Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me - Volume 2 - Chapter 5.4

Her shoulders twitched as she cried.

“You give me so many firsts... And I’m really happy about them...but I can’t give you mine...”

I didn’t expect the normally cheerful Shirakawa-san to cry on and on like this. As I watched her, dumbfounded, something occurred to me.

“You’ve given me plenty,” I replied on an impulse. “Even if it’s not your first time going on dates to places like this... If the things you feel when you’re with me are different from what you’ve felt before, then that makes me happy.”

There was no turning back time. You couldn’t erase the past... But I didn’t want Shirakawa-san to trouble herself so much by regretting bygones.

And that was because I really loved her just the way she was as she stood before me at this moment.

“Ryuto...” Shirakawa-san uttered, her eyes glistening and quivering.

“I’ll carry that for you,” I said, taking her bubble tea cup and linking hands with her.

We walked in silence for a while.

Most of the okonomiyaki stalls had seemed to be taking a break earlier, but now, the chefs were busily flipping their spatulas to serve lines of customers. A loud pop! came from a puffed cereal stall somewhere, causing a stir in the crowd around us for a moment.

Shirakawa-san stopped biting into her candy apple. “Even I think I’m contradicting myself...” she began, “but some part of me is glad I only got to date you now.”

As I waited for her to continue, wondering what she meant, she gave me a small smile.

“Had you been my first boyfriend...I think I would’ve assumed this is only natural and overlooked lots of wonderful things about you,” she said quietly and giggled. “In fact, I might’ve complained to my friends, like ‘My boyfriend is taking his sweet time making a move on me. Does he even love me?’ or something.”

“Wow, that’s rough...” I said, mimicking Shirakawa-san’s usual tone, which prompted a laugh from her.

“Until I started dating you, it gave me peace of mind when my boyfriends wanted me. Made me think I was loved. That I belonged by their side.” She then narrowed her eyes, as though lamenting the pain she’d experienced long ago. “Thinking back on it now, I realize it was the opposite—I couldn’t feel their love except for when we had sex.”

As she smiled in self-deprecation, I listened carefully to what she had to say.

“I think I only understand it now because of what I’ve been through. How...strong your feelings are for me.” She lowered her gaze a little, at which point a happy smile appeared on her face. “And when I think that way... All my previous relationships, and all the heartbreak... It feels like, maybe, it wasn’t in vain.”

“Shirakawa-san...”

My first girlfriend had previous experience.

I thought only a guy would feel conflicted about such a fact. But to think that Shirakawa-san had been thinking such things too...

That’s enough for me. It’s about time I got over her exes.

“Shirakawa-san, have you ever played airsoft before?” I asked.

“Huh? Where’d that come from?”

Since I unexpectedly changed the topic, Shirakawa-san had an amazed look on her face.

She shook her head. “I haven’t. What is it again? A game where people shoot each other in the forest, yeah?”

“That’s right. Icchi— Er, two of my friends always say they want to play it, but you need a minimum of six people to go to the place we’re looking at, so we need three more... Would you like to come with us? You, Yamana-san, and maybe her boyfriend?”

“Ah, Nicole doesn’t have one right now.”

“Huh...”

“I wanna go, though!” she said. “Can I invite Akari? She’s from our class!”

“Y-Yeah, sure.”

Though I agreed, it felt like I’d just said something that could backfire later. Icchi and Nisshi froze up around sunny girls, and it didn’t help that they had a love-hate relationship with Yamana-san after the events at her izakaya. Despite the heat, when I imagined how they might say “You were just showing off how nice things are between you and Shirakawa-san, you fake nerd!” after playing airsoft, I broke out in a cold sweat.

Still, I wanted to invite Shirakawa-san to a place she couldn’t possibly have ever been to before.

“Let’s do a lot of things for the first time together, Shirakawa-san,” I enthusiastically said, and she stared at me with wide eyes. “We must’ve lived in completely different worlds until we started going out...so I think we can still have as many new experiences together as we want if we put our minds to it.”

“Ryuto...” Her eyes started to glisten again. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s do a lotta things together for the first time.”

Squeezing my hand, Shirakawa-san leaned in close to me. I heard her wooden geta clunk against the ground.

“I love you, Ryuto,” she softly whispered into my ear.

Thoroughly savoring those sweet words as her floral-or-fruity scent became stronger, I hoped I’d always remember this moment, even when I became an adult.

***

After a long walk on the mountain road lined with stalls, we came upon a certain conspicuous vendor by a street corner.

“Wow, they’re so cute!”

The stall had accessories like rings, earrings, and similar things with stones of various colors fitted into them. They were all lying on a tray on top of a stand covered in white cloth. The vendor was a fashionable woman with two-tone hair. She totally looked the type to be very particular about her merchandise.

“These accessories are made with natural stones,” she said to Shirakawa-san, who’d shown interest and came closer to her. “I go to Turkey to buy the materials to make these, so they’re much cheaper than market price. Each one’s handmade and one of a kind.”

“Wow, that’s fantastic! I don’t know the first thing about gems, though.”

“Many people start with birthstones,” the woman suggested. “What month were you born in?”

“Um... June.”

“Yours is moonstone, then.”

“Like a stone from the moon...”

It seemed that the connection between Shirakawa-san’s nickname “Luna” and that of the stone had piqued her interest.

“This is a moonstone,” said the woman, and she showed her a sample gemstone.

Shirakawa-san’s eyes began to sparkle. “Wow, it’s so pretty!”

The milk-white stone, transparent like someone had poured milk into hot water, shone a bit like a pearl. It looked mysterious and did seem like a stone that might’ve come from the moon.

“What kind of items have this stone?” asked Shirakawa-san.

“How about these clip-ons?”

“Clip-ons, huh...”

“They’re specifically ear cuffs, so you can wear them alongside pierced earrings too.”

“Hmm... Might as well go with a bigger stone. Do you have any rings?”

“Rings...? Ah, someone bought the one I had with a moonstone earlier... Wait. Huh?”

At that point, the woman’s eyes met mine and she opened hers wide.

“Oh...” I let out.

The conversation between her and Shirakawa-san had gone on without pause and I hadn’t found a moment to speak up. I figured I’d say something now, but...

“Well, that’s unfortunate. And I thought it would be perfect for you...” said the woman for some reason. She then signaled to me with her eyes.

“Yeah, that’s too bad... I’ll have to come again...” replied Shirakawa-san.

“Sorry. I’ll probably be here again next year!”

With the woman sending her off, Shirakawa-san reluctantly started walking once again.

“So those were called moonstones, huh. I’d never heard of them before. They were so pretty... I wanted a ring if she had one...” With that, she brought her hands in front of her face and spread her fingers. “My nails have grown quite a bit, but these decorations? They’re called ‘crushed shells,’ but the color is similar to moonstones. I was sure they’d be a great match...”

“I-I hear you.”

My heart was pounding. As a matter of fact, I had been the one who’d bought the moonstone ring from the earlier stall.

Of course, I hadn’t chosen it because it was Shirakawa-san’s birthstone or because of its connection to the moon. It would’ve been nerve-racking to talk to the fashionable woman managing the stall too, so I’d walked past it several times, taking peeks from a distance and checking the price. It’d been labeled as a one-size-fits-all ring, and I’d decided on the spot simply because of that.

Since I’d bought the ring just a bit earlier, I had no plans at all as to when I’d tell Shirakawa-san about it or give it to her.

“Oh well. Oh hey, check that out!” It seemed that Shirakawa-san’s interest had shifted to something else.

After that, she talked to me about various things while sipping on her bubble tea and nibbling on her candy apple. While I gave brief replies, the ring kept coming to the front of my mind. It made me restless.

“But man, that stone was really cute...” she said, bringing up the gemstone accessory again after we’d gone through several other topics. “Maybe I should check out those ear cuffs when we pass by that stall on our way back? They were a bit expensive, though... Five thousand yen, it said. I still have to pay for getting my phone fixed... If only it was five hundred instead...”

“Yeah...”

As we chatted, we went up the mountain road, climbed a steep set of stone steps, and reached the grounds of a small shrine. I could just picture it being a quiet place normally, but at the moment, there were stalls here too and the place was bustling with people.

“Why don’t we make a shrine visit while we’re at it?”

At Shirakawa-san’s suggestion, I tossed a coin into a saisen box in front of the oratory and offered up a prayer.

“What did you pray for?” asked Shirakawa-san.

“Mm? Uh...”

There was only one wish on my mind.

To be with Shirakawa-san forever.

But that would be too greedy, so I ended up making a slightly safer wish this time.

“To spend a good two-month anniversary with you,” I replied.

Shirakawa-san looked surprised. “You remembered...”

“Sorry. I wanted to give you a proper present...”

She shook her head as I was halfway through my line.

“It’s okay, your feelings are enough.” She then gazed at me with sparkling eyes. “Meeting you was the best present I could ever have.” Shirakawa-san’s smile was like a sunflower. “Hey, would you like to know what I wished for?”

“Huh? S-Sure.”

“To be with you forever.”

“Ah...”

It was touching that she’d been thinking the same thing.

Shirakawa-san smiled as she gazed at me. “Thank you for confessing to me back then, even if it was a punishment.”

“Shirakawa-san...”

I should be the one thanking you. For coming to the staff parking lot back then and accepting the confession of a classmate you’d never talked to before. That was the beginning of the happy miracle that’s continued to this day.

“Oh, Shirakawa-san,” I said, suddenly remembering to check my pockets. “I should apologize. It’s not actually like I don’t have a present...”

“Huh?” she asked, surprised.

I handed her the small felt jewelry pouch. Shirakawa-san removed the ring with a milk-white stone and held it in her palm. She went speechless at the sight.

“This...!” She opened and closed her mouth over and over, her eyes wide in amazement, and looked at me. “No way! Whaaat?! When did you buy this?!”

“Earlier... Before meeting up with you.”

“How...did you choose this...?”

“I thought it might go well with your current nails... Somehow, anyway. I didn’t know anything about the ‘crushed shells’ or whatever, though.”

As I spoke, something flickered in Shirakawa-san’s eyes. Because of that, I hastily continued.

“To be honest, I wanted to buy something more expensive, and at the kind of place that would put it in a proper... I guess that’s rude to that woman, but I mean with a proper box with a ribbon or something, and in a glossy bag...”

I figured that since I’d gotten paid—and adding in the fact it had been some time since her birthday when I couldn’t buy her a present—I might as well... However, my online search hadn’t turned up any stores like that in this small seaside town. So I’d meant to have made do with this choice.

But to think it would make Shirakawa-san so happy...

“No, it’s more than enough,” she said, shaking her head with tears still in her eyes. “For now, I’d rather have this.” A bashful smile appeared on her face.

“I want to save the pleasure of receiving something like that for the distant future...” she added.

The distant future...?

Inside my mind, a Shirakawa-san clad in a wedding dress was smiling at me.

But as I stood there dumbfounded...

“Hey, could you put it on my finger?” Shirakawa-san asked, pulling me back to my senses.

“Ah, sure.”

I took the ring from her hand and looked at her, unsure of which finger to put it on.

“Hmm... This one, then!”

Shirakawa-san stuck out her right hand and wiggled her ring finger.

“Okay.”

I was a little disappointed it wasn’t her left hand, but she smiled at me.

“It’s still early for that, you know...”

“Yeah.”

My heart grew warm and a broad smile appeared on my face all on its own.

Is it really okay for me to believe such a future is waiting for us? A future where I can be with Shirakawa-san forever...

Had it been only my wish, I couldn’t be sure. But if Shirakawa-san... If such a nice girl made a wish like that too, perhaps the gods would grant it.

“Wow, it’s so pretty!” exclaimed Shirakawa-san, her cheeks flushed as she raised her right hand with the moonstone ring on it toward the sky. “It’s like there’re two moons now...” she said quietly and happily with rosy cheeks. She was comparing the stone to the round object rising in the evening sky.

Then...

Bang!

A crackling explosion resounded through our surroundings. At the same time, a large flower of light sparkled in the still slightly brightened sky.

“What?! It’s already time for fireworks?!” exclaimed Shirakawa-san, her eyes open wide.

We’d planned to watch the fireworks from the beach, but we were still up at the shrine. Hoping to at least find a spot where they’d be easier to see, we walked around, looking for a place where trees wouldn’t be in the way.

After leaving the shrine and going up even more stairs which had split into two walkways, we came upon a clearing with an open view in the middle of a path. Waves of people were headed toward either the shrine or the beach, so things were calm here with nobody else around.

“Hooray! A nice place nobody knows about,” said Shirakawa-san.

“Yeah,” I replied.

The launched fireworks bloomed in the sky at exactly our eye level. It was nice that we didn’t need to look up.

“Ryuto,” said Shirakawa-san, suddenly leaning in close. Taking my arm, she twined hers around it.

The soft sensation of her upper arm caused my pulse to spike.

“Can we stay like this until the fireworks are over?” she asked in a coy but nasal voice.

I timidly nodded. “Y-Yeah.”

A giggle came from beside me. “I guess as your hearts grow closer, you naturally want to get closer to your loved one too. I never knew that before I started dating you,” said Shirakawa-san.

The fireworks slowly shot up without interruption. Shirakawa-san’s voice rang comfortably in my ears amid the rapidly darkening sky.

“I love you. If I keep feeling this way...I’m sure one day I’ll want to have sex with you,” she added.

Shirakawa-san...

My heart pounded as I looked at her beside me. Our eyes met as she gazed at me with her own upturned ones. She freed her arm from mine and we shifted to face each other, our eyes locked, before Shirakawa-san bashfully averted hers.

When we looked at each other again, I said, “I love you, Runa.”

Her eyes rapidly began to glisten and well up, and a tear ran down her cheek.

“Me too,” she said as though enduring the surging feelings. “I love you too, Ryuto.”

After wiping away the tear on Shirakawa-san’s cheek, I brought my face closer to hers. Seeing her close her large, charming eyes, I softly sealed her lips with mine.

The sound of fireworks.

The warmth of my beloved girlfriend.

Right now, this was my everything.