Business Relationship

Chapter 9 - Coming Out

The two woke up the next morning with their robes in disarray. They shared a glance, wondering if anything had happened through the night, but could see their confusion mirrored in the other's face.

They shrugged it off and shared a kiss before leaving the bed and fixing their robes. Minato checked the clothes while Mai checked the news.

"The trains back to Tokyo are running," Mai said with a yawn. "And the rain stopped."

"The clothes are mostly dry," Minato reported. "We can probably use the hair dryer to finish it off."

Minato blow-dried the slightly damp parts of the clothes. Mai went into the bathroom to freshen up.

They peeked out of the hotel room, saw nobody else around, and dashed to the exit. They took the next train back home, bringing an end to their unexpectedly exciting trip.

Mai participated in sports over the summer break to stay in shape. She had tennis practice that day.

"Hyoujou-san, is that a hickey?" one of the other girls, someone from her class, asked while they changed.

Mai glanced down at the mark Minato had left. "Huh. I'm not sure what that is."

"Looks like a hickey to me!"

Mai rolled her eyes. "And who do you suppose left it? Inui-san?"

"Hehe, a girl like you's gotta have a boyfriend or two outside of school!"

Mai shook her head and ignored the girl.

The next day, Mai and Minato met up again. They spent more time together than apart over the break.

"Halloween is coming up," Mai said.

Minato tilted her head, then took out her phone and checked the date, just in case her sense of time had left her. It was still August. "Well, I guess?"

"What costume do you want me to wear?"

Minato's gaze wandered over Mai's body. "Can I choose anything?"

"Well, anything I can wear in front of my parents..."

"Hm..."

"I'll pick out one for you, and you can pick out one for me."

"There are a lot of anime girls you could pull off, but just seeing you in a different uniform seems like a waste of the opportunity. Hmm. What outfit are you giving me?"

"I'd rather leave it as a surprise."

Minato rubbed her chin. "I wanna see you in glasses, so... How about a doctor?"

Mai smiled. "You want me to give you a check-up?"

"Fufu, if we can get away with it."

"Mm, we'll see how it goes." Mai squeezed Minato's hand.

Minato peered at Mai's face for a few seconds. "Is there anything on your mind?"

Mai nodded. "I've been wondering if I want to publicize our relationship. It's convenient to hide it, yes, but I would like it if we could, say, kiss when meeting and parting before and after school. And, I feel bad when I imply we're not dating."

"I'll go with whatever you choose, but..." Minato giggled. "Now might be the worst time possible."

Mai's eyes widened briefly. Not only had they just spent the night together alone in a hotel, a classmate had noticed the mark Minato left. If she announced they were dating after that, it'd be very suspicious.

"Well, I'll keep thinking it over." Mai tilted her head slightly and hummed. "I wonder what'd be a good time. Maybe at the festival?"

"That's a good time for a confession," Minato agreed. "Should we put on a show?"