Short Call

***

(MC POV)

For some odd reason, a single drop of sweat rolled down my forehead when I looked at Emma. I don't know why I felt nervous when she called, but something in me said I should be worried.

I felt like I had just been caught cheating even though we had nothing between us.

*Ring* *Ring*

By the third ring, I returned to reality and swiped right to answer her call. I brought the phone up to my right ear and looked to my right in an attempt to avoid the odd amount of fear I had when looking at Emma.

[Hello!~ How are you doing, Darling~ Hehe, did I time your lunch schedule well?]

"Yeah, how'd you know? I don't remember telling you about it before."

[Don't companies like yours usually have lunch around this time?]

"Well… yeah, but what would you do if it wasn't?"

[Uh, call again later? I'd find out eventually!]

"Lucky you then, huh? You even got it on your first try."

*Shuffle* *Shuffle*

I heard Emma moving around and, curious as I was, looked over. She just stood up off the couch and straightened her stance when she noticed I was looking her way. 

She smiled with a slight tilt of her head before she started maneuvering her way around the coffee table. I watched her blankly as she came around and eventually sat down next to me.

[Ethan? Hello?]

"Ah! Sorry, I was a little distracted! What did you say?"

[I was wondering if you were ready for the next semester of college. We don't really have that much time left you know?]

"Oh, that? Don't worry, I'll be fine… probably. I don't think I need anything, at least not yet. I might have to buy some random textbook costing potentially several hundred dollars that I'll only use 2 or 3 times, but besides that, I'll be fine."

[Hmm, sounds like you're telling me something. You won't be alone though, in any case, I'll probably have to spend just as much if not more than you do.]

"Yeah it's such a-"

Before I could finish my sentence and continue to rant I felt something lean onto my left shoulder. There was only one person who could do so and I gave her a perplexed look.

'What is up with her today?'

Before I could say anything she pulled me down a little and whispered into my ear.

"Ethan, I'm tired, please just let me stay like this for a bit."

'Huh? Am I really the best place to rest compared to the sofa you had? Well, whatever if I tried to get her off and she refused then Racheal might misunderstand something.'

Deciding it was better to let her be I ignored her for the time being.

[Ethan? Ethan! Are you there?]

"Yeah, I'm here!"

[What happened?]

"Oh something just came up, but I think's resolved now."

[Oh, okay then. So I was thinking we could continue our game from last time when you get home. It's getting a little tense with so many dishes and customers now. For dinner, we could probably order out tonight.]

"Sounds good!"

We had been playing a cooperative restaurant game recently where we would have to both cook and serve the customers. I was our cook and she would bring it out to serve them and also bring back the dirty dishes to rewash them.

Randomly, my thoughts wandered back to the ones I had while in the bathroom and I could feel some blood was starting to rush toward my groin.

'Heheh, I wonder how you'll react to me asking that? I've seen enough hentai to think she might still be a virgin. But maybe that's just my degenerate side speaking, either way, I feel like it'll be fun to tease her about it.'

"Ahh~♥"

Out of absolutely nowhere Emma softly moaned by my side! My head snapped to her with fear probably prevalent on my face. I vigorously placed a finger on my face in an attempt to silently convey, "Shut the fuck up!"

In return, all I got was a sly smile.

This time I made sure I was still paying attention to Racheal, but her next words made me feel a chill. Her tone deepened a little and felt colder too.

[Ethan, what was that noise I just heard? Are you with somebody?]

'Should I lie? NO! Honesty is the best policy, what do I even have to hide really? If I do lie then it'll seem like the situation might be even worse than it actually is.'

"Yeah, it was just my boss. She's right beside me."

[Y-your boss!? You're eating with your boss? The female one?]

"Uh, yeah, why?"

[U-uh, how come? Do bosses usually eat with their subordinates?]

"Well, not usually, but today's a little special. She said I would be working in her room the entire day. So we're eating together, or well we were going to I only had a bite of my sandwich before you called me."

[So it just so happened to be a special occasion, huh? I see. Well, you should be careful of her, okay? Remember what I said to you about women, alright?]

"Um, sure, though I still don't know how true it'll turn out to be…"

As I was still on the fence about her whole "women eating me up" thing; I noticed as Emma let her hand out to wander around my body. Her hand was freely moving up my chest for approximately 2 seconds before I was able to grab her wrist and pull that hand of her's away.

"Hey, you know, on second thought, maybe you might be right about those things if only a little. Anyway, I should probably eat my lunch before I run out of time."

[Alright, I understand so don't worry! You can compensate me when you get home! I love you!~ Goodbye!]

"I love you too! Goodbye!"

A moment later the line was cut and I slowly lowered my phone as I turned my gaze toward the woman leaning on my arms.

***

(Racheal Taylor POV)

I just pressed the call-end button and placed the phone down on the floor.

I was sitting in the center of a room with the only source of light being a couple of small and warm-colored light sources in front of me.

The walls and even the ceiling all had pictures plastered upon them, of which all of them had a certain familiar figure within. Of course, they were of my beloved and darling, Ethan Feng. Most of the pictures that hung on the walls and ceiling of him were when he wasn't even aware of my presence. Odd angles from a distance zoomed in. Some were of him talking with someone, but I merely replaced their face with my own.

In front of me was a decently sized short table that I'd converted into my shrine. On the front two corners were the small candles that emitted a smooth reddish-orange light around the room.

In the very front were a few precious items I've collected and treasured and just behind them were framed pictures, of which I considered some of my most treasured. They were pictures of when Ethan and I were younger and were together.

Six entire years, that's how long we've been apart from each other. All that time is missing, but now that we met things have gone even better than I thought, well for the most part.

I didn't expect him to accept me as his girlfriend so soon, I thought I would probably have to try a little harder or it would at least take longer, perhaps to wear him down, but I'm not complaining.

I moved a little forward to see what I had considered my life's treasures just a few days ago.

A toothbrush he had forgotten when we had a sleepover in the past, a pair of sunglasses he purchased for me, a pair of underwear I stole from him, several strands of his hair, and finally several used tissues.

They all pale in comparison to the real thing that I finally managed to get for myself.

'I guess I should probably get rid of these things, well I could probably keep the sunglasses. As for the rest, no normal person would have them, would they?

In fact, I should probably get rid of this room too. What if he comes in and actually decides to explore the place? I was lucky he didn't do it last time, I don't really know what I would've done if he found this room.

The place has become redundant now though since I could simply see him anytime I want without any backlash or oddity. The pictures on the table are still worth keeping, but I could probably just burn the rest to get rid of the evidence. I'll do it another day, for now, I should practice my serving skills to not let him down later!'

I blew out the candles and exited the room which then led me out to the end of the hallway. I was going to practice before I remembered something and my mood dropped a little.

'Hmm, actually, perhaps I should have a few precautions against that boss of his. I know that heard the woman moan. That woman, what has she done to my beloved Darling?! What was happening on the other end of that phone?!

I shouldn't jump to any conclusions without proof. If it truly is what hope it isn't then I'll feel a little betrayed. It also means that letting him go free around other women isn't something he should be allowed to do much of anymore.

I knew there had to be bad women around him though, I even gave him those specific warnings too! This boss of his seems to be quite the troublesome woman to deal with though. I can't so easily just make him quit his job though. This boss of his isn't the only one I need to be wary of though, isn't that woman from a couple of days ago also a coworker of his?

I knew it the moment we made eye contact. Even though it was the very first time we had met that woman looked at me like I was some kind of enemy. I still don't know what Ethan's female boss looks like. I'll have to ask him about her when he comes home.

That's enough thinking about future problems, for now, I have to deal with my virtual serving abilities!

Having fun and making Ethan happy is the number one goal!~ Hehe, maybe I could also mention something even more physical between us!'

My mood improved as I thought about tonight's plans. I walked through the apartment I had rented with a satisfied smile. 

The place was quite difficult to get my hands on and cost me most of my funds, in the end, the use of this place was only to get closer to Ethan, to which it served its purpose spectacularly. That person who lived here even happened to have a decent relationship with Ethan, which helped kickstart my reunion with him.

This apartment was the best possible option and after the rest of the residences and their owners, I also realized that this owner's dreams were also the easiest to fulfill, not to mention the only one I could even afford.

I left the apartment and entered Ethan's before I went to boot up his console to practice. 

I thought up things I could say to tease him, but then got annoyed as I remembered he had experience now.

I tightly gripped the controller for a second before relaxing my hands.

'It should have been me!!! How could I let him go and even let someone else take his precious first time?! …Now I can't even tease him about it; he could easily even turn it around on me!'

I calmed myself down as I tried to think of the future instead of worrying about the past, more specifically the game at the moment.