♢♢♢
Yeah, doing stuff like that really did get me sick. And there wasn’t even a hint of mucosal contact!
Realizing the error of my ways, I looked up at the ceiling and flailed my arms.
“Yo-shin...feed me...arg,” I moaned.
“There, there. I have some porridge for you. Say ‘aah,’” Yoshin said in return.
“Aah... Mmm, porridge tastes so good when you feed it to me.”
“It was Tomoko-san who made it, though,” he muttered.
Whatever, it tastes better just because you’re the one feeding it to me. Plus, why is it that porridge tastes so good when you’re sick? I never want to eat it when I’m well. Weird.
“Anyway—thank you, Yoshin. For coming to visit me like this,” I said.
“Of course I would. I didn’t think you’d get sick as soon as I got better, though.”
“Tee hee... I know, right?”
“If anything, I’m sorry. You probably got it from me. I shouldn’t have asked you to stay with me until I fell asleep,” Yoshin said, sighing.
Hearing the worry in his voice made my heart skip a beat. Truth be told, I hadn’t told him that I’d kissed him on the cheek that day. That was why Yoshin thought that I had gotten sick just because I had been taking care of him—and was feeling guilty and remorseful as a result.
No, that’s not it, Yoshin. I didn’t get sick just because I was taking care of you. It’s because of something else... Still, I only kissed you on the cheek, so that doesn’t really seem to be it either. That’s right, that kiss might not even be the actual cause. It can’t be. Yeah, something else probably got me sick. Though I’m not sure what. But better not say anything about it now. He’ll probably get mad at me.
Of course, in this moment, I didn’t realize how my own thoughts foreshadowed what was soon to come.
“You said you’re not feeling too bad, though?” Yoshin asked.
“Oh, yeah. It was pretty bad yesterday, but I should be able to go back to school tomorrow. I don’t know if I can make us bento, though,” I murmured.
“Don’t worry about that,” he replied. “If anything, I can make them.”
“No way, you just got over your cold. You shouldn’t push yourself too hard either.”
I didn’t want Yoshin to overexert himself and get sick again, but he seemed unwilling to back down. We ended up nearly arguing over it, which was pretty rare for us. Eventually we both agreed that we didn’t want the other person to push themselves too much, so I guess our sort-of argument didn’t even last all that long anyway.
To be honest, I kind of wanted us to have kept disagreeing for a little bit longer, since we rarely ever disagreed on anything. Though I wouldn’t really do that, of course, since we might actually start fighting if things got out of hand. And Yoshin was such an understanding guy that things never got that far anyway.
“I mean, we can go to the cafeteria for a bit, or even stop by a convenience store on the way to school. Would the cafeteria be cheaper, though? Man, I should save up,” Yoshin muttered.
Oh, my. It’s rare to hear Yoshin talk about saving money. He’s not the splurging type, but he doesn’t talk about having to save either. I guess I should be thinking the same too, though. I spent so much in Hawaii I should think about saving when I can. Maybe another part-time job?
“Oh, Yoshin—have you visited your work yet?” I asked.
“Not yet, since I got sick and all right after we got back,” he replied. “I wanna give them their souvenirs, but I haven’t had a chance to do that either.”
“I see. Same here, kinda. My mom was able to give some souvenirs for me, but I wanna be able to give Nao-chan and Toru-san their gifts myself,” I added.
I thought I was only thinking that I wanted to get better soon, but it turned out I was actually saying it out loud—because Yoshin heard me, and he suddenly seemed slightly embarrassed.
“Well,” he began, “I’ve heard that you get over colds faster if you give it to someone else. So...do you wanna try giving it to me?” He then mumbled a soft, “Just kidding...”
Yoshin was only joking, but when I heard him, I blurted out, “Wait, you were thinking that too?”
Yup. I totally did myself in.
The smiling expression on Yoshin’s face gradually turned more serious, until finally he was furrowing his brows with his head tilted slightly. Then, he asked pointedly, “What do you mean, ‘too’?”
Of course Yoshin would catch that. I just knew he would. Ugh, I totally just flubbed that. And now he’s looking at me all suspicious!
As I lay in bed feeling sheepish, I attempted to slip back under the covers...but failed. I couldn’t get away from Yoshin. It wasn’t like he peeled off my blankets or anything, though. He wasn’t the type to do stuff like that.
Though if he did act a little more assertively, I wouldn’t mind that at all... Wait, that’s not what we’re talking about now.
Even while hiding under the covers, I still felt Yoshin looking at me—so I poked half my head out just to survey the situation. And sure enough, he was still looking at me like he suspected me of a misdeed.
In the face of his piercing gaze, I tilted my head too and smiled coyly, but...
“What did you do, Nanami?”
Isn’t that a bit harsh? Like, he just assumes that I did something? I mean, he’s not wrong, but still. Yoshin, how could you suspect your super cute adorable girlfriend? Oh, I guess you do. Uh, right. I guess I did do a little something-something. Dang, Yoshin really is getting better at reading my mind.