Chapter 227 – Going to the Pool with Everyone (5)
Soon after, we spotted the three drifting along the flowing pool among the crowd.
There were many people in the pool, but due to Amami-san’s conspicuous appearance and Nozomu’s tall stature, we easily found them.
“Welco back!~ Did you two have a good ti?”
“Of course. We bought so shaved ice on our way here, let’s eat them together.”
“Yay~ I’m taking the strawberry one~”
And so, everyone took one shaved ice each. Amami-san took the strawberry one, Nozomu took the lon one and Nitta-san took the lemon one. We moved to a nearby resting area. There was a parasol set in the center of the table, so we could hide from the sun while we were eating.
“Hm? What’s wrong, Nozomu? You don’t look so good.”
“Huh? Ah… Don’t worry, it’s nothing really…”
After I sat down and took the shaved ice that Umi fed , I called out to Nozomu.
I had noticed sothing was wrong with him when we t up. Well, I had an idea what was going on, but I decided to ask anyway.
Amami-san then ca forward and explained everything to with a wry smile.
“Ahaha… Actually, just before you two ca back, a group of people approached us. I think they said they were college students… Right, Ninacchi?”
“Yeah. They said that they’re alumni from our school. Maybe they ca back to this town for vacation or sothing. One of them looked quite cute, but he’s too short for my taste, so I don’t really care about him.”
Ignoring Nitta-san’s pointless rambling, I managed to find out that when Nozomu was around, there were no guys trying to hit on them, but as soon as Nozomu went away, they started appearing.
Though, since Nitta-san was nearby, she was able to successfully brush them off.
‘This girl is with , back off!’
When Nozomu got back, he shouted at them like that and made them run away quickly. Nitta-san recounted exactly what he said to them, word by word while chuckling.
“…Look, I know I should’ve co up with sothing better, but you know… It was my first ti dealing with that kind of situation, so I let the blood rush to my head…”
His face reddened as he tried to explain himself while eating his dessert.
It was both Amami-san and Nitta-san who were being hit on, so what he said back then should be ‘those girls’ instead of ‘this girl’. But I guess he tunnel-visioned because his emotions went out of control and completely forgot about Nitta-san’s existence.
“I’m sorry, Amami-san… I said sothing outrageous just now, even though our relationship isn’t actually like that…”
“Jeez, I told you it’s fine already, Nozomu-kun! I understand that you were only trying to help us and nothing more. We’re all friends here, so it’s alright, okay?”
“Y-Yes… R-Right, we’re all friends here…”
Amami-san’s attempt to comfort him ended up doing more damage as he looked more hurt than before. I should comfort him later, poor guy…
“Anyway, Ninacchi, you should thank him! Stop teasing him already! You know he was trying to help us, right?”
“No, I an… Fine. Good job, Seki. As a reward, hm… I’ll let you eat my shaved ice.”
“Ew no. How about you leave alone as a reward?”
In any case, thanks to Nozomu, we were spared a lot of trouble. After that, we quickly ate our frozen treat as it started to lt.
I rarely ate shaved ice and I had a feeling that if I were to eat it by myself at ho, it wouldn’t taste quite as good as eating it together with everyone like this.
If my past self were to see right now, he would probably mock for thinking about sothing cheesy.
Well, even if it was cheesy, I had no problems with it.
“What’s up, Maki? Why are you smiling?”
“Huh? Am I?”
“Mhm. Your cheeks are twitching a little. You only do that whenever you’re holding back a smile.”
“…You know quite well, huh?”
“Of course, I’m your girlfriend after all… Actually, it was one of the things that your mom told about you…”
‘One of the things’, ant there was more that mom told her.
She knew about my habits that I was unaware of… I guess I’d never be able to hide anything from her for the rest of my life.
“So, what are you smiling at?”
“Um… It isn’t anything important, really… I was just thinking that this kind of thing was actually quite fun…”
“I see…”
“Mhm.”
Of course, being together with everyone wasn’t all fun and gas, but even so, the mories I made together with them were irreplaceable.
Thanks to them, I managed to learn that.
* * *
After playing in the pool, we went to the amusent park nearby and had a great ti playing over there. By the ti we finished going on all the rides, from roller coasters to the haunted house, the sun had already set.
Both my energy and wallet were drained, but it was worth it because I had a lot of fun.
I’d probably collapse as soon as I got ho.
Rather, I could barely keep myself awake at this point. If I let my guard down, I might doze off and end up at a random station in the middle of nowhere.
We still had to wait for thirty minutes until we could get off at the next station. After that, I still had to escort Umi ho… Ugh, so many things to do…
“Nn… Maki…”
Like , Umi was also tired. She was leaning on , muttering my na in her sleep. Actually, almost everyone in our group was asleep except for Amami-san and .
“Hehe, she’s sleeping with her mouth open… Ah, she’s drooling on your sleeve, Maki-kun.”
“I’m used to it by now. Usually when we slept together like this, she would get her drool all over … Anyway, you aren’t sleeping, Amami-san?”
“Well, I don’t feel that tired, that’s why… Also, I want to watch over Umi at tis too, you know?”
She wiped the drool from Umi’s mouth with a handkerchief as she said that. It felt refreshing seeing this scene. Normally, it was Umi who was taking care of her.
“Umi is really cute nowadays~ Well, she was always cute, but ever since she beca your girlfriend, she’d gotten even cuter. Did you know that she’d never let see her sleeping face before?”
“Is that so? Since we’re on the topic, what was she like back in middle school? I heard stories, but aside from that, I don’t know anything about her.”
I was talking about before we t, back before she and Amami-san drifted apart.
All I knew about her past was from the stories Sora-san told . She said that even though she wasn’t as pretty as Amami-san, people still looked up to her and she always beca the center of the class because she had a knack for leading people. Aside from that, I didn’t know anything. Umi would always cut Sora-san’s stories short out of embarrassnt.
“Back then, I always thought that Umi was a perfect girl. We were always together and she always knew about everything that I didn’t. I’d always wanted to be like her and so I looked up to her a lot…”
I knew the story of how they first t. If I were in Amami-san’s shoes I would have thought the sa thing as her.
If only things went on well for them… Actually, if things went well for them, Umi and I would never have t each other as she’d still be in her old school instead of transferring out as soon as she graduated from middle school.
“I see.”
“Mhm! Ah, of course I still feel the sa way about her! Also, I don’t bla you for bringing out the normally cool Umi’s childish side, so you don’t need to worry about that, Maki-kun!”
“The fact that you’re pointing that out makes feel bad more than anything…”
It was true that she had been showing more of her childish side, but said childish side was what chard Nakamura-san and the others. Also, thanks to that, she was able to make up with Amami-san.
That was why I personally thought that this was how everything should be.
I gently stroked Umi’s head. Her body moved a little as she rubbed her face against my arm.
I didn’t know what kind of dream she was having, but at least she looked happy.
“I’d seen her sleeping face a few tis before, but I’d never seen her make such a childish expression… Is it because of your petting, Maki-kun?”
“I don’t know…”
Umi said that whenever she snuggled with like this, it made her feel at ease.
Honestly, I felt the sa way. I guess that made us compatible as a couple, huh?
“I see… Ah, I know! Try petting my head a little too, Maki-kun! Maybe I can sleep peacefully like her when you do it to . Umi and I are best friends after all, so maybe you will have the sa effect on as you do with Umi.”
“What’s with that logic?”
Well, we wouldn’t know unless we tried. But still, even though she was Umi’s best friend, her relationship with wasn’t that deep. Besides, I doubt that she’d feel anything from .
I believe only Umi, who loved everything about , would feel anything.
“C’mon~ Can you do it for ? I wanna find out~ You don’t need to do it for long, just a few seconds will do.”
“You won’t feel anything if it was that short…”
That said, if I were to refuse her strongly, the atmosphere between us would turn awkward. With the other three being asleep, it would be hard for us to recover from that. Should I just pat her a little? I an, it didn’t matter anyway.
“Go ahead~”
“O-Okay…”
Following Amami-san’s urging, I brought my hand closer to her head.
Suddenly, a certain scene ca to my mind.
“…Sorry, Amami-san, I don’t think I can do that.”
Just when my fingertips were about to touch her hair, I gave her my rejection and placed my hand on Umi’s head again.
I’d lost count of how many tis I’d touched her hair. But it always felt so smooth in my hand.
I’d never touched other people’s hair, but I loved Umi’s hair the most. It felt really comfortable.
“Um, Maki-kun?”
“Sorry, Amami-san… I don’t think it’s appropriate for to do that… No matter how close we are or even as a joke…”
The scene that flashed in my mind was what Umi said to when we were alone at the pool.
‘When I saw you sticking close to Yuu… I felt really jealous…’
I imagined myself in Umi’s shoes.
Even if she knew that my action had no deeper aning to it, sowhere in her heart, she’d still feel jealous because of it.
Whatever the reason was, I didn’t want to do anything to make Umi jealous.
“I see… I guess you’re right, Maki-kun… I’m sorry, I acted out of line again… Jeez, I’m such an idiot…”
“It isn’t your fault, Amami-san. I’m just too self-conscious about this kind of thing. You’re still one of my best friends, Amami-san.”
“No, no, you’re right, Maki-kun. Umi and Ninacchi always tell that there’s a certain distance that has to be kept to soone of the opposite s*x… Ahaha…”
Amami-san let out a wry smile as she apologized to . I guess that was her way to prevent the atmosphere between us from getting worse.
She’d probably think I’m overly self-conscious, but that was fine. A small price to pay for making Umi happy.
“Um, Amami-san.”
“Hm? Yes?~”
“Um… Thank you for inviting out today. It was tiring, but I had fun playing around with Umi and everyone. It was really fun.”
“Y-Yes, don’t ntion it.”
Even though I drew a clear line between us, I still felt grateful to Amami-san for everything. I hope that she lets off with this and we’ll stay good friends in the future too. WIth that thought in mind, our sumr vacation was gradually coming to an end.
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