The tile wall where the sun didn’t reach felt cool. The feeling hitting the back of my hand every now and then was cold and hard. Meanwhile, the palm where our fingers were deeply intertwined was moist and warm.
“Haah, ah-mu… mn…”
Voices mixed with sighs crashed against the tips of our noses.
Sounds echo inside the bathroom more than I thought.
My head was strangely calm.
Is my back cold like this?
I was even having such strange thoughts.
Even so, the lips we pressed together repeatedly were rough.
Even I was a little taken aback by it.
“Face.”
I put my hand on her half-open lips.
The surface of her slightly thick lower lip was faintly wet.
“It’s a secret, right? Can you go back to the classroom with a face like that?”
My voice really does echo, huh.
My own voice, sounding like someone else, bounced back and echoed. It feels kind of creepy.
Her round, open eyes didn’t answer anything.
Even when pushed against the wall, she stared far away without even blinking.
Doll-like white skin.
I traced her outline with my hand and kissed her defenseless lips once again.
…Wait, what am I even doing?
How did it come to this?
“I like Aoi-chan. That’s why I want to date you. Shall we go out together?”
Sumire’s confession was sudden.
The last day of Golden Week.
We were watching a Netflix movie together in Sumire’s room, stopped the video when it ended with “that was fun,” and as I was putting the remaining potato chip crumbs into my mouth, she suddenly said it.
Stared at intently on the two-seater sofa, I froze.
I couldn’t reply like I always do, with things like, “What’s with the sudden shift?” or “What kind of joke is that supposed to be?”
“Whatever is fine, but…”
What I somehow managed to squeeze out was my usual catchphrase.
But Sumire looked happy, shook her straight bob hair, and did a guts-pose as she said, “Yay.”
Me, Aoi Kobe, and my girlfriend, Sumire Tsukimori, are childhood friends.
Our houses are close, and we used to play together sometimes since we were little.
The high school we enrolled in this spring is the same, and what’s more, we’re in the same class.
Our relationship is pretty long, and we get along well.
But to say we’re best friends who can talk about anything feels a bit exaggerated.
So of course, I’ve never thought of her in that way. At least, I haven’t.
“What does that actually mean, what do we do?”
When I asked, Sumire tilted her head slightly with a “Hm?”
Could it be that this girl has no plan at all?
Just as I thought that, Sumire’s face came close right in front of mine.
Sumire pulled my shoulder toward her and gently touched her lips to mine, as if performing some kind of contract ritual.
“Like this?”
Watching Sumire look shy and smile with an “ehehe,” my face gradually grew hot. My heart started beating fast, and unusually for me, I fell silent.
“No good?”
Sumire peeked up at my face from below. A sweet voice like a small child begging.
At times like this, I always soothe her with a “Yes, yes.” That’s been my role for a long time.
“Whatever is fine, but…”
But right now, I couldn’t just say “Yes, yes.”
Looking away, my catchphrase came out again.
No, wait, saying “whatever is fine, but”… Is it fine? Really?
“It’s a secret from everyone, okay?”
Feeling like I had to add something, I blurted it out on the spot.
At my words, Sumire opened her eyes wide as if slightly surprised. But she immediately smiled again.
Even after parting with Sumire and returning home, I was still floating on air. I collapsed onto my bed without even changing my clothes and stared at the ceiling… before I knew it, I had finished eating dinner too.
Then I took a bath, washed my body, soaked in the tub, and finally caught my breath.
Phew.
…Wait, what?
Did I say OK to Sumire’s confession?
Did we end up dating?
I touched my lips. The sensation came back to life. The feel of the kiss.
At that moment, the movie I watched with Sumire crossed my mind.
It was a romance story based on a shojo manga, I think.
The one Sumire said she wanted to see. The kind I would never watch on my own.
Just before the last scene, there was a scene where a handsome guy confesses to the heroine.
For a moment, that appearance overlaps with Sumire’s confession.
The lines feel similar, too. And the kiss scene right after.
Could that girl be heavily influenced by movies?
…No, it’s so likely it’s a problem.
In junior high too, Sumire joined the badminton club because of a manga and quit right away.
She suddenly does weird things on the spur of the moment. I haven’t been counting one by one, but there’s no end to that kind of stuff.
That’s why I thought she’d get bored of this too in no time.
Yeah, that’s what I thought, but…