There were a couple problems with this day. For one, it was way too hot: it wasn't even noon and already Nozomi was forced to wear a tank top and shorts. It was still too hot. Where was the button to turn the sun off for awhile? Sighing, she fanned herself with a magazine she had already perused, which led into the second problem: there was nothing left for her to read.

She had already gone through every book on her shelf. Even this magazine had already been read, and most of the words were just the prices of various dresses and other attire. With nothing to do, and no relief from the heat in sight, she wanted to read something, anything: if only to relieve her boredom. Grumbling, she tossed the magazine back on the coffee table and stood up, glancing towards the kitchen.

"Hanayo-chan, can I get something to read from your room?" She couldn't see her friend and roommate, who was more than likely already cooking up something for lunch. However, maybe she had something that Nozomi hadn't already read twice.

"Sure, go ahead." With permission granted, Nozomi made her way to Hanayo's room, opening the door and stepping inside. It was a lot neater than her room, with not a single object out of place nor any errant piece of clothing thrown casually on the floor. Both of her roommates were a lot better than her at keeping things in order, and allegedly her other roommate's girlfriend was offended by how messy she left any place she stepped into. She considered it as 'leaving her own personal touch'.

Running a finger along the spines of Hanayo's books, she narrowed her eyes in frustration at the lack of things she hadn't already read. Had she been in here already or something? Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched scream came from the kitchen just as Nozomi's finger hit a divot, landing on a magazine that seemed out of place among the hardcover books. Grabbing the magazine without a thought, she ran out of the room, only to nearly collide into Hanayo, who had been running in her direction. "Hanayo-chan? Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I just-" She froze suddenly, staring at the magazine in Nozomi's hands with wide, terrified eyes. "A-Aaaaaa-"

"Hanayo-chan?" Confused, Nozomi brought the magazine up to eye level, and suddenly things became a lot clearer. Slowly dropping her hands back down, a grin spread on her face, an expression that further unnerved Hanayo. "Ohh, oh I see."

"I-It's not what it looks like..."

"I think it's exactly what it looks like."

"I-I'm holding it for a friend."

"Hanayo-chan, I can't believe you read Playboy!"

"I read it for the articles!" Opening up the magazine, Nozomi was immediately greeted with a page that had clearly been bookmarked several times. On it was a picture of a pretty young woman with striking red hair. Her grin widening, Nozomi flipped the magazine around, watching as Hanayo's face grew paler. "M-My hand slipped..."

"Uh huh." Laughing at the expression of utter mortification and defeat on Hanayo's face, Nozomi began to flip through the pages, whistling appreciatively. "I can't believe you would keep this hidden from me. I thought we were friends."

"W-We are friends!" Hanayo protested, though her face fell into the cutest pout when Nozomi started to laugh again. "Y-You're mean, Nozomi-chan!" Smiling guiltily - Hanayo had a feeling that she wasn't all that sorry - Nozomi kept flipping through the magazine, until she found her way to the middle pages. A folded-up poster fell open, revealing to her that issue's centerfold. As she got a good look at the woman, deep blue eyes seemingly staring right into hers, she felt her blood run cold.

There was no way: it was impossible! Still, even in the vast reaches of disbelief there was no denying the familiarity of those eyes, nor of the long, silken legs that went on for days. It sounded like Hanayo was saying something, but she could barely hear it, much less understand it, as she was enraptured by the perfect, curvaceous body that stood in near-nudity for her viewing pleasure. It had been several years, but she could never forget that luxurious hair. There weren't that many blondes in her lifetime.

"N-Nozomi-chan?" She jerked up in surprise, nearly dropping the magazine as she forced herself to stare at Hanayo, who had a concerned expression on her face. Moving over to see what had captured Nozomi's attention so much, she glanced at the picture before nodding slightly. "Ah, that's Ayase Eli. She's a newer model. You like her?"

"Like her?" Nozomi found her eyes being drawn back to the picture, unable to keep herself from looking at it. "I knew her in high school."

"R-Really?!" Hanayo's eyes widened as she looked between Nozomi and the magazine. "Th-That's so cool!"

"No kidding..." Nozomi let out a shaky breath, still having trouble believing the truth that was right in front of her. A crazy thought popped into her head: she needed to find her. She had to meet Eli again. Why she had to this, she didn't know. Honestly, she probably didn't need to at all, but she sure as hell wanted to. "Hey, can I borrow this?"

"Are you going to-" Hanayo stopped mid-sentence, her face turning bright red. "N-Never mind, j-just take it." Nozomi had to hide her laughter as Hanayo scurried back to the kitchen in utter embarrassment. Once Hanayo disappeared from sight, she ran straight down the hall, looking for her other roommate.

She knocked on her door once, then several more times before she got a response. "A-Ahh, hold on." Patiently, Nozomi waited outside the door until it was opened, revealing that she had clearly just woken a sleeping bird. Kotori's mouth opened in a wide yawn, stretching out a tired arm as her shirt slipped over her shoulder. "N-Nozomi-chan?" She blinked sleepily, shaking her head slightly to try and clear it. "What time is it?"

"Nearly noon." Nozomi smirked, though Kotori didn't seem abashed at all. "Too early for our precious princess?"

"W-Way too early." Stifling another yawn, Kotori shuffled out of her room, taking a couple moments to recognize what was in Nozomi's hands. "Is that a Playboy?"

"Yes. Now..." Shoving the centerfold picture in Kotori's face, Nozomi pointed at it, as if Kotori wouldn't be sure what to look at. "Your mom designs outfits for models, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but this is hardly what I'd call an 'outfit'."

"But she's a model, right?"

"Well, yes. Ayase-san is a pretty famous model."

"Then I bet your mom must design outfits for her! Can't you get me an in or something?" Nozomi was nearly bouncing up and down with excitement, but Kotori didn't share in her enthusiasm.

"Nozomi-chan, just because my mom designs some outfits for some models doesn't mean she can get them to see anyone at a moment's notice."

"Oh come onnn! I know her, okay? She went to my high school, and now she's in this magazine and holy shit I've gotta meet her." The fact that Nozomi apparently knew her in the past was the only thing that made Kotori muse over the request for another moment.

"Well... Okay, so I can't get you a direct meeting with Miss Ayase, but I can probably get you a ticket to the fashion show that's coming here in a couple weeks. What you do there is up to you, but please keep things under control-"

"Thank you, Kotori-chan!" Kotori yelped in surprise as Nozomi scooped her up into a giant hug. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"I-I said probably, Nozomi-chan!" Grinning sheepishly, Nozomi put Kotori down, who seemed a bit more awake, a soft smile on her face. "I'll ask my mom, okay?"

"Okay! Thank you!" After giving Kotori another hug, Nozomi raced into her room, forgetting to give Hanako back her magazine in her excitement. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up. How could she resist seeing her classmate-turned-model? This was a great idea.

This was a terrible idea.

Two weeks later and Nozomi was quite visibly nervous. It had seemed so exciting when Kotori had successfully acquired the tickets, but now that they were actually at the fashion show, doubt gnawed at her mind. Would she even get a chance to talk to Eli? Kotori had explicitly let her know that there was no guarantee of that, but even if it did happen, what would she say? She hadn't seen Eli in several years, and it wasn't like they had been great friends.

It was a bit embarrassing to talk about, but she'd had quite the thing for the blonde back in high school. Eli had transferred into one of Nozomi's classes in her first year, and since that moment she had become quite smitten over Eli. There was no way that she could ever talk to someone like her, though: so beautiful, so self-assured. She just exuded confidence, and Nozomi definitely did not have a lot of that, so she pushed all thoughts of conversation aside.

However, fate seemed destined to intervene when, during her second year, she joined the student council, and who should she find but Eli. They become sort of friends by necessity, though once the final bell rung, they always went their separate ways. Even when Eli became the president of the student council and Nozomi her vice president, their relationship could at best be described as cordial. Sometimes Eli would chastise Nozomi for being lazy, and she would return volley with a teasing quip, but they never reached a point where they could be considered buddies or anything, and certainly never reached a point where she could confess that she harbored heavier feelings.

After graduation, they went to different universities, and Nozomi never saw Eli again. With the passing years, her feelings had faded into the background, allowing her to live a decent life unimpeded by unrequited romance. However, now that she was standing in the same building where she knew Eli would be coming down that catwalk, all those feelings came rushing back too fast and too powerfully for her to control. It was so bad she couldn't even maintain her always-flawless composure. She was sure she looked like an absolute wreck.

A comforting hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned to find Kotori giving her an easy smile. "Don't be nervous, Nozomi-chan. I'm sure it'll all go fine." Nozomi nodded shakily, unable to reciprocate Kotori's confidence. It was easy for her to say that, since she had already gotten into a committed relationship with her high school crush, and her girlfriend was not a world-famous model. No offense.

They took their seats, the lights dimming around them before growing brighter around the stage area. Nozomi found Kotori's hand and gave it a squeeze, though she let go with an apologetic grimace after hearing a soft whine of pain. Soon enough, one by one models began to come down the catwalk, showing off the designs as flashbulbs went off around them. It was dazzling.

When a girl with flaming red hair started to walk down, Nozomi felt a shifting beside her as Kotori pulled out her phone and began to film. "Kotori-chan?"

"Ah, I promised Hanayo-chan I'd get footage of her little crush." She giggled softly, and when Nozomi looked up at the stage again, she suddenly remembered the redhead bookmarked multiple times in that magazine. So she was here too, then? She wondered when Eli would be up.

It didn't take long to answer that question. After one more model, Eli took her turn. Nozomi's breathing seemed to stop, eyes widening as she watched every single step the beautiful blonde took. It was as if grace itself had manifested into human form, and it was here now, walking right before her. She couldn't look away: it was like her entire being was now frozen in place, its only purpose to watch this goddess of a woman captivate the audience with her beauty. They were all not worthy.

She didn't realize how long she'd been staring until Kotori elbowed her. "Nozomi-chan, what are you staring at?"

"Huh?" Eli was no longer on stage. Another model was already making her way back behind the stage. "H-How long have I been out of it?"

"Like five minutes." Kotori giggled again, patting Nozomi on the shoulder. "If you want to try and see her before the show's over, we should go backstage."

"R-Right!" She stood up quickly, barely stopping herself from power walking in an unknown direction. Kotori was the one who knew where they needed to go, not her. Now that she wasn't spacing out, her nervousness increased tenfold as she followed Kotori backstage. This was not a good idea. She no longer was on board with the idea that she had. Why would she trust someone like herself?

By the time they had reached their destination, Nozomi was once again squeezing Kotori's hand tightly. She didn't want Eli to see that and get the wrong idea though, so she let go, but then felt that was a stupid thought, and what wrong idea? It wasn't like they were dating or anything, so she grabbed Kotori's hand again, but let it go because she wanted to date Eli, but that wasn't likely to happen. What was she even thinking? So she grabbed Kotori's hand again.

"N-Nozomi-chan, you're hurting me." She dropped Kotori's hand for the third time, mumbling an embarrassed apology as she stood close to her friend, looking around at the different models wandering around. All these people... it was overwhelming. "I wonder if we'll even find her- Oh."

Oh indeed. They both saw her at the same time, walking in their general direction. In a panic, Nozomi hid behind Kotori, which worked about as well as one might expect. "She's walking this way, isn't she?"

"Well, she's walking near our direction." Groaning softly, Nozomi tried to make herself less conspicuous, regretting her plan even more than earlier. However, her hiding spot was compromised when Kotori started to walk away.

"Kotori-chan?"

"Ayase-san?" Nozomi almost passed out on the spot. Kotori had actually gone up to Eli and started talking to her like this wasn't the most anxious moment ever. Maybe she could run away before they noticed- they were looking at her. Oh no.

"H-Hi!" Nozomi grinned nervously, trying to hide how absolutely terrified she was as both Kotori and Eli turned to look at her. Why did Kotori have to put her on the spot like this? It was usually her who did that kind of thing. "I'm, uh, a... big fan."

"Nozomi?" The Nozomi in question nearly jumped in surprise, having not expected her own name to come out from Eli's very kissable lips. "No way, is that you?"

"Y-Yeah, it's... uh, it's me. You... remember me?" After all the time that had passed, how could someone as incredible as Eli remember someone as unimportant as her?

"Of course. You were my vice president in student council. It wasn't that long ago." She laughed softly, and Nozomi was sure that her cheeks were now aflame. It wasn't that long ago, but that didn't mean that she was worth remembering. What was she supposed to say to that? She looked to Kotori for help, but her friend just winked and walked away, leaving them to their own devices. What a sneaky little bird.

"S-So! You, uh, you became a model after high school."

"Mm. I was scouted by a rather famous talent agent, and I thought it would be fun." Eli brushed a hand through her hair, convincing Nozomi that literally everything she did was heavenly. "But enough about me. What about you?"

"H-Huh? Me?"

"Yeah you. What are you doing?"

"U-Uh..." Now this was not what she expected. Why in the world was Eli taking an interest in what she did? She could probably talk about the blonde model for hours and still have more to ask. There was hardly anything about herself to talk about in comparison. "I'm... studying astronomy at university."

"Oh? That's really cool." It was? Well, it was not nearly as cool as being a smoking hot model, that was for damn sure. "Hey, it's been awhile since we've actually been able to talk. Why don't we go to my dressing room and we can catch up?" Nozomi could only nod wordlessly and follow Eli back to her dressing room, unable to believe what was going on. Was this actually happening?

Yes, this was actually happening. Standing in Eli's dressing room, Nozomi looked around in awe. Not exactly because it was a very lavish place - it was - but because it was Eli's, and she was actually standing there. She was legitimately, no fooling, standing in the same room with her high school crush. Not only that, but her high school crush was a model and was at the very least pretending to be interested in her life. This was a dream come true.

"I share this with another model, but she usually doesn't come in until later, so we should be alone for awhile." Eli sat down on the couch, but Nozomi still stood, gulping nervously. Alone, she said? No, bad thoughts, bad thoughts. Trying to chase away said bad thoughts, she almost missed Eli's next sentence. "So, it's crazy that we met again, huh? I didn't know that you were into fashion."

"Ah, aha, yeah. Crazy, right?" Laughing nervously, Nozomi could feel the heat returning to her cheeks. An interest in fashion wasn't quite the reason for their 'chance' encounter, but it sounded a lot less creepy than 'I saw you in a Playboy and wowww!' "My friend got me into it."

"Oh, Kotori-san? Her mother is very famous in the fashion world. I'm wearing one of her designs now." She waved her arm over her outfit, with Nozomi just nodding silently in response. "Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to sit down with me?"

"A-Ah, sorry!" Nozomi made her way over and sat next to Eli, glancing at her, then at the door, walls, anything else really. If only Kotori was here: she would take some of the attention off of Nozomi, plus she was knowledgeable of the fashion world. Nothing that she could say would be of interest to Eli. At least, she didn't think so.

"So, Kotori-san told me you have a crush on me."

"Wh-What?!" Nozomi nearly fell off the couch in shock, her face bursting into flames as she stuttered out a string of nonsensical syllables.

"She also told me this might happen." Chuckling quietly, she placed a hand on Nozomi's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, leaning noticeably closer. "You seem nervous."

M-Me? Nervous? Wh-What gave you that idea?"

"I've never seen that shade of red before." Oh, so that was it, then. Kotori had set her up. Gulping nervously, Nozomi found herself frozen in place as Eli leaned in even closer, until there was barely any space between them. "I have a confession too, Nozomi."

"Wh-What's that?"

"Back in high school, I thought you were pretty attractive."

"Me?" Her voice jumped a few octaves: any higher and only dogs would be able to hear.

"Yes you." Placing her hands on Nozomi's shoulders, her lips barely brushed across Nozomi's own. "May I?"

"You can literally do anything you want." Nozomi's common sense functions were shutting down, replaced by 'This is happening please do not let this be a dream.' A grin played on Eli's lips as she crossed the remaining distance, sparks erupting around the contact. Or maybe Nozomi was just imagining that.

Throwing insecurity to the wind, Nozomi kissed back with an intense eagerness, her hands falling onto Eli's hips as she melted into the blonde's arms. It seemed as if their kisses never ended, but held mere reprieves: when one needed to take a breath, they would break apart, only to go right back at it without delay.

It all was happening rather fast. Nozomi didn't know at what point her pants had been pulled off, but she half-remembered lifting her arms up to allow her shirt to be removed. Caught in a haze of disbelief and lust, she wasn't even aware enough to be properly embarrassed. All she knew was that her body was on edge, and once Eli's nimble fingers slipped into her underwear and reached their prize, there was no chance of stopping now.

Her back arched as she cried out louder than she intended, giving in willingly to Eli and her magical fingers. One hand on the couch and the other gripping Eli's shoulder, she moaned and bucked up, panting out as Eli's tongue lashed across her exposed nipples. She was too far gone, only able to concentrate on the intense pleasure the blonde was giving to her. It was too much. It was incredible.

Her eyes were captured by Eli's, unable to break away from the hold they had on her. They refused to let her go, but she didn't want to leave anyway. This was too good to be true, but even if it was only a dream, she was willing to ride the waves of ecstasy as long as fate would allow her to.

Closer and closer she headed for the edge, until she fell off it: literally. With her body shaking, she fell right off the couch, but the most powerful orgasm of her life hit at that moment and she lost all manner of spatial awareness. Was she on the floor? She could've been on the ceiling for all she knew, and for how little she cared. All she knew was that her body was aflame with total, unrestricted pleasure, and if she wasn't screaming it was because her vocal chords were frozen from the sheer totality of it all.

Her heart was racing as she finally came down from the intense high, Eli's lopsided grin halfway visible in her peripheral vision. She just needed a moment to catch her breath... Maybe several moments. A knock at the door halted her chance as Nozomi jumped up in surprise, panic quickly starting to set in. Eli, however, seemed rather calm. With a sigh, she called out, "Just a minute!"

Pointing at Nozomi's discarded clothing, Eli gestured for her to get dressed, which she did with fumbling haste. She was still smoothing down her outfit when Eli got up and walked to the door, opening it with a slight smirk as the redhead from the magazine walked in and eyed Nozomi up and down. "So this is where you went off to."

Ignoring the comment, Eli pointed towards the couch. "Maki, this is Nozomi, a classmate of mine from high school. Nozomi, this is Maki. She's a model with an ego as big as her talent."

"You're sweet." Maki scowled at Eli, whose smile never faltered. "Hope I'm interrupting something." With a wave at Nozomi, Maki went to the other end of the dressing room, busying herself with something or other. This gave Eli and Nozomi the chance to sit back down on the couch together.

"Sorry about the interruption. I just got Maki trained to knock before barging in."

"I heard that!" Chuckling, Eli waved her off.

"You know, I think that we have a lot of catching up to do," Eli muttered quietly, a sentiment that Nozomi wholeheartedly agreed with. "I'm sure Kotori-san won't mind if you come back to my apartment with me. I'll make sure to get you home at a reasonable hour."

Reasonable hour? Eli could kidnap her and she wouldn't even mind. There was no hesitation on her part to accept the offer. It wasn't every day that the hot model you knew in high school invited you to their place. If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

Omake:

"Maki-san?"

"Eh?"

"So I have a friend who's got a pretty big crush on you."

"Cute."

"I was wondering if maybe you could help me with something."

"With what?"

"..."

"... I'll think about it."

"Hanayo-chan, I returned your magazine!" Hanayo jumped in surprise, stuttering out a shamed thank you as she went from the kitchen to her bedroom. It had been absolutely mortifying when Nozomi had found out that she was hiding Playboys, and then she told Kotori. She was going to hide those damn things in a safe or something. The last thing she needed was more people learning this little fact.

The moment she walked into her room, she stopped, then did a double take. That wasn't enough: she had to do a triple take. Sitting on her bed, flipping breezily through the aforementioned magazine, was none other than Nishikino Maki. The redheaded model looked up, eyeing her coolly. "You must be Hanayo."

"I-I think so." Was this real? This wasn't happening. Maybe it was. Hanayo watched with wide eyes as Maki stood up and set the magazine down, walking towards her.

"You've really bookmarked that page, huh?" A smirk played on her lips. "You have good tastes."

"Th-Thank you."

"So, what do you want, an autograph? A date?"

"A... A-A d-d-date?" That was too much, and poor Hanayo fainted right on the spot.

"Hanayo? Ah jeez... Nozomiii, she fainted! What am I supposed to do? ... C'mon, get up."

"I just need a minute."

"... Alright, fine."

"Thank you." Hanayo went right back to fainting.