Chapter 566

Slide.

As the well-oiled door opened, a familiar, welcoming scent greeted her.

It was the house she left and returned to every day, but today felt different.

Perhaps it was because of the... illicit things she had done with Matsuda outdoors.

"You're ba— huh? What's wrong with your clothes?"

Midori asked, welcoming her daughter back.

Seeing her mother's baffled expression, Miyuki replied.

"I stopped by the playground."

"What were you doing at the playground to get covered in sand?"

After finishing things up with Matsuda, she had thoroughly dusted off her clothes on the way home, but she clearly hadn't gotten it all.

The sand, still damp from the rain, must have clung to the fabric.

Looking down at her skirt, she saw that she was right—there was a smattering of sand on it.

She hadn't noticed it earlier... likely because it was too dark out.

"Why are you overreacting? I was just making sandcastles."

"Sandcastles...? How old are you again?"

In truth, she hadn't built a single sandcastle, but well... her mother didn't need to know the details.

"Is that so wrong?"

"Even so, at this hour... and dressed like that... Don't come inside yet. You'll track sand everywhere."

"I brushed off all the dry sand."

"Still, no. Stay outside."

"Are you kicking me out?"

"Don't get cheeky. Just wait outside, hurry."

Midori slipped on her slippers and shooed Miyuki out by the shoulders.

Pouting heavily at her mother's nagging, Miyuki reluctantly stepped back outside.

Then, as Midori vigorously dusted off her clothes, Miyuki flinched, pulling her shoulders all the way back.

"Ouch...! Stop hitting me...!"

Midori's swats actually hurt.

It felt like she was being scolded for ruining her clothes, like a little kid who had played too hard at the playground.

"You're getting more immature by the day, seriously... Tetsuya too..."

"I wasn't hanging out with Tetsuya."

"Then who were you making sandcastles with?"

"Matsuda-kun."

"Matsuda? Ah... that boy you mentioned before?"

"Yeah. The one who used to be a delinquent but completely changed and is basically a model student now."

"That's pretty funny."

"What's funny about Matsuda-kun?"

"Not Matsuda-kun. I'm talking about you."

"What about me?"

"It was only a few weeks ago that you were badmouthing him until you were blue in the face. Can a person really change their mind so easily?"

"No... I never badmouthed him that much! I just said he had a bad attitude. Stop exaggerating...! Besides, you can see he's trying. If you met him, I bet you'd really like him too."

Her mother had already taken a liking to Matsuda ever since he visited with a gift right before they went to the beach.

It wasn't because of the gift, but rather his manners and how he carried himself.

He approached them without being overbearing, helped out with chores, and knew exactly when to step away.

She didn't want to compare them, but he was different from Tetsuya, who always tried a little too hard to help. Her parents had grown comfortable with Matsuda much faster than they ever had with Tetsuya.

His credibility skyrocketing after saving their drowning daughter was just an added bonus.

"Oh really? You're that confident? I thought you said he was a delinquent?"

"He was a good kid originally, but because of his environment... he looked fierce, which attracted actual delinquents, and he ended up like that. His real personality is very ni—well, maybe not nice, but he's likable."

"You speak like someone who really doesn't want this Matsuda's image to be tarnished."

"Well... because we're friends."

She had omitted the 'boy' part of 'boyfriend', but her mother would find out soon enough anyway.

"If you're that confident about him, bring him over sometime. Go on inside now."

"Okay."

"You're not a little kid anymore..."

"Ah, stop nagging me about it...! I didn't realize it was on me...!"

"Just get inside."

Still pouting at her mother's nagging, Miyuki went upstairs and immediately took a shower.

Afterward, she returned to her room, sprawled out on her bed, and stared at the ceiling.

Now that she was back in her quiet sanctuary, everything Matsuda had done today came rushing back to her in vivid detail.

Starting with the kiss, flicking her bra strap, and when the mood was ripe, slyly slipping his hand under her skirt to gently touch her thigh.

Her skirt was long, yet she hadn't even noticed until Matsuda's hand was already on her thigh.

She didn't know how he had managed to lift it so stealthily... It was hard to say whether it was impressive or just plain wicked.

'Did I lift my leg...?'

The problem was that she couldn't quite remember whether she had subconsciously lifted her leg at Matsuda's touch, or if she had just stayed perfectly still.

If it was the former, she felt like an easy girl, but if it was the latter, she seemed like a complete prude.

If she had to guess, it was probably the latter.

But it was impossible to verify that now.

The moment had already passed.

It couldn't be the former. She had been paying attention...

Resolving her thoughts, Miyuki picked up her Cell Phone to send Matsuda a message, but hesitated.

Was it right for her to initiate the conversation?

As things stood, she and Matsuda had just shared their first kiss.

She figured she shouldn't act too nonchalant about it.

This wasn't about playing hard to get; it was about keeping things natural.

There shouldn't be any particular problem with that.

Honestly, she was dying to talk to Matsuda all night long, but... she had to hold back.

Patience wins out. They were meeting tomorrow, so they could talk plenty then.

'What should we do tomorrow...'

First, she would go to her band academy, and then they could hang out at Matsuda's house all day.

Their relationship had progressed so rapidly; what would happen tomorrow?

She secretly hoped something a bit more... steamy would happen.

"I'm hungry."

After finishing her synth class and walking out onto the street with Matsuda, Miyuki looked up at him as he smacked his lips, eyeing the various restaurants scattered around.

"Didn't you just eat? The teacher bought us hamburgers."

"Do you call that eating? Besides, I can still be hungry after a meal."

"You had two; that's more than enough. Stop talking nonsense."

"Everyone's stomach size is different, so why are you judging by your standards? And stop talking like an old lady."

"How is this talking like an old lady...!"

It was fun.

It had always been fun, but it was especially enjoyable now.

It must be because it was just the two of them, spending time together without anyone else around.

She was thrilled that her vacation was turning out to be so fulfilling.

Slip.

As they bickered, Matsuda's arm smoothly slid around Miyuki's shoulders.

His thick, long arm draped over her collarbone and upper chest, reaching almost to the center of her breasts.

Miyuki flinched at the touch and turned to look at him, only for him to brazenly jut his chin at her.

"What."

"...Aren't you going to let go?"

"Why."

"That's exactly what I want to ask. Why are you doing this, Matsuda-kun?"

"Because I like you. Sorry."

She jolted.

There he goes again, openly expressing his feelings.

Did he think she would like it if he acted like this?

Well, in truth, she did.

"L-liking me isn't an excuse to put your arm around my shoulders, is it? And if you're sorry, why is your hand still there?"

"Because it's comfortable."

"That's even less of an excuse...! It's hot, so let go...!"

"Does that mean I can keep doing it if you're not hot?"

"No?"

"Got it. Let's go somewhere cool then."

"I said no, so why are you taking that as a y—"

Miyuki's mouth clamped shut.

It happened the moment she laid eyes on the love hotel looming right in front of them.

The street she and Matsuda had wandered into was lined with love hotels.

Did he really mean 'somewhere cool' was a place like this?

Was he already thinking about sleeping with her?

She hadn't expected them to have their first time today—or more accurately, the first time they had in the past—so she had just worn practical underwear for moving around.

If she had known this would happen, she would have paid more attention to it...

As Miyuki's mind went into overdrive churning out these delusions, Matsuda walked right past without a moment's hesitation and exited the street, making her burst into a self-deprecating chuckle inward.

Of course.

There was no way Matsuda would come here at a time like this.

Besides, he would probably want to do it at his place, so skipping the love hotel was only natural.

However, it was definitely only a matter of time.

Matsuda had already taken his foot off the brakes.

It felt like it was high time she started mentally preparing herself.

Well, there wasn't really anything she needed to prepare, but still.

"Matsuda-kun."

"What now."

"My family is going to the beach this weekend. Do you want to come with us, Matsuda-kun?"

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't it a family trip? Is it okay for me to tag along?"

"You don't have anything else to do anyway."

"I don't have anything to do, but I'm asking if you and your family are okay with it."

"Yeah. Mom said she was curious about you and told me to bring you along sometime."

"Did you talk about me?"

"A lot. I told her you're a delinquent student who acts like this."

She pointed to the arm wrapped around her neck, and Matsuda scratched his cheek.

"If you hate it, I'll stop."

"Then stop."

"That's a bit..."

"I thought you said you'd stop?"

"Shut up. Just tell me what you want to eat."

"I'm not eating. I'm not hungry."

"I'll force-feed you, you know."

Force-feed me? That sounded vaguely erotic.

Being stuck to Matsuda all the time made it impossible to hide her desires, even in everyday conversation.

When they had gone to the beach in the past, it had been right around the time their relationship was starting to improve.

Things had progressed drastically after that.

But it was different now.

Both she and Matsuda were already completely aware of how the other felt.

Therefore, the entire flow of events would inevitably change.

Perhaps what she was hoping for would actually happen that day?

The chances were extremely high.

So, before then, she definitely needed to go buy some victory underwear.