After I Started Living Alone, My Place Turned Into a Hangout Spot for Beautiful Girls

Chapter 13: Outing (Part 2)

A few minutes after Sakuya closed the fitting room curtain, she emerged holding the swimsuit, her cheeks still faintly flushed.

I awkwardly spoke up.

“Hey, uh, about earlier… sorry for some reason.”

For some reason, I apologized without fully understanding why.

Sakuya muttered under her breath, avoiding my gaze.

“It’s fine. It’s not like you insulted me or anything.”

“Y-Yeah? But if I upset you, I’m really sorry.”

“I said it’s not like I’m mad when you didn’t insult me. I was just… surprised because you so bluntly called me cute…”

“Okay, good then,” I said.

The air felt unbearably awkward.

As I racked my brain for something to talk about, Shizuru came out of the fitting room.

“You two seem super awkward. Did something happen?” she asked.

She must have picked up on the weird vibe between me and Sakuya.

“Nothing happened,” I said.

“Nothing at all,” Sakuya added.

We answered Shizuru at the same time.

That, well, seemed suspicious to Shizuru.

“Sounds fishy,” she said.

It made her even more curious.

I figured staying quiet and letting her speculate would be more exhausting, so I just spilled it.

“Sakuya looked so cute in her swimsuit that I got all flustered. And that made things awkward for both of us.”

“A swimsuit look that made Teruaki’s heart race, huh? Man, I kinda wish I’d seen it,” Shizuru said.

“I took a picture,” Sakuya replied.

“Show me, show me!” Shizuru exclaimed.

Sakuya showed Shizuru the photo she took in the fitting room.

After looking at it, Shizuru gently patted my shoulder.

“No wonder a guy would get excited seeing something this amazing,” she said.

She reassured me that it wasn’t wrong to think Sakuya looked cute, that it’d be weirder not to get flustered.

Her words made my awkwardness fade away quickly.

“Right?” I said.

“If I saw it in person, I’d probably be stunned by how cute it is too,” Shizuru added.

“It’s just normal…” Sakuya mumbled.

Sakuya looked down slightly, embarrassed by Shizuru’s compliments.

Her gesture was different from her usual confident attitude, making her seem girlish and adorable.

Seeing Sakuya so openly shy, Shizuru’s eyes sparkled as she started teasing her.

“No way it’s just normal!” Shizuru said.

“Being praised this much is embarrassing…” Sakuya replied.

Overwhelmed by Shizuru’s compliments, Sakuya couldn’t take it anymore, averted her gaze, and quickly headed toward the register.

※

After buying the swimsuits, we settled down at a cozy wooden café to take a break.

As I sipped my melon soda, Shizuru stared at it like she wanted a taste.

I decided to hand her the glass.

And then…

Slurp!

Despite the straw having just been in my mouth, Shizuru nonchalantly took a big gulp of the melon soda.

“You don’t care about indirect kisses, huh, Shizuru?” I said.

“If it’s with you, Teruaki, I’m fine with it,” she replied.

“Stop saying flirty stuff like that, or I’ll fall for you.”

“Why don’t you just fall for me then?”

“If I were to try winning you over right now, how’s my progress?”

“It’s gone from ‘try super hard’ to ‘still gotta try pretty hard,’” she said.

Looks like I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m making some progress.

Shizuru keeps dropping these subtle hints that get my hopes up—it’s honestly kinda unfair.

“By the way, Sakuya, what if Teruaki tried to woo you?” Shizuru asked.

“I’ve never thought about it, and I don’t want to,” Sakuya replied.

“Come on, don’t be like that. Tell me!” Shizuru pressed.

“Fine, whatever. In your terms, he’d have to try like his life depends on it,” Sakuya said.

“That’s super tough! Teruaki, you’d need to be ready to die to win Sakuya over,” Shizuru teased.

“I’m not trying to win Sakuya over, okay?” I said.

I couldn’t stop my wry smile.

Sakuya and I sometimes go on family trips together, so she’s practically family.

I’ve never once thought about dating her, and I’m sure she doesn’t think about dating me either.

Sakuya’s face looked like she’d bitten into something sour, so I figured we should drop the topic.

Noticing that Shizuru had drunk most of my melon soda, I took it back from her and asked, “Alright, what’s next after this break?”

Shizuru looked at me with a mischievous, devilish grin.

“Obviously, we’re going to buy your swimsuit next, Teruaki.”

Is picking out a swimsuit for me even fun?

Plus, my swimsuit from last year is still perfectly fine.

More importantly…

“I don’t have any plans to go to the beach or pool, so I don’t need a swimsuit,” I said.

I really didn’t need one since I had no plans to use it.

Shizuru looked disappointed, letting out an “Aww.”

“I was planning to make you try on some tight, skimpy swimsuit to embarrass you a little!” she said.

“You were scheming something that mean?” I replied.

Shizuru let out a cute little grumble, pouting dramatically and narrowing her eyes in mock frustration.

Sakuya chimed in, “If you want to make Teruaki buy a swimsuit, there’s an easy way.”

“What’s that?” Shizuru asked.

“Just invite him to the pool or beach,” Sakuya said.

I figured even Shizuru wouldn’t want to go to the pool or beach with me, but…

“Then let’s go to the pool together this summer!” Shizuru said.

She invited me just like that.

Seriously? My brain was still catching up when Sakuya sighed, as if to say, “Here we go.”

“You’re someone she’s comfortable enough to shop for swimsuits with, so of course she’d be fine going to the pool with you,” Sakuya said.

“You don’t seem to get it, Teruaki, but in my book, you’re a pretty high-ranking friend,” Shizuru added.

“Uh, okay,” I replied.

“So, now that we’ve got pool plans, we have to go look at swimsuits for you!” Shizuru declared.

Apparently, after leaving the café, we were off to shop for my swimsuit.

For men’s swimsuits, maybe a sports store or that famous discount place?

As I finished off the melon soda Shizuru had nearly drained, I thought to myself that I’d better make sure they don’t put me in some tight, skimpy swimsuit.

Sakuya said to me, “Getting to go to the pool with Shizuru? You could brag about that to other girls.”

“I’m not bragging,” I replied.

“What a waste,” she said.

“Alright, since we’ve got our next goal, let’s wrap up this break and head out,” I said.

I reached for the check on the corner of the table.

But before I could grab it, Shizuru snatched it up.

“Since we’re making you buy a swimsuit, I’ll treat you here!” she said.

Ugh, no way.

Getting treated by Shizuru?

I could already imagine her saying later, “I paid for your drink, so how about trying on this tight swimsuit?” and handing me something ridiculously clingy.