Chapter 16 | Sleepover at Gal’s House

On the night of the New Year’s party, I ended up staying at Rika’s house.

“How did this happen?”

I am in a rundown 1K apartment.

Behind me, I hear the sound of water.

“Is it true that the bathroom is right next door?”

This apartment has a bathroom and a toilet.

But there seems to be no dressing room, and the bathroom is right next to this six-tatami-mat room.

“Don’t look, don’t listen, don’t look…!”

I cover my ears and close my eyes with my back to the shower room.

Since I took a bath first, Rika is now doing the same thing.

I know I shouldn’t look at her either, but I can’t…

Through the thin walls, I can hear the realistic sounds of bathing.

The sound of the shower, the sound of breathing, the sound of hot water spilling out of the bathtub…

“Uwaaaaa! No! No!”

It would be weird not to imagine it!

Because…right next to me, a beautiful glamorous girl is exposing her skin!

I’m curious…no, no.

“Shin-chan!”

“Huai!”

The door opens a little and I hear Rika’s voice.

“I’m coming out now. Don’t look behind you, okay?”

“No, no, of course not!”

There is no changing room. That means she has to come out naked in this room.

The bathroom is so small that there is no room to change.

The door opens and Rika comes out.

“Okay? Don’t ever look back. If you see me… I’ll get mad at you.”

What, you’re not going to half-kill me or something…?

What? And you don’t sound mad at me…

She’s embarrassed…

“Don’t worry! I’ll never turn my back on you no matter what!”

Smooth.

Thud!

“Kyaaa!”

“Rika! Are you okay? Ah!”

Rika had fallen on her bottom when I turned around.

“It was wet… I slipped on the floor… ah.”

“Ah.”

In front of me is Rika with her legs spread in an M-shape.

And she just got out of the bath…

I mean, what I’m trying to say is that Rika, just as when she was born, has her legs spread in an M-shape…

“Ah…eh…”

Her skin is pure white. Her skin is pure white and her boobs are so big that they could be mistaken for watermelons.

Her skin is so beautiful and glossy after taking a bath.

Her long hair stuck to her skin is strangely erotic.

And… on the lower half of her body, she has a smooth…

“Noooooooo!”

“Sorryyyyyyyyyy!”

Boom! From the rooms above and to the left and right, I was hit by the wall and the floor.

“I told you not to look at me!”

I look ahead in a panic.

“I’m sorry, but…I was worried that something had happened to you…Rika?”

She was silent, but I wondered what was wrong…

When I fearfully tried to turn around, something was thrown at me.

“Don’t look here! Baka! Baka! Mouu!”

It was the bath towel Rika was wiping on.

…Needless to say, it smelled so sweet that I melted.

After a while, we fell asleep side by side in the dark room.

We were sleeping side by side in the dark room.

This was a one-room apartment.

It was only six tatami mats, not that big.

We were sleeping side by side on two futons.

“Um…Rika? Are you angry?”

Rika turns away.

“Yes, I am very angry.”

Why does it sound like a Japanese translation of English…

It’s not good… I don’t feel like she’s mad because she doesn’t have any emotion on her face…

“I’m sorry.”

Rika turns her body toward me.

She covers half her face with the futon, looks up, and says.

“Will you take responsibility…?”

“Ue! Responsibility?”

At my age, I can’t be responsible…!

But I’ve seen Rika naked, and as a man, I have to fulfill my responsibility…!

“… Pu, Ahhaha! I’m just kidding, just kidding!”

Rika starts laughing hilariously.

…Huh? Was she teasing me?

“Moou! Rika, you’re terrible.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Look, let’s make up, okay?”

Rika pulls her hand out of the futon.

I wasn’t particularly angry, so I took her hand.

It’s so soft and fluffy.

“… Hey, Shin-chan. Aren’t you cold?”

Rika says something like that as we hold hands.

The wind was blowing the glass of the window and making it move.

The walls are very thin, so the north wind was coming in.

We couldn’t even turn on the oil heater at night.

I’m wearing thick clothes, and I’ve got several layers of blanket on top of me, but…it’s clearly very cold.

“It’s cold…”

“Then… come here.”

Rika opened the futon a little and pats next to herself.

“Eh… you mean…”

“You’re so dense. Let’s sleep together. I mean, under the same covers…you know…”

Rika says in a fading voice, her face reddening.

Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh!!!

With you? On a futon? Sleeping?

“Sleeping in the same bed!”

“Ba-Bakaa!… You’re too loud!”

Dong! Someone hit the walls again…

The walls are really thin in this apartment…

I can hear the noise of the people living above.

I can hear them walking to the bathroom. Scary…

“You’ll catch a cold if you’re alone. You just caught a cold before, you can’t catch another one.”

“No, but…”

Then Rika said sulkily.

“…you don’t like to be next to me?”

She asks me if I don’t want to be next to her, and I ask myself the same question.

Don’t you want to be next to her?

Of course, I want to be next to her.

I’m surprised at myself for thinking that.

Until just a few days ago, we had only seen each other in class.

I think I want to get closer to her.

“…I want to.”

“Nn…”

Rika patted the futon with a tap.

I lay down next to Rika.

We were lying on the futon side by side.

“…………”

My heart is thumping, thud, thud.

It’s like a car engine.

A sweet smell comes from close by.

…I felt like it was a nostalgic scent.

“Nee, Shin-chan… Can I hug you?”

What is it… she’s being very bold today.

I couldn’t refuse.

Rika hugged me, probably thinking it was an affirmation that I kept my mouth shut.

“It’s very, very comforting. It’s warm.”

I feel a soft touch on my back.

My body is burning up, my heart is pounding, and I feel like I’m dying…

“But why?”

“I feel strangely relieved, too. I wonder why…?”

Somewhere, some time ago, I remember falling asleep with someone holding me like this.

But I can’t remember the details.

The nostalgic atmosphere that is just beyond my memory is recreated here and now, transcending time.

I feel like that.

“It’s… it’s warm.”

“Yeah…it’s warm.”

It felt a hundred times warmer than before, even though we were only snuggled up together.

It’s been a long time since I slept with someone like this.

Rika’s words reminded me of something my grandfather had said to me.

Her family was divorced and poor.

I remembered what Rika had said earlier.

Her mother works late into the night…

I was curious.

But I hesitate to ask.

Still…I wanted to know.

“What does Rika’s mother do?”

There was a long pause.

Then, she opened her mouth.

Would you be disillusioned if I told you I was in the entertainment business?”

Entertainment business…huh?

Well, somehow, I had a feeling.

“No, not at all. Working is hard, isn’t it? The economy is in a recession.”

I don’t know how convincing I could be if I said that.

But I could sympathize with the difficulties Rika’s family was going through, and I didn’t feel disillusioned in the slightest.

“My mom works at a snack bar. She had a baby when she was in high school and eloped with my father…but one day he left her and went away.”

…What a painful situation.

A family environment that is hundreds of times more painful than I had expected.

“They got divorced when I was in elementary school, and I went back to my parents’ house in Nagano. But there was no place for my mother to work, so we came to the city.”

The countryside is quite closed off.

Even now, many people call me a Tokyo person.

Rika’s mother may have been kicked out of the rural community.

“She came back to live in this shabby apartment. My mother goes out every night, and I’m all alone.”

“I see.”

I gather my courage and turn around. Then, I embrace Rika’s body.

I gently stroke her blonde hair.

Rika closed her eyes and was at my mercy.

“Me too, my parents are rarely home.”

“I didn’t expect that.”

“They’re always abroad for work. I’m all alone in that room…we are very similar, aren’t we?”

Rika looks up and relaxes her eyes.

She rubs her face against my chest.

“We are so much alike.”

Feeling her body warmth, I felt at ease.

I felt nostalgic when I was touching her.

I was asleep without realizing it.

That day, in my dream, I dreamt of Rika-chan, whom I had met in elementary school.

We were happy to see each other again, and we were laughing together.

“From now on, we’ll be together forever♡”

“Yes! We’ll always be together…!”

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