After returning to his room, Ethan took a cold bath in order to calm himself down.
His body already felt numb after his late-night-encounter with Lily, so even the cold water was unable to make him shiver.
After drying himself off, he changed to a different set of pajamas and laid down on the bed. Looking up at the ceiling.
His left hand slowly moved to touch his left cheek, where Lily had licked him.
This was the first time that a girl had licked his face, and he didn’t know how to feel about it.
Back on the farm, Ethan had a pet cat that he named Tabby. This cat was quite chubby, but not overweight.
She would usually spend most of the day lying on the couch, or lying near the fireplace. The only time she actively sought him was when she was feeling hungry.
At night, she would sometimes go into Ethan’s room to sleep above his head. Tabby had a weird habit, and that was to lick Ethan’s hair, as if cleaning him up like she usually did to groom herself.
This was a weird feeling, but he soon got used to it.
However, getting licked on the cheek was very different from having his hair licked. Especially since the one who did it was the cutest First Year in the academy, who had her own fans club.
“I’ll just sleep it off,” Ethan muttered as he closed his eyes. “I’ll probably forget about it when morning comes.”
Unfortunately, sleep didn’t arrive for Ethan easily that night.
He tossed and turned on his bed, and was only able to sleep for two hours before he was woken up by a knock on his door.
“Ethan, it’s Henry,” Henry said. “Let’s have breakfast together before the match starts.”
Ethan groggily propped himself up on the bed. His body felt heavy, but he knew that he had to join everyone for breakfast before they faced their opponents in a few hours.
When Henry saw him, an amused look appeared on the Head Prefect’s face.
“You didn’t get any sleep?” Henry asked.
“Just a bit,” Ethan replied.
Henry nodded before patting Ethan’s shoulder. “Understandable. Come have breakfast with us, and take a nap after that. I’ll let Luna wake you up an hour before the match.”
“Thank you, Sir Henry.” Ethan smiled.
The two then went to the Dud Manor’s dining table to have breakfast with their Manor Mates.
All of them noticed the dark circles under Ethan’s eyes, which told them that he wasn’t able to get very much sleep.
None of them talked about the match, and simply ate together. After breakfast, Henry and the others went back to their rooms to change into their Battle Uniforms.
Just as Ethan was about to do the same, Chloe appeared in Dud Manor to check up on her cousin, as well as keep her promise to him.
“You look terrible.”
Those were the first words that came out of Chloe’s lips after seeing Ethan’s current state.
“Tell me about it,” Ethan shook his head helplessly before walking up the stairs with Chloe and Luna.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take a nap before your match?” Luna asked. “There are still two hours before it starts.”
“No,” Ethan replied. “I’ll use that time to psych myself up for the match.”
When they arrived in front of Ethan’s door, Chloe gave Luna a glance and made a pleading gesture.
“Okay.” Luna nodded her head in understanding. “I’ll be in my room.”
The angelic beauty walked away and left Chloe alone with the handsome teenager. She and Chloe had a heart to heart talk about Ethan, and both of them had come to an understanding.
Right now, the two of them were allies, so she didn’t mind letting Chloe have her moment with Ethan before his match.
Once they were inside the room, Chloe sat on Ethan’s bed and looked at her cousin with concern.
“Between the two of us, you are the one who doesn’t usually have trouble sleeping,” Chloe commented. “It seems that you are really feeling anxious about today’s match.”
“Something like that,” Ethan replied before sitting on the bed beside Chloe. “Chloe, are you sure about this?”
“Isn’t it a bit late to ask me this question?” Chloe asked.
Her neck reddened a bit, and it was slowly spreading towards her face, until she had become beet red.
Ethan wanted to laugh after seeing his cousin’s flushed face, but he held himself back. He knew that if he did that, Chloe would not hesitate to punch, or pinch him, which would definitely be painful.
“Ethan…,” Chloe said softly before closing her eyes. She also raised her chin a bit, in preparation for what is about to come.
Ethan subconsciously gulped as he looked at his beautiful cousin, who had grown up with him.
His friends often teased that she was his Summer Girlfriend, because she would always be with him during the summer.
Cupping her face, Ethan slowly lowered his head and closed his eyes. This was the first time he was going to kiss a girl, of his own accord, and he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t feeling nervous.
The moment their lips touched, Ethan felt a tingling sensation run through his spine. This was the familiar feeling of magic coursing through his body.
However, due to his surprise, he subconsciously pulled back, ending the kiss in a mere second.
Chloe abruptly opened her eyes and looked at Ethan in a daze.
“D-Did it work?” Chloe asked. “It was so quick that I almost didn’t feel anything.”
“I-I think it did, but I’m not too sure,” Ethan replied.
“Then, how about we make sure of it?” Chloe proposed. “Kiss me again. This time, do it a little longer.”
Ethan nodded. “Okay.”
This time, he steadied himself as he looked at Chloe, who was also looking back at him. Their heads then moved towards each other, and soon, both of their eyes closed at the same time.
Ethan felt Chloe’s soft lips, and gave them a small peck. 𝔬𝒱𝑳xt.𝒸𝚘𝓂
However, it didn’t end there. His hands subconsciously moved, and wrapped themselves around Chloe’s waist, as she sought her lips for a second time.
As if their bodies were moving on their own, the two kissed, and kissed, and kissed some more.
Although these kisses were just soft pecks that lasted for a second, both of them could feel their hearts beating wildly inside their chest as they did so.
Ethan could also feel the magic power in his body slowly building up like a small fireball that was growing bigger, and bigger with each kiss.
When their kissing session finally ended, both of their faces were flushed.
Ethan moved closer and kissed Chloe’s forehead gently, lasting for a few seconds before pulling back.
“I’m going,” Ethan said with determination.
“Un,” Chloe nodded. “Goodluck. I will be cheering for you.”
Ethan smiled, and stood up. He then reached out his hand to help Chloe stand up as well.
The two then left the room together walking hand in hand, their faces still red from what they had done earlier.
Fortunately, everyone living in the Dud Manor, with the exception of Luna, had left.
Because of this, no one else was able to see how intimate they looked at that moment, as if they had crossed some kind of barrier, taking their relationship to the next level.