2 Madness

It was a private room on the second floor of the club with a lush sofa, an exquisite table and a sparkling chandelier. Soundproofed against the noise downstairs.

Kaoru entered the room to find a man standing by the table. He stared.

Him.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," the man remarked dryly. "Not a reaction that I'm used to."

Kaoru made sure that he put a good distance between them, ice pick ready in his back pocket.

He knew a predator when he saw one. The moment those rare bluish eyes set on him at the table earlier.

Wada hadn't tried to touch him like some other patrons. He didn't even make any propositions. His voice, low and almost playful, accomplished far more.

It had made Kaoru's heart skipped a beat, right before he fled the table.

"You wanted to see me," Kaoru began carefully.

A laugh escaped the man. "Relax. I am not about to attack you. I really just wanted to see you."

Kaoru's wary face must have given away his thoughts because the next words came swiftly with a dangerously attractive smirk.

"Fine, perhaps more than that. Not that you should worry. I do very much prefer willing partners."

"Will you file a complaint?" Kaoru asked quietly. "If I say no?"

"God, no," Wada seemed aghast and then added devilishly, "I may keep coming back until you say yes though."

"We don't even know each other," Kaoru blurted out.

Wada gave an elegant shrug. "Does it matter? You need money. I want company. It's a fair trade."

Kaoru was stunned by how direct - no, callous - he was. He didn't even ask how he knew about his situation.

This was madness. He should just turn around and run.

Yet, he found himself unmoving.

It was just one night. At the very least, Wada had given him a choice.

Sensing his resolve breaking, Wada walked closer to him. Still not touching, he whispered.

"Aihara Kaoru. That's your name, isn't it? There, I do know something about you."

Then he leaned in to capture Kaoru's mouth.

It was a terrible and tempting kiss.

It burned Kaoru. He couldn't pull away.

Wada could kiss, in a way someone who knew he could. Confident, exploring and sensual.

It didn't take long for their hands to grasp and their bodies to press against each other.

Kaoru exhaled when they broke up for air.

"What's this?" Wada sounded amused as he reached down to Kaoru's back pocket.

Kaoru stilled and his hands loosened on the lapels of Wada's suit.

"In case I need to stab you," he confessed.

That should pour ice over this insane fire.

Instead, Wada chuckled. Kaoru widened his eyes in disbelief.

"Keep it," Wada told him. "I'll leave if you insist. I don't enjoy pain, though some people are into that sort of sex."

Maybe it was how ludicrous the statement sounded or the fact that he had bothered to ask. Or that Kaoru was just too tired to care.

Pathetic as it was, Kaoru hadn't been held by anyone in a long time.

Would it be so bad if he just wanted someone warm next to him for one brief moment?

A temporary way out of this awful position between fear and temptation.

"I need to get changed first."

"Just don't change your mind."

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The driver didn't even bat an eyelid when he opened the door for Kaoru to get into the back of an expensive black foreign car.

During the ride, Wada didn't say much and just studied him. Not with a predatory glint. He simply looked and seemed intrigued.

"You are an interesting one," he had said finally.

Kaoru didn't know how to respond so he just looked away. He wished he wasn't so attracted to this man. Or maybe that it was good that he was since it would make it easier.

He suspected that Wada knew precisely just how attractive he was.

Could the tension be higher? Why did it feel so…restricted?

Now, as they stood in an exquisitely furnished apartment, Kaoru couldn't remember the colors. All he could see was how neat it was. How vacant even with all the furniture.

It wasn't Wada's home clearly.

"I could ask you if you want a drink," Wada began in a husky voice. "But let's dispense with frivolities."

He took Kaoru's hand and led them to the bedroom. Without saying a word, Kaoru found himself pinned onto the bed.

Panic filled him for a split second and he almost pushed Wada away.

"Do you know why I picked you?"

Kaoru's panic gave way to surprise.

"Because I need money," he replied honestly.

"No," Wada responded fiercely. "Because you don't care who I am."

What a strange reason. It didn't make sense to Kaoru. Then he saw the shuttered intensity in those blue eyes.

'I want company'. That was what Wada had told him.

He didn't resist when Wada's hands reached underneath his shirt.

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His flat was tiny and near the railway, which accounted for the cheap rent. The neighborhood was rough but not truly unsafe as far as he could tell. His neighbor was a surly old woman who sneered at him to mind his own business.

Once he was inside, Kaoru slid down his door onto the floor limply. A stack of bills still in his backpack.

He was sore. In places he didn't know he could be. He could still taste Wada's mouth on his. Feel the weight of the man on top of him and literally invading him.

What had he done?

Without knowing why, tears started forming in Kaoru's eyes.

He wiped them away stubbornly.