"Congratulations on your success," Harper said to Shaundra the next morning after they had all gathered in the hotel restaurant for breakfast.
"What are you talking about?" She was still in a rotten mood and didn't want any shit from Harper.
He pushed the newspaper he had been reading toward her. "You made front page news. The headlines."
Shaundra stared down and gulped. "I'm dead." It was the magazine cover featuring her and Yori. It looked real sensual even in smaller print.
She read the caption. "America's most prolific erotic author and Japan's bad boy pop star make beautiful music together." She sighed. "Crappy title and a bunch of lies. Can I sue them?" She passed the newspaper to Dorothy who looked like she had a hard night. "What time did you get in last night?" The last time she'd seen Dorothy, she had been headed back to the hotel to have a few drinks with John Sampson.
"About four hours ago and, yes, I do have a killer headache."
"Sounds like you had fun."
"Yes, and I got laid too," she announced.
Shaundra nearly choked on her coffee.
"I kind of like this caption," Dorothy replied. "But I could change my mind once I have some more coffee." She passed the newspaper to Riley who hadn't recovered from Dorothy's admission. He looked over it and passed it to Jackson who also looked like he'd been drinking all night.
"That's a mighty fine picture, Shaundra dear. When is the wedding?"
"Never," she said to Jackson. "He's engaged to someone else."
"Oh, yeah," Jackson replied. "I think I met her last night. She was at the after-concert party with her parents."
"Yes, that was her."
"Did he introduce her to you?" Dorothy asked.
"No. I stayed as far away from them as possible. I'm in enough idle gossip, not to mention I'm probably the most hated woman on the continent. I wouldn't be surprised if Aomori's fan club has a contract on my head."
"Well, you did look extra cozy with Ichiro last night," Jackson replied.
Shaundra felt a blush heat up her face.
"Don't think I didn't see the two of you leaving the party early." He winked at her.
Harper wasn't amused. "Shaundra, really? He's a kid."
"No, he isn't. He came back here and went to sleep. He was tired, and didn't any of you notice that he performed one hell of a concert last night? He wrote most of their songs including that beautiful Romanticism they performed at the end."
"Did anyone notice that they didn't return to the stage?" Riley asked.
"Mr. Niigata probably thought the fans were going to storm the stage after seeing Shaundra getting busy with Yori on that billboard," Jackson replied.
"Why are you doing this to me, Jackson? What did I ever do to you?"
"Just funning with you, chica."
"You're stepping on the wrong toes, Jackson. And besides, she's not sweet on either of them. I think she likes Satoshi," Harper replied.
"My money's on Ichiro," Riley said. "With that pretty face."
"He's pretty sensitive about his looks," Shaundra warned. "So lay off him."
"Ooh, I'm into the sensitive types," Jackson replied. "Maybe I should pay him a little visit."
"He's not gay," Shaundra informed him.
"How do you know?" Jackson asked suspiciously.
"Because women know these things. He's not gay."
The waitress finally brought their food, ending their conversation.
Yori and his soon-to-be in-laws walked into the restaurant and sat at a table not too far away. Shaundra looked over at Amaya. She was a really cute girl with long, black hair, a petite build and brown eyes.
Amaya raised her head and looked over at her. Then, she did the most childish thing. She rolled her eyes at her and tossed her hair before turning her head back around to face Yori.
"I think you just made an enemy," Dorothy told her.
"I'm not afraid of a little girl," Shaundra replied.
Dorothy laughed. "Your ass is knee-deep in Kimchi. I hope you get home in one piece."
Shaundra attacked her breakfast with relish. She was halfway through her meal when her international cell phone rang. This was the first time it had done so since she'd arrived in Tokyo. She answered it quickly, fearing an emergency back home. "Hello."
It was Donald. "When are you coming home?"
Was he crazy? International phone calls costed a fortune. "In a couple of days. Why?"
"Why? Your face is posted all over the newspaper with some Asian guy."
"Is that the only reason you are calling, Donald."
"What do you mean by that? Who is this guy?"
"A singer. It's a publicity stunt. Why are you getting so upset?" She rose, moved away from the table and walked out into the restaurant foyer to continue her conversation without further annoying the diners.
"I don't like it."
She didn't expect he would. "How did you get your hands on a Japanese newspaper? The story just broke this morning."
"What are you talking about? I'm looking at the front page of our local newspaper."
Shaundra gulped.
"Are you cheating on me?" he asked.
"No, I have no time for such foolishness."
"Maybe not, but something is wrong. I've been sensing it for some time."
"I don't understand what you're trying to say."
"Maybe we need to separate for a while."
Shaundra took the phone away from her ear, not quite believing what she'd just heard, and then put it back to continue the conversation. "You waited until I was across the world to say that?"
"I'm sorry," he said. "I've been feeling this way for a while. I think the spark has gone out of our relationship."
"Maybe so." She paused. "Who is she?"
"Huh?"
"Who are you breaking up with me for?"
Donald chuckled weakly. "I never could pull anything over on you.
I've met someone else. You don't know her."
"Look, I was having breakfast with my boss and the other authors I came here with. I better get back in before they get worried."
"I'm sorry," Donald apologized.
"Don't be," Shaundra replied. "Have a nice life." She disconnected the call and walked back into the restaurant, still in shock.
"Is anything wrong?" Dorothy asked as Shaundra sat back down.
"I just got dumped."
Everyone stopped eating.
"What?"
"That was Donald. He saw the picture of me and Yori in a newspaper back home this morning. Then he told me he found someone else."
"Is he telling you the truth about another woman or is his ego hurt because he saw the picture?" Riley asked.
Shaundra shrugged her shoulders and poured herself another cup of coffee before answering Riley. "No, he said something about we've been drifting apart."
"Oh, you poor thing," Dorothy cooed. "You must be devastated."
Shaundra sipped her coffee. "Not really. I had plans to break it off with him when I got home. He just saved me the trouble."
"So, what are you going to do now?" Harper asked.
She could hear the hope in his voice.
Ichiro chose that moment to enter the restaurant.
"Oh, I'll think of something."
Yori looked out of the curtain on the second night of the concert. The crowd was just as large as the previous night. "Mr. Niigata is always right," he told the others who waited patiently for their turn to perform.
The only thing different was that they got to go home afterwards instead of attending a party. This, he was thankful for because he was meeting Amaya and her family for a late dinner.
"Why are you so nervous?" Satoshi asked, watching him suspiciously.
"I've got plans later and I want to get this over with."
That piqued Satoshi's curiosity. "Anything you want to share?"
The other two members stopped doing what they were doing and waited for him to answer.
"I'm having dinner with Amaya and her parents."
"You poor thing," Takumijo teased with a grin. "You're having dinner with a beautiful woman and her parents who think the world of you. You have our sympathy."
"Bastard," Yori replied. "You know they're going to get on my case about my posing with Ms. Morrison. That picture made all the world newspapers and the fan girls have been blowing up my website with comments about what a monster I am for doing this to them."
Ichiro snickered but did not comment.
"It's not funny, Ich."
"Yes, it is," he replied. His cell phone went off. He said hello and walked away.
"One of these days, I am going to kick his ass," Yori threatened.
"Why?" Satoshi asked.
"You know why. Ichiro has changed and not for the better."
"You're just jealous because he's dating Ms. Morrison."
"When did this happen?" Takumijo asked. "And why didn't you guys tell me?"
Satoshi and Yori looked at him.
"Where have you been?" Satoshi asked.
"Busy having a life," Takumijo replied. "When did they start dating?"
"Yesterday," Satoshi answered. "Didn't you see them together at the after-party? Oh, no, I forgot. They snuck out together before you arrived with Osamu." He paused. "Speaking of which, didn't Mr. Niigata tell you to stay away from him?"
Takumijo tossed his head, sending his hair flying around his eyes. He brushed it back with his hands. "Mr. Niigata does not own me. I can be friends with anyone I choose."
Yori smirked. "You talk shit. He doesn't own you until he has to get your ass out of trouble."
Takumijo rolled his eyes. "This isn't about me. We were discussing Ichiro and his dating." He turned back to Satoshi. "What do you mean he snuck out of here last night with her?"
"Just what I said."
Takumijo leaned against a wall. "Do you think he scored?"
Satoshi nodded his head and smiled. "Yes."
"No," Yori answered. "He did not."
"How do you know?" Takumijo asked Yori. "Did you follow him?"
Yori turned his head sharply. "Of course not. Why would I do something like that?"
"Because..."Satoshi replied.
Yori glared at him, daring him to continue. "You better go find Ich.
It's almost time for us to go on."
Satoshi rose and lumbered off, leaving him alone with Takumijo ,who had left his position on the wall and was busy primping in a full-length mirror. Satoshi returned a few minutes later with Ichiro in tow, fixing his clothes and wiping his lips.
"Found him," Satoshi announced.
Yori glared at both of them and then went over to inspect Ichiro. He sniffed. It wasn't Ichiro's usual cologne that caught his attention, but Shaundra's.
"Where were you?"
"Caught him sneaking back into the building," Satoshi announced.
"You left this building and went somewhere unchaperoned?" Yori asked angrily. Sometimes, being their leader worked his nerves. It had been okay when they were younger, but they were now full grown, headstrong men.
"I wasn't alone," Ichiro announced.
"Where is she?" Yori asked.
"Gone," Ichiro replied sheepishly. "She came to wish me luck."
Yori used his thumb to wipe Shaundra's lipstick from Ichiro's lips.
"Not your usual shade. Go fix yourself."
Ichiro damn near floated back to the dressing room to have someone repair is makeup.
"Damn," Yori replied. "It's true."
Satoshi gloated and nodded. "See. He must have been real good in bed last night if she's sneaking out to meet him for a kiss."
Yori raised his hands in the air in defeat. There was no way he could prove to either of them that nothing had happened between Ichiro and Shaundra last night without revealing that he had snuck over there to check on them.
Ichiro came back in just as their intro music began and followed them out onto the stage, taking his place next to Yori like everything was fine between them. An hour and a half later, Yori rushed off the stage and into the dressing room to change and remove his makeup.
Ichiro came in the room behind him to do the same thing.
"What are you in a hurry for?" Yori asked him.
"Date," Ichiro replied. He wiped the makeup off like a pro, washed his face and then changed into some street clothes. He dashed out of the door, leaving Yori dumbfounded and pissed, and he hated feeling that way.
Satoshi was right. It was all his fault.
But he didn't have time to dwell on his misfortune. Yori left out of the back stage door and walked down an alley until he reached a walkway that led to the Dome Mall. Traffic from the concert still streamed from every direction, which he avoided, trying to make it back to the hotel without being noticed by the fans as they made their way home.
Yori jumped over a low hedge and then hurried up the walkway that led to the lit front of the Dome Hotel. He used his key card to let himself in and then hurried to the elevator and boarded it. Moments later, he exited on his floor, hoping not to run into Ichiro or Shaundra as he quietly turned the corner to his room.
Once inside, he took a quick shower, dressed and then telephoned the Saitamas. He had a decision to make tonight before they left in the morning. Did he want for things to remain the way they were or did he want to take a chance on something new? Hopefully, the answer would come to him tonight over dinner.
He closed his door and then went back downstairs to the lobby to wait for the Saitamas to arrive.