Chapter 44
Fried tofu, tofu, scallions, onions, miso... and seasonings.
Miyuki had tossed the ingredients for misoshiru into the cart without hesitation, then turned to me and teased me.
“There’s rice at home, right?”
“Of course. How else would I eat soy-sauce egg rice if there wasn’t?”
“That’s true. But, Matsuda-kun, you didn’t happen to cook it with rice weevils in it too, did you?”
“No wonder my stomach’s been feeling so bloated lately. Maybe they laid eggs in my intestines.”
“What are you talking about...! That’s disgusting...”
Miyuki lightly shoved my shoulder.
She’d been smiling from ear to ear ever since we started pushing the cart around the supermarket, so I supposed she was enjoying shopping with me.
Practically glued to the cart, we bought ingredients for udon in addition to the ones for misoshiru.
We didn’t forget to buy beer and snacks, either.
Three cans of beer.
It was just the right amount for drinking while watching TV together after dinner.
When Miyuki reached the checkout, she asked me to wait a moment, then hurried over to the toiletries section.
About a minute later, she returned with a new toothbrush in her hand.
She was planning to brush her teeth after dinner... So Miyuki knew too.
She knew things weren’t going to end with merely eating at my house.
“Next customer!”
When the supermarket employee called out brightly, Miyuki gave me a push from behind, then giggled as though trying to hide her awkwardness.
Taking her feelings into consideration, I said nothing as I placed the ingredients on the checkout conveyor belt. But when I saw her rummaging for her wallet, I furrowed my brow.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh? We’re eating together, so we should split the bill...”
“You’re paying for a meal we’re making at my house? I should pay. Don’t be cheeky—put that away.”
“But still...”
Not only was she refusing to ask for money despite cooking at someone else’s house, she was trying to pay for everything herself.
Of course, we weren’t exactly strangers anymore, but her generosity was excessive even by my standards.
After stopping Miyuki and paying, I stood by the entrance with the heavy plastic bags in my hands.
Looking outside, I saw that the rain was still coming down heavily.
It seemed even stronger than before... I wondered if we were going to have a flood at this rate.
“Matsuda-kun, you closed the living-room door, right?”
Miyuki said this while preparing to open her umbrella.
I realized my mistake and blinked down at her.
Seeing my reaction, Miyuki asked in a daze,
“.... Don’t tell me you just left without closing it...?”
“I guess I did.”
“It’s been raining since this morning...? And you still didn’t close it...?”
“I forgot. There’s an eave, so it should be fine.”
Miyuki let out a disbelieving snort at my answer and scolded me.
“Matsuda-kun, are you seriously an idiot...? If the wind blows, the rain will all come inside... And the living-room floor is tatami...! If rainwater gets in...”
“It probably only got a little on the deck. What could possibly happen?”
“Why are you so carefree...? Let’s just hurry home.”
Miyuki opened her umbrella and shook my arm.
I yawned like someone who found everything bothersome, then started walking just as Miyuki began gearing up for a lecture.
**
“Damn it...”
I removed the tatami closest to the sliding window beside the deck and wiped it with a dry towel, then tossed the towel aside with a grumble.
Watching me while she cooked, Miyuki clicked her tongue.
“Don’t swear. This is what happens when you don’t close the door... Wipe it properly unless you want mold and bugs showing up.”
“Aren’t you bringing the plants inside? Won’t they drown?”
“The wall is blocking some of the rain, so they’ll be fine. Besides, plants grow better when they get rainwater.”
“Why?”
“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it, so I won’t tell you.”
I approached Miyuki from behind as she spoke primly and casually placed my hand on her waist.
Miyuki, who had been stirring the misoshiru, flinched.
The fingertips of the hand gripping the ladle turned white.
It was proof that she was exerting all her strength.
She even bit her lips and scolded me.
“Matsuda-kun... I’m cooking right now...”
“Who said anything?”
“.... Why aren’t you wiping the tatami?”
“Let’s just leave it to dry. Is the salmon done?”
“It still has about three minutes left...”
“Then should we start setting the table?”
“Ah, yeah... Right now... Hyaaah!”
Miyuki suddenly let out a coquettish squeal.
I’d pressed firmly on her waist.
I chuckled at the sight of Miyuki hunching her entire body and tucking her chin close, then unfolded the legs of the low table propped on its side in the corner of the living room.
Before long, Miyuki placed the grilled salmon and misoshiru on the table.
She followed them with stir-fried burdock and a neatly rolled omelet, then sat demurely across from me.
“There aren’t many side dishes.”
“Two side dishes is a lot from my perspective. I’ll enjoy the meal.”
“Eat plenty.”
With the rain pattering against the eaves outside the open window and the two of us occasionally chatting beneath the soft lighting, it felt like a newlywed couple’s dinner.
I wondered if Miyuki was thinking the same thing.
“.... Why are you looking at me like that...?”
She daintily brought a piece of omelet she had cut with her chopsticks to her mouth.
From her shy voice, it seemed she was excited about this dinner too.
“It’s nothing. The food is good.”
“Yeah...”
**
Clunk.
Miyuki’s cheeks were flushed when she came out of the bathroom.
It wasn’t from embarrassment, but from the beer.
“Did you put away the snacks that were left over...?”
Miyuki asked with a refreshed expression.
I answered by pointing to the trash can beside the kitchen.
Miyuki nodded, then carefully approached and sat down beside me.
“When did you lay out the futon...?”
“Just now.”
“I left the toothbrush on the sink for now... I’ll take it when I leave later.”
“Leave it here and use it when you come next time.”
“Ah... Should I...?”
“Yeah.”
I answered indifferently and looked out the window.
It was already dusk outside.
The rain was still pouring down.
It would be completely dark before long.
Swish.
I naturally lay down with my head on the pillow. Perhaps the alcohol had made her bolder, because Miyuki suddenly placed her hand on my forehead and gently stroked my hair upward.
Her touch was always warm.
Warm enough to make my heart feel cozy and my body grow languid.
I closed my eyes for a moment and enjoyed Miyuki’s touch, then gazed deeply up at her.
Perhaps my unusual look had made her impatient.
Miyuki let out a slightly petulant nasal whine.
“Why are you looking at me like that...?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I continued looking into Miyuki’s eyes for a very long time.
Then, when the humid air seemed to settle slightly, I opened my mouth.
“Miyuki.”
“Yeah...”
“I can’t drive because I drank.”
“So...?”
“I can’t take you home.”
“Now that I think about it, you’re right. I’ll have to take a taxi... But, Matsuda-kun, did you drink beer because you didn’t want the trouble of taking me home?”
Miyuki joked with a smile curving around her eyes.
I snorted and grabbed her wrist, pulling her sharply toward me.
“Whoa...!”
With a startled cry, Miyuki fell down beside me.
She hurriedly tried to push herself up with one hand on my futon, but—
“Let’s just stay like this for a while.”
She stopped at my languid tone, then rested her head on one corner of my pillow.
“You could’ve said something... You startled me...”
“Sorry.”
I could feel Miyuki’s breasts brushing against me near my ribs.
If I had my way, I’d pull the shirt tucked into her uniform skirt out and slip my hand inside, but I had to hold myself back.
I couldn’t let lust swallow me right now.
Following the signal from my dick as it began to harden was the quickest route to ruining everything.
The proper approach was to remain rational while carefully balancing things without ignoring my dick’s opinion entirely.
‘Let’s start with something mild and familiar.’
Since this kind of physical contact was new to Miyuki, I should gradually raise the intensity so she wouldn’t become frightened.
I rolled onto my side and looked straight at Miyuki.
Then, timing it with the moment she let out a long exhale through her nose, I brought my face close to hers.
“.....”
Miyuki’s eyelids closed at once.
Despite this being her first kiss while lying down, her expression was peaceful.
Getting her used to physical contact whenever we had the chance had paid off. I felt proud.
I stopped when our faces were close enough for our noses to touch her skin, then fixed her bangs for a moment.
And just as her eyes began to open,
“.... Gasp!”
I pressed my lips to hers.
When I immediately slipped my tongue inside, Miyuki’s tongue rose and tangled with mine.
It was astonishing.
Had something changed in her after what happened at the café yesterday?
Her technique was clumsy, but her effort was commendable and endearing.
The kiss that followed was more intense than the one at the café last time.
Since we didn’t have to worry about anyone else watching us, we made no attempt to hide our escaping breaths, pressing our bodies completely together as we explored each other’s mouths.
“Mmph...! Hnn...”
Perhaps she found it difficult to breathe only through her nose, because Miyuki periodically sucked in and released air through her mouth.
Unaware that my cheek was puffing out slightly from the breath she blew into me, she focused entirely on the kiss.
When the toothpaste flavor faintly tinged with beer had almost disappeared from our mouths,
I placed my hand on Miyuki’s waist and gently stroked from her lowest rib down to her pelvis.
When my hand reached just below her lower back,
“Hmph...!”
Miyuki let out a short breath, her hips drawing back slightly as her hand suddenly seized mine.
She looked extremely startled.
But perhaps reassured by the gentleness of my touch, she soon relaxed her grip.
That was when I ended the kiss.
As I pulled away after lightly biting Miyuki’s lower lip, just as I had during our first kiss, I caressed the cheek of her face as she stared up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.
“.....”
Miyuki accepted my touch without saying anything.
I called out to her in a gentle voice.
“Miyuki.”
Miyuki’s body shuddered once at that.
She seemed to like the sound of my voice.
She also appeared to be at least a little aroused.
“Whyyy...?”
“Do you want to stay the night today?”
At my sudden proposal, Miyuki’s eyes opened as wide as the full moon.
“Huh...? Yeah...?”
“Stay the night.”
Unblinking eyes, ragged breathing, and a mouth opening and closing like a fish.
After remaining unable to hide her bewilderment for a while, Miyuki stammered out a question.
“S-stay the night...? Here...?”
“Do you have a curfew?”
“I don’t, but... It’s just so sudden... I mean...”
“I feel like I’d be lonely if I were alone today.”
The moment she heard the word ‘lonely,’ a shadow fell over Miyuki’s face.
She had realized that I lived alone.
“.....”
“.....”
After a long, very long silence, Miyuki was the one who broke it.
Unable to decide what to do, she alternated between looking at the rain pouring outside and looking at my face before finally managing to speak.
“W-would you... be very lonely...?”
I pulled the blanket from beneath our feet and draped it over both our bodies.
Then I wrapped an arm around Miyuki’s head, drew her into my embrace, rested my chin on the crown of her head, and changed the subject.
“It’s nice and warm.”
Rather than changing the subject, I was expressing it indirectly.
I was telling her that I wasn’t lonely because I was with her.
Miyuki noticed what I really meant,
“.....”
then slipped her arm into the space beneath my arm while breathing softly.
And in a barely audible voice, she said,
“I like it too...”