Winter Song [NOOK Book]

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Koji howled with laughter. Leave it to Toru Nakai, the group's founder and bassist, to pay back his old band-mate in such a way for all he'd pulled to drive Toru out of that group. When Jun tugged on his jacket sleeve, Koji leaned back in, very conscious of the moist heat of Jun's breath against his ear.

"I have a good feeling about this. Did you see the memo at the recording studio? All our dates are sold out, and the tour doesn't start for another week yet."

Koji smiled and clapped Jun on the shoulder. "It's fucking unreal. All those places hold close to five thousand."

Jun's smile lit up his brown eyes in a way that made Koji smile in return. Although Toru was ChildsPrey's founder and had previously been with a fairly big band, Jun had been appointed the group's "leader-sama." Jun took this early sign of success very personally, as well he should. He and Koji had written the single they'd debuted a few months back, helping to propel the quick sales of their new CD and put them at the top of the charts before their first real tour.

Koji sipped his beer, then leaned in towards Jun again. "I guess I need to finally thank you for being such a slave driver about learning guitar when we were back in school, huh?"

Jun laughed. "You can grovel at my feet when ready, Koj."

Koji gave him a playful punch in the arm. "Asshole."

"Oh, my God! Look." Jun laughed. He pointed to the booth behind them, and Koji looked over his shoulder. They both watched with amusement as their vocalist, Imai Shimizu, grabbed someone's video camera and egged Toru and the band's drummer, Kyoru, to put out a little "fanservice." Toru brushed away some of the hair falling across theother man's face and leaned in to press his lips to Kyoru's. The kiss soon heated up from a soft touching of lips to a long, open-mouthed show of passion that stole the breath of everyone watching. No doubt about it--tongues had to be involved.

"Shit," Jun whispered into Koji's ear. "I think Kyoru's really getting into it."

Koji tried to swallow, his mouth bone-dry. He gulped down some beer, his imagination teasing him with thoughts of what it might feel like to have Jun kiss him like that. Koji laughed weakly. "They're both so drunk, I don't think I want to know what they'll get into before the night's over."

Jun's deep laughter sent a delicious shiver along Koji's spine. When the man rested his chin on Koji's shoulder, he tried not to notice the way the blood rushed straight to his balls. Koji shifted carefully in his seat to try and ease the pressure building up in his groin without making Jun move. He glanced down to the front of his pants, where the first hint of a hard-on already stretched at the leather.

"You looked fucking gorgeous in that photo shoot today, Koj."

Gasping, Koji turned his head and gazed into Jun's slightly glassy eyes. For a wild moment, he wished Imai would bring that camera over here so he'd have an excuse to kiss Jun. The man was so close, his lips hovering near enough to Koji's that if he just tilted forward a bit, they would meet. Hell, if he just turned his hips a little, his rising erection would press nicely against Jun's hip. But Koji forced himself to turn away, ignoring the ache in his cock and the pull in his heart like he always did.

"You better not let Imai hear you say that," Koji replied finally, shrugging off the compliment and what it might mean. Or at least what he dared to hope it might mean. "He sees himself as the main attraction, you know."

Jun dismissed this with a wave of his hand, then pulled away and polished off the last of his beer. He signaled for the hostess to bring another before leaning closer to Koji. "I see us getting out of the Visual Kei scene before too long. The costumes and hair are a good way to get attention and break in, but I'm not going to get stuck with it like Miji did. Our music is good enough to carry us without gimmicks. You mark my words, Koj. ChildsPrey will go international someday."

Before Koji could reply, two hostesses came over with drinks for each of them and sat down. The women gushed and flirted, crossing their legs so their short, tight skirts bunched further up their thighs. Since Jun was going with it, Koji decided he might as well, too, and ignored the hint of disappointment in the pit of his stomach. He and Jun had been friends for years ... just friends and nothing more.