A Cup of Lust, Beauty and Affairs

Summary:Taichi, a photographer and artist fascinated by the beauty of the world, becomes captivated by the beauty of a customer at his parent's coffee shop. Innocent desires soon blaze into an unforgettable, insatiable affair. (Taito)

D-Angel: -shyly smiles- So, it's my birthday today, and as a wonderful gift to share with you all, here's another deliciously warm chapter of A Cup of Lust :) I worked hard on this last night and this afternoon to brush everything up, so I hope you like it!

Another interesting fact; I wrote most of this chapter backwards... Like from paragraph to paragraph. Yeah, my writing habits are strange, but they seem to work, hehe.

Responses to anonymous reviewers / the last few I didn't reply to via PM.

aleena naeem: I do take a while to update, but I think I've been pretty good as of lately! It's also part of my creed to not post a chapter up until I'm confident it's nicely baked, packaged, and wrapped with a pretty red bow! I hope this chapter was worth the month long wait ;)

Nekofairy: Aww, thanks a lot! :) Funny thing is, it's an addictive story to write as well; I'm loving it! Again, hope the wait was worth it ;)

Caliboy: I know you're on a boat at the moment (lol), but this chapter is a present for you when you return to land!

Read on and enjoy :)

Rating: T / Borderline M

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Chapter 8 Starry-Eyed Surprise

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'A star, lit up like a cigar, strung out like a guitar, maybe you can educate my mind?'

"This way, Yagami-san."

The day had finally arrived. An excited smile shined from my face as I followed a young studio runner through the occasional door and down a series of long corridors with bright blue carpets and white pristine white walls decorated with various recording artists. By my side was Isamu who had kindly showed up to hold my hand.

"The boy's are just finishing up in their recording suite, touching up their album," the runner explained before rapping her knuckles up against the door we had stopped by. I swayed back and forth on the soles of my feet as we waited.

"Come on in," an authoritative voice instructed several seconds later. The runner promptly tugged open the heavy door with slight difficulty, then moved aside, gesturing for us to go on ahead.

In the room, which smelt like fresh carpet cleaner and varnished oak, ten or so people were crowded around a small row of desks, covered with flat-screen monitors and numerous sound mixers- opposite the glass window which exposed artists in all their glory within the soundproof booth they stepped into to do their recording.

Amongst the small group were a few professional sound and music specialists, and two business-looking middle-aged men who were twins (wearing the classic cringe worthy shirt tucked in trousers combo). Of course, the very essence of Vertical Illusion were standing there as well.

I almost stopped breathing when I spied Takumi, his elbows resting on the desk, his peachy backside tilted up in prime position for a cheeky slap. He wore a pair of Bose headphones over his ears and was so absorbed with whatever he was listening to that he was completely oblivious to everything else occurring around him.

Takumi only became aware of our existence when he realised everyone else's attentions had been drawn away from the monitors. The four young musicians smiled simultaneously, flashing perfect pearl white teeth. For me, the temptation to rush up to them squealing like a lustful fan girl and asking for their autograph was difficult to fight, but as Isamu firmly placed a hand on my shoulder it was a reminder for me to remain rational and professional.

"Hi, I'm the photographer, Yagami Taichi," I gladly introduced myself briefly locking eyes with Takumi as his gaze met my own.

"And I'm Yagami-san's agent, Komatsu Isamu." Isamu's steel grey eyes were deadly serious as he bowed, blunt and professional as always.

The Nanami twins, Kotaro and Ren, stepped forwards. They were Vertical Illusion's notorious manager and publicity manager. Isamu had warned me that, according to several media sources, they had been described as 'an absolute nightmare' to work for. However, such rumours did not deter me from doing my job.

"Pleased to meet you two. Apologies for being slightly behind schedul but Takumi was determined to perfect a segment of one of the songs," Kotaro spoke somewhat condescendingly. Takumi, who by this point had taken off his headphones sneered and flicked a stray strand of hair away from his pierced left eyebrow.

"Ren, go ahead and brief the photographer," Kotaro informed his brother, "I'm going to make a phone call."

The atmosphere instantly lifted the moment Kotaro sauntered out the room. I just about to relax my shoulders, until Ren started to talk in an equally superior holier-than-thou tone.

"Yagami-san will just need to take some pictures of the band in here, posing with instruments; just as a bit of promotional material to put on their website."

It wasn't a great start to the session; already they were talking about me like I wasn't even there. I cleared my throat loudly, all eyes instantly looking over at me. I'd make sure to leave my mark so they wouldn't forget me in a hurry.

"I really love the idea of photographing the band in this recording studio, it's great to capture an artist in their natural environment, but don't you think it's a bit cheesy having the band pose with their instruments?" I found myself speaking my concerns out loud. "Maybe it's best to keep it natural, make it look like the band's rehearsing and then listening back on their material, standing around the equipment just like they were as me and Isamu walked in?"

Perhaps it was a risky suggestion, considering this was easily the biggest job I'd ever done. Isamu nudged his elbow firmly into my ribcage, as a not so subtle hint for me to shut up. Ren's jaw hung partly open, and his eyes were narrowed with what seemed to be detest.

"I don't think you have much of a say in the nature of the shoot Yagam..."

"... I think the photographer should have his say," Takumi interrupted snatching his guitar, which was resting against the wall where he was stood, and cradling it protectively in his arms. "I'm quite liking your angle, Yagami-san."

Ren frowned before he bitterly gazed back over in my direction before impolitely turning his back on me.

"Very well."

I'd done a couple of promo-shoots with a few smaller scale bands and musicians over the past couple of years, and to my surprise, the shoot with Vertical Illusion was hardly any different. Once their make up and hair had been all dealt with (apparently they still had to look pretty, even if the shoot was going to be natural), we were finished in just over two hours.

Despite their reputation for occasionally being divas, they were considerably easy to work with and seemed to willingly trust my suggestions and judgements. Even after taking my final snapshot, Takumi played me and Isamu a sneaky snippet from their new album (it sounded more dark and soulful compared to their last).

"Pretty much anyone can relate to unrequited or forbidden love," Takumi admitted as I swayed my head in time to the music, "it's also what sales these days."

After leaving the recording room, we had been sitting around in the studio's canteen until 7pm as there had been reports of fans and paparazzi hanging around outside, but a clever decoy – involving the use of a van identical to the one which carried the band around- had finally cleared them away.

"Ne, Taichi, do you want to join us for a few drinks?" Takumi asked as he glided alongside me with his guitar case slung over his shoulder. We were all walking past the main reception area, approaching the exit.

"I'd love to!" I gasped, a little too excitedly perhaps. I heard a hearty laugh escaped from Takumi's mouth as I rushed to catch up with Isamu.

"Samu-kun, wanna go drinking with the band?"

"I can't, jujitsu practice tonight," Isamu reminded me. I would have had a dig at him for being anti-social, but he was dedicated to his training, and had the body to prove it. Still, I pouted, but after he lightly tapped his hand against my back and apologised, I saw things in a more opportunistic light.

"Well, in that case, could you look after my photography kit?"

A brash request perhaps, but I couldn't exactly go out drinking and dancing whilst lugging my kit around with me, and it would save the inconvenience of going back home to drop it all off.

Isamu frowned. I knew it was likely he was thinking about killing me, it wasn't the first time I had lugged my belongings onto him just so I could go off and frolic with a group of guys.

"Fine, but be sensible," Isamu sighed with reluctance in his voice, before I handed over my photography gear to him. "You'd better come to mine for this equipment tomorrow morning; you'll need to sort out those photographs for Nanami-san."

"Will do, thanks darling," I cooed, raising my hand and waggling my fingers at him before he grimaced and strolled out of the building. He'd only detest me for a few hours, then he'd remember how I'd once helped him get a date with one of the prettiest girls in our class at school and would let this particular occurrence slide.

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'Drinks with us' soon turned out to be just me and Takumi. After having a drink at one bar, the other band members wanted to head off clubbing to celebrate the completion of their album. However, Takumi confessed he was still tired from drinking the night before and wanted a quiet night, much to everyone's disappointment.

Fortunately, my own disappointment instantly melted when Takumi forwardly invited me to tag along with him.

By the time we reached the Park Hyatt hotel in Tokyo -a five star palace I never thought I'd have the pleasure of stepping into- my heartbeat was erratic. It was obvious what Takumi's intentions were when we had parted ways with the rest of the group only twenty or so minutes ago.

"Try to get some sleep tonight, ey, Taku," Shiro had chuckled, digging his elbow into Takumi's side. Takumi batted him away and rolled his eyes as he told him not to be a bothersome brat. Shiro just grinned and rushed off to join the other two band members. It seemed he got away with murder, being the baby of the group at eighteen years old. He was an incredible violinist though, and was respected and lusted for, almost as much as Takumi.

Once we had walked through the hotel's lobby, Takumi and I took the lift up to the 31st floor where The Peak Bar was located; a spacious area which resembled a soft sunlit Asian-style bamboo garden with tables and comfortable padded chairs for guests to relax on. To the side of the room were rows of giant windows, which overlooked the glittering sea of city lights below.

"I like you, Taichi-san." I immediately turned my head towards Takumi after he casually spoke those words after ordering our drinks. "You're self-assured, you know what you want. It's a fantastic trait. I loved the look on Ren's face when you stood your ground. Our current photographer, Nobu, is such a pushover compared to you. He obeys instructions too willingly. He's the sort of guy who would quite happily suck dick if it came down to it."

Takumi's forwardness was shamefully a turn on for me. He'd always struck me as a guy who wasn't afraid to speak his mind, and I was pleased he lived up to that forecast. According to his autobiography, his father, who worked for a top pharmaceutical company in Tokyo, had wanted Takumi to follow in his footsteps, so naturally he had rebelled by becoming a musician.

With a laid back atmosphere now set, we sat down table situated in a far corner by the huge windows with our ice-cold drinks. The minutes drifted by like a solitary ship, easing across a calm ocean.

"Unlike Nobu, I see the fiery and passion in your work." Takumi tugged his smart phone out from his frayed jeans and unlocked the device. Vain as anything he had a picture of himself as his wallpaper, back when he had long hair, where he was standing in the middle of a field, striking a sexy air guitar pose with a concentrated pout on his face. It was clearly a photo taken by an amateur, maybe a friend or even a lover.

As Takumi opened up his picture gallery, I was surprised to see a photograph of the view from my balcony flash up on the screen. He continued the scroll through photo after photo of my favourite shots, then my heart skipped a beat. He had stopped on a picture of Yamato- the one where he was staring seductively at the lens whilst running his fingers through his golden blonde mane. Obviously Takumi had found that picture, alongside the others, on my website.

"Quite the stunner, isn't he?" Takumi leant forwards, his mouth so close to my ear I could feel his lips brushing against it. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No, no," I automatically responded, my cheeks burning bright red. "I mean, he's just a friend. We met a couple months ago."

"Aw, it's like that, eh?" A smirk was pinned on Takumi's fetching face as he leant back into his chair. He was sharp. Somehow, just by analysing the photograph and my expression of unease, he was able to see that I was more than 'just friends' with Yamato.

"What does he do, is he a model, or...?"

"He's a musician," the words slid out easily, and filled the blank that Takumi had left deliberately.

"Oh,?" Takumi asked, his fingers curling around his glass which he lifted up to his lips, elegantly swallowing down the remaining liquid within.

"He plays the guitar, writes songs and sings," I smugly informed Takumi, as if I was boasting on Yamato's behalf.

"Is he talented?" His gaze was fixed solidly on me; it seemed his intense green eyes were interrogating me more than his barrage of questions.

"I-I'm actually not sure. I've never heard him." And that was the difficult truth. I had exposed my creative side to Yamato, yet he still hadn't showed me his. I'd caught him humming the occasional song, but it wasn't enough to judge his musical ability.

I saw a strange smile appear on Takumi's face for a few moments before he pushed his chair back and stood up, gesturing towards empty glass in my hand.

"Same again?"

I nodded, then set my glass down onto the table and watched Takumi slink off to the bar. Truthfully, I had no idea what I had been drinking. It could have been poison for all I cared. His interest in Yamato intrigued me, but made me feel a little overprotective and jealous. I knew that he'd probably try it on with Yamato if he met him. I started to think that I'd have to stop that from happening, before remembering how Yamato had in fact sneered at the mention of Takumi's name.

Deciding that worrying about such a situation was silly, I started to people watch. The lounge area was plagued with mostly mature looking business men, a few were accompanied by pretty young women who were clearly half their age, falsely laughing at anything their male counterpart said. I wondered if those were the sort of girls Takumi slept with to maintain his womanising reputation?

I snapped my eyes away from when I felt my phone vibrating against my leg. Quickly fumbling towards my pocket I tugged out the buzzing object and was about to lift the phone to my ear, when I realised I had only received a text message.

Hope the photo shoot went well. Call me if you're free. Yamato. x

I couldn't helped but feel peeved. We hadn't spoken or seen each other since that day in the coffee shop, when I had told him about the photo shoot, so why did he feel the need to text me now?

Still staring blankly at my phone, Takumi placed my drink in front of me and slumped back down onto his chair.

"Taichi, how would you feel about becoming our band's full-time photographer?

Luckily I hadn't started to sip on my drink because otherwise it would just dribbled down my chin. For a few moments I looked at Takumi with disbelief, trying to work out if he was being serious or not.

"What about your current photographer?" Surely he was expecting to walk back to his job once his broken bones had healed?

"I don't like him," Takumi said bluntly. "Each photographer has their own distinct style, and honestly, Nobu's just isn't up to scratch. I prefer your style, I feel it truly reflects our band."

A small grin was playing on my lips.

"Unfortunately I'm not the decision maker, but I can try to influence our manager. I'm sure I could get him to organise some sort of arrangement." Takumi added a wink to the end of his sentence.

An arrangement? I thought maybe I could work with that (whatever it may be).

Two drinks later we left the bar area. Just as we reached a the deserted stairwell by the lifts, Takumi swiftly grabbed me by the wrist and tugged me towards him. As I parted my lips in surprise, he caught them with his own. I kept my eyes wide open; the rest of my body instantly froze as he pressed himself right up against me. The taste of his warm breath -soaked with a spicy tang of rum- and the raw sensation of his five o'clock shadow grazing against my chin made me shiver in desire.

"I want you," Takumi breathed temptingly against my cheek, his hand now resting on my bum, caressing the sensitive flesh through the material of my jeans. As I melted against Takumi and panted quietly, Yamato's flawless face flashed up in front of my dazed eyes. Coupled with Isamu's warning to be sensible, it was a stern reminder to behave myself, no matter how tempted I was to dive into Takumi's hotel room.

Face still flushed, I shook my head and managed to ease out from his firm embrace. As I stepped back, his eyes appeared to darken. Clearly he wasn't used to rejection; what with being famous and having his fair pick of the litter, so to speak.

"I'd best be..."

"...You sure you don't want to stay?" Takumi leant towards me once again, lips close to my ear. Breathing in sharply, his scent reminded me of Autumn- rich and earthy, like the smell of fresh rain against concrete. Very appealing.

"I'm self-assured," I affirmed, unable to prevent a mischievous smile from spreading across my jawline. "I know what I want; even you said it."

Takumi chuckled, his fingers momentarily brushed against the strands of hair dangling across my forehead, like a cat toying with a lose piece of string.

"Cock tease."

Takumi accompanied me through the hotel lobby whilst I headed towards the exit. One or two guests stared at Takumi with a flicker of recognition in their eyes, but the other few were strolled past were gazing more at me in suspicion (as if they were wondering why Takumi was associating himself with the likes of a non-famous simpleton).

As we stood outside by the edge of the pavement, I still felt light-headed as Takumi hailed me a taxi. When my ride pulled over, he stuffed some crumpled notes into the palm of my hand and rewarded me with a heavy pat on the shoulder.

"Takumi, I don't need..."

"...Just think of this evening as my treat," Takumi interrupted before nudging me towards the taxi. I guess Takumi had bought all the drinks, so in the end I went along with his generosity and slid into the cab before he changed his mind.

"I hope you'll stay over next time, Taichi-kun," Takumi added forwardly before shutting my taxi door. I caught a glimpse of my flushed cheeks in the reflection of the front mirror and quickly tried to compose myself.

"Wait, was that the guy from Vertical Illusion?" The middle-aged taxi driver craned his head around, trying to peer out the rear view window. Of course, Takumi had already disappeared back into the hotel by then, so the driver could only rely on my answer. I sunk smugly into my seat and tapped my fingers against my leg.

"Yes, yes it was."

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As I set my jacket down onto the sofa, Takumi's seductive vocal chords were still haunting the hidden recesses of my mind. I rested a hand against my cheek as I gazed down at a gossip magazine on my coffee table, which had Takumi posing across the front, topless. Not only was he good looking, but he had also proven himself to be intelligent, what with his knowledge based on the logistics of the music business and world of creativity.

A sickening sensation crashed against the walls of my stomach. I had turned down sex with him. I had turned down sex with quite possibility one of the hottest celebrities on the planet, and there wasn't a reasonable explanation as to why (except for it was something Isamu advised me against). Yamato was already in a relationship, so logically meant that if I slept with anyone else, it couldn't be considered as cheating.

Snatching my sketchbook from the coffee table, I thumbed through the last few pages consisting of several pictures of Yamato which I had sketched from memory. In my eyes he was more appealing than Takumi. They were both very attractive, but Yamato was a lot more feminine and delicate looking, despite he showed neither of those traits in his personality. He also held a mystique, which although I was curious about I secretly never wanted to figure it out.

With the dangerous combination of being drunk and musing over two beautiful guys, my body started to yearn for attention. Unzipping my trousers along the way, I hurried into my bedroom and collapsed onto my mattress, one hand buried in my pants. As I stretched my body out, my toes curled inwards as I shamefully pictured Takumi's toned physique pinning me against the bed, hands roaming against my flesh before finally driving into my body.

Thinking about that tipped me over the edge in less than five minutes.

After cleaning myself up in the bathroom, I shuffled back towards my cluttered bedroom and slid into the warmth of my crumpled covers. I closed my eyes and pulled the rest of the duvet up to me, pretending that Yamato's warm body was draped over my own. I loathed how I had become so reliant in gaining pleasure from others; particularly with those who always had a knack of disappearing from my life as quickly as they appeared after getting enough of what they wanted.

That very night, when I did not sleep until I saw the first traces of sunlight seeping through my flimsy drapes, I came to the conclusion that my attraction for the unattainable was simply becoming quite a nuisance.

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Song lyrics (At the beginning of the chapter)

U2 - 'Elevation'

D-Angel: -Bonks Taichi on the head with a rolled up newspaper- Messing around with famous singers, tch! Can't even decide myself whether him not sleeping with Takumi was a good thing or not? And gah, major lack of Yama this chapter I know! But I had to introduce you all to some of the new characters. The whole band thing was basically influenced when I decided to re-watch NANA; I can't help but love that anime :) My Takumi is going to be different though, haha!

Well, I'm going to head off and enjoy the rest of day of birth. Completely pampered myself earlier, got my hair/nails done, haha, and splurged a bit on pretty things! Been a fabulous day; found my yaoi anime collection from years ago as well today, which is added bonus! I've also booked a karaoke booth for tomorrow night, which I'm fricking excited about :D

Hope you sexy lot enjoyed this meaty chapter, and I promise to add more friskiness next time. Aiming to update at the end of August, but a couple of my other stories are in need of updating first.

Thank you muchly for popping by. Take care, and I'll see ya next chapter! X x x

D-Angel

29/07/11

'Amazing still it seems, I'll be 23!' (Well technically I am now 23, but love, love, this song to bits)