Chapter 3

My sex life changed. I used to enjoy it. I had my fun switching partners at least two or three times a week. Half of the women that I was with, I couldn't even remember their names. I had never cared too much to whom I coupled with.

"Tatsuha? What's wrong?" She asked me.

"Nothing." I said as I lay back down onto her soft mattress. Why wasn't I enjoying it? My body was lying here with her, but my mind was clouded with thoughts of someone else.

"What's wrong with you? You don't seem to be excited tonight. Don't tell me that you've had another woman that's better than me?" She asked me sarcastically. I had to admit that she was great in bed, but tonight I just didn't have the urge to do it.

I looked at her with no expression whatsoever. Maybe she was right; I did have another woman; another person that I desired more than anyone else. As I gave myself some more time to think, I made my decision. I stood up and grabbed my blouse and jean and quickly put them back on. "I have to leave now."

"What? You can't leave now! We're just in the middle of it!" She was irritated, but I ignored her and took my leave.

"You bastard!" I could hear her cursing in the background.

Minutes later, I found myself standing in front of Hiro's apartment. It was late at night or should I say very earlier in the morning; it was probably around 1 o'clock. It wasn't like me to act this way, but I stood in front of the building complex and stared at it for about half an hour or so. Why in the world did I even consider to be with him that night? Did I have special feelings for him? I didn't know, but I was going to find out. I took in a deep breath and walked straight to his front door. I hesitated. Why was I hesitating? I took in another breath as I rang his telecom. I pressed it, but no one answered. I pressed it again and still no one answered. Where the heck was he at this hour? After several more unsuccessful attempts, I gave up and went home.

I got back to my apartment in no time. My place was about fifteen minutes away from Hiro's place. I couldn't sleep that night. Man! I couldn't sleep at all! Where the bloody hell did he went so late? Thoughts of Hiro kept occupying my head and I couldn't rest. I couldn't rest until I see him again.

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When dawn arrived, I decided to pull myself together and give Hiro a visit at his work place. It was still too early, so I waited for a few more hours. I went to NG Corporation and stormed into the building and looked for him. Instead of finding the person I wanted to see, I met my brother's lover.

"Shuichi?" I called his name.

The pink haired boy turned his head around and was surprised to see me. "Tatsuha? What are you doing here?"

"Hey! I'm looking for Hiro. Is he here yet?"

"No, he won't be here today."

"What?" I could feel my voice rose. "Why?" I was so disappointed; I was sure to find Hiro here today. Where had he gone to?

"K gave him some time off. He's been acting strange lately. In the past week, he's like a zombie. A zombie! I tell you! He must be thinking about Nikki." He laughed.

"Who's Nikki? I'd never heard Hiro mentioned this name before."

"She's his ex-girlfriend from high school. She just came back from America last night. They were so much in love back then. I wonder if he's been thinking about her all this time. Maybe, he wants to be get back with her. Good for him! He needs someone."

Shuichi smiled, but that smile of his put me into a shock mode. Could it be that Hiro had been thinking about this woman all this time? Was that the reason why he hadn't come to see me? Was this Nikki important to him? She came back last night, so was he out with her last night? Were they together the entire night? I couldn't help myself from thinking that Hiro was with another person. The thought almost suffocated my lungs.

"Tatsu? Are you okay? You look pale." Shuichi expressed his concerned.

"I'm fine. I'll catch him some other time then." I said as I headed out.

"Tatsuha!" Shuichi ran after me before I reached the exit. "Wait! I've almost forgot. Here take theses."

"Concert tickets?"

"Yeah, they're for our next performance. Take them! We've been making very good music, so come and hear us play. The concert is next month on the 15th."

"Sure, thanks." I took the tickets, pocketed them and left hastily.

On the way back to my apartment, my head was in the clouds as I thought about Hiro and the night we spent together. Maybe, I somehow took advantage of the situation and forced him to do something that he didn't like. That must be it, right? But, he was so passionate, was it all because of the alcohol?

As thoughts of Hiro drowned my mind, I walked passed a motorcycle that I would never forget. It was that green Kawasaki one with the letter 'N' mounted on the side! Why in the world did it show up now? And, it was parked in front of Pleasure, the local coffee shop. Of course, I was curious, the sight of that bike stirred up an old knot. I peeked through the window to see if I could find anyone who resembled the rider in my past. Someone else caught my eyes instead. I found Hiro sitting inside, talking to someone and he seemed to be very friendly with his companion. I couldn't see who it was, but from the slight appearance of the long dark brown hair and round shoulders, I assumed that it was a woman. It must be Nikki, the ex-girlfriend that Shuichi mentioned earlier.

I decided to maintain a calm profile and walked into the coffee shop as if I would normally do when I drop by to get coffee. I approached the cashier and acted naturally. I moved my head in the slowest motion pretending that I was reading the menu and placed my order. Once I got my extra large caffeinated coffee; I took the damn beverage and turned around. I caught Hiro's charcoal eyes staring at me idly at that moment.

"Yo!" I waved my hand as I walked toward him and the girl that he was with. As I approached them, I examined the girl; she was pretty. Healthy straight hair. Clear blue eyes. Sexy legs. Firm body. Fleshy chest. I could see why Hiro was attracted to her. Anyone would be attracted to a woman like her; even I found her attractive.

"Hi, I didn't expect to see you here." The red head greeted me. He was calm. He was cool. He didn't show any sign of flustering or nervous expressions; it was almost as if nothing ever happened between us.

"I see that you're on a date. Am I intruding?" I managed a straight tone of voice while staring into his eyes. He narrowed them a bit, but wasn't able to answer me. His ex-girlfriend interfered just when he opened his thin lips; no speech was able to form through them because of the interference.

"Look at what we have here. Isn't he a stud?" The ex-girlfriend said as she studied me from head to toes.

"Let me introduce you guys. Nikki, this is Tatsuha Uesugi. He's a… good friend." Okay, I heard hesitation there. Am I just a friend to him? I guessed that was alright, since we had never declared anything between us. He continued with the introduction. "Tatsuha, this is Nikki Nomura. She's an old friend from high school." Yeah, I'd already know that, thanks to a certain someone called Shuichi Shindo.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Nikki." I said, keeping my calm composure.

"And, I shall never forget you, Tatsuha Uesugi." She sent me a smile; it almost looked like she was flirting with me.

"I guess I better leave you guys alone."

"No, we're about to leave ourselves." She immediately stood up and clung onto my left arm. Her sudden grip almost spilled my coffee, but I managed to balance it and looked at her with much bafflement.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"I like you."

My eyes shot wide open. "You're kidding, right?" I chuckled.

"No, not at all. I've been looking for a man just like you." She looked at me. Her eyes were so daring and full of confident. This confused me; I thought that she was with Hiro. Due to my confusion, I didn't notice that she was rubbing on my chest. I jerked back a little when I noticed her touch. "You have the muscles to go along with your good looks, too. I think I'll see you when I want some desert."

Did she say what I thought she said? "I have to warn you that this desert isn't sweet. It could get very hard and bitter."

"Oh…, than that's even better. I like my food hard and bitter." She whispered and bit my ear.

I blushed and pulled away. It was awkward to have a pretty woman like her hanging all over me with Hiro standing by looking at us as if he wasn't bother by it. "Sure anytime, I look forward to it." I returned her a daring smile to see if Hiro would respond, but still nothing. What was wrong with him? Why was he wearing such a poker face today? I couldn't read his expression. If he kept this on; I wouldn't be able to control myself. My chest felt as if it wanted to explode.

"Are you okay?" She asked placing a hand on my forearm.

I took my eyes off Hiro and replied to her, "I need to go. I'll see you around."

"We're done here, too, so let's leave together. I have a pen on my bike. I'll give you my number, so call me sometimes." She was bold and straight to the point. If everyone was like her, then there wouldn't be any guessing game to deal with. What I meant was the game which was going on between Hiro and me. I couldn't read him and I wondered if he was able to read mine.

"Sure." I agreed as I walked out with her. She managed to strangle my arm again. Hiro followed behind and once again acted like nothing was bothering him or could it be that he wasn't bothered by it at all.

As we exited the coffee shop, she released my arm. "Tatsuha? Do you mind if I call you Tatsu?"

"No." I replied blankly.

"Great! Wait here a second." She ran off to get her pen.

At that moment, the ghost of my past appeared right before my eyes. It was Nikki. She owned that green Kawasaki bike. No way! Why did it turned out to be her? She rode the bike to me as she handed me a piece of paper with her name and telephone number on it.

"Remember to call me." She hung one of her leg over her bike at a 45 degree angle and pressed her lips against mine. I was in total shock, but it wasn't from her kiss; it was because I'd found the ghost that I'd been searching for the last four years.

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End of Chapter

Smile: This is the first time I write something in the first person's point of view. I normally like to write my stories in a narrative mode (third person's point of view). Tell me what you think about the story so far. I personally think that it's kind of weird and Tatsuha is out of character. Well, that's it for now. I'll try to update once a week, but don't hate me if I can't. You know… life happens.