Zenjiro imagined the coarse hair and the heat he had touched last night hidden just behind that thin cloth.
He reached the edge of her mattress. He lowered his arms and placed her gently onto the soft bedsheets. He prepared to turn his back and leave the room.
Then, he saw Liora's lips.
A thick, clear drop of saliva leaked from the corner of her mouth. It fell slowly down her left cheek.
Liora was drooling heavily in her deep sleep.
Zenjiro reached down to grab the hem of his gray shirt because he wanted to use the fabric to wipe the wet mess away, but his hand stopped mid-air. He stared intensely at Liora's sleeping face.
His right hand moved purely on dark instinct. He reached out and pressed his thumb against Liora's eyelid. He pushed the skin upward. The eye was pure white.
She was completely unconscious.
He inhaled a deep, shaky breath of the cool bedroom air. He exhaled slowly. He leaned his upper body forward and brought his face closer to hers.
Closer.
And closer.
He stopped when their faces were only about one centimeter apart. He could feel the warm puffs of her breath hitting his nose.
Zenjiro stuck his tongue out. He pressed the wet muscle directly against Liora's pale skin. He licked the thick trail of saliva slowly dropping down her left cheek.
The liquid tasted slightly sweet and stale.
He moved his hand to her chin and gently pulled Liora's lower jaw down.
He opened Liora's mouth slightly.
He leaned in and pushed his tongue past Liora's lips. He drank the pooling saliva directly from the inside of her cheeks. He swallowed the warm liquid down his own throat.
Once the wet mess was completely gone, he did not pull away. He pressed his lips firmly against hers. He kissed her deeply and passionately, copying the intense, messy movements he had seen in late-night movies.
He maintained the wet, quiet kiss for five straight minutes in the empty room.
Eventually, he pulled his face away and gasped quietly for air.
His dark eyes drifted downward. He looked at Liora's skirt. He reached his hand out and grabbed the thick hem. He lifted the fabric straight up to her waist.
He saw the panty clearly again. He stared at the cotton for another full minute. A new, greedy idea formed in his tired brain.
His left hand moved slowly toward the elastic edge of the underwear because he wanted to peek inside.
Last night, he had successfully touched the hidden territory, but he was not able to see it clearly in the dark.
This time, the room was bright. He desperately wanted to see exactly what hid behind the fabric. He wanted to see what the hairy part actually looked like in the daylight.
His trembling fingers hovered just a millimeter away from the cotton.
Creak-clack.
A loud, heavy sound echoed down the hallway. The front door of the house suddenly opened.
Someone was walking inside.
Zenjiro froze in pure terror. He had completely forgot to close the door of the bedroom when he carried Liora inside. The hallway was entirely visible. Panic exploded in his chest.
He pulled his hand away from the skirt instantly. He walked fast toward the open bedroom door and peeked out into the hall.
He saw Clara's back. She was currently pushing the heavy main door shut. Zenjiro just stood in the doorway and looked at her.
When Clara turned around, she saw him watching her quietly from the hall. She wore a simple, casual dress.
"Oh, it's you, Zenjiro-kun," Clara said softly. "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet, Mother," Zenjiro said smoothly to cover his racing heart. "But I'll eat soon. How about you?"
"I'm done eating," she replied. She rubbed her neck tiredly. "I just came from last night's party with my friends."
Zenjiro looked closer at her face. He noticed the whites of Clara's eyes were heavily bloodshot.
"Mother, your eyes are red," he pointed out.
Clara instinctively closed her eyes. She raised her right hand and touched her eyelids gently.
"Oh," she murmured. "We partied last night. We did not sleep the whole night."
She moved her hand upward. She touched her pale forehead with her fingertips while she kept her eyes tightly shut.
"I just realized my head aches," she complained quietly.
She dropped her hand and started walking slowly down the hall toward the master bedroom. She disappeared behind the heavy door.
Zenjiro walked into the kitchen. He ate a cold plate of leftover rice to settle his stomach.
He sat alone at the wooden dining table. A plate of cold leftover rice rested in front of him. He scooped a large bite and chewed the dry grains.
"I am totally lost," Zenjiro muttered out loud to the empty room. "What is actually wrong with me?"
He swallowed the heavy food. He thought about the terrible things he just did inside the bedroom.
I kissed her while she was completely unconscious. I tasted her saliva. I stared right at her underwear.
The crushing guilt clawed at his throat, yet a dark thrill still hummed in his veins.
He remembered the exact softness of Liora's lips and the wet heat inside her mouth.
I crossed the absolute limit today. If anyone finds out, my entire life is completely over. But I just cannot bring myself to regret a single second of it.
After finishing the food, he walked into the dining room and sat down onto the wide, brown sofa.
It was Saturday.
He picked up the black remote from the low table. He turned on the television and turned the volume up high.
The loud, cheerful voices of a variety show filled the room. He knew it was the specific weekend show his mother always watched.
A few minutes later, soft footsteps padded down the hallway.
It was Clara.
She had already changed out of her casual dress. She now wore a loose, thin t-shirt and a pair of dark, very short black pants. She walked into the living room.
She bypassed the empty chair and sat down directly beside him on the soft sofa.
She claimed the cushion to Zenjiro's right side. She stared blankly at the bright screen and watched the loud show silently for a long time.
"Welcome back to the weekend showdown!" the television host screamed loudly from the dual speakers. "Will our celebrity guest finally eat the spicy octopus, or will he run away crying?"
A loud buzzer blared across the living room.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
A sharp, sudden ringtone easily pierced through the chaotic television noise. Clara grabbed her mobile phone from the wooden table. She tapped the screen quickly and pressed the speaker icon because the variety show was incredibly loud, yet she still pressed the smooth glass directly against her right ear.
"Hello? Yes, I left the party early," Clara said. "Did I forget my scarf there?"
While Clara talked, Zenjiro felt a short vibration inside his dark shorts. He pulled out his own phone. A new notification lit up the blank screen. It was not a message from a chat app. It was a standard text message.
The sender name made his heart skip a beat. Asuka.
*hello zenjiro-kun???*
He stared at the short text in pure shock. Asuka had not messaged him for a very long time. He wanted to reply, but a harsh reality stopped him. He checked his network balance and he had zero prepaid phone load. He was completely stuck.
So he shoved the useless device because he could not do a single thing about it right now.
Beside him, Clara finished her loud conversation.
"Alright, I will look for it tomorrow," Clara said. She tapped the glass screen to end the call and dropped the device back onto the low table.
She let out a long, heavy sigh.
The brief burst of energy from the phone call faded away entirely. She slumped her tired shoulders and leaned her weight back against the soft brown cushions.
Clara and Zenjiro sat together in total silence for another ten minutes while the television show transitioned to a boring commercial break.
"Zenjiro-kun," Clara suddenly spoke. Her voice was quiet. "Can you... ah, nevermind. It's nothing."
Zenjiro turned his head to look at her tired profile.
"Tell me, Mother," he offered. "I have nothing to do all day. I'm bored. Do you want me to go to the supermarket?"
"No," Clara sighed softly. "Actually, I want to ask you to give me a head massage, if you don't mind. Your foot massage last time felt incredibly good. Is that okay, Zenjiro-kun?"
Zenjiro stared at Clara's face. He looked at the soft curve of her neck and the thin fabric of her shirt. He swallowed the thick saliva pooling in his mouth.
"Of course, Mother," Zenjiro said. His voice was slightly raspy. "It's no trouble at all."
His heart beat fast against his ribs. The loud thumping echoed in his ears.
Clara smiled a tired, appreciative smile. She shifted her weight on the cushions and leaned her upper body much closer to Zenjiro's side.