Eli heaved a sigh before surrendering.
'Fuck. I'm so cooked.'
He turned his back to the basin, fingers fumbling with the buttons on his blouse. Every layer that he shed made him more aware of how wrong and right this body felt at the same time.
By the time he got down to the last piece, his face was burning hot. Eli stood there, bare, eyes locked firmly on the stone ceiling.
'Don't. Look. Down. You've made it this far without looking. You can do this! Just walk to the basin and get in.'
He shuffled toward the basin, arms crossed over his chest, which turned out to be a terrible idea because it only made him more aware of what was there.
'They're SO soft!? Why are they so—HANDS OFF!'
Eli yanked his arms down to his sides and made a beeline for the basin, eyes still glued to the ceiling.
But he should've kept his eyes forward. His shin caught the stone rim and he stumbled, barely catching himself before faceplanting into the water.
"Are you okay!?" Julianna shouted.
Eli lifted his head, water running down his beautiful, demure face.
"I'm fine!"
He climbed into the basin and lowered himself into the water as fast as possible, sinking until it reached his collarbone. The warmth hit every sore muscle at once, and the lavender-rich steam teased his senses with a blissful, full-body satisfaction.
A shaky sigh of relief escaped his lips.
'Good, good. I'm in the water now. The water hides everything. The water is my friend.'
Eli sang a weird melody inside his head to ease the embarrassment, while Julianna leaned against the edge of the basin with her arms stretched along the rim.
"Took you long enough!"
Julianna, for some reason, looked him up and down with a lustful gaze while licking her lips. Then her eyes landed on his chest, half-hidden beneath the clear water.
"Oh wow! It's been a while since I've seen those!"
She leaned forward with genuine amazement on her face.
"Elise, yours got bigger! What have you been eating?"
"Can we not!?"
Eli sank deeper into the water in embarrassment until it touched his chin.
Julianna scooched in closer.
"I'm serious! Last time we bathed was, what, two months ago? They have definitely grown!"
"JULIANNA. OWENS."
He hastily wrapped his arms around himself, protecting his precious bosoms against the lecherous gaze of this lustful demon.
But it couldn't defend against the demon's advance. Julianna's shoulder had already touched his. Then, out of nowhere, she cupped her own chest with both hands and lifted slightly.
"See? Mine are just average… Yours are like… proper noblewoman material. I'm so jealous!"
'Elise! What kind of friendship did you have with this woman!?'
Eli snapped his head away from the mountainous view.
"Juli! We're in a public bath house right now. Please mind your manners!"
"Oh, come onnn. Relax!"
Julianna splashed water at him.
"No one's gonna come here at this time. Here—"
She reached over and poked Eli's shoulder.
"Touch mine."
Eli's brain flatlined.
"What."
Julianne twirled around and pinned him against the edge of the basin.
She grabbed his wrist.
"Juli, no! We are in—"
And planted his hand right on her chest.
"See? Nothing weird about it!"
Eli's hand registered softness of a pillow, warmth of a ginger, and the steady beat of the heart. Every nerve in his body was screaming in hundred different directions, urging him to retreat, but the strength of a Two-Song Knight was no joke!
'I'm touching it… I'm touching it… I'm touching it.'
"Well?"
Julianna tilted her head innocently, though the pink on her cheeks gave her away.
Eli, meanwhile, still couldn't speak. His mouth opened and closed twice, but no sound ever came out.
"You always said mine were too firm. Has your opinion changed or what?"
'Elise had opinions about this!?'
His mind rebooted after hearing a very un-Elise-like statement. He searched within their shared memory and discovered that…
'This woman always forces herself on Elise! She's freaky as hell!'
Under Julianna's persistent gaze, Eli bashfully answered:
"They're — fine! They're fine. Can I have my hand back no—"
Just then, at the WORST possible time, the bath house door creaked open.
A young woman stood in the doorway with a towel over her shoulder. Her eyes were half-asleep, until they landed on the extremely sensual scene in front of her.
Two girls in the basin. One pinning the other against the rim. A hand on chest with faces flushed. Hot and steamy…
The woman's eyes went wide.
"Oh! Oh my — I'm so sorry! I didn't realize! Please… carry on!"
She backed out of the doorway so fast she nearly tripped over the threshold, slamming the door shut behind her.
The bath house went silent.
Eli and Julianna stared at the closed door.
"…She thinks we're—"
"YEP."
"JULI, THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"
"HOW IS IT MY FAULT!?"
"YOU HAD MY HAND ON YOUR—"
"YOU DIDN'T PULL AWAY!"
"YOU HAVE A GRIP STRENGTH OF A BEAR!"
They stared at each other, panting. Eli's face burned with mortified embarrassment, while Julianna's flushed with mischievous delight.
Then, Julianna snorted.
The smile started small at first, but then it cracked wide open in seconds. She threw her head back and laughed so hard the water spilled over the edge.
"HER FACE! Did you see her face!? She looked like she walked in on a crime scene!"
"…It IS a crime scene."
"Oh my god, she RAN! Bwahaha! She actually ran for her life!"
Eli wanted to stay angry. He really did. But Julianna's laugh was so loud, so genuinely stupid, that he couldn't help but laugh with her.
"This isn't funny, Juli!"
"It's the FUNNIEST thing that's ever happened to me!"
Eli pressed his hands over his face and sank until the water reached his ears. The sensation of Julianna's bosom lingered, and it was one he would never forget for the rest of his life.
'Haaa. I can never show my face in this village again. I'm permanently changed as a human being.'
***
Morning came too quickly.
Sunlight crept through the curtains of their room, painting streaks of light across the wooden floor. Eli blinked awake to the sound of birds chirping and the faint smell of fresh bread drifting up from downstairs.
Next to his bed, Julianna was still knocked out. Her limbs sprawled out like a starfish with one leg hanging off the edge.
'What a sleeper she is.'
Eli sat up and stretched, still trying to forget about what had transpired yesterday. Feeling heat rising to his face, he smacked his cheeks with both hands and hurried to the window for some fresh air. He opened it and glanced down the road. Florentine was just up ahead, waiting for the lady's maid to arrive.
'The academies, here I go!'
But a hearty breakfast was needed.
Eli glanced at Julianna, who had somehow rotated a full ninety degrees and was now hugging the pillow like her lover. He considered waking her, but she was literally Sleeping Beauty right now.
…Minus the beauty.
'I'll just go down and see what Grandma got for me.'
Eli changed, tidied himself up, and quietly slipped out of the room.
The stairs creaked under his feet as he made his way downstairs. He rounded the corner toward the counter.
And he stopped dead.
A young woman was setting plates on one of the dining tables. She had her back to him, but he recognized her immediately.
It was the woman from the bath house.
'No. No no no no no—'
Eli was about to tiptoe upstairs when Grandma Nella emerged from the kitchen with a tray of bread.
"Ah, Elise! Good morning, dear!"
'FUCK!'
She gestured toward the young woman.
"Have you met my granddaughter? She just came back late last night."
The young woman turned around, and their eyes met.
Her face went scarlet.
Eli's face went scarlet.
For a brief moment, the room fell into a stunned, awkward quiet.
'I want to die.'