Safety Measure (1)

Upon hearing Mike's question, Serena's gaze lifted to meet his. She paused for a moment, her thoughts swirling.

"Y-yeah... I am," she finally answered. "It's for your... study purposes only. And a teacher should... help her student in that," Serena added, her voice growing softer with each word. Her lips brushed against his thumb as she spoke, making her heart stutter.

'What kind of dumb excuse was that, Serena? Couldn't you come up with something better?' she scolded herself.

Mike slowly withdrew his hand, his fingers reluctantly leaving her face. Serena exhaled softly — but with his touch gone, an unexpected emptiness settled over her. A strange pang of disappointment flickered inside her, and she couldn't understand why.

"Miss… can I see your hand now?" Mike asked, his voice breaking her thoughts.

Serena blinked, snapping back to reality. After a brief hesitation, she extended her arm toward him. She wore a full-sleeved T-shirt that covered her wrists. As her hand reached him, her sleeve slid up slightly, exposing a small portion of her skin.

"Here," she murmured.

Mike gently took her hand in his, his fingers sliding between hers. His thumb traced along her knuckles, slow and deliberate.

'It feels... so good.' Mike thought, completely forgetting why he was supposed to be doing this in the first place. His mind drifted, distracted by how delicate her hand felt against his own.

"Umm… Mike?" Serena's voice broke the silence. "Don't you think you should be, you know... drawing while you're observing? I mean... you're just touching me right now."

Pulled from his daze, Mike recovered quickly. "I'm committing your anatomy and structure to my muscle memory," he said with far too much confidence. "I'll use that memory to draw you later. No need to worry Miss, just believe in me."

Serena raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. She should've been annoyed, but instead... she let him continue.

Mike carefully pushed her sleeve further up her arm, revealing her forearm. Serena's breath hitched, but she stayed still. His fingers glided over her skin, tracing the subtle veins and tendons. His touch was gentle yet firm, almost as if he were memorizing every curve, every detail.

When he finally let go, Serena felt herself exhale again — as if she'd been holding her breath the whole time.

"Miss... show me your feet," Mike asked next.

Serena hesitated, shifting slightly on the sofa. She brought her legs forward from the cross sitting position and extended them toward him. Her shorts reached down to her knees, revealing only a small portion of her thighs.

Mike reached out, his fingers wrapping around her ankle before trailing down to her foot. His touch was warm, firm — yet oddly soothing. He traced the arch of her foot, feeling the delicate bones beneath her skin. Serena's toes twitched slightly at the sensation.

His fingers slowly moved upward, gliding along her shin. Serena's breath caught again as his touch reached her knee — her face growing warmer by the second.

'Is he... going further up? To my thighs?' Serena thought, her body stiffening slightly. She bit her lower lip, her heart racing.

But Mike stopped — just at her knee. He withdrew his hand without a word.

'Wtf!...That's it?' Serena felt a wave of disappointment she didn't quite understand. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Hey... w-won't you observe my... thighs?"

Mike paused, then grinned. "Nah... your thighs will be covered by clothes in the drawing. No point in seeing them." He smirked, then added teasingly, "Unless you want to pose in something... a little more erotic? Like in your underwear?"

"You!... You son of a Hitl—... I'll...!" Serena stammered, her face flushing deeper than ever. She couldn't even finish her sentence. The blush crawling down her neck made her look more vulnerable than she realized and in Mike's eyes, undeniably cute.

Serena took a deep breath, pulling her legs back as if retreating into herself. She looked at Mike and asked, "So... are you done now? Is your observation complete?"

"Absolutely not," Mike replied without a second thought.

"Wh-what?" Serena's voice rose in surprise. "You've already... observed everything that you need in the drawing...What else is left?"

A mischievous smile crept onto Mike's face. "Well... your chest, I think."

Serena's eyes widened as she instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, scooting back slightly. "Don't even think about it, you pervert..."

Mike burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking. "Relax, Miss. I'm just kidding," he said, flashing her a playful grin. "I'd never actually do something like that."

His teasing tone softened as he studied her for a moment. "But you know…" he added thoughtfully, "you're not as cold as people say."

Serena blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his tone.

"I mean it," Mike continued. "People just... don't try to understand you. They judge you based on how you act or how you look, but you're not like that at all. You're... actually pretty warm and lively once someone gets to know you."

For a moment, Serena didn't know what to say. Her heart fluttered not from embarrassment this time, but from something softer. Something warmer.

"You... really think that?" she asked quietly.

Mike shrugged. "I know that."

Serena bit her lip, trying to suppress the smile threatening to break free. "Well... thanks," she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper.

For the first time in a while, she didn't feel like 'Miss Serena' — the strict teacher, the cold woman everyone misunderstood. Sitting beside Mike, she just felt... herself.

"By the way, Miss... you really need to do something about your sleepwalking," Mike said casually, but there was concern in his voice.

"Huh? Why?" Serena asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mike sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Damn... you don't remember anything?"

Serena frowned, confused. As far as she could recall, the only incident she remembered was when Mike had found her in the kitchen that one night and brought her back to the sofa.

"I remember that one time... when you found me in the kitchen," Serena said slowly.

Mike shook his head. "That wasn't the only time," he said, his voice more serious now. "The night after that, I found you in the bathroom. Then the night after that, you were back in the kitchen again. And just last night... you were wandering around the room you were sleeping in." He paused, his expression tightening. "You've been sleepwalking almost every night."

Serena's face paled slightly. "I... I didn't know..."

"That's why I'm worried," Mike said firmly. "What if you trip and fall? What if you hurt yourself?"

Serena shook her head, her voice quiet but vulnerable. "I don't know what to do... I've seen specialists before. I took medication, tried counseling... but all they said was that it's something that's supposed to fade with time." She sighed. "But... I don't know when that time will come."

Mike's eyes softened. He couldn't stand seeing her like this — the confident, sharp-witted Serena now looking so lost and unsure. Without thinking, he spoke up.

"Miss... is there anything we can do to at least make sure you're safe when it happens?"

Serena's gaze lifted to meet his. Her eyes... they looked different — softer, almost fragile. But there was something else too. Something warm.

After a brief silence, she asked — her voice quiet yet bold "Would you... sleep with me?"