Chapter 53 - The World of Only Two

Once upon a time, I was Tachibana Karen"s boyfriend for just a few hours.
That time is something that makes my face red and makes me think of some things.

… Can you believe it?
… Will it work for me?
… In other words, such a thing, is it something that is allowed for a gloomy bookworm loner?

Well, although I have been thinking of various matters, I couldn"t care less at that time.
Because I made light of it, thinking that it was a joke anyway. And as I haven"t made a proper response, I ended up hurting this important person.

So, what about now…?
The circ.u.mstances are a little bit different. There is not much change to the fact that it is a half-joke, but this is playing around and not playing at the same time.
It is a dangerous game, where two of us are probing each other"s feelings.
Even though I have lost the sight of my own true feelings.

– Jun… Hey, Jun…?

– Wh, what…?

– Anything is fine, say something… boyfriend-like?

Tachibana commenced straight away.
She wiggled her hand which was on my shoulder and put her finger on my nape.

– It"s fine even if it is a lie? Something, boyfriend-like. Nfufu…

Boyfriend-like.
I clung to the cliff of reason so as to not to fall into the abyss of nervousness. And I have to somehow carefully choose my words. But still, it is a probe after all. Let"s give it a try and take a look at her att.i.tude.

– ……… It"s about time you introduce me to your parents

– Fufu, dummy… Not stuff like that…

Familiar small laughter brushed my ear.
I wonder if it was a bit too much of a joke. Still, Tachibana is not the one to reject an invitation.

– How many months are we dating as the setting?

– About half a year…?

– Hee? You can decide that so quickly…?

– … That is, umm, just a joke. What, don"t make that serious face all of a sudden…

I tried looking away, but was not permitted to do so.
Still glued to me, she held my jaw. The sound of the heavy rain outside could be heard and I felt like we have been like this for several tens of minutes.

As if Tachibana"s mood turned better from seeing me fl.u.s.tered, Tachibana"s faced relaxed and became full of confidence just like usual.
Far from simply probing, it seems she"s already excited.

… Humph, get excited all you want. Doing it this way is more fun.
That voice in the corner of my heart, it is still a secret.

– After papa and mama are pleased with you, what will happen?

– So them being pleased with me is a prerequisite…

– If it is like that, you won"t get told anything by papa and always hang out in my room. After school, day after day, just the two of us will happily… After that, there"s only having boyfriend decide…

Tachibana"s lips curved like a bow and her white teeth could be glimpsed from the gap.
She is a girl, whom a triumphant look really, really suits. There is something I understood. I always yearn for this face which knows that I"m being teased.

– Decide. Decide what…

What if I hated being teased by her?
What if I wanted to be dominant?
That is simple. I would have to just turn around and show her an att.i.tude of not being interested. Say that I would be going already and rush out of the hut right then.
It"s probably because I don"t want to be dominant, that I"m not doing so.

– Eeh. What it is, isn"t it obvious…

I want to make her say what is next.
And after making her say that, I want to get even more excited.

…
When she was about to start speaking, Tachibana"s smartphone left on the table vibrated. Somebody from the cla.s.s has probably messaged.
Surprised by the unexpected sound, we separated our sticking bodies.

– Let"s, let"s go. Very soon, they will start getting worried…

As Tachibana was somehow hiding her now naked skin with hands, her face darkened as if displeased.

– I don"t want to be, disturbed… I still want to be the girlfriend…

Not being able to come to a conclusion, vibration stopped and sound of rainfall returned.

– Jun has tried his best, so… Don"t I have to act like a girlfriend?

– Ye-, yeah…

I sat on the old wooden chair with only swim shorts on me, but there"s no way I can let Tachibana sit on a dirty chair.
And without even arranging it with me… the blonde girl settled herself on top of my lap.
Then, she made a direct hit into my ear with a something girlfriend-like.

… Apparently, unlike me, she"s going in with a straight.

– From now on, I will tell Jun what part of him I like…

My body twitched from this extra straight surprise attack, but unfortunately, I can"t move from here because of Tachibana"s weight. I can"t escape.
While I"m being naked in various ways, I have no choice, but to receive this concentrated fire.

– Ehehe, all of you. I like all of you…♪

– T, Tachibana…! Stop, stuff like that…

– Isn"t it girlfriend-like this way, after all? Haa…… I like all of you

She put her slender arm around my neck.
We"re not in boyfriend-girlfriend relationship,  we"re lovey hug friends. With her hand around my neck, I must not be in a daze. That would be rude.

– But half-seriously, it is all of you…

– Humph, a girl of poor taste…

Like that, I was caressing her wet back, while calling her names.
It would be fine if time such as this continued forever. Most likely, we both thought so. Have my senses numbed from clinging too much? My nervousness was about to dissolve within the mood.

I"ll surrender myself to time.
I couldn"t hear anything apart from the voice of the girl before my eyes.

– Your cold, sullen face, you being kind to everyone, and also how you can do different things…

– You became angry for me. You were together with me and seemed like you always had fun.

– Eh…?

– That is… I mean, that sort of parts of Tachibana…, no, Karen, I like them. I will not be saying this second time…

– No… One time a day… Hey, Jun. Jun…!

– Karen…

Her wet eyes captured me and wouldn"t let go.
I properly met her gaze without turning away only now.
I felt like I could continue being like that for eternity.

…… "Do you know why you are feeling nervous?"
…… "Falling in love, you"re just enduring not to do it, you know? Isn"t it okay just fall in love with me already♪ Aren"t we boyfriend and girlfriend? Let"s just both turn into fools?"

Previously, when I was the boyfriend, she has said so.

The world of only two, where we give ourselves to each other.
Like this, I will be completely pulled in.
But right now, it is fine to be totally immersed. Surely the two of us can become happy, be unable to leave, lose the sense of time.
Getting closer to that soft lips without any hesitation…

The door moved with a clank and opened.
Tenjuin Momoko was puffing out her cheek as if displeased.
All of the cla.s.s was waiting behind her in a line. There are also guys who are looking through the window.

It seems my sense of time has really gone mad.
Also, it seems that it really was a shower. Outside is very clear…

– Umm… It"s good that both of you are safe. Although I haven"t thought that it would reach this point after all!

It was silent all around.
It seems like I even won"t be getting teased in this situation.