Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too?

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“…Are you coming in?”

Today I was going to my childhood friend’s house, not only that, but it’s at night

After finishing dinner for some reason, I found myself taking a shower and washing my body for no particular reason three times.

Maybe it’s because it’s summer. Yes, it’s most likely because of summer.

I’m definitely not because I’m having any strange expectations.

“Sigh… Huff…”

My fingers were trembling.

I was extremely nervous just pressing the button of the intercom at the entrance of her apartment.

On this humid summer night, under the light illuminating the entrance, it felt like strange sweat was starting to trickle down again.

I parted ways with Sagiri in a hasty manner. But if I press this button, we can meet again.

I wonder if she’s still concerned, or if everything will return to normal as usual, or if it’s just me who’s worried, what should I do if that’s not the case?

Meaningless imaginations kept spinning around in my head. At this rate, I might end up standing still here for the rest of my life.

It’s just like… the relationship between me and Sagiri…

“Alright!”

As if to dispel the accumulated haze, I firmly pressed the intercom button.

It was the most determined way I’ve ever pressed an intercom button in my seventeen years of life.

“Ring… Ring…”

I heard the sound of the bell from inside the house. Then, a bit later, there was the sound of the lock opening with a clack.

“…Hello….”

“…Yeah….”

Sagiri, who cautiously peeked out from the opened entrance, had a reaction that could go either way.

“…Are you coming in?”

“…You’re the one who called me.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

“What!?”

After a subtle exchange that may or may not have had any meaning, Sagiri opened the entrance.

In the fully opened entrance stood my childhood friend, wearing the same loose white T-shirt and hidden shorts as that day, looking too defenseless.

“What, what’s wrong?”

“Isn’t it too careless of you to come out in an outfit like that!?”

“Huh, I’m fine! If it weren’t for you, I would’ve put on a jacket of course!”

I’m not fine, though.

Wearing sloppy clothes at home is one thing, but don’t start fixing your collar all of a sudden just because I mentioned it. It makes my heart race.

“W-Well, just come in for now…”

“I-I’m sorry for intruding…!”

As the entrance closed with a bang, I caught a whiff of Sagiri’s scent.

No, correcting that, it sounds like I’m a pervert. It’s more like being enveloped in the familiar scent of Sagiri’s house.

…It doesn’t feel much different.

“You don’t have to be so formal.”

“But even among friends, there’s still etiquette! Especially since I’m intruding at night!”

“It’s just me here, so you don’t have to worry…”

As she said this, Sagiri slipped on her slippers and padded down the hallway made of hardwood.

…Just me?

“Oh, um, please sit on the sofa and wait.”

“Uh, yeah, sure…”

I was brought not to Sagiri’s room on the second floor, but to the spacious living room on the first floor.

As I entered, directly in front of me was a wooden table for four, and to the right, a large 75-inch TV on a glass-covered coffee table, with a white long sofa on a carpet.

You might wonder why I knew the size of the TV; well, it’s because Sagiri had boasted incessantly about how amazing the new TV was.

In this uneasy environment of a living room incomparable to my own, my nerves writhing, I sat on the edge of the sofa like a borrowed cat.

True to what Sagiri had said, despite the hour, there was no one else from the family around. That only made my tension worse.

Somebody, please save me.

“What would you like to drink?”

Sagiri’s voice from the opposite kitchen seemed oddly resonant.

“A-anything is fine!”

“That’s the most unhelpful answer.”

Even though she said that, how could I possibly know the taste in this situation? Yet, my throat felt parched, the wonders of the human body.

Perhaps because she had drawn me into her own territory, Sagiri seemed back to her usual self.

Instead, I was trembling with tension so palpable even I could feel it. My arm resting on my knee was shaking as if to say, “Enough already.”

“Here you go, sorry for the wait.”

“Th-thanks…”

Placed on the glass coffee table with a clink was a semi-transparent purple drink with bubbles popping, yes, it was grape soda.

Why grape soda of all things at this moment?

Sagiri, seemingly unconcerned, sat next to me on the edge of the sofa. With her feet up on the sofa and her knees bent, she curled up, almost pressing against me.

“…”

In the glass, only the sound of bubbles popping echoed.

“…”

Isn’t she too close?

Why did she sit next to me even though I specifically sat on the edge?

No, her shoulder’s touching, her long white hair, the faintly sweet scent, her loose neckline, her defenselessness, her beautiful collarbone peeking out…

“Are… are you nervous?”

“Wh-What!? Y-Yeah…”

I was taken aback when she suddenly spoke. Thank goodness I wasn’t holding the juice.

“Even you get nervous, huh, Renji?”

“Y-Yeah…”

She brushed her bangs aside with her hand, and her light-colored eyes glanced up at me. Just that gesture made my heart race.

Just by turning my head, my gaze was drawn to her pale pink lips.

“T-Then, um… it’s about time…”

Releasing her hand from her bangs, her long hair flowed smoothly. As if I were paralyzed by it, my body wouldn’t move.

“Sh-Should we… watch it?”

Helplessly, I had no choice but to comply with my childhood friend’s request.

Her slender, fair hand reached for the remote on the table… Huh?