Playing with Fire | Yuzuru Hanyu

8. Acknowledgments

Aurora had to admit that for all of his initial shock in her words, Yuzuru recovered quite fast.

He had a good poker face, hard to read when he really wanted to but he seemed like the type to show a lot of emotions whenever he trusted someone. 

The man chuckled at her silly remark about his pleasure and pointed to her drink.

"Should I get you another one?"

Yeah, it was hard to ignore how nice he seemed. Yuzuru really looked like a fish out of the water in the current situation.

"I'm alright, this is more than enough already, but thanks for asking. What about you? Not drinking anything?"

He gave her another one of those big smiles that could very possibly bring a lot of women to their knees.

"I don't drink alcohol."

"Oh."

It was uncommon, very uncommon, and now she worried that he could be bothered by her drinking.

"It's not a personal belief or anything..." he tried to excuse right away, seemingly noticing her discomfort. "My body just doesn't take it that well?"

A breath of relief left her right away, it was completely impossible to ignore the sheer will to be good for him, to be what he expected her to be.

"It's healthier that you don't drink either way."

"Yeah, that's true."

They looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds and Aurora started internally panicking. This thing, not being able to know what to do or say next was something that never happened to her and it was scarier than she would have ever admitted.

It couldn't be like this, she needed to find a way to bring conversation or anything to make sure he wasn't bored. The last thing she wanted was for this man to feel like he had made a mistake when he hired her.

But still, oddly enough, it was just hard. He was looking at her with such an expression that almost made it seem like they didn't need to talk, that a mere look was enough to make their point come across.

And that dreaded smile.

The grin seemed to be permanently attached to his face and somehow, it made him even more charming than he already was. She tried to figure him out, only to end up without any hint of success. This man was a mystery beyond explanation.

When he finally sat by her side at the bar, Aurora's eyes subconsciously focused on his legs as he sat and the way the seemingly oversized fabric of his pants seemed to now stretch to accommodate the very obvious muscles of his thighs. She wasn't sure what the whole reasoning behind the oversized suit was but it still didn't hide much. Aurora could bet he would look incredible in a fitted one but even so, the muscles of his legs were more than evident as he sat down.

"I've never done this." she heard him say.

It didn't surprise her in the least. He really didn't look like the type and she had come to that conclusion a long time before.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah."

"Well, maybe it helps to know that I am too."

He looked at her a bit dumbfounded. It seemed like he was having a hard time believing that this woman was feeling nerves even remotely close to his.

"But you've done this... a few times, I presume."

"Probably more than you want to know." she admitted with a slight bit of shame.

"You still get nervous?"

There was no judgment, no apparent sign that he hated her for doing this job.

"Yes, especially when I have new clients."

He smiled softly. "You want regulars."

"I need to be good to the new ones if I want new regulars. I hate feeling that people aren't happy with what I'm doing or saying."

A deep chuckle erupted from him and he looked straight into her eyes.

"This... I don't plan on it being a regular thing."

Aurora couldn't help but nod at that. Whatever had made this man look for an escort was probably not going to last. Maybe a breakup or something that made him feel the need that he had long moved on, it was the usual kind of thing in men of his age and looks.

"Yeah, don't get this wrong, but you don't seem like the type."

She had no idea why she was openly saying those things to him. She wasn't supposed to be like this. The whole point of her job was to seduce, to be just a pretty face. Her opinions didn't matter.

Yuzuru still smiled when she said it.

"You probably think I'm crazy."

"I just think you're way too handsome to need a service like this."

His eyes widened and she couldn't help but cough awkwardly, cheeks tinted red as she realized how she straight-up admitted to finding him attractive.

Yuzuru seemed to consider her for a little while before finally sighing audibly. It was almost as if he was trying to gather courage for his next words.

"I just need your help for something, but you're obviously free to say no."

She found it a bit funny that he thought she would say no but then again, it seemed like it was completely inherent to his personality.

"My help? Do I even want to know?"

By now she pretty much assumed it to be a sex thing, but Aurora could've never guessed the true nature of the booking.

"It's probably not as bad as you think it is." he joked right away, seemingly relaxed enough to use humor.

"Hum... I don't know...you may not be the angel you look like."

He was chuckling as he looked around the room and observed the people around them.

"I... Do I have to say it here?"

It was with a smile that she gestured no with her head.

"Maybe you should guide the way."