loudly again as they eavesdropped on his conversation.
“No, but Kikio is sure that you are. She says a lot of pretty girls throw themselves at your feet at concerts.”
“Kikio is crazy. The guards don’t let fans get near the stage. You’ve been to our concerts. You know what happens there.” The fact that she hadn’t come to one of his concerts in a long time still hurt his feelings. She was too busy now that she attended the university. Learning fashion designing and joining her family’s fashion business was now as important to her as Aomori was to him.
The conversation continued with her telling him about what her folks thought about his career and their future together. Yori sighed. He’d heard it all a thousand times before. Their plan to marry hadn’t changed. It had just been pushed back for a while. No one, including him, knew that Aomori would be this big and have such a large following. “Look, I’ll call you once I get up to my room,” Yori told Amaya. He disconnected the call.
The chauffer entered the driveway in front of the hotel and stopped in front of the door. Another limousine with the Americans drove in behind them and everyone exited both cars. The driver left to park the cars in the garage.
Satoshi, Takumijo and Ichiro headed directly for the elevators, along with the others. Yori noticed that Shaundra remained in the lobby and then headed for the registration desk. He lagged behind to see what she was up to.
“Do you have an Ethernet wire?” she asked the lady behind the desk.
The other woman nodded, bent behind the desk and came back up with a wire for Shaundra.
“Thanks. I’ll return it when I check out.” Shaundra moved from the desk and nearly ran into him. “Oh, you startled me.”
“Are you ready to go up to your room?”
“Is that why you waited? You didn’t have to do that. I know my way up.”
“It’s late and it’s not safe.” He followed her toward the elevator. “Are you planning to work tonight?” He pointed to the Ethernet wire.
“Yes, I need to work on my new novel.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
“It’s already tomorrow.”
The elevator arrived and opened. Shaundra entered first and he followed her inside. Yori pressed the button for their floor and then they rode up in silence. When the elevator stopped, he exited first to make sure no one lurked in the halls.
“I had a really nice time,” Shaundra said, striking up conversation as they walked. “I haven’t danced so much in years.”
“Why not?” Yori asked as they turned a curve.
“Because I’m getting too old to go out clubbing.”
“You’re not that old.”
“I have three children older than you are.”
“Three? You don’t look old enough to have three kids.”
“I have four. My youngest daughter is your age. “
Four kids. She must be very fertile . “Do you plan to have a fifth?”
Shaundra laughed. “Not in this lifetime.”
“Don’t you like children?”
“I love children, but I’m too old to have any more, and now it’s my time to have a life.”
“Do kids stop you from having a life?”
“In a way. You’ll find out once you get married and start raising a family. When my children were small, I had to spend a lot of time with them, making sure they ate and did their homework. I spent almost all of my waking hours with them. Now I’m free to do anything or go anywhere I want to.”
He supposed what she said was true. He had a lot of responsibilities now that stopped him from having a normal life. It would probably get more time consuming once he married Amaya.
“We’re here,” Shaundra announced outside her door. “Thanks for a lovely evening and for making sure I made it safely back to my room.”
Yori bowed respectfully. On his way up, he took her hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed it. “I look forward to seeing you at the photo shoot later on,” he replied. He let go of her hand and continued his walk to his
“No, but Kikio is sure that you are. She says a lot of pretty girls throw themselves at your feet at concerts.”
“Kikio is crazy. The guards don’t let fans get near the stage. You’ve been to our concerts. You know what happens there.” The fact that she hadn’t come to one of his concerts in a long time still hurt his feelings. She was too busy now that she attended the university. Learning fashion designing and joining her family’s fashion business was now as important to her as Aomori was to him.
The conversation continued with her telling him about what her folks thought about his career and their future together. Yori sighed. He’d heard it all a thousand times before. Their plan to marry hadn’t changed. It had just been pushed back for a while. No one, including him, knew that Aomori would be this big and have such a large following. “Look, I’ll call you once I get up to my room,” Yori told Amaya. He disconnected the call.
The chauffer entered the driveway in front of the hotel and stopped in front of the door. Another limousine with the Americans drove in behind them and everyone exited both cars. The driver left to park the cars in the garage.
Satoshi, Takumijo and Ichiro headed directly for the elevators, along with the others. Yori noticed that Shaundra remained in the lobby and then headed for the registration desk. He lagged behind to see what she was up to.
“Do you have an Ethernet wire?” she asked the lady behind the desk.
The other woman nodded, bent behind the desk and came back up with a wire for Shaundra.
“Thanks. I’ll return it when I check out.” Shaundra moved from the desk and nearly ran into him. “Oh, you startled me.”
“Are you ready to go up to your room?”
“Is that why you waited? You didn’t have to do that. I know my way up.”
“It’s late and it’s not safe.” He followed her toward the elevator. “Are you planning to work tonight?” He pointed to the Ethernet wire.
“Yes, I need to work on my new novel.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
“It’s already tomorrow.”
The elevator arrived and opened. Shaundra entered first and he followed her inside. Yori pressed the button for their floor and then they rode up in silence. When the elevator stopped, he exited first to make sure no one lurked in the halls.
“I had a really nice time,” Shaundra said, striking up conversation as they walked. “I haven’t danced so much in years.”
“Why not?” Yori asked as they turned a curve.
“Because I’m getting too old to go out clubbing.”
“You’re not that old.”
“I have three children older than you are.”
“Three? You don’t look old enough to have three kids.”
“I have four. My youngest daughter is your age. “
Four kids. She must be very fertile . “Do you plan to have a fifth?”
Shaundra laughed. “Not in this lifetime.”
“Don’t you like children?”
“I love children, but I’m too old to have any more, and now it’s my time to have a life.”
“Do kids stop you from having a life?”
“In a way. You’ll find out once you get married and start raising a family. When my children were small, I had to spend a lot of time with them, making sure they ate and did their homework. I spent almost all of my waking hours with them. Now I’m free to do anything or go anywhere I want to.”
He supposed what she said was true. He had a lot of responsibilities now that stopped him from having a normal life. It would probably get more time consuming once he married Amaya.
“We’re here,” Shaundra announced outside her door. “Thanks for a lovely evening and for making sure I made it safely back to my room.”
Yori bowed respectfully. On his way up, he took her hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed it. “I look forward to seeing you at the photo shoot later on,” he replied. He let go of her hand and continued his walk to his
Similar Books
