The words that escaped his girlfriend"s lips were the last things he expected to hear. Haruka stared at her speechless for a moment. Is she serious? This isn"t a good joke. Lila"s face turned an even brighter shade of red, and he continued watching her for a moment. Last year, when he met her again and slowly fell for her all over again. Haruka observed her carefully. Other than Austin Kiryu, Teras.h.i.+ma Lila has never had another guy anymore. She"s innocent. That time he kissed her several years back was probably her first kiss. It flattered him once he figured out that he got a head start of Austin Kiryu. But there ought to be a limit to being oblivious.
"Can you repeat that?" Haruka asked.
There was no need really; he understood her words very well.
"I think I"m getting addicted to your kisses," Lila repeated. This time Lila said it with more confidence. But it didn"t change the fact her face was a brighter red than a tomato. His lips curve to a smile seeing Lila so fl.u.s.tered.
Someone innocent, huh? "Can we kiss?" Haruka asked.
Lila shyly nodded.
_______________________________________________
This time around Lila knew she said something outrageous. Even then she didn"t want to take her words back. After all, she meant every single word she said. Oh, Lila understands it now. Kissing and s.e.x, if it"s with the person, you love it feels different. For hanyou females and males, kissing isn"t important. It"s regarded as a method used to transfer blood. But when she was dating Kiryu, she slowly pieced the idea that there"s another meaning to kisses. Now she"s dating Haruka, she understands.
It"s hard to breathe; it feels like all the blood is rus.h.i.+ng to her brain. She feels dizzy and hot.
...….
Garden Center
Even though they were late, they still made it somehow. Lila was sitting at a table in the center of the place alongside her friends.
"Now then what do you think happened.." Jae-hee whispered.
Yori shook her head, "I don"t know sergeant, but we should investigate…"
Lila"s cheeks reddened, "I can hear you two!"
"She"s mad!" the two exclaimed.
Her cheeks puffed up into a pout. It was bad enough that Jae-hee teased her, but now that Yori is here. It"s double trouble. Lila"s gaze landed on Haruka. She didn"t think he would stay. He doesn"t know Yori well, and this party is filled with people he doesn"t know. At least she thought so, but it seems like he has more extensive connections than she thought.
"If you want to go to him, go," Yori said.
"B—but um.." This is Yori"s welcoming party; it would be rude to leave her side suddenly like this.
Yori laughed, "It"s fine, it"s fine. Go over."
Lila quickly bowed in apology and rushed over to Haruka"s side.
Despite how far she was since they were talking loudly. Lila could overhear them. Haruka was in the middle of explaining why he came. "Well, she"s friends with my girlfriend so.."
Lila noticed how the surrounding people suddenly dropped their food on the floor or choked on their cigarette.
"G-girlfriend?"
They all held bewildered expressions.
"You?"
"I heard the rumors but really.."
Uh, is this an awkward time to show up? No, she has to be brave and confident. Lila decided and walked over. Haruka"s friends noticed her before he did and whistled.
"Whose beauty is that?"
"Either way, I"m going to talk to her.."
"Like you actually stand a chance…"
Lila stopped slightly, would she be causing him problems? For some reason, she keeps getting a lot of attention.
"He"s good with words. It"s fine."
At that last comment, Haruka"s gaze met hers, and Lila felt her heartbeat speed up. He smiled softly, and she resumed walking until she was in front of him.
"Haruka, can we eat together?" Lila asked.
The others stared at the scene with wide eyes; some commented on how brave she was. The bystanders murmuring something about this being code to have s.e.x. Code? Lilas cheeks reddened, she really ought to ask him to be completely upfront with her. Especially regarding his past with other women.
Others commented that this is the first time someone asked out loud.
"Sure, it won"t match your cooking. But let"s eat.."
The murmurs stopped, and there was a silence before --
"Did you hear that?"
"That"s not the usual response."
"Wait is he seriously going to …"
"Is that the girlfriend he just mentioned?"
Haruka pulled her into his arms then, "This one belongs to me like I just said. So…" Haruka didn"t need to finish his sentence. Everyone naturally understood it was a warning. The guys who had been ogling her and saying comments suddenly stopped. The whole time though Lila only focused on Haruka.
...…
Lila sighed a breath of relief once they were far away from everyone. While they couldn"t get complete privacy since this is a party. Yori found them a quiet s.p.a.ce.
"Haru--" Her sentence fell short when Haruka suddenly got close to her.
"Do you have a scent fetish too?" Haruka asked.
Ah, how did he find out?
"You were sniffling me."
He caught her, Haruka, however, didn"t tease her like Kiryu did, instead, "So.. do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"
Lila tilted her head in confusion, "Dangerous?"
He sighed, "That guy treasured you too much, he didn"t tell you anything, huh?"
Lila looked at him puzzled.
Haruka suddenly pushed her down, and she found herself laying down on the bench. Lilas cheeks reddened, "Wait um were…" This area may be private, but people can still seem them here. Haruka, however, didn"t listen and lifted her s.h.i.+rt up.
T—this is embarra.s.sing. He"s sniffing her. He"s so close to her now, she could feel his breath.
"I—I get it!!" Lila exclaimed.
Haruka nodded and drew back. "You, need to stop being so defenseless — your cute when you are, but. I"m a dangerous guy; I"m not like Austin Kiryu. The innocent things you do can easily make me lose control."
Lila sat up, and Haruka fixed her clothing. Does Haruka hold back because of her? It"s hard to believe. She shyly got closer and buried her face in his arms.
"You"re careless, huh? Do you know what type of person I am?"
The look in Haruka"s eyes was that of a beast waiting to devour his prey. But despite this Lila remained calm as she repeated his words. "A bad guy?"
"Yeah, you said before there"s n.o.body worse than me right?"
"That was.."
"I have to disagree; there"s plenty of people worse. But, I"m not a good guy."
The conversation became heavy again; she doesn"t want to spoil her peaceful moments with him. Lila shyly wrapped her arms around his neck and sat on his lap. Haruka seemed surprised but allowed her; he gently combed her hair with his hands.
"You"ll understand, I know you want to avoid talking about it. But let me say this much at least, don"t trust me too much Ari."
He"s in pain, a lot of pain. Even though she knows about the situation regarding her brother. Haruka has many other scars in his heart. What happened with brother was only a scratch. She has to get to the route problem, from when he was little. She wants to help him.