Tak: The A**hole Club Series

by Ivy Harper

  “Ah, is that so,” she said with a forced smile. I could tell immediately something was wrong.

  “Do you not want to go?” I asked, praying that she’d say no, so I could take us to a nice hotel where we could fuck each other’s brains out until we couldn’t move.

  Please put me out of my fucking misery already, I mentally begged.

  She shook her head, offering me a small smile. “No, I’m fine. I was thinking about how different my life would be if I hadn’t applied to be a security guard. I wouldn’t be on a fake date with a rock star or eating at such an exclusive restaurant.”

  And I wouldn’t be suffering from blue balls.

  I kept those words inside for two reasons only. One, I was sure Jazz had a knife in her little gold purse and two, I didn’t want to ruin the mood.

  “Well, good thing you did apply. If you hadn’t gotten the job, I wouldn’t get to share this nice limo with such a beautiful woman.”

  Her expression turned coy and fuck me if I didn’t want to jump her and eat her.

  “I’m sure you’ve shared a limo with a lot of beautiful women.”

  “And yet, I can’t remember a single one of them when I look at you.” I was amazed to realize I really meant it. I couldn’t remember the faces of any of the other women I’d slept with. “Shit, that’s actually true.”

  She burst out into laughter. “You’re really an ass sometimes. How could you say that like you’re shocked?”

  I found myself laughing along with her. “But it’s true.”

  She shook her head, her laughter dying as she gave me a look filled with a mischievous light. “I would have given your compliment five stars, but I’m now going to have to make it four stars.”

  “Well, I can’t win them all,” I said as I took her hand in mine. “But I’ll keep trying for those five stars though. I’m not a quitter.”

  “You can, but be forewarned, I’m a tough critic,” she said, letting me entwine my fingers with hers.

  “I’m a musician, I’m used to being critiqued.”

  I leaned forward and ignored the common sense God gave me and claimed her lips in a heated kiss. And dammit if it wasn’t the best reckless thing I’d done lately. They tasted like strawberries and I had a sweet tooth.

  When she tried to pull away, I chased after, taking a taste of those pouty lips once more. She lifted her hand to push me back, but I wasn’t going to let this close space go to waste. I grasped her hands.

  “Please Jazzy, don’t push me away,” I whispered, giving her a little space.

  Her lashes lifted and again she gave me an unreadable look. “Don’t make me have to choose.”

  “Choose what?”

  “To choose between my job and a single moment.”

  I smiled. “You don’t have to choose anything, just let go.”

  “If I let go, there isn’t any turning back for me,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “Are you willing to accept that?”

  “I’ll accept anything if you let me kiss you again,” I said right before taking her lips in a deep kiss. Quieting her protest and demanding she answer me back with the same passion. The feel of her was perfection and the smell of her was marvelous. I had always been a greedy kid.

  Jazz

  * * *

  Tak wasn’t fair.

  He completely overwhelmed me and suppressed my protest with his kisses. Since the beginning, I should have kept him at arm’s length. I wasn’t arrogant enough to think he loved me or anything. However, as a person who’d gotten so close to him, there was a singular truth I couldn’t deny.

  I was lying to him.

  Each time I accepted one of his kisses, the amount of damage that could result from him finding out the truth grew. I’d originally entered his life to repay him for the music that had awoken me from a living state of shock. I imagined myself to be his hidden guardian angel, but the reasons for my presence in his life were starting to blur.

  I had to remember that none of this was real. Tak didn’t even remember me and even if there was a small part of me who wished he’d suddenly recall my face, I was also terrified that one day he would remember.

  The car stopped and I tore my lips away from his. “Stop, we have to stop.”

  Breathing hard, I tried to regain some of my earlier composure.

  “Are you sure you want to?”

  I looked at his strained expression and felt an odd sort of thrill. His eyes were dark and held both danger and lust. It felt like at any minute he would swallow me whole.

  If I let him, he’d absorb me until the only thing I could think of was him and nothing else. I knew if I didn’t stop him now my mind would be only filled with my desire for him. I ignored the stark need on his face and said, “Yes, we have to. Otherwise, how will you explain missing the dinner?”

  He frowned as if he’d completely forgotten about it. “Ah, I guess we’ll have to finish this at a later time.”

  I scooted back a little to increase the space between us. Turning, he relaxed back into his seat and pulled on his suit jacket. “You get a pass for now, but don’t think we’re not going to finish this later.”

  The driver opened Tak’s door and he stepped out, leaving his words behind for me to ponder. I sagged against the back of the seat, letting the tips of my fingers run over my bottom lip. If I didn’t get out of his house in the next few weeks, something was bound to happen between us.

  The door opened on my side, revealing Tak who offered me his hand. I hesitated for a brief second before I took it and got out. My gaze fell on the Farmer restaurant.

  The front of it was lit up with low yellow lights, making it stand out amongst the green hills and tall trees. The sun was slowly sinking behind it, giving it a real picturesque look. A few of the other customers got out of their cars and entered the restaurant with expressions of excitement.

  Tak escorted me over to the steps at the front of the entrance. As we ascended them, a few of the people waiting in line could be heard speaking in several different languages. Their voices adding to the rich ambience.

  Once we reached the entrance, we were greeted by a host in a nice gray suit who politely requested our reservation name. Tak said the Nakamura name, hearing this the hostess called over a waiter to lead us away.

  My stomach tightened at the delicious smell of food in the air. As I perused the inside of the restaurant I spotted a familiar face. Trisha stood in an expensive black dress toward the back of the restaurant, talking to one of her staff.

  She looked up just in time to see me. I could see the confusion in her eyes before she looked to my left where Tak stood. She gave me a secretive smile before she pretended she hadn’t seen me and continued talking to her employee.

  I glanced up at Tak to see if he’d seen my small exchange with Trisha only to see the corners of his eyes and mouth were tight. I realized I’d nearly forgotten why we’d come here. Tak was being forced to meet with the family he hated. I was supposed to be the wall between him and the other Nakamuras.

  A single kiss from the idiot next to me and I was making moonbeams out of clouds. Sighing, I straightened and focused. The waiter led us passed the open eating area toward the private rooms.

  He led us to the last door on the left and opened it. Once the door was opened, we were greeted with the sight of two men and a woman. Their Asian features were handsome and elegant. I could immediately see Tak’s resemblance to the two older men.

  “I was under the impression there would only be one of the Nakamuras here,” Tak said, his voice cold.

  I looked at the three and noticed each of them wore a stiff expression. I wondered if they’d known Tak had no interest in meeting them. Someone spoke up from behind us.

  “Cousin, you shouldn’t be so cold to family. Aunt has been dying to see you after all these years.”

  Tak and I turned around to find a man standing behind us. And even though he was smiling, it felt fake.

  Tak didn’t say anything as
he took my hand in his. I looked at him, his eyes were filled with visible disgust. The man walked up and placed a hand on Tak’s shoulder.

  Something flashed in Tak’s eyes. My back tensed and I reached out and grabbed the man’s wrist in a hard grip. After seeing the brief flash of fear that entered Tak’s gaze a moment ago, I could see he didn’t like this man one bit.

  “Remove your hand,” I said. I’d told Tak I would protect him and if that meant I had to throw his relative on his ass, I would. “I’ll only repeat myself once, remove your hand.”

  The man cast me a look. “Takuya, your date’s a bit uptight, don’t you think? She must not know we’re family.”

  I knew and didn’t give a single shit. Instead of waiting for Tak to say anything, I tightened my hold on his wrist until he yelped out in pain.

  “Ow, shit.” He yanked his hand out of my hold and took a step away. I moved so I stood between him and Tak.

  “Fuck, are you crazy?” he angrily shouted.

  “I warned you twice and that was me being nice.” I glanced over my shoulder at the three people who were still sitting, their expressions filled with worry. “I would assume you wish for this dinner to continue without suffering any injuries, right?”

  “Sakai, enough,” the man who sat at the head of the table said, standing up. He offered Tak an apologetic look. “We apologize for his behavior. Let’s all take our seats and order drinks. And then we can talk about why we wanted to meet with you.”

  I turned around and gave Tak a questioning look. “What do you want to do?”

  Tak didn’t answer me right away, his expression dark as he looked down at me.

  “Tak?”

  He glanced at his cousin and said, “We might as well stay.” He turned around and faced the man who’d urged us to sit. “They put in a lot of effort to drag me here. I should at least pretend to listen to their bullshit reason for coming back into my life like unwanted baggage.”

  I followed him to the free seats that were across from the couple who’d remained quiet since we’d entered the room. Tak reached for my hand once more under the table. I took it and felt it shake.

  I looked at him. His smile was taunting, and his eyes held a sardonic light. I don’t think anything he was really thinking showed on his face, but from his trembling hand, I could sense this meeting was a lot harder on him then I’d first assumed it would be.

  That Sakai bastard took his seat at the end of the table. I secretly wondered what these people had done to Tak to make him hate them so much.

  Tak

  The people who shared DNA with me had barely changed. My uncle Ayaki Nakamura was still the one who kept Sakai under control. Not that it had helped any when my cousin had visited me alone during the summers.

  My uncle shifted his eyes to my father, Daichi Nakamura, who’s gaze was firmly focused on the table, a faint look of regret on his face. When he finally looked up at me, he squinted his eyes slightly as if he couldn’t quite believe I was sitting right across from him.

  “It’s been a long time, son.”

  “I’m amazed you remembered I exist.” I didn’t have any use for the false politeness they practiced. I leaned back, placing my free hand on the table, tapping out a steady beat.

  “I kept telling Kole I’d do anything to not work with your company and yet here I am. For some odd reason, your people kept pushing for me to not only work with you but meet with one of you.

  “Something I really, really didn’t want to do. I’m interested in knowing why you all were so desperate to meet with the son you abandoned. I thought my letter in college was enough. So, tell me why the people who wanted me gone the most are so very invested in meeting with me now.”

  “We didn’t abandon you,” my dad’s wife said defensively. “Your father and I were hoping we could get our home settled before he brought you in.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “And that took you the entirety of my childhood to do? You should have work harder on your bullshit, I’m a little too old to believe such fucked-up reasoning.”

  “Takuya, watch how you speak to your mother. You will respect her,” my father snapped.

  “Did you forget, old man, I don’t have a mother,” I said. “The day you and mom finalized the divorce you told me I no longer had a mother and should forget her. You just failed to mention then that I would also no longer have a father after he met someone else. That he’d find himself a perfectly respectable woman to marry and that he’d take in her kids while completely abandoning his own son to a nanny and a bunch of servants.”

  I didn’t bother to fill in the tense silence left after my harshly spoken words.

  Ayaki cleared his throat and spoke up. “We reached out to you because your father is thinking of retiring. Because of this, we have to decide on who will be taking over his seat. Unfortunately, your stepmother’s children have been found ineligible as they are not of Nakamura descent—”

  “Please tell me you didn’t reach out to me because you want me to take over the family business.”

  The me who’d grown accustomed to being nothing to this family wasn’t surprised. I’d been a kid who’d been beaten repeatedly by his cousin and when I begged for help, they pawned it off by telling me it was only child’s play.

  Yet for some fucked-up reason, I’d actually thought they’d wanted to see me because they’d realized they’d fucked up. I still had that damn child inside of me who held on to hope that his father would come home even when he’d been steadily spending less and less time with him. The kid who’d pretended he didn’t mind living in a big house alone in Bridge Lake.

  I was still that fucking child who wanted his father’s love. I hated myself and that dumb child inside of me.

  “This is your family, Takuya. Don’t you think it’s time you stopped this playing at music and settle down?” My uncle’s words flew right over my head.

  I released a derisive snort. “First, I have no intention of ever being a part of the Nakamura family.” I stood, pushing my chair back. “Second, I won’t be doing the commercial and if you or anyone with your filthy last name ever approaches me again, I will gladly have my lawyers deal with you.”

  Jazz stood up next to me, still holding my hand.

  “This has been a waste of a good night.” Without another word, I moved to leave.

  Rising from his seat, Sakai tried to stop me. “Cousin, wait, don’t leave.”

  Sakai reached out. I released Jazz’s hand, turned around, and smashed my fist into his jaw. He staggered back and I caught him by his suit jacket. “Woah, I’m not done yet.”

  I drew my arm back and slugged him four times, making sure each one made a beautiful meaty sound. His head lolled back. I shoved him away from me. He hit the ground hard, his head hitting the chair he’d stood from.

  I squatted in front of him. “Let me make this clear, I’m no longer that little kid you used to beat up. If I ever see you again, I will kill you.”

  I stood up and turned around and retook Jazz’s hand and left. It took a lot of the little control I had not to stomp him into the ground. Walking into the hallway, I tried to tamp down the rage that filled me. It felt like every single emotion I’d ever locked away had been released and they were trying to suffocate me.

  “Tak.” Jazz pulled me to a stop once we reached the exit of the restaurant. I took a deep breath and looked down at her. “Are you okay?”

  Instead of answering, I said, “I want to go somewhere where no one can find me.”

  Staring into her warm brown eyes calmed me down. She reached up and brushed a few strands of my hair back. “Okay, then where do you want to go?”

  “Anywhere is fine.”

  She smiled. “I think I know a place. Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.” And I realized I really did.

  “Come on, let’s see if your driver has enough gas to go to Bridge Lake.”

  She dragged me behind her, and I gladly followed her. In all honesty
, Jazz could lead me to hell, and I’d still follow her.

  Chapter 39

  Take Me Away

  Tak

  * * *

  An hour later, I wasn’t sure I could trust her. She’d brought me to the middle of butt-fuck nowhere.

  “It’s right up ahead,” she called back to me as we walked up a driveway that cut through the woods around us that were dense and dark. The driver had dropped us off and had left to go back to Vander City under Jazzy’s direction.

  “I want you to know it’s a lie what they say. Artists aren’t worth more dead than alive.”

  She didn’t look back at me when she said, “I thought you said you trusted me?”

  “Trusted. Past tense.”

  She laughed. “Stop being a baby and come on.”

  I decided I should check my cell phone and see if I had enough power. I did, which made me faintly relieved. I replaced it in my back pocket just as a cabin came into view.

  “Is this it?” I asked as she climbed the steps and picked up a flowerpot.

  “Yep, it’s my very own version of a secret garden.” She grabbed the small tree plant and yanked it out along with the dirt. Reaching inside she pulled out a key and after replacing the tree she set the pot back down. She turned around to face me.

  “You said you wanted to get away and as your bodyguard it’s my job to make my VIP feel safe. I thought this would be a good place to take a break.”

  I absentmindedly listened to her as I took in her appearance. Her hair was messy and her lipstick smudged. I couldn’t think of a more beautiful sight.

  I walked up the steps and reached out to pull her into my arms. I rested my chin atop her head and murmured.

  “I don’t know what I did before you.”

  “Simply existed,” she said as she gave me a coy smile. “Now, you’re living.”

  “You sure have a high opinion of yourself.”

  She chuckled. “I’m a hot commodity. There are some people out there who’d pay big dollars to be alone with me.”