Fic Snippet - Scandal Fic - JE
Excerpt from a fic I was doing with someone who I'm no longer friends with. Posting this for some friends to read; I'll decide what to do with the rest of said fic later.
Tomohisa watched his friends drive off and sighed. So much for a nice birthday dinner. He might as well go home and hope things worked out.
"Anou...sir?" The waitress from before, the one he'd noticed earlier approached him.
He smiled at her and nodded. "Yes?"
She smiled and he swallowed; a lump caught in his throat. "I'm sure this wasn't what you had in mind for a birthday, so would you care to join me for a night cap? My shift just ended and I feel terrible about what happened."
"That's not necessary but...thanks." He found he didn't want to be alone. And despite the presence of Aki, he found her...very attractive.
"It's settled them. Oh... I can't very well call you sir all night now can I? Yumi Chieko, desu." Chieko bowed politely, introducing herself.
Shit. Tomohisa had a bad feeling now. "Yamashita Tomohisa, desu." He spoke his name, fully expecting her to turn giddy.
Wrong. There wasn't a look of recognition in her eyes whatsoever. She smiled and bowed to him in greeting again and she sighed. It seemed almost too good to be true. Here was a woman, who seemed attracted to him, yet had no idea who he was. At least she didn't give away that she knew who he was.
"Well, Yamashita-kun, let's go shall we?" Chieko smiled, liking her arm in his.
He smiled and shook his head. "Tomohisa. Or just Tomo if you like."
"Chieko then. Tomo."
***
"I think this is probably one of the best birthday's ever."
Chieko laughed and Tomohisa felt a thrill run down his spine at the bell-like quality of the sound. It was late, well past midnight, and Tomohisa was drunk.
Then again, he was fairly sure his female companion was just as drunk as he was. They'd gone from bar to bar, staying only long enough to get a buzz, or before certain college-aged girls noticed him. He didn't think Chieko noticed them, which was a blessing in disguise. It was refreshing to be able to talk to a woman without her gushing and falling over herself at him.
For Chieko, it was similar. Because of her "situation," it was rare that any man wanted anything to do with her. She was half afraid to mention it to Tomohisa. He was kind, sweet, very intelligent and not to mention drop dead gorgeous. What was a guy like him hanging out with a girl like her?
But she didn't tell him about her situation; she just seemed to gloss over the fact she lived alone. Of course, the alcohol had a lot to do with that and by the end of the night, both were fairly smashed.
But even as drunk as he was, Tomohisa had the presence of mind to walk her home. The two made their way to her apartment and he insisted on seeing her to her door. She didn't argue; she was enjoying his company.
They entered the elevator and as soon as the doors closed, it seemed all inhibition dropped away. She turned to say something to him but her words were cut off, his lips closing over hers in a kiss. She gave a little mew of surprise, but soon had her arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him back with equal passion.
He was hot, and real, and here and he seemed to want her. That was more than enough for Chieko; it had been too long since she'd been held like this. Loneliness could be a bitch sometimes. Once the elevator opened, she fumbled for the key to her apartment, his kisses more than enough to distract her from that task.
The door was open and the two tumbled through the doorway, the door closing behind them silently. It was a cramp apartment, but Tomohisa didn't notice much of anything except her. She tugged him in the direction of the bedroom, the door closing silently behind them.
It was times like these that made Tomohisa wish for a gun to kill himself. He reasoned that would hurt a lot less then the pounding in his head at the moment. Noticing the signs of a first rate hangover, he groaned into the pillow. Turning around, his arm reached out for something, but found nothing but air.
Sitting up, he looked around. The bed was empty and for the first time he noticed it wasn't his bed. Or his bedroom for that matter. The sheets were still warm, though, so whoever he'd spent the night with hadn't been gone long. He thought of the young woman he'd obviously spent the night with and smiled. It had been nice to feel normal, like a regular person and not some idol for once and she made him feel that way.
There was a shuffling sound at the door and he looked up sharply. His eyes fell on a young girl, no older than nine years old. She stared at him, wide-eyed, her hand clutching a rolled up magazine. The first thing he noticed about her was she resembled Chieko a great deal. A sister perhaps?
The next was the NEWS t-shirt she had on. Shit. So much for being normal. He smiled at the girl, giving a little wave. She stared, then closed the door and dashed off. Sigh. So much for that. Slipping out of bed, he grabbed his pants. Time to do some damage control.
---
"Mom! MOM!"
"Hm?" Chieko looked up from the pot she was stirring. Breakfast would be simple, but then it usually was with her and Hitomi. Chieko's income was all the two had, so they'd learned to make do with what they had. Chieko was glad that her daughter didn't seem to mind.
For a nine year old, Hitomi was quite a bit more mature then the rest of her friends. Though she did have a tendency to act her age; such as now. Her eyes were wide and she was practically incoherent as she clutched one of her many idol magazines.
"There's a guy in your bed! And he's naked!"
Chieko tried not to laugh at her wide-eyed daughter; it wasn't very often that Chieko brought a man home. "Yes dear, he is. You're not upset are you?" That was the last thing she wanted for her daughter to think she did this often.
Hitomi just stared at her mother. She was so CLUELESS! "You have no idea who he is, do you?"
Chieko shrugged. "He's a very nice young man. His friends gave him a birthday party at work yesterday and it was...not very enjoyable so I took him out for drinks." Of course things went considerably beyond drinks, but she didn't need to tell her daughter that.
Not like Hitomi couldn't figure it out. She had a very active imagination. "My mother had sex with one of the most popular idols in Japan and she doesn't even know it."
"....what?!" What the hell? First off, since when did her daughter talk about such things? Second: idol?
Giving a heavy sigh at her mother's cluelessness, Hitomi held up her latest edition of Duet. It was her favorite magazine; she loved the photoshoots that they did for it. She pointed to the cover, in particular the man that was currently getting dressed in her mother’s bedroom. "Yamashita Tomohisa; leader of the jpop group NEWS. He's supposed to be in a new drama soon with Matsumoto Jun and some others." Hitomi and her friends were currently fangirling over that particular bit of information.
"...." Chieko grabbed the magazine and looked at the cover. The smiling face of her bedroom partner seemed to taunt her while she looked. Flipping through the pages, she stopped at a particularly photograph.
Apparently this particular magazine didn't have any qualms about showing pictures of half dressed men. She stared at a full page spread of Tomohisa, sprawled out on a bed, a sheet covering him to his waist and nothing else.
It was almost as if the photographer had slipped into her bedroom and snapped the picture just after she got out of bed. There was no mistaking the fact that the man in her bedroom and this one were the same. "Remind me to rethink you getting these magazines from now on."
“And if all the young girls quit buying them I’d be out of a job,” Tomohisa joked, stepping out of Chieko’s bedroom with a rueful expression on his face.
Chieko turned around, startled. She couldn’t help let her eyes look him over from top to bottom; he looked unbelievably good all rumpled looking. “Yes, well. Maybe if you didn’t take such provocative photographs then it wouldn’t be questioned. And you didn’t tell me who you were last night.”
“Actually, I did. I did tell you my name.” Tomohisa corrected, coming over to the counter. He looked at the young girl, whose eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. Clearing his throat, he turned to her and bowed politely. “Yamashita Tomohisa, desu. Hajimemashite.”
“Ha…hajimemashite.” Hitomi gazed at him with wide eyes, and then blushed. She couldn’t believe it! Yamapi was in her kitchen! Talking to her!
“Well, breakfast will be done in a moment.” Chieko swallowed, her eyes locking with his before she turned around abruptly to finish breakfast. Things were so much easier when she didn’t know who he was and now they were so awkward with each other.
Clearing his throat, Tomohisa shifted his gaze from Chieko onto the little girl next to him. She resembled Chieko a great deal; a sister perhaps? “So…uhm…what are you working on?” He was always a bit shy and nervous when meeting his fans and this felt like one of those times.
Hitomi nearly jumped when he spoke to her. Oh god…he’s talking to me! What should she say? Wait…he asked a question, right? She should answer it! Yeah! Good idea Hitomi! “Uhm…homework. Math.”
“Hhmm…I always hated math. I used to make Jin do my math homework for me,” Tomohisa admitted, looking over her homework.
“Really?” Wow! She’d never heard that before! “I hate it. English is easier and Sensei insisted on having this done for today but I can’t get the last one.”
“Well, let’s have a look, ne?” Tomohisa smiled at her and was relieved when she smiled back and nodded.
Chieko watched the two out of the corner of her eye and was surprised when Tomohisa greeted her daughter and proceeded to help her with her homework. Hitomi, predictably, blushed throughout the whole thing, but did seem to be paying attention to what he was saying. She’d always been of the opinion that idols were like most entertainers; they were too self absorbed to pay attention to the real world.
But he was kind to Hitomi, gracious even. It was obvious, at least at first that he had been nervous; but now he was treating her daughter as if she was a dear friend and not just a kid. That endeared him to her instantly. “Hitomi, breakfast is almost ready. Go get cleaned up.”
“Okay, mom.” Hitomi slipped out of her chair, then bowed and mumbled a thank you to Tomohisa before running off to the bathroom.
Tomohisa didn’t seem to hear her, or even notice that she left. Mom?! That would explain the resemblance. It was a little too much just for siblings. He was starting to realize just why she’d been so skittish when talking about her home life the night before. “Mom huh?”
“Yes.” Chieko sighed, throwing the towel on the counter and turned to face him. “Look, I fully expect to never see you again so let’s skip the lecture about me being a single mother and a disgrace to my family and Japan shall we? I’ve heard it quite enough already and I don’t need to hear it from the likes of you.”
“Whoa, hey! I wasn’t going to say anything like that!” Tomohisa held his hands up as if to defend himself against an attack. Then again, her words were pretty aggressive. Considering the general society view of single mothers, he wasn’t surprised she was so defensive. “What I was going to say was you’ve raised her beautifully. She’s a lovely girl.”
“Oh.” Chieko didn’t know why, but his words made her blush like a schoolgirl. She looked away, dishing out the miso soup into bowls. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. It just gets tiresome when every man you meet seems to lecture you about something you’ve lived with for years.”
“Well, far be it for me to lecture you on how to live your life. Besides, from what I’ve seen, you’ve done a pretty good job.” Tomohisa was quite serious. He could forgive people their mistakes in life, if they learned from them and went on. Japanese society had a very narrow minded view of single parent families; they believed that a true family consisted of all parental units. Most Japanese looked down upon single mothers; it didn’t matter what the reasoning for the father being absent was. The simple fact that the man was not there was enough to bring ridicule down upon any single mother. He generally liked to know the circumstances before making such a generalization about someone, however.
“Thank you.” Chieko was more than a bit surprised. “It hasn’t been easy but we manage.” She didn’t know why, but she felt he wouldn’t judge her harshly. “When I was sixteen my boyfriend got me pregnant and then denied the whole thing. I refused to get an abortion and my parents didn’t believe me.” She didn’t mention that her boyfriend had slandered her name, saying she was nothing but a slut. “My parents disowned me and I left home. I’ve been working as a waitress for various places, until I got this job at the Crystal Room. It’s been hard, but I’ve managed.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through something like that. But you’ve obviously done well for yourself,” Tomohisa finally took a good look around. The place was small, but clean. He could already see the touches around the place that were obviously Chieko. It was…homey. It felt like a real home, not like his apartment. He lived in a fairly large apartment, but it was mostly empty; he hardly stayed there more than a few hours, what with his hectic work schedule.
“You surprise me. You’re not like other guys I’ve met. The whole idol thing aside, of course.” Chieko couldn’t help but grin; he was incredibly easy to talk to. Drop dead gorgeous, yes. But that wasn’t what interested her.
“Of course.” Tomohisa looked into her eyes and neither seemed able to pull away. Before he knew it, his lips had closed over hers in a kiss, his fingers tangling in her black hair. She seemed to melt right there, leaning in and responding to the kiss like she had the night before.
They both broke apart, their faces red when a door closed behind them. Hitomi had seen the tail end of the kiss and was nearly giddy with excitement. The whole idea of Yamashita Tomohisa being in her apartment had worn off, but now she was just happy for her mother. Maybe he would actually stick around, not like the other guys her mother had dated. She could already tell that they liked each other and she wanted her mother to be happy.
“Yes well…breakfast is ready.” Chieko cleared her throat, her blush slowly dissolving. She placed the bowls of miso soup in front of her daughter and Tomohisa. She watched her daughter chat away at him while they ate and she felt a thrill run down her back. It was almost…picturesque. Like what it would look like if her daughter was having breakfast with her father, the two sharing stories before the day began.
Father? She was insane. She barely knew the man! He was very attractive, to be sure. The whole idol thing had thrown her off, but none of that mattered to her. She didn’t care if he was famous or not; the fact that he seemed to like and got along with Hitomi did. It worried her that this might just be a novelty to him and he’d get tired of them; but part of her said that he wasn’t that type of person and would never do such a thing.
“Oh! Some friends of mine are meeting on Thursday for dinner. Would…you like to join me?” Tomohisa asked shyly, not quite believing that he’d just asked this woman out on a date in front of her daughter.
Hitomi giggled but Chieko gave her daughter a look. “I’d love to, Tomohisa, but I don’t think I can find a sitter to watch Hitomi.” Not to mention she didn’t have the money for that this week.
“Mom, did you forget? I’m spending the night at Ukita’s house this week. We have that big project due, remember?” Hitomi didn’t know when she’d been so glad to have schoolwork before. Her mother couldn’t make up any excuses not to see him now.
“Oh…that’s right. I did forget.” Okay, maybe she was just running scared. But she’d never felt this attracted to anyone before and she didn’t want to screw it up. “In that case, I’d love to.”
“Great!” Finishing up breakfast, Tomohisa sighed. How long had it been since he’d had anything home cooked? And Chieko was an excellent cook. “I’d love to stay longer, but I have a meeting this morning.”
“Oh. Of course.” Chieko placed the bowls in the sink and then shooed Hitomi off to get her books. Alone, she turned to him and helped him with his coat. “Thank you…for last night.”
“No. Thank you.” Tomohisa turned to face her, his hand cupping the side of her cheek. “I’m glad to have met you, Chieko. I…I’m looking forward to Thursday.” And seeing you again.
“So…am I. Tomohisa.” Chieko caught her breath, her eyes closing as she melted against him, his arms encircling her as he kissed her again. The kiss seemed to last forever before he finally pulled away.
Tracing his finger over her lips, he smiled. He didn’t think she realized just how amazing she really was. He stepped back and pulled out a pen, writing a number on a scrap of paper he had in his pocket and handed it to her. “That’s my cell phone number. Call me, okay?” He wasn’t supposed to give his number out, but he felt he could trust her.
She seemed to pick up on it. Smiling, she nodded and held the piece of paper tightly in her hand. “You can trust me, Tomohisa. It won’t go beyond this room. Thank you. I’ll…call you. I promise.”
He smiled, nodding. Looking around her, he grinned and waved to Hitomi who was peeking out of her bedroom before leaving.
Once he was gone, Chieko leaned against the door and stared at the number in her hand. It all seemed so unreal, yet the piece of paper in her hand proved to her that it was, in fact, real. She wondered what the etiquette was for dating a pop idol. Shaking her head, she looked at the clock. “Hitomi! Get going or you’re going to be late for school!” Time enough to ponder such things later. The daily routine didn’t change just because of one man.
Tomohisa watched his friends drive off and sighed. So much for a nice birthday dinner. He might as well go home and hope things worked out.
"Anou...sir?" The waitress from before, the one he'd noticed earlier approached him.
He smiled at her and nodded. "Yes?"
She smiled and he swallowed; a lump caught in his throat. "I'm sure this wasn't what you had in mind for a birthday, so would you care to join me for a night cap? My shift just ended and I feel terrible about what happened."
"That's not necessary but...thanks." He found he didn't want to be alone. And despite the presence of Aki, he found her...very attractive.
"It's settled them. Oh... I can't very well call you sir all night now can I? Yumi Chieko, desu." Chieko bowed politely, introducing herself.
Shit. Tomohisa had a bad feeling now. "Yamashita Tomohisa, desu." He spoke his name, fully expecting her to turn giddy.
Wrong. There wasn't a look of recognition in her eyes whatsoever. She smiled and bowed to him in greeting again and she sighed. It seemed almost too good to be true. Here was a woman, who seemed attracted to him, yet had no idea who he was. At least she didn't give away that she knew who he was.
"Well, Yamashita-kun, let's go shall we?" Chieko smiled, liking her arm in his.
He smiled and shook his head. "Tomohisa. Or just Tomo if you like."
"Chieko then. Tomo."
***
"I think this is probably one of the best birthday's ever."
Chieko laughed and Tomohisa felt a thrill run down his spine at the bell-like quality of the sound. It was late, well past midnight, and Tomohisa was drunk.
Then again, he was fairly sure his female companion was just as drunk as he was. They'd gone from bar to bar, staying only long enough to get a buzz, or before certain college-aged girls noticed him. He didn't think Chieko noticed them, which was a blessing in disguise. It was refreshing to be able to talk to a woman without her gushing and falling over herself at him.
For Chieko, it was similar. Because of her "situation," it was rare that any man wanted anything to do with her. She was half afraid to mention it to Tomohisa. He was kind, sweet, very intelligent and not to mention drop dead gorgeous. What was a guy like him hanging out with a girl like her?
But she didn't tell him about her situation; she just seemed to gloss over the fact she lived alone. Of course, the alcohol had a lot to do with that and by the end of the night, both were fairly smashed.
But even as drunk as he was, Tomohisa had the presence of mind to walk her home. The two made their way to her apartment and he insisted on seeing her to her door. She didn't argue; she was enjoying his company.
They entered the elevator and as soon as the doors closed, it seemed all inhibition dropped away. She turned to say something to him but her words were cut off, his lips closing over hers in a kiss. She gave a little mew of surprise, but soon had her arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him back with equal passion.
He was hot, and real, and here and he seemed to want her. That was more than enough for Chieko; it had been too long since she'd been held like this. Loneliness could be a bitch sometimes. Once the elevator opened, she fumbled for the key to her apartment, his kisses more than enough to distract her from that task.
The door was open and the two tumbled through the doorway, the door closing behind them silently. It was a cramp apartment, but Tomohisa didn't notice much of anything except her. She tugged him in the direction of the bedroom, the door closing silently behind them.
It was times like these that made Tomohisa wish for a gun to kill himself. He reasoned that would hurt a lot less then the pounding in his head at the moment. Noticing the signs of a first rate hangover, he groaned into the pillow. Turning around, his arm reached out for something, but found nothing but air.
Sitting up, he looked around. The bed was empty and for the first time he noticed it wasn't his bed. Or his bedroom for that matter. The sheets were still warm, though, so whoever he'd spent the night with hadn't been gone long. He thought of the young woman he'd obviously spent the night with and smiled. It had been nice to feel normal, like a regular person and not some idol for once and she made him feel that way.
There was a shuffling sound at the door and he looked up sharply. His eyes fell on a young girl, no older than nine years old. She stared at him, wide-eyed, her hand clutching a rolled up magazine. The first thing he noticed about her was she resembled Chieko a great deal. A sister perhaps?
The next was the NEWS t-shirt she had on. Shit. So much for being normal. He smiled at the girl, giving a little wave. She stared, then closed the door and dashed off. Sigh. So much for that. Slipping out of bed, he grabbed his pants. Time to do some damage control.
---
"Mom! MOM!"
"Hm?" Chieko looked up from the pot she was stirring. Breakfast would be simple, but then it usually was with her and Hitomi. Chieko's income was all the two had, so they'd learned to make do with what they had. Chieko was glad that her daughter didn't seem to mind.
For a nine year old, Hitomi was quite a bit more mature then the rest of her friends. Though she did have a tendency to act her age; such as now. Her eyes were wide and she was practically incoherent as she clutched one of her many idol magazines.
"There's a guy in your bed! And he's naked!"
Chieko tried not to laugh at her wide-eyed daughter; it wasn't very often that Chieko brought a man home. "Yes dear, he is. You're not upset are you?" That was the last thing she wanted for her daughter to think she did this often.
Hitomi just stared at her mother. She was so CLUELESS! "You have no idea who he is, do you?"
Chieko shrugged. "He's a very nice young man. His friends gave him a birthday party at work yesterday and it was...not very enjoyable so I took him out for drinks." Of course things went considerably beyond drinks, but she didn't need to tell her daughter that.
Not like Hitomi couldn't figure it out. She had a very active imagination. "My mother had sex with one of the most popular idols in Japan and she doesn't even know it."
"....what?!" What the hell? First off, since when did her daughter talk about such things? Second: idol?
Giving a heavy sigh at her mother's cluelessness, Hitomi held up her latest edition of Duet. It was her favorite magazine; she loved the photoshoots that they did for it. She pointed to the cover, in particular the man that was currently getting dressed in her mother’s bedroom. "Yamashita Tomohisa; leader of the jpop group NEWS. He's supposed to be in a new drama soon with Matsumoto Jun and some others." Hitomi and her friends were currently fangirling over that particular bit of information.
"...." Chieko grabbed the magazine and looked at the cover. The smiling face of her bedroom partner seemed to taunt her while she looked. Flipping through the pages, she stopped at a particularly photograph.
Apparently this particular magazine didn't have any qualms about showing pictures of half dressed men. She stared at a full page spread of Tomohisa, sprawled out on a bed, a sheet covering him to his waist and nothing else.
It was almost as if the photographer had slipped into her bedroom and snapped the picture just after she got out of bed. There was no mistaking the fact that the man in her bedroom and this one were the same. "Remind me to rethink you getting these magazines from now on."
“And if all the young girls quit buying them I’d be out of a job,” Tomohisa joked, stepping out of Chieko’s bedroom with a rueful expression on his face.
Chieko turned around, startled. She couldn’t help let her eyes look him over from top to bottom; he looked unbelievably good all rumpled looking. “Yes, well. Maybe if you didn’t take such provocative photographs then it wouldn’t be questioned. And you didn’t tell me who you were last night.”
“Actually, I did. I did tell you my name.” Tomohisa corrected, coming over to the counter. He looked at the young girl, whose eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. Clearing his throat, he turned to her and bowed politely. “Yamashita Tomohisa, desu. Hajimemashite.”
“Ha…hajimemashite.” Hitomi gazed at him with wide eyes, and then blushed. She couldn’t believe it! Yamapi was in her kitchen! Talking to her!
“Well, breakfast will be done in a moment.” Chieko swallowed, her eyes locking with his before she turned around abruptly to finish breakfast. Things were so much easier when she didn’t know who he was and now they were so awkward with each other.
Clearing his throat, Tomohisa shifted his gaze from Chieko onto the little girl next to him. She resembled Chieko a great deal; a sister perhaps? “So…uhm…what are you working on?” He was always a bit shy and nervous when meeting his fans and this felt like one of those times.
Hitomi nearly jumped when he spoke to her. Oh god…he’s talking to me! What should she say? Wait…he asked a question, right? She should answer it! Yeah! Good idea Hitomi! “Uhm…homework. Math.”
“Hhmm…I always hated math. I used to make Jin do my math homework for me,” Tomohisa admitted, looking over her homework.
“Really?” Wow! She’d never heard that before! “I hate it. English is easier and Sensei insisted on having this done for today but I can’t get the last one.”
“Well, let’s have a look, ne?” Tomohisa smiled at her and was relieved when she smiled back and nodded.
Chieko watched the two out of the corner of her eye and was surprised when Tomohisa greeted her daughter and proceeded to help her with her homework. Hitomi, predictably, blushed throughout the whole thing, but did seem to be paying attention to what he was saying. She’d always been of the opinion that idols were like most entertainers; they were too self absorbed to pay attention to the real world.
But he was kind to Hitomi, gracious even. It was obvious, at least at first that he had been nervous; but now he was treating her daughter as if she was a dear friend and not just a kid. That endeared him to her instantly. “Hitomi, breakfast is almost ready. Go get cleaned up.”
“Okay, mom.” Hitomi slipped out of her chair, then bowed and mumbled a thank you to Tomohisa before running off to the bathroom.
Tomohisa didn’t seem to hear her, or even notice that she left. Mom?! That would explain the resemblance. It was a little too much just for siblings. He was starting to realize just why she’d been so skittish when talking about her home life the night before. “Mom huh?”
“Yes.” Chieko sighed, throwing the towel on the counter and turned to face him. “Look, I fully expect to never see you again so let’s skip the lecture about me being a single mother and a disgrace to my family and Japan shall we? I’ve heard it quite enough already and I don’t need to hear it from the likes of you.”
“Whoa, hey! I wasn’t going to say anything like that!” Tomohisa held his hands up as if to defend himself against an attack. Then again, her words were pretty aggressive. Considering the general society view of single mothers, he wasn’t surprised she was so defensive. “What I was going to say was you’ve raised her beautifully. She’s a lovely girl.”
“Oh.” Chieko didn’t know why, but his words made her blush like a schoolgirl. She looked away, dishing out the miso soup into bowls. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. It just gets tiresome when every man you meet seems to lecture you about something you’ve lived with for years.”
“Well, far be it for me to lecture you on how to live your life. Besides, from what I’ve seen, you’ve done a pretty good job.” Tomohisa was quite serious. He could forgive people their mistakes in life, if they learned from them and went on. Japanese society had a very narrow minded view of single parent families; they believed that a true family consisted of all parental units. Most Japanese looked down upon single mothers; it didn’t matter what the reasoning for the father being absent was. The simple fact that the man was not there was enough to bring ridicule down upon any single mother. He generally liked to know the circumstances before making such a generalization about someone, however.
“Thank you.” Chieko was more than a bit surprised. “It hasn’t been easy but we manage.” She didn’t know why, but she felt he wouldn’t judge her harshly. “When I was sixteen my boyfriend got me pregnant and then denied the whole thing. I refused to get an abortion and my parents didn’t believe me.” She didn’t mention that her boyfriend had slandered her name, saying she was nothing but a slut. “My parents disowned me and I left home. I’ve been working as a waitress for various places, until I got this job at the Crystal Room. It’s been hard, but I’ve managed.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through something like that. But you’ve obviously done well for yourself,” Tomohisa finally took a good look around. The place was small, but clean. He could already see the touches around the place that were obviously Chieko. It was…homey. It felt like a real home, not like his apartment. He lived in a fairly large apartment, but it was mostly empty; he hardly stayed there more than a few hours, what with his hectic work schedule.
“You surprise me. You’re not like other guys I’ve met. The whole idol thing aside, of course.” Chieko couldn’t help but grin; he was incredibly easy to talk to. Drop dead gorgeous, yes. But that wasn’t what interested her.
“Of course.” Tomohisa looked into her eyes and neither seemed able to pull away. Before he knew it, his lips had closed over hers in a kiss, his fingers tangling in her black hair. She seemed to melt right there, leaning in and responding to the kiss like she had the night before.
They both broke apart, their faces red when a door closed behind them. Hitomi had seen the tail end of the kiss and was nearly giddy with excitement. The whole idea of Yamashita Tomohisa being in her apartment had worn off, but now she was just happy for her mother. Maybe he would actually stick around, not like the other guys her mother had dated. She could already tell that they liked each other and she wanted her mother to be happy.
“Yes well…breakfast is ready.” Chieko cleared her throat, her blush slowly dissolving. She placed the bowls of miso soup in front of her daughter and Tomohisa. She watched her daughter chat away at him while they ate and she felt a thrill run down her back. It was almost…picturesque. Like what it would look like if her daughter was having breakfast with her father, the two sharing stories before the day began.
Father? She was insane. She barely knew the man! He was very attractive, to be sure. The whole idol thing had thrown her off, but none of that mattered to her. She didn’t care if he was famous or not; the fact that he seemed to like and got along with Hitomi did. It worried her that this might just be a novelty to him and he’d get tired of them; but part of her said that he wasn’t that type of person and would never do such a thing.
“Oh! Some friends of mine are meeting on Thursday for dinner. Would…you like to join me?” Tomohisa asked shyly, not quite believing that he’d just asked this woman out on a date in front of her daughter.
Hitomi giggled but Chieko gave her daughter a look. “I’d love to, Tomohisa, but I don’t think I can find a sitter to watch Hitomi.” Not to mention she didn’t have the money for that this week.
“Mom, did you forget? I’m spending the night at Ukita’s house this week. We have that big project due, remember?” Hitomi didn’t know when she’d been so glad to have schoolwork before. Her mother couldn’t make up any excuses not to see him now.
“Oh…that’s right. I did forget.” Okay, maybe she was just running scared. But she’d never felt this attracted to anyone before and she didn’t want to screw it up. “In that case, I’d love to.”
“Great!” Finishing up breakfast, Tomohisa sighed. How long had it been since he’d had anything home cooked? And Chieko was an excellent cook. “I’d love to stay longer, but I have a meeting this morning.”
“Oh. Of course.” Chieko placed the bowls in the sink and then shooed Hitomi off to get her books. Alone, she turned to him and helped him with his coat. “Thank you…for last night.”
“No. Thank you.” Tomohisa turned to face her, his hand cupping the side of her cheek. “I’m glad to have met you, Chieko. I…I’m looking forward to Thursday.” And seeing you again.
“So…am I. Tomohisa.” Chieko caught her breath, her eyes closing as she melted against him, his arms encircling her as he kissed her again. The kiss seemed to last forever before he finally pulled away.
Tracing his finger over her lips, he smiled. He didn’t think she realized just how amazing she really was. He stepped back and pulled out a pen, writing a number on a scrap of paper he had in his pocket and handed it to her. “That’s my cell phone number. Call me, okay?” He wasn’t supposed to give his number out, but he felt he could trust her.
She seemed to pick up on it. Smiling, she nodded and held the piece of paper tightly in her hand. “You can trust me, Tomohisa. It won’t go beyond this room. Thank you. I’ll…call you. I promise.”
He smiled, nodding. Looking around her, he grinned and waved to Hitomi who was peeking out of her bedroom before leaving.
Once he was gone, Chieko leaned against the door and stared at the number in her hand. It all seemed so unreal, yet the piece of paper in her hand proved to her that it was, in fact, real. She wondered what the etiquette was for dating a pop idol. Shaking her head, she looked at the clock. “Hitomi! Get going or you’re going to be late for school!” Time enough to ponder such things later. The daily routine didn’t change just because of one man.