Eleventh Period: Late-Night Ice Cream is Exciting
The next day, Friday. It was past 9:00 PM.
I was walking toward the station after finishing my shift at the cafe when—Pop!—a Line message arrived on my phone. The sender was Char.
“Atsuto-kun, good work! Let’s hang out!”
Immediately after, a cheerful ringtone, Ponkororin!, played on my phone.
“Hello, this is Yamazaki.”
“Hi! Atsuto-kun, did you see my LINE? Can you hang out now? I got held up with overtime today!”
I see. That’s why she was calling so late.
Yeah, no problem. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so no school.
“Sure! Where are you right now?”
“At the usual fountain! I’ll be waiting!” Char said only that before hanging up.
When I reached the fountain in front of the station, Char came running toward me, her very noticeable bronze hair bouncing.
“Atsuto-kun! Good work!”
“You too, Sensei!”
Char stretched luxuriously. “Mmmph!”
“I’m really tired today. I couldn’t finish all the work that piled up...”
“Did you get it all done?”
“Yeah! I worked hard! And thinking about how Atsuto-kun is going to teach me how to have fun again just gave me energy!” Char made a V-sign with her fingers, wiggling them like crab claws.
It’s embarrassing to be told something like that so directly...
“So, where are we going today?” Char asked, her eyes full of expectation, completely oblivious to my pounding heart.
“Did you already have dinner?”
“Yeah! Chicken nanban bento and a nori bento! Both were really good!”
“O-Oh...” Convenience store bentos, I guess. Still, that seemed like a bit much...
Anyway, in that case, something other than dinner would be better. I’d already eaten before my shift, too.
“How about we just wander around and think of a place to hang out?”
“Sounds good! Alright, let’s go!”
“Whoa?!” My heart leaped at the sudden mugyu! sensation against my right arm.
Char had naturally linked her arm with mine.
“S-Sensei? This arm is...?”
“Ehh, is it bad? Let’s just go!” Char tightened her grip on my arm with another mugyu! and started walking.
She’s sober today, right? Something soft is pressing against my arm a lot...
I managed to keep my composure as we walked aimlessly.
“Oh, Atsuto-kun! What is this?” Char suddenly stopped in front of ‘a certain shop.’
“Ah. That’s ‘Night Ice Cream’!”
“Night Ice Cream?” Char tilted her head, giving me a questioning look.
Ice cream shops that are only open during the day are common, but this ‘late-night specialty ice cream shop’ is the latest trend, especially in the city.
“Wow! This ice cream looks amazing! It has so many strawberries!” Char bounced happily, looking at the menu board outside the shop.
“Want to try some?”
“Yeah! I do, I do!” I was impressed by her enthusiasm, which was unbelievable for someone who’d just eaten two bentos. I went into the shop with Char, and we ordered our ice cream.
Char chose the strawberry-loaded ice cream, as expected. I chose a simple vanilla ice cream with a rich milk flavor.
“Wow, look! The strawberries are about to overflow!”
“Ah, if you move too much, it’ll fall!”
“Oops! ...Ham!” Char scooped up a strawberry and some soft-serve that looked like it was about to spill out of the cup and put it in her mouth.
Instantly, Char’s face bloomed into a radiant smile.
“It’s so delicious! It might be the best ice cream I’ve ever had!”
“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration...?”
“Muu! It’s not an exaggeration! Oh, maybe it’s so delicious because I’m with Atsuto-kun?!” Char leaned in, her eyes sparkling as if she’d made a huge discovery.
Her plump lips, her breath lightly brushing my nose. T-Too close...!
“A-Ah?! Atsuto-kun, your face is red! Do you have a fever?!”
“Gah!” Char worriedly pressed her forehead against mine.
“N-No, I’m fine! Perfectly healthy!” I pulled away abruptly, and Char tilted her head curiously. “Really?”
She always does things like that!
“A-Anyway, let’s eat quickly! It’s going to melt!”
“Whoa! You’re right! Gotta hurry!” Char started eating her ice cream again, seeing a drop of melted ice cream fall onto the ground.
We continued to eat our ice cream, but—
(...Eh?!)
A familiar person flashed in my peripheral vision, and I instinctively lowered my head. That familiar short red hair, could it be—
“Hmm? Atsuto-kun? What’s wrong?” I hoped I was wrong about that back view, but I knew it was her.
“—ka is here.”
“Hmm? What did you say?” Char leaned her right ear closer to me, as if she hadn’t heard.
“—Benika is here.”
“Ehh?! Shirashu-san?! Where, where—?!”
“Aaaah! Your voice is too loud!” I pulled Char’s hand and crouched behind the corner of the sign, completely nullifying my whispered warning.
“I-I was so surprised! And you were louder, Atsuto-kun!”
“Maybe, but just be quiet!”
“Okay!” I put my index finger to my lips, and Char raised the hand not holding her ice cream in a salute. She’s not cut out for hiding...
Benika seemed to be with friends, probably after her photoshoot. Two women about her age were with her, also enjoying ice cream and chatting happily, just like us.
And—
(Her outfit is something else...)
Today, Benika was wearing tight jeans, a white cap, and a T-shirt. But the problem was the length of the T-shirt.
It was a ‘belly-shirt’ style, shamelessly showing off her stomach, which was curvy but nicely toned.
I knew I shouldn’t stare, but I couldn’t look away—
“A—tsu—to—kun—?”
“...Gah!” I heard a voice that made my spine freeze, and I turned around to see Char, her cheeks puffed out and her eyebrows furrowed.
“U-Umm, Sensei...?”
“Atsuto-kun is a bad boy who looks at other girls when he’s with one? Hmm, I see.”
“No, I’m not! I was just checking to see if Benika would notice us!”
“No way! Atsuto-kun was totally glued to Shirashu-san’s stomach!”
Well, I couldn’t exactly deny that!
Char turned away, pouting.
But after a moment, Char let out a small “Ah,” as if she’d thought of something.
“...I have a great idea!”
“A great idea?”
“I might forgive you if you feed me that ice cream!”
She made the suggestion with a mischievous, impish smile.
“F-Feed you...?!” I’d done similar things before. The ‘ahn’ with the hamburger steak at the darts bar.
But this time was different. There were too many people around, and more importantly, Benika was here.
If she saw me doing this—
“—...Ahn.” Char opened her mouth, ready for action, as I hesitated.
I tried to convey with my eyes, Are you really going to do this here?! but Char showed no sign of backing down.
I have no choice, do I...?
“H-Here I go...?” I scooped up a bite of vanilla ice cream and slowly brought it toward her mouth. My heart thumped faster and faster as the spoon got closer to her lips, and my hand trembled from the tension.
Just as the spoon was about to touch Char’s lips, she took the ice cream.
—Pak.
“...Mmm, delicious.” She licked the cream off her lips with her tongue, giving me a seductive smile.
“Are you going to forgive me now—”
“Ah! Ice cream that Atsuto-kun feeds me is delicious after all!”
“What?!” I quickly covered Char’s mouth, startled by her sudden loud voice.
I slowly took my hand away, and Char grinned, offering me her ice cream.
Did Char do that on purpose?!
“Here, Atsuto-kun. Ahn.”
“W-Wait a second...!” I backed away and checked on Benika and her friends.
“What’s wrong, Benika?”
“Hmm? I thought I heard a friend’s name just now...”
“You’re just imagining it.”
“Really? Hmm...”
After that brief exchange, Benika went back to eating her ice cream.
That was close! I almost got caught!
“Don’t shout so loud, or you’ll be found out!”
“You were the one who shouted loudly just now...!”
“Anyway, here. Ahn?” Char smiled, bringing the spoon with ice cream toward me again.
“A-Ahn...” I slightly parted my lips, and the spoon with the ice cream was slipped into my mouth.
“How is it? Is it good?” Char tilted her head cutely, and I nodded emphatically.
The thrill of being fed by Char, and the thrill of Benika being nearby.
The double dose of excitement completely masked the taste!
—About ten minutes later.
“W-We didn’t get caught...” I watched Benika and her friends walk toward the station, breathing a sigh of relief.
“That was full of thrills, Atsuto-kun!” Char popped her head out from beside me, smiling happily.
I was safe this time, but I couldn’t risk this happening again.
...I needed to warn her.
“Why did you do something that could get us caught?” I asked, my tone a little firmer than usual. Char fidgeted for a moment, then—
“...Because when I’m with you, I want you to only look at me.” she whispered, her cheeks faintly flushed.
Ugh, she’s so cute! That was enough to completely make me forget about scolding her.
“Don’t you dare look at other girls next time, or it’s a ‘no-no’!” And then I was the one who got warned.
She probably thought she was scolding me, but... I wasn’t scared at all. In fact, her pouting, childlike expression was too cute...
I couldn’t tell her that her sulking face was cute, or she’d get genuinely angry this time.
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