My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 333

The fantasies of that time are now impossible to realize—or rather, they were realized too much, leading to the current situation—we finally managed to welcome March 14th as childhood sweethearts.

I didn't say "I'm home," and silently opened the door.

I met some seniors at the graduation ceremony while helping out with club activities, and I just got home. Although they invited me to the celebration party or farewell party, I was just a helper—not a formal member of the club—and it felt weird to go and join in the fun, so I made an excuse and came back alone.

Of course, the excuse is as follows.

—Well, you know, today is March 14th…

"Are you a man?!" My seniors kept pressing me for answers, but I just gave them a knowing "hehe" and headed home safely.

Well, it's not exactly lying anyway.

I just didn't tell them that I actually didn't make any plans.

"Sigh..."

I turned on the air conditioner, took off my coat and tossed it aside, then lay down on the sofa.

I always feel like I have a lot of friends, but when it comes to important moments, I'm often left alone.

Am I actually a fake "social butterfly" who's afraid of being alone?

Although I admit that I am actually quite gloomy and introverted by nature.

"I really want to marry a woman..."

I'll contact her on LINE. But she might still be busy with graduation ceremony work. Asking Maki or Nasuka to keep me company doesn't seem like a good idea either.

...Anyway, let's change our clothes first.

Even though I wasn't attending a ceremony, I figured I was just going to school anyway, so I wore my uniform. I sprang up from the sofa with sheer agility, untied the ribbon, took off my blazer, and threw my shirt off with a thud. Then I stood up, zipped up my skirt with a whoosh, and let it fall to the ground.

The air conditioning has warmed the room, so I won't be cold wearing just a light undershirt and underwear. Before going into the room to get a change, I'll put my uniform in the washing machine first.

Just as I used my toes to hook the skirt that had fallen to my feet, intending to kick it up...

"I'm here! Are you home yet?"

"ah."

Kawanami peeked out from the entrance, causing me to lose control of my strength for a moment.

The skirt, which she had intended to kick over her head, ended up looping around Nakagawa Nami's neck like a ring toss.

"ah."

Kawanami looked like a frilled lizard, staring at me as I, dressed only in underwear with one leg raised in a kicking motion, completely lacking in decorum.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault."

"Is this what someone who encounters a lucky pervert should say?"

Be even happier! This is a girl half-naked, you know.

I have my pride too, so I originally planned to wander around the house in my underwear until Kawanami's face turned bright red, but it was too cold, so I went back to my room and put on some clothes.

My physique makes a loose-fitting, fleece-lined shirt almost look like a dress. My legs would get cold wearing just this, so I tried to create an absolute territory (absolute territory) by wearing over-the-knee socks.

In other words, it refers to unprotected loungewear that doesn't expose the underwear.

Use this dimly lit, dark space to imagine the panties that were just imprinted on your eyes.

"You can come in now~"

I called out to the outside of the room, and Kawanami peeked out from the crack in the door with a wary expression.

"...Why do you only have to stay in the room today? Don't you usually stay in the living room?"

"Mom and Dad might come back today, which would be really awkward, don't you think? Little ❤"

With a pained expression, Kawanami walked heavily into the room and closed the door behind him.

Although he's so close to my parents that they're like family, he probably wouldn't be bold enough to give me a White Day gift in front of them. Besides, we've never told my parents we were dating.

Kawanami strode over to me, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and said, "Here you go." He handed me the neatly packaged rectangular box.

White Day.

"Oh—what's inside?"

I accepted the money while asking questions.

Macarons.

Kawanami gave a calm reply.

"Oh—that's great. I love macarons."

"Look at that card."

card?

Upon closer inspection, a small card was clipped to the wrapping paper by a gold ribbon tied in a cross shape. This is… I pulled it out and turned it over to examine it.

— "Coupon valid for today only, valid for any activity".

The card had this sentence written on it.

"This is White Day this year."

For some reason, Kawabata crossed his arms and spoke in a very arrogant manner.

"You've gone to so much trouble for me because of my constitution, so I'll only do this for today. Come on, kill me or do whatever you want!"

Looking up at my childhood sweetheart's imposing manner, as if he were a military general announcing his name, I gave him a half-smile.

"...I never expected a guy to try that 'I am the gift ❤' thing with me..."

"Don't translate my determination to endure torture as such a weak display of masculinity!"

What does this guy think I want to do to him?

I stared down at the card, thought for a moment—and finally, got out of bed.

"Then... I shall respectfully comply."

"Bring it on!"

Kawanami untied his arms from his chest and opened them as if to offer himself to me.

I leaned closer to examine the body of the man who was about thirty centimeters taller than me. He was wearing a winter shirt over a worn-out cardigan and faded jeans. It wasn't very clear from his clothes, but I knew that this guy didn't participate in any clubs but did weight training every day, building up a body of muscles that looked good but were useless.

Kill me or torture me, it's up to me...

"What's wrong?"

"........."

Kawaba asked me a question, and I couldn't answer him.

You can do anything... but where is the bottom line?

Just bear with it for today—torture—from these words, it seems to mean, doing something that might trigger an allergy is acceptable...

Terrible.

My heart was pounding so hard I felt like I was going to die.

Is this a backlash from being too careful all this time? When I heard him say it was okay, I suddenly became nervous, hesitated, and my mind went blank.

Is...is that okay?

I... I really do lewd things, huh?

No, no, of course it's just a joke, I think there's a limit. But, since we're saying we can do anything, then at least we should go to the mentor level... right?

As I tried to keep my hands from shaking, I placed the box of macarons on the table.

I don't know where the boundary is.

Where is considered "OK" at this store? I don't know! These rules need to be clearly stated! It'll be too late if we wait for that gruff man in black to show up!

I felt my brain was about to shut down, but at the same time, I was urged by the silence to reach out.

Touch his chest muscles with your fingertips, through his clothes.

"Ugh! Don't touch me like that, it's so weird."

I touched her too carefully, making Kawanami squirm because she was ticklish. Oh no, I hesitated too long.

This time, I gently patted and stroked it with my palm. It was so hard; the chest felt completely different from a woman's. There was nothing wrong with that, I touch them all the time, it wasn't unusual at all. But the fact that I was touching it with ulterior motives made the whole thing feel particularly suggestive.

This is a physical examination.

This is a small matter; just treat it like a routine check-up... As part of exposure therapy, it's just a convenient way to check if there are any problems with his body.

I palpated from the chest and flank down to the upper arm. See? It's not erotic at all. It's completely normal. Only adults with tainted eyes would see playing doctor as an evil act.

I am a doctor... a medical professional who has never failed to live up to my expectations...

If that's the case, then touching through clothes isn't enough, right?

I suddenly lifted his shirt.

There are no ice cubes or abs.

All that's left is a relatively toned lower abdomen, belly button, and the edge of tight-fitting boxer shorts peeking out from under jeans...

It has a belt...

"Ah!"

I found myself instinctively reaching for my belt, but I quickly stopped myself.

Whew...that was close! I almost pulled down someone's jeans! I almost went too far!

No.

This cannot go on.

If you hand over the reins to me like this, my evil self will be resurrected. It will create a terrifying, unspeakable outburst of lust that I can't tell Yui or Asou-senpai.

I cannot be in control.

Yes, it should have started with a directional focus.

Since he said he'd do anything—

"Um?"

Seeing me put down my shirt and then immediately distance myself, Kawanami seemed puzzled.

"That's it? It was just a routine physical exam."

"……Um."

I sat back down on the bed.

Then, he fell backward.

And so he ended up in a supine position.

"So, it's your turn again."

Looking down at me lying on the bed, Kawanami's eyes widened.

Since he says he can do anything, then this kind of thing counts too.

If I take control, it would be too much, but as long as this guy holds the reins, it shouldn't escalate to anything too extreme—even if he loses his temper and can't control himself for a moment...

……All right.

That's... not bad either.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Looking up at Kawabata, who was frozen in place, I chuckled and deliberately provoked him.

"Where has your masculinity gone? Huh?"

Kawabata's cheek muscles twitched.

They were just like fish that had taken the bait.

"...You need to have a medical check-up, right?"

"Yes. We can't miss any corner."