Day Thirty: Wednesday
Thirtieth Challenge: Doing Something
Hot
When Matt cheerfully announced that morning that
they would be going to a hot spring and resort that was two hours away from the
city, he was met with a panicked yell in German. A had come out of the bedroom,
waving folders stuffed with papers associated with work, telling him that now
was not the right time to pack, get in the car, and speed off to the resort.
Though it sounded pretty tempting to her, the thought of going away even for as
long as a day stressed her out. There were cases to get to, meetings to attend,
clues to analyze and coffee to drink. She protested against leaving with such
short notice, until Matt took away the folders, rested his hands on her
shoulders, and told her that he had already asked permission from her superior.
She gave him a pained look and he offered his phone, telling her to call
Matsuda just to confirm. And so she did, arguing with him at least for a few
minutes until he ended the call. A handed back the phone to Matt silently,
looked at the folders for a few seconds, and set them on the nearby table. With
that, she finally went back to the bedroom, and he swore he could hear her
panic about what to bring. Womanly things.
They departed the house at noon, having eaten a
good lunch. The car was packed and the windows were locked as well as shut. A
closed the lights and locked the front door, inspecting the house for a good
five minutes until she said that they could go. Grinning, Matt led her into the
car, got into the driver’s seat and whisked them away. For a good two hours, he
drove and sang to some rock songs from the 90’s, tapping his fingers against
the wheel to the beat of the music. A, on the other hand, did her hair
carefully (settling with a simple braid eventually) and lightly applied make
up, even though Matt gave her a look and told her she looked brilliant even
without the added powders and such.
The drove across, and Matt was pleased at the lack
of traffic. A eventually drifted off for a good hour, and woke up to him
kissing her on the cheek. They had arrived at the resort, and as usual, A was
dumbstruck. The place had differed from the last one they travelled to, which
admittedly, was a long while back. He carried their bags (after refusing that A
would carry her own) and checked in, snippily calling out the attention of the man
who checked out his girlfriend’s legs, for she was in a sleeveless white top
and red shorts. She blushed and scowled at the man, and was soon wheedled away
by Matt, who had the key to the room. They had asked for someone to bring the
bags to their room.
They left the check-in area and were led out, and
they eventually reached the house where they were staying. The couple soon
settled in and ended up cuddling on the couch of the Westernized house, similar
to where they lived yet different at the same time. Turning to his girlfriend,
Matt pecked her cheek and nuzzled her neck, smiling softly.
“So, what time do you want to go to the hot springs? We’ve got a
week to spend here, just you and me…also the water, that is.” She chuckled and
laced their fingers together.
“Anytime is alright with me.” He paused to think.
“Don’t drown on me, though, baby. I might have to
supervise you in the hot springs…”
she blinked and looked at him with a confused look on her face.
“Supervise? Love, don’t the males and females go
into separate springs?”
He smirked slightly.
She understood.
“Matsumoto?”
He confirmed it by snorting and waving a letter he
took from his pocket in the air. She took it, unfolding the paper and scanning
the text written by the Englishman’s friend. Written in was a letter to the
management, asking for them to have a private hot spring to themselves. There
was a staple mark left behind, and she looked at him questioningly. Matt could
only chuckle, and she decided not to press any longer. Knowing the man, it was
probable that there was a large sum of money involved.
“Anyway, love, let’s make this trip worthwhile.” He
kissed the top of her head and stood up. “Since you told me that the hot springs could be gone
to anytime, how about we go there now? I’d like to see you relax, for once.”
She blushed yet again and rolled her eyes, but secretly looked forward to the
event. “And love – you can wear those, just bring an extra set of clothes. No
bathing suits.”
“…no bathing suits?”
Matt doubled over in laughter.
* * * * *
They reached the hot springs, Matt carrying a small bag with
the needed clothes in it. Winking, the Briton only told her that he would meet
her in the springs. Panicked, she asked where they were, and he calmly replied
that the springs were just there if she opened the door in front of her. Nervously,
A asked what to do first, spotting all the signs in Japanese. Matt internally
facepalmed and told her only the following:
To wash and rinse well, and to carry a towel with
her. After that, he kissed her lightly and went to the other room, most likely
wanting to give her privacy. She snorted at the thought. It wasn’t like they
had never bathed together before.
She did just as told, stripping down and scrubbing
her body in the shower cubicle. After doing so and carefully washing, she
stepped out, wrapped her body in the towel to dry and realized it was stupid – she
would be getting wet anyway, why bother? So she instead covered herself up with
the towel, walked to the door, and stepped out to the springs.
A was stunned.
The springs held the perfect view of the sky, which
was starting to darken just the slightest bit. Rocks made sure no one would
fall off the edges, forming almost a rounded rectangular shape around. There
were a right amount of plants, particularly trees, which shaded a small area
backed up by flat rocks. She guessed that she and Matt would most likely stay
there for the time being. Glancing around to make sure no one was there, she
slowly discarded her towel and folded it, then set it on one of the rocks by
the surface. Slowly stepping into the water, she sighed softly in relief at the
warmth and went in until the waters reached her shoulders. It wasn’t so bad –
she was surprised to find elevated rocks even underwater, by the edges as well,
that acted as seats for people.
Waddling around, she tipped her head back into the
water and let the water submerge her hair. Another sigh of relief came and she
slowly looked back up, her hair now hanging down her back. Waiting for Matt to
come, she decided to do a small swim around, despite feeling silly about it.
Her hair was tied up in a bun after her frustration
at the strands getting in her view. Sinking down to wet her face, she shut her
eyes and stayed there for a few seconds until looking back up. Rising from the
waters, her face flushed pink.
Matt grinned at her, his hair damp as well as his
sculpt chest.
“I expected to see a young woman relaxing, not a
kitty testing the waters,” he teased.
She pouted at him.
“Shush. Let’s pretend you didn’t see that
happening.” Matt smiled, unwrapping the towel from his waist and folding it,
setting it on top of her own.
It took all her self restraint to not stare.
He stepped in and wrapped his arms around her, and
Matt gently played with her hair. She turned to him and smiled faintly, slowly
bringing them to the edge of the hot spring. They leaned against the flat side
of the rock and he sighed softly, kissing her cheek and she then leaning her
head into his neck.
“I like this a lot,” she murmured softly.
“I like it too.” He rubbed her shoulder slowly. “Up
for a massage, lovely? I’m not sure if I want anyone from the service touching
you, not after the creep who stared at your legs a while back.” She snorted.
“I can always get a female massager.”
“Mm, true.” He continued rubbing her shoulders,
slowly working his way around and then onto her back. “But I like it more when
I’m the one who massages you.”
She smiled.
“Maybe we can skip that part and go to the spa I
saw a while ago on the way here.” Matt wrinkled his nose and made a face.
“Spa?”
“Spa. Probably get a manicure, a pedicure too if
I’m up for it.” She wiggled her toes. “And then get some hair treatment, a
facial, even…” she smirked playfully up at the man, who was astounded at her
sudden planning.
“You’ve certainly warmed up to this place, haven’t
you?”
“I like the services displayed.” She giggled at his
facial expression. “But I like your services
more and you know that very well, love.” Matt blushed lightly at that comment.
“It doesn’t require payment, and even throws in a cuddling at the end.”
He laughed, pulling his beloved closer.
“Talk about my services more and I can throw in a
hot cup of tea, if you wish.”
“Maybe later.” She closed her eyes and snuggled up
against him, the heat of the water calming her down. “Mm…we have a week here.
Maybe I can get all those treatments much after.” She felt him wrap his arms
around her, and she sighed happily.
“Escape from the city life, yeah?”
“Definitely.” She opened her eyes and kissed him
lightly on the lips. “And I’m going to make a lot of memories here with you.”
He grinned, satisfied. “I love you.”
“And I love you too.”
