RSE CH 40 (Patreon)

They’d spent the rest of the day after the early morning scene in the bath—thankfully a Saturday—at home. Leo had trained in the afternoon under Lucy’s watchful eye, but nothing else had happened. Asa had watched his training with wide eyes, but had been very quiet at dinnertime. After dinner, Leo had shut himself in his room to try and understand everything that had happened and where this put him.

It had been a frustrating evening, and he’d slept fitfully after coming to no real conclusions. Leo left the house early the next morning to clear his head with a refreshing yet chilly South Carolina autumn breeze. It only ever got truly cold in South Carolina once or twice per winter—and even that seemed balmy after Colorado. He’d thrown on a hoody and jeans and set out to calm his still heated thoughts and disoriented mind.

Last night, he had another dream. Unlike the dreams that normally haunted his sleep, this dream was unlike his usual nightmare. Instead of a nightmare, he’s had a raunchy fantasy that made him ashamed just thinking about it—Asa had been in it.

Because of the events of the bath in the morning, followed by the decadent dream last night, Leo didn’t know how he should treat the petite blonde.

It wasn’t like he’d avoided her the rest of the day. But after the nap she’d involuntarily taken, it seemed like every time he turned around, those bright blue eyes were watching him. He’d tried to act normal—well, as normal as he could—but everything felt… awkward.

There was a tension between them so thick you cut only cut it with a divine blade.

No matter how hard he tried, Leo couldn’t act as though nothing had happened. But he couldn’t ask her to take responsibility either. He’d been the one to turn around and send her passions over the edge. It was almost a blessing that she’d orgasmed so hard that she’d passed out. Leo wasn’t sure he could be trusted not to take her virginity right then and there if she hadn’t.

Did Asa even understand what had happened between them? He wasn’t sure. He was more certain than ever that she had grown up in an extremely sheltered environment. Though his lab partner had never mentioned it, he wouldn’t be surprised to learn she’d grown up in one of the Church’s cloisters.

And he’d let Lucy push the two of them together in the bath, obviously expecting him to lose control… which he nearly had. The shy kiss they’d exchanged outside Asa’s house what seemed like forever ago didn’t hold a candle to the blazing sun that had been the passion she’d expressed in their kiss last night.

He needed to think deeply about the matter.

Ultimately, his personal affairs aside, the people Asa had been working with represented a significant danger—both to him and those around him. Lucy had informed the Underworld of what they’d learned from Barlowe, but Leo wasn’t about to leave his safety—let alone Asa’s safety—to strangers he’d never met.

The best solution would be simply to hunt down and destroy those who posed such a threat.

A ball of rage formed in his gut when he thought of what Barlowe had done to those poor people. That hot clump of flaming rage solidified into a ball of ice when he considered what Barlowe might have done to Asa had he not arrived when he did.

A cold light flashed briefly in his eyes as he planned how to deal with the mess he’d stumbled upon. Walking aimlessly, deep in thought, the smell of biscuits and gravy on the morning breeze pulled him from his plotting.

His stomach growled, indicating its empty state.

He’d hurried out of the house before Lucy had gotten breakfast started and now his stomach was revolting at the neglect.

‘I guess I should grab a bite.’

He didn’t like eating out, since in the South that almost always involved something fried, or Mexican, or slathered in butter. It all tasted great, but was almost always unhealthy.

Leo sighed. He supposed it wouldn’t be a problem if he indulged himself. Unhealthy food was okay every now and again. Besides, those biscuits and gravy smelled divine.

With a shrug, he headed into the greasy spoon on the corner across the street from where he’d stopped. Such Diners could be found all over town. And though he’d not been to this one, he recalled seeing a favorable review for Tiffany’s online.

Since he was already here, he might as well enjoy a hearty meal. He smirked as he walked in and saw the vintage chrome counter and booths. It seemed he was going to enjoy a breakfast—make that a break-feast—at Tiffany’s.

Hadn’t there been a famous movie with that title?

He’d just given his order to a smiling waitress in a pink checkered apron when…

“Is that Leo Karteros?!” The chirpy voice came from behind him. It was a voice he recognized instantaneously.

“Maria…!”

“Hehe~! Good morning, Leo. How have you been?”

Leo smiled an awkward smile when Maria plopped down next to him in the booth. Without hesitation, she scooted over next to him so that their thighs were touching.

“I… Uh… I’m good.”

“Oh? I see. Are you alone?” She leaned in, pressing her breast into his arm as she turned to face him on the bench. “I hope I am not disturbing you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Why ask when you already know the answer?”

“Tut tut tut~! You act as if I was following you. I swear this is purely a coincidence!” Maria looked around the vintage set up in the Diner. “I come to Tiffany’s for Sunday Brunch all the time. They have the best biscuits and gravy!”

“It did smell really good,” Leo admitted.

“Running into you is a coincidence—though a most welcome one since you rejected me.” Maria laughed as she teased him.

‘She must be serious about not following me. She had no reason to.’

Maria really did come to Tiffany’s on the regular. But she’d wanted to cheer Mimi up, so had brought her to the Diner. After what had happened, Mimi needed comfort food—and no place in Spartanburg was better at Southern comfort food than Tiffany’s.

She could use a pick-me-up, too, after being rejected by Leo on Friday. When she’d heard how said her Mistress was, she’d made plans to meet Mimi here at Tiffany’s. They had already taken their seats and placed their orders when Maria had been shocked to see Leo, of all people, walk into the Diner.

All she could say was that the Mephisto’s had the craziest luck in all the realms.

“Do you mind coming over and joining me and my friend at our table?” Maria asked.

Leo hesitated after a short while before finally nodding. He had rejected Maria once, but doing so again when she was only asking if he wouldn’t mind some company would be rude. It wasn’t like he didn’t find her attractive, or hated her, after all.

“Yay! Follow me.”

“Hold on just a minute. I need to go and wash my hands.”

“Okay! Our table is the one right there.” Maria pointed to the corner booth, which was just a big, round bench and a circular table. Come join us when you’re done in the restroom.”

Leo nodded and stood before walking towards the toilet. As if the quandary he’d been trying to wrap his brain around wasn’t bad enough… now he’d have to be polite and entertaining. Oh, well… at least Maria and her antics should help him get his mind off Asa.

Leo was still looking down and shifting his thoughts into those appropriate for polite company when he opened the door to the toilet and stepped inside.

“Eh—?”

When Leo heard the squawk, he jerked his head up… and froze. In the small uni-sex restroom stood a girl. The girl had bright red hair and pink eyes. She was bent slightly forward, her skirt rolled up and both thumbs hooked in her pink panties as she was in the act of either pulling them down or pulling them up.

The two of them stare at one another, completely dumbfounded and unable to utter a word. An awkward silence fell in the small room.

It was all a misunderstanding. The door hadn’t been locked! Leo hadn’t deliberately walked in on the girl. The restroom had a defect that was known only to the Diner’s regulars. The lock didn’t work properly, making it possible for someone to open a door whoever was using the toilet thought they’d shut and locked.

Girls who knew of the door’s defect avoided using that toilet if possible—or took a friend to guard the door for them. Tiffany’s had even posted a small notice warning customers to ‘Please ensure the door is properly locked’ to avoid any troubles.

But even if one thought they’d properly locked the door, it was still possible that it actually wasn’t… like what had just happened. Leo hastily tried to turn and exit, but the door had already closed behind him. And then he heard a ‘certain sound’—the sound of the girl drawing a deep breath. He knew it was the prelude to a deafening scream or shout. That would only cause headaches for future him.

Leo reacted before the girl was able to scream. “—Hey, wait!”

“Mmgph!?”

Before he knew what he was doing, Leo had darted forward and covered the girl’s mouth. He’d narrowly managed to cover the girl’s mouth before she tried to scream. He sighed in relief when he succeeded in muffling her scream—until he realized what he’d just done must look.

‘Wait… what am I doing!?’

This wasn’t good. It could have been chalked up to an unfortunate accident and misunderstanding if he’d just turned around and walked out. But now the situation had worsened so much that excuses were useless.

“I’m sorry for scaring you, but please—listen to me without making a fuss… just for a minute. I swear this was an accident. I didn’t barge in on you on purpose. It’s a misunderstanding… okay?”

The fact that the restroom opened from the outside meant that the person who didn’t lock the door properly was at fault. It was her fault that this had happened; but on an emotional level, she was the victim. He did his best to convince her that he was as much a victim here as she was.

They were two unfortunate victims of the whims of fate.

Upon hearing this, the girl—no, make that young woman, as she had to be nearly the same age—apparently believed him. She relaxed and gave him a small nod.

“Ehm…I take it that you understand now?”

The young woman gave another nod, showing she understood. When Leo timidly removed his hand, the girl finished pulling her panties up and released her skirt. Smoothing the material, she laughed.

“Fufufu!”

She gave him a bright smile that seemed a good prelude to the start of a friendship between two victims of an unfortunate situation.

‘Thank the Stars!’ Leo thought. ‘I can’t imagine how much fun Lucy would have if she ever found out about this.’

While Leo was thanking his lucky stars, the smile of the redhead twisted into a scowl, and she cocked her hand back to deliver a slap. His arm whipped up and grasped the woman’s wrist to block the strike as he frowned at her.

If she’d tried this before he’d stepped forward to muffle her scream and before she’d acknowledged this was all an unfortunate accident, Leo might have let the girl slap him by way of an apology.

But she’d agreed that this was all a simple mistake. Besides, why would he need to peek at some unknown girl when he knew there were two gorgeous women who were perfectly willing to strip naked for him back at home?

“Why…?!” Leo frowned at the redhead.

‘Wait… where have I seen that color of hair before?’

He gently guided her hand back down by the light grip he had on her wrist. Still scowling at the fuming girl, he asked her, “I thought I explained this was all a misunderstanding.”

“…Come again?”

The edges of the girl’s mouth twitched in annoyance, shame, and anger.

“First, you peek at a girl in the toilet, then you dart forward, cover her mouth and try to make excuses… Put a hand over your heart and think well about what you should have done in this situation.”

Leo shook his head as a bitter laugh escaped him. He was unable to refute her retort. Indeed, while he believed he had nothing to apologize for… from an outsider’s perspective, what he’d done was quite scandalous.

“—Hmm? My my… What are you two doing?” A familiar voice sounded from outside the open door.

“Maria!” they both exclaimed.

Leo and the redhead called out at the same time, then looked at each other with a confused look on their face.

“Wait… What the…”

Moments later, after both he and the redhead washed their hands, Leo returned with both girls to the corner booth. Maria sat between Leo and the redhead at the spacious table.

“Pffft! Hahaha…Pfft!”

Smacking the table lightly several times with her fist, Maria had to wipe the tears from her eyes as her friend desperately tried to stop her from laughing too loudly.

“I swear I didn’t see any sign or warning!” Leo swore for the third time.

Maria was the kind of person who could happily watch the world burn while reveling in the chaos and eating popcorn in her front row seat. But even for her, the situation that Leo had just described was simply hilarious.

She finally managed to calm down when the redhead, who Maria had introduced as her friend Mimi, poked her in the shoulder. This set Maria off again, and she clutched her stomach as she almost roared with unrestrained mirth.

In contrast to the laughing Maria, Mimi puckered her lips indignantly.

‘Well,’ Leo thought, her reaction is at least understandable.’

Still…

“Once again, I wish to sincerely apologize for my actions.” Leo ducked his head as he gave Mimi a chagrined grimace.

While it was an unfortunate mistake and completely unintentional, that didn’t change the fact that he’d seen her in a very compromising position. He knew most women weren’t as shameless as Lucy, or as innocent as Asa.

Mimi pouted again before sighing—her shoulders slumped, and she nodded with pursed lips to accept his apology. She had been too flustered during the earlier situation to register who it was she’d been accosted by.

Maria had talked her ear off about Leo Karteros. She’d agreed with her friend that it would be ideal if they could recruit him. And she knew from what Maria had told her, that he was normally quite chivalrous

“I accept your apology… and I’m sorry I tried to slap you,” Mimi replied.

He was glad to see that Mimi wasn’t unreasonable. “It’s nothing. Let’s leave what happened… in the past.”

The atmosphere at the table eased up a little.

“So… tell me Leo…” Maria began.

He didn’t fail to note the mischievous spark in her purple eyes. “What did you think about Mimi’s butt?”

Silence fell between the three once again as Leo slowly blinked, his jaw dropping open. Closing his mouth, he instinctively thought about what he’d been asked.

“S-stop thinking about it!” Mimi hissed, slapping his arm.

“Hahaha!” Maria giggled uncontrollably.

Just then, their food arrived, and Maria had to reel her chaos back in. Leo’s nose hadn’t lied… the biscuits and gravy were divine. Enjoying their food, the three talked about school and what they thought of sleepy Spartanburg.

Like this, they enjoyed a peaceful morning together as Maria repeatedly teased the other two.