"D-Do you like me, Leon?" Verra asked softly.
The question honestly caught me off guard a little.
Not because I never expected it to happen, but because of how suddenly she threw it at me. One second we were talking normally, then the next she was looking at me like that, asking something that felt way more serious than everything else before it.
It felt like a curveball straight to the face.
Still, if I was being honest with myself, it wasn't exactly surprising either.
At this point, it was pretty obvious what kind of atmosphere I had been creating between us. I wasn't exactly subtle. The way I looked at her, the things I said, the questions I asked, even the way I stayed close to her longer than necessary. Anyone with functioning eyes would probably notice it.
So naturally, she wanted to know.
The manager was basically trying to figure out whether my feelings were genuine or if I was just messing around.
Which, honestly, was fair.
Should I just go all in and admit it?
Part of me waited for the system to suddenly appear with one of its dramatic pop-ups. Maybe some stupidly convenient dialogue choices or a reward notification for breathing near a woman.
But nothing appeared.
There was no quest. No guidance.
No magical emotional support system.
Just me standing there.
Well… fuck it.
If I was being real with myself, I had been relying on the system way too much lately.
And depending too much on something like that felt dangerous. It was the kind of thing that could mess up your head before you even realized it. One day I'd probably forget how to make decisions on my own if I kept this up.
So this time, I'd answer honestly.
Did I like the manager?
If somebody had asked me that a few days ago, before the system showed up in my life, my answer would've been an immediate no.
Back then, she was just my manager.
A strict one at that.
She nagged me constantly, gave me a hard time over small things, and always seemed annoyed whenever I existed within a five-meter radius of her. Sometimes I genuinely wondered if making my life difficult was part of her daily routine.
But maybe that was because I didn't actually know her back then.
I only knew the surface-level version of her. The serious manager who wore suits all the time and acted professional to the point of intimidation.
Now though?
Now I knew more.
I knew she got embarrassed easily despite trying to act mature. I knew she could overthink things. I knew she had insecurities she kept hidden under that composed exterior. I knew she tried harder than people realized.
And honestly, once I got to understand her properly…
Yeah.
Falling for her didn't feel strange at all.
So was my answer yes or no?
Honestly, the answer was obvious.
"I do," I said.
She visibly gulped.
"Y-You really like me? A-As in… as a woman?"
"I do."
"You're not joking with me, right? If you're only saying that to make me feel better, then congratulations, because it's working. But that doesn't mean I appreciate it," she said nervously.
"Why wouldn't you believe me?" I asked. "Do you think I'm like the guy who ditched you on your date after you spent all that time preparing yourself?"
"D-Don't make fun of me," she muttered, looking embarrassed. "Besides… it's hard to believe you. You're way younger than me. I'm sure girls your age are more attractive to you. And… I think you and Clara have some kind of chemistry too."
She looked away while saying that, clearly avoiding eye contact.
"I don't think we're really compatible. So hearing you say you like me is just… kind of…"
She couldn't even finish the sentence properly.
Seeing her like that made something in me react immediately.
"Do you want me to prove it?" I asked.
"P-Prove it?"
I slowly stepped closer to her.
She froze immediately, clearly caught off guard by my sudden movement. It looked like she wanted to react but her brain lagged behind for a second.
When I got close enough, her face turned bright red almost instantly. Even the tips of her ears were red now.
Honestly, it was kind of unfair how cute she looked right now.
Normally she always acted composed and strict, like she had taxes to file twenty-four hours a day. But seeing her flustered like this was doing dangerous things to my heart.
I gently placed my hand against her cheek.
Part of me expected her to stop me.
But she didn't.
Instead, she slowly closed her eyes.
[+3 Verra's AFFECTION]
The notification appeared in front of me, but honestly, I barely cared about it right now.
I leaned closer.
Then I kissed her.
At first, the kiss was messy.
Awkward too.
It felt like both of us were unsure for maybe half a second.
But somehow, that awkwardness disappeared almost immediately.
The kiss became deeper fast. Way faster than I expected.
Honestly, the only way I could describe it was feral.
My tongue slipped into her mouth almost naturally.
Did my kissing improve because of my S-SKILL?
Honestly, probably.
Anything related to sex seemed ridiculously boosted because of that skill anyway, so improved kissing technique somehow being included wouldn't even surprise me anymore. At this point, I wouldn't be shocked if the system suddenly gave me a doctorate in making out.
As my tongue moved against hers, she slowly responded back.
At first she hesitated a little, but after a while she started following my movements naturally, her tongue pressing back against mine as the kiss deepened further.
The kiss lasted a long time.
Long enough that I completely lost track of everything around me.
Eventually, though, we finally pulled apart.
A thin strand of saliva stretched between our lips before breaking.
"Do you believe me now?" I asked quietly.
When I said that, she immediately looked away again while blushing even harder.
Seriously.
It was insanely cute.
I knew she was older than me. I knew she usually acted serious and tired all the time, like life personally offended her every morning.
But right now?
She looked unbelievably adorable.
Cute enough that I genuinely felt hypnotized.
So I kissed her again.
And then again.
═══════════════════════
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Verra
Affection: 42♥︎
Mood: 100♥︎
Lust: 60♥︎
Status: Complicated
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
═══════════════════════
While I was kissing her, her status window appeared again.
Looks like things were going pretty well.
Honestly, I had no idea when her LUST had already reached 60♥︎, but apparently we were already at that stage.
Should I just go for it?
My hands slowly moved toward her waist first.
Her body felt firm, but soft at the same time. Warm too.
And since she wasn't resisting me at all, my confidence started rising pretty quickly.
One of my hands slowly traveled upward until it reached her breast over her manager uniform.
Even through the fabric, I could tell how soft they were.
And yeah, they were big.
Really big.
Honestly, touching them directly was becoming more tempting every second.
Meanwhile, my other hand moved lower instead of higher.
It slid down from her waist, brushed along her thigh, then slowly traveled upward beneath her pencil skirt.
Carefully, my fingers moved higher and higher until I reached toward her crotch, trying to touch her vagina directly.
But then—
"S-Stop…!"
She suddenly pulled away from the kiss.
Breathing unevenly, she looked around nervously first before facing me again.
"N-Not here…" she whispered softly.
The way she said it nearly destroyed my self-control on the spot.
So she wasn't rejecting me.
That much was obvious.
"L-Let's go… to my office."
Hearing her say that while blushing so hard honestly made my brain freeze for a second.
So naturally, I nodded.
And judging from the situation below my waist, my cock seemed very supportive of the decision too.