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From
Osaka to Tokyo
Adventures
of a French girl when she traveled to Japan.....By Pierre
Coda; Continued from: Starting
to work in Japan
I had
a message from Yasue when I got home. Yasue offered to have lunch
with me if I was not doing anything. He was planning to paint all
day and would also like me to have a look at his work. I did not
have to go to work the next day but LaCroix had indicated that I was free
to call him if I had any questions from the meeting last night.
Yumiko was going to be working all day anyway so she immediately suggested
that I should see Yasue. In fact she started teasing me telling me
that it was a date and not just
lunch. Yasue is single, she told
me, and she has heard from friends that he was a great lover in
bed.
I
was not sure about Yasue's intentions but I dressed up anyway. This
lunch will be fun for me since I was much more relaxed now that I had a
job and also I enjoyed being with Yasue. Since Yasue was a cool guy,
I decided to dress accordingly this morning. I chose a white T-shirt and
put a denim shirt on with blue
jeans. I also left my hair loose and
put only light makeup.
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 Yasue
was waiting for me, drinking coffee, when I showed up at the gallery.
Of course, he was in his gallery attire and his jeans were dirtier than I
had expected but he looked very cute. He was speaking passionately
about his painting that he was working on. It was a painting of a
couple making love on grass with the backdrop of a mountain and lake on
one side. I was a little bit embarrassed to ask more but Yasue
explained to me anyway. He said he got inspiration to paint this
while traveling in Hokkaido where he saw several couples in a park making
love in the evening. He indicated that this was one scene that
changed his perspective on life. He had never seen so many couples
enjoying themselves en masse.
This painting was about one of those couples that he witnessed. I
jokingly asked what he was doing there alone but Yasue did not answer that
question directly.
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Lunch
was at a vegetarian restaurant since
that is something that Yasue loved and wanted me to try it too. Yasue
shared stories of his childhood while he was growing up and then the fun
that he had as a college student. After every little story, he would
ask me about my life and that way we got to know each other better.
I still felt a little bit reserved in front of him and asked him very few
questions. But I did feel much closer to him as I heard stories
about his past and his perspectives on life.
I
decided to come back to the gallery with Yasue after he asked if I would
like to just hang out with him for a short while more. Of course, I
did not have any plans for the afternoon and other than just being in a
mall, I would not know what to do anyway. Yasue wanted to paint
while I watched so that I could provide some inspiration to her, he said.
I was not sure how I could inspire him but I could notice that Yasue was
quite energized after I sat down on a chair so that he could see me while
he painted. His hands moved fast and from time to time his eyes
closed as he constructed images in his mind.
During
one of these moments, he came close to me and helped me sit with my legs
crossed and head raised. He then adjusted the hair on my face so
that it completely covered one side of my face. He asked me to stay
motionless for a few moments so that he could capture the beauty of the
moment. I was feeling quite special being a source of inspiration to
a painter and in a mirror I could see my image. May be I am a model,
I thought.
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Yasue
came back to me and made me stand up this time. As I tried to step
back to get away from the stool, I tripped over and fell down. He
came running to my help one more time and held me in his arms as I tried
to adjust my shirt. He held me close in his arms and I could feel
his heart beating. For a few moments, I just listened to the
thumping sound and enjoyed the peace of the moment. Yasue stroked my
head and gave a small kiss on my hair as he played with it. I did
not want this moment to end.
I
was a little bit shaken when I left Yasue's
gallery. I had liked
what had happened between Yasue and I but it was not something that I had
prepared myself for. My experiences were limited and my boyfriends enjoyed my company more for my
intellectual and artistic abilities rather than my visual appeal. Yasue
had been extremely gentle and it was clear that everything was
spontaneous. I was sure that nothing had been planned in his mind
either, except that he had some feelings for me and he wanted to feel the
romance in my presence. When Yumiko asked me later in the day how my
date went, I talked about everything except the details of what exactly
happened towards the end.
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LaCroix
invited me to join him for dinner when I called him to tell him that I was
preparing to leave for home so that I could pack to move to Tokyo.
He said that he would love to spend some more time talking to me before I
was gone for two weeks. I had no choice but to accept even though I
was not sure how I should handle this. I believed that it was
something important and I should make an effort to know my team members,
and of course the boss, much better. LaCroix suggested
Taillevent-Robuchon, a French
restaurant in Ebisu. Yumiko indicated to me that I was in for a big
surprise and a mind-blowing experience. This was one of the most
exclusive places in Tokyo and I better be ready for a good time.
The
restaurant was in the middle of a complex of
tall buildings in the upscale Ebisu area. The restaurant building was extremely unusual since it
seemed that someone had lifted an old French chateau and just planted it
in Tokyo. Everything inside the restaurant looked as if it belonged
in France and once inside it was hard to imagine that I was in Tokyo and
not Paris. LaCroix was as cordial and cultured as always. He
asked detailed questions about my family and I. I was enjoying this
special treatment, something that I had definitely not expected,
especially during this trip. This was almost a miracle.
"If this is what I am experiencing even before starting to work, what
would it be like to work full time," I thought.
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I was
starting to feel pretty good by the time dessert was served. The
conversation over French wine had gone a lot longer. I was feeling
quiet relaxed and even feelings were starting to build inside me.
The candle-lights and the romantic voice of LaCroix were making me feel
desires that I had not felt until this day. For a moment, I just
wanted to go right to LaCroix and give him a deep
kiss. It was hard
for me to contain myself as I could feel my muscles tighten and eyes
almost shut.
LaCroix
escorted me outside the restaurant and offered to drive me to Yumiko’s
apartment or at least to the train station. I settled into the
passenger seat and as LaCroix stepped in from the other side, he asked me
how I felt. I responded, "I feel so good that I want to kiss
you." While LaCroix may have expected this to happen
considering his romantic conversations, he was not prepared for such an
open invitation. Of course, he obliged and we both kissed deeply for
several minutes. When a car was ready to take our parking spot,
LaCroix pulled out and started driving. He dropped me at the
entrance to the apartment and said that he would look forward to my return
to Tokyo in two weeks.
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Yumiko
was sad to hear from me that I had decided not to go to Tokyo after all.
She was also kind enough to speak to LaCroix on my behalf since I did not
want to speak to him. I guess
there is no place like home or should I say Osaka!
*******
Related: A
couple put body paint on each other
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How to introduce my Japanese boyfriend to my parents
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