Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 10: Can\'t... move away

Episode 10: Can’t… move away

I was comforted watching Koga-san petting and cuddling the cat, when suddenly she put the cat on my lap.

“Pet it gently and see how soft it is,” she said with a small smile. I started gently stroking the cat on my lap, and once I started, I couldn’t stop; its fur was so fluffy.

“What’s this one’s name?” I asked.

“Its name? It’s Nyannyann,” she replied.

“Huh, so that’s its name?”

I had thought Koga-san was just affectionately calling the cat “Nyannyann.”

“By the way, Koga-san, do you often come here to play with the cats?” I asked while petting.

“Yeah… I need the healing,” she nodded.

“If you ever feel like coming, just let me know. I’ll come too…” I suggested.

“Sure… Here, it’s your turn,” she said with a smile.

From her eyes, I had a feeling she wanted to pet the cat more, so I put the cat back on her lap.

It seemed my guess was right; she had a happy expression while petting the cat.

After a while of playing with the cats, Chisato-san brought tea and cake for us.

“Would you like some tea and cake, Sayo-chan, Hiyori-kun?” she asked.

Unable to decline such a kind offer, both Koga-san and I nodded simultaneously.

“We’ll have some… Hiyori-kun will too,” Koga-san replied.

“Alright then, I’ll leave them on the table. It’s tea and shortcake,” Chisato-san said.

“Thank you, Chisato-san.”

“Thank you, Chisato-san.”

As she left the room, we glanced at each other and then started eating.

“Shall we eat, Hiyori-kun?”

“Yeah.”

“Nyannyann, let’s move over there to eat.”

Koga-san stood up to move the cat to the next room, then came back a few minutes later.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we eat?”

She sat at the table and started eating the cake with a fork.

I followed suit and took a bite of the cake. It was filled with the sweetness of strawberries and cream.

Despite having eaten cream puffs earlier, I was still hungry from not eating much at lunch.

Koga-san managed to eat even more cream puffs than me, but she seemed like she could still eat more.

(Huh, she’s eating normally…)

Watching her eat with happiness, she suddenly exclaimed, “Oh!”

“Hiyori-kun, I was thinking about the difference between liking someone as a friend and liking someone romantically since then…”

Saying that, she moved closer, bringing her face near mine.

“Huh… Koga-san, isn’t this too close?”

Surprised by her proximity, she crawled closer on all fours and closed the distance between us.

“It seems that feeling excited or wanting to be in a special relationship with someone, or wanting to possess that person, is what liking someone romantically means…”

“P-Possess…”

“Hiyori-kun, now I’m…”

Losing her balance, she fell towards me.

“A-Are you okay?”

“Embarrassing…”

Her face and ears turned bright red, so she hugged me to hide herself.

“I-I’m not looking…”

“It’s… impossible to avoid…”

“Thank you…”

She thanked me with her face still buried in my chest.

(Being this close… I wonder if she can hear my heartbeat…)

(If she could, it would be so embarrassing…)

“Just a little longer is fine, right?”

“…O-Okay.”

“Thank you…”

Seeing Koga-san’s face turn red, mine did too.

“Ah, Sayo-chan. I just gave you the tickets without thinking, but…”

“Without thinking?”

“I thought you two might like them. Oh right, let’s give them to you.”

Saying that, she handed us some tickets.

“Are these… tickets for a dessert buffet?”

“Yes. They’re having a custard fair right now…”

“Custard!! Let’s go!”

As soon as she heard about custard, Koga-san leaped up excitedly.

Her eyes were sparkling just at the mention of custard. She was adorable.

“Are you sure it’s okay? These seem like really great tickets…”

“It’s fine. I don’t like sweets much, so I want you two to go.”

“Let’s go, Hiyori-kun!”

“Yeah.”

“I’m looking forward to it next week, spending time with you again…”

With her face redder than ever, Koga-san leaned closer to me, and I couldn’t help but blush too.

“Ah, Sayo-chan. I just handed over the tickets without thinking about it, but…”

“Without thinking?”

“I thought you two might like them. Oh, right, let’s give them to you.”

Saying that, she handed us some tickets.

“Are these… tickets for a dessert buffet?”

“Yes. They’re having a custard fair right now…”

“Custard!! Let’s go!”

As soon as she heard about custard, Koga-san leaped up excitedly.

Her eyes were sparkling just at the mention of custard. She was adorable.

“Are you sure it’s okay? These seem like really great tickets…”

“It’s fine. I don’t like sweets much, so I want you two to go.”

“Let’s go, Hiyori-kun!”

“Yeah.”

“I’m looking forward to it next week, spending time with you again…”

With her face redder than ever, Koga-san leaned closer to me, and I couldn’t help but blush too.