Amelda's eyes snapped open as the still slightly intoxicated Kaede had sneaked up on him.
Damn, he must have forgotten to lock the door.
But shouldn't she have left ten minutes ago?

"I called him up, and yeah," Kaede stammered, tumbling over her tipsy tongue, "I know, I know…I'm just on an emotional rollercoaster, going up and down and inside out."
"Whew," she sat down next to the tub as her legs couldn't support any longer her swaying body, "Sorry for overreacting, Hana. You are the best friend a girl can imagine…"

Amelda nodded encouragingly.
Good grief, not that part.
He knew the whole 'you're my best mate' phase all too well from Valon. Well, obviously not from personal experience since he hated his guts, yet overall understanding and supportive Rafael had been less fortunate.
People in this stage had bid their farewell to dignity and self-respect and were about to wave goodbye to decency.

Kaede watched the water with the childlike fascination usually found in drunk people.
"It looks very warm and cosy," she babbled mesmerized by the floating petals.
"Mind if I join you?"

Oh God, what had he done?
It hadn't been a question, as a matter of fact.
Otherwise Amelda would have been given a chance to protest and decline the plea, before Kaede had stripped off her clothes and half crawled half slipped into the tub.
Amelda panicked and was about to stand up as a gut-reaction, but thought better of it and disappeared even further among the floating rose petals.

"It's really nice in here," Kaede added meekly, as she sank deeper into the water.
Well, not all of her sank, some parts rose upwards and were invitingly bobbing on the surface.
Amelda looked away blushing.

"Don't tell Takehito," Kaede giggled as she struggled to remain in an upright position, "or he might get jealous."

Again Amelda nodded.
This was dangerous.
Outright dangerous.
One misplaced move on Kaede's behalf would be enough to send him packing.
Carefully he tried to close his legs and move them to one side, so Kaede wouldn't be able to brush against his groin accidentally if she slipped further into his direction.
The petals sure had saved him, and he was making a mental note of tipping the cleaning staff for that.

"Nah, to hell with it. I'm so telling him about this," she continued oblivious to Amelda's struggle.
Again an enrapt giggle followed.
"And who knows…"

Another attempt to re-establish a sitting position failed due to her lack of control over her extremities.
She slipped deeper into the tub until her outer thighs were rubbing against Amelda's.

"Perhaps you want to join us sometime later on," she winked at him.
"Two girls, double the excitement."

Amelda gasped at the sensation spiralling upwards through his body.
Why?
Why did her soft skin brushing against his had to feel this good?
He placed a hand between their touching thighs, though he couldn't resist running his fingers over hers, exploring it further, before he pushed her away. Gently yet determined.

Unfortunately it didn't seem to bother Kaede a bit.
While Amelda was relieved as her bodies parted as she pulled her knees further up, she only did so as to gain a little more space in the tub as she leaned back further.
And while her chest was floating underneath the cover of rose petals, her round tender breasts surfaced.
Kaede had closed her eyes, luckily. Because Amelda was too distracted, too mesmerized as to pay any attention.
He just couldn't stop staring at the lovely pair barely covered by the petals.
They put him in mind of two white buoys with the hardened darker nipples at the top; swaying gently as they marked the beginning of uncharted waters.
Amelda snapped back into reality, realising just now that he had spent the past few minutes staring at the breasts of his colleague.
His now sleeping colleague, judging by the soft snoring.
Carefully he padded the tub for a spot containing Kaede, while secretly hoping it wouldn't be a spot he would be ashamed to touch without her permission.
A leg, thank God for that.
He gave her an experimental squeeze.
Nothing.

Without disturbing his colleague though facing the other way as a precaution, Amelda had been able to escape the tub and was now standing there safely wrapped up in his morning gown, unable to decide what to do next.
He couldn't leave her lying in there. The water was now lukewarm at the best, she might catch a cold.
Or even drown, considering how drunk she was.
There was no way of waking her up, he had made sure of that.
Amelda was weighing his options as he looked her up and down.
He would have to lift her from the tub, he concluded.
Though he spent the next ten minutes awkwardly attempting to do so, without…well, it wasn't easy to establish on which end and how he was supposed to do so without exposing and touching too much bare skin.
Amelda made up his mind eventually.
He closed his eyes.
With one swift movement he had lifted her upwards and was now carrying the body of a fast asleep and naked woman.
What now?

No one was ever to find out about this, Amelda swore to himself as he crawled into his bed and pulled the blanket up to his chin.
He hadn't brought up the courage to squeeze Kaede back into her shirt dress, but had wrapped her up in a towel and placed her on the couch.
This was so awkward.
And he was really ashamed of himself.
Curiosity had taken the better of him and he had indeed dared a glimpse of Kaede's bare beauty.
The cold shower hadn't sufficed; the image was still implanted in his brain.
Again the blood would rush into his pelvic area and Amelda found himself reaching for his member.
Damned, stupid, natural, unshaved beauty…

Amelda groaned as he rolled onto one side.
He couldn't do it.
Not now anyway.
Sure, Kaede had been fast asleep through the whole embarrassing process, yet Amelda just knew that she would wake to the sound of a soft moan escaping his lips.
It was bound to happen.

Amelda sighed as turned this way and that.
While his body was set to sleep, his boner wasn't.
He rolled onto his stomach, at least partially as he tried to find a more comfortable position that would take the pressure from his hurting cock.

Slowly he was engulfed by drowsiness as memories surfaced.
Incomprehensible episodes of his life. Well, at least at that time they had made no sense to him.
Dartz had been involved, for some reason.
There had been nights when he had come to him.
Had moved soundlessly as a ghost.
No doors were locked to him.
And he had sat down on his bed and soothed him when he had cried.
Dartz knew, he always knew when Amelda had been plagued by nightmares.
And sometimes he would lie down next to him and embrace him tightly, stroke him in his sleep.
It was an honour, the time Dartz had spent on him.
And Amelda felt he wasn't worthy all his precious attention.
Yet he remembered some kind of pride awakening.
He was special.
He was special to Dartz.
And so was his master to him.
He hadn't realised it right away, nor was he familiar with the concept of a crush.
Well, there was this strange ache in his chest, did his master smile at him and his heart would start pounding like mad whenever they locked eyes.
He had mistaken them for platonic affections.
Love he would bear for a parental substitute.
And he had enjoyed his affection, the caresses and embraces, yet in a different way.
Dartz had been proud of him, and while Rafael was his unquestioned number one, it was Amelda who was repeatedly offered the chance to accompany him on business trips.
Well, Valon was simply not cut out for this kind of work and while the mystery case of the re-appeared heir was no longer mesmerizing the media, Rafael's face was still well-known.
Anyway, Amelda couldn't have cared less about the reason for Dartz' choice.
He was always eager to prove himself worthy.
And was rewarded for his efforts.

Amelda felt his hand reaching for his crotch again, yet he was too tired to care.

Sometimes they had shared a bed.
It had felt good, different, but good to feel Dartz like this.
To feel his warmth, feel the heavy strands of turquoise hair trailing over his body.
And Amelda had been overwhelmed by his feelings.
But had succumbed to them nonetheless.
Just thinking about it, Amelda's body remembered the butterflies in his stomach, the stinging pain, like miniature crystals or fine glass needles piercing his back and lungs, did he dare fantasize about Dartz.
He remembered lying down, way before his master would get back from a meeting and wonder if he could make him feel that special way again.
And he remembered sleeping like this, lying on one side, almost curled into a ball, as he was trying to hide the unfamiliar body alternation, he would later identify as an erection.

Amelda sighed as he felt himself up, his cock swelling beneath the touch.

Omniscient he may be, full of knowledge.
Yet Amelda had never found out if he had known about his feelings.
The treacherous, unprofessional sensations and cravings he nourished.

Amelda was stroking his member absentmindedly, hence the only way he would ever touch himself.
And he had almost been sleeping, when he had felt some movement at the foot of the bed and the mattress shifting beneath somebody's weight.
Amelda was up in an instant and eager to fight off the intruder, as a tired groan, as the unorganised aggressor had bumped their knee on the bedpost, identified the latter as Kaede.

"It's so cold," she stammered as she sneaked underneath the covers and snuggled up to Amelda, who was left dumbstruck.

Before he could have thought of a reason to send her to her room, she was already fast asleep again.
So Amelda was left lying on his bed, now wide awake and determined to never masturbate ever again.
He stared up into the darkness, Kaede's snores soon the only thing audible.
He caught himself reaching for her breast, as he felt the soft flesh brushing against his arm.
A warmth was spreading in his abdomen, as he massaged her breasts and trailed circles over her nipples.
Amelda bit his lower lip.
He could…well, technically it would be possible…he was sure of that…
Concerning how deep she was sleeping now…
She probably wouldn't even wake up during it.
And even if she did, wouldn't it all seem like some kind of strange dream in the morning?

Amelda pushed this thoughts away instantly.
That's it, he thought to himself, I'm cracking up.

Hardly a sentence was exchanged in the morning as a surprisingly none at all hungover Kaede left Amelda as soon as she had woken up.
To his astonishment she didn't seem to be embarrassed at all about the strange circumstances she had found herself in, hence naked and drooling in bed with a friend.
It made him wonder if she had gotten used to similar awkward mornings.

As he checked out of the hotel he could see the majority of his colleagues standing in the entrance hall, hardly exchanging a word; their faces partially covered by sunglasses.
Oh, sweet intoxication.
Amelda smiled to himself.
What a waste of time.
Not only had he been unable to track back a possible suspect spying for SchröderCorporation, but his colleagues were plagued by the possible worst hangover lavishly donated by KaibaCorporation.
What a résumé.

"Hanako," a male voice had been addressing him and Amelda turned around to face…
Dartz.

Amelda's heart skipped a beat.

"What a coincidence," Dartz remarked and guided his steps away from his colleagues until they were out of earshot, yet as a matter of precaution two bodyguards made sure they got their privacy.

"This is…I am…"

"Rafael told me about your little side quest," Dartz continued in his usual soft timbre, "And while I'm staying in Domino on a business trip I thought, I'd drop by."

Amelda was still too dumbstruck to answer.
He was here.
He wouldn't have recognised him anyway. Not in the striped suit with matching fedora and his hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.
Hell, he even wore contact lenses to cover for his bi-coloured gaze.
Amelda gulped.
"Ehm, wouldn't they…I mean…"

"There's nothing wrong with a quick chat with a former employee," Dartz stated indifferent.

Amelda stared at him, still not fully comprehending what was happening around him.

"Your former employer," Dartz emphasised, "Dr Richard Ortman, CEO of 'Aspire Technology'?"

Right, the bogus company he had installed in case someone was to check Hanako's records.

Dartz' eyes seemed to bore into his skull, as they usually did.
"You look lovely," he stated and probably meant it, yet Amelda blushed inevitably.
"It's true," Dartz grabbed his chin and pulled his head upwards as Amelda was forced to lock eyes with him.
"I knew, I could entrust you with this," he whispered lost in thought as he was seemingly reading Amelda like an open book.
He stepped back a few paces.

"It really was nice meeting you here," he stated loud enough as to make sure Amelda's colleagues wouldn't miss it, "And I look forward to our meeting in approximately three weeks."

Amelda frowned.
"What occasion would that be, sir?"

"Your presentation I will be attending."

Author's Note:
This concludes the short and unconventional intermission of the weekend in the spa.
Thanks again for all the votes on this, it was a pleasure to write these chapters.
Concerning next week's update: I might not be able to finish it until Friday, so it will probably be postpone to Saturday, possibly Sunday.