The next morning, the soft rays of early sunlight filtered through the bedroom blinds.
Mai was still deeply asleep, warm and comfortable, when the sharp ring of Haruto's phone gently pulled her from her dreams.
Shifting lazily, she snuggled closer into his chest, her slender arms wrapping around his waist as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"Haruto-kun... who's calling this early?" she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
Haruto reached over to the nightstand, checking the caller ID with a raised eyebrow. "It's Shizuka-sensei."
He was equally puzzled as to why his homeroom teacher would be ringing his personal line at such an hour.
Swiping to answer, he brought the phone to his ear.
"Good morning, Shizuka-sensei."
"Haruto-kun, are you awake yet?" her sharp, authoritative voice echoed through the speaker.
"Not quite. Is there something urgent, Sensei?"
Mai, hearing the teacher's voice, let out a soft sigh. "Haruto, I need to take a shower,"
she whispered against his skin.
Even though her body was still pleasantly sore and exhausted from the intense passion of the night before, she wanted to freshen up.
Haruto looked down at her, a sly, wicked glint flashing in his eyes as he gave her a playful hand sign, wordlessly nudging her.
Mai's cheeks instantly scorched red.
As she swung her legs over the bed and stood up in all her natural beauty, heading toward the bathroom, Haruto's fiery gaze traced every curve of her figure.
He signaled to her again with a subtle glance down at himself and a silent, coaxing nod.
Mai caught the hint immediately.
She turned back, shooting him an indignant, flustered glare, but her eyes softened with irresistible fondness.
Yielding to his unspoken request, she dropped gracefully to her knees right beside the bed, slipping beneath the light blanket to tease him with her soft lips and hands while he remained locked on the call.
Haruto grinned with quiet satisfaction, resting a hand in her dark hair.
Under his patient guidance over the past few weeks, Mai had grown surprisingly bold and adventurous.
"...Hey, are you even listening to me?!"
Shizuka's voice cut through the line, sounding distinctly annoyed.
"I keep hearing this strange, wet rustling and muffled breathing—do you have terrible reception, or is something wrong on my end?"
Haruto took a slow, steady breath, biting back a sharp gasp as Mai deliberately intensified her gentle, rhythmically teasing touches, testing his legendary self-control to its absolute limits.
"It... must just be a signal issue, Sensei,"
Haruto replied, keeping his tone remarkably smooth despite the intense, tingling waves of heat washing over his lower half.
"I heard your congratulations, though. Is there something else you needed?"
"..."
On the other end, Shizuka went quiet for a moment before letting out a heavy, defeated sigh.
"Don't tell me you completely forgot about our earlier agreement?"
"Oh, you mean our date? Um, Mai—"
Haruto caught himself mid-sentence as Mai gave a cheeky, firm squeeze in retaliation for hearing about his date with another woman.
"Mai?" Shizuaka sounded thoroughly baffled. "Who on earth is Mai?"
"Ah, nobody, just misremembering something,"
Haruto quickly covered, clearing his throat as he stroked Mai's soft hair in surrender.
"I meant to ask, are you ready for our date today, Shizuka-sensei?"
"A d-date?! Absolutely not! It's just a simple lunch invitation to celebrate your test scores!"
Hiratsuka hastily barked back, her professional composure instantly slipping into flustered denial.
"Just meet me in front of the station shopping mall at noon!"
Before Haruto could say another word to tease her, she abruptly slammed the end-call button, terrified he would utter something even more outrageously inappropriate.
Miles away in her apartment, Shizuka Hiratsuka threw her phone onto her bed and ran both hands frantically through her hair.
"That insufferable brat... How dare he talk to his teacher like that!" she grumbled under her breath, her face burning.
She recalled the persistent romantic advice she had received from Haruno Yukinoshita.
"I'll just go to this lunch, congratulate him, and then firmly but gently turn down his nonsensical crush. Better to get it over with quickly so we can go back to a normal teacher-student relationship."
Deciding to handle it entirely on her own without involving Haruno any further, Shizuka stood in front of her full-length mirror, stripped down to her matching dark lace underwear.
She critically inspected her reflection.
Her figure was remarkably trim, toned, and full in all the right places, yet she couldn't help the persistent touch of self-consciousness regarding her age.
"I really don't understand what someone his age sees in an older woman like me..." she muttered with a faint, melancholic sigh, turning to open her wardrobe.
Her fingers brushed past her usual practical suits and leather jackets, hesitating over a elegant, light-blue sun dress she had purchased years ago for family-arranged blind dates—a dress she almost never wore.
"Well... it's a nice day out, so I suppose this is fine,"
She rationalized to herself, her heart beating a little faster as she pictured pairing it with a pair of modest heels.
"Yes, this will do... Dressing up for these things is such a hassle."
Comforted by her own flimsy excuse, Shizuka quickly began getting ready for noon.
Standing near the sunlit entrance of the crowded shopping mall.
Haruto waited casually, dressed in a sharp, well-fitted casual outfit that drew appreciative glances from passing shoppers.
A fond, amused smile touched his lips as he thought back to earlier that morning.
"A jealous Mai is honestly quite adorable," he mused to himself.
Though he instinctively winced a fraction as he recalled the fierce, possessive love-bite she had left on his shoulder right after overhearing him mention his upcoming "date" on the phone.
Rubbing the tender spot with a wry grin, he muttered under his breath, "Though her teeth are a bit too sharp when she's worked up..."
"Haruto-kun."
A familiar, commanding voice cut through the ambient city noise.
Haruto turned around, and for a brief second, his breath actually caught in his throat.
Standing before him was a breathtaking, utterly transformed version of the usually stern, pantsuit-wearing guidance counselor.
Shizuka Hiratsuka had forgone her typical professional attire entirely, wearing a stunning, light-blue summer dress that hugged her mature, voluptuous curves to perfection, paired with elegant white high heels.
Her dark hair was neatly pinned up into an sophisticated updo, accented by a delicate silver necklace and matching earrings.
A subtle hint of soft lipstick and light eyeshadow enhanced her sharp features, radiating an undeniable, mature feminine charm that completely defied her usual tough exterior.
Even Haruto, who was no stranger to stunning beauties, couldn't help a blatant, appreciative second glance.
Drinking in the magnificent expanse of her exposed shoulders and the deep, enticing cleavage visible along the dress's modest yet alluring neckline.
•
[Shizuka Hiratsuka]
•
*****
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