by Guy Willard
As he neared the station, his face broke into a spontaneous smile.
8
When he paid a return visit to Prince the following week, Fumio felt very much more confident. He walked straight there from the station, knowing fully well what to expect. As he stepped inside the door, Yuji greeted him cheerfully by name from behind the counter and Fumio returned the greeting. He noticed Shima-chan right away, sitting on the same stool as last week.
To his surprise, the older man was wearing an even nicer suit than before. Fumio felt quite flattered, and simultaneously, relieved to learn that Shima-chan had been attracted to him after all. He sat down next to him and they began speaking as if they’d known each other for years.
Most of the customers tonight had also been here last week, and as the evening wore on, they felt no hesitations about joining in on the conversation between Fumio and Shima-chan. Soon the talk became general. Prince was cozy enough that anyone in the place, no matter where he was sitting, could easily speak with any other person there.
This time some of the men began telling Fumio about their homosexual experiences. One man had formerly sought encounters in a porno theater (a hetero one) where the gay men sat in the back rows, secretly touching each other unnoticed by the other patrons. If a couple of men fancied each other, they could relocate to a nearby hotel to continue their activities more uninhibitedly. One night this man had done so, and after having sex with his partner, had come out of the shower to discover that his wallet was missing…along with his partner. The next day he’d gotten a phone call at his office from the man of the night before threatening to blackmail him if he didn’t come up with five hundred thousand yen.
“And what did you do?” asked Fumio.
“I had no choice. I paid him the money and never heard from him again.”
“Does that sort of thing happen often?”
“No. It’s very rare, actually. But you should always be careful who you go to a hotel with.”
A fey-looking man piped up, “For all we know, Fumi-chan might still be a cherry-boy.” They all laughed good-naturedly as Fumio scratched his head in embarrassment.
“Don’t tease him,” said someone else, and the matter was dropped.
When the laughter had died down, Shima-chan turned to Fumio. “What made you decide to visit us here last week?”
“I don’t know. Mostly curiosity, I guess. I found the advertisement for Prince in the back pages of Barazoku, and it sounded like a good place.”
“I see.”
Fumio felt his face grow hot. “In a way, it was a dare I took with myself.”
“So you’re new to this world.”
“Very much so.”
“Well, I hope you’re not put off by the bizarre characters you see here.”
“Oh no. I don’t find any of you bizarre at all. In fact, you’re perfect gentlemen in every way.”
“Hear! Hear!” sang out the fey-looking man, and everyone laughed.
Shima-chan continued: “The first time I entered this world, I was scared, too.”
“When was that?”
“I was about your age, I think. In college. All through middle school and high school I kept falling in and out of love with one classmate or another. I thought I was the only one in the world who felt that way about other boys.”
“As for me,” said Fumio, “I’ve always felt vague yearnings toward other boys, but it wasn’t till I came to Tokyo that I became sure of my feelings.”
“Life in the big city probably liberated you. And who was he?”
“A boy named Tatsuya. He lived next door to me until he moved out last month.”
“And how far did you get with him?”
“Nowhere. It was a completely one-sided infatuation on my part.”
“Did he suspect your feelings at all?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“So he was a nonke, then?”
Fumio nodded. He knew from reading Barazoku that nonke was the gay world’s term for straight men.
“How sad. But that’s the story of so many of us.”
Fumio looked around at the others, many of whom were nodding in agreement. He felt a shiver go through him, happy to know that he wasn’t alone. As he glanced at Shima-chan, he wondered if the older man would make a move tonight. Fumio had been looking forward to this night all week, half in anticipation, half in dread. If nothing happened tonight, though, he would probably feel very disappointed.
However, when the time came for Fumio to catch the train home, Shima-chan casually offered to give him a ride. Feeling almost relieved, Fumio accepted without hesitation.
They went outside together and got into a taxi in front of the station. As soon as the door closed, Shima-chan turned to him. “Do you have to go straight home?”
“Not really.” Fumio felt his heart begin to race.
“That’s good, because there’s another place I’d like to take you.”
“All right.”
It turned out to be a normal pub, however—one which stayed open all night, mostly filled with young boy-girl couples. Shima-chan and Fumio had a few more drinks together and chatted about innocuous subjects like baseball, popular music, and scandals in the entertainment world. Perhaps because this was the first time they were away from Prince, there was a refreshing naturalness to their talk. However, as Fumio’s thoughts turned inevitably toward what might be in store for him later on tonight, he soon found himself barely able to pay attention to the conversation.
Shima-chan, apparently noticing this, said, “I’m sorry. You’re probably getting tired, aren’t you? Shall we go?”
“All right.”
“First, though, I’d like to take a little walk to clear my head. I’m afraid I drank a bit too much tonight.”
“Me, too.”
They stepped outside and began walking. After a while, it seemed to Fumio that there were an unusually large number of young couples walking arm-in-arm. Occasionally a boy and girl would slip down an alley and disappear. Fumio glanced up at the signs on many of the surrounding buildings and realized they were in a love hotel zone.
Shima-chan noticed Fumio looking, and laughed. “Yes, you’re right. This is where the boys bring their girls at the end of their dates.”
Fumio didn’t have the nerve to say anything.
“Have you ever been in a love hotel?” asked Shima-chan.
“No.”
“Not even once? A healthy young boy like you?”
“I’m not exactly the most attractive boy on campus,” laughed Fumio.
Just ahead of them a young couple, looking very furtive, slipped into one of the recessed entryways. Shima-chan nodded in their direction. “You can tell this is their first time together. They look so guilty about what they’re doing.”
Fumio laughed uncertainly. “I wonder if that’s how I’ll look on my first time.”
“Would you like to find out?”
“Right now?”
“Sure,” said Shima-chan with a slight laugh. “Unless you don’t want to, that is.”
“No, I don’t mind.”
“Good.”
It was all so natural that Fumio felt no resistance at all. But as they stepped into the entryway together, his belly suddenly felt queasy. He lagged behind as Shima-chan headed toward the check-in window and paid for the key. An opaque screen hid the clerk so that only her hands were visible.
Together they walked up a stairwell which had been purposely darkened. Fumio kept his face averted in case they should encounter another couple coming down, but they met no one. It wasn’t until they’d entered the room and locked the door behind them that he felt safe.
Looking around, he saw that it was a perfectly ordinary hotel room, though a little cramped.
Shima-chan set the keys down on the night table. “Some love hotels won’t allow two men to stay together, but this one has no restrictions in that regard.”
Fumio secretly wondered how ofte
n Shima-chan had been here.
“Shall we watch some TV?” the other man asked brightly, as if that had been their sole purpose in coming here.
“Sure.”
“Make yourself at home. What’ll you have to drink?”
“Nothing alcoholic for me, thanks. I’ve had quite enough for one night.”
Shima-chan opened the refrigerator and peered inside. “How about a can of oolong tea, then?”
“Sounds good.”
He pulled out a can and handed it to Fumio.
As Fumio reached for it, he noted with shame that his own hand was trembling slightly. Shima-chan paused, a concerned look on his face. “You’re not scared, are you?”
“No. It’s just that I’m so new to all this.”
Shima-chan smiled. “Don’t worry. We don’t have to do anything tonight if you don’t want to.”
“It’s all right. I may be a little nervous, that’s all.”
“I understand. I’m nervous, too. You see, I didn’t know if you were interested in anything more than just friendship, so I half thought you would bolt when I mentioned the words ‘love hotel’.”
“Well, I’m here now. And I trust you completely.”
Shima-chan smiled. “Thanks. Listen, why don’t you take a shower? It’ll probably help you relax.”
“Sounds good.”
Fumio went into a recessed nook next to the shower room and began undressing, hanging up his clothes on a rack there. When he glanced back at the bed, he saw Shima-chan sitting on it apparently engrossed in the late night news on TV.
Slipping off his briefs, he stepped into the shower room and turned on the water, adjusting the spray until it was nice and warm. He felt his stiff muscles soften under the refreshing massage of the shower.
After a while Shima-chan stuck his head in at the door. “How’s the water? I hope you don’t have it too hot.”
He stepped in and Fumio saw that he was completely naked. Without a word, Shima-chan joined him under the spray. It seemed so natural that Fumio felt nothing strange about it. As they shifted around under the shower, Shima-chan’s hand seemed to accidentally brush against Fumio’s penis. Fumio said nothing, not even when the hand returned to caress it more intimately. His heart pounding hard, he closed his eyes as he felt his penis stiffen instantly into full erection.
“Amazing,” murmured Shima-chan.
Fumio opened his eyes.
The other was gazing down at Fumio’s penis. “It’s just like a young boy’s: pointing straight up, flat against your belly.” Playfully he pulled it away and let it go. The penis sprang back against the belly, hitting it with a loud slap. Shima-chan giggled. “Just listen to that!” He repeated the performance.
Fumio glanced at Shima-chan’s penis and saw that it was poking straight out, just like the erection of the man he’d encountered in the park. Until then, he’d thought that all men had erections like his own.
They got out of the shower and dried off. As they sat down on the bed Shima-chan said, “Do you mind if I kiss you?”
“Not at all.”
“Some boys don’t like to, you know….”
As their lips met, Fumio felt his whole body tremble. This was a real kiss finally, nothing at all like that play-acted charade with the girl in Petite Doll. He put his arms around Shima-chan’s body and felt the other move his chest against his. Very gently they toppled down onto the bed and continued kissing. Fumio felt himself being pushed onto his back, with Shima-chan getting on top.
When the other pulled away from their kiss, he lowered his face toward Fumio’s chest. Fumio was very nervous and just lay there as Shima-chan began kissing and licking his nipples. It was such an exquisite sensation that his toes instinctively curled up in reaction. He literally had to push Shima-chan’s head away as the pleasure became too intense.
The other man now shifted downward to focus his attention on Fumio’s penis. When Fumio felt Shima-chan’s lips and tongue playing along the shaft, a curious sense of dislocation seemed to come over him. He knew almost nothing about Shima-chan—where he lived, what he did for a living, or even if “Shima” was the prefix of his real name. Only thirty minutes ago they’d been drinking together in a pub, talking about baseball, and now here they were, both of them naked atop this bed. It seemed like a dream.
Shima-chan suddenly stopped and gazed up at Fumio.
“I can’t take it anymore, Fumi-chan. Will you fuck me, please?”
Fumio tried to hide his surprise. He’d naturally assumed that Shima-chan would take the active role. “I don’t know if I can.”
“You can, don’t worry.”
Fumio watched expressionlessly as Shima-chan reached into the pocket of his slacks on the chair and pulled out a small plastic jar containing an amber-colored jelly.
“Do you know what this is?” he asked.
“No.”
“It’s a lubricant. To make it easier.”
Fumio swallowed. Shima-chan squeezed some of the lubricant onto his finger and rubbed it onto Fumio’s penis. And then he squeezed out some more, this time applying it to his own anus. Tossing the jar aside, he straddled Fumio’s hips and reached down to grip the younger man’s erection. Fumio groaned as he felt it being pulled away in an unaccustomed direction. But then he lay still as he felt a warm contact against its tip.
Glancing up at Shima-chan, he saw that the older man had closed his eyes and seemed to be savoring the sensation of the contact. Slowly he lowered his hips. Simultaneously Fumio felt a tight grip cap his glans and move slowly down his entire shaft. It felt good…very, very good…so much better than anything he’d ever felt in his whole life. He told himself: I’m doing it! I’m finally doing it! But he tried not to let his exhilaration show.
When he was all the way in, Shima-chan just sat there for a long time without moving. And then he began very gently jogging up and down. Immediately Fumio’s pleasure became so intense that he was already on the verge of coming. Sensing this, Shima-chan stopped.
“Please don’t come too soon, Fumi-chan. Try to make it last.”
Fumio nodded. “You’ll have to move more gently, then.”
“I will.”
After a short pause, Shima-chan resumed his rocking motions, though much more slowly this time. Fumio bit down on his lower lip. He couldn’t help it: he was about to come. But he was careful to hide it from his partner. Turning his head aside, he closed his eyes and acted as if nothing was happening even as he felt his penis ejaculate deep into Shima-chan’s butt. Luckily Shima-chan seemed to notice nothing, for he continued jogging up and down.
Fumio’s penis always remained erect after ejaculating, so the older man never even guessed what had happened. However, with the loss of excitation which comes after orgasm, Fumio was now able to gaze objectively at his partner’s face. To his amazement, this man who had earlier been so much in command of himself now looked completely different. The soft look in his eyes and the almost feminine suppleness of his movements seemed to have transformed him into a nebulous creature whose skin seemed so much more delicate. Even his moans sounded just like a woman’s—like the ones Fumio had so often heard coming from Tatsuya’s room.
Glancing down, he saw that Shima-chan’s penis was fully erect. At the sight of it, Fumio felt himself becoming excited once more. Reaching down to steady his partner’s hips, he began thrusting up from below, wanting to penetrate deeper and deeper into Shima-chan’s tight hole. The other man reacted by arching his back as far as it would go. He too began jogging up and down at a faster pitch.
“Yes…oh yes….”
To Fumio’s amazement, Shima-chan seemed to be approaching orgasm without even touching his own penis. And then suddenly he whimpered weakly as his semen shot out in vigorous spurts all over Fumio’s chest.
After his ecstasy had passed, Shima-chan reached down and ran his fingers over Fumio’s nipples, rubbing, pinching, and tugging at them. It felt so good for Fumio that he squirmed around in pleas
ure. And now he felt his second orgasm coming on. He began thrusting up from below with piston-like intensity until this time he let out a loud groan at his climax to let Shima-chan know how good it felt.
As Fumio gradually slowed down to a stop, the other man weakly climbed off and lay down beside him. Still breathing heavily, Fumio reached across to the box of tissues on the night table to wipe himself clean. He felt drained…and exhilarated.
Shima-chan also wiped himself off, then reached for his pack of cigarettes. He tapped out two, lit them both, and handed one to Fumio before smoking his own. “You were so good, Fumi-chan, so assured of yourself. I can’t believe it’s your first time.”
“It was.”
“So how do you feel now?”
“Like I’m finally an adult.”
“That’s good. I’m so happy to know I was your very first partner.” Shima-chan sucked languidly on his cigarette and blew out a steady stream of smoke before murmuring, “Tell me, Fumi-chan. Do you ever dream about taking it up the butt?”
Fumio was so startled by the bluntness of the question that he was at a loss for a reply.
“Well,” continued Shima-chan, “there may come a time when you want to try it. Take my advice: don’t. Stay as you are. Because once you do it, you’ll never go back: you’ll become just another sister like me.”
Fumio nodded, surprised at the self-loathing in Shima-chan’s words. He put the cigarette to his lips and took a long, long pull.
9
On his next visit to Prince, Fumio arrived much earlier than before—in fact, so early that he was the first customer of the day. Yuji had just opened up the place a few minutes ago. After ordering a beer, Fumio sat at the counter idly flipping through the latest copy of Barazoku while a small kerosene stove in the corner kept the room warm. Yuji was behind the counter, wiping glasses and arranging them in neat rows on the shelf below. He paused for a moment and folded up the cloth he was using, setting it on the counter.