RSE B2 CH 2 (Patreon)

“Is this really necessary?” Leo asked awkwardly.

Lucy’s faint smile was the initial response she gave his anxious query. But then she turned to the petite blonde beside her. “Of course it is! Don’t you agree, Asa?”

Her gaze demanded nothing but the answer she sought from her, an answer of affirmation.

“Um… Y-yes?”

The maid arched one eyebrow at Asa.

“Yes! Of course!” The blonde nodded like a bobble-head, while staring at Leo’s toned body as he changed shirts—yet again—with a faint blush on her face. The scars up and down his torso made him even more manly and mysterious, compounding the attraction she felt for him.

Leo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Why did I ask you to help me get ready in the first place?” 

Leo shook his head in resignation. The only help he’d actually asked for, was their opinion on whether he should wear the gray or the blue button down with his black jeans. 

That had been twenty minutes ago. Now, he found himself getting all dolled up for what might be no more than a visit with  therapist with the school nurse.

‘The ravishingly attractive school nurse with a killer body,’ Leo thought to himself.

After Miss Hastings had declared that she would pick him up that evening, Leo was troubled—mostly because he did not know how he should handle things. Clearly, given the appointment he’d failed to keep on Sunday, this was Miss Hasting’s way of ensuring he didn’t ignore her kind offer. 

You didn’t get dressed to the nines for your therapist, though, right? 

Somehow, though, Leo felt like it would be improper of him to approach the event as casually as he’d hoped to do. This wasn’t a date… was it? Therein lay the problem. Leo had no experience dating women his own age, let alone a mature beauty like Cherry Hastings.

He’d actually had relatively little interaction with the fairer sex. Moving frequently in his teens had meant he rarely had the chance to get to know girls well enough to be comfortable asking them out. It was almost a miracle he wasn’t reduced to a stuttering mess when dealing with women. The only thing he had going for him—mostly because his mother was so beautiful—was that he wasn’t shocked speechless when a pretty girl looked his way.

Miss Hastings had just invited him over to join her for dinner while they discussed his mental state. The meal aside, such a discussion made him think it would be more of a therapy session than a date. That’s why he’d thought a button-down over jeans would be totally appropriate.

Sadly, when he’d explained his choice of clothes to Lucy, she’d refused to listen to him. She’d immediately teleported to the underworld, coming back in ten minutes with nearly a full rack of suits in trendy, fashionable styles.

“You are having too much fun,” he accused her.

“But of course. A mature beauty invites a handsome young man to her house to discuss questionable matters. Fufufufu! This is straight out of an eroge. How utterly exciting!”

Lucy’s answer prompted Leo to facepalm while Asa tilted her head to the side. Her expression was one part wonder, and nine parts confusion. “What is an… eroge?”

While the petite blonde had some general knowledge, her in-depth knowledge of Japan and its culture was rather lacking. Not to mention, she was incredibly naïve and remarkably innocent when it came to just about anything that touched on sex. 

She’d never heard of such a term.

“Oh? Hohoho… Once Leo leaves, I’ll introduce you to the wonders of Japan’s greatest creation for people suffering in isolation.”

“Thanks, Lucy!”

“What?! No! Don’t go showing weird things to Asa.”

“You mean weirder than what you ‘showed’ her…” The maid did air quotes. “… last night?”

“Ugh~”

Leo was thoroughly beaten in that exchange.

Like this, the three of them continued their banter as they finished picking out a tie for Leo to wear with the charcoal gray suit the ladies had finally decided on. Shortly after he’d tightened the windsor knot, it was time for Leo to leave for his ‘date’.

***

Leo watched the road swiftly run by with a rather bewildered look on his face.

“What is it, Leo? You seem quite surprised.”

The sweet voice made him snap out of his daze. He opted to answer with an awkward chuckle. “It’s just…your car is a bit of a surprise. It’s really nice.”

While Leo wasn’t really interested in cars, he still had a general knowledge about them. He knew enough to know that the car he was riding on wasn’t something a school nurse should be able to afford. He bet this current year model Porsche Cayenne cost a pretty penny.

This made Leo even more intrigued about his mysterious school nurse.

“Fufufu~! It is, isn’t it?!”

Miss Hastings gave a light laugh but did not give more of an explanation—nor did Leo pry. He knew everyone had secrets to keep. and it wasn’t his place to be nosy.

After driving past the neighborhood on Leo’s side of town, Miss Hastings pulled into a parking garage beneath a big building. They were at their destination. Leo remembered Miss Hastings saying that they would discuss his trauma at her house and had been thinking about what he was willing to reveal while on the road. 

Ever since he had gotten into the high-class sports car, had Leo wondered what her house would look like. He had a feeling that he would be surprised — and he was.

It seemed Miss Hastings lived in a high-rise apartment complex—and given that when they got in the elevator, she had pushed the top button, it seemed she lived in the penthouse. Arriving in a foyer, Leo walked into a massive living room that was bigger than half his whole house. 

He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “This is really nice.”

There didn’t seem to be anyone else living with her.

“Let me serve you some tea while I work on finishing dinner.”

“I can help with…”

“No. You are my guest. There’s no need for you to help with anything. Just sit down and make yourself at home.”

Left with no choice, Leo sat on the comfy sofa and looked around, waiting nervously for dinner to be ready. He noticed a picture book on the coffee table in front of the sofa and picked it up. It was of waterfalls, of all things. He slowly leafed through it, admiring the pictures.

“!!~!”

From the kitchen, he heard Miss Hastings humming a tuneless melody as she cooked their dinner.

When she’d first walked in, he had seen her take off her coat and put on an apron. It gave off a different aura; it was completely different from the professional aura she gave off in the clinic. 

‘I’ve never seen her like that.’

He was used to the professional look she had at school and associated pencil skirts, fashionable blouses and, above all, a white lab coat with Miss Hastings. But now, he was reminded that Hastings wasn’t just a nurse. She was first and foremost a woman. 

A very beautiful and enchanting woman. One that reeked of indulgence, with a body that incited carnal desire. And said beauty seemed rather excited about the current situation.

It was an honor to be invited over and to see how much she was looking forward to their meal together, but after giving it some more thought, he couldn't help but have his doubts.

‘What does she want?’ 

He’d gotten the sense before that she really wanted to help him. But she also gave off total cougar vibes. He wasn’t sure what she really wanted… and that made him feel a little—no, a great deal—of unease.

“Sorry for the wait, Leo. Come, have a seat!” Miss Hastings sat at a small glass-top table off the kitchen and patted the seat next to her.

“Okay…”

Upon hearing her call his name, Leo set the picture book back on the coffee table and got up from the sofa.  He took a seat at the fashionable dining table, already neatly set for an intimate meal for two.

“Miss Hastings, you are a really good cook.” Leo couldn't help but praise the amazing meal. While she was finishing dinner, a tantalizing aroma had wafted from the kitchen. What she had served far exceeded his expectations.

What she’d made wasn’t that extraordinary, but from the delicate smell of the seasoning to the artistic plating of the meal, everything screamed quality. There was chicken curry, sauteed potatoes, braised cauliflower and asparagus, a tossed salad, fresh rolls, and a potato soup. 

“Come, let’s eat.”

“All right… This looks really good.” 

“To tell you the truth,” she gave him a shy smile, “this is my first time cooking for someone other than myself… I wasn’t really sure what you might like, so I just made one of my favorite meals.”

Leo smiled and took a bite of the curry.

“…How is it?” Miss Hastings asked with a slight trace of anxiety. 

Leo couldn't help but snicker, immediately covering his mouth as he chewed with his napkin before responding. There could really be only one answer to such a question.

“… It’s delicious.”

Miss Hastings calmed down and smiled… rather enchantingly. “Is that so? I’m glad. Don’t stand on ceremony… have some more.” She took a spoonful of her potato soup and scraped the bottom of the spoon off on the side of the bowl before raising the thick soup to her lips.

Leo nodded and tried the vegetables. Everything Miss Hastings made, every single dish, was delicious. The variety, coupled with a healthy serving size made him wonder if it would be rude not to eat every last bite. 

Surprisingly, he couldn't put down his utensils. And before he knew it, Leo was using the last bite of his roll to clean the last trace of soup from his bowl. He was a member of the clean-plate club, for sure.

Leo was full, and more than satisfied with his meal. Still, even though she’d told him he was a guest, he couldn't just eat everything and not offer to help clean up.

“Thanks for the food, Miss Hastings. Please let me help you wash the dishes.”

Miss Hastings seemed to be about to remind him that he was a guest when she stopped and thought about it.  “If you want to thank me, you can help me with something else while I clean up.” 

“Happy to help, however I can,” he agreed.

A few moments later…

“Umm…Is this really okay?”

“Yes, just do it.”

“Alright, then… here I come.”

After confirming with Miss Hastings—who was currently at the sink washing the dishes—that it was okay, Leo wrapped his hands around her waist and approached from behind.

What she asked of him was to recreate a scene commonly seen on TV shows. It was a scene where, after a woman cooked a meal for a man, the man would come up behind the woman as she was doing the dishes and give her a squeeze to thank her for the nice meal.

To not restrict her movements as she washed the dishes, Leo wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed into her from behind. He felt her softness, and her warmth as she leaned back against him. Her fragrance, a delicate floral scent, teased his nose. 

It was a truly warm scene. But too late he realized how dangerous it was.

‘It’s this angle…!’

Originally, the difference between Miss Hastings and Leo’s height was not that great… only an inch or two. But that was because she usually wore high heels. Now, in the comfort of her home, she obviously wasn’t wearing her heels. This made her slightly shorter than him. 

Which gave him a rather enticing view over her shoulder.

What he saw—between the top two buttons of her blouse that Leo could have sworn hadn’t been undone during dinner—were the top slopes of her full breasts and the delicate black lace of her bra.

Continuing to wash the dishes, Miss Hastings smiled.

“What is it, Leo? You seem awful nervous… Since you live with two young women, I have to assume this isn’t your first time doing this. Am I right?”

Miss Hastings really seemed to enjoy teasing him. When she came to pick Leo up from his house, she had briefly met both Lucy and Asa. 

“Ah, well… You’re not wrong.”

She was correct on that accord. This wasn’t his first time doing this sort of thing. Lucy often forced him into embarrassing situations. More than once, his succubus maid asked for him to reach for something from behind her. He’d done as asked, only to have her turn at the last second so that Leo was pressed right up against her with one arm at her waist and the other reaching around her.  

And then there was Asa. 

Yesterday he did go quite far… with both of them… first with Asa, and then with Lucy.

But still, that was to lay the groundwork for taking their relationships to the next level. 

He was not so close to Hastings to the degree that they could start doing that kind of stuff, since they had a student-teacher relationship, at the end of the day.

“How does it feel when you are doing it with them, could you tell me?”

“Ahem What do you mean, Miss Hastings?”

She pressed back against him, rubbing her heart shaped ass against his crotch, as if to say, ‘This is what I mean’. Her buttocks gently stroked his crotch, which caused the reaction she must have been going for.

“Living with two beautiful young women… an intimate embrace like this probably doesn’t end with just the dishes getting washed, right?”

“!!!”

He stammered out a reply when she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “N-No, n-nothing of the sort.”

Leo avoided her gaze to hide his embarrassment, though he was certain it was clear from the heat of his cheeks. He wasn’t about to explain his relationship with Lucy and Asa to Miss Hastings.

“Is that so… All right, if you say so. I’ll just believe you. A good teacher should always believe what her student says.”

Miss Hastings thankfully didn’t insist on pursuing the topic and continued to wash the dishes.

“A good teacher shouldn’t tease her students like this,” Leo quipped. “Really, first your swimsuit, and now this? Something might happen one day because of this. I am only a man, you know? It’s probably a good thing you aren’t my teacher… that wouldn’t’ be appropriate, would it?”

“Fufufufu…! I suppose it’s a good thing you aren’t my student… and I’m not a teacher.” She wiggled her glorious tush against him. “If it’s you, I really wouldn’t mind.”

Leo opened his eyes wide at the sudden declaration and was lost about what to do.

Hastings, meanwhile, simply gave him a cheeky smile, then turned back to face the dishes—as if she hadn’t just tossed a live grenade at his feet.

“Well then, about the dishes that I made… how does it fare compare to what you usually eat?”

“Eh, well…”

Since the topic had somehow turned back to safer territory, Leo compared what he had just eaten with what he normally ate every day in the Karteros household.  

Leo tasted each word before it escaped his lips as he sought to word an appropriate answer. “Your dishes… every single one was exquisite. It was just like the food from a restaurant. I found everything beautifully prepared and delicious. So…”

“…Were they not to your tastes?”

Miss Hastings hadn’t looked back at him while doing the dishes, but Leo noted her voice was slightly lowered and she seemed nervous.

“No, it was delicious. In fact—”

‘They were almost too much to my tastes. It feels like I ate something like this before.’

“Saying such things might sound inappropriate… because it was obviously my first time eating your cooking… but for some reason, it felt almost… nostalgic.”

Leo found it hard to explain. Aside from Lucy’s cooking, the only food he had eaten had been made by his mother or his friend’s mother when he’d ended up eating at their house.

For some reason, Miss Hastings trembled in his arms, but didn’t speak.

“Did you learn how to cook from your mother… or another relative?”

Leo noticed how Miss Hastings had gone quiet. He worried that he’d upset her somehow. Her answer, after a pregnant pause, was unexpected. 

“Yes. In the kitchen, what skills I have, I learned from a close friend who I once lived with. She was just like a sister to me—thought she was several years older.”

“I see.”

Miss Hastings sighed. “I enjoyed her company, just like I enjoyed the recipes she prepared. Knowing that you liked them, too…” Her breath hitched slightly, and she leaned her head back against his shoulder. “It really makes me happy.”

Hearing her words, which seemed to carry so much meaning, gave Leo the feeling that that this close friend was no longer with them. Being sensitive to Miss Hastings’ loss, he dared not ask who she was referring to.

“Leo?”

“Yes?” he replied.

Miss Hastings turned off the tap and a slight shiver ran through her as she muttered, “Just one more time would be so nice… Please… Hold me tight.”

Her voice carried none of its usual teasing as she made this request—no, as she pleaded with him. 

She seemed so fragile, do sad and helpless… 

Silently, he did as he was asked.