IA let go abruptly. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate of me.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfaw6ZVL8d
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpeKmAUIJN
IA tapped her fingers rapidly against the steering wheel. She looked down at her lap with drooping eyes and sighed.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dA3WqRxgI
“Are you okay?” Yukari asked.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8hF1upG6g
IA’s eyes grew and she lifted her head, putting on a smile.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyjDxbThOr
“Of course I am. You’re here, aren’t you?”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRLuMclA0i
This comment sent the warmth from Yukari’s skin to her heart. She smiled and turned her head, covering her mouth.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTmRoNj9ZV
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BBqxfgNVC
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.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0BK0iIvvE
Yukari’s smile grew bigger.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYO2MYI7nNM
At the apartment, IA wiggled her fingers for a while before taking a book off her shelf.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVKRdignj7
She immediately returned it to the shelf. Then she took it out again.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLYkbgf2b6
“Okay, this one’s… Don’t judge me.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5K7UhvBond
She handed it to Yukari while turning her head with her closed eyes scrunched up.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIuUomEegN
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2V2YEdkl8
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.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaH7U35jSF
Yukari’s chest began to hurt from her heart pounding too hard. She nodded and held the book against her chest.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcUBbs7aG1
“I’ll give it a go. I’m eighteen, so I think I can handle it.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8b4CIFEVy
“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.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOAjhLnxem
“I said it’s fine.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuBzfER4Gb
The two fell silent, just standing there and looking away from each other. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfubBbfQEES
IA gulped loudly. “Okay. I hope you enjoy reading it.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRG3FABa2N
Yukari nodded and bowed before leaving the apartment. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7p8BaVxW4A
As she headed home she passed Roro’s house and frowned. Her own eyebrows furrowed with guilt, but she continued walking.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu75IG4fq1G
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqKXPwsLmP
‘Would it be wrong for her to date me?’789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAz870Ugss6
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. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NCaYDP9Am
She remembered what IA said.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRecWn51r0g
"That was inappropriate of me.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoZL3eHO1Q
Yukari sighed as Roro’s face popped into her head. Was that breakup all for nothing? 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qHi5bIcMT
She shook her head. He wouldn’t deserve to be led on like that. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJu2YQMAPp
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. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8GOgkJ6ev
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWf1odsSAD
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGN0VCECzAM
As soon as she woke up, she read some more before her mother yelled at her to have breakfast and go to school.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2OJzZwNIX
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. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYxp2yi8Bz
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. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡys1GMWiQQC
She managed to get near the end. She was so close, and the answer to the mystery was only a few pages away-789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfZN8r9JfX
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2pKh0RweS
“Show me what you’ve got.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLFsyslYXZ
Yukari groaned but complied, her hands shaking as she held the book up. The teacher raised an eyebrow. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvloIgQhmYf
“Come with me to the Principal’s office.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlEPNeQYbI
“I-It’s not what you think! It’s a mystery novel!”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDj8iF0Xz2
“Nice try.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1Ti5avOta
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcff5tJQP2v
“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.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaToCkyTA3S
Yukari cried, “They don’t know! Please don’t tell them!”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgD0kL9Uza
The Principal shook his head. “This is very concerning. Now, where did you get this book?”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxVp0Bc3Al
“That’s…” IA’s pearly white smile jumped into her mind. “I bought it.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrvVgH0OuH
“And you brought this book here because…”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLV1gUjN8j
Yukari turned her head and scrunched up her eyes. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARrDYH7Ejt
“I wanted to get answers to the mystery in the book. It’s a murder mystery. Look at the magnifying glass on the cover.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlW366mhF9
The Principal stared at the cover, trying to keep himself from smiling.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FIDaBPIjq
“I’ll have to confiscate this.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlBeIUR3PT
“For how long?”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGWrnviLpX
“I don’t think a girl like you should be reading something like this.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoi6hBLFEv
“But… please…. I’m really sorry. I won’t bring it in again.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYyySKf6XL
“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.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0Bdb5g9X7
Yukari bowed and left. She headed to the library, finishing her food on the way.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aKoCIJRpP
“IA, can I talk to you about the book?” 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5meNQqTva
IA nodded, leading her to the librarian’s office. Yukari took a deep breath and bowed again.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ISLLhtSxI
“I’m really sorry.” She explained what happened.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9IplU6T26
IA’s eyebrows were furrowed as she rubbed the back of her neck.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQju8MZUldI
“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. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97L2u9Rzgs
Yukari raised a trembling hand up to IA’s cheek.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhsiQPzHTn
“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.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsShkgTBhuL
IA turned away and took a book off the shelf, her breaths ragged. 789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEib8mxlDYZ
“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.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1klsSdgjh
“I like you. Could we maybe, I don’t know, go out for coffee sometime?”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BYOS3VqOq
IA dropped the book and whipped her head around.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoNJxEPppU
“Could you… repeat that?”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdP9IAeECvt
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?”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoKxjSTPdt
IA grinned and giggled, her eyes welling up with tears. She wrapped her arms around Yukari and started to cry on her shoulder.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbQMifHTPF
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZdYzFRYuw
Yukari patted her head before stroking her hair.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEct9TPn7wr
“I-Is that a yes?”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7L4Fouksla
“It has to be secret, though. Are you sure you want to worry about keeping secrets?”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxf7KqvqfK
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.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPjVcNP0bN
IA frowned and let go. “I… I guess. No one else, though. Not even your parents.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuy90OjEax3
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgY4PUwZPO
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.789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HiOV32Xzq
IA winked. “We have to keep this a secret, right? Don’t want to arouse suspicion around me taking you to my office.”789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpOc39Z4wx
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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