by Amara Kent
Screw that. Men like Ren need a lesson to be taught, and I was very willing to be his teacher.
Unzipping his pants, I slip my hand beneath his boxer briefs and grasp his rigid cock firmly in my hand. A rush of air escapes between his teeth, and I offer him a smirk before my hand languidly travels down the length of his shaft to the most sensitive part of him. His warm balls fit nicely in my hands and as he allows his head to fall back, I give them a nice squeeze. The sweet sound of pain flows out of him and he tries to push me away, but my grip is too firm on him for it to have any real effect. If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t try to escape me, otherwise, I’ll yank his balls off his body. Although, that wouldn’t be the worst that could happen.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he growls out.
I press my body against his and whisper in his ear. “The next time you feel like messing with a woman, make sure she doesn’t have the means to rip your balls off and shove them down your throat.”
“What?” he strains out.
I squeeze tighter. I can tell he wants to slam his eyes shut. It’s instinct to try to shut the pain out that way. Like it makes any fucking difference.
“You heard me.”
I let go of him, pushing him aside and unlocking the door, proudly heading back into the main floor of the restaurant. When I sit back down, Sara is already there.
“Where did you go with Ren?” she asks curiously, shooting me a look.
“I went to the restroom. I don’t know where he went,” I say, acting innocent.
She looks over to the direction I came from when Ren walks out with a look that could melt steel. Her eyes go wide and she looks back at me.
“What did you do?”
I collect my chopsticks, swirling the contents and sauces of the noodles in the bowl. Using the cute ceramic spoon to help place the food on, I place a piece of pork on top, before taking the food in my mouth. I continue eating as I feel Sara’s eyes boring curiously into me.
“Kerri?” she asks.
I stop and look up at her. “Yes?”
“What did you do?” she asks again, more forcefully this time.
I casually place my chopsticks and ceramic spoon back down, before proceeding to inform her of what transpired in the handicapped restroom. “I went to the handicapped restroom and proceeded to warn him not to mess with me.”
“Why?” She edges in closer as if they’re seated right next to us and could overhear our conversation.
“I’m not a woman to be messed with, Sara. He needs to hear it. Acknowledge it. And appreciate it,” I respond stoically.
“Okay,” she says slowly. “I guess my next question should be, why did he need the warning?”
“Because Ren Hattori, billionaire playboy, is currently dating the woman you adore with all your heart. Is she nice?”
A loud gasp echoes around us, grabbing the attention of a couple at a nearby table. She remains that way for a minute as understanding finally settles. My phone vibrates with a message and I glance down at it.
+81-9000135093:
What did I do wrong?
“Is that him?” Sara asks, staring at the phone.
“Yes.”
“Are you going to respond to him?”
“No. I’ve done what I needed to do, and entertaining his necessity for answers is not something I plan on doing.”
“What if he doesn’t know what he did wrong?” she asks.
I hold up the phone and show her the message, uncaring that he would no doubt be watching us. “He doesn’t, but it’s not my job to inform him of something that is so glaringly obvious. If he’s as smart a man as everyone says he is and he brags to be, then he should have no problem figuring out this puzzle.”
+81-9000135093:
Why are you ignoring me?
The broth has a punch of umami, and the meatiness of the pork cuts through. There’s a slight heat to the dish which creates some contrasting sensations, but a nice extra warmth to my body. The noodles are wonderfully chewy and plentiful.
+81-9000135093:
Can you please tell me what I did wrong and why you attacked my balls in the restroom? They’re still stinging from your “caressing” touch.
“How’s your meal, Sara?” I ask her. More messages come through. I unlock my phone and switch it off, placing it in my handbag.
“It’s wonderful, but I’ve eaten here before.” She looks awkwardly at me.
“What?” I ask.
“He won’t give up. Eventually, he’ll come over here and ask you personally.”
“No, he won’t.”
“No?”
“No.”
“How can you be so sure?” Sara asks.
“Because he won’t make a scene, and that’s possibly what he’ll get if he confronts me. From what I can tell, he’s doing a fine job of texting me without it looking as if he is. He’s good. I’ll give him that. I wish I had that level of excellence with blind texting.”
“Wha—”
“I don’t think we should waste any more time talking about him.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ren
I glance up at Kerri showing Sara the message I just sent her. I squirm a little when I feel the slight pinch of pain from when she practically assaulted me in the restroom. I had thought we were going to get a little kinky. No, she fucking threw a cold bucket of water on my head, extinguishing any chance or hope of public restroom sex. I send out a series of texts to her and she looks at her phone and switches it off and places it in her bag.
What the fuck?
I know she hates going back to the same guy she’s already screwed, but what happened a few minutes ago was a rather goddamn psychotic reaction to some harmful flirting.
“What’s going on with you?” Aiya asks, concerned.
“Kerri,” I grind out.
Aiya turns around and looks at the two women eating their meal and then back at me. “What happened?”
“She put my nuts in a vice.”
Her brows shoot up to the top of her forehead. “Woah. What did you do to warrant that reaction?”
“What makes you assume it was something I did?” I snap.
“Because you’re you. I love and adore you.” She places her hands on mine. “But not everyone is susceptible to the Ren charm, as I am.”
“I have no fucking idea what I did to her. For crying out loud, it was only a couple of days ago that I helped her out with ABS.”
“You had to have done something. Women don’t generally get all assault-y for no reason.”
“Think of her as an exception, because there is nothing I have done since then that could draw such a reaction out of her. If anything, she should be on her knees, sucking me dry, instead of squeezing the life out of my balls.”
“You’ve always had such a way with words. I implore you to take up writing instead,” she drawls.
I scrub my hand over my face. “Look, I have no goddamn clue why she’s acting like this.”
“Ask her,” Aiya states as if it’s the most obvious answer in the world. As if I hadn’t been sneaking texts to her to get the answers.
“She’s ghosting me.”
“Then go over and ask her.”
“I’ve already had my manhood attacked, I don’t really need a second attack with scalding hot broth.”
“True. That would create quite a scene. I suspect the managers wouldn’t think to kindly on such negative things happening in their establishment, and I would like to come back here again. So what’s your plan from here on?”
“I’ll wait until she’s leaving and then corner her.”
“You make that sound illegal.”
“Are you now surprised by my antics?”
She cocks her head to the side. “Somehow, yes. Yes, I am.”
I’ve been keeping a close eye on Kerri and Sara the entire night, making sure I catch them as they leave. I need to get to the bottom of this, even if I have to force her
to tell me. The waiter lingers at their table, and I hear her sexy laugh. He must have cracked a joke. After a few minutes, he finally leaves them and they gather their things to do the same. I turn my attention to my dessert, which has just arrived, looking through my peripheral at them. I take a bite of my fluffy pancake, which is covered in maple syrup, one dollop of ice cream, one dollop of cream, topped with flakes of edible gold and roasted pistachio.
“They’re heading to the front door, you better make your move now if you want to catch her,” Aiya says.
I give her a quick nod and push my chair out, mindful not to catch Kerri’s attention as she and Sara vacate the premises. She’s just passing a side street when I grab her and pull her into it. Sara yelps and goes to rush to Kerri’s side, but I hold my hand up.
“I need a few moments with Kerri, if you don’t mind, Sara,” I state. I feel her hesitate, and with a cold steely eye, Kerri nods her head at her.
“I’ll wait around the corner. Yell if you need me.”
When she’s out of sight, Kerri pushes me, sending me stumbling back a little. Her eyes retain the coldness in them, and I wonder where the feisty woman has gone. This woman I don’t recognize. This woman is like a completely different person. It’s the damn Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
“What was all that back there?” I demand.
“You’re not that bright if I have to explain it to you,” she retorts indifferently.
“Look, I’m not sure what you think I’ve done, but why don’t you fucking humor me here?” I suppress the urge to yell at her.
“You men never think you could ever do anything wrong. You’re always lying to get yourself out of shit. It won’t work on this girl.” She stabs a thumb into her sternum.
“We haven’t known each other for long, but I would think that by now you would know that I’m not one for lying. I’m very open about myself.”
She scoffs. “Is that what you call it? Jeez, why am I even surprised? Of course, someone like you would believe that they’re honest. You’re so full of it.”
“Just tell me what your problem is!” I yell.
Her eyes grow dark and a growl rumbles through her chest. “My problem? You want to know what my problem is?” She steps up to me, forcing me to take a step back. “My problem is that you are the best I’ve ever had. My problem is that you’ve gained what you hoped to accomplish by fucking me. My problem is that I find out after screwing you, you have a girlfriend. That’s my problem!” Her chest is heaving, and her breaths come out hard and ragged. She takes a deep breath. “My problem is that I allowed someone like you to blind me once more and only see the lies. My problem is that after everything, I’m still falling for the same shit,” she says quietly.
Girlfriend? What the fuck! I storm off, knowing the one person I know who can help me get to the bottom of this. Flinging the door open, I march to where Aiya is. She sits up straighter when she sees me.
“We need to go.” I force my voice to go calm and stable.
“Is everything okay?”
“It will be. We just need to go now,” I say sternly.
With uncertainty, she collects her things and stands up, walking with me to pay for the meal. We make it to my car out on the street, and I open the door for her to get in. When she’s in, I get in on the driver’s side and ready myself, before pulling away from the curb.
“What’s wrong, Ren? You’re scaring me a little,” she asks meekly.
I remain calm. The last thing I need is to cause an accident because I can’t rein in my anger. I’m not sure if she is responsible for Kerri finding out that we’re a “couple.” I know it doesn’t make sense for her to make such a stupid admission, but there’s nobody I know that would have done it. We pull up to her house and I get out, holding the door open for her.
Visibly scared and worried, she silently steps out and with a last glance up at me, walks over to her house and unlocks the front door. I follow in behind her and close the door behind me.
“I don’t want to make any assumptions, but I need to know whether you are involved in Kerri thinking we’re an item,” I say calmly.
She stills instantly. Annoyance causes me to clench my hands tightly into fists to keep from punching the wall. She spins around slowly and looks up at me with an apology watering her eyes. Her bottom lip quivers and she pulls it in between her teeth to stop herself from crying. She’s always been a proud woman, and crying in front of people—even her closest friend—is not something she likes to do.
“I’m so sorry, Ren.”
“Why are you so upset?” I snap. “This doesn’t inconvenience and fuck you over,” I yell.
“I didn’t intend on telling the press of our fake relationship. It was an accident,” she responds sadly.
“Are you kidding me with this bullshit? It was an accident! We had a deal, Aiya. It was an agreed rule that we wouldn’t tell anybody, and you go ahead and blab to the fucking press!” She takes a step toward me. “Don’t,” I growl out.
“But—”
“Save it, Aiya. You were the one that said that we would keep this to ourselves, and now you’re the one to break it. Did you even think about how this would affect me?”
“I’m sorry,” she says ashamedly.
“Quit fucking saying sorry. Don’t be sorry. Be better! This has ruined everything for me.”
Her head snaps up, and she glares at me. “What did I ruin for you, Ren? Your playboy reputation? What, did I make it harder for you to pick up random women to sleep with?” she screams at me. “I would think that you would appreciate the challenge.” Her face twists in anger and sadness.
“This has nothing to do with the other women,” I argue.
“No. It only has to do with the woman. The one you refuse to admit to yourself that you like but can’t stop pining over, like a pathetic loser.” I turn around and go to leave. Gripping the handle of the front door and turning it. “What? Now that I’ve hit the truth, you’re bailing on this fight?”
“I’m not bailing. I’ve just heard enough,” I correct, calmly.
“No. You’re running. Like you have with every girl you’ve ever come close to. The reason why you refuse to get into relationships isn’t that you want to be a cool single dude for the rest of your life. It’s because you’re scared and too damn proud to admit it. You think everyone is Claudia—”
“Shut up!” I spin around, barking at her.
Claudia. It’s a name I’ve been able to effectively remove from my vocabulary, and one I had made everyone who knew her, never breathe a word of. Especially not in front of my father. He doesn’t need to be reminded of her, and neither do I.
“It’s the truth. I’ve held my tongue back all these years because I’m your friend, but you think it doesn’t kill me to see my friend who speaks so casually about sex, and how he’ll never be in a relationship, force himself to never get in that position again? Claudia hurt you badly. She did something so despicable and—”
“I said enough, Aiya,” I growl out.
My hand shakes as I clutch the doorknob tighter and tighter. Claudia was the first and last person I had loved. When I first met her, I thought she was the one. I fell hard for her and pictured a life for us. I imagined us growing old together, with three kids and plenty of grandchildren. I had thought she wanted the same. She had made me believe she wanted the same thing. It all came crashing down when I caught her on top of my dad, forcing herself on him. It hadn’t been that long since my mother had died. At first, I thought he was betraying me until I saw him push her off and demand she leave. That day had ruined me. It was then that I realized that women were no good. It was that day that I promised I would treat them the same way she treated me. The old, sappy, loved-up Ren was gone, killed by the playboy that emerged.
“You don’t even know how lucky you are. You don’t know what it’ll ever feel like to be so repressed with who you are, that you can’t ever fully be open and honest about yourself. I would love
more than anything to show a beautiful woman by my side to everyone, but I can’t. Because that would be the end of my relationship with my parents, and I’m willing to lose that over them. I’ve seen you get to the point of getting close to another person, and just when I think I see a glimmer of hope in you, you snap it shut and walk away. I see it again in the way you are with Kerri.”
“Unlike you, I don’t hide myself. I tell people who I am and if they don’t like it, then I allow them to make it their own problem. I understand you don’t want your parents to hate you, but I would never compromise my true self for anybody. Why don’t you look in the mirror and see the truth, instead of projecting your shit onto me? I don’t need this pontificating bullshit.”
“That’s unfair, Ren,” she says. Hurt making her voice shake and her bottom lip quiver.
“Neither is not telling me about this in the first place.”
“It wasn’t supposed to come out. It was off the record,” she argues weekly.
“What does that even mean?” I ask.
“The journalist from the magazine I did the shoot for saw me and one of the models getting a little cozy. She asked if I liked women, and I said I didn’t. She showed me a photo the photographer took of me and a model. We looked way too friendly, I was scared she would use it and blurted out that we were together. I didn’t think she would use the information.”
I grit my teeth at hearing such stupidity. Everyone knows what the media is like. They are vultures and will swoop in on anything that seems like a juicy story. It was obvious to me that she would have taken what Aiya said and ran with it. Which she did. The fact that Aiya was so blinded to the journalist’s true intentions frustrates me more than the story itself. She, more than I, knows what it’s like being in the limelight, yet she put all her trust in this woman. So fucking naïve.