[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 366 & 367. (Patreon)

Chapter 366: The little things.

How long have I spent telling you all these stories already? I wonder how much time it would make if we counted it in hours. Ten? Twenty? Should we count bathroom breaks? It’s been a long while, at least, and I still have more to go, if you’re interested in hearing them.

I try to tell you all the parts that I think would be interesting to hear, but… Well, if I’m glad of one thing from back then, it was that I had learned to appreciate the little moments, to see the beauty in common things. I don’t tell you many of those moments because they’re fond memories that don’t make for an exciting story. Though if you’re still listening to me, I’d have to guess you don’t mind these pointless stories.

I’m sounding like an old man, aren’t I?

Anyway, I bring this up because that same day, during the last period, our teacher told us to form pairs to write a short essay. He asked us to form pairs, or in other words, group work. For four years of middle school and three of high school, that had been one of my most dreaded events. You can guess why, right? No friends to ask, too afraid to approach strangers, all ending with the teacher forcing me into a random group who didn’t want me there. A total nightmare for the socially anxious.

My senior year, however, was completely different. The moment the teacher mentioned we’d work in pairs, my eyes went to the side of the room where Mila, Grace and Sarah were. The three girls also looked back at me and we agreed on our pairings with eyes only. People began to move from their seats all over the classroom. I, too, picked up my desk and moved it next to Mila’s so we could work together.

There’s nothing interesting to tell about the work. It was just a plain old essay. What matters is that I had a partner to work with. Hell, even if not any of my three girlfriends, I was confident I could’ve gone up to a number of my other classmates. That is what I mean by learning to appreciate the little things. Sitting side by side with someone, working on an assignment might be one of the most common school experiences, yet I felt there was something special to treasure about moments like these.

Sorry. I don’t mean to try and sound all wise. It’s just something I’ve thought about since back then.

Speaking of the essay, though, Grace and Sarah finished way faster than Mila and me, as one would expect. After they handed over their essay, Grace went to stand behind me, leaning over me and watching me write.

She kissed the top of my head and said, “Love, your handwriting is awful.”

It was. I was too used to typing on a keyboard. Still… “Better than Mila’s,” I said.

“That’s true,” Grace admitted with a slight nod, while Mila herself seemed too take it as a plus for her because it meant I had to write the essay instead of her.

“Want me to bring you Robert’s calligraphy books?” Sarah offered teasingly, sitting to the side on her chair across from me.

I smiled. “How are they doing, by the way?”

“Well enough. Violet was asking when you’re coming over again.”

“Maybe…”

Grace tapped my head hard with her finger. “Focus. You have 10 minutes left.”

“Ah, speaking of,” Mila said. “My mom asked me to go buy her some things at a particular cosmetic store. Wanna come with?”

I nodded. “I’ll go.”

“We can’t today, remember?” Grace said.

“I know. I was only asking Oliver.” Mila pouted. “You’re shopping with your mom today, Sarah has to pick up her brother at soccer practice, and Noelle and Alice have a council meeting. I remember.”

“Well, you didn’t reply last night, so I thought you hadn’t read the message,” Grace said.

Mila chuckled. “Sorry. My grandma came to visit and we played cards until eleven.”

And this is another one of those things that I like but I don’t mention a lot. I tag along for the girls’ errands all the time, even if I don’t have any business of my own to attend to. They ask me to go with them and I’m happy to oblige. This kind of stuff is not very eventful, so I don’t bring it up. After all, it’s not like I can tell you of every hour of my life, right? We’d be here forever if that was the case.

Things is, I bring this up because… something did happen this time.

After the bell rang and Mila and I exited our classroom, Thomas and Ben tagged along with us while going down the stairs, and in all the talking Mila mentioned where we were going.

“Oh!” Thomas exclaimed. “Would I be a third wheel if I asked to go with you? There’s a hand cream they only sell there, and…”

“Oh yeah,” I nodded in realization. “Maria was complaining the other day that she’d run out.”

Ben chuckled. “An attentive boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“Well, you know…” Thomas shrugged with a smile on his face.

“I think that’s the same one my mom sent me to buy,” Mila said. “Sure, come with us. You’re not third wheeling, right Oliver?”

I groaned and rubbed the back of my neck. “Well…”

Mila playfully elbowed me on the ribs while Thomas and Ben laughed.

We parted ways with Ben and went to the parking lot to Mila’s car. As we approached, I saw my girlfriend’s face light up. “Oliver.” She called to me before lobbing her car keys at me.

“W-What?” I asked her.

“You drive,” she told me, grinning,

“But I don’t know where the shop is…”

“We’ll search for it on my phone.”

“You know, I’m starting to reconsider going with you two…” Thomas said.

I frowned. “Get in and put on your seatbelt,” I told him.

I admit, I was nervous. I had practiced driving on the road already, but it wasn’t something I was used to yet. Besides, it was Mila’s car, and a pretty expensive one at that, but… Well, it made me happy that she trusted me with it. I’d be careful.

And no, we didn’t crash or anything. That wasn’t what I meant before. The thing I was referring to didn’t happen to us. Not exactly.

************

Chapter 367: An unexpected event.

Mila drove a relatively modern German sports car. She and Alice both drove manual transmission cars while Sarah and Grace drove automatics. I still thought it was a bit too extravagant, and Mila had only picked it because it looked nice without knowing that it was made for high performance. Still, it was a nice car and I was jealous.

“At least you keep it clean on the inside now…” I teased her as I drove out the school parking lot.

“Wait, Mila’s messy?” Thomas asked from his seat at the back, smirking.

“Yeah. First time we went on a date, there were bags and her brother’s toys all over the car.”

“...And the first time he went into my room it was a mess, too,” Mila said, slumping in the co-pilot seat. “It’s so embarrassing to think about.”

We talked, but I was more focused on driving than in the conversation. There was some pressure on my shoulder then. The firmness of the wheel in my hands, the change in speed at the slightest press or release of the gas pedal, the shift in balance when shifting gears… It should go without saying, but it was no video game. Still, all those hours, days practicing under Alice’s tutelage gave me confidence.

As we came closer to the store Mila and Thomas needed to go to, I began to recognize the area. Yes… Yes, we’d been here before.

“Hey, this is close to the hotel we went to for Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?” I asked Mila. “I think I remember passing through here.”

“Yeah, it is,” Mila said. “The hotel is actually like five minutes away from here.”

“So I DID get in the way!” Thomas said, laughing.

“Nah, it’s too expensive,” Mila told him, laughing along. “I mean, it’s amazing, and we were lucky to get a discount since it’s before the official inauguration, but still. It’s not the kind of place we can go to every month.”

“It really was nice, though,” I said. “A room for two should be cheaper, so invite Maria there, Thomas.”

“I just might,” he said, nodding. “We’re usually at her house since she lives alone, but changing it up every once in a while is important, right?”

“Oh, definitely,” Mila agreed. “Everything going well between you two, then?”

“Yep.” Thomas let out a content sigh. “Honestly, I didn’t think relationships could be this… comforting. Sometimes it’s a bit awkward because of the age gap, but it’s usually me being… well, eighteen, you know?”

“For what it's worth, I’ve never heard her complain about you,” I told him.

“Complaining about her boyfriend to his best friend would be stupid, though,” Mila told me.

“Ah, right.”

We parked somewhere close to the store, thankfully with ample space to do it safely. I still needed a bit more practice with parking.

“Congrats, Oliver,” Mila told me, kissing my cheek. “That was a smooth ride.”

“Yeah, congrats, dude.” Thomas gave me a thumbs up. “Want a kiss from me, too?”

“Stay away,” I told him, keeping him away with kicks to the air.

Thomas and Mila laughed, then we made our way to the store. I was a little taken aback by how many people there were inside. The place, thankfully, was spacious enough to not be cramped. A long queue saw us grab the number 167 when they were only just calling number 151.

“Oh God, we’re gonna be here a while…” Mila groaned.

“Hopefully the line will move quickly,” Thomas said.

It didn’t We waited for about ten minutes and the counter only advanced two numbers. All the while, however, I was… looking around. Most of the customers in the store were women, and… What were the chances that one of the women I was still looking for could be here? The receptionist worked at the hotel nearby, right? There was a chance she’d be here.

Sadly, I didn’t find either of them. That was also not what I meant before. No, what I’m talking about happened after we had waited 20 minutes and the number had gone up to 159.

“Ugh, now I’m thirsty,” Mila said. “Oliver, can you go buy me a water bottle? I’ll stay here and make sure we don’t suddenly lose our spot.”

I nodded. “Sure.”

“Want me to come with you?” Thomas offered.

“I’ll be fine. I’d rather you stay here with Mila.”

“Then buy me an orange juice, will you?”

I nodded again and made my way out the store… at the very same time as another customer. A slender, older woman of small breasts, long, straight blonde hair and bangs that reached below her eyebrows. She wore a loose white blouse and a long blue skirt, her purse hanging from her shoulder.

As I turned left out of the store, so did she. As I walked, looking for some place to buy some drinks, the woman walked behind me. It was almost like she was following me, but she was keeping her head down on her phone as she typed, so it was a complete coincidence that we were going the same way. Still, it made me a little uncomfortable, and considering that she might actually be following me made me pay attention to her. Problem was the woman wasn’t paying attention to anything else but her phone.

That was when it happened, and I regret to say I couldn’t react in time. I hadn’t expected it and it happened behind me. Some guy in a hoodie came out of nowhere I could see and took the phone away from the woman in a single swipe, but not having enough with that, he also grabbed her purse.

The woman was slow to react, but still held firmly onto her purse, pulling away from the thief while screaming. It was said screams that made me turn around, frustratingly just in time to see the son of a bitch punch the woman in the face so hard she let go of her purse and fell on her knees holding her face.

I felt every fiber of my being freezing, unable to respond. Everything happened in barely a few seconds, but my mind couldn’t process it until the thief turned away from me and ran. Then, every drop of blood in my body boiled, melting the ice that had me stuck to the ground.

I ran after him with all I had. He had maybe three or four steps ahead of me, but I somehow managed to catch up in half a block. I grabbed him by the back of the hoodie, slowing him down just enough for me to kick him behind the knee without a drop of mercy. The thief stumbled, cursing me loudly until I pushed him down on the floor.

I heard a dull thud. The guy hit his chin on the concrete of the sidewalk. Onlookers began to scream and gather around as I pinned the guy down. My heart was racing, my arms and hands shook. It wasn’t until I was holding the guy’s arms behind his back that I noticed how tired my jaw was from gritting my teeth.

“The police!” I yelled. “And that lady! Someone please check on her!”

Maybe my voice was what brought them out to check. Thomas and Mila came running out of the store towards me. “Mila, go check on the lady back there.”

“Y-Yes…!” She ran past me and kneeled beside the woman. I thought I saw some blood on her face and in her hands on her nose.

Thomas, meanwhile, immediately helped me restrain the struggling thief below me without a word. With the both of us, he didn’t have enough strength to even resist anymore. Fury in my chest, I held his head and pushed it hard against the floor.

I was still trembling when the police came and took the thief away.