On edge

Part 14

It was now the next day, and Nishikata was more than just a little nervous. "Crap, crap, CRAP! She's going to be here any minute!" He continued pacing about the living room as he tried to run over his preparations. "Okay, so, I've already talked to my mom, I've gotten the new game that came out, gathered a bunch of other types of games, loaded up a few anime that she probably hasn't seen yet, anything else?"

It was at that moment, the doorbell rang, and Nishikata began getting even more nervous. "That's her, isn't it?" He took a deep breath, and walked over to the door and opened it slowly, and almost stopped breathing as soon as he caught sight of her wearing blue short jeans and a black t-shirt; it wasn't much, but Nishikata's heart was still racing. 'That's the girl I love.' He thought as he smiled. "Uh ... sorry, come in." He said as he stepped to the side.

"Thanks." She said as she walked in. He began feeling a pull, almost like a force was pulling him towards her.

'I ... I ... I want to hug her ... so badly.'

He soon noticed that she was also starting to lean towards him as well, and as soon as she took a step towards him, he was about ready to grab her in his arms until she cleared her throat. "Let's get started." She said smiling.

"I ... yeah, lets." He said as he offered his hand.

She looked at him for a moment, and as soon as she was sure he wasn't going to run away, she smiled, and took his hand, causing him to blush. "You're such a gentleman."

"T-thanks." He said as he looked away. He led her up the stairs and into his bedroom, where his anxiety kicked into a new gear. 'She's in my room, Takagi's actually in my room!'

"It's much cleaner than the last time I was here." She said as she looked around. "Are you trying to impress me?"

Nishikata blushed and looked away. "I ... maybe." He glanced back and saw a surprised look on her face, that slowly turned into a smug smile. 'Here it comes ... she's going to tease me about having feelings for her, so all I need to do is confirm it and start my apology.'

She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, then paused, before slowly closing her mouth and shaking her head. "That's really sweet."

"Huh?" He looked at her a little confused. "I ... uh ... thanks." 'Why is she ... never mind, I need to continue getting set up.' "I'm going to get some cushions for us to sit on. You want me to grab anything from the kitchen while I'm down there?"

"I'm good for now, thanks."

"Okay." He walked out of the room, leaving Takagi alone.

She let out a sigh and took a deep breath to calm herself. 'That was close, I don't want to risk scaring him off but it feels like I can't help it.' She began looking around his room at the various things on the walls and shelves. 'I'm grateful enough that he invited me over, I don't want to blow it.' She ran her hand over his bed frame and began to blush. 'But being in here ... is a little nerve-wracking.'

A moment later, Nishikata came back into the room with a few cushions and a nervous smile. "Okay, I'm back, shall we get started?"

"Sure."

He set the cushions down next to each other and began turning on the game system. "So, any requests?"

"Hm ... how about we just play one of your favorites?" Takagi said as she sat on the cushion on the right.

"Okay." He said as he picked up a game case. "Fierce ultimate soccer ultra-extreme deluxe it is."

Takagi tried in vain to hold back a laugh. "What kind of a name is that?"