บท 17: Chapter 017 - Beach

The sun is high; the temperature is too hot; and Lily is being nosy as usual. Today is supposed to be a team bonding with the Blizzard Group members, but she also invited Saitama and Genos! She mentioned she tried to ask King, but he was busy. Well, at least, that is brave on her part.

"You liked the surprise, don't you?" she interjects.

I raise my eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?" I glance at her cute frilly bikini and the way she smiles knowingly at me.

She leans closer to me and whispers, "Saitama."

I roll my eyes at her. Am I too obvious?

"You won't be able to deny it. Not only are you wearing your favorite black string bikini, but you are also wearing your favorite swim-wear cover-up."

"Their presence has nothing to do with my clothes!"

She grins. "I happen to know that you packed your red one-piece bikini earlier, but when you saw them, you apported it in exchange for your black ones."

"Why would you even think it's because of Saitama? It can be that I am hoping for King to join. Or maybe the young S-class kid?"

Lily smiles again. "Nope! I am pretty sure it's the B-class," she says. "Wait here. I will get some snack for us. I will also get the barbecue going," she adds then runs from me.

Left alone, I scour the beach. Saitama and Genos are on the protruding rock a few meters from the sandy beach. They are walking side by side. Genos is wearing a straw hat and there is a lifebuoy under his arms. While Saitama is wearing board shorts. He's too far this time and somehow, I regret that I am too embarrassed earlier to talk to him. Maybe I could have ogled him too.

I blush at the thought. I am getting worse each day.

"Miss Fubuki! Can we take a picture of you?"

I shift my attention to the interruption-a young man with a camera in hand. Upon meeting my eyes, he blushes and looks away.

"If only you like…" he stutters.

I smile at his shyness. "Of course," I say. "Only if you will take a picture of me in this place, with the ocean as my backdrop?" And with Saitama being caught in the picture too. "You will also send me a copy at a later time."

"Sure, miss!" the young man says.

He proceeds to take pictures of me. I pose and experiment with my overcoat. I also walk towards the water and drench myself with it. Letting the water drip on my bare skin, I take another pose. The picture-taking continued until Lily returns.

She shoos my fans away, and I smile at her, grateful for the interruption. The young man has enough but before he leaves, he lets me see a couple of my shots. There is one picture I particularly like. I am at the center looking sexy–with water dripping my body and my overcoat is showing glimpses of my curves. There is a seductive smile on my face too. Most importantly, Saitama is caught in the picture. He just jumped from the rocks and is midway to his dive into the water.

I grin. I want to zoom into his face, but I can't, because the young man is gazing at me.

"What are you looking at?"

I whirl around towards the voice. It's Saitama as usual. Both his arms are on either side of him, while Genos is walking close to him.

"Nothing!" I squeak. I clear my throat and wave at the young man so he will leave. "I mean, I am just checking the pictures that they took."

I see a very slight wince on his face, but all he said is, "Okay."

We look at each other, and I am at a loss for words. I am trying my best not to look below his chin, especially with Genos by his side.

"As I promised, there is barbecue being grilled there," Lily interjects. She points at the other B-class heroes. As she mentioned, there is some grilling happening in the area.

"You got your salary?" I ask.

"We all chipped in for the meat," she answers.

"Then, I will buy the soda." I shift my attention to Saitama and say, "You. Come with me."

"But—"

"I will go in Saitama sensei's stead."

"Yay! Genos!"

"No," I reject. "You will attract more fans than I do."

Saitama grimaces but he has no choice. I smile inwardly. At least I will have some alone time with him.

As we were leaving, he says, "Save me some meat, Genos!"

We go to the nearest store. After paying for the drinks, we make our way back to the Blizzard group's area. Like before, Saitama is silent. I am looking around us but Saitama's eyes are only in front of us, towards the Blizzard group's area. People are looking at me and I hope he ogles me too. Maybe, if that's the case, the stares will be easier to handle.

Realizing my trail of thoughts again, my temper rises. "Hey!" I call.

"What is it?" he asks. His eyes are still not on me.

I reach for his arms to stop him but I got dragged instead. He pauses and looks at me. I lost my balance and I fall to the floor. I also dropped the bottles of soda that I am carrying. I check my knees for injury and see a couple of scratches. I realize it doesn't hurt. Yet, I feel bad because of being treated this way by him.

"What are you doing, Fubuki?" he asks.

I didn't respond. Instead, I activate my psychic abilities and apply some healing to my knees and legs. I sniff. And I realize I am crying because I don't feel treasured by him at all.

"Does it hurt?" he asks.

"No!" I howl at him.

"Then, why are you crying over little scratches?"

'It's because of you, idiot!' I think but choose to keep it inside instead.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you got dragged with me. I didn't know you will grab my arms like that."

I grab my healed knees and stare at the ground. Now that it's healed, there's no more pain. Yet, I believe that this is my chance.

"It hurts," I lie. "My knees hurt."

He kneels before me and peers at my face. My heart thumps nervously at his proximity. "There's no more injury. You are all healed."

I groan, my shame temporarily forgotten. "What would you know?! I say it hurts!" I am referring to my feelings though.

"Should I go buy some medication?"

I clench my jaws. This is all or nothing. I raise my arms towards him and say, "You need to carry me, at least a few meters close to the Blizzard group's area."

He grimaces. "I don't want to."

I purse my lips, and tears warn me of their presence again. I drop my arms to my side and hug my knees to my chest.

"Then leave me here." It's just scratches so I am sure my sister won't be able to sense it. Besides, it's healed already.

I hear him groan and I tighten my arms around my knees. Annoyance. Is that all I am to him?

"Fine."

My eyes open wide. Before I can see the kind of face he is making, he goes behind me, places his hands behind me and on the back of my knees, and then lifts. My arms automatically wind around his neck. I stare at him. He is not looking at me, but I am hypersensitive. I can feel his warmth through my skin. It's intoxicating. He also smells good. I wonder what kind of soap he uses? Maybe, I should try to buy and use it too.

"Fubuki, stop pressing yourself to me," he says, and I can hear the slight change in his voice.

I ignore him. All I know is that my previous annoyance is replaced with giddiness. I tighten my arms around his neck and press my chest closer to his body. Ah! I like the touch of his skin on my body. I always find other men nauseating, but with him, everything is different. In fact, right now, I want to be closer to him than this. I am not sure how much closer we can get than this though.