The mixer guests said goodbye at the station, and we all went our separate ways. Ayaka and I walked home together through the nighttime streets.
“Ughhh, jeez, this sucks!”
“Well, I’m sure you learned a lesson: If you drink with someone you’ve never seen drunk before, you might just be surprised.”
“But why on Christmas…? How can I even begin to apologize to everyone?”
“Remember what they said? It really was plenty of fun until he opened his mouth.” Even I had fun and was just frustrated by Motosaka ruining it. The conversation wasn’t exactly deep, but I felt like I’d gotten along well with that one girl.
“If they were really having fun, they would’ve suggested an after-party once Motosaka-kun had left. No, I really flubbed it this time.”
“Really? I dunno, I heard plenty of people chatting each other up.”
“I was stuck dealing with Motosaka, so I couldn’t talk to everyone else. It ended up being an environment where everyone just talked one-on-one. Even the people next to us were working so hard just to keep up their conversation… Ugh, there I go making excuses again.” Ayaka heaved a big sigh and brushed a hand through her hair. “At least you and your friend were having fun. She asked me for your number too.”
“Whoa, really? Just because of our similar taste in manga?”
Ayaka nodded earnestly. “She already knows you’re the kind of guy who spent Christmas Eve with another girl, so I think she just wants to be friends. At least reply to her, okay?” After saying that, she suddenly stopped as if she’d just remembered something. “Hey, so, you know Shinohara-san? Is she the Santa girl you mentioned being with yesterday?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Santa Shinohara.”
“Wow, what a coincidence. She’s my underclassman, y’know.”
It was then that a little knot of a question in my mind had finally unraveled. “Oh! She came because you told her the address of the restaurant, huh?”
“Yeah, she asked where the mixer was. But still…I did tell her you and I were friends. Wonder why she didn’t seem very surprised.”
“I dunno. Maybe she forgot?” I was all too used to people knowing me through Ayaka randomly telling them about me.
That theory seemed to be good enough for her, so she let it go.
We arrived at the spot where we usually split up. It was a place with a lot of foot traffic, so I didn’t need to walk her any further.
“Sorry for today,” she apologized again. “I’ll make it up to you some time.”
“Truly not necessary. Stop worrying about it so much.”
“I dragged you out, and it ended up like this. Of course I’ll feel bad. Want me to take you out on a date, or something?” she offered, twirling her pretty black hair around her finger. It stood out, especially in the white light of the streetlamps.
After swallowing that feeling, though, I sighed. “That’s how you wanna make up for it? How self-conscious are you?”
“Aww. A normal guy would be thrilled.” She grinned deliberately at me.
I can’t help but feel like she’s pushing herself.
Ayaka teased me a lot, so it was easy to tell how different she was acting now.
“Listen… If I was the kind of guy who’d be tempted that easily, we wouldn’t be such good friends. Just talking to you is fun enough for me, okay?”
When she heard that, she blinked her big eyes at me a couple times. “Yeah…”
Under the streetlamps, she looked up into the night sky. Her expression wasn’t her usual plastered-on smile—it was the soft one, the one I only saw when it was just the two of us.
“Thanks,” she murmured, looking more beautiful than ever.
✦ ✦ ✦
When I returned home, my usual, messy, one-room apartment greeted me.