The Pure-Hearted Beauty Who Only Dotes on Me Despite Not Being in a Relationship—And How She Became Even Sweeter After We Started Dating - Chapter 55: I want to stay with you a little longer.

I want to stay with you a little longer.

“I’ll go grab a drink from the store downstairs.”

It was the second night. After taking a bath, I felt like having something cold to drink, so I decided to go buy something.

“Okay. Then, get me a soda.”

“I’m not your errand boy.”

“Just kidding. Take care.”

“It didn’t sound like a joke…”

After a bizarre exchange with Kouta, I left the room alone.

I took the elevator to the entrance, where I saw a few people who seemed to be from the same school. Even though I recognized them, I didn’t engage in conversation since we weren’t close.

I thought I might as well check the café menu.

The other day, I tried to look at the menu of the café in the entrance but couldn’t. This time, I was shocked at the high prices.

Too many zeroes… This café isn’t for students like us. The cakes looked delicious, though.

I checked out the drinks as well, but they were also expensive. Definitely not a place I could afford.

I returned the menu to the first page, went to the vending machine, and bought milk tea and, just in case, the soda Kouta had asked for.

After finishing my errand, I headed towards the elevator but got curious about the facility map. I noticed there was an outdoor pool.

Oh, there’s a pool? Well, it’s already October, so no one would be there.

Since it was on the same floor, I decided to take a detour and check it out. As I expected, I didn’t encounter anyone on my way to the outdoor pool. When I opened the door marked “Outdoor Pool,” a beautiful view greeted me.

“Wow, amazing…”

The place was lit up, and the lights sparkled on the water’s surface. It was so breathtakingly beautiful that I took out my phone from my pocket and took a photo.

Just as I was about to head back to the room, a cold wind blew, and I heard a rustling sound from somewhere. Looking around, I saw someone near a small pool in the distance.

Long hair and a familiar cardigan. I was about to leave but decided to approach her since I had a chance to see her.

“Mizuki.”

When I called her name from behind, she seemed startled, probably not having noticed my footsteps, and quickly turned around.

“Ao-kun, please don’t startle me like that.”

“Sorry. Mizuki, are you alone?”

“Yes, I went to the store a while ago and then noticed the pool, so I thought I’d take a look.”

I chuckled softly, realizing she came here for the same reason I did.

“Just like me.”

“How about we take a picture together since we’re here?”

“Great idea. I’ll hold it; can you stand next to me?”

“Sure…”

We fumbled a bit with the selfie, not being used to taking them. Maybe I should have let Mizuki handle it.

“Okay, here we go.”

After snapping two or three pictures and making sure they turned out well, I sent them to Mizuki.

“Alright, we should head back before we catch a cold—”

“But, I want to stay a little longer.”

(What an adorable way to ask me to stay…)

I was about to leave, but Mizuki hugged me from behind, making it impossible to move.

Not that I wasn’t happy about it, but feeling her softness against my back was a bit overwhelming.

“Okay, I get it. But let’s go inside so we don’t catch a cold.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

As Mizuki let go, I took a deep breath. I’m still not used to her sudden hugs. Is she doing it on purpose to make my heart race?

I felt a bit envious that only I was getting flustered, so I thought about what I could do to make her feel the same.

(Though, I don’t want to do anything she’d dislike. Maybe some sweet words will do the trick?)

“Mizuki.”

“Yes?”

“You’re adorable.”

“T-That was sudden. Thank you.”

“I was really happy when you said you wanted to stay with me a bit longer. I wanted to stay with you too. Can I be a little more affectionate?”

“Um…”

For a change, Mizuki seemed a bit surprised. As for me, I felt embarrassed for even suggesting that I wanted to be affectionate.

“I don’t know if I can really soothe you, but go ahead.”

With that, she opened her arms in front of me.

Wait, isn’t this making me the one who’s nervous? My desire to be affectionate had unintentionally turned my plan to make her flustered into a failure. What was I even thinking with that plan?

I gently embraced her, feeling myself relax. She smelled really nice, which led my thoughts down a slightly weird path, so I tried to focus on something else to avoid imagining anything inappropriate.

But the scent of her shampoo and conditioner kept drawing my attention, making it impossible to think about anything else.

“Ao-kun, you can lean on me whenever you need to. I like patting your head, so I’ll always be here for you.”

Always lean on her, huh… Could I really count on Mizuki to pat my head whenever I needed comfort?

“Alright, I’ll take you up on that.”

“Yes… I’ll make sure you can’t live without me, Ao-kun.”

“That might be a bit problematic…”

“Yet you look quite happy about it.”

Before going to a more public area, I patted her head in the quiet, serene spot. Even without her doing anything special, just being like this with her was incredibly soothing.