Citrus: Mei's Story vol. 6 - Wondering Heart

I. Notes on Dating

This is getting out of hand but...
I pulled her into another deep kiss that just continued with as many kisses as we could manage before we needed to breathe again.
I don't want to stop.
It began the day after Matsuri spent the night, a few days after I was re-elected. I had been in the chairman's office taking care of some last minute things and Yuzu had decided to wait for me so we could walk home together. The mood wasn't even romantic at all. But just as I finished, I looked up and our eyes met. It took her seconds to reach the chair and then we were clinging to each other and kissing as though it was as vital as breathing— which it seemed to replace. Ever since then, though not everyday, whenever we found ourselves alone we would start kissing. It wasn't the same every time either. Sometimes she would initiate, and other times it would be my turn. I might pull her closer, or she might pin me to something. There might be tongue, but not always. The only constants was that we were always alone, we went until something acted as a signal to stop, and we never went further than kissing. It was the most amazing torture.
It wasn't that I was trying to push her into it. It was just that I was noticing that if ever the mood hit and our clothes were off or coming off, or anything that might help lead us past just kissing, it would trigger Yuzu's flight response. She'd instantly turn red and try to find somewhere else to be. I even tested it on minor situations. Once I took my time getting dressed for school right in front of her and she freaked. Another time I pretended to fall asleep while undressing from school and lay in the same type of pose I had seen depicted in a manga that was surprisingly adult for what it was supposed to be about. I made sure to be seen. All she did was get extremely flustered and hid in the bathroom. We still snuggled together every night and kissed whenever and wherever the conditions were good, but other than that there was nothing. Soon it would be the summer months, and that would mean more time to be together if we were lucky. But it was getting harder and harder to hold back and wait. My need for Yuzu even began to affect other areas of my life. Earlier today was one such example.
      "It's rare for you to visit the cafeteria, madam president."
      With a curious Himeko in tow I walked right up to the machine that would give me the voucher for the dish I was hoping for.
       "Mother was held up at work and came home too late to fix lunch."
        It just works out that it meant I could get to try something Yuzu told me about. Though I wish I could have been eating with her instead...
      "Oh... that sounds tough."
      Himeko, who had no idea what Mother did for work, sounded genuinely concerned.
      "I hope she isn't overexerting herself."
      From what I've been able to tell, that woman might not know the meaning of overexertion.
      "What will you have, madam president?"
      Where is it?
     My eyes roamed the kiosk buttons for the option I was craving.
     "I recommend the boiled fish. It has a nice, subtle taste."
     Oh, there it is!
     Not even caring what Himeko was suggesting, I reached down and selected the spicy variety of curry rice.
     Just like she likes it too.
    "What?!"
     Apparently Himeko was a little more conscious about my normal eating habits than I had expected, and she wasn't going to be quiet about it either.
     "Everyone knows that the school's curry is lethally spicy!"
      And yet my girlfriend loves it...
    "Did you press it by mistake?!"
    "Of course not."
     I looked at Himeko with the best drop it expression I could manage without scaring her. I already knew that if I told her why she'd try to talk me out of it. That or she'd freak out over it and make a scene. I took the voucher slip and walked towards the service counter, completely ignoring Himeko as she nervously continued after me.
      "But, madam president..."
      She already sounds like she's scared of how I'll react and unsure if she was wrong about something.
     "I thought you hated spicy foods."
      For the longest time I thought I was straight, turns out perceptions change as we get older.
     With my food in hand I went to a table near the vending kiosk... just in case a particular person might come to get her lunch here as well. I looked down at my food. Normally Himeko would be right, I didn't care for spicy food. But Yuzu had been making the curry we ate at home and she loved spicy food. So I grew to really enjoy it. Even though it felt like my mouth was on fire. Even so, I could feel Himeko watching my every move with concern.
       "It's hard to eat with you staring at me like that."
        She jolted in surprise at being caught.
        "Ah!"
        Please, stop getting so invested in me. It can bring out the worst in you.
       "Of course! S-sorry."
       She averted her eyes, but she didn't seem to back down either.
       "It's just..."
       I looked at her as she fidgeted around.
       "I can't help but worry about you."
       I feel like you're pushing the boundaries on just friends again...
      She rushed off to the service counter and returned with a paper cup full of water that she put between us.
     "At least take this water. For my sake."
I rolled my eyes at her.
"Fine."
I did my best to ignore her and just started eating. As soon as I took the first bite I realised my own foolishness. Yes, I enjoyed the flavours and could easily imagine Yuzu making curry like this. However, it was also spicier than I had expected. Apparently it was not hyperbole when it was said to be likely lethal amongst most students, but then most of the girls who came here were used to being catered to and so had no tolerance. I was still developing my own tolerance and so I was unable to hide that it was affecting me. Despite the moisture trying to flee from my body, I kept eating.
"Madam president..."
Of course she couldn't just stay quiet.
"Are you alright? Speak to me!"
Being melodramatic doesn't help, besides talking while eating something spicy tends to just fuel it in most cases.
I swallowed my bite and attempted to answer.
"It's... good..."
And even though I was breathing through my nose my throat is now on fire.
"Oh..."
Himeko's voice betrayed the lie in her words.
"Good..."
Just as I was getting used to the heat, I found another reason to be nervous.
"I'm starving! What should I get?"
Just hearing her voice made my heart skip a beat. I had to force myself not to look her way. It seemed she was coming with Harumi like I had with Himeko.
"This place serves nothing but carbs."
"Harumin, are you still on that diet?"
I tried to not be overly interested in the fact they were going to be walking right past us, but it was impossible not to notice my heart was pounding as she got closer.
"Oh!"
And then they spotted us.
"It's the president and the vice president."
"Aihara Yuzu!"
Himeko, you don't need to keep saying her name like that...
And with that bare minimum exchange, my girlfriend and her best friend decided to come talk with us while I was doing my best to not provoke the spices to react again. At least they were more focused on Himeko.
"Oh, the vice president brought her packed lunch. Lucky!"
"Don't spy on us!"
At least that should allow me to get through this in—
"And what about you Mei—I mean, Ms Aihara?"
That was another odd development. Yuzu kept trying to act like she wasn't close to me when around our classmates. It was fine if we had remained as distant as we had been during the elections, but she was becoming known to the student council for always having something she wanted to talk to me about. Outside of the council, we were becoming noticeably more involved in each other's daily lives. Usually those were times when we both were really wanting to kiss but one of us was around other people so we needed an excuse. So she started trying not to sound too familiar, and she was terrible at it.
"Oh, you got the curry?"
I couldn't bring myself to respond while eating, and not just because of the spiciness.
"The spicy curry here is good, isn't it?"
And just like that she got dangerously close to pointing out why I might be enjoying the curry.
"Maybe I should get it, too."
If Himeko hadn't figured it out with the first part, she clearly did now. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her jump up and look from me to Yuzu and back to me with a face of growing worry and shock.
Yes, Himeko. I'm eating this because my girlfriend likes it.
And so of course she had to treat it like some weird challenge.
"Aihara Yuzu!"
Himeko...
"I will also have the spicy curry!"
She stormed towards the kiosk as Yuzu and Harumi were making their way over. Her exclamation caused the rightly confused duo to look back towards her.
"Huh?!"
"Vice president, the curry here is reeeeeally spicy. You might want to forget about it."
Valiant effort Harumi, but she doesn't always think things through.
"Ms Momokino, do you like spicy foods?"
"It has nothing to do with liking it or not!"
I sighed as I was subjected to this idiotic situation and continued to eat my own plate of curry. Afterwards I pulled Himeko aside.
"What were you doing?! I thought we cleared all this up."
Himeko sighed and looked from left to right before speaking.
"It's because of how weird the election was. Plus some things that have occurred in the past, and the more frequent visits and encounters."
"People are realising we're together?"
"That's one theory, but there are a few. However they all lead to the same speculation: you and her rigged the election and she was asked to throw her chance so you could get her votes. So I'm trying to avoid any connections between you two by making it seem like we're at odds."
"Well you can stop. That looked awkward and plus no one would take you behaving like that as anything other than you being weirdly jealous about food."
She bowed her head.
"Sorry, madam president."
"I'll handle it. We'll be more careful."
"Thank you."
Ironically it was that conversation that led to Yuzu and I meeting in the chairman's office. It was a nonexistent conversation about the issue. Instead I just decided it would make sense to have it be our kissing location because it was special for us. Of course I left a note to Yuzu explaining the idea, and like I hoped she would, my insatiable girlfriend promptly arrived after class to pull me into a kiss that led to me bending backwards over the desk and we just continued. And even knowing that we were probably pushing our luck, I didn't want to stop. However that didn't mean I was fine with letting things just remain this way. I wanted our relationship to be real, but I had no idea what that would entail. There was only one thing to do.
"It is now time to go home."
My eyes slowly opened partway through our kissing and I looked towards the speaker for the PA system.
But... that would mean we've been in here just kissing since our last class ended an hour ago?!
The thought seemed impossible, and yet the announcement continued.
"Any students still on campus..."
I had to stop Yuzu from continuing so we both were in a state to hear.
"Please head home at once."
I let out an exasperated sigh and slipped out of Yuzu's arms. Sadly there was no longer any time to waste.
"I'll see you at home."
When she didn't respond I turned to look back. Yuzu had moved to one of the nearby chairs, and leaned into it as though her legs didn't work anymore. She was clearly still wanting to continue and was blushing and sweating and pressed her lips against the knuckles of one hand.
"Right, okay..."
She left the office first and went off with Harumi for the afternoon while I waited a few minutes and then headed out myself. I had research to do.