to Facebook to check on her friends who probably thought she’d deserted them. An hour or so later, she turned off the Internet, shoved a flash drive into the USB port and opened the last file she had been working on before she left home.