It had been a week since summer break began.

          We’d promised to go somewhere together, but I still hadn’t decided where. It wasn’t that we were short on options—just that I couldn’t find a place that felt right.

          「Miyagi.」

          From where I was sprawled on the bed, I tugged on Miyagi’s hair as she sat on the floor reading a manga. Our bodies were just barely touching, and yet it felt like my heart was beating a little faster than normal.

          「What’s your problem, Sendai-san?」

          Miyagi, who had been sitting with her back against the bed, swatted my hand away without turning around.

          I could understand how she felt.

          Even I would’ve said something if someone had tugged on my hair three times within ten minutes.

          「I’m just bored.」

          I couldn’t exactly tell her I wanted her to look at me instead of her manga, and I knew there was no way I could be more interesting than whatever she was reading anyway.

          It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be Miyagi’s number one. But right now, it was better to keep things the way they were and let her come to my room even when she had no real reason to.

          The first time we’d done something that normal roommates wouldn’t do in this room, Miyagi had disappeared afterward. But this time, she hadn’t. She still came over like before and spent time here with me, and I felt like that was something I needed to cherish.

          「Here, why don’t you read this?」

          Miyagi picked up one of the manga volumes stacked on the floor and set it on the bed.

          「I read that one already.」

          「Then read it again.」

          「I’m tired of reading manga. Let’s go out somewhere.」

          「Have you decided where we should go?」

          Miyagi finally closed the manga she’d been reading and turned to look at me.

          「I want to go on a trip to the hot springs.」

          「… Right now?」

          「Right now.」

          「I think it’s a little late to be going to a hot spring now.」

          「Not if we stay the night, right?」

          It was still too early to call it evening, but enough time had passed since lunch that we couldn’t make it a day trip anymore. Considering how long the travel would take, we’d have to stay somewhere overnight.

          「… When you said you wanted us to go somewhere together, I thought you meant a day trip.」

          「And what if I didn’t?」

          「You didn’t even book a place to stay, did you?」

          「We should be able to stay somewhere even without a reservation.」

          「You really are carefree, huh, Sendai-san. Even if there were rooms available, there’s no way I’d go. If I’d known that’s what you meant, I wouldn’t have agreed in the first place.」

          「I figured you’d say that.」

          I already knew what her answer would be before I asked, but there was no harm in asking anyway. Maybe, just maybe, she’d say yes—and there was nothing wrong with testing whether that faint hope could turn into reality.

          — But today, that hope had been dashed.

          「Sendai-san, be serious and think of somewhere we can actually go.」

          Miyagi’s said, sounding displeased.

          「I am thinking about it seriously, you know.」

          The destination didn’t have to be a hot spring, and it wasn’t like it had to be some kind of trip either.

          「So, what kind of places have you thought of?」

          「Hmm… I’m still deciding. I’ll tell you once I’ve made up my mind.」

          There were plenty of places I wanted to go with her, but nowhere that felt like the place. All I wanted was to take Miyagi somewhere she’d actually enjoy—but figuring out what that might be turned out to be harder than I thought.

          We’d already gone to the movies once before, so that didn’t feel new anymore.

          If it were with my friends from university, deciding would’ve been easy—we’d just go shopping or something—but Miyagi and I didn’t enjoy the same things. I could try going along with what she liked, but if I suggested somewhere that only suited her, she’d probably turn me down. I’d even considered a museum or an art gallery, but inviting her to something like that—when it wasn’t really a mutual interest—seemed too much like a date, and I couldn’t bring myself to suggest it.

          Normally, I didn’t have this much trouble deciding where to go. But when it came to Miyagi, I just couldn’t decide.

          「Then maybe we just shouldn’t go anywhere at all.」

          Miyagi said nonchalantly, then opened her manga again.

          Before her eyes could drop back to the page, I gave her hair a gentle tug to draw her gaze toward me once more.

          Just like last summer, Miyagi was by my side.

          Only this time, our relationship had progressed a little further.

          If someone told me I should be satisfied with just that, I probably could be. But since we’d already promised to go out somewhere together, it felt like a waste to simply accept what she said about not needing to go anywhere anymore.

          「Summer break just started. There’s no need to rush. Just give me a little more time.」

          Unlike back in high school, our summer break now stretched into September, so there was no reason to hurry. It was longer this year, and that meant we could spend even more time together.

          「You’ve got your part-time job, so you don’t have to force yourself to go anywhere with me. Just focus on work.」

          Miyagi sounded mildly annoyed as she pressed her hand against my stomach while I lay on the bed.

          「I work the same days as usual, so I’m pretty free most of the time.」

          It was true that I still had my tutoring job during the break, but I hadn’t taken on any extra shifts—and I didn’t plan to. I’d thought about picking up another job, but I’d decided it didn’t have to be this summer. If I was going to add anything to my schedule, it’d be more time with Miyagi, not more work.

          「If you’re that free, you should get another job. As for me, I’m just going to stay home. It’s too hot to go anywhere.」

          My thoughts didn’t seem to reach her at all. She pressed down on my stomach again, like she was handling an oversized stuffed animal.

          Just as she said, the world beyond the lace curtains looked unbearably hot compared to this air-conditioned room—a reminder that it really was midsummer. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to stay inside, but I still didn’t want to accept it.

          「Well, for now, I don’t plan on taking more work. Anyway, is there anywhere you want to go, Miyagi?」

          I asked, even though I knew she probably wouldn’t give me any ideas.

          「I thought we agreed that you’d be the one deciding, Sendai-san.」

          Miyagi said quietly, then began to stroke my stomach.

          The way she touched me wasn’t much different from when she’d been pressing on it earlier. The way her hand moved over my clothes made me feel no different from the platypus tissue box sitting beside her.

          It was better than being bitten or kicked, and it made me happy that she was taking interest in some part of my body, but I couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed by the way she touched me, as if forgetting I was a living person and not a stuffed animal.

          「Miyagi.」

          I called her name, and her hand stopped moving. I got off the bed and sat down beside her, reaching out to touch her hair. Then, I gave her earring a quick kiss before pulling away.

          「Did you really need to kiss that just now?」

          She asked, sounding displeased.

          「I did. We promised I’d decide where to go, so I was just making a vow not to break it.」

          「That’s not the kind of promise you need to swear on my earrings for.」

          「It’s more reassuring if I do though, right?」

          I smiled at her, and she started to say something, but I could tell it would only be another complaint. I brushed my fingers over her lips to silence her. She looked at me with her lips slightly parted. When I leaned closer, she furrowed her brows for a moment before quietly closing her eyes. Taking that as her way of saying it was okay, I pressed my lips against hers.

          When I pressed harder against her lips and slipped my tongue inside, she accepted me quietly. Our tongues met and blended together with ease.

          Miyagi was more lenient in the summer.

          She’d been that way last year too—letting me touch her.

          If it was the season that made her like this, then I wished summer would never end.

          I pulled away, then kissed her again, deeper this time. Her mouth was warm, soft, and pleasant against mine, and when I grabbed her arm, wanting to touch her more, her skin felt cool, as if the room was too cold for her. I savored her warmth and chill all at once before pulling back.

          「You’re kissing me way too much.」

          Miyagi muttered, pulling away slightly.

          「If you let me kiss you more, then we don’t have to go anywhere.」

          I didn’t want to ruin the promise I’d just made, but if she accepted that condition, I could live without it. After all, we’d spent most of last summer inside too—and staying indoors wasn’t all that bad.

          「More in what way?」

          I touched Miyagi’s cheek and let my fingers trail down her neck.

          「“More” as in, you’ll let me kiss you not just today, but all throughout summer break—and in all kinds of places, too.」

          My hand followed the collar of her T-shirt, brushing over her collarbone. When I leaned toward her neck, she pushed my shoulder away.

          「You promised you would decide where we’re going, so make sure you keep it.」

          Miyagi said, glaring at me.

          Apparently, she had chosen going out together over kissing.

          「You’re so stingy, Miyagi.」

          「No, I’m not.」

          「You totally are.」

          「… I’m okay with it as long as it’s not too much.」

          Her voice was so quiet, I would’ve missed it if I hadn’t been listening closely.

          「Wait, what did you just say?」

          I’d heard the words and understood them, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking again.

          「Miyagi.」

          Even when I called her name, she stayed silent. So, to make sure I hadn’t misheard her, I pressed my lips to hers.

          She didn’t reject the kiss.

          But when I tried to move from her lips to her neck, she put her hands on my shoulders and stopped me.

          「That’s enough for today.」

          So it seemed Miyagi really was more forgiving during the summer.

          And that side of her felt unfair.

          When she allowed me to get away with this much, it was hard not to believe that maybe she had feelings for me too.

          In my mind, I weighed the Miyagi who let me kiss her—as long as it wasn’t too much—against the uncertain future that might come if I ever tried to learn how she truly felt about me.

          It didn’t take much thought to figure out which was more appealing. The Miyagi who would quietly tell me it was okay to kiss her was far more alluring, and I didn’t want to risk losing that by trying to find out what she really felt.

          As I stayed silent, Miyagi opened her manga again.

          Only the soft sound of turning pages filled the room.

          Remembering how cold her arm had been, I reached for the remote and raised the air conditioner’s temperature by one degree.

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