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: Hey everyone :) Hope you're all well. Sorry for my delay in updating, things have been a tad stressful over the past couple of months... I'm now jobless, which is a pain, but it means I can focus more on my writing and also getting a job within the publishing industry. Had a few interviews so far, so fingers crossed!
On a sunnier note, I'm currently in Cyprus on holiday :D It's brilliant here, great weather (considering it's technically winter time) and I've done crazy stuff like quad-biking and kayaking through caves. It's mad that I've found the time to get this chapter finished / posted out. I'm hoping you guys will enjoy it, things are starting to heat up ;D
As always with this story, replies to those who reviewed between this chapter and the last one;
PinkBrideGoneBad - I'm glad you picked up on my foreshadowing xD I always worry if it's either too obvious, or too subtle, haha.
Krad- I knows! More shocks to follow, just so you know... :)
Angelfish369 - Thanks for the birthday wishes! You'll have to find out about Hikari's boyfriend. You'll also find out very soon about Takumi and Yamato, hehe.
Roman - G'aaaww, yeah, I'm a sappy fangirl at heart too! Seemed like the right time for either Yamato/Taichi to confess their feelings. Cheers for the birthday wishes as well ;)
HIKED - Ha, wish I could have kept with my regular updates, but literally was drained of all creativity when I did return to work last month. I'll do my best not to leave too much of a gap between future updates, since I enjoy keeping you guys well fed with Taito/Yamachi goodness.
Dark Sorcerer of Fire - Thanks :D Me too, haha, definitely going to self-publish an e-book within the next year or so regardless, but I'll let you know when that does happen.
Cloe Lockless - Here's the chapter you've been waiting for :) Hehe, I personally see no problem with most the members of The Teenage Wolves being gay ;) It's somehow more sexy that way, and the yaoi fans have more guys to fawn over xD I definitely agree that this story could lose it's glow if I re-wrote with original characters, but I think it could work... I'd love to have it set in England, maybe in Brighton (there's some lovely little coffee shops there, haha).
redtron11 - Yeah :( Who knows though, maybe there'll be a happy ending...
Caliboy - Hey Cali :) Glad you found the time to catch up with your fanfic reading xD Hope you find the time for this chapter, and hopefully we can catch up soon ;)
Arsinen - I know! Lol, bless Taichi. I'm happy you've fallen in love with this story, it made me to smile :D
Ok, that's everyone :) Please read on and enjoy!
Chapter 15 Sudden Revelations and Decisions
'This is the way of my youth, risking it all, pursuing the truth'
It was almost mid-afternoon and we were sat down in Zaru- the same bar where Mimi and I had hung out with Yamato and Sora not too long ago - sitting at a table in the corner of the venue. I was savouring a long island iced tea, whilst Mimi was working through her second glass of lemon flavoured water.
"What happened to your date thing?" I asked, readying to wince under the assumption Mimi would be pissed off that I had only just asked her about it.
"Which one?" Mimi tilted her head to the side, her eyes filled with genuine perplexity.
"There's been multiple dating occurring?"
"Uhh, yeah!" She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "So, which one?"
"The one you mentioned when you were at my place, after I told you about me kissing Takumi," I explained. A buzzing sensation zapped teasingly down my spine when I recalled the hot singer's lips and fingers against my skin.
Mimi's furrowed her brow in concentration as she racked her brains for a few seconds, obviously trying to recall the instance I was referring too. To be honest, I was quite surprised that I'd even remembered.
"Oh," Mimi soon enough chirped, "that guy turned out to be a complete weirdo; not dangerously weird, he just spoke about his mum, for pretty much the entire date. He still lived with her and everything too."
I frowned slightly, unsure what Mimi was implying by mentioning that the guy still lived with his mum. There was nothing shameful in it, especially in this day and age. Even I was considering moving back in with my parents just so I could save up some cash to buy my own place. Renting was actually working out to be a lot more expensive than taking out a mortgage.
"I understand how the whole 'Mama's Boy' thing is a turn off, but you can't fault him for still living with his mum. Quite a few people in their twenties still live with their parents, times are tough."
Mimi brushed away a few strands of her pink tresses which were hanging over her shoulders. "He was a thirty-six year old bank manager."
"Ah," I replied, "Touché."
A song from Vertical Illusion's last album started to play from the surrounding speakers - no vocals, just instrumental. The lack of Takumi's voice was eerie, but somehow the song worked just as well without them.
"I'm sorta seeing someone at the moment though," Mimi announced, curling her fingers around her glass. I found myself propping my elbows against the table and leaning forwards, ears wide open. No doubt it made Mimi feel uneasy, but she had always done the same thing when extracting gossip from me about my love life.
"Do you remember Izumi Koushiro?"
"Rings a bell," I said.
"He was in my year at school, loved computers." Mimi's cheeks started to flush a light shade of pink as she described the guy.
"Ah, the geeky computer kid who had a crush on you for years," I teased, recalling the times Koushiro had offered to help Mimi with her homework, clearly in an attempt to sum up the courage to ask her out.
Mimi frowned and batted her fist against my arm.
"Don't be mean!" Mimi pouted. "He messaged me out of the blue a day or so after my failed date, I hadn't really spoken to him since we graduated from high school. We met up for coffee. He's at Kyoto University now in his final year, studying computer engineering or something."
"I didn't think guys like him were your type," I confessed, fingers curling around my glass. Koushiro wasn't bad looking or anything, he'd always had an innocent boyish appearance which I understood the appeal of. However, he'd also possessed a shy nature and a skinny frame, so wasn't anything like the outgoing athletic types Mimi had been particularly fond of during her years as a teen school girl.
"I like that he's different." Mimi's lips curled up into a small smile, then her hazelnut eyes lit up as she swiftly added, "And he's really good in bed."
I was close to choking on my drink.
"You've slept with him?" My eyebrows pulled upwards into an expression of shock. I suddenly understood how Mimi had probably felt when I had revealed to her that I was having sex with Yamato.
"I wasn't intending to, but it just kinda happened," Mimi said (too bashfully to be the peppy young woman I'd known since the day we first met). She took a small sip of her water then reluctantly added, "it was on the first date."
Intrigue washed over me as I lowered my drink back onto the table. Mimi never put out on the first date. Koushiro must have really done or said something special to win her over. And as for him supposedly being a demon in the sack, well, he must have really taken advantage of the University lifestyle over the past few years.
"Mimi," I sighed and shook my head in mock disapproval.
"Puuh-lease, Mr. Hypocrite." A playful inflection coated her words. She took another dainty sip from her glass of water. "Wasn't it Seiji who you screwed on the Ferris Wheel, barely hours after you met him?"
A reflective smile tugged at my lips. How we had gotten away with it, I'll never know. A few people must have seen, or must have at least clocked on to what we were up to in our capsule.
"You're utterly obsessed with willies," Mimi sighed, clearly aware that I was reminiscing on that crazy summer day.
"Obviously," I chuckled, before playfully poking my tongue out at Mimi. Her smile mirrored my own, until it suddenly faded and was replaced by a strained expression. Seconds later, she leapt up from her chair, her hand pressed firmly up against her mouth repressing a distinctive gagging sound. Before I could say a word, she dashed off, her heels clacking against the floor as she rapidly rushed towards the toilets.
I ran my finger around the rim of my glass as I waited for Mimi to return, stealing regular anxious glances at the entrance to the toilets. Within a few minutes she emerged and quickly shuffled back to our table, her complexion pale. She snatched her glass of water from the table and downed the remaining liquid within before she sat back down.
"Everything ok?" I asked.
"Eugh." Mimi ran her hand across her brow. "That's the third time I've thrown up today."
"Hangover?" I probed, assuming Mimi had gone out for a few sneaky drinks the night before.
"No." Mimi's voice was sharp and intertwined with a hint of worry- it sent an immediate rush of concern through my body. "I think it's a virus, I'm still feeling queasy."
"Shall we get you home?" I asked, studying her shaken expression. She peered over at the doorway and nodded.
I swiftly finished off my drink and headed outside with Mimi close to my side. We waited on the pavement with the cold air cruelly chilling our skin, my arm wrapped around her waist and her head resting against my shoulder until I managed to flag down a cab.
"I'll call you later." Mimi blew me an air kiss before she slipped into her taxi. She still looked as pale as a ghost, poor girl.
After she'd sped off, I decided to hop on the subway nearby and headed back to Odaiba. For a while I leisurely browsed the shops, not intending to buy anything. Plenty of people were out and about, probably making the most of the early Christmas deals. As I was thinking about the things I enjoyed most about the Christmas season, my thoughts turned to food. I was running low on the basics, so a quick grocery store shop was on the agenda.
I darted through the aisles as quickly as I could, grabbing the necessities; including a couple bottles of white wine. At the checkout, as I was picking up the carrier bags, my phone vibrated from inside my coat pocket. Scurrying away from the checkout counter, I tightly held onto the bags with one hand so I could fish out my phone and answer the call.
"Tai, I'm finishing up at the music store," Yamato's delectable voice breezed into my ear. "Want me to come over when I'm done?"
"I'm in town, why don't I meet you outside your workplace?" I stepped outside into the bitter cold air, briefly gazing up at the grey cloudy sky as I waited for Yamato's response.
"Come inside and wait around if ya want, Makoto's not in today."
My heart skipped a beat. I was hardly going to turn down an opportunity to see Yamato within the environment he enjoyed working in, especially without Makoto there to preach at us.
"Sure," I said, doing my best to contain my excitement, "I'll see you soon."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
By the time I reached The Broken String I was wheezing like an old man. It had been months since I'd last been to the gym, and I realised perhaps it was time to renew my membership. Sex on its own wasn't going to keep me in prime condition, unfortunately.
Quickly composing myself by taking a couple of deep breaths, I stepped through the doors into the welcoming warmth of the music store, relishing the combined aroma of freshly printed books and furniture polish as I made my way down the main aisle.
Yamato was sat behind the counter at the back of the store, a sand coloured acoustic guitar was cradled in his arms and his fingers were lazily strumming against the strings playing an unfamiliar rift. A smile unfurled across his face when his eyes locked with mine. As soon as I reached him I lowered my shopping onto the floor and leant across the counter
"I thought you played bass?"
"Once you can play one string instrument you can play them all," Yamato said, a boyish grin playing on his lips as he ran his fingers up and down the frets of his guitar, before he lowered the instrument down.
"I'll play for you once we're at your apartment," he promised in his usual husky tone as he slid his guitar into a blue zip-up case. I grinned and pictured Yamato, barely clothed, serenading me with his guitar. I liked that idea.
"Is it just you here?" I asked. Part of me was eager to forget about the surveillance cameras and just take him across the counter. Yamato shook his head, and my fantasy bubble instantly burst.
"Akemi's hiding somewhere."
Akemi? The name was familiar. My eyes started to scan around the store until I saw a guy with short spiky black hair locking up the front doors. Once finished, he started to make his way towards us.
"Akemi, money's counted, till's locked up," Yamato informed the young man who was now stood by my side at the desk.
"Great, I'm gonna run on ahead if that's ok?" Akemi asked. He placed the keys down onto the counter and slid them towards Yamato.
"No worries," Yamato said, "I'll lock up the back, see you tomorrow."
"Thanks, see ya then."
Akemi's brown eyes met with mine for one curious moment before he turned away and left through the 'staff only' door.
Strolling out from behind the counter, Yamato hoisted the strap of his guitar case up over his shoulder, before he pulled me into a comforting embrace and kissed me softly on the cheek. The stubble from his chin brushed against mine, causing my body to shiver with anticipation.
We drove back to my apartment in Yamato's car, since I had taken the subway instead of driving into the city to meet up with Mimi. Once we had parked up along the street Yamato sat there in a concentrated silence, eyes fixed on his fingers which were still gripping onto the steering wheel, despite the car's engine was switched off.
It was eerie, I could sense Yamato was going to say something- the tension was so heavy I had the notion that what would follow would forever stay imprinted within my memories, no matter how old or senile I became. Eager to stop that from happening, I reached for the door handle, only to stop when Yamato exhaled deeply.
"I'm planning on leaving Sora," he said, his voice low, "for you."
Shock hit me like a giant tidal wave; suddenly I'd been knocked completely off my seat and thrown into a brick wall. Yamato's proclamation probably shouldn't have stunned me to such a degree. Things had changed since he'd announced that he'd fallen in love with me; the sex had become a lot more heated and passionate and we'd also been reckless, leaving bruises and marks on each other. There was no doubt in my mind he couldn't have successfully hid them from Sora if he was still being intimate with her.
Yamato's head was turned to side and he was gazing at me expectantly. I had to say something before things became too uncomfortable.
"Have you thought about it?" I asked.
Yamato arched an eyebrow, maybe startled by my lack of enthusiasm surrounding his plan, or perhaps because I should have already worked out the answer.
"Tai, I didn't just decide on this twenty minutes ago. I want to be with you, and you've told me that you've been struggling with paying your rent for a while, so besides Sora, what's the..."
"...What about Sora, and your home?" I interrupted.
Yamato winced and stared down at his bare hands.
"Sora and I, we've been fooling ourselves for so long," he explained, his fingernails drumming against the hardness of the wheel. "We're only renting, so if I broke off the engagement and moved out she'd probably go live with her parents."
He looked at me once more, his expression guilty, but wishful, like a hopeless child desperate for reassurance. A sigh inwardly escaped me. It was such a conundrum. I'd love for him to move in, to be my boyfriend, but the cons of the scenario niggled away at my mind. This was serious stuff, and serious consequences and responsibilities would naturally follow.
"Let's talk about it later," I suggested, reaching for the door handle. A pang of empathy swirled in my stomach when I saw a fleeting pain staked expression painted across his face; I definitely had to be the one to bring the subject up again (preferably after a few glasses of wine).
Inside the apartment block, as we grabbed the lift up to my floor, a stone-cold silence enveloped us; the bitter essence of our conversation in the car still hung over our shoulders, like a pending dark grey cloud. The lift came to a swift stop, the motion making my stomach churn slightly. I wondered what would happen once we set foot into my living room... Sex, perhaps? Or more talk involving plans of being an actual couple?
"You're kidding me..." Yamato's voice said just moments after he'd stepped out into the hallway.
I followed him out the lift and almost dropped both bags of shopping onto the floor. Shit. My arms shook in disbelief as I tightened the grip on my shopping. I could sense Yamato scowling behind me, the heat of his anger prickling against the back of my neck. Takumi was leant against the door, my apartment door, eyes locked with mine.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Song lyrics (At the beginning of the chapter)
Daniel Bedingfield - "The Way"
D-Angel: Uh-oh! What a chapter, ey? Lot's of different stuff going on. I may go back and rewrite a few bits I'm a bit 'meh' about, but nothing that'll alter the general structure / development within this chapter. We'll see how it goes.
Regarding my novel / original writing, I do need to crack on with it. Being abroad has given me a lot of inspiration and new ideas, so I'll need to start a proper little plan. I'll be documenting all the development as a blog, the link of which I'll post up on my profile page in the next couple of weeks, woo! Oh, and I'll also respond the people who have PM'd me and I've neglected within that time.
Hope you guys have a wonderful Halloween. I'll see ya next chapter!
x x x
D-Angel
27/10/12