IA let go abruptly. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate of me.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxR24eUIss
Yukari croaked, “It’s okay.” She felt as if her skin was on fire. She took a few deep breaths and wiped her tears away.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZU9CVcLSR
IA tapped her fingers rapidly against the steering wheel. She looked down at her lap with drooping eyes and sighed.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkiCQX0mg7
“Are you okay?” Yukari asked.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DPbrFGKOv
IA’s eyes grew and she lifted her head, putting on a smile.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwdD724p0V
“Of course I am. You’re here, aren’t you?”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtey2tZ5Dc8
This comment sent the warmth from Yukari’s skin to her heart. She smiled and turned her head, covering her mouth.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvSOFBFALK
IA started the car and continued driving as if nothing had happened. Yukari had gotten used to the speed at which she drove by now, but she remained on the lookout for speed limit signs and reminded IA of them whenever they passed one. IA slowed down a bit.
"Please don’t be upset when I ask this, but why do you drive so quickly?” Yukari asked.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9f0EiEuK0o
IA chuckled. “I don’t know. I’m just always so excited to get to a different place that it kind of takes over me. If you weren’t here to bring me back to my senses, I don’t know what I’d do.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFo7ssJOUQD
Yukari’s smile grew bigger.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVnTJ5zSj4
At the apartment, IA wiggled her fingers for a while before taking a book off her shelf.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXYpZSWe0a
She immediately returned it to the shelf. Then she took it out again.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNviQeEuv9v
“Okay, this one’s… Don’t judge me.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuqa3aujDv
She handed it to Yukari while turning her head with her closed eyes scrunched up.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhH4Qy3Urpp
Yukari gulped. It was a pulp novel that appeared to be translated into Japanese. The cover had two women in lingerie, one brunette lying on a bed and the other, blonde, sitting behind her with a mischievous expression. In the corner of the room they were in was a table with a coat and a magnifying glass on it.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3dSIO4eJ9
IA’s cheeks turned red. “Don’t get the wrong idea! It’s more than just love scenes. I wouldn’t show it to you if it was just that since, you know, that would be kind of weird. It’s a really intriguing mystery and has an interesting romance between the detective…” She pointed to the brunette. “... and the femme fatale she suspects is the murderer.” She moved her finger to the blonde. “It’s surprisingly good for a pulp novel, but the cover makes it a bit of a guilty pleasure. It has some more mature scenes but they’re not that often.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUBHNGkpcE
Yukari’s chest began to hurt from her heart pounding too hard. She nodded and held the book against her chest.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoqHI5EI8g
“I’ll give it a go. I’m eighteen, so I think I can handle it.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsZL4s9U99
“Good.” IA’s eyebrows were furrowed as if she felt guilty about something. “If you feel uncomfortable reading it, you’re not obligated to read the rest. You can just return it to me and we can forget I ever lent it to you.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0Nrwujm3U
“I said it’s fine.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtQ5LRRe2M
The two fell silent, just standing there and looking away from each other. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Yg1xmHCiN
IA gulped loudly. “Okay. I hope you enjoy reading it.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrepsoDGIo
Yukari nodded and bowed before leaving the apartment. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2AOOGAXPU
As she headed home she passed Roro’s house and frowned. Her own eyebrows furrowed with guilt, but she continued walking.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jSqP4Kmk3
When she finally made it home, she had dinner with her family. After that, she put her pyjamas on, lied down in bed and stared at her ceiling. One question tugged at her mind.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oYQJQL2hs
‘Would it be wrong for her to date me?’855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LipXzNhkb
There was no age issue, at least in terms of the law, as IA was twenty-two and she was eighteen, but Yukari was still a student at the school IA worked at. Then again, it wasn’t like IA was her teacher or anything like that. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5IfquYeKwF
She remembered what IA said.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8Dg4nZurn
"That was inappropriate of me.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVDn8Qfk5p
Yukari sighed as Roro’s face popped into her head. Was that breakup all for nothing? 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcv62FWJCk
She shook her head. He wouldn’t deserve to be led on like that. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEFqdSXMVW
She opened the book and began reading it. Some parts of the novel were awkwardly worded, possibly as a result of a bad translation, but the mystery was as engaging as IA said it would be. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YpuIzNGMM
When Yukari made it to the first love scene, her entire body went hot. Clunky wording aside, the scene was undeniably attractive to her, and she pictured IA as the blonde girl on the cover as she read the scene. Eventually, she dropped the book and fantasised on her own, the scenario in her mind getting more and more explicit.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLw41vcUVOK
When she was done fantasising, she continued reading until Roro’s frightened face entered her mind, convincing her to do homework. After that, she read a bit more until she went to sleep, which was around 11 or 12. It took around half an hour for her to fully fall asleep as the mystery of the novel consumed her mind.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkokJPELyk
As soon as she woke up, she read some more before her mother yelled at her to have breakfast and go to school.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgrH9MqHlA
She shoved the book in her school bag and did as her mother said. During class she kept getting distracted, trying to piece together the clues presented in the novel. She stared at Roro in the seat next to her. He looked back at her and frowned before turning his head and murmuring something she couldn’t hear. She felt her heart sink. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAGmKpluKp
When lunch started, she took her food with her to the library, saw the ‘no food’ sign and ran outside. She sat under a bridge from the classrooms to the club rooms and opened the book. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhvSNFoGQu
She managed to get near the end. She was so close, and the answer to the mystery was only a few pages away-855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1e8M7U19L
And then a teacher walked up to her. He was tall and had eyebrows so thick it felt as if he could crush someone with them. She hid the book behind her back and the teacher scowled at her.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNy8pngtRxZ
“Show me what you’ve got.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGjCzCIsvL
Yukari groaned but complied, her hands shaking as she held the book up. The teacher raised an eyebrow. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTedUC4unO
“Come with me to the Principal’s office.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKsfq7h6He
“I-It’s not what you think! It’s a mystery novel!”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBeT6f2jCJ
“Nice try.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUCCUwqLK9
Yukari stood up, trying her best not to cry. She followed him to the Principal’s office, which was inhabited by a short man with a toupee. The teacher handed him the book and the Principal’s eyebrows jumped through the roof. Yukari lowered her head and bit her lip.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7d68N43U6j
“This is… I’ve never seen a girl bring this sort of material to school before. I’m going to have to call your parents.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNT7ae3ferg
Yukari cried, “They don’t know! Please don’t tell them!”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAPlunq7Qb
The Principal shook his head. “This is very concerning. Now, where did you get this book?”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NfhVokXwe
“That’s…” IA’s pearly white smile jumped into her mind. “I bought it.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLpNhezCeO
“And you brought this book here because…”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9tXmMphy1
Yukari turned her head and scrunched up her eyes. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWefAPjrknY
“I wanted to get answers to the mystery in the book. It’s a murder mystery. Look at the magnifying glass on the cover.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSYUCAKBHn
The Principal stared at the cover, trying to keep himself from smiling.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOijOJ76cws
“I’ll have to confiscate this.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjwwrUVNQH
“For how long?”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjR07wJZJxb
“I don’t think a girl like you should be reading something like this.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGO83lrgVL7
“But… please…. I’m really sorry. I won’t bring it in again.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsgzr6VTuJ
“Well, since this is your first offence, I guess I can give it back at the end of the week.” He ran his thumb against the cover. “Yes, a week should do. You’ll have learnt your lesson by then. I’m still going to have to call your parents. Come here after school for a meeting. And if you try to leave school before then, I think this book will look nice on my shelf.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLM4ezwWj0s
Yukari bowed and left. She headed to the library, finishing her food on the way.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmG1sDyrVP
“IA, can I talk to you about the book?” 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8uW2BqqUV
IA nodded, leading her to the librarian’s office. Yukari took a deep breath and bowed again.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiG8PcIxSgo
“I’m really sorry.” She explained what happened.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkSkXIv33K
IA’s eyebrows were furrowed as she rubbed the back of her neck.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOU2Zk1MPB
“I… I see. The one who should really be sorry is me. Giving you that book… how inappropriate of me. Should I… stop giving you these books? I went too far. I knew this was a bad idea.” Yukari noticed that there were bags under IA’s eyes. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofnbpUhnep
Yukari raised a trembling hand up to IA’s cheek.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPo5qXoDJv
“It’s okay. I… I don’t want to end the time we’ve spent together. I do hav something to tell you, though. Hopefully it won’t end… whatever it is we have.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShReddISze
IA turned away and took a book off the shelf, her breaths ragged. 855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RqKPDZAp6
“I know what you’re going to say.” She and Yukari spoke at the same time. “You’re straight and feel weirded out by me giving you these books.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpscPziDeiS
“I like you. Could we maybe, I don’t know, go out for coffee sometime?”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFhPo78Vx1
IA dropped the book and whipped her head around.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0G1pBK1hTs
“Could you… repeat that?”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAegoxiB2Uq
Yukari’s cheeks went pink. “Well, I like you. You know that breakup with Roro? It was because I liked you more. You kind of made realise that I’m bisexual. I was thinking… maybe we could go out somewhere. I get it if you don’t want to! You probably want to keep your job. But we could keep it a secret if you want. But, you know, if you don’t want to… that’s cool… I’ll act cool as a cucumber. Cool as ice. Cool as… What am I saying?”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ92E0s6rAv
IA grinned and giggled, her eyes welling up with tears. She wrapped her arms around Yukari and started to cry on her shoulder.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLXNgyfwG9
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCzcpbGCuW
Yukari patted her head before stroking her hair.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFTSiWk7Nr
“I-Is that a yes?”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeycpvR3Gh
“It has to be secret, though. Are you sure you want to worry about keeping secrets?”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOr2y6bdG0I
Yukari chuckled. “So long as I don’t do anything as stupid as bringing a dirty book to school, I’ll be fine. By the way, please don’t spoil the ending. I didn’t get to finish it.” She released a short gasp. “Wait, can I tell Roro if he starts talking to me again? He already knows I like you and I know he won’t tell anyone.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqS3LjAT4W
IA frowned and let go. “I… I guess. No one else, though. Not even your parents.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcQNYg5tc8
Yukari eyes widened. “Oh god, my parents. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow since my parents are probably going to drag me home after this meeting. Thanks for reminding me.” Both her body and her voice shuddered as she shook her head like a dog trying to rid its fur of water after a bath.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBXAjv3SiE
IA took several books off the shelf and made a pile of them, giving them to Yukari, who stared at her with one eyebrow higher than the other.855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLijI01I6T5
IA winked. “We have to keep this a secret, right? Don’t want to arouse suspicion around me taking you to my office.”855Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbfmg4HEtw
Yukari nodded with a smile. She turned towards the door and breathed slowly. She took a few moments to appreciate the moment she shared with IA before having to deal with her parents. For a few more seconds it was just her and the ghostlike librarian who became her girlfriend.
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