Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat. This amazing anime was created by Yoshiki Nakamura. I am only borrowing the awesome characters for now. However, some of the side characters in this chapter were created by me.

Editor / Beta Reader: Waffle (Thank you)

Rated Teen for mild violence, coarse language and / or sexually suggestive scenes.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Catch Me If You Can

By: Swanna

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Chapter 1: Their First Encounter

Guam, USA

Character determines fate, Kyoko chanted to herself silently as she strolled along the bare sidewalk that would eventually lead to the exquisite clear green-blue ocean down at the beach. Once, the words had meant very little to her, but now she was convinced the motto had given her courage.

And the will to escape.

All thanks to her good-for-nothing father, Kyoko had to leave New York. It was the city that she'd been raised in since she was six. Now she had to make her way to the opposite side of the world, where Taira Murasame could never find her. There was no way in hell Kyoko would agree to this outrageous arranged marriage with the former gangster.

The first time they met was on the subway train five months ago when Kyoko was on her way to work. It'd been just like any other work day for her. Murasame had been accompanied by two rather voluptuously attractive blondes at that time. The three of them had sat by the train's entrance, flirting and horsing around not having a care in the world. Kyoko had been standing by a nearby pole, minding her own business when she saw him nearly knocking over an elderly lady. Fortunately for the senior, Kyoko had reacted fast enough to catch her when she fell; but unfortunately for Kyoko, that day her life took a turn for the worse.

"It's one thing that a big man like you lacks the courtesy to give up your damn seat for an old lady! But at least act your age and stop fooling around like an immature idiot without any regard for the people around you! That woman could have been seriously hurt because of you!"

The impulsive lecture that Kyoko gave Murasame after thundering up to him in anger had sealed her fate. Instead of lashing back at Kyoko in full force as she had been expecting and bracing herself for, he'd claimed that he was amused by her since no woman had ever been daring enough to speak to him that way. Talked about masochism! One thing had led to another, and then he made a random declaration that they should totally hookup and he'd asked her out.

I just messed with a man who has a few screws loose, had been the instant thought that had crossed Kyoko's numb mind while she had stood stock-still from shock. When they'd arrived at the next stop, Kyoko had dashed out of the train in a jiffy as if her life had depended on it. There were definitely way too many creepy weirdoes on the subway nowadays.

Just when Kyoko had thought that was the end to it, things had turned from worse to disastrous. Roughly a week later, somehow Murasame had sniffed out Kyoko like a stalking hound and he had found out where she'd worked. He had been visiting the French Café almost every time when she'd been scheduled a part time shift, regardless of it being day or night. She'd had a suspicion that the man had bribed her coworkers and bought the information from them. Of course the owner had also been ecstatic with the business that he had brought to her café too. But Kyoko was far from being impressed. She was appalled to the core. The dreadful memories of those days still gave her goosebumps.

"Argh, why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut that day?!" Kyoko shouted out loud, grabbing her head with both hands in frustration. Tourists and passersby threw her weird looks for the sudden exaggerated outburst; they quickly scattered further away from a potential nutcase.

"Get a grip, Kyoko," she muttered to herself with a sigh. "You're here to visit Guam for the last time. Who knows when you'll have the chance to come back again after today?"

Since Japan was only a little over two hours of flight time from here, Kyoko had figured it wouldn't hurt to have this small detour before she boarded the plane and flew to Tokyo in the morning.

Guam had always been her favorite travel destination. The first time Kyoko had come here for vacation was on her fifth birthday. When her parents had been still attached and in love with each other. She'd grown fond of the glittering green-blue ocean water since then. After her mother had abruptly left home without so much as a word, Kyoko's father had decided to move from Japan to New York and started anew.

Kyoko wouldn't say that her childhood with her father had been oppressive, but it definitely hadn't been smooth sailing either. It'd been quite a rough ride for both of them to make ends meet. Having a compulsive gambler as a father didn't help one bit at all. But every few years she would use the extra funds she'd managed to save from her three part time jobs to come here on a short vacation as a rare indulgence. She just couldn't keep away from the big ocean's waves and the rippling of the water for long.

With a renewed sense of purpose to enjoy her last vacation, Kyoko re-adjusted her soft pink tote bag over her shoulder and quickened her pace down the sandy path. Yes, nothing could stop Kyoko from taking joy in her last experience in Guam. Not the shameless, self-proclaimed fiancé of hers nor the worthless father who had technically sold off his daughter for money to repay his mountain of debts. Kyoko was determined to ensure that no one could ruin her last day here!

"Do you want to have a taste of my drink? It's a pineapple flavored cocktail!" An approaching teenage girl offered to the tall, blond-haired young man in sunglasses next to her. They were speaking in Japanese. Kyoko reckoned they were probably tourists much like herself.

"No, try mine. It's a coconut drink, much more refreshing for hot weather like this!" The other girl around her age protested, clinging onto the other side of him.

The man being sandwiched in the middle seemed disinterested as the two cute girls fought desperately for his attention. Kyoko could never understand why girls would make so much fuss over a man. It was quite a stretch to picture herself fighting over a man without dignity like that. Then again, who was she to judge? She had zero experience regarding this subject matter, she had yet to even have her first kiss with a guy.

"No, drink mine instead!"

"Here, try it," the girl on his right brought up the straw to his lips, urging him to take a sip. "I promise you will like the taste for sure."

"Hey, that's cheating! Now you will have to drink mine too, Sho!"

Sho…

Kyoko's ears perked up at the mention of the accursed name as the trio approached closer. It reminded her of a childhood friend that she'd had when her family had still been living in Kyoto before her parents' marriage meltdown. To be honest, she actually wouldn't even deem him as a friend now that she thought about it.

The boy, Shotaru had always seized every passing opportunity to mock and ridicule her without end. Sometimes he'd go too far with his insults and made her bawl her eyes out for no apparent reason before he'd be satisfied. That little jerk was more like a schoolyard bully who just happened to live next door to her at the time. He had been lucky that Kyoko had been too young and weak to fight back. But it had been an eon since she had come across another boy with a similar name. It certainly brought Kyoko back down memory lane. Though it was a bad memory lane that she would much prefer to forget.

Out of instinct, Kyoko pulled down the hood of the white sweatshirt that she was wearing to cover her face as she walked past the trio. She was still on US territory after all, she could never be too cautious towards her surroundings. Not if she didn't want to get caught by Murasame and be dragged down the altar as his unwilling bride. She would be able to drop her paranoia and take it easy once she reached Tokyo tomorrow. Her life would start afresh in twenty-four hours from now, but until then she would make sure to enjoy every precious minute of Guam's beach without exposing herself.

X X X

Sho hunkered down under the shades of the beach umbrella near the seaside shore. He had been staying at this beach for nearly two hours now to film his new music video. The crew would have finished filming by now if they didn't have to wait for the last model to arrive on sets. He was growing so impatient and bored that he could hardly concentrate anymore.

"Sho, are you hot?" asked the teenage model, Asami. She held up the portable electronic hand fan to his face, blowing the faint cool air at him.

"Are you thirsty? Do you want some cold water, Sho?" the young singer, Chika offered as she handed him a bottle of spring water. He reached for the bottle and took a greedy gulp. Sho felt instantly refreshed and hydrated as the cold water went down his throat.

"What's taking them so long?" he muttered under his breath with a frown, forcing himself to wait forbearingly for his manager, Shoko to get off her mobile phone.

With the cell pressed snugly to her right ear, Shoko paced back and forth with exasperation. The annoyed expression on her face told Sho the person on the other line was probably not giving his manager the good news that she'd been anticipating. Sho took the chance and allowed his eyes to wander over her curvy figure appreciatively. For a woman in her late twenties, Shoko was a real bombshell with a killer body. He had always preferred mature women over teenage girls. Not only would they have more sexual experience and know how to please their men in bed, they had greater confidence in themselves and weren't afraid to communicate what they wanted from the relationship.

In other words, they wouldn't play mind games with him.

Shoko finally ended the call with a dejected sigh and turned to them. "It's no good, Mieko is being held up in traffic near the airport. Her manager said it would probably take them another hour to get here."

Sho cursed in silence. He already knew all this waiting would make him lose his edge. Waiting hour by hour wasn't his style, especially when his career in the entertainment business was fast-paced. Someone had damned well better clean up this mess or at least come up with another plan.

"Let's continue with the shooting," Sho ordered, rising to his feet as he quickly decided to take matters into his own hands. The two girls followed his stance like lost puppies and stood up too. "We don't need three girls in this MV anyway."

"Yes we do," their middle-aged director answered as he walked up to the group. "We need the third model otherwise it will create a deviation to the entire storyline."

"Then just pull a random girl off the street to model for us. There are so many girls around here anyway," Sho suggested, his patience was wearing thin.

"We can't just randomly ask any girl. We need an Asian girl for your video."

Sho wasn't a big fan of directors with stubborn mindsets who couldn't be more adaptable in urgent situations. But as an artist in showbiz, he also understood the reasons behind their behaviors. Many directors were set on preserving their perception and creativity in their productions. As long as end products turn out successful and could take Sho to the top of the music industry, then he wouldn't mind fulfilling their requirements and worked with them.

"Asian girl? What about that one over there?" Stated a cameraman next to the director, pointing his finger at the girl standing further away by the edge of the surf.

From afar, Sho saw an Asian girl with long raven hair dressed in a pair of faded blue denim shorts and white hoodie. Immediate disappointment marred his face as he gave her a quick evaluation; average height bordering short by his standards, from the side profile she had an ordinary face with nothing outstanding about her facial features, the slightly oversized hoodie was covering her chest so he couldn't assess her figure properly. But he doubted there was much underneath for him to appraise anyway.

She did have a nice pair of long, slender showgirl legs however, Sho decided as he watched her daintily testing the water with her bare feet. Head tilted slightly to her side, the girl seemed to be having a good time by herself; the beaming smile on her face was a sign of bliss. He was captivated for a moment. She had the smile of an innocent child that would bring warmth and touch one's heart. Before he even knew it, the corner of his lips lifted slightly. It was surprisingly contagious.

"Perfect!" The director's spirit soared at the sight of her. "She is perfect! Let's get her on camera!"

Both the director and the cameraman rushed over to the oblivious girl, while the rest of the group including Sho followed close from behind. When they approached closer, the girl's awareness heightened and she dropped her smile. From up close, she looked really young. Sixteen or seventeen at max, probably around his age. She also wore no makeup and there was a healthy glow to her flawless skin.

"Wh-what the hell is going on? Who are you people?" She spoke in fluent English, her honey brown eyes widened from shock.

Assuming they were dealing with a local citizen, the crew threw each other a glance before the director made an attempt to explain their situation with his poor, broken English.

"Sorry, sorry. Not mean scaring you. M-my name, Daisuke Fujimoto. I-"

"You can speak in Japanese, I speak your language too," the girl offered as soon as she heard his name. Her Japanese dialect was quite natural, perhaps she was just a visitor from Japan. But as soon as she noticed the cameraman, her shield went up again. "Whoa! Is that a camera?! Turn that thing away from me! I don't want to be on TV!"

For some odd reason, she freaked out and put on her hood quickly. Her hands were pulling both sides of the hood to fully conceal her face.

The director spoke again, "We came from Japan and we're here to film Sho Fuwa's music video but our last model couldn't make it here and we-"

"Who the hell is Sho Fuwa?!" Her loud shout was muffled under the hood.

Sho looked at her in shock. Had this girl been living under a rock? How could she not know who he was when he was trending as one of the top musicians in Japan right now!

"What a sheltered girl, how could she not have heard of you, Sho?" whispered Chika, evidently horrified by the offhand comment too.

"It's fine, Sho. We don't need someone so dense to model in your music video," Asami added.

"I don't know who you're talking about and I certainly don't give a rat's tail about this Sho Fuwa either. Just point that thing away from me before I wrestle it out of your hands!" She advanced towards the cameraman, completely serious about pouncing on him.

"The camera isn't even rolling," the cameraman protested, growing frightened from her violence.

Now Sho was seeing red. It was one thing if she was an ignorant idiot who hadn't heard of him before. It was her loss and she clearly had no idea what she was missing. But how dare she speak of him that way! Sho couldn't contain his anger anymore as he stepped forward to block the girl from going after the cameraman.

Just as he thought, the girl was quite short since her height just barely reached past his chest. She flinched under his intense glare and slowly cowered away as he towered over her. "Who do you think you are? You're just one stupid girl who happened to be the only Asian female around here."

She blinked, the cease between her delicate brows indicated she didn't understand; she was baffled. "What?"

"You think a stupid girl like you with such an average look can model in MY music video? You're not even fitting to play the troll in my next video."

The two girls behind them snickered at the insult. Sho heard a barely audible gasp escape her lips. "What the hell are yo-"

"Not only do you have an unattractive face with absolutely no sexiness at all," Sho continued, cutting off her sentence. He deliberately peered over the small opening of her hoodie revealing little of her cleavage and smirked. "You have a chest as flat as a board."

Sho must have hit the mark when the girl's expression turned deadpan. With her shoulders squared and back straight, she removed her hood and zipped the sweatshirt all the way to her chin to block his view. The death glare that she was giving him now could turn a man to dust. Sho almost wanted to take a step back but he decided to stand his ground. What could a petite girl like her do to him anyway? He obviously thought too soon because before Sho could react, she kicked him in the shin hard, causing him to yelp in pain.

"No! We can't afford to have any bruises on Sho's body before filming is over!" The director cried out in distress. Screw that man for only caring about that when Sho was in obvious pain right now!

"Sho! Are you okay?" Shoko asked with concern while the two other girls were already hovered over him.

"You can't go around kicking people whenever you like, you savage girl!" Asami shouted in anger while the girl just leisurely walked over to her tote bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Her demeanor was much calmer and placid when she turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Good luck with your music video now, Sho Fuwa."

Sho watched her retreating form with his jaw hanging in disbelief. What the fuck just happened?! He prided himself on his cool image. He couldn't believe this girl had the nerves to attack him in front of the filming crew, humiliating him in this way.

Just don't ever let me run into you again, Sho fumed inwardly as he made an impending promise to himself. I will definitely pay you back tenfold for what you've done today, the next time I see you again you're dead!

X X X

What a superficial dimwit, Kyoko ranted in silence as her mind recalled the heated dispute she'd had with that Sho Fuwa this afternoon. Why was she not surprised that guys with the name Sho or Shotaru turned out to be world class jerks.

Even up until now, she still wasn't quite sure what the heck had really happened. Once again, she'd been lost in her own little world and taken pleasure in the breathtaking scenery at the beach. The next moment she'd been surrounded by a group of complete strangers with a camera shoved right at her face. She couldn't risk making her appearance on TV. If she did, Murasame would be able to track her down easily so of course she'd reacted the way she did!

Alright, so maybe she may have overacted just a bit, but who could blame her given the dire circumstances she was in? At the very least, Kyoko didn't think she deserved the string of rude insults coming from that idiot. Yeah, she may not be as attractive as the two girls by his side, but she didn't need the likes of him to unravel her physical flaws.

"And I certainly don't have a flat chest either," she mumbled grudgingly to herself, peeping down at the top of her hoodie without thinking.

Her train of thought was interrupted when the elevator door glided open. She stepped out into the reception lobby of the hotel that she had been staying. Thanks to the bunch of weirdoes, Kyoko had decided to coop herself up in the hotel room and wait it out, hoping they would depart by nightfall.

What a waste of my only day here, she thought to herself, annoyed. So far, nothing seemed to have gone her way.

As Kyoko passed by the steakhouse bar restaurant that was connected to the hotel, she noticed it was jam-packed with diners. More guests, seemingly most of them were women, were waiting in queue to enter and the lineup extended all the way out into the main lobby. Kyoko wondered if the dining place was holding some special occasion tonight. Oh well, this would be even better for her. If everyone was here, then it meant no one was down by the shore at this hour. She would have the whole beach to herself! With a gleeful grin, she headed towards the exit of the hotel.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe he's really here!" Kyoko heard a girl squeal when she passed by the row of women standing in line.

"Me too! He's even more handsome in person!"

"Is that really him though?"

"Of course it's him! He is SOOOO hot I'm going to die!"

"Me too!" The girls shrieked in exaggerated excitement. It sounded like they were screaming bloody murder.

Kyoko scowled, her ears couldn't take any more of this abuse so she quickened her steps towards the door and headed straight for the beach. It was pitch black out here. In the glooming night sky, the tiny stars gathered around the neighboring silver moon. Just as she had hoped for, the seashore was now vacant.

She took in deep breath of salty ocean air. The rugged coastline was austerely beautiful, yet somehow lonely. Gazing at the ocean, she stood there, her mind naturally ruminated upon her family.

Kyoko had been through many hardships since as young as her lingered memories could remember. It had all started when her parents' marriage had been on the verge of a complete breakdown. Oftentimes her parents had fought on numerous occasions right in front of her, over inconsequential reasons. Neither party had been willing to give in to their stubbornness and make concessions. It had been a battle of wills. Her father had always ended up being the first to storm out in anger just to have his personal space. Ironically in due time, the arguments had become the easier part for a mere six-year-old to handle. It had been the aftermath moments when Kyoko had been forced to face her mother's wrath head on that had shaken her every time.

Time and again, her mother had screamed at Kyoko and pushed her away as if she was one of their biggest mistakes. But Kyoko had still tried to do everything that she could in hopes to make her mother proud. The young Kyoko had refused to believe that her mother had never loved her, and she had never been regarded as a worthless child who could never do anything right by her mother's standards. Kyoko had hung onto those embellished beliefs so naively. Every night she had wished to the twinkling stars like the current ones now that tomorrow would be the day when she would put a smile on her mother's beautiful face.

Of course, that wish had never come true.

Perhaps one day her mother had woken up and finally decided that enough was enough, it was time to cast away her old life, her family and start anew. Kyoko was abandoned by her mother at the age of six. Maybe her father was having difficulty coping with his failed marriage, or it may be because he wanted to escape other problems he'd had going on in his life at that time, her father had become a compulsive gambler shortly after they had moved to the States.

Faint laughter from afar reeled Kyoko's bittersweet thoughts back to reality. She turned her head in the direction of the hotel. The open bar outside the balcony of the restaurant was occupied with diners drinking and chattering their night away.

Kyoko shook her head and gave herself a few painless slaps in the face, dislodging the remaining wistful thoughts of her parents from her mind. She was here to have a good time just like the others, so she was determined to make that happen.

Glancing over her shoulders to make sure she was the only person out here, Kyoko removed her sweatshirt and unzipped her shorts before stepping out of them. After folded the clothes into a neat pile, she placed them atop of one of the nearby huge, jagged rocks. Standing in her bra and panties, she felt the surf purling around her toes. Kyoko slowly ventured further out as the gentle surge of the sea swayed her back and forth. There was no way that she would travel all the way to Guam and not to take full advantage of the beautiful shore.

With a contented smile, Kyoko took a deep breath before diving straight into the body of calm water.

X X X

Ren attempted to concentrate on the conversation with his fellow colleagues. It was proven to be a challenge when both men's subject of discussion rested solely on the runway model, Masako Kusatsu.

Ren had accepted this photoshoot project for a new men's cologne that was about to hit the market in three weeks. It was seldom for him to be accepting side jobs outside of L.M.E. but he'd owed the company's founder a personal favor in the past. So when the multi-millionaire had approached Ren and requested him to represent their new product, Black Angel as the exclusive spokesperson, he figured it was time for him to repay the debt.

The small crew and Ren just arrived to Guam early this evening. Their plan was to start the photoshoot session by the shore at the crack of dawn tomorrow, from sunrise to sunset. Therefore tonight they'd decided to lay back and relax at the bar before they begin their work the next day. But it appeared to be a poor decision on their end when he was currently being encircled by waves of his female fans outside.

"Good thing we've reserved the open bar out here in the balcony tonight, huh?" The photographer, James chided when he turned to Ren, finally switching the topic away from the female model.

Ren gave a courteous smile, one that had taken him years of practice to mask his emotions. His expression revealing nothing more than friendliness and exercised calmness as usual.

"That was very considerate of Nakano-san to plan ahead of time and have everything arranged for my manager and me," replied Ren, feeling genuinely grateful to the company owner's thoughtfulness on the meticulous arrangements on this trip.

"Tsuruga-san is always so popular around the ladies," the photographer's assistant commented. "Even Kusatsu-san seems to have great impression of you on your first meeting today."

Again, the conversation somehow swerved back to Masako Kusatsu. Ren had to suppress the resigned sigh that was threatening to escape his lips. He almost wished this social gathering could come to an end soon enough so he could retreat back to his hotel room and retire for the night.

"Kusatsu-san is just being cordial towards her fellow colleague," there was the smile of Ren's again. "I am looking forward working with Kusatsu-san."

"Are you really, Tsuruga-san?" A husky female voice asked. The men turned their heads and looked up. There stood Masako Kusatsu, wearing a low cut, cross-back navy blue dress that hugged her body snugly. As a professional model, she certainly had a refined taste in her choice of attire that showed off her feminine curves to perfection. "Or are you just being polite right now?"

"Kusatsu-san! So glad that you could join us!" The assistant stated with evident excitement. "And I must say, you look gorgeous tonight!"

Both men quickly shifted their chairs aside and made room for Masako to join them. She took the cue and sat next to Ren, her gaze meeting his.

James cleared his throat and stood. "We're going over to the bar and order another drink. Would you two like something else to drink?"

"I'm good with my red wine. I still have to wake up early for tomorrow's shooting," Ren declined politely.

"Alrighty then, we will be back in a moment. You two can get to know each other while we're gone. We need some chemistry from both of you during tomorrow's photoshoot," James laughed with a wink, then gestured to his assistant to follow after him.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the photographer was up to. He was trying to create some alone time for Ren and Masako. If only people would just stop acting on their own accord and do such unnecessary things.

"I've been waiting for an opportunity to work with you for so long, Tsuruga-san," Masako began, leaning slightly closer to his side. "You have no idea how excited I was when I was offered this job."

"I'm am excited to work with Kusatsu-san too," Ren replied with a genial attitude.

"You can call me Masako, and if you don't mind, I would like to start calling you Ren too."

"If you wish," he replied. Even if he had declined, it was not like it would've prevented her from calling him by his first name anyway. "But I personally would still prefer to address you with a more respectful greeting if you don't mind."

Masako's giggle was soft and womanly. "People said Tsuruga-san is a real gentleman. I think I can see why they'd say that. Let's make a toast to our new collaboration as partners, Ren."

She held up her drink, her smile was all sensual. Ren brought his glass of red wine close to hers. "To our new partnership."

Their glasses met, making a soft 'clink' sound. Her sharp gaze never once left his face as she drank from her glass. It was unmistakably clear what she wanted from Ren. Many times even when he made a deliberate effort to avoid showing any form of encouragements towards women, they'd still come onto him despite his futile attempts to keep his distance. Masako was classy, yet sexy, but she didn't appeal to Ren the way she did to most men.

"Speaking of building up our chemistry, I don't really like to sleep in hotel rooms by myself," Masako inched even closer now, her voice sounded huskier. She placed a key card onto the surface of the table, gliding it with her fingers until it was in front of Ren. "Would you care to join me for the night?"

Not wanting to waste her time any further, Ren decided to cut to the chase and made sure she understood that he wasn't interested.

"I only share my bed with women that I'm interested in and you're not one of them," he answered coldly, sliding the key card back to her and rose to his feet abruptly. "Now if you will excuse me, Kusatsu-san."

Ren ignored the stunned expression on the runway model's face. She was obviously feeling humiliated and was not used to having men turn her down. He used the exit by the far side of the balcony that led to the beach and walked out. Feeling slightly drained, Ren told himself that he was just going to take a walk around the shoreline to take a breather before returning to his hotel room. With the beach being unused at this hour now, it would be all the more reason for him to luxuriate in the private tranquility.

Tomorrow's photoshoot may not advance as smoothly as Ren hoped. Not if Masako purposely chose to spawn conflicts between them based on what happened tonight. But Ren liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, and he predicted she would at least demonstrate some level of professionalism towards her line of work. This was her own reputation that would be on the line after all. Ren highly doubted anyone to be foolish enough to jeopardize their own names and tarnish their reputation.

Each step he took, his shoes sunk into the minuscular white sand, leaving a path of footsteps behind. Ren stopped in front of the body of water and looked up at the full moon in the night's sky. The warm heat in the air brought out the earthy smell of the tropical soil. It felt pleasant and relaxing out here as the soothing sound of waves calmed his mind.

He figured he could continue to relish in this peaceful moment longer, when suddenly a shadowy figure slowly emerged from the water right before him. A young girl, with her eyes closed, gradually rose as she visibly took a deep breath of the sultry air. Her long black hair was wet and slicked back. The peach-colored lacey bra and matching panties conformed to her feminine curves; it outlined her slim hips and revealed the fullness of her breasts. It was even sexier than an actual bikini, Ren observed.

But it was the sensual, seductive way of how she moved her hands that he found irresistible. The rapid tempo of his own breathing startled him. With her eyes still closed, she used her hands to push her locks further back, away from her damped cheeks. Then she glided her fingers downward gradually until she was touching her chest.

Ren made no attempt to disguise his scorching gaze that leisurely roamed from her wet hair to her upper thighs hidden in the foaming surf. He watched as the girl opened her eyes slowly and her mouth fell open in silence. The incredulous stare on her face told Ren that she was shocked to find herself not alone at this beach.

"Ren?" A voice called out to him in the dark. "Ren? Is that you over there?"

Ren averted his gaze for a fleeting moment and turned to the owner of the voice. It was his manager, Yukihito searching for him. He must have been worried since Ren had left the bar without saying a word first. When Ren returned his attention back the shore once again, he noticed that the girl was already gone.

"Ren?" Yukihito jogged up to him. "I've been looking around for you. What are you doing out here by yourself?"

Ren couldn't help but to scan around the beach, wanting to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He only had two glasses of wine, there was no way he should be under the influence of alcohol and seeing things.

"Ren, are you okay?"

He turned to his manager and blinked. "I'm fine. I came out for some fresh air, sorry to have worried you."

"Then let's head back, it's getting late. You have an early start tomorrow, so you should get some rest," Yukihito suggested, turning on his heels to head back towards the hotel.

Ren took one last glance out into the quiescent ocean before following after his manager.

X X X

AUTHOR NOTE:

Hello peeps, thanks for reading my new Skip Beat story! I've been wanting to write this fic for two months now but I've never really gotten the chance to figure out the storyline so there was a delay, but here I am with the first chapter!

I really like Skip Beat, I've known about this manga years ago but I've refused to start reading it because I was hoping it would end someday then I enjoy the whole series at once. Unfortunately fourteen years later, the manga is still ongoing…so I've decided to give in. But as soon as I started reading, I couldn't stop! I've become such a huge fan that I've even gone out and bought the whole set of graphic novels from Chapters lol. Yes, I must have the series for collection.

Special thanks to Waffle, my usual beta reader for editing my story, thank you!

Any comments, constructive criticism and feedbacks will be greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think of chapter one so far. Thanks in advance!

See you all next time.