IA let go abruptly. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate of me.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEATLPdBbV
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3GjC2saza
IA tapped her fingers rapidly against the steering wheel. She looked down at her lap with drooping eyes and sighed.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5iJ9R46x8
“Are you okay?” Yukari asked.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNJMlJUWg2
IA’s eyes grew and she lifted her head, putting on a smile.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JsV7zAzJ7
“Of course I am. You’re here, aren’t you?”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeWh5D8hR6
This comment sent the warmth from Yukari’s skin to her heart. She smiled and turned her head, covering her mouth.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWrGnj0SbM
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEaosCaKpf
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.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEYWDf7BIB
Yukari’s smile grew bigger.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0oXOOWZn5
At the apartment, IA wiggled her fingers for a while before taking a book off her shelf.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt55g4bp7o9
She immediately returned it to the shelf. Then she took it out again.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9GoRKiw7Y
“Okay, this one’s… Don’t judge me.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLb8SIP2mYW
She handed it to Yukari while turning her head with her closed eyes scrunched up.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuDR5MfT7v
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLt07jxhPn6
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.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGp8J2s0fR
Yukari’s chest began to hurt from her heart pounding too hard. She nodded and held the book against her chest.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QwXvXjARL
“I’ll give it a go. I’m eighteen, so I think I can handle it.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgzyq26WyC
“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.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltbIe4HdtL
“I said it’s fine.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKH2BgEtd25
The two fell silent, just standing there and looking away from each other. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ycJPs6vwA
IA gulped loudly. “Okay. I hope you enjoy reading it.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBCHZdSCJX
Yukari nodded and bowed before leaving the apartment. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0J1bqtg5a
As she headed home she passed Roro’s house and frowned. Her own eyebrows furrowed with guilt, but she continued walking.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1k0HivRkuF
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9XIzI52o1
‘Would it be wrong for her to date me?’830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotveYPdhpI
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. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfBZna08vO
She remembered what IA said.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7timK7Aov6
"That was inappropriate of me.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NuzrCjsrR
Yukari sighed as Roro’s face popped into her head. Was that breakup all for nothing? 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFD51pV9PQ
She shook her head. He wouldn’t deserve to be led on like that. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2DA5kG5zl
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. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnr3txlJ5M
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxm1GI3LyS
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2kYUlxWpX
As soon as she woke up, she read some more before her mother yelled at her to have breakfast and go to school.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZx199vmvu
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. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoR8eFnix8d
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. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBhBscGWXX
She managed to get near the end. She was so close, and the answer to the mystery was only a few pages away-830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRK2EzHTFS
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkdCjDsv1L
“Show me what you’ve got.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5cbwbpb8D
Yukari groaned but complied, her hands shaking as she held the book up. The teacher raised an eyebrow. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyA8FijZn1
“Come with me to the Principal’s office.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDtqZr2wYr
“I-It’s not what you think! It’s a mystery novel!”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZFERl4oBz
“Nice try.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsqEdjjTZL
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWAcZW3VT2
“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.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEoAprTJY4
Yukari cried, “They don’t know! Please don’t tell them!”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUglWs2ZE8W
The Principal shook his head. “This is very concerning. Now, where did you get this book?”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXTobbEDZH
“That’s…” IA’s pearly white smile jumped into her mind. “I bought it.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdQVfuasEB
“And you brought this book here because…”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUnWMS6Sk3
Yukari turned her head and scrunched up her eyes. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsUOS7bfmK
“I wanted to get answers to the mystery in the book. It’s a murder mystery. Look at the magnifying glass on the cover.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZS7EKDkQ0y
The Principal stared at the cover, trying to keep himself from smiling.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbaK31utYN
“I’ll have to confiscate this.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKyfVeEys5
“For how long?”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0NKDRTdiC
“I don’t think a girl like you should be reading something like this.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayJGhRu8zg
“But… please…. I’m really sorry. I won’t bring it in again.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTh2POAADO
“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.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsebW2rmKT
Yukari bowed and left. She headed to the library, finishing her food on the way.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIe0d8wIpZE
“IA, can I talk to you about the book?” 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCwo96sf49
IA nodded, leading her to the librarian’s office. Yukari took a deep breath and bowed again.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKa7guspvu
“I’m really sorry.” She explained what happened.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zluWXh8OP
IA’s eyebrows were furrowed as she rubbed the back of her neck.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcXzTeJNQ8
“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. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiejo7tukE
Yukari raised a trembling hand up to IA’s cheek.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEZemGBlnk
“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.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXWzEFC0er
IA turned away and took a book off the shelf, her breaths ragged. 830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtH9VnKNlm3
“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.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtoULPQX8b
“I like you. Could we maybe, I don’t know, go out for coffee sometime?”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCGgSfCSzB
IA dropped the book and whipped her head around.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kdCHctRXy
“Could you… repeat that?”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVu7Ug7I211
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?”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXp2vrrkUL
IA grinned and giggled, her eyes welling up with tears. She wrapped her arms around Yukari and started to cry on her shoulder.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOaZGGQxwY
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nrYEtLcbF
Yukari patted her head before stroking her hair.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g7GyP3wAP
“I-Is that a yes?”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthrYeRqc6a
“It has to be secret, though. Are you sure you want to worry about keeping secrets?”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaW2m9Msop
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.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUuq2bOOzd
IA frowned and let go. “I… I guess. No one else, though. Not even your parents.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFDtrAhroQ
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBp0uDbSabx
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.830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqc2dkAhg7
IA winked. “We have to keep this a secret, right? Don’t want to arouse suspicion around me taking you to my office.”830Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEiJcgIYxDD
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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