xxddmm

Chapter 14 - I saw it in an erotic manga.

It's a completely ordinary summer afternoon, but definitely not an ordinary time of year.
Yep, summer vacation has officially started!

It's supposed to be an exciting, heart-pounding, event-filled (hopefully) month and a bit more.
...Or, well, that's the idea.

Hikari: "Hey, Ta~kun..."
Yuu: "Don't talk to me. Just talking makes me sweat."

We're in his room, as usual.
The thermometer hanging on the wall reads a solid 37 degrees.

I still vividly remember coming over, doing my best to calm my racing heart, giving my usual teasing I'm here~ as I came in -- only to be hit by this wave of heat so intense I instantly broke into a sweat.

And, well, I remember it because I'm still sitting here in that same sweaty heat.

Hikari: "Why'd the AC have to break right as summer vacation started..."
Yuu: "My parents kept muttering nonstop about the electricity bill, so I tried to hold off turning it on as long as I could. Then I finally switched it on after, like, six months, and it just went clunk."
Hikari: "Oh, come on! Everyone knows if you don't use your AC, it's more likely to break down! You should've at least run it a bit to test it!"
Yuu: "Yeah, well, It's always when it's too late that you realize the important things, alright?"

And so, here we are, sprawled out on his bed, reading manga and fully embracing our usual absolutely-nothing-going-on (except it's ridiculously hot) time in the Takamura family's second-floor saunahis room.

Honestly, yeah, I know. I spent all last monthprevious chapter whining, Hurry up and get over with, rainy season! and Just bring on summer already! Right? No doubt about that.

But, I mean... I didn't ask for it to get this hot.

Hikari: "So, when's it getting fixed?"
Yuu: "They said all the repair shops are totally booked right now, so not until next month at least."
Hikari: "No waaay! So we're just stuck sweating it out in this sauna for the first half of summer break?"
Yuu: "Like I said, Hikari, just go back to your own room..."
Hikari: "Ohh, it's sooo hot in here, ughhh. Wish somebody would fix it soon..."

Alright, he's right -- just a few meters across the window, in my own room, there's a perfectly good AC that would cool me down in no time.

But there's no way I'm letting a broken appliance get in the way of us spending time together.

So even though he gave me a heads-up on LINE, warning, The AC's broken, I still showed up here, ready for the heat.

...In battle gear so thin it's barely there -- a tank top and shorts, my best attempt at beating the heat while, well, distracting him just a little.

But still, even like this...
Here I am, still boiling.
My head's getting foggy.

Beads of sweat trickle down my cheeks, sliding from my chin onto his pillow.

It's not just my face.
It's my shoulders, my back; sweat running down, soaking the thin fabric of my tank top, seeping right into his bed.

Even my shorts... totally drenched.

The heat, the sweat, my scent... all of it soaking into his bed...

But still, even like this...
With me lying here, in this barely-there outfit, all flushed and breathless and practically melting into his bed...

He's completely unaware of me.
I'm hopelessly sure of that.

Honestly, it's so frustrating.
Completely unfair......

I mean, here I am, right in front of him, a girl who's...
Clearly flustered, clearly blushing and... yeah, obviously feeling the heat...

............
............

Hikari: "It's so hot, isn't it?"
Yuu: "I told you, stop saying that. It just makes it feel even hotter...!"

So I let out a lazy, sultry sigh on his bed, trying to pull his gaze to...
...my chest, damp and just a little see-through from the sweat.

Hikari: "Hey, Ta~kun..."
Yuu: "Wh-what...?"
Hikari: "Wanna do it?"

Even dressed like this, practically throwing myself at him...!
He's completely unaware of me.
I'm hopelessly sure of that.

Yuu: "W-what are you even talking about...?"
Hikari: "Oh, come on. Don't think I didn't see you staring."
Yuu: "..."

Or at least, I thought I knew.

Hikari: "Y'know how they say, when you're hot, you should drink hot tea?"
Yuu: "W-what's that got to do with anything...?"
Hikari: "So maybe when you're this hot, you need to... make things even hotter."

Right now, I can feel it -- his gaze, sweeping over my body like he's drinking in every bead of sweat.

Yuu: "B-but I'm all sweaty and gross..."
Hikari: "Yeah, me too. So, we're even."
Yuu: "...!"
Hikari: "So... wanna get even sweatier together?"

He stands up.
And with each step closer, my heart races as he approaches, eyes fixed on me lying there.

Hikari: "Right, Ta~kun?"
Yuu: "Hikari...!"

And then, our two bodies...
Melt into each other in an instant, blending together in the heat.

Hikari: "Ahh...!"

............
............

Hikari: "Whaaaat!?"
Yuu: "Ahh, Hikari! What's wrong!?"

I shot straight up from the bed, jumping about a meter high.
What the heck? What is this manga!?

Hikari: "N-no, it's nothing... I just lost my mind from the heat, that's all."
Yuu: "That's definitely not nothing..."

Right, this was the manga Yuki shoved at me on the last day of school, saying, Hikarin, you should study this, okay? and handed me a few volumes.

She only gave me a cryptic hint: It's TL and For girls, which didn't really help much, but... now I see what she meant.

And of course, the very first story I happened to flip to was... not safe for work.

It was about a city girl visiting her grandmother's house in the countryside during summer vacation, where she reunites with her childhood friend, a boy who's also her cousin.
They spend time together at the house, playing by the river, going to fireworks festivals, and enjoying the country summer.
Then, on the eve of the day she'll return to the city, the overwhelming feelings of love and sadness hit her.

As I got more and more drawn into the story, unable to stop turning the pages, I hit a scene... well, let's just say it was filled with very, very revealing content.

On a sweltering summer day, with the sound of cicadas in the air, the two of them are alone in the living room.
It's a sweaty, emotionally charged moment, and the protagonist girl says those very same lines I just imagined in my head earlier.
(The character names and details of the situation may have unexpectedly changed.)

Yuu: "Hey, Hikari..."
Hikari: "Please, don't talk to me right now..."
Yuu: "Seriously, you're drenched in sweat..."

Ugh, and this wasn't even the usual boy's romance manga kind of thing.

It was all about the girl's emotions -- her feelings for the boy (who's not only her cousin but also her childhood friend!) were so thoughtfully written in her inner monologue.
On top of that, the boy's tender words and expressions of love were portrayed in such a delicate and cute way!

This... this is so not good. Especially for me.

An air-conditioner-less, stuffy room.
A quiet moment, just the two of them.
Feelings that have never been spoken aloud...
And once the dam breaks, they come together like animals, unable to stop.

The situation was way too similar to what I'm in right now (except for the last part, of course), and all logical thought just went completely out the window...

Yuu: "...So, how about we go to the pool now?"
Hikari: "...Yeah, let's do that."

Normally, I'd be overwhelmed with surprise and jumping for joy at this kind of invitation, but for some reason, I just lazily agreed.

Well, then I remembered I still hadn't bought a swimsuit for this year, and ended up regretting it in a fit of frustration.

............
............

I'm Shirasaka Hikari, eighteen years old in this chapter......

......and today, I think I've grown up a little bit... I feel more adult.