I Just Can't Stop Loving You (19 page)

He crawled out of his bed and headed for the shower. Thirty minutes later, he exited clean, shaven, and in a much better mood than he entered. By five, he’d finished packing and took his luggage downstairs to the foyer so it could be loaded into the van. He heard a noise coming from the kitchen and went to investigate. He also smelled food and heard conversation as he entered the dining room. Satoshi stopped in the door of the kitchen.

Ichiro looked up. One of the babies cooed in his sitter.

“Good morning,” Satoshi said. “What are you doing?”

Ichiro was already dressed for travel and wearing an apron. “Giving Raiden his first cooking lesson.”

Satoshi walked around the kitchen table and stared down into the baby seat. A wide-eyed newborn infant stared back at him. The baby was dressed in a green sleeper with a little teddy bear on the pocket. Raiden smiled at him. “What are you doing up, Raiden?” he asked like he expected the baby to answer.

“Ryoto’s up too,” Ichiro told him. “He’s feeding, so I took this guy to give Shaundra a break.”

“What are you preparing?”

“A traditional Japanese breakfast. I figured you guys would like that since it’s our last day home.”

“That’s sweet of you, Ich,” Satoshi teased. He reached down to touch the baby’s hand and Raiden wrapped his tiny fingers around Satoshi’s. “Hey, big guy. You want some rice and pickled vegetable?”

Raiden cooed.

Satoshi sat down and entertained the baby while Ichiro cooked. “I’m going to miss these little guys.”

“Me too,” Ichiro confessed. “But not the two and the four o’clock wake up calls.”

“So selfish,” Satoshi said. “Put yourself in Shaundra’s shoes. At least you don’t have to nurse them every two hours.”

“I’ve been worried about that,” Ichiro said. “She’s not getting much sleep.”

“How is she going to handle them when you leave?” Satoshi asked, freeing himself from Raiden’s grasp and his hypnotic stare.

“I think she’s going to go back to bottle feeding them. She can pump the milk from her breasts and put it in the refrigerator until they need it. I’m so glad that I put a compact refrigerator in the nursery so she wouldn’t have to run up and down the stairs every time she needed a bottle.”

“I’ve never been so jealous of a baby before,” Satoshi said.

“Me either,” Ichiro said. “They get to suck from Shaundra’s soft brown nipples while staring up into their mother’s beautiful face.” He voice faltered.

“Don’t do this,” Satoshi said, trying to comfort Ichiro. “Maybe the time apart will do the two of you some good.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Ichiro said almost tearfully. “I want to be here for my wife and sons.”

It broke Satoshi’s heart to see Ichiro so sad. He didn’t want to leave Shaundra either. Maybe the separation would do him some good too. He wanted to wrap his arms around Ichiro and tell him that everything was going to be okay like he used to do when they were young, but he didn’t think Ichiro would allow it since he was trying so hard to be strong.

“But what if the babies forget about me?”

“They won’t,” Satoshi told him. “They know you’re they’re father. All we can do is our best on the road and return safely to them.”

Ichiro nodded. He went back to preparing their meal.

The door opened and a sleepy Shaundra walked in carrying another baby seat. Her hair stood out in every direction, her gown had wet spots near her nipples, and she was barefoot. She plopped into the seat on the table in front of Satoshi next to Raiden. Little Ryoto looked up at him, drooling and smiling innocently. “Good morning,” Satoshi replied. Shaundra looked tired and had dark circles under her eyes.

“Please bond with your godson. I need about an hour of sleep and he thinks my breasts are his personal cafeteria.” She walked back out of the kitchen.

Satoshi and Ichiro looked at each other and smiled.

Ichiro shook his finger at Ryoto. “I understand they’re nice, but leave some for Daddy.”

The baby gurgled.

Satoshi played with the babies while Ichiro went back to cooking. He noticed Ichiro’s mood had turned for the better now that Shaundra had put in an appearance.

Takumijo came through the door fully dressed, but he had darker circles beneath his eyes than Shaundra. He would have had some sympathy for him if he Takumijo hadn’t woken him out of sound sleep around two in the morning when he came in from the club.

Takumijo looked down at the babies. “What are you two guys doing up and in the kitchen?”

“Mama’s napping,” Ichiro told him. “They’ve be competing for her attention every two hours. They think she’s a moo cow.”

Takumijo chuckled. “And Mama Satoshi is seeing to them? How sweet.”

Ichiro giggled. “He is going to make one good Mama-san.”

“You guys are just jealous,” Satoshi said, still playing with both babies. “I can’t wait until they’re young men. I’m going to take them to their first soccer game.”

Takumijo sat down at the table across from him. “I thought you were about to say you couldn’t wait until you could take them to a brothel.”

“Me too,” Ichiro said. “I never knew he had a paternal side.”

“No, I don’t think these two will need my help in that area. Women are going to love them.”

The babies drifted off to sleep one right behind each other. “They’re sleeping,” Satoshi announced.

Ichiro dished up their breakfast and served it. “Why do you look like death warmed over?” he asked Takumijo.

“He’s been out all night partying,” Satoshi answered for him.

“I just went out for a little while and before I knew it, the sun was trying to come up.”

“You must have been having some fun,” Satoshi said. “Were you partying with your usual group of losers?”

Takumijo shook his head. “Actually, I just drove over to Honsu’s. The place was jumping and I actually had a good time.”

Ichiro eyed him curiously. “You don’t look hung over.”

“I’m not. I only had a little cognac and some champagne.”

“Champagne?” Satoshi asked. “Something does not smell right. You met someone. The only time you spring for champagne is when you’re trying to impress.”

“You are right as always,” Takumijo said, slowly eating his rice. “I met someone.”

Both Ichiro and Satoshi leaned closer to get the information.

“But I won’t tell you who it is.”

Satoshi snarled at him. “You big tease. You can at least give up a description.”

“Okay. Picture long black hair, a rocking body, and big blue eyes.”

Satoshi looked at Ichiro. “You went out with Ichiro?”

Ichiro frowned at him. “Don’t be ridiculous. He’s not talking about me.”

“Could have been your younger sibling,” Takumijo replied. “It was nice, but now I have to fly back to Europe.”

Satoshi continued to watch him. “You met another blue-eyed Japanese that looked like Ichiro, and you’re ready to fly back to Europe? Man, are you crazy? That’s the answer to your dreams.”

“Why?” Ichiro asked.

Both Satoshi and Takumijo smirked at him.

“Oh, you guys are ridiculous. I don’t do pretty boys.”

Satoshi picked up his cup of tea and sipped. Takumijo now had a goofy look on his face. Could it be possible that the big dummy was in love?

****

Shaundra woke to the sound of the front door opening and closing. She gazed over at the clock.
Seven A.M.
She yawned and got out of bed. Aomori would be leaving shortly and she needed to say goodbye to them. Shaundra peeped in on the babies on the way to the bathroom. Both boys were sleeping peacefully. She hurried into the bathroom as fast as her stitches would allow her, got into the shower, and then dressed. She still couldn’t wear pants, so she opted for a button up dress and slippers.

Kenshin was busy loading the van when she walked down the stairs. She found the others gathered in the den. All eyes turned in her direction.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Masaaki asked.

It was the first time she’d seen him since the day she gave birth. “I needed to say goodbye to you guys, and besides, I’m tired of lying down.”

“But you need to rest to get your strength back,” Satoshi told her. “You looked pretty wiped out earlier.”

“A nap is all I need,” Shaundra said. “Besides, the boys are asleep and it gives me time to hobnob with the adults.”

“They are fine sons,” Masaaki said. “I peeked in at them before Ichiro brought them back to the nursery.”

“Thank you,” Shaundra said. “They are basically good babies. It’s going to be fun watching them grow.”

“Are you going to be all right on your own with them?” Yori asked.

She hadn’t seen much of him either for a while.

Shaundra nodded. “I’m good.”

“I wish you would have agreed to a nanny,” Masaaki said.

“I’m good,” Shaundra repeated. “I’ll sleep when they sleep.”

“What if you have to take them somewhere?” Masaaki asked.

“Their car seats are loaded in the back seat of my car, but I don’t anticipate going anywhere for another five weeks. And if an emergency occurs, I know how to call an ambulance.” She noticed the worried look in Ichiro’s and Satoshi’s eyes.

“Maybe you should go stay with my family,” Ichiro said.

Shaundra shook her head. “It’s my problem. I’ll call them if I need anything.”

“I don’t understand why you have to be so stubborn,” Ichiro said. “They are your family.”

Shaundra rolled her eyes at him, making sure everyone saw her do it. “You guys have a nice flight back,” she said, turning on her heels and heading back toward the stairs.

“Man, why do you have to antagonize her?” she heard Satoshi ask.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and a warm arm wrapped around her shoulders. A nice cologne ticked her nose.
Satoshi
.

“Don’t let Ichiro get to you. He didn’t mean anything by his comment, and he’s hurting too. He doesn’t want to leave you and the babies.”

“I know,” Shaundra said. “I’m going to be okay. I don’t want you guys to worry.”

“Call Harper if you need anything. I’m sure he’ll drop everything and come running over.”

Shaundra chuckled weakly. “I can’t do that. Harper went back to New York for two weeks.”

“What?” Satoshi asked. “I wasn’t worried about you because I thought he would be here to check up on you.”

Shaundra smirked. “I thought he would be the last one you would ask me to call on if I needed help.”

“The man loves you. He won’t let anything happen to you.”

Shaundra reached up and touched his cheek. “You still don’t have to worry about me. I just had babies. I’m not helpless, won’t be passing out any time soon, and it’s not the end of the world.” She lowered her hand. “Now go and get your last minute instructions from Masaaki.”

Satoshi slowly removed his arms from around her shoulders. He hesitated for a moment before leaving her. He looked back once and then disappeared into the den.

Shaundra walked into the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee, and then went back upstairs. She didn’t even bother watching them leave. She just listened as the van drove away. The babies were still asleep. Shaundra picked up her cell phone and dialed a number.

“Hello?”

“Annyeonghaseyo,” Shaundra said in Korean. “They just left.”

“I’ll be over to get you shortly,” Dae-Hyun said. “Make sure you and the babies are warmly dressed and are ready to leave.”

“Can we rest?” Yori asked Takumijo. The balls beneath his feet hurt. Takumijo had thrown himself back into training and was literally dancing their feet off to get them ready for the upcoming concert in Amsterdam. They had been back in Europe for two weeks now, the costumes were completed, and Cristal had done a bang up job with the promotions. Mr. Niigata had been busy all day on the phone talking to someone in Spain, and had told them he’d come to see them later if he found the time. He’d taken Cristal along with him to act as his secretary.

“You rested for nearly a week,” Takumijo told him bluntly. “No one told you to lie around your house with your pretty wife getting lazy.”

Some of the backup dancers laughed.

Yori growled at Takumijo as he sat down on the floor to stretch his muscles. “I did not sit around being lazy. The in-laws kept me very busy being their go-fer.” Amaya’s parents had been very glad to see him and had no problem making him pitch in to help with their upcoming fashion show. Once again, he would be out of town on the night of the show so they couldn’t entice him to walk the catwalk. “I can’t help it if you have this need to dance your brains out. I don’t see why we have to rehearse. We’ve been dancing since we were kids.”

“Because we’re not as young and flexible as we used to be,” Takumijo answered. “Do you realize that we’re nearly thirty years old? We have to work our asses off to stay on top now that all these young groups are debuting.”