Swimmer Boy (Book 1)

Chapter 16 ~ First date

"How's your ice-cream?" Makoto asked me as we walked around downtown.

"Really good." I answered. With regionals coming up, we just decided to go out for ice-cream and walk around to relax and get our minds off the stress of Haru and Rin.

"You know, you never told me what all happened when you moved away." Makoto said.

"Oh, I guess I didn't." I chuckled. "Well, nothing too serious. My new school was fine, but it was nothing compared to what we had at Iwatobi. I also missed Haru a lot."

"You guys have always seemed really close."

"Well, we're twins." I shrugged. "I know he seems really stoic and serious to most people, but we've always had a deep bond."

"And it seems like you came back just in the right time."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, with everything going on with Rin, I'm glad he has someone like you around." Makoto smiled. "I'm his best friend, but that's nothing compared to what you two share."

"Yeah." I smiled to myself. "But it's not just one-sided. I need Haru like he needs me. I don't think that'll ever change."

"Hopefully it won't." Makoto held my hand. "Hey, let's go walk on the beach." It was still summer, so the sun was still up, but it was starting to set. From the sky to the breeze, everything felt perfect.

"What's going on over there?" I pointed to where a group of people were gathered around. We walked over and saw dozens of baby turtles hatching from their eggs and making their way to the ocean.

"Makoto, they're so cute!" I squealed.

"Yeah, they are." He agreed. "But I'm more of a whale type of person."

"That suits you." I nodded. "Haru's like a dolphin, and Rin's a shark."

"What about Nagisa and Rei?"

"Hmmm..." I thought about it. "A penguin and butterfly!"

"That's perfect." Makoto laughed. We stood and watched until all the baby turtles successfully crawled into the ocean. After that, Makoto and I continued walking around town, making jokes about Rin's shark teeth.

Eventually the sun fully set and we walked back to our houses. "Well I had a lot of fun." I skipped up the stairs to my house. "Did you?"

"Yeah, I did." Makoto smiled. "We'll have to do this again after the tournament."

"Agreed." I nodded and stood on my tippy toes to kiss him goodnight. "I'll see you Monday."

"See you." He smiled and I walked through the front door. There, I found Haru sitting on the couch staring intently at me.

"How'd it go?" He asked immediately.

"It went great." I answered warily. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." He answered monotonously but I could recognize his facial expression from anywhere.

"You were worried about me." I smiled and jumped onto the couch next to him.

"Whatever." He got up.

"Haru!" I whined and chased after him, hugging him from behind. "I loved you first, Haru, remember that."

"I love you, too." He smiled.