My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

71. From Childhood Friend to Girlfriend (2)

A late evening in December, the month Aki and I, childhood friends for eleven years, finally started dating.

I sat obediently on the bed in Aki’s room, which was now the room of my girlfriend.

Aki, having brought me to her house where her parents weren’t home, had disappeared into the bathroom, leaving behind only the words, “I’m going to wash up, so wait for me…?”

“……”

— *Swishhh.*

I gripped the bedsheets with my hands, then released them.

The sound of water falling from behind the closed bathroom door made it feel so real that Aki was washing up, and my heart fluttered.

I couldn’t help but feel nervous, wondering why she brought me to her empty house at this hour.

“……What else could it be.”

It was obviously *that* kind of reason.

I pretended not to know because it was too embarrassing to say out loud, but in reality, only an idiot wouldn’t realize it.

Because the look Aki gave me before going into the bathroom was anything but ordinary.

That look was like… like that of a lioness with her luscious prey in sight.

If you didn’t notice that, you were just a complete fool, a lifeless object with absolutely no desires as a man. Of course, I was neither of those.

— *Creak.*

— *Shh… Shh…*

— Ah, a little small…?

Just as I was fidgeting with my fingers from sheer nervousness.

From beyond the bathroom door came the sound of the faucet turning, the sound of a towel drying skin, and the unintentional murmur Aki let out as she put on clothes, one after the other.

Aki was slowly getting ready to come out.

Faintly sensing that, I swallowed hard.

I was trying my best not to show that I was nervous… but I guess I couldn’t help the subconscious actions.

— *Eeeeek.*

Aki emerged from the bathroom, a towel perched on her head.

Her attire was a white bathrobe.

Through the slightly loosened knot, glimpses of her bare skin could be seen. Her skin and hair were moist, showing that she had taken a proper shower.

“Woo-joo~chan, did you dry your hair?”

“Uh-huh, I dried it.”

“Is that so. Then… should *I* dry mine…?”

“…Mm.”

Aki, as nervous as I was, began to gently dry her hair with a hairdryer, telling me something she didn’t really need to. I sat on the bed, watching Aki’s back – that is, watching her pink hair flutter in the breeze – and thought,

‘…Aki’s even beautiful from behind.’

A thought too embarrassing to ever voice aloud, and I spaced out for a moment.

“Seriously…”

How can a person’s waist be so slender, how can a person’s hips be so wide, I couldn’t fathom. If I took a picture of Aki’s back, right now, and uploaded it to the internet, wouldn’t the first reaction be suspicion about how much it was photoshopped…?

“Aki.”

“Ah, hm? Did you call me?”

“Hey, what’s your waist size, by any chance?”

“Hm…? Waist size…?”

“Ah, you don’t have to say if you don’t want to. I was just suddenly curious…”

“…No, it’s okay. I’ll tell you. I think it was exactly 22.5 inches when I measured last month.”

“22.5…?”

“Yeah, 22.5.”

Wow.

Her bust goes back and forth between 65H and 65I, she’s *that* large, but her waist is only 23 inches?

A waist so tiny it almost feels wrong, and a chest that could line everyone else up below her, no matter where she goes.

You really have it all, Aki…

Aki had suddenly become even more impressive, and I parted my lips slightly.

“…Mm, that’s all.”

-Click.

Aki put down the hairdryer.

Touching the slightly damp ends of her hair, she subtly studied my expression and approached the bed.

And sat next to me.

“You’re already done drying it?”

“Yeah. I’m done…”

A quick glance.

Aki kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

Her gaze darted around, like she had something she wanted to say, but was caught in a whirlwind of ‘Should I even mention it…?’

“Oh, uh, the clothes aren’t uncomfortable, are they…?”

Aki glanced down at my attire.

The clothes I was wearing were the pajamas Aki had prepared beforehand. According to her, they were a matching set she’d bought for when we eventually started dating, with the intention of me wearing them.

The good thing was, they felt like I was wearing nothing at all. The bad thing? The material was so light and airy, I suspected they were practically see-through in bright light.

Maybe that was the point, but what did I know?

Anyway, I cleared my throat and nodded.

“It’s fine. Comfortable, actually.”

“Oh, good, I’m glad…”

“…….”

“…….”

“So, uh, why aren’t they coming home today?”

It was a question about Aki’s parents, who weren’t at home.

Though the subject was missing, she seemed to understand, her mouth forming a soft ‘Oh…’.

“They’ve been too busy to date lately, so since tomorrow’s their day off, they decided to spend some quality time together. Just the two of them… And told me to watch the house alone.”

To watch the house alone, huh.

She probably didn’t mean it literally. Aki was close to her parents, so it was probably a playful jab, a teasing sort of comment.

“They didn’t know I was coming, did they?”

“Hmm… No, they probably did know?”

“Huh? How?”

“I told them. Humph, you bet they did! I said, I’m gonna bring Uchu~chan over and have more fun than Mama and Papa!~”

“Oh.”

For a second there, I thought they actually knew.

Realizing it was a joke, I chuckled softly, and Aki stared up at me.

“…Right, so.”

She fiddled with her fingers, then cautiously reached out and gently wrapped them around my wrist, which was resting on the bedsheet.

“Let’s have fun too. More fun than Mama and Papa are having.”

How we were supposed to have more fun than two people who had been married for nearly twenty years, I couldn’t fathom.

I simply didn’t know the method.

No, in truth, it felt like I almost knew.

I stopped laughing abruptly and glanced at Aki’s face.

“……”

“……”

Aki was looking at me with eyes that seemed to hold a strange expectation.

The kind a man couldn’t possibly misunderstand.

The kind you instinctively knew.

“……You know, Uju-chan.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, Atashi…”

Aki kneaded my right forearm.

“I think… when bodies connect, so do hearts, you know…?”

Aki’s words trailed off quietly.

“Just saying we’re dating, or whatever… I don’t think that has much meaning. Because there’s no proof that remains on the body…”

“……Proof?”

“Yeah, proof. Proof that Uju-chan and Atashi are together, you know…”

Proof.

She was beating around the bush something fierce.

If it’s proof that remains on the body, then doesn’t that only leave… *that* kind of thing…?

What exactly Aki meant by ‘proof,’ I had no way of knowing in that moment.

But I could certainly sense that the nuance was anything but ordinary, so I tried my best to calm my pounding heart.

“……Heeh.”

Aki released my arm slightly.

And, with the hand that had released me, she gently caressed the knot of her bathrobe.

*Shhh-*

“……Mm.”

Aki untied the bathrobe knot.

The tightly cinched tie loosened, and the front panels of the bathrobe slowly parted, like the opening of flower petals.

Black.

What Aki had concealed was a black negligee.

The fabric, so sheer it was practically transparent, meant that without the camisole and string underwear I’d worn underneath, it would have far surpassed the limits of what I could handle.

“……”

Was she unaware, or was this intentional?

Probably the latter, I thought instantly as I quietly observed the lingerie Aki had prepared.

She was truly determined today.

Whether her heart was set aflame by my declaration of wanting to date, Aki’s will to seduce me tonight, no matter what, radiated from her very choice of attire.

“……Uju~chan.”

Aki lightly placed her hand on my thigh.

Only after our bodies made direct contact did I regain my senses, tearing my gaze away from Aki’s slender waist, visible through the gossamer lace.

“Uju~chan said… you like me, right?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Then…”

Aki shifted closer.

“Show me.”

“……Show you?”

“Mmhmm, how much Uju~chan likes me…”

She wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me into a soft embrace.

“I want you to show me with your body.”

“……”

My heart pounded.

Partially startled by the directness of her request.

But Aki, looking up at me, seemed so unbelievably lovable.

I felt a surge of longing to forget all my promises and resolutions, to simply give her everything she desired.

“……Aki.”

But.

“I… I really like you…”

Truly, so much.

“……I, I really, really like you.”

So, so, so, so, so, so, so much.

“I like you so much that I want to do anything you ask…”

“Yeah, I want to…?”

The aversion was so profound it choked the words. I bit down hard, until I tasted blood. A regrettable necessity.

It couldn’t be.

Because I had made a vow.

Not to succumb to momentary impulse.

“Anything else, I’m fine with… but that, I don’t think I can.”

I would endure, wait until we were old enough to do things properly, grant Aki what she desired.

And so, I refused.

Even bracing for her disappointment.

With a heart that felt like it was shattering, I said,

“Because… I love you too much. Not now.”

…And then.

“…Heh.”

Aki suddenly giggled.

As if she’d been waiting for those very words.

“Woo-joo~”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Woo-joo~ you just said? Anything else is fine, but that’s a no-go…”

“Mmm, I did…”

“…Then.”

*Thump.*

Aki’s knee wedged itself between my thighs.

Meaning it… that area…

It touched.

“While we’re going out, don’t do it.”

“Don’t do what…?”

“What Woo-joo~ does every night. Don’t do that.”

“…Huh?”

Had I misheard?

I questioned the reliability of my own ears, even as Aki pressed her knee further inward.

I flinched at that, and instinctively shrunk back, Aki straddling my thighs, riding up higher.

“Understood?”

“No, that’s…”

I’d said I’d be okay with anything, but even so, wasn’t that a bit much…?

That was genuine torture, no, not even torture, it was just telling me to die.

“You’re not serious, are you?”

“Have you ever seen *atashi* make empty promises…?”

I’d seen Aki joke around, but never, not once, utter a false word.

Which meant, what Aki was demanding of me was one hundred percent earnest.

“Why, you don’t like it? …You said anything was okay a moment ago. Was that a lie?”

“……”

I was struck speechless, for two different reasons.

The first reason: ‘Aki looks pretty even when she’s angry….’

The other: ‘Could it be I’m really forbidden to ever do that again…?’

“No, it’s not a lie, but….”

“Or, is it finished with that thing already?”

“……Hah, can’t you just let it slide, just once?”

Before I knew it, my voice had taken on a desperate edge.

Aki had said, don’t do it while we’re dating.

I didn’t want to break up with Aki, and I didn’t want to be banned from doing it for the rest of my life either.

“You want *atashi* to let it slide…?”

“Yeah, I want you to let it slide….”

“……Alright, I’ll let it slide. But not for free.”

Aki extended her index and middle finger from her right hand, folding the rest of them in.

A gesture meaning scissors, or the number 2.

“There are two conditions.”

“…What are they?”

“First, you have to tell *atashi* you love me every day.”

“Yeah, I will.”

“And second, this is the important one….”

A sidelong glance.

Aki’s eyes flickered to my trouser front.

“From now on, you’re only allowed to think about me when you do it.”

“…Huh?”

“Uju-chan~ can’t look at anything naughty, can’t even imagine other girls. Only me. Only me, no matter what, no matter what happens, just… just think about me for the rest of your life when you do it. …Because I’ve already been doing it that way.”

Aki’s cheeks flushed a faint pink as she spoke.

I was somewhat stunned by what she’d said, my head swimming.

…Subtly.

No, not subtly, it felt undeniably good.

Because Aki, she…

Er, um.

She’d been thinking about me that way…

“You understand…?”

“Ah, yeah. I understand…”

And so, I could only nod dumbly.

…And then.

“Heh, come here.”

Aki threw her arms around me, cupping my face in her hands so I’d look down at her.

“What is it?”

“Just want to look at my boyfriend’s face.”

“……”

Why did those words make my heart pound even harder?

I really must be an idiot…

“Uju-chan.”

“Huh?”

“Sleep over tonight.”

“……”

“I won’t do anything weird, okay…?”

“…Okay.”