Innocent | Sugawara Koushi

3.

Like he said, his place wasn't big, but I liked it a lot. It was very clean and you wouldn't guess a man lived at that flat alone. There weren't any dishes in a sink, socks on the floor or empty beer bottles scattered everywhere.

Every time I went inside man's apartment, I could see those things, sometimes the mess was small, sometimes I just wanted to leave right away. Of course it happened only two times, since my dating life was almost dead, but still it was what I expected this time as well.

"It's really cozy here. And very tidy." I said, taking off my coat, which he took from me and hang it on the heater to dry it. He did the same with his own outwear.

"You should dry yourself not to get sick. Do you want to take a shower to warm yourself?" He disappeared in one door for a moment, probably the bathroom, and came back with two towels.

"Being sick is for the weak, I'll be fine." I joked and took the towel from him.

"I don't know if it works that way." He laughed. "It'll take me a while to prepare the food, so if you change your mind, just go ahead. The bathroom is here." He pointed at the door he walked in before and I nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll remember." I smiled brightly and started rubbing my head with the towel.

He walked away, this time to different room. After two minutes he was back in dry clothes, with a shirt and shorts in his hands.

"At least put on some dry clothes for now. I'll put your clothes in a dryer and they will be warm when we finish eating." He said, handing me the clothes.

"Okay, I'll change." I went inside the bathroom and took off my clothes. He wasn't much taller than me, but his shirt looked almost like a dress when I put it on. I didn't need shorts, but I put them on as well not to feel weird, being only in a shirt in front of him. It slid from my hips slightly, but I tied the strings tight and at least it stayed on.

I smelled something delicious from the kitchen and went after my nose. He was standing with his back to me while mixing vegetables on a frying pan.

I had bare feet, so I decided to sit on the counter next to him to avoid contact with the cold floor. He looked at me briefly with a smile. I didn't pay attention to the fact that my usually curly blonde hair was a mess right now. I was too hungry to worry about that.

"Do you like soba noodles with vegetables and chicken broth?" He asked, adding some seasoning to the deliciously looking vegetables.

Before I could answer, my stomach growled loudly again.

"Yes, I like it." I said, a little too loud, in attempt to drown out the sound.

"Good, I hope I won't ruin it." He said with a smile.

I was watching his elegant hands stirring everything together and I thought how handsome he looked in his everyday clothes, doing everyday tasks.

"Can you lower your head a little?" He asked, reaching to the cupboard behind my head. I did as I was told and he put a hand over my head not to hit me with the cupboard door. I was almost leaning on his arm and I could smell him. It was a mix of rain and minty shower gel. I almost drowned in this scent, it was so alluring.

"Okay, there." The feeling of his warm hand left my head and I looked up.

He was looking at me too.

His Adam's apple moved up and down when he studied my face.

"It... It's ready." He said, clearing his throat. "The dinner is ready." I was pulled out of my trance and looked at two bowls of fragrant noodles. I looked back at him and his eyes moved from my lips to my eyes immediately.