[Book of Eros] Chapter 46 - Dreams for the future. (Patreon)

After having their fun in… various ways, Leo and Reiko returned to their spot. Angela was already there, rummaging through Leo’s backpack to find the lunches he’d packed.

“Had fun?” she asked casually.

“Y-Yeah,” Leo nodded, feeling ashamed.

“Relax, it’s cool,” Angela laughed. “Besides, it’s tit for tat, as they say. I want another mock fight tonight.”

“You got it,” Leo agreed.

They ate their lunch and decided to relax by basking in the gentle sun and watching the slow, crystalline waves. Despite what had just happened, the atmosphere between the three wasn’t any different. Angela and Reiko still talked like usual, with the blonde telling a story about the show she’d seen on TV the other day and how she didn’t understand why Japanese game shows were funny to her, but they were anyway. After a while, when things had gone comfortably quiet, Reiko, sitting next to him, took her own bag and pulled out her sketchbook, making Leo wary.

“You’re not going to draw… THAT here in public, are you?”

“Of course not!” Reiko laughed. “Remember how I told you my backgrounds were not good enough? I want to practice that. This is a different sketchbook.”

“So, when do I get to see your drawings?” Angela asked, laying on her back with Reiko’s hat on top of her face to block the sun.

“I… suppose I can show them to you, if you really want.”

“Neat.”

“I don’t have them on me, now, though.”

“I can wait.”

Leo watched as Reiko started drawing, sketching the scenery in front of her. She said she wasn’t good enough, but to someone who couldn’t draw at all, like him, it was simply amazing to see a blank page slowly becoming a beach. She looked so into it, too. It was easy to tell she enjoyed it enough to lose herself in it. He glanced at Angela, and remembered how she also has something she loves doing.

“I’m so jealous of you two,” he said, smiling calmly.

“Eh?” Reiko exclaimed while Angela got the hat off her face to look at him. “What do you mean?” his girlfriend asked.

“Angela clearly enjoys fighting, and you clearly enjoy drawing. I don’t have anything like that, so it makes me jealous,” he chuckled. “I bet Angela’s gonna end up a professional MMA champion and you’re gonna have your works published in some magazine soon.”

“An MMA champion?” Angela muttered to herself. “It doesn’t sound bad, but… Maybe?” she sighed.

“I… I just draw as a hobby,” Reiko said, trying to smile while her eyes told another story. “I’m not planning on having my stuff published anywhere.”

That made Angela sit up and Leo narrow his eyes. “But you love drawing, don’t you? Have you seriously never considered making a living out of it?” he asked.

“…I can’t say I haven’t,” Reiko answered, going back to her picture as she did. “But the competition in the manga industry is huge. You need to be extremely talented or extremely lucky to make it in. And besides… My parents want me to get a ‘serious’ job, so I’ll probably end up being an English teacher.”

“Do you like the idea of being an English teacher?” Angela asked.

“I don’t know. I’m good at English, and it pays well enough. I could see myself doing it.”

“But you don’t see yourself drawing and telling your stories for a living?”

“…” Reiko pursed her lips, remaining quiet as her pencil kept moving, putting details on the waves. “It would be nice, yes.”

“Then why don’t you do it?” Angela asked.

“My family would be against it. And it’s very possible I’ll fail.”

“You haven’t even tried it yet, though,” Leo told her. “How do you know you’ll fail?”

“…” The grip on her pen tightened enough to make her hand shake. “It’s not that easy. It’s not like I have a supernatural talent for drawing.”

“…” Both Leo and Angela winced. It was a low blow, but they couldn’t refute it. What could two people gifted with a single superhuman talent say to that? But still… “There’s no one in this world who isn’t talented at SOMETHING,” Leo said. “The truly smart people are those who can use their talent to find happiness in life. In that regard, you’re in a much better position than I am.”

Reiko’s pencil stopped. She kept silent as she took her sketchbook to her chest and hugged her knees along with it. If he kept pushing the matter he’d feel like a bully, so he dropped it. So long as she thought about it some more, it was fine.

“We better go back home,” he said. “We’ve been under the sun for too long. It may not be summer yet, but still.”

Without a word, Reiko nodded. The trio put their things away, put their clothes on top of their already dry swimsuits and walked back home. Leo and Angela glanced at Reiko every once in a while, who seemed deep in thought as she walked looking at her sketchbook. It was still early, so there was no need for them walk Reiko home. They parted ways and Leo and Angela went back to their house.

“You think she’ll be okay?” the blonde asked. “Were we too insensitive?”

“I don’t know. I think she’d like to draw for a living, but I guess we’re forgetting that family matters can make things complicated. I certainly haven’t had to worry about that for a while.”

“You’re right,” Angela sighed, frustrated.

They entered the house and got changed into comfortable clothes to move in. They’d save the showers for after their mock fight. Like before, Leo tried to touch Angela while she punched and kicked as much as she wanted while holding her strength back. It was difficult, since whenever he thought he was starting to catch up to her, Angela kicked it up another notch and went at it harder. If he ever got into a serious fight with her, his only chance for winning would be to tire her out, but he didn’t know if he could reach that point if she ever got serious.

The smile on her face as they fought was wilder and rawer in its excitement, but it still reminded Leo of the smile Reiko had when drawing. He really hoped Angela could find a healthy way to use her talent and find her happiness. He’d hate it if she had to hold it in until it exploded in a fit of rage or something.