Orange Moon

by Barbara Sheridan

  When Ryoko slid her lips from his and moved to kiss his throat, Hideki let her. He closed his eyes, letting his thoughts go back to the night he had kissed Toru. Her hands were insistent as they caressed his back and chest, and Hideki allowed her to overpower him and take the lead until she slid from the bench and knelt on the ground before him, her hands tracing back and forth along the silver buckle of his belt. “We shouldn’t, not here --”

  “Ssshhh, it’s all right,” she told him. “Please. Let me do this. I -- I’m not prepared for what I really want, but let me do this ...”

  What she really wanted ... Hideki bit back a groan as her fingers stroked over the zipper on his jeans. Her tongue teased his navel ring, her teeth tugging it. Oh, God, this was unreal and familiar ...

  “Wait ...” The rest of his protest was lost in a gasp as she unfastened the button of his pants and slid down the zipper. His mind turned off to rational thought, instead choosing to focus on the incredible feelings coursing through him.

  “I want you inside of me,” Ryoko whispered, her breath blowing across the exposed skin below his navel. “One way or another.” Her tongue traced a line down to the hard bulge where the zipper stopped. She coaxed him from the bench to lie back on the ground.

  She tugged down his jeans. Her fingers worked their way inside the front of his briefs, wrapping around his cock and encouraging the hard organ to come free. She rubbed and massaged his balls, seeming to weigh the heavy sack in her hands while her lips grazed the length of his cock.

  “Oh, God,” Hideki moaned. He’d never had this happen. And so many times over the past days, he’d jerked himself in the dead of night imagining that Toru Nakai was doing this to him. Doing this and so much more. He bucked his hips up when she took his full length into her mouth, eased forward further still, and let the head of his cock slip into the upper reaches of her throat.

  She was sucking him, fucking him totally with her experienced mouth, while her fingers continued to taunt and squeeze his balls then slip under to tease at the puckered flesh of his rear. Grabbing fistfuls of thick grass, Hideki writhed as his passion quickly built. When Ryoko pushed her finger up inside him and touched the sensitive gland deep inside his passage, he came with a shudder, biting his tongue hard to keep from calling out Toru’s name.

  Ryoko held on to the base of his cock as Hideki thrust forward on pure instinct, stopping his organ from pushing in too far. Her lips continued their sucking motion, and Hideki couldn’t hold back the groan that rumbled up from deep within his chest. His eyes half-closed from the sheer sexual ecstasy of the moment, he watched Ryoko as she worked her mouth on him, his spurts still coming in time with the rhythm of her strokes.

  A glistening trickle of cum spilled past her lips and she swallowed faster, sucked him harder. Her finger pushed up inside of his tight, spasming opening, rubbing and teasing his tender flesh. Even after he emptied and Ryoko’s sucking motions became less hungry, he still wanted those wet, hot lips and mouth closing around him.

  He wanted to feel Toru’s mouth.

  Ryoko slipped her finger out of Hideki’s anus and moved her mouth away. She planted a few more kisses along the length of his still half-hard cock and then rested her head on the inside of his thigh. “I love the way you taste,” she whispered, her breath short, her voice husky with pent up desire. She nuzzled her face against his groin, kissing the base of his cock and running her tongue along the thick, pulsing vein underneath.

  She broke away with a groan. “I -- I’m sorry,” she panted. She moved to get up, beads of perspiration dotting her forehead and cheeks.

  Hideki scrambled to his feet, still a little lightheaded, and stumbled as he pulled up his briefs and jeans. “Ryoko, wait.” He jerked up his zipper and hurried after her. Taking hold of her arm, he pulled her around and hugged her tightly. “That was incredible. Please don’t run off. I’m not upset with you in any way.” He kissed her hair. "Stay with me tonight."

  “I,” she mumbled into his shoulder, her fingers clutching his sweat-dampened shirt. “It’s ... it’s ... Never mind.” She pulled away.

  Hideki frowned. Didn’t she feel as aroused as he did? “Tell me what’s wrong, Ryoko.”

  “Nothing.” She gave him a quick smile. “It’s just late. We’d better get back inside.”

  * * * * *

  Hideki felt like a total ass when Ryoko rushed up to her room without another word. He entered his room next door, cringing when he heard the latch of the connecting door slam into place. He plopped down onto the floor and put his head in his hands. She probably thought he’d molest her or something. As if he even really knew how.

  He lay back on the floor and covered his face with his forearm. Shit. He was such a fucking joke. He wouldn’t know what to do with a woman in bed if he had a roadmap. With a groan born of frustration with himself, Hideki sat up and noticed the sliver of light from the shoji go out. What did Ryoko think of him? Should he have stopped her? She’d said she wanted to ...

  Toru made sure the lock was tightly in place and turned down the lights.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he groaned and stripped out of his clothes until “Ryoko” was a pile of sweat dampened fabric at his feet.

  Toru’s cock pushed up between his legs, precum oozing from the swollen head. His balls ached with all the pent-up sexual frustration. Hideki’s tangy, salty taste lingered on Toru’s tongue, making it that much harder to try and relax the tension in his muscles. He reached down and rubbed the flat of his palm over the full length of his hard on.

  “Are you sure you’re okay, Ryoko?” Hideki called out from the other side of the shoji. Toru jumped.

  “I’m fine, really,” he said hoarsely. Damn, it was so hard to modulate his voice, now especially. “I -- I’m taking a shower.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  Toru didn’t have time to consider what Hideki’s quiet tone meant. He dashed into the bathroom and stepped down into the tiled shower. Flinching under the burst of cold water as he turned it on, Toru leaned back against the cool tiles and stroked his cock with a kind of desperation he’d never felt before. He imagined it was Hideki grabbing him this way, pumping and jerking him off with those warm, graceful fingers. Oh, God ... or taking him with those voluptuous lips.

  He clenched his teeth to stop from crying out Hideki’s name as he hit his peak. The cum splattered through his fingers and against the tiles, leaving creamy white streaks on the beige ceramic.

  “Hideki,” he moaned softly.

  * * * * *

  Toru was already up when Hideki tapped lightly on the connecting door early the following morning. In fact, he hadn’t slept a wink. He stood by the door. “Yes?”

  “Do you want me to carry your guitar to the car? I guess you don’t want to spend the day here.”

  Spend the day? Hell, as crazy as it was, he wanted to spend his life with Hideki Sakae. “I suppose we should get back. You can take it down for me. I’m not dressed yet.” He retrieved the guitar case, opened the door a crack, and slid the case through. He resisted Hideki's attempt at opening the door wider to look at him.

  “Okay. Can I buy you breakfast?”

  “I’d like that. I’ll be down in a bit, okay?”

  “Great,” he said, his voice sounding rather flat.

  “Yeah, great,” Toru whispered, shutting the door all they way.

  He picked up his clothes -- no, Ryoko’s clothes, he reminded himself with a sigh -- from where he’d left them tossed on the floor. Crossing the room, he paused at the open window overlooking the garden and sighed. Last night would’ve been the perfect evening with Hideki if only things were different.

  Toru was starting to hate this feminine ruse and the deception that went with it. However, he envied his new persona for how comfortable Hideki had been with her and for all the love she could receive from the young musician.

  “Screw it all.” Toru sighed and pulled the curtains shut. Whatever affection Ryoko let him steal from Hideki would have
to be good enough. That was probably all he could ever hope to get.

  * * * * *

  “I’m telling you -- that was Toruhiko Nakai from ChildsPrey!” Kazuo kept his camera focused on the second floor window even though the curtains were now shut.

  “You sure?” his partner asked, but from the excitement in his voice, the man was clearly convinced. Kazuo never mistook a face. That was one of the reasons why he was the hottest freelance celebrity photographer in the country.

  “Definitely, and I have it all on film.” Kazuo turned to the other man and gave him a thumbs-up. “I got the woman up there last night, too, before she turned off the lights.”

  “Oh, shit -- this is going to be big news, Kaz. Toruhiko Nakai actually spending a weekend getaway with a woman who is not Sasao Miyamoto. All the magazines and tabloids are going gobble these shots up.”

  “As soon as we get the pictures to them.” Kazuo glanced down at his watch. “Let’s run. We can catch the train and be in Tokyo before the inn even finishes serving breakfast.”

  Chapter Seven

  Both of them picked at their breakfast, neither having much of an appetite. Toru wanted to try and smooth things over with Hideki, to at least clear the path for Ryoko to have some small place in the younger man’s life, but before he could, Hideki received a phone call. It was his group’s manager saying that they were allowing him to be part of a special photo shoot requested by the publisher of Pop.

  Ayumi’s father published Pop, Toru remembered, and Ayumi was the one Hideki should be making friends and more with.

  “Do you mind if we leave now?” Hideki asked when he put his phone away.

  “No. We should get back to the real world.”

  * * * * *

  The last thing Hideki wanted to do was rush off to the studio, but he didn’t have much choice. He’d talk to Ryoko later. He didn’t want to lose her friendship, but he definitely needed to tell her that that’s all it could ever be between them. Toru Nakai had been lingering in his mind and had filled his dreams, and it was Toru he wanted to get to know on an intimate basis.

  And maybe ... maybe Toru still wanted that too.

  Hideki tried not to entertain any wild or crazy hopes on the train ride back to Tokyo. Ryoko didn’t talk much, but he didn’t put forth much of an effort either. She was a wonderful girl, but in his heart, he felt she wasn’t the one for him. There was a distance between them he couldn’t explain, as if Ryoko might be nervous about opening up to him. Before he’d messed things up with Toru, Hideki had felt an immediate connection with the fellow musician that was missing with Ryoko. It seemed like most of the time he was together with Ryoko, Hideki found himself thinking about Toru.

  When Hideki and Ryoko reached the station in Tokyo, he offered to drop her off at the apartment building.

  “That’s okay.” She stepped onto the crowded platform and gave him a small smile. “You get to work. I want to visit a friend who lives close by.”

  Another passenger knocked Hideki from behind and he bumped into Ryoko. “Uh ...” he stammered, his hands resting on her shoulders, his lips just close enough to hers for a kiss. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek instead and hated himself for doing it the moment he saw the hurt look in her eyes.

  “Let me take you home ... please?” Hideki asked as she stepped away.

  “You’re going to be late, Hideki-san.” Ryoko waved at him and then disappeared in the crowd.

  * * * * *

  Toru caught a taxi to within a few blocks of his real apartment. He made his usual detour through one of the department stores lining the block and wove through the hanging racks of clothing. He reached the unisex dressing area near the back and took a quick glance to make sure no one was behind him in case someone from the paparazzi was following. The area had two privacy walls perpendicular to each other -- one that separated the men’s section from the women’s, and another that blocked the view out to the rest of the store. Slipping into the stall closest to the men’s section, he changed into his regular clothes and stuffed the “Ryoko outfit” into the bag. He ducked out of the stall and made sure to leave through the adjacent area for men.

  He walked through the nearby park and sat on an empty swing, watching a group of children climbing on a jungle gym beneath some shady trees. Had he ever felt so carefree? Yeah, he had. Last night on the train ride to the onsen and before that the drive to Kanazawa. Damn it all to hell. He wanted to feel that again. And he would. There was only a month until Hideki headed to America. He would be Ryoko for the duration and have the best goddamned time of his life.

  * * * * *

  That dumb ass Yuki started cackling like a hyena when Hideki reached the studio and headed over to have his hair and makeup done for the photo shoot. “I think I owe you an apology for picking on your cross-dressing little buddy, Toru. Look at what just popped up on the entertainment news -- he’s not only banging Sasao Miyamoto, but also some unknown babe on the side.”

  Hideki glared but said nothing. He simply sat in the chair and let the stylist go to work. Of course, that didn’t stop Yuki from coming over and shoving his cell phone in Hideki’s face to show him two small photos. One of Toru shirtless by a window, and then another of a woman in what looked like the same window.

  Hideki pushed the phone away. “Yeah, so?”

  “So, the cross-dressing freak is getting more you-know-what than you ever have.” Yuki laughed in that annoying way of his, then left with two of the other guys from the group.

  And that was at the heart of the matter, wasn’t it? That Toru was so experienced with women and men and he wasn’t. Even if he did see Toru again, it was only a matter of time before the older man tired of him, as he apparently had of Sasao Miyamoto.

  “Shit.” He pushed away from the stylist and waved off the other man’s protests.

  “The photo shoot starts in ten minutes!” the stylist grumbled.

  “Bite it.” Hideki pulled out his cell phone and ignored the man. He dialed Ryoko’s number, but only got her voicemail.

  “Uh, hi, Ryoko, this is Hideki ...” Why the hell was he doing this? Hadn’t he decided on the train where his heart was? The pics of Toru and the mystery woman flashed through his mind and the rest of his words came out easily.

  “I probably said something wrong last night, and I’m sorry. Your friendship means a lot to me ... and maybe something more. Can we talk over dinner tonight? Maybe?”

  He hung up before he could make a bigger ass of himself than he already had.

  * * * * *

  Toru dragged himself back to his place and plopped down onto the sofa. Grumbling to the world in general, he got up and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge, then glanced through the pile of mail he’d let accumulate on the counter.

  The extra cell phone he’d picked up to handle Ryoko’s calls rang in that distinctive music clip he’d set to identify Hideki. He hesitated in answering and was glad when the door buzzer sounded, distracting him from it. It was Sasao wearing the largest, most fake frown he’d ever seen. “What the hell?”

  She threw herself across the threshold and into his arms. “Oh, how could you do this to me?” she wailed, kicking the door shut behind her.

  Toru held her at arm’s length. “What kind of drugs are you on exactly?”

  She laughed and went over to the small desk near the bedroom door. She switched on Toru’s laptop and pulled up the two-channel message board, then clicked over to a popular entertainment one. “Look! You’ve dumped me. Thrown me over for some cheap little tart -- who looks surprisingly like Ryoko.”

  “What the fuck?” Toru bent over the laptop and quickly scanned the top message, then clicked on the “shocking link” posted in another. “Oh, shit,” he muttered before turning to look at Sasao. “Where in the hell did those pictures come from?”

  Sasao shrugged. “Damned if I know. My publicist called me and showed me them a bit ago. If you hadn’t been home, I was going to set it as your desktop pic as a s
urprise.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Sasao moved closer and began to rub her friend’s tense shoulders and back. “What happened? Things didn’t go well, did they?”

  Toru dropped into the desk chair. “Part of it was great. The trip to the onsen was incredible. We talked and laughed and found out we had so damn much in common. It’s almost like we’re two sides of the same coin, you know?”

  “But the other part of it?”

  He sighed. “I gave Hideki a blowjob that made me hornier than I’ve ever been.”

  “Oh, no. He found out.”

  “No, he didn’t. But the way I gave him the brush-off and ran to take a cold shower was not at all good.”

  She rubbed his shoulders again, then leaned over to plant a kiss on the top of his head. “To-chan, you’ve really done it this time.”

  He shook his head. “Maybe I can get a song out of it. I can call it Lost Mind Crushed Heart.”

  “Oh, you.” Sasao tugged on Toru’s hair, then went to the kitchen to help herself to a drink.

  Toru joined her. He sipped his soda. “He called me just when you came to the door. I don’t know what he wanted, though.”

  “Maybe he left you a message. Did you check?”

  “I don’t know if I should.”

  “But you know you’re dying to.”

  Toru gave her an embarrassed grin, then chugged back the rest of his soda. He crushed the can, tossed it into the recycling container, and pulled out the cell phone.

  “Oh, shit ...”

  “What is it?” Sasao leaned over the counter in an effort to try and hear the voicemail. Toru hit the replay button and handed it to her.

  Your friendship means a lot to me ... and maybe something more. Can we talk over dinner tonight? Maybe?

  “Oh, my. What are you going to do? You can’t play this game, Toru. It’s not fair to either of you.”