CH 35

“Yes, Toma-kun, you wanted water, right?”

I bought natural water and mixed juice from a vending machine near the park and handed it to Toma, who was sitting on a bench.

While I went to buy the drinks, I tried to calm down by myself.

“Thank you. Here’s the money,” Toma said, taking out a leather wallet from his pocket and handing me 150 yen.

“This much is okay. I’ll treat you.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“Is it okay for you to oppose me?”

“Huh…?”

“I mean, you can’t complain even if you report it to Miki-san, right? Tom-kun, you are considerate… something like that.”

“Well, that’s…”

“I know it’s a sneaky thing to say, but please forgive me. I have things I can’t compromise on too.”

Sitting on a wooden bench for three people, I leaned a little closer to Toma, who was already sitting there. We were at a distance closer than friends but not yet lovers. Our shoulders almost touching, but not quite.

“I know I have to send you home soon because it’s getting late, but… I’m sorry for asking you to do this. Please accept this water as an apology.”

That was the reason why I didn’t want to take the payment for the drink. It was something I couldn’t compromise on.

The water was 110 yen, and I couldn’t accept it as an apology of equal value.

“In that case, thank you for the treat.”

“Sure, thank you…”

I put some strength into my fingertips and opened the aluminum can of mixed juice with a cap. Toma-kun saw me and twisted the cap of his own bottle.

“Oh, it’s not opening…”

Toma-kun put some effort into it, but he couldn’t overcome the strength of the closed cap even after a few attempts.

“Toma-kun, you’re really drunk. Let me open it for you.”

Sometimes when you drink too much alcohol, you can lose strength in your arms and legs. This is because the tension in your muscles is loosening. Toma wasn’t weak, it was just temporary.

“Thank you… it’s a bit embarrassing to have a woman open it for me… haha.”

“Hehe, I’m happy to help. I’m glad I can be of use to you, Toma-kun.”

I let out a small giggle and handed Toma-kun the water after I managed to open it.

“Thank you very much, Mio-san.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“And also, for making this time for me…”

“Huh, this time?”

I didn’t quite understand those words alone. I don’t think it’s because the alcohol is affecting my judgment.

“To give me a break and not burden myself, you sat me down on a bench in the park. I didn’t think you would see through my desire to rest…”

“That, that’s not it… I just really didn’t want to let go of you, Toma-kun…”

Toma-kun is seriously misunderstanding things. Even though I mustered the courage to place my hand on top of his and say “I don’t want to let go of you,” he thought it was because I didn’t want to burden myself…

If I had to put his denseness on a scale, I think Toma-kun has exceeded the maximum value and thrown an error…

I do have some complaints, but… it’s so Toma-kun-like that my heart feels warm.

“M-Mio-san… I know it’s a way to not make me worry, but if you keep saying that, I might… um… misunderstand you… I’m also drunk…”

“Misunderstand me?”

“W-Well, it’s not impossible… I tend to get really drunk…”

“!”

Getting really drunk means he might do something that would make me uncomfortable. That’s what Toma-kun is saying…

“I wonder if you and I are dating, Mio-san…”

“Wh-what?! Me and you dating…”

“Yes… That’s why I’m worried it might be causing trouble for you, Mio-san. I expect that this rumor will only continue to spread over time…”

The PET bottle in Toma-kun’s hand crumples with a sound. Perhaps he squeezed it too hard out of apology…

I understand. I understand why Toma is blaming himself like this.

“If it were you, Toma-kun, you’d worry that you might give the wrong impression to someone you have feelings for, wouldn’t you?”

“Y-yes, that’s right…”

“Don’t worry about that. The person I like is so dense that they wouldn’t even notice if I liked them more than anyone else.”

There’s one more reason. I wanted to make Toma-kun jealous by obscuring the fact that the person I like is him. It’s such a girly feeling…

“He hasn’t realized your feelings…? That’s terrible. What kind of guy is he?”

“Yeah, it’s terrible.”

“I would complain if I were you.”

“…Yeah.”

I feel like sighing. He’s so dense that it’s almost as if he’s doing it on purpose…

Toma-kun is unknowingly speaking ill of himself.

It’s Toma-kun I’m talking about, after all. You should know that…

“I mustered up the courage to confess, but he thought I was just being polite and thanked me for it.”

“Well, confessing your feelings can be difficult, especially to someone you really like.”

“Hehe, that’s true, but I love everything about him, even his cluelessness.”

I’m giving him all these hints, but he doesn’t seem to notice at all. The situation suddenly becomes absurd, and I can’t help but smile.

“…Mio-san, I think you’ll be okay. I believe your confession will be successful.”

“Then, just one question for Toma-kun… What did you mean when you said those words?”

“W-Well, um… Do I really have to say? “

Toma-kun suddenly becomes shy. I know he doesn’t want to say it, but I don’t want to back down now.

“We’re both drunk, so it’s fine. We’ll forget about this conversation by the time we go home and wake up, right?”

Thanks to Miki-san, I was able to control my drinking and remember this conversation. If I say that, Touma-kun won’t speak his true feelings. So, I’ll keep it a secret.

I know I’m being a bit sneaky, but I hope you can go easy on me just for today.

“To be honest, I think about 50% of me want to support confession… “

“50%…? Then what about the other 50%?”

“It’s hard to put this feeling into words, but to put it simply, I just didn’t like the idea.”

“…”

(D-Does this mean that he’s confessing his feelings for me…?)

It’s unavoidable to have such thoughts. But at least I’m satisfied just by hearing this answer.

Toma-kun sees me as more than just a customer at our part-time job.

“If Mio-san, you get a boyfriend, you might stop coming to Shine. What’s for sure is that we won’t have these times anymore… If I were her boyfriend, I wouldn’t want to leave you alone with another guy.”

“That’s right. Even if I were the girlfriend, I wouldn’t want my boyfriend to be alone with another woman.”

If I were to date Toma-kun, I would never let him be alone with another woman. Because Toma-kun has the ability to make them fall for him like Nanami did.

While it’s not a guarantee, the possibility is there. It’s not something I can overlook as his girlfriend…

“I really enjoy talking with you like this, Mio-san. If possible, I don’t want to lose this time we spend together.”

“Toma-kun…”

“Hehe, w-what am I saying? I’m just saying whatever comes to my mind… I’m starting to feel a little tipsy…”

“Toma-kun…”

I try my best to not let my cheeks slacken. If I let my guard down for even a second… Toma-kun will see me with an unattractive face.

The things he said earlier were… unfair. They were all about being happy…

“To go back to what we were talking about… if  you like Toma-kun, maybe we could just leave the rumors about us dating as they are.”

“Y-You mean… leave them as they are!?”

“Well, to calm down the rumors, Toma-kun, you would have to do something, right? It would take a lot of effort, and if we just leave it alone, you wouldn’t have to do anything.”

“But, in that case… it might give the wrong impression to the person you like, Mio-san.”

“…Toma-kun.”

I slowly uttered his name and trailed off.

“You know…,” I said as I placed my hand on top of Toma-kun’s, which was resting on his knee. This was the second time I had done so today. I had done it when I took Toma-kun to the park earlier.

His hands were rough and masculine.

(His hands are really big… I feel so safe holding them so tightly…)

I slid my hand in between his fingers and tightly held them.

“I’m happy if there are rumors that you are my boyfriend, Toma-kun.”

“…Mio-san.”

And then, Toma-kun called my name.

“Wh-What!?”

It was so sudden.

Toma closed his hand that was spread out on his knee and gently wrapped my fingertips.

It was like handling something fragile that would crack if he applied even the slightest bit of force…

“Ah… Toma-kun, you shouldn’t hold my hand like this… I won’t be able to let go…”

I couldn’t have predicted this behavior. I was completely caught off guard.

“It’s not good that you went ahead of yourself… I told you that I tend to get too drunk.”

“P-Please don’t say anymore… It’s embarrassing… I can’t take it anymore…”

Still, Toma and I held hands as lovers… It was impossible to know that Toma-kun, like me, was also looking away in embarrassment.