Sixteenth Period: Alone in That Kind of Hotel (Part 1)
And just like that, I ended up spending the night with Char at a love hotel.
Seriously, how did this happen? This is beyond a prank from the gods...
"Wow! This looks like a luxury hotel!"
As soon as we entered the lobby, Char spoke up in admiration.
"Y-yes, it does..."
"Oh, a huge potted plant! It's so stylish!"
"Y-yes, it is..."
This is bad. I'm too nervous to know what to say.
And Char, why the quick change? She was all flustered just a minute ago!
"Speaking of which, how do we get a room here?"
"That would be... ah, this, maybe?"
Apparently, it was a system where you operated an electronic panel to select a room.
Fumbling a bit with the unfamiliar controls, we received a key card and headed to the room we'd chosen.
And when we opened the door—
"Wow! Amazing! What a beautiful room!"
Char squealed and jumped up and down.
The lighting was a chandelier-style fixture hanging from the ceiling. The floor was covered in white marble, and a black leather sofa sat in front of a large television.
Thank goodness...
I thought a love hotel would have a more suspicious atmosphere, but this was surprisingly normal.
Just as I was relaxing, though.
"Hyah! A-Atsuto... that thing..."
Char let out a small shriek and turned her face away from the room.
Where Char was pointing.
"W-whoa?!"
There was a vending machine. But the lineup was anything but ordinary.
It had rubber products for when couples... do that, and so-called 'adult toys' to spice things up...
I take it back. It was not a normal room after all.
"Ah, um... L-let's just go inside for now!"
"Y-y-yes, you're right!"
We entered, pretending not to have seen anything.
The first thing that caught my eye was the double-sized bed.
But here was another problem.
"Th-th-th-there's only one bed...!"
Char covered her mouth, her face bright red.
Y-yeah, that makes sense. It's a love hotel, of course there's only one bed...
"Ugh... I'm getting nervous again...!"
"I-it's okay! I'll sleep on the sofa over there...!"
"But then you'll be sore, Atsuto..."
"I'm absolutely fine, really!"
I appreciate the concern, but sleeping in the same bed with someone I'm not dating is out of the question!
In terms of whether my sanity could handle it, that is...
"F-for now, let's just sit down! We're tired from walking!"
"Y-yeah!"
We sat down together on the sofa.
Because the room was so quiet, the tension kept building.
I'm really going to spend the night in this room with Char, aren't I?
"Atsuto!"
"Huh?! Y-yes!"
Char suddenly raised her voice, breaking the silence.
Then, Char fidgeted a little and—
"S-so, um... maybe take a bath...?"
"............H-huh?!"
Did she mean together?!
When she said that, my gaze involuntarily drifted to Char's body.
Her large chest, visible even through the suit, her tightly cinched waist, her well-toned thighs...
Going in together would mean seeing all of that, completely unclothed—
"N-no, separately, of course!"
Just as my pink-tinted fantasy was starting, Char's voice brought me back to reality.
Of course! What was I even thinking?!
"Y-you're right!"
"I meant, 'Would you like to go first, if you don't mind?'"
Making Char explain herself was just pathetic.
"C-Char, please go first!"
"B-but I feel bad going first..."
"I-I actually prefer a bath after someone else has used it!"
I blurted out an excuse, but that made me sound like a pervert, too.
"Just go! Please, go first!"
"Eh, really?! Okay, I'll go first then! Sorry!"
Char looked surprised but thanked me and headed toward the bathroom with her change of clothes.
About five minutes later.
—Shhhhaaaaa...
The sound of the shower started, audible through the door.
With the sound so clear, I couldn't help but imagine Char taking a shower.
Damn it! When my sister takes a bath, the sound just feels like noise!
"Begone, wicked thoughts! Begone, wicked thoughts...!"
I kept trying to shake off the pink fantasies that kept bubbling up for about forty minutes.
Clack. The door to the dressing room opened.
"A-Atsuto, sorry. Did I keep you waiting..."
"No, it's fine! I didn't wait at all—..."
The moment I turned around, my breathing nearly stopped.
—Char was standing there, wearing only a bath robe.
Her cheeks were flushed. Her slender, white legs peeked out from the hem. A sweet scent of shampoo drifted from her damp, long, bronze hair.
Even through the fabric, I could clearly see the curves of Char's body—
"Don't stare so much... I-it's embarrassing..."
"I-I'm sorry!"
Char's voice brought me back to my senses, and I turned my back to her.
But seeing her in just a bath robe made the indecent fantasies bubble up again.
—I-it's embarrassing, but... I don't mind showing Atsuto.
"I-I'm going to take a bath now!"
"Ah, t-take your time!"
Just as the imaginary Char slowly opened her bath robe.
I fled toward the bathroom.
＊＊＊＊＊
The love hotel's bath was many times larger than the one at home.
When I got into the tub, my excitement briefly rose because of the spacious bath, but then the wave of nervousness crashed over me again.
"I'm back..."
In the end, I couldn't stand it for more than ten minutes and got out of the bath.
"Oh! W-welcome back, Atsuto! Would you like something to drink?"
"You don't mind? Th-then a cola, please..."
Char, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up and bought a can of beer and a cola from the regular vending machine next to the 'adult' one.
"Cheers!"
"C-cheers..."
I clinked my cola against her beer and took a gulp of the cold soda.
Char made a sound in her throat and deliciously poured the beer down her own.
"Phew! It's good, right?"
"Y-yes, it is!"
I replied with as cheerful a voice as possible to Char's bright smile.
But because we were both so nervous, silence quickly returned.
...I guess I have to ask now.
"Char."
"Hm? What is it, Atsuto?"
Char's expression hardened, sensing that my tone was different from before.
...I'm scared to continue.
But if I don't ask, I'll keep worrying.
"Char, why were you in the hotel district?"
I pushed aside the surging anxiety and asked.
"A-ah... D-do I really have to tell you that...?"
When I nodded, Char fidgeted and muttered, "I-it's embarrassing, but..."
"I came shopping after work. Then I saw Atsuto and Shirashu-san walking together... If the two of you were a couple, I... I didn't want that. So... before I knew it, I followed you."
"Huh...?"
My heart thumped, thumped, pounding wildly.
I see. So that's what it was.
"I think I got a little ahead of myself."
Char's words from the hotel district suddenly flashed back to me.
That was Char's true feeling, uttered when she was convinced that Benika and I were a couple.
Why didn't I realize it then?
That one statement was the clearest expression of Char's feelings for me.
"I'm... relieved, too."
"Huh?"
"Because if you had come to a love hotel with a boyfriend, I would have hated it..."
It was embarrassing, but I made sure to say it out loud.
The moment I did, Char's face instantly turned bright red.
"Huh? Huh? What?! D-does that mean..."
"U-um... I think that's what it means..."
Char didn't want me to be dating Benika.
I didn't want Char to be dating anyone else.
That means—
"Atsuto!"
"Whoa!"
Char suddenly lunged onto me, cutting off my thoughts.
"I'm so, so happy right now, Atsuto!"
"H-hey, Char!"
Her blue eyes were slightly moist.
She hugged me tightly, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder.
She was so cute and dear, and I gently stroked Char's hair.
"Hehe... That tickles a little."
"Y-your hair really is silky..."
"Yeah! My hair is my pride, you know? ...Hm? What do you mean, 'really'?"
Ah, I let that slip!
"Actually, when I went to your place, I touched it a little..."
"Eh, w-when?"
"When you were sleeping, just a little..."
When I confessed, Char muttered, "Oh, Atsuto," and then puffed out her cheeks.
【If you tell me, I will let you touch my hair as much as you want.】
"W-what did you just say?"
"Hehe, it's a secret!"
With a mischievous smile, Char rested her head on my shoulder.
"If you want to know the meaning, you'll have to study English properly!"
"I'll... do my best."
After Char let out a small laugh, silence descended between us.
The conversation had stopped. But it was a strangely comfortable silence.
"Hey, Atsuto?"
"Yes."
"Do you like me?"
"I do. Very much."
"Ehehe... I see."
Char smiled, her cheeks relaxing happily.
Then, silence filled the room again.
"So, Atsuto. Do you... want to kiss?"
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