Rewinding time a bit to earlier that same afternoon, the chatter of a bustling family restaurant hummed with four girls enjoying each other’s company.
“Eh?
You and Sarukomi really started dating?
Like, officially?” “Do you have to look so incredibly shocked, Kyouko?” “Seriously, Miyako, I didn’t think you’d actually pull the trigger and do it,” Kyouko Hori sighed, leaning her chin on her palm as she stared across the booth table.
“Ugh, it took a massive amount of courage, okay?” “At least you finally did it!” “Yeah.” I smiled warmly, my gaze dropping to my lap just thinking about Tatsuya.
Thoughts went through my mind like “what he was doing” and hoping that he wasn’t feeling lonely right now.
Without anyone to welcome him at home, I couldn’t help but worry.
I really wished he would’ve let me come over today instead of worrying about me.
Shaking my head quickly to clear the daydream, I focused my attention back on the restaurant table.
“How are you and Miyamura doing, anyway?” Kyouko’s face flushed a violent, sudden red.
“F-Fine!
We actually…” My mouth opened wide in sheer disbelief as she whispered the details.
“You b-bit him?!” “Can you please not shout that out loud for the whole restaurant to hear?!” She instantly covered her face with both of her hands.
“Did he…
you know?” “Ughhhhhhh, no,” Kyouko groaned, her voice muffled behind her palms.
“I want him to, but I don’t want to completely scare him away.
He’s just so incredibly gentle that I don’t think he has it in him to actually do it.” “You don’t know that!
What if you just ask, I-I kind of already asked Tatsuya about it.” Kyouko dropped her hands, her eyes wide.
“Gasp!
What exactly did he say?
How did he react to it?” “H-He…” Blushing from the roots of my hair to my neck, I explained the entire situation to her.
“Oh, wow,” Kyouko muttered, a highly contemplative look taking over her features.
“I think I seriously need to get Izumi to sit down and learn a few things from him.” “I do think they would make really good friends, but please do not go bothering MY boyfriend for your own kinks!” Kyouko rolled her eyes, “You’re boyfriend is your boyfriend.
No need to worry about me, my Izumi is probably better anyway.” “What do you know?!” “You want to go, Miyako?!” “You two…” ‘Ah.’ I completely forgot about the other two sitting right next to us.
“You two are really an absolute riot!” Kyou Nekozaki laughed out loud, grabbing my shoulder and gently forcing me back down into my seat.
Yui Hachimitsu was stuck with the task of trying to calm Kyouko down, but she didn’t look like she was putting in any real physical effort.
Kyou Nekozaki and Yui Hachimitsu were two incredible friends I had made this year, and we had grown super close over the months.
As for Kyouko Hori, she and I were literal childhood friends.
Because of that shared history, things just naturally felt far more blunt, and comfortable whenever she was around.
Kyouko Hori.
My best friend and an absolute idiot.
An idiot because how could my Tatsuya ever be considered below her Izumi?
She was completely blind.
“Anyway,” Kyou cleared her throat, breaking the sudden silence at the table.
“How exactly did you bring yourself to ask Tatsuya about your little kink, Miyako?” “O-Oh.” I buried my face in my hands, really wanting to forget the sheer embarrassment.
“I-It was the very first thing I told him when we sat down at the cafe.
I just thought ripping the band-aid off right at the start would be better.” The entire table fell into a dead, heavy silence.
“You opened the entire conversation with that?
What if he turned out to be a weirdo?
Or what if he wanted to blackmail you with it?” Kyouko looked at me, her teasing completely gone, replaced by genuine worry.
“Wow.
Talk about balls of steel.
Superman better watch his back,” Kyou joked, shaking her head.
Yui just stared directly at me, her mouth slightly agape in a classic, unblinking deadpan.
“I-It worked out perfectly in the end,” I mumbled.
Flick~ “Ouch!
Kyouko!” I cried out, rubbing my forehead.
“You are a total idiot!
You can never, ever do something that reckless again.” Her fierce, protective words instantly reminded me of the phone call with Tatsuya from earlier.
Those authoritative words, his smooth teasing, and that intense, tingling feeling I felt in my chest.
My face naturally flared up with heat all over again.
“Hehe~ I really want to see him right now,” I whispered.
I had fully meant to keep that thought silent, but the words slipped completely out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Gulp.
What exactly are you imagining right now?” Kyouko’s burning curiosity came through clearly.
“Well…
when you guys went up to the counter to grab the food order…” Slowly, and with perfect detail, I explained everything he had said over the phone.
I didn’t have the face to talk about the things I had said back to him, though.
They didn’t need to know that part anyway.
“I can’t look at him the same anymore,” Kyouko muttered in disbelief.
“He doesn’t even know you, so you shouldn’t look at him at all.” “Miyako.
I will seriously slap you.” “My boyfriend is my boyfriend, keep your eyes off him.” “Then what about Yukinoshita?
I heard she’s only comfortable with him.
Mizuto—that Irido guy’s story is already spreading like wildfire.
I can’t believe all he said was that Yukinoshita seemed warmer and it spread like crazy.” “Huh?
When did this happen?” I asked.
“Hm, I got a text from another friend about an hour ago about it,” Kyouko said, propping her chin on her hand and giving me a teasing, sideways glance.
“What’s the matter?
Are you scared he’s already cheating on you?” I didn’t even hesitate.
“Hah?
Honestly, it’s much better that it would be Yukinoshita than you.” I rolled my eyes dramatically, letting out a soft huff.
“But no, I trust him completely.
He and Yukinoshita see each other every single morning at their lockers, so it doesn’t really surprise me that they get along.” Kyouko froze, her face processing my words before her eyebrows snapped together.
“Hold up.
Why the hell did you have to add that first part?!” I gave her a sweet, innocent smile.
“Just making sure you didn’t get any bright ideas.” “…That’s it.
I’m definitely slapping you.”