Delicious Love Triangle

Chapter One

Chapter One

Fired?

Hana pulled in a harsh breath as if smoke from a bomb were choking her. Only, there was no smoke, no bomb. Just her boss, Toshiko, seated at her glass-top desk in the boutique’s office, telling her that she’d just lost her treasured position as their in-house designer.

Time slowed down, funneling into a fierce lump in her chest. Her heart started pounding. This couldn’t be. She was doing a great job. Her designs were worn all over Harajuku, the fashion center of all Tokyo. Her Gothic Lolita and New Generation Punk designs were among some of the most popular on the streets.

Toshiko frowned, her wide-set eyes genuinely sad. She sighed. “I’m so sorry, Hana-chan. If it were up to me, I’d keep you forever. You’re the best. But it’s the owner, Mr.

Tanaka. His new wife. You know.” Toshiko’s look said what they both knew. The girl’s designs were nowhere near as good, but Tanaka-san had to live with her. “I’m so sorry,” Toshiko said again. She tried a smile. “Of course, you’ll receive your commissions for the designs on the racks now.”

“What about the French fusion line?” Hana had shown Tanaka-san the original drawings, her ideas for bringing a French flavor into the Japanese street styles, especially variations on the school uniform craze. The fusion seemed to blend elements that would attract people between eighteen and twenty-five, the boutique’s primary age market. Tanaka-san had really liked them and had been enthusiastic about trying a couple of pieces. Those were in the factory at the moment and scheduled for the racks in a few days. Hana wondered if her initiative and creativity had fueled Mrs. Tanaka’s jealousy. Up until now, she had seemed to tolerate Hana’s presence in the shop.

“Oh, yes. Those will be featured. In fact, relating to that, Tanaka-san said to give you this. It’s an entire month of salary, not including whatever commission you’ll receive for your new pieces.” She offered an envelope to Hana, presenting it with both hands. “And of course, those first designs he already contracted will go through as promised.”

Hana nodded, her vision blurred. The unspoken message was clear. The envelope contained enough compensation to cover the period of notice, maybe even to keep her going while she searched for a new position and filed for unemployment insurance.

With both hands, she accepted it and bowed. “That’s very kind of him.”

Toshiko nodded, her eyes still sad. “Yes. He said instead of two weeks’ notice it was kinder to you not to have to be around… You know what I mean.” The older woman’s face darkened. Toshiko-san didn’t like the boss’s wife.

“The good news,” Toshiko went on, “is you’re very young. You’re talented. There are a million boutiques in Harajuku alone, never mind Shinjuku, Shibuya…”

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Toshiko’s voice droned on, blotted by Hana’s inner turmoil. Yes, she was young, but twenty-six wasn’t that young, considering the blood, sweat and tears she’d poured into this work for the last four years. She’d probably worked enough hours for a person twice her age to get where she was at this point.

“…and you have that wonderful boyfriend…oh, what’s his name? Masahiko-san, yes. He’ll take care of you while you look for another position, I’m sure.”

Hana pasted on the smile she used when she wanted to end a conversation and get away. On top of what was going on in the moment, the little untruth between her and Toshiko, whom she considered a friend, made her so uncomfortable. She’d never actually told Toshiko that Hiko was her boyfriend when he came by to take her out for lunch once in a while during the work day. Toshiko had just assumed he was her boyfriend, and Hana had let her believe it.

It was much simpler than trying to explain her strange life. No one would ever believe that she lived with two gorgeous guys, her best friends since they were twelve, and that after all this time, they were all still just friends. The only reason her mother believed it was because she’d known Hiko and Shinji since forever and loved them as her own sons.

Aside from her mom, no one else would accept that she and Hiko weren’t involved because Hiko was, well, hot. A carpenter with the strong build of someone who works hard, along with a rugged yet intelligent face…no woman could be around him and not want him. Of course, once they met Shinji, they’d wonder about him too. Women went wild for Shinji. A former bar host, Shinji was gorgeous and charming as well as a gourmet chef. Yet, in spite of what anyone could think, there was something special between the three of them, a deep invisible bond that kept them together, eclipsing Hana’s need for romance.

“Yes,” she murmured finally, tears threatening in her eyes. “Hiko will help me for sure.” So would Shinji. She was “their girl,” and they promised always to take care of her, no matter what.

Toshiko was still smiling, trying so hard to make Hana feel better. It wasn’t working. Perhaps after a good cry and a talk with her best friends she’d stop feeling as if her world were crumbling to pieces in front of her eyes. Hiko and Shinji had a talent for helping her see new, different approaches to situations and to give her hope when she was upset. But for now, all she wanted was to leave. With her hands clasped properly in front of her, she bowed to Toshiko, thanked her and then gathered her portfolio and purse.

However, once out on the street, she didn’t head toward home, as she’d thought she would. Hiko was still working on his current job site and wouldn’t be back yet.

Shinji was there but was hard at work, preparing a meal that he was catering the following evening. Though she yearned to go and tell Shinji what had happened, she couldn’t bear the thought of interrupting his work. She’d spend some time gathering her thoughts and feelings before showing up.

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Like a cast-out spirit, she haunted one colorful street then the next. Cafés, hip clothing stores and fashionably dressed young people surrounded her, the world she’d thrived on since high school and which now represented only her failure. A young guy on a skateboard whizzed past in a flash of red T-shirt and orange, spiked-up hair. He passed so closely the breeze from him caressed her face. Normally, she’d watch someone like that, examining his outfit for ideas or seeing if he had the wiry form and clear perfect skin which might inspire her to work on her unfinished manlove graphic novels. Now, she barely gave him a glance and trudged on.

She meandered all the way to Yoyogi Park. The late afternoon sun slanted over the stretches of green grass. The air resounded with laughter and the rolling grind of skateboard wheels on the pavement. Hana found an unoccupied bench and sank down, staring at the swirling figures of the skateboarders rolling and leaping. They looked so happy, so carefree. With a sigh, she checked her watch. Hiko would be getting home soon.

Her stomach tightened. No doubt Hiko and Shinji would want to help her, but she hated asking them to let her sponge until she found another position. Rising from the bench, she went to the nearest subway stop.

The ride home was equally depressing. She’d never realized before how much time she normally spent studying the people around her, fixing their outfits in her mind, designing for each person the style that would fit him or her best. Life was normally a creative feast.

Not today.

Hana got off at Koenji Station and walked the three blocks, past the clusters of second-hand clothing shops, bookstores and head shops and turned onto the quieter pedestrian street on which they lived. The four-floored building they lived in sat on a base of shops: a yakitori bar whose aroma of skewered chicken often warred with Shinji’s cooking in their top floor apartment, a small bookstore and yet another second-hand clothing shop. Hana sighed at a colorful array of frilly dresses squeezed onto a rack, older Gothic Lolita designs, a few of which might even be ones she’d designed.

She experienced a pang of envy. Perhaps the shopkeeper of a second-hand clothing store had a better time of it. What competition was there in selling yesterday’s things?

There were always high school and college students hungry for styles a little older but affordable.

The entrance to their building peeked out from between the yakitori bar and the clothing shop. Hiko’s Uncle Jun owned this building. The older man had been like a father to Hiko after Hiko’s real father passed away, and when Hiko had started his renovation general contracting business after college, Uncle Jun had deeded Hiko the top floor apartment in exchange for a bunch of work renovating several other apartments. Hiko had wanted Shinji and Hana to live with him after graduation, and they’d been together ever since.

She took the lift to the top floor. Hiko had remodeled their entire apartment into a blend of contemporary and traditional styles using polished redwood floors with shoji 8

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doors and dividers. He was great at building shoji screens and had used them to make three separate bedrooms so they each had their own little space.

Stepping out of the elevator, she approached their door and put her key into the lock. As she pushed the door open, music drifted toward her from the apartment’s interior. Hyde’s Evergreen.

Shinji often listened to Hyde while he cooked. For whatever reason, Shinji drew a lot of creative inspiration from the rock star’s husky and at times breathy voice. In the entry, Hana slipped off her shoes, then deposited her purse and portfolio in the cubbyholes of a cabinet Hiko had built for shoes and personal items. The music swelled around her. The crisp, driving sound washed through her, bringing a familiar comfort.

The aroma of garlic wafted to her senses. Shinji was making something delicious for that party the following evening.

She hung back, debating. She usually came home at least an hour or two later.

Shinji was obviously busy at work, and she didn’t want to interrupt him. For a moment, she almost tip-toed back out. There were plenty of cafés and shops she could hang out in for the next couple of hours so as not to disturb Shinji. Once she told him what had happened, he’d want to take time out to speak with her about it and she couldn’t possibly—

Shinji came around the corner.

Hana caught her breath. He was…in his…underwear? Skin-tight boxer briefs that hugged his…you-know-what parts, as well as his sloping thighs. Slim and lightly muscular, he stood as if his feet had been cemented to the floor.

Shinji smiled at her sheepishly. “Oh, Na-chan! You’re home early.”

Wordlessly, she nodded. Silent uncertainty hung in the air between them against the backdrop of the soft music. She’d caught glimpses of him now and again in his underwear but had always turned away, trying to respect his privacy. It was impossible to live with someone and not see them unclothed. But never had he stood before her, point-blank like this.

Hana cleared her throat as she forced herself not to stare at the thin trail of dark hair under his bellybutton. She was usually not home at this time of the day. Was this what Shinji wore to cook?

“I’ll go put something on,” he said over the music.

“Okay.” The initial surprise of Shinji in his underwear evaporated, leaving her original heartache to well up.

Instead of leaving, Shinji searched her face, his sheepishness gone. “Na-chan, are you all right? You look upset. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…I should have been dressed.”

She tried to close her eyes. She needed to move, go to her room. “It’s not you,” she managed to say. Then the tears she’d been trying to hold back leaked out. She couldn’t stop them. She covered her mouth with one hand.

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“Oh my God, Hana!” Shinji closed the distance between them and gently took hold of her shoulders. A ripple of comfort passed through her, as if Shinji’s mere touch could wash away her humiliation and loss. She glanced down, unable to suppress a rush of hot tears. “I was fired.” The word released more tears, falling wet and hot on her cheeks.

Shinji stepped in closer. “What? Fired? Why?” He bade her look up with gentle fingertips under her chin. “Forget I asked that. You don’t have to talk about it.” He brushed a tear away with his thumb. His eyes saddened. “I’m sorry, Na-chan. That’s awful.” He pulled her into an embrace.

She let herself succumb. Let her cheek rest against the hard muscle of Shinji’s chest.

One hand stroked her hair while his other arm cradled her.

“It’ll be all right, Na-chan,” Shinji crooned. “You’ll see. Hiko and I will help you find a solution. You’re so talented and smart.” Admiration and affection filled his voice.

She heaved a breath. His voice calmed her even though she couldn’t imagine how Hiko and Shinji would help her. However, he sounded so convinced that she couldn’t bring herself to disagree with him. The fashion world was ultra-competitive. Positions like the one she’d just lost weren’t exactly sitting around waiting to be taken.

“You’ll see, Na-chan,” he said again. Each pass of his hand over her hair calmed her a bit more.

Closing her eyes, she rested in his embrace. No wonder Shinji had been so popular as a bar host. He could make a woman feel so safe. The thought made her suddenly aware of him. He was still only in his underwear, his bare body against her. And he smelled so good. His male scent now overpowered the garlic. She couldn’t define the way he smelled other than warm and male, the best smell she’d ever encountered.

No, wait. She wasn’t supposed to feel that way. They were just friends. This was what she got for working, working, working, and never having a boyfriend. All that energy stored up inside her. Tensing, she lifted away and sniffled. “I’m all right now, thanks.” She wiped at her wet cheeks with the heel of her hand, but Shinji didn’t look convinced.

The sound of the door opening made them both turn. The door slid back and in moments Hiko appeared around the corner. Like Hana had done earlier, he froze. His eyes darted to Hana then Shinji. Concern replaced the initial surprise in his look.

“Hana, are you all right?” He came over, filling the space with his brawny form and the warm scent of shaved wood from the shoji screens he was building for his current client.

Hana’s eyes were level with his broad chest, the muscles of which pushed against his white T-shirt. Never had she been this close to both of them at once. Shinji and Hiko’s combined maleness was unexpectedly dizzying.

“She was laid off,” Shinji told him.

Lines creased Hiko’s forehead. He looked like a samurai ready to do battle. Hana could always easily picture him in hakama pants and jacket, a sword sashed securely at 10

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his hip. “Fired? Why?” With Hiko, there was no backing down. Unlike Shinji, Hiko would demand to know why until she confessed.

Hana sniffled again. New tears flooded her eyes. With Hiko’s large hand warming her shoulder, she told them what had happened.

Hiko’s hand tightened sympathetically and he shook his head. “Bastard,” he muttered. “Well, that marriage is doomed.”

Hana wiped her tears and looked at him. “Why?”

“If he has to get rid of his top designer to please her, she’ll never be satisfied.”

“Oh.” Hana became aware of Shinji looking at his friend too. Hiko often came out with statements like that, encapsulating human nature in a wise, clean way.

“That would be his karma.” Shinji gave her his adorable sideways grin. As far as she knew, he’d charmed quite a few women with that smile. One of his former clients, a wealthy woman who often still hired him to cater her parties, gave him a bouquet of flowers the week before. He’d shown up at home with the burst of multi-color roses needing to be put in a vase. “What can I say?” he’d remarked. “She likes my bisque.”

The curl of jealousy Hana had felt had disturbed her to no end. She’d no doubt Shinji had done “pillow hosting” with that particular woman, as in he’d gone to bed with her back in the day. What’s to say he didn’t still sleep with her at times?

Shinji brushed another tear from her cheek. His touch was soft, sweet, and her eyelids fluttered. “Look,” he said, “Why don’t you take a hot shower? Get comfortable.

I’ll have supper ready in a little while. We can talk more then.” He smoothed back her hair.

She looked between the two of them. They were both watching her with sweet concern in their eyes. Who could have better friends? “Okay,” she said in a whisper, and nodded. She turned and headed for her bedroom, feeling their gazes on her until she’d left the room.

Hiko waited until the shoji to Hana’s room had slid closed. He sighed, went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. Popping the cap, he set it on the stainless steel countertop and sipped from his bottle. When he’d walked in and seen Hana and Shinji in an embrace, his heart had flipped. Had Hana finally come out of denial? But then, when he’d seen Hana’s red eyes, his first thought was they were making up after a fight. The mere possibility had sickened him and he’d rather they’d been about to have s*x. The two people he loved most in the world fighting? Unbearable. So when he’d found out the truth, his relief had been great. They hadn’t been fighting. Hana’s loss of job had paled in comparison.

Now the scene constructed itself in Hiko’s mind. Hana walked in upset. Shinji was working—in his underwear—expecting Hana home much later. She’d surprised him by walking in but then he'd seen how unhappy she was, and went to comfort her, forgetting about his unclothed state. Hiko ignored the sensual stirrings that image had poked to life inside him. His and Shinji’s mutual desire for their friend was an older 11

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issue, one he’d tried to lock in an emotional dungeon somewhere but which now reminded him was alive and well. There were more pressing issues to deal with.

Shinji stood beside him, hands on the edge of the counter, staring into a large mixing bowl of whatever he’d been preparing when Hana had walked in. Shinji was clearly shaken by Hana’s situation. What an asshole that Tanaka was. People could be so damned selfish, never considering how their actions could hurt people. “I’ve half a mind to go and beat the crap out of that little bastard,” Hiko muttered.

Shinji looked up. A tiny line in his brow showed his stress. The expression caused a pang in Hiko’s chest. “All that will do is get you into trouble and upset Hana worse.”

Hiko exhaled and took another sip. “I know. I just feel that way. Those days are over.” The last fight he’d gotten into was just after high school. Once Uncle Jun had offered to hire him to keep him out of trouble, he wanted to honor the chance he’d been given and not shame the man who’d been a father to him.

Shinji’s distress emanated from him in nearly palpable waves. Knowing his friend for so long, Hiko could guess that Shinji was afraid of how Hana’s distress would affect their relationship. Hana had been an anchor in Shinji’s life since his parents divorced, allowing his mother to marry some big-time businessman who could give her the fancier life she craved. The new stepfather wasn’t interested in having a child, and not wanting to alienate him, Shinji’s mother had sacrificed her relationship with Shinji. The result had been that she’d basically ignored her son’s existence so she could be free to give all her attention to her new husband. Another selfish asshole. Shinji was a soft person. Vulnerable. That was one of the qualities that had drawn both himself and Hana to their friend all those years ago. Shinji brought out a protective streak in them.

For a moment, Hiko was tempted to say something to that effect, but unless Shinji mentioned it first, Hiko risked embarrassing him. He chose another topic. “So, what’s with the underwear?”

Shinji managed a tiny smile although his eyes were still troubled. He drizzled some olive oil into a pan and turned on the burner. “I often like to cook this way. Hana got back hours earlier than usual. I didn’t hear her come in.”

An image flashed in Hiko's mind again. Shinji’s arms around Hana. Hana’s face pressed against Shinji’s chest. “Do your customers know you prepare their food like this?” He gestured toward Shinji’s nearly naked body.

Shinji shook his head. “No. Trade secret.”

Hiko chuckled. “If they did, they’d probably pay you a few million yen extra just to watch.”

Now Shinji laughed. Hiko took another sip of beer. He leaned back against the countertop and watched Shinji drop a colorful assortment of chopped vegetables into the heated pan and flip them around. Whatever Shinji was making looked and smelled incredible. When Hiko had remodeled this apartment, he’d installed a commercial-grade kitchen, everything professional and stainless steel so that Shinji could run his catering business from home. It saved Shinji the huge overhead cost of renting a 12

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storefront and buying equipment. Now, all he had to do was buy supplies and pay his assistant.

Nor did Hiko mind Shinji going around in his underwear. At least his friend had a nice physique and beautiful skin. Now twenty-six, Shinji still wore his hair host-style.

Long, highlighted spikes of it hung over his forehead, between which peeped his perfect, almond-shaped eyes under arched brows. Complete with golden, smooth skin, high cheekbones and pouty lips, Shinji reminded him of a human willow tree or a swan.

He caught himself staring at Shinji’s back muscles as he worked, the slim, sleek lines shifting under his creamy skin. Hiko shook himself and poured more cold beer down his throat. Shinji’s vulnerability made the man especially sensuous, so sensuous that even a guy who went for women couldn’t help feeling…pulled. When Shinji was upset, Hiko always felt the strongest impulse to take him into his arms and kiss him in an attempt to east his upset.

Or maybe his pull toward Shinji was a result of his own changes in life. Maybe entering his late twenties had provoked the change in him, but whatever it was, he preferred to be with someone he already loved, even if that someone was male. Going to hostess clubs was out of the question. He hated paying out the ass for a drink and a smile, and yet more to get laid, especially when he had a pretty woman living right in his own home. He desired Hana too, but she was so intent on just staying friends that he’d developed the habit of pushing her out of his mind, creating a space which he’d unwittingly filled with Shinji.

However, if his attraction to Shinji was because of Shinji’s distress, the best way to comfort Shinji was to make sure that their home remained stable and happy. He had to find a way to help both his friends through this crisis, and the best way to start was with Hana’s immediate problem. “I’m worried about Hana,” he said finally.

Shinji nodded. He set the pan on the burner and turned the heat off. “Me too. She’ll take this so hard, I’m afraid it’ll discourage her.” Of course, Shinji was only expressing the half of this problem that concerned Hana. He probably didn’t want to be selfish, worrying about the way Hana’s loss of job could affect their friendship rather than about his friend.

“Yeah.” Hiko sipped his beer. Hana was likely to let this setback depress her. He had no problem going without her financial contribution, but he was worried for her well-being. Getting another position like the one she’d lost would not be easy, if it was possible at all. “She needs to have a goal.” Something that would keep her mind occupied. Maybe even something that would keep her out of the fashion business for a while. It probably couldn’t hurt to decompress and gain perspective.

A light burst in his mind. No matter that Hana’s lost job was still a fresh wound for her. He’d just thought of the perfect way to keep her moving along, to keep her spirits up and perhaps help Shinji not to be so worried either.

The plan forming in his mind was perfect. At least to him. And probably it would be to Shinji.

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Hana was a different matter.

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