Riko and Ice Cream. [Short Story]

"Hey, can I stay with you today?"

Riko pressed her face against my chest in a spoiled voice.

The faint, sweet scent of her shampoo attacked my reason just as it always did.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"It's fine, isn't it?"

Riko has a habit of rubbing under her nose with her finger when she's happy. She probably doesn't realize it herself.
That's why I will never tell anyone about it.
Not even her, of course.

She was rubbing under her nose right now, too.
My eyes were drawn to her long, beautiful fingertips.

"Is it not okay?"

"It's fine."

Of course it wasn't 'not okay'.
In fact, it was more than welcome.

She looked up at me, peeking at my face.
That's a foul.
It's unfair that she does this unconsciously.
No, maybe she's actually aiming for it.
Well, either way was fine.

"I want to read books at Yuto's place."

I couldn't have imagined a situation like this three months ago.

* * *

Three months ago.
Riko and I were attending the freshman welcome party for the literature circle.

The term 'literature circle' sounds stiff, but our university's literature circle was a pretty laid-back group.
Anyone who likes books is welcome. Looking for romance is also fine.
In fact, most of the other freshmen were friends with each other, and their goal seemed to be almost entirely the latter.
Riko was also attending with her friend Yua.

I'm not saying that looking for romance is bad, but...
I had assumed there would be at least a few people I could talk about books with. So, I was feeling let down.

Well, in the end, I met Riko in this circle, so I can't really act superior.

I couldn't get used to the atmosphere of this welcome party.
It felt a bit uncomfortable.

Once the atmosphere of the room had warmed up just enough, the freshmen's self-introductions began.

Everyone was required to state their department and whether or not they had a lover. They were also supposed to mention their favorite book or author, but no one seemed interested in that. There was persistent questioning about whether or not they had a lover every single time.

Cruelly, this confirmation served as a popularity poll.

"That's really lacking in delicacy."

I had said it out loud.
I looked around, worried that someone might have heard me.

I didn't want to stand out, so I was sitting in the seat at the very end. That backfired. I ended up being the very last one to introduce myself.

"These guys are really idiots, aren't they?"

I was surprised. Had she heard my comment from earlier? It would be awkward if people around us heard that too.

"Don't you think so?"

She was indeed talking to me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

"Then let's go before our turn comes!"

It was noisy, and it didn't seem like anyone around us heard our conversation. She stood up.

"Riko, where are you going?"

"To the restroom. If my turn comes, Yua, you introduce yourself for me too."

"That's impossible!"

Her name seemed to be Riko. When Riko picked up the smartphone that was on the table, she got a little closer to me and gave me a casual wink.

When her hair swayed, I smelled the sweet scent of her shampoo.
My reason was destroyed in an instant by that sweet scent.

I stood up too. But no one called out to me.

I followed Riko straight out of the shop.
Riko said without looking back,
"If we stay nearby, we'll be dragged back, so let's walk a little further."

"Was it okay to leave her behind?"

"It's fine. Yua won't get angry over something like this. She's kind to me."

That was when it happened.
I heard the sound of her smartphone vibrating.

"It's Yua. I'm going to answer."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I felt sick so I decided to go home. It's not a lie. No, it's not. I'll treat you to ice cream next time. Really!"

Riko spread her arms wide while looking at me.

"I lied. And Yua was really angry."

Riko was laughing. I laughed along with her.

"Didn't you say she wouldn't get angry?"

"It's true that she's kind to me. So it's fine."

Riko laughed again. Her dimples were strangely cute.

"I told Yua I'd treat her to ice cream. Let's go buy some."

"Are we going back?"

"No way."

"If we buy ice cream, it'll melt."

"Does that mean you won't let me go home until it melts?"

"I didn't say that."

"You won't say it."

I didn't know how to respond.

"It's your fault that I ended up having to treat Yua to ice cream. So, treat me to ice cream."

What on earth is this person thinking?
Could it be, is that it?
No, that can't be.
A beauty like this left the welcome party because of me.

But I wanted to check a little.
I must have been in a strange mood.

"I've started to want ice cream too. I don't mind giving you half of mine."

If she didn't feel the same way, she'd be totally turned off. How about it?

"Yay! Thank you. Then let's buy it at that convenience store."

My hand was pulled, and I was sucked into the convenience store. There was that faint sweet scent again.

"Which one?"

"Uh, what should I do?"

My heart rate was skyrocketing. I wonder if she noticed when she grabbed my hand earlier.

"This one is delicious. But is a cup hard to eat?"

"Oh, this one is a new flavor. I like matcha."

My mind was elsewhere.

"Is there one you like?"

I grabbed a bag of ice cream that was in front of me at random.

"Maybe this one."

"Hmm. I see."

Riko suddenly looked bored.
What I had picked up was the type of ice cream you can snap in half and share.

We left the convenience store and went to a nearby park.
We sat side by side on a bench illuminated by a streetlamp.

"Here."

I handed her the ice cream, bag and all.

"Thank you."

When Riko said that, she split the ice cream inside in half.
She handed one half to me.

"Let's eat."

"Yeah."

I opened the ice cream and took a bite.
It was coffee flavored.

When I looked at Riko, her ice cream was still untouched.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I am."

Riko took the ice cream from my hand,
and put her mouth to it and took a bite.

I was glued to Riko's lips.

"You're staring too much."

Riko returned the ice cream she had just been eating to my hand.

"Did you hate it?"

"No way."

I put my mouth to it.
I couldn't taste the ice cream at all.

I could feel Riko's gaze.
I took a big bite of the ice cream.

"Brain freeze!"

Riko was rolling around laughing next to me.

"You're staring too much."

"It's payback."

I laughed too.
The pounding of my heart from earlier had completely subsided.

"By the way,"

"What?"

"What's your name?"

"Now?"

"We hadn't introduced ourselves to each other yet."

"Yuto."

"Nice name. It's to my liking. I'm Riko."

"I knew that."

"Yes, here."

Riko handed me the rest of the ice cream.

"Chug it, chug it."

"Are you serious? There's no benefit for me."

"Then if you can do it, I'll give you this too."

Riko pursed her lips.

My heart started racing again.

I took a big bite of the ice cream.

"Ouch."

I closed my eyes and held my temples with both hands.

"Smooch."

There was a soft, warm sensation on my lips.
When I opened my eyes, there was nothing there.

"What's wrong?"

Riko's ears were bright red.
I got my revenge.

"Riko, what about my reward?"

"Yuto, you're mean."

This time, Riko's lips were definitely overlapping with mine.

When Riko pulled away, she was rubbing under her nose with her finger.
Riko's ears were still red.

* * *

Riko was sprawled out on the sofa in my house.
She was wearing a camisole and shorts, and honestly, I didn't know where to look.

I was in the middle of slowly working through my pile of unread books.

Riko poked my back with her bare feet.

"Yuto, is that interesting?"

"It's interesting. By the way,"

"What?"

"What do you like about me, Riko?"

"Hmm, let's see. That you're ordinary?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I was a little disappointed. It sounded like she would be fine with anyone as long as they were ordinary.

"What do you like about me, Yuto?"

"That you're not ordinary."

"I am ordinary!"

"That's exactly what I mean. I love you, after all."

Riko poked my back with her feet again. She was puffing out her cheeks to show she was angry.

I pinched her puffed-out cheeks with my fingers.
"Pfft."
It made a funny sound.

"What are you reading now?"

"A mystery novel."

"Then deduce how I'm feeling right now. It's difficult."

Saying that, she rubbed under her nose with her finger.

"That's easy. You're feeling happy."

"Too bad. The correct answer was 'very happy'."

"That's the same thing!"

My protest was lightly brushed aside.

"I always dreamed of relaxing on my boyfriend's sofa and poking the back of my boyfriend who wouldn't pay attention to me with my feet."

I laughed out loud.

"I also dreamed of having my girlfriend poke my back with her feet."

Riko seemed a little embarrassed.

"Yuto, I fell in love with you at first sight three months ago. I gathered quite a bit of courage. It was the first time in my life I'd ever fallen in love at first sight."

"Love at first sight?"

"Yeah, actually, I saw you for the first time on the train to the welcome party."

"Is that so?"

"You were helping someone with a stroller when you got on the train, right?"

"Was I?"

"And I also saw you when an old man was crossing the crosswalk at the traffic light right after leaving the station."

"Did I do something?"

"You didn't do anything. The light started flashing before the old man finished crossing, so you were walking slowly on purpose, right? Weren't you planning to help him if he couldn't make it across?"

"I wonder. That might be true, but I don't remember."

"I knew it."

Riko was rubbing under her nose.

"So, I was curious, thinking 'that person is kind, he's very observant,' and then I was very surprised when you were in the same circle."

"I didn't notice at all that I was being watched. If I were being watched by such a beauty, I feel like I would have noticed right away."

For some reason, Riko pinched my cheek.
Maybe it was to hide her embarrassment.

"I also really hated the atmosphere of that self-introduction at the welcome party, so when I found out you were the same, I gathered my courage. I did my best."

"I'm happy to hear how you feel, Riko."

I was unconsciously rubbing under my nose too.

I pulled Riko into an embrace.
I could see the light of a streetlamp through the gap in the curtains.

I was remembering what happened on the park bench again.

The End

Thank you for reading until the end.

I write other short stories and flash fiction as well.
If you'd like, please check those out too.