Episode 65 – Perhaps She was listening?

Just because I sleep with Kohinata doesn’t mean that something is wrong. It’s a situation where something could happen, but it won’t happen between us.

I can’t say for sure if these days will go on forever, but if I have to endure for a few days, it is possible even for me, who has no tolerance for women. In fact, nothing has ever happened to me.

Kohinata, who was in bunny style when she went to bed, turned into a koala as usual when she woke up. I looked at Kohinata hugging my stomach, imagining how she would look at home when she was sleeping alone, clinging to the futon ….

It’s not good for my mental health to leave her like this, so I smack her forehead without hesitation to wake her up. I receive a good morning headbutt in return.

“Good morning. Did you sleep okay?”
“………… (kokukoku).”
“I see – I mean, it’s a little late for that, but why did you come to my house? You’ve been having a lot of sleepovers lately, haven’t you?”

I’ve been with Kohinata for almost a week now, starting from when we were preparing for the exams.

We were at school together during the day, sleeping together and waking up together in the morning. Even though I worked part-time on Saturdays and Sundays, we were together until Saturday morning.

In response to my question, Kohinata’s lips twitched slightly in frustration. This sulky look has really become easy to recognize, hasn’t it? But why sulk?

Kohinata looks at me with a sleepy face as if she is protesting, then reaches up with her hand under the covers and snaps her phone on the pillow. She shows me the screen. On it was written, ‘I haven’t seen Sugino since Saturday morning’.

“O-oh ……, you mean you haven’t seen me for more than a day and you wanted to see me?”

I was embarrassed to say it myself, but I couldn’t capture this sentence in any other way than what it meant, so I asked aloud for confirmation. Kohinata nodded with her eyes closed.

“If you’re going to say something embarrassing like that, you might as well be a little embarrassed, okay?”
“………..”

For a moment, Kohinata’s eyelids lifted and her expression turned a bit vacant, but she seemed to have understood the situation and her face turned slightly vermilion. Then she began to tap me on my collarbone. Perhaps she is still awake, so her mind is not working so well?

I mean, there have been many occasions when I wanted her to be embarrassed …… present style, sleeping together, and many other things. Was it more fun than embarrassment?

“If this keeps up, we’ll be misunderstood at school–it’s already too late, I guess.”

We are like an official couple now. Even though we are not in a relationship.
But when I say that we hold hands, cuddle, and sleep together, anyone would think so. I think so too.

☆ ☆　☆　☆　☆

“Did you have a good time last night?”

Before morning HR.
when the homeroom teacher was about to arrive and everyone started to take their seats, Keiichi whispered something like that to me. A few minutes ago you were talking normally with the other boys, including me,……. What’s with that “I can finally listen” look on your face?

“Shut up, I’ll kick your ass. I mean, how did you know?”
“No, because the two of you came to school together. It was a little early for her to be here, wasn’t it?”
“It might have been just a coincidence.”
“I am convinced by the recent trend and Tomoki’s reaction now.”

His victorious face is very depressing …….
There’s nothing to be ashamed of, so it’s okay to talk to Keiichi, but it’s simply annoying the way he asks.

“I mean, you guys are in love, no matter how you think about it. Why aren’t you together?”
“……, there’s a lot going on over here, too.”

I feel like if I told Keiichi about Kohinata’s past, he would understand, but I don’t think it’s right to talk about someone’s family situation so casually.

Hearing my answer, Keiichi let out a “hmmm” as he turned his observant eyes on me.

“Well, you’ve been on a rough patch lately, so why don’t you just go at your own pace, Tomoki? I’m just asking why you haven’t been dating, I’m not forcing you to go out with her.”
“But aren’t you trying to make us get together?”
“Because it’s funny… and interesting to watch.”
“You didn’t hesitate!”
“Hahaha, well, that’s half a joke. The truth is, I think that the existence of that girl is indispensable for Tomoki to completely overcome his difficulties. Well, before in the chat room, I asked her to stay with Tomoki from now on, but she refused.”
“Hey, when did you say such a thing ……, or seriously, she refused? Maybe she doesn’t like me?”

I cannot imagine this from the Kohinata I’ve seen recently. It’s too shocking.

If anything, I thought she liked me more than she disliked me, but could it be just a misunderstanding?
　
“Don’t worry. She said ‘I want to be friends with Sugino of my own accord’. That’s why she doesn’t want to do what I’m asking.”
“…… hmm? Eh..Hn?”

That sounds like something I’ve said before.

I remember, in front of the Kohinata family, Shizuka san said something like, “I would be happy if you befriend Asuka,” and I refused to do it. And I must have replied with something like, “I want to be friends with Asuka of my own volition.”

Wait a minute.

“…… By the way, when was that exchange?”
“When was it? I’ll look at my phone for a minute.”

Saying that, Keiichi took his smartphone from his breast pocket and scrolled the screen with his finger. Then he answered, “The day we went bowling.”

The day of bowling, huh? …… means that Kohinata’s statement came later than mine.

I don’t think it’s possible, but did Kohinata hear the conversation between me and Shizuka-san at that time?