Young and Restless Read online

  “What about Kevin?” Estuke asked. “He’s pretty cute and he worships the ground that you walk on.”

  “What?” Tricia asked. “He does not.”

  Both Estuke and Hana nodded.

  “We’re like family,” Tricia said nervously.

  “I can’t believe you’ve never considered him,” Hana said. “I think he’s a much better fit for you.”

  Tricia thought so too. He’d come to visit her a couple of times since she moved in with the Yoshidas and got to spend time with both sisters and their older brother, Daichi. And he did make her happy. But, still, he was Damien’s brother. Was dating him ethical?

  Chapter Two

  “How are you feeling?” Damien asked Barbara on Monday when she arrived at work.

  “I’m much better,” Barbara answered. “The only reason I didn’t press charges was because of you.”

  “Thank you,” Damien said. “I don’t know what came over Tricia. She’s normally not so mean.” It was like he was speaking of a different person. Her kindness and sense of humor was what he liked most about her. Damien gazed over at Barbara. She still had a black eye and a busted lip, but she covered it up with makeup the best that she could. Yipes. This must be embarrassing for her.

  “Did you ever find out why she attacked me?”

  Damien shook his head. “No. I haven’t exactly spoken to her.” He paused. “Are you sure you didn’t do anything to provoke her?”

  “No,” Barbara said. “She was waiting for me after I came out of the stall. I barely had time to dry my hands when she got after me, accusing me of sleeping with you and trying to take you away from her.”

  Hmm, Damien thought. The four of them had been having a nice time dancing and talking earlier that night and he didn’t understand what had set Tricia off. “But that’s ridiculous. You and I are friends.”

  “That’s what I tried to tell her, but she wouldn’t listen. She just started hitting me.”

  Barbara looked as if she was about to cry.

  Damien put his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t get upset. I’ll talk to Tricia and get her to apologize. This is so out of character for her.” He removed his arm.

  “Maybe she’s on drugs,” Barbara said. “She could have taken something that disagreed with her.”

  “Oh, no. Tricia is a health nut. I don’t ever remember her being sick and the only medication I ever saw her take was aspirin.”

  “It’s been two years, Damien, since you’ve seen her. Maybe she’s depressed. Antidepressants sometimes make good people loopy.”

  “I suppose,” Damien said trying to think of Tricia acting irrationally since coming to Osaka. Nope. He couldn’t think of any incident. And he was sure Tricia would have mentioned being sick to him.

  Barbara changed the subject. “What time is Kazumi due in?”

  Damn, he’d forgotten about them for a moment. “Ten, and then I am taking them to perform at a nursing home.” Manami Ota, the lead singer had squawked when she found out about the performance. She was quite the prima donna and didn’t want to perform for a group of old people. Her manager, Maki Goto, had explained to Manami that it was all a part of becoming an idol.

  “Ah, I was hoping you were free to join me for lunch today,” Barbara said.

  “I don’t know,” Damien said. “That depends on how long the performance goes.”

  Barbara chuckled. “Let’s hope it goes more smoothly than their rehearsals. I’ve never seen idols argue so much.” Barbara looked down at her watch. “Oh, I better get to work. Mr. Niigata usually has a lot of things for me to do in the morning.” She waved goodbye and left the administration office.

  Damien got a cup of coffee and walked back to his office. He wanted to call Tricia, but decided against it. He didn’t know what to say to her. Maybe he should just wait for a few days to let her cool down. Damn. He wished his boss, Cristal Gentry, was in town instead of in Spain with Distraction and Aomori. She always had good advice when it came to relationships.

  Damien’s telephone rang. He picked it up. “Hello?” It was his secretary, Izumi, informing him that Kazumi’s manager had called and they were on their way. Damien liked the way Izumi and Kazumi sounded alike. “Arigato,” he replied and then he hung up the phone. He searched the net while he waited trying to find the symptoms for depression. He was knee deep in medical jargon when someone knocked on his door. “Come in,” Damien said loud enough for the person to hear him.

  The door opened and the three young women and their manager entered.

  “Konnichiwa,” he said rising and bowing to them.

  “Konnichiwa,” they said to him as they came in and sat down.

  Their names were Hoshimi Sakamoto, Manami Ota, and Kana Mura. The name Kazumi meant beautiful harmony, and Mr. Niigata had the idea that they could be the female version of Distraction. He had recruited them several years ago and just recently put them under Damien’s guidance. This was the first group he’d managed on his own, because originally he’d been hired to be Cristal Gentry’s assistant. Now Keiichi was giving him a chance to fly solo. He hoped he could do a great job with Kazumi because they were really talented women when they weren’t arguing.

  “Good morning, ladies. Are you ready for your performance?” Damien asked.

  Hoshimi and Kana nodded enthusiastically. Manami didn’t answer, but just smirked smugly at him.

  Damien knew she would do a good job despite her dislike of performing for a small audience. She’d told him he was wasting her talent. He had to admit the young woman had a decent voice, but he’d heard better, and she could be easily replaced. “Now, I want all of you to be on your best behavior. We are going there to entertain the sick and the shut-ins who don’t get a chance to do anything other than sit around the home all day.”

  Besides Kazumi there would be other performers, but Kazumi was scheduled to perform first because they had another obligation.

  “What do old people know about our music?” Manami asked.

  “Probably nothing,” Damien answered honestly. “But they might like the company. Look at it as doing a good deed.”

  “Okay,” Manami said much too quickly.

  Damien had been around them long enough to know that Manami would want something for cooperating. His cell phone buzzed. Damien pulled it out of his pocket and looked down at it. “Our chauffer has arrived,” he announced.

  “We have a chauffeur?” Kana asked.

  “Yes,” Damien said. “It’s a surprise from Mr. Niigata.”

  “Is he cute?” Hoshimi asked.

  Damien rose. “You’ll have to be the judge of that. Ladies, it’s time to go.”

  Hoshimi, Kana and Manami exited the door first, followed by Maki and Damien.

  “We’ll be back later,” he said to Izumi.

  Izumi rose and bowed. “Yes, Mr. Kehoe.”

  Damien escorted the women to the elevator and out of the building. A van with the pictures of the three young ladies waited at the curb. He heard squeals of excitement from the girls.

  The driver got out and walked around to meet them.

  “It’s a girl,” Hoshimi said unhappily.

  “No, you’re a girl and I’m a woman,” the chauffeur said. “My name is Ikenai Hirogi and I am your new driver.” She bowed politely.

  The looks on the faces of all three members of Kazumi was priceless. He’d hired the tall and beautiful female so there would be no flirting or arguing over a male driver.

  Ikenai held the door open and everyone climbed into the plush vehicle. It had leather seats, cup holders, makeup mirrors and a working DVD and stereo system.

  Ikenai closed the door and went around and got into the driver’s seat.

  “Well, what do you think of your new accommodations?” Damien asked Kazumi.

  “Sweet,” Kana said.

  “I like it too,” Hoshimi said.

  Maki, their manager nodded and cracked a rare smile.

  “It will do,” Manami sai
d. “And the driver is cute.”

  Damien sighed. Well, at least they had agreed on something.

  Chapter Three

  “We’re going to be late if you don’t let me up,” Cristal Gentry said to Kioshi Yamazaki when they were supposed to be getting up and going to the airport. They had stopped off in France for a couple of days to attend a fashion show before they began their tour.

  “No we won’t,” he said, grinding into her. “Your body is just too fine not to savor.”

  He’d been especially horny lately and very seductive. So seductive that she found it hard to say no to him. “Oh! Oh! Oh, Lord!” Cristal shouted. Kioshi was really laying it on her. For a short guy he had a big dick.

  “You’re so wet,” Kioshi said. “Oh, it feels so good.”

  The orgasm caught her off guard. “Oh, shit baby.” Her body shook and her pussy throbbed.

  Kioshi followed her over the edge. “Oh, Cristal baby.”

  Cristal felt the heat from his sperm deposit deep inside of her.

  Kioshi kissed her on the back of the neck once his dick stopped spurting. “I love you. Your body rocks.”

  Cristal bucked his narrow butt off her.

  Kioshi rolled over on his back. “Do you think we can get a later flight? Taming the Amazon princess sucked the life out of me.”

  Cristal hit him with a pillow. “No, you creep. Get up.” She slid off the bed. Her legs shook. Damn, I must be out of my mind dating a nineteen year old. The man of her dreams followed her into the bathroom and turned the water on in the tub. He added bubble bath and watched the water rise to the top. He stepped in and turned the faucet off. Kioshi held out his hand for her to join him.

  Cristal stepped inside the warm water and sat down. Kioshi washed her back. Moments later, she felt his cock poking her from behind. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Kioshi wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t help it if you have a sexy body.”

  Cristal got him off this time with her soapy hand. They bathed and got dressed before he could get turned on again.

  Cristal and Kioshi rode the elevator down with their luggage so they could put it on the bus that Keiichi Niigata had rented to transport Distraction and Aomori to the airport.

  “You look exhausted,” Satoshi Hayashi said to Cristal when they went back inside the hotel to eat breakfast with the rest of their crew.

  “It’s Kioshi’s fault,” Cristal said.

  Kioshi chuckled wickedly next to her.

  Cristal reached over and pinched him on the thigh.

  “Ow, woman. Don’t take it out on me because you can’t resist my good loving.”

  “Ew, dude, we’re eating breakfast,” Izanagi Kato said as he wolfed down his waffles.

  Satoshi had a blank look on his face, and then he seemed to figure out what she and Kioshi had been doing to make her so tired.

  Ichiro Yoshida put a glass of orange juice in front of her. “Here, drink this. It will give you some energy.”

  “Thanks,” Cristal said. “I haven’t been feeling well lately.”

  “Maybe you should stop doing the nasty with your boy toy,” Takumijo Yamazaki said.

  “I will if you will,” Cristal said to Takumijo.

  “Don’t put me in this,” Terrie Jones said eating his fruit. “And I’m not a boy.”

  “Me either,” Kioshi said. “Hiroyuki, where is my chocolate milk?”

  Hiroyuki Ikeda, the leader of Distraction, handed Kioshi the chocolate milk in his favorite travel-size Scooby Doo cup.

  “You forgot my sippee straw,” Kioshi told Hiroyuki.

  Terrie chuckled at Kioshi. “Yeah, you’re not a boy, you’re a brat.”

  Kioshi poked his tongue out at Terrie.

  Their managers Masaaki Fugimoto and Saburo Maeda entered the dining room.

  “What are you guys doing still eating?” Masaaki asked excitedly. “We have to be on a plane in two hours.”

  “The luggage is already loaded on the bus and everyone is here,” Yori Morioka said. He’d been sitting at the end of the table eating and reading the newspaper.

  Hiroyuki and Ichiro started taking the empty plates and bowls off the tables.

  “We’ll be ready to go as soon as we settle the bill,” Ichiro said to Masaaki.

  Kenshin came inside. “The driver is ready for us to start boarding.”

  “I have to pee before we go,” Cristal said.

  “Women,” Takumijo said sarcastically.

  “I have to pee too,” Terrie informed him. He hurried out the door along with Cristal, racing her to the restrooms.

  Cristal went into the ladies room and Terrie ducked into the other one. She barely got into the stall before her breakfast came up. Cristal felt much better once she brushed her teeth and gargled. Thankfully, she’d remembered to tuck toothpaste, toothbrush, and mouthwash into her purse. She headed back to the dining room. She would take a nap once she got on the plane.

  ****

  No matter where they went the crowds were always large, Cristal noted as they walked through the terminal of the Madrid International Airport Barajas. Fans screamed out the idols’ names. The members of Aomori and Distraction waved and stopped to pose for pictures and sign autographs. All seven of the young men were dressed in the height of fashion from form fitting jeans to designer suits. This crowd, Cristal had to admit, was very well-behaved. The majority of them had out their cell phones and was busy making memories. Cristal just felt better that there was enough security to go around.

  They would be in Madrid approximately one week and then they would be off to Barcelona. Cristal was feeling a little better now than she had when they left Paris, but she was far from feeling one hundred percent.

  Someone in the crowd recognized her and shouted her name. “Cristal!”

  Cristal waved and kept walking.

  A young woman tried to grab Yori and the security stopped her just in time. “Please don’t touch him, ma’am.”

  “It’s time to get everyone out of here,” Masaaki said. He reached for his walkie-talkie. “This is Masaaki,” he said to the bodyguards. “Let’s get these groups out of the airport and onto the buses.” He put the device away and things started happening. Aomori and Distraction and the rest of the J-Pop groups were whisked quickly down the aisles and out of the terminal behind their carts of luggage.

  It took nearly an hour to get everyone accounted for and aboard the three large buses after they exited the terminal. The security for the groups traveled in rented vans behind them.

  Kioshi fell asleep as soon as the bus left the parking lot.

  Cristal shook her head. He can fall asleep anywhere. She walked down the aisle checking to make sure everyone was present. Hiroyuki was reading and Izanagi was listening to music. Saburo was busy sketching something in his drawing tablet and Shiro Chiyo was playing video games with Kenshin via their cell phones. Satoshi and Takumijo were asleep, Ichiro was texting, and Yori was listening to something on his MP3 player. Cristal walked up the aisle to her seat, pulled out her e-reader and began reading a book she’d just downloaded. She peeped out of the window. Kioshi was missing some great historical landmarks as they traveled through Madrid. The two of them had planned to take a lot of pictures and have loads of fun while they were away from Osaka. Cristal felt bad for being ill most of the time they were in Paris, but Kioshi promised he’d bring her back there for a romantic holiday. For a badass, he had a heart of gold and he never ceased to amaze her.

  “Oh, look at the shopping mall,” Cristal heard Izanagi say. “Can we stop?”

  “No,” Saburo answered. “We’re on a very tight schedule and you have enough clothing.”

  “Bite your tongue,” Izanagi said. “No one ever has too much clothes.”

  Izanagi could only be described as a shopaholic. No matter where he went, the young man had to buy something, even if it was a pack of gum.

  Izanagi was born and raised in the United States. Izanagi or Iggy as he was aff
ectionately known was about to turn twenty-one and thought he was God’s greatest gift to women. He was the most immature of the trio that made up Distraction because he still played video games and pranks, and he didn’t seem to worry about the future. And even though he flirted with a lot of women, he didn’t have a steady girlfriend. She supposed it was hard for these guys to date because they were gaining in popularity. They were supposed to appear single so the fan girls could dream about them with hopes of marrying one of them.

  But dating was not impossible. She and Kioshi, the youngest member, had been in a relationship for several months. Hiroyuki, Distraction’s leader, was involved with his friend Shiro. Everyone knew, but no one said anything.

  Hiroyuki had recently changed his appearance while on tour. He’d dyed his black hair auburn. This made him appear handsomer than ever in a pretty way. All three members had really clear skin and Hiroyuki had nice eyes and a pleasant smile. Of the three, Cristal felt he had more of his future planned out. He had a good head for business and knew he needed something else to fall back on when his idol days were over.

  Cristal glanced over at Kioshi. He was still sleeping peacefully like he didn’t have a care in the world. Cristal loved him even though she was seven years older than him. Kioshi was wise beyond years and very arrogant. He had set his mind to being in a relationship with her from the moment they first met, even though she used to think he was a kid. But Kioshi had proven himself more loyal than any guy she’d ever dated. He was amazing in the bedroom and saw to her needs as well as his own. And even though his singing made women wet between the knees and faint, Kioshi only had eyes for her. Cristal sighed. She hoped his dream of a future with her came true, but she loved him enough to not interfere with his career. She would rather walk away from him than hurt him.

  Kioshi moved in his seat and a platinum curl slid down his forehead.

  He’s so cute. I’m a very lucky woman.

  The bus finally came to a stop.

  “We’re here,” Saburo announced.

  Cristal reached over and gently shook Kioshi. His eyelids rolled back, revealed dark chocolate eyes. Cristal’s heart thudded. He didn’t have in his blue contacts but she liked him natural without stage makeup and shiny costumes. She’d seen a picture of him as a child. He’d had dark hair then. He was so adorable.