Silence settled between us as our lips met.

         Miyagi’s hand, which had been resting against my chest, now gripped my clothes.

         With our lips locked together, she couldn’t ask me whatever it was she wanted to know. And as long as we kept kissing, I could keep this unfamiliar side of Miyagi at bay.

         If only this silence could last forever.

         I’d kissed Miyagi as a way to keep her quiet, but as I found myself wanting more of her, I pressed my tongue against her lips. She didn’t seem inclined to let me in, keeping her lips firmly shut. Then she stomped on my foot.

         It was a pretty hard stomp, too.

         And I was happy she did it.

         That probably made me sound like some kind of pervert, but I’d much rather have Miyagi stomp on my foot while we kissed than face questions I couldn’t answer. The warmth of her lips was starting to feel like it wasn’t enough, so I pressed my tongue against them even harder than before. But Miyagi forcefully pushed me away.

         「You’re being weird, Sendai-san. What’d you do that for?」

         「You’re the one being weird, suddenly touching my chest out of nowhere.」

         「I did tell you I was going to touch you.」

         「If giving me a heads-up is all it takes to make it okay, then let me give it a try, too: I’m going to kiss you again.」

         Following Miyagi’s new “rule,” I made sure to give her a heads-up before leaning in for another kiss.

         Before she could protest, I pressed my lips against hers and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. I tried to coax her lips apart with a gentle bite, but she stubbornly refused to open her mouth. Instead, she stomped on my foot even harder than before, leaving me with no choice but to pull away.

         「You’re not letting me speak.」

         Miyagi’s voice was laced with irritation.

         「You don’t need to speak, do you?」

         「… Sendai-san, take a seat over here.」

         Miyagi pulled out the chair I usually sat in and pointed at it, ordering me around like a dog. But I was not obligated to obey her. She had no right to give me orders right now, and even if refusing meant putting her in a bad mood… well, it wasn’t like that was anything new. Miyagi was always in a bad mood, after all.

         But the Miyagi standing in front of me now was a side of her I didn’t like seeing.

         I had a feeling that if I kept silencing her with kisses, I’d end up making her so angry that there’d be no making things right again, so I decided it was better to just do as she said.

         「Now, don’t get up.」

         Miyagi said as I sat down, then continued,

         「Is there really nothing I do that bothers you?」

         「No.」

         「Why not?」

         「I don’t know how to answer that.」

         「Well, at least try to think of something to say.」

         「… I don’t like it when you tell me not to work, but that’s something you tell me not to do, not something you actually do to me, right?」

         「Right. So tell me what you’d hate for me to do to you.」

         Even with her pressing me for an answer, I still couldn’t think of anything to say.

         There were things I wouldn’t want anyone but Miyagi to do to me, but there wasn’t a single thing Miyagi could do to me that I’d truly dislike. Sure, there were things I didn’t particularly enjoy, but even those were things I could accept from her.

         「Come on, let’s not worry about that right now. How about we go back to kissing instead?」

         Since I couldn’t come up with an answer that would satisfy Miyagi, my only option was to try to dodge the subject.

         Of course, I really did just want to kiss her, too.

         「… If you can’t tell me what you wouldn’t be okay with me doing to you, then at least tell me something that you like or dislike. Maybe then I’ll let you kiss me. But if you can’t even do that, then just forget it and go back to your room.」

         「Does it really matter what we like or dislike? It’s not like I’d judge you for what you like or force you to like the things I do.」

         「That’s not the point.」

         「Then what is the point? What is it that you want from me, Miyagi?」

         I didn’t know what to say.

         Miyagi’s question was too difficult to answer.

         After seeing the reaction she’d had at the zoo, I knew she wouldn’t accept it if I told her, “I like and dislike the same things you do.” Even though that was the truth, it probably wouldn’t satisfy her. And if I tried making something up, she’d see right through me and realize I was lying. That left me with nothing I could give her as an answer.

         「I just want you to be honest with me.」

         「Something I like… I guess kissing?」

         I wanted to kiss her right now.

         Instead of sitting here exchanging words with her, I’d much rather be exchanging our warmth. Somehow, that felt like a better way to understand Miyagi than anything we could say to each other.

         「There you go saying things like that again.」

         Miyagi furrowed her brows.

         Realizing I wasn’t going to get a kiss out of her, I lowered my gaze.

         Come on… think, think, think…

         I needed to come up with an answer Miyagi would accept.

         Staring down at the floor, I pressed my fingers firmly against my temple, rubbing it in circles.

         As the silence threatened to grow awkward, I muttered, “Hmm, let’s see…” to fill the gap.

         Then, I mumbled,

         「… Cheesecake.」

         「Cheesecake?」

         「Yeah, I like cheesecake. So we should get some and eat it together sometime.」

         I added casually, then looked up at her.

         It didn’t matter whether it was a no-bake cheesecake or a baked one. As long as I got to eat it with Miyagi, I knew I’d enjoy it.

         「Also, I like you, too, because you remind me a lot of Cali.」

         Liking something was one thing, but if someone were to ask who I loved, the answer would be Miyagi.

         But I didn’t have the courage to risk everything we had just to tell her that. So I used Cali as a cover to reveal maybe one percent of what I truly felt for her.

         「Quit it with your jokes.」

         Right.

         Of course.

         This is just how things have to be.

         I had to keep my true feelings hidden, no matter what, if I wanted to keep Miyagi from pulling away.

         「Well, if I’ve answered your question, can I kiss you now?」

         「So cheesecake is your favorite thing?」

         「Favorite? Well, if we’re talking about favorites…」

         Was cheesecake my favorite thing?

         I wasn’t sure. I knew I liked it, but I’d never really thought about just how much. And now that we were talking about favorites, I wanted to know what Miyagi’s was, too. But I knew this wasn’t the time to ask.

         「You weren’t asking what my favorite thing was, though. You just wanted to know what I liked or disliked, so it doesn’t really matter whether or not cheesecake is my favorite thing, does it?」

         There was no need for me to come up with an answer for what my favorite thing was, at least.

         I stood up, ready to claim my kiss as a reward for answering her question, when Miyagi muttered,

         「… My lip balm.」

         「Did it come off?」

         「No, I mean I’m out of lip balm.」

         Miyagi kicked me in the leg, looking as grumpy as she always did.

         The mood between us hadn’t really changed, but I was relieved that Miyagi had stopped grilling me like a detective interrogating a suspect on TV.

         「Then let’s go buy some new lip balm together. I’ll help you pick one out.」

         I said with a smile, hoping to keep that difficult side of Miyagi from coming out again.

         「I didn’t say anything about going anywhere together. Go buy one for me. I’ll give you the money for it.」

         「Aw, come on. Let’s pick one out together.」

         「There’s no need for that. I’m fine with you picking whichever lip balm you like.」

         「Should I just get you the same one as last time?」

         I asked as I stood up and reached my hand out toward her.

         I traced a finger over her bare lips, then kissed her cheek. My fingers drifted to her plumeria earring as my lips moved from her cheek to the corner of her mouth. Finally, I gently pressed my lips to hers, sharing my warmth with her.

         Rather than let lip balm color her lips, I wanted my own lips to be the ones to do it.

         I wanted to leave a little of myself in the things I liked.

         But Miyagi cut the kiss short.

         She immediately pushed me back by the shoulders and said in a grumpy tone,

         「We were in the middle of a conversation, you know. Anyway, I don’t care if you get me the same one as last time or a different one. Just go buy one for me.」

         「What if I got you the same one I use?」

         「No, I’d rather have a different one than yours.」

         She said in a sullen tone as she gave me a shove.

         Miyagi’s answer was a little disappointing, but honestly, if she’d asked me to buy her the same lip balm I used, I’d have to wonder if she’d lost her mind. This answer felt much more like her.

         「Got it. So just to be clear, I can pick out one that I like, then?」

         「Yeah.」

         「Okay, then I’ll find you something cute.」

         「Oh? So you do have something you like, after all.」

         Miyagi, who would normally object to being given something “cute,” said skeptically as she stared at me.

         「What do you mean?」

         「I meant exactly what I said.」

         「Well, it’s not like there’s any particular lip balm I like or anything. I just think it’s fun picking things out for other people.」

         I said, reaching toward Miyagi’s lips, only for her to slap my hand away.

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Chapter debt: 74

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