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Sinclair often felt that he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming anytime Ryoshu was by his side. He couldn’t understand what a woman like her was doing with a guy like him: some law school student fumbling through his degree with a shit job at a bookstore.
That bookstore was where they had met. Just beside it was a little corner store where Ryoshu often went to buy cigarettes. She always stood just outside, tapping out a fresh cigarette from the pack, then smoked that first cigarette like it was a ritual. Every night. Sinclair noticed her first because of course he did. She was a sharp, striking silhouette in the evening, just before the shop closed, and Sinclair couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.
Blood red eyes met his gaze and he felt his heart jump into his throat. He immediately looked away, swallowing hard, and went back to organizing books on the shelf. The small bell that rang whenever the front door opened, dinged and suddenly she was in front of him with a knowing smirk.
And that was that.
They weren’t dating. At least Sinclair didn’t think so because Ryoshu never put a label on it and he didn’t want to get his hopes up. They hung out and sometimes Ryoshu climbed onto his lap with burning eyes and a sharp smirk, clever hands that tugged at his belt buckle and—
Sinclair shook his head to get rid of the encroaching heated thoughts and sighed. He was in his meager apartment studying for an upcoming exam when the door suddenly swung open. He jumped with a very manly yelp and turned to see Ryoshu looking furious in a way he had never seen before. He had almost forgotten that he gave her the key to his apartment one month into their arrangement. She glared at Sinclair like he had offended her and he just stared back wide eyed.
“O-Oh! Uh… R-Ryoshu? Is everything alright?” He closed his laptop and stood up. He was unsure what he was supposed to be but he was ready to do whatever necessary for the older woman.
Ryoshu sighed hard through her nose and stalked toward Sinclair with determined steps. Sinclair felt like she was coming at him with intent to kill and while feeling like prey underneath Ryoshu wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling, this was new. More intense.
Then, she grabbed his face and kissed him hard. As if she had something to prove.
Sinclair unconsciously kissed back, relishing in the familiar taste of tobacco on her tongue, this time mixed with the sharp heat of liquor and something fruity. She pulled away with a long sigh and leaned forward to rest her forehead on his shoulder. Standing still, Sinclair let Ryoshu lean into him.
“... Ryoshu?” He muttered, voice softer. Gentler.
She pulled away and stepped over to flop onto his sofa, pulling out another cigarette with shaking hands. “B.N.” A pause then she waved her hand dismissively. “Sort of.”
“Bad night? I thought you went out with your friends.” Sinclair sat next to her with a concerned furrow to his brow. He knew of Gregor and Rodya but he hadn’t been introduced to them yet. Sometimes he felt like he was Ryoshu’s dirty little secret…
Ryoshu groaned and she seemed at a loss for words. Then, muttering to herself in Japanese, she pulled out her phone to scroll on the screen a bit. After a minute, she shoved the screen into Sinclair’s face. It was a photo, and it looked to have been taken some time ago given that Ryoshu had long hair in the picture, but what was surprising was the man standing beside her.
He was everything Sinclair wasn’t: tall, very muscular, confident, and dressed to the nines in an expensive looking dark red suit. A large, possessive hand was placed on Ryoshu’s waist in the photo, pulling her toward his broad chest.
Sinclair gently took the phone from Ryoshu’s hand to squint at the photo and he must’ve been making some kind of expression because he heard her chuckle low. “Hah. Jealous?” She took the phone back and looked at the photo with a slight scowl.
“... Don’t be. He’s a shithead.” She pocketed the phone with another sigh.
Sinclair looked at her profile. Elegant yet sharp and so pretty. He tried to connect the dots on what she was showing him and not telling him.
“Why uh… did you see him or something?” He offered with a sheepish smile.
Ryoshu’s face twisted with disdain and she chewed bitterly on the cigarette. When she realized she ruined it, she snuffed it out on the ashtray sitting on the coffee table (he bought it just for her), and sighed heavily.
She was silent and then turned to look at him with an unreadable expression. “I fucked him.”
Sinclair felt the color drain from his face. “Oh… Haha uh. Wow.” He scratched at his nose and looked away. “So uh… huh. Wow.” At a loss for words, Sinclair struggled with the heavy weight in his gut.
He had no right to feel betrayed or hurt. What Ryoshu and he had was nothing. Clearly she liked her men much more imposing and handsome. Taller… That guy in the photo looked like a perfect match for a woman like Ryoshu.
He felt her gaze on his face and he tried to ignore it. He knew looking at her would just make the ache in his chest hurt worse; but then she reached out to grab his face, squishing his cheeks together, and forcibly turned him to face her. “Stop that K.P.F.” She scowled at him and shook his face a little. “I fucked him, yes. But...” She squeezed his face pointedly and her expression seemed to soften a little, not with affection but something Sinclair never thought he’d see.
Regret.
“... But I shouldn’t have. He’s N.W.M.T. Not anymore.” She grumbled bitterly, letting go of Sinclair’s face.
He blinked at her owlishly and then furrowed his brows again. “... Did I really look like a kicked puppy?”
The question seemed to bring the humor back to her face, pulling a smirk on her lips and a low chuckle. “Ha. Yes.” Ryoshu leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, chaste and quick. “Cute. You’re cute, Emil.”
Sinclair flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “And… you like cute?” He knew he was fishing for compliments from the person least likely to oblige him in that regard.
Ryoshu huffed out a short laugh and climbed onto his lap like a lazy cat, straddling his waist. “I like you. What do you think?” She draped her arms around his neck and leaned in close with a wicked smile.
Instinctively, he placed his hands on her hips, and he looked into her eyes as if he could find the answer within those blood red depths. Sinclair never claimed to know what went on in this woman’s mind though he often made educated guesses. Ryoshu wasn’t the type to outright lie so she was telling the truth when she said she liked him. Besides, she didn’t strike him as the kind of person to waste her time with someone she didn’t like and she must’ve seen something in him that made her believe he was worth sticking around with.
Ryoshu likes him. That should be enough.
As long as he had her terrifying and intense gaze focused on him, that was enough for him. Somehow, Ryoshu made him feel like he could be somebody rather than just some rich kid working on his degree. Even if she never put a label on what they had or never introduced him to her friends.
She likes him.
He heard her laugh a little and her calloused hands gently held his face. “D.A.E. Hmph.” Ryoshu looked thoroughly amused and her hands ventured from cradling his jaw to combing her fingers through his champagne colored hair.
“D-Dopey affectionate expression? Hey…” Sinclair tried his best to sound offended but her fingers playing with his hair sent pleasant tingles down his spine. She just hummed, inquisitive and clearly amused.
“Hmm…” Ryoshu looked contemplative for a second as she looked down at Sinclair’s face then she smirked. Leaning in, she whispered: “D.T.F.A.T.T.O.H?”
It took him a second to understand what she just said, not because he couldn’t decipher it but because he could hardly believe what she just said. Wordlessly and enthusiastically, he nodded. His cheeks felt like they were on fire.
“Good.” Ryoshu captured his lips in an intense kiss and Sinclair let her take whatever she wanted from him.
He still didn’t know what Ryoshu was thinking or why she had done what she did with that man who was very obviously an ex boyfriend of some kind. He will never know if she ever planned to make this situationship official in any capacity and frankly, he kind of liked having something that just belonged to them. He was hers to use as she pleased and he liked that.
She pulled away and rummaged for her phone. “O.S.” Ryoshu pulled out her phone and pressed her cheek to his while holding out the phone at a distance to take a selfie. Sinclair stared wide eyed and maybe looked a little stupid with his flushed face and kiss bitten lips as she took the photo with the flash nearly blinding him.
She tapped at her phone and smirked, looking satisfied.
“Uh… What did you just..?” Sinclair tried to peek at what she was doing on her phone and she pulled it away until she finished tapping at it. Then she shoved the screen in his face. It was a group chat and she had just sent that photo she took with him to the people within it with the caption: <N.B.T.>
Sinclair felt his face flush even more. New Boy Toy?!
He watched, mortified, as someone started typing. Turns out Ryoshu had named everyone in the group chat with nicknames rather than their actual names.
B.B.B: <Ooooh hold on did u get a new bf???? 👀👀👀>
B.G: < Looks a little young but as long as he’s legal congrats 👍>
S.A.K: <Faust sends her congratulations on your new relationship.>
B.M.I: <bloody hell don’t hurt the lad he looks scared as all hell>
Sinclair wanted to melt into the sofa while Ryoshu chuckled to herself. “I-I don’t look that young, do I? I’m twenty four!”
Ryoshu smirked. “J.B.F.” She pinched his cheek. “Young compared to me.”
He realized he didn’t know how old Ryoshu was exactly, he just knew she was older than him and had assumed only by a few years. “... A-And how old are you?” He asked, voice small like he was afraid Ryoshu would slap him for asking.
She just looked amused at him then held up her hands, one held up four fingers while the other held up two.
Forty two. Nearly twice his age.
Ryoshu leaned in closer with a sharp grin. Almost predatory. “M.I.L.F. I have a daughter, you know. Around your age. Should meet her sometime.”
Sinclair choked on his own spit as he felt his blood rush elsewhere in his body. He should feel mortified but all he felt was warmth when he heard Ryoshu’s cutting laugh. Feeling bold, he gripped her hips and lifted her up as he stood. Her eyes were wide as he carried her albeit with shaking arms and his abdominals feeling like they were one fire.
“I… I-I’ve still got a job to do right now, right? To get the taste of that guy off of you?” He tried his best to sound confident but the strain on his muscles lifting up the petite woman made his voice shaky. Turned out that hitting the gym had been working out after all. “Let me… Let me help you.”
Ryoshu stared at him and then laughed again, grabbing his face to kiss him hard. “Alright. T.M.T.B. Before you collapse.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!” Sinclair eagerly wobbled with Ryoshu in tow to his bedroom.
Maybe this was nothing but it sure felt like something now. Sinclair was ready to keep a hold of his woman as long as she’d let him.