Dakota's gaze darted away guiltily.
She hurriedly submerged herself deeper in the water, lifting her wineglass to divert attention.
"How could it be..."
Dakota glanced at Lailah out of the corner of her eye.
Seeing her still propping her cheek, scrutinizing her, obviously not believing her denial, Dakota gritted her teeth and lied, "It's not him. You don't know him. He's my neighbor."
Well,...
Living in the next room should count as a neighbor, right?
She wasn't lying.
Dakota took a sip of her wine, not daring to meet Lailah's skeptical gaze.
Lailah still didn't believe her.
But she was too lazy to ask further, "Forget it, I'll let it slide this time. Sooner or later, I'll find out."
Dakota secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She stayed silent out of guilt, fearing that saying more would make things worse, and before she knew it, she had finished her cup of peach liquor.
The wine tasted sweet, and its aftertaste lingered with a peach aroma.
So Dakota couldn't resist refilling her cup when Lailah wasn't paying attention.
The night was quiet like water, and she gradually became tipsy.
Even Lailah was getting a bit tipsy.
She lay on the edge, her head resting on her arm, her gaze wandering aimlessly when she suddenly saw a broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted figure.
On the pebbled path beyond the screen,
The man wore a baseball cap and had zipped his black windbreaker to the top. Under the interplay of light and shadow, one could only vaguely make out his dark, narrow eyes.
He seemed to have a rather unusual status,
wearing camouflage pants tucked into black military boots.
"Hmm?" Lailah blinked, "There seems to be a handsome guy."
"Where is the handsome guy?" Dakota also lay on the edge, not particularly interested in men, just asking casually.
"There." Lailah didn't point.
Dakota didn't see any handsome guy,
but Lailah's gaze remained fixed on the man, following his steady strides without blinking.
She got out of the water, apparently preparing to go ashore.
Dakota lifted her face, drowsily blinking her unfocused eyes at her, "Lailah, where are you going?"
"To look for a fling."
Lailah turned to look at Dakota, winking at her, "Such a beautiful night, and we're just tipsy enough—it's perfect for a fling!"
Dakota's expression turned incredulous.
She laid back down, really unable to understand what was so good about men, but Lailah was a dreamer, especially when it came to love and romance.
Looking for a fling.
That sounded exactly like something she'd do.
So Dakota didn't bother.
She grabbed the small bottle of peach liquor that was nearly empty, turning back to continue drinking and soaking in the hot spring.
Lailah, on the other hand, really did wrap herself in a bathrobe and get out of the water, either completely drunk or suddenly sobered by the sight of the handsome man, following him across the pebbles.
Meanwhile, in the other hot spring pool, Jasiah and Noe were tired from their childish squabbling and agreed to a truce, planning to head back to their rooms to sleep.
"Is Curtis coming back?"
Noe, with his puffy pig face, asked indistinctly with his slightly swollen mouth,
Curtis was still sipping his drink.
He idly swirled his wineglass, lifting his chin to look at them, "You guys go back first."
"Okay." Jasiah didn't pry further, "We've booked a separate room for you anyway. Just give your name at the front desk to get your keycard when you come back."
Curtis nodded.
Noe was kicked out of the water by Jasiah, and the two, who had talked about a truce, inexplicably started arguing again.
Their childish bickering faded away as they left.
The summer night returned to silence.
but his tolerance was high, unlike a certain little angler who was both bad at drinking and loved it.
The alcohol had reddened the corners of his eyes,
adding a rare, peach-blossom-like allure to his dark, narrow eyes.
He put down his wineglass,
leaning against the inner wall of the hot spring, closing his eyes to rest, trying to dissipate the alcohol-induced throbbing in his temples.
But he didn't notice the rustling beside him.
After Lailah left, Dakota, who had been soaking alone in the adjacent pool, suddenly began to feel an itch.
She had drunk quite a bit of peach liquor tonight.
Sneaking a half cup during dinner, she couldn't help but drink more while soaking in the hot spring, and finally, after Lailah left, she finished off the last drops of the bottle, thoroughly getting herself drunk.
Dakota sat in the hot spring, her cheeks flushed.
Feeling quite bored, she turned and ran her hands along the uneven stones of the hot spring's inner walls.
The alternating warmth of the water and the coolness of the stones,
made the texture feel very much like abs...
Dakota suddenly remembered the discussion in the office.
About the mural of abs.
So she, who enjoyed being a drunken rogue, suddenly felt the urge to act mischievously again.
Wanting to touch some abs.
Especially the one from before...
The guy with the toned abs.
So Dakota wobbled out of the water,
her bleary, drunken eyes tilting her head towards the embroidered screen that separated the men's and women's pools.
Through the hazy moonlight,
she seemed to see a sexy silhouette, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, soaking in the water on the other side.
Dakota lightly licked her lips.
Sneaking towards him stealthily.
At this moment, Curtis was resting with his eyes closed.
But instead of dispersing the effects of alcohol, it was more like his thoughts tonight were far from pure.
Ever since parting ways with Dakota under the locust tree, no matter how much he drank, her sexy image in that halter swim dress kept intruding his mind...
The more he thought about it, the stronger his desires grew.
The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't resist wanting to break the unspoken tension between us. I was tired of pretending everything was fine, like we were just roommates.
"Tsk."
Curtis raised a hand to rub his nose irritably, thinking the water should be cold to avoid spending the whole night in this agony without relief.
He bent his neck, his bare upper body exposed above the water.
His extremely sexy muscle lines and contours were very eye-catching, especially the few veins floating on his spine, exuding a bold and fiery hormonal energy.
Dakota had always been obsessed with perfect physiques, and this wasn't the first time she had lusted after Curtis's body.
So when she saw this scene in front of her, she jumped into his hot spring without hesitation when Curtis wasn't paying attention.
"Splash—"
In an instant, water splashed everywhere!
