Five thousand yen, three times a week.

         Last summer vacation, Sendai-san had suddenly suggested that arrangement — tutoring me over the break in exchange for money.

         Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

         Those were the days she used to come over back then. But this year, she was by my side every single day. Even without the five-thousand-yen bills, even without the excuse of tutoring me, she was always here — to say good morning, and to say good night. She wasn’t family, and she wasn’t a friend either, yet she’d become someone I’d grown used to having around every day. And today was no different.

         「Do you want to take a break now, Miyagi?」

         It had been a little over three hours since we’d started watching a foreign drama together.

         Sitting beside me, Sendai-san sounded a bit tired — or rather, she just seemed tired of staring at the screen.

         「I want to watch one more episode.」

         Three hours might’ve sounded like a long time, but we still hadn’t even finished the first season yet. There were still plenty of episodes left, and I was curious about what would happen next. It felt too early to be taking a break.

         「Okay, you watch it, then.」

         Even though Sendai-san had been the one to suggest watching this series together, she abandoned her responsibility to see it through and flopped onto her bed.

         「You want me to watch it by myself? How are you going to keep up with the story if I do that?」

         「Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll just have you fill me in later.」

         Sendai-san said that from on top of her bed, looking lazy and disheveled now.

         This was her room, so I didn’t mind if she wanted to laze around or make a fuss, but telling me to watch the drama she’d promised to see with me by myself? That was a different story.

         「I’m not going to fill you in on anything. Now stop lying there and come watch it for yourself.」

         「But I’m tired.」

         「You’re just bored, aren’t you?」

         「I’m not bored, but sitting for too long is exhausting. Oh, I know. Why don’t we go out for a change of pace?」

         「You always want to go out somewhere, Sendai-san. We just went to the aquarium the other day. Wasn’t that enough?」

         We’d already fulfilled our promise to go out together just a few days ago. We’d also agreed to visit the zoo sometime, but that was supposed to be in autumn, and we hadn’t decided when to go back to the aquarium yet, either.

         「Well, you know, it’s summer break. We should do something that’s more fitting for summer, and I think it’d be fun to go outside together.」

         「No. And what exactly do you consider “fitting for summer”?」

         I had no idea where she wanted to go, but it was already evening. I couldn’t think of a single place we could go to at this hour. Just because it was summer vacation didn’t mean we had to do anything that suited the season.

         「Like going to the pool, or watching fireworks together.」

         「It’s already too late to go to the pool, and there aren’t any fireworks tonight. The other day you were talking about a trip to the hot springs, too. You’re just tossing out ideas at random, aren’t you? If you want to go somewhere, at least be serious about it.」

         「Alright, then how about going out to buy ice cream together?」

         「We already did that a few days ago.」

         「Okay, then what about going out for food?」

         To me, just staying here together was enough. We didn’t need to force ourselves to do something “fitting for summer.”

         Even though I’d always been used to being alone, that didn’t mean I liked it. I’d never been fond of long breaks, but with Sendai-san here, it didn’t feel so bad anymore. There were even a few things we could do together that seemed fun.

         But still, I really didn’t feel like going outside right now.

         「I don’t want to go out right now. I’ll just read some manga. You can keep resting there if you want, Sendai-san.」

         I turned down Sendai-san’s suggestion and paused the show we’d been watching. Picking up my phone, I opened an e-book. As I leaned against the bed and flipped through the pages, I suddenly felt someone tug at my hair from behind.

         「Miyagi.」

         Sendai-san’s voice came from above me.

         It seemed she’d stopped rolling around and had sat up instead.

         「What is it?」

         I asked without taking my eyes off my phone.

         「I’m bored.」

         「If you’re that bored, how about we keep watching the show together?」

         「No thanks.」

         She sounded tired as she tugged on my hair again. That wasn’t all—Sendai-san started gathering my hair, bundling it together as she kept touching it quietly.

         「What are you doing?」

         I asked, still flipping through my manga.

         「Braiding your hair.」

         Only then did I realize she was being completely unproductive, just braiding and unbraiding my hair over and over.

         「Are you having fun?」

         「Yep. Plenty.」

         I had no idea what she found so fun about it, but since it didn’t get in the way of me reading manga—and since she seemed to be enjoying herself—I just let her do it.

         It was a manga I’d already read several times before, so even without needing to turn the page, I already knew what the next line would be. And yet, I kept turning the pages anyway.

         The story kept moving across my phone screen.

         Sendai-san’s hands didn’t just touch my hair. Every so often, they brushed against my ears or the back of my neck.

         I kept turning the pages.

         The more I did, the longer her hands lingered around my ears and nape. I could feel her body heat against my skin—something I couldn’t feel through my hair—and it was strangely comforting. Even though I couldn’t see her, I could still feel her.

         「Why don’t you come up here too, Miyagi?」

         Apparently bored of braiding my hair, Sendai-san asked quietly, then pressed a light kiss to the top of my head.

         「No. I feel like you’re going to do something weird to me if I do.」

         「You don’t want that?」

         「No, I don’t.」

         I set my phone down on the table, still keeping my back to Sendai-san.

         「It’s okay if you lose all your senses today, though, isn’t it?」

         She whispered into my ear, and I pushed her head away.

         It wasn’t fair of her to bring up what I’d said last time.

         I forced down the urge to run away.

         Our trip to the aquarium had ended up being a lot more fun than I’d expected, and because of that, I’d tried to be more honest—to tell her what I was really thinking. But now, it felt like I’d gone too far. I’d ended up saying more than I should’ve.

         「Of course not.」

         「Then how long are you planning to make me wait?」

         Sendai-san asked in a gentle tone.

         「How about for the rest of your life?」

         「Do you really think I can wait that long, Miyagi?」

         「Well, do your best.」

         「It’s not like you hate doing it with me, though, right?」

         Instead of saying she’d try her best to wait, she asked me something else.

         I didn’t want to answer.

         If I said I didn’t hate it, she’d take it as permission to keep going. But if I said I did, she’d probably never touch me again—and I didn’t want that either.

         「Miyagi.」

         Sendai-san said as she ran her fingers through my hair. Then her hand moved to my ear, and slowly down to my neck.

         「You’re so annoying, Sendai-san.」

         I slapped her hand away, and she backed off without much resistance. A soft thud sounded from behind me. When I turned toward the bed, I saw her lying down.

         「Don’t worry, I’ll wait.」

         Sendai-san smiled as if to reassure me, but her words didn’t match her actions. The same hand she’d just pulled back reached out again, touching my chin. Her fingertips slid down my neck and stopped at my collarbone.

         「It doesn’t seem like you’re waiting at all.」

         I caught her hand—because if I didn’t, it looked like it would slip under my T-shirt next.

         She’d said she would wait, but what she was doing made it clear she wanted it now.

         「I just want to touch you again, Miyagi. But I won’t go any further until you let me.」

         Sendai-san seemed to have no sense of shame at all, saying things like that without even a hint of embarrassment.

         The other day, when I’d asked how good it felt when I touched her, she’d actually admitted—crazy enough—that she sometimes did it herself.

         Normally, she’d never say something like that.

         Sometimes I caught myself wondering if she’d done it again since that day. Of course, it wasn’t exactly an easy topic to bring up, so I’d never asked, but I couldn’t help wondering if she’d answer me if I did.

         「Don’t touch me anymore. I’m going back to reading my book.」

         I said, pulling her hand away from my collarbone.

         「But it feels so cold when I can’t touch you.」

         Sendai-san said half-heartedly and reached toward me again, so I caught her hand and held it still with mine.

         「You’re not cold at all. If anything, I bet you feel hot right now, don’t you, Sendai-san?」

         I could tell how warm she was from the hand I was holding down against the bed.

         Even though she usually liked the room cold enough for me to find it chilly, lately it had always been kept at a temperature that suited me instead. It was comfortable for me today too, so there was no way Sendai-san was actually cold.

         「Yeah, it is pretty hot in here. Pass me the remote. I’ll make it really cold.」

         「Really cold? Usually, you like it just a little colder, don’t you?」

         「Yeah, but I figured I’d turn it down low enough that the only way you’d feel warm is by clinging to me.」

         「Stop saying stupid things and be quiet already, Sendai-san.」

         I said, letting go of her hand and pressing my fingertip lightly against her lips. I wasn’t covering her mouth completely, but she still went quiet.

         Her lips parted slightly.

         I pushed my finger inside, and her tongue immediately curled around it.

         My finger grew wet, and I could feel Sendai-san’s warmth.

         Her teeth grazed the space between the first and second joints of my finger.

         It was only a gentle bite, not enough to hurt.

         She pressed down and eased up, again and again.

         The warmth of her tongue on my skin and the rhythmic pressure of her teeth felt strangely pleasant.

         I slowly pulled my finger out and looked at it.

         Seeing how wet it was brought back memories of that day—of the time I’d touched Sendai-san.

         Back then, my fingers had been wet with something else.

         「Miyagi.」

         I heard Sendai-san call my name.

         When I didn’t answer, she got up from the bed and sat down beside me.

         「I’ll wipe it for you.」

         Sendai-san said, pulling a tissue from the platypus’s back and gently wiping my finger clean.

         「Miyagi, you were totally thinking about something erotic just now, weren’t you?」

         「No, I wasn’t.」

         「Really now?」

         「Yes, really. You’re the one who’s always thinking about erotic things.」

         I said, picking up the platypus tissue box and smacking it against Sendai-san’s thigh.

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