Chapter 41
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[I've passed by your house every day, so how am I seeing you for the first time?]
A male actor's line coming from the TV.
It could have been the opening scene heralding the start of a romance movie, but Miyuki couldn't properly hear that line.
No, more accurately, she had no time to listen.
Because she was kissing Matsuda deeply with both legs resting on his thighs.
She could taste the sweetness of the green tea latte and the richness of the milk in her mouth.
Something warm and moist that had entered her mouth.
It pressed firmly between her tightly closed upper and lower teeth, trying to pry them apart, then turned and explored along her teeth and gums.
Huff...!
Matsuda's hot breath tickled her philtrum and the corners of her mouth.
Perhaps affected by that warmth, her body heated up in an instant.
How had things gotten like this?
She didn't know. It seemed their faces had simply drawn close at some point.
In fact, she had expected the situation to turn out this way.
Ever since she asked him to go to the multi-purpose café with her today.
Perhaps, deep down, she had even been hoping for something like this to happen.
After all, she was accepting Matsuda's tongue without putting up any resistance.
Tap.
A tongue touching the soft flesh inside her upper lip.
It felt as though her mouth was being ravaged... but it wasn't unpleasant.
Matsuda's nose was so high-bridged that it kept brushing her cheek, and that sensation felt good too.
Come to think of it, her sexual curiosity seemed to be growing as time passed.
It felt like she was gradually awakening to sex... Was this a normal progression?
Or was she simply a pervert?
Huff...!
Miyuki exhaled the breath she'd been holding through her nose, then grew curious about what expression Matsuda, who was leading the kiss, was making.
And so she furtively opened her eyes to slits.
“.....”
She saw Matsuda frowning.
He looked bothered by something.
Why was he like that? Did he perhaps dislike her just staying still?
Had she kept her mouth too tightly closed? Should she simply open it?
Or should she take the initiative a little?
‘B-but I don't know how...’
Just as unease began to well up inside Miyuki, she saw it.
Matsuda's hand resting on her thigh repeatedly clenching and relaxing.
He couldn't be anxious... so why was he doing that?
She wanted to get inside Matsuda's head and read what he was thinking right now.
As Miyuki was thinking this, she noticed Matsuda's hand moving toward her waist before stopping short.
Only then did she understand why Matsuda was reacting that way.
He was resisting the temptation to touch Miyuki's body while kissing her.
Because he was worried it might make her uncomfortable, or startle her.
It was a little lewd. But she felt even more touched by his consideration.
The fact that reason was taking precedence over instinct meant he treasured her.
That's why she liked it so much.
She felt jealous too.
He hadn't said so, but Matsuda had clearly been involved with many women.
He must have touched other women all over when he kissed them...
Thinking about that made her feel angry, too.
‘No...’
She shouldn't think negatively like someone driven mad by jealousy; she should think positively.
Matsuda treated her as someone special, unlike those other women.
After scolding herself, Miyuki closed her eyes again and, for some reason, slightly parted the teeth she'd clamped shut.
At that, Matsuda's tongue, which had merely been testing the waters, plunged in and collided with Miyuki's tongue.
The force with which it entered, as though it had been waiting for the door to open, made Miyuki's body visibly flinch.
Startled by the unfamiliar sensation she was experiencing for the first time, she unconsciously closed her teeth.
Crunch.
Without realizing that Matsuda's tongue was still inside.
“Mmph...!”
A short, pained groan escaped him.
At the same time, his tongue scraped against Miyuki's teeth and slipped out.
“....?”
Miyuki's eyes flew open, puzzled by the sudden end to the kiss.
Then, seeing Matsuda frowning with one hand over his mouth, she realized her mistake.
“Ah...!”
Coming to her senses, she hurriedly checked Matsuda's condition.
“I-I'm sorry...! Are you okay...?”
Matsuda didn't answer.
He merely shook his shoulders as he chuckled.
That was definitely... a laugh of sheer disbelief.
“I'm sorry... I'm really sorry...”
Miyuki repeatedly apologized, her face almost crumpling into tears.
Matsuda grinned at her and made a light joke.
“You always go around calling me an idiot, but aren't you the real idiot?”
From his voice, there wasn't the slightest hint that he was offended.
He had probably laughed not because he found it absurd, but because he found what she'd done utterly cute.
She felt apologetic, embarrassed, and pathetic.
She'd heard that some people had had their tongues bitten off while kissing... She was truly relieved that hadn't happened.
“I'm fine, so let's finish watching the movie.”
At the deep voice tickling her ear, Miyuki lowered her head and answered.
“Yeah...”
Miyuki let her shoulders droop and turned her eyes toward the TV.
She couldn't take in a thing about the movie.
She didn't even know what the actors were saying.
Even when she wanted to focus, she couldn't.
The pleasant mood had been shattered, leaving her feeling glum.
Next time, I absolutely have to stay still...
After repeatedly reaffirming that resolve, Miyuki glanced up at Matsuda.
His mouth kept shifting from side to side, and he seemed to be rolling his tongue around inside.
It still seemed to hurt him... She wished she could turn back time.
‘I'm screwed...’
Miyuki let out a long sigh inwardly, then revealed her troubled state by gulping down her strawberry smoothie and frantically wiggling her toes.
**
As though to apologize for biting my tongue, Miyuki held my hand tightly all the way home.
Not only that, she pressed her fingernail firmly into the back of my hand again and again, even making a cross-shaped mark.
There were already five of them.
It seemed to be her own way of apologizing, or expressing affection...
She was so cute that I kept feeling like I was going to laugh, making it hard to concentrate properly on driving.
“Whatever happened to you scolding me for driving with one hand...”
“.... It's just... since we're almost there...”
“Do you have another cultural festival meeting tomorrow?”
“Yeah... once student council's over... Why? Are you going somewhere?”
“No, I was going to wait.”
“Oh, but I don't know when it'll end... Then... should I study in the library...?”
So she wasn't telling me to go on ahead just because she felt bad.
She must really want to go with me.
Every time I see Miyuki falling deeper for me, I can feel my passion surging.
It feels like my whole body is filling with energy.
“I'll be buying some food at the supermarket nearby, so call me when you're done.”
“Okay... But... do you still eat things like soy-sauce egg rice when you're alone?”
“Yeah.”
“How many times have I told you it's bad for your health...? Can't you stop eating that stuff? The convenience store sells boxed meals...”
“I eat karaage bento pretty often too.”
“Not that kind... I mean healthy boxed meals.”
“Healthy food doesn't taste good.”
Miyuki gave an exasperated snort.
Still clutching my hand tightly, she said,
“Eat it anyway. What if you ruin your health?”
Whenever Miyuki gives me a worried lecture, she's as assertive as she used to be.
She's like that even now.
Even now, she was berating me in a higher-pitched voice.
“People's bodies don't break that easily.”
“If you let your guard down like that, one day you'll wind up seriously ill.”
“Are you putting a curse on me right now?”
“It's not a curse, it's concern, you id... Eek!”
Miyuki's body gave a little jerk, as though she were having a seizure.
Because my hand had slipped neatly onto her inner thigh.
It wasn't deliberate on my part; Miyuki had been speaking with a serious expression when she shifted her posture, causing her legs to part slightly, and that's how it happened.
Put simply, it was a classic lucky-pervert accident.
Her uniform skirt was pressed down, revealing the line of her legs.
Long and alluring.
Was it because the uniform covered them?
I found it even more satisfying than seeing her bare legs at the beach.
And her inner thigh pressing against my hand was an added bonus.
Miyuki, who had given me this unexpected reward,
“.....”
simply blinked, staring at the hand that had slipped onto her inner thigh.
Seeing her unable to do anything, she must have been terribly flustered.
I should help her a little.
“Unclasp your hands.”
“.... Huh...? Okay?”
“Unclasp your hands. I can't pull my hand out because your hand is pressing down on it.”
“Ah...! Okay... I will...!”
After hurriedly unclasping her hands, she stared blankly at me.
She had an expression that seemed to ask why I wasn't pulling it out.
With a mischievous smile, I gently stroked Miyuki's thigh with my palm as I withdrew my hand.
“Eek!”
At this, Miyuki reacted so violently she nearly fainted.
Her body trembled as though an electric current were running through it, and she protested at me.
“M-Matsuda-kun!! You told me to unclasp my hands just so you could do this, didn't you!?”
“Yeah.”
“.....”
Her sharp, feisty expression vanished, replaced by a dazed look as she stared with her mouth hanging open.
Since I'd admitted it outright, she seemed to have been left speechless.
I grinned at her, then gripped the steering wheel with both hands and quietly drove home.
When we finally arrived at Miyuki's house,
Miyuki, who hadn't said a word until then, unfastened her seat belt and said,
“After club activities tomorrow, go to the library and review what you learned today...”
She seemed willing to let the fact that I'd touched her thigh slide.
I'd expected her to call me a pervert and tell me not to do it again, but this was unexpected.
Had she experienced a change of heart at the café earlier?
“I'll wait for an hour.”
“You said earlier that you'd wait. Just try leaving...”
“What are you going to do if I leave? Scold me? Like earlier?”
After saying that, I stuck out my tongue to emphasize what had happened when Miyuki bit it, and her face flushed red.
“Th-that wasn't scolding you...!”
“Then what was it?”
“.... Why are your words and actions so flippant, Matsuda-kun? Does this make you happy...? Is it fun?”
I can't help teasing you when your reactions are so satisfyingly vivid.
You get angry and annoyed, but you're kindhearted, so you can't pinch or hit me...
I love that “idiot” is the only insult you know.
“I'm sorry.”
When I obediently apologized with a mischievous smile, Miyuki muttered, then let out a long sigh.
“Haa... You're really the same as ever... I'm leaving... Thanks for the ride...”
“Get home safely.”
“My house is right there. What do I need to be careful about...”
See? Even now, you keep giving me openings to tease you.
I wanted to tell her not to drop her key like last time, but I held back.
Miyuki glared at me, speaking in a prim tone, then got out of the car.
Then she stared intently at me.
“Why?”
“Just... get home safely...”
“That was my line.”
“I wanted to say it too... I'm really leaving now...”
Miyuki gave me a feeble goodbye and carefully closed the passenger-side door.
Her back as she trudged toward her house looked lonely.
I should get out and cheer her up.
Clunk.
I opened the driver's-side door, got out of the car immediately, and strode toward Miyuki.
At the unexpected sound, she turned around, her eyes widening.
I approached her and, without warning, grabbed the top of her head and pulled her toward me, giving her a light kiss on the forehead.
Then, without saying anything, I thoroughly mussed up her hair before getting back in the car and heading home.
Miyuki, staring blankly at the car as it pulled away, was centered in my side mirror.
Her disheveled hair suits her pretty well, too.
Tomorrow, I should ask her to cook me a meal at home.
If she's that worried about my health, she can do that much for me, can't she?
Right, Miyuki? I'll be counting on you.