“I’m probably the first guy to ever get slapped by Kiraboshi Ayane.”
“Of course! That was my first slap ever!”
“…You sure you don’t actually do it all the time?”
“I do not!”
Sasaki puffed out her cheeks with a “hmph,” then started eating her pancake without a word.
Getting mad, getting embarrassed, laughing—her emotions were all over the place.
I was getting tired of watching her eat the pancake, so I glanced toward the shop owner. As usual, she was dozing off behind the register like she had nothing better to do.
Is this café even okay…?
“…Oh yeah.”
“What’s up, Makishima?”
“I’m gonna step out for a bit.”
“Where?”
“The WC.”
✳︎✳︎
When I returned, Sasaki had already finished her pancake and was tapping away on her phone.
“If you hold your phone that close, your eyesight’s gonna get worse.”
“Shut up.”
“Jeez, you sound like a rebellious teenager.”
“You’re the one acting like my mom with all the nagging!”
Since I was back, Sasaki put on her glasses and mask again, then slung her tote bag over her shoulder as if getting ready to leave.
“Huh? Wasn’t there a bill here earlier?”
She looked around for the receipt that had been on the table.
“I already paid. The shop owner looked bored, so I figured I’d get it done before it gets even slightly busy.”
“W–wait, but the money—”
“It’s fine. It’s just this much.”
“No! I ate almost all of it!”
Sasaki pulled three 1,000-yen bills from her wallet and shoved them toward me.
“I said it’s fine.”
“No, it’s not!”
“Persistent, aren’t you? I said it’s fine.”
“Ugh—! Ah, I know!”
Sasaki crouched down, grabbed my long wallet that was sticking out of my pocket, and yanked it out.
“If you won’t take it, I’ll just put it in there!”
“Come on, at least consider how a guy feels in moments like this.”
“A guy’s… feelings?”
Maybe she’s just overly earnest, but with such a cute face, why is she not used to being treated? Any guy would jump to spoil her.
While I sighed, Sasaki suddenly trembled.
“What’s wrong, Sasaki?”
“H–hey… t–this…”
Her voice flipped as she handed me my wallet. Wondering what she meant, I checked inside carefully—and there it was.
Oh yeah—
I remembered last night. I’d borrowed Azaki’s jacket, found the “item” inside, and stuck it in my wallet to return later…
“S–Sasaki, this is a misunderstanding! Let’s get outside first!”
Once we stepped out of the café, I hurriedly explained everything—how I borrowed Azaki’s jacket after the group date, how the “thing” fell out, and how I planned to return it to him. I apologized repeatedly.
“You get it now, right?”
“I mean… yeah. You’re a boy after all. Even if you don’t have a girlfriend, you still… do that stuff sometimes, right?”
“You definitely don’t get it! Listen to what I’m saying!”
Sasaki’s face was red enough to make me worry she had a fever.
I explained desperately, cheeks burning too, but she wasn’t listening.
“So… last night, after the group date… you were planning to… do it?”
“…Huh?”
“After all that… were you planning to do something… e-ecchi… with me?”
Sasaki looked away, embarrassed, as she asked.
Do it… with Sasaki? With Kiraboshi Ayane?
In my mind, Ayane lay on a bed under soft pink lighting, wrapped in a bath towel, her shoulders bare, beckoning me closer—
Nope. Stop. Bad. BAD.
I forced the fantasy out of my head and faced Sasaki properly.
“N–no! I told you, I only kept it to return to Azaki. Besides… I’ve never done that kind of thing before.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie about that? Unlike Azaki with his sleazy playboy moves, I’m stoic, okay?”
“…I–I see.”
“So anyway, that whole thing was just a misunderst—”
At that moment, Sasaki grabbed the front of my jacket and finally looked me in the eye.
Did she finally understand—?
“W–well! I’ve never done it either!”
She practically shouted it, on the verge of tears.
…Huh?
“So we’re matching, okay? Makishima.”
“…Y–yeah. We’re matching.”
““…………””
Why the hell would she confess that?!
Now the air between us turned super weird.
“You seriously didn’t need to say that.”
“B–but… it wouldn’t be fair to make you say something embarrassing all by yourself.”
“I don’t need that kind of pity!”
Still… I think I’m starting to understand what kind of person Sasaki is.
“I’m exhausted. It’s already one. I’m heading back to campus. What about you?”
“I think I’ll go too. I need to look up sources for my report in the library.”
“Then let’s go together.”
We took the train back to university. The return train was nearly empty, so we sat side by side.
“Makishima.”
“Yeah?”
Sasaki placed her phone gently in my hand.
Since no one was around, she could’ve just talked normally… but I looked down at the screen.
‘You didn’t forget the promise, right?’
So that’s what she was worried about. Like I’d forget something like that after only a day.
I wrote, ‘Of course not,’ and handed it back. She immediately wrote another message and returned it.
‘I’ll definitely come watch. So make sure you keep your promise.’
Sasaki…
“Leave it to me. Whether it’s one point or two, I’ll score and do a goal celebration just for you. So be ready.”
I said it out loud. Almost as if convincing myself too.
Sasaki spammed smiley emojis and showed me the screen.
✳︎✳︎
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