[Book of Eros] Chapter 156: Glimpses of what could be. (Patreon)

Leonardo had about an hour to spare before he needed to get started on lunch. Seina would be eating at work and he had taken her lunch to her already, leading to some unexpected events. Good or bad, only time would tell. Everyone else, though, would be eating at home and even Reiko would be coming over. Actually, he didn’t know if Valerie and Angela would be coming back for lunch. He sent them a short message asking that question and quickly received his reply.

‘On my way back,’ replied Valerie.

‘Sorry, I want to eat out today. I’ll be back for dinner, though!’ replied Angela.

That… left him a little worried. Valerie was coming back but Angela wasn’t? He could only hope things were okay, but for now he just had to wait for Valerie to come back to ask his questions.

So with some rare time to relax, Leo went back to his bedroom. There was a desire to look for Lucia or Kaede to… share some fun with, but he didn’t want to seem like that was all he thought about. Instead, he decided to start something that had caught his interest.

He sat down on a pillow on the floor with the first volume of a manga in hand. He opened it up, and one of the first things that happened in the first few pages was the protagonist drawing the girl he had a crush on in his notebook during class, something that hit him a little close to home. Not on the drawing part, but he did use to daydream a lot about one girl during middle school.

Not ten minutes into his reading session, there was a knock on his door.

“Leo, are you here?” asked Lucia’s voice.

“Yes, come in.”

She opened the door and found him reading, which made her raise an eyebrow. “It’s rare enough for you to be in your room during the day, but to find you alone and reading manga?” she asked with a chuckle, closing the door behind her.

“Reiko and Kaede are very fond of this series. This was apparently Kaede’s inspiration to ask Reiko to work together on a… what’s the word? Doujinshi?”

“Oh, that thing they’re so excited about.” Lucia picked up another pillow and sat down next to him, shoulders touching.

“I figured I lose nothing giving it a try and it means a lot to them. Kaede was happy to lend it to me. Excited, even.”

“Mmm… You know, I was looking for you so you could tell me how it went with Seina, but looking at your face I see it went surprisingly well.”

“It was… strange.”

“You can tell us the whole story during lunch. I’d rather take this rare opportunity and join you with some reading of my own. Would you mind?”

Leo smiled. “Not at all. What are you reading?”

“I’ve been in the mood to revisit The Count of Monte Cristo. Read it years ago but it was a shortened version. I’m halfway through the real thing now.”

Lucia exited the room and returned with a tablet in hand. She sat down next to Leo again and began tapping and scrolling until she found her book.

“You read on those? Do your eyes not hurt?” Leo asked.

“Look at it. The screen almost looks like paper, doesn’t it? Besides, it’s so much more comfortable than having to carry 20 books around.”

Somehow, Lucia reading on a tablet seemed oddly fitting. They remained silent as each focused on their own reading, enjoying the stories as much as each other’s quiet company. In fact, Leo was growing particularly fond of the feeling.

About 20 minutes later, there was another knock on his door.

“Leo…? You there?”

It was Valerie, and was it his imagination or did she sound a little down? He shared a look of worry with Lucia, who seemed to notice the same as him. “Yeah. Come in.”

Valerie opened the door and looked around until she found him and Lucia reading. She stopped for a single second before she went up to him and threw herself at him, hiding her face against his chest.

“Alright, dear, what happened?” Lucia asked her, putting her tablet down.

“And does it have anything to do with these red marks around your neck?” Leo asked with a frown. He hugged her with one arm as his fingers brushed the red spots on her neck.

“…I lost to Angela.” Valerie’s voice came out as… a pout. Her cheeks were slightly puffed and her eyes just a little glittery from her holding back some tears. “I fought her with the coach as a referee and she kicked my ass.”

“Oh,” both Leo and Lucia understood immediately. “First time losing, huh?” he asked.

Valerie nodded. “I was okay with it when it happened, but as I was walking here I kept thinking back to the fight and… I’m so pissed! I feel like I didn’t get to do anything of what I’ve learned! It was over so quickly!”

Leo smiled sympathetically and kissed the top of her head. Valerie’s body relaxed but she still kept her face hidden. “Want to go to the backyard and tell us everything?”

She nodded and the three stood up and walked to the backyard. Lucia sat at the engawa while Leo and Valerie faced each other. She started throwing some quick, light punches at him and he stopped them with his hands. Just some light exercise to help Valerie let out her frustrations.

“So? Why were you fighting Angela?” Lucia asked the question he wanted to ask.

“You fought Angela?” Reiko asked, approaching from inside the house with Kaede beside her.

“Are you okay?” Kaede asked.

“I’m fine, but my pride’s all over the floor.” Valerie proceeded to tell the whole story as she threw punches at Leo. She was holding back enough that it was easy for him to catch them and the two fell into a nice rhythm.

“You didn’t need to fight her for my sake, you know?” Leo told her.

“I know, but I had to do something. She… said she needed some time to feel things out. She was wondering if you’d wait for her.”

“Of course I will, but… What do you all think?”

“Angela’s been… a little more distant with me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t consider her my friend anymore,” Reiko said. “I’ll support whatever she chooses. I’d like her to be with you, too, but not if she ends up hating it.”

“I think so too,” Kaede said.

“She’ll come around. Give her time,” Lucia shrugged. “I do feel the need to say, though, that during our talk the other night I did tell her there were more fish in the sea.”

“What will you do if she decided to see other guys?” Valerie asked him.

He blocked a final punch before Valerie saw his grimace and stopped. “Don’t make me answer that. What else can I say other than let he do as she wants? Anything else and I’m a hypocrite.”

“Girls love feeling wanted just as any other guy, dear,” Lucia told him. “It’s true you can’t tell her NOT to see other guys, but that shouldn’t stop you from showing you care about her. Hell, I wouldn’t be here if I thought you cared less about me than any of the others.”

“Good point,” Reiko said. “But… that’s just telling him to continue doing as he always does.”

“I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.”

“Yeah,” Kaede chuckled. “If he showed it any more we’d be having hamburgers for lunch the entire week.”

It all felt extremely odd to Leo. Here he was, talking to four of his five girlfriends about a potential sixth girlfriend. If it was only a matter of numbers, it would be easy for Leo to stop the conversation and say that five was more than enough. But it wasn’t just numbers. Angela was not just a sixth girlfriend. It was, well, Angela. A girl who loved to speak her mind, who loved a challenge, who hated studying. A girl who, like all of them, was looking for something to enjoy in life.

Leo didn’t like the thought of her being with another guy. He simply didn’t. But if that was what Angela chose, he would not voice a single word of protest. He couldn’t. He didn’t have the right. That said, Lucia had a point. He couldn’t just sit still and hope that a girl he liked just happened to choose him. He would show her he liked her, that despite having five girlfriends, he still wanted her with him. Greedy and selfish, yes, but it was who Leonardo had chosen to be, and the kind of person the others accepted him as.

“Then there’s Seina and Coach Victoria,” Valerie said. “Any plans?”

“Um… About Seina…”

They were all together, so it was a good time to break the news. He told them what happened back at the radio station and about the conversation he had with Seina. Of course, he told them she decided to give the relationship a fair shot.

Lucia whistled in surprise. “I thought she might come to accept it, but not so soon. Do we have to send a thank you gift to her ex-manager?”

“Aw man, I would’ve liked to see you kicking his ass,” Valerie complained.

“Working even after all that… That’s a professional for you,” Kaede praised.

“No kidding. I would’ve been too shaken to even talk,” Reiko added.

“So… I was wondering if you’d let me spend tonight with her alone?” he asked shyly. “It seemed important to her.”

“Didn’t we steal her turn last night?” Valerie asked. “So yeah, go for it. It’s only fair.”

“I’m staying over tonight if it’s no issue,” Reiko said. “But I’ll be working on something with Kaede.”

“Yeah, we’re close to finishing our storyboard, so I’d like to focus on that tonight.” Kaede even sounded giddy about it.

“If you can spend some time with me this afternoon, then I won’t complain. Our reading got interrupted, after all,” Lucia chuckled.

“Oh. That was me, wasn’t it? Sorry about that…”

“That’s completely fine, Valerie. I fully understand the desire to vent your troubles in your boyfriend’s arms.”

The redhead blushed deeply but stood firmly with arms crossed.

Leo chuckled and hugged Valerie from behind, planting a playful kiss on the side of her neck. “I’m here whenever you need me, okay?”

Reiko giggled. “Aww. You guys look cute!”

“I have to agree,” Lucia said with a grin. “She’s even cuter when she shows her vulnerable side, isn’t she?”

Valerie’s blush deepened to the point her whole face was red. “W-W-What are you all talking about me for?”

“Leo and Valerie, sitting in a tree,” Kaede sang.

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Reiko AND Lucia finished with her, grinning.

“Oh, you like teasing, don’t you? That’s it, come here!” Valerie broke free of Leo’s gentle embrace and ran up to Kaede.

The brunette let out a startled yelp before she broke into uncontrollable laughter as Valerie mercilessly tickled her. “W-W-Wait! I c-can’t…! Ahaha! N-No! I’m too ticklish!”

It was way too surreal. Leo hugged Valerie without thinking, only wanting to cheer her up. And before he could even consider if it would make the others jealous, they were all laughing heartily.

Maybe this was a hint that… perhaps this really could work. A small glimpse of what could be if they MADE it work.