My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 21

Chapter 21: A Message from Mahiru

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“Pervert.”

That cold, mechanical message crushed me again. I had waited so long to hear from Mahiru. I had finally gotten a message—but I couldn’t be happy about it.

We had just gone back to the kind of relationship that was purely physical. It wasn’t Mahiru’s fault though. My feelings for her were all tangled up too. Liking her and resenting her, trusting her and doubting her. Everything got so mixed up, I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore.

But maybe I should meet her, just to find out. If I ignored her now, I’d still be stuck as my middle school self.

So I replied.

『Got it. Where should we meet? Also, just so you know, I haven’t been able to get it up since then. We might not be able to have sex—is that okay with you?』

Is there even a point to a sex friend who can’t have sex?

I laughed bitterly at myself.

Her reply came instantly.

『I thought you weren’t going to respond. Thank you. Let’s meet next Saturday at xxx…』

I’m going to see Mahiru.

Just thinking that made me happy. It softened the hopelessness brewing inside my heart a little. Before I knew it, some kid playing in the park was pointing at me. I brushed myself off and stood up from the flowerbed, pretending to be sober as I started walking.

It’s fine. Home is close. I can probably walk straight.

The next week, I managed to get through work like a normal person. My senpai seemed to pick up on it and gave me a thumbs-up with a grin. Honestly, I didn’t think the situation deserved a “like,” but I smiled and nodded back anyway.

Then Saturday came. The day I had promised to meet Mahiru. I wore the bracelet she had given me. I might not be able to apologize honestly for all the terrible things I did that day, so this was my way of saying sorry.

When I pulled up to the meeting spot, Mahiru was already there. She was wearing a camel-colored plaid flannel shirt and a short denim skirt. When she noticed me, she waved.

She’s still as cute as ever.

Even with my messed-up emotions, I could still admit that she looked adorable. She seemed to have put more effort into her makeup than usual. When I stared at her, she got flustered.

“W-What is it? Is there something weird on my face?”

“No.”

There were dark circles under her eyes.

So that’s what the heavy makeup was for.

It got awkward, so I just started driving. Mahiru noticed the bracelet on my left wrist right away and looked relieved. We headed to a hotel, but every place was full. The front desk said all the guests had just checked in, so nothing would be available anytime soon.

We drove to several other places, but for some reason, nowhere had vacancies.

What is wrong with this country? Don’t people have better things to do on a weekend morning than go to love hotels?

I made the snide comment while conveniently ignoring the fact that I was doing the exact same thing.

So now what?

“Nowhere seems to be open. Should we call it a day?”

When I said that, Mahiru looked like she was about to cry.

Crap. What now?

Then, in a tiny voice, she said hesitantly:

“If it’s not too much trouble… Can we go to your place, Nagi-kun?”

That actually made sense. We weren’t planning to have sex anyway, and it wouldn’t cost anything. It was more convenient to just go home.

When we arrived at my place, Mahiru sat quietly on the couch without her usual teasing. For some reason, I brought out tea for her. The only sounds in the room were the slurp of tea and the ticking of the clock.

It was awkward.

If I said something weird, I felt like I might step on a landmine. Truthfully, I wasn’t even in a bad mood anymore. I had been angry right after she dumped me, but now I just felt relieved to see her again—even if our relationship was nothing but a relationship of convenience. That feeling of “I hate you” from back then had just been my heart’s way of defending itself.

Then Mahiru spoke.

“Um, the weather’s really nice today, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Um, I brought something I thought might cheer you up, Nagi-kun.”

She pulled a white apron with frilly lace out of her bag. Mahiru spoke earnestly.

“So, um… I read some books, and asked my friends too, and they said that when a girl wears just an apron with nothing underneath, it makes guys feel better. I only had a week to research so I’m still looking into it, but they said it works best when you hold it like this down here and go swish!”

Wait. She spent a whole week researching that?

“Ahaha…”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the image in my head. Mahiru blinked in confusion and looked at me. Right. Even though she broke up with me, she said “I really love you” that day. She wasn’t looking down on me now.

If anything, she looked scared.

Later, Mahiru actually demonstrated the naked apron look, but I didn’t feel any arousal at all. Instead, she just made me a regular meal, and we ended things there.

I stopped the car in front of her house. Then Mahiru turned to me with a serious look.

“Will you… See me again?”

“…Yeah. Can we just hang out at my place from now on?”

Her face lit up with the biggest smile.

“Yeah, yeah! Also, thanks for wearing the bracelet.”

She said that and skipped inside. I let out a small sigh and stepped on the gas. Not even five minutes passed before I got a message from Mahiru.

Did she forget something?

I opened the message, expecting that—and read.

『I want to see you again tomorrow. After school, can I come to your place? —Mahiru.』

After that day, Mahiru’s messages changed. From 『I want to have sex』 to 『I want to see you.

Right after, I got another message.

『I’ll do more research on the apron thing before tomorrow.』

…You really don’t have to anymore though. Heh.

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