After Being Dumped With the Insult, “You’re So Clingy!” and Finding Her in Despair, I Kept Encouraging My Beautiful Classmate and as a Result, That Beautiful Girl Started Directing Her Heavy Emotions Toward Me Instead, but Since I Like Emotionally Heavy Girls, It’s No Problem - 38

Chapter 38: Exam Week: Getting Lovey-Dovey in the Library

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Futaba and I officially became a couple. There was no longer any need to hold back by telling myself, “I’m just a fake boyfriend.” From now on, I could hold my head high as I took her on dates, touched her, and did all the things couples do. More than anything, my heart never stopped yearning for her. I wanted to be lovey-dovey with Futaba.

…Or so I thought.

“Haah, the exams period starts next week? Just when I thought I’d finally get to do all sorts of things with Futaba.”

The exam season arrived right on the heels of our new relationship. If I got bad grades on the tests, I would have to take remedial classes later, which would reduce the time I could spend with Futaba. I wanted to avoid that at all costs. I felt a sense of frustration, thinking, “We finally became a couple,” but I had to put my back into my studies here.

“Hehe, it can’t be helped. But Ichika-kun, once we get through the exams, it’s summer vacation.”

Futaba, who was beside me, said this to soothe my dejection. Currently, the two of us were on our way to the library to study for the exams together.

“That’s true. Summer vacation is almost here.”

Summer vacation. It was a period that every student looked forward to. With a long break of about a month and a half, I would have plenty of time to be as flirtatious as I wanted with Futaba.

“There are so many events, too. The beach, the pool, summer festivals, fireworks displays… Let’s go to all of them together, okay?”

Images of Futaba in a swimsuit and Futaba in a yukata floated through my mind. As her boyfriend, I definitely wanted to see that.

“Yeah, of course!”

I was suddenly brimming with motivation. We arrived at the library. It seemed everyone was thinking the same thing, as the seats were already filled with many students.

“Hmm, I wonder if there’s a spot open for two?”

I searched for a place where two seats were vacant. Since we had gone through the trouble of coming to study together, sitting in separate seats was out of the question.

“Oh!”

Fortunately, at the back of the library, two seats by the window were empty. We hurriedly secured those seats before anyone else could take them. Futaba sat on the right… the window seat, and I sat on her left. Having successfully secured our spots, we took our textbooks and reference books out of our bags and began studying for the exams.

…Thirty minutes after we started studying. My heart was restless and fidgety. It was good that the library was quiet and conducive to concentration. The other students were all studying too, and seeing them stimulated my ambition, making me feel that I had to work hard as well. That was why I chose the library as our study location.

However, to put it another way, we had to avoid chatting or making noise. Even though my beloved girlfriend was right next to me, I couldn’t do anything. My heart felt terribly impatient. If someone told me to “Stop thinking about useless things and focus on studying!” that would be the end of it, but…

I stole a glance at Futaba next to me.

“Ah.”

“Ah…”

Our eyes met. For some reason, she seemed to have a longing look in her eyes. Could it be that she felt the same way I did?

“Hehe♡”

While I was thinking that, she grabbed my right hand. Her soft, warm palm gently enveloped my right hand. The act of just hands touching. Even such a simple act filled my frustrated heart. I never knew until now that touching one’s lover could be this blissful. It could truly be called a moment of supreme happiness. In return, I adjusted my hand and squeezed Futaba’s hand back. It was what people called “interlocking fingers.”

“Mnh♡”

Futaba looked at me and smiled gently. She seemed happy as well. As long as we were just holding hands, we wouldn’t be bothering the other students’ studies. I thought for a split second that if we stayed like this, our hearts would be satisfied and our studies would progress, killing two birds with one stone.

However, when I thought about it carefully, my dominant hand… my right hand, was currently being used to hold Futaba’s left hand. If I couldn’t use my dominant hand, I couldn’t study. This was putting the cart before the horse. I reluctantly let go of Futaba’s hand, picked up my mechanical pencil, and resumed studying.

…Another thirty minutes later, my heart began to run wild again.

It was often said that “human desire is bottomless,” and not satisfied with just one moment of contentment, a desire to “touch Futaba more!” overflowed from the bottom of my heart. At this rate, my studies wouldn’t progress. Unable to endure it any longer, I let go of my pencil and gripped Futaba’s nearby left hand. Her hand twitched for an instant, but she immediately squeezed back as if nothing had happened.

Ah, I feel so fulfilled…

I felt my heart calming down. I gripped Futaba’s hand for a while, and once I had finished recharging my “Futaba-elements,” I tried to let go of her hand to get back to work. However, Futaba squeezed my right hand tightly and wouldn’t let go.

“(Fu-Futaba? If you don’t let go, I can’t study…)”

I whispered to her. While fidgeting with her legs, she turned a pained gaze toward me.

“(Ichika-kun. I… I can’t hold back anymore…)”

“(…Eh?)”

“(I desire a kiss♡)”

“(Wait, isn’t it bad to do that here? Hold it in until we get back to the apartment.)”

I felt the same way. I wanted to touch Futaba more. I wanted to grant that wish. But I still had enough reason left to know that such an act should not be done in public.

“(It’s okay. There’s no one next to Ichika-kun right now, and if we hide our faces with a textbook, no one will know♡)”

Told that by her, I checked to my left. There were textbooks on the desk, but no one was sitting in the seat. Perhaps they had gone to the restroom. It was true that we might not get caught right now. A kiss. A special act between lovers. Just imagining the feel of Futaba’s soft lips made my emotions sway and drove reason out of my brain.

No, but, however…

The tiny bit of reason remaining held me back.

“(Ichika-kun… mnh♡)”

But Futaba was already fully prepared. She hid our faces with a large textbook, turned toward me, and closed her eyes. Seeing that face on my beloved girlfriend, there was no way my reason could hold out. Without thinking, I pressed my lips against hers.

“Mnh…♡”

A sweet breath escaped Futaba’s mouth. That breath blew away the rest of my reason.

“Pwah♡ Mnh!? Mnh♡”

I pulled my lips away for a moment to breathe. Then immediately, a second kiss. Futaba accepted that too. I felt my heart rejoicing and becoming full. If I could, I wanted to stay like this forever.

“Man, my stomach hurts. Did I eat something weird?”

Suddenly, I heard a voice. I opened my eyes and checked the direction of the voice. I saw the male student who had been sitting next to me returning from the restroom. We hurriedly pulled our lips apart and pretended to be studying seriously.

A few seconds later, the student sat in the seat next to mine. He lowered his eyes to his textbook and resumed studying.

…It seemed we hadn’t been seen. It was then that reason finally returned to my head. A sense of panic at having “gone and done it” washed over me. But strangely, there was no regret. Rather, my heart was overflowing with a sense of happiness.

“(Hehe♡ We did it, didn’t we?♡)”

Futaba also had a satisfied look on her face. Perhaps our hearts were mostly satisfied by that, because our studies proceeded smoothly after that.

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