Page 80 of Summer Haze & Tokyo Craze

She gives me a suspicious glance, her eyes darting between me and the present in her hands. Then she starts shaking it, like that might reveal the box’s content.

"What is this?"

"Take it out, and you'll see." I wriggle my eyebrows at her, having given up on trying to hide my grin.

"You did not!" she exclaims as she pulls the dildo out of its packaging. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Well, if you think it’s a tentacle dildo, then you’d be right," I say, reaching for it. “I’ve taken the liberty of charging it, just so we could see what happens if you start it today. And if you press here—"

“Oh my God!” she shouts and jumps up as the thing startsto buzz and move.

"Lily! You’re not serious," she says, bursting into laughter. "That is amazing. I’m going to put it on my shelf like a trophy, and I’m not going to tell your brother what it really is. He’ll think it’s some kind of statue."

"That would be hilarious," I say, grinning. "We went to that seven-story sex shop in Akihabara, and I just had to get you something."

Her eyes widen. "We?"

I freeze. Whoops. That just came over my lips way too naturally, didn’t it?

I nod, avoiding her eyes and she leans forward, elbows on the table. Fuck. With her curiosity piqued, I know I’m not getting out of an interrogation.

"Did you hook up with someone?" she asks, suddenly in detective mode. “Is that why you were so silent over the past few days?” I evade her curious gaze, but that gives her all the confirmation she needs. "Oh my god, you did," she says, and I try to interrupt, but the words stick in my throat.

"Who is it?" she presses and jumps up from her seat, pacing the room. "Not Felix. No, definitely not. You of all people don’t shit where you eat."

She quickly dismisses that thought and I can see the gears turning in her head as she tries to find the answer. Then she stops in her tracks and points at me with her index finger.

"Lily! I knew you had a crush but how could you not tell me you actually hooked up? And you went to a sex shop with him?"

I purse my lips and look away, clearing my throat.

"I’m not sure if I should call you crazy or hilarious," she mumbles, trying to sound nonchalant but with a humorous tone to her voice. Then she pulls out her phone.

“I never managed to look him up. Adam Walker, right?”

I roll my eyes. Of course, she’d have his name memorized, even if I only mentioned him in passing.

"Damn girl, he's a sexy one," she says and whistles through her teeth, making me snap my eyes back to her. "I get where your crush came from. So, tell me more. Was he good?" She wiggles her eyebrows again, but continues the interrogation. "Are you going to date? Do I get to meet him? What’s the deal?"

"We're not going to date," I quickly reply. At this point, she wouldn't believe me if I tried to deny it anyway.

"Why not? You seem smitten, and if he went to a sex store with you, that sounds a lot more serious than just a hookup." She swallows her next word and corrects herself, "Or maybe it sounds like a hookup. But you also mentioned ‘we’ about the amusement park, now that I think of it and I know Felix would have posted about it."

Her eyes narrow at me, and I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Oh my God, he went to the amusement park with you," she says and starts laughing, running around the kitchen island and squeezing my hand while jumping up and down in front of me.

"You got your amusement park date! Oh my god, Lily, I’m so happy for you!"

"Thanks," I say, enthusiasm draining from my voice. "But still, we’re not dating. We can’t.”

"Why though?" she asks, dropping my hand and crossing her arms. "He seems like a good match if you’ve went on an amusement park date with him and didn’t complain about a single thing. Or did you complain to someone who’s not me?” She looks at me with big eyes and I shake my head. “I think you should totally pursue it."

"Because we’re still fucking rivals," I remind her, clearing my throat when my voice breaks. "This is a bad idea at worst, and against my contract atworstworst. Then there’s the part where dating him would probably ruin my reputation-" My voice grows weaker as I realize how dumb every single of my points sounds.

"Your contract prohibits you from dating?" Lucy asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Well, it’s not going to say explicitly that I can’t date Adam Walker from Croney, but I’m pretty sure there’s a clause about fraternizing with competing companies."

---