My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 36

Chapter 36: On a Certain Autumn Trip

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The autumn leaves had long since fallen, and the cold had truly set in. Each morning I woke up, the chill felt less and less pleasant, and I couldn’t help but feel that the end of the year was drawing near.

After the school festival, things had been so hectic that I’d almost forgotten—but the hot spring lodging voucher I’d won at the bingo event was only valid until the end of the year. In Kusatsu, it usually started snowing in the latter half of December, so we decided to go before the snowfall began.

On the day of the trip, I drove to pick up Mahiru near her house. I’d checked the weather forecast for our destination before leaving, and it looked like there wouldn’t be any snow or rain.

Good. Speaking of snow—

As I drove, I suddenly remembered a time when I had a fight with Maya back in our childhood. There had been a once-in-decades cold wave, and even in the city center, snow had piled up in November. If I remembered correctly, it was happening around this time of year.

Watching the snow fall, Maya had said, “It’s snowing even though it’s still autumn!” But I had insisted, “It’s after the start of winter, so it’s winter snow,” and made her cry. Looking back now, it didn’t matter either way. Back then, I had this weird air of maturity around myself and was probably just being a brat to her.

I arrived at the meeting spot earlier than planned. To my surprise, Mahiru was already there waiting. She held a large bag in both hands. It looked like girls had a lot to prepare. Being a girl must’ve been tough.

She wore a white knit sweater, a down jacket, and a white scarf. Usually, she wore a coat, so seeing her in a down jacket was a nice change. She looked cute. I’d warned her that Kusatsu would be cold, and it seemed she’d taken the hint and bundled up properly.

After loading Mahiru’s bag into the trunk and getting into the car, I asked her.

“Looks like the snow won’t be a problem. It’s still autumn, so there’s no way it’ll snow, right?”

Mahiru tilted her head.

“Eh? It’s already winter. I don’t think it’d be weird if it snowed.”

I said the same thing as Maya had done and in return, Mahiru answered exactly like I had done when I was young. It made me oddly emotional to think that Mahiru remembered what I was like as a kid.

Well, the car had summer tires, so we’d be in serious trouble if it did snow. As I thought that, Mahiru looked over and smiled.

“Nagi-kun, what’s wrong? You’re being weird.”

We drove along the Kan-Etsu Expressway, heading toward Kusatsu Onsen. Far off toward the Sea of Japan side, the sky was dark and heavy with clouds. Maybe the weather beyond the Kan-Etsu tunnel had already started to turn bad.

In contrast to the dark clouds ahead, Mahiru was in a great mood. She’d connected a playlist to the car stereo and was listening to music. Now and then, she hummed along to the melodies while gazing out the window. Her playlist was full of K-pop idols and classic old-school Japanese pop songs.

I really wish she’d make up her mind whether she’s into pretty boys or old men. Ah.

Then I remembered something important.

“Did you come without wearing panties, just like I told you?”

At that, Mahiru stopped humming and looked down, nodding slightly. Then she lifted the hem of her knit sweater with both hands like a noblewoman performing a curtsy. Her ears turned red as she glanced around nervously.

“Um… Can I put this down now?”

I ignored her question and let my fingers slide along her lower half. And then—

Despite her words, her whole body was already filled with anticipation. With a deliberately teasing tone, I said to her.

“Even if you say you don’t want it… It doesn’t seem like you truly don’t want it, huh?”

“Uu…”

Mahiru fell silent.

Sorry, Mahiru. There isn’t really any deeper meaning behind this little game. I just… I always wanted to try it, you know, going on a trip with a girl and doing something like this.

Even after graduating high school, I’d been pretty jaded about love. Because of that, whenever I went out with someone, I was basically just tagging along to places they wanted to visit. Sometimes I’d get invited on trips, too, but I always turned them down. After all, I’d lose interest in the girl after doing the deeds and I didn’t want to be stuck with her the next day. So going on a trip alone with a girl was something entirely new to me.

And even more so because it’s with someone I actually like. 

We were still far from our destination, and yet… It seemed I was getting a little excited too. …Well, yeah. I’d tried to sound cool and all, but the truth was, I was very excited. I’d been so hyped that I’d stayed up researching everything about the trip and barely got any sleep.

Looking at myself in the rearview mirror, I could see dark circles under my eyes.

“Nagi-kun, you’ve got bags under your eyes~”

Mahiru giggled. But still… There was something I wanted to say to her.

Mahiru. You’ve got dark circles under your eyes too, you know?

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