She was early, and Akiko felt as though she’d been waiting for hours before Naoyuki showed up. The looks she’d got while standing around made her acutely conscious of what she was wearing, but at least they tended to confirm that the clothes made the impression she had been aiming at.

When Naoyuki appeared, exactly on time, as always, he made a show of looking her over.

“Wow. I should accept your invitations more often.â€ Akiko smiled back, relieved.

“You like?â€ She did a little pirouette for him, and when she was back facing him, she saw that he was nodding vigourously. She couldn’t help laughing, and Naoyuki smiled back, broadly.

“So, which restaurant?â€

“That eel place.â€

“The one in Bunkamura? OK.â€ They walked as far as they could through the underground passageway, but when they mounted the steps to the street they could see that the storm had started. The rain was heavy, with quite a wind, and Akiko frowned as she looked at it. Naoyuki didn’t seem much happier as he got his umbrella out.

“A taxi to Bunkamura would be <em>really</em> excessive,â€ he commented as he got ready to step out, and Akiko had to agree. “Can you run in those heels?â€ Akiko sighed.

“Not very fast. I’ll try.â€

They raised their umbrellas against the rain, and stepped out into the street. The sheer number of people meant that running quickly wasn’t an option, so Akiko had no trouble keeping up with Naoyuki, but the umbrella wasn’t completely effective, and she could feel enough rain on her legs to be very glad when they reached the shopping centre.

By chance, they had the elevator to the restaurant floor to themselves. Akiko shifted even closer to Naoyuki, and felt herself blushing as she reached up to whisper in his ear.

“I’m not wearing any underwear.â€

Naoyuki’s head whipped round to look at her, his eyes wide as he tried to peer down her top.

“Really?â€

Akiko’s face felt really hot now, and the heat was spreading down onto her chest. Now that she’d mentioned it, she was acutely aware that the material against her breasts was the camisole, and that the leather of her skirt touched her skin directly. She nodded in answer to Naoyuki’s question, and surreptitiously glanced at the reflective door of the elevator, confirming that nothing was actually visible.

Naoyuki quickly reached out, and pulled the front of her camisole forward. Akiko let out an involuntary squeal, and batted his hand away, but was somewhat reassured to see that Naoyuki was blushing.

“No… no panties either?â€ He was whispering, and the lift was almost there. Akiko shook her head, looking down, just as the door opened. She almost ran out, feeling both terribly embarrassed and embarrassingly excited.

Naoyuki followed her with the most enormous grin plastered on his face, along with the remains of the blush, and rested a hand gently on her bottom as he bent down to gently kiss her cheek.

“Are you sure you want to eat now? There are some hotels very close.â€

Akiko giggled, and pushed him away.

“Eel now.â€ She paused. “<em>That</em> later.â€