Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 52: "H-How was it...?"

“H-How was it…?”

Asking me to check her temperature by touching her forehead with my forehead? Does my childhood friend realize how challenging this is?

The main issue is that Sagiri is lying on her back on the bed.

Although she has the blanket draped over her body, her well-developed body lines are visible through the thin fabric.

In such a situation, the act of placing my forehead against Sagiri’s forehead would undoubtedly result in a posture that looks like I’m about to push her down. It’s as clear as day.

“No…?”

Even so.

This demanding princess keeps her eyes closed, not moving an inch and even urges me on to continue.

This so-called medical act of taking her temperature only fills me with a sense of taboo. Nevertheless, I found myself pushed into a situation where I had no choice but to continue.

“Just… wait…!”

Suppressing the tremble in my voice, I put my knees on the bed, which emitted a creaking sound throughout the room.

“Inhale… exhale…”

Despite trying to take deep breaths, all I could smell was the sweet scent of Sagiri’s room. It shook my mind once again.

“Just taking her temperature, just taking her temperature,” I repeated to myself, but what lay ahead was the sight of a beloved person with closed eyes, peacefully sleeping. Perhaps this was a new form of torture.

“Well, let’s check your temperature, okay…?”

“Yeah…”

Sagiri responded softly with her eyes closed. Even with such a small gesture, her lips moved slightly, causing my heart to pound heavily.

My current goal isn’t her lips, it’s her forehead. Yet, no matter how hard I try, my gaze keeps drifting towards her lips, perhaps because of all the kisses we’ve shared.

“Hey, don’t move…”

Please forgive my repeated checking, my own hesitation.

Despite having kissed her many times before, despite it’s just us touching foreheads right now, I felt like I was doing something even more wrong than before.

Perhaps it’s because we’re at Sagiri’s house, on the bed, or perhaps it’s because we can finally be this close again today, or maybe it’s because my feelings seem so close yet so far from reaching her. The answer eludes me.

The nervousness from being so close to kissing her has long since passed.

Precisely because we share a relationship where we’ve kissed already before, I find myself yearning for more. Even though I know it’s wrong, even though I’ve been warning myself since long ago that Sagiri isn’t feeling well, her lovely face in front of me makes everything else fade away, and I can’t hear anything but the sound of my own heart.

“…”

“…”

In the silence of the room, the bed creaked again.

“…”

“…”

Ah, her eyelashes are really long.

Such thoughts flickered in my mind and disappeared as we slowly separated our foreheads, which had been touching.

“H-How was it…?”

My face reflected in her opened, faint-colored eyes.

“Ah…”

What did my appearance look like to the one who let out an inadvertent sigh?

“Since I didn’t get it right, can we try again?”

“…Sure.”

And once again, the bed creaked.

This time, we were gazing into each other’s eyes.

“…”

“…”

Just touching foreheads.

The area of contact is wider than a kiss, but it shouldn’t be that indecent.. Yet, why does it become so ambiguous, and why can’t we tear our eyes away from each other? If I relax my knees, I could just collapse onto her, completely erasing the distance between us.

But it feels like we can understand each other without doing such things.

“N-No…”

That’s probably why.

Sagiri quickly sensed my changing intention and covered her barely pink lips with her hand.

“If it’s a cold, I might pass it on to you, Renji…”

Even though she was shyly avoiding eye contact, she couldn’t hide her blushing cheeks.

Sagiri is selfish.

Even though she initiated the kiss, she rejects me when I want it for my reasons.

But because it’s all done out of consideration for me, it only makes me cherish her more.

“Yeah, you’re right…”

“Yeah…”

With those words, my foggy mind gradually clears.

Sagiri understands the pain of feeling unwell more than anyone else. She wouldn’t want to impose that on me due to her own selfishness.

“I’ve… always had something on my mind.”

“Huh?”

That’s why my temperature rises.

“I’ve often thought about how much better it would be if I could bear your pain, Sagiri.”

“Ah…”

I’ve always been feverish for Sagiri.

“You can infect me.”

“W-Wait…”

So, this is my selfishness.

I gently grasp her slender hand and move it aside, exposing her beautifully pale pink lips.

“Renji――”

“――――”

There was a loud creaking sound, and the bed shook.