My Childhood Friend Who is My Girlfriend was Stolen by My Best Friend. From Now on, I'll Flirt with My Ex-Best Friend's Little Sister! - Chapter 11

Serves You Right

“…we managed to get back somehow.”

“I broke out in a cold sweat…”

We are able to safely return to our table from the restroom.

I was really worried for a moment, but luckily, Airi was so engrossed in her smartphone.

It’s a four-person table. Normally, people would sit facing each other, but Rinka-chan and I are sitting side by side to reduce the risk of being noticed.

“Senpai.”

“Yeah?”

Rinka-chan closes the distance between us.

Then, she rests her head lightly on my shoulder. I can smell her sweet scent.

Rinka-chan slowly slides down from my shoulder onto my lap.

Before I knew it, Rinka-chan is using my lap as a pillow.

“Please pat my head.”

She asked so in a sweet, spoiled tone…

Isn’t this girl being a bit too bold?

“…like this?”

“Yes. You can’t stop until I say so.”

I gently stroke her head.

Her hair is really smooth and silky, making me want to keep touching it forever.

I wonder what kind of treatment she has for her hair to make it so smooth.

“Rinka-chan, are you the type of person who likes to be spoiled?”

“That’s right. So please pamper me a lot.”

“I guess I have no choice.”

“You only can do this kind of thing to me, okay?”

“I get it.”

“Ehehe.”

Rinka-chan has a happy smile on her face.

For some reason, I feel happy too.

Suddenly, my left pocket starts to vibrate.

It’s a short, quick vibration. Rinka-chan who is resting her head on my lap seems to notice it too.

I take out my phone and check it out.

“…is something wrong?”

Rinka-chan sits up. Rather than explaining with words, I decide to show her my phone.

‘What are you doing Toshi-kun?’

‘I’m bored. I miss you.’

‘You should be on break from your part-time job, right?’

Those messages are from Airi.

…she’s bored? …she misses me? What the hell is she talking about?

She’s currently having a great time at a family restaurant with Shintaro.

Rinka-chan looks at me with a concerned look on her face.

I let out a small chuckle and mark Airi’s messages as read.

“I’m about to do something really mean…is that okay?”

“It’s fine. I give you my permission.”

“Thanks.”

To be honest, Rinka-chan’s permission doesn’t really matter to me.

I just don’t want her to be disappointed in me. That’s why I want to get her approval beforehand.

I send a reply to Airi.

‘Perfect timing. I finished work early. Can we meet now?’

My message is read almost immediately.

“…eh? Right now?”

I hear a voice from the seat behind us.

It’s Airi talking to herself.

‘Yeah. We can meet up♪’

‘Great! Then how about we meet at the family restaurant near the station?’

I told Airi to meet me in the family restaurant we’re at right now.

“Eh…what should I do…?”

Airi starts to panic.

“What are you panicking for?”

Shintaro, who just returned from the restroom asks Airi so.

“Toshi-kun just finished his work, and he wants to meet me now. But he told me that we should meet here. I have to go back quickly to get ready and come back. Ah, I also have to change into my casual clothes.”

“…you’re still as selfish as ever. I was the one who made plans with you first, right?”

“Huh? Don’t you understand that there are priorities in life?”

“Well, whatever. I was only here to kill time today anyway. You should really work on that habit of always needing to be with someone.”

“That’s none of your business. You should fix that disgusting obsession you have with your little sister, Shintaro. It’s seriously creepy.”

“It’s not my fault that no girl in this world can even come close to Rinka.”

“Uwaa…that’s seriously creepy…”

A tense atmosphere fills the air.

Rinka-chan leans in and whispers softly to me.

“Is this part of the plan, Senpai?”

“I didn’t expect it to escalate this much.”

My phone vibrates again.

‘Yeah, we can meet there. I might be a bit late, but I’ll be there soon.’

It seems that Airi is cancelling her plans with Shintaro to prioritize me.

Airi hurriedly stands up from the table.

“Well, I should get going now.”

“Wait. If that’s the case, I’m going too.”

“Hah? What if someone happens to see me with you? How are you going to explain that? Can you take responsibility for that?”

“You have the audacity to say that after doing something so risky. To tell the truth, I think Toshiya probably already knew about our relationship a long time ago.”

“I’m being extremely careful not to let Toshi-kun find out about it. Besides, Toshi-kun wouldn’t lie to me. He’s honest and easy to read. If he did find out about our relationship, there is no way I wouldn’t notice!”

Airi said so with a slightly irritated voice.

That’s true, before I found out about her affair, I had never lied to Airi.

I always told her about my workdays and contacted her whenever I finish early.

The only exception was that Sunday when I found out about her affair.

…that day, I was preoccupied with other matters.

Because of that, I forgot to tell Airi that I was finishing up work early.

“See you, Shintaro. You should wait for a while before heading back.”

Airi says so dismissively and quickly leaves the family restaurant. Shintaro who is left alone, murmurs softly.

“…hah. Guess I’m covering the bill.”

After spending some time alone, Shintaro heads towards the register.

Gradually, the atmosphere around us starts to ease.

It seems like it’s okay for us to speak normally now.

“Ah…we managed to avoid being found out.”

“Yeah. I feel like I’ve lost a few years off my life.”

“Me too. Well, we should get going.”

“Why?”

“Because, Senpai, you’re going to meet Tsukimiya-san now, right?”

“Eh? I’m not meeting her.”

I say so nonchalantly.

Rinka-chan tilts her head, looking puzzled.

“Eh, but you just promised her to meet up, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ll just come up with some excuse and cancel it at the last minute.”

“Uwaa…Senpai, that’s really mean.”

“Well, I did ask first if it’s okay for me to do something mean.”

“That’s different.”

“Did I disappoint you?”

“You disappointed me.”

“……”

“Just kidding. Don’t look at me as if it’s the end of the world. I’m not going to be disappointed by something like this.”

Rinka-chan smiles softly.

For some reason, her smile puts me at ease. I even find myself smiling naturally.

I scratch my cheek with my index finger.

“Sorry. I that was a lie.”

“That was a lie?”

“I was lying when I said I wouldn’t meet Airi. Actually, I really did think about doing that, but there is something I want to do.”

“What is it?”

“I’m going to meet Airi now and break up with her.”

“Break up…eh?”

Rinka-chan blinks her eyes in confusion. She is clearly taken aback.

“I know that I’m still wavering, especially since I still haven’t gotten my revenge on them yet. But I’m already sick of wasting my time on Airi. Honestly, I don’t care about Airi anymore.”

“Senpai…”

“So, I just want to break up with Airi quickly…and officially date Rinka-chan… No, I mean, after I break up with Airi, please go out with me, Rinka-chan.”

“……”

Embarrassment, fear, and other emotions are being mixed together. My mental state is in chaos.

But even so, if I run away now, I won’t be able to forgive myself. I gather my courage and take a step forward in my confession.

“…a-are you okay, Rinka-chan?”

Rinka-chan’s cheeks are blushing in red, and she starts to shed tears.

Seeing her like that makes me panic.

Rinka-chan wipes away her tears with the sleeve of her uniform.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that—I’m so happy. I’m sorry, I can’t stop crying…yes. If you’re okay with me, please make me your girlfriend, Senpai.”

Rinka-chan continues to cry like that for a while.

Seeing her like that only strengthen my resolve.

I’ll break up with Airi properly—