Chapter 8 #2
But it seems I’m not creepy enough because as I carefully move to the edge of the bed, he stirs.
Then as I get up and search around the room for my clothes, pulling them on hurriedly, he wakes up fully and props himself on his elbows, blinking at me in the moonlight coming in through a chink in the blinds.
‘Where are you sneaking off to?’ he asks, his voice rough with sleep.
A delicious shiver runs over my skin at the sound of it.
I stop what I’m doing and turn to face him.
‘I’m going to the bamboo forest before the sun comes up. Apparently it’s the place to be at dawn.’
‘Really? That sounds cool. Want some company?’
I pause, thinking about this. Do I? I thought I’d feel a bit nervous about hanging out with him this morning after what we got up to last night, but I actually don’t. I just feel vaguely buzzed and a bit sleepy, to be honest. But not in any way awkward around him.
He’s looking at me expectantly and my heart does a strange turning-over thing.
I decide that I can’t very well tell him I don’t want him to come with me, not after how downright cool and friendly he’s been towards me recently. And it might be more fun to see it with someone else anyway.
‘Sure. If you fancy it,’ I say, off-handedly.
He sits up and rolls his legs over to the side of the bed, then gives his scalp a good rub, making his hair stand on end.
Turning back to face me, he shoots me a smile. ‘I’m always up for an adventure.’
‘Then let’s go,’ I say. ‘We’ve got to leave right now or we’ll miss it.’
‘Okay, boss,’ he says, getting up from the bed.
He’s still stark-bollock-naked and I feel like I’ve been turned to stone as I watch the beautiful, sensual movement of his muscular form as he gives a big full-frontal stretch right in my field of vision. I’m aware I shouldn’t stare at him, but I can’t stop myself.
Not that he seems to care.
In fact, when he notices I’m gawping, he raises his eyebrow in an Ah-ha! Caught you! way, then flips me a smug grin.
‘Busted, Dasher,’ he says with laughter in his voice.
‘Yeah well, what do you expect? I’m a red-blooded woman and you’re right there in front of me,’ I say, glad that it’s too dark for him to see how hot my face is.
He lets out a bark of laughter. ‘That’s fair,’ he agrees, grabbing his clothes from last night from the armchair and quickly pulling them on.
‘Okay, let me brush my teeth and I’m good to go,’ he says.
‘Hmm. Good idea. Do you have a spare toothbrush by any chance?’ I ask hopefully.
‘Sure do,’ he says. ‘And before you freak out, the hotel provided it with the room, I didn’t get it specially, hoping I might entice you over here and give you cause to use it.’
‘Yeah, whatever you say,’ I tease, hoping he takes it the right way.
Luckily, he just lets out a low, gruff laugh at that and makes for the bathroom.
I give myself a mental shake and follow him in.
* * *
Kit
It’s the weirdest thing, brushing my teeth side by side with Chloe Dasher after five years of thinking I’d never see her again.
Especially after the way we fucked for England last night, then fell asleep together.
It was immense. Exactly what I needed and a massive boost to my self-esteem to make her come multiple times – giving her the kind of distracting pleasure she obviously needs right now.
I love it when women are vocal about enjoying themselves in bed, and she’s particularly good at broadcasting her pleasure.
That was one of the slightly frustrating things about Katya – she was really quiet when she came.
Not that I hold that against her, everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, but the sound of someone else’s pleasure always intensifies things for me and it’s often the catalyst that gets me off.
Anyway, I must stop thinking about sex or I’m going to have a constant hard-on today. Especially if I end up spending it with Chloe.
I don’t want her thinking I have a sex addiction.
Once we’ve finished brushing our teeth we head out of the hotel and walk along the riverbank towards where the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is located.
There’s a subtle glow in the sky now as night turns to day, which feels quite energising.
I know some people get ‘the fear’ if they’re awake before the sun rises – especially if they haven’t even been to bed yet – but I’ve always loved this time in the morning.
I’m fascinated by how still and quiet it is, how peaceful.
It’s like I could be the only human on Earth and it’s all there, laid out before me – a world of possibilities.
Not that I’d want to be the last one standing in the event of the inevitable zombie apocalypse that’s bound to befall us, considering how much we’re messing with dangerous chemicals and DNA.
It’s actually a terrifying thought, being left completely on my own. One of my greatest fears, if I’m honest.
‘Here it is,’ Chloe says, breaking into my uneasy thoughts.
I remind myself that I’m still half asleep after not having slept much, on top of the jetlag that’s still got its teeth into me, so it’s not surprising I’m feeling so wired and weird.
I’m really happy to be here though. Especially as I’m with Chloe.
There’s a look of excited anticipation on her face as we start to walk along the deserted path between the tall bamboo canes. They must be thirty metres high and get denser the further into the forest we go.
It’s still pretty dark, despite the gradual lightening of the sky, but just as I’m about to make a joke about wolves and red capes, the sun suddenly makes an appearance, sending shafts of soft light through the canes and lighting the whole place up around us in a golden blaze.
Chloe turns to look at me in awed wonder and the dappled light plays across her face, making her skin glow and her eyes sparkle.
She’s mesmerizingly pretty. It’s almost impossible to look away from her. I found the same thing back when I knew her before and I’m finding it doubly so now. Especially here in this magical place. It’s like my eyes are magnetically drawn to her.
And I want to touch her. Badly.
But I don’t. I keep my hands to myself, not wanting to potentially push her away by being too eager and golden retriever-like.
‘You know, the Japanese have a specific word to describe the light shining through trees, which I guess we can apply here too,’ she says.
‘Oh yeah? What’s that then?’ I ask.
‘Komorebi. It’s made up of the kanji characters for tree, shine through and sun.’
‘Cool.’
‘It really is. Such a beautiful language and such an artistic way to present it. They really have a lot of style, the Japanese people.’
I smile at her enthusiasm. ‘I seem to remember you watching a lot of anime when we were at university.’
‘Yeah. I still do. I love it. It gives me all the feels.’
I love how passionate she is about the things she likes. It always fascinates me when people have particular hobbies, especially ones I can’t quite understand. I’ve never felt that strongly about any extra-curricular activities. Unless you include sex.
Which I really should stop thinking about.
I guess it’s proving to be true for me: that urban myth about men thinking about sex every seven seconds. It certainly seems to be the case whenever I’m in Chloe’s company.
As if she’s sensed my deviant thoughts, she grins at me, her expression ecstatic.
Blood rushes to my head and I feel a pulse begin to beat hard in my temple.
Oh man. Something weird and not altogether good is happening to me. I feel properly spun out by the intimacy of this situation.
Maybe this was a bad idea, coming here with her. We’re not partners and she’s made it very clear she’s not interested in having any kind of a relationship with me again.
At the time that she said it, I’d compartmentalised it as a thing to acknowledge but not give any real emotional headspace to. But it’s left a niggle in the back of my mind that keeps winding itself into my thoughts.
The thing is, I like her. A lot. And I’m really happy to be spending time with her again.
But I know I can’t expect anything more than casual, go-fuck-yourself-ex sex from her.
‘Perhaps we should head back to the hotel, before the hordes of tourists arrive and spoil our fun,’ I suggest, feeling a strong urge to get out of there and back to a place where I can regroup and beat away these left-field feelings I’m having.
‘Yeah. Good idea.’ She turns around to face the way we came in, then pauses for a moment, gazing up towards the leafy tops of the bamboo canes. ‘I’m so glad I got to see this. It’s just as spectacular as I’d hoped.’
‘Yeah, thanks for having me along. I would have missed it if it wasn’t for you.’
Her smile is warm when she glances back at me, and it makes something twinge in my chest.
She looks a lot happier today than when I first saw her in the hotel reception, that’s for sure.
I’d like to think I’ve had something to do with that.