One second was all it took. That one second when Riley's lips, untainted by cotton candy, made contact with his skin made everything come flooding back to him. Mori remembered Angelina's Toy Boutique, he remembered the feeling of despair when Riley's hand was snatched from his and she disappeared and, most prominently, he remembered her pulling him down to her and kissing him with such a need he could hardly contain himself. Now it was his turn; his turn to kiss her unexpectedly and to show her everything he wouldn't be able to express verbally. So, he pushed away the sketch book in his hands, wrapped one arm around her to pull her close and lightly gripped her chin with his fingers to lean her head back and press his lips to hers. Though the memory was still fresh in his mind, kissing her again in reality sent everything within him spinning making him barely remember to continue breathing.
Riley cleared her throat before standing quickly from the bed, "I... I think I'm tired now." Seeing her flushed cheeks and hearing the embarrassed tone in her voice was more alluring and amusing to Mori than he thought possible. Finding it within himself to respect her wishes, he stood from his spot and walked to the door. She followed him while keeping her eyes downcast in an attempt to avoid his gaze. "Well Takashi I... you and I..." While she stumbled over her words, he gently gripped her chin between his fingers and made her look up at him, "Don't be afraid to look at me."
At first, she just stood there staring at him before she started giggling, "Oh no," she shook her head, "it's not like that. I just, you and I... you keep staring at me like... like that! If I had a mirror handy I'd show you but... that look makes me feel so embarrassed you don't even know."
Sensing an opportunity, he leaned down and reconnected their lips. He found it almost funny that, no matter how much he kissed her he continuously found himself longing for more. Her heands, which were shaking slightly, clutched his shirt tightly and pulled him closer to her. When he found the willpower to pull away from her lips, he stared down at her and said, "I stare at you like that because you're beautiful."
Riley's eyes widened when he said that before she started giggling once more. "See?" she asked, "It's when you say things like that there I start to feel embarrassed."
He simply smiled in response and muttered, "Don't be." So many thoughts and feelings were coursing through Mori at once that he might have felt overwhelmed but, somehow, just holding his baker in his arms was enough to keep him grounded. First he could not believe that they found themselves where they were now. When Honey first hired her, Mori could never have imagined himself falling so hard for her. But now, after everything that has happened between them, he found himself completely bewitched by her. Even the feeling of her hands pressing against his chest was near enough to make him lose his sense of self.
Finally finding her words, Riley gently pushed Mori closer to the door, "We should stay in our rooms for the rest of the night, don't you think? I don't... I don't trust myself with you if I'm being completely honest..." her words sounded quieter than she had hoped but lacked the courage to repeat herself.
Understanding what she meant completely, Mori opened the door with one hand and held her close with the other. "Good night Riley," he whispered and kissed her forehead.
"Good night Takashi," she answered before lightly pecking the skin covering his neck. Both parties wished to wait; to prolong their moment of serenity and delay the inevitable end. Somehow, Mori was able to pull away from Riley's embrace and walk out into the lonely, dark hallway.
"Oh goodness..." the baker whispered to herself after she was alone, her hand pressed firmly against her chest as if to stop her heart from bursting free. "Did that just happen?" She looked over at her snoozing husky as if hoping for some kind of confirmation. "What to do... call Dakota?" Her eyes glanced at the clock. 3:03. "... Maybe not... try to sleep?" Every inch of her body felt as if she were just struck by lightning. Sleep was the last thing she wanted to do. "Call Takashi back?"
That was the only thing she really wanted. She felt herself longing to be wrapped within his arms again, to feel the hear radiating from his body. Without consent, her hand gripped the doorknob, turned then pulled. Just outside the door the host still stood, not having moved an inch since he left her room. "There you are," she said in an attempt to hide her surprised expression and ignore the panicked look in his eyes. "I was uh..." she stammered, "you wanna... it's pretty quiet in here..." Silently accepting her invitation, Mori entered her room once again and hoped that he had the strength to resist his adorable baker.
Early the following morning Riley awoke from her deep slumber, nearly sweating from how warm she felt. Lying on one side of her was Ghost, in all his doggy glory, and was still snoring and stayed fast asleep. On her other side lied Mori, still fully clothed and virtually radiating heat. "He could help me save on my heating bill..." she whispered before remembering the last time the two spent the night together, all those nights ago back at the beach during the storm. Back then, she never would have guessed that their relationship would evolve past anything more than distant friends. "One thing is certain," she muttered before lying back down with him, "I definitely like holding him." And with her snuggled in his arms, she fell back asleep.
A few hours later Mori clutched Riley tighter, barely able to comprehend the night he just experienced but was happy knowing where they were now; her in his arms and him holding her without planning on letting go. The feeling of her pressed against him was more soothing than he could imagine but something seemed to be sprouting in him. Something both delightful and terrifying at once. Whatever was building within him was so foreign he pulled away from Riley's warmth and nearly ran to the door, his body continuing to react even without the physical contact with his baker.
He wasn't far from Riley's room when he ran into Honey in the hallway. Honey, who had just woke up and had a blanket wrapped around him with Usa-chan in one hand, yawned and rubbed his eye, "...g'morning Takashi... did you just come from Rye-chan's room?"