Trouble with love

Part 13 Feeling different

Takagi-san and Nishikata reached the bottom of the slide and were now making their way out of the pool together. "Well, that was more fun than riding down alone." Takagi-san stated.

"Yeah, it was ... definitely a new experience."

"So." She grabbed her hands behind her back and looked at Nishikata. "Do you ... feel any different?"

"Huh? I ..." He placed a hand on his chest to make sure his heart was racing at the same pace it had been all day. "I don't feel any different."

"Really? How strange." She said with a knowing tone. "Maybe it means you already love me?"

"I ... It's just a rumor, no need to put all that much stock into it."

"Maybe." She walked closer to him. "But I feel a little different."

"Huh?" Nishikata exclaimed as he stepped away.

"Then again, maybe it's just the same, only now we're on an actual date."

Nishikata turned away, trying to hide his blush. "Well ... what do you want to do next?"

"I would like a game of volleyball, and let's say that the loser has to pay for juice."

"A contest?" Nishikata asked, almost a little too hopeful. "I mean, that sounds like an excellent idea."

"Glad to hear, now," She stopped to grab his hand as she shot him a smile. "Let's go."

They made their way over to the volleyball court where they began looking around for an open court. "You know, I assumed that there would be less people here." Nishikata said as he looked around at the mostly full courts.

"I know what you mean." Takagi replied. "Then again, there are still a few that are free, but there's no telling how long we can play before we're asked to give the court to someone else. Especially seeing as it's just the two of us."

"So then we had better hurry." Nishikata replied as he picked up a ball.

They made their way to one of the empty volleyball courts. "So, if I win, you have to buy juice." Takagi-san said as she held the ball.

"Yeah, but if I win, then you have to buy." Nishikata replied.

"Well, we'll see about that, but now that I think about it, what are the rules?"

"Rules? I would assume that it's like normal volleyball."

"Yeah, but that would be twenty-five points, how about we just go to ten?"

Nishikata shrugged. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Good." She served the ball, catching Nishikata slightly off guard as he rushed to return it, only barely managing to reach the ball and send it back over, only for Takagi-san to hit it to the other side of the court, where Nishikata couldn't get to it. "Looks like that one's my point."

"It's just one." Nishikata replied before picking up the ball and tossing it to Takagi. "You're serving throughout this whole thing, right?"

"If you want." She served it again, only this time, Nishikata was easily able to return it. There was a back and forth with this one, ultimately ending with it landing in Nishikata's court after he accidentally hit it into the net. "Looks like I've got two points now."

"Well, just you watch!" Nishikata exclaimed as he gave the ball back to her. "I'll get it this time!"

"You keep saying that, but let's see you back it up." She served the ball again, and Nishikata returned it with little difficulty. There was another back and forth before Nishikata jumped up and managed to spike the ball into the other court, earning him a point.

"HA! I told you I'd get it."

"So it's one point to two points, but we're far from finished." She served it again, and once again, Nishikata rushed to it to try and spike it again, only this time, Takagi-san was able to return it, hitting towards the back of Nishikata's court.

"NO!" Nishikata exclaimed as he ran back to return the ball, only barely reaching it in time to hit it. "That was close." Nishikata said, before the ball came crashing into his court once again. "Huh?"

"You should be paying more attention." Takagi-san said. "You can't relax until you score a point, otherwise your opponent might spike it into your court."

'GAH! How could I get so ahead of myself?!' "I'm not going to fall for that again, though!"

"We'll see." She gently hit the ball over, allowing Nishikata to rush to it and hit it back. They had another back and forth for a moment until it landed in Takagi's court, earning Nishikata another point.

"HA! That's two to three."

"Yeah, but it won't be like that for long."

The game continued for what seemed like forever, until it finally ended with a score of ten to two in Takagi's favor.

"How ... how did I lose that?" Nishikata asked himself as he tried to catch his breath.

"You exhausted yourself way too quickly." Takagi-san explained. "If you're tense, then you'll end up wasting more energy and burn yourself out."

"Damn it, she's right, how could I have been so foolish?'

"So then it looks like you're buying drinks for us then." She said as she walked over to him.

"Huh?" He exclaimed as he stared up at her in surprise. "I ... oh right. He got up and brushed himself off. "Yeah, I remember now."

They began making their way over to the rest area, but just as they reached the area, Takagi-san pulled Nishikata to the side, behind some nearby plants. "Say, are you sure you don't feel any different after going down that slide?"

"I ... like I said, I feel the same."

"That's strange." She looked away as a blush formed on her face. "You know ... I feel very different from before."

"Different how?"

"I want to kiss you."

Nishikata's mind immediately went blank as he stared at her with his eyes wide open and an intense blush. "Infact, I feel as though I need to." She placed a hand on his shoulder and began moving closer to him.

It was at this moment when his mind started working again, and he backed up frantically, only to bump into a wall. "Wait a minute, hold on here."

"We are dating." She said as she placed her other hand on his other shoulder. "Is it really that strange?"

"I ... it's supposed to only be temporary!"

"But we can still kiss." She said as she began moving her face closer to him. "You know, I never really told you just how handsome you were."

"Huh?"

"I bet you want to kiss me as well, isn't that why you went down the slide with me?" She began moving her face closer to his. "You want to be with me as much as I want to be with you, so why not just admit it, so we can stop pretending already?"

"Stop it Takagi!" Nishikata exclaimed, causing her to stop. "You're not acting like yourself, it's strange and ... I ... It's kinda making me a little uneasy."

They were both silent for a moment before Takagi-san backed up and burst into laughter. "I'm sorry, that was a little much on my part." She stopped laughing and grabbed her hands behind her back. "I just wanted to see if you liked the overly flirty types, glad you don't because that was more than a little exhausting."

"That was ... an act?"

"Mostly, but I did go a little too far, didn't I?"

"You could say that!" Nishikata said with his intense blush still present. "I ... can we just get drinks already?"

"You read my mind."