[Book of Eros] Chapter 128: Date. (Patreon)

They scheduled their date for that Saturday afternoon, agreeing to leave the house after lunch. Leonardo managed to keep a calm façade for the most part, but truth was he was particularly happy about this date. Part of it was that, yeah, he was going on a date with Kaede and none of the other girls even so much as gave them a raised eyebrow for it. But more importantly, Kaede was the one to ask him out. A phone call with Reiko that night revealed she had given the girl a small push, but it was all because Kaede herself wanted it.

Leo wouldn’t miss this chance. He needed to make sure Kaede had a good time with him. He’d beat himself up forever if she ended up regretting her decision. He made his research ahead of time, looking into the shops Kaede would be interested in, places to eat and… um… A love hotel, just in case. He didn’t want to push her. He wouldn’t. But he’d been seeing in her the restrained desire for carnal pleasure. Leo wouldn’t lie to himself. He wanted her. Kaede was a beauty, despite her own vision of herself.

He got dressed for the occasion, wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a short-sleeved grey shirt over it. He emptied his backpack from his school supplies and threw it over his shoulder. He was ready to go, but someone knocked on his door before he could leave.

“Hm? Come in,” he said.

The door opened and Lucia walked in with a small, yet amused smile on her face. “Just came in to check how you were doing. Your date is a nervous wreck right now,” she said with a soft chuckle.

“You haven’t been teasing her, have you?” Leo asked, sighing.

“Of course not. I’ve been 100% supportive. If anything, Angela and Seina have been tormenting the poor girl with images of hypothetical scenarios far more than I would have.”

Leo scratched the back of his head. “Is it too much to ask that you cut her some slack?”

“Please, Leonardo, it’s all in good fun,” Lucia dismissed. “Despite her complaints, the girl is having fun. Trust me. Which brings me to my true reason for coming here.”

“Oh?”

“Treat her well, you hear? She’s a fragile girl and this is her first ever date.” Leo raised an eyebrow at her words, but otherwise remained silent. He knew Lucia would understand what he was thinking. “Yeah, yeah,” she waved. “Think of it as me trying to atone, okay? Not proud of what I did, mostly because of how pointless it was.”

Leo sighed and smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

“What will you do if she asks for sex?”

“…I looked up a good place. I have money saved from my job. But…”

“I know, I know,” Lucia said, stepping up to him. “I already have a good grasp on you. Every night I spend with you I learn to read you a little better.”

“Don’t think that’s one sided,” Leo said, crossing his arms and smiling.

Lucia licked her lips and grinned. “I could just kiss you right now, but today is Kaede’s special day, so I’ll refrain.”

“Give me your educated opinion. Are you and the other really as okay with this as I think?”

“The only one with some reservations is Valerie, but that seems to me like personal struggles more than anything against you or Kaede. You might want a second opinion from my mother on her, however. I’m learning to read you, but the Spaniard is still difficult to me.”

“I see,” Leo nodded. “Well, at least I can now go with a clear conscience.”

“Just so. Now go.”

Lucia stood beside him and pushed him forward by giving him a slap on the butt along with an indulgent smile. Leo shook his head, but got ready to head out.

He waited by the gates to the Tensai Residence for Kaede to come out. When she did, Leo had to do a subtle double take. Kaede was wearing white shorts that reached well below her knees and a sleeveless blue shirt with the first couple of buttons undone. On her hands was a small, white leather purse. She walked with her eyes looking down at the floor and with burning cheeks.

She looked… incredibly cute.

“That’s a nice outfit,” he complimented. “It really suits you.”

Her blush only deepened at his words, but she nodded. “T-Thanks. Reiko took me shopping the other day.”

Now that she was closer, however, Leo managed to catch a glimpse of something else. “Hm? You’re wearing earrings, too.” They were small, shaped like a tear drop with a blue stone in them. A sapphire? Leo quickly recognized them as belonging to Seina. “They suit you,” he said. “They kind of match your eyes.”

Kaede gripped on to her purse tighter. Or rather, Lucia’s purse. Leo had seen the blonde woman carrying that around once or twice. Kaede smiled, trying to hide her own giddiness at his compliments.

“L-Let’s go. We don’t want to miss the boat, do we?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The two made their way to the harbor. On Saturdays and Sundays, the boat going from the island to Naha and back did more trips since demand was higher. Nevertheless, missing one meant a two hour wait, so they hurried.

Once on the boat, they stood by the railing, looking at the vast, turquoise ocean. Leo peeked at Kaede’s face, and noticed she was a little more relaxed than when they left. Or it would be best to say she was more distracted, focusing on the sight of the island becoming smaller at every moment. The ride reminded Leo of his arrival. He had to wonder if his meeting with Angela had been a coincidence or if Mrs. Wisler had planned it all. Not that it really mattered.

He was startled when he felt Kaede resting her head against his shoulder. Her face was red and her were closed tight. Leo smiled.

“Are you okay with this?”

“A-Angela told me to be bold,” Kaede said.

“…That sounds like her. You don’t have to push it, you know?”

She looked up at him with a wry smile. “D-Does it bother you?”

He chuckled. “Not at all.” He got an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She flinched at first, but soon settled against him. They didn’t say much else until they arrived in Naha.

They stepped out of the boat and walked into the city proper. Naha, as far as Leo had been told, was very much not representative of Japan as a whole. Seina had described it as a weird tropical paradise where they sell snake liquor. The beach in the distance looked far bigger and fuller than their small one back in Noroi Island.

“So? What do you want to do first?” Leo asked his date.

“Um… Let’s just walk around,” Kaede answered, eyes glancing from place to place. “There’s a lot to see.”

“Then why don’t we get some ice cream while we walk?” he suggested.

“Oh! Yes!”

Leo bought two ice cream cones and they started their tour of Naha. The unexpected highlights were actually finding bottles of the snake liquor and… some kind of dissected frog purses.

“What is this!?” Kaede asked, looking at them closely but without touching them. “These can’t seriously be frogs, can they?”

“You want one?” Leo asked her teasingly.

“No! I don’t!” she adamantly declared as she laughed, and the scene made Leo’s heart stir. She might be nervous, but she wasn’t forcing anything. It was a far cry from her first day at school. “Hey, can we go to that store Reiko mentioned now?”

“Sure. I think it’s close by, actually.”

It didn’t take them long to find it, especially with all the anime posters outside. Once inside, Kaede’s eyes shone. She looked to the rows and rows of shelves selling manga, to the figures behind the glass showcase. That was where a good chunk of their time was spent, simply browsing as Kaede struggled with deciding what to buy.

“Hm? Oh…” Finally, one volume seemed to catch her attention. She read the summary at the back with a serious expression before deciding to get the first two volumes.

“Why did you go for that?”

“Mmm… I guess it reminded me of Reiko,” she said, smiling shyly and showing Leo the book cover. “It’s about an artist-writer duo that wants to create manga. Reiko’s a really good artist, so… I don’t know, I just felt like it.”

Leo smiled. “You two really get along, huh?”

“It’s all because of how she is,” Kaede giggled. “She’s surprisingly pushy when she wants to.”

“She can imagine some of what you’ve been through,” he told her. “She knows how hard it is to deal with family expectations. She might not be going through something as drastic as you did, but she can sympathize. That’s why she’s trying so hard to be your friend.”

“…” Kaede smiled and held the book close to her chest. “Y-You wanted to visit a store too, right?”

“Yeah, we can make that quick if you don’t mind.”

They went to a furniture store, where Leo browsed for a desk to put in his room. He’d been saving money for it and finally had enough. He bought a reliable and inexpensive metal desk and asked for it to be delivered to the island in a few days.

“Anything else you want to do?” Leo asked.

“It’s getting late though,” Kaede said. “Don’t we have to take the last boat back to the island?”

The sun was setting already, and the last boat would be leaving in about 30 minutes. Leo rubbed the back of his neck and made up his mind.

“There’s a way for us to spend the night here, if you wanted to.”

Leo watched Kaede’s eyes widen and her cheeks blushing as she quickly understood his implications. She clutched the purse on her hands and looked down at the floor, pursing her lips.

“I… I’d like to stay.”

One last look at her face told Leo she understood perfectly. “Then would you like to stop by the beach for a moment?”

Kaede silently nodded.

They found a nice spot on the sand and sat down. Kaede got pretty close to him, her shoulder pressing against his. They remained silent for a while before Kaede felt the need to make something clear.

“L-Leo,” she started. “I… I said I wanted to stay, but I… It’s not because of the curse, okay? I haven’t told you this, but I really admire you,” she said, smiling while she kept her eyes on the horizon to avoid looking at him directly. “You can do anything, talk to anyone, and try to make other people get along. I’m not strong like you are. I cracked under the pressure of my family and ran away. If I was more like you, then… perhaps things would be easier.”

“We’re all the result of our experiences,” Leo said. “Even if some part of who we are is determined at birth, it’s the experiences we go through that shape us into the people we’ll become. The good thing about being young is that we still have a lot to go through.” He looked at Kaede with a reassuring smile. “You can still have time to find out and become the person you want to be. There’s no need to rush.”

He felt like he was talking like an old man. He was only a year older than Kaede, so he hoped he wasn’t sounding condescending. This was just more of Leo borrowing his dad’s philosophy on life. If there was someone who had things figured out, it was him.

Then, out of nowhere, he felt Kaede’s lips on his cheek. He turned to her with eyes wide, and the girl was hugging her knees and smiling shyly. “W-Was that bold enough?”

“For you? Far too bold,” he teased.

They stayed at the beach for a few minutes longer before they made their way to the love hotel Leo had looked up.