CH 41

After school.

I’m walking with Saegusa-san towards the station.

As for Takayuki and Shimizu-san, Takayuki had club activities today because he had successfully won the preliminary round of the general competition, and Shimizu-san said she was going to support Takayuki a little, so we said goodbye to them in the classroom.

So after school today, it was just me and Saegusa, and we went to a restaurant that Saegusa wanted to go to.

Naturally, since it was just the two of us walking together today, there were more eyes on us from all over the school than usual.

However, the fact that we call each other Shi-chan and Takkun has already spread, and people are no longer surprised that we are together like this.

So why are they looking at me now? The answer is simply that they are jealous and envious.

I’m walking around with Shiori, the super idol that everyone adores, so it’s more normal for this to happen, and that’s why I’m not so lost that I’m second guessing myself at this point.

Incidentally, the woman next to me, Saegusa-san, was walking with a big smile on her face, looking forward to the restaurant she was going to visit today.

The sight of Saegusa in such a good mood attracted the attention of the people around her, but this was also unavoidable.

We arrived in front of a little cafe in front of the station, a hole in the wall that you wouldn’t know was a cafe at first glance.

“He- here? How did you know?”

“Yeah, I looked it up in a magazine the other day.

I asked in surprise, to which Saegusa replied with a smiling face.

I remembered Saegusa from that day when she was acting suspiciously, and I looked her up in a magazine: …… I see, that was the day she unveiled the cafe deck at the convenience store the other day.

–I remembered Saegusa-san from that day.

The Saegusa-san of that day was quite formidable.

When we opened the door to the store, we found that it was an intricate structure, and apparently all the seats were private.

We were taken to a private room for two by a waitress who came right away.

There were two antique red sofas facing each other, with a small dark brown antique desk in the center.

What can I say, it was a very stylish space that a girl would love.

“Wow, the atmosphere is nice.”

“Y-Yes, it is.”

We sat down facing each other and looked at the menu on the table.

I hadn’t expected to be alone with Saegusa in a private room like this, but I was a little nervous about the situation.

“Oh, I think I might want these chocolate pancakes.”

“Hmm? Oh, that looks delicious. I think I’ll have one of those too.”

To be honest, I didn’t have time to choose what I wanted to eat, so I thought I’d just order the same thing as Saegusa-san and be done with it.

But when I said that, Saegusa-san made a blatantly dissatisfied face for some reason.

Huh? I wondered if I had made a mistake, and this time my impatience accelerated my nervousness.

“So, can I order?”

“…… Oh, okay.”

A little puffed up, Saegusa-san called the waitress to order.

“Takkun, are you sure you want these chocolate pancakes?”

“Y, yeah. The same one. ……”

“Well, I’ll have one of these chocolate pancakes and one of these coconut pancakes, please!”

Saegusa-san said, and finished her order.

I was a little surprised that she changed her order at the last minute, because I thought she was going to order two chocolate pancakes.

When I looked at Saegusa-san’s face and wondered why, she looked a little unhappy, her face reddening as she drank some water.

A few moments later, two pancakes were delivered, and Saegusa’s earlier grumpiness disappeared, and she was just as happy as before, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“Photo, photo♪”

“Oh, are you trying to take a secret picture of me like that again?

When I saw her happily taking pictures of the pancakes, I remembered the last time she took a secret picture of me, so I jokingly asked her.

Then Saegusa replied, “I won’t do it again♪” and pointed her phone straight at my face, “This time I’ll take a picture of you directly♪” and took a quick shot of my face.

Seeing my confusion at being photographed so suddenly, Saegusa-san, who had succeeded in her prank, smiled happily.

I thought it was cute to see her laughing so happily, and I decided it was a good thing that I could see her like that.

“Shall we eat then?”

“Yes!”

Saegusa took a bite of her pancake and put her hands on her cheeks and said, “Mmm!” She had a really delicious expression on her face.

The expression on her face was so full of happiness that if she were still in the entertainment business, she should definitely be doing food reporting.

When I took a bite, the taste of sweet chocolate spread in my mouth, and it was so delicious that it was no wonder why Saegusa-san looked like that.

“W-what do you think?”

“Hmm? Yes, it’s delicious.”

While looking at me eating the pancake, Saegusa-san asked me about the taste, for some reason I was a little nervous.

I wondered if she would be interested in the taste of this one that I was originally going to eat, and I replied honestly that it was delicious, though I felt a little bad about it.

Then Saegusa’s face turned a little red and she said, “Oh – I see- this one’s delicious, too,” in a slightly barbed voice, and cut the pancake on her plate into bite-sized pieces.

Then, Saegusa-san took an unexpected action.

“Y, yes, Takkun, a-ah-ah-ah!”

To my surprise, Saegusa stuck a fork into the pancake she was cutting up and held it out to me.

Her face was bright red and her words were choked with embarrassment, but I had no time to worry about that in front of her.

Seeing the whipped cream about to fall off my fork, I made up my mind and hurriedly took a bite of the pancake Saegusa was offering.

The pancakes were very tasty, with a coconut flavor unlike my chocolate ……, but that flavor was secondary in my mind.

I knew that my face was as red as a boiled octopus at the thought of Saegusa-san suddenly giving me a piece of her pancake.

“And? is, is, is, isn’t it delicious?”

“Y, y, yes! Oh, it was delicious! Maybe I should have gone with that one, hahaha.”

We laughed at each other to drown out our embarrassment.

However, the fact that I had just had an indirect kiss with Saegusa-san made my heart pound at its peak.

I had just indirectly kissed a former national idol, the most beautiful girl in school, and the girl I had feelings for.

It would be funny if I didn’t feel nervous in this situation.

“Ta, Takkun, …….”

“What’s wrong?”

When I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding, Saegusa-san looked down a little and called out to me shyly.

“I’d like to try some of Takkun’s.……”

“Eh?!”

I couldn’t help but let out a strange voice.

Does that mean that what Saegusa-san just did for me, I should now do for her?

I wondered if that was why Saegusa had arranged for us to order separately in such a private restaurant.

Come to think of it, it all makes sense when I look back at the way she Limed me at lunchtime today.

She was inspired by Takayuki and Shimizu’s battle, so she decided to do the same thing in a private situation like this ……

“I-It’s practice!”

“Eh?

“U-uhm, it’s for practice!!”

Is this a continuation of the hand-holding we did the other day?! I thought, but when I saw Saegusa-san talking so shyly, I didn’t care about the details anymore.

It would be a shame for a man to let a girl go this far and then turn her down or play dumb.

And I’d do it too if I could!!

I made up my mind and cut the pancake into bite-size pieces and presented it to Saegusa-san.

“H, here, Shi-chan. Ahn”.

“A-Ahn.”

Saegusa’s beautiful, plump lips opened.

Then, with my heart pounding, I put the pancake in its mouth, just like Takayuki did that time.

“…… It’s delicious.”

Saegusa-san smiles contentedly as she munches on the pancake I offered her.

When I saw Saegusa’s satisfied look, I couldn’t help but smile, as the feeling of happiness overtook the embarrassment I had felt earlier.

Oh, I love you so much, I thought, as I continued to enjoy the time alone with Saegusa until we finished our pancakes.