Everyday Life - Hanamori Chisa Wants to Be Called By Her First Name
“Hanamori-san, you take milk in your tea, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
After dinner at Asami-san’s place.
Her soft voice drifts over from the kitchen.
I lean back against the sofa, glancing at my phone screen, and answer. The cushion I’m hugging against my chest smells like Asami-san.
Asami-san sets two teacups down gently on the small low table in front of the sofa, murmuring “here you go.”
She sits down on the sofa, and one side dips softly under her weight. There’s still a little distance between us.
“Let’s watch ‘The Landlord’s Lot’ on Nitoflix. I want to see what happens next.”
“Ehh. I want ‘30 Days of Romance Reality’ instead.”
“That again? We just watched it recently.”
“But I want to see what happens next.”
“Ugh, fine. Guess it can’t be helped.”
Asami-san takes a sip of tea and laughs softly. Her snaggletooth peeks out when she does that, and I think, as always, it’s cute.
Even the way her fingers tap the remote looks strangely sensual, somehow.
The Nitoflix show starts. Casually, gradually, we close the distance on the sofa. Our thighs touch, warmth seeping through the fabric between us.
I naturally lean against Asami-san’s shoulder. Her body heat is comfortable, her fabric softener’s scent drifting faintly.
Sipping our tea, we chat about nothing in particular. Work, dramas we want to watch, tomorrow’s weather.
But.
“Hanamori-san, this drama’s good, huh.”
Ah. There it is again.
Asami-san calls me “Hanamori-san” again today.
I really want her to start using my first name soon. We’re dating, after all. Wait, we are dating, right?
The only reason I call her “Asami-san” too is because she calls me “Hanamori-san” first.
“Hanamori-san? What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
My answer comes out a little sulky despite myself.
“Ehh, there’s definitely something.”
“There’s nothing, I said.”
Asami-san leans in to peek at my face.
Close, too close.
“Really? Your face is red.”
“It’s not red.”
I deny it, getting worked up over it.
Asami-san’s hand gently touches my cheek.
“Hanamori-san.”
That way of addressing me, again.
Asami-san’s face draws closer.
I can tell she’s about to kiss me.
Swish.
I turn my face away, deliberately.
I know it’s a mean thing to do.
“Eh.”
Asami-san makes a blank, dumbfounded face. A total idiot face. I nearly burst out laughing.
“Name.”
“Eh?”
“No kiss until you call me by my name.”
“Name?”
Asami-san gives a slightly troubled, wry laugh. The way the corners of her eyes lift makes her look childlike, and my chest gives a little squeeze despite myself.
Then, after thinking it over for a moment, the corner of her mouth curls up. Something in her eyes seems to shift.
The distance between our faces closes again.
I think she’s about to kiss me, but instead, Asami-san slowly brings her face close to my ear.
Fuh.
“Hiah.”
Asami-san breathes hot air against my ear.
A strange sound slips out of me despite myself. Embarrassing.
“Fufu, cute.”
A slightly lower voice, her real voice mixed into her breath, stimulates my ear.
The sultriness of that voice, the heated breath, makes my whole body shudder without meaning to.
“…Come on, Asami-sa—”
“Chisa.”
That sweet breath, mixed with her real voice, echoes deep into my ear again.
Ah. My name.
While I’m still processing that, Asami-san’s tongue starts slowly tracing the outline of my ear. At that exquisite distance where it barely touches, agonizingly slow.
“Fuh…… uh.”
A breath slips out despite myself. Somehow frustrated by it, I press the back of my hand against my mouth, trying to hold the sound back.
Asami-san nips my ear lightly, sweetly, or breathes warm air against it.
My body reacts sensitively each time, jolting.
“I like you. I like you, Chisa.”
A slightly low, sweet, aching whisper.
Chu, mm, haah…
Chisa… I like you…
That breathy whisper tickles deep inside my ear.
The core of my body heats up, my hips twisting involuntarily.
“Nnh, ah…… come on……”
This might be a little dangerous.
Just from my ear, this much…
“Mm… uh, that’s enough already.”
I’m trying to hold my voice back, but strange sounds keep slipping out. That’s frustrating, embarrassing.
Asami-san’s attention to my ear doesn’t stop. Gentle breath, still carrying heat. Sweet whispers.
My body throbs, tingling, and I can feel my own breathing growing ragged. I can feel my cheeks flushing too.
More. More.
I find myself thinking that, but I’m frustrated that just my ear is doing this much to me, frustrated that Asami-san might notice.
“Ah, nnh…… stop…… already.”
I push at Asami-san’s body with both hands, trying to pull away. But she just hugs me tighter.
“No.”
She whispers it by my ear, sweet and deliberately mean. Infuriating. Unfair.
After that, she kept saying my name, over and over, right by my ear. That breathy voice was unbearably sultry, mean, unfair. Cute.
Each time, my body jolted, and even though I tried to hold it back, sounds kept slipping out. That, too, was frustrating.
—No good. This might become a habit.
After that.
“Hanamori-sa—, ah. Chisa.”
Asami-san tries to say my name.
“Actually, my last name’s fine for normal, everyday use.”
“Eh, why? Didn’t you want me to use your name?”
“…Just because.”
I said it, looking away.
Asami-san looked puzzled.
“For normal use,” I said.
What am I even saying.
Embarrassment creeps up on me gradually, afterward.
A holiday night where I couldn’t stop my own face from burning.