Tokyo Love

by Diana Jean

  “Yeah, cause you are staring at some buttons and not sinking into perfectly heated water!”

  “Well, then fill it up!” She flung herself to the bathroom floor. “I’ll wait. And then judge. Harshly, probably.”

  Yuriko couldn’t help but smirk. “All right. But you know that you have to shower off before going into the tub, right?”

  “What? I have to bathe to bathe?”

  “No, you have to bathe to soak. If you want to use my tub. You are going to have to—”

  Kathleen suddenly reached up and turned on the showerhead. Warm water doused over her head and shoulders.

  Yuriko was laughing so hard that she had to lean against the bathroom door. “No, at least take off your clothes!”

  “They were dirty anyway!” Kathleen spluttered over the spray. She took it from the wall, handing it to Yuriko and thoroughly soaking her skirt in the process. “Hold this.”

  “What are you—”

  Kathleen was already stripping off her t-shirt, slapping it to the floor. Her jeans were a little harder, practically glued to her legs. Yuriko reached out, as if she could stop her from the impromptu strip, but she accidentally just sprayed her again with the water.

  Kathleen laughed, turning around and unclasping her bra and throwing off her panties.

  Yuriko’s brain seemed to stutter then. She was still all warm and slow from the beer, but now she felt herself quickly overheating, taking in Kathleen’s wide hips, thick thighs, and large breasts. How were American girls always so curvy? How was Kathleen so curvy? Like even more curvy than usual? Why did curvy suddenly seem like a fascinating word?

  She reached for Yuriko’s shampoo, pouring a little too much into her hands. She furiously scrubbed her hair. She turned to Yuriko then, uncaring that she was just standing naked in her bathroom, while Yuriko was fully dressed. Her skin was pale and freckled, all of it flushed pink from alcohol and steaming water. Yuriko was somehow jealous of those freckles, fingers twitching to trace them. To what purpose, her slow and shocked mind couldn’t comprehend.

  “Give me a hand here!”

  It took Yuriko a solid minute before she realized that Kathleen wanted the water spray on her. She held it out, offering it back. “Take it. I’ll just … I’ll just leave you to it.” She needed some fresh air. She felt like she was drowning in the heat and steam and all of Kathleen’s bared skin.

  Kathleen stumbled toward her and, knocking the showerhead from her grasp, sprayed them both down. “Nooo,” she whined. “If you leave, then I’ll probably forget how the tub works and then you’ll laugh.”

  “I won’t laugh.”

  “You are laughing now.”

  Yuriko was, she couldn't help it, so she pushed Kathleen away. She swayed before sinking to the floor, grinning. Yuriko went to the soap dispenser, handing it to her. “Come on, you’ve got to clean the rest of you. I’ll probably use the water tomorrow.

  “What?” Kathleen gaped at her.

  Yuriko raised an eyebrow. “I’m not going to waste an entire tub of water!”

  “It will just go through the water treatment and come back to you anyway.”

  “That is not the point. It saves energy.”

  Kathleen was giggling, leaning against the side of the tub and furiously soaping up her arms and legs. She was sloppy, but it seemed thorough enough. Yuriko picked up the showerhead and pointed it at her and received a shriek.

  “Hey! Warn me!”

  “Why?” Not when it made her skin flush deeper, everything twitching, moving. “It’s fun to hose you down.” Yuriko was surprised that her words were coherent. “You smell like shochu.”

  “Well, you smell like … fried chicken!”

  Yuriko pushed Kathleen until she turned around, the skin on her shoulders soft and slippery. “Sounds delicious. Okay, I’ll get your back.”

  Kathleen snorted. “Thanks for the choice.”

  “My tub, my rules. We could have done this at your place.”

  Kathleen gasped. “Oh God, could you imagine Ai walking in on something like this? She would totally judge me.”

  “I don’t think Ai is programmed to judge you.”

  “She is programmed to keep her opinions to herself, but she judges me. All the time. Thinks I’m pathetic, so she treats me like some helpless puppy who can’t figure out how to go down the stairs yet.”

  “I think I understand the feeling.” Yuriko didn’t want to imagine Ai. She didn't want to think of Ai's face that looked just like Yuriko’s and her strange similar mannerisms. Yuriko was happy here, drunk and relaxed, massaging soap into a languid Kathleen. Her skin felt so good against Yuriko’s fingers, those freckles coming in and out of view between soapsuds. “We should go to an onsen together.”

  “A what?”

  “Onsen. A bathhouse. It’s so relaxing.”

  “Okay.”

  “You don’t need to hear more?”

  “Nah, you’ve yet to lead me astray.” She looked over her shoulder, grinning at Yuriko, her face so bright and tempting.

  Yuriko took her hands off of her and grabbed the showerhead, rinsing her down. “I haven’t led you much of anywhere.”

  “How about when I got lost?”

  Yuriko snorted. “Nothing more special than teaching you how to find your own apartment.”

  “Well, Mitsu thought it was romantic.”

  Yuriko bit her lip. “Mitsu is an idiot.”

  “She’s cute.” Before Yuriko could react to that statement, Kathleen jumped up. “Oh, the bath is filled!” She turned to Yuriko, spinning unsteadily. “Am I good enough?”

  She was more than good; she was warm and wet and … Yuriko knew they were both a little too drunk. Well, Yuriko was too drunk to be staring at her friend like that. She averted her eyes. “Go for it.”

  Kathleen carefully gripped the edge of the tub, probably to keep from falling in. When she stood in it, the water came up to her knees. She crouched down, submerging herself. She was shorter than Yuriko and managed to fit pretty well. The water came up to her shoulders and only her bent knees poked up from the surface of the water.

  “It’s better when it’s a larger tub.”

  Kathleen moved her arms around, experimentally. “Well, seems like a bathtub. What now?”

  Yuriko knelt next to the side of the tub, arms and elbows propped on the edge. She was unpleasantly soaked, but at least the tub was warm to lean against. “You are supposed to relax. Meditate. Think about life. Work, family, whatever problems you have.”

  Kathleen scooted in the tub, resting her head against the back edge. “Well, you know all my problems from work. My family, well, they are all right.”

  Steam was curling from the surface of the water. Yuriko was feeling a little sleepy, and she didn’t look forward to peeling off her damp clothes later. “Are you close with your parents?”

  Kathleen tilted her head. “They can get annoying. I mean, I love them. But my mom can get really annoying.” She raised her voice, possibly mocking her mother. “Kathleen! Why don’t you settle down! Kathleen, I just met an old friend from high school who has a son your age! Why don’t you meet him! Kathleen, come back to America and get married like your perfect brother!”

  Yuriko giggled. “Let me guess, you are not interested in your mother’s recommendations?”

  Kathleen sat up, waving a hand and splashing Yuriko. “I can’t tell you how many times she’s tried to hook me up with sons of her friends. Most of the time she’s never even met the son! Or how many times she questions why I broke up with some ex or another.” She settled back into the water. “Of course, now that I’ve moved here she thinks I’m trying to rebel and escape her.”

  “You’re not?”

  Kathleen shrugged. “Well, I did want a change from kind of the rut I was in. I mean, I was kind of depressed because I haven’t dated many guys and those relationships, well, they never were quite what I wanted. Of course, I thought Brandon was what I wanted, but … I guess I’
m saying I didn’t move to Japan to rebel. Just seemed like a good way to … you know …”

  Yuriko tilted her head. “What?”

  Kathleen was staring at the surface of the water. Her hair was curling, despite being soaked and she pulled her legs up so she could rest her chin on her knees. “Give up, I guess.”

  Yuriko suddenly stood up. “Move over.” She was feeling impulsive and didn't have the strength to deny it. Not when Kathleen was looking like that in her bathtub.

  Kathleen stared. “What?”

  “Move over. Make room for me.”

  She still had her clothes on, but taking them off seemed like too much effort by this point. Besides, maybe Kathleen was right, her clothes needed to be cleaned anyway.

  There wasn’t enough room for two people. They were sitting side-by-side, knees bent almost painfully, Yuriko sank into the water next to Kathleen. She sighed, feeling warm again. Even though it was a little weird to sit in her bath fully clothed.

  Kathleen gave her a weird look. “I thought you said you wanted to keep the water clean.”

  “The water will recycle.”

  Kathleen laughed, but it wasn’t very convincing. Their shoulders were pressed tightly together, Yuriko’s soaked shirt against Kathleen’s bare skin. Half the water had sloshed onto the floor, soaking into Kathleen’s discarded clothes and dripping down the floor drain.

  “It’s okay to be lonely,” Yuriko said.

  Kathleen sighed. “Maybe, but it seems kind of pathetic. I mean, I’ve got this great job and I’m in this whole new country and I just … ” Her voice broke a little and she lowered her chin. “Do you ever feel like you are just not meant for anyone?”

  “Sometimes. I mean … I really did after Michiko broke up with me,” Yuriko whispered. “I thought about dating again, sometimes. It never worked out.”

  Kathleen looked at her and their faces were so close that Yuriko could see droplets of water gathering at her temples and upper lip. “But you are so great! I mean, you are so pretty and tall and smart and really good at not getting lost!”

  Yuriko grinned. “I could say the same about you. The company brought you all the way from America to run their PLC project. And, despite being pathetic most of the time—” Kathleen grimaced and Yuriko giggled, “—you managed to make friends with a bunch of Japanese strangers tonight. Let me tell you, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Mori-san get that excited talking to someone other than Saiki-san. Also Mitsu-san seems to really like you.” She felt her smile fade and her stomach twist.

  Kathleen nudged her shoulder. “Mitsu-san has a boyfriend.”

  “That doesn’t stop some girls,” Yuriko murmured.

  “Okay, well, she was a little touchy. But I think that is her personality. I mean, I think she spent most of the night thinking you and I were dating … ” She paused and Yuriko looked up to see Kathleen examining the wall, as if something very peculiar was there. “Am I really your type?”

  Yuriko ran a hand through her damp hair, tugging it to her right shoulder, trying to distract herself from her beating heart. “Having a type seems kind of stupid, yeah? I don’t know, I think she was just teasing.”

  Kathleen was staring at her now, eyes glazed from alcohol, half lidded. “Well, what do you like in a woman?”

  Yuriko couldn’t describe it. She could describe the circumstances that brought her and Michiko together. She could say how she felt at the time and even when it was over, but she couldn’t say what attracted her to Michiko or any of the others she’d been interested in. It wasn’t something that could be said in words.

  She couldn’t describe why, in that moment, she desperately wanted Kathleen.

  So she leaned forward, though there wasn’t that much space between them, and pressed her lips against Kathleen’s. Kathleen was warm and full and relaxed. She made a small sound, or maybe it was a sigh, and Yuriko tilted her head so she could explore further. Kathleen did more than just let her; she opened to Yuriko.

  Yuriko found her hand in Kathleen’s hair, wet and curly and tangled in her fingers. Kathleen’s hands were on her shoulders and Yuriko deeply regretted not taking off her shirt. How could she have let this beautiful, supple woman just undress in front of her and not jump her earlier?

  Kathleen’s hands lowered, diving into the water and reaching for the soft skin of Yuriko’s stomach. Her fingers pressed there, as if testing Yuriko’s pliancy. She remembered, when Ai had broken down in Akihabara, and she had come to help bring Ai back to the apartment. Kathleen had wrapped her arms around her] in the train. Her fingers had clenched Yuriko’s stomach, in relief or fear, she hadn’t known at the time. Now Kathleen was exploring, searching so curiously.

  Yuriko moved, water sloshing over the side. The tub might be half-empty now; it didn’t matter. All that mattered in this world was Kathleen’s expanse of warm, wet skin, arching up as Yuriko straddled her.

  Kathleen's hands shifted to Yuriko’s hips, fingers looping at the belt. The effort to remove her clothes would be too great. Yuriko didn't think she could survive even a second without her hands and lips on Kathleen.

  Kathleen gasped into the kiss, obviously needing to breathe. Yuriko contented herself with Kathleen’s neck instead. It tasted clean, fresh, and smelled slightly of Yuriko’s shampoo. She almost regretted having Kathleen bathe. She wondered what she really tasted like, not scrubbed like this.

  Kathleen made a gasping moan, still short of breath, as Yuriko discovered a spot behind her ear that made Kathleen quiver. Her hands wandered , feeling that shiver ripping through Kathleen’s body. Her arms, her breasts, her stomach, her wide hips.

  “Y-Yuriko,” Kathleen gasped as Yuriko’s hand strayed over the coarse hairs at the junction of her thighs.

  Yuriko lifted her head, looking at Kathleen. It was hard to focus; everything seemed steamed around the edges, hot and overwhelming. Kathleen’s eyes were liquid, looking up at Yuriko with something like pleading, yearning, and anticipation.

  Yuriko let her fingers slide over Kathleen, as her lips slid over hers. She swallowed Kathleen’s gasp and every bit of that tender mouth. The water was hot, her fingers were hot, but Kathleen burned under her gentle ministrations. She took her time, as leisurely as the water rhythmically sloshing over the sides of the tub.

  She kissed the edge of Kathleen’s lip, feeling her breaths of her cheek stuttering in time with the unconscious jerking of her hips. Yuriko pressed harder, but not too hard and not too deep. Something within her warned her of pressing too far, though she had not the cognitive functions to understand it.

  Kathleen’s hands were on her back, under the shirt soaked against her skin. Her fingers moved in a massage, all of her moving to the same rhythm as Yuriko’s fingers. It was as if Yuriko was a musician, playing a very fine instrument.

  Then Kathleen broke, or maybe transformed. She pressed her head back into the tiled wall, eyes going unfocused. She was mostly silent, body arching into Yuriko, quivering and pulsing. The only sound was her soft, shuddering breaths.

  Yuriko leaned back, her hand spreading over Kathleen's stomach, as if to calm the jerking motion. Then Kathleen relaxed back, eyes blinking back into focus. She looked at Yuriko, flushed, wet, and panting.

  “Yuriko?” It came out as a question, a mixture of confusion and something unidentifiable. “What … what happened?”

  Yuriko’s senses suddenly came back to her. Kathleen was drunk. She was drunk. They shouldn’t have done that. She shouldn't have done that. What was she thinking? She hadn’t been.

  Yuriko quickly stood in the bath, the action causing Kathleen to sway forward, hands trailing down Yuriko’s clothed legs. “Yuriko … ” Kathleen whispered and it almost sounded like a plea.

  Yuriko quickly stepped from the tub, her heartbeat in her ears and not enough air in her lungs. Her mind was buzzing and everywhere that Kathleen had touched was tingling with heat. “We are probably getting overheated. Too much drinking and hot water can be dangerous.
Here, let me get you a towel.”

  She knew she wasn’t being graceful. She was running from the bathroom like a criminal, dripping water onto the floor. She grabbed a couple towels from her bedroom and an old bathrobe. She stripped herself, quickly putting on a pajama shirt and sweatpants before returning to the bathroom.

  Kathleen was just stepping out of the tub, looking around the bathroom like she couldn’t quite remember how she got there. Yuriko threw her a towel and hung up the robe. “Here, you can dry off and put this on. I’ll take care of your clothes.”

  Kathleen stared at her. “Should I … go back to my apartment?”

  She looked so lost and confused. She wasn’t the only one. Yuriko was feeling more than a little dizzy from the alcohol. She needed to lie down and clear her head. She and Kathleen were very drunk and probably very lightheaded from the bath water. The feel of her lips, the touch of her fingers … it didn’t mean anything and they both needed to take a step back.

  “I think that’s for the best.”

  chapter FOURTEEN

  It was barely dawn when a call from Dave started buzzing on Kathleen’s wrist. She was awake, unfortunately, and had been checking her email, debating whether to go into the office today. She would have liked to sleep in, considering how late she had gotten back from work last night. But she and Fukusawa were so close to finishing Ai’s patch. She was almost desperate to get it done.

  It felt like the only thing, in the past week, that was true progress.

  “What do you want?” Kathleen answered the phone, but kept the video off. Her head was killing her and she was pretty sure the rings around her eyes had grown with every hour she hadn’t slept.

  “Always so friendly,” her brother commented. “But at least you answered. What has been keeping you this week? Did you go out of town?”

  Kathleen wished she had. All she had seen for the last three days was her apartment or office. She couldn’t even remember riding the train in between. “Just busy. We’ve had to come out with an update on pretty short notice so I’ve kind of had my nose to the grindstone.”