Down and Dirty

by Jade, Imari

  “Daddy misses you too,” Ichiro said, tenderly stroking the baby’s cheek and jaw.

  Don’t you dare fall apart.

  Ichiro walked away from the baby and began serving the food.

  Satoshi wasted no time reclaiming his namesake. “Your daddy is the best chef in the world. You need to grow up so you can try this.”

  Ryoto cooed at him like he understood.

  “He’ll be eating strained food soon enough,” Ichiro said. “Right now he’s getting the finest meal in town.”

  Shaundra couldn’t help but smile at the joke.

  Ichiro finally sat down and joined them at the table. “I can’t wait to take them to Kagawa. My family is so excited. They’re the first twins in the family and are considered good luck.” He sighed. “I wished my grandmother was still around. She would have loved them. She used to tell me stories of the blue-eyed gods who visited the earth bestowing blessing on people. So when they discovered I had blue eyes, my birth was celebrated similar to what will go on this weekend.”

  “So the people of your village consider you a god?” Takumijo asked.

  “Not exactly, but I was treated special because of it. But all that ended when my parents died and Daichi moved us here to Osaka.”

  There was so much she didn’t know about him. Maybe rushing into a marriage wasn’t such a good idea.

  Raiden woke up crying and ended the peaceful setting.

  Ichiro was on his feet instantly. He lifted the baby out of the seat and cradled him in his arms. “Hey, Raiden. It’s Daddy. Did you have a nightmare?”

  The baby stopped crying.

  “Check his diaper,” Shaundra told him. “He’s probably wet.”

  Ichiro balanced his son in one arm, slipped a finger though the slit in the sleeper and tested the diaper. “Soaking,” he said. “I’ll change him.”

  “His diaper bag is the blue one,” Shaundra told him.

  “Why two diaper bags?” Takumijo asked.

  “It’s a me thing,” Shaundra said. “I want them to be treated as individuals. It’s bad enough they share a birthday.”

  “So that’s the reason I never see them in matching outfits,” Satoshi said.

  “Yeah. If I treat them like individuals, then everyone else might too.”

  “We’ll be back shortly,” Ichiro said. He left the room with Raiden.

  Satoshi checked Ryoto’s diaper. “He’s still dry.”

  “He’s waiting for dinner,” Shaundra told him, returning to her meal.

  Satoshi gently rubbed Ryoto’s stomach. “You lucky baby.”

  Shaundra smirked. “Yeah, and he knows it.”

  “Where’s Dae-Hyun?” Satoshi asked.

  Shaundra wondered when his name would come up. “Home, hopefully relaxing. His day begins at four thirty in the morning and ends around nine at night.”

  “Ichiro is still pretty upset with him,” Satoshi told her. “He doesn’t think it’s right that you’re out there alone with a stranger.”

  “Dae-Hyun is not a stranger. He’s a friend and my employee. And I really don’t care what Ich thinks.”

  “Do you ever intend to move back in here?” Takumijo asked.

  Shaundra stopped eating again. “I don’t know. I haven’t given it much thought.”

  Ichiro entered the room with Raiden and the conversation ended.

  “My son’s all nice and dry and wide awake.” Ichiro placed the baby back into his seat.

  Ryoto started to cry this time and Ichiro took him away from Satoshi and lifted the baby out the seat. He checked the diaper. “Now he’s wet. Did you get jealous? Or do you want some face time with Daddy?” He left the room with Ryoto and the conversation continued.

  “What do you mean you haven’t given it much thought?” Takumijo asked.

  “I’ve been busy with other things,” Shaundra said. She didn’t owe him an explanation.

  “I bet,” Takumijo said sarcastically. “Or someone else.”

  Shaundra scowled at him. She knew the two of them never had a close relationship, but he’d never been like this toward her. “You’re wrong,” she said.

  “Am I? You’re alone with that big, pretty Korean. I bet you have him crawling around on his knees begging to please you.”

  Shaundra rolled her eyes at him. “You’re so off base it’s frightening, and I don’t see where it’s any of your business anyway. Dae-Hyun has been nothing less than a gentleman since I met him, and has never tried anything with me. He’s a very good nanny to my sons and he makes me feel safe and protected.”

  “Sure,” Takumijo said. “I’m not as gullible as Ich. I know he’s been freaking you.”

  “That’s enough, Tak,” Satoshi said. “You’re stepping way out of line with this.”

  “Don’t interfere,” Takumijo snapped at him. “She has you blind too. And you and Ichiro need to wake up and smell the coffee. She’s never coming back here because she’s got herself another boy toy.”

  The door to the dining room swung open. “That’s enough, Takumijo,” Ichiro said. “How dare you insult my wife?”

  Shit. Time to go. “That’s okay, Ich,” Shaundra said rising. “Takumijo has the right to his own opinion.” She walked over and grabbed her coat off the hook.

  “Where are you going?” Ichiro asked her.

  “Home. I knew it was a mistake to come here.” She took Ryoto out of his father’s arms, scooped Raiden out his seat, and headed toward the door.

  “Wait, let me help you,” Satoshi said, getting out his seat. “I’ll get their bags.” He opened the door for Shaundra and they left the dining room together. He helped her put the boys back into their coats.

  Satoshi grabbed the diaper bags and helped Shaundra put the boys back into their car seats. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Takumijo. He’s an ass, but he’s never insulted a woman before.”

  “Oh yeah? How well do you really know him? I didn’t think Ich had it in him to be cruel, but I’ve discovered otherwise.” She opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat. “Give Tak a message for me. Tell him I’m returning to this place when hell freezes over.”

  Shaundra started the car.

  “Don’t go away angry, Shaundra. I believe you. I know you haven’t slept with Dae-Hyun.”

  “Go inside before you freeze,” Shaundra told him. “I’ve stopped caring what people think of me.” She closed the door.

  Satoshi stepped away from the car and Shaundra drove away. She saw him still standing in front of the house watching her.

  Shaundra fought back the tears. She refused to let Takumijo’s cruel words get to her.

  ****

  Is that Shaundra? Yori watched the blue SUV speed off the compound. He waited for the guard to give him entrance to the property. What is she doing here?

  The guard opened the gate for him and Yori drove toward the farmhouse. He’d been thinking about the conversation between him and the rest of Aomori earlier and couldn’t help but feel that something had gone terribly wrong. He jumped into his car and drove over as soon as Amaya left to spend some time with her parents. He parked in his spot and walked around to the front. The sound of loud arguing met him as he entered the farmhouse. Oh, oh, trouble. He entered the house, closed the door, and ran toward the sound. He found Ichiro, Takumijo, and Satoshi in the den arguing loud enough to wake the dead.

  “Hey, what’s wrong with you guys?” Yori asked, entering the huge room. “I can hear you all the way out front.”

  “They’re just mad because I told Shaundra what I thought of her little living arrangement with that Korean,” Takumijo said.

  “It is none of your damn business,” Ichiro argued. “You ruined my evening with my wife and sons.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Takumijo argued back. “I just said what you were afraid to say to her. You’re here going crazy wondering if she’ll come back to you. Well, the answer is no. Why would she come back when she has someone like him seeing
to her every need?”

  “That’s unfair, Tak,” Satoshi said. “She said there’s nothing happening between her and Dae-Hyun. Why does she have to lie?”

  “You think she’s going to come right out and tell us the truth, Satoshi? She had this planned all along. She took one look at him and couldn’t resist,” Takumijo said.

  “How do you know this?” Ichiro asked. “You never saw him.”

  “I don’t need to see him. I know Shaundra’s tastes. She likes them young and beautiful.” He pointed to Satoshi, Ichiro, and Yori. “She’s probably going to mount that big dick now.”

  Ichiro shoved Takumijo. “She is not. Shaundra would never cheat on me. She loves me.”

  Takumijo pushed Ichiro back. “Sure she does. But you’ve cheated on her and Dae-Hyun is there to pick up the pieces of her shattered little heart.”

  Ichiro swung at Takumijo.

  Takumijo ducked and retaliated by punching Ichiro in the gut. He stepped away quickly, shaking his hand like it was broken.

  Ichiro retaliated by surprising Takumijo with a karate chop to the throat.

  Takumijo groaned, forgetting about his hand and grabbing his neck. “Are you crazy? You could have ruined my voice.”

  The look in Ichiro’s eyes told Yori that he didn’t care about ruining Takumijo’s singing career.

  “Are you so desperate to fuck me that you’d sabotage my marriage and my family?” Ichiro asked Takumijo.

  Takumijo didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. Everyone in the room knew the answer. He pushed past Yori and left the den.

  “What started all of this?” Yori asked his two remaining band mates.

  “Takumijo started questioning Shaundra about when she’d be moving back to the farmhouse. The next thing I knew, he started accusing her of sleeping with her bodyguard,” Satoshi said.

  “Why was she here?” Yori asked.

  “She came over so I could spend some time with my sons, and that big dummy ruined it,” Ichiro said. “It’s the first time she’s been here since she moved out. I took it as a sign that maybe she’s starting to forgive me.”

  “Maybe it was,” Yori said. “But you’ll never know until you ask her.”

  “I didn’t get the chance to,” Ichiro said. “We had just sat down to dinner, and I went up to the nursery to change Ryoto and all hell broke loose. I know he’s never warmed up to her, but why do you suppose he treated her like that?” Ichiro asked.

  “You know why,” Yori answered. “Takumijo likes you and will do what he thinks is right to protect you.”

  “I don’t need his protection. What I need is a way to make this right with my wife.”

  “Then go after her,” Yori said.

  “No, I can’t do that,” Ichiro said.

  “Why not?” Satoshi asked.

  “Because he’s afraid of what he’ll find once he gets there,” Yori explained. “Shaundra is probably crying her heart out to Dae-Hyun as we speak.”

  Both Satoshi and Ichiro stared at him angrily.

  Yori shrugged. “You two idiots do not understand anything about her. Shaundra survives off love. As much as I hate to admit it, she does love you, Ich, but you keep doing things that threaten her feelings for you. And sooner or later, those feelings are going to die and Dae-Hyun will be right there to console her.”

  Satoshi grunted. “Why do you assume that Dae-Hyun has those types of feelings for Shaundra?”

  Yori stared at him. “Other than Takumijo, can you think of one man she knows who doesn’t have those feelings for her?”

  “Shit,” Ichiro said. “She’s like some freaky guy magnet. Even her own babies compete for her time.”

  Satoshi chuckled. “You’re jealous of your own babies. Shaundra is nursing them, not flirting with them. And while we’re on the subject, did you see the size of her sweater puppies?”

  Ichiro shoved Satoshi. “Stop staring at my wife’s breasts.”

  Yori high-fived Satoshi.

  “Of course I saw them. It’s from nursing.”

  “Shaundra’s breasts have grown bigger?” Yori asked. Damn, he is always a day late and a dollar short. Maybe he should go pay her a visit at her new place later just to see how she was doing. He smirked. Even he knew that was a lie.

  Ichiro scowled at him as if reading his mind. “Don’t even think about it.”

  Yori just smiled.

  “What are you doing here anyway?” Satoshi asked him. “You didn’t mention earlier that you’d be stopping by.”

  “Do I need an excuse to come over here? I just came to hear the songs you guys have been working on.”

  “I need to clean up the dining room and kitchen and then I’ll meet you guys in the music room,” Ichiro said. He headed toward the door.

  “I’ll go up and get Takumijo,” Satoshi said.

  “We don’t need him,” Ichiro said. “It’s not like it’s a rehearsal.”

  Yori agreed. Takumijo needed time to cool off. “Yeah, one hot head in the music room is enough.”

  “Screw you, Yori,” Ichiro said. He left the room.

  “Our maknae is getting too big for his britches,” Yori said.

  “Come on,” Satoshi told him. “Ichiro might be a while.” He walked out the room.

  “I’m less concerned about Ichiro and more concerned about Tak. Is it my imagination, or has he been acting a little stranger than usual?” He followed Satoshi out the room.

  “Yeah. It has something to do with those text messages he’s been receiving since last month.”

  “You think they’re from Osamu?”

  “No,” Satoshi said. “I think there’s a new player in town.”

  Chapter Three

  “This is positively inhuman,” Cristal screamed as she tried to walk through the snow from her car to the front door of the KiNii office building. She was a California girl and no way in hell should she be encountering so much snow. And in her new boots no less. “Ooh, ooh,” she said as she felt one foot slide out from under her.

  “Got you,” a deep male voice said behind her. Damien Kehoe, her gorgeous assistant, held her in his arms. Those green eyes twinkled in merriment as he looked down at her. He wore a heavy coat and a fur-lined hat similar to what the Russians wore in Doctor Zhivago. He also wore a pair of suede, fur-lined gloves. “What good are cute boots if you can’t walk in them?” Damien helped her to her feet.

  They’d been working together about a month now, and she was used to his gently teasing manner. “It’s a girl thing,” she said, snuggling into the warmth of her wool coat. “Cute before comfort.” Next year, she planned to invest in a heavier coat because Japanese winters could be brutal and she needed something to cover her ass. Cute had to take second place to comfort, but she wasn’t going to admit it to the New Yorker beside her who’d seen his share of cold weather.

  They walked slowly toward the building.

  “The object is to think warm thoughts,” Damien told her.

  “No, the object is to get inside to the central heating.”

  Damien held the door open for her and she nearly slipped in the lobby. “Mr. Niigata should put a rug here. This damn granite floor is slippery.”

  Damien just smiled. “I hope you brought some flats with you today.”

  “Yes, Mr. Smart-aleck. These boots are just for walking to and from the car.”

  “What time is Distraction coming in?” Damien asked.

  Distraction was Mr. Niigata’s new debut group. Her boss had unceremoniously assigned the trio to her. She shuddered with dismay. Two of the young men were nineteen years old and one was eighteen. And if she thought she had problems with Aomori, she was very much mistaken. These baby-faced demons made her life a living hell. “One,” she answered. “I’ll be needing a whip, a chair, and a sedative to get through the meeting.”

  Damien chuckled as they walked toward the elevator. “They’re not that bad.”

  “Yes, they are,” Cristal said quickly. “Apparently, you’ve never
had to fight off a randy teenage male.”

  Damien continued to chuckle. “No, I can’t say I have had the honor.”

  “It’s no honor. I’ve told them several times that I’m not interested and that I’m too old for them. But they just look at me with those dark eyes and smirk arrogantly.”

  “I suppose you get that a lot from Aomori too.”

  Cristal shook her head. “No, them I can handle. They’re adults and understand the word no. But no to Distraction is like an aphrodisiac, especially Kioshi. He’s eighteen. What am I supposed to do with him?”

  “Go to jail,” Damien answered as they stepped inside the elevator.

  “Very funny,” Cristal said as the door closed and the elevator went up to the top floor of the thirty-four-story building. “And they’re all shorter than me too. It feels like I’m in a daycare center.”

  Damien laughed. “Not everyone is Aomori.”

  True. Those guys had stellar height with great slim builds. And the prettiest faces.

  “Will they be performing at the christening?”

  Cristal jumped in surprise. She’d forgotten about the christening, and she was one of the godmothers. “Yes,” she said, making a mental note to pick up her dress and pack. “They’re scheduled to perform one number and two at Ichiro’s birthday part on Christmas Eve.”

  Mr. Niigata had arranged this elaborate birthday celebration to be televised to the nation. Of course, he had an ulterior motive as always. He planned to use the venue to introduce his new group.

  “My father is so excited about the christening,” Damien told her. “You’d think he was the father.”

  “He could have been,” Cristal teased. It was no secret how Harper Kehoe felt about Shaundra Yoshida. From what she’d heard, he’d been in love with her for years.

  “Don’t even say that in jest.”

  Cristal smirked. Damien was dating Shaundra’s youngest daughter, Tricia.

  “I’d feel like I was marrying my sister even though technically we’re not related by blood.”

  “Look at it like keeping it in the family.”

  “No thanks,” Damien said as they stepped out the elevator and stood in the administration lobby. “I have enough with Kevin.”