My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend - Volume 12 - Chapter 1.5

Kogure Kawanami: What a Guy and a Girl Do When They Cross a Line Part 1

While I was home, I couldn’t help but think about what she was doing on the other side of this wall. This might have sounded like a thought born from some kind of bittersweet teenage romance, but for me it came from the fact that I had a huge problem. I couldn’t really focus on what to do, so I thought about going out, as people do during their summer breaks. Unfortunately, today of all days, I didn’t have any plans...or so I thought. Suddenly, the group chat between my friends who came over yesterday started to move.

Yamato: Anyone down to get ramen?

I immediately said yes to Yamato. Unfortunately, Sota and Shoma already had plans, but Makoto decided to join since I was going. For the time being, I put the mystery about my memory loss on hold, hopped on my bike, and went to Kawaramachi-sanjo.

I parked it at the usual lot, where parking was free for three hours, and went to our meeting place. Unlike Irido, thinking wasn’t my forte and wouldn’t get me anywhere closer to an answer, so I decided to forget about Minami and focus instead on hanging out with my friends. Or at least that was what I thought about doing, but...

“Oh, there he is. Kawanami!”

At the place we were meeting, I saw Yamato and Makoto, as well as two girls who hadn’t been a part of our plans, and...Akatsuki Minami. Why?! Seeing me freeze up, Yamato chuckled lightheartedly.

“We ran into them while waitin’ for you. Apparently they just finished havin’ a reunion of their own not too far away, and when I asked if they wanted to come with us to Ichijoji for ramen, they said yeah.”

“I’ve always been interested in the ramen street.”

“Yeah, and it’s hard to go there as girls, you know?”

“Totally,” the three girls, including Minami, said in unison.

These girls had also been middle school classmates with Minami and me. Though she might have hung out with meeker girls like Irido-san and Higashira now that we were in a private prep school, our middle school had been a public one, and these two were very gyaru-like. That being said, they were just loud like gyarus. The way they dressed and did their makeup was more mature and focused on beautifying. I could only imagine how great this situation felt for Yamato, since he didn’t have a girlfriend, but for me, I couldn’t have felt worse.

“You’ve really changed a lot since middle school, Makoto.”

“Y-You think so?”

“Yeah, in a totally good way!”

It didn’t seem like Makoto was exactly displeased either.

Yamato came over to me with a smirk and put his arm on my shoulder. “You’re still friends with Minami-san, right? Perfect timing, don’t you think?”

“Yeah...”

That was all I could say. Of course I couldn’t tell him how awkward it was to see her right now because there was a chance that we did it last night. When Yamato went back to join the rest of the group, I felt someone poking my back. When I turned around, I saw Minami with a cryptic smile looking up at my face.

“Sorry about crashing your bro time. Don’t worry about that too much, okay?”

“Right...”

Even the most innocuous words sounded like they had hidden meaning. What am I not supposed to worry about? Them joining us? Or about last night?

“Let’s get goin’! I’ve worked up an appetite for ramen after all that talking!” the girl with black hair said.

And just like that, our group of six took off toward the bus station. It was about thirty minutes to get to Ichijoji by bus. As long as my group and her group sit in separate seats, I’ll be good... But just as I was thinking that, I felt a cold hand wrap around mine. I reacted too late and that’d created an opening for someone to intertwine her fingers with mine, our hands tight together as if we were dating. When I finally turned to the side, I saw Minami looking at me, giggling deviously. I already knew my course of action.

I let go of her hand and moved to be with the rest of the group. She was totally trying to have the thrill of doing something naughty without anyone noticing. That’s exactly what would happen between two people who crossed that line but nobody else knows it, so they keep their flirting a secret to be considerate! My mind was a mess. My heart was beating out of control. I wasn’t sure why it was beating so hard anymore. Was it because I was afraid of being discovered? Or afraid of my reaction to Minami?