Chapter 66: Pretty Girl, First Date (Part 2)

"Finally, we made it inside."

Once we entered the restaurant and sat at the table they guided us to, I could finally breathe again.

Because we’d been waiting outside in the heat while hungry, even now—inside this cool, air-conditioned restaurant—I still feel light-headed.

Completely worn out, I slump over the table like a melted frog. Aoi-kun offers me a glass of cold water. It tastes better than the warm bottle I’d been carrying—mostly thanks to the ice.

"It was really hot. You okay? Do you want me to go get you something cold? Maybe a dessert?"

Compared to exhausted me, Aoi-kun looks perfectly fine.

I guess that’s what happens when you help out at the beach house…! Or maybe it’s the sports club training. They practice in full gear even in this heat.

"Yeah. Sorry, could you? Please?"

"Got it. I’ll pick something that looks good."

With that, he quietly stands up.

He’s so kind… I stare at my reflection in the glass.

Honestly, I wanted to choose something myself, but—well, Aoi-kun won’t bring back anything weird. I should drink more water and cool down while I can.

After a short while, Aoi-kun returns. On two plates, cakes and little cups of jelly are lined up neatly.

"I tried picking things like this. What do you think?"

Both plates are filled with different desserts. The jelly and ice cakes are probably his way of looking out for heat-stricken me. I ended up making him worry again.

In the end, I think I always make Aoi-kun worry about me.

I look over the sweets he brought. They all look delicious.

"Oh! That’s the one I wanted to try!"

I spot a chocolate cake on the plate. This cake had amazing reviews on the blogs that introduced this restaurant.

"Really? I’m glad I grabbed it then. A bunch of people were trying to take them, so even getting one piece was tough. The one I got was the last one, and they said it’ll take a while before they restock."

I knew it—it’s popular among people who researched the place beforehand.

Now that I look carefully, there really is only one piece on the plate. Ugh, what should I do? Of course I want to eat it. I really want to. But there’s only one… and they might not restock before our all-you-can-eat time runs out.

"Sakura-san. You can have it."

"R-really?"

Aoi-kun lifts the cake onto my small plate.

"Yeah. I picked it because I wanted you to have it."

He smiles—bright and gentle.

Haah… he’s such a good person. I sigh inwardly in admiration. Realizing I’ve been staring at his face nonstop, I quickly look away. My cheeks feel warm.

He got it for me, so of course I want to eat it… but maybe I shouldn’t hog the good stuff all to myself.

"Then let’s split it!"

I carefully cut the cake in half with my fork and place one piece onto Aoi-kun’s small plate.

Then I look at him and smile.

"Th… thank you."

He seems a little flustered, but soon gives a shy smile back.

"Okay then, let’s dig in."

I cut off a bite-sized piece and bring it to my mouth. The moment it touches my tongue, a soft wave of chocolate aroma spreads.

Sweet, rich chocolate flavor. It melts the instant it rests on my tongue. I end up finishing my half all at once.

"This is sooo good!"

I can’t help grinning. Good food makes my face relax automatically.

He watches me with a pleased look in his eyes. Realizing that sends a wave of embarrassment through me.

Ugh, I got carried away again.

"Sakura-san, you really do love sweets."

"Y-yeah…"

There it is—another childish side of me showing. Why is it that in front of Aoi-kun, I only ever show him the childish me, or the failing-at-life me? I should act more like a proper high school girl—mature and elegant… No, impossible. Not with how I look.

I said I wasn’t that excited about coming, but now look at me—practically bouncing. I really am a kid on the inside. But I can’t help it! Sweets are delicious. Ever since becoming a girl, I’ve gotten even more drawn to them.

"But because you like sweets, we got to come here together. So I’m happy."

"O-oh…"

His straightforward delivery catches me off guard.

He’s not joking, and he’s not flattering me—I can tell. And that’s precisely why I don’t know how to respond.

"Oh, this really is good."

Aoi-kun takes a big bite of his half of the cake.

"Right? Right!?"

I nod enthusiastically. Honestly, I’d love another piece… but they said they won’t restock for a while…

"Haha, I’ll check on it regularly."

"Eh!? Ah, um—"

He caught me glancing at the spot where the cake had been. Ugh… more embarrassment.

"But there might be other good ones too. Try all sorts of things."

Aoi-kun recommends some of the other sweets too. It’s true—just because the first one was amazing doesn’t mean I should skip the others.

They all look delicious, and I definitely want to try them.

"Yeah, but… if I eat too much, I’ll probably gain weight."

Even though I don’t usually eat large amounts, seeing this many desserts makes me worry a little.

Back when I was a boy, I actually wanted to bulk up—to get heavier and more solid.

But now? That desire is completely gone. If I gain weight, half my current clothes might not fit anymore. At the school health check, my weight hadn’t changed even a hundred grams, so I’d been relieved. But after today… yeah, maybe I shouldn’t step on a scale.

"Sakura-san, you’re not fat at all. Actually, you’re really slim."

"O-oh. Thanks."

I pick up one of the jelly cups. A crisp muscat scent drifts up from the shimmering jelly. Looking closely, it even has pieces of muscat fruit inside.

I scoop a bite with my spoon.

Refreshing flavor. Cool and smooth on the tongue. A totally different kind of delicious compared to the chocolate cake.

This place has amazing desserts. I really owe Sakurako-chan for recommending it.

"This one’s delicious too."

"Really? Maybe I should go get one later."

He sounds a little disappointed. I guess he only brought one of these as well.

"Do you want a taste?"

I offer him the jelly.

He blinks, startled. Then, once his brain catches up, he starts panicking.

"Wh-what’s wrong? Oh—was it gross that it’s already been eaten from? Sorry!"

"N-no, it’s not that! I just… are you sure?"

I nod.

If he eats from the opposite side—the part my spoon hasn’t touched—it should be totally clean. But maybe he’s still worried. Ugh, that was a misstep.

Aoi-kun carefully scoops a small bite and tastes it.

"Oh, this is really good too. Nice and cold, easy to eat."

"Right? So far everything you picked has been delicious. Thanks."

"D-don’t mention it."

We keep eating the rest of the desserts together.

Everything is so good that the conversation naturally gets lively again.

"This pudding’s great too."

We both dig into the custard pudding cups.

Sweet, silky, melt-in-your-mouth pudding. I could honestly eat it forever.

"But the pudding at my part-time job is even better."

"Really? Your workplace’s stuff is that good?"

"Yeah! Super good. It’s even been in a magazine before."

I puff out my chest even though I’m not the one making anything. Plus, I’ve only been working there for a month, so my status as a “staff member” is still pretty flimsy.

Recently, the manager asked again if he could put my picture on the website, but I politely refused. He said, “Ever since Sakura-san started working here, we’ve been getting more customers,” but… is that really true? It feels more like a convenient excuse to post my photo.

"That’s impressive. So you must have lots of regular customers."

"Ah, yeah. Lunchtime especially—you see the same faces a lot. And Ryoji… a friend from middle school comes by often too."

"S-so, I see."

Aoi-kun hesitates for a moment.

Crap—maybe I shouldn’t have brought up Ryoji. Even someone as oblivious as me can tell that Aoi-kun likes me. And after all that, we somehow ended up coming here together. No matter how hard I insist it’s not a date, objectively speaking… it totally is. Even Ryoji said as much.

Talking about another guy while on a date-like outing… yeah, that’s definitely not okay. Even if I’m not dating either of them…

Aoi-kun seems to be thinking it over. After a brief pause, he asks:

"Sakura-san, do you… have a boyfriend?"

"Eh?"

The question is so sudden that I instinctively repeat it back.

Boyfriend… boy… friend!? My brain has to chew on the word several times before it finally registers. And once it does, I immediately panic.

"N-no! I don’t! I definitely don’t!"

"Really?"

"Really…"

I nod.

What is he going to say after this? My heart starts beating faster. What if he confesses? What am I supposed to do…?

But that worry turns out to be unnecessary.

He simply says, "I see. That’s good then," and doesn’t bring the topic up again.

I let out a small sigh of relief.

"Sakura-san, this one’s tasty too."

"Eh!? Oh—yeah, I’ll try it!"

Things get a little awkward for a moment, but soon enough, our rhythm returns to normal.

There’s still plenty of time left in the all-you-can-eat session. I thought I’d get full really quickly, but talking while eating slows me down, so it looks like I’ll actually be able to enjoy this for quite a while.

There are still so many things I haven’t tried yet. Time to keep eating!