"Uhm..."
If there was a moment when one could hear the beating of one's heart ever so loudly; like a thunder seeping into the cracks of the deepest corridors of one's heart, then this was probably it.
Vicky, as the oldest of all the cousins, has always been mistaken as the youngest out of all of them due to her height and the way she looked — she was already 32 years old, and yet people still mistake her as someone who was just in her secondary education.
She already had it checked with Enkland's best doctors, and yet the only thing they could really come up with was that the blood of Poseidon that was flowing through her veins was slowing the rate of her aging; that would have been alright, if her siblings were in the same predicament — but no.
At first, she considered not aging as a sort of blessing; but as she grew older, as she watched all of her peers get married and have children, the only thing she could do was watch and pretend that it didn't bother her at all, but it did.
She used to have a long-term boyfriend, the son of a viscount and a very distant cousin; but it ended when he was the only one who grew older. It did not help that her choices were limited too, as she had to marry a Noble... and most of the Nobles in the country were her relatives.
She tried meeting up Nobles in another country, and even once dated the Ranked 9 Strongest Explorer in the world, Hanamichi Rukawa. But it turned out he had a... perverse taste.
Dating was extremely hard for someone like her, almost impossible. But now, she is currently inside a cubicle in a public lavatory with one of the most popular men in the entire world... and probably the most handsome.
And the craziest part in all of this is this was her first time inside a public restroom. The only thing she could really do was look back and forth between Rhys and the floor; not knowing if the violent beating of her heart could be heard by him... because it was certainly ringing in her ears.
"Lina said there's still a lot of crowd outside." As for Rhys, he seemed completely oblivious to Vicky's thoughts as he checked his phone from time to time, as Lina volunteered to lure the mob away... but alas, it would seem it was ineffective as they seemed to be searching for Rhys inside the mall.
Of course, Rhys was not actually oblivious to Vicky's thoughts — it was all he could hear, after all.
'Talk to me. Please talk to me.'
One of the Hearts floating above her head was already filled up, but she wasn't alone. Most of the crowd that mobbed him earlier already had one of their hearts filled, some even had two. While he is here... he should probably try to actively conquer someone.
Rhys turned to look at Vicky, causing her to slightly flinch and look away. But after a few seconds, Rhys just turned to look at his phone again. Rhys knows Vicky is older than him, but she truly does look like a girl...
...their aunt, Agatha, would be a better fit. The only problem is that she is married, and even though she was clearly flirting and even outright sexually harassing him already... the Hearts floating above Agatha's head had no signs of filling up — is that because of her experience?
"You..." And as Vicky saw Rhys looking away from her; her breaths started to turn heavy as the disappointment started to drown her, "...You also see me as a child, don't you?"
"Yes," Rhys did not hesitate to answer Vicky, "I'm sorry, Ma'am."
"...Then why are you calling me Ma'am?" Vicky lowered her eyebrows, "You're the first one to ever call me that."
It wasn't only the warmth of his neck; due to her small breasts, she did not really gain the habit of wearing any bra. And so now, her nipples were directly hitting Rhys's chest through their clothes... and they were slowly starting to perk up.
"Khn..." Vicky tried to adjust herself, but it only made it worse as her small breasts brushed onto her clothes and Rhys's toned, hard chest. And so, the only thing Vicky could really do was to lift herself up by wrapping her legs around Rhys's waist...
...a clear mistake on her part as she was wearing a small skirt.
"Wh—!!!" Vicky once again covered her mouth as she could feel something rubbing between her thighs; the juices which were actually already dampening her panties wet, now transfering to Rhys's shirt, "That..."
"Someone spotted him outside!"
Fortunately for Vicky, the women started leaving the lavatory and Rhys quickly placed her back on the floor. Unfortunately for her, the damage was already done.
Vicky's eyes widened as she saw the wet spot on Rhys's shirt—no, it wasn't just wet, it was drowned.
"No..." And as Vicky saw Rhys looking at it, the only thing she could really do was sit on the toilet and bury her face in her palms. Was... Was she truly that deprived of sexual attention that she got wet just by hugging a man? No, Rhys was not just any man.
Perhaps this entire situation caused her to feel extremely hot. Rhys was her cousin's boyfriend, and the most good-looking man she had ever laid eyes on.
"Oh my god, oh my god..." Vicky's words muffled through her hands, "...I'm... I don't know what... just leave, please leave."
"Vicky," Rhys breathed out.
"No, don't talk to me. Don't look at me, please... just leave," Vicky stuttered as tears started seeping out between her fingers, "I'm... I'm already embarrassed as it is, so please... just—"
And before Vicky could finish her words, her hand was suddenly pulled away by Rhys, who was now crouching on the floor as he looked her directly in her red eyes. She quickly looked away, but Rhys just very gently held her cheek before wiping her tears away with his thumb.
Rhys did not even say anything, he was just looking at her with a gentle smile on his face.
"It's... it's that look..." Vicky bit her lip, "...You're looking at me like I'm a child. I'm not 15, I'm not 16 years old — I'm more than a decade older than you. And yet why do you look at me like I'm some sort of—Gh!?"
And before Vicky could finish her words, Rhys suddenly leaned closer to her and placed his lips on her cheek; the warmth of her tears and Rhys's lips, melding together.
And as Rhys pulled away and Vicky saw his wet lips... her hands just instinctively grabbed Rhys's face. She looked at his eyes for a few seconds while her breaths grew wilder and wilder. And soon, she leaned closer to Rhys and just placed her lips on his...
...hard.