Akari smiled at me, but I had other things on my mind...

Will the driver agree?

“Don’t worry, young man, I’ll take you there.”

Her words put my mind at ease; she didn’t seem annoyed at having to take me. 

“All right... I’ll take you up on that offer. Thank you both.”

I got into the car and sat in the back, next to Akari. 

“So you’re Sora, right?”

I flinched at her question.

Does she know me?

“Y-yes, that’s me.”

“Miss Akari told me you had a date with a friend of hers...”

She looked at me intently through the rearview mirror.

“I didn’t think he’d be such a handsome guy, too.”

I blushed slightly.

“Karin!”

Akari interrupted her, stopping her from saying anything else.

“Excuse her, Sora—that’s just how she is; she says what she thinks,” Akari commented.

“Don’t worry about it. Actually, thank you for the compliment.”

“Like the young lady said, I say what I think.”

She smiled, turning her attention back to the road. 

“Hey, Sora...”

Akari whispered in my ear, leaning closer.

“You’re a little red in the face.”

She giggled.

“I’ll tell you something, too.”

I whispered back. 

“You’re blushing, too.”

I laughed as well. 

The ride to my house seemed faster than usual; before I knew it, we were already halfway there.

“I almost forgot—what did you want to tell me before the car arrived?”

Her face flushed again.

“I-it doesn’t matter, never mind.”

“Come on, you can tell me.”

“I said never mind—it wasn’t a big deal.”

She was lying, just like that time with her knee.

Karin spoke up again. 

“Miss, you didn’t do any shopping.”

Akari froze. 

“It’s not that she had shopping to do—she’d already bought everything she needed.”

“Y-yes.”

She lowered her gaze, visibly embarrassed.

At first I didn’t understand what she meant, but then…

She’d told me she had shopping to do…

I kept looking at Akari and then at the driver, shifting my gaze from one to the other.

Did she just… want to hang out with me?

That thought made my head spin.

Karin watched us amusedly in the rearview mirror—I wonder what she thought of all this. 

Shortly after, we pulled up in front of my house. 

“Is this the right one?”

She asked for confirmation, stopping the car.

“Yes, that’s the one.”

Before getting out, I took one last look at Akari. 

“Akari, thanks again for the great day...”

I scratched the back of my neck. 

“See you tomorrow.”

I started to get out when suddenly I felt someone tugging at my shirt. 

“Sora... Let’s do this again sometime.”

Her words, combined with her gesture, completely caught me off guard; I could only manage to say one thing. 

“I’d really love that.”

We smiled at each other, still blushing. 

Before I could say anything else, she was already gone. 

I really had a great time, Akari… I’d never done anything like that before.

I walked into the house with a smile plastered on my face. 

“M-Mom?”

I didn’t notice her right away; she was standing by the entrance, looking impatient about something...

“Hi, Sora.”

Her tone was restrained, on the verge of bursting with emotion.

“What’s gotten into you?”

I took off my shoes, waiting for an answer.

“Nothing, nothing…”

“Listen, sora…”

She hesitated.

“Who was… that girl?”

The shoes slipped from my hands and fell to the floor. 

“W-what!? W-which girl!?”

My reaction lit up her eyes. 

“Was she by any chance… your girlfriend?”

“What!?”

She kept asking me questions, while my mind was spinning.

“She was really pretty, not to mention how she grabbed you by your shirt.”

Every additional word made it harder for me to respond. 

“Stop! Please!”

I held up my hands. 

“It’s not what you think!”

I started telling her that she was just a friend of mine and nothing more; I decided to avoid explaining how we’d gotten close.

“Really? That’s too bad—you two seemed so close.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you anything—to avoid a reaction like this.”

Actually, I was embarrassed to talk about it. 

“Well, make sure you treat her right—it seems she’s grown fond of you.”

She started walking toward the kitchen. 

“Hey, wait a minute! If you saw us, that means you were spying on us!”

I chased after her through the house.

“I’m not going to answer that.”

“What do you mean!? Come on, Mom!? What did you hear!?”

“Nothing much. By the way, that last thing you said was really great—it reminded me of your dad.”

She smiled at me, and I blushed with embarrassment. 

One way or another, my mom managed to get out of it; by then, it was already evening. 

What a drag—I’m having trouble falling asleep.

I watched the chandelier sway slightly as moonlight streamed in through the window. 

She said I reminded her of Dad...

I smiled slightly.

I can’t wait for tomorrow—I wonder what’s in store for me...