I asked him to be my pretend-boyfriend but after a while I fell for him, but I can't seem to admit that fact! - Chapter 37: Casual Date
Casual Date
It’s not someting that I should worry about so much, but still, I’m concerned about how Akira spends his money.
During our last date and the time at the music store, the amounts spent involved were oddly high. Maybe it’s normal for him, but receiving expensive gifts like guitars or clothes with a big price tag makes me uncomfortable. Not only that, in the first place, for me, it’s not really about how expensive the gifts given to me are; it’s about getting something that makes it more than enough for me to continue being with that other person whether through sentimental value or quality of the gift, and so I want Akira to develop a more high school-like attitude towards money.
So, I came up with a plan.
I planned a date where I’m in control, and Akira will just have to follow along without interfering with any of my decisions.
“So, are you free this weekend?”
“Huh, why?”
“Don’t worry about the details. Are you free?”
“Yeah… I can make time.”
“Oh, you weren’t free initially?”
“Well, not really. After that, I thought I’d work on the phrases I learned from Otonashi Naru and Ayato.”
The guitar, huh? Akira had secretly exchanged contact information with Otonashi Naru and Ayato after that incident. It turns out he’s quite enthusiastic when guitars are involved.
“Is that okay?”
“Yeah, because once the camp starts, it’s going to be all about guitars anyway. And also, I won’t be able to see you for a while once it starts.”
Right, during the summer vacation, we won’t be able to meet much. Looking at Akira’s schedule, it seemed pretty daunting. Normally, I’d take a step back for my boyfriend, but for the sake of replenishing my dose of Akira, I decided to make my opinion heard this time.
“So, can you make some time for me this weekend?”
“Of course.”
“But there’s one condition.”
“Huh, a condition?”
Akira was taken aback by this condition I had, even though I had asked him to make time in the first place.
“This date is going to be my production. I want Akira to follow along without making any unnecessary decisions like buying expensive stuffs.”
“Huh… Well, it’s okay, but why?”
“Because I want to have a date that’s more down-to-earth than what you might be thinking.”
“Down-to-earth? What does that mean? I’m just a regular guy too you know?”
There he goes again, not realizing how different his definition of “regular” is to others..
It’s alright, though. I can let it slide since he’s not really being rude nor sarcastic.
“Let’s leave it up to me.”
“Yeah, sure.”
While I told him to leave it up to me, I felt a bit lonely since he wasn’t escorting me. But even though I’d want to say that to him, women’s feelings can be really complicated.
And just like that, the weekend came around. Akira and I met up, just as we did during our last date.
“ “Ah!” “
And once again, we arrived at the same time. Could it be that Akira was secretly keeping an eye on things and was waiting for me, and he just showed up when I finally did? Well, it’s also entirely possible that it’s just a coincidence that we came at the same time, although it happened a couple of times already. On the other hand, it could be that our sense of punctuality is just similar. If we end up arriving at the same time again next time, I might subtly ask about it.
“Shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
When I invited Akira, I made a grand declaration about “my production,” but the truth was, today, I had no plan prepared at all. Of course, I tried to prepare by searching for “down-to-earth date ideas” online and did some research. But no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find much information beyond going for a walk; it seems like those sorts of dates are very course-dependent. Plus, there were limits to what I could find online. In other words, today’s date was a “no-plan, let’s-go-for-a-walk date,” completely improvised.
“Itsuki, do you have a place in mind to go?”
“Nah… nothing specific. You see, we’ve been pretty busy lately, so I thought I’d like to go for a walk or something.”
Akira stared at me with a questioning look. Maybe he was feeling uneasy? But he smiled brightly.
“That’s a great idea! I needed a change of pace.”
He agreed. I felt a bit guilty.
“Hey, Itsuki, did you know there’s a park with a pond nearby?”
“Huh? Is that so?”
“Let’s go check it out.”
“Huh…”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Akira took my hand and started to escort me.
“That park over there? They have street food stalls on holidays.”
“Huh, really?”
“Yeah, and it’s super cheap and super delicious.”
“What’s that, some kind of B-grade gourmet thing?”
“Something like that.”
Akira seemed surprisingly knowledgeable.
“And, you know, on holidays, there are these food stalls…”
“Hey there!”
“Hello, hello!”
Akira chatted with the food stall owner as if they were old friends.
“Can you give us two?”
“Sure thing. So, is she your girlfriend?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Wow, you finally got one!”
“You kept your promise, right?”
What’s this promise they’re talking about?
“Yeah, yeah, thank you, bro. I’ll give you a little extra today.”
“Huh? No, you shouldn’t do that. I should pay.”
“It’s okay; young folks like you shouldn’t hold back.”
“But…”
“I said it’s fine!”
“Sorry about this.”
“It’s okay, just come back again!”
“I will, thanks.”
I wanted to express my gratitude as well, but the conversation was moving so fast, and I couldn’t keep up with it. I at least nodded in acknowledgment.
“Here, Itsuki.”
“Thanks… What’s this?”
“It’s called cabbage-yaki; try it; it’s really delicious.”
It looks like a simple small okonomiyaki.
“Now, go on, try it.”
With Akira urging me, I took a bite. And this is…!?
“It’s really delicious!”
“See, I told you it was good.”
Akira ate his cabbage-yaki with a big smile on his face, like a little kid.
“Was that person from earlier an acquaintance?”
“Yeah, we got to know each other when ‘Inherit the Sound’ was doing a street live here.”
“Really? So, what was that promise?”
“Oh, you see, I received quite a few treats from him when he was performing, so we promised that if I ever got a girlfriend, we’d come and buy lots of cabbage-yaki from his stall.”
“I see… And, in the end, he treated us instead.”
Akira has quite a few stories, it seems.
“Hey, Itsuki.”
“Yeah?”
Akira wiped my mouth with his thumb and then licked it.
E-eh??
“You had some sauce on you.”
He replied with a smile.
“Thanks…”
Is this like one of those moments where you remove a piece of rice stuck to someone’s cheek and eat it for a romantic touch?
But… using sauce as a substitute was a bit off.
And so, the “down-to-earth date” ended up with Akira still taking the lead.
I was determined to try to take the lead somehow.