“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I’m fine. You can sit down.”
We had coffee, tea and two plates of cake.
I put them on a large tray and carried them to the table.
“It’s very well done. Is this cheesecake?”
“Yes. I hope it’s to your taste…”
“I love cheesecake.”
After we both said, “thank you for the food”, I took a bite of the cheesecake.
“It’s delicious!”
“Really? I’m glad…”
“It has got just the right amount of sweetness and depth of flavour… Is it rum?”
“Yes, it is! How did you know?”
“Yeah. It’s better than the cheesecake at the restaurant where I work.”
“That’s too much of a compliment.”
We then talked about cakes and cooking.
She likes to make sweets and cook, and I often cook for myself, so we had a lot to talk about in common.
She apologized, “I’m kind of sorry about today. I’m sorry for bothering you…”
“It’s fine.”
“Um… if you had a girlfriend or something, I thought I’d apologize.”
“Haha, I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Is that true?!”
For some reason, she had the biggest smile of the day.
Nn? Ah. If I had a girlfriend, this situation wouldn’t be good, right? I think that’s why she said she didn’t want to come in.
“… Eita-san, I’m serious.”
“Isn’t that normal? Besides…”
I looked upward, searching through my memory.
“Etto… You’re probably the first girl to come into this room. Except for my mother, of course.”
“What? Are you sure? Yay!”
She’s happy to be here.
“I’ve been to Ayane’s house before, but she’s never been here… Yeah. You’re the first woman I had here.”
“First woman…” Asuka blushed.
“‘No, no, that’s not what I meant when I said it like that.”
“He? Y-yes, I’m sorry….”
She slumped down, with what looked like smoke was coming out of her ears.
“But… Ayane-san, is…. a friend of yours?
“Eh? Ah, Ayane is a friend of mine from the same department, and the three of us often hang out together with Seiji. She lives in Nakano, and it’s a good location, so she and Seiji sometimes get together. Ayane’s apartment is also huge. It’s about twice the size of this place, I think.”
“I see.”
Nakano station is one block away from Shinjuku on the JR Chuo line. It’s very close to the city center.
Moreover, Ayane’s apartment is just a two-minute walk from Nakano station.
It’s such a spacious and well-located condominium. Ayane’s father actually bought it in cash as an investment when his daughter moved to Tokyo.
In other words, Ayane’s father is the owner, and the rent and management fees are free.
Incidentally, Ayane’s father apparently owns nearly ten apartment buildings in the suburbs of Sapporo.
Not ten rooms, but ten buildings.
I guess money is where it’s at.
In the meantime, I could no longer hear the sound of the futon dryer.
“Asuka, can you check the clothes for me? If they are half-dry, use the hairdryer.”
“Oh, sure. If you’ll excuse me.”
With that, I walked into the bathroom and closed the door in front of the changing room.
I bring the iron and ironing board from the backroom and get them ready.
I hear the sound of a hairdryer in the changing room.
It must be half-dry, after all, especially if the fabric is thick, like a… bra.
“No, no, no.”
I shake my head and my thoughts.
After a while, Asuka-chan came out of the changing room.
She was wearing a beige-pink miniskirt.
Her thin, fair legs are dazzling.
On top, however, she was still wearing my sweatshirt.
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