The Gal Next to Me Is Trying Too Hard to Make Me Fall in Love With Her
“Um…”
“…………”
“Ah, Amagi-san…?”
“…………hyai…”
Her voice was so quiet.
“Are you okay? You’ve been acting strange ever since you came in…”
The sauna, with its warm wooden interior, could comfortably fit three adults if they squeezed in.
Wrapped only in a towel around my waist, I’d gone in first. Soon after, Amagi arrived, her body covered in a bath towel.
She’d been smiling when she opened the door, but immediately lowered her gaze, sat silently, and huddled against the wall, refusing to meet my eyes.
“I-is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell…?”
It was freezing outside, but inside the sauna, it was scorching hot.
I wondered if the temperature difference had made her feel sick, but she weakly shook her head.
“…………Oh no.”
“Oh, oh no?”
“Oh noooooo…! Seeing the person I like naked is way too embarrassing to look at…!”
“……Huh?”
Amagi covered her face with both hands, trembling.
Seeing this, I let out a sigh.
“After everything you’ve done so far, getting flustered over me being half-naked? That’s a lie, right…”
As I spoke, I closed the distance between us just a little.
Shouting “I like you” to my face, hugging me in public, flashing me her underwear. Considering everything that’d happened before, her current state felt unnatural no matter how you looked at it.
“Is this some kind of plan again? Skip the weird act and just talk properly.”
I gently grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.
Her red eyes reflected me.
A thin film of tears trembled slightly, and at the same time, her face flushed as red as an apple. Her wet expression said it wasn’t a lie, acting, or a joke.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t think you’d actually be embarrassed…!”
She let go of my arm, stepped back, and bowed her head forcefully.
…Come to think of it, she was super embarrassed when I kissed her forehead too.
Even just a compliment makes her flustered and blush like crazy. Amagi must be fine doing things herself, but she’s weak when it comes to receiving them.
“Ugh…! This wasn’t supposed to happen…!”
“Wh-what wasn’t supposed to happen?”
“I planned to have some light physical contact in the sauna and maybe steer things into a sexy direction! It’s all because Saeki’s naked body is way too sexy! Take responsibility!!”
“That’s completely unreasonable!?”
Wait, she said she just wanted to go in the sauna, but she was thinking dirty thoughts after all?
…Well, honestly, I kind of saw that coming.
“Seriously, if I’m like this, I’ll never be able to do anything sexy with Saeki for the rest of my life!? half-naked and I’m already like this!? If I saw you fully naked, I’d die!!”
“I don’t think you’d actually die…”
“No, I will die! I’m sure of it! My heart’s already pounding like crazy, like it’s gonna explode!”
She looked at me, breathless, let out a small scream, and turned her gaze back to the wall.
Her face flushed even redder.
Is she okay… this girl…?
“…Can I… just touch you a little?”
“Did you forget what I said at the start? If you do anything weird, I’m leaving!”
“N-no! It’s not that! I just… I really like you, Saeki!? So I want to build up some tolerance, even just a little, so I can talk to you normally!! I don’t want our first date to end with me feeling embarrassed like this!!”
Her voice sounded like she was about to cry.
Even without seeing her face, I could tell she was desperate.
Amagi-san had genuinely looked forward to this Christmas date. She’d meticulously planned it, dressed up to the nines, and was giving it her all to make me fall for her.
And yet, the restaurant reservation hadn’t gone through – the worst possible start for her. For it to end like this too… I felt a bit sorry for her.
If I turned her down now… Amagi-san would probably be upset for a while.
I didn’t want to see her face cloud over, so maybe just a little touch wouldn’t hurt…
“…Alright. But to avoid any misunderstandings, please don’t touch me in any weird places.”
“U-uh, okay…!”
Without looking at me, she slowly brought only her hand closer.
Our fingertips touched lightly. We intertwined our sweat-dampened fingers, holding them together, confirming each other’s presence.
Holding hands is almost a commonplace act these days.
Yet my heart pounds as fiercely as it did the first time.
The fact that we’re in a love hotel room, alone in this quiet sauna, both naked beneath our towels—this extraordinary situation fuels the pounding in my chest.
“…Your hands are hot…”
“Well, we are in a sauna…”
“…………”
“…………”
“Saeki… you’re sweating a lot…”
“…You are too, Amagi-san…?”
“…………”
“…………”
The conversation stalled.
The heat and tension slowed their thoughts.
“Saeki…..”
“Yes?”
“You’re surprisingly muscular… I like that about you…”
She released my palm and tentatively moved to my forearm.
Then she touched my upper arm, gave it a light squeeze, and kept me pressed against the wall, forcing her gaze toward me.
Her eyes seemed a little more composed than before.
She closed the distance between us just a little, our shoulders touching. Our sweat-dampened skin rubbed together without any barrier, and my heart pounded uncontrollably.
“…I think… I might… be calming down… a little…”
“Th-that’s good… but… doesn’t my sweat… gross you out…?”
“…It’s okay…”
“Is… it…?”
“Saeki… are you… okay with my sweat…?”
“Huh? Ah, ah… yeah… it’s fine…”
“…I see…”
She murmured, nodded, swallowed.
She closed the distance by just two fingers.
Hips touched hips, knees touched knees.
Sweat and body heat mingled, creating a warmth belonging to neither. Droplets fell, staining the towel beneath her buttocks.
Suddenly, she looked up at me. Her eyes still held hesitation, but after a moment of mutual gaze, she finally gave me a small smile.
Cute.
So, so cute.
This time, I couldn’t bear to look. Embarrassed, I couldn’t help but lower my eyes.
Her skin, hidden by the bath towel.
Her chest, looking strained.
My gaze was drawn to the small part peeking out. I knew I shouldn’t look, but my brain wouldn’t listen.
Sweat seeped from her neck, dripping down and falling onto her chest.
After watching its path, I snapped back to reason—no, no, this is bad—and forced my face back toward her.
“…Hehe…♡”
“Wh-what is it…?”
“Don’t play dumb…♡ You’re so naughty…♡”
She flashed her white teeth, her smile radiating a steamy heat.
It was a sweet, cute, dangerous smile that threatened to melt everything about me into a sticky mess.
“…Saeki, you can touch me too…?”
“Huh?”
“I mean… touch me?”
“N-no, no! That’s improper relations—”
“It won’t be. You said it’d be fine as long as I didn’t touch weird places, Saeki.”
“…W-well, that’s—”
“Like my arm or my leg… Come on, it’s fine, right?”
Her eyebrows drew into a seductive V-shape.
At the same time, her hand came to rest on top of mine.
I loosely grasped hers and lifted it, placing it on my thigh. Even through the bath towel, I could feel its softness, and I swallowed hard.
It clung with sweat, slightly translucent, hot.
Surely she wouldn’t get angry if I lifted it. Rather, she’d be delighted, accepting even something of mine.
Thinking that, strength naturally flowed into my fingers. My reason fought it off, but desire kept attacking, aiming for the throat of my self-control.
“Like this… it’s hard to touch, right?”
“Huh!? W-wait, Amagi-san…!?”
She lifted her hips and sat back down.
Right on my lap.
We’d done this position many times before, but of course, always fully clothed. Now, the barrier between me and Amagi-san was painfully thin.
This is bad, this is definitely crossing the line—I was about to shout.
It must have been far more embarrassing than I’d anticipated.
Amagi-san was flushed a shade I’d never seen before, panting sweetly, and it was so utterly lovely… I fell silent.
I was mesmerized.
Hopelessly so.
“Here… touch me?”
She took my right hand, then my left, guiding them to rest on her waist.
My ring finger and middle finger touched bone, while my index finger sank into soft flesh.
She cupped my cheeks with both hands, her eyes narrowing affectionately. Her gaze, demanding everything of me, shone with a bewitching light.
“…Want to make it beat even faster?”
Maiban