03: Bitter Aftertaste

A few more weeks had gone by until a month passed, and Sora had begun to feel satisfied with the way her life had been going. She was nearly finished with organizing and decorating her apartment to the way that she wanted, and with it being the first time living on her own, she felt refreshed with the freedom and the control for herself.

During her free time, she stopped by the local gym a few times a week, and she spent some evenings cross-legged on her couch with her laptop on her lap for her to browse articles on fashion, and even to look up related courses she could take later on.

She was also getting to know her coworkers and neighbors as the days went on, but as she typed away on her laptop while a tennis match played on the television in her background, she wished that there were more people around her that had as much interest in sports as she did.

One Monday morning when she left her apartment to go to work, she stopped to chat at the door of her friendly male neighbor who liked to greet her good morning on her way out, and who also liked to ask how her day was when she returned from work. He looked to be roughly her age, and although he showed no interest in any of the football matches that Sora brought up, she had to admit, he did have a nice smile.

"So?" asked one of the assistants in the break room later that morning. "Are you going to let your neighbor ask you out?"

"Ask me out?" Sora repeated, trying to speak as quietly as possible. "I don't know. He starts talking to me and I want to be nice, so I talk back."

Another assistant smiled. "You just said he had a nice smile," she said. "He's gotta be cute! Maybe you should ask him out."

"Yeah!" said the first. "You seem like the kind of woman who would do that."

"I don't know…" Sora trailed off as she caught the brown eyes of her boss staring at her when he walked into the break room.

"Morning, ladies!" said Taichi with a small wave.

"Good morning," Sora replied along with the others in unison. Her coworkers had fallen silent while Taichi walked over to the fridge to put his lunch box in, and then exchanged a smile at Sora before she watched him walk out.

"Sora!"

"Hmm?"

She didn't realize how long she was staring at the door until she heard bursts of giggles around across her table. Turning to the two ladies before her, she saw that they were facing each other and giggling while they rambled about Taichi's hair. It seemed as though they had quickly drawn their attention away from the potential prospect in her love life.

Sora still blushed. Even for a moment, she let herself get distracted by Taichi from the moment he walked into the break room until moments after he disappeared from her view. Fortunately, no one suspected that something had been going on between her and Taichi, though she knew that she had to be cautious.

Especially when she ended up in his bed with him later that evening.

Sora and Taichi found it easy to figure out how and when they wanted to meet outside of work. Ever since they made their deal official, either one of them would signal the other with the reference of 'having a drink'. It took a while for Sora to get the hang of it, and to her dismay, Taichi took advantage of this fact.

"Did you need me, Taichi?" Sora had asked that Tuesday afternoon, at the door to his office while he sat with another manager at his desk.

"Did you get the copies off of the printer for me?"

"I sure did." Sora held the stack up in the air and approached his desk.

"Man, we've had a lot of work cut out for us this week already," he added as he talked to the other manager. "I'm definitely gonna need... a drink... after this."

Sora stopped herself from tripping, but she watched the sheets of paper fly out of her hands.

Taichi helped her stack the papers together with a grin and Sora flushed with embarrassment. After the other manager left the office, Sora flashed her eyes at him with a glare, though he responded with stifling laughter.

"I didn't expect you to be that startled. I'm sorry," he said, and Sora quietly set the stack of papers into his hands.

"Is there anything else you need from me?" she replied hotly.

"That's all, Sora."

Sora was able to calm down and go on about her day, but she found herself wondering if he was in the mood for a drink, anyway. Better yet, just as she dropped her purse onto her couch after waving to her neighbor in greeting, she opened her phone to see a text message from Taichi.

"Well?" it read, followed by the emoji of a martini glass.

Sora giggled, then proceeded to change into more casual wear before heading out the door.

When he answered his door, Taichi greeted her with, "Still mad at me about earlier?"

"Shut up," she replied, using her palm to push him to walk backward as she walked through his door. She smiled and gave him a kiss, and before she knew it, she lay on top of him in his bed, her lips locked on his, their arms and legs entangled underneath his sheets.

When Sora opened her eyes to Tuesday morning, she turned her head to see Taichi at her side, facing her as he lay in his deep sleep. She softened at his peaceful expression, and her initial instinct was to move closer and wrap herself around him to cuddle, and sneak a kiss on his lips before he woke up. It was what she liked to do, and she knew the feeling had been the same when she was with...

Sora blinked as she realized where her mind had been going and stopped herself. Taichi wasn't the same person. The past situation was completely different. Sora didn't even want to think about getting that close to Taichi, anyway - especially not with their deal.

She rolled over to the opposite side of the bed, and that was when she felt movement beside her, followed by a grunt.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"One of us has to," she replied, knowing that would cause a reaction.

"You know, you're only encouraging me to sleep in."

"Not like it matters to me." Sora sat up and turned herself toward him. "I'm very capable of doing my work whether my boss is around or not."

"Ah. Independent and kind of feisty. My kind of woman. Doesn't seem at all like you, though."

Sora aimed a few pillows at his face and headed toward his shower, but not without laughing as he held his hands up with his failed attempts to block her.

Sora left his apartment with her purse over her shoulder and her hands in her coat pockets. She turned the corner and walked casually, but she always had a thought in the back of her mind to be cautious. Her furtive glances on either side of her only told her that she was usually the only one that walked through the area that early in the morning, which made it least likely to raise suspicions to anyone else. It was the same scene whenever she decided to leave late at night, when she felt like going back to her apartment afterward.

When she set foot into the office, she saw the usual hustle and bustle of employees working at their desks, and some assistants already walking briskly down the walkways. The head assistant stopped Sora as she headed toward her desk, telling her that there were two new stacks of files on her desk that she needed to sort through by the end of the week.

Everyone was minding their own business. Those that she greeted as she passed them by either smiled or raised a hand in reply without looking at her. She had yet to be greeted with odd stares or knowing glances. It eased her mind knowing that she and Taichi had been hiding it so well, but the nagging feeling remained in the back of her mind.

During her lunch hour on Tuesday, Sora spotted Taichi standing by the sink in the break room and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get back at him for letting her look like a fool in front of another manager. While she waited for her food to warm in the microwave, she leaned against the counter beside him.

"How's it going?" he asked her while he washed his hands.

Sora let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not feeling well. I might be stressed."

"Oh, no. There must be a lot of things to do at your desk, huh?"

"Don't worry about it."

They continued to chat while she watched him turn off the faucet and dry his hands with a paper towel. Then, he took out his water bottle.

"I think I know what it is," she said.

What is it?" he asked, lifting his bottle to his lips to take a sip.

She giggled and drew herself closer to his ear, uttering in a whisper:

"I guess I might be thirsty."

The microwave beeped and Sora walked away to get her food, leaving Taichi choking on his water over the kitchen sink.

As she sat on the train on her way home that evening, Sora wondered what Taichi would think about meeting at her place one of these nights. She was becoming more used to his apartment, and she had debated whether she should invite him over, now that she had become more settled into hers.

She was looking forward to having good company over. Even though she liked her peaceful nights alone, she missed the times back in her parents' home whenever there were visitors on occasion. Sometimes it was her relatives or her best friend Mimi, or someone from her mother's ikebana school, constantly asking about how Sora was doing… or her now former boyfriend, who liked to show up with a bouquet of her favorite flowers whenever he did - something she thought she would get sick of living under her mother's roof, yet it was one of the things she loved that he did for her…

Sora shook her head along with the memories she didn't want to remember. Fortunately, she wouldn't have any of those visitors anytime soon, save for Mimi, whom she was excited to see that upcoming weekend.

"What do you think of violets?" Sora's neighbor asked as she passed his door on the way to her apartment.

"Violets?" Sora repeated.

"I don't mean the color. I mean the actual flowers."

Sora blinked, then paused before responding and continued to walk.

"I guess they're nice. They have a beautiful color. They're... not my favorite, though."

"So you have a favorite?"

Sora turned to him with a smile, but she said nothing else. When she closed the door, the smile disappeared from her face, as what was once a fond memory gave her the grief she didn't want to deal with.

Violets were, in fact, her favorite flower. She had never told her ex that they were, but he must have found out after he had asked her mother, who seemed just as fond of him as Sora used to be. But Sora could only remember the bouquet of them on her kitchen counter, wilting and decaying on the night he said goodbye.

Thursday showed up quickly, and Sora shot into work mode right away. She was nearly finished with sorting the stacks of documents that were given to her earlier in the week. Many of them had to be filed away, though there was still a stack of papers that needed Taichi's signature of approval.

Taichi was well into the work on his computer when Sora stopped into his office right after her lunch. She handed him the stack and watched him begin to read through the lines on the pages. As he studied them, Sora went off to scan the office for any visible messes for her to tidy up.

"Do you have any plans this weekend?" he asked as he turned a page.

"Well, my best friend is staying over at my place," Sora replied, naturally rolling into the typical small talk with him. "She's been very good at pushing me to free up a weekend for her, but I think I've been pretty good at stalling."

Taichi chuckled. "What is there to stall for? I'm sure your apartment is good enough for visitors."

"I'm not so sure about that," Sora said, frowning with uncertainty, especially with her ongoing debate on whether or not to invite him over.

Taichi scribbled his signature on a stapled packet of paper, then he looked up at her. "Knowing you, you might be overthinking it."

Sora groaned. "You might be right." She met his eyes, and then she saw his amusement before his expression changed.

"It sounds like it'll be fun. At least you'll be in good company."

Somehow, the way he said it along with his charming smile made those small worries vanish. She smiled at him in return, then waited for him to sign the rest of the papers she had given to him.

When he gave the papers back to her, she flashed him a smile and turned away, walking towards the door. Their friendly office conversation came and went, and the thought crossed her mind that she wouldn't see him at all during the weekend.

What was a few days without him, anyway? They had already hooked up this week.

"Ah, Sora, wait-"

Sora whirled around to face Taichi, but realized that trying to turn 180 degrees as quickly as she did was almost guaranteed a fall.

She yelped in surprise, but Taichi grabbed her by the waist just in time.

"You have got to stop doing that," he said with more amusement in his voice while she caught her breath.

"Old habits die hard, I guess," Sora replied, giggling with embarrassment and pressing both of her heels against the floor.

"I guess it was my fault this time."

She raised her brow, her eyes meeting his once again. His face was mere inches away from hers.

How long was she staring at him?

"You tried to get me to fall on purpose?" she asked.

"Well... I wanted to grab your attention."

Sora wanted to reply with a witty response, but she was suddenly aware of his arm wrapped around her waist, still holding her when she was standing straight. His eyes were serious, yet there was a twinkle of mischief in them, as though he was daring her to make her move.

She breathed in slightly, moments after her breath caught in her throat.

"Well, you have it now, don't you?" she whispered back.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Sora glanced at Taichi in horror, while he appeared to freeze right in front of her, if only for a few moments. By the time they heard the second round of knocks, Sora's next instinct was to step away from Taichi.

Taichi removed his hand from her hip just as she stepped away from him - with a swift but cautious turn so that she didn't slip and fall yet again - and then, he called for the person at the door to come in.

It was Taichi's own manager. Sora gave a small smile and wave at the slightly older man before she turned to Taichi's bookshelf. Her back was turned away from them as she frantically looked up and down for any loose files that stuck out and needed a reason to be organized.

Sora tried to calm herself while she heard Taichi and the boss exchange their current progress reports of the day. The boss mentioned that the department overall was falling behind on the work, but that Taichi had been keeping up with a better pace compared to the others.

"It's thanks to my assistant over there," Sora heard Taichi say.

"Ah, well you two make quite a pair," the boss replied with a bellow. Sora felt the heat begin to rise in her cheeks. "I'll leave you to it!"

Sora walked over to Taichi just as the boss left the office, closing the door behind him. She took a deep breath just as she heard Taichi let out a deep sigh.

"That was a close one," he said.

"You're right," Sora replied. "If he walked in five seconds earlier…"

Who knew what would have happened? They both were fully aware that their company did not allow relationships of any kind between employees. If she had been caught so close to Taichi in that moment, and caught by Taichi's own boss...

Taichi wore a serious expression on his face, and Sora began to worry. She would never want to be the cause of anyone getting fired. Especially not Taichi. She actually enjoyed working with him, all things considered.

"We shouldn't worry about this, Sora," Taichi said, watching her. "You and I both know, and he even saw that nothing happened. Right?"

Sora sighed, then nodded. "You're right."

As she remembered the stack of papers that she had Taichi sign for her, she picked it up and straightened it, putting her focus back to completing her task. Taichi had returned to sit at his desk.

But Sora couldn't help thinking about the other things she enjoyed with him.

"I think I'm going to need a drink after that," Sora said.

Taichi sat at his desk, his eyebrows raised. Then, he stared at her with a smirk forming on his lips. "One night this week wasn't enough?"

Sora tried to keep a straight face, though the corners of her lips started to twitch. "I don't see it as a problem," she replied.

"You know, the first sign of addiction is the denial of a problem."

Pressing her lips together, Sora turned away from Taichi's desk and headed toward the door. "I mean, if it truly is a problem, then I guess I might not need that drink, anyway."

As soon as Sora left his office, she was swamped with more work to do, which left her no room to worry about how Taichi would reply. At some point in the course of their deal, she figured that one of them was going to turn down an invitation. She probably would have turned him down if he had asked, knowing that she had plans with Mimi.

But when she passed by his office at the end of the day to tell him to have a good evening, all he did was return the greeting, and she couldn't help but wonder if he saw her as a problem.

That evening, Sora decided to keep her mind off of work and off of men, and she dressed into a loose fitting shirt and jogging pants before settling into her comfortable nightly routine in front of the couch. She sat cross-legged with her laptop sitting on her lap, and the TV turned on to an intense football match. She had thought about pouring herself a glass of wine, but she figured that she might have already had enough for the week.

When the football match reached halftime, Sora's phone made a sound, and she raised an eyebrow to see Taichi's message containing a single emoji of a glass of wine.

"I thought you didn't like wine," Sora sent back.

"I don't, but it achieved a response unlike the one I sent of the fruity drink yesterday."

Sora scrolled up and realized that she missed his text from the night before. Did she unintentionally deny his invitation?

More importantly, did he really want to see her that much?

She put her hand to her lips, smiling. She felt relieved to realize that Taichi didn't see her as a problem. But, remembering their conversation from before, she knew exactly what to respond back with.

"And you thought I was the one with a problem. Come to my place? All I have is wine, though.."

She stopped short of tapping her phone to send the message. Her worries of inviting someone over came rushing back to her. Yet, as she took a deep breath, she remembered the smile Taichi gave her when he told her that she was overthinking.

So, she pushed 'Send'.

"I can fix that ;)" his message read a couple moments later.

Taichi didn't show up until after the match had finished and Sora had turned on the radio for music to play softly in the background. When she answered the door, Taichi stood there wearing a casual shirt and jeans. He gave her a smile and held up a brown paper bag with the impression of long-nosed bottles inside.

"You could consider this a housewarming gift, you know," he said. "It's my first time here, after all."

Sora smiled. "How kind of you," she replied, and she let him in and led him toward the couch, where he handed her a bottle of beer from the bag. She nearly grimaced until she read the brand on the label.

"It's the beer you said you actually liked," he explained.

"You remembered that?"

"Of course I did."

The sudden change of tune from the radio caught Sora's attention, causing her to change the radio station to smooth jazz before she joined Taichi on the couch. She had recognized the intro of a song that she absolutely despised, and she knew that if Taichi heard a few more seconds of it, he would have recognized it and sung along.

"Aww, what if that was my favorite song?" Taichi asked with a grin. Sora rolled her eyes, knowing that he would sing the song anyway, just like he did around his office if only to pester her.

Thankfully, he didn't, and they both snapped their bottle caps off from the beers and clinked their bottles together before each of them took a swig. Sora had mentioned in one of their nights together that even though she didn't like beer, she liked the hint of sweetness of this one that allowed her to tolerate its taste.

"I could've arrived here sooner," Taichi added. "But I couldn't tear myself away from tonight's match."

Sora turned to him. "You were watching that, too? Wasn't it great?"

"It was pretty great. I wasn't feeling the last couple matches, but this one turned things around."

"Right?!" Sora launched into talking about the match, to which Taichi responded with as much eagerness. They went on to talk about their favorite players and teams, and how they thought the rest of the season would go.

She found it interesting that they hadn't talked about the sport that much since their first meeting, when they pointed out that their high school memories were of each other in their sports clubs. But she had agreed with him that the recent matches weren't worth much conversation. Then again, their night hook ups hadn't involved too much conversation, anyway.

Soon after the football talk, they fell into banter and laughed together, something they found themselves doing in their casual setting. Sora teased that the reason Taichi arrived later was because there was another woman whom he had to share a drink with. He always retorted with a joke to make Sora's laugh, but he never confirmed nor denied her reasoning.

Taichi then made a comment about how good-looking her next door neighbor was and wanted to know why she hadn't made a move, and she wondered aloud why Taichi didn't beat her to it after his apparent 'love at first sight'. All the while they had been inching closer to each other, with Taichi's free arm wrapped around her back, his hand running up and down her arm. Sora liked how natural their conversation flowed, and although she was curious about other women he might have been spending time with, she was glad that he hadn't pressed her any more about her own relationships, especially the last one that failed.

She didn't want to pay any mind to that, anyway. Not when she shot glances at Taichi as she leaned close and rested her palm on his leg, running her hand along.

"So.." Taichi began, staring into her eyes, his own twinkling.

"So.." Sora answered with a smile, followed by a kiss on his lips. She closed her eyes and kissed him slowly, gently, letting his lips fall against hers with the lingering taste of alcohol and the added sweetness of his breath. She hid her emotions well in the office, but watching him talk to her or to others, seeing him flash a smile every now and then only fueled her urge to kiss him. What a thrill she felt being close in proximity, her lips now joining his.

When she parted from him, their faces still inches apart, she opened her eyes to search for his, and she was curious to see his reaction. When Taichi opened his eyes, their eyes meeting, he lowered his gaze to her mouth and held her chin with his fingers, bringing her lips back to his. He kissed her back, softly, slowly, as though he was savoring each one. Her skin prickled from where the tips of his fingers trailed, from behind her ear and across the back of her neck.

His other hand held her at the small of her back, though she pushed herself closer to him anyway, both of her hands on either side of his head, her fingers running into the strands of his hair.

They both laughed between kisses as she massaged his scalp, his hands running all over her. It was usually like this between them, after a few days of playing formalities within a business setting, being careful not to get too close for too long and keeping their distance. Somehow, the act in that setting was part of the allure - and even a natural meeting of their eyes, a quiet laugh from his lips, and that gorgeous smile furthered Sora's desire to be as close to him as possible.

And in that moment on her couch, Sora caught another one of his smiles toward her. He gave her a smirk - the one she had seen on him a few times before. It was mischievous, as though he knew that he had her hooked.

Sora wanted him to feel the same way for her.

From there, she locked her lips with his in a long, deep kiss. When she pulled away, she noticed him entranced, and although she felt the quick beating of his heart matching hers, he appeared to be holding his breath.

"Speechless?" Sora asked.

"That's my line," Taichi breathed, with another smirk.

Sora smiled back, melting, and she lifted herself up to remove her jogging pants, revealing her panties between her bare legs. It might have been by his influence to be a little more playful with him, and she made sure he knew as her hand drew circles on the ripples of his chest, then unbuttoned his jeans, her fingers sliding underneath his boxers.

Taichi breathed a sigh as Sora massaged him with slow strokes. She lay back with him and watched him close his eyes and hum with pleasure. She felt a surge of excitement as she teased him with the movement of her fingers, his hum turning into moans, and even an "oh, yeah," spilling from his lips. The sound of his breathing, the call of her name soft but yearning tickled her excitement to please him even more.

Sora crawled over him and leaned in to kiss him once again, brushing her tongue against his. She yearned to taste more of him, although she wanted to move to her bed before the heat rose between them even more.

"How about a tour to the rest of my place?" Sora said in a low voice when she broke off the kiss.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Taichi replied with a smirk, catching his breath.

She wanted to kiss that smirk, but she resisted this time. After he kicked his jeans from his legs, Sora took Taichi by the wrist, and Sora led him down the short hallway past the kitchen and into her bedroom.

She had always left the bedroom door open, though as soon as she set foot into the room and switched the light on, she realized that there was a stack of a few empty boxes in the corner that she had forgotten to throw out. Her apartment was still not picture-perfect like she wanted for any invited guest.

She opened her mouth ready to apologize for the mess when she noticed a pull on her hand followed by an embrace from behind her.

"Your place is nice. I like it," Taichi said, his arms holding her at her waist. His warm, soft breath so close to her ear formed more goosebumps on her arms.

"I'm... sorry…" Sora replied, but trailed off when she felt his lips touching her neck.

"For what?"

"I, um…"

Each of his kisses tickled her as he trailed up the side of her neck until he reached the side of her ear lobe.

"Hmm…?" Taichi asked.

What was meant to be the first part of her sentence came out as a soft sigh, and a moan escaped her when she called his name. She could hear him laugh softly as he held her, and she realized then that her fretful thoughts distracted her, and it allowed Taichi to take the lead.

Not that she minded. She couldn't always figure out what he had in mind, but that was another thing about him that excited her - she never knew what to expect with him. One moment, she was mesmerized by his deep kisses, the next, she was sitting on the edge of her bed, her head tilted back as her eyes were trapped in his gaze above her.

"Lay back," he said, gentle but commanding.

Sora blinked as a rational thought seemed to return to her. They had learned to let one take the lead over the other - it didn't take too long for either of them to be in tune with each other's needs, and Sora would normally go along with his command - but tonight, she was motivated to change his mind.

"Why not you instead?" she asked, rubbing her palms in circles against his chest, but she paused when he brushed his fingers against her cheek, holding her chin that brought her to meet his gaze.

"And why not you?" His brown eyes glistened against the moonlight through her window, and he gave her a look of passion and desire that she hadn't seen from him before.

It left her speechless.

Taichi removed his shirt, then he helped Sora remove her top. Sora held her hands on either of Taichi's shoulders and she lay back as he leaned over her in support. She closed her eyes as he pressed his lips against hers, and his hands running along her shirt, eventually finding their way onto her skin underneath. When his hand met her breast, she gasped softly and let his palm rub freely, his fingers tracing a circle around her nipple. Then, his lips broke away from hers, and her eyes opened to Taichi sliding back, with his lips latching onto where his fingers were, and his fingers trailing further down.

A louder gasp escaped her the moment his fingers dug into her panties. She tensed as she felt his fingers curl against her point of weakness. With his lips pecking at her neck and his free hand roaming her chest, she lay back in ecstasy, feeling him touch her in all the right places. "Yes," she moaned at the stroke of his finger.

Taichi moved back to lay beside her but his hand remained between her thighs, his fingers still moving, the heat rising within and her body rocking out of her control and her cries getting louder.

"Oh, Taichi," she cried as she reached her climax, each thump of her racing heart beat matching the crest of her waves. "Taichi," she repeated breathlessly, desperately waiting for his lips to return to hers.

Sora reached for his arm, and she pulled him toward her. She wasn't sure why Taichi was being especially generous that night - despite him always knowing how to please her from their other hookups, and maybe more. But in that moment, she drank in her lust for him, and all she wanted was for him to be on top of her. When he hovered over her, his boxers and her dampened panties kicked off of the bed, she looked into his fiery brown eyes and reached to feel his member once more before he entered her. He kissed her with his tongue, and she eagerly kissed him back, wishing for him to satisfy her hunger, her thirst for him.

With her legs spread apart, Sora held onto Taichi's shoulders as he lowered himself into her and began his slow, tantalizing thrusts. She moaned into his kiss, indulging in the taste of his lips, the feeling of his skin against hers. Then, he broke off the kiss, and Sora moved her hands into his hair. "Sora…" she heard Taichi utter above her, and he began to move faster. She called back for him, again and again with each thrust, her hips moving along with his.

"Oh, fuck…" Taichi whispered, panting as he rested on top of her. Sora caught her breath as she held him at his back which was damp from his sweat, and she felt his heat along with her own emanating from her body. Together they lay still, and she stared at the ceiling as she felt the rhythm of his heartbeat and the sound of his breathing. She couldn't help but smile from this feeling of pleasure, laying with a man she savored and who knew how to drive her wild.

But when Taichi stirred, Sora ran her hands up and down on his back. He lifted his head above her to meet her face-to-face. They shared a laugh, he asked a question, and she responded with a kiss. She was glad that he had as much energy as she did, even when it was so late in the night.

Moments later, Taichi sat against the headboard with Sora straddled onto him, his hands on her hips. She kissed him again, this time with their places switched. His smile for her was ever so enticing to her as he watched her rock. She moved, rolling her hips to tease him, and she curled her lips toward him when she felt him aroused.

His groans excited her to thrust faster against him. She cried out louder than she had that night, and she had a fleeting thought about how thin her apartment walls might have been. Taichi's hands moved from her hips to her bottom, encouraging her to sway and thrust. In that moment, she could care less about the width of the walls as she felt Taichi hard, his moans of her name on her ears, and the tension rising within her that gave way to her passionate cries for him at her release.

Sora fell at rest over Taichi, her head on his chest, her ear close enough to feel the pounding of his heart. It was somehow a comfort to her to hear their quick heartbeats match tempo, even if they weren't in sync.

As they both fell into rest again, Sora noticed that Taichi was stroking her hair, softly, gently, caressing her while he held her in his arms. On the other nights, they fell asleep next to each other with hardly any physical contact afterward.

That night was the first time they had fallen asleep cuddling each other. Sora wondered why he didn't move her away from him. Why didn't she push herself away? She usually made sure that something like this didn't happen. It wasn't as though they actually talked about it, but Taichi usually understood her body language after the fact.

Cuddling to her felt more intimate than their wilder moments in bed together. It was warm and comforting, and it gave her the feeling that she wasn't going to be left alone. Did it make sense to do it with Taichi?

Casual sex. That was all the deal was meant to be between them. To think that she originally meant for him to be her one and only one night stand, and now the deal was still holding strong between them. On top of that, Taichi was her boss, who she wasn't even allowed to mingle with. He was meant to be untouchable to her, yet there she lay with him, her bare skin against his.

Furthermore, they had agreed not to ask about whether they were seeing anyone else. The rise and fall of his chest beneath Sora told her that Taichi may have still been awake. She was tempted to ask him, and she opened her mouth to say something…

"Hey, Sora, you awake?"

Sora tensed.

"Uh-huh," she replied, though she remained in her spot. "Why?"

"If I don't wake up when you do in the morning, can you wake me? I might forget that I'm not at home and I need time to go back and get ready for the day."

"Of course I can."

"Thanks."

"Maybe next time, you can bring an extra set of clothes so you could sleep in a little more."

"Hmm. Not a bad idea, Takenouchi. Maybe I'll consider it."

Maybe. Silence fell between them, and Sora thought back to the question she wanted to ask. It was one thing knowing that there will be more nights to come with him laying beside her; but, wondering if he would still be laying in bed with anyone else...

Sora finally decided to let the silence stay, sparing her anxiety for another time. It was better not knowing. Then, she closed her eyes, letting herself fall asleep in his comfort. She didn't want to get used to it, because she worried about falling victim to heartbreak, despite who Taichi was to her, and who she thought she was to Taichi. She decided to bask in this feeling for the night, but leave her emotions behind when she woke up.

Giving in to those emotions was like a good drink, strong and indulging, but Sora knew that the stronger the drink, the more bitter the aftertaste.

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Author's Note: Well, hot damn. I can't believe almost a year went by without updating this. I know you've been waiting, and I thank you so very much for waiting. It has been an exhausting year. But at least I'm finding some time to write. I miss it so much!

And.. well, hot damn. I hope you enjoy my latest Taiora offering in this chapter.

Thank you to everyone who has given love to this story so far. You make my days bright.

'Til next update. Love you all. Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay warm. xx