by Jade, Imari
The look on his face told her he didn’t know.
“Strip and get in bed,” she told him. “I might as well teach you about women’s work before they cart me off to jail.”
****
Cristal did the walk of shame from Kioshi’s car all the way into her apartment. Little demon. Who taught him how to screw? And he’s good at it too. Damn good. And no, height has nothing to do with the length of his dick. Did I just think that? I’m going straight to hell.
Cristal made it inside her apartment and her phone went off with a text. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked down at it. It was from Kioshi.
“Saranghae, Cristal.”
Of course he loved her. He’d just made it with a big girl and he had bragging rights while all she had was the moniker of cougar.
She spotted a blinking light on her answering machine. She walked over to it and played the message.
“Hello, beautiful Cristal.”
Oh gawd, Yi-jun!
“I just wanted to let you know that I’m in town and want to see you.”
She groaned. “Not now.” She walked to her bedroom and crawled into her bed. She had had enough. Merry Christmas.
Chapter Ten
Shaundra entered the dining room carrying both babies. Ichiro and Satoshi rushed over to help her.
“Why didn’t you call me to help you?” Ichiro asked, noticing she was now dressed and her hair was combed.
“I didn’t have time. I was heading down the steps with one when the other one woke up. Take one.”
Satoshi grabbed Ryoto and Ichiro took Raiden.
“It’s about time you guys came down to play,” Satoshi told the baby. “It’s time to open your presents.”
Shaundra turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” Ichiro asked her.
“Home,” Shaundra said. “It’s your day with the boys, remember?”
“I thought you were going to stay too.”
“Uh-uh,” she said. “I’m going home to relax and write. There’s enough milk in the refrigerator to last until tomorrow. The nursery is filled with diapers, wipes, and clothes. And don’t teach them how to drink beer.”
Yori cleared his throat. “Do you need a ride home, Shaundra?”
She looked at him. “Cute. Tempting. No.”
“Good answer,” Ichiro said. “Remind me to put some coal in your stocking, Yori.”
“You can’t beat a man for trying,” Yori said.
“Knock yourself out with that,” Shaundra told him, and left them with the babies.
“What was that all about?” Takumijo asked Ichiro as he held Raiden in his arms.
“Just what she said. It’s my time to act as Daddy. Shaundra has some asinine idea that I need to learn to take care of the boys just in case something happens to her. Huh! How hard can it be?”
****
Ichiro awoke to the sound of a baby crying. He crawled out of bed and walked down to the nursery. He found Raiden wide awake and screaming. “What’s wrong, big guy?” Ichiro picked him up and Raiden moved his head around his father’s chest. “Hey, no milk there.” Raiden continued to cry. “And you’re wet.”
Ichiro changed Raiden’s diaper, heated him a bottle, and sat down in the rocking chair with him. Once he fed him, Ichiro tried to make the baby burp and Raiden threw up all over him again. “I thought breastfed babies didn’t throw up as much.”
Ryoto woke up crying just after Ichiro got Raiden to sleep.
Ichiro changed him, but Ryoto refused to go back to sleep. “Let’s go for a little walk.” He yawned and walked out of the nursery still carrying Ryoto.
Ryoto started to cry again. “You’re not wet, you’ve eaten, and you’ve burped,” he told the baby. “What is the matter?”
Ryoto’s cheeks reddened. “Oh, don’t cry. Daddy will sing to you.” Ichiro took Ryoto to the den, sat down on the sofa, and sang to him. Less than ten minutes later, Satoshi entered carrying Raiden.
“What’s wrong with them?” he asked. “It’s three in the morning. I’ve never heard them cry like this before.”
“That’s because you’ve never been around them at three in the morning. They miss their mama. Maybe I should call her.”
“Hell no,” Satoshi told him. “Do you want her to think you can’t handle this?”
“No,” Ichiro said. “But I can’t get them to stop crying.”
“Maybe they have colic,” Takumijo said, entering the den yawning.
“What’s colic?” Ichiro asked.
“Gas,” Takumijo told him. “I remember reading something about it somewhere.” He turned on the computer and searched. “They need to be given something call Mylicon drops and then you need to walk them until the gas passes.”
“I think I saw something like that in the diaper bags,” Ichiro said.
Takumijo left the room and went back upstairs to check the diaper bags. He returned a few minutes later. “Found it.”
“How much should we give them?” Satoshi asked.
“Zero point three milliliters,” Takumijo read from the box.
“Hurry and open it up,” Ichiro said.
Takumijo opened the medicine, shook it, and screwed off the top. He measured the recommended dosage into the eyedropper and managed to get it into Ryoto’s mouth during midcry.
The baby stopped crying long enough to smack.
Takumijo did the same for Raiden. “The next thing I know, I’ll be fixing him his first hangover medication.”
The babies stopped crying.
“I think we need to walk them now,” Satoshi suggested. He got up on his feet and he and Ichiro began pacing the floor.
Takumijo headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Satoshi asked.
“To put this medicine back in the diaper bag and then back to bed.”
“Traitor,” Satoshi said.
“You two seem to have this very well under control,” Takumijo said, laughing and leaving.
****
Shaundra got her wish about an hour later when Raiden shit all over Ichiro.
Satoshi tried not to laugh, but couldn’t stop himself until Ryoto did the same thing to him. “No wonder Takumijo went back to sleep. He must have known this was going to happen.”
They cleaned up both babies, who went right off to sleep.
“Foul,” Satoshi said, heading to his room. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Me too,” Ichiro said, joining him in the hall.
“With me?” Satoshi asked playfully.
“Don’t be stupid. You’re not my type. Your boobs aren’t big enough.”
Satoshi laughed his way to his room.
Ichiro disrobed, tossed the soiled clothes into the hamper, and then got into the shower. Did Shaundra go through this every day? Bummer. He washed his hair, scrubbed his body, and then he dried off and crawled back into the bed. He’d make sure he’d be around more and be helpful when Shaundra returned to the farmhouse. Or maybe he should consider keeping Dae-Hyun. There was an extra room for him since Cristal had move out. And Dae-Hyun could help out in the kitchen, and he would have Takumijo and Satoshi to watch Dae-Hyun in case he tried something funny with Shaundra. Ichiro sighed. So much to do and so little time before the tour to Spain began.
He sighed. He’d gotten almost everything he wanted. He had a great birthday and he spent Christmas with his sons and Aomori. The only thing he didn’t get was his wish for Shaundra to move back in by Christmas. Well, he couldn’t get everything he wished for. Maybe she’d be home for New Year’s after Harper’s party. Ichiro closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Two hours later, the babies woke him up again.
Chapter Eleven
It looked like Harper really went all out for his first employee New Year’s Eve party, Shaundra thought after she and Ichiro arrived. The invitation said black tie, and of course, Harper had gone all out and provided her clothes for the evening. Right down to the underwear. And, of course,
Ichiro complained when he found out about it, but didn’t harp on it like he used to.
The invited guests appeared to be enjoying themselves. Shaundra looked around to see who was there. She spotted a lot of familiar faces from KiNii, like Barbara, the American secretary deep in conversation with Damien. Next to them were a couple of the junior editors, Chiyo and Eiko. Hiromo from advertising was also there. She also noticed a lot of teenage girls, probably the daughters of some of the employees.
Yori had just arrived with Amaya, and they both looked stunning in black.
Osamu entered the hall next followed by Yi-jun Lee. When did he get back into town? And she wondered if Cristal knew he had returned. Speaking of Cristal, her friend was deep in conversation with Hiroyuki. Which begged another question, where were Kioshi and Izanagi?
Shaundra accepted a glass of punch Ichiro handed her, breaking her concentration. “Thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome, wifey. Did I fail to mention how beautiful you look this evening?”
Shaundra smiled. Ichiro was trying his best to say and do the right things. “So you’re not still upset that I’m wearing something Harper purchased for me?”
Ichiro sighed. “No, I’m not upset. I think I’ve even gotten used to him dressing you. I know it’s nothing personal. It’s just his way.” He reached out and ran his finger down the plunging neckline. “And you’re rocking it.”
Shaundra sipped her punch. Ich’s vocabulary had advanced rapidly to incorporate popular American slang and jargon since she’d met him. And he really had quite a sense of humor. “Yi-jun’s here.”
“Where?” Ichiro asked, looking around.
Shaundra pointed to the right side of the room.
“Oh, I thought the party was for employees only?”
“Osamu’s here too.” She pointed him out.
“Not good,” Ichiro said, pointing toward the door.
Takumijo had just arrived with Amaterasu.
“Why isn’t it good that Osamu is here?”
“He doesn’t like Amaterasu,” Ichiro explained.
“Oh,” Shaundra said.
Satoshi came through the door next with is ex-fiancé Akemi Sasaki glued to his arm.
“Great, he’s brought Akemi,” Ichiro said sarcastically.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s twice as bitchy as Amaya.”
Shaundra couldn’t imagine that since Amaya had being a bitch down to a science. But she had only met Akemi once and wasn’t ready to pass judgment yet. But her soul mate did not look happy. If he didn’t like her, why in the hell did he invite her to the party?
Akemi dragged Satoshi over toward Yori and Amaya.
“Let me guess, they’re friends?”
“Yes,” Ichiro answered. “They went to school together.”
“Great, just great. But it is nice to see Satoshi getting a life.”
“And getting out of the farmhouse,” Ichiro said. “He’s like a hermit.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” Shaundra asked.
Ichiro nodded. “For Satoshi it is. A couple of years ago, he used to date several women. Now he doesn’t date any.”
“I wonder why?” Shaundra asked. “Was this before or after his engagement to Akemi?”
“Both,” Ichiro said. “But he just stopped again.”
“Maybe he’s just tired of dating,” Shaundra said. She put her cup into the trash.
Kenshin and Masaaki entered with their dates, Kaede Shimizu and Hiromi Inoue. Shaundra liked Kaede, but she never warmed up to Hiromi. “Looks like the gang’s all here.” She’d seen Harper and Mr. Niigata earlier when she arrived.
“Not quite,” Ichiro said. “I don’t see two of the members of Distraction nor their manager.”
“Maybe they’re running a bit late,” Shaundra said, wondering how Hiroyuki got there without the others.
“Maybe Kioshi is being difficult,” Ichiro said. “I swear he reminds me so much of Satoshi it’s frightening.”
Shaundra thought so too, and she had only spent a small amount of time with Distraction to come to this conclusion.
The band Harper hired finally started to play.
“Let’s dance,” Ichiro said to her.
Lord, how long had it been since she’d danced with her husband? She gave him her hand and he led her to the dance floor. They were quickly joined by others.
Ichiro’s moves were as smooth as ever and she allowed her eyes to devour him as she tried to keep up with his steps. Gawd, he is so handsome. His face had lost that pretty-boy look since he put on some weight and taken on a more masculine appearance. Of course, she still missed his hair, but his new cut was very becoming. The rest of his body had muscles in all the right places and he had one killer ass. Damn, how did I get so lucky?
The music slowed and he pulled her into his arms. “Ooh, you feel so good, Shaundra. I think I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
Shaundra put her head against his chest. No, she was indeed the lucky one. It just took her a little time to figure it out. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the gentle sway of their bodies. The music filled her mind and made her relax and pretend they were the only two in the room. Unfortunately, the song ended and their peace broke when Cristal and Yi-jun appeared next to them.
“Look who just blew into town,” Cristal announced as the four of them found a spot where they could chitchat.
“It’s nice to see you again,” Shaundra said to Yi-jun after he and Ichiro shook hands. “Where is your blonde costar fiancée?”
“Ouch,” Yi-jun said, rewarding her with a killer smile afterward. “You don’t even try to be nice, do you?”
“No,” Shaundra said. “Not when it comes to my baby sister and her feelings.” She grabbed Cristal’s hand and spun her around. “That gown is to die for.”
“I found it in a boutique in Amsterdam,” Cristal said.
“You do look good, Cristal,” Yi-jun said. “And Ich, my man, where’s the hair?”
“All gone,” Ichiro said. “I’m a father now, and the hippie days are over.”
“Yeah, I heard the news. Congratulations. I can’t wait to see the twins.”
“You can have them,” Ichiro said. “They’re a lot of fun when they get the colic.”
Shaundra punched him playfully on his arm. “Don’t give away the babies yet. He can have them when they’re teenagers.”
“No, thanks,” Yi-jun said. “Babies would cramp my style.” He winked at Shaundra. “And look at you. That body has curves in all the right places.”
Shaundra chuckled. “Don’t try to kiss up. You better be on your best behavior this time around.”
“I promise,” Yi-jun said. “I couldn’t wait to see my best girl. And you’re right, that dress is to die for.”
Cristal mimicked Shaundra and punched Yi-jun playfully on the arm. “Shaundra’s right. You have a lot of making up to do.”
“I plead temporarily insanity,” Yi-jun said.
The music started up again.
“Come on and let’s dance,” Cristal told Yi-jun. “See you later,” she said to Shaundra and Ichiro.
Shaundra watched them go to the dance floor. “You think it’s going to last this time?”
“No,” Ichiro answered. “Those two don’t belong together. He is just going to push her aside again when the next pretty blonde costar comes his way.”
Ooh, I think I like his new personality. Her baby did not beat around the bush anymore.
Shaundra spotted Harper talking to two men she didn’t know. The taller of the two was Japanese and apparently good friends with Harper by the way they laughed. The smaller one just stood next to them, wearing dark shades and looking out of place and bored.
Takumijo led Amaterasu to the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her neck. Shaundra scanned the room for Osamu. She found him over by the bar with a drink in his hand, checking out the dancers. She really didn’t know much about him except he and Takumijo
had been friends since they were in elementary school. Next to him stood Amaya and Yori. Funny, she never knew the three of them were close, but she had noticed how animated Amaya often got when Osamu showed up at a function.
Three more people entered the room. “There’s the rest of Distraction now,” Shaundra told Ichiro. “And who’s that with Saburo?”
“Don’t you recognize your own sister-in-law?” Ichiro asked. “That’s Estuke.”
“Ooh,” Shaundra said, trying to get a better look. “How did they meet?”
“He came to the restaurant on a night that she worked, and the rest is history.”
“I’m so happy for her. Mr. Saburo seems like a nice guy.”
“It’s one date, Shaundra. Don’t go marrying them off yet.”
“But wouldn’t it be nice to have a brother-in-law?”
“I suppose,” Ichiro answered. “But unlike you, I’m prepared to let nature take its course. Don’t interfere.”
“Spoilsport,” Shaundra said as she wrapped her arms around Ichiro’s waist. “You won’t let me have any fun.”
He leaned in close to her. “There’s a garden right outside. Come with me. I’ll show you lots of fun.”
****
“Why have you been avoiding my calls?” Yi-jun asked Cristal as he slow danced her around the floor.
“I haven’t been avoiding them,” Cristal lied. “I’ve been busy.”
“With what? Aomori is home.”
Why did he automatically assume that was all she did for a living? “You act like those big doofuses are my only responsibility. I’m now the publicist for a new group called Distraction.”
“Distraction?” Yi-jun asked. “So you’re been avoiding me for another boy band?”
“No, I was busy promoting Ichiro’s birthday bash, and now that it’s over, I’ve been busy working on promotions for Distraction. It’s only been a week, so I haven’t really had time to breathe.” The object of her affection looked totally hot in a black suit and white shirt. She’d seen him when he entered a few minutes ago with Izanagi. Hiroyuki had let it slip Hiroshi had hair issues again that made him late.
“So how have you been? And are you still dating Tae Hayashi?”
