With only two days left until the official release date of “HATSUKOI.”, book 2 of the REN’AI RENSAI series, it’s time to release the official preview! First, the blurb!
If society has taught Aiko anything, itās that one day she will marry a man. Not until she meets Reina, a lesbian with a knack for flirting, does she decide she wants to experience a different kind of sexual liberation ā assuming she can overcome her insecurities and nosy family. As she succumbs more and more to Reinaās charms, however, Aiko wonders if she can really abandon everyoneās expectations.
Reina has met plenty of girls like Aiko before: cute, naive, and ready to screw the status quo. After being burned by countless young women who go on to marry men and forget their lesbian lives, how can Reina trust yet another āgood girlā following her around? Especially when she thinks she may be having those foreign feelings for her best friend instead.
Time will only tell if Hatsukoi, or āfirst love,ā has really come to two such different people. Is their relationship genuine or just another footnote amongst flirting, lying, and sneaking around love hotels?
“HATSUKOI.” is the second published novel, but the first one chronologically, so it can be read either before or after “DAISUKI.” Below is the first scene (about 1700 words) to whet your need for more! ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT! Maybe less? I’ll be uploading it tomorrow!
WARNING: Strong language and sexual topics. A certain character (gee, I wonder who) likes to refer to sexual relations in the crudest language possible.
Tokyo; December 10th, 1992
Somewhere, Aikoās favorite song played on a stereo.
Her ears followed the pop-rock sounds to the corner of the room where two girls huddled around a mirror, applying makeup. Aiko turned to her cousin Shizuka and waited for her to proceed with the tour and introductions. It was Aikoās first time to see the backstage of a music theater, and she didnāt want to embarrass herself or get her cousin in trouble.
She always thought such a scene would be alight with human energy, but the few staff members wandering around yawned behind limp hands. A costumer pushed a rack of colorful sequined dresses across the room and was followed by everyone else, except for the two girls still applying. Aiko recognized their dresses as the same style Shizuka wore.
āAre those your group mates?ā she asked.
Shizuka nodded with the same dead energy. āTwo of them, anyway.ā
āIs one of them the American?ā
āWell, one of them is American.ā Shizuka blinked. āNo, not the one I told you about. The other one is blond.ā
āThere are two Americans?ā Aiko had heard about one, a pale blonde with a high voice and a sordid reputation, if sarcastic cousins were credible. āHow lucky!ā
āYeah, lucky. They talk in English behind our backs. Well, fight is more like it.ā Shizuka took a step further into the light. āCome on, Iāll introduce you to the nicer one.ā
Although she sauntered through the room without a worry, Aiko took more care to ensure she didnāt step on a forgotten feather or bump her head against the cords hanging from the ceiling. This place is so amazing. Every time she watched a live music show on television, she wondered what the places the talents retreated to offstage were like. Now that she had a cousin in the entertainment industry, it was like Christmas came three weeks early.
āYo!ā Shizuka called as they approached the duo of bandmates. āIf you two arenāt careful, youāre going to kill our make-up supply and piss off the manager.ā
One of the women dropped her eyeliner and craned her head around, revealing Western face framed with bobbed brown hair. āIs there a problem?ā Aiko was surprised the foreigner spoke Japanese well. āOr are you jealous we got the new stock before you?ā
āOh, please.ā Shizuka smiled. āAi-chan, this is my fellow forgotten backup singer, Michiko.ā She stepped out of the way so Aiko was unexpectedly presented on a bashful platter. āSheās the other American I just now told you about.ā
Michiko also smiled and extended a hand towards Aiko. āHajimemashite,ā the American greeted. āWhatās your name?ā
The giddiness over getting to shake hands like a ārealā foreigner was enough to make Aiko beam, although her eyes kept pointed to the ground. āHajimemashite,ā she said, and gripped Michikoās soft hand. Aiko pulled it away again before her shyness could overcome her. āMy name is Aiko. Aiko Takeuchi.ā
āOi!ā Shizuka smacked the other woman on the shoulder. āDonāt be rude!ā
āEh?ā The woman in blue spun around. Vibrant eyes shrouded in thick eyeliner stared at Aiko, dissecting her, judging her.
Aiko didnāt know why another Japanese girlās face shocked her so much. Maybe it was the eyeliner, or the eyes ā upon reflection later in life, Aiko would gauge it was a combination of those eyes alongside the sleek and long, black hair making her heart still in her chest. This woman looked like a veritable Cleopatra.
She did not, however, talk like an Egyptian ruler.
āMou, Shi-chan, whyād you bring a little girl in here? We just practiced for three hours and Iām tired.ā
āYouāre a dog,ā Shizuka bit with a sharp tongue. To Aiko, she said, āThis is Reina. She sings well but is all sorts of gross.ā
āYeah, well, fuck you too.ā But Reina grinned, and confusion swam in Aiko ā perhaps from the rough and coarse words coming out of such a dainty mouth. Reinaās vocabulary made her sound like the tough boys at Aikoās old high school.
Shizuka responded with a thump on Reinaās shoulder, and soon the group mates laughed in unison while Aiko stood in perplexity. They must be really close. She never took her cousin as somebody to laugh at another womanās crudeness, but this world she worked in was different from everyday society.
As the laughing died down, Reina pulled out a carton of cigarettes and passed one to Michiko. Shizuka further surprised Aiko by reaching out to take one as well ā since when did she smoke? Did her mother know? Before the lighter in Michikoās hand sparked to life, the cigarette carton appeared in handās reach.
āIi yo.ā Reina shoved the carton at Aiko again. āAh, let me guess, you donāt smoke.ā
Aiko shook her head as Reina leaned back and took a light from Michiko. Soon three plumes of smoke wafted around Aikoās head and made her swoon; she wasnāt sure if the high was from second-hand smoke or from seeing Reina wrap her tongue and skinny fingers around a cigarette. Men who smoked were disgusting and inconsiderate, but something about a woman crossing her legs and pursing her lips made Aiko double-take.
āFigures.ā The smoke lingered around Reinaās face, obscuring her thin eyes. āYouāre a good girl, I bet. You donāt smoke, get drunk, or fuck.ā When the smoke cleared Aiko could see Reinaās eyes searing, daring her to respond.
āOh, shut up and leave her alone. Donāt listen to her.ā Shizuka took another draft of her cigarette. āThis one never stops thinking about sex.ā
āHey, at least I get some.ā
āI told you, Iām not interested in women.ā
Throughout this small exchange, Michiko kept a curious eye on Aiko and her reactions. Now, upon both the declaration of Reinaās passive thoughts and her assumptions about Shizuka, Michiko studied Aikoās face as if she had a second nose.
āMaybe sheās not as good as you think she is, Reina-chan,ā Michiko said. āShe hasnāt flinched once upon hearing the naughty things weāre saying about you.ā
āNaughty? Donāt drag me into this.ā Shizuka waved her hand, her cigarette smoke bouncing up and down.
When Aiko spoke to defend herself, her voice was a pitiful squeak. āIām sorry, Michiko-san,ā and it pained her sensibilities to not call Michiko by her last name, but since she did not know it, she resorted to the more familiar given, āIām afraid my reactions are not satisfactory to you because I have no idea what youāre talking about. Iām sorry if I sound dense.ā
Michikoās brows rose and Reina laughed. āSee. Told you,ā she said in triumph. āSheās so goody-goody she doesnāt even know a conversation about fucking.ā
āNot everybody is as sexually needy as you,ā Michiko mumbled between goes at her cigarette.
Aiko blushed. She certainly knew sex! How old did they think she was? But thatās not what they had been talking about at all. The conversation was about an implication between Shizuka and Reina. Absurd. Shizuka had a boyfriend.
But then she announced to Aiko in out-loud confidence, āReina is a lesbian.ā
Scoffing, Reina stood and threatened her with a roll of the tongue and some brash, masculine words. āHey! Who told you it was okay to just blab that around? Shinjiran.ā She smashed her cigarette into an ashtray. āIām gonna get a beer.ā
Michiko asked for one as well before Reina stalked off to another room. āDonāt mind her,ā she then said to Aiko. āSheās a rude little lesbian. Iām a much nicer one.ā She discarded her cigarette next to Reinaās.
āLeā¦lesbian?ā
Even Shizuka spun her head towards Aiko at that. āAre you serious? You donāt know what that means?ā
Aiko stiffened. āI know what it means.ā She had Western friends; of course she knew what a ālesbianā was. The word was even in Hollywood movies! But a Japanese woman? A lesbian? It didnāt make sense. āBut isnāt thatā¦weird?ā
āNot if you like fucking women.ā
No amount of blinking could make Michikoās statement clearer. Aiko tried to imagine two Japanese women having sex, and all she could come up with was two naked women bumping into each other and apologizing as if they were on a crowded (nudist) train. She blushed again. āHow would somebody know that?ā
āYouā¦want to fuck women.ā Michiko rolled her eyes as if to say, āJapanese.ā Aiko knew that eye-roll well from her foreign-exchange friends. āItās not rocket science.ā
āMaa, donāt listen to her.ā Shizuka tugged on Aikoās arm. āTheyāre perverts.ā
Before Michiko could open her mouth, Reina reemerged with two beers in her hands. āAre you still educating her about vaginas?ā she asked, passing a beer to Michiko.
When their eyes met, Aiko thought she saw a familiar teasing quality, although it unnerved her. What if she thinks Iām some sort of prey now? Where did that thought come from?
āOi, Little Miss Good Girl.ā Reina snapped her fingers to get Aikoās attention. Her eyes unglazed and she looked into a satisfying smirk on Reinaās face. āHowād you like it if I fucked your pussy real good?ā
All the blood froze in Aikoās body as Shizuka smacked Reina on the head and Michiko likewise said some scolding words. The three of them wouldāve been amusing to any impartial onlooker, but to Aiko all she could see was Reinaās mischievous smile and hear her naughty words. Do what? To my what? She took a step back from the fray of āThatās my fucking cousin you pervert!ā and āReina, you no-good idiot!ā and hugged the wall as if nobody could see her there.
āHowād you like it if I fucked your pussy real good?ā
āCome on, Ai-chan.ā Shizuka appeared, taking Aiko by the arm and hauling her towards the rear exit. āIāll take you to the train station. Iām sorry I introduced you to that asshole.ā
They were outside in the alley before Aiko could look back and see either Michiko or Reina again. A light December drizzle began to fall as Shizuka pointed out the direction to the nearest station and offered Aiko fare to get home. She glanced around as if she were in a dream.
āHowād you like if I fucked your pussy real good?ā
āDonāt worry about anything.ā Aiko shoved the money away and took a step towards the main road. āItās fine. Really.ā She said some curt goodbyes to her cousin and thanked her for the tour. Before Shizuka could respond, Aiko was halfway down the alleyway, her shoes dunking in the puddles and heart pounding in her chest.
——–
“HATSUKOI.” will be available to purchase at the biggest online ebook retailers by Friday, November 30th!