by Shawn Bailey
“Ouch,” Luke said. “I’m surprised he’s still alive.”
“Yes, well, I wouldn’t want to run into Edward-chan on a dark night. Rikuro was beaten pretty badly, but vowed to exact his revenge on Edward,” Jasmine said.
“Why did the two of them get into a fight?” Luke asked.
“Because Rikuro kidnapped Tomahiko and Edward rescued him. Rikuro also vows to get Tomahiko back by any means necessary. I heard you were good with martial arts. My advice to you is get better at it and visit the gun range frequently.”
“You think he’d try to snatch Tomahiko again?”
Jasmine nodded. “Yes.”
“Thanks for the warning.” They finally arrived at the Akiyama mansion. The driver got stopped at the gate and the car was searched before they were finally allowed to enter. It wasn’t quite as dark on this trip as the previous night he was there. Luke had a great view of where Tomahiko grew up. It did remind Luke of a little palace. There were several cars parked near the curb in the driveway. Tomahiko’s car was one of them. Luke was glad he dressed for the occasion. The driver parked and helped Jasmine out. Luke joined her on the sidewalk. She barely reached his chest. She escorted him to the door and inside of the house. Both of them were frisked. Luke was smart enough to leave the gun at the hotel this time.
“They’re clean,” he said to another man in the room.
Jasmine and Luke took off their shoes and put on slippers, and then she led him to the receiving room. Mikuni sat on his throne-like chair with Tomahiko standing next to him. There were other men in the room, all wearing suits and looking fierce. Tomahiko wore a brown suit. The coat had a checkered pattern like the tie. Beneath it he had on a black shirt. He looked like he worked for a host club. Tomahiko also seemed surprised to see him. Some of the other guys brazenly checked Luke out as he and Jasmine walked farther into the room. They both waited to be acknowledged by Mikuni.
“Ah, the guest of honor has arrived,” Mikuni said. “Gentlemen, this is Luke Austin, Tomahiko’s new manager.”
Someone whistled.
“Yes, he is quite handsome and stylish and he’s hand’s off,” Mikuni replied.
“Where’s Edward?” a man asked.
“He has been reassigned,” Mikuni answered. “There’s a new player in town. His name is Tory Albertson, an African American billionaire who resides in New Orleans. He now owns Yukizumi’s and Ki’s contract. Edward’s, too. Supposedly, he paid Kenji Kobayashi a very high price for them. He chose Luke to watch over our songbirds.”
Tomahiko’s gaze never left Luke. There was a hint of fear and sorrow in it. Luke didn’t give Tomahiko away. Mikuni began introducing Luke to his people. There were a lot of hard-sounding names to remember, but most of them sat high on the yakuza food chain.
“Luke has been in the entertainment business for five years. He has worked as a publicist for many groups to include The Kerrys. He also manages a hip-hop group called The Voices of Reason. I saw them all perform the other night. They were spectacular. Luke is single, never been married, and my nephew has a gigantic man-crush on him.”
Tomahiko’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink.
Mikuni continued speaking. “Luke’s father recently died, but his mother and his older siblings still live in New Orleans. He will watch over Tomahiko now until the day he succeeds me in power.”
Tomahiko’s seemed nervous about that last statement. Did Mikuni think Tomahiko would make a good mafia boss?
“Please welcome Luke into the family,” Mikuni said.
What? Is this some kind of initiation?
Mikuni turned to Luke. “You may come forward and pay me homage?”
Jasmine bowed first and kissed Mikuni’s ring. Luke did the same.
“Please greet our people, Luke.”
Luke turned and faced the others. “Thank you Mikuni-sama for paying me the great honor of learning so much about me so fast.”
The others in the room laughed.
“You all will give Luke the same respect you give the rest of the family. Don’t he and Tomahiko make a handsome couple?” Mikuni asked.
The others clapped again. The chef came in and announced that dinner was ready. Mikuni rose and linked arms with Jasmine. They walked toward the door together. Tomahiko walked over to Luke.
“We have to talk,” Luke said to him.
“I’m sorry,” Tomahiko said. “I had no idea he was going to do this. In fact, I didn’t know he had invited you to dinner.”
Luke believed him. Nothing else out of the ordinary happened. They sat down to a scrumptious meal. Jasmine sat to Mikuni’s left and Tomahiko sat at his right. Luke sat next to Tomahiko. Mikuni fed Tomahiko from his plate from time to time like he was still a child.
After dinner they all went into another room. This one had a piano. Jasmine did not join them. A bartender fixed drinks for the men. Mikuni motioned for Luke to sit down next to him. “Play something for us, Tomahiko.”
The younger male bowed, walked over to the piano and sat down. He played and sang several songs in Japanese. Mikuni and the others clapped. Luke heard the beginning chords to Whitney Houston’s ‘I Have Nothing.’ Tomahiko sang it in English. Luke had no idea he could play the piano so well. He had everyone’s attention. The next song got Luke. It was Ed Sheeran’s, ‘Dive’…their song. Tomahiko locked gazes with Luke and sang the lovely ballad directly to him.
Luke’s heart beat wildly in his chest. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Tomahiko. His cock hardened in his briefs.
Mikuni looked in his direction. “I will personally hunt you down and kill you if you misuse or cheat on him.”
Luke nodded. “I understand.”
“Welcome to the family.”
No wonder Edward got the fuck out of dodge as soon as he and Tomahiko broke up. Luke did know something about organized crime. Once you were a part of a yakuza family, you were a member for life. Luke drank a lot after that. He did remember Tomahiko driving him back to the hotel and putting him to bed.
* * * *
Rule number one—never go shopping with a group of idols. Adam had come up with this bright idea, and the rest of the managers seemed to like going on a tour of one of the malls in Tokyo. The tour would be moving on to Hong Kong in a few days. The members of Yukizumi would be joining them and they needed to purchase a few things. For some reason, they put a Sephora Beauty Products store right in the middle of the mall near the food court. Luke never saw young people run so fast, the guys included, as soon as they saw the Tony Moly advertisement in the window. Things were going good until he turned around and saw all of the people standing outside looking in. Pandemonium broke out before he could warn the others. The fans stormed the store.
One big guy picked up Gerard in a bear hug. “Giovanni!” Gerard shouted as the fan bounced up and down with delight. Unfortunately, he shook Gerard in the process. Gerard looked like a rag doll. The bodyguard got to Gerard and rescued him before Giovanni got to him. Poor Giovanni couldn’t get to his boo-thing because he was also being mobbed. Eventually things calmed down. The fans got their autographs and pictures with the stars and then the security sent them off. The manager closed the store and allowed the idols to shop in peace.
Jonas, Tomahiko, Daisuke, and the members of The Voices of Reason sat in chairs in front of mirrors to have some of the makeup artists work on them. The womenfolk with them were simply drooling over the young men. Jamal, Jonathan, and Tyrone looked very nervous and uncomfortable being the center of attention. Usually they weren’t party to such things. As far as he knew, all three young men were straight just like Akira, who was busy trying to rap with Tina Rae. Tomahiko spoke to the managers and all of them got little gift bags with samples in it to go with their purchases.
“Does this makeup look okay on me?” Tomahiko asked Luke.
Luke tried not to leer. The artists had dusted Tomahiko’s eyelids with gray shadow after defining his eyes with black eyeliner. “Yes,” Luke said as he handed
his charge card to the clerk to pay for his people’s purchases. Adam, Edward, Giovanni, and Brenton did the same thing. The shop made lots of money that evening. Later Yukizumi went back to the compound to finish packing. Their stuff would be put in storage until Kenji Kobayashi shipped it to them in New Orleans. Mikuni had decided to rent the place to another group of idols that Kenji managed.
* * * *
Noel was climbing up the walls. He and Edward hadn’t gotten out much. They would be leaving Tokyo soon and he felt like going out dancing. “Eddie, I’m bored.”
Edward was busy massaging Noel’s toes in Noel’s hotel room. “Meaning?”
“I feel like dancing.”
“Didn’t you almost get mobbed today?”
“That wasn’t me that was Gerard.” He laughed. “That made my day seeing that guy trying to steal him.”
Edward chuckled. “Yeah, but it wasn’t as funny as Giovanni trying to rescue him. Sometimes I think Giovanni forgets that he’s also someone famous.”
“You’ve lived here a long time. There has to be someplace where we can go where no one will disturb us,” Noel said.
Edward thought about it for a moment. “There’s is this one place. It’s a host club in Shinjuku.”
“The red light district?” Noel asked.
Edward nodded.
“I’ve always wanted to visit a host club,” Noel said excitedly.
Edward stopped rubbing Noel’s feet. “Why?”
“Because some of the cutest guys in Asia are supposed to work in those places.”
“You’re engaged to me, or have you forgotten?” Edward asked.
“No, I haven’t,” Noel said, liking to fuck with Edward. Sometimes the love of his life had no sense of humor. “But that doesn’t mean I’m blind either. Plus, you’ll be right there with me.”
“Okay, but no funny business, Red,” Edward said.
That was Edward’s pet name for him. Lately Edward had been calling him Nu Nu. Luke called him Nokie. His folks called him Noonie. He liked Red best.
Edward popped Noel on the butt with an open palm.
“Ouch, what was that for?”
“Let’s call it an advance on an ass-whipping if I catch you doing more than mild flirting with some host.”
Noel rubbed his behind. “I just want to go dancing with my baby.”
“Are you thinking about inviting the others to go with us?” Edward asked.
“I can if you want me to.”
“Yeah, it’s only one night and they probably could use a little relaxation, too. The place is very discreet.”
“What’s the age limit?” Noel asked.
“Why? You’re old enough to get in and buy drinks,” Edward said.
“Frankie’s not twenty-one yet,” Noel said.
“He just made it. The legal drinking age is twenty. But I’m sure he already knows that.”
“I didn’t see him drinking alcohol at the after-party,” Noel said.
“Maybe Frankie doesn’t like the taste of the stuff,” Edward said. “Though you better keep an eye on him and his curly-haired side-kick, Gerard, before the manager of the club tries to recruit them.”
Noel laughed. He reached for his cell phone. He called the compound first to invite Yukizumi. Unfortunately, both Tomahiko and Akira had plans.
“I’ll come,” Daisuke said. “The place you’re going has karaoke tonight beginning at ten. I’ll pick you guys up in the van around nine.”
“Okay,” Noel said. “I’ll call the others and invite them.”
Jonas wanted to go, too. Frankie didn’t know if he wanted to join them or not.
“Come on, Frankie,” Noel said. “It won’t be a party without you and Adam. Yes, there is a you and Adam. The two of you are not on a break. Daisuke is picking us up at nine. Wear something cute.” Noel disconnected the call.
“Don’t interfere, Red. Stay out of Frankie and Adam’s lives.”
“I just feel so bad because I’m responsible for them breaking up.”
“Things have ways of working themselves out,” Edward said.
Noel hoped so. Adam and Frankie were perfect for each other. And their love story was better than any he’d ever read in a book. “Okay, I won’t interfere. Come to bed and let’s take a nap.”
“Are we napping with clothes on or off?” Edward asked.
“What’s the difference?” Noel asked.
“We never end up napping either way,” Edward said, removing his clothing.
Noel watched the muscles appear. Edward always made him feel so naughty. “You can nap and I can have my way with you.” He got a condom from under the pillow.
Edward chuckled. “You don’t have to launch a sneak attack.”
Noel put the rubber on Edward, rose over him and sank down on Edward’s cock. They took a nap afterward.
* * * *
Tomahiko picked Luke up at eight and the two of them drove to Club Jacobi to check out the weekly karaoke competition. They both wore navy suits, white shirts, and red ties like they’d coordinated their wardrobe.
“We’re wearing couples’ outfits,” Tomahiko teased.
Luke chuckled. “We have similar tastes in fashion.”
“What’s your life like back in New Orleans? Are you always on the go?”
Luke shook his head. “Not really. New Orleans is a pretty a laid back place. I do have to do a lot of promotion work for Tory’s acts, but most of it I can do from home on my computer. Every now and then I have to wine and dine a client or accompany these guys on tour.”
“What do you do for excitement?” Tomahiko asked.
“Usually I go out clubbing in the French Quarter, but there are plenty of things to do and places to eat,” Luke said.
“Any clubs like Jacobi’s?”
“Yeah, I’m a member of a private club, where I can take a date and don’t have to worry about the media,” Luke answered.
“Have you taken many dates there?”
“No,” Luke answered. “Just one.”
Tomahiko kept up the questions. “How many Japanese restaurants are there in town?”
“There are several, but I don’t know how authentic they are. You guys will have to make some adjustments and open yourself up to Western cuisine. Or you can learn to cook?”
Tomahiko laughed sarcastically. “Be serious. My uncle would die if he heard that I was doing something on my own.”
“He doesn’t have to know,” Luke said. “We have the internet. You can take lessons in the privacy of your own home.”
“Do you cook?”
Luke nodded.
“Then I won’t starve,” Tomahiko said.
“I don’t cook Japanese cuisine,” Luke said.
“You can learn,” Tomahiko said.
Luke laughed. “Why don’t you give it a try? I’m sure you won’t break a nail or anything.”
“Very funny.” Tomahiko went quiet for a moment. “What’s in it for me if I learn how to cook?”
“Learn how to cook and I’ll give you a nice gift,” Luke said.
“A new sports car?” Tomahiko asked.
“You have a den of cars. What do you need another one for?” Luke asked.
“I don’t have a blue one,” Tomahiko said.
“Pick something else,” Luke said.
“How about a kiss?”
Luckily they had stopped for a red light. Luke leaned over and kissed him. He felt Tomahiko tremble in his arms. Luke ended the kiss and Tomahiko had a big smile on his face.
“I’ll learn how to cook even if I have to experiment on you.”
“I’ll bring you a wok just as soon as you get a permanent place to live,” Luke said.
“My uncle is taking care of that,” Tomahiko admitted. “I gave him a list of my must haves.”
“You’re spoiled rotten,” Luke said.
“Yeah, but you like me this way.”
Luke truly did.
* * * *
Daisuke d
idn’t stay dateless long. There were guys all up on him the moment they entered Club Jacobi. Most of them were hosts and they all knew him by name. One named Naoki got to sit with them. Naoki was tall, had a handsome face and a great build. He wore a tan linen suit and a brown shirt with a big collar and lapels. He reminded Noel of a disco dancer. The host quickly filled their drink orders. “We’re just in time for the show,” Daisuke told them.
Noel looked around. The place had a nice crowd. Too bad Frankie had decided to stay at the hotel to spend some time with Kalen. Brenton, Jonas, Giovanni, Gerard, Daisuke, and Naoki sat at the same table with him and Edward. Naoki had to put two regular sized tables together so that all of them could fit. The waiter returned with their drinks. He and Daisuke were the only two who didn’t order alcohol. The two of them had ordered hot tea.
The karaoke show began. There were a lot of no-talent people who participated. Noel had to remember that they were all there just to have fun.
“Our next entertainer hails from America,” the M. C. said. “Let’s hear it for Luke Austin.”
Noel almost choked on his tea. Everyone at the table stopped and looked toward the stage. It was Luke.
“He can sing?” Edward asked.
Noel shrugged. Luke never sang for him. Noel heard Giovanni asked Gerard the same question. Gerard shrugged, too.
“What song are you going to do tonight?” The M. C. asked Luke.
“Number 222,” Luke said. That ended up being a song called ‘Perfect’ from Ed Sheeran’s CD. He began singing.
“Oh, my God,” Jonas said. “He can sing.” He pulled out his cell phone and started recording the performance. “This is too good to be true.”
“I knew he had at least one redeeming quality,” Edward said.
Noel frowned at him. “He has rhythm, too.”
“I wonder why he’s never said anything,” Brenton asked.
Luke made it to the end of the song. He got a big round of applause. He left the stage and went to the table in front and kissed someone.
