To suppress my inner desire, I decided to have lunch first.
The lunch consisted of appetizers that we brought from Shimizu Inn, some simmered dishes that Mizore-san and Sora-san had prepared for us and some bale-shaped onigiris.
All of them looked tasty and I was tempted to devour all of them. The only thing that stopped me from doing that was the fear of getting an upset stomach later. In the end, I decided to eat only half of them for now. After Iâm done playing with Umi, I will finish the rest of them.
âThe food is good, the scenery is good, now this is life.â
âI know, right?â
The two of us snuggled as we ate our lunch. We splashed our bare feet on the surface of the gentle river. This atmosphere felt like a field trip.
Up until now, I was always alone on field or school trips and rather than enjoying the vibes of the places I visited, I always thought about the pain and the hassle of going to those places instead.
Now, everything was fun. And it was all thanks to my lovely girlfriend.
âAlright, now that weâre done eating, letâs play~â
âGot it. Iâll turn around, so tell me when youâre done changing.â
ââKay. Though, you donât really need to. Iâm already wearing it, I only need to take my clothes off.â
âI know, Iâm just trying to restrain myself hereâŚâ
I pushed down my urges and turned around before changing into my swimsuit.
The river was shallow and there wasnât enough room for us to swim, so I thought about just leaving my shirt on, but the thought of how much of a hassle it would be if my shirt were to be totally drenched had me think otherwise.
When I put my clothes into the bag I brought, the â0.01â box came into view. I hastily tried to hide it beneath my towel.
No one saw that, right?
âIâm done, Maki.â
âMm.â
This wouldnât be the first time I saw Umiâs swimsuit since I saw it when we bought it. At that time I wasnât able to get a good look though, as I was too concerned about my surroundings. Because of that, I felt strangely nervous this time.
When I turned around, I saw Umi trying to evade my gaze. There was a slight tint of red on her face.
âUm⌠What do you think?â
âU-UmâŚâ
She was wearing the swimsuit that she bought for playing with Amami-san and the others. It was a black two piece. The color gave it a cool atmosphere which fit Umi really well, but at the same time, the frills on the chest part made it look cute.
âUm⌠Your fashion sense is amazing as always. You look pretty, Umi. That swimsuit fits you really wellâŚâ
Pretty sure I said something similar back when we bought this one, but the right course of action here was to compliment her. It was embarrassing, but as long as she got the message, everything was good.
âI-Is that so? T-Thatâs great then, my efforts paid offâŚâ
âUmi, youâre stuttering.â
âS-So what?! You little⌠Eat this!â
âWoah!â
She scooped the water at her feet and splashed it directly onto my face.
My bangs were completely wet and it covered both my eyes. Seeing me like this, she let out a series of mischievous giggles.
âHehe, perverts like you deserve something like this.â
ââŚI see, so thatâs how it is. Fine, youâre on!â
âKyah, itâs cold! Hehe, you ready to meet your maker? Huh?â
In the river surrounded by the quiet forest, the sound of Umi and me playing echoed.
We enjoyed our time in the water chasing each other around. We got totally drenched, but it felt satisfying because we didnât need to hold back.
Our laughter filled the place.
It was so much fun that we lost track of the time.
âCâmon, Iâm over here, Maki~ Huh? Kyah!â
âUmi?!â
Suddenly, Umi lost her balance and almost fell down. Maybe she stepped on a mossy spot.
I quickly dove in, trying to save her and managed to catch her before falling.
With a violent splash, we fell down.
âAre you okay?â
âYeah, thank you. The water is a little deep here, so it would be okay even if I fell.â
âI know, I did it by reflexâŚâ
When Umi was by my side, I always tried to look out for her. If something were to happen to her, however small, my body would move to protect her.
I acted like a dog trying to protect its master, but I was fine with that.
âYour skin is smooth, isnât it? So if you get injured, itâs very noticeable⌠Thatâs why, as your boyfriend, I want to do my best to protect youâŚâ
âHm~â
âW-Whatâs with that look?â
âNothing~ Itâs just, youâre getting more manly, arenât you, Maki?â
Saying so, Umi stroked my head and cheeks gently.
Her smooth skin rubbing on mine felt really good.
âMaki.â
âWhat is it?â
âDo you want to know why I am wearing this swimsuit today?â
âWhy?â
I was actually curious about that from the beginning. She bought two swimsuits the other day and I was expecting her to wear the other one.
It was more revealing than this one and she said she wanted to use it whenever we were alone.
That was why I felt really nervous earlier.
âI wanted to wear that one at first⌠I mean, itâs a rare chance where we could be together alone like this and youâd probably be more excited if I wore that one⌠I was going to wear it when I changed my clothes back in our room, butâŚâ
âBut?â
So she brought both swimsuits, huh? Still, I wonder what made her change her mind.
ââŚPromise me you wonât laugh?â
âOf course.â
âUmâŚâ
With an embarrassed look, she continued.
âIt⌠Doesnât fit me anymoreâŚâ
âWhat?â
âThe size⌠When I was trying it on, it felt so tight⌠Well, it felt pretty tight when I bought it, but it wasnât that tight, you know?â
âUh⌠That meansâŚâ
âThey got biggerâŚâ
âŚHer hips, not her chest.
ââŚPfft.â
I kind of guessed that was the case and managed to endure it until she finished talking, but I laughed at her anyway.
âYou laughed! You said you wonât laugh!â
âMy bad, my bad⌠Itâs just⌠You deserve it for being such a glutton⌠Pfft.â
âYou laughed again! Dummy! I hate you!â
Come to think of it, she ate a lot since the start of the trip.
The huge soft serve, the sushi at Mizore-sanâs house, a full course meal and extra desserts at the inn and snacks right before she slept last night. She was normally careful, but she really let her guard down this time.
She splashed more water onto my face.
âAnyway! Itâs getting a little chilly. Should we get out now?â
âSure. We should finish the rest of our food too⌠Whatâs with that face, Maki?â
âNothing.â
After that, we dried off with our towels, changed back to our clothes and ate the rest of our lunch.
Because of Umiâs funny confession, we didnât get carried away and do something perverted, but honestly, the fact that we got to enjoy some time together like this made me feel satisfied already.
Besides, there should be plenty of opportunities for us to do it. We just needed to wait for them.
âRikkun, wait for me! Jeez, I said wait!â
We went back the way we came and were about to park our bicycles to rest for a bit when we heard that voice.
âMaki, isnât that?â
âShizuku-san andâŚâ
Putting aside the reason why they were here in the first place, we immediately hid ourselves. Those two childhood friends whose relationship was quite delicate, Shizuku-san and Riku-san, were there.