Airi’s Contact Information

(Ah, not good. I didn't get Ninomiya's contact information.)

When I finished my part-time job, I tried to call Airi to tell her that I was on my way home, but I realized that we hadn't exchanged our contact information at all.

I was sure that there would be no problem if I didn't contact her.

She had said that she was going to make dinner, but she didn't say anything about eating with me, so she must have already finished having dinner. There was no reason for Airi to bother waiting for me.

I started heading home, imagining how delicious her food would be even if it was cold.

"Welcome home."

I opened the door and was greeted by Airi who came to the front door with light footsteps.

It had been a long time since I had heard someone say 'welcome home' to me. My chest felt warm and I replied,

"I'm back."

"I didn't know when Kujo-senpai would be back, so I haven't made dinner yet. I'm going to make it now, so please take a bath in the meantime. I've already taken one."

"What…? Unbelievable!" I was completely taken aback.

She gave me a soft smile, as if she had nothing to be unhappy about.

Hearing Airi's words made my blood boil. Apparently, she was waiting for me to return.

It was quite late and it must have been hard for her to wait for me who hadn't made any contact with her.

I was filled with regret and asked her,

"You could have eaten first. Aren't you hungry?"

"Yes, I am hungry, but I wouldn't do that. I can't let the landlord of the house, Kujo-senpai, eat a cold dinner since I said I would cook dinner for you."

"You don't have to worry about the landlord stuff, and if it gets cold, I can just reheat it."

There was a microwave in the house, so it didn't matter if the food got cold. I was already grateful enough to have her cook for me.

And even though it was not every day, I felt uncomfortable having her wait for me every time I had part-time work.

So I told her she could eat first, but Airi raised her eyebrows and denied it immediately.

"No. We live together, so let's eat together. I'll wait for Kujo-senpai to come home."

"No, but–"

"If I say I'll wait, I'll wait. I won't give in."

She interrupted my words and smiled softly.

Although Airi's face was smiling, she definitely had no intention of giving in.

"I understand…"

In the end, I was coerced into agreeing with her.

First and foremost, I thought an apology was in order.

"I didn't think you'd be waiting for me. I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it, it's my fault for not asking for your contact information. You'll have to call me next time."

"I won't forget. I'll be in touch."

We exchanged contact information on our phones. I decided that I must never forget to contact her in order to prevent something like what happened today.

"Just to be clear, please don't tell anyone, okay?"

As Airi told me with a slight glare, I immediately assured her.

"I won't tell anyone without Ninomiya's permission. We don't even have any contact at school in the first place, nobody will know that I have your contact information."

It would be wrong to give out her contact information without her permission, and the only people who knew my contact information were Kazuma and Momose.

And even for them, I was not going to tell them without Airi's permission.

Airi's expression softened, as if she was relieved by my words.

"I guess you're right. So, as I said earlier, please take a bath, Kujo-senpai. I'm going to make dinner now."

"Thank you, I'll go in then. When I get out of the bath, I'll help you as much as I can."

No matter how many times she said she could cook for me on her own, I couldn't just wait around and do nothing.

The kitchen was too small for the two of us to cook together, but I could do other things such as serving the dishes.

"Thank you very much."

"And I'd appreciate it if you'd go to the living room for a few minutes."

"Why? I said I would make dinner."

She tilted her head with a puzzled look. It almost happened to her yesterday, but it seemed Airi really didn't realize.

I let out a sigh and said dumbfoundedly,

"You can see the front door from the kitchen. Is Ninomiya going to watch me change?"

The kitchen was on the pathway from the front door to the living room, so if you change in the entrance, you would inevitably be seen. In fact, I was warned about it yesterday.

I was not embarrassed to be seen on my upper half, but I didn't want to be seen on my lower half.

"…..! I'm sorry, please tell me when you're done changing!"

With a face as red as a tomato, Airi ran off to the living room. I had never seen her look like that before.

I was honestly relieved that I didn't end up being seen in the lower half of my body.

After I made sure she went to the other side, I got ready to take a bath.

"I'm done taking off my clothes. I'm in the bathroom, so you're good to go."

"I understand. Thank you very much."

"There's some clothes and underwear there. Don't look at them, okay?"

"I won't! What are you talking about!?"

I said it with a teasing laugh, but she got really riled up. I didn't know if it was the embarrassment that made her lose her composure, but there was no sign of her normal flat voice.

We had only been together for two days, but I thought she had started to show a lot of emotions.

I was so happy that when I was scrubbing myself, my face broke into a smile.