“Read it!” Mayumi crossed her ankles and popped a line of edamame down her throat. Beside her, Chloe giggled at her casual mannerisms, while Kaori stared at her from across the table. The Mayumi they were familiar with was the super uptight one who ran one of Ni-chome’s biggest resource centers. “And don’t spare us the erotic details!”
Reina slapped the table with a chortle, and Yuri was the only other one who didn’t stifle her giggles. Haruka and Kaori gradually let out sighs of “What are we in for?” while Eri and her girlfriend Ruu flushed at the familial connection. “I’m afraid I left out most of those details, Mayumi-san.” Aiko opened her notebook and cleared her throat.
“Pity,” Reina said, chin in hand. “I always love a good review.”
This time Aiko did not hide the affectionate kick to her spouse’s rear.
With another moment of reflection, Aiko began reading the essay she prepared. Like the good audience they were, her friends listened with concentrated countenances and few grabs of edamame and pot stickers – except for Mayumi, of course, who made a meal out of them. If they were at a bar, she would have probably downed it all with bottles of beer as well.
“I think many people only know of me as Reina’s lover,” Aiko read toward the end, her voice becoming steadier as the words came out. “Sometimes, when I dwell on that, it makes me a little angry. After all, I am a woman with her own history, family, fears, and hobbies. But then I realize that I don’t mind if so much of my identity is associated with my spouse, because then it means I’m a part of her identity as well. We can be separate people who come together to create someone new, someone better. We’re often seen together – how else can our friends judge who we are? And I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be judged with than Reina, a woman I’ve always admired and aspired to be more like.”
They all applauded, but Aiko knew what they were thinking. “What? A bigger slut?” She didn’t mind. For a while, that was what she wanted. Now she didn’t have to want much anymore. She may not have been the sly player her spouse was, but Aiko had learned a lot in the realm of seduction and sex over the years. All of it she learned from Reina.
“That’s not all I have to share, either,” Aiko said, as soon as the applause died down. “Some of you may know this already,” like Yuri, “but I’ve decided to do my own things as well. Starting this autumn I’m going to be taking TOEFL classes again so I can pass the test and maybe get a job as a professional English tutor.” If she had learned anything from her time with Takeshi, it was that she needed an outlet for the dormant academic mind inside her. With some luck, she could pass the test on English as a foreign language and work from home for a company, tutoring other children and adults in English. It wasn’t much, but it was something she could do that did not depend on Reina – including giving Aiko a way to make her own money for once in her life.
After more cheers, the attention shifted from Aiko and her spouse to the other contributors to Chloe’s project: Kaori said she wrote under a pseudonym since she’s still coming to terms with being “out,” Haruka talked about what it was like to be raised by a gay father, and Yuri expressed interest in contributing something about how her husband was seen cavorting with a hostess near a love hotel, and she didn’t care. When Chloe asked Ruu and Eri if they would be interested in writing something at the last minute, however, Aiko had to jump in and deflect to the fact that they were now out of edamame.
But nothing could deflect from the general mood of the evening, from the positive energy to the casual conversations about love, sex, and vacations around the world. This is what I wanted. It almost rivaled the evening at Takeshi’s, although Aiko doubted her circle of friends and acquaintances would ever reach such intellectual levels of conversation. I don’t mind. Candid talk about everyday life in between the sheets was fine with her – especially if it was in the home she built with her spouse.
Grinning, Aiko got up to take empty dishes into the kitchen and return with another pitcher of ice water. While shuffling dirty plates into the sink, Reina came up behind her with some edamame debris to deposit in the garbage.
“Thank you,” Aiko said, turning off the sink and drying off her hands. Having Reina help out more around the house was something to always be grateful for.
Her spouse watched Yuri attempt an English tongue twister, which ended with Chloe correcting her and everyone else falling into fits. Eri’s smile was the highlight of the night.
“That was a nice essay you wrote.”
Aiko tossed her hand towel onto the counter. “Did I inflate your ego nice and big?”
A hand curved around her rear, a gentle yet firm touch hot enough to make her blush. She would, in public. “That’s not all you inflate around here.”
She couldn’t help it: Aiko stood on her tiptoes and kissed her spouse, wrapping her fingers around Reina’s neck as their lips rolled together.
“Hey, thanks for the free show!” Mayumi introduced a slow clap to the beat of Chloe’s raucous laughter.
The happy couple parted long enough for Reina to flip her friend a rude gesture. “Kora,” Aiko gently admonished, “you keep that up and I won’t write another koibumi for you.”
Reina clicked her tongue. “I don’t need another one. The one you wrote was fine.”
“I noticed that it was missing from my notebook.” It surprised Aiko when she jumped in to write her essay. The serrated edges were pristine, as if someone had taken great care to pull it out. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“It’s someplace safe.” Reina pushed her nose into Aiko’s scalp. The heat of her breath as it eased through her nostrils was more reassuring than the heat of her arms. “Someplace where I can read it whenever I want.”
Aiko slipped into Reina’s hold, the chorus of some naughty song emerging from the living area. “And will you write me one someday?”
“What? A love letter?”
“Yes. A koibumi that will break my heart and build it back up again in one breath.”
Reina squeezed her wife’s lithe body. “You’re into that sort of thing, huh?”
“I am.”
“Jya, let’s blow off these voyeurs and go upstairs for five minutes.” Reina licked the bottom of Aiko’s earlobe. “I’ll tell you everything I have to say with my fingers.”
Aiko couldn’t help but laugh at her spouse’s blunt way of expressing her desires. “Maybe later. When everyone’s gone home. You can tell me anything you want.”
“I will.” Reina picked up the pitcher of ice water. “I’ll fuck you a sonnet.”
“Will it put a baby in me, though?” That was their favorite inside joke ever since Aiko first discovered the phrase “mid-life crisis.”
“No, but that won’t stop me from trying.”
They parted long enough to take the water back into the living area, where they sat at the head of the table unapologetically cuddling in front of all of their friends and family. Aiko wouldn’t have traded a single moment for anything in the world.
Not even for the koibumi Reina handed to her the second everyone was gone again, right before they made love.
Hildred Billings is a Japanese and Religious Studies scholar who has spent her entire life knowing she would write for a living someday. She has lived in Japan a total of three times in three different locations, from the heights of the Japanese alps to the hectic Tokyo suburbs, with a life in Shikoku somewhere in there too. When she’s not writing, however, she spends most of her time talking about Asian pop music, cats, and bad 80’s fantasy movies with anyone who will listen…or not.
Her writing centers around themes of redemption, sexuality, and death, sometimes all at once. Although she enjoys writing in the genre of fantasy the most, she strives to show as much reality as possible through her characters and situations, since she’s a furious realist herself.
Currently, Hildred lives in Oregon with her cat, with dreams of maybe having another human around someday
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Connect with Hildred on any of the following:
Website .:. Twitter .:. Facebook .:. Tumblr
REN’AI RENSAI is an ongoing look at one couple’s lesbian relationship over the span of decades. Below is a short list of other titles currently available and those that are coming soon!
AVAILABLE NOW
“DAISUKI.”
(Novel)
Two Japanese women attempt to balance their relationship with their society's rigid gender roles, polyamorous relations, and the inability to say "I love you."
“HATSUKOI.”
(Novel)
A young Japanese woman falls in love with a philandering lesbian.
“SEIKOU.”
(Novel)
Three months of wedded bliss later, Reina is on the verge of her biggest breakdown yet. Between her gender dysphoria, lonely boss, hostile in-laws, and a young couple in constant need of her “help,” Reina’s about to drag her wife Aiko down their darkest hole yet.
“MITSUSHIN.”
(Short Story)
As a Valentine’s Day gift, Reina decides it’s time to introduce her girlfriend into the wonderful world of menage.
“NANPAKAI.”
(Short Story)
For her birthday Aiko is taken to a risque nightclub, where she’s expected to seduce a random stranger.
“CHINSEKI.”
(Short Story)
A menage with a new friend forces Reina to reconsider her attractions and jealousy meter. Continuation of “NANPAKAI.”
“SHIMONETA.”
(Short Story)
When Reina is roped into giving a sex seminar in front of a dozen young women, she ends up with an unlikely student - her wife!
“TOKOIRI.”
(Short Story)
Love is in the air on Aiko and Reina’s wedding day. Too bad it falls to pieces when Aiko comes down with a case of wedding night jitters!
COMING SOON
“JIHAKU.”
(Short Story)
Against her better judgment, Reina participates with her wife in a local “newlywed” game for a chance to win a great vacation. What should be an easy win, however, throws Reina off her game when she sees who they’re up against!
“UMIIRO.”
(Short Story)
Golden Week in Okinawa provides golden opportunities for fun in the sun. Hopefully not too much fun, because Aiko is worried about being banned for PDA!
For new release information, please join the mailing list!
Coming This Summer
First Release of the JIAI JOUWA Romance Series:
“DAITE.”
Jun has spent most of her life balancing her unfulfilled love life with her endless quest to be named heir to the Nippon Royal business empire, as is her birthright. But when she’s suddenly transferred to manage a hotel in Nagoya, she must restart life all over again: beginning with a mysterious young wanderer with a habit of disappearing after every encounter!
“Daite.” takes place from Feb. - Jul. 2013
For new releases, please visit Hildred’s website and join the mailing list.
Be sure to check out the new interactive REN’AI RENSAI website at:
http://www.renai-rensai.com
Extensive book, character, and setting info, along with opportunities to submit your own fan works, ideas, and questions! Check out the new MATCH MAKER quiz that will match you to your Ren’Ai Rensai soul mate!
Koibumi Page 26
