Chapter 17

"Daiya, I—" Yurina's words were cut short when his lips covered hers, silencing her effectively. The kiss was chaste but left her breathless and wanting more. A soft, needy whimper escaped her when he nipped at her bottom lip, tugging it between his teeth. Her chest heaved as she breathed heavily, unable to think straight.

When he pulled away, he whispered, "I just wanted to kiss you. That's all."

As her vision blurred and the pounding in her ears grew louder, she realized this wasn't a dream or anything; it was actually happening. Her face turned redder, and her stomach clenched tightly. It was embarrassing, knowing someone could make her react so easily without doing much of anything. Daiya snuck in a peck and smiled triumphantly, clearly pleased with his own accomplishment.

"Now, what're we watching again? Oh, right. The Pearl Concubine, right?"

Yurina only nodded silently and turned her focus back towards the laptop. To his credit, Daiya did behave after that, except for stealing the occasional kiss or two from Yurina whenever she seemed distracted. The kisses were light at first and very slow. They weren't forceful. He made sure of that. But he made sure to savor the sweet taste of her lips while he had her at his mercy.

When the movie was over, Yurina barely remembered what happened during the climax or before the credits started rolling. In fact, she didn't know how long it had been before someone finally knocked on the door. Daiya let go of her and stood up immediately. As if the sudden knocking startled him out of some trance, he walked towards the door and swung it open. "Eggs and toast! Finally," he declared happily, paying for the food before bringing it inside.

Once he closed the door, he sat down and set the containers on the mattress. They each took a serving and started digging into their meals. "Holy shit, this is delicious! Way better than the campus food."

"Where did you get these again? You didn't say," Yurina asked, her mouth full.

"Some mom-and-pop place nearby. You really don't know much about your surroundings here, freshman." Daiya shook his head in mock disappointment, earning an embarrassed huff from the petite girl across from him. They ate in comfortable silence until her phone suddenly rang loudly. Picking it up, she glanced at the screen, only to see Serena's name.

"One second. I need to take this." Daiya just nodded and stuffed a huge chunk of his omelet in his mouth. Chewing on her bottom lip, she answered the call. "Hey, Serena. What's up?" Yurina swallowed nervously, gripping the edge of the comforter tightly.

"Why do you sound guilty?" Serena asked suspiciously.

"Huh?"

Serena groaned. "Do you have company over or something? What are you doing?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Yurina argued, holding the phone to her ear tightly with both hands. Daiya watched her squirm as her roommate drilled her on the phone, seeming amused with how flustered and anxious Yurina was acting. If she had just spent time alone, that would have been normal, and maybe she could have calmed down, but being caught in the act of something indescribable made her all kinds of flustered.

"Anyways, Lucia and I just came up with a great idea that I think you should be part of."

Suspicion grew inside her, and she became curious about this idea. Still, she asked warily, "What idea is it?"

"Hold on." Serena must have put her hand over the speaker. But it wasn't enough to cover up all the giggling and snorting from both sides of the line. Then, suddenly, Serena went back to speaking directly to her. "So... my cousin's coming down for the week, and we were talking and stuff, and we thought it'd be really fun if we went on a group trip! Like to Bordeaux or somewhere in Italy or whatever."

Daiya, having heard that entire conversation started eating a second serving of food. His hearing was just that good. He arched an eyebrow at Yurina. "Go to Bordeaux? When?"

"Keep eating, please," Yurina hissed at him.

"Fine," he shrugged indifferently, chomping away on the omelet. He didn't stop, though, and stuffed his cheeks like a squirrel. Serena, unaware that he was still listening, continued speaking.

"Serena, I don't think it's a great time, and—"

"Seriously? God, Yurina, why don't you ever think of yourself? Loosen up a little. Come on," Serena whined impatiently, hoping that the smaller woman would eventually accept her request.

"I guess I could try, but when will the trip be? And where will we even stay? We're not actually going to France or Italy, right?" Yurina sounded apprehensive about taking such a big step with people she just met. Not because she didn't want to, but more out of habit. She always made excuses. Serena could read through her pretty easily, though.

"I take it that you're in then. Perfect, perfect. Look, my cousin has a house near the shore, and that's where we're heading. So we'll probably stay a few days there, then come home since we still have class and work." Serena seemed like she'd probably enjoy hanging out at a beach house. Her cousin was probably one of those cool, rich kids. But Yurina wasn't exactly someone with that much cash to spare.

"I'm broke, Serena. I can't just—"

Serena groaned in annoyance. "Yurina. Stop being stubborn. I'll pay for everything, so just come, alright?" Yurina didn't have time to argue before she hung up. She frowned slightly and pushed her half-finished omelet around with her plastic fork, suddenly losing her appetite. Seeing the frown on Yurina's cute face made Daiya want to scoop her up and squeeze her tight. Maybe leave a couple kisses behind on those sweet cheeks. But he refrained because she would probably push him away and hate him forever.

"There's no way I can get out of this now, is there?" Yurina said, turning to face him. Daiya gave her a shrug, but she was already on a rant, not expecting an answer from the blonde. "Not with Serena nagging me day-in-day-out. Jesus, and you two are friends. Can't imagine what that's like. Probably exhausting," she muttered quietly.

"Hey, I don't nag people. That's her job." Daiya snickered, trying to lift her spirits a little. The smirk she shot back in response showed that she appreciated his effort, even if she didn't acknowledge him verbally. Biting his lower lip, he leaned in closer, practically invading her personal space. But his mouth didn't move, even when she stared at him curiously. "Just go," he said simply.

"You think it's a good idea?" Yurina said slowly, carefully.

"What else could you do? Staying locked up inside studying won't make you less bored or less lonely." Yurina opened her mouth, presumably to deny those facts, but quickly closed it, opting to look away. Daiya hadn't touched a girl so much, and he certainly never looked at her face for so long, either. There was something in him that just didn't click, not in the way he knew how to do. The more he looked, the more he wanted to hold her close and feel the warmth radiating off her.

"I'll... think about it." Yurina didn't exactly seem satisfied by his encouragement, but at least she'd heard him. She'd listened. She even looked up and smiled in response to his smile. That was a major plus. "Daiya," Yurina called out hesitantly.

"What?"

"You have a little something, um..." Yurina paused, her eyes darting nervously to the side. He gave a little chuckle before leaning forward a bit, tilting his chin just slightly higher and effectively giving her a full view of his face. Yurina reached up slowly to touch his jaw, her eyes following her fingers as they grazed his smooth skin.

"That better?" Daiya purred, his voice deepening. He was surprisingly quiet, allowing her fingers to trace over the little piece of egg clinging to his face. She rubbed it lightly between her thumb and forefinger, then swiped it onto a napkin next to them before making a face and dropping it into the trash can next to her nightstand.

She could have just brushed the bit off and been done with it or handed him a tissue from the tissue box on the nightstand, which was a lot closer. She also didn't have to let her fingertips linger. "Yeah," she replied absently, smiling gently at him. Her eyes flickered down to stare at the hollow of his throat, her tongue gliding across her lips unconsciously.

Without warning, Daiya grabbed her hand and lifted it to press a kiss against her knuckles. He hadn't meant to and definitely wasn't aware of the fact that he had, but the movement came out automatically. And once he had done it, there was no turning back. Her eyes widened slightly, and she giggled breathlessly before pulling her hand back. "Whoa. Calm down," Yurina laughed nervously, scratching behind her ear.

Daiya shook off his embarrassment and grinned slyly at Yurina. She returned his smile sheepishly, trying her best not to giggle again, but failed. It had gotten hotter in the room. "So," she said after taking a drink from her water bottle. "Bordeaux?"

"Yup."

She furrowed her brows slightly in thought. "I'll go if it won't kill my grades, okay?"

"Fair enough." The blonde took her laptop and put on another film. Then, without saying a word, he lifted an arm and offered for her to curl up against him. "Come on. I know you like to snuggle. But you've gotta agree not to fall in love with me."

He smirked as she flushed pink, but nevertheless, Yurina scooched closer and got comfortable under his arm. Their sides were touching, their legs were entwined, and Yurina found that Daiya's heartbeat matched the rapid pace of her own. Yurina turned her focus onto the computer, determined to remain unaffected despite the intense warmth emanating from the man at her side.