To me, June didn’t feel like spring or summer.

         It was a season caught in-between—too late for spring clothes, too early for summer ones. I was never sure what to wear, but one thing was certain: the spring-colored skirt I’d bought after graduation no longer suited the season. So I’d stuck to my usual blouse and long pants.

         There was no need to wear a skirt that would only remind me of that Sunday anyway.

         「Have you found anything you like yet, Miyagi?」

         Sendai-san asked as we stood in front of a row of earrings, as if she weren’t the one responsible for dragging me here in the first place.

         The shop looked like it specialized in imported goods, with plenty of items besides accessories, but the earring selection was still fairly good.

         Sendai-san had told me, “If you see something you like, I’ll buy it for you, so take a look,” so I’d been browsing. But nothing really caught my eye. And since she was the one who had insisted on choosing earrings for me in the first place, I had assumed she would be the one making the decision—not me.

         「I’m fine with anything, so you pick, Sendai-san.」

         「Are you really okay with anything?」

         「Yeah.」

         If she’d dragged me somewhere full of overpriced jewelry, I would’ve left without hesitation. But the earrings here weren’t expensive enough to feel guilty about.

         「Okay, how about these?」

         Sendai-san asked, immediately holding out a pair of silver earrings as if she’d known what she wanted to choose from the start.

         「… I’d prefer something else.」

         My brows furrowed. The price was fine. That wasn’t the issue.

         The problem was with its design.

         「Do you hate them?」

         「Not exactly, but they’re way too cute.」

         They were small flower-shaped earrings—plumeria, according to the tag.

         If I wore them, it’d look like little blossoms were blooming from my ears. They were cute—but not on me.

         「Really? I think they’re pretty simple and not overly cute.」

         「I’d just rather have something different.」

         「I see. Then how about these?」

         She pointed to a pair of gold earrings. They were big, flashy, expensive—everything I disliked.

         「Too gaudy. You picked these knowing I’d say no, didn’t you?」

         「You’re the one who said you’d be okay with anything. So those are your only two options. Which do you want?」

         Sendai-san said, flashing me an amused look.

         It was true—I had told her to pick something out, and I’d even confirmed I was fine with anything when she asked. If I threw a fuss, she’d probably choose something else for me, but making a scene in public felt far too embarrassing for a university student.

         「… These ones.」

         I said at last, handing her the flower earrings.

         「Okay, I’ll pay for them right now. Wait here.」

         She said, then headed for the register.

         I touched my ear.

         My fingertips brushed against the earrings I was already wearing—different from the ones Sendai-san had just picked out. The pair she’d first pierced into my ears were the very first I’d ever worn, so the thought of them being replaced made me feel a little sad.

         My eyes drifted back to the row of earrings in front of me.

         I’d never been all that interested in earrings, so it wasn’t like I had a preference. Since I couldn’t find a pair that felt right on my own, it was only natural to go with the ones Sendai-san picked.

         「Thanks for waiting.」

         While I was still absentmindedly staring at the earrings on display, Sendai-san came over and tapped me on the shoulder.

         「Where are the earrings?」

         Sendai-san seemed like she was in a good mood, but she wasn’t holding the earrings she’d just bought. They were probably put away in her bag, but I’d assumed she would’ve given them to me right away.

         「I’ll give them to you once we get home. Anyway, do you want to go anywhere else?」

         「No.」

         「You don’t want to get something to eat? Well, I guess it might be a little too early for that, huh.」

         Normally, Sendai-san would’ve suggested a whole bunch of places to stop by and decided on somewhere to go, but today, she simply said, “I guess we should just go home, then,” and started walking. We went back the way we came, and without making any detours, made it back home by evening.

         I opened the refrigerator and poured out a cup of barley tea and another one of soda.

         「I’ll bring these to my room.」

         Sendai-san said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and placed the two cups I had intended to put on the table onto a tray instead.

         「Wait, you want me to go to your room?」

         「Yeah. I’ll give you the earrings there.」

         「Can’t we do it out here?」

         「You don’t want to come to my room?」

         It wasn’t like I minded going to her room or anything, but I hadn’t been there since that Sunday.

         Her room was connected to the things we did there that day, and it made my heart beat a little faster.

         I didn’t want to erase those memories or anything, and I’d accepted whatever we did in her room that day as well, but the embarrassment still lingered. But if I were to keep avoiding Sendai-san’s room like this, I felt like I might never be able to bring myself to go back there again.

         「… I’m fine with it.」

         I answered quietly, and Sendai-san smiled as she picked up the tray of drinks.

         I opened her bedroom door and stepped into her room. Her bed immediately entered my vision, and I stopped in my tracks.

         I felt like Sendai-san was being unfair.

         She wasn’t the one who had been touched last time, so unlike me, there was no reason for her to feel embarrassed.

         We definitely should’ve just done this in the shared living space.

         「Have a seat.」

         Sendai-san said as she placed the cups on the table before giving me a tap on the shoulder, but I didn’t want to sit down.

         「Where are the earrings?」

         「I’ll put them on for you.」

         Sendai-san pulled me toward the table and forced me to sit down. Then, she sat down next to me.

         「I can put them on myself.」

         「You should at least let the person who bought these put them on for you. Or is there a particular reason you don’t want me to?」

         「I just don’t like the idea of it.」

         I didn’t want her to touch my ears because it’d remind me of that Sunday again.

         That was the only reason.

         But if I were to tell her that, she’d find out just how conscious I was of that day, so I didn’t want to say it.

         「Well, if that’s your only reason, then just let me put them on for you.」

         Sendai-san said exactly what I’d expected her to say and reached her hand out toward me, but I brushed it away.

         「At least let me take these earrings out myself first.」

         I removed my current earrings and placed them on the table. I felt my own earlobes for a moment, feeling a little uneasy without any accessories in.

         「So, can I put them on for you?」

         Sendai-san asked as she took out a small bag from her purse and looked at me.

         「Fine.」

         「Do you want to take the earrings out of the bag, at least?」

         「No, you do it, Sendai-san.」

         「Okay.」

         She said in a gentle tone as she removed the earrings from the bag. Then, she tucked my hair behind my ears.

         Her gaze pierced my bare ears. I’d seen my own piercing holes many times before, but this was the first time I was showing them to Sendai-san, so I felt uneasy. Showing her the little holes in my earlobes shouldn’t have been a big deal, but for some reason, it felt like one.

         The hand that had brushed my hair was now caressing my ear. She touched the back of my earlobe, the spot where the earring’s backing had been, and caressed it as if making sure nothing was there. I grabbed Sendai-san by the arm.

         「Are you not going to put the earrings in?」

         「I am, but I kind of wanted to see what the holes I made felt like now that you’re not wearing any earrings.」

         Sendai-san said earnestly as she took her hand away from my ear.

         「It’s not like this is your first time seeing piercing holes before, right?」

         Ibaraki-san and the others also had their ears pierced, so there was no way this was Sendai-san’s first time seeing anyone else’s piercing holes like this.

         「Yeah, but this is my first time seeing yours, Miyagi.」

         「Stop looking at them so closely and put the earrings on for me already.」

         「Yeah, yeah.」

         Sendai-san picked up the new earrings and carefully placed them in my ears. The gentle touch of her hand on my cheek and the ticklish sensation of her fingertips behind my ears made me flinch. After enduring it, I heard the soft clicks of both earrings securing into place, and Sendai-san pulled her hands back.

         「Okay, they’re in.」

         Sendai-san said as she handed me a mirror. I saw myself reflected with two small flower earrings in my ears. The silver flowers were far less noticeable than I had expected, which made me feel relieved. They were a little too cute for my taste, but tolerable.

         「It really suits you.」

         Sendai-san said quietly as she caressed my earring.

I didn’t respond to her comment. Instead, I decided to say something I’d been meaning to tell her.

         「… Thank you for the earrings.」

         「You’re welcome.」

         「How come you don’t want to get your ears pierced, Sendai-san?」

         I asked, brushing her arm away from my earring as I finally posed the question that had been on my mind. Back when we were in high school, we weren’t allowed to get our ears pierced because it was against school rules, but now there was nothing stopping her.

         「I don’t really have a reason not to get them pierced, but, well, I guess I’d be okay with getting them pierced if it was to commemorate something.」

         Sendai-san said, staring at me intently, giving a different answer than she had in the past.

         「Can I come a little closer?」

         I remained silent, but Sendai-san scooted closer anyway.

         「I just want to get a better look at the earrings.」

         Without waiting for my reply, her hand brushed against my ear, fingertips tugging gently at the earlobes. The warmth of her touch spread across the area, sending a shiver down my spine and stiffening my neck and shoulders. I pulled back slightly, but Sendai-san closed the distance and pressed her lips to my ear.

         「Miyagi.」

         She whispered my name softly. When I didn’t reply, she repeated it, gently, right into my ear.

         Then she kissed my ear again, instantly reminding me of what had happened that Sunday.

         She grabbed my left hand and intertwined her fingers with mine.

         Her teeth brushed against my earlobe as she bit down lightly. Her body pressed closer to mine than necessary, and she called my name again, her breath mingling with the sound.

         「Sendai-san, wait.」

         I tried to push her away by her shoulders, but she didn’t relent. Her fingers traced down my neck, and her lips followed. The warmth of her body spread slowly across my skin, and it felt so good that my breathing started to become irregular. She licked the spot where my neck met my shoulder, and this time, I pushed her away by the shoulders even harder than before.

         「Did you not like that?」

         Sendai-san asked softly.

         「You’re getting too carried away.」

         I untangled our fingers and pressed my palm to my neck.

         「Miyagi.」

         「What?」

         「Those earrings really suit you, so don’t ever take them off.」

         She reached out again, clearly reluctant to let go, but I instinctively pulled back. This time, she didn’t close the distance, and the tension that had been building in my body finally began to relax.

         「It’s not like I have other piercings I want to wear, so I was going to keep these ones in even without you telling me to.」

         I said, brushing my hand against my ear before taking a sip of my soda.

---

< Previous Part | Next Part >