(Thursday, December 27)

"Now that you're no longer my subordinate, we need to announce our relationship at work." Jomei said as a waiter set our food in front of us. We were playing with fire by eating at a restaurant only a couple of blocks from work. He'd insisted on taking me out to eat one more time to celebrate my promotion. I realized that maybe he wanted us to be spotted.
"Announce our relationship?" I rolled my eyes at him. "You have delusions of grandeur. Maybe if you just give it a little more time the paparazzi will get a shot of you groping me in the park and put an article in the monthly newsletter."
"I'm not trying to get attention. I just want to stop hiding our relationship. I want to go to work with you and leave work with you, not split up somewhere along the way."
"It's nice to have time to breathe and collect my thoughts without the constant worry that you are going to do something sexual to me in a public place. I'm starting to develop a phobia of bushes," I said, frowning at him so that he knew I was being serious.
"You're exaggerating. Stop trying to make me into some sort of lecher."
"A lecher? Now we're getting somewhere closer to the truth. You think that if we're officially in a relationship I won't be able to file a complaint against you for constantly sending me sexts and dick pics during work hours."
"Constantly?" he asked, raising his pretty eyebrows.
"I have no idea how Purchasing hasn't completely fallen apart since I left. Their manager spends all of his time in the bathroom playing with himself and recording it for posterity."
"Don't even pretend that you don't like sexting. I know you."
"During work hours, Jomei? It's not fun to sit in a meeting with wet lady parts."
"I thought I told you not to say 'lady parts' anymore. It creeps me out."
"We're in a public place. I for one like to watch my language when anyone could overhear us. And you can't act like it's cute one minute and creepy the next. Make up your mind."
"It's your fault for being creepy-cute. I think you need to be punished. I'm going to take you out to the alley and fuck you against the wall."
"Stop trying to make up excuses to enact your sick fantasies. I'm not having sex with you in an alley."
"Well, there is no way that I am going to make it home, so you can choose the alley or the bathroom."
"I choose the bathroom. Have fun in there. Don't bother taking any pictures or videos, I have plenty."
"God dammit. We are going to that love hotel at the end of the block."
"This is why your savings account is so abysmal. You have no self-control."

"Wait a minute, don't take your clothes off," I said when we stepped into our room at the love hotel. "I want to do it against the wall. Let's pretend like we're in the alley."
Laughing happily, he back me up against the wall. "Does that mean that I get to pretend like I'm punishing you for being creepy?"
"As long as you understand that I'm not really going to change the way I talk for you."
"Mmhmm." He dropped kisses trailing from the base of my neck towards my mouth. "I've noticed that you have a problem with change. I can live with that. For now just do what I tell you to do."
"Okay." I moved my mouth to trap his lips with mine, he'd been taking too long to reach them. Sometimes when he kissed me I felt as if he were breathing life into me. My entire body would come alive and tingle and focus on nothing but him. I held him tightly to me and sucked his lower lip into my mouth to stroke it with my tongue.

His hands were working at undoing my braids. There'd been a lot more hair pulling since the night I had too much to drink. Now Jomei was often eager to let my hair down. He pulled his lip from my mouth as my hair came loose and tangled his fingers through the strands. "This reminds me of the first time we kissed," he said. "Thank you so much for letting me in your life."
He lips sought mine again and he kissed me until I felt dizzy, tugging gently at my hair as his tongue explored my mouth. My heart pounded, pushing desire through my veins. All of my body wanted him. My arms demanded that I hold him tightly, my fingers cried out to touch his skin and his hair, my breasts ached to be pressed against him, to have his hands on them. My thighs longed to cradle his body as he fit perfectly against me, and my stomach and lady part wanted to feel him thrusting deep inside of me.
I pulled my lips from his, gasping breathlessly and said, "This doesn't feel like a punishment, it feels like a reward." Although, I was regretting suggesting that we leave our clothes on. He was wearing far too many layers on his upper body - an undershirt, a dress shirt and a sweater - my hands were aching to touch much more of his skin. Maybe that was punishment enough.
"I'm getting to it," Jomei said and knelt to remove my tights and underwear and press kisses to my knees. "I love your legs in tights. I love it in the summer when you don't need tights and I can just touch your legs. I just love your legs."
"You are really bad at punishing," I said with a happy sigh, writhing a bit as his tongue played over my lower thigh below the hem of my skirt.
"Give me some time to practice," he said, standing up and looking down into my eyes. "I'll get better at it. What do you want? Do you want spanked?"
His hands skimmed up under my skirt, rubbing over my thighs and then cupping and squeezing my behind. His touch and his words made the ache inside of me spike in intensity. "Yes," I said. "I want you to spank me and then push your man part in me really hard and fast. Right now."
"'Man part'? Now you are getting punished," he said, pulling me from the wall and bending me over a nearby table. He flipped my skirt up to bare my behind and I wiggled and bounced a little in anticipation. "Stop being so eager! You're supposed to be afraid."
I had to bite my lip to stop myself from giggling. I waited in quiet anticipation for the first strike of his hand, and when it came I was not disappointed. Mild pain stung my butt and immediately translated itself into good sexy feelings that moved through my body like a wave and made me moan loudly. "Oh God yes," I sighed. "Do it more and harder and pull my hair at the same time."
His fingers twisted themselves in my hair and started pulling while he spanked me with stinging slaps. Each strike raised my arousal level higher and higher, by the time he'd reached ten swats I felt as if I were going to burst.
"Stop," I said breathlessly, standing up. "Stop. I need…" - I paused to pull my thoughts together to make things right for him. - "I need your cock in my pussy. I need you to fuck me so hard. Please, Jomei."

It had been a mistake to leave our clothes on. I was desperate for all of him and was going to have to make do with bits and pieces. He gave me a smile and began unfastening his belt. I hurriedly unbuttoned my blouse and opened the front closure on my bra - something that I hadn't been able to buy at Benjiro's, but replacing all of my bras had been worth every penny - dropping both pieces of clothing to the floor.
He came to me, pushing me against the wall and lifting my leg and pressing his part to my throbbing wet lady bits. I was so aroused that my bits were too sensitive, feeling him pushing up inside of me was a torturous ecstacy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tight, my body jumping and twitching as it tried to adjust to the too intense feel of him inside of me. "Oh God! Oh God!" I cried, too loud and too close to his ear, moaning and sobbing as he filled me completely, gravity helping him to get a little deeper than normal.
He took my leg and wrapped it around his hip and then began rocking himself against my body. His thrusts were hard and so deep, filling me with pleasure as I clung to him. It felt amazingly good, in the unfamiliar new position I felt almost trapped, forced to accept a pleasure that was almost too much for me to bear. I began shrieking over and over, pushing my nipples into the softness of his sweater, tangling my fingers in his hair and just letting go to all of the strong feelings that were coursing through me.
When my orgasm came it was very hard. My body clenched at Jomei and I arched against him, straining and screaming in ecstacy. I felt his release following closing after mine as my body began to let go of the built up tension and relax. Black spots appeared before my eyes and I felt myself go limp against him.

"Akiko, damn!" His voice was far away. I felt him wrap his arms around me and he moved me over to lie on the bed. He was gone from me for a moment and then back again, wiping at my face and chest with a cool wet cloth. I sucked in little gasps of air. "You're okay, you're okay," he said over and over, his assurance for both me and himself.
The haze and the fuzzy feeling finally began to recede. "I think I'm okay now," I said, reaching for him. He tossed the cloth away and lay down next to me, pulling me into his arms.
"You scared me," he said, pressing little kisses all over my face. "Don't do that again."
I smiled and said, "I think you did that to me. That was amazing."
"Mmm. I think too much stimulation is bad for you. We'll have to stick to boring sex from now on," he said. "But I must admit that I loved the sound of you screaming in my ear. That really was the best. I really enjoy being a part of you discovering your sexual self - that may sound awkward - but I feel like it's a privilege."
"First of all, take all of these shirts off, I need to feel you against me," I said, unzipping my skirt and kicking it off. "Second, we are not sticking to boring sex. We have to keep roleplaying because we are obviously really bad at it. I need to master things, not just give up. And third, thank you for helping me to discover my 'sexual self'. You are the best." I smiled up at him as he shucked his shirts.
"As long as you promise not to pass out or nearly pass out again," he said. "And we really need to stop having sex with our clothes on. That cheap Benjiro's fabric is starting to give me a rash."

_*_*_*_*_

(Friday, December 28)

"Cheers!" I clinked glasses with my three closest friends. We were out at a bar celebrating my promotion. It was very nice to finally be the one who had good news to share, and it wasn't over yet.
"I have an announcement," I said seriously. "I have a boyfriend."
"Really?" Beth asked, her eyes wide with surprise. "That's great!"
"Akiko! I'm so happy for you!" Aoi said sweetly.
"Awesome, Girl." Yukako said with her lazy smile. "It's about time."
"Give us all the details. How did you meet, what does he look like, everything!" Aoi insisted. She'd been married for several years and was always interested in hearing romantic drivel from other women.
Looking at Beth, I said, "It's Date. We've been keeping it a secret because he was my boss."
Beth choked on her beer, completely stunned. We'd obviously done a good job keeping our relationship hidden from everyone. "Jomei Date? The purchasing manager?"
"Yeah, of course," I answered. "What other boss did I have?"
"You've been secretly dating your boss? I'm proud of you. There's nothing better than forbidden fruit. Please tell me you're getting laid," Yukako said.
"Yukako, really!" Aoi snapped and then turned to me "A secret office romance is so...romantic. You get to see each other every day and give each other little looks..."
"This is him, guys." Beth held up her phone and showed them the screen. "He's gorgeous."
"Is that his FindFriend?" I asked with a frown.
"Is he a model? He's beautiful!" Aoi squealed, her eyes glued to the screen.
"Fuck me, how did you land this guy?" Yukako asked.
"He's not a model, he's just addicted to taking selfies in his fancy clothes," I explained. "And I didn't do anything. He was just obsessed with having sex with me."
"He was obsessed with having sex with you?" Beth asked, looking mystified. "That's how you started dating?"
"Oh man!" Yukako guffawed. "That is the best thing I've ever heard!"
"First we tried a sex weekend so he could get me out of his system. Then we tried being friends with benefits, but it wasn't long before he was whining about wanting to be my boyfriend," I said with a shrug.
"Do you have a picture of the two of you together?" Beth asked suspiciously. "You're not even on his FindFriend."
"That's because we've been keeping things secret. This is the official announcement. You know I'm not much of a picture person, but Jomei takes them all the time. He's obsessed with his own good looks. I'll have him send me a pic." I picked up my phone and sent Jomei a text.
"So how long has this been going on?" Beth wanted to know.
"July thirteenth is when we first hooked up," I answered.
"July thirteenth?! That long ago?! This is crazy!" Beth's eyes were bugging out. "Everyone at work thinks you two hate each other. People have placed bets about how long it will take before you lose it entirely and hit him."
"They should keep their bets. I would be hitting him right now if he was here. I asked for a pic of us together, not a bunch of sexts. Here's the pic." I held up my phone so they could see a selfie of Jomei and I together in the park near his apartment.
"Oh I can't take it! It's so cute!" Aoi was squealing again.
"I still can't believe it. You've been dating all this time and no one even noticed," Beth said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"This calls for a real celebration, Akiko. A promotion and a hot guy? You should drink four or even five drinks tonight!" Yukako said, signaling the waiter to come to our table.
"Nope. Jomei's waiting for me at home. I promised him that I would only drink one or two. He says I get too aggressive in bed if I have more than that," I said with a shrug.

(Saturday, January 12)

"Why are we here? This seems boring. It's so much easier to shop at Benjiro's and the convenience store." I was walking with Jomei through a fancy shopping mall.
"I need socks. And you're here because I like having you with me. It makes everything better. That's what dating is about," he said. "Why do I have to keep explaining this to you?"
"There is no way that you need socks. I have seen your sock drawer. You have enough socks for your entire apartment building."
"I got a new pair of shoes and I don't have socks in the right shade of blue to match them. Stop complaining," he said. "This won't take long at all. Then we can go see a movie or something."
"'Or something'? You're as lax as usual," I complained. "It would have been a better use of time if we had decided on the movie beforehand and already purchased the tickets."
"Maybe we won't go to a movie. Let's just live free and do whatever we feel like doing today."
"This sounds like a plot to get me to have sex with you behind a bush."

While Jomei laughed, I noticed a backpack on display in a shop window.
"Look at this backpack," I said excitedly. "It's perfect for my nephew. It has a cushioned interior pocket for carrying a laptop or tablet. A special protected pouch so that your snacks don't get smashed and a tracking device that even keeps a log of everywhere the student has been. I'm going to buy this for him when he starts middle school."
"That's exactly what every teenage boy wants, to be tracked by his parents and his aunt," he said sarcastically.
"It's a safety feature." I narrowed my eyes at him. "I wonder if they make briefcases."
"Why would you need to track me?" he asked. "We work together."
"I'd have a record of just how often you're shopping for clothes and skincare products. I know you're giving me a low estimate."
"I don't carry a briefcase when I go shopping."
"Hmmm. I'm pretty sure you'd like to carry a man purse," I looked through the shop window to see what other products they might have. "I saw you eyeing the one that guy was carrying on the train the other day and imagining how good it would look on you."
"What are you talking about? I wasn't doing that."
"Don't bother denying it," I snapped. "It's so obvious when you're lying."
"Regardless, I'm pretty sure they don't sell man purses with tracking devices in them."
"I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of gay men out there with tendencies towards jealousy."
"I told you that man purses are for all men, not just gay men."
"Well that guy on the train-"

"JOMEI!"
A woman who was all big curly hair, jewelry and a short dress was bouncing and hugging Jomei. "Oh my God! I am so glad that I ran into you! It's been so long!"
"Hachi," he said. "Hi. I didn't know you were back in Japan."
I felt my skin going cold as I watched the woman touching his arm and smiling huge toothy smiles at him.
"Yes! I've only been back for a couple of weeks. I've been getting settled in. Europe was crazy! I mean really! We should go get a coffee and catch up!" she squealed. "I want to tell you about everything!"
Jomei glanced down at me uncomfortably. I gave him a nod. I wasn't supposed to be standing in his way. I could feel our contract falling apart as I trailed after the two of them to a coffee shop several doors down. When we arrived, I offered to put the order in so that they could start talking. I stood at the counter and waited for the coffees to be made, staring at the menu the whole time, my stomach twisting in knots. I didn't want to look at them together. They looked like a poster: two perfect people in a coffee shop.
When I carried the coffee to the table and sat down, Hachi was telling a story about a modeling job and the ridiculously huge and out of control party that she went to afterwards. Jomei was staring at her as if he couldn't take his eyes off of her. When she finally stopped talking to take a breath and a sip of her drink, Jomei turned to me with eyes that looked shellshocked. I decided to go ahead and start asking the questions that were on my mind. There was no reason to wait.

"Did you date this woman?"
She looked at me and said, "what?", but neither Jomei nor I looked at her.
"Yes," he said.
"Do you have naked pictures of her?" I asked.
"Of course not," he snapped. "Why would I have naked pictures her?"
"She's a model and you're always saying the human body is an art form," I reminded him. He wasn't going to weasel his way out of my questions by playing dumb.
"I'm not that kind of model!" Hachi cried. I ignored her.
"That's just something I say to you," Jomei said. "I only want pictures of you."
"Hmph. How long did you date?" I asked.
"Almost two years."
"Why did you break up?"
"She left the country for work."
"If she hadn't, would you still be together?"
He looked at her, contemplating his answer. She was waiting for it expectantly with a big smile on her face.
"Probably. We probably would have gotten married.-" She squealed with delight and said, "Oh, Jomei! Really?" "- That would have been a nightmare," he said with a sigh.
"Why a nightmare?" I asked.
"Because I would have had to get a divorce as soon as I met you, and there's no way your father is going to let you marry a divorced man."
"I'd have married you anyway, I wouldn't let my father's old fashioned ideas get in my way."
"Does that mean you're going to marry me?" he asked, his voice hopeful.
"No. We're speaking hypothetically," I reminded him.
"Why won't you marry me?"
"You're not my type."
"Why? Because I carry a man purse?"
"You don't have a man purse."
"I ordered one online. It should arrive today."
"That's the reason. Not the purse. The fact that you bought it."
"So you won't marry me because I have good fashion sense."
"More or less."
"Why would that even matter?"
"It's a long term goal thing," I explained. "I don't want to worry that the father of my children is secretly spending all of our money on lotion and socks."
"You know that I wouldn't do that."
"Do I? How much money did you spend last week?"
"So, I'm good enough to be your casual boyfriend, but not good enough to marry," he said, evading my question.
"I need to marry someone who shares my values and my long term goals. A man who is going to help me raise our children with those same values and goals. Kids don't need a mixed message."
"If you think some other man is going to father your children, you're crazy. I will never let another man touch you," he said angrily.
"Okay. This is getting really weird," Hachi said, standing up and grabbing her purse. "I'm getting out of here."
"Your girlfriend left because you're acting like a sociopath."
"She's not my girlfriend. You're my girlfriend."
"You were staring at her the whole time. You couldn't take your eyes off of her."
"I just can't believe it. I can't believe I dated her. I can't believe I thought I was happy," he said. He seemed stunned.
"You really don't have naked pictures of her?" I asked skeptically. "She's a model. I know she said yes."
"You're really not going to marry me?" his voice was distracted as if he was lost in thought.
"Why are we even having this conversation. We are two very different people with different goals and values, like I said. It just wouldn't work."
He stood up and looked down at me. "I'm going to go buy my socks. You sit here and think about what you mean by long term goals, because my long term goals are to make you happy and have a lovely family together," he said before walking away from the table. After a few steps he turned around and came back to say, "And our children will be dressed beautifully."

(One Hour Later)

"Why are you so against the idea of marrying me?" Jomei asked. We were in a little area with benches and trees outside the shopping mall. "It doesn't make sense. We are good together. I feel like we're good together. Why don't you?"
"You aren't my perfect match in the world, Jomei," I said, feeling upset that I had to explain this again. "You're too different from me."
"We don't have to be exactly the same for me to be the right person for you," he said. "You're...You make my life so much better because you're always challenging me. Things are never boring. Every moment with you is some weird version of perfect and I love it. I love you. And I'm not going to let you go just because you think there might be some perfect guy out there waiting for you. This is perfect. What we have is perfect."
My heart was pounding because he'd said that he loved me. It made me feel excited and scared all at the same time. But I couldn't let him sway me that easily. "Just because we're having fun and like to have sex with each other doesn't mean that we should get married. It really isn't that simple. Marriage is something very important, we shouldn't even be talking about it when we're just fooling around together!"
"That's the difference then," he said. "You may be fooling around, but I'm not. I'm serious. I'm in love with you. I love being with you and I want to stay with you for the rest of my life."
"That doesn't make sense!" I insisted. "We went into this with a contract! We defined the parameters! You can't just change up the definition of what this is just because you feel like it!"
"We're humans, Akiko! We make mistakes! Things change! You can't just make a decision and expect things to stay the same. And I made a mistake," he said. He sounded like he might be close to crying. "You're so different from the girls that I used to date and I wanted you so badly from the moment that I first saw you, I thought it was just a strange physical attraction. I thought that I could just fuck you for awhile and get you out of my system, but I was wrong. I've loved you from the first moment that I saw you. I shouldn't have asked you back to my apartment, I should have asked you out on a date. I set us on the wrong path and now you're refusing to get on a different train! I need you to be more flexible, just this once!"
"You're mixing metaphors!" I shouted. "And you're going to have to give me some time or something! I can't just switch gears! We had an agreement! I've been playing by the rules this whole time! You can't tell me that I'm doing something wrong now! You're pulling the rug completely out of from under me!"
"It's okay. I'm sorry for shouting at you," he pulled me into his arms and held me close. "It's okay and we're going to figure this out. I know that we will. I don't want you to get upset or worried or scared. I just want you to try to love me. Just try to look at me in a different way and see if you find what you're looking for. And you'd better find it, because I can't have you breaking my heart. I'll never recover."
"Okay," I said, pressing my face into his chest. "Okay, I'll try."
"That makes me so happy," he said, I could hear the smile on his lips. "And just so you know, your father told me my savings account is completely acceptable now that you've been promoted. There's nothing standing in our way."
"God dammit! Do not talk to my father behind my back!"

(Sunday, January 27)

"Oh, you must be Akiko! It is so good to finally meet you!" Jomei's mother said with a big smile. Jomei had finally convinced me to meet his parents, he'd said it was only fair since he had met my family.
Jomei's mother, Shino, looked exactly as I had expected her to look. While my own mother looked like a grandmother, Shino was tall and thin with long hair that was permed and colored. She was wearing a pretty dress and matching jewelry. She'd obviously used gallons of lotion of the years, she barely had any wrinkles. She looked like she should be in a homemaking magazine selling frying pans.
She hugged me. Even though we had just met. Who knows what sort of things Jomei had been telling her about me. His father, Genkei, stepped over with a big smile of his own. It was no wonder that Jomei was always so lighthearted and frivolous, his parents were always smiling. And his father was just as fancied up as Jomei usually was. He was wearing expensive clothes, a scarf and a bracelet.
We sat in the living room and Genkei said, "So, Akiko. Jomei has told me about the program that the two of you built at work. He said that your coding skills are great and he couldn't have done it without you."
I nodded and we talked about coding for awhile. Genkei was a lead software developer, he had a lot of interesting things to say about programming, but it was a little strange to talk to him. Compared to my own father, he was weirdly mellow. I couldn't imagine him going red in the face and shouting because Shino or Jomei had done something wrong. He would probably just give them a little reminder and a hug instead.
Shino had put a tray of appetizers on the coffee table. They looked like perfect little artistic creations. It seemed like a terrible waste of time to bother cutting food into intricate shapes. Maybe she was just bored. She'd only had to raise one child and she didn't have any grandchildren.

"Akiko," Shino said when there was a break in the conversation. "I love that cardigan that you're wearing. It's such a pretty color."
"Thank you," I said. She was definitely lying. Even Jomei had a funny look on his face because it was so obvious.
"Oh, Honey!" she cried, as if she had suddenly been struck by an idea. "You should come out shopping with me one weekend! We'll do a makeover, it'll be so much fun!"
"Forget it, Mom," Jomei said before I had a chance to think up a way to politely decline. "Do not change one hair on this woman's head. I want her to stay exactly as she is. And no giving her clothing or accessories as a gift unless they come from Benjiro's Bargain Basement."
"Oh yeah," I said with a smile. "That's my favorite store. It's the best."
"Benjiro's?" Shino shifted and looked around in confusion. "I've seen their ads. They're supposed to have good prices…"
"That's right," I said. "They're usually impossible to beat."
Genkei laughed. "To tell the truth, I used to shop at Benjiro's before I met Shino. So I know exactly what you mean."
I laughed but made a mental note to myself to never let Shino trick me out of going to Benjiro's. Anyone who had the power to get people to spend much more money than necessary had to be taken as a serious threat.
"Well," Shino smiled and took control of the conversation again. "Jomei tells me that the two of you are talking about getting married. Has there been any progress in that direction?"
"No," I said and turned to give Jomei a death glare. He tried to hide behind a cup of tea.
"Ah, well. Feel free to take your time," Shino said. "There's no hurry. But I want you to know that if you do get married, you can move in here with us. We have lots of extra space and Jomei told me how important your career is to you. I can help with the children so that you can continue working."
I blinked in shock and felt like my heart was stuttering in my chest. This was too far, too fast.
"Mom," Jomei said in a warning voice. "We shouldn't be talking about this right now."
"I know. I'm sorry," she said, with that smile that pretty people use because they know everyone will forgive them. "I just want you to know in case it helps you to make a decision, Akiko. We're not far from Ichikiwa Design. If you're so interested in saving money, then living here would be a great decision. But I don't know if your parents will want you to live with them. I'm just letting you know that you can live here if you want."

I blinked at her, feeling stunned. Jomei took over the conversation by asking his father about some book that he'd been reading. My heart was thumping in my chest. I'd never even considered what my parents would expect of me after I got married. Marriage was always something in the distant future, it was never something that needed to be thought about. But what if I did marry Jomei? My parents would probably want us to live with them. Their apartment wasn't too far from Ichikiwa Design, although it was certainly a lot further than the Dates' house. My mother would offer to help raise our children, but she was always in a muddle and two steps behind where she needed to be. My father would insist that I quit my job once I had a baby, even if I was a manager now. The realization made me feel a little sick inside.
I tried to picture Jomei and I in my parents' apartment. My mother would burn the food and my father would yell every time a package was delivered for Jomei. Our children would be a little afraid and a little stressed all the time - just like I had been - and there would be no escaping it. Asas and Hachi would never agree to live with my parents and my father wouldn't make them do it. He would force me to do it. I was the one who was expected to take care of familial obligations, not Asas.
And if I didn't get married, I would have to move in with them by myself. I would be the old maid. My mother would forever be whining to me because life was so hard for her and my father would yell at me all the time because I'd failed them by not getting married and having children. The idea made me feel claustrophobic.

I followed everyone to the dinner table mutely, thoughts still spinning in my head. If we lived with Jomei's parents, my father couldn't force us to live with them. It would be Asas and Hachi or nothing. I looked at the pretty food in the pretty dishes and imagined a little boy that looked like Jomei sitting at the table. He would be a chatterbox. Shino would make him pancakes shaped like animals. Jomei would carry him around and play with him all the time. And he would be relaxed and happy and all smiles, just like Jomei.
What was I doing waiting for my perfect match? Someone just like me? That wasn't necessarily a good thing. I was too stressed and intense and angry. I could talk about wanting someone with matching long term goals, but what about day to day life? Jomei would make me happy. He did make me happy. Even if we didn't live with his parents, he would smile and laugh with me every day. He would keep me from taking things too seriously.
I shouldn't be waiting for a male version of myself. I should have been looking for someone like Jomei all this time. Someone who would balance me and make me better than I was without him. Someone who always made me smile.
I sighed and Jomei leaned close to whisper, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said, nodding too many times. "Your mom is a great cook. The beef is really good." I moved my hand under the table and put it on his thigh, just needing to touch him. He placed his hand on top of mine and gave it a light squeeze.
"I know," he said, he bent to drop a kiss on my head, even with his parents sitting at the table. They didn't even react, they just kept eating their food. I looked up at him. He was looking down at me with a smile on his face. There was concern in his eyes, he knew that there was something going on with me, but he wasn't pushing it.
"It's going to be okay," he said quietly. "There's no pressure or hurry. I just want to make sure that you are happy."

(Tuesday, February 12)

"Do you want me to do that?" Jomei asked worriedly.
"I'm not going to burn it," I snapped. "You're insulting me."
I could hear him chuckling quietly behind me. He hadn't yet figured out that I have superhuman hearing. "I really like to cook and I love to cook for you. I have no problem making every meal for us. I know I've send this a hundred times, but you never need to go in the kitchen," he said when he'd finished giggling to himself.
"I don't want you in my kitchen. You cook in your kitchen and I'll cook in mine."
"You're so territorial," he said, laughing loudly now. "This is a studio apartment. The kitchen is in the living room is in the bedroom. Maybe we should put some tape on the floor so that I don't cross the boundary into the kitchen. You should probably get some of those alarm sensors in case I decide to sneak in there in the middle of the night."
I made a growling sound and stirred the vegetables in the pan. Answering him would only encourage his impudent behavior. I changed the subject. "Kanda from IT updated the computers in the warehouse today. He's been working on getting all of the hardware ordered and prepped for our program. He said they're going to start training people in two weeks."
"Which one is Kanda? The tall one or the new guy with the fanny pack?" His voice was closer. He must have gotten off the couch. I frowned at the food in the pan, the vegetables were starting to singe. I moved them around in the pan faster, saying, "The fanny pack."
"Did you talk to him about anything else?"
I dumped a packet of curry sauce onto the vegetables and went back to stirring them. "Yeah, he told me some funny stories from his old job," I guffawed as I recalled the things Kanda had said. "There was this woman in their accounting department-"

Out of nowhere, Jomei grabbed the frying pan out of my hand and slid it away from the heat before turning the burner off with a flick of his wrist. He pushed me back against the wall and stepped in close. "What are you doing?" I demanded with a frown. "You're in my kitchen and in my personal space!"
"This is my personal space!" he replied, stepping in even closer as if to prove his point by pressing his body against mine, before pushing back and staring angrily into my eyes. "You're mine! Don't laugh for other men! Especially men who wear fanny packs! Or pocket protectors or cargo pants or who don't know how to comb their hair! Or any men who work in IT! Stay away from all of those men!"
I stared up at him darkly. I had never seen him really angry before, but he had no chance of intimidating me."You can't make demands like that! We're going to reconsider our verbal contract to be boyfriend and girlfriend! I will not accept a boyfriend who tries to tell me what to do! This behavior is unacceptable!"
"You're right!" He yelled, pushing away from the wall to storm over to my desk and grab paper and a pen. "We're making a new contract, on paper!" He sat down at the kitchen table and began scribbling rapidly on the paper as he roared, "Contract for Engagement! Item One: Akiko will wear her engagement ring at all times! Item Two: Akiko will begin every conversation with men by announcing that she is engaged! Item Three: Akiko will not laugh with other men! Item Four: Akiko will not interact with male nerds!"
"Stop writing that! I'm not signing that!" I shouted, trying to snatch the pen from his hand.
He held the pen away from me, racing it ahead of my hands as I continued to try to grab it. "You are damned well going to sign this! Tonight! And Saturday we are going to go pick out a ring! A really big one that everyone can see from across the room!"
He put his hand on my chest and pushed me back, holding me away from the table so that he could continue writing. "Item Five: Akiko will stay out of the God damned kitchen!"
"I'm not signing that! Give it to me!" I reached for the paper but he saw my hand coming and whisked it away before I could grab it. He stood up quickly and held the paper and pen above his head where I couldn't reach them.
"If you don't sign this, I'm going to go to a party for beauty products that Nanami invited me to this Saturday! If I don't have to go buy a ring, my schedule will be wide open! I'm going to spend the entire night talking and laughing with women about skincare products and hairspray and perfume! I'm going to spend an insane amount of money on stuff that would cost next to nothing at a convenience store! I'm going to have five drinks!" He was completely out of control!
"You will not!" I jumped at him, grabbing his shirt and pushing him back while I swiped his feet out from under him. He didn't have any siblings, so he had no chance against me. He'd never had to fight over toys or snacks. He immediately lost his balance and we crashed to the floor. Jomei had the wind knocked out of him, leaving him incapacitated, and I crawled up his torso to snatch the balled up piece of paper and pen from his hand.

Jumping up triumphantly, I raced to the kitchen table and dropped into a chair as he lay coughing and gasping for air on the floor. "Jomei will never speak to women about skincare products! Jomei will not smile at other women! Jomei will not touch his hair in sight of another woman! Jomei will stick to a strict monthly clothing and beauty product budget! Jomei will not sext during work hours! Jomei will stop talking to that new guy on Ebihara's team who is obviously gay and obviously flirting. Jomei will not-" as my hand scribbled nearly illegible words across the paper, Jomei snuck up behind me and snatched the paper away.
"I can agree to that," he said, his voice calm although he was still gasping a little. He walked over to my desk, grabbed a pen and began writing quietly.
"You'd better not be writing any more rules for me on there," I warned.
He walked back and handed me the contract. He had added the following items:
"Jomei is Akiko's one perfect match in the world.
Jomei will love Akiko forever.
Jomei Date, February 12, 2019"
 He'd also scratched out the word "strict" in the line about the clothing and beauty product budget.
"I want my ring tomorrow. The women at work need to stop inviting you to parties," I narrowed my eyes at him. "You should get a ring, too. I'm sure you'll enjoy wearing something sparkly."
"We can do that," he said, pulling me up out of the chair. "Tell me that you love me."
I frowned up at him. "I love you. But it would be more meaningful if I were to say it without being prompted."
"I agree," he said. He was trying to look very serious, but his eyes were gleaming and his hair was all mussed. "I love you, Akiko. Tell me to kiss you."
I shook my head at him. He insisted on doing everything wrong. "Kiss me, Jomei."
When his mouth touched mine, I could feel the smile on his lips that he'd been trying to hide.