Chapter 10.5

The liquor suddenly hit her, and her head began spinning slightly but she paid no heed.

Shuu heard her hum pleasingly at let out a chuckle. He brought his fingers up and licked the remaining chocolate, the sensational feeling of her soft lips still lingering on his fingertips.

His eyes glowed fuchsia once he sank his teeth into another chocolate piece, allowing half of it to hide behind his curled-up lips. His eyes locked with Guinevere's, and he pointed at the exposed half of the chocolate.

"Hold her still," Shuu said as he pushed back laughter that was bubbling up his throat.

With a press of a button, he snapped a picture of the priceless scene in front of him. He looked down at his flip phone to check for blurry areas, and was satisfied to find none.

On the flip phone's screen was a flustered Guinevere who was on her knees in the middle of the pool table, wearing nothing but a long-sleeved, white undershirt buttoned up messily to cover her undergarments. Her half-lidded eyes were glazed, yet held a hint of mockery as they were pinned on Subaru, who stood on her left side of the pool table. She sent him a playful poke of the tongue, and her hands were held up almost at a ninety-degree angle with her palms facing upwards, her wrists having slender fingers wrapped around them.

Those fingers that gripped her right wrist belonged to Laito, as he appeared to be leaning in very close to Guinevere, his head tilted so their cheeks touched. His expression showed giddiness as his eyes were closed along with a sincerer smile adorning his face. On closer inspection, his left hand was wrapped around her waist as he too faced the camera. His fedora was not evident on his head, which was an unusual sight to behold.

On Guinevere's left was Ayato, who humorously flashed his rows of perfect teeth. The sides of their head touched as his brightened eyes were focused on her, reflecting pleasure and excitement. He was lightly gripping her other wrist, his right hand almost unnoticeable as it rested atop her head due to his arm being hidden by Guinevere' figure. Nonetheless, those two seemed to be having fun.

The only two that appeared unamused were Subaru and Kanato. Subaru, as mentioned above, was at Guinevere' left, standing the side of the pool table. His frustration was directed towards said-woman as he gritted his teeth, his hands splayed onto the pool table. However, if more attention was paid on, a hint of softness will show in his eyes as they trained solely on her.

Kanato, it seemed, was the most unamused. The lilac-haired boy appeared to be yelling as he glared daggers at Ayato's hand atop his precious half-cousin's head. Standing behind her, his widened eyes held a tremendous amount of displeasure. His right hand gripping his stuffed toy tighter than usual, along with his shoulders refusing to relax.

Overall, it was a rare moment that was rightfully captured. Though, to clear confusion, let's rewind approximately where it started, shall we?

~Not too long ago~

Shuu looked up at the woman that was currently straddling him, surprise evident in his face. She leaned down, framing the sides of his vision with her dark, flawless hair as her cheeks flushed a beautiful shade of pink. The beauty mark at the far corner of her left eye appeared more alluring underneath the blush, along with breathtaking, hooded eyes that—to his pleasure—were locked on his.

The blond-haired male chuckled. "I should really get you drunk more often."

"Chocolate?" she responded in a child-like voice.

"If you want more, I'll have to order it. But I'm quite comfortable in this position, so no, no chocolate."

His eyes widened when she pouted. Blinking away the surprise, he shot her a warning glare, as if refusing to allow her drunk self to arise temptation. But, naturally, her drunk self couldn't care less.

Guinevere's eyes then suddenly brightened, and she jumped off him, sprinting down the hallway in an ungraceful manner with all the staggering and swaying.

Shuu placed a hand on his face, covering his eyes. Slowly, he exhaled.

"That woman…" he mumbled.

Let us name the deliveryman Bob, just to make it easy to remember. He was currently standing in front of the entrance that belonged to the Sakamaki household with a frown on his face. Despite his relief that he was not alone to face this eerie mansion, he couldn't help but feel the urge to bolt as far from this place as possible, and never return. But alas, he does not want to end up homeless and starving so here he was.

Bob was quite ordinary, if it weren't for his bright, orange hair. He was surprised that he hasn't heard the chirping of baby birds on his head yet, for it fits a perfect role of a nest. The gust of wind died down and he took the opportunity to seize his uniform's cap, placing it back on his head. He looked up and was face-to-face with extravagant, wooden double-doors.

It looked immensely taller up close. And frightening as well, giving off a haunted vibe.

He snapped out of his daze when he heard his name being called. He spun around, gestured to the spot next to him and shuffled through the neatly placed papers in his bags as his co-workers carried a tall, thin cardboard box up the wide, concrete steps.

After thanking them, he faced the mighty double-doors again. Taking a deep breath, he knocked against the dark, high-qualitied wood. A second after that, the door swung open, catching Bob completely by surprise.

"Oh my, did I give you quite a fright?" Words escaped from perfect lips, the silkiness reaching his ears.

Bob couldn't help but blush upon seeing the woman in front of him. She—he assumed she was cosplaying—was wearing a maid attire. Yes, the ones with white, frilly aprons and puffy black arm sleeves along with pretty skirts and a maid headband. It's quite similar to the ones from Kaichou wa Maid-sama, one of those insanely good anime that he watched recently.

But it didn't matter what she wore. Women with a perfect frame like her could wear anything and will look good.

The fair skin on her slight, youthfully plump cheeks was slightly flushed, but that did not change the fact that she was a very attractive woman, it fact, the soft blush appeared to soften her demeanour.

He assumed she was his age—he was twenty-two—or somewhere around the early twenties.

Someone suddenly pushed his chin upwards in attempt to close his agape mouth. Bob blinked as the woman retracted her hand. Her slightly cold, but comforting, touch lingered on his skin.

He saw her mouth moving, and gathering himself together, he quickly tuned in on her voice.

"—or flies will appear between your teeth next time you smile," the beautiful woman was saying.

More blinking. Realisation hit him, and he closed the rest of his mouth before opening it again to speak. "O-oh. Sorry. Your number—I-I mean could you sign this under the name of Sakamaki Reiji?"

Her giggle brought great comfort to his ears. "Sure~" she chirped, taking the pen from him and signing the paper. She returned the pen to him and began rambling. "Why am I meant to sign this again? Is it because you want to enter this playboy mansion? Is that it? Ohhh…Well, I assure you, no one needs to sign anything…"

She moved away from the doorframe and leaned towards him, whispering the next statement with her hand next to her mouth. "…'Cuz you won't get outta here anyways."

Bob appeared stunned.

The woman then waved a hand. "Besides, the playboys are too weird here. If we were to make a contract, it'll probably, like, fill this whole mansion, since they're quite fussy, and tend to change a lot. And they're weird. Did I say that already? I think I did. Yeah."

"…Are you okay, ma'am?"

"Huh? I'm fine. Wait, are you judging me?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Eh. Who cares. Just so you know, hiccupping is not a sign of drunkenness."

"…Okay."

"So, if I hiccup, like, just a few minutes ago, it doesn't mean that I'm drunk, okay?"

"…Okay." Poor Bob. That seemed to be the only word that he was capable of saying.

The gorgeously drunk woman then stepped to the side. "Care to join me?"

"N-no ma'am. Although I would love to, I've got other deliveries to do. We're quite busy, you see…"

"Shame. You know, the playboys here are quite busy too. They have homework…which most of them don't do, aaand they seduce girls."

A pregnant pause. "R-really?"

"Yup. It's their day job."

Bob tilted his head. "So…are you one of those girls that they seduce?"

"Nah, I'm kind of a family member/maid, man. They only seduce school girls."

"Th-They do?"

"Yeah. Isn't that fun~?"

"…I wouldn't describe it that way…I mean, I guess…."

The woman then noticed the box beside him and her eyes widened. She began jumping and clapping like a toddler. "Ooh~ Is that a present for me? Oh you kind soul! I've been paying attention to a cutie like you so much that I didn't notice! Thanks!"

Bob blushed at her compliment. He liked her, despite her oddness. He believed she would be fun to hang around with.

"Wh…" He stopped himself, then tried again. "What's your name? Do you have…a phone?"

"Yes and yes! I mean, my name is DeRosa Guinevere. And yes, I do have a phone." She held out her hand. "Here, your phone please, if you don't mind~ I'll add my number to your contacts."

Trying to keep his excitement at a professional level, he placed his flip phone in her hand. After a few presses, she handed it back to him.

She nodded. "You're welcome."

"Thank you."

"I also installed Angry Birds for you, so double you're welcome."

"…Pfft, thanks," he smiled.

"De nada, mi amigo."

"?"

"I wrote that as my contact name. You can search it up later. It's Chinese, by the way. Many people think it's Spanish, but that's just not the case."

His puzzled expression was washed away when she sent him a wink.

"People with a lazy mouth call me Guinee, for short," she addressed. "¿Cómo te llamas?"

"Cómo —wha? Hm. I think I have an idea what you're trying to say. Are you asking for my name?" When he received a nod and a smile, he continued, flustered, "Um, my name's Bob."

"Just Bob?"

"Yeah. As simple as that."

She then scrutinized him. "Your name seems to be missing something…"

"It is?"

"Well, yeah…"

Silence. Then, "…Is it short for Bobina?" she finally asked.

"Uh—"

His co-workers interrupted him, beckoning him as they stood where the delivery truck was parked, outside one of the metal gates left ajar.

"I've gotta go…" He gave he a crooked smile underneath his cap. "See ya, I guess."

"Sure~ You can visit playboy mansion anytime soon~!"

He sweat dropped as he waved while walked away.

"I shall welcome you with open arms! There's still room for you to be employed as a sadistic playboy if you want to!"

Bob tripped, almost faceplanting.

"I bid you adieu! …Where is my handkerchief?"

"What are you doing?" A voice spoke from behind her.

She turned around. "Ah," she said, sparkles dancing around her. "Reiji darling~! I was just saying my farewells to the might-be-playboy."

He crossed his arms, cocking his head. The motion caused his blackish-purple bangs to swish slightly, brushing his cheek. "…Are you perhaps drunk? Or sick?"

"Why? 'Cuz I hiccup?"

"No. Your face appears quite red. Also, you are using informal language, shortening your words more often than usual…Your silly behaviours also explain it."

"Silly, how?"

"Is being in a ridiculous karate stance when I'm verbally concerned about your health not appear silly to you?"

"Psh, no…"