“Ando-san, could you fry up some corn dogs?”
I said as I exchanged money at the cash register.
“I understand, Matsuo-san.”
She smiled and nodded. Then she headed for the fryer room.
“… Ah, Hiyori. I’d like some croquettes, too.”
“Ah, yes, Hidetsugu-san.”
Immediately after, I gasped. Sweating a little, I looked behind me and saw ….
“…What did I hear~~?”
Sure enough, Koshiba had a grin on her face.
“Hey, just now. You called each other by name, right?”
“”Ugh. …””
“By any chance… are you dating?”
Koshiba said. I let out a sigh,
“… yeah, we are.”
“Seriously!?”
Koshiba’s eyes sparkled.
“Finally~! How slow are you two~! What are you, high school students!”
“That’s you, isn’t it?”
“Hiyorin~, congratulations~!”
Koshiba hugged her.
“T-Thank you, Koshiba-san.”
“No, no. Call me by name too?”
“U-um… …. Natsume-chan.”
“Kya~! I’m so embarrassed~!”
“Oi, Koshiba. Do your job.”
“Mou~, are you jealous of me, Tsugutsugu?”
“Huh? No, you idiot.”
“Saying that, your face is bright red though~”
“S-Shut up!”
“Pffffff~!”
I was irritated with Koshiba, who was making fun of me.
“Koshiba!”
“Kya~, Tsugutsugu, you devil~!”
I punished her lightly.
*****
“See you later~! Newlyweds, flirt as much as you can~!”
“Koshiba, shut up!”
“Hehehe~!”
Koshiba smiled, straddled her bicycle, and galloped off.
“Totally, that guy ….”
I sighed,
“…. then, Shall we head home, too?”
“Y-Yes.”
And then we both started walking,
But …
T-there was no conversation. We used to be able to talk casually. I glanced to the side, and she also looked at me. But she quickly averted my gaze. I did the same.
What is it?
My heart was not at all calm. I’ve never felt this way before, even when I was in a pinch in a game.
“…Hiyori”
I called out, and she jerked slightly.
“….Hidetsugu-san?”
She looked at me.
“Ah. no”
At that moment, a car came from ahead.
“Hiyori, look out!”
I held her close to me. The car drove past.
“T-thank you. …”
“Y- you’re welcome. …”
I quickly pulled Hiyori away from me. She looked a little sad.
“Hiyori.”
“Y-yes.”
“…Shall we hold hands?”
“!?”
“I-it’s okay if you don’t want to. …”
“N-No, That’s not true!”
Hiyori said in a rare, forceful tone.
“I-I want to hold …… hands with you too, Hidetsugu-san.”
Then, she said so with a reserved tone. I smiled.
“Here.”
I took her hand, it was surprisingly delicate.
“Ah,..”
“Shall we?
“….Yes.”
I held Hiyori’s hand and started to walk away. Then again, we were silent for a while. But there was no awkwardness like before.
My heart was calm. It was pounding, but my mind was at ease. It’s a strange feeling, yet a bit contradictory.
“…… Hidetsugu-san, your hands are big and warm.”
“I-Is that so?”
“I want to touch you all the time.”
“Hiyori … stop it, you’re too cute.”
“C-Cute…”
For a while after that, Hiyori and I walked along the road, illuminated by the setting sun.
******
When we got back to my apartment.
“Hiyori, why don’t you take a bath first?”
“What? No, no, you go ahead, Hidetsugu-san.”
“No, no, no, you should…”
“Hidetsugu-san should…”
We started to laugh,
“What are we doing?”
“Fufufu”
Hiyori laughed happily.
“U-um, Hidetsugu-san.”
“Hmm?”
“Well, in that case, why don’t you join me ……?”
“Huh?”
I froze for a moment.
“I-…I’m fine with it, okay? I want to wash Hidetsugu-san’s splendid and big back…”
“Hi-Hiyori ……”
I felt dizzy.
In the best way possible, of course.
“…., how much cuter can you get?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m not mad.”
I said with a wry smile.
“I just want to take care of you, Hiyori, and move on slowly.”
“Hidetsugu-san ….”
“So, for today, we’ll go one at a time …… okay?”
When I said this, Hiyori looked a little disappointed.
“I-I see… To be honest, just thinking about taking a bath with Hidetsugu-san… my heart won’t stop beating!”
“Guha …!”
I leaned back as if I had been hit and was lightly knocked down.
“…..I’m sorry, Hiyori. I’m a more pathetic man than I thought I was.”
“N-No, that’s not true. Hidetsugu-san is my hero… and um… my boyfriend.”
My mouth fell open when I saw her say this to me while blushing furiously.
“Thank you, Hiyori.”
I guess a smart man would have kissed her here, but I couldn’t do it. I just gently stroked her fluffy hair.
“Ah… Hidetsugu-san’s hand… as expected, it’s big… warm.”
Hiyori spilled a tear. While stroking her head, I gently wiped them with my finger.
“There is still plenty of summer vacation left. So, let’s have a lot of fun, just the two of us.”
“Yes, Hidetsugu-san,…… I love you.”
“Me too,…, Hiyori.”
The two of us smiled softly at each other for a while after that.