Stealing Spree

"I've got my turn, husband. Go and make Rae the happiest girl tonight." Akane subtly whispered that to me when the three of us were about to leave the bathroom.

Well, I kind of expected that from her. And I'm honestly glad that she didn't act too considerate tonight, unlike the other times wherein she would let me be alone with the others right as soon as we arrived.

I caught her and whispered back my gratitude, implying what I was thinking. That made her giggle sweetly while looking very satisfied.

If I'm not wrong, she possibly reflected from last time. When Yae and Ririka were here two days ago. I kind of expressed my discontentment when the two of them conceded me to Ririka. Their show of consideration got to my head and Ririka managed to point it out from my face.

Hopefully, this continued. With the nature of our complex relationship, I wouldn't fault them for being considerate but if they're setting themselves aside for it to work, I'd be the one feeling bad for it. Not that I found it problematic but you know… it would be an endless cycle of taking up a blame that shouldn't be there in the first place.

It's actually great that these realizations were happening as we moved to our future. By the time we reached our goal, everything would already be perfected or, at the very least, the flaws and concerns we had would all be patched up and improved.

We left the bathroom soon; fully-dressed but still stuck to each other.

But as we reached the stairs, Akane and Rae separated from me. They went upstairs while I continued to the living room.

We agreed to rest for a while, after all. Doing it twice, I needed to restore my energy to give Rae the best experience. Moreover, given that I would be very busy until I possibly pass out from exhaustion, I decided this to be the time to check and say goodnight to my other girls first.

Oh. There might also be messages from others that I should read.

That's why after I put the miraculous tea into the boiler, I sat down in my usual spot and pulled out my phone.

I saw Satsuki's message on top and it was sent half an hour ago. Opening it right away, I was welcomed with a photo of her, along with Eguchi-sensei and all the members of the Basketball Club. They're still in the Gymnasium but given that the balls they used were already inside the rack and most of them were wrapped by their towels, they already finished practicing.

Today is their last practice and the two days would be spent resting for their match this Monday.

Reading through the girl's message, she mentioned that they were about to eat dinner at a steakhouse. Eguchi-sensei would be treating them all to meat.

Really, that woman was too generous. More often than not, teachers or coaches were stingy, right? It's not like they're getting paid extra for handling the clubs.

In any case, it's Eguchi-sensei… She also treated me to ramen the first time I helped her. And just recently, made me a multiple-tiered lunchbox.

I typed in my reply alongside a photo of me that I just snapped, "I just finished bathing. Have you eaten well?"

Before I could even tap the back button to check the next message, her reply had already arrived alongside a photo of her as well. Her photo showed herself inside her room with her nightwear on. Her slender body appeared a little muscular now yet it was still as sexy as when I first saw it. It's making me remember our first time.

"I have. It's a feast. Sensei went all out that the seniors all wobbled away with bloated stomachs when we finished eating."

"Hmm? Yours are bloated too." I jokingly replied which earned me an angry emote from her.

"No, it's not! Are you blind or something? I exercised restraint because a certain someone will tease me about it… Looks like it doesn't matter since he still found another point to tease me. Tsk."

Upon reading that, I couldn't help but chuckle at how right she was… No matter her answer, I'd still find a way to tease her.

Our exchanges continued from that but I already found the time to check on the other messages.

Unlike Satsuki, most of them were either already about to sleep, doing their homework, or just busy with other things like watching TV, reading a book, and surfing the net.

Even if most of them would not think twice to stop what they were doing to talk to me more, I naturally told them that I might just pass out later. They're aware that I would be with Rae tonight, after all. And so, for the remaining time, we savored all of it just by talking or even treating me to the view of what they were doing as well as their beautiful figures.

Among them, Ayu's message to me was more work-related – concerning the restart of my program tomorrow. However, knowing the woman, I easily understood that she only used that as an excuse to talk to me. I mean, she's still stubborn not to contact me without valid reason even after our date last Sunday. That's why when I pointed that out to her, Ayu instantly confessed.

Due to that, like Satsuki, I spent my time just teasing her while also making sure that I made her smile tonight.

Apart from the messages from my girls, I also received some updates from the others who are in contact with me. Komoe sent a message saying she missed me earlier when I passed by their club. Sachi was like Satsuki, telling me that she was out with her clubmates and Orimura-sensei as they finished their practice for the upcoming Interhigh Competitions.

Then there's Ohori-senpai who sent me another message filled with her gratitude as well as an update that I had already heard from Aoi.

There's also Marika who sent me the message she promised along with a photo of herself. She's in her pajamas and is lying down on her bed, looking very gorgeous. Her shiny golden hair sprawled beneath her added to her aesthetic look.

As for the content of her message, it's an update on what happened tonight.

The ringlet girl told me that Ichihara Jun picked her up from where he was staying and brought her to the Ichihara Estate to have dinner. The estate was just next to where she was staying so it's not like she got dragged there. She followed along because it's like a weekly gathering in that house and as that spoiled brat's fiancé, she's always invited to be there. She's already accepted into that family.

Once she expressed her desire to break the engagement, she probably needed to leave that place…

And last but not the least, there's also a message from Juri, confirming the details of our trip tomorrow.

We'll meet up in the morning and spend most of our day together scouting for those campsites. She asked me to prepare for rough roads and gear for hiking since there's one within a mountainous area. Good thing I went to the mountains with Miwa-nee and Minoru recently so I was prepared for that.

And by the end of it, she wished me to get a good night's sleep and not be as excited as her for tomorrow.

Yeah. That's equivalent to telling me that she's looking forward to it. I thought of replying with a long message but… I decided to just leave a short one. We'll have a lot of opportunities to talk tomorrow, after all.

"Yeah. I look forward to it too, Koizumi-san. Good night!"

At the same time as I concluded my messages with my girls and everyone, I talked to tonight, the tea that I left brewing was already finished. Its calming, aromatic fragrance wafted to my nostrils.

I went to pick it up and prepared the tea set. I placed them on a tray along with some snacks. Once that was done, I carefully carried it and started making my way upstairs.

A little tea break before the main thing won't hurt, right? Also, it's a way to replenish our energy.