I could feel my blood rushing – that unmistakable tingly feeling of having too much blood in one place – and that all-too-familiar traitorous heat of my blush rising off my cheeks. And it was not even one of those touches; touches in places that only she would have knowledge of, knowledge that she mischievously exploits at my expense, albeit with a giggle, a soft laugh that unfailingly melts away my indignation, replacing it with a barely restrained urge to smile.
... Damn, it was not even one of those!
But I guess I really should get Mai for this incident, because when it happened, she had been trying to get everyone to sing Happy Birthday quietly for me since we were in Linden Baum, not her beloved Karaoke Lounge. And that probably gave Shizuru the bright idea of jumping the gun and motioning the poor, unsuspecting me over, to cup both her hands around my right ear and sing it to me (and only me) softly, caressing each syllable the way only she can.