What if… I open my eyes and you are still here.
It was Monday, and the watch on Alex's wrist showed 01:50. The band had rescheduled their night out to Sunday, since they had been too tired Saturday night. They were in the Orto bar, in a hard rock establishment, and to Alex's surprise, considering the day and time, it was quite crowded.
Alex stood behind the little high round table they were using, because all the low ones with the chairs by the walls were occupied, and nursed a Bandidos Ice. His eyes were on the red-haired guy that was twisting his limbs, shaking his hips and head banging amid the hot waves of bodies. The rainbow of flashing lights pulsed with the music and reflected on the redhead's gyrating body, giving him an enchanting halo.
"He looks great, doesn't he?" Siva yelled over the loud music.
"His legs are too wide apart, his head's banging too deep and he doesn't have a sense for the rhythm. It looks wrong."
Siva's laughter floated over the music. "And still, you can't tear your eyes away from him."
"Yeah…. I mean no." Alex's cheeks were dusked with pink when he turned toward Siva. He liked Siva, liked his easy, friendly attitude. Alex's fingers fidgeted with his bottle as his gaze travelled around over the sweat drenched Siva, to the smiling, semi-drunk Ame who was leaning all her weight on the table, and over the two tall, motionless figures of the bodyguards… Everywhere except the dance floor.
"Don't be shy," Siva poked him with his elbow.
"I'm not—"
"Kanpai." Ame lifted her glass of tequila and drained it in one gulp, then slammed it down on the table. "Odorimashoo (Let's dance)." She grabbed Alex with one hand and Siva with the other, and pulled them onto the dance floor among the swaying bodies, where Kato and the other band members were.
Siva grinned and hip bumped Alex. "Dance."
"Yeah, yeah." Alex rolled his eyes, and then closed them, letting the music wash over him, pulse through him until he felt it in every fibre of his body. He opened his eyes and focused on the vibration that flowed through him as he started to move his body.
Hands grabbed his hips and a warm body pressed against his back.
Alex jumped in surprise, losing his rhythm. He pulled away from the hands and looked over his shoulder at the intruder. He loved to dance, to lose himself in the music, but he hated being molested like that, because it was usually guys who intrude like that. Those guys usually mistook him for a girl, because of his long hair and their intoxicated state, and that never brought anything good, just snarls and threats.
Kato raised his hands as if to say, "I'm not touching you anymore" and smiled in apology. "Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."
Alex turned around to face Kato and resumed swaying his hips. He leaned toward Kato, raising his voice to be heard over the music. "It's ok. Just…" He looked around. He doubted that the crowd, mainly hard core rockers, would look kindly on two men dancing together. "Maybe it would be best if you don't do that again."
Kato nodded like he understood. "I'm just used to dancing like that, from the stage."
Alex flashed a small smile, because he felt like he should and continued dancing. He was turning around, swinging his hips and waving his arms to the beat of the music, song after song, with Kato on one side and Siva on the other. When a thin layer of perspiration appeared on his eyebrows, it was, in his opinion, time for a little break.
He signalled a time out to his company and went toward the stairs that were in the corner of the room. He went down the stairs, passed the long counter of the bar and went outside. He pulled a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket. He leaned back with his foot on the wall behind him. He took one death stick out from the pack, lighted it and took a deep drag.
"Here." Siva appeared beside him and in his outstretched hand was Alex's jacket.
Alex took the jacket and put it on. "Thanks, but you didn't have to."
"I know." Siva flashed a row of white teeth. "I really came here for the smoke, if you'll give me one."
"Sure." Alex gave a cigarette to Siva and after it was between Siva's lips he lit it. "I didn't know you smoke."
"I do." Siva copied Alex's posture, closed his eyes and breathed in deep, then exhaled. "How I missed this." He opened his eyes. "I did smoke, before Kato forced us to quit. Now I'm more or less a social smoker."
"Well, I'm trying to quit, but I just haven't succeeded yet." Alex smiled. He wished he could be just a social smoker, but he doubted he could.
"Come to live with us and Kato will make sure you'll quit."
"Is he that forceful? He doesn't look it." In Alex's opinion Kato had the look of a royal prince with a knight's mannerisms and, judging from his dark outfits, he was a wonderful mix of fairy tale meets punk. That didn't in any way seem like a person who'd do anything to get his way.
"He's passive aggressive. He knows how to gently persuade people to see his way or at least to indulge him."
"I see."
xxx
Alex tilted his head to the side and in his half-asleep state started to roll from his back to his side, the same as he did every morning before he let himself slowly drift out of the lovely state called dreaming. When he found he couldn't move he realized there was a weight on his arm and another across his belly.
What was going on?
He opened one eye and saw only a mop of red hair.
What the hell?
He looked around.
Yup, it was his home.
He hadn't brought a guy home, had he? He couldn't. It wasn't in him, not even in his most drunken states…. Maybe it was possible to end up in somebody else's bed in those rare states, but not to take someone into his. But that didn't change the fact that there was another head beside his on his pillow.
He tried to pull his arm out from under the red-haired guy while he thought through yesterday evening's events.
The last thing that he remembered was…
Was…
Was cursing at and begging the tall, blonde bodyguard, Jim or John, to help him remove a human octopus from his person. But that jerk just laughed and said that he should have listened to him when he said not to go near the drunk, half-asleep singer.
So, Alex reasoned, that probably means that this red hair belongs to Kato.
That Kato was in his lovely, clean, comfortable bed, in the bed that was for Alex only... Well, for him plus a very few privileged people. Even though he adored Kato's voice, the singer wasn't one of those privileged people, especially not when Kato was the one who didn't want to get back in the car when they drove Alex to his place, insisting that he was going to spend the night at Alex's to see how normal people live. (Normal people. Normal people! The nerve of that guy.) And then of course his personal bodyguard had to come with him too, who assured him that there was no way to persuade Kato to change his mind, not in the state he was in.
Alex decided that he didn't like Jim—or was it John—because he was the one who made him give up, the one that let Kato wander into his bed after his shower. And he was the one that said that he wasn't getting close to the singer and that he shouldn't either, not telling him why, but letting him get all felt up by a very drunk and clingy singer, when he was about to push that singer out of his lovely, clean bed.
Kato murmured something and snuggled even closer, his head coming to rest partly on Alex's shoulder. The hand that was a minute ago resting on Alex's waist was now high on his chest and a leg was thrown over his thighs, almost brushing his erection.
Shit. Alex closed his eyes, his breath shallow and quick. His morning erection. His damned morning erection. Think nuns, think accidents and autopsies—just don't think about the very hot man beside you, who is moaning quietly in your ear and rubbing himself against you.
What the…?
Alex stiffened and fisted his hands. The air in the room suddenly became suffocating and heavy.
A long second passed and the gentle sliding pressure at his hip only increased in its strength, making a hot blush spill across Alex's face. It was so hard to breathe.
Fingers clawed at his chest and a hushed moan echoed in the room.
Alex opened his eyes again and was greeted with a gorgeous, flushed face. Kato's eyes were still closed, and the low sounds coming from between half-opened pink lips. Alex felt the blood pumping, rushing, pulsing in his veins. He shot up into a sitting position, his hands pushing Kato away. "Get off. Get off."
Kato fell out from the bed; with his side he hit the floor. "Itai. Itai. Itai. Itai. " (Ouch. Ouch.) He looked up, his eyes blinking. "Nani? Nani wa okurita? " (What? What happened?)
Alex was already off the bed, past Kato, and at the door. He really needed a cold shower. The sooner the better. His hand adjusted his pyjamss' pants, moving the stitch that was pressing against his sensitive flesh. The nerve of Kato, agitating him like that. "Preklet perverznez. " (Damn pervert.)
Xxx
Alex looked at Kato's back and sighed. He reached into the basket he was carrying, took out the item that had been thrown into it a moment ago, put it back on the shelf and continued on his path between the shelves.
They were in Interspar, a little shopping mall that was fifteen minutes away from his home. They were here to buy some eggs, milk and fruit, so that his royal highness could have a decent breakfast, because nothing that was in Alex's fridge appealed to Kato—not that there was a lot in there in the first place.
"Why are you in such a bed mood?" Kato asked and put a box of Walker's cookies into the basket. An expensive box of cookies.
Bed. Why did that word send a shiver up Alex spine? He took a big breath. "It's bad, not bed. And I'm not in a bad mood."
"You look like you are." Kato hooked his thumbs into the loops of his borrowed jeans.
"Please stop throwing things into the basket." Alex grabbed the cookies and put them back on the shelf, trying to ignore the fact that Kato looked too good in his clothes, which were a little loose on Alex, but tightly clasped Kato, looking like a second skin.
Kato tilted his head. "Why?"
"Because I don't have the money, ok?" It was a week before his paycheck and he was damned if he would buy all the things Kato wanted, all the things he was throwing into the basket. "I'm poor. Very poor."
"Oh. So desu, (I see)" Kato said. "It's ok. I have money."
"Yeah, I know. You are rich." Alex directed his step toward the aisle with fruit. He was thinking apples, bananas and oranges and maybe even strawberries… And on that note, perhaps he'd even buy that yummy Strawberry Sunset tea.
"Yeah, that too." Kato was within a few steps parallel with Alex. "But I meant that I have money with me. Well, a credit card. I can pay."
"Yeah?" Alex stopped by the rack with little plastic bags that were intended for fruits. He didn't know much about the lifestyle of the rich and famous, but he thought that they very rarely carried cash with them. Well, maybe he thought wrong. "Then it would be best if you take a trolley and shop for yourself. My basket is too small for everything you want."
"Yes, you're right." Kato turned toward his shadow. " James, we better get the trolley."
"Yes, boss."
Alex watched them, shook his head and ignored the small voice that was telling him that letting Kato loose in the shop with "money" was a bad idea. He tore the bag from the rack and turned toward the oranges he had been eyeing earlier.
xxx
Alex sat with his legs stretched and his ankles crossed on a small wooden bench, which was one of the many that were stationed in the middle of the main aisle. He was on the one that had a view of the cashiers, waiting for Kato and what was his name—oh, yeah, James—to end their shopping. He had already called Nina and squealed over the phone about how he was still hanging with Kato Mikumi, because it was the right thing to keep his best friend informed with the latest happening. He pulled the medium size bag that was beside him toward himself and rummaged through it. He pulled out a banana, peeled it and started to eat it. He would have preferred an apple, but he was too lazy to go to the mall's washroom and wash it.
He glanced over the cashiers, looking for his temporary flat-mates. Ah, there they were. With a trolley and… One, two, three, four… Five big bags in it.
Kato, who was driving the trolley, stopped before him.
"You bought a lot of things." Alex took a last bite of the fruit.
Kato hooked his heel on the crossbar of the wheels of the trolley and leaned with his upper body on the handle. "You should probably bring the car."
Alex nodded and swallowed his mouthful. It was actually very good idea. He could drive them and their stuff directly to the hotel and have the rest of the forenoon for himself. He told Kato his thought.
"I would prefer to go to your place and then when it's time to go back to the hotel I would like to use your local transportation, bus or metro."
"With all those bags?" Alex stood up and wrapped the banana peel into a small bag and threw it into his shopping bag with the intention to throw it in a trash bin as soon as he passed one.
"Well…"
"Ok." Alex went toward the trolley and pulled one bag from it. "If you take two bags and James here two, I think we'll manage just fine."
"James, could you?" Kato turned toward his shadow. "I know it's not in your job description…"
"It's ok, boss. No problem."
They put the trolley back where they got it and made their way toward Alex's apartment, with Kato's complaining about how heavy his bags were. When Alex offered an exchange, Kato just waved him away, saying that he wasn't about to give additional weight to somebody weaker than he is. The nerve.
Xxx
Alex sat on the bar stool and was leaning with his elbows on the small breakfast table, watching how Kato put the bought stuff away into the cabinets in his little narrow kitchen. And he still didn't get it. How had Kato managed to hush down his protest that he didn't want anything. He knew how to say no to a person, but Kato just didn't accept the word no. He had some sort of magical attribute that changed your no into maybe and then that maybe into ok, if you must. And it just sucked, because now he'd have to feel in debt to Kato, even though he didn't want the stuff. And Kato already looked and behaved like this was his home, making Alex feel a little out of place. In his own apartment, damn it.
He stood up and pushed his way past Kato, out of the kitchen. He went into the living room, where James was sitting before the TV screen, playing the Playstaion that was hooked up to the TV. The Playstation that Kato bought in Interspar together with at least ten games and a bunch of movies. He still wondered how they managed to stuff everything they bought into five bags.
"Here." James offered Alex the second controller.
Alex sank down on the floor at James' slippered feet and took the controller from James' hand. He sat himself Indian style and waited for James to insert the game Ridge Racer into the gadget. "Is he always like that?"
"Like what?" James pressed the start button.
"Like everything has to be the way he wants it, the way he envisions it." He remember talking with Siva but…Kato didn't even allow him to put things away in his cabinets in his kitchen. Talk about a control freak. Alex started to switch between the cars that were available in the game.
"Mostly."
"I got the feeling that he always has to be the man in charge." Alex hadn't decided yet if he liked side of Kato or not. He chose his car.
"That's Kato." James said. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah, fire away." Alex's fingers were in the low start at the control's buttons. And he had the feeling that is sometimes like a bad itch or like a whisper at the back of one's mind; a warning which you always ignore, but is always followed with something unpleasant. "So what does he want?"
"Are you two talking about me?" Kato appeared in the living room.
"Yeah." Alex's eyes were focused on the game. If he was anything he was truthful (his mother hadn't raised a liar). Well… most of the time. "Mister Mikumi, what's with all the stuff? It's like you plan to move in."
"I think that after drinking together and sleeping in the same bed you could call me Kato." Kato sat down beside James, right behind Alex. "About the things, well, I was hoping you might let me stay here until we leave for home."
Alex turned around, looking up at Kato, the game forgotten. Was he for real? He couldn't be serious, could he? But the look on the Kato's face didn't look like he was joking. So the question now was how to politely say no to Kato and not let him change that no into maybe and then into yes, like he did before. Cause there was no way, no way in hell he was going to let him stay here. "Well… I don't think that there's enough space and besides why would you even want to stay here?"
"I like it here. It's cosy and…" Kato looked around. "…there's enough space."
"Well… About that." Think Alex, think. "I'm expecting a friend to come over and spend the night here. So, you see." He'd just call Nina and make her to be that friend coming over.
"Can't you postpone it?"
Alex opened his mouth, his mind desperately searching for something to nip in the bud any Kato's ideas of spending time here. Even though it was Kato, the famous singer.
"I thought you liked me. That you were a fan."
"I do like you and I adore your music. It's jus—"
"But I bought all that stuff and you took it." Kato lower lip protruded out. "So, if I ask a favour from you, you have to grant me one."
Alex stared up at Kato. Kato's behaviour most of the time was really manly, his walk and attitude was all about "the world is my oyster," and to see him actually pout... So adorable. He suppressed the urge to squeal like a fangirl and focused on the problem at hand. "What if we talk about this later?"
"I would prefer—"
"I need a cigarette." Alex stood up and went into the kitchen. He ignored Kato, who followed him, and took the pack and lighter from one of the little square shelves that divided the cabinets. He turned toward the door.
"I'm sorry for being rude and for imposing on you like that." Kato blocked Alex's path. "But I would really like to spend more time here with you."
"Why?" Alex heard "spend more time here with you," but even when his heart missed a beat (what was that all about?), his mind knew that this wasn't something connected with flowers and birds and all that shit.
"The thing is," Kato rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "Aika is going to get married and she wants to start a family. So I need a new assistant. I've been looking for one for about three months."
Alex's looked at Kato. Yeah, yeah, so what? What's this got to do with him?
"And you are the first person I've met that I would like to hire. I feel comfortable in your company, but I need to know you better. So…?"
Alex blinked. He can't be serious, can he? He was probably just dreaming and would wake up any minute now. He pinched himself, to test this theory. "Ouch."