Chapter 22

“Good job, everyone,” Thomas says as the team gets out of the van in Tokyo, and I notice it in the way they’re acting. They’re not sure what to make of a smiling Thomas. And because of that, they don’t trust it and are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

On the island, we all sort of relaxed. Now, they’re more professional, but Thomas is probably more jovial than they’ve ever seen before.

Kenny glances at me while Randy gives me an appraising look. She grins, and so fast I think I might’ve been seeing things, she flashes me a thumbs-up and grins before schooling her face back to neutral.

“Enjoy your flight,” Thomas offers. “Considering you’re getting empty seats next to you, you should be very relaxed for our meeting on Tuesday.”

Kenny pales a little, and his and Randy’s eyes meet. Thomas might be relaxing, but he isn’t that relaxed. “Of course, Mr. Goldstone.”

When they’re all loaded up, I look at Thomas, half in shock and half in amazement. He turns, giving me a raised eyebrow.

“What?”

“What?” I reply, smirking. “Tommy, you have to notice that you’re acting... strange.”

To say I’d been shocked when he’d suggested that we stay back for an extra two days of pure vacation time on our own would be an understatement. Actually, I’d laughingly asked if he’d ever been on vacation and he’d thoughtfully said no. That he wanted to do this with me was somehow... everything. And more than I could’ve dreamed.

Thomas shrugs, reaching out for my hand. “Maybe I’ve learned a thing or two from you. Or maybe you just make me happy. And guess what? From now until we get on the plane back to SeaTac the day after tomorrow, I’m yours. You’ll have to show me how to ‘vay-cay-shun’ because I’m not sure I know how.”

I laugh at his childlike sounding out of the word. “You may come to regret that,” I joke as we head toward the train station. I already told Thomas that if I’m going to do Tokyo, I’m going to do it the right way. Forget taking taxis around everywhere. I want to experience the real thing—the subways, the trains, everything.

The hard part is that there’s so much I want to do, but my inner geek knows there’s one place I want to go first.

“So... what do you know about Japanese pop culture?” I ask as we buy our tickets at the little electronic machine. “Ever watched anime or listened to the music?”

“I’ve looked up some of the bands you’ve mentioned,” Thomas says, warming me with his first answer. “I actually found one to add into my workout mix. Don’t ask me what it was, but I liked it.”

I clasp my hands to my chin, batting my lashes melodramatically behind my lenses, cooing. “You know just what to say to make my heart go pitter-pat. I’ll make a nerd out of you yet.”

His face lights up, and for the entire forty-five minutes it takes us to make our way to our destination, I do my best to make him smile again and again. I do it because this is the Thomas that I think nobody else in the world gets to see. Just for me. Mine.

It’s not his professional smile, roguishly charming or great-white threatening, depending on the need. It’s not his ironic smirk or his amused half-smile. This is the full-on, blindingly beautiful teeth and secret dimple that I adore smile.

That’s the smile I want, the smile I keep getting from him, and with every flash of it, I find myself falling deeper and deeper for him.

Yep . . . falling.

But somewhere in the middle of that rainstorm on the island, as we slogged through impenetrable curtains of rain and I was miserably wet, I knew I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world. I wanted to be with him, and I knew I’d fallen.

But I just keep falling, more and more, deeper and deeper.

I’m not just going to date him. I’m not just going to explore what it’s like being ‘his’ or letting him fuck me three ways from Sunday and seeing if I can crawl out of bed the next day or if all my bones are still jelly.

There are still a lot of things we don’t know about each other, and those unknown things could sink us like the Titanic meeting an iceberg, minus Celine Dion. But I’m climbing on this ship willingly and excitedly, ready to take the trip with him wherever it may go, even if we sink to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. As long as it’s with him.

“What’s on your mind?” Thomas asks as I smile secretly to myself. “You look like the cat who just got the cream.”

I chuckle and kiss him on the cheek. “I feel like the girl who just got the fairy tale. Girls like me, it takes a lot to get underneath all the layers to our emotions.”

“But what I’ve found underneath is worth the searching,” Thomas replies, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear and cupping my face.

My heart leaps with joy, and as we make our way off the train, I announce, “Welcome to the Mecca of All Things Geeky,” I tell him. “Akihabara!”

“Wait... Akihabara... you mean that group you were teasing me about?” Thomas asks, and I nod. “You’re serious.”

“AKB 48... Akihabara 48,” I explain to him as we walk. There’s music, lights, noise, and neon everywhere, even here in the middle of the day. “This area’s known as Electric Town, and it’s the pulsing, nerdy, slightly pervy heart of all things anime, manga, and video games in Japan. If you’ve seen a Japanese game, if you’ve listened to a Japanese song, if you’ve seen an Internet meme about weird shit in Japan... nine out of ten chance it came from here.”

We see it all. Thomas shocks me as right out of the gate, he asks to stop at the first store he sees. Thankfully, it’s on my checklist too, and we go into the famous Don Quijote discount store. We fight our way through the crowd, laughing at the crazy wildness as a whole gaggle of teens sing and dance to the video playing on the huge screen.

“What are you doing?” I ask, laughing as he holds up his phone and snaps a photo of me in front of some plush figures from Naruto. “I’m a mess.”

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he reminds me, snapping another pic. And then he flips it around and takes a shot of the two of us together.

We both admit that the crowds are a bit much after a few more minutes, and the incessant jingle playing through the speakers is more than our American ears are ready for.

Everywhere we turn, it’s another advertisement, another crush of people, another speaker screaming for attention or lights flashing or... “I swear, shopping in this place is like going through Vegas!”

Thomas laughs. “Vegas on New Year’s Eve!”

We move on, out into the slightly quieter streets, and Thomas is great. He listens as I explain my love of anime and manga in the stacks of a used bookstore, watching me hunt down treasure after treasure.

He insists on buying them, but I refuse, explaining to him that it’s not the books that are important to me but the stories themselves.

“So why not keep them as collector’s items?”

“Mr. Efficiency is telling me to pick up collector’s items?” I ask as I pluck the Eureka Seven DVD out of his hands and put it back on the shelf. “Tommy, first, I have this entire series downloaded onto a flash drive back home in full HD. Second, I don’t speak Japanese, and these don’t come subtitled. While the purists will say that there’s nothing like listening to it in the original Japanese and going with subs if you need them, that doesn’t mean I need them like this. I just want to see them, hold them for a minute.” I pause to see if he understands my weird logic, and when he shrugs, I tell him, “Besides... you’re buying lunch.”

“Lunch? Where?”

I grin, knowing exactly the type of place I want to take him to... if I can find it. “Come on, you’re gonna flip over this one.”

Twenty minutes later, we’re seated in a cafe while a girl in a French maid’s uniform takes our order, her obscenely short skirt barely covering her ass as she giggles and gives us both looks while flirting shyly with Thomas the whole time. As soon as she walks away, though, he rolls his eyes.

“I’ve said it a dozen times today... this place is nuts.”

I look around the cafe, which does its best to mimic an old-fashioned French chalet while still keeping to modern architecture, and nod. “Yeah... but it’s a bucket list thing. Don’t you have a few items on your bucket list?”

“Sure,” Thomas acknowledges as he sips his water. “I’d like to learn how to fly a helicopter, I’d like to go hiking in the Rockies sometime, and I’d like... never mind.” I swear he’s blushing a bit as he dismisses whatever dream crossed his mind.

I reach across the small table, taking his hand. “It’s okay. You can tell me, you know.”

“I’d like to start a school... or a scholarship,” he says quietly. “For kids... give something back to them.”

His words shock me at first. It seems so unlike the staunch businessman who chases profits and annual reports. But as they sink in, I realize that this dream is more him than anything inside the big gold building back in Roseboro. And I love that he shared it with me, letting me in deeper, closer to the root of his soul. “Then do it,” I tell him, smiling. “If you want, we can even do it together. Well, not the scholarship thing. I’m pretty sure any scholarship I can fund wouldn’t even be able to pay for textbooks. But I can help in other ways, research and stuff.”

“You’d do that?” he asks, surprise widening his eyes.

“Hell, yeah. I’d also hike those Rockies with you and climb in the helicopter with you. I’m afraid to say, you might be a little stuck with me, Tommy.”

Thomas swallows and smiles bravely. “Even if I crash and burn?”

I feel like he’s not talking about a rough landing in the helicopter he doesn’t know how to fly, but something more abstract. But I keep the metaphor going.

“I’ve never, in my entire life, known someone who has a smaller chance of crashing and burning than you do. I think... I think if the blades came off the rotor and it was falling to the ground, you’d keep that helicopter up by the sheer force of your will, if necessary. I trust you that much.”

Thomas flushes and nods even as his face pinches a little. I wonder what inner demons are whispering in his ear but don’t push. He’s letting me in bit by bit, even as he’s gushing to support me. And I want to give him time, to trust me and to want to share his story with me. It’s his past to reveal whenever he’s ready, and I’ll accept that as long as he’s making his present and future with me.

After lunch is over, we continue exploring, working the back streets just as much as the main drag of ‘Electric Town.’

We visit a small shrine, elegant wood and water nestled in between two large shops that somehow seem to be in their own quiet little sub-universe.

We poke around in ‘recycle shops’ that are filled to overflowing with used computer parts, haggling with shopkeepers over prices on stuff I don’t really want or need.

But mainly, we do a lot of people watching.

We see people in Super Mario costumes whizzing down the streets in go karts while anime ninjas patrol the sidewalks, magicians do tricks, and guitarists are somehow trying to make themselves heard over everything in between.

“Oh... my... GOD!” I scream at one point, totally fangirling out as I see a poster hung on a wall. “They made a new movie?”

“A new movie of what?” Thomas asks as I grab his hand and drag him over. It’s even better than I could have imagined. “Mia—”

“Sailor Moon!” I yell over the throngs of people gathered around an outdoor screen. “It’s the new movie!”

Thomas obviously doesn’t get it, but he’s smart, and as I join in with the dancing crowd, yelling excitedly, he joins in. I wish I had it on video because the image of a man built like Thomas in the midst of all this and jumping around with me has to be a sight.

Afterward, the noise quiets a little and he pulls me aside.

“Sailor what?” he asks.

“Sailor Moon,” I repeat. “It was... I guess it still is my favorite anime. When I was a teenager, I was really struggling with some body image issues, some other stuff. For the first time, I sort of missed my mother. Well, not my mother, but having a mother, know what I mean? Puberty had hit, and Papa, for all his love, wasn’t quite sure how to handle his little girl becoming a young woman.”

“So, how does that relate to the show?” Thomas asks, leading me toward a cafe. This one’s a cosplay cafe, and ironically, our server is dressed as none other than Sailor Moon herself. As we sip our cream sodas, I give him the down and dirty about the show, and he listens intently the whole time.

“So in the end,” he says, stroking his chin, “the girls transform from normal girls into these... Sailors, go kick ass, take names, and look good while doing it?”

“There’s more than that. There’s a lot of interpersonal stuff, relationships, all of that,” I admit. “I mean, it was like, ninety episodes or something that I’ve chunked down to five minutes here. But it was so cool and made me feel like I could handle things too.”

Thomas smiles, chuckling. “I get that by how you talk about it. So what’s this about cosplay?”

“Getting dressed up like the characters,” I say, pulling out my phone and showing him some pictures. “I know it sounds stupid, but we could...”

“We?” Thomas asks, lifting an eyebrow. “I hope you mean the guy in the tuxedo.”

“Of course, although I’m sure we can find a costume your size in this part of town,” I joke. “You’d make a great Sailor Pluto.”

“Ha-ha.” Thomas looks at the picture, then at me, his eyes gleaming and his voice low. “This isn’t something you can wear in the office.”

“No,” I purr, leaning in, “but maybe in our hotel room? You did make a reservation tonight, right?”

“You’ll see. Fine... but you’re going to owe me for this,” he says, pointing at a picture of a rather slutty version of a Sailor Moon costume.

We go to a few shops, but eventually, I find what I want, even if it does cost more than I’d ever spent on a costume. But Thomas sees my eyes light up as I try it on.

“Thomas, this—”

“Looks great on you,” he says, his voice husky with desire. “And at least you don’t need the wig.”

It feels strange, walking around for the next two hours while the shop makes the adjustments to my costume with the promise that it’ll be delivered to our hotel. Thomas doesn’t even reveal what hotel that is to me, merely humming, a twinkle in his eye that leaves me wondering just how in charge I am of our little jaunt through Tokyo, even if it is more my bucket list than his.

I don’t care. I’m having fun and enjoying time with Thomas as we watch the sun go down and the lights of Electric Town really light up.

“This place,” Thomas says, watching the hustle and bustle that never stops, “it’s special. It’s weird, it’s unique... but I like it.”

“It’s been fun,” I admit, holding his arm, “and thank you. This was near the top of my bucket list and has been the best day I could have imagined.”

“It’s not over yet,” Thomas promises me. We flag a taxi to get to our hotel, and as we pull up in front of the Ritz-Carlton, he holds my hand. “My lady.”

My lady. I do feel like his lady, and as we check in, I look forward to being his even more.

Our suite is luxurious, looking out over the city lights, and as soon as the bellhop leaves, I turn to Thomas, my eyes brimming with tears. “Tommy, all of this, I—”

He takes me in his arms, holding me close as he brushes my hair back and shakes his head softly. “I’m doing this because I want to,” he murmurs, touching his forehead to mine. “I’m not a good man, Mia. So I’m doing this for selfish reasons. Because seeing you happy makes me happy. Because I savor your happiness.”

“Then... how can I make you happy?” I whisper, hugging him. “Because I want to see your happiness too. I think I have here lately, but I don’t want it to end when we leave.”

Thomas crushes me in his grip, and I wrap my arms around him. There’s no passion, that’ll be for later, but instead the comfort and closeness of our burgeoning relationship.

Forget titles. Forget boyfriend, girlfriend, Mia, Tommy... forget all of it.

Instead, I give myself to him in this hug, in the closeness of our bodies, and he gives it back to me just as much, two separate souls slowly growing together.

When we step back, I can see it in his eyes too... or maybe it’s always been there and we’re just seeing it for the first time. I think he’s about to say those three little words, but he swallows and says, “I’ll call room service if you want to get settled in.”

I’m not disappointed he didn’t say it. I can feel it, and I know we’ll get there and are in fact making progress. The thought warms me. “I’m going to rinse off. After you order, why don’t you put on that mask you bought when you thought I wasn’t looking?”

Thomas grins at being caught and nods. I sashay away, going into the huge bathroom where I strip and give myself a quick wash. I don’t want to get my hair wet, so I just spray off the city smell I’ve soaked up.

I want to transform for him.

My costume’s hanging on the back of the bathroom door, and as I take it out, I feel my body responding. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I am.

I skip the bloomers to put on the short blue skirt, the shiny satin whispering against my thighs and ass and making me hum in desire.

Looking into the mirror, I can see my nipples tightening, and if Thomas came in right now, I’d let him have his way... but instead, with shaking hands, I get my hair pulled up into the iconic twin curled ponytails with tiara. It’s not quite long enough to match the character, but I don’t care. I love it, and I do a quick touch-up to my makeup before pulling on the top.

The tailors made it so I don’t have to wear anything underneath, and the silk lining tingles against my naked skin, my pussy clenching lightly as I tuck the zipper tab underneath the red bow on my chest.

Last are the boots, knee-high red heels that cling to my calves, followed by the white elbow-length gloves with their red cuffs. Looking in the mirror, the only thing different from my anime fantasy are my glasses, and I slip them off, marveling at myself.

It’s hard to hold myself back from going out there, but I force myself to wait until I hear Thomas sign for the room service and for the server to leave. Thomas gives me another few minutes, then clears his throat.

“Mia?”

“Are you ready?” I ask quietly, my heart in my throat. I feel sexy, I feel powerful, but I’m also so vulnerable right now. This character, what she helped me with when I was an awkward teen... this isn’t play to me.

Thomas hears me, though, and I hear him moving around on the other side of the door, and a switch flips. “I’m ready.”

Swallowing my worries, I open the door, my breath immediately taken away as I see what he’s done. The room’s filled with candles, at least two dozen golden lights around the room turning the suite into a romantic chamber.

Even more impressive is Thomas. His tuxedo isn’t quite perfect. It’s a modern style instead of the cape and tails from the anime, but considering he’s pulled this off somehow on the sly while I was getting fitted and adjusted, it’s amazing. And his mask is textbook perfect, the red carnation on his lapel iconic. He’s even got a top hat in his hands. He looks me over, bowing when he sees me.

“Fucking beautiful.”

I thought I was turned on before, but watching him as he adjusts his mask and holds out a hand fans the flames inside me. I cross the room to him, putting my arms around his neck and kissing him, chuckling as for the first time, I’m the one who has to adjust to the other person wearing something on their face.

“This means so much to me,” I whisper.

“You mean so much to me,” Thomas replies, gasping as I reach down and grasp the clasp on his tuxedo pants. “What about dinner?”

“Later,” I promise, slowly lowering myself to my knees and opening his pants.

Like me, he’s not wearing any underwear, and his cock emerges from the black zipper already hardening as I wrap my lips around his shaft and start to suck.

I’m no blowjob queen... in fact, I’d refer to myself as a relative newbie. But the feeling of Thomas’s cock sliding over my tongue and lips as I look up into his eyes is pure molten heat. He tastes like a man, feral and powerful, satiny skin over a steel core that pulses when I pull back.

I swallow him again and again, moaning when his cock gives me a delicious bead of precum that I suck down greedily. I hum around the head of his cock, making him growl, and I realize that I’m in charge.

I bob up and down on his cock, and my pussy quivers, arousal dripping down my inner thigh. I want to touch myself, but I’m in total control here, and Thomas is what I’m devoting myself to.

“Oh, fuck,” Thomas moans, gripping one of my ponytails but letting me control the speed. “That feels so good. Suck that fucking dick.”

I look up at him, swallowing him as I seal my lips around his shaft, my hand and my mouth working together as I speed up. He moans, his hips taking over some and thrusting in and out of my eager mouth, both of us giving to each other as I worship his masculinity while he abandons himself to me.

I’m guided by his sighs, the deep throaty rumbles in his chest as he’s pushed higher and higher. I can tell he’s trying to hold out and enjoy the experience even as I push him to give me all he has. I feel him swell, his breath catching in his throat before he groans deeply and the first splash of his salty, tangy cum hits my tongue.

I love it.

It’s just like Thomas, unique and manly, thick and creamy that pulses out of him to fill my mouth until I’m straining to hold it all in.

I don’t let a drop out, though, instead pulling back to show him the naughty, sexy sight of my cum-filled mouth before I swallow, licking my lips and moaning as my pussy clenches beneath my skirt.

“Fuck,” Thomas says, pulling me to my feet and carrying me in his arms to the bed. He sets me down, and I get onto my hands and knees, bending over to let him see my gleaming sex while he strips out of his pants and shoes, leaving him in just his open tuxedo shirt, jacket... and mask. He climbs on the bed behind me, his voice dripping with fresh desire. “So damn gorgeous, Mia. Look at this pretty pussy dripping wet from sucking my cock. Delicious.”

I can’t see him. My skirt is hanging down, blocking my full vision, but I can feel his breath on my pussy and his hands on my ass, rubbing softly and making my hips squirm in time to some silent music going on in his head.

“I’m only going to say this once,” Thomas says, “and maybe I’m a coward for not being able to say it to your face. But when we started this, I didn’t know what came over me. I just wanted to fuck you, I’ll admit. But that’s changed. My life’s never going to be the same. It’s all changed since I met you.”

I don’t have a chance to reply before his tongue invades me, knowingly finding every spot that has me burying my face in the bedspread and my hands balling up, moaning.

“Tommy . . . oh, Tommy, yes . . .”

He doesn’t stop, his hands massaging my ass while his mouth voraciously consumes my pussy from behind, sucking and slobbering and licking until I wantonly shove my ass in his face, desperate for release. He reaches his tongue out further and strokes my clit, just once, and I explode, coming hard while his mouth sucks my juices out, kissing my lower lips in a deep, naughty open-mouthed Frenching that has me shaking, crying out.

I collapse into the bedspread, but a jolt galvanizes my spine when I feel his tongue trace up, leaving my pussy to tickle the space in between before he pulls back, his thumbs spreading my cheeks as he blows warm breath over my ass.

“You said this is mine,” he says, his voice low and the breath warm on my tight hole. “Is it?”

“Yes,” I rasp, breathless after just coming. “It’s... only yours.”

“On the right night, I’ll claim it,” he promises me, and a wave of such utter devotion floods me as I realize he’s heard what I meant to say but didn’t.

I’ve never imagined someone licking my asshole, but when Thomas does, my eyes roll up into my skull. It’s amazing, it’s wonderful... it’s the whole fucking thesaurus squeezed into a single sensation and sent from my most private of places to explode in my brain.

I’m giving him my most tender, private place, and he’s feasting on me, taking it and telling me with every wide lick, every probing press of a stiffened tip against my ring of muscle, every soft suck, that he’s going to do his best to take care of me. It’s what makes me open up to him, and I let out a cry of joy, release, devotion, and desire.

It builds me, it stokes my need, and as he darts deeper into me, it’s almost like the sensations hit my pussy before exploding in my chest... in my heart.

“Tommy... I need you,” I beg, and he pulls back, his cock ready and stiff again. For a moment, I think he’s going to take my ass despite his words, but instead, he plunges deep into my pussy, filling me and making my joy complete.

Complete.

I’m complete when I’m with him like this, woman and man joined together, bodies locked in an embrace of passion and desire. His hands are on my hips, my skirt fisted, as he pumps in and out of me deep and hard, and I push back into him, meeting him as we build to a new peak, higher than we’ve ever gone before.

Lovemaking... not fucking. No, there’s a time to fuck, but what we do is different. It’s hard and soft, sweat and breath and blood and soul mixing together, delivered by way of cock stretching pussy and pussy gripping cock, electricity crackling through us.

It’s pure.

It’s honest.

It’s beautiful.

My climax starts from somewhere inside me that I didn’t even know existed, cascading over itself and sweeping away all other thoughts.

I know Thomas comes too. I can hear him cry out, and this time it’s different than ever before. Before, when I’ve come, everything fades away except the pleasure.

This is different. In an instant, I feel like I truly am superpowered. I see everything, I hear everything, I smell and touch... everything. More than that, I can feel Thomas’s thoughts, I can feel his heart and his soul, I can feel his pleasure as he gives to me.

It’s a moment that I will cherish forever.