That weekend was my second date with Toshinori. He took me to his favorite ramen place, and again we ended up talking until the place was ready to close. Again, he walked me back to my place afterwards, but this time I invited him in before he could run away.

As the door shut, he looked at me, a little nervously. "I had a wonderful time."

"So did I," I said, moving close to his chest. I raised up on my toes, but I was too short to reach his lips. He laid his hand against my face, stroking his thumb down my cheek before pressing his mouth to mine. I circled my arms around his neck and held him to me.

His hands slid around my back, gently pulling me closer. Before my rational brain could catch up, I was leading him down the hallway towards my room. We were grasping at each other and stopping to kiss as we bumped into walls, not letting each other go.

Finally I had him in my bedroom. He cupped my face in his hands, kissing me deeper, more passionately. Everything was going smoothly until I ran my hands up under his shirt, and he pulled back. "I'm sorry," he said roughly. "I shouldn't…"

"What's wrong?" I wondered if we should have discussed safe words.

Toshinori sat on the edge of the bed, looking dejected. He ran his fingers through his hair. "This isn't fair to you, Inko. You deserve someone… whole."

"What are you talking about? I don't want someone else, I want you." He pulled his shirt off, and my eyes widened at the massive scar covering the entire side of his torso.

He hung his head. "It's repulsive, I know." He stood up. "It's okay. I'll see myself out."

I put myself between him and the door. "Don't you dare." He looked at me with those sad eyes. In a desperate move, I took off my own shirt. "What about me? Are my scars repulsive?"

"No, of course not," he said in a tender voice, his eyes traveling over my body. "You're perfect."

I put my hand on his side, near the bottom of the scar. "So are you."

He flinched, and shook his head. "It's not the same. I'm… broken."

"Who cares?" That almost got him to crack a smile, and I moved closer, looking up at him. "I like you, scars and all." He pulled me into a tight embrace.

Then we were kissing again, but slower now, taking our time. We stood by the bed, slowly undressing, letting our hands wander. Once we were both naked, he looked down at me, smiling softly. "You are so beautiful," he whispered. "I don't deserve you."

"Stop that. I want you, Toshi. Do you want me?" He nodded. "Then get your skinny ass on my bed already." I couldn't believe the words that had just come out of my own mouth. Yet, he did as I said. I must have channeled Midnight, and I sent out a silent prayer of thanks to her.

He lay on his back in the center of my bed, and I climbed up over him, running my hands up his legs. His muscles quivered under my touch. He was fully hard, and I wrapped my fingers around his cock, bringing a shaky moan from his chest. He pushed himself up to kiss me again, his hands caressing my body as I stroked him. "Inko," he moaned. "I don't… I-"

"What is it?" I hoped he wasn't going to apologize for himself again.

He looked defeated. "I didn't think… I don't have protection."

I smiled with relief. "It's okay, I've got some." Quickly, I went to retrieve the condoms from my bedside drawer. They had been there since before our first date.

"Thank god." He hurried to put one one, his hands shaking with eagerness. Then it broke. He huffed in frustration. "Son of-"

I laughed breathily and opened a second one. "Can I?" He nodded, and I rolled the condom onto him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath. I let him draw me closer. I straddled him as he positioned himself beneath me, then I eased myself down onto him. He gazed deep into my eyes, his jaw slack.

My heart clenched up. This already felt worlds different than it had with Midnight, or even Hawks. It wasn't just physical, but so much more. For a moment, only the sound of our breathing filled the small room. Then I started to move on top of him. "Inko," he whispered reverently.

As I rocked my hips against his, he ran his hands over my body until every part of me hummed with pleasure. I didn't want it to end, but it felt too amazing to last forever. I watched his face as I rode him. The adoration in his face and the tender touch of his large hands only drove me wilder.

Soon he was panting my name, over and over. His hands stroked my thighs, my stomach. "You're so good," he moaned, "I can't…"

"That's okay," I whispered. "Go on." I sped up, and his back arched as he cried out. His hands tightened on my hips as he started to come. I found myself mesmerized by the pleasure and relief in his expression. I kept going as he bucked and moaned, until he was utterly finished. Then I eased myself down beside him.

He rolled to his side, facing me. "Inko," he panted, almost an apology.

I took his hand, bringing it between my thighs. "Here."

Eagerly, he ran his long fingers over my wet, aching folds. I squeezed his wrist, urging him further. He slid one finger in, then two. I gasped as he stroked. He wrapped his other arm around my back, pulling me closer. Then he curled his fingers inside me, beckoning. "Yes," I pleaded. I held tight to him, he leaned his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes and focused on the building pressure. He whispered my name again and I was coming, my whole body trembling as he worked me through it.

While I tried to catch my breath, he kissed my face, my cheeks and forehead, then my lips. "Thank you," he whispered.

Still floating in a warm haze, I grinned. "What for?"

He kissed my forehead again. "For not letting me go."

I couldn't wait for our next session to tell Midnight how things had gone, so I stopped by her shop, The Right Place. "I knew you could do it," she praised, wrapping me in a tight hug.

"Thanks to you," I laughed.

She pulled back to look at me. "I'm honored that I could help, but you did the work. I love how assertive you were!"

I couldn't stop grinning. "Yeah, I kind of surprised myself."

"That's my Jade." She beamed with pride. "So, do you want to end our sessions, and focus on your new man?"

My eyes grew wide. "Do you think I should stop?"

"You should do whatever is right for you. I'm not eager to give you up, by any means."

"I don't want to stop, at least not yet. I still have issues."

Midnight nodded. "What would you like to work on?"

I glanced around, making sure no one could overhear. "Blow jobs. It's always been an issue for me."

"How so?"

My cheeks flushed. "Well, I was never good at it, but my ex always kept wanting me to try, even though he knew I was bad, and the more he insisted, the more I got in my own head…"

Midnight put her hands on my shoulders. "Hey," she soothed. "Take a breath." I closed my eyes and let myself calm down for a few seconds. "Why do you think you were bad at it?"

I shrugged, avoiding her eyes. "I could never do it the way he liked."

She shook her head softly. "I have a suspicion that you weren't the problem, dear. We can absolutely work on this when we get together again."