168 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Chapter 168 On the table lay a rare cheesecake and iced tea. The dessert—sometimes present, sometimes not after a meal—was brought by Sendai-san. She sat diagonally in front of me, her back to the bed. "Why did you choose cake?" I asked, stroking the head of the platypus who resided in her room. We could have eaten in my room, but lacking the right moment to suggest it after dinner, I ended up here in Sendai-san's room. "It's a celebration because exams are over." As she said this, she added a quick "Let's eat" and picked up her fork, breaking off the tip of the cheesecake and bringing it to her mouth. "I'm glad the exams are over, but is it worth having cake over?" "Even if it's not, doesn't having a reason make it taste better?" "Isn't it just that Sendai-san wanted cake?" "Well, that's true. It's delicious, so you should have some too, Miyagi." With a friendly smile directed at me, I followed suit, saying "Let's eat" before taking a bite of cake. The smooth, creamy texture of the cheese mixed with the cookie crumb base blended in my mouth. The rare cheesecake was from the same store Sendai-san had bought from before; it was tangy and refreshing. Even though it hadn't been long since dinner, it was so delicious I felt I could eat two, maybe even three pieces. "Do you like rare cheesecake, Sendai-san?" The box today had contained only two rare cheesecakes. The last time, it had four cakes, and Sendai-san had shared a rare cheesecake and a shortcake with me, eating a baked cheesecake and a strawberry tart herself. "I do." "Between rare and baked cheesecake, which would you pick?" "Both. You'd pick rare, right, Miyagi?" "True." When I had asked Sendai-san which cake she preferred out of the four, she answered with "strawberry tart and baked cheesecake." Seeing that today she bought two rare cheesecakes, I thought she might like them more than baked cheesecakes, but she wouldn’t admit it. "What kind of cake do you like besides cheesecake, Miyagi?” She's trying to evade as usual. Which do you really prefer? If I reply to her question with another question, she'd probably just answer "both" again. I'd like to know what her favorite cake is, but it's not something to push too hard about. "The ones that aren’t too sweet." I swallow unnecessary words and answer her question. "True, when it's too sweet, you can get sick of it halfway through." With that, Sendai-san gulped down her iced tea. Anything relating to her feels like a challenge—even pulling out the answer to a simple question like which cheesecake she prefers is impossible. I’m left clueless about the person she likes, something friends typically talk about when they gather. My desire to know grows like an expanding balloon, but I can’t pass that balloon filled with questions to her. "Oh, right, Miyagi." Sendai-san clapped her hands as if she remembered something. "What are you doing for summer break? You’re not going home, right?" "I'm not, but I haven’t decided what to do." In a few days, summer break would start. But my schedule was still blank. College offers a longer break than high school, yet I had no plans. "Then why don't we go somewhere together? You’re not going out with Utsunomiya, right?" Sendai-san casually mentioned Maika's name. The two seemed to have become closer than before, often casually bringing up each other's names in conversations. "Why do you think I’m not going out with Maika?" "Utsunomiya mentioned she'd be returning home for summer. She said she’d be staying there for a while. Has that changed?" "...No, it hasn’t changed. She’s not coming back until September." The atmosphere between Sendai-san and Maika when I saw them in this room had a vibe suggesting they’d been friends for a long time; they seemed to get along well, so I thought they could be mutual friends. But I hadn’t realized they’d gotten close enough to discuss summer vacation plans. "I see. In that case, you’ve got plenty of time." Sendai-san smiled, and indeed, I had time. Spending part of the summer break together wouldn't be bad, but I didn’t want to agree so easily. The reason was Maika. There was an unsatisfying feeling, like eating an overly sweet cake, because of how naturally Sendai-san seemed to know my friend's schedule. I want to know. How close Maika and Sendai-san have become and what they talk about. Though I’ve never heard of them meeting outside, will that change? I wish to know. But I cannot ask. It wouldn't be right to intrude that far into Sendai-san’s social life, and I understand asking would seem unnatural. I break apart the rare cheesecake in front of me and pop a piece into my mouth. The refreshing tang spread, yet the supposedly light cream cheese weighed heavily in my stomach. "Let's just go out together during summer break, okay?" Maika is my friend, and even if she becomes friendly with Sendai-san, that doesn’t change, but a part of me doesn't want them to get too close. "I don’t have plans, but I don’t want to go anywhere." "Aren't you being too much of an indoor person?" "It's hot, and there's no need to go out unless necessary." It’s not what I truly want to say. Sendai-san's closeness to Maika has everything in disarray. With unspoken questions swirling in my head, I cannot form the right words. It’s all Sendai-san’s fault. Because she cheerfully talks about Maika, things get like this. Maika is my best friend, a special friend, and I don't want Sendai-san to become too close with her. I'm anxious that Sendai-san might snatch Maika away from me. That's not it. Before now, I never worried about who Maika spent her time with. But with Sendai-san in the picture, my feelings get tied up in knots. I—I fear losing Sendai-san to Maika. If only their distance didn’t grow any closer. No matter how close they get, how familiar they become, that’s all it is. There will be no touching or kissing between Maika and Sendai-san like between us, no touching or kissing from Sendai-san either. It’s different with Maika. I’m the one living with Sendai-san, her roommate, and only I get to live with her. Yet, just having Sendai-san’s attention shift slightly makes me uneasy. "Well, Miyagi, if you say that much, we can stay in and watch movies instead." Sendai-san’s voice pierced through my thoughts. Not wanting to meet her gaze, I focused on her plate—her rare cheesecake was gone. I pressed my fork against my own cake, taking small bites and swallowing them. Though it’s supposed to be cake, it felt like dirt in my mouth. "Is there any movie you want to watch?" In a gentle voice, as if she were worried about me, Sendai-san spoke. I was sure I wasn't making a pleasant expression. I probably had a frown on my face, and my eyes might have looked harsh. "Feel free to choose," I replied curtly, taking a sip of iced tea. It'd be better if I just returned to my room. I finished my plate and set the fork down. But before I could get up, Sendai-san took my hand, the one I had resting on the table. "Wasn't the cake good, Miyagi?" she asked, although her words didn't match her actions. There was no reason for her to hold my hand, yet she did anyway. She always does things without a discernible reason. And whether or not there's a reason, Sendai-san’s touch is soft and warm, reassuring to the point of contentment. When I'm in contact with her, I feel her attention is on me, and I stop worrying about Maika. That's why I want to keep touching Sendai-san. Anyone else just wouldn't do. But I don't want to make her “special.” The only connection meant to be special is our relationship as roommates. We agreed to share this room until we graduated from university—an exclusive arrangement not made with anyone else. However, even this special bond has an expiration date. Unlike the promise made in high school which also had a graduation deadline, I couldn’t view this current promise in the same light. Thinking of Sendai-san as special makes imagining life post-graduation unbearable. "I'm going back to my room." I pull my hand back, wanting to stand up, but it doesn’t release. When I glare at her, Sendai-san responds with a smile. "Why not stay a bit longer? The exams are over; take it easy." "I'm telling you, I'm going back to my room. Let go of my hand." "I'll let go if you agree to stay a little longer," she teased in that mischievous way she sometimes did, though today I wished she'd stop. If we keep holding hands like this, I'm scared I’ll lose myself. "I won’t." I tugged my hand with more force this time. "Miyagi, careful. You'll knock over the glass." Still, she wouldn’t let go. Her grip tightened, pressing more warmth into my hand. Feeling the pronounced heat only amplified my desire to touch her more. "Sendai-san." I called her name, but my hand remained held. In that case— I knelt on the floor. With a connection made for no reason and maintained for no reason, I didn't need a reason for what I was about to do. I pressed my lips lightly against Sendai-san's. The warmth, mingled with a softness surpassing her hand, transferred to me. She pressed her lips back firmly against mine before pulling away. Immediately, her grip loosened, freeing my hand. "That kiss was to tell me to let go, right?" she remarked without a hint of hesitation. I hadn’t intended the kiss to be an exchange, but I saw no need to correct her. If Sendai-san believed there was a reason, then let it be that. "No." As I declared this, Sendai-san asked, "Then what should I do?" I took a breath, exhaled, and moved beside her. "Remember when I agreed to your request in this room before?" "A request?" she asked, looking puzzled. "Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten asking for permission for what you were about to do." I couldn’t just pretend to forget the incident that led Maika to discover our room-sharing arrangement. I remembered well what transpired between Sendai-san and me that day, and I’m sure I would never forget. "…I remember," she muttered, somewhat hesitantly. "You haven't repaid that yet." I couldn't ask her for what I truly wanted to know, but I could touch her. We are that close, allowed to touch each other so freely. "What am I supposed to repay you with?" I diverted my gaze, releasing a sigh. I couldn’t maintain direct eye contact and continue to speak. "I listened to you then, so now you need to listen to me." My desire to know had led me to an unexpected place, flipping an unforeseen switch within myself. Yet, it was Sendai-san who initiated this by holding my hand and refusing to let go. "Do you want me to do that same thing?" "No. This time, I want to be the one to touch you, Sendai-san. I want to know how you react. Tell me." If I could touch Sendai-san as she once touched me; if I could hear the sounds she wouldn't let anyone else hear. Perhaps knowing that might ease the anxiety that continues to gnaw at me, no matter how close she got to others or who she prioritized over me. I understood that acting on such emotions to touch Sendai-san wasn't right, but I can’t seem to stop myself. Sendai-san had made her presence large at my core, compelling my feelings towards her inescapably, like leaves drawn to the eye of a whirlpool. "What’s prompted this change of heart?" Sendai-san’s probing voice broke through my thoughts. "Like I said earlier, I simply want to know how you’ll react. If it's not something you want, then you can refuse. But if you do refuse, I’ll never allow anything like that to happen again." When I met her gaze, she was watching me with an extremely serious expression.