Despite the conflicting thoughts in my head not to fall asleep, I failed to prevent my eyelids from closing. It's futile to fight the comfort of being pampered by Juri, after all.
I had no idea how long I was out but when my consciousness returned, the bus was still moving and the number of passengers swelled significantly to what I remembered.
If we got on the bus with only a handful of passengers, there were only a handful of free seats left. And from what I observed from them, more than half of the passengers had the same destination as us; the Hanitsu Lake Park.
It's the weekend. Camping was a great choice for families, groups of friends, or couples to bond, right? It's not weird at all and we kinda expected it.
"Hmm? You woke up right on time, Ruki. We're almost there."
Upon noticing the movements of my head that almost exaggeratedly surveyed our surroundings, Juri's soothing voice drilled into my ears.
That successfully pulled me out of my thoughts. I raised my head to look at her pretty face decorated by her pleased smile.
Our hands were still clasped and unlike earlier, I could feel how moist our palms became because of sweat… Really, she could've pulled her hand easily when I fell asleep but for some reason, she maintained that connection.
With my head still a little groggy, I failed to find words right away. And that resulted in us maintaining eye contact with slight awkwardness.
Maybe she couldn't hold it up or she was just embarrassed to be subjected to my sleepy gaze, Juri soon used her free hand to point at the scenery beyond the window.
Yeah. Rather than reprimanding me or calling me out for being silent, she found a way to divert my gaze somewhere else.
At this point, I had already, more or less, composed myself.
I followed her finger and stared outside as I gradually straightened my back, releasing her shoulder from the burden of the weight of my head.
The scenery was definitely unfamiliar to me. But one thing to note was the lack of houses or establishments. The lake park was located in a rather secluded area where most of the land was not being developed. They're preserving the natural landscape of it.
As we both watched the unfamiliar scenery outside, I finally found the words to reply.
"Uh. Thanks for lending me your shoulder, Juri. I slept well."
"Un. That's great. I'm expecting the same treatment later when I feel sleepy." Juri replied in a playful tone.
"Of course. I'll also offer up my lap if you need it."
Playing along with that, I grinned and tapped my lap. The tapping sound managed to draw her gaze toward it.
And as expected, her iconic trait made another appearance.
"Eh? That will be inappropriate, Ruki. Getting a lap pillow is for couples…"
She trailed her voice there and eventually looked like she just realized something.
I followed her movements and noticed her eyes landing on our clasped hands before she averted her gaze to the side, preventing me from witnessing her current expression.
Little did she know, I still managed to see it, albeit unclear, through her reflection in the window.
"Indeed, it is."
Deciding not to tease her about that, I simply agreed with her words and shrugged. However, at the same time as that, I tightened my grip on her hand and brought it down on my thigh.
That drew out another amusing reaction from her but it was proven short-lived.
Because at the next moment, the bus gradually slowed down as it approached our destination.
Our first bus trip had come to an end.
-
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As we disembarked from the bus, Juri and I joined up with some of the passengers on the short walk toward the entrance of the lake park.
Well, there's not much for us to talk about there and even though we got mistaken for a couple, we didn't bother correcting them. That's convenient for us, after all.
And of course, the reason why they easily assumed that we were a couple was because of our intimate connection; our lewd hands remained clasped together.
Actually, we did let go of each other initially since we're not in a private space anymore. However, as though magnets attracted to each other, we still found ourselves walking hand-in-hand, disregarding the possibility of our relationship being misinterpreted.
Naturally, I made the first move and Juri simply reciprocated.
Thinking about it, we brushed past this topic earlier, treating the occurrence of holding each other's hands as an appropriate act. She appeared a little bashful but that's it.
No questioning me why I reached for her hand or when I would let her go.
And so, just like this, we soon arrived at the premises of the lake park.
Somehow, the reception felt more like a resort rather than a simple lake park for camping.
After getting welcomed by staff outside, we found ourselves lining up with the other customers who were going camping today.
Although we were directed to sit down in the waiting area after getting a number, the process was actually quite fast as most of the customers already called in their reservations.
Yeah… You heard that right.
The place was more sophisticated than I initially thought.
I guess they had to limit the number of people camping. Their main attraction was the lake, after all. If it became crowded, none of them would enjoy camping here.
Around two minutes later, our number was called, prompting the two of us to stand up and approach the reception desk.
"Welcome to Hanitsu Lake Park. May I ask if you have a reservation?" The woman receiving us at the reception desk greeted us with an amiable smile. However, as soon as she got a good look at both of us, the woman couldn't help but look at us alternately before silently muttering, 'What a perfect couple'…
I don't know if Juri heard that but I felt her grip tightening. Maybe she did.
Nonetheless, she maintained a straight face as she answered the woman with the same amiable smile.
"Yes. I'm Koizumi. I called in last Tuesday."
Obviously, as the tag-along on this trip, I could only stand next to her and let her do all the talking.
"One moment, please… Okay, what I see here is your reservation is for… scouting purposes?" The reception staff raised an eyebrow at it. She's probably not expecting that.
I mean, most of the time, those going out to scout a place seldom state that they're going for scouting purposes. Rather than that, they'd enjoy themselves, experiencing what could be experienced. Afterward, they would bring it to the management that they might hold an event there to negotiate either a discounted promo, free accommodation, or lowering the price to rent the whole place.
But for Juri, she still stuck to her propriety; doing everything by that standard.
"Yes…" Juri answered without faltering before telling her the other details such as how she was sent by their college department and the possibility for a large group to hold a camping trip here. "Uh. Do you need my ID?"
"Ah. No. It's not needed anymore. I confirmed the reservation. For scouting purposes, yeah? Then please try not to disturb the families and other groups camping around the lake. Here are your passes." Perhaps overwhelmed by Juri's presence, the reception staff hurriedly reminded us of what to do before handing us the passes that were only a bit different than what she was giving to the other customers before us.
"We'll remember that. Thank you." Juri happily received it and handed me one of the passes.
As Juri started dragging me towards the entrance of the lake park, I threw a glance at the reception staff and smiled at her before mouthing, 'Thank you.'
Was that effective?
You bet.
She almost fainted.
Noticing what happened, Juri pulled on my arm as she amusedly whispered, "Ruki, your smiles are deadly. Please refrain from using it as a weapon, okay?"
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