Page 428 of Light Leech

He raised his eyebrows a few times.

I waved him off and met Naoma. She took my arm and we walked down the hall to a room with a similar wall-sized window. She held my hand as we sat on the mattress atop the tatami mat and watched the rain.

“I missed you,” I said.

“You better have.” She laughed with a delicate smile.

“I wasn’t avoiding you, I swear. I just wanted to catch up with everyone before–”

“I get it. Can you spend time with me now?””Is Denji fine?”

“I think so,” she said.

“Good, then you have all the time you need.”

We turned to face one another, taking in our respective faces and bodies. She wasn’t as done up at the Neon Idol but wore her natural beauty. Subtle makeup and clean hair with a robe over casual violet jumper lacking any light adornments. Her lips were her natural pink, though recently moisturized. Her eyes pulled me in to see beyond her appearance, into that soul I had learned to love.

I bit the inside of my lower lip.

Her eyes dilated and her eyebrows raised into a hopeful, yet tame look. She ran her hand up my thigh, then onto the bend of my back. She lifted her other arm up, as delicate as a feather, and placed it on my neck.

All this time, I couldn’t turn away. My heart pounded in my burning chest. The rain was a perfect chorus to the peace I felt with her, kindling that flame that I longed for.

She ignited it.

Naoma pulled me in, pressed her lips to mine in a passionate kiss. It was the most beautiful, yet delicate feeling I had ever experienced. No pressure. No fear. No anxiety.

Bliss.

The world was outside.

Naoma was here. With me.

She let her tongue slip forward and I brushed it with mine. Our blossoming love was a pink canvas upon which we painted a full flower.

I ran my hand down her back and pulled her in, not tight, but close enough to let our warmth billow with each movement of our lips.

She let go of the kiss and brushed her cheek against mine. We remained there in silence, appreciating each other’s warmth until she whispered, “I missed you, Petya.”

It took me a second to control my quivering breath. “I missed you, too.”

I didn’t know if she had wanted to hear something so plain and simple, but I went with it.

She held my hand, her angelic skin rubbed against the coarseness of my own.

She ran her face down my neck, kissing it as she moved, then rested her head on my shoulder. “Never leave me, okay?”

“What? Of course not, I would never…” I lifted her chin with my finger and waited on her to look into my eyes. “What is it?”

Much to my relief, there was only a hint of worry in her eyes. I couldn’t find sadness, though these were only my best estimates.

A moment of heavy silence passed between us as we watched each other.

“I…” She reached in for another kiss, savoring it. “I really like you. I… the world is such a mess of uncertainties and I want you to be a constant.”

I pulled her down to lay next to me on the mattress and continued to kiss her, trying all I could do to tell her with my wordless lips that I felt the same. Our kisses grew from a warm soft into burning passion.

I could deal with my grief later. Now was for her.