After shopping, they arrived in Takai’s house, put the ingredients in the refrigerator, and headed to her room.
「It’s been some time since I’ve been in Takai’s room.」
The smell of Takai’s room, which he has not visited in a long time, stimulates Toyama’s brain more as he imagines the act he is about to perform on the bed in front of him.
——!?
「T–Takai…」
Suddenly, Tōyama was pushed down on the bed and turned on his back, and Takai mounted him like a horse and covered him.
「This smell too… it’s been a while…」
Takai, who hugs him sweetly, places her lips and nose on Tōyama’s neck and starts sniffing and smelling him.
「I haven’t showered yet, and I smell sweaty and dirty, so…」
「It’s not dirty… besides, I can smell Yuuki’s scent… it’s making me calm…」
Tōyama, who found Takai’s behavior endearing, pulled her head back with his right hand and buried his face in her hair.
「Ahh…!」
「Takai, too… such a nice scent…」
Takai’s hair still had a faint scent of shampoo.
「Yuuki’s… already full of energy…」
Tōyama, who was being held by Takai on horseback and stimulated by her soft touch and her good smell, was making a big bulge in his uniform pants.
「Even Takai’s like that…」
Tōyama felt a moist heat from Takai’s body touching his thigh.
「Ah, ahh… t–there’s no way that is… true.」
Embarrassed, Takai buried her face in the futon.
「Yuuki… it looks painful… let me undress you.」
Calmly, Takai leans back and begins unbuckling Tōyama’s uniform belt. She pulled down his pants and underwear all at once, and now began to take off his shorts.
Takai was once again mounted by Tōyama, with his shorts draped over one ankle.
「T–Takai!? Y–You can’t!」
The moment Takai, who’s horse-mounting, sat back down, Tōyama grabbed Takai’s slender waist with both hands and hurriedly stopped her movement.
「Ahh!!」
Takai makes a small, charming noise as Tōyama grabs her by the waist.
「Why…?」
「Why, you ask… Isn’t that obvious!? Without contraception… there’s no way we can do it.」
Takai attempted to engage in the act without a condom on her.
「Does Yuuki… doesn’t want to do it…?」
「Of course I wanted to… but, I’m afraid I’m going to lose my grip if we continue to… that’s why, we need to make sure we don’t cross this line.」
Tōyama was afraid that he would be addicted to pleasure and as a result, cause trouble for Takai and the people around him.
「I, I really wanted Yuuki… I’m sorry for being so selfish.」
Tōyama was moved by Takai’s sad expression and her true feelings, and embraced her again.
「Don’t apologize, Takai. I’m really… so let’s put it on properly for now.」
「Okay…」
The two, who had not been together for a long time, lost track of time and lost themselves in each other’s desires.
The two who became drenched in sweat took a shower, Takai stands in the kitchen in his apron, and Toyama watches TV on the living room sofa.
「Yuuki, I’m almost ready to cook.」
Tōyama, feeling that it would be unfair to leave the preparation of the dishes to Takai alone, offered to help, but was turned down because he would get in the way. They looked like a newly married couple.
「Yeah, I’ll be right there.」
Turning off the TV, Tōyama got up from the sofa and went to the kitchen. The food on the table was freshly prepared and steam was rising from the dishes.
The menu consisted only of sautéed pork with hot vegetables. Since they were already thinking about having sex when they were shopping at the supermarket, they decided to make a simple meal that they would not have much time to cook.
「Oh, it’s delicious! The meat is tender and this sauce is awesome.」
As one would expect from a cook who cooks every day, Takai’s cooking skills were well-developed, and there was no mistaking her culinary skills.
「I’m glad… I’m glad Yuki is pleased…」
Takai is honest today. She was unusually honest in expressing her feelings, such as when she said she would make bento at lunchtime, when she invited him to the supermarket, and when she spoiled him in bed.
「You know what… We… we look like newlyweds… No, I’ve never been married, but I was wondering if this is what married couples are like.」
Seeing Takai like this, Tōyama also expressed his honest feelings, something he would not normally say.
「…Married couples aren’t that always fine… Are Yuuki’s parents close?」
In contrast to Uehara, Takai apparently has no yearning for marriage.
「Ahh… I think my parents get along well. I’ve never seen them fight or anything.」
「That’s nice of your parents… Yuuki, you knew my parents are divorced, my father cheated on my mother and… that’s why they split up.」
Although he knew that Takai’s parents were divorced, Tōyama was not told the cause of the divorce. Takai had never spoken about it herself, and Tōyama had never bothered to ask her about it. Toyama wondered why Takai suddenly wanted to talk about it now.
「Ever since the shadow of a woman had been lingering on my father’s mind, the two of them were always fighting… As a child, it was hard for me to watch.」
——Is that reason why Takai was negative about his earlier talk… that they look like newlyweds?
When Takai was a child, she witnessed her parents fighting all the time, and this probably made her lose her admiration for married couples.
「And after the divorce, that man became indifferent to us, and my sister hardly ever came home once she was a college student.」
By “that person,” he was sure she meant her mother. Takai’s use of the word “we” suggests that her mother no longer cares about her children, including her sister.
Tōyama thinks of Takai’s mother, whom he met only once.
——She didn’t feel so indifferent and cold at that time.
Even if Tōyama thought so, he was a stranger after all, and since they had only met once, it was only natural that he could not understand.
Toyama choked on his words, not knowing how to answer. And Takai did not touch the subject any further.
「Sorry for the damp talk. The food’s getting cold, so let’s eat quickly.」
「You’re right. It would be a shame to let a delicious dish get cold.」
After that, Toyama and her continued to eat in silence without any conversation. For Tōyama, it was a comfortable time even without conversation.
「Phew, thank you for the meal. It was delicious.」
「Wait in the living room while I make tea.」
「Let me do the dishes.」
「No, it’s alright. It’s getting late, and I’ll clean up after Yuuki gets home.」
「Ahh! It really was. It’s past nine already.」
After hugging Takai, she had to prepare tea, which made it later than usual.
「Is Yuuki okay with the time?」
「Well, I called earlier to say I didn’t want dinner, and I don’t have a curfew or anything specific, so I’m fine.」
「I see… still, you’d better go home soon.」
「Yeah, I’ll leave after a cup of tea.」
Tōyama returned to the living room and sat down on the sofa, his eyes following Takai as she cleared the dishes from the table.
Tōyama had visited Takai’s house only to have sex until now. Even though today was no different since he had Takai in his arms again, the incident at the gym equipment warehouse was a kick to close the mental distance between her and him, considering that they had dinner together afterwards and relaxed like this.
The relationship between Tōyama, Takai, and Uehara took a step forward because of that one incident, but it became more complicated.
「今日はご馳走さま。後片付け任せちゃって悪いね」
帰り支度を済ませた遠山は、高井に見送られ玄関を出ようとしていた。
「No, I’m sorry I kept you up so late.」
「That’s not true. The food was good, today… uhm… it had been a while…」
「Yeah… it had been a while for me as well… I’m glad…」
It was hard to say what’s what, directly, but Takai seemed to get the message.
「Yuuki…」
Takai gently shut her eyes off and lifted her chin. He guessed she wants him to kiss her. Takai’s face was just at the level of Tōyama’s eyes as he stood on the higher step of the entranceway.
「Nhn…」
Because a switch would be turned on here and he would remain unmoved, Tōyama dared to kiss Takai’s lips just enough to lightly touch them.
「…Be careful on your way home.」
Takai blushes and looks at Toyama with an unsatisfied expression.
「Yeah, I’m looking forward to your bento tomorrow.」
Toyama, with his hair pulled back, told himself that he had no choice but to turn his back on Takai and reach out to open the front door. Then, the sound of a click of an unlocked door echoed from the door.
「I’m home——wait, huh? Who are you?」
The door was opened from the outside and the woman who the entered the doorway tilted her head when she saw Tōyama. Tōyama was unable to do anything about the sudden turn of events, standing on a stick and staring at the woman petrified.
「Nee-san!? I thought you weren’t coming home today…」
「Yumi, this is my home, of course I will come back. I mean, is this boy your boyfriend?」
「Uh–Uhm, I am Takai-san’s classmate, and my name is Tōyama.」
「I’m Yumi’s sister and my name is Rena. I’m a spunky college student! Nice to meet you, Tōyama-kun!」
「Y–Yes, nice meet to you.」
Takai’s older sister, who introduced herself as Rena, was a mature and beautiful woman who looked like a college student. She had a short haircut, a good style, and ample breasts that caught Toyama’s attention.
「Hmm, Tōyama-kun? Wouldn’t it be bad if you were fawning over another woman in front of her? Yumi will be sad, no?」
「Ah, erm… I was just a little surprised, I wasn’t fawning…」
「Kidding, I’m just kidding. Toyama-kun is so cute, you got flustered. You got a little bit nervous.」
「Nee-san! Why did you come home today? You hardly ever come home.」
「Like I said, this is my home and I’m supposed to return home, right? I need to get serious about finding a job soon, and I’ll be back every day from now on, okay?」
「Eh… Didn’t you live with your boyfriend?」
「I wasn’t living with him, and if he was my boyfriend, I would have left him. I told him I wouldn’t be able to see him much because I’d be busy, and he kind of pestered me, so I thought this would be a good opportunity.」
Takai is silenced by Rena’s words.
「That’s why I’m looking forward on taking care of you, Yumi.」
Although Rena’s face was similar to Takai’s, her personality was the complete opposite, giving off an aura of rear-enders. Bright and friendly, it was easy for Toyama to imagine that she must be very popular with men.
——Still, he never thought Takai would get so emotional…is she on bad terms with her sister?
Takai’s unusual emotional state made Tōyama realize the complexity of Takai’s family environment.
「Well then, it’s late, so I’d better be on my way. Excuse me for disturbing you.」
Tōyama thought that his presence would only be a distraction any longer, so he greeted Rena.
「Okay, please come visit us again, Tōyama-kun. Oh, that’s right! Next time you have sex in Yumi’s room, be careful. It was obvious what you were doing by the noise you made.」
Hearing these words, Tōyama felt the blood in his body drain away.
「Wh–What do you mean by that…?」
Takai is so embarrassed at being told about her affair with Tōyama that she turns over, turning bright red up to her neck.
「You don’t have to hide it, okay? I used to come home from time to time and you guys were just too preoccupied to notice. Well, Yumi and you are old enough to be interested in this, and I don’t mean to be a nag about it. But, you should use contraception. Right, Tōyama-kun?」
「Y–Yes…」
Tōyama was so embarrassed that Rena heard the sounds he was making while having sex with Takai and pointed it out to him that he felt like he wanted to crawl in if there was a hole in it.
「Okay, that’s all, see you, Tōyama-kun.」
「T–Thank you for time… Excuse me.」
Rena took off her shoes at the entrance and disappeared into the living room.
「Yuuki, I’m sorry…」
Takai looked as if she was about to start crying, perhaps in shock that Rena had found out.
「Takai has nothing to apologize for. It’s not like your sister blamed me.」
「Yes, but…」
「But I’ll have to pull my own weight from now on at Takai’s house…」
Since she said she was there every day, it would be difficult to do it in Takai’s room in the future. The reason is that just the two of them being in the room together would give Rena the wrong idea.
「You’re right…」
Takai, who had been feeling the joy of being embraced by Tōyama for the first time in a long time, felt like she had been plunged into an abyss all at once when it became difficult to call him to her room from now on.
「Well, I’m leaving then…」
「Okay… Be careful on your way home…」
「Yeah, good night.」
Toyama left Takai’s house without so much as a greeting.