Chapter 37 - Maya Rosenwald P14
Chapter 37 - Maya Rosenwald P14
~37.14~
*****
"You came here to confront me not only about wanting to help Aria, but this as well?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"I see. Okay. I'll agree to go on dates with you."
I could tell she had a fear of rejection when her expression changed drastically. She went from expecting to be told no to excited that I said yes. And in her eyes, it was without any official romantic relationship attached.
"You will?!"
I nodded. "Yes. Uhm…"
"Uhm?"
"Well. You asked why I felt compelled to help. Honestly I'm working on figuring that out for myself. When I met you and Rhia Tuesday evening, I felt a longing. I'm not sure what it was, but perhaps this will help me figure it out."
"Wouldn't it be magical if it was love at first sight?"
I hadn't considered that… at least not outright. She might be right. Just like with Maya and Lena…
"But, there's one more thing I need to say. I apologize, I should have said this before asking you to date, but I got caught up in my emotions."
"No, it's okay. What it is?"
"I'm already romantically involved with Rhia." She looked away again. The redness on the cheek facing me was almost the same color as her hair. "Rhia and I are both fine with dating others and having multiple partners… but that's just us. Me being fine with having a girlfriend and dating another doesn't mean-"
"It's okay, Aira. I don't mind polyamory at all. I am single, and have never dated or had romantic relationship," in this life, "but I am okay with that. I'm perfectly fine dating you knowing you have a girlfriend. I uhm…"
She turned back to me. "You uhm…?"
I giggled. She has the same quirk as Adara. "You've done that a few times now. It's cute."
"HUH?! Done what a few times. What's cute? You are NOT saying something I do is cute."
"And your reaction to me telling you that is just as cute." I held back my giggle, but I couldn't hide it from her eyes. "Your quirk. Where you echo me when I trail off. I say 'I uhm' and then you say 'You uhm…?'. It's cute. You've done it a couple of times now. I like how forward you are."
She lightly pounded her fist on my shoulder. "Not fair."
"Oh, sure it's fair."
She looked at me with a similar face as when I first found her tonight, but her face was red. "You're making it too easy to like you."
I smiled. "Aira, what other customs do elves have? Is there anything you typically do right after agreeing to date? Is there any level of physical or emotional intimacy expected? I want to respect your culture, but I admit I'm not well versed in it and I know basically nothing about the romantic aspects aside what I've learned tonight so far."
"Oh uhm. Well, raunchier forms of physical intimacy aren't allowed until after deciding to be romantically involved. We're not girlfriends right now, so things we can't do include kissing on the lips, or one's lips touching anywhere on the other than clothes are expected to cover. Say, if we were to go to a bathhouse together, I wouldn't be allowed to kiss your bare chest, but your neck would be allowed. No hands touching areas underclothes cover. Certainly no sex. Most else is allowed."
"So things like, headpats, holding hands, and cheek kisses are fine?"
She nodded. "I mentioned bathhouses, too. Same gender can bathe together, too."
"What about after becoming girlfriends, if that were to happen?"
"Nothing is off-limits and other things are relaxed as well. You know that royal etiquette says a royal and a noble cannot sleep under the same roof? That's relaxed for elves. Rhia and I stay in the same villa."
"I see. Thanks for explaining that."
She covered my hand she was holding with her other hand. "Eli, thank you for your time tonight. I apologize for coming here unannounced, but I'm very glad I did."
"I'm very glad you did as well, Aira. And… there's one thing I want you to know. It's about the things I'm working out about myself that I said I wasn't comfortable talking about."
"I encourage you the same as you encourage me. Don't talk about something you're not comfortable talking about."
I shook my head. "I'm not going to talk about it now. But I want you to know that there are two types of people I share everything with. Whether I'm comfortable talking about things with others, with those two types I'm comfortable talking about anything."
"What are those types, if I may ask?"
"One type is people I trust with my soul. There's three of those right now. My cousins, Serah and Stella Aindrea, and my aunt, Alice Aindrea. All three of them know what you saw and know everything about it. The other type is people I trust with my heart. Because of the things I'm working out in my mind, I'm very hesitant to give my heart to anyone. But, if we do happen to go that far, and I give you my heart, I'll tell you anything you want to know. The same goes for anyone else I give my heart to."
She smiled warmly. "You are quite a complicated person."
"I'm-"
"I don't mean that in a bad way. I very much look forward to getting to know you better. And if things progress to that point, I'll listen to anything you want to tell me."
I returned her warm smile, then reached to her face with my free hand. I moved her bangs aside and kissed her forehead. "I look forward to getting to know you better as well, Aira."
"Y-y-y-yes." As I pulled away, I saw that her entire face was the color of her hair. I giggled as she said. "Okay, I'm going to go now before I die of embarrassment. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay. I look forward to it!" She teleported away.
She's just like Adara. I smiled for a moment then I frowned. Do I like her just because of that? That's not fair of me. She's her own person… I need to find out. If I fall in love because she's just like one of my wives in Eden… no, just having the thought in my head that she's like her is making me feel guilty. Just like thinking Maya is like my queen and Lena is like Luma. I need to work out these feelings.
*****
"How did the slavery case turn out?" Athy asked.
Nobody was asking about the last part with Aira because they couldn't see it. I cut it off for everyone except my partners when I went into the garden for a walk. Michelle was blushing pretty fiercely and Adele was poking fun at her about it. I told everyone else to take a short break when I cut it off for them.
I felt a strong urge to tease Athy. "No spoilers!"
"Aww."
"We'll get there soon enough."
She nodded and left the room to take her break. Once everyone was back, I resumed the memory magic.
*****
Revision: 2025-2-12