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"Okay, that sounds like a good idea," she said in reply and by the time she finished she noticed that he had already started walking. Where they were going she had no idea so she just walked along with him, well actually it wasmore like she was following after him.

-Exit to church-

Winnie came upon the hot spring, taking Missy for a walk. She knew it was in town, but had never been before. She was always too busy, or too afraid someone else would be there.

The dog pranced ahead, noticing the man in the water before Winnie did. It barked a couple times before seeming to calm down, the man must of been someone familiar, even if he didn't look like anyone the pet had ever seen before.

"Missy, wait!" Winnie called, increasing her pace just a little to catch up with the dog. The sound of it's yapping bark usually meant danger, or more likely embarrassment. The red head came into sight of the hot spring, bending down to pick up her little friend before noticing the man in the water.

She jumped back, startled, a shocked look on her face. As much as the dog had warned her, she didn't expect anyone to actually be there. Much less one person. People had bath tubs now, so hot springs were romantic, right? Why would you go alone?

"Umm...Good Morning sir. I'm--uh--sorry, I'm really disturbing you aren't I? I should probably just go." she stammered, looking at the male. She had never ever seen him before? Was he new in town? She would have remembered a face like that...for lack of a better word, he was stunning. He wasn't as ruggedly attractive as Mr. Frisk, but he had a certain perfection about him.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the spade, right as her little dog went to sniff it. She grabbed the dog instinctively, stood up, and held it to her chest. She didn't want its nose near such sharp objects. Why was that even here? Who carried a spade with them to the hot springs? It was oddly familiar, though, but it escaped Winnie's mind at the moment, though she tried to put a finger on it.

"
Oh Cid hello!" she sang, her embarrassed blush leaving her face. He was a friend, an acquaitance at least, so this wasn't that bad. Anyway, he was a monk, so she doubted he was pleading with his eyes for her to get in the spring with him; she could rest easy.

"No...don't go!" she said, "If anything I should be leaving, I'm interupting!"she smiled, taking a cautious step back. She hadn't thought about it...maybe he was nude in the hotspring? She figured she should leave before he got out.

"I mean this is obviously a private moment!"

A dark red blush accosted her pale skin as she thought about the danger ahead. She prayed that he would not get out while she was around.. She shook her head as if to shake off the embarrasment.

"I'm so sorry!" she blurted.

"Yes I should be going! But if you would like to come over later, I'm going to make dinner, you're right I haven't been around a lot...I'm far too busy. But yes yes...you should come to my house...for food." she looked down, trying not to meet his gaze, she had never seen eyes so green, it was like they stared right into her soul; wether they bore holes or emitted rays of light was another question. "I'm not that great of a cook...but food is food right?" She had forgotten that she had offered him pancakes, but she figured now he was hungry anyway. Someone who was always on their feet couldn't have had a constant source of food. As much as she wanted to leave, in fear of the maybe-nude man in the water, Cid was a religious man, and probably needed a little help. It was her job as a good citizen to help him.

"

The girl responded with a blush just as deep as his. What was she supposed to do, just take of her clothes and jump in, like it was no big deal? She still didn't know if he was naked? She surveyed his pile of clothes...it didn't look like his underwear was in there...but she wasn't sure. For good measure, she'd keep her underwear on...after all he was a monk, he'd probably be more offended if she took off all her clothes.

She looked at him, still weighing her options in her mind. She could pretend she had someplace to be, though she didn't. She really did want to take a dip...but she felt like she didn't know him like that, but if not now, how would she ever know him?

The little dog continued to stick it's nose and paws in the water, until it was scared off by its heat. It got comfortable a couple feet away instead, chasing a butterfly.

She decided it was now or never. It's not like Cid had strange sexual intentions, he was a monk. With any other man she might have to be afraid, but she figured she could trust him enough. After all, in the end it would boil down to just mere conversation.

She nodded at him, and then a confused look struck her as she looked around for a tree or something. Where would she take off her clothes? She had noticed that she could never do it without being seductive, even when she was alone, she guess all those years had left that with her. "Um...I'll be right back"

Winnie went to find a wide tree, standing beind it and praying he couldn't see her. It would be embarrassing if he did. She took off her sweater and folded it neatly, and then off came the dress, shoulder ribbons untied first, and up over the head. She folded the dress and laid them down behind the tree. Standing there in her floral lace underwear, she wondered if this was a good idea. Eventually, after a couple minutes, she convinced herself there could be no harm done and walked out to the spring to join the man, her arms crossed for coverage.

The dog looked up at it's owner with a curious stare, as she took a step into the water. Missy was right it was pretty hot. She eased herself in to be seated across from Cid; it wasn't that bad, it just took some getting used to.

"Umm...so..." she said, looking away from his piercing green eyes.

"


At least he was honest; at least he told her he looked instead of letting the idea that he might have looked fester in her mind. Speaking of cute under garments, the hot spring would probably ruin them. They were a little old, and most of her underwear was a gift at some point from a now estranged lover, so she didn't have much attachment to them.

"Thanks, Cid." she smiled, him commenting on her underwear was like one of her gal pals commenting on her underwear. She took it as a simple compliment, not as anything more, or at least she tried to. She couldn't help but think, every time she looked at his face, and his build, sitting there in the water, about his green eyes, about how attractive he was in general. How had she not noticed that day in the garden; did his religious garb really hide all that?

She looked at him in a new light and blushed. After staring at him for a few moments, her coolness with his previous comment vanished, now she was embarrassed. She had officially gendered Cid, he was now male like any other male. Not like Herman, a sexual beast, but like the attractive male on the other side of the street...or hot spring; she couldn't help but stare. It was just so surprising.

She tensed up a bit and smiled at him, looking for some conversation, so she could look at him again and feel nothing, so she could avoid the pounding of her heart and the dizziness in her head. That's the way things were supposed to be, she had learned to avoid these feelings, for the most part.

"Um...if you're coming for dinner tonight, I could...I could make you something, you know, what do you like to um...uh...you know...that...eat!...Yes! What do you like to eat?" she choked out, blushing heavily. She couldn't help but think that he was looking at her now, he had said he was.

"

Winnie smiled back, "Pancakes it is." she said. She was shocked he even remembered. She made good pancakes anyway, making anything else would have stressed her out. Maybe that was the reason she had put on a couple extra pounds lately, the carbs she was eating. It didn't matter much, it only really changed her stick figure teenage body, into something a little more curvaceous, womanly.

"Male companion?" she said, a quizzical expression on her face, "You mean Missy? She's a girl dog!" she laughed, the little dog lifted its head. She obviously didn't understand what he meant, she wasn't really thinking that way, every time he spoke about something other than her underwear, he just became Cid, not male, just person. "She won't mind at all, I think!"

"


"What!?" Winnie put a hand over her face, "No! Missy is just my pet!" she insisted.

"Cid I thought you meant...like a friendly companion!" she laughed, her shoulders shaking slightly. "I'm single, I don't have a boyfriend!"

She continued to laugh on her own, the thought making her both uneasy and hysterical. She didn't have to worry about Cid seeing her in her underwear; the chances of him knowing what to do with it was slim, and not only that, but she doubted he really understood.

"I will don't worry, this is relaxing!"

"

The girl cocked her head to the side, not really expecting Cid to ask that question. It was like having a little brother, talking to him. "I don't have a boyfriend because I..." she stopped, she really didn't have a reason, it just wasn't something she was thinking about now, unless it was Herman. "I'm very involved in my work, I can imagine that's how it is with many women." She decided that was a good enough excuse, and it covered all her bases.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be, Cid. It's hard meeting someone else's standards." she smiled reassuringly. She didn't even think that he meant her, not that he wouldn't, just she couldn't imagine a monk coming on to someone so heavily in a hotspring, unless Cid was just posing as a monk to get innocent women.