Chapter 38
"..."
"..."
Ichiro and Sakurako continued to sit next to each other in silence as they couldn't bring themselves to start a conversation. Occasionally they would glance at each other, and sometimes their eyes accidentally met, which caused them to look away.
As the two continued to sit closely together, the atmosphere that something was lacking only continued to grow, and the two had an idea of what was missing. Then when Ichiro and Sakurako's eyes met again, they looked away but quickly went back on looking, as they also turned to face each other.
"..."
Sakurako briefly looked away, before closing her eyes as she showed clear anticipation for what was about to happen, as her cheeks became tinted in red. Even Ichiro who was always capable of keeping a smiling poker face, was also showing anticipation with a very brief hesitation as he prepared himself, he gently held Sakurako's shoulder and slowly brought his face closer to her, as he also closed his eyes.
Even though he didn't have any qualms about doing many of the other embarrassing things he did and said to Sakurako in their other encounters, Ichiro couldn't bring himself to easily do what he was about to do.
Then just as their lips were about to touch...
*Tling tling*
"!?!?!?"
"!?!?!?"
The sound of the cafe's front doorbell ringing, brought the two back to their senses, as they had completely forgotten about their surroundings. Because of that, Ichiro brought his face away from Sakurako, and since the two were so concentrated on each other just moments ago, they couldn't help but look at each other with surprised and nervous faces, that quickly started to turn red from their embarrassment rapidly growing, as they began to realize what they were about to do.
"... ... ... I... I will go attend t-the new clients..."
"Ah... G-Got it..."
Not supporting the current atmosphere, the two decided to make some distance to calm themselves, Ichiro did so by going over to take the orders of the person that just disturbed them, while Sakurako continued to stay put at the table as she tried to drink her coffee.
"..."
After a single sip, she put the mug back on the table and lowered her head to hide her face from view. Sakurako couldn't help but pout her cheeks as she became overwhelmed with shame and embarrassment, causing her entire face and even her ears to turn beet red, a very stark contrast to her usual expressionless, calm, and rather sluggish demeanor.
Instead, all she could do right now was feel like hiding herself under her bed blankets.
Because amount of embarrassment the two felt due to the failure, Ichiro and Sakurako decided to avoid each other for the time being, but as the hours passed they continued avoiding each other until it eventually became the hour for Sakurako to return home.
By now, the cafe had already closed for the day, meaning that right now, there were only Ichiro and Sakurako inside.
"It's already time for you to go?"
"Nn *nods*"
"Then let me escort you to the door, Sakurako-san"
"Okay..."
Although it was only a few steps to the door, Ichiro still felt like accompanying Sakurako.
"Then have a good night, Sakurako-san"
"You too, Ichiro-san"
"..."
"..."
After giving their farewells to each other, they both kept standing in front of the door, as they felt the same sensation from earlier. The two remained silent and still for seconds before Sakurako turned towards Ichiro with her cheeks tinted red.
"... Hmm... I-Ichiro-san?"
"... Yes, Sakurako-san?"
"... Would you mind... If we... Finished that... From earlier?"
"... ... ...Of course, not..."
"T-Then..."
Once again, Sakurako closed her eyes as she showed clear anticipation and nervousness for what was about to happen, while Ichiro carefully approached Sakurako, and then gently held Sakurako, he slowly brought his face closer to Sakurako.
After what felt like long hours, the two then felt something soft touching their lips for a few seconds before it parted away soon after.
"..."
"..."
After that, Ichiro brought his face away from Sakurako, and the two looked at each other before they quickly looked away. In that brief moment they looked at each other's faces, Ichiro saw Sakurako blushing intensely as she had an expression that showed surprise, confusion, and a lot of embarrassment, while Sakurako saw Ichiro showing an awkward joyful smile as his cheeks were turning red.
"... I... I-I w-will b-be t-taking my l-leave n-n-now, I-I-Ichiro-san..."
"AH! Y-Yeah, s-s-sure, S-Sakurako-san..."
With that, Sakurako quickly left the scene and hurriedly entered her family's car, which soon after began moving away.
"..."
Ichiro locked the front door of the cafe, but he found himself unable to move. With a lot of effort, he forced himself to walk away from the door, but with his trembling legs, he didn't have any other choice but to sit on one of the many available seats.
"... *Deeply breaths in*"
Left alone with his thoughts, Ichiro couldn't do anything but keep repeating everything that just happened, causing him to cover his face with both hands.
"..."
Meanwhile
"..."
Sakurako was sitting quietly inside the car, her mind was swirling with all sorts of emotions and thoughts, but at the same time, she could clearly remember, and even feel, everything that had happened just now. Then the car passed by a speed bump, causing Sakurako to fall to the side on the back seat. And as her embarrassment refused to go away, she covered her face with both hands.
.
.
.
" "..." " <
Both Ichiro and Sakurako began screaming inside their minds, as they were unable to endure everything that they were feeling from having their first kiss. Their kiss, even if a short one, was considered too much by the two, yet neither of them felt regret at doing it. Instead, they felt quite happy from their kiss, but they didn't think they would be able to repeat that feat any time soon.
One thing was for sure, to the two, and it was that they wouldn't forget about that kiss anytime soon.