Chapter 21

Shigeru thought himself to be a simple man. He didn't crave love or any emotion, really. Such things weren't necessary. There were plenty of women in the world, so why would he want to tether himself to one woman, no matter how great or gorgeous. Shigeru wasn't there for long-term commitment, nor did he really feel the need to begin a family of his own.

He did, however, sometimes fancy the idea of a steady fuck buddy. Sure, he had plenty of girls willing to please his every desire, but in due time, people grew bored of each other. Such was the world of hookups, just like his current situation with one of the college students around. This woman was the daughter of one of his father's associates and a trust fund baby who frequented local clubs when she was bored, which was almost every night of the week.

Today was Tuesday. Usually, Tuesdays were extremely busy for him, and Shigeru figured it wouldn't hurt to slide in a quick fuck before he was dragged to this soiree with Daiya. "What's wrong, baby? You're so tense," the girl cooed softly. She lifted her head from between Shigeru's spread legs, crawling forward to sit in his lap. Knees bent on either side of his waist, she draped her arms lazily over his broad shoulders.

"Who said you could stop sucking my dick?"

"Oh, come on," the woman giggled, pressing gentle kisses down his jaw and neck, earning a soft groan from the ravenette. "I was just trying to cheer you up. You seem preoccupied." He scoffed lightly and gently massaged the mounds of her behind, fingers spreading and digging into her supple skin. As annoyed as he appeared, the male couldn't resist tugging her closer by her hips.

"Get back to it. Otherwise, there's no reason for you to be here." Not wasting any more time, the girl resumed her previous position, eagerly dropping her head and teasing the tip of Shigeru's cock. Groaning lightly, he clasped the back of her head and nudged her forward encouragingly. "Yeah, that's it. Good girl."

When all was said and done, she dressed herself, pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, and grabbed her purse. "Same time next week?" 

Shigeru looked up from the smoke he was exhaling, shrugging his shoulders noncommittally. "We'll see." He watched her pout at his lack of enthusiasm, then wave goodbye before disappearing through the doorway. "Women." He shook his head, falling back against his bed and sighing deeply.

Now, he had to get ready for this stupid event he was forced to attend. Just one more thing on his plate to deal with today. After a quick shower, Shigeru stepped out of his bathroom, tugging a comb through his damp hair as he searched his closet. In doing so, he finally decided on a fresh set of grey slacks and a dark blue turtleneck, topping his outfit off with a black fitted pea coat.

It wasn't comfortable by any means, but he wasn't aiming to be seen as a hobo. Just as he was about to leave, Shigeru received a message from Daiya asking him to bring Yurina. Daiya was caught in the middle of handling some business. Otherwise, he'd do it himself, but he'd be running late. 

"This motherfucker."

When they'd originally planned this meetup, Shigeru mentioned how tedious it'd be and tried to get out of it. Much to his dismay, he'd agreed to go and show support for Daiya's father's company. At least he wasn't the only one being forced to partake in the festivities. It seemed that Wataru and his folks also had to pay their respects. Yurina was apparently attending the event, too, as Daiya's date. So, Shigeru felt his whole body stiffen as soon as he received the message. Forcing himself out the door, Shigeru made a quick detour to pick up Yurina first.

Yurina scurried about her room in a frenzy, desperately trying to put together something decent to wear. Serena's closet didn't have the most modest clothing, so she'd decided to stick with what she owned. However, Yurina didn't have any dresses that could potentially match up against the other attendees. The only things she owned were skirts and sweaters.

For someone as smart as she was, it frustrated her when she couldn't devise a decent excuse to skip out on the party. After attempting to tame her mess of hair, which had somehow managed to tangle itself during the afternoon, Yurina cursed her luck. A sudden knock at the door distracted her from her inner ramblings, and she cursed whoever was knocking.

"Hold on, I'm coming," she huffed impatiently, quickly rushing over to swing the door open with as much aggression as she could manage, only to come face-to-face with Shigeru, of all people. Confusion spread across her features as she leaned against the door frame and folded her arms over her chest, subconsciously noting how well the male cleaned up.

"What's up, Shigeru?" Her voice was softer now so as not to come across as rude. Shigeru had rarely spoken to her in the past few days and had been acting strangely until this point. Shigeru tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes, taking in her casual attire with a little interest.

"So, I'm going to pretend like you didn't just try to rip my face off," he joked, snickering quietly at her. When the female shrugged indifferently and avoided meeting his eyes, Shigeru held his hand up to placate her. "Daiya sent me here to pick you up since he's stuck doing something else, which I know very little about."

"Oh...um, can you give me just a couple minutes?" Shigeru chuckled at her nervous demeanor, then looked her over curiously, wondering what could be so important that she wanted to wait a few minutes. "You know I have nothing appropriate for an uppity party. Don't judge me, please," she whispered, cringing a little at her awkwardness.

"You look fine to me. I wouldn't stress it, alright?"

"Says the guy who dresses like a model every minute of the day," she replied sarcastically, raising a brow challengingly. Yurina glared defiantly and moved out of his way, allowing him to enter her dormitory. She closed the door, turned, and headed toward Serena's dresser to get a few pieces of jewelry to pair with her simple clothing. "Anyway, make yourself at home," Yurina offered in passing.

She selected a cute silver necklace and bracelet to compliment her casual look. With a gentle exhale, Yurina returned to Shigeru's side with her shoes. She slipped on her loafers, letting out a grunt when she stood. "Do you mind helping me with this?" She held up the dangly necklace in front of him, and he gingerly took them. Yurina turned around and moved her hair away, offering him a full view of the nape of her neck.

He got a strong whiff of strawberries and cream, which tickled his nostrils pleasantly. Gently, he reached around the sides of her head and clasped the necklace together. How she gazed up at him once he did so made his chest tighten and his fingers twitch. "There. All done." He pulled his hands back as he spoke, stuffing them into his pants pockets.

Yurina's fingers brushed along her neckline as though double-checking that it was securely fastened. "Thanks," she murmured, stepping further away. Shigeru watched her pick up the thin-link bracelet and fasten the accessory onto her wrist. He noted little details, like how her hands seemed softer or the necklace rested neatly above her clavicle. Even her light makeup—nothing too drastic, but she'd definitely tried, at least—looked good on her.

"Are you and Daiya a thing?"

Yurina stopped her ministrations, furrowing her brows curiously at Shigeru. "What makes you say that?" She dropped her hand and continued staring, slightly unnerved at his attention. 

On the other hand, Shigeru couldn't look more interested or curious if he tried. He genuinely wanted to know. Something deep inside was telling him he should at least figure out what exactly he was working with. "For starters, you agreed to be his date. I mean, I was just wondering." Why did he ask? It'd been made clear from the start that it was nothing serious, that they'd just been occasionally messing around with each other.

"We're not a thing. I mean, we did have sex, but..." Shrugging dismissively, Yurina hugged herself, uncertain. "We're just friends. Same for you and I, right?" Shigeru glanced downward momentarily, contemplating the current state of their platonic relationship. Maybe, as long as she saw it as strictly friends with benefits, there was nothing to worry about. He started to feel bad for giving her the cold shoulder lately because truth be told, he didn't hate her company.

In fact, he enjoyed spending time with Yurina and never gave much thought to anything else. "Right." He plastered a halfhearted smile and motioned towards the door. "If you're all set, we should get going." She gave a slight nod, moving past him and leading them out.