Episode 28: Everyday Life With My Childhood-Friend Girlfriend Is Just Too Convenient!
Out of nowhere, I’ve started thinking that my life — Sukue Yotsuka’s life — is way too convenient. Like, there’s a limit.
…Ah, wait, hold on. Don’t get the wrong idea.
I don’t mean anything vulgar like my parents’ stocks suddenly skyrocketing and letting me live without ever working again, or getting scouted off the street and rocketing straight down the idol-career path, or regaining memories from a past life just in time to dodge becoming a villainess. Nothing like that.
I mean, well, how do I put this.
…After years of one-sided love for my childhood friend, we’re now officially, happily, dating!!!!!!
◇◆◇◆◇
I used to wonder what would actually change, now that we’re dating.
Turns out, quite a lot has, actually.
Kisa-san figured it out almost instantly. Just from watching us walk home together after our shift, she got this delighted, knowing grin and said, “You two — that’s the ‘finally’ face if I’ve ever seen one.”
Then she slapped me on the shoulder, shouting “On the house, on the house!” with a face permanently stuck in a smirk.
A few days later, at my next shift, she slid over a mountain of chāshū pork and bean sprouts — a full “mashi-mashi” order I definitely never asked for.
“Dating takes a lot of energy, doesn’t it? Eat up properly!”
I can’t eat that much, and what exactly do you think I’m using all that “energy” for?!
The seasons slipped by fast, and at year’s end, the two of us went to the local shrine together for the first shrine visit of the new year.
Standing side by side, hands pressed together, neither of us said what we wished for.
Probably wished for the same thing… I hope.
For Valentine’s Day, I attempted handmade chocolate for the very first time in my life.
Until now I’d just handed out store-bought stuff as casual “friend chocolate” — but this time it meant something different. This was the real thing.
Result: an absolute, spectacular disaster.
No matter how many times I tried, I just kept producing charcoal.
What I finally, somehow managed to hand over was a batch of wildly misshapen chocolate that, at the very least, probably tasted fine.
“Interesting shape.”
“Shut up, it’s about the taste, not the looks!”
“Fufu… delicious. Tastes like you, Yotsuka.”
“Wh— what does ‘tastes like me’ even mean?! Stop saying weird stuff like that!”
Makina’s chocolate had been beautiful and genuinely delicious, so I felt a little defeated by comparison.
Well — I figured, if I’m the only one who gets to eat this, that’s fine by me.
The days slowly grew longer again, and as the wind turned warm, the “something” between us kept quietly, steadily changing too.
Take, for instance, an unremarkable afternoon off, like this one—
◇◆◇◆◇
“Hey, Yotsuka, can you grab the AC remote for me?”
Makina asks, sprawled lazily across the sofa, glancing my way.
“Ah, sure, sure… wait, it’s right there next to you.”
“Too sleepy to move…”
“Lazy!”
Fine, fine, hard work being a princess, I guess.
I lean over toward the far end of the sofa, near Makina’s head, to grab the remote.
“Whoa!”
Right then, I lose my balance, and before I know it, I’m braced on both knees, hovering directly over Makina.
…Can’t move.
Because Makina’s face is right there.
Her eyes, half-lidded and hazy.
Her long black hair, usually so neatly kept, mussed slightly from being pressed against the sofa cushion.
The soft, warm feeling of her body, caught between my knees.
…Wait, this is way more dangerous than I expected.
“…Um, Makina?”
“What?”
“This is a pretty compromising position, don’t you think…?”
“Now that you mention it.”
But neither of us moved.
“Should probably get off, huh~…”
“Yeah, probably…”
And yet, I didn’t get off.
“Yotsuka, you’re making a really weird face right now.”
“Wh— what? You’re making a pretty dumb face yourself.”
“Rude!”
A soft laugh slipped out between us.
That laughter slowly settled.
Like it was a signal, understood between us without words.
After that, Makina didn’t say anything.
Only her eyes, watching me steadily, gave the answer.
Unable to look away from that gaze, I closed the distance, little by little.
As I got closer, Makina’s eyes slowly began to fall shut.
Our lips met.
Lightly, at first.
Like testing the water.
The moment I started to pull back, Makina’s hand slipped around the back of my neck and pulled me right back in.
“…!”
The second time was deeper.
Makina’s lips were soft and hot.
Changing the angle, over and over again.
“Nn…”
A sound escaped Makina’s lips.
That voice decisively shook something deep inside me.
Without thinking, my right hand reached out to cup Makina’s cheek.
Makina pressed her cheek further into my palm.
“Yotsuka…”
Just hearing my name made the back of my head tingle.
And our lips met once more.
I was losing track of how to stop.
From her cheek down to the nape of her neck.
My fingertips traced the path naturally.
Makina gave a small shudder.
“…! Yotsuka.”
I couldn’t stop.
From her shoulder, down to her back.
My hand moved over her clothes as if tracing her very contours.
Makina’s hand slid around my back, too, trying to draw me even closer.
Before I knew it, one of my knees had slipped between Makina’s thighs, and my other hand was gently stroking the outside of her thigh.
The soft, comforting warmth of Makina’s body radiated through my palm. My fingertips were drawn like a magnet to her slender waistline, clearly defined even through her clothes, and I instinctively gave it a faint, gentle squeeze.
“Nn…!”
Makina’s voice jumped a little.
Yet, we didn’t go any further than that.
For some reason, neither of us was ready to cross that line just yet.
The urge to touch each other more, mixed with the feeling that it was still too early, they were pulling against each other… that kind of vibe.
Just kissing, just touching skin.
It gave me a feeling of fulfillment like nothing else.
It felt like everything I could ever want was right here.
“…Hah…”
A sigh escaped, though whose it was, I couldn’t tell.
“Hey, Yotsuka.”
“…What?”
“My chest feels kind of warm.”
“Mine too.”
After saying that, a thought crossed my mind.
Seriously, isn’t this way too convenient?
Oh well. Who cares.
After a brief silence, our lips met again.
This time, much more slowly.
Sunlight from the spring afternoon slipped slowly through the gap in the curtains, spilling into the room.
“Yotsuka… don’t let go, okay?”
It felt like time had stopped.
…Oh, right. Come to think of it, I never actually got that AC remote.
…Well, whatever.
If a convenient little stretch of time like this could just go on forever, that’d be fine by me too.