Monster Girl Resort

Chapter 21, Preparation for love.

While the door shut behind her, Matthew saw Yoriko tense up as she heard Camila's screams, shortly after her yelp of pain.

"Don't worry about her, that's why I asked them to keep her there." He told her and pushed two chairs a bit closer.

"Come, sit with me for a moment. I just want to talk." Matthew said and Yoriko nodded nervously while she sat down on the chair next to him.

"Where did this suddenly come from?" He asked her and Yoriko shyly looked at her feet.

"Well, how much you always helped me, and how nice you were from the beginning. And how you protected me from her.

As well as how you let me at her back then... it all helped.

I-I'm sorry Mister Matthew. Is it wrong to feel like this?"

"Why would it? It's not like you can tell yourself to not fall in love with someone, that's how I fell for Marie all those years ago when we were still kids." Matthew replied calmly and Yoriko looked up surprised.

"You didn't know?" He asked at her confused glance.

"N-no..." Her reply was short.

Shorter than he was used to from the girl.

"I won't chase you away over this. So rest easy. All I ask if you really want to join them on the love side of things, would be that you give me the time to get to know you a bit better." Matthew spoke calmly and Yoriko nodded.

"I-I can do that..." She stammered and Matthew smiled at her.

After that short bit of clarification, the two simply talked a bit about each other, themselves and some other subjects.

Slowly they both learned about the other.

Their likes. Their dislikes. And many other minor things.

Matthew did notice the smile on Yoriko's face as they spoke.

As did she notice his attempts to keep everything as open as he could, even when they crested a few awkward things for him.

"M-Mister Matthew?" She suddenly asked him.

"Yes?"

"How did you fall in love with Miss Marie?" She asked him and he smiled at the fond memories.

"That was when we were both kids. I still have 'nightmares' so to say, of the day I failed to confess to her with my last chance after I had chickened out every time before that." He replied and Yoriko smiled.

"Nightmares? Over a failed confession?" She asked him curiously.

"Yeah, well... they're not exactly nightmares. More a reoccurring and unpleasant dream." He told her, clearing up the confusion.

Even Matthew found it would be odd to have nightmares over such a simple thing. If it were truly nightmares, he would have gone to get help for them a long time ago.

But that was not necessary over a simple reoccurring dream.

It may be an unpleasant one, but also one that had always reminded him of the girl he had loved since his childhood.

"What kind of dream is it then? That it keeps coming back so often." Yoriko curiously asked him.

Although she felt a bit of shame at asking Matthew for such a personal thing, she wished to know more than she was ashamed of the question.

"Ah, I don't mind sharing it. I guess I need to share those events with the others as well. It might even calm down Camila a bit if she knows that part of my and Marie's past." He told her and she nodded.