“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
As Yuzuru passed the time at their meeting spot, his fiancée came hurrying over, a paper bag in hand.
It seemed she’d successfully bought her swimsuit.
“Want me to carry that?”
Swimwear wasn’t heavy, of course—but still, letting a girl—his fiancée—carry her own shopping didn’t sit right with him.
So he offered—
“Um… yes, please.”
After a brief hesitation, Arisa handed him the bag.
As expected, it was light.
(Well, it’s minimal fabric, after all…)
For a fleeting moment, an image of Arisa in her swimsuit crossed his mind—
He quickly shook it away.
This was not the time or place for such thoughts.
“…Yuzuru-san. Were you just thinking something inappropriate?”
“…Of course not.”
Under her suspicious gaze, he quickly looked away.
Her intuition was oddly sharp.
“So, what should we do now? It’s getting a bit late…”
They could call it a day here—
“Well… if you don’t mind, shall we get something to eat?”
“Sounds good. Where to?”
There was the food court, fast food, Western or Chinese restaurants—
Or they could leave the mall and find somewhere else.
“Well… actually, there’s somewhere I’d like to go.”
“I don’t mind…?”
Yuzuru had asked where to go—but something in Arisa’s tone sounded slightly hesitant.
“It’s a dessert place. You know… it’s about dinner time right now.”
“Ah… I see. Yeah, I don’t mind.”
She was checking if he’d mind having sweets instead of a proper dinner.
For some people, desserts were strictly after a meal—not the main event.
But Yuzuru didn’t have such preferences.
“Thank goodness! Then it’s settled!”
Arisa smiled brightly.
For Yuzuru, that alone made it worthwhile.
“What will you have, Yuzuru-san?”
Upon arriving at the shop Arisa had chosen, Yuzuru felt a slight twinge of regret.
It was indeed a dessert shop, just as she’d said.
But the issue was the interior.
It was… overwhelmingly cute.
Everything was pink, with hearts scattered everywhere—
A space that felt decidedly unwelcoming to men.
He couldn’t quite relax.
“…Yuzuru-san?”
“Ah—well… anything’s fine. You pick, Arisa.”
At that, her eyes lit up.
Until just moments ago, she’d been torn between two cakes.
Ordering both would be too much, so she’d reluctantly chosen one—
But clearly still had lingering attachment to the other.
(If only my fiancé ordered it, we could share…)
Even without her saying it outright, it was easy enough to read.
“Then I’ll choose. We can share.”
After a short wait, their order arrived.
Seeing it, Yuzuru muttered—
“…That’s big.”
What came out were whole cakes.
One chocolate, one shortcake.
They weren’t as large as a birthday cake—
But still, for one serving, they were quite sizeable.
Each looked like three or four standard slices.
(We’re eating all of this…?)
Yuzuru hesitated slightly.
“Wow… they look lovely!”
Arisa, however, seemed delighted, snapping photos on her phone.
“Shall we eat?”
“Y-Yeah…”
They cut into the cakes and served themselves.
Yuzuru started with the shortcake.
It was good.
Paired with coffee, it went down nicely.
The chocolate cake was rich and fragrant—
Also delicious.
But—
(…This is a bit much.)
About halfway through, it started to get difficult.
It was simply too sweet.
He liked sweets, but this quantity all at once was uncharted territory.
His stomach was fine—
But his tongue was starting to protest.
(What about Arisa…?)
Would she say—
(I can’t eat any more… Yuzuru-san, could you finish it?)
With slight dread, he glanced at her—
“♪~”
She was happily eating away.
No issue at all.
Well, she had chosen the place, after all.
“…Is something wrong, Yuzuru-san?”
“Hm? No, nothing…”
He quickly looked away.
He couldn’t say he was struggling—not after agreeing to come.
If he did, Arisa would start prioritising his feelings over her own.
That was just the kind of girl she was.
Yuzuru wanted her to be happy.
So he had to act like everything was perfectly fine.
But—
“I see… so that’s how it is.”
Arisa seemed to have caught on.
“N-No, it’s not that I don’t like it—”
Before he could finish—
She gently extended her fork towards him.
A piece of cake rested on it.
“…Huh?”
“Here… this is what you wanted, right?”
Blushing slightly, she averted her gaze—
Then peeked at his reaction.
“U-Um… please hurry. O-Or… was I wrong?”
“N-No, you’re not wrong.”
Yuzuru leaned forward and took the cake from her fork.
Sweet cream filled his mouth.
“Well?”
“…Sweet.”
“It’s cake. Of course it is.”
Her expression clearly said, What are you even saying?
Then she looked at him expectantly.
There was something she wanted.
Yuzuru cut a piece of cake with his fork.
Her jade eyes followed it—
Then met his.
“…Here.”
He slowly held it out.
Arisa’s cheeks flushed even deeper.
“M-My… Yuzuru-san… doing this here… w-well, I suppose it can’t be helped…”
Before he could point out she’d been the one wanting it—
She opened her mouth and took the fork.
Her lips softly enclosed it—
Then it slid back out.
“It’s delicious.”
She lightly licked her lips.
Her expression carried a faint warmth.
“I-I see… that’s good.”
For some reason—
Yuzuru found that small gesture unexpectedly sensual.
