It’s so embarrassing...
So embarrassing...
Leonard’s eyes opened abruptly, his vision being greeted by the morning sun. He groaned, squinting against the light before slowly forcing his vision to adjust.
The first thing he felt was the softness beneath his head. His head was not in the ground or rough dirt or stone, but sothing warm and... strangely comforting.
When his gaze finally focused, his eyes landed on a face.
Anika’s.
She was sleeping soundly, her head was tilted slightly against a tree trunk. Loose strands of her black hair frad her delicate features, and in the glow of the morning light, she looked almost ethereal.
Her long lashes rested gently against her eyes, her lips was slightly parted, and her breathing was slow and even. Despite the bruises and dirt from last night, there was a quiet serenity to her expression.
She looked like a natural beauty that made her look like so kind of goddess resting among mortals.
Leonard’s heart skipped a beat. His cheeks heated up as the realization struck him like lightning.
He was lying on her thighs.
Her soft, warm thighs were his pillow for the night.
"Shit—" Leonard’s mind went blank. His whole face felt like it was on fire.
He tilted his head just enough to glance at her again. She didn’t stir, still lost in peaceful slumber.
Leonard swallowed hard and then buried his face in his hands.
’Damn it. How did it co to this? I just... I just passed out like so weakling and—ugh, I’m such a pussy!’
He replayed the events of last night in his head, the fight, the adrenaline, the system boost... and then that humiliating mont when all his strength abandoned him, right in front of her.
"Damn it all," he muttered under his breath.
But as his eyes drifted around, he noticed sothing else.
They weren’t in the sa spot as yesterday.
The location where he had fought the thugs was gone. Now, they were hidden away in a more secluded area, surrounded by large, uneven stones and shaded by thicker trees.
Leonard blinked, realization dawning on him. Obviously, he wasn’t the one who chose this place.
That only ant one thing.
Anika had dragged him here.
His face burned hotter, his sha doubling.
"Don’t tell ... she dragged ?!" he whispered harshly, pressing a hand against his face. "Shit, that’s even more embarrassing! She’s the one who was tied up and crying, and I’m the one she had to haul to safety?"
He let out a groan. His pride as a man was utterly destroyed.
Yet, when his eyes flicked back to her resting face, the frustration softened just a little.
"Still, she really... did that for , huh."
Leonard muttered under his breath, his gaze lingering on Anika’s peaceful face.
But then—
Her eyes slowly fluttered.
Slowly, Anika’s brown eyes opened, hazy with sleep. She blinked once, then twice, before her eyes landed right on him.
Leonard’s soul nearly left his body.
He forced his lips into a smile.
"Uh... good morning." He cleared his throat. "Did you have a good sleep?"
Anika blinked at him slowly. She was still groggy, her eyes fluttering as she adjusted to the morning light. Her gaze drifted down, then stayed on Leonard and the obvious fact that his head was still resting on her thighs.
"You’re up already," Anika slowly muttered, a small smile appearing on her lip.
"Yeah," Leonard nodded. He reluctantly smiled, "So, uh... what exactly happened yesterday? My mory’s a bit... fuzzy."
"You collapsed," Anika rubbed her eyes gently. "After everything last night, you just dropped."
Leonard winced.
"Yeah, I could rember that."
She shifted slightly against the tree, adjusting her back. She was careful not to disturb the space between them.
"You scared for a second! I thought you were hurt! But you don’t have any bruises or cuts, so I thought that maybe you were just tired and all that."
"Heh, yeah... I guess I overdid it." Leonard scratched the back of his neck, trying to laugh it off.
Anika’s eyes softened a little, though there was still a trace of exhaustion in them.
"So I dragged you here. Away from where those n were. It wasn’t easy, you know." She looked at him with a tired but almost teasing look. "You’re heavier than you look."
Leonard’s lips twisted in a grimace.
"Sorry for making you do all that." He let out a short sigh before forcing a smile. "And, uh... thanks. Really."
Anika tilted her head slightly at his awkward gratitude. Then, as if rembering sothing, she reached to her side and pulled sothing out from beneath her torn dress. She held it out to him carefully.
"I also took this. I thought it was important to you because you were using it yesterday."
Leonard blinked. In her hand glead the small dagger that the system gave him. He rembered that it had slipped from his grip in the fight yesterday and flew across the ground.
His chest eased a little, and he quickly accepted it.
"Oh damn, yeah, this is mine. Thank you, Anika. It ans a lot," he turned it over in his palms and saw that there wasn’t a scratch in it.
"You’re welco." Her lips curved in a faint smile.
That simple sincerity in her tone made his ears burn hotter.
Leonard suddenly beca hyper-aware again of where he was. He was still lying on her thighs like so shaless man.
’Crap, I’ve been here this whole ti? And she didn’t even push off?’
Flustered, he sat up abruptly, brushing off the dirt from his clothes as if that would sohow make him less embarrassed.
"Right, uh... sorry for, uh, taking your ti. And for using your lap, apparently."
He sheathed the dagger, hid it in his pockets, and stood up. He tried to put on an air of casual confidence that he definitely doesn’t have right now.
"Well, I guess, it’s ti for us to part ways now. Be safe, Anika. Try not to wander into trouble again." He gave her a nod before turning away.
However, he didn’t hear any response from her. Worried, he turned his head, and his eyes widened.
"You will just leave here?"
Anika was staring at him, her expression caught sowhere between disbelief and hurt, as if she couldn’t understand the words he had just said.
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