-Izumi's POV-
"No way am I riding on that… thing!" stated Izumi as he pointed at the yellow motorbike his friend arrived on with distrust and a large amount of fear clearly plastered on his face.

"This thing is a Ducati 600SS, my friend. It's only a couple years old and has less than ten thousand kilometers on it. The owner is trading up for the new Corsa model. He soup this baby up with a Revell kit, then added a steering dampener, and customized the seats. He even repositioned the signal LEDs and replaced most of the sidings with carbon fiber ones. And the best thing is he's letting me borrow it for a few days before I decide! It's practically a steal! Sweet deal isn't it!? Come on, try it out with me!" During his rave remarks on the bike's features, Konno had already taken off his shiny Arai black helmet and matching black gloves. His hair was a bit matted at certain places on his head but strangely, Izumi found it oddly appealing with the faded blue jeans and off-white dress shirt his friend was wearing.

Konno flashed a wide inviting grin and motioned for him to step closer and hop on. However, instead of moving forward, Izumi took several steps back on the wide sidewalk next to his apartment building. Despite his friend's apparent knowledge of the vehicle's history and hype, Izumi was still debating the safety issues in riding a sports bike especially with his friend operating it. He knew about Konno's love for speed and stunt tricks for years. So judging by the brightness of the man's eyes and the excitement in the other's voice, Izumi knew that nothing has changed. He was very tempted to call it a night.

"Hop on! I even borrowed a spare helmet and gloves for you. Trust me. It'll be fun!"

Izumi's face scrunched up with even more doubt and his brows stitched together in indecision as he back paddles a few more steps back.

"Come on, this is no different then when you rode on back of my scooter back in form 3-D. Don't be a chicken, Sakashita! Where's your sense of adventure?" mocked his friend.

That does it. Izumi straighten up his spine and with several stiff strides reached his friend's outstretched hand and grab the proffered yellow helmet with the opening facing upwards. In spite of wanting to smack away the amusement on Konno's face, Izumi chose to ignore the man's smug look instead. He lifted the helmet and was about to place it on his head when he noticed the gloves inside the opening. Izumi extracted the gloves from the helmet's interior and hold it with one hand has he flips the helmet over and proceeded to place it on his head. Unlike the half helmet he'd worn a long time ago, the darn thing didn't move past his temple. He tried tugging the tie straps down to bring the helmet down, but then his ears got in the way. That's when he heard Konno's grating laughter on the sideline. Izumi instantly flashed his friend an annoyed glare daring him to say something that will allow him to snap the man's head off and go back upstairs to his nice and safe studio apartment.

Unfortunately, Konno spoke not a word as he hung the black helmet on the right handlebar. With amusement dancing in his eyes, Konno motioned Izumi to step closer and took the yellow helmet from him. His friend gripped the chin straps from the helmet and stretched them wide apart before he plop it straight down on Izumi's head in one motion. Izumi released a low yelp that had Konno chuckling aloud as the man secured the chin straps together for him. Deciding it was best to ignore his friend's present humor entirely Izumi turned his head away and concentrate on putting his gloves on.

By the time he turned around to face his friend, Konno had his own helmet and gloves placed back on and had just restarted the bike. The clatter of the engine crescendo before it dropped to a low clunker in the almost emptied streets.

His friend flipped the visor up and turned his head to face Izumi. Despite the limited view of Konno's expression, Izumi knew his friend was laughing at his timid behavior judging by the telltale amusement in the other's eyes. He decided to ignore that too and moved to place his left foot on the passenger peg as he placed a hand on Konno's shoulder to steady himself. Then he shifted his weight to his left leg while he simultaneously pushed off his right and swung that leg around the seat. Now with both feet resting on both pegs as he sat a few centimeters higher than his friend, Izumi adjusted his perch for a more comfortable position while he leaned forward to brace his chest against the rider's upper back. Feeling that was the best he could make of the position, Izumi quickly flips his visor down and wraps his arms securely around Konno's midsection for support and balance. He knew what was coming.

"Hold on tight!" Konno threw the warning out before he flips his own visor down and revs the engine. As soon as the man picked up his legs, the bike jerked forward and sped off at rising speed. Izumi immediately closed his eyes and tighten his hold around his friend. Unbeknownst to him, Konno had a pleased smirk on his face when that happened.

"Hey, you're not enjoying yourself!" Remarked Konno very loudly into Izumi's ear as he tried to speak above the loud Euro dance music playing in the small darken club. They were both standing atop one of the three landings surrounding the illuminated dance floor. Below them, undulating bodies swayed to the hypnotic beat as the dancers bump and grind against one another while others crowded the bar and sat sparingly at the surrounding lounge chairs to rest before they merge back in.

Izumi had been reluctant at first to enter what looked like a seedy place at first since the club was located in the warehouse district, but was soon delighted by the lively atmosphere once he settled in and had a few drinks. After that, he was even brave enough to let Konno pull him onto the dance floor to sway against both men and women alike that happened to bump against him.

Izumi and Konno were amongst the few who wandered up top after being on the dance floor on and off for over an hour themselves. They soon opted for a better view of the crowd as they watched and chat. A few feet to their right, a cage hung from the ceiling above the dance floor. Two go-go dancers, scantily clad in white leather tube top and micro miniskirt with vibrant pink and blue hair color, sway their hips and arms seductively within.

Izumi pulled from his roving thoughts and was about to reply but one of them, the girl with the pink hair, caught his eyes and winked at him. Color suffused his cheeks immediately as she licked her lips and stuck her index finger in her mouth and sucked on the digit as she undulate her hips against the thigh of the other girl.

His friend Konno must have seen it too, for he laughed right in his ear and apparently decided to add to his embarrassment. The man stepped closer from behind and slid a palm beneath Izumi's loose brown t-shirt to slowly ride up his midsection. Izumi immediately froze in place; his mind couldn't fathom what was happening as he witnessed the events that followed like an out-of-body experience. Every move Konno made was mimicked by the pink go-go dancer as she pulled her fellow dancer in front of her to join the choreograph play as his surrounding turned surreal.

Small hands gripped two vertical bars as Izumi likewise clutched onto the railing before him. Fingers splayed across white span of skin as it slid upwards to cup a small breast. Fingers kneading. Head thrown back as her mouth pop open in a silent cry when a wicked finger flicked across a harden nipple. Another hand splayed possessively across her mid rift then ever so slowly slid downward beneath her waist band and disappeared altogether. Hot, moist mouth bit her nape then lapped as wet tongue licked upwards and attached to a dainty lobe. Nibbling none too gently.

His own breath shortened. The music pounded in his ears as the heat of his body pulsated with the pounding of his heart. Molten excitement course through his veins.

He couldn't think.

It had been too long. He needed this. He wanted this.

If he was to stop a minute, to snap out of the haze, to think, of what was being done and who was doing it, he would have been mortified.

Perhaps it was the amount of alcohol he consumed yet again tonight, perhaps it was the amount of lonely nights he'd spent dreaming of a man who no longer embraces him in the dark, perhaps it was the total summation of the yearning and the subjugation of his feelings for so long that needed to break free.

He just didn't care at the moment, he needed to feel.

Thus, Izumi continued to look and without realizing it, experience it aloud to all and sunder to see.

Review Response:

Shimmer1 – I don't know whether I replied to your review before or yet, but here it is. Thank you for reading and no, you are not the only one reading so far. I appreciate all the encouragement I can get. I hope you are enjoying the story so far.

29curry – Thank you for reading the story! I'm glad you like. As for disliking Takamiya, you're not alone. Other readers had commented the same, although… please hold your judgment until the end. Personally, I like Takamiya quite a lot and am cringing from setting him up like this in this story. ;

COUGARS SHADES – ;; Er… I didn't mean to make you wait…. I was working on my other ficcys while half writing this fic on and off. So here's an update. I hope this makes up for it. And thank you for the praise. I'm happy to know that you're enjoying the story. I'm about 2/3 done with the story.