An Introvert's Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! Volume 6 E-Book

Yuishi

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: An Introvert's Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 348

Beschreibung

Yoshin and Nanami stumble upon a mysterious letter asking about their dare. While they’re both curious to track down the sender, they decide it best to wait and see how the situation unfolds. After all, it’s summer break—which calls for a trip to the fireworks festival while all dressed up in yukata! Even though the two try not to be too flirty while out in public, what would their relationship be without an unexpected accident that brings them even closer together? With a break packed with plans for karaoke dates and study sessions to prepare for exams, it’s seductively sweet business as usual for the summer installment of this couple’s sugar-filled romance!

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Prologue: The Dare That Should Have Ended

Chapter 1: Summer Uniform and Karaoke

Interlude: Listening to Him Sing

Chapter 2: A Reason to Motivate Myself

Interlude: A Secret Talk in the Nurse’s Office

Chapter 3: A Promise for Summer Break

Interlude: An Unexpected Reality

Chapter 4: The Revelation and a New Problem

Interlude: If It’s Not One Thing

Afterword

Color Illustrations

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Table of Contents

Color Images

Prologue: The Dare That Should Have Ended

When we encounter something bad, how many of us are able to straightforwardly share that with others? I have a feeling that most of us end up hiding bad things from other people. That’s the image I have in my head, anyway.

Maybe I only think that because that’s what usually happens in manga and that sort of thing, like when the main character receives a threat, they end up acting on their own to resolve the situation. I imagine that most characters do that not because they’re giving in to the threats, but so as not to drag the people around them into their mess. In that regard, it’s a decision that often stems from consideration toward other people.

Nevertheless, the characters acting on their own always end up causing trouble for the people around them anyway. I feel like I’ve seen it in TV dramas too: main characters who act on their own and always end up in a tight spot as a result. Viewers probably feel all agitated watching it, wondering why someone would do such a thing, but the characters themselves probably thought really, really hard to get to that point.

I’m sure it’s difficult to act calmly and appropriately in situations like that. I tend to let myself drown in negative thoughts, but I’m sure it’s better to get advice from someone—though doing so probably requires a lot of courage. They do say that two heads are better than one. If you talk to someone, the two of you can probably come up with a solution that you couldn’t have come up with on your own. When people come together, they can overcome just about anything.

“I sure wasn’t expecting this though,” I muttered, looking down at the letter sitting before me, not that I was sure I could even call the thing “a letter.”

“Is the dare still going on?”

That was all that was written there. It wasn’t in an envelope or anything. If it had at least been written on stationery, I could have deemed it a proper letter, but the message was just printed on a plain old sheet of copy paper. That said, the situation wouldn’t have been much better if it had been a legitimate letter.

The words had been typed rather than handwritten, using a regular serif font. I couldn’t even guess if it had been written by a boy or a girl. At the moment, a typed letter felt inorganic and creepy, though maybe a handwritten message would have been even creepier. I’d never received a letter like this before, so I had no idea.

I stole a glance at Nanami, who was sitting next to me. She was looking down slightly and seemed a little bit pale. I probably wasn’t imagining it; she must have been feeling kind of psyched out. I guess her having come across the message on our way home was a silver lining; if she’d found it first thing in the morning, it would have been difficult to try to comfort her at school, and we both would have gone through the day feeling unnerved. The other good thing was that Nanami had told me about the letter as soon as she’d seen it. I was really glad she’d talked to me about it even though she must have been feeling a torrent of emotions.

Still, I had to admit that a chill had run down my spine the moment I’d seen the letter. I felt like we each deserved a pat on the back for not screaming right then and there. I mean, finding a letter thrust into your shoe locker was like a scene from some horror movie. The chipper mood we’d been in earlier was now totally gone. We didn’t say much to each other as we made our way home. Even when we got settled in Nanami’s room, the air around us felt slightly heavier than usual. We had to do something to change the mood.

“You’re not okay, are you, Nanami?” I asked.

“I’m oka— Huh? Wait, is there no other option here?”

Although Nanami had been about to tell me she was okay, she’d realized I was asserting the opposite. It wasn’t really even a question to begin with. I mean, she clearly wasn’t okay no matter how you looked at it. I knew that if I asked her normally, she would just force herself to tell me that she was.

I uncrossed my legs and sat properly on my heels. Strangely enough, when I did, my posture naturally straightened as well. I looked over at Nanami, who was looking at me inquisitively, though I wasn’t sure if she knew what I was thinking. Then I lightly patted my lap. Although I felt a little embarrassed, I did my best not to show it and smiled at her gently.

After I patted my lap a few more times, Nanami picked up on my message and approached me slowly, then laid her head on my lap. She did so fairly often, but this might have been the first time that she’d entrusted herself to me so cautiously. I proceeded to gently stroke her hair. Nanami remained silent, letting me do as I pleased, but after a while she seemed to regain her composure.

“I feel like this is the first time you initiated this,” she mumbled.

“You think? We’ve done it so many times now, I can’t really remember.”

I realized then that I’d said something outrageous. What am I saying?

Nanami seemed dissatisfied by my response, because she puffed out her cheeks and pouted—but that expression immediately changed to a smile of relief. She deftly took my hand from her hair and held it in both of hers, running her fingers over it. She then started playing with it, rubbing it between both hands as though massaging it. I couldn’t tell if it tickled, hurt, or felt good. Every time she touched me, a tingle ran down my spine, but I had to do my best not to let it show on my face.

“Do you feel a bit better?” I asked.

“Yeah, thanks. I’m okay now.”

She’d looked pale earlier, but now she appeared much healthier. If her mental exhaustion had been eased a bit by having her head in my lap, then I couldn’t have been happier. However, even though she was calmer, she didn’t stop touching my hand. She touched my nails, my fingers, my palm, and then my whole hand as though studying its shape. Um...

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Nanami gazed up at me in silence. Even when our eyes met, she said nothing. After a while, she looked away and went back to studying my hand. I decided to let her play with it as much as she wanted and simply watched her in silence. It tickled, but I had to bear it. At least, that’s what I was thinking when I felt her tugging at my hand. She gently pulled it closer and touched my fingers to her lips. I felt the sudden, soft sensation and heard the faint, moist sound of her lips. Panicking, I clumsily yanked my hand away.

“Ngh!” she cried.

I froze with my hand raised in the air, wondering if I’d touched her in a weird place. No, that can’t be it. I only pulled my hand out in a rush.

“Jeez. Did you not like it?” she asked, puffing out her cheeks. She reached out as though in pursuit of the hand that had gotten away.

“I didn’t dislike it. I was just kind of surprised,” I said.

“I guess it was kind of sudden, but what’s the big deal about me kissing your hand?”

She does have a point, but I can’t help being surprised if someone does that. I mean, I wonder what made her suddenly kiss it in the first place.

Perhaps picking up on my question, she smiled as though relieved and kept her hands outstretched. “I was just amazed by how all my worries disappeared because you stroked my hair. I wasn’t expecting to feel so safe in a guy’s hands.”

“And that’s why you kissed my hand?”

“I thought that maybe if I put you in my mouth, even more of my anxieties would disappear.”

That sounded less like a kiss and more like cannibalism. I never knew she’d have such an intention. Too shocked to speak, I fell silent.

Nanami, still looking up at me, opened her mouth wide. I’d never looked inside anyone’s mouth before, but she had perfectly straight teeth. I watched as she stuck out her tongue and wiggled it slightly. She then let out a soft “aah.” I thought I saw the insides of her mouth vibrate and immediately felt my heart begin to beat loudly. With her mouth still open, Nanami continued playing with her tongue and voice. She then closed her mouth and tilted her head in my lap questioningly.

“You’re not gonna stick your finger in?”

Her question was clearly meant to make my heart skip a beat. Wait, what is she asking me to do? Stick my finger in? Like, in her mouth? Is that what she wants me to do?

“Nope. Totally not,” I declared, raising my hands in the air. Nanami narrowed her eyes and grinned mischievously.

“You paused just then. I must’ve been so close,” she said, raising both corners of her mouth in an almost malicious grin. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t as malicious as it was mischievous. Both words started with an M, but they were, in fact, quite different. Nanami made a peace sign with her fingers and stuck her tongue out from between them like a snake.

If Nanami was a snake, then I was either a mouse or an egg. I blushed at seeing her act in a way that seemed to emphasize some unspoken intent, but I managed to poke her lightly in the forehead. Nanami moaned dramatically then laughed a little, pressing her hand to where I’d poked her.

“Man, aren’t you getting a bit too bold in the wrong sort of way?” I asked.

“Maybe. I mean, it doesn’t seem like you’re gonna make a move on me, so I have to try different things to seduce you.”

“I might have said something like that, but still...”

“It’s kind of embarrassing, but I’m gonna give it my all.” Nanami clasped her hands in front of her chest in determination. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she didn’t need to work so hard. I mean, it wasn’t exactly the right thing to say. She seemed to take my silence as approval, because she mumbled to herself, “It’s hard to stay modest while trying to seduce someone, isn’t it?”

Astounded by the complete one-eighty she’d done from her earlier, downcast self, I was left unable to respond. In any case, I was relieved to see that her spirits were back up. “So, about that letter we found, shouldn’t we at least talk about it with your family?” I asked.

“With mom and dad? Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t think anything weird will happen, but just in case.”

Sharing things with people was important. If we kept everything to ourselves and then something happened, we would end up regretting not letting other people in on the issue to begin with. Still, I was hoping that this happening at school would keep it from becoming anything really serious.

The letter itself was one of the reasons I thought that. Although it certainly was strange, it didn’t seem to indicate any sort of intent. If it were a threat, then it would most likely have given us more of an idea about its purpose—for example, if it was targeting just Nanami herself, if it was trying to find something out about us both, or if it was trying to call us out to talk. However, this letter expressed no intention of any kind.

The lack of a specific purpose might have been creepy, but it also didn’t indicate explicit malice. It was only asking whether the dare was still going on. Still, it was possible that the letter aimed to make Nanami and me feel awkward around each other, but now that we’d sat down and talked about it, that was no longer a viable outcome.

Nonetheless, it was better to be safe than sorry, so our best bet was to share what was happening with other people who knew about the dare. That included my parents, Nanami’s parents, and Nanami’s two best friends. And, just in case, I should add Shoichi-senpai into the mix. Acting too cautious would become exhausting, but it shouldn’t hurt to ask for help from the people around us. We had to do everything we could in order not to regret anything later.

“I see. In that case, let’s go!” Nanami got up off my lap, and the two of us headed to the living room. Nanami’s mom, Tomoko-san, and her little sister, Saya-chan, had been in there earlier, though it seemed her dad, Genichiro-san, had since returned home as well. Wondering if something was up, they all looked at us. Nanami and I began telling them about the letter.

As a sidenote, the reason they were wondering if something was up was that the two of us usually hung out in Nanami’s room until dinner, during which they apparently believed we were just making out—and yet we’d joined them in the living room much earlier than usual. I didn’t know that that’s what they thought we were doing in her room... Regardless, each one of them reacted to our story differently. Tomoko-san furrowed her brows with concern, Genichiro-san began to panic, and Saya-chan became pissed off. They all expressed their worry in different ways.

“And what do you intend to do?” Tomoko-san asked us.

“I guess we’ll just wait and see if anything else happens,” I replied.

Tomoko-san sighed in response. Saya-chan, on the other hand, seemed unconvinced; she was coming up with a disturbing proposal to find a way to punish the culprit. Genichiro-san had his arms crossed and wore a concerned expression. Even if he wanted to align himself with Tomoko-san, he was probably more in the same camp as Saya-chan.

Smiling awkwardly, I attempted to explain further in order to placate Nanami’s sister. “Truth be told, even if I wanted to take this person to task, I don’t even know their name or anything. There are no security cameras at the front of the school either—though I guess even if there were, the school probably wouldn’t show me the footage.”

The only security cameras the school had were outside the building. They were meant to protect us from suspicious people trying to come into the school, not to surveil the students.

The letter had no distinctive qualities, and even if we were to look for the sender, we would need to make the existence of the letter public to do so. I also wasn’t so sure whether I’d be able to locate any eyewitnesses. Of course, we would be more vigilant than usual, but even that would tire us out if we overdid it. That was why we had to tell people close to us about the situation, then just wait and see. Although that did feel a little frustrating, it seemed about the only thing we could do.

I wasn’t sure whether my explanation was enough to convince her, but Saya-chan, with her cheeks puffed out, seemed kind of upset. That part of her was very similar to Nanami.

“I see. That does seem like the only thing you can do for now. It’s not as though any harm has been done,” Tomoko-san replied.

“My thoughts exactly,” I said. “I know it’d be too late after something’s happened, so we’ll try to keep an eye out. In any case, we might need to ask for your help, so I hope that’s okay.” I bowed to the three of them, who unsurprisingly agreed to support us. I knew that I could try to protect Nanami on my own, but the more people willing to help, the better.

My safety was important too, of course. I’d thought about protecting Nanami no matter what that meant for me, but that could end up being a burden for the one being protected. That was why I had to act in a way that made both me and Nanami feel safe. Self-sacrifice may be virtuous, but I’d recently come to think that too much of it was actually counterproductive.

It was then that Tomoko-san murmured something that shattered my resolve. “Besides, the two of you can’t afford to get distracted at a time like this.”

Huh? What does she mean by that? As I sat there wondering, I saw Nanami nod several times as though she knew exactly what her mother was talking about. Wait, what’s going on? Do they have some kind of a family event planned? But if that’s the case, Tomoko-san wouldn’t say “the two of you,” would she?

As Tomoko-san’s words continued to confound me, the answer to my question was revealed before I was prepared for it. It was an answer I didn’t want to hear.

“It’s almost time for your end-of-term exams, after all.”

End-of-term...? End-of-term exams?! The phrase repeated itself over and over in my head. Shoot, I’d completely forgotten! Of course we were gonna have exams soon.

“You totally forgot, didn’t you, Yoshin?” Nanami asked in a low voice.

I jumped guiltily and immediately began wishing I could tell her she was wrong, but I knew my reaction had totally given me away. Yeah, I completely forgot.

Remaining exactly where I was, I glanced at Nanami to find her glaring up at me through narrowed eyes. She was so close to me that it made me flinch again. I couldn’t lie to those eyes of hers. I mean, even if I did lie, it would have been no use. Defeated by her accusatory look, I looked away and mumbled, “Yeah, I’d forgotten.”

I totally felt like a kid getting scolded, not that I thought Nanami was going to scold me. Still, I braced myself for whatever was to come.

“Jeez, seriously? If you fail any, you’re gonna have to stay for summer school. We’re supposed to hang out a lot over the break, so we’ve gotta study loads, okay?”

“I know, but I’m not sure I’m feeling entirely confident,” I murmured.

“I’m gonna tutor you, so it’ll be fine!” she said, patting me on the head. She wasn’t putting any force into it, so the feel of her hand comforted me each time—and yet I felt a heaviness in my chest. It was true that since Nanami had started tutoring me I’d been able to follow along in class a lot more. Still, that didn’t mean that I felt confident about doing well on the exams. The fact that I’d just been getting by until now didn’t help.

Even Nanami’s family was now looking at me with concern in their eyes. I felt more than slightly embarrassed by the whole situation. As long as Nanami was tutoring me, though, I couldn’t possibly deliver shameful results. I knew the ride ahead would be rough, but I had to focus on my studies like a good student should. I clasped my hands into fists to solidify my resolve.

Before I knew it, Nanami had scooted closer to me and was whispering in my ear. “I’ll make sure to give you lots of private lessons,” she said.

Hearing her sensually soft voice, I felt myself jumping again, though this time for a different reason. My ear felt ticklish, and my body was shaking. It wasn’t a sensation that I should get used to.

Nanami swiftly moved away from me, clasping her hands behind her back and smiling as if to say, “What do you think?” The dual nature of women really was scary—though I liked both natures when it came to Nanami. Yes, I like that idea very much. I like it more than anything.

With the letter, end-of-term exams, and summer break upon us, there were all sorts of things going on, but I had to start by doing the only thing I could. Still, the note had left me uneasy. Worrying about it didn’t help, but I couldn’t stop wondering what its purpose was. It wouldn’t be too long before I learned the truth.

Chapter 1: Summer Uniform and Karaoke

My relationship with Nanami had successfully entered its second month, and for some time now, I’d been looking forward to us getting to hang out and be all flirty with each other as much as we wanted. I mean, come on—I was a guy. I couldn’t help thinking stuff like that, especially since I’d learned that we both actually liked each other.

I had thought that the various causes of my anxiety—guilt, obstacles, sadness, interferences—had disappeared, and yet, all of a sudden, new issues were cropping up all around us. There really was truth in the old saying, “With light comes shadow.” Like, just as things seem to be going well, there’s always an unexpected pitfall, hindrance, or some other bad thing waiting for you. Apparently, there are other phrases with similar meanings as well.

I’d probably been letting my guard down lately because things had been going so smoothly. Then again, I also wasn’t that sharp when it came to recognizing dangers. Bad things had been happening one right after the other. The letter had been the first spanner in the works, but we now also had our exams to think about. I felt like I’d been struck by a blunt object.

“Oh, come on. Exams aren’t exactly a bad thing, are they?” Nanami muttered in exasperation. It was a perfectly logical thing to say, of course. I’d previously assaulted Shoichi-senpai with a sound argument, but I now understood firsthand just how much logic could hurt people.

I stole a glance at Nanami, who was walking beside me. She was smiling wryly, looking just as exasperated as she sounded. On this rare occasion, she was wearing a pair of red glasses. Her hair was in one loose braid, with an additional braid at the crown of her head. The softly braided plait was draped over her shoulder and flowed down her chest.

I lowered my gaze from Nanami’s face. A crisp white shirt, different from her usual school uniform, jumped into my line of sight. Among all the bad things that were happening, this was perhaps one thing that was refreshing: the seasonal change in our school uniform. We used to wear blazers, but now we were wearing short-sleeved shirts, and Nanami’s pleated skirt was now a cool light blue. That said, I couldn’t really tell the difference in the skirt—except that she was making it even shorter than usual to boldly show off her legs.

I was wearing short sleeves too, and my pants were thinner than before, but the uniform for guys didn’t really look that different regardless of whether it was summer or winter. Well, maybe it did, but I wasn’t that interested in it to begin with. The girls’ uniforms looked way more appealing than the guys’—though maybe I was just imagining it. Both girls and guys also had a kind of light summer sweater, but I didn’t really like it and so had never worn it. I’d left mine at home, and Nanami wasn’t wearing hers today either.

Nanami also wasn’t wearing the usual bow at her collar today but instead had left the top couple of buttons on her shirt undone. The view there was pretty dazzling. To be frank, it let me catch glimpses of her cleavage. Whether she was doing it because summer was near or because the temperature was starting to rise, I could empathize with the feeling of wanting to keep your shirt open. I wasn’t wearing my tie either and had my top button undone.

“Hey, Yoshin, lean down a little,” Nanami, who had been looking over at me, suddenly said.

Lean down? Why?

Wondering what she wanted, I went ahead and did as she’d asked. Maybe she didn’t like that I’d been staring at her.

“Mmm, yep. That’s good,” Nanami suddenly said in an approving voice.

Huh? What’s good? As I was trying to figure out what she meant, I felt her gaze hovering over me where it usually didn’t. Wait, is she looking down my shirt? I reflexively covered the gap. Hold up. Why am I reacting like a shy teenage girl? Moreover, what am I doing when I was doing the exact same thing to Nanami a moment ago? I felt foolish, while Nanami had a look of obvious disappointment on her face.

“Aw, you covered it up,” she said.

“What were you looking at anyway?” I asked. It was now my turn to act exasperated. Nanami took a step toward me and stuck her finger into the opening of my shirt. When I snapped straight up in response, she immediately pulled away.

“I thought your chest looked all sexy peeking out of your shirt like that. You work out, so your chest and abs look really sculpted.”

Is she giving me a compliment? I wondered. I’d never even thought about it, so I tried peering through the opening to check it out.

“Aren’t you used to seeing muscles like this though? Genichiro-san and Soichiro-san are a lot more buff than I am.”

“Nah, not really. I mean, they are buff, but it’s not like I’m into bulky guys. I guess they do make me feel safe though.”

I see. I’d had a feeling that maybe that was one of the reasons why Nanami had chosen me. There were muscular people all around her, and since I worked out a little too, I thought that might have made her feel more comfortable—not that analyzing it now meant much.

“So, how do I look?” Nanami asked as she spread her arms wide and started spinning slowly, her skirt fluttering in a way that was dangerously close to revealing too much. Twirling happily, she seemed to be showing off her uniform. Come to think of it, I hadn’t shared my opinion with her yet.

“The summer uniform looks good on you. You look really pretty,” I said.

“Thanks. It looks good on you too. That little glimpse of your chest looks sexy,” Nanami replied, smiling brightly. I know she was complimenting me, but I had to wonder if the word “sexy” could really be used to describe men too. It was a word that I didn’t usually hear to describe me, so I felt a little tickly inside.

“Okay, so you said I looked pretty, but what about in terms of sexiness? I saw you checking me out earlier,” Nanami said. She deliberately pinched the top of her shirt and flapped both sides open and closed, showing off her chest. My gaze was once again guided toward moving parts.

Dang it, she totally knows. Then again, I was staring, not just checking her out.

“You look both pretty and very sexy,” I said, delivering a super combo of compliments. Nanami must have been satisfied by my response because her eyes narrowed in delight and she flashed me a teasing look.

Just as we finished complimenting each other, the wind picked up. It was a spring wind, but it still felt cold as it brushed over our skin. Nanami hugged herself and shivered a little. She had quite a bit of skin showing, so it wasn’t surprising that she felt cold.

“Our uniform’s changed, but it’s still kinda chilly, huh?” she remarked.

“True. The timing doesn’t really match the change in weather, does it?”

“Oh, I think I have an idea.” Nanami hopped over to my side and proceeded to link her arm with mine. She was awfully close to me—noticeably closer than usual, in fact. Or maybe it wasn’t that she was close; it was more that the surface area of where our bodies touched had increased. Because we were wearing short sleeves, more of our arms were revealed. That meant that when we linked arms, more of our bare skin touched than usual.

I’d come into direct contact with her back at the night pool, but although I’d felt nervous then, I’d managed to feign composure by telling myself that it was a special occasion. To be touching like this when we were wearing our normal school uniforms somehow felt more nerve-racking than when we were at the pool in only our bathing suits. Wearing clothes but still having our skin touch sounded risqué even in writing.

The parts where our bodies touched became hot and sweaty, making our skin stick to each other even more. When Nanami twisted her body slightly so that it detached from mine, those parts felt oddly cool. That made the fact that we were apart feel more pronounced than usual.

We weren’t actually apart, though, since Nanami would only move momentarily and our skin would immediately come in contact again, making me feel the heat of her body once more. However, because of that brief moment of coolness, that same part felt even warmer than before. Maybe it really was true that skin-to-skin contact was a handy method of survival when you got lost up a snowy mountain.

“It’s warm when we’re attached like this. It feels so good,” Nanami said. With her body close to mine, she began to walk. I ended up doing the same, more so because I was being pulled along, but we soon ended up in step with each other.

I’d gotten used to people looking at us in situations like these, but today it felt like their stares were a bit different. The students around us were now accustomed to me and Nanami hanging out with each other and fewer people would stare than before. Maybe the difference today was because we had our arms linked while wearing our summer uniforms. They were way more likely to look at us when there’d been some kind of a change.

We walked for some time chatting as usual before I realized something very important. Nanami and I were fairly similar in height. I was just slightly taller than she was, so when I turned sideways while our arms were linked, her face was right there in front of mine. However, also because we were at a similar height, her chest was right below my face. In other words, I could just look down to take in the view of her chest as much as I pleased.

That was business as usual. Well, maybe that’s the wrong way to put it, but I already knew how close we were in height. The problem was what we were currently wearing: our summer uniforms.

In my defense, this wasn’t something I could control. How many times do I have to say that? I’ve been saying it so much that it’s starting to lose all meaning by way of the Gestaltzerfall phenomenon. Still, even though I didn’t actually know if it applied to this situation, it sure felt like I couldn’t control what was happening.

I honestly wasn’t trying to look. It was just that every time I turned toward Nanami to talk to her my eyes were naturally drawn to her chest. I hadn’t noticed it much in the past because she used to wear a ribbon there, but this time she didn’t have it on. That’s why I couldn’t help noticing.

You might think that this was nothing to write home about, given that we’d already walked around with each other in our swimsuits, but our perception of the world alters with the slightest bit of change. This time, we were in our summer uniforms. Even the phrase “summer uniform” was starting to lose its meaning.

My eyes kept wandering in the general direction of her chest, but each time I intentionally looked elsewhere. I knew it was no use, but it still became a sequence of movements I had to go through.

When I was looking at the general area from far away, things were totally different. The impact of her chest being right there in front of my face was something else. Not only that, I couldn’t resist the instinct to look at whatever was in motion. Apparently you could train yourself to go against your instincts; maybe I should seriously consider it. I mean, Nanami definitely noticed that I was looking.

Our eyes were just as expressive as our mouths, and I recently learned that you could often tell where other people were looking. I had to admit that I never thought I’d experience it firsthand. I mean, I never knew when other people were looking at me, and yet here I was, still managing to learn the lesson.

“You can’t help it, can you?” Nanami suddenly asked.

My whole body froze. Her question made it clear that she knew. Nanami, however, seemed more relaxed about it than I’d expected. Actually, it wasn’t so much that she was relaxed but more that she was somehow convinced of something.

Nanami grasped the collar of her shirt and began to waft it like a fan. Her skin became more and less exposed. The motion was even more visually tantalizing than before. Earlier, she’d done it a few paces away from me, but when she did it up close, I could even smell a sweet scent wafting from her. Jeez, I seem like a creeper, don’t I?

“I mean, I couldn’t help noticing when you leaned down earlier too,” she said. “Our summer uniform is cool and cute, but it’s more revealing, so it can make you feel more nervous.”

That sounded like something I should be saying. I wondered why she would say something that sounded more appropriate coming from a guy. Maybe it was what she’d thought when she’d looked at me earlier.

“Should I agree with you, or should I say that’s not the case at all?” I asked.

“Hmm. I mean, don’t you get excited by this?” Nanami asked, opening up the collar of her shirt even wider. I couldn’t see her bra, but I could see her beautiful skin. I’ve said this before, but her outfit was less revealing than the ones when we were at the pool. If anything, I’d already seen plenty of her skin, yet this situation somehow seemed so much more suggestive.

I took Nanami’s hands in mine and had her close her collar. She appeared happy but also somehow embarrassed because I was the one who’d made her cover herself up.

“Did you get excited?” she asked nonetheless.

“Yes, I did—very much so.”

“Hee hee, I got all excited too, so we’re the same,” she said, reaching out to play with the collar of my shirt. I wasn’t sure what was so interesting about seeing my chest, but maybe Nanami was thinking the same about me too. Speaking of summer clothes...

“Is your shirt see-through?” I asked Nanami, who was still messing with my shirt. I didn’t mean it in a dirty way; I’d just remembered something. It must have been about a year ago, when we’d switched to our summer uniforms during our sophomore year. The guys in our class were getting all worked up about which girls’ shirts were see-through or not.

I hadn’t joined in on the conversation, or rather, I didn’t really remember it since I hadn’t been close with any of the guys who’d been talking about it. Still, talking about this made me recall the conversation. The guys had probably been talking about topics that made sense for adolescent guys, like what kinds of bras they’d get to see. The girls might have found the situation appalling, but as a guy, I could understand where they’d been coming from.

At this point, I couldn’t be sure whether Nanami had come up in the conversation. Still, there was no way they wouldn’t havetalked about her. Hence my concern now. It wasn’t that I wanted her shirt to be see-through. It was more that, as her boyfriend, I felt both possessive and worried, not wanting other people to see my girlfriend like that. However, I had to admit that my question wasn’t at all appropriate. I could see Nanami turning red. Apparently, she wasn’t afraid to open up her shirt collar in front of me, yet she couldn’t cope with having something unexpected like that pointed out to her.

“Um, I’m sorry,” I murmured.

“Please don’t apologize! It makes me feel even more embarrassed!” Nanami exclaimed, looking down and thrusting her hand out to stop me. She then deftly brought that hand to her back and rubbed it several times. Then, as if to gather herself, she cleared her throat before pointing to her chest. I inadvertently looked at where she was pointing.

“I’m wearing a cami underneath, so I don’t think you can see anything. It’s not a cute one though. It’s a plain color, just to make sure no one can see it.”

“I see. Then I guess there’s no need to worry.”

“Actually, back when we were sophomores, Hatsumi, Ayumi, and I wore bras that were super visible underneath, and we got yelled at by the teacher.”

“Wait, that means I totally have to worry about that!”

What were you thinking, Nanami from a year ago? What were you three doing?

At our school, if your grades were good, the teachers never yelled at you. I couldn’t even imagine what kind of thing they were wearing to be scolded under such circumstances. Nanami must have seen the question written on my face, because she stuck her tongue out and began explaining what had happened back then. I was curious, but it was also embarrassing to hear a story related to her underwear.

“So, we went to buy cute matching underwear together and got excited about the idea of all of us wearing it to school on the same day. It was the type of bra to show off, you know? We figured if our shirts were see-through, then we should wear underwear that you should see.”

“Uh, is there such a thing?” I asked.

“Yeah, like, really cute ones. But you know, I guess our shirts were a bit too see-through. Now that I look back on it, I realize that we went a little too far. The three of us just got kind of carried away.”

If that had been the case, then the girls that the guys had been getting all worked up over last year must certainly have been Nanami and her friends. If those three had showed up at school wearing bras that you could see through their shirts, then of course the guys would go crazy. I wondered if things would have been different if I’d been one of the guys making a fuss. When I thought about that, I realized that not getting involved had been a very wise decision indeed.

“Wasn’t that embarrassing to do though?” I asked.

“Yeah, it was super embarrassing.”

“Then why did you do it?!”

Nanami, perhaps recalling what it had been like, blushed and looked down at her feet. Her eyes seemed unfocused, and her expression was one of discomfort. “I...I just got carried away! I really was super embarrassed, and I ended up wearing my vest over my shirt as soon as I could.”

“You were self-destructive even back then, huh?”

“What do you mean, self-destructive?! But jeez, I can’t say anything to that. Oh, but I think Hatsumi and Ayumi spent the whole day without their vests on.”

What were those two thinking?! Don’t tell me that they did it on purpose to see which guys would try to come by to see their underwear, and then eliminate them from the potential candidates...

As I frowned and fell into thought, Nanami must have misinterpreted my silence. She stopped in her tracks and mumbled, “If you wanna see that bad, do you want me to show you in my room next time?”

I looked up at Nanami with a start. Although she was blushing, she still winked at me with a mischievous grin on her face. I felt like I’d been completely had.

Was it just me, or were Nanami’s seduction techniques getting more and more intense? She seemed to be slowly closing in on me. Is she going to entrap me and then pounce at just the right moment? How long will I be able to hold out? Do I even need to hold out? Various questions kept swirling through my brain. Did I want to see her show off her bra? I couldn’t tell from her expression why she was asking me such a question. I decided it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

As we continued chatting, we finally arrived at school. The commute felt simultaneously short and long. It was an odd experience.

Let’s do our best at school again today,I thought, trying to psych myself up, but both Nanami and I froze at the same time as soon as we saw the shoe lockers. There isn’t anything strange inside today, is there?

Nanami had found that letter inside her shoe locker when we’d been heading home from school. There was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be anything in there this morning. Nanami and I looked at each other, both our faces tense from nervousness.

“Do you want me to open it instead?” I asked, but Nanami shook her head slowly. I didn’t want her to force herself, but I heard her whisper something.

“I don’t want you to see my indoor shoes in there, so I’ll open it myself.”