Suddenly on a Leash (1)

Chapter sixteen

Maybe I was overthinking it. It was no big deal, right? In any case, I'm sure Sora didn't appreciate that I was treating him like he was a house cat... I should just leave it alone.
Regardless, when I woke up, I was in a similar position as the day before. Despite sleeping far apart that night, come morning, Sora's limbs were tangled with mine, his body pressed against mine. My face burned. Why did he have to be so close all the time...?! It was so embarrassing...
His body felt so warm against me...
And there were his ears. Right before my face. Each exhale I gave triggered them to flick or twitch. Good grief..
How could I not want to touch them?
But I had to refrain... What if he got mad at me..?
I kept my gaze pinned to them.
"....."
They really were too cute.
I startled when Sora suddenly moved, his hand abruptly moving to cover his ear. As I blinked in surprise, he raised his head to give me a look. "Don't even think about it."
My face burned profusely."W-What??"
I played dumb. He narrowed his eyes. "Don't touch. I have things to do today, I can't just sit and purr in your lap all day."
My face felt like it was on fire. "I-I-I wasn't...!!"
He knew...!
"R-Really, I-I-I mean, I wasn't going to....."
He sighed. "Whatever."
He started to sit up. I chewed on my lip as he parted from me. This was so embarrassing... I couldn't help it... They were so soft and adorable...
Freaking Sora...
Stupid fox...
"Don't take your weird fetish out on me," he grumbled.
"It's not a fetish...!!"
My chest felt tight, embarrassed and flustered. My god! I can't believe I forgot he could hear what I thought...! Lord only knew what all he heard...!
The embarrassment of it all at once was eating me alive.
This was the worst...
But...
In the end...
What I wanted to know was...
"... Do you like it, Sora?"
I said it...
He paused, looking back at me from the corner of his luminous emerald eyes. "... Like it?"
"Y... Yeah... When... When I..."
I couldn't finish my sentence. But he knew what I meant... Right...?
To my surprise... He paused. Usually, Sora was straightforward and bluntー but now he was hesitating. To an even greater shock, he averted his gaze.
Sora?
After a long pause, he answered quietly. "....yeah..."
He caught me off guard. This was... The same Sora I'd known this whole time... Right?
I couldn't keep from flushing all the way to the tips of my ears and the back of my neck. He liked it....
Why did that make my heart flutter so much...??
I didn't know how to respond. Sora took that as a sign that I was done talking, and stood up. "As I said, I have things to do today. You and Yuto may be left here alone for a while."
I broke out of my thoughts. Left alone? What did he mean? "Where are you going...?" I asked, sliding to the edge of the bed to stand up, too. He looked at me. "I'm the spirit of this shrine, remember? I have things to take care of in the divine world." I looked down. "Right..."
So it was just going to be me and Yuto...
Sora gone...
Somehow that made me feel uneasy.