1248 Negative Thoughts
Choosing to go straight to her house was very Ayu. And that’s because she’s the type of woman whose passion and hobby was the same. Instead of wasting her training time following some kind of popular trend, she devoted herself to boxing.
In fact, even her interest in romance was developed inside the gym and not outside of it. She might’ve been complaining to us before but the woman made no effort to look for one outside.
If not for Sena provoking her about her fondness for me, she’d probably remain the same for as long as she could.
In any case, having reached this stage in our relationship, the result of this house date would most likely seal the deal between us or if not that, return it to normal.
“You live alone, huh?” I commented as I followed the woman inside. The whole house was quiet, after all.
Furthermore, there were only a few pairs of house slippers at the entrance, some of which appeared unused. Even the pair that she lent me still looked brand new. She’s not just living alone, she also seldom receives a guest. If I had to guess, her colleagues in the gym could only invite her outside for a drink or other occasions that she could attend.
“Yeah. I moved out of my parent's house two years ago. It saved me from hearing them ask me to go out and date men that I could marry.” Ayu admittedly answered.
So, most parents are the same, huh? Miwa-nee also experienced the nagging before she got married. Moreover, her marriage was also because of their wish before they passed away. If not for that, Miwa-nee would probably remain in our house for as long as she could and that night wouldn’t happen.
“Heh. You’re still young. Are they worried that you’ll remain single?”
“Uh. No. It’s because they’re already fed up with hearing me talk about boxing all the time.”
“Ah… Yeah, typical Ayu.”
“Hey! Don’t say it’s typical of me. I just… have no other hobbies.”
A bit sullen from hearing my remark, Ayu shamefully bit her lips as she almost whispered that last part.
“I know. It’s not a bad thing, really. I love this side of you, you know?” I matched our steps and closed our distance before hugging her from behind.
Despite getting a little started from the suddenness of it, Ayu didn’t wriggle out of my embrace. Instead, she turned her face to me and cutely pouted.
“You say you love it but Ru-kun, this is all there is to me. Even outside the gym, I’m the same boxing junkie with nothing else to show to you.”
“Hmm? What of it? Do you think I will think less of you?”
“Y-yeah. Ru-kun this date is for us to know more about each other, right? You had just reminded me that I really have nothing else…”
Ah. This woman. My earlier remark was said as a joke but she took it a little seriously.
Looking at her expression switching to a frown, I quickly made use of my head to come up with a proper response to clear up the depressing air.
I released my arms wrapped around her navel and used my hands to squeeze her face between my palms.
That stopped her from frowning, sure. However, that’s not enough to improve her mood. And so, continuing from this, I stared straight into her eyes and put on my best smile before saying, “Ayu, I don’t care about it. Even if you don’t have anything other than boxing, I’ll still like you the same. Come on, the Ayu I know isn’t someone who’ll be easily depressed.”
“Psh. The Ayu you know, huh? Did I make myself appear weak?” With her eyes darting to the side as though she was ashamed to look me in the eye, the woman put up a question. However, that’s directed at herself.
Nonetheless, I still answered it with full honesty “Yeah, you did. Why don’t you just punch those depressing thoughts away? Also, let’s get going. We’re stuck here. I’m dying to take a tour of your house. Especially the bedroom.”
Upon hearing that, Ayu blankly stared at me. Slowly, her lips curved up to a playful smile, “Alright then, grit your teeth, Ru-kun.”
Seeing the success of that attempt, I played along with the woman. I stared at her clenched fist before gritting my teeth and closing my eyes.
But as I expected, no punch arrived. Instead, the sensation of something soft pressing on my cheek was conveyed. When I opened my eyes again, Ayu’s lips pressed against my cheek and her arms gradually found themselves clinging to my sides, pulling me closer to her.
I closed my eyes again and soon enough, the sensation went to my nose and eventually, my lips.
As Ayu initiated an intimate kiss, she also started moving us further inside her home.
I thought of checking where we were going but Ayu put a hand to cover my eyes. She probably wanted to surprise me. But then, I didn’t need to guess where she was taking me. It’s very obvious considering I had just mentioned it.
I responded to the kiss before matching her intention. My hands landed on her waist and stayed there as we continued moving forward.
A while later, I could feel her hand grasping my back leaving it. And not long after that, the sound of a doorknob being turned reached my ears.
As the door creaked open, Ayu made another move. She switched places with me by turning us around. This way, instead of pulling me with her, she would be pushing me inside the open room.
And sure enough, that’s what happened next. In less than a minute, my feet stopped moving backward as we finally reached her bed.
At this point, Ayu removed the hand covering my eyes. Not to give me back my vision, but to use both of her hands to push me down to her bed.
Since I was already expecting that, I naturally let myself sink into it and watched as the woman climbed up on top of me.
“Ayu… I said I wanted a tour, not a shortcut to your bedroom.” I teasingly said, resulting in Ayu clicking her tongue.
“Don’t you like this?”
“Of course, I do. But you know… some people want the correct sequence. Besides, your mood instantly flipped. I wonder what happened.”
I acted clueless for a moment and Ayu instantly reacted to my expectation. She averted her gaze and buried her face in my chest.
“You know the answer to that… I’m being silly to be depressed by myself. I brought you here not to show you my pathetic side yet I—”
“Hey, it’s not pathetic. For all I know, it’s normal to think like that considering I led our conversation to that point. Mind you, even I have times when I will think negatively like that. The most important thing is you recovered from it.”
While the first part sounded like she was accepting what she did, the last part was once again about to come out negatively. And so, I cut her off before she could finish. It’s kinda tough but I’m certain that we’ll be able to move past this. Hopefully.
Unfortunately, my hope was dashed instantly by her reply, “Not with my own efforts though.”
“And I got properly rewarded by that. Thanks for the delicious kiss.”
Even though I couldn’t see her face currently, I could imagine her pouting one more time.
I switched gears, turning it up to the next level.
Using my lower body strength, I pulled us up to the center of the bed. And while the woman was still trying to find her perfect spot above me, I switched our positions. I pushed her down and covered her with my body. In this way, she wouldn’t be able to escape my gaze anymore.
Sure enough, the woman bit her lips and eventually gave up trying to come up with a rebuttal to what I last said.
“Ru-kun… You asked me before why I came to like you and I probably answered differently. This time, let me tell you another answer to that,” Casting off the gloom surrounding her, Ayu started.
“It’s because you’re always like this. There are times when you just kept on incessantly teasing me. Yet whenever you will find me down or depressed even with the silliest of reasons, you’re there to pull me up. Whenever I am feeling stumped, you're there to encourage me. And this is not just a reflection of what happened today. You’ve been doing this ever since we got acquainted in the gym.” Ayu continued as a beautiful arc gradually formed on her lips.
“I understood that you only have eyes for Sena back then so I pushed my affection for you to the back of my head. However, you disappeared soon after that. When you returned months later, your seemingly natural coldness warmed up. You changed into someone more approachable. You even easily agreed to the job offer that you adamantly refused last year. And it might sound comical but my affection for you resurfaced and eventually burned brighter with every passing week…”
Upon saying that while maintaining her smile, Ayu’s hand slipped off my hold as she reached for my face.
As she started gently caressing it, she finished what she started, “Ru-kun, I don’t think I can back down. I apologize for my negativity. I can’t help it. I really have nothing to my name aside from boxing.”
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