Chapter 123: Date!

"Again with the date!" Taro mumbled in slight discomfort. Although this wasn't a date, as Abhirami said, the repeated words from her mouth had been making him slightly regret his decision of accompanying her alone. He could've made his roommates accompany him as well, but he felt it would not be a good idea. This was something that Abhirami had confided to him alone. So, he felt responsible for it, as a teacher who's aiming to look cool.

"Hmm?" It seemed as if Abhirami didn't hear him right.

"Nothing." Taro could only sigh at that point. "By the way, isn't it better if I wore this dress itself? I mean, they'd learn that you have a teacher that would protect you of such stalkers." He suggested.

"A reliable teacher… If they come to know that you're there as a teacher, they'd think that you just came with me just that once per my request. However, if they were to think that you're my date, they would believe that there's someone that I can call on my discretion if I'm being troubled." She explained her side. In Taro's mind, it seemed as if she had planned it all beforehand.

"But, you know that I'll come by to help if you ever got into trouble, right?" Taro glanced at her smiling face.

"Of course, I do! But, they don't, right? So, they'll think that it was just a one-off appearance from you." She replied and tried stroking his hair for dramatic effect. However, Taro quickly dodged her hand.

"So convoluted. It would be all done if I gave a simple warning, you know?" Taro sighed.

"Nah, that would just increase the annoyance. People usually have a tendency to do the exact thing that they're warned not to do." She replied.

"Well, it's not like they'd find the courage to do it if my fists are doing the talk." Taro spoke while cracking his knuckles.

"That's real cute!" Abhirami giggled as if that was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

"Hey! I wasn't kidding." Taro argued. He was kinda itching for a fight as well since that tournament.

"Sure, sure!" She continued her giggling fit before she noticed Taro's serious face and stopped. "I'm an advocate against violence, you see. I wouldn't like your beautiful fists to get hurt punching people." She said as she stroked his hand.

"Ah, how can you flirt with me like that? Didn't you say that you had someone you liked?" Taro sighed yet again. He liked Abhirami. However, her approach towards him made it really tiring to converse with, since she doesn't even hide the fact that she's flirting with him.

"Hmm, I guess I'll have to update you on that story." She mumbled. Unlike her in the previous instance, Taro could catch it.

"Wait, what happened?" He asked.

"Nah, today's not the time to tell that. I'll tell that to you some other day." She replied. "More importantly, the dress. You're gonna have to change it." She spoke as she tugged his clothes, which made him even more uncomfortable than before.

"I see." He cautiously took her hand off his clothes and maintained quite a distance from her. "Give me five minutes. I'll go back to my room. Until then, you-"

"I'll be in Shivani's room. So, swing by if you pick something out. Pick something sexy, by the way. Not that this one isn't, but wear something hip which looks sexy on you." She spoke as she ran towards Shivani's room.

"How can this girl act like this? I'm her teacher, for Pete's sake!" Taro mumbled as he trudged up to his room.

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"So. How about this? Is it fine?" Taro flaunted his skin-tight pants and bright-red casual shirt.

"Hmm, you got any leather pants? I mean, it would look great on a thigh like yours! By gawd, I'll kill myself to get thick thighs like yours." Abhirami spoke as she was literally drooling while staring at his thighs.

"Stop sexualizing me!" Taro said as he tried hiding himself. With each passing second that she stared at him, he felt as if he was losing his innocence.

"Hey, I'm just telling the facts!" She shrugged.

Taro was relieved that the others weren't here to listen to what she said. Or else, it would've been difficult for him. "Anyway, is it fine? I'm nearing thirty, you know? I don't think guys nearing thirty would wear stuff like this!" He spoke while fixing his pants, which stuck to him way more than he intended.

"Well, it has its charms. I mean, you look younger in it—not that you don't already. Usually, you look somewhere around twenty-three and twenty-five. Now you look like your age is twenty. The dress really played it's part well!" She smiled as she gave out her reply.

"Oh, thanks." He wore sunglasses and a cap after hearing her words.

"What are you doing?" Abhirami asked, slightly confused.

"I don't want people to recognize me. I mean, a rumor that I'm showing partiality by heading out with a student is not something I want." He answered.

"Ah, don't worry about that. The rumors are even worse than you think." She chuckled.

"Ha… You might just be right about that." He didn't deny her words. After all, the performance that she put before the teachers was enough to bring a critical look to him.

"So, just take that off—wait, no. Remove the cap. THe glasses look good on you." She suggested, to which he complied.

"Ok, shall we go then?"

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It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the bus stop. If it was him alone, Taro could've even reached the place within seconds. However, Abhirami dragged it on more than it should have, which made him slightly annoyed, especially since all that she had to talk about was her expertise in romance. She did randomly mention that she was extremely unattractive back in the day, however it seemed that lady luck was on her side that day. They reached the bus stop right at the moment he tried posing the question. So, they began focusing on the task in hand.

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