(Wednesday, June 27)

"Okay," Date said. "I think this is a good place to stop for tonight." We'd just finished a short meeting to go over our progress and make some important decisions about the program we were working on.
"Yes, we should stop. Tomorrow night we can stay a little longer," I said, thinking about the coding that I was going to be working on.
"Do you want to go to dinner with me? Maybe some pizza or fried chicken?" he asked.
"It's late to eat heavy food," I replied. "That would be a bad decision."
"You have a good point. You can choose the restaurant if you'd like. I'm open to anything," he said.
I stared at him as I paused to think. It was time that I tried to bury the hatchet with Date. We were working together on two important projects and continued animosity would hinder our efforts. It was not his fault that he had been given a manager's position that he was not qualified for.
"Then let's eat soba," I said, grabbing my bag. "There's a good restaurant near here."

An hour later Date moaned and said, "We have to stop discussing work. We've spent the entire meal doing nothing but talking about programming."
"We've made good progress. I've taken a lot of notes and will work on this as soon as possible," I said, tapping my cell phone.
"And that's good, but I wanted to leave work at the office and have a relaxing meal," he said. "Do you drink?"
"Of course I drink. Doesn't everyone?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "What kind of question is that?"
"I- No- It's not any kind of question," he floundered for his words. As usual. "Just...would you like a drink?"
I thought about it for a minute. "Yes, I would like one drink," I said when I had made my decision. "I'll take a beer."
"Alright, then. Good," he said and waved the waiter over. He ordered himself a beer and a shot of whiskey.
"You aren't planning on getting drunk, are you?" I asked, staring at him to gauge his reaction. "I should not have to deal with a shitfaced boss."
"No! I'm not going to get drunk," he sounded offended. "I'm stopping at two drinks. I just went ahead and ordered them at the same time."
"That's efficient," I conceded the point with a nod. "I applaud your planning."
"Yeah?" he said, giving me a curious look.
"Yes, a person should know exactly how much they should drink in every situation and drink only to that amount," I instructed. "If everyone followed this rule, there would be fewer drinking related problems."
"Is that what you do?" He grabbed the whiskey as soon as the waiter put it down and knocked it back.
"Of course. One drink at times like this where it doesn't hurt to relax a little. Two drinks on livelier occasions where a bit more pep is allowed – office get-togethers, stopping in for a drink with my friends, things like that. Three drinks on really wild occasions – birthday parties, bar crawls, karaoke nights," I explained, taking a drink of my beer.
"That makes a lot of sense," he said. "You always show a lot of control. I noticed that you didn't drink when everyone went out on the day that I started in Purchasing."
"It makes no sense to drink in front of a new boss," I said firmly. I was not happy to be reminded of that day. "At a time like that you should be fully aware in order to present a good image of yourself and to garner information."
"'Garner information'," he repeated thoughtfully. "You were watching me like a hawk that night."
"You were really nervous," I said with a laugh. "It was fun to watch."
"Well, it didn't help that one of the members of my team was staring at me like she'd like to stab me with a chopstick," he said, shaking his head. "But it was a weird day. I got the job very suddenly. In some ways I didn't feel prepared, not – not – because I am in any way incompetent, but because things changed so quickly. I went from having a good job that I loved, to not having a job and worrying about how I was going to get by, and then suddenly having a great job."
I studied him carefully. "How would it have been so much of a surprise? Had you fucked up the interview or something?"
"No, there wasn't a typical interview. And I hadn't even applied for the job. Ebihara called me out of nowhere on a Sunday," he said, his voice vaguely reflecting the surprise and joy that he must have felt.
"You didn't even apply?!" Anger was flashing through me. These pretty boys just had everything handed to them on a plate.
"Yeah, actually...I was a manager at a small woodworking business and we used to work with Ebihara all the time. The owner got cancer and he decided that it wasn't worth it to him to keep the business going. He didn't even try to find a buyer for it, he just shut us down overnight and walked away. It was a real shock, everything had been going so well with the business, but it was his choice in the end," he shook his head sadly. "Ebihara contacted me and had me come in and talk to Hana because they'd had an unexpected opening. They also hired a few other people. And Ebihara used some of his connections to find jobs for even more people in other companies that he deals with. That guy is pretty amazing."
"Yes, he is highly respected," I said, draining my beer. I couldn't decide how I felt about what he'd told me. Ebihara wouldn't have tried to help Date out unless he deserved it, and Hana wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't qualified, but he'd still gotten the job in a way that was totally nonstandard. A way that stole my opportunity for a promotion.

Date was nodding distractedly as if lost in thought.
"I have finished my food and my beer. It is time to go home," I said.
"Yeah, let me get this one," he said. When I started to protest, he interrupted me. "Just this one. You're putting in a lot of extra work in order to help straighten things out, and I really appreciate that."
I let him pay and we walked outside.
"Which station are you going to?" he asked.
"JR," I said.
"Then let's walk together. That's my station, too," he said. His voice was a little sad. Maybe two drinks was too much for him.
"So, tell me," he said. "How is it that you ended up being the only one who knows how to do so many things in Purchasing?"
"Incompetence and laziness," I said with a sigh. "Everyone is really quick to pass work over to someone else. To me, because I'm not afraid to take it. It doesn't make sense to run away from responsibilities. In the end it is always easier to just take care of something than it is to waste time avoiding it and cleaning up the fallout when it doesn't get done."
"That's a great attitude. But it's not okay for you to be overburdened. I've got to work to spread that attitude to the rest of the department. People may want to avoid work, but that can't be allowed to happen," he said with conviction. "We'll get things straightened out and hopefully you'll be able to enjoy your job a little more."
"Am I giving the impression that I don't enjoy my work?" I asked.
"No, not exactly. I can see that you really enjoy tackling the challenges and you're great at that, but you do seem to get angry a lot," he said, his voice hesitant.
"I just get angry," I said with a shrug. "It's my personality to be more serious about things than other people. But I cool off quickly, so it isn't so bad."
"I see. That makes sense," he said, and indicated the station entrances in front of us. "Which way are you going?"
"East," I said.
"I'm headed west. Thanks for having dinner with me. It's nice not to eat alone sometimes," he said. There was a strange look in his eyes – a needy sadness? The poor guy was really too emotional.
"Yeah, it was good," I said solidly, trying to show him how to use a little backbone. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you."
I turned and walked away.

(Friday, July 13)

"Agh! Dammit!"
I turned around to see Jomei standing in front of the copier, he'd cut his thumb. He was holding his hand out away from his body and staring at it as if he was afraid of the blood that was welling up from the cut and dripping down to the floor.
"Hold still," I said, grabbing some tissues and moving to press them against his thumb. "We've got to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding."
"Gah! That hurts," he complained.
I looked at him assessingly. "Are you going to cry?"
"No, I'm not going to cry! Why do you think I'm going to cry?"
"You're in pain and you seem distressed."
"Well, I am not going to cry."
"Good. We should put this above your heart, it will help the bleeding to stop." I tried to raise his hand up, but he pushed it back down and out, away from his body.
"Stop that," he snapped.
"Why? We need to stop the bleeding."
"I don't want blood to get on my clothes."
"You shouldn't be worried about your clothes, you should be worried about losing your thumb."
"I'm not going to lose my thumb and this suit was expensive."
"I'll bet it was." I lifted the tissues and took a look at the cut. "The bleeding has stopped."
"Thanks for helping," he said, studying his thumb. "It's Friday. We shouldn't stay too late. Do you want to get something to eat with me?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What would we eat? I don't want any shared dishes. You might get blood in the food."
"You can choose the restaurant. I'll just go get cleaned up and we can go."
"Fine. Be sure not to open that cut back up. I have a bandaid for you when you get back."

Thirty minutes later we walked into a fried chicken restaurant.
"I thought you said you don't like to eat fried chicken late at night," Date said as we sat down at a table.
"It's Friday. That is enough of an occasion to break a few rules," I replied.
"So your rule is that you can bend the rules on Fridays? Maybe Saturdays too?" Date asked, his voice a little teasing.
"Are you trying to analyze me?" I shot back, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Ha! No," he said. "I am not trying to analyze you. I'm also not trying to garner information. I just want to relax and have a nice meal together because we work hard all the time. I think you should make this a two drink night. It's Friday after all."
"I was already considering two drinks. I might as well," I said. "I'll be going for a run in the morning anyway."
"Is that what you do on the weekends? Exercise?" he asked as the server put our food down in front of us.
"I run each morning on the weekends. It is harder to fit it in before work on weekdays. Exercise is very important for health. It cannot be ignored."
"I agree. I used to work out each evening after work, but with all of this overtime I've been slacking. We won't be doing this forever though. It won't be too long before I'm back to my old routine. What else do you do on your weekends?"
I pushed away the hint of suspicion that he was asking too many questions. He was just trying to make conversation when we had nothing in common. We couldn't very well talk about our favorite skincare products.
"After exercising, I clean on Saturdays and I visit my brother and his family on Sundays. Not this Sunday, though. They are going to visit his in-laws."
"Ah, how old are your brother's children?"
"My nephew is almost eleven and my niece is eight."
"Is that your only niece?"
"Yes, my brother is my only sibling."
He coughed a little on his beer. He was probably more used to drinking girly drinks, but was trying to man up because he was around me. "That's… So, the niece that you were yelling at about contracts that time on the phone is eight years old?"
"Yes. And my reprimand was effective. She turned in her report and received a 97%."
"That's...uh...that's good."

He lapsed into silence. After a few minutes of silent eating, I decided to take control of the conversation. "Do you have any siblings?"
"No. I'm an only child."
"That explains a lot."
"What does it explain?"
"The hair."
"My hair? What would a sibling have to do with my hair?"
"Your mother had too much time to focus on you. She probably had a stylist give you fashionable haircuts and styled your hair for you each morning."
He blinked at me. "That's true. She did do that until I was old enough to do it myself. Does your sibling explain your braids?"
"Absolutely. My brother is eight years older than me and he never liked studying. As I was growing up, my mother had to lecture and nag him constantly so that he would take his grades seriously during middle and high school and even at university. I was left to manage my own hair. It did not take me long to learn that braids are the most efficient hair style. They keep your hair out of your face even when it is windy. When your hair is down, it can get tangly and messy throughout the day. That doesn't happen when your hair is in braids. Your hair is contained and controlled."
"That...makes a lot of sense."
"Of course it does. I have finished my food and my beers. I am ready to go home."
"Wait. Come home with me tonight."
"What? Why?"
"I want to sleep with you. I want to have sex with you. And...come for the entire weekend. Come home with me for the weekend." His cheeks were flushed pink, but he was looking me in the eye when he spoke.
"I'm not some convenient lay that you can take home with you just because I happen to be near you and you don't feel like going to a nightclub and putting forth the effort to pick up a girl who's had too much to drink to make good decisions and danced until she's too weak to fight you off."
"I'm not looking for a 'convenient lay'. I want you. I've wanted you since the first day we met and it's been driving me crazy."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't think you're telling the truth. I even heard you tell Kodama that you were having nightmares about me. Were you having nightmares about having sex with me?"
"No. I was having dreams about having sex with you and they were waking me up in the night - a lot - but I wasn't going to tell Kodama that. I still have those dreams all the time. It would be very helpful if you would just come home with me for the weekend and let me get you out of my system."
"Well. Isn't that an irresistible proposition."
He pushed his empty beer glass out of the way and leaned across the table to look me in the eye and speak in a hushed voice. "I am going to take you home and do absolutely everything that I can think of to give you pleasure. I will not stop until both of us are so tired that we can no longer move. Then we are going to sleep and wake up and I am going to start the process all over again. I will give you time to eat and I will give you time to sleep, but other than that every minute will be devoted to making you moan and cry out for more."
"Alright."
"Good," he said. "I am not going to let you change your mind."
"We'll consider it a verbal contract."

(Later That Night)

Thirty minutes later we'd gotten off the train and were walking towards Date's apartment. We hadn't been talking, but Date had been holding my hand since we left the restaurant. It felt weird. I was not used to touching a man. I should not have agreed to go home with my boss, but he had presented a compelling argument and I was curious about the things that other women got to experience. The things that were normally out of my reach.
I'd always known that I was different. I was not cute or pretty. Even if I wore the same clothes that other women wore, they never looked right on me. I didn't have the looks and I didn't have the free and easy personality that men were looking for. Men did not want to date me or spend time with me just for fun. They didn't even bother to look at me. My only chance to date and get married had always been to find my one perfect match. The one man who would have so much in common with me that he would immediately recognize all of my positive attributes. When I met that man, he would be just like me. We would think the same and feel the same and have the same plans for the future. Everything would fall into place just as soon as I met him.
Date was obviously not him. Date was the opposite of my perfect match except for one thing: he wanted me sexually. For whatever reason, he wasn't seeing me the way that other men saw me - the way that everyone saw me - as unattractive and unsexy. He wanted me, even if he just wanted to get me out of his system. This was my chance, possibly the only one that I would get, to experience what my friends always talked about. I was a virgin in my thirties. I was alone most of the time and lonely, even if I tried to never think about it or admit it to myself. I wanted this chance - this one chance - to have sex just like everyone else. To forget for a little while that I was Akiko Sera and I wasn't supposed to have what everyone else had. I could do that for just one weekend. It wouldn't do any harm.
"This is taking too long. I live too far from the station," he said impatiently and pulled me into a little alcove that was hidden behind a bush. He pushed me up against a brick wall and put his hands on either side of me. He stared down at me with intense eyes.
"You are not having sex with me outside behind a bush," I snapped and wondered if I had made the wrong decision. If Date was some sort of depraved sex fiend who had sex in public, I was going to have to back out of our agreement.
He laughed. "Of course not. I'm going to kiss you for awhile and then take you inside for the sex."
"That is acceptable." I puckered my lips to receive his kiss.
"Huh," he muttered and rubbed his thumb over my mouth before bending down to press his lips against mine. Closing my eyes, I quickly analyzed his kiss. His lips were soft and warm, opening slightly and closing on my upper lip, before moving with more pressing and some tugging. It made my heart beat a little faster, and my back and cheeks became hot. I forgot to breathe for a moment.
He stopped the kiss, pulling back and looking me in the eye. "Is this your first kiss?"
"Yes," I said. "Don't worry. You're doing fine."
He moved forward, resting his cheek against mine and whispering, "Then you're all mine."
"Just for the weekend," I reminded him.
"For the weekend," he agreed. Pulling back again and looking down at me, searching my eyes before his gaze fell to my lips.
"Are you going to kiss me again?"
"Yes."
I puckered up again and closed my eyes, ready to try another kiss. He put his thumb on my lips and pushed on them like an elevator button. "Relax your lips. This is how you kiss a child, not a man."
"Oh?" I felt a little skeptical. I had no idea how much kissing he had actually done.
"Really," he said, his thumb massaging over my lips until they loosened up. "That's it. Just like that." His mouth settled on my upper lip again. He was right, it was better. His lips moved smoothly over mine, pushing and shaping, tugging and sucking. I could feel the moisture from the inside of his mouth, warm and wet. The heat from the first kiss returned and spread over my body. I was so focused on the movement of his mouth that I was forgetting about three out of every four breaths. That was most likely the reason that I felt as if my head were starting to spin.
"Kiss me back," he said, his mouth still against mine. "Just suck on my lip a little." He moved so that his lower lip was between my lips and I did as he suggested, pulling the bit of flesh into my mouth and sucking on it. My tongue darted forward to lick over his lip and taste him. This caused a strong feeling to surge in my chest - almost as if my heart were straining - and my nipples began to buzz strangely within my bra.
He pulled his lip from my mouth and I opened my eyes to stare at him angrily, not happy about that. But his eyes were warm and soft as he looked at me. "That was nice. Kissing you is very nice, Akiko."
I raised my eyebrows in shock at his unauthorized use of my given name, but before I could question him he began kissing me again. This time, his lips were more forceful, pressing bolding against mine, sucking harder, his tongue even licked over my lips - and that made shivers go all down my spine. I felt his hand on my chin and he tugged it downward to get me to open my mouth.
When I did, his tongue came inside and began fondling mine. At first the sensation was strange and unexpected but it quickly became exciting. It made my nipples buzz at an even greater intensity and made me feel breathless and my heart pound just like I had been running. I moved my own tongue and stroked it over his just like he was doing mine. He moaned into my mouth, the sound and feel of it making me want to push myself against him really hard.
He pulled away. He was also feeling breathless. "Let's go to my apartment. I want to touch you."
He took my hand again. This time it felt more right. "How far is your apartment?" I hadn't even wondered about the distance before, but now the answer seemed crucial. When we got there we could kiss again and he'd said that he was going to touch me. He would probably touch my nipples and it felt like they really needed it.
"One block."
In the elevator he took off his suit jacket and folded it neatly in half and lay it over his arm. He tugged his tie loose. I stared at the white expanse of his dress shirt. I wanted to rub it. I wanted to feel how warm it was. I blinked and faced forward, realizing that the kiss had scrambled my brain. But I was still going to rub his shirt as soon as we arrived at his apartment.
When we finally stepped inside, he hung up his jacket and removed his tie while he kicked off his shoes. After removing my own navy blue blazer and shoes, I thought, 'What the hell' and began unbuttoning my shirt. My nipples were screaming to get out of my bra.
"Yes," Date said when he saw me unbuttoning my shirt. He swatted my hands away and took over the job. He unfastened the buttons and opened my shirt to reveal my plain white bra. "Is this what you want?" he asked. He took one of my bra cups and tucked it under my breast, exposing my skin to the open air. He stroked his thumb over my nipple and it felt even better than I had anticipated. It caused sharp streaks of pleasure go through me that made me press myself into his hand. My breath froze in my throat and my knees threatened to buckle. Backing up clumsily, I leaned against the wall.
He followed me closely. His fingers did not leave my breast and they did not stop rubbing my skin. "Anytime you want something, just tell me. If you want me to touch you or kiss you somewhere, tell me," he said, and kissed me again. His tongue pushed immediately into my mouth and searched for mine. I tried to remember to kiss him back. I wanted to stroke my tongue against his, but his fingers were rubbing over my breast and pinching my nipple. He was making me feel very good in two different places and it was hard for me to keep up. My stomach filled with heavy feelings and my head started to spin.
I whimpered and reached forward. I wanted to find something solid to hold onto. I needed to center myself so that I could think, but I ended up with fistfulls of his shirt. I pulled my mouth away from his kiss and gasped for air. I was ready to follow through with my plan to rub his shirt, but he was too quick for me. He knelt down and took my nipple into his mouth and sucked and rolled it with his tongue.
I moaned. So many feelings that I didn't recognize were filling me that I didn't know what to do. But I did know one thing: "I'm going to fall down," I said, tugging at his shoulders. "This is too much to handle."
He laughed and said, "Then let's go to bed."
His studio apartment was in darkness except for the light in the entryway and the ambient light from the city making the shade at the window glow dimly. He took my hand and guided me across the room to his bed and then he bent and turned on the bedside lamp. I gazed vaguely at the neatly made double bed with a black and gray patterned spread. The sight of it made the moral center of my brain sound a faint alarm, but it stood no chance against the tidal wave of unfamiliar hormones that swirled through my mind and body. I could barely string two coherent thoughts together and my body was aching and randomly twitching.
Date was removing his shirt. I watched it leave his body with a pang of regret. I'd missed my opportunity to rub it but he pulled off his undershirt to reveal his chest and that looked even more inviting. It was a great expanse of warm skin calling to me touch it. I took a step forward and raised my hands to press them against his chest. He did work out. He was nicely muscled, hotter than I had expected and slightly sweaty. When I touched him, he hissed and brought his hands up to cover mine and press them tightly to him.
"Damn," he said. "Damn. Let's hurry. Take things off." He removed my hands from him and pushed them back at me. I dropped my shirt off of my shoulders and worked through the steps of removing my bra. It felt nice to have both of my breasts exposed to the open air, it made them tingle even more. It almost felt like they were reaching out for him.
"I'm going to need you to touch my breasts again," I said as I unfastened my slacks and pushed them down my legs, taking my underwear with them and then peeling off my socks.
"Absolutely," he replied. He was taking longer to get undressed than I was. He had a belt to contend with, and he was being very careful with his clothes. He hung them over the back of a chair rather than dropping them to the floor like I was doing. As I watched him revealing more of his skin, my breathing became even more erratic. Very strong feelings had built up in my lower stomach and my lady parts. It was an ache that almost felt like a sickness. I curled my arms around my stomach and bent over, trying to quell the intense feelings.
"What are you doing?" he asked and put his hands on my back and arm to pull me up. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think I need to do this now," I answered and looked up at him for some sort of direction. "Me, too," he said, and his hands pulled and guided me onto the bed. He moved with me so that we were a momentary awkward tangle of limbs that resolved itself into the perfect setup, with me lying below him. His body was touching me in multiple places and each point of contact felt so good that it made me want more and more. I could even feel his man part bumping along my thighs and it sent shivers through me. My body wanted it very badly, being touched by it even just a little bit caused my hips to rise up off the bed, seeking him.
He angled his body to the side and put his hand between my legs, and rubbed his fingers around in the wetness that had collected there and it felt overwhelmingly good. It made me moan and my hips bucked up against his hand. "You're ready," he said, his voice breathy.
"Yes, I am ready," I affirmed, obeying his hands as he pushed my thighs apart. It felt surprising good just to open my body up to him. I tangled my hands into his bedspread and arched my back. My body was filled with the need to feel him inside of me.
As he moved above me, he gave a strangled cry and went rigid. I felt a hot splash on my stomach and looked down to see what could only be his seed lying next to my belly button. "I think you did something wrong," I said, looking up at his face. He had turned to the side so that I couldn't see his expression.
"Yeah," he said. "I just got too excited. I've been waiting for this for too long. I'm sorry. Don't move. I'll be right back."
He climbed off of me and walked across the room to the bathroom. It was strange to see his naked back. I glanced down suspiciously at the white puddle on my stomach. It felt like a hand holding me down on the bed or a foreign substance that I could not trust.
Date came back with a warm wet cloth and carefully cleaned my skin. "Is it okay?" I asked. "Nothing's broken or messed up?"
"Everything's fine. I'm just a little embarrassed."
"I think you were doing a very good job. We can try again tomorrow when you've recovered your stamina. I should probably go home and come back. What time would be good for you?"
"Now is good for me. I'm not letting you out of my sight. It isn't going to take me until tomorrow to 'recover my stamina'. You have some strange misconceptions. We are getting back to things right now. There are plenty of things that I can do to you while my body is recharging."
"Let's do that then. If we don't have to stop, I don't want stop."