“If I had to choose, pink and light blue.”
For some reason, Haruka seemed at a loss for words. Then after an odd pause, she hesitantly asked, “You’re thinking of the underwear I was wearing, aren’t you?”
“—Huh?!”
“I wore light blue yesterday and pink the day before that.”
It was only after that statement that I remembered her pink bra and light blue panties.
“N-no, I’m not! That’s just a coincidence!”
Haruka looked at me suspiciously. “There’s no way that could be a coincidence.”
She was absolutely right. I had no room to argue.
“Don’t tell me that seeing my underwear changed your preferences?”
“……”
“What?! Am I right?!”
“What can I say…? No comment.”
“I—I see… So your list of favorite colors is going to grow every time I let you see my underwear, is it?” Haruka murmured. Her cheeks were flushed, and a complicated expression creased her face.
She must think I’m a pervert…
“…Okay, I’ve heard your request. I’ll try on the pink and light-blue swimsuits, so wait here,” she said shyly.
Haruka began picking out the bathing suits she’d try on in the fitting room, so I moved away from the swimsuit section, figuring it wouldn’t be a good idea to stare too closely.
As I wandered around the rest of the store, I passed Lisa, who was filling up her shopping basket. It wasn’t just swimsuits; she seemed to be getting a lot of regular clothes, too.
She smiled shyly when she saw me looking. “It’s free, right? So I thought I’d take a bunch of different stuff while I’m here.”
“Good idea. It’s better to have a lot of clothes, since it’ll be hard to do laundry.”
“Right? I really owe you one. My breasts keep getting bigger lately, so my bras have gotten tight.”
“Y-you don’t say…”
Not sure how to react, my eyes automatically went to her chest.
All of a sudden, a shock ran down my spine. I turned around to see Haruka standing there staring at me and realized she’d head-butted me from behind.
“This one’s nice. What do you think? It’s pink, your favorite.”
Haruka was holding the swimsuit over her clothes, but it was a fairly revealing pink bikini. What was there not to like?
“I don’t know much about women’s clothing, but I reckon it’d look good on you.”
“Okay, I’ll try it on, and you can tell me what you think. Wait for me outside the fitting rooms. And don’t wander around.” For some reason, that last bit sounded like a warning.
“Don’t you think it’d be strange for me to wait outside the fitting rooms?”
“…Yeah, you’ve got a point. In that case, maintain an appropriate distance from the fitting rooms and wait for me there with your eyes and ears closed until I come back.”
With that fearsome order, Haruka stepped into the fitting room and closed the curtain.
…Trying on a swimsuit meant she’d take off all her clothes. Didn’t she feel uneasy with only a single flimsy curtain between us? I could probably sneak a peek if there was a gap somewhere… However, Haruka had made sure to close the curtain all the way, so an accident seemed unlikely. There went that idea.
As I was making my observations, I saw Lisa add a pink swimsuit to her basket and enter one of the fitting rooms. Meanwhile, Tsukishiro and Ichinose didn’t seem to be making much progress in the way of choosing swimsuits, and I listened in on their conversation.
Tsukishiro stood there gazing at a huge selection of swimwear. “This is my first time choosing a swimsuit without being told what to buy by my school. What criteria should I take into account selecting one…?”
“…I’ve only ever had school swimsuits as well, but considering we’ll be washing our bodies wearing them, it might be best to choose something that reveals more skin and has fewer decorations…”
“I see. Thank you for your valuable advice,” Tsukishiro said, sounding convinced. She reached for a bikini. “I must admit I’m somewhat hesitant to wear this, but it’s a small sacrifice to make given the circumstances. I’ll have to wash it once I’m back at the dorm, and the most important thing is for it to be practical…”
“Y-yeah, you’re right…,” Ichinose replied in a thin, reedy voice, before picking out one for herself. “I’ll try on a bikini, too, since you are…”
“Then, shall we make our way to the fitting rooms?”
“Uh-huh…”
It looked like they’d both reached a decision. It was an amazing situation I’d found myself in, witnessing girls pick out their first bikinis…
“Gueeess who!”
Lost in thought, I was suddenly blindfolded from behind.
“Haruka, you’re the only one who would do something like this to me.”
I lifted her hands off my face, turned around, and saw an angel standing there. The pink material covered the bare minimum of skin; I could stare as much as I wanted at her cleavage, belly button, thighs—and almost everything else.
I knew she’d call me out for harassment if I stared at her for too long, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off Haruka’s body.
Damn… She looks so cute…!! I wish she never takes this off…!!
“…Yuuma, you’re staring,” Haruka complained, covering her breasts with her hands. “Geez…you have such a dirty mind…”
Seeing Haruka pouting at me, I regained my senses and quickly looked away.
“…Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Oh, well, it’s okay. It just means I look so amazing in this swimsuit that you lost your mind.”
“N-no, it’s not like that…”
“Do you honestly believe you can bluff your way out of this after staring at me like that? Your eyes kept going up and down, back and forth, over and over again.”
“……”
“Hee-hee! You’re so cute, Yuuma.”
Haruka smiled victoriously and removed her hands from her chest. I didn’t know whether that meant she didn’t mind if I kept looking, but I wasn’t going to do that again.
Just then, the curtain to another fitting room opened, and Lisa came out wearing a swimsuit. She had on a pink bikini, and her body was almost more than I could handle.
Lisa’s eyes met mine, and she dashed over to me, those huge boobs bigger than Haruka’s bouncing up and down. “What do you think of this swimsuit, Yuuma?”
“Huh…? Uh… I think it’s nice…,” I mumbled incoherently, and Lisa took a step toward me. She stood on tiptoe and whispered in my ear, so close I could feel her breath brush against me, “Who looks cuter, me or Hyuuga?”
My gaze automatically went to them, comparing Haruka and Lisa. I knew I shouldn’t, but I just couldn’t look away—
Then Tsukishiro walked out of another fitting room. She’d also changed into a bikini, of course, and I found my eyes irresistibly drawn to her.
“—!!”
But as soon as Tsukishiro’s eyes met mine, she quickly went back inside the fitting room and closed the curtain. What in the world was going on…?
I suddenly felt a tug on my right arm. It was Haruka, as usual.
“Yuuma, have you chosen a bathing suit for yourself?”
“Not yet—”
“We can’t have that. Let’s pick one out right now!”
She grabbed my arm and pulled me away. It pained me to leave, and I tried to turn back around, but when I did, Haruka bent my pointer finger at an awkward angle.
“Yuuma. Watch where you’re going. It’s dangerous.”
“Isn’t it more dangerous to have someone try to break your finger while you walk…?”
“Hmm? Did you say something?”
“No, nothing at all…”