Love hotels in rural cities are usually found in downtown areas near train stations or along highways. When you’re driving, the latter is definitely the more convenient option: the streets downtown are complicated and crowded with people, so it’s pretty difficult for someone who’s not used to them to drive there. On top of that, most hotels along the highway have a parking lot, and you can enter the premises without being seen while driving your car... I guess. I mean, that sort of thing naturally isn’t really in my wheelhouse, so all of that is just stuff I learned on the internet.
While I gave Orihara-san directions from the passenger seat, Orihara-san drove the car till we were close to the interchange. We were a little confused by the entrance, but somehow we managed to get into the parking lot of the hotel. We then got out of the car and went inside the building.
“I’ve never been to a place like this...”
“It’s my first time too...”
“But you knew where it was, Momota-kun?”
“Yeah, that’s just because...I was prepared.”
“Prepared?”
“Also...when I was in middle school, I was curious, so I rode on my bike to look at the outsides of the hotels around here... D-Dumb boys in middle school just do stupid stuff like that sometimes.”
“Hmm... It must be tough being a boy in middle school.”
“It is. Being a boy in middle school is tough... Oh, this is probably the panel where we select our room. O-Orihara-san, do you have a preference?”
“Wh-What? I-I don’t know. You choose, Momota-kun.”
“I-I don’t know either...” Despite both of us being awkward about it, we somehow chose a vacant room. When we pressed the button, the light on the panel disappeared, and that probably meant that we’d finished selecting our room.
After this, it should be okay to go get the key from the reception counter... As I desperately tried to awaken the knowledge I had looked up on the internet some time ago, I did my best to take the lead for Orihara-san. At the counter—which was set up to where the receptionist’s and our faces were hidden from each other—we received our key. After that, we took the elevator and headed for the room we’d selected.
“Wow, so this is the room in a love hotel...” Orihara-san said, sounding both excited and shy as she entered the room. “It’s way more normal than I thought it would be... I had this image in my head that the bed, the wallpaper, and everything else would be pink.”
“It seems that those places are a thing too, but apparently this place mostly has regular rooms. This place is apparently relatively new, so the rooms are clean and popular with women...”
“...You really are prepared, aren’t you, Momota-kun?”
“No, I mean...” Orihara-san had grinned at me as she said that, and I became embarrassed. I’d done a lot of research on the internet beforehand, but this was, of course, my first time entering a place like this. The room was decorated in beige and black and had a relaxed atmosphere. Like Orihara-san had said, it looked like a normal hotel room at a glance, but the large bed in the middle of the room and the machine for paying for your bill in the room’s entranceway stressed that this was a special hotel. Yes, a special hotel for certain, special activities...
“...”
“...” After putting down our bags and putting our outerwear on hangers, we were speechless. A nervous silence took over the room, and we both fidgeted as we looked around the room and pointlessly messed with the cups and hair dryer that were there.
“M-Momota-kun,” Orihara-san said, her shrill voice breaking the silence. “I-I’m going to take a shower first.”
“Oh, yeah. O-Okay.” Orihara-san took out her makeup pouch from the bag she brought from home and disappeared into the bathroom. After I was left alone, I felt my entire body relax, probably because the tension had disappeared. I fell backwards onto the bed, and with my arms and legs outstretched, I looked up at the ceiling. “Wh-What am I supposed to do here...?”
I’d come this far tonight by just going with the flow, but I honestly still didn’t understand how all this had happened. I was more confused than excited. Honestly, I felt like this wasn’t the time to be doing this type of thing, but when she told me, “I want to be alone together,” refusing wasn’t an option.
When we just started going out and I stayed the night at Orihara-san’s apartment, even though the mood was there, everything ended in a mess. But today is completely different. Today, Orihara-san clearly approached me. She was nervous, but it looked like she had made up her mind. I don’t think it’s going to be a situation where she gives up halfway like last time. Here, today, we’re going to cross that line together...
“...” When I thought about it again, my brain began to spin from how anxious and excited I was. Still...I don’t get it. There’s something about Orihara-san’s thinking that I just can’t read. Why now, of all times, was she so uncharacteristically assertive in proposing we come here? Was she thinking that she’d distract herself from the fight with Kisaki-san and the harsh reality that was approaching us by coming here with me to...you know...do some happy activities? Or could it be that the harshness of reality has made her desperate? Or perhaps...
“It can’t be.”
Is she planning on making this the end?! She might be trying to make one last memory before she leaves me. What if, after only giving each other our first times, she ends our relationship?
“...”
No, I’m thinking too negatively about this. As I was agonizing over those thoughts, I heard the door to the bathroom open.
“S-Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Orihara-san walked toward me, and it felt like my heart would stop when I saw what she was wearing. She had lightly wrapped herself in one of the hotel’s amenities, a piece of loungewear that looked like a bathrobe. I couldn’t help looking at her voluptuous breasts that she couldn’t hide even if she tried. They pushed up on the thin fabric as if to make their presence known. Her barely visible cleavage was so deep. Her skin was slightly red and a little sweaty. It was obvious that she wasn’t wearing a bra. She probably wasn’t wearing any underwear either.
She was so sensual after getting out of the bath that all the negative thoughts I’d had just now were blown away. My confusion and panic were crushed by how overwhelmingly excited I was.
“H-Hey... You’re staring too much, Momota-kun.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Come on now...”
“Um. W-Well, I’ll go take a shower right away.” I stood up and headed for the bathroom as I felt like I could lose my sense of reason at any moment.
After my shower, I changed into loungewear as well. I’m a tall guy, so it was always a little annoying when I wore one-size-fits-all clothing and it would always be a little too short, but I didn’t think I needed to worry about that now. It wasn’t like I was going outside. Besides, I wasn’t going to be wearing it for very long.
“...Orihara-san.”
The two of us sat down side by side on the bed and looked at each other. Orihara-san looked terribly nervous as she blushed and faced down. I probably looked the same way, and my heart was beating really fast. I ran my fingers over the bedsheets and nervously reached out my hand. Our hands touched, and as I felt her body’s warmth, we intertwined our fingers. We had held hands so many times that I’d thought we were used to it by now, but it felt like we had gone back to when we had just first started doing it. It was unbelievable how hot our bodies became from just our hands and our skin touching.
“Um... Are you sure you want to do this?” I said, unable to keep myself from putting my anxiety into words. I seriously regretted it as soon as I said it. It was so lame and embarrassing. Asking for confirmation at this point is such a virgin thing to do.
I hated myself for ruining the mood, but Orihara-san said, “Yes, it’s fine.” She nodded gently and didn’t look like she was offended. Then she laughed a little self-mockingly and said, “I’m sorry I made you wait so long. If I hadn’t gotten cold feet at the last second, we would have gone all the way the first time you stayed over at my house...”
“No, I don’t care about that.”
“But it’s okay now,” Orihara-san said, sounding a little shy but determined.