CH 20

“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.