After the dejected customer exited the store Alicia said, “Somehow I also feel a bit sad even though you’re the same person. It’s a reminder we’re getting older and things won’t always remain as they were.”
“What? You’re dissatisfied with my normal appearance?”
“No… I just don’t want other girls seeing the true appearance of the guy I like. What am I supposed to do if more girls fall for you?
“Huh? There’s no chance that will happen.”
“Hmmm~ no chance you say? Then explain how a certain big fish got lured in, Mr. Womanizer.”
“That was… a freak accident. It should have never happened. The world just decided to prank me. I’m also not a womanizer. If charm was a stat point, I’d have zero.”
“If you had zero I wouldn’t have fallen for you.” Alicia pouted as she grumbled to herself.
“If you thought I had charm then you were obviously conned by some shady marketing. You should request a refund as I’m not as advertised.”
“Even if I was conned, I definitely won’t request a refund. Ever. So you’re stuck with me.” She averted her eyes to the side, a bit bashful.
“Don’t blame me when you regret it.”
“I’ll never regret my choice.” Under the counter, she discreetly grabbed my hand while looking away in the opposite direction.
“Happy birthday, Ran.”
“Thanks for the present. I’ll be sure to think of something for your birthday.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already received too much from you. I wouldn’t even be working and able to save up for university if not for you. But… if you really insist on giving me something for my birthday in the future… just you would be enough.”
“You mean a date alone together?”
“Yeah… uh… it doesn’t need to be fancy or anything. The important part is just you… so… uh… yeah. That’s it...”
It was rare for her to suggest things with just the two of us since she was always thinking about putting everyone else first.
“Sure. If you’re happy with that.”
Her head perked up a bit as she tried to hold back the overly happy smile creeping onto her face.
“Aren’t you a bit too easy to make happy?”
“I’m a simple girl. It doesn’t take much.”
Having what she considered a bit of selfishness on her part indulged in, it was probably a first for her. Considering how Rosa took Alicia along for her birthday, her request for alone time with me on her own birthday was even more surprising. But there was nothing wrong with it. Rosa’s desire to bring Alicia along on her birthday was born from her own sense of selfishness after all.
“Anyway, Ran. Putting that aside for now… you’re now a new hire. Meaning~ I’m your senior at work. So~ I get to show you the ropes, don’t I?” Alicia suddenly changed gears as she shifted into her work mode.
“Haha… yeah. That’s right… you are my senior at work now.”
“Then it’s only natural that I start training you. If I don't, customers might find it weird.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. But I could just say my brother showed me the ropes before he resigned.”
“Ugh. I hadn’t thought about that. No, wait, we absolutely can’t go with that, Ran.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Because~ I want to train you.”
“Haaaah. Do what you want.”
“You’ve got to make mistakes, okay? That way I can look like a respectable senior employee in front of customers when I correct them. Go mix up one of the boxes on the shelves when restocking inventory so I can correct your mistake.”
“What’s the point in doing that?”
“I want to know how it feels to be training someone new. You got to do that sort of stuff a lot to me, it’s unfair.”
“Haaaah. I see. Then I’ll make a bunch of intentional mistakes and we’ll see how many you can spot and correct.”
“Sure.”
“But you’ll need to let go of my hand so I can do that.”
“Huh? Oh… right… uh… how about we do this tomorrow instead then?”
“Did you forget? We don’t work together tomorrow. It would be the day after tomorrow.”
“Ah. You’re right. Ugh… it can’t be helped. I’ll just have to wait.”
“You do realize you can hold my hand anytime, don’t you?”
“But I only get to hold your hand on your birthday one day every year.”
“When the next customer comes by you’ll have to let go either way.”
“Then I hope there aren’t any more customers today.”
“As if that’d happen.”
It didn’t take long before customers started approaching the counter and she was forced to reluctantly let go of my hand to avoid them noticing. A line built up as we got busier.
Since Alicia couldn’t openly do what she wanted with us at work, she used the pretense of showing me the ropes to stick close to me throughout the rest of our shift. I made a few intentional mistakes in front of customers that she caught and corrected me on. It was pretty amusing to see the ‘it can’t be helped if you don’t know since you’re new’ attitude whenever she pointed out my mistakes.
When the clock struck 9:00 PM and our shift was over the two of us headed out to the parking lot. Normally we waited for Irene to show up with Rosa, but today was different.
When I removed the cover and Alicia saw the motorcycle, she excitedly hopped on it, shot me an eager look, and said, “Come on, let’s go, let’s go.”
“Hold up. Safety first.”
I retrieved the passenger helmet and put it on Alicia’s head. I was directly in front of her and I hadn’t pulled down the visor either so I had a close-up view of her face.
“What is it? Aren’t we going home?” Alicia asked, curious as to what the holdup was.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry?” She tilted her head to one side cluelessly before she continued, “For wha- mmmm?”
In advance for this.
She relaxed and closed her eyes when I leaned in closer. Atop my motorcycle, in the dimly illuminated parking lot under a street light, I kissed her at an angle no one would see us.
When I pulled away I pulled down her visor, raised one leg over the motorcycle to sit in front of her, and strapped my helmet on.
“What was that for out of nowhere?”
“I just had a sudden urge to kiss my girlfriend. Is there something wrong with that?”
“No. It was a nice surprise, I wish you’d do that more often.” She passed her arms under my own and wrapped them around my chest.
In that intimate position, we rode my motorcycle through the city at night together. I wasn’t allowed to drive this late with only a learner’s permit, but I’d never been pulled over before when doing the same thing with a car, so I felt the odds of being pulled over were pretty low as long as I obeyed traffic laws and didn’t drive like an idiot.
We didn’t talk about anything on the way home. It didn’t feel awkward though. We could have talked to each other, but there were some moments where that peaceful tranquility was worth more than some cheap words.
The sound of the motorcycle engine’s low rumble. The vibrations beneath shook the two of us in sync. My body shielded her from the wind that whizzed by our sides. The street lights intermittently flickered in and out over our bodies as we passed under them one by one. The smell of the fresh night air we breathed in cooled our lungs.
Occasionally we weaved in and out between lanes as we passed by slow-moving cars. Other times we were overtaken by cars breaking the speed limit.
At one point when we slowed to a stop at a red light with a radar and camera, a bright white light flashed as a car blasted past our side far above the speed limit. Right as it passed by, a strong gust of wind picked and blew Alicia’s hair to the right. A tailwind soon followed and her hair was blown over my right shoulder where it came to a rest.
Alicia moved her head from resting on my back and positioned her chin on my left shoulder. In this position, I felt the distinct soft sensation of her hair that slipped between the gap of my jacket collar and helmet on the back of my neck. She scooped up her hair with her left hand and flung it over her left shoulder so it wrapped around the front of my neck. It vaguely reminded me of the time we shared my scarf during that first date of ours.
When the light changed to green, we remained like this for the rest of our trip.
Once we arrived home I parked my motorcycle up outside and put the cover over it.
Alicia returned to her room in an abnormally good mood while I returned to mine.
It was the first time I’d ever gotten back before Irene. When I reached my bed, I collapsed on top of it. My muscles were quite sore and I was spent. It only took a short minute for me to fall asleep with how exhausted I was. It’d been a pretty hectic day for me with all the running back and forth.
Thankfully, with all of those things taken care of in a single day, I could relax and enjoy the rest of my spring break.
…
Squeak.
Creek.
Creek.
Creek.
“Oh my~ you’re already asleep? Well, it was a busy day for you.” I easily recognized the woman who whispered those words to herself.
My heavy eyes cracked open slightly. I hadn’t entered a deep state of sleep yet and was just barely conscious still.
“Oh no, did I wake you?”
I was too tired to answer and I closed my eyes again,
“So cute~”
I felt movement on the bed as it sunk a little.
“Don’t mind me~”
Her arms wrapped around my head. I was pulled in close to her body until I felt two warm soft sensations on my cheeks.
“Happy birthday, Ran, and sweet dreams~”
She didn’t leave after saying that. Rather she brushed her hand through my hair as her fingers became entangled in it. She didn’t do anything strange. She simply showered me with love and care until she eventually fell asleep on the bed while lightly holding me against her bosom in her embrace.
That was how my birthday ended.
After the dejected customer exited the store Alicia said, “Somehow I also feel a bit sad even though you’re the same person. It’s a reminder we’re getting older and things won’t always remain as they were.”
“What? You’re dissatisfied with my normal appearance?”
“No… I just don’t want other girls seeing the true appearance of the guy I like. What am I supposed to do if more girls fall for you?
“Huh? There’s no chance that will happen.”
“Hmmm~ no chance you say? Then explain how a certain big fish got lured in, Mr. Womanizer.”
“That was… a freak accident. It should have never happened. The world just decided to prank me. I’m also not a womanizer. If charm was a stat point, I’d have zero.”
“If you had zero I wouldn’t have fallen for you.” Alicia pouted as she grumbled to herself.
“If you thought I had charm then you were obviously conned by some shady marketing. You should request a refund as I’m not as advertised.”
“Even if I was conned, I definitely won’t request a refund. Ever. So you’re stuck with me.” She averted her eyes to the side, a bit bashful.
“Don’t blame me when you regret it.”
“I’ll never regret my choice.” Under the counter, she discreetly grabbed my hand while looking away in the opposite direction.
“Happy birthday, Ran.”
“Thanks for the present. I’ll be sure to think of something for your birthday.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already received too much from you. I wouldn’t even be working and able to save up for university if not for you. But… if you really insist on giving me something for my birthday in the future… just you would be enough.”
“You mean a date alone together?”
“Yeah… uh… it doesn’t need to be fancy or anything. The important part is just you… so… uh… yeah. That’s it...”
It was rare for her to suggest things with just the two of us since she was always thinking about putting everyone else first.
“Sure. If you’re happy with that.”
Her head perked up a bit as she tried to hold back the overly happy smile creeping onto her face.
“Aren’t you a bit too easy to make happy?”
“I’m a simple girl. It doesn’t take much.”
Having what she considered a bit of selfishness on her part indulged in, it was probably a first for her. Considering how Rosa took Alicia along for her birthday, her request for alone time with me on her own birthday was even more surprising. But there was nothing wrong with it. Rosa’s desire to bring Alicia along on her birthday was born from her own sense of selfishness after all.
“Anyway, Ran. Putting that aside for now… you’re now a new hire. Meaning~ I’m your senior at work. So~ I get to show you the ropes, don’t I?” Alicia suddenly changed gears as she shifted into her work mode.
“Haha… yeah. That’s right… you are my senior at work now.”
“Then it’s only natural that I start training you. If I don't, customers might find it weird.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. But I could just say my brother showed me the ropes before he resigned.”
“Ugh. I hadn’t thought about that. No, wait, we absolutely can’t go with that, Ran.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Because~ I want to train you.”
“Haaaah. Do what you want.”
“You’ve got to make mistakes, okay? That way I can look like a respectable senior employee in front of customers when I correct them. Go mix up one of the boxes on the shelves when restocking inventory so I can correct your mistake.”
“What’s the point in doing that?”
“I want to know how it feels to be training someone new. You got to do that sort of stuff a lot to me, it’s unfair.”
“Haaaah. I see. Then I’ll make a bunch of intentional mistakes and we’ll see how many you can spot and correct.”
“Sure.”
“But you’ll need to let go of my hand so I can do that.”
“Huh? Oh… right… uh… how about we do this tomorrow instead then?”
“Did you forget? We don’t work together tomorrow. It would be the day after tomorrow.”
“Ah. You’re right. Ugh… it can’t be helped. I’ll just have to wait.”
“You do realize you can hold my hand anytime, don’t you?”
“But I only get to hold your hand on your birthday one day every year.”
“When the next customer comes by you’ll have to let go either way.”
“Then I hope there aren’t any more customers today.”
“As if that’d happen.”
It didn’t take long before customers started approaching the counter and she was forced to reluctantly let go of my hand to avoid them noticing. A line built up as we got busier.
Since Alicia couldn’t openly do what she wanted with us at work, she used the pretense of showing me the ropes to stick close to me throughout the rest of our shift. I made a few intentional mistakes in front of customers that she caught and corrected me on. It was pretty amusing to see the ‘it can’t be helped if you don’t know since you’re new’ attitude whenever she pointed out my mistakes.
When the clock struck 9:00 PM and our shift was over the two of us headed out to the parking lot. Normally we waited for Irene to show up with Rosa, but today was different.
When I removed the cover and Alicia saw the motorcycle, she excitedly hopped on it, shot me an eager look, and said, “Come on, let’s go, let’s go.”
“Hold up. Safety first.”
I retrieved the passenger helmet and put it on Alicia’s head. I was directly in front of her and I hadn’t pulled down the visor either so I had a close-up view of her face.
“What is it? Aren’t we going home?” Alicia asked, curious as to what the holdup was.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry?” She tilted her head to one side cluelessly before she continued, “For wha- mmmm?”
In advance for this.
She relaxed and closed her eyes when I leaned in closer. Atop my motorcycle, in the dimly illuminated parking lot under a street light, I kissed her at an angle no one would see us.
When I pulled away I pulled down her visor, raised one leg over the motorcycle to sit in front of her, and strapped my helmet on.
“What was that for out of nowhere?”
“I just had a sudden urge to kiss my girlfriend. Is there something wrong with that?”
“No. It was a nice surprise, I wish you’d do that more often.” She passed her arms under my own and wrapped them around my chest.
In that intimate position, we rode my motorcycle through the city at night together. I wasn’t allowed to drive this late with only a learner’s permit, but I’d never been pulled over before when doing the same thing with a car, so I felt the odds of being pulled over were pretty low as long as I obeyed traffic laws and didn’t drive like an idiot.
We didn’t talk about anything on the way home. It didn’t feel awkward though. We could have talked to each other, but there were some moments where that peaceful tranquility was worth more than some cheap words.
The sound of the motorcycle engine’s low rumble. The vibrations beneath shook the two of us in sync. My body shielded her from the wind that whizzed by our sides. The street lights intermittently flickered in and out over our bodies as we passed under them one by one. The smell of the fresh night air we breathed in cooled our lungs.
Occasionally we weaved in and out between lanes as we passed by slow-moving cars. Other times we were overtaken by cars breaking the speed limit.
At one point when we slowed to a stop at a red light with a radar and camera, a bright white light flashed as a car blasted past our side far above the speed limit. Right as it passed by, a strong gust of wind picked and blew Alicia’s hair to the right. A tailwind soon followed and her hair was blown over my right shoulder where it came to a rest.
Alicia moved her head from resting on my back and positioned her chin on my left shoulder. In this position, I felt the distinct soft sensation of her hair that slipped between the gap of my jacket collar and helmet on the back of my neck. She scooped up her hair with her left hand and flung it over her left shoulder so it wrapped around the front of my neck. It vaguely reminded me of the time we shared my scarf during that first date of ours.
When the light changed to green, we remained like this for the rest of our trip.
Once we arrived home I parked my motorcycle up outside and put the cover over it.
Alicia returned to her room in an abnormally good mood while I returned to mine.
It was the first time I’d ever gotten back before Irene. When I reached my bed, I collapsed on top of it. My muscles were quite sore and I was spent. It only took a short minute for me to fall asleep with how exhausted I was. It’d been a pretty hectic day for me with all the running back and forth.
Thankfully, with all of those things taken care of in a single day, I could relax and enjoy the rest of my spring break.
…
Squeak.
Creek.
Creek.
Creek.
“Oh my~ you’re already asleep? Well, it was a busy day for you.” I easily recognized the woman who whispered those words to herself.
My heavy eyes cracked open slightly. I hadn’t entered a deep state of sleep yet and was just barely conscious still.
“Oh no, did I wake you?”
I was too tired to answer and I closed my eyes again,
“So cute~”
I felt movement on the bed as it sunk a little.
“Don’t mind me~”
Her arms wrapped around my head. I was pulled in close to her body until I felt two warm soft sensations on my cheeks.
“Happy birthday, Ran, and sweet dreams~”
She didn’t leave after saying that. Rather she brushed her hand through my hair as her fingers became entangled in it. She didn’t do anything strange. She simply showered me with love and care until she eventually fell asleep on the bed while lightly holding me against her bosom in her embrace.
That was how my birthday ended.
