A Fox's Maid (35 page)

Although it was probably more accurate to say that Kevin had convinced Lilian, stating that he wanted to watch her play. Lindsay had been surprised when the beautiful girl actually blushed after Kevin’s comment about how he thought she’d be really good at the sport.

Surprisingly enough, Lilian really wasn’t that bad. It was obvious that she had never played soccer before, but dang if that girl couldn’t kick. At least two of their goals were because of Lilian’s impeccable aim and incredible kicking power. The ball had been in the net before the goalie even realized what happened.

Lindsay dribbled the ball down the soccer field, juking and weaving her way to the net on the opposing side. Other girls ran all around her, some trying to cover her and others attempting to take the ball from her.

While utilizing her unique talent for dribbling, Lindsay checked the field in her peripheral vision. Two people on her left were doing their best to keep someone from blindsiding her. Lilian was on her right, keeping pace just a few yards away.

“
Lilian!”

Upon reaching the goal post, Lindsay punted the ball over to the redhead, whose pace suddenly picked up significantly. The increase in speed astounded Lindsay. It seemed almost unnatural, this sudden boost in acceleration.

Lilian leapt into the air and twisted around with an acrobat’s grace, her body spinning along an axis as her foot slammed into the soccer ball, which launched it forward as if it had been fired from a cannon. It shot past the goalie and tore through the net like a rock through wet toilet paper, continuing on for several more yards before exploding against a tree in a shower of bark.

Lindsay shook her head in astonishment. Even after seeing this happen three times, it still amazed her. Who knew Lilian had so much power in those deceptively soft-looking legs?

“
Lilian! That was amazing!” Lindsay ran up to the girl, her grin large enough to split her face.

Lilian’s breasts swayed as she took a deep breath. “You think so?”

“
Of course! I’ve never seen anyone kick a ball that hard before!” Lindsay’s excited shout was almost drowned out by the other girls, who crowded around them to celebrate their success. Meanwhile, the other team looked like they were having a literal drop in morale. A black cloud of depression hung over their heads like a brewing thunderstorm, threatening to pour rain on them should they get any sadder.

“
Well, thank you… I think.”

“
Anytime. Now let’s keep playing!”

***

Kevin and Kotohime sat on the sidelines while Lilian played soccer.

An uneasy silence passed between them, though it might have been more on his side than Kotohime’s. The maid-slash-bodyguard appeared as unflappable as always. She seemed completely unaware of the thickening tension, which grew as the indefinite silence continued.

So, naturally, Kevin tried to focus on something else.

Perhaps it was because of the mild weather that day—mild for September, at any rate—but Lilian had chosen to wear one of the outfits she’d bought with his mom. Her black skin-tight shorts appeared to have been painted on, and her tank-top stretched across her bust, revealing glorious curves that would send any man into a coma.

Yes, it was very easy to focus on nothing but that beautiful body as Lilian ran back and forth across the field.

I’m really glad Eric isn’t here. God only knows what he would do if he saw Lilian like this.

As the game wore on and Lilian continued proving herself an amazing kicker, Kevin decided that he should do something nice for the girl. Every time he’d had track practice she’d always be there, keeping an ice-cold bottle of water and a towel ready for him. It was only right that he return the favor.

But what could he do for her? Maybe get her a nice gift? What about cooking a type of food that she hadn’t tried?

Perhaps I could… hmm… oh, that might work.

Kevin glanced at his silent companion. Kotohime kept her attention on the game, her dark chocolate eyes locked onto Lilian as the redhead ran across the field. She seemed to be purposefully ignoring him. He tried not to let it bother him―too much.

“
Hey, Kotohime?”

“
Is there something you need, Kevin-san?”

“
Has Lilian ever tried shaved ice?”

Kotohime broke her self-imposed attempt at ignoring Kevin, and regarded him with a curious gleam.

“
Can you repeat that?”

“
I asked if Lilian’s ever had shaved ice?”

She pondered the question, trying to recall any time her charge might have had the human treat.

“
No,” she shook her head after giving the question due consideration, “I do not believe Lilian-sama has ever tried this shaved ice that you speak of.”

“
I thought so.” Kevin stood up. “In that case, would you mind watching our stuff for a little while? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“
You do not need to worry about that. I will not let anyone touch our supplies.” Kotohime placed her left hand on the hilt of her katana. “And should they try to, well, no one can escape the bloody conclusion, ufufufu…”

Kevin shuddered.

“
Erm… right…” By the gods, was this woman freaky. Who spoke of blood and killing so easily and laughed about it afterwards? “Well then… I… I’m going to get something real quick. Try not to kill anyone while I’m gone.”

“
I will do my best.”

For some reason, Kotohime’s words didn’t inspire much confidence in him.

Kevin crested a small hill and scanned the park laid out before him, observing the various walkways surrounded by desert flora and fauna. He passed park benches sitting under shaded trees, or in the presence of giant saguaro cacti that overlooked the park like silent sentinels. The metal gates leading to the Olympic-sized swimming pools speared through the sparse foliage. Kevin remembered going there with his friends and causing a lot of trouble when he was younger.

Ah, good times.

The tiny little building beside the gates, which appeared especially minuscule sitting next to the much larger changing rooms, was Kevin’s destination. He slowly ambled up to the window where an obese male with a severe acne problem and a basketball-shaped head stood. Kevin saw that he was reading a DC comic; Superman, it looked like.

“
Can I get some shaved ice, please?”

“
What size and what flavors?”

“
Um, I’d like an extra-large with all five flavors.”

Since he didn’t know what Lilian would like, Kevin thought it best to let her try every flavor. Then she could tell him which one she liked best. It would be like a science experiment… only without the science part.

And perhaps he shouldn’t have put the words “experiment” and “Lilian” in the same sentence. Now all he could think about was them sharing a bed and committing acts of passion and eroticism that were better left in an erotic novel… or an
ecchi
manga… or a
hentai
.

Whoa! Down boy!
Kevin tried to ignore the tightening in his pants as he handed money to the guy at the register. He really hoped no one was paying attention to him.
Ugh, seriously? I’m getting turned on now of all times? Lilian isn’t even present!

It had been happening more often lately, the arousal he felt whenever he thought of Lilian. He’d never felt this way about anyone else, not even Lindsay. This desire, this craving, it was completely foreign to him. Several times he almost found himself wanting to take the redhead up on her offer of showering together. It was frightening, how badly he wanted her.

But that’s not love, is it? I couldn’t possibly allow us to become intimate without offering the same level of commitment she’s offering me. She doesn’t deserve that. And I don’t deserve her.

After getting his shaved ice, Kevin was about to head back down to the soccer field. He didn’t get very far, however, before three people he’d never seen before blocked his way.

They were a rather unique group of individuals. The first guy was so thin he reminded Kevin of a twig. He had wavy brown hair, and his hands and feet looked far larger on his rail-thin body than they would have on a normal person.

The second male staring Kevin down was large, the exact opposite of the skinny kid. If the first had been thinner than a toothpick, then this guy was larger than a whale. Actually, as Kevin studied the boy closer, he really did resemble a baby whale. The only person who could compete with him in the fat department was Kevin’s boss.

The third was the most unusual of the group, if only due to how normal he looked in comparison, like someone with brown hair standing beside two people with neon pink and lime green hair respectively. The only thing that appeared off about him was his height. Barely reaching up to Kevin’s chest, the boy in the middle looked more like a junior high student than a high schooler.

“
Can I help you three?” Kevin asked.

“
You can help us by staying away from our Lilian!!” The skinny one shouted in a nasally tone.

“
We don’t want you hanging around our Lilian anymore!” This time it was the fat one, who spoke in what Kevin could only describe as a blubbery voice.

Kevin stared at the trio.

Blink. “Did you just say.” Blink. “Your.” Blink. “Lilian?” Blink. Blink.

“
Are you deaf or something? Of course that’s what we said! And if you know what’s good for you, then you’ll heed our advice and stay away from our Lilian!”

Kevin remained silent for a good three seconds, his face holding the same emotional range as a brick wall. In return, the three boys stared him down, as if they hoped glaring at him would cause Kevin to spontaneously combust.

“
Right.” Kevin scratched the back of his head with his free hand. “So, who are you guys exactly?”

“
I’m Marcus Slim!” The skinny one introduced himself, bending his left leg while his right one remained straight, and extending his left arm. Kevin felt like he’d seen that strange pose somewhere before…

“
I’m Ian Port!” The fat one mimicked Marcus’ pose, only inverting it so that he was using the opposite limbs and facing the other way.

“
And I’m Nick Brief!” The kid in the middle lowered his center of gravity, knees bending as he took a horse stance. He raised his arms above his head and crossed them to form a giant “x.”

Kevin blinked several times as he heard the kid’s surprisingly deep voice.

This kid would make a good Epic Movie Trailer Guy.

“
And together we make the Lovely Lilian Lovers fanclub!” The trio shouted in eerie synchronicity, like they had rehearsed this several times before confronting him. Gaudy music reminiscent of the
Power Rangers
opening theme song started playing in the background. He looked for the source, but was unable to ascertain the source’s location.

Several seconds passed. A gentle breeze blew through the clearing, and several crows cawed in a most annoying manner. Finally…

“
Are you three into the
Power Rangers
or something?” Kevin asked. “It’s totally cool if you are, but you might want to think about not doing that in public.”

The trio, who had remained in their weird
sentai
poses until that point, tripped and fell face-first onto the hard concrete. They quickly jumped back to their feet, however, and shook three menacing fists at Kevin―at least, he thought they were supposed to look menacing. They actually looked kind of stupid.

“‘
Power Rangers?’ ‘POWER RANGERS?!’” Nick shouted. Kevin noticed that he was holding a hand to his nose. Blood leaked between his fingers. “We don’t watch that crap!
Power Rangers
is just America trying to milk the success of authentic Japanese TV shows! We’re fans of
Kamen Rider
!”

“
You do realize we live in America, right?” Kevin was a fan of Japanese pop culture as much as the next manga-obsessed American teenager, but even he had his limits. “And it doesn’t change the fact that
Kamen Rider
is a show made for children under the age of ten.”

Once again, Nick growled. With his deep voice, it actually sounded kinda menacing, even though he was, like, under four feet tall.

“
How dare you! Not only have you taken our Lilian from us, but you’re also making fun of
Kamen Rider
!”

Kevin rolled his eyes.

“
I haven’t taken anyone from you. Lilian is free to do whatever she wants.” It just so happened that “whatever she wants” meant spending time with him. “And don’t talk about her like she’s some kind of object.”

“
Don’t think we don’t know what you’re trying to do! We don’t know what you did to Lilian, but we know you’ve somehow coerced her into staying with you!”