RUSH-HOUR - Never fall for a Yakuza (BL, mxm, bxb, SAMPLE)

Chapter 1

„Woo-hoo! Have you ever seen a car as flashy as that in real life?" Drunken with excitement, Hitako rammed his elbow without the slightest warning into my left side, nearly making me faint from the pain and lack of air.

„Are you stupid?", I hissed, holding my ribs that hurt like hell.

We had just left the cinema, and I was already in a grumpy mood. The ticket had been expensive, and I had spent money I couldn't exactly spare for a movie that had been awfully bad, to boot, just to do this moronic Hitako a favor. And how did he reward my selfless act of friendship? By bruising my ribs!

The third of our bunch, Teshi, laughed at our bickering with the child-like singleheartedness that was typical for him, while Hitako ran towards the car to have a closer look, not minding to at least apologize for his previous misconduct.

Shaking my head, I turned towards Teshi, only to hold back the remark already on my lips at a sudden, startling exclamation.

„Josh?"

The voice from my past echoed through my mind, until I realized, I wasn't mistaken: It was really him! Turning around, I saw a young man, a huge grin on his face. The man tried to compensate his rather ragged features with a high-class, dark grey suit and a matching scarf with the logo of an exclusive brand printed all over it.

Blinking a couple of times, I finally managed to rein in the subconscious fear that had turned my body into an immobile statue.

„Shota? What the heck..." Even in my own ears, my voice sounded trembling. How pathetic! We weren't teenagers anymore, and Shota Masahiro wouldn't dare to attack me in front of so many people. I straightened my back and mustered all my strength to look this unwelcome ghost from my past in the eyes. „What do you want? And it's Kouzawa for you!"

Staring at me wide-eyed, Shota started to giggle, then burst into laughter. „You haven't changed one bit, Kouzawa." I hated the way he pronounced my name, as if it was some kind of joke. And I hated this guy who had turned two years of high-school into hell on earth for me.

I had always known that I was gay, and had never tried to conceal it. That had made me incredibly popular amongst the girls of our school – I mean, which girl doesn't want a gay best friend to talk about boys and fashion, right? -, but not amongst a large group of the male students. The worst bully had been Shota, who had been in my class, to make matters worse. The number of beatings I'd had to endure from this guy were countless. He had enjoyed that I had never begged or ran away, but he had tried to beat me into submission. He had been that kind of a sadist.

Leisurely walking towards me, until he came to a halt merely two steps away, Shota looked me up and down. Then he snickered. „Still a homo, eh? Bet you're really popular, cute as your face is. But you should look for a new sugar daddy, one who can afford to buy you nicer clothes." Gazing at Teshi, who was almost twenty years our senior, but less mature than any of my other friends, he snickered again.

„Josh, we should go..." Softly touching my arm, Teshi urged me to leave this place. The fear in his voice made my stomach turn out of disgust for Shota who was the source of this fear. Teshi was such a sweet, simple man, who had been left mentally disabled after a car accident in his youth. The owner of the café I worked part-time as a waiter had a big heart and had hired Teshi as one of the dish washers.

This grown man with the personality of a child was often lonely, so I went with him to the zoo on our days off, or to the cinema. Don't get me wrong, I am no Mother Theresa. But since I often felt lonely, too, I could relate to Teshi's need for a friend, and Hitako didn't mind his presence.

I had never talked to Teshi about my sexuality, and maybe he knew. Nevertheless, I resented the way Shota blurted it out in front of him. On top of that, his mean comment had visibly hurt Teshi, who unfortunately had understood very well that it had contained an insult targeted at him.

„Get lost, Shota! My friends are none of your business. And, most of all, I am none of your business!"

„Ah, come on, don't be like that! Actually, I just wanted to propose a great opportunity to you. My boss is always looking for cute boys for his clubs, and the payment is high, enough for you to afford clothes that don't make you look like some hobo."

With all my might, I had to rein in the urge of hitting Shota's stupid face. It wasn't as if he hadn't told the truth, though. I did wear cheap, hand-me-down jeans and a worn-out shirt, but I'd prefered these over high-end brand one's bought from dirty money anytime. „Yeah, right. As if I'd work for some shady club owner. I'm a university student, not a host or call-boy!"

Shota raised his arms in an appeasing gesture. „Hey, don't get the wrong idea here. We are talking about completely legal businesses, like that new club in the central, Rush-hour. Heard of it?"

Who hadn't heard of that club? It was the place to be at that moment, where celebrities and other it-crowd-people willingly queued in front of, desperate to get inside. A place someone like me could never hope to gain entry to.

Shota must have noticed the change on my face, from disgust to piqued interest. „How about it? Shall I make an appointment for you with our head of staff? Any experience as a waiter or barkeeper?"

„I work in a small café at the moment. Previously, I had a job as a barkeeper at a bar. A gay bar", I added, just to see his face when I reminded him of the reason he had always resented me.

Yet, to my surprise, he just smiled. „That's great. Here, take my business card and send me an email with your résumé and contact data. I'll arrange a job interview for you."

The card he handed me looked really cool, a crisp and modern design with a dark grey company logo on it. „Special Service Manager", I read his job title out loud and looked at him with suspicious eyes. That sounded quite shady to me.

„Yeah, well, some VIP's need special treatment, like shuttle service and such. That's where I step in." He winked at me and waved his good-bye. „Need to head back to the office. See ya soon." And with that, he walked towards the flashy car, still admired by my friend Hitako, fished a car key out of his pockets and with a beep, opened the locks to the luxurious vehicle.

„Damn it, why did that bastard have so much luck in his life?", I mumbled, annoyed that a mean person like him could afford things I couldn't even dream of.

„Will... will you leave our shop?" Teshi stared at me teary-eyed.

„Don't worry. Even if I should get a job at that club, we'll still hang out together!" My reassurance didn't seem to work. Teshi hung his head dejected and I was sure he was crying. „Hey, Teshi. You are my friend, you know that, right? But I need more money, or I'll get evicted from my apartment. How about it? If I get a job at that club, I'll smuggle you inside and we'll party together, with all the actors you fancy from TV. Wouldn't that be great?"

This seemed to calm his anxiety, and a big smile appeared on his honest, bright face. „That would be awesome!"

„What would be awesome?" Hitako came back to us and after I told him what had happened, he immediately offered to lend me a suit for a possible interview. Hitako was a lawyer, working in a small firm owned by his dad. We met at a gay club around a year prior, and after a short fling, had decided to be just friends. Since he was working out a lot, his suits wouldn't fit me, but he knew a friend who had my size.

So, before I even had an invitation to a job interview, I already had settled the question of what to wear, and I have to admit, I was in high spirits. Little did I know at that moment there would come a time I would deeply regret ever meeting Shota again...