Episode 3

‘W-water, please…’

My arm, stretched out towards the tablet, is grabbed.

‘Your hands are so small and cute, Senpai.’

I feel as though her gaze is even more fixed than before. As if carried away by her own heat… or something like that.

　She squeezes and presses my palm. She’s playing with it, looking quite pleased with herself.

‘Y-your hands are lovely too, Seriha. Your nails are always so stylish…’

‘You’ve finally called me by name.’

A sweet voice.

We’re sitting side by side, so her voice is constantly in my ear, making me feel uneasy.

“W-what…?”

“My name.”

“You never called me by my name, Senpai. I felt a bit lonely.”

A warm, slick sensation touched my fingertips. She let her tongue glide over them, tracing each crevice slowly as if to fill every gap.

“H-hold on! That’s dirty…”

I tried to pull my hand away instinctively, but the seat was too narrow for me to move as I wanted.

　Her other arm wraps around my back, pulling me close. Her face draws near.

Long eyelashes. Pale cherry-blossom lips. I always think she’s beautiful, but seeing her up close makes me feel it even more. I know this isn’t the time to be thinking such things, but my brain just isn’t working properly.

“I’ll stop if you say ‘stop’.”

A familiar phrase. Stop… but she’s already licking my finger.

　‘…Stop! Just stop for a moment…! We’re in a restaurant… here.’

‘No one can see us. That’s what the private room is for.’

Her face is still so close. When we’re side by side, she’s always looking down at me from a slightly higher position, making me feel even more overwhelmed than usual.

‘I-it’s not about… being seen or anything like that…’

A damp heat runs over my finger again. At the same time, I feel a sensation as if she’s stroking my thigh. I feel like I’m going mad. My heartbeat is constantly pounding.

“Senpai. I like you.”

Just because you like someone doesn’t mean you can get away with anything, does it?

The sound of my own shallow breathing is deafening. Even though it’s a private room, there are other customers right next door, and I can hear the staff’s footsteps too.

Since it’s a couple’s seat, perhaps this sort of thing happens here all the time. But we aren’t a couple.

The hand pressing against my mouth to stop me from making a sound is slowly becoming damp with sweat.

“I’ll stop if you really don’t want me to.”

That’s unfair.

“If you tell me to go home, I’ll go home.”

This is really… bad.

All my brain’s resources right now are devoted to restraining my body so I don’t make a sound or overreact. I have… almost no spare capacity to think about anything else.

“Senpai… I like you.”

“Aah…”

　A wet, hot sensation slowly traces the edge of my ear. A damp sound and her body heat fall upon my ear.

“Th-that… really, no…”

I’m running out of oxygen. My breathing grows shallow in time with my rising heart rate; my hips fold in as if to release the heat, and my body curls up.

Any more than this… really…

“…S-stop… stop…”

“Just… stop for a moment…”

Just as sparks began to fly behind my eyelids, I forced the words out through the gaps in my ragged breathing.

I wonder what expression she has on her face right now. I’m too busy trying to catch my breath to spare a thought for looking at her.

I want to give myself a pat on the back for stopping just in the nick of time.

“I’m sorry. Did I go too far?”

A calm, cheerful voice cascades down upon me.

　She’s probably wearing her usual smile.

“…I went too far… You know me well…”

My ragged breathing has settled down considerably. My throat is parched.

Suppressing my trembling hands, I reach for the glass and take a long swig. The sweetness passing through my throat connects with the scene from a few seconds ago, and my face grows hot again.

“You were talking about another girl, so I had to punish you. Call it training.”

Her face lit up with a cheerful smile.

“You know I adore you, so it’s your fault for talking about her so happily, isn’t it?”

‘Training’… I promised to get along with her, but I don’t remember being anyone’s pet.

“…I suppose I was in the wrong there… But this is a restaurant, so…”

“Would it be alright if it weren’t a restaurant?”

　Caught off guard by her unexpected words, I reflexively looked up at her face.

A sparkling, bright smile that seemed to infect everyone around her. Yet, deep within her eyes, a passion flickered that seemed at odds with that smile.

“I-it’s not like that…”

“In a wholesome way… In a wholesome way, right? In a wholesome way…”

I repeated it over and over, as if trying to convince myself.

“I wonder just how far ‘wholesome’ goes, eh~”

　She tilts her glass cheerfully and reaches for the chips.

“I’m inexperienced, so you’ll have to teach me where the line is.”

Her white arm reaches up to my chin, and she slips a long chip into my mouth; I chew it bit by bit, almost reflexively. Once I’ve finished, her slender white thumb gently traces my lips.

“Is it tasty?”

Licking her own thumb, she gazed at me with a delighted expression.

I couldn’t find the words and looked away.

It’s been all on her terms. Even though she’s two years younger, I’ve been completely at her mercy.

I let out a small sigh and stood up as she spoke.

“I’m just going to the loo for a moment. Please make yourself at home.”

　The sliding door closed and Seriha’s footsteps faded into the distance.

Alone in the room, I let out a deep sigh. Even though it’s a private room, it’s still a public place. We’re not even dating, yet she’s jealous of me, touching me… licking me… doing all sorts of strange things…

And yet, I don’t understand why I don’t feel all that bad about it.

Was Takumi Hiito really this sort of person? I hate the alcohol that’s clouding my thoughts.

　Wanting to take my mind off things, I tip back my glass. The third one is already gone. Another of the same.

I don’t really want to think about anything difficult right now. I tip back the glass that arrives almost immediately.

I’m getting sleepy. I think — yes, I’m probably just sleepy right now.

‘I wish she’d hurry back…’

The time spent slumped over the table, fiddling with my glass, felt as long as eternity.