“Ishigami-san, it would really help me if you would at least talk to me.” Jazz sighed and put her pen down. This one was a hard case, not easy to crack. They had spent the last 20 minutes in an epic stare down, ever since Jazz had started asking personal questions.
Why did someone come to a marriage matchmaking agency when they obviously weren’t interested in sharing even the slightest bit of personal information? How in the world should Jazz create a meaningful profile like this? It had cost her lots of time and persuasiveness to get him to allow her to take notes at all. Only when she told him that their server was safe and they worked with a hacker friend who made sure their system was not to crack from the outside he had given her his full name and occupation. Not his address or phone number, though.
“Your interrogation skills are lacking.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and Jazz sighed again.
“That is because this is NOT an interrogation. I understand that you are cautious and actually I approve of that, but you have to give me something to work with after all.”
He adjusted his glasses and stared at her. Again without a word. For three full minutes. But Jazz didn’t want to back down, she would take this as far as necessary to get him to talk, even if that meant sitting here all day and staring at each other.
“Ishigami-san, why are you here? Are you looking for a wife at all? Because right now you could just as good sit in a restaurant and glare at the waitress, that wouldn’t make any difference. If you want me to find someone suitable for you I need to know what you are looking for and – even more importantly – what you are offering.”
She had already made up her mind, this client would receive a bill based on the time she spent on his profile. She would get so much more money this way than just billing him for the whole package. Selina would definitely approve of that, too, being the clever business woman she was.
He seemed uncomfortable but much her relief he started to speak. Finally! Jazz rejoiced inwardly.
“My colleagues convinced me to come here. Obviously they think I might be more lenient to their inadequacies when I find a significant other.”
She had to struggle the smirk that wanted to appear on her face so badly, did her best to keep a straight face. Oh, she had heard of people who needed to get laid to be bearable, but a marriage? The thought of his coworkers going around, gathering signatures on a petition ‘Get Ishigami a girlfriend for God’s sake!’, was just too much. She took a deep breath.
“So you are not here to actually find a wife? If you’re not here on your own free will we better stop now before we waste any more of your certainly precious time.” And mine, she thought.
“I – I don’t dislike the thought of spending time with the right woman,” he slowly admitted. That was a sliver of hope, more than she had expected after the last 20 minutes.
“So you want us to continue?” she asked, just to be completely sure, and Ishigami nodded curtly.
“And you understand that this means you have to actually talk to me?” Another short nod. Obviously he didn’t really understand, but he seemed to try.
“Ishigami-san, here are some questionnaires, please fill those out and send them to me. I think we can stop here for today. Could you give me your number so I can call you back?” She handed him a stack of papers but he only frowned.
“I’m not comfortable with giving you my number,” he declared but took the papers she held out towards him. “I will call you if I have questions.”
“How about another meeting? Do you want to choose a time now or would you rather call me for that, too? You can also email me or send me a text, whatever suits you best.” She bowed slightly, knowing that men like him wanted to maintain a professional behavior all the time. She most definitely wouldn’t call him by his first name. Ever.
“I will let you know. Thank you for your time, Miss Mann.” He bowed, too, and got up. For Jazz that was the cue to lead him to the door of her office and see him off with a polite smile. And afterwards she stormed into Miho’s office, knowing she didn’t have a client because her door was slightly ajar.
“You are evil!”
Miho raised her head slightly from her paperwork and glanced towards Jazz, a smug smile on her perfectly painted lips.
“That is the general opinion, yes. Are you here to tell me what we already knew?”
Jazz slumped down on a chair and let her forehead fall onto the wooden surface of the desk in front of her with a loud thud.
“That police guy? Ishigami? You knew it. Admit it!”
Miho snickered. “I knew what exactly, love?”
Jazz groaned. “You knew that this man would be the death of me. And not in a good way!”
“I heard he was – difficult. But don’t you always say you like a challenge?” There was no remorse in Miho’s tone, only mild amusement.
“There’s challenging and there’s next to impossible. I’m not even sure if that guy is human.” Jazz sat up again and exhaled loudly. “Is that still punishment for that Aikawa-thing? Your way of torturing me?”
Miho chuckled but for a moment neither of the two women spoke.
“Okay, I better roll up my sleeves and see what I can come up with to crack that nut – no pun intended.” Jazz got up and flashed Miho a brief smile. “You know I’m not one to back up from a challenge.”
She really wanted to back up. Ishigami called her the next day with questions to some part of the questionnaire. Especially the parts about sexual preferences.
“I don’t understand why I have to tell you that,” he curtly said.
“Because we try to match up people with similar taste. It’s not wise to try to bring a virgin and some hardcore BDSM devotee together, no matter what blockbusters and books try to tell us.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose with thumb and middle finger.
“Hmph.” Even on the phone he said nothing for longer moments, expecting her to fill the silence. But she didn’t, at least not in the way he expected.
“Ishigami-san, are you sexually active?” She had wondered that before but couldn’t ask him to his face. She wasn’t that brave – or stupid.
“Right now? No. I’m talking to you after all.”
Jazz had to suppress a groan of frustration. “No, not now. In general. Did you have sex before? With another person?” She wasn’t sure, he really was like some robot sometimes. No one could be that void of emotion and still interested in sex, right?
“I am not completely inexperienced if it’s that what you wanted to know.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. It was so damn difficult to get even the tiniest information from him.
“And are you interested in sex? Will that be a part of your marriage or are you looking just for someone to spend your time with in the evenings? Because that would be fine, too. I’m sure we could find a woman who would like that.” And own a nice collection of toys for the case the moods does strike after all, at least with her.
“I don’t want to rule that out completely.” His tone still gave nothing of his feelings or thoughts away.
“Would you like to fill out the questions together? Would you like some further explanations?” Anything to make this progress faster.
“I think I’m capable of doing this on my own. Thank you for your offer.”
She was indeed a bit relieved at his answer. How awkward would it have been if he had said ‘yes’?
“Of course. If you don’t have any more questions I wish you a good night, Ishigami-san.”
“Good night, Miss Mann.”
Jazz put her phone down and whined. It was as if she was talking to a wall. A good looking, very intelligent wall. But still a wall. But she swore herself that she would climb that wall, and if it was the last thing she ever did! Or the last man.
She should have just asked him herself, letting him fill out the questionnaire wasn’t the best idea after all. Ishigami sent her several texts after their call.
“Is more than one position really necessary?”
“Why should someone enjoy being called ‘Daddy’ during intercourse? Pretended incest is very unappealing.”
“Actual bodily harm should not be part of a relationship. Calling it ‘spanking’ doesn’t change the fact that it is assault.”
“What is ‘pegging’?”
Jazz threw her phone onto the other end of her desk at the last one. She shouldn’t have given him the one with the advanced sexual questions. Actually she doubted that he had even heard of half of the things asked in there.
Didn’t that man know how to google?! For a moment Jazz imagined Ishigami actually looking up some of the terms in the questions and couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. She could see it, the way this tiny crease between his brows appeared, how is scowl deepened, confusion and denial battling in his expression.
The date simulation would be a tough one. How was she supposed to judge his skills in bed if there seemed to be none? Not even interest? She wasn’t even sure if she could seduce him – and so far she assumed that would be necessary since he definitely would not make the first step.
She thought about some of the clients she had lately. Most of them couldn’t wait to get her naked and in bed, their masculine pride and libido making this easy. Jazz was an attractive woman, her body was to die for, with just the right amount of curves – well, maybe a bit more than the average Japanese woman seemed to have. Seriously, how came that they all were so petite and delicate?! Anyway, she knew she was a looker and so far none of her clients had shown the lack of interest that Ishigami had displayed. She had to draw him out somehow and when the prospect of sex and the respective review – that most of her clients simply EXPECTED to be full of praise – weren’t enough she had to come up with something else. And she already had an idea.
After some more texts and a slightly disturbing call in which Jazz had to explain some of the finer points of BDSM to him they actually agreed on a date. Jazz had already decided to pitch Ishigami as ‘mysterious, handsome and smart’ – with emphasis on ‘mysterious’. She was surprised when he suggested the aquarium for their date but was sure that he wouldn’t try anything there. If he tried anything at all.
“Ishigami-san, I’m glad you made it.” Jazz greeted him with a bright smile. She was wearing something simple, sure that he wasn’t one for fancy dresses and high heels. Instead she had chosen a sundress, light blue, and some sandals. Ishigami wore his usual suit but she hadn’t expected anything else.
“Thank you for coming here today, Miss Mann.” There was a hint of a smile playing in the corners or his mouth, throwing her off guard for a second.
“I’m glad you asked me out. And to the aquarium. I haven’t been here for ages.”
“Do you like fish?” His expression was stern like always.
“I love the sea. The beach, the water, and yes, also fish. It’s so calm and serene – soothing.” There was no need to fake her smile, it came naturally when she talked about the sea.
“I enjoy looking at fish.”
Wow. That might have been the most personal thing he had told her so far, completely by his own choice. Maybe she should start looking for a marine biologist that loved riddles and tight-lipped men.
After that conversation was as tough as ever. They walked around, Jazz talked a bit but Ishigami didn’t. Sometimes he pointed out interesting facts about some of the fish, but mostly he deflected the questions she asked.
She got some ice cream and offered to share with him, but he declined. Declared it unsanitary. She inwardly sighed. If he thought that wasn’t sanitary, how would he think about oral sex? Sex in general? That would be a very clinical date, she was sure of that.
“Have you already thought about what we will do after this? Where we will go?” Jazz simply had to ask him. She wouldn’t force him to have sex with her, if he really didn’t want to he wouldn’t have to, but of course she would still charge him the full amount for her service.
“I am actually uncomfortable with that part,” he admitted, not surprising Jazz in the slightest.
“What part of it makes you uncomfortable?” She wasn’t even offended, only curious. Whatever it was, it would help her find out something more about him.
“As you know I’m a police officer. Engaging in prostitution is out of question for me.”
Jazz nearly choked on her own harsh reply. But instead of shouting at him for basically calling her a whore – not something that had never happened before – she took a deep breath and smiled politely.
“Ishigami-san, whatever happens between us would not be prostitution. We will not have intercourse in exchange for payment. You are paying for marriage matchmaking, nothing else. We can or we cannot have sex to complete your profile, I don’t care. You will still pay the same.”
“But do you really need that to create my profile?” He was still skeptical and Jazz needed a moment to find a way to make him understand.
“You are a police officer, right? So that means you know about profiling, about how important it is to gather as many information as possible to make sure you arrest the right person in the end. It’s the same with my work. The more I know about you the better I can match you up with one of my clients.” She smiled while delivering the finishing blow.
“You wouldn’t arrest someone based on a profile that only says ‘male’ after all, would you?”
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned. “In a room full of females? Yes, I would.”
“But would you go into a room of females, looking for a male in the first place?” Jazz’s innocent expression masked the ambiguity of her question perfectly. Maybe she really wasn’t the right one for this job. Maybe she would have to call someone to take over this client.
“I don’t understand. If I have evidence that he is in there, I would go and arrest him.”
Jazz nodded. “But to get that evidence you would need a better profile. Or it could be any male person.”
Ishigami looked as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. Jazz waited for a moment but when he neither agreed nor disagreed she sighed.
“The dolphin show is about to start. Do you want to watch it?”
He shrugged lightly. “I’m not against it.”
Well, that would be the closest to agreement she could get from him so they walked towards the dolphin show, but Jazz was still thinking about how she could make him talk. She was sure that this analogy between Ishigami creating a profile for a criminal and Jazz creating a profile for the matchmaking had been a good one, at least he seemed to think about it. But she still needed him to open up, and not only his pants for the test drive later. No, she needed more personal information about him but she had never met anyone that stoic, that secretive. He was a cop after all, he knew how to keep his mouth shut while making others talk.
Suddenly an idea popped into her head and before she could reconsider she already blurted it out.
“Give me a lesson.”
Ishigami stopped in his tracks and looked at her with furrowed brow.
“On what?”
She turned fully towards him and bowed lightly. “Ishigami-sensei, teach me the right way to conduct an interrogation.”
“Why would you want that?”
Straightening up again she looked directly at him, his glare didn’t scare her away.
“You said the other day that my interrogation skills were lacking and I told you we wouldn’t even have an interrogation, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe we should change the setting, get rid of all the distractions and simply focus on what this all is about: me getting the information from you that I need.”
Ishigami made a low “hmph” but then nodded.
“Fine. Let me see what you got first and afterwards I will teach you how to do it right.”
Jazz bit her lip at the innuendo, sure that it wasn’t intended after all.
“Right now?”
“I’m fine with that.” He nodded briefly and Jazz quickly thought about the possibilities.
“Where do you want to go?”
He pondered this for a moment. “I can’t take you to the station, although our interrogation rooms there would be perfect. But that would only raise questions and I would like to prevent that. My place is out of question, not even my coworkers know where I live.”
She hadn’t expected anything else. “Well, my place isn’t an option either. I never take clients there, for safety reasons.”
“A very good decision.” That probably was the first real praise he ever gave her and Jazz felt as if she had just won an epic battle. A nice feeling.
“A hotel?” she suggested, only for Ishigami’s frown to deepen.
“I hope you are not talking about those special establishments in the shadier parts of the town,” he said with clear disgust.
“A love hotel? Not really, but we might find one with a police station themed room after all. If you feel more comfortable in a surrounding like that,” she offered with feigned innocence.
“I assume you are a regular guest in those hotels.” Disapproval was etched into his face but Jazz simply shrugged.
“To be honest I never was in one before. Our clients usually prefer less obvious locations and I encourage them to choose a place they are comfortable with after all.”
“Hmm… I know of a good hotel, classy and still discreet.”
Jazz didn’t even ask, just nodded and followed him out of the aquarium, the dolphin show long forgotten.
The hotel actually was a nice one, mostly for business guests, not one of those romantic hotels or tourists’ ones. It was clean, the staff was friendly but they didn’t even earn strange glances, walking in there with no overnight luggage or anything. It was pretty clear why they came in there even when Ishigami booked a room for a whole night. Not that Jazz expected that the option of getting a room for only some hours would even exist here.
As soon as they were in the room Jazz dragged a chair into the middle of the room, prompting Ishigami with a gesture to sit down. He simply glared at her so she sighed.
“Let me show you my approach, you can correct me afterwards.”
With a grunt of disapproval he slowly sat down on the chair.
“Thank you for cooperating,” she said with a smile.
“First mistake,” he sternly objected.
“We’ll see,” Jazz replied and reached for his tie, loosened it with nimble fingers and pulled it from him. All she needed to do was to break that shell around him. She was sure that somewhere deep inside was a man like every other man.
“Your job must be tough,” she casually remarked and pushed the jacket from his shoulders. “Keeping everything to yourself, the long hours, the danger.” Walking around him until she stood behind him she always kept physical contact until she could rest her hands on his shoulders.
“You are so stiff.” With firm but small movements she started kneading his upper back, ignoring the way he tensed under her hands.
“What are you doing?” He was still suspicious but Jazz shushed him and kept rubbing circles with her thumbs between his shoulder blades.
“There are two kinds of interrogation. The one that uses fear and threats and violence – although I can’t see you actually threatening someone physically. But I bet they are all afraid of you, of your sharp perception, your unwavering glare.” She leaned in close and whispered into his ear now.
“That increases negative emotions and it might work for you, but there is still another way. Some suspects react better to positive enforcement… make them comfortable, take their mind off things…”
Her hands slid down his back once and up again before she let them wander over his shoulders and down his chest. The audible intake of breath was his only reaction so she figured it was okay.
“You know, most people WANT to tell you everything you want to know… they are just afraid of the consequences…” Jazz popped the first button of his shirt open the exact moment the tip of her tongue traced his ear.
Ishigami was trained well, he didn’t even make a sound. Such display of self control only spurred Jazz on. Oh, she admired people who could handle their emotions that well – mostly because she couldn’t. She quickly moved in front of him, her hands still busy opening his shirt, and for a moment she considered getting on her knees, between his thighs. But she quickly scrapped that. Usually men loved seeing a woman in that position, but Ishigami wasn’t a ‘normal’ man. Maybe visual stimuli weren’t as effective as haptical ones. So instead she straddled him while she tugged the shirt out of his pants.
“Ishigami-san… am I too heavy?” She shifted a bit until she sat in his lap, rolled her hips slightly and looked at him. There it was! A faint blush!
“No, you are not,” he said, his voice even but she noticed the way his jaw clenched.
“Good.” Satisfied with his answer Jazz helped him out of his shirt and threw it as neatly as possible on another chair. Not the floor, he wouldn’t like that.
“Ishigami-san, when’s your birthday?”
He looked at her with surprise before he frowned again. “I’m sure I already told you that.”
“Yes, you did. But I want some control questions so I can figure out when you’re lying to me.” She rolled her hips again, with more pressure this time. He clenched his hands, his arms hanging at his side.
“September 9,” he pressed out between gritted teeth. Jazz could feel his cock swell in his pants and rejoiced inwardly.
“What is your first name?” Her nails dragged down his chest lightly. She was surprised that he was so toned, after all he looked rather slim in his suit. But she liked it.
“H-Hideki.” His voice hitched in his throat when her nail scratched over his nipple.
“I want you to call me Jazz, Ishigami-san.” She almost purred, smiled when he nodded. “Good.”
She cupped his cheek in one hand and stared at him. “We can stop whenever you want to, and you tell me if anything makes you uncomfortable.”
Jazz ran her nose from his jaw up his cheek. “Am I making you uncomfortable, detective?” Her voice was low and breathy and he cleared his throat, shifted a bit under her.
“Not really.”
Jazz carefully took off his glasses and Ishigami blinked a few times, needing a moment to adjust his vision.
“What kind of woman would make you uncomfortable, Ishigami-san?” If he wasn’t willing to tell her what he wanted in a woman he could at least give her some hints about his dislikes.
“Stupid women. Loud and flashy. I don’t like that.” His eyes darted around the room and his blush got even darker.
“Very good. And how about the appearance? Any preferences?” Jazz tried to catch his gaze but he avoided her stubbornly, not answering at all.
“Do you like blondes? Brunettes? Black hair?” No reaction.
“Tall or small?” Still no reaction. With a smirk Jazz grabbed his arms and placed his hands on her ass.
“Butt or-?” She moved his hands again. “Boobs?” Ishigami’s face was on fire but he didn’t pull his hands away.
“This is not appropriate.” He tried to sound grumpy, she could tell, but he didn’t. Actually he was a bit breathless.
“Ishigami-san, between a man and a woman everything is appropriate as long as they both consent. You know my profile, I’ve got nothing to hide. Whatever you like, there’s no need to hold back.”
When he finally looked at her Jazz slowly leaned in, gave him time and opportunity to pull back. He didn’t. His lips were dry and he didn’t really respond to this first kiss, but his hands slid down to her waist and stayed there.
When Jazz pulled back she was a bit surprised by the look on his face.
“This is your interrogation technique?” He sounded amazed and Jazz chuckled.
“Might not work with criminals, but I got good results with men so far,” she admitted. The thought of Ishigami trying this technique with a suspect made her laugh, the image of him in his impeccable suit, straddling some criminal and licking his ear – too funny.
He hummed, obviously contemplating his next moves.
“You really don’t dislike the thought of having sex with me?”
She smiled at his concern. “No. You are handsome. A bit cold, but handsome.” Another movement of her hips had him groaning. “A challenge.”
“But I – you…” He was at a loss for words. Well, he had never been talkative, but this time it wasn’t because he didn’t want to talk, it was because he couldn’t.
“I know we came here so you could teach me something… but how about we change the plan a bit. Let me teach you. You need to relax a bit… to let go…” With that she slipped a hand between their bodies, let it rest on the bulge in his pants and palmed his hard cock through the fabric.
“Or can’t you do that? Can’t learn something new, Ishigami-san?” She breathed into his ear and that was exactly the moment he broke. Finally.
He was like a completely different man all of sudden, greedy and passionate, his lips moving against hers until he slipped his tongue into her mouth, impatiently mapping her out. Jazz had known it, under his stoic shell there was a fiery volcano, simmering under the surface. His hands roamed her body as if he didn’t know where to touch first, where to linger and how exactly to get her out of her dress. While she was already working on his belt and pants he was still looking for the zipper of her dress before he simply pulled it up and over her head, leaving her in her underwear. There was no slow exploration of each other, no teasing, no building of anticipation. Just desire and sheer need. Obviously long pent up desire. Ishigami practically yanked her bra off her, hands and lips immediately lavishing the exposed skin with attention.
Jazz moaned when he rolled her nipples into almost painful stiffness with his fingers before he sucked one into his mouth, teeth grazing against the sensitive nub. His fingers curled into the waistband of her panties and he ripped them from her, literally. He didn’t even care when the flimsy lace tore under his hands, all he could think about was getting her naked as soon as possible.
Jazz gave as good as she took. She kissed and nipped and touched wherever she could reach, without holding back. When they both were naked, already panting, Jazz stopped him briefly.
“Ishigami-san… condoms…” She pointed towards her purse and got up, walked over to the bed and slumped down on it while he quickly walked over, but not to her bag. Instead he searched the pockets of his jacket, pulled out a foil packet and ripped it open.
He was back between her legs in no time, cock rock hard and covered in latex, pushing her thighs apart so he could rub against her folds, coating his cock with her wetness.
When he pushed into her, one slow and steady motion, she groaned again, a low and heartfelt ‘holy’. His eyes were searching her face, as if to make sure she was enjoying this. Jazz hooked her feet under his ass and pulled him closer, his hands finding her hips. The kisses they shared where rough and demanding, partly only shared breath and the touch of tongues.
Jazz was surprised. She hadn’t expected him to be this passionate, this rough. She had expected something clean and boring, but even if they were in the classic missionary it wasn’t boring at all. He was finally making some noises, grunts and groans, harsh breaths, “ahs” and “ohs”.
She was wondering if his self control also applied towards sex. How long would he be able to hold back? He had been hard for some time already and Jazz was pretty sure he hadn’t had sex in a while. Just a feeling.
“I-Ishi… gami… san…” she panted, trying to get him to stop for a second.
“What?” He instantly paused, looked at her almost alarmed.
“Everything’s fine… just… I want… something else than… plain missionary,” she said, gently shoving against his chest.
“But – I thought it was the best position for intercourse. Closeness, possibility to kiss, good leverage for thrusting…” He frowned slightly and Jazz couldn’t help but chuckle.
“It is definitely a good start, but sometimes the personal preferences don’t match with the supposedly ‘best’ approach. Here, let me show you.”
She kissed him briefly before she encouraged him to sit up a bit, pulled her leg up and over his shoulder and nodded.
“Go on.”
His first thrust made her moan loudly. This angle was so much better. Ishigami breathed a ‘My goodness…’ and Jazz knew that he understood.
“Sometimes… communication… is the… key…” she pressed out between thrusts, his cock now hitting all her sensitive spots. He grunted, probably in affirmation, but Jazz wasn’t sure and honestly, the way he fucked her right now made her a bit indifferent towards the original plan to get more input for his profile.
“Pull… out…” she stammered, suddenly aware that she won’t be able to reach climax this way. Without hesitation he did and Jazz quickly turned around, flat on her stomach, wiggling her hips a bit.
“Come here,” she instructed him and he ran a hand over the curve of her ass.
“Are you comfortable with this position? I thought women find it – degrading.”
She smiled at his display of concern. “I’m not only comfortable with it – I love it. Personal taste, nothing else. And nothing I offer freely can feel degrading for me.”
He nodded and covered her body with his, lined up and pushed back into her. She arched her back, her breasts leaving the bed just for his hand to slide under her body, holding her in place while he thrust into her again and again, propped up on his free elbow. Jazz grabbed his hand and moved it from her breasts lower, between her legs. She bit her bottom lip, this was exactly what she needed. All the annoyance, the frustration this client had caused her was now fueling her desire, fanning her pleasure.
“Right there!” she cried out, prompting him to repeat his movements. His cock was filling her over and over, his fingertips circling her clit and finally she fell over the edge, pleasure and bliss coursing through her body while he was still moving. It had its perks that he was a machine after all.
Completely boneless Jazz slumped down, let him grab her hips and get up on his knees, the new position giving her some different stimulation but thankfully gave her overly sensitive clit a rest for now. She was fine with getting only one orgasm per round, there was no need for more, especially if that one was as good as this. So she simply enjoyed how he fucked her, the noises, the hissing, how his fingers dug into the soft flesh of her hips until his thrusts stuttered, his grip got even tighter. He grunted, ground against her ass and finally slumped down on her.
With a surprisingly sweet kiss between her shoulder blades he pulled out, disposed of the condom and plopped down on the bed.
“I like pudding,” he suddenly said and Jazz arched an eyebrow. “Blue is my favorite color, blue like the sea. And I like fish. I like it when people take their responsibilities seriously and I know I can be a bit intimidating, but that’s not what I want. It helps sometimes, though.”
They talked some more and Jazz encouraged him to tell her whatever he wanted, without pressing for specific answers to specific questions. It was a small victory itself that he talked at all.
“You must be pretty lonely,” she eventually said. “There’s so much you have to keep a secret. I understand that it must be hard for you to share this with me.”
He blushed a bit and looked away. “It’s – not as unpleasant as I have expected.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Well, Ishigami-san, I think it’s time for me to leave now. If you have more questions or answers for me, you know my number.”
With her ruined panties stuffed into her purse she left the hotel in the middle of the night. Ishigami sure was lonely. But as she looked up into the sky above Tokyo, the stars drowned out by the light pollution, she felt lonely, too.
Miho & Jazz 