"You can't kiss me can you?" When I accepted my childhood friends challenge, she unexpectedly softened and is acting like a love-struck girl [Dropped] - Chapter 27 - Their Thoughts!
The next day at lunchtime, Ibuki asked Airi, “So, in the end… Did you make up with your parents?”
The two had planned to spend the night together, but it seemed they couldn’t keep up the act of being adults for too long. In the end, they both had to return home and faced some scolding.
And, of course, Ibuki didn’t know what happened to Airi after they got home.
“They apologized to me. I mean, it’s not like I was expecting that, but I didn’t know. I do have the intention to inherit it myself.”
“Well, that’s true, I suppose.”
Airi’s father, too, undoubtedly wanted his beloved daughter to inherit his legacy over his friend’s son. Probably, he had priorily expected that Airi wouldn’t inherit his work.
“Well, I never said anything about it. I never showed any signs of it. My grades are so-so, and it’s not like I’m making an effort, so it’s natural not to expect it. Besides, I don’t really want to be a doctor… If they had told me, ‘Become a doctor, work hard, give your all,’ I would have hated that, too.”
Airi shrugged as she spoke. Despite the words, she seemed a bit lonely.
…It appeared she still had some dissatisfaction with her father.
“I’m going to take the next mock exams seriously so that I can’t make any excuses.”
“That’s fine.”
Ibuki nodded. He thought Airi had a good head on her shoulders. If she studied seriously, her grades would surely improve.
…However, she leaned more towards the humanities, so it was unknown how much she could improve in subjects she wasn’t good at.
“Maybe I’ll beat you next time.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Don’t be so dismissive!”
Airi lightly patted Ibuki’s chest while speaking.
The argument and tension from last night seemed like a thing of the past, and they had returned to their usual selves.
However, things hadn’t entirely remained the same.
“By the way, Ibuki-kun, about last night…”
“Huh? Oh… what about it?”
Airi began with a hesitant voice, and Ibuki scratched his cheek while averting his gaze.
“S-so, I want you to forget about that…”
“…..”
“Well, I mean, I hadn’t said that, and it’s not like I, um… really felt that way… I mean, it was just the atmosphere and the mood at the time, not, you know, like that…”
Airi stammered and offered embarrassed explanations, fidgeting. Memories of last night’s sensations, Airi’s voice, breath, expressions, and the feeling of her skin were coming back to Ibuki’s memories naturally.
“Please forget about it…”
“I can’t do that.”
“I-It’s impossible? Then…”
Nervous, Airi’s shoulder was grabbed by Ibuki gently.
Airi’s face turned crimson, and she glanced away while observing Ibuki’s expression with her azure eyes.
“Uh, well…”
“‘I want to be pampered right now!'”
“Huh?”
Airi showed a surprised expression when Ibuki mimicked her sudden exclamation.
Ibuki lightly poked Airi’s forehead.
“Clingy, Airi-chan.”
“No…!”
Airi’s expression froze. Meanwhile, Ibuki continued to smile amusedly.
“You seemed like a kindergartner at that time.”
“Forget that!”
Airi waved her hands while chasing Ibuki, and Ibuki evaded her while teasing her.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
That night…
“Haa…”
Ibuki, in his room, was gazing out of the window — or more accurately, through the curtains.
Ibuki’s house and Airi’s house were next to each other, and their rooms were situated facing each other.
In other words, Airi was on the other side of the curtains, separated by the window.
“Does she… like me?”
Ibuki found himself saying it out loud and then placed his hand on his forehead.
It sounded quite like something a ‘misunderstood virgin’ would say. While he was indeed a virgin, this time it might not be just a misunderstanding.
…At that time, Airi had sought a kiss from him.
“Must not be a misunderstanding… I suppose.”
A warm sigh.
A soft body.
The warmth radiating from her skin.
And the sensation of her lips.
Ibuki had certainly felt something that could be described as ‘excitement’ from Airi.
And also, Ibuki’s feelings toward Airi…
“…Wasn’t that bad.”
What would happen if he became Airi’s boyfriend?
…Surprisingly, it might be a good thing, right?
He could do this and that with Airi, right?
That wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
She’s cheeky but cute. Her body is sexy, too.
While thinking like an inexperienced virgin, Ibuki sighed.
“…I can’t ask her, ‘Do you like me?’ That’s out of the question.”
He would be evaded or made fun of.
So, how about confessing himself?
Absolutely not.
He would be looked down upon for the rest of his life.
“You like me and confess, so I have no choice but to date you.”
That’s how he’d be treated.
…Even just thinking about it made him angry.
“If she absolutely wants to go out with me, I might consider it, though.”
With thoughts of superiority, Ibuki pondered.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
At the same time, on the other side of the window…
“I’m definitely being misunderstood…”
Airi was trembling with a beet-red face.
She recalled the embarrassment of last night.
“Why am I…”
At that time, Airi had sealed Ibuki’s lips with her own.
Why had she done that?
She had been in the mood for it.
She had wanted to feel his warmth more.
She had wanted to be closer to him.
She had wanted to get to know him better.
…While all of this could be neatly disguised with beautiful words, the essence of it was just that she was feeling a bit ‘frisky’.
In other words, it was s*xual desire.
Airi wondered if she could call this “love”.
“Well, his face is okay, and his body is not bad, but to do that with such a pitiful guy…”
She had held back, fearing she’d be embarrassed if she put in her full effort.
She sympathized with the idea of saying such embarrassing things to a guy like him.
Airi felt that a childhood friend who should have been distant had suddenly become very close to her.
“What would happen if we became a couple?”
The excitement and happiness she had felt at that moment… could she experience it over and over again?
She pondered this.
“…Well, it’s impossible for me to confess first, of course.”
If she did that, she’d be looked down upon forever.
“You only want to go out with me because you said you like me, so I will have no choice but to date you.”
Airi looked behind the curtain and gave a soft smile.
No matter how far apart they were, they were similar in nearly all aspects.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
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TL : Zenon#4120