Intermission 2: Hana Sato

She didn’t know whether to laugh at his sheer cheek or roll her eyes at his roguish horndog routine, but either way Hana couldn’t keep a disbelieving smile off her face as she strode into the locker room - the ladies locker room, thank you for the offer anyway Frank!

He was getting nervier, that was certain. And what was even crazier was that it was kind of working!

Hana was chuckling as she grabbed her bag from her locker. If she hurried, she’d be out in time to wait for Frank, she didn’t want to miss him before he left for home. She wasn’t overly sweaty as she had taken it easy on Frank so maybe a fast rinse and she could be out the door in a few minutes, then at least she’d have as much Frank time as possible before he went home.

‘… as much Frank time as possible?’ That was really it wasn’t it? It was disorientating, but Hana could not deny that is how she saw it. Having a great new friend, someone you click with on so many levels, is exciting and intoxicating of course, but this was that and more. He was so wonderful it almost confused her when she stopped to ponder it. She loves it when he’s around, but she had known Frank for quite a while and he had been very easy to ignore until now. So how did she not notice how funny and charming and sorta cute he was?

There was a soothing hum in her mind even as Hana pondered it. If she was talking to a friend about this, she would say she was working through her jumbled feelings about the situation, but that wasn’t really accurate. Her feelings were anything but jumbled, it was the logic and thought behind her obvious emotions that nagged at her.

‘OK, work it through,’ Hana told herself as she stripped off her workout top. Why does she feel so strongly so fast then? Part of it is just giving Frank a chance, she thinks. That’s not nothing, certainly if she had simply been more welcoming to Frank when he started, she would have realized how much fun he was.

But it’s not just that is it? He is different now; she wasn’t exactly super friendly when they met and she admits it, but it is not just that she didn’t notice. He was glum and withdrawn, not rude but definitely not fun to be around either, understandable after having to take a lower paying job and being stuck doing it for a almost two years.

Now, he is confident and downright fearless. He doesn’t just speak up, he breezes through as if he can get away with anything. Instead of tiptoeing around Jan for fear of her wrath (not a bad plan for most employees, honestly!) he seeks her out and engages with her as if he is indifferent to her position and history of chewing him out. That kind of ultra-confidence would be annoying most of the time, honestly. Most men who treat a female boss with jokey indifference do it out of sheer sexism, the sort of reflexive dismissal towards women they probably don’t even recognize.

But Frank’s attitude of sudden confidence isn’t that, and it isn’t the apathy of a man who’s given up and stopped caring until he gets fired. And that is what Hana realizes - the main reason Frank’s sudden self assurance isn’t irritating is because it’s earned. Frank was unhappy with his life and he made several big changes to try to improve it. Exercising and eating better to try to get in shape is great on its own, but beyond that Frank is working his ass off coming in early and applying himself to do his job to the best of his ability. That is just a wonderful thing, for anyone, and as his friend Hana is delighted to see him reaching out to his coworkers and trying to make friends instead of hiding at his desk.

As she finished stripping down, Hana felt her eagerness growing as the warm, reassuring feelings she felt for Frank built up. Hell, hanging out with him was like being wrapped in a cocoon of security and good vibes, but just thinking about him clearly made her endorphins spike too!

Fighting the urge to whistle happily (who does that, come on Hana!) the woman pulled her panties down and tossed them into the small bag. Then she grabbed her shower bag and spun to the showers at the back of the locker room. Heh, yeah she was going to use the same stall as she had yesterday. Hana would not normally have strutted fully nude from her locker to the showers even if it was only a few paces away, but she told herself that since she knew Jan was in the middle of her workout no one was going to walk in. And besides, it was just freeing to be naked like this, a tiny bit naughty but harmless. Why bother with the towel? She pulled her hair up into a bun, imagining how it would look to someone else to see her breasts jiggling and her butt bouncing as she walked.

Under the shower her secret smile only grew, along with a delightfully subtle tingle deep inside her. Her heavy breasts in her hands, she smirked at the realization that her nipples were stiff. She was very glad she had been able to talk to Frank about the previous shower incident. Of course, it’s not a surprise at all that Frank was able to take something so potentially embarrassing and make it all just an amusing thing that happened. He was just so easy to talk to, and he had found the humor in seeing her naked and bashfully confessed to his erection in a self-deprecating way that was funny and still kind of hot.

Hot. Huh. Dammit, she’s trying to not think about this! Especially now, looking down at the spot where her friend had crawled to her, naked and stiff as a board. Imagine if he had asked her to wash his back or something, just the thought makes her squirm nervously. Like the joke about women washing a man’s back in the cheesy romantic J-dorama shows she watched growing up. Would she have? No, of course not. He probably wouldn’t be really asking though, if he was joking she’d definitely say no way and laugh. That would clearly be too far!

Hana was suddenly extra aware of the way her nipples ached to be touched. Kissed. Nibbled on, maybe? And she should definitely not be thinking of his erection, about the possibilities of it, how it would feel in her hand. In her…

“Jeez, stop it!” Hana said out loud as she let go of her breasts. She’s getting all worked up again, bad enough that Frank joking about joining him in the men’s locker room had her wanting to say yes so badly. She could have done it just to show him that she was as chill and relaxed as he was, make it clear the shower incident was just a hilarious secret they would share. Heck she could have gotten changed right in front of him, all super casual, make him flustered and less confident for a minute maybe! Hah, he’d just stare, Hana knew she would be totally safe with him, she could tease him and give him another awkward post-workout boner and it would be funny.

Biting her lip, she wonders. Is that what she wants though? Just a casual teasing of a friend, or something else? And if he asked for more, what would she say?

It is insane she’s falling for him like this. Yes, fine, she can at least admit it to herself now, she is very into Frank. Both as a friend, and more. She has no clue how much more though; she’s never felt like this. She finds him exceedingly comfortable and his friendship, his mere presence, is so relaxing it warms her up deep inside her soul. For a split second, Hana thinks of her father - he’s not very much older than Frank, but he could not be more different. Nothing is ever good enough for him, his wife and two daughters just half-ignored presences in his life that occasionally distract him from his all-consuming career. Hana was long past the time she tried to get his attention. His love. Hana was willing to ignore her father entirely, except of course for the way his cold disregard still upset Ayame.

As she wrestled with this confusing swirl - these strong emotions that brooked no argument but a mind that couldn’t quite make sense of how suddenly they had developed - she showered as quickly as she could. She felt strange and giddy, a small part of her confused at how certain she was now. For a woman prone to second guessing herself in love, this burning fire of infatuation for an older married man she hadn’t bothered to say much more than hi and bye to a week ago was stunning. But she wanted to finish up fast, she wanted to talk to him again, at least for a moment to say a proper good bye.

Rushing now, Hana toweled off carelessly and pulled her post-workout clothes on. She hadn’t removed her makeup or washed her hair, so pulling it out of the loose bun she let the barely damp locks fall back down. She was betting that she wouldn’t miss him yet unless he hadn’t showered at all.

Pulling her gym bag up on her shoulder, Hana strode into the hallway that led to the gym proper. The men’s locker room was across the hall, and down past the glass door she could hear the whooshing sound of the rowing machine Jan attacked with such determination.

Thinking back to Jan’s critical look at her and Frank reminded Hana about Jan’s instinctive disapproval of a 24-year-old woman hanging out with a male coworker twenty years her senior. Some kind of stupid daddy complex? No, definitely not that. Well, mostly not that. Her mouth twisted in a frown, Hana thinks about it, about how she feels about her coworker. She feels… things for him. She does find his presence comforting, but more than that he is also fun and charming. And, while he’s not unusually attractive, he is not in any way ugly. If he does lose a bit of weight and tones up, he’ll be downright handsome for a man easing into middle age. A confident, charming, genuinely kind, good-looking man of a certain age… with a nice cock on him. A well sized, hard as heck tool just made for straddling. A woman could have a great time riding that, looking into his grateful eyes. His wife isn’t paying attention to him? Hard to fathom. But if Frank sticks with the gym and diet, gets in shape, applies himself to getting ahead at work, he’d be a damn fine catch.

And of course, the woman who finds this diamond in the rough? Well it’s like being discovering a lost treasure, surely she’d earn a small reward for her work?

Hana laughs at herself for being so silly. She can no longer hear Jan working out but a flash of motion out of the corner of her eye tells her that her boss had moved to a different piece of equipment and, probably, she had seen Hana standing in the hallway. But she realizes that she doesn’t care that Jan was disapproving. She’ll wait for Frank to come out so she can talk to him some more.

She would wait all night.