Beautiful Barking Tsundere

Chapter 6

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/09/13

After heating up the frozen pasta on 600W for about 5 minutes and serving it on plates, the two of them sit at the dining table.
Aira rarely eats things like this, but it's fairly tasty.

The frozen pasta is all arrabbiata flavor.
She twirls the pasta around her fork and brings it to her mouth.

Aira glances at the woman sitting across from her whose looks are as pretty as ever.

"Ema, do you have a lover?"
"No. I do have sex friends though."
"Se-sex friends..."

Not completely unfamiliar with the concept, Aira blushes.

"Heh..."

Did Ema not expect that reaction? Her smile is filled with fascination at Aira's response.

Under the table, her foot touches Aira's thigh.

She deftly moves her toe and Aira's body twists from this ticklish sensation.

"...!! What are you doing!?"
"You're already 17 years old and hearing sex friend is enough to make you blush?"
"Shut up..."
"You seem like you'd be popular, but are you a virgin?"
"That's none of your business!"

An uncute response to Ema's words lacking delicacy.

Ema's blonde hair is due to her being half-Russian. That's also the reason for her striking looks.

This beautiful woman has teased Aira like this ever since they were kids and grins in amusement at seeing her reactions.

However, Aira doesn't sense any hostility or nastiness from her.
She is by no means a bad person.

"Where are you going to sleep today?"
"The sofa."

After Aira snaps back, Ema tickles the back of her calf in a titillating way.

Aira backs her chair away to quickly create some distance between herself and Ema.

"If you get cold, feel free to join me. I'll leave some room on the left side."

Aira wonders if she should reply, but she feels like she'll be dragged into Ema's pace and get teased again so she keeps her mouth shut.

Remembering the sensation of being tickled by Ema's feet earlier, Aira unconsciously rubs her thighs together.

Her heart pounds faster remembering the goosebumps from feeling something like that for the first time.

Despite being so wary during her first day here, life with Ema is unexpectedly comfortable.

She can stay up late without being nagged and eat snacks at any time she wishes.

The housework here isn't too difficult, so she lives leisurely in this clean and spacious apartment.　

The bathroom is larger than the one in her house. Security is also top-notch, so there's nothing to worry about on that end.

Sometimes Ema goes out to a well-known sweets store to buy something for her and that has become one of Aira's daily pleasures.

However, there is just one thing that bothers her.

"Well, I'll need you to keep quiet for a while."
"...What are you doing in that room?"
"Perverted things."
"You're disgusting."

After smiling in amusement at Aira's reaction, Ema disappears into the room to the right of the living room.

About two nights a week, she confines herself in that room.

Aira has no idea what Ema does in there.

However, when they started living together, they agreed to "not interfere in each other's private lives."

"...I really can't figure her out at all."

Ema completely lacks any delicacy when she relentlessly teases Aira, but Aira feels no ill will behind her actions.

The one main complaint Aira has about this comfortable life would be the lingering smell of cigarettes on Ema.

It might be because of her prominent appearance leading to many people confessing to her, but people assume that Aira has a lot of experience.

Her friends frequently come to her for relationship advice and many students who don't know her well mistakenly assume that she has a boyfriend.

She has had boyfriends in the past, but her relationships lasted no longer than one month.

Those relationships didn't go any farther than holding hands like lovers and Aira hasn't even kissed anyone yet.

Whenever she tried to do such things, she felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't follow through in the end.

During break time at school, Aira's friends are asking for love advice and Aira is trying to give them the slip with vague answers as usual.

"So whenever Shun-kun asks me out on a date, it's always at his house. Can you believe it?"
"Sounds like he's only after sex. Why don't you break up with him?"
"Don't be so quick to say that~... Aira, what do you think?"
"...If you like him, then isn't it fine?"

Since Aira has been labeled as someone with lots of experience, she tries to sound like that but she's actually on the verge of panicking inside.

Her peers are at the age where they start talking about sex and her friends just assume that they're all familiar with the subject.

"I'm sure you wouldn't get treated that way since you're so cute, Aira. Ah, by the way..."

With a strained smile on her face, a wave of relief washes over Aira now that the topic has changed to something else.

How would her friends react if she told them that not only has she never had sex, she hasn't even kissed anyone yet?　

For some reason, she has mistakenly been thought of as someone with plenty of romantic experience and it's too late to correct them now.