I won’t go on at length about how cute Tachibana Iori looked in her swimsuit or how excited she made me. Rather, I can’t. Words like “stylish” or “model-like” — the phrases that come to mind — can’t possibly describe her properly.

Anyway, I was completely captivated by Tachibana, and she, in turn, watched over me with strangely calm eyes. And then, I said:

“You’re incredibly cute. It’s hard to put into words.”

“Did you fall for me?”

At Tachibana’s testing words, all I could do was nod. Slowly, I nodded — and in that moment, I felt as though I had been freed from something. My heart felt incredibly light.

“Heh, who would’ve thought Natsuki was the kind of pervert who’d fall for someone in a swimsuit?”

Tachibana Iori had one knee propped up, the other leg stretched out, and her cheek resting on her raised knee as she looked at me. I’d seen a similar pose before in the gravure section at the front of a manga magazine. In short, it was incredibly provocative. Her large chest pressed against her thigh, changing shape slightly.

“Hey now, that’s a bit misleading… I think I’ve probably liked you for a while now.”

“Really? It didn’t seem that way at all.”

“Well… I thought I wasn’t supposed to fall for you.”

I lay back on the leisure sheet and tried to gaze at the sky. Instead, I saw the colorful underside of the parasol. I was so flustered that I’d forgotten we even had one set up.

“Why’s that?”

“Because… falling for you would only make things harder. I mean, you’re… popular and all.”

I felt embarrassed. I was practically admitting that I’d been running away because I was afraid of being rejected. Not exactly the manliest move.

“I see… being popular has its downsides. I never imagined Natsuki would be worrying about something like that.”

Lying down, I glanced over at Tachibana Iori and saw her flawless, beautiful back. Of course, it was the first time I’d seen her back. It was so stunning I felt like I might reach out and touch it.

Despite my earlier worries, this joint beach outing seemed to be going well, with excited chatter echoing from various groups of boys and girls. Maybe some mixed-gender groups had even formed. Souta and Shirataki were probably playing together as well — the first Aotaka-Suzakura couple might be closer than I thought.

“Oh, right… I haven’t said anything about your swimsuit yet, Natsuki.”

I wondered how my confession-like monologue had shattered. I just wanted her to hurry up and reject me. I knew how this would end, so I wasn’t even nervous. Still, being cut down would hurt, and I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

“Can I… take a good look at you in your swimsuit?”

“Huh? Sure… though I feel like you’ve already seen it plenty.”

Like I said, the black swimsuit Tachibana Iori had picked out for me was extremely plain. I couldn’t imagine she’d have any real comments on it. It wasn’t anything special, and definitely not cool.

“Oh, but there’s just one thing I have to say.”

It sounded like a line I’d heard somewhere before. If so, the next part was obvious.

“If I see you in your swimsuit, I think I’ll end up falling for you, Natsuki. If you’re okay with that… then I’ll take a look.”

I really believe Tachibana Iori has a talent for teasing people. I never expected to take a counterpunch like that. Since I was still lying down, I couldn’t see her face, but I was sure she had that mischievous grin on. Of course, I felt incredibly embarrassed.

“…Go ahead and look if you want.”

I just wanted to sink into the sand. Digging a hole and burying myself didn’t seem like a bad option either. Getting rejected was one thing — but to be teased like this? Still, I knew I’d already fallen for Tachibana Iori.

“…You look really cool, Natsuki.”