[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 390 & 391. (Patreon)

Chapter 390: Developing relationships.

We were practically in uncharted territory here, so it was for the best that we discussed it as things developed.

“So? How did it go yesterday?” Sarah asked me.

“Let’s see… Let me start from the beginning. Maria’s plan was to take us bowling.”

“Oh, that sounds fun,” Noelle said.

I nodded. “It was, though I had never played before, so I lost pretty badly.”

“Wait, pause!” Mila said. “You had never gone bowling before?”

“Hm? Well… no.”

“Ugh! You should’ve told us! We used to go all the time!”

“Add that to the list of things to do,” Sarah told Alice, who nodded wordlessly and began to type on her phone.

…

Did… they really have a ‘to do’ list?

“Continue,” Alice told me.

“Well, I got there a bit early, but so did Diana. Add to it that Thomas and Maria were late, so we got to talking on our own for a bit.” Now, how do I say this? “She… might be a bit difficult to deal with at first.”

“Yeah, we kinda figured,” Grace said. “From that brief interaction we had with her, it didn’t seem like she was a fan of people.”

I fervently shook my head. “That’s not it, though. She has social anxiety, just like me. Those cold looks are just how her body reacts under mental stress.”

The girls looked at each other, sharing skeptical looks. 

“Really? She didn’t seem like a socially awkward person to me,” Sarah said. “Just cold and angry.”

“And how is that different from how I was?” I asked her. The girls went quiet. “Your reasons are your own, but the fact remains that you gave me a chance… scratch that. You gave me plenty of chances despite how awkward I was, right? And with Diana… All I did was try to be for her what you all are for me, ignoring those unintentional mean looks and strong comments and looking past them to the person beneath.” My lips curled into a smile. “Turns out… she’s really cool. I think you’ll… like her.”

I told them everything. I told them the things we had in common, of how we played in the arcade, of how we ate dinner, of how I admitted to her that there was something supernatural about me and that she didn’t seem totally surprised by it. I told them that Diana’s biggest worry was getting between us, I told them we went to the observation tower, talked some more and then… fooled around in her car.

“Which, by the way, Alice, is a classic, black and white Eight-Six,” I told her. The blonde’s eyes went as wide as I had pictured. “I told her to check your brother’s shop if she needed repairs.”

She giggled. “Silly! Why would you bring up a girlfriend when out with another girl?”

I shrugged. “Because seeing the car reminded me of you, and if she can’t accept that I have you all, then there’s no point, right?” Alice blushed but seemed to like my answer, as did the rest of the girls.

“Look at you, being all manly,” Sarah teased.

“So… You didn’t go all the way and only got to second base, huh?” Grace asked. “I’m a little surprised.”

“Do people still use those baseball metaphors?” Noelle asked her.

“I do, at least,” Grace answered with a chuckle.

“But yeah, I agree with Grace,” Mila said. “I thought it would have either been no intimacy or going all the way.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to stop once he gets you going,” Alice said.

“Well…” I cleared my throat. “We… might have done more, but another couple almost had sex against her car while we were there. Diana still yelled at them to leave and they ran away apologizing.”

“Oh wow, really?” Sarah crossed her arms and smirked.

“Yeah, it was pretty funny, but the mood had changed, so… we decided to meet again tomorrow. At her place.”

Grace nodded. “Depending on how that goes, I think it would be for the best that we met up with her, too. In our situation, it’s better that it’s sooner rather than later.”

“I admit the prospect makes me a little nervous,” Noelle said, “but it’s not something we should put off.”

“Hmm. There’s one thing that worries me,” Alice said. “When it comes to us, even if we can’t hang out every day, we still see each other at school. Diana, however, has a life that’s hard to make coincide with ours.” She turned to me. “What will you do about that?”

I nodded. “I’ve been wondering about that, too, but… It won’t be long before that changes for us as well. We only have a little under half a year before we graduate, remember?”

Mila held her head. “Ugh, I wanted to avoid thinking about that…”

“I mean, there are a few obvious solutions, but it’s still not an easy decision for everyone,” Grace said, eyeing Alice and Sarah in particular.

I swallowed. There was something on my mind in regards to this, but it was still too abstract an idea to put it to words. I just knew that… it would be difficult to continue as we were, regardless if I started seeing Diana or not. Things would change, it was inevitable, and we would have to adapt to it.

“...We still have a few months to decide, don’t we?” Noelle said, smiling wryly. “And as for how to spend our time… I think that’s up to all of us, not just Oliver. We can’t just ask him to make time for us. We have to put in the effort ourselves, too.”

Mila giggled. “Right. Relationships are a team effort, after all.”

Hmm. I agreed with what Noelle said, and it was very close to the idea forming in my head, but still not quite.

“I’ll bring this up to Diana tomorrow,” I told them.

Maria came back just as I said that. She opened the front door and peeked inside. “Sorry. Are you guys…?”

“Yes, we’re done,” Grace said. “Thank you for the time, and we’re sorry for intruding like this. We didn’t mean to be a bother.”

“Please, it’s the least I could do. We need to open the shop now, but you’re welcome to stay for longer if you want.”

The girls shared a look and smiled. “We just might. We still need to kill some time before we need to go to our own jobs,” Alice said.

I stood up and excused myself to go back to work. All the things in my mind, not least of them the anticipation for the next day, made it a painfully slow Saturday.

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

Chapter 391: Going to Diana’s house.

Diana sent me a message the night before our second date. It was funny because I could totally relate to what might have been her thought process.

-Diana: By the way, I have a dog. It's a big, young German Shepherd. Is that an issue for you?

In all fairness, it could’ve been. Some people are afraid of big dogs or outright don’t like them, so if I had been in Diana’s position, I would’ve asked exactly the same. Luckily, I fucking love dogs.

-Oliver: Not at all. I like dogs. Can I buy it some treats?

-Diana: Yes, he’d love that. Thank you.

I saw that she began to type another message, then stopped before sending it. She began to type again, this time lasting a lot longer but with no message sent. Eventually, after about 10 minutes, she did send something.

-Diana: I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

God, it was almost painful how much of myself I saw in her, and honestly it only made me like her more. I could see it in my mind clear as day because I was the same, her typing and erasing three or four different messages, unsure if any of them were appropriate or worried they sounded wrong.

-Oliver: So am I. Should I bring something else?

-Diana: No, don’t worry. I have everything. Do you like vegetable lasagna?

-Oliver: Yes, a lot.

-Diana: That’s a relief. Now, I don’t want to keep you. Goodnight, Oliver. See you tomorrow.

-Diana: Goodnight. See you tomorrow.

It was a strange but not unpleasant exchange. It just felt funny to not be the nervous one in the conversation for once.

***

And then morning came in the perceived blink of an eye. Seriously, I closed my eyes to sleep, opened them and it was already 7:30 am. I was so used to waking up early by now that my body did so on its own even on Sundays. I mourned the passing of lazy Sundays and got out of bed.

I took a shower and got dressed in a casual outfit of blue jeans, a tight-fitting, black long sleeve shirt and a denim jacket. I took my time making my bed, cleaning up my room a bit and having breakfast on my own. Mom still relished lazy Sundays and I seriously doubted Isabelle would ever give them up.

I left hot water ready on a thermos for them along with their mugs, coffee, tea and sugar ready to serve. It was 9:00 am by then, so I grabbed my backpack and went out. I made a quick stop by a small store that was open early and bought the treats for Diana’s dog and hopped on a bus.

It was a little nerve wracking, I admit. I’d never been to the outskirts of the city. Or rather, I had only passed through once or twice. After about an hour, the buildings became fewer and fewer, giving place to houses only. Less apartment complexes and more trees and hills, yet still clearly urban areas with well paved roads and bus stops along the way.

I was checking the map on my phone, and when I saw I was getting close to the location Diana had sent me, I stepped off. A brief walk through a couple blocks and I was in front of what was supposedly Diana’s home.

Single floor, slanted roof and a white facade. The garage attached to the house was wider than the house itself, but I thought I saw that the house extended further to the back. The grass at the front was on the dry side, but it had been very recently trimmed.

I… knew it was Diana’s house, as it matched what she had told me, but I still was too afraid to go and knock. What if I happened to be wrong? Instead, I texted her, saying I was outside.

The front door opened, and before I could see Diana, I saw a gorgeous German Shepherd under the door frame, staring and growling cautiously at me.

“Red, no!” Diana said from behind the dog, holding his collar. The dog whined and barked once at me. “I’m so sorry! I’ll take him to the backyard…!”

“Hey, he’s wary of a stranger. He’s just doing his job, right?” I told her.

Yeah, it was scary to have a dog like that growling at me, but I also liked seeing that he was protective. It didn’t look like he was going to lunge at me, thankfully. It was just protecting his territory.

I reached into my backpack, grabbed the bag of jerky treats and tore it open. The dog’s, Red’s, ears stood up. The growling stopped and he began to get restless, licking his lips. I took out a long piece of jerky and carefully approached Red. Diana was still holding him firmly by the collar. The dog sniffed the treat… and was surprisingly gentle in taking it, opening his mouth and nibbling it instead of trying to chomp it down with my hand included.

Red chewed and swallowed, his whole demeanor immediately changing as he licked his lips again. His next bark had the playfulness of a kid who wanted more candy.

“Hah! Some guard dog you are…” Diana said, playfully kicking Red in the butt.

I chuckled and gave Red another treat, which he gluttonously accepted. I dared to try and pet him, and he was happy to let me do scratch around his neck,

“Is he wary of everyone or just me?” I asked Diana.

“Everyone he doesn’t know, but he’s never bitten anyone. Not that I don’t think it’ll never happen, which is why I’m still holding him. I’m really sorry about that.”

I shook my head. “Red, right? How old is he?”

“Just nine months old.”

“He’s gorgeous. I love dogs. I don’t know how I ended up with a cat instead,” I said, thinking about how Cake was probably going to smell a dog on me when I came back and freak out.

“...Let’s not talk in the doorway. Come on in,” she said, letting go of Red.

“Ah. Thank you.”

I gave Red one last piece of jerky and he was happy to take it somewhere else to eat. Thanks to my forward thinking, I was able to effortlessly gain the approval of Diana’s dog and not lose a hand in the attempt.

Hopefully that would remain the case.