Chapter 123.

I started at her shoulders and traced a path lower, along her arms, one by one, meticulously down each individual finger. They were certainly as soft and smooth as I remembered, maybe even more so. Next was her neck, then her back, further down until I reached her hips, followed by her sensational thighs, and finally her lower legs. She bent her knees up which allowed me to reach all the way to her toes. When I was finished with all the areas I considered safe zones I steeled my heart for the final stretch.

I placed the soap by her abdomen and moved it from side to side as I worked my way upwards inch by inch until the back of my hand was squashed under the two bountiful obstructions blocking the path. I moved back and forth beneath them, her breathing picked up slightly in the process. When I noticed her gaze, slightly lucid and dreamy, I discovered how difficult and treacherous the path of a Buddha truly was.

In response to the unseen pheromones in the air, my own heart rate grew more erratic compared to what was normal for me. I followed the path up the sides until I reached the mountain's peak where I thoroughly cleaned every spot my hands could reach. I truly thought that was the last obstacle on my grand journey to escape the tub.

"Hah. Dio, wait. There's still one more place to clean."

She blissfully shut her eyes with an appearance of pure pleasure when those words escaped her lips. She held onto my hand and guided me to the final battlefront. The jaws of death. The gatekeepers pass. I could come up with innumerable names for it, but I'm sure anyone could imagine what I meant.

The moment my hand passed down between her two upper thighs, her legs clamped down together tightly and locked my hand in place. I simultaneously felt her body pulsate a few times through our cojoined skin. Her body arched backward forming a small hollow cavity between my chest and her back.

A minute later, the hollow cavity between our bodies closed up as she lazily slumped back like a satisfied cat against my chest.

"Haaaah. It's been quite a while. I was really getting impatient and pent up after holding back for so long."

"Holding back? You? You definitely don't strike me as someone holding back at all."

"Since the last time we did it back when we parted ways, I haven't had one since then. Oh? What was that? Did hearing that get you a bit excited?"

"It didn't."

"Dio, holding it back so much isn't good for your health, but I'll respect your decision. Haha. In fact, if you ever want to release some of that pent up frustration you've bottled up, just let me know."

"No thank you."

"You're really such a pain to deal with sometimes, Dio."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"We should really finish up and leave soon or we'll really end up late."

"If we're late it's definitely your fault, Val. Don't try and blame me for that."

"Don't worry, if we're late, I'll definitely take responsibility."

"Val… can you please move your hand away. I don't need you taking responsibility like that."

"Oh? Is that so? That's a bit of a shame."

"Val, can you please get up now and let me leave?"

"Sure."

When Val stood up, she extended her hand out toward me to help me up. I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up; however, in the process of standing up, thanks to the combination of shampoo and soap the tub's surface was even more slippery than when I'd fallen earlier. I had my doubts about whether or not it was intentional on her part, but I was pulled down along with her. I found myself in a rather awkward position where I was mounted atop her while she was pinned to the ground between my arms and legs.

She simply looked up at me curiously, not saying a thing, with her body fully exposed in plain sight. She wasn't bashful at all and she didn't try to hide her body in embarrassment, instead, she calmly kept her eyes locked onto mine like she wanted to see what I'd do.

���You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"And if I did, what are you going to do about it?"

"Noth-"

I said that as I raised my head only to freeze in the middle of my sentence. Directly in front of me was Adele, squat down with her face only a few centimeters away from mine. Bloody tears trickled down from the corner of her eyes.

"Ahh-"

I leaped backward off of Val, shocked by her unexpected appearance, and hit the back of my head hard on the wall behind. The resulting impact forced my eyes shut as I winced from the sudden onslaught of pain. When I reopened my eyes she was gone, not a single trace of her remained.

"Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah…"

"Am I so scary that you need to react like that?"

"Of course not… Hah. Hah. Hah..."

"I know. It was just a joke. You were hallucinating again, right?"

"Huh, yeah… hah... hah... just another... hallucination."

Where I could even feel her breath on my face. It wasn't just her image off a reflective surface like the previous occasions. It was extremely realistic and surreal this time. It was the first time I'd interacted or physically felt anything when I saw her in a hallucination. Albeit just her breath, I certainly felt it on my face.

"Are you okay? It looked like you hit your head pretty hard."

"It hurts, but it's not too bad."

Val got up on her own and placed her hand on my cheek then said, "You really don't look very good, you're really pale. Are you feeling sick at all?"

"Don't worry, I'm really okay. I was just startled a bit."

"Is that so? Good. Then you can't use it as an excuse to try and bail on our presentation."

After that, she smiled and exited the shower with a refreshed look on her face. I, on the other hand, was frustrated to no end. Why didn't I think of feigning illness to get out of it? I should have just bashed the back of my head even harder against the wall to pass out. Damnit, I was presented with a golden opportunity to escape and I completely failed to capitalize on it.

Exhausted, I dragged my body out of the shower and discovered Val in the middle of getting dressed. She'd already put on her lingerie.

She was presently putting on a dangerously erotic garter belt with stockings.