Secrets Of Spring | Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso ;; Watari Ryota |

Chapter Twenty-One

Maika

Time flies and before I know it, the cherry blossoms have transformed into a vibrant emerald that makes the sun seem brighter when its rays shine through the branched. The soft and gentle warmth of the sun has now turned into a sweltering heat and the days are getting longer--finally, summer is here. A lot of people don't prefer summer, but it's my favorite season. The festivals, going on trips, finally having a break from school, my birthday, etc. Now that I'm not going to dance camp anymore, I can truly have a break and spend it how I please. It's a shame that Watari and Tsubaki are in summer school and that Kousei and Kaori are preparing for the gala concert coming up. Because of that, I've been making more plans with Kioshi so that we can catch up more, sometimes he brings his friends along too but most of the time, it's just us.

Today, we sit at a picnic table underneath the shade of a tree in the local park. I wear a pastel yellow camisole with lace trim and a white flowy skort so I don't feel as hot--my plan failed though.

"Ugh, it's so hot," I groan while sprawled out on the picnic bench. Although I love summer, I hate the kind of heat that makes it seem like your skin is melting off of your body.

Kioshi wipes away his sweat using the bottom of his shirt. "You were the one that wanted to go out and get ice cream because of the weather," He comments.

"I know, but I can't... Go... On!" I sit up weakly, resting my head on the table. "Can you get me a melon popsicle?" I ask while pretending to pout.

Kioshi scoffs and gets up. "You owe me,"

"Thank you!" I call out to him as he jogs over to the ice cream stand. After a moment, he returns with two popsicles in hand, one honeydew and one mango. "Thank you very much, Kioshi!"

"No problem," He rips the packages open and we start to eat, battling with the temperature as it begins to melt the popsicle before we can even start licking. "Ah, you got it on your cheek," Kioshi points out and reaches over to me. My chin rests on top of his index finger as his thumb brushes my cheek to get the ice cream off of my face.

I can't tell if it's the temperature of the sun or me, but my face becomes hotter. "T-thanks, I could've gotten it though," I stutter.

"It's okay, I don't mind,"

Once we finish, the heat gets to me again as if the ice cream didn't do anything for me to cool me down. "Is there anywhere we can go to cool down?" I ask. Once I ask that I spot mini geysers shooting from the floor into the air past Kioshi and across the sidewalk. I gasp and point over to it. "There! Let's go!"

Kioshi looks behind him and cocks his head. "To the fountains?"

"Yeah! Doesn't it look fun?" Some kids already run through the water with their parents close by.

"At this point, I'll do anything to cool off, even if I look embarrassing," He stands up and motions me to come on.

"Can you give me a piggyback ride?" I ask jokingly.

Kioshi begins walking over to my side of the bench and faces his back toward me. "If that's what you want,"

I shake my head and hands vigorously. "I was joking!"

"You said it though so you can't take it back!" He scoops me up and throws me over his shoulder as I exclaim in surprise. "Hold on!"

He races toward the fountains and sprints through the geysers as we both get soaked. I scream and he laughs at my reactions and then puts me down.

"Cooled off now?" Kioshi asks.

"Yeah! Good thing we got here quick because you were so sweaty,"

Kioshi's mouth opens and his eyes widen. "Says the one that felt like she was gonna slip off of my shoulder from all of your sweat!"