Honmei-choco / Giri-choco (part 2)

Ryota looked at the clock, waiting for the time to pass. His fingers tapped the table nervously as he checked his watch every few minutes.

The date is at 9 o’clock. It should be any minute now, he thought to himself.

His eyes glanced around the cafe, observing the other customers. Despite the early hour on a Sunday, some people were already there with coffee and newspaper.

He sipped on his drink, an orange juice. He had ordered it an hour earlier, when he first arrived at the cafe.

He had no appetite, and it felt like the drink was doing nothing to help him relax. He looked at the glass, then back at the clock on the wall.

The clock’s hand moved at a steady pace.

Nine o’clock.

Where is she?

Ryota pulled out his phone. There was no message from her yet.

She said she would meet me at 9 o’clock. I haven’t heard from her, so she must be on her way here. Right?

He put his phone back into his pocket and turned his attention back to the cafe. The waitress had just delivered another set of drinks to another table. She glanced at him with a smile, then looked away.

A few seconds later, Mai arrived.

“Ryota-kun!” she said, a cheerful smile on her face. “Did I keep you waiting?”

“N-no,” he said, getting out of his seat. “I... um...”

He couldn’t get his words out. The sight of her made his mind go blank.

Her hair was in a ponytail, and she was wearing a blue dress that matched her eyes. The necklace around her neck sparkled in the sunlight.

She smiled as she walked toward him, her eyes looking into his. She stood before him, and he found it hard to look away from her gaze.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting for too long,” she said, taking a seat.

Ryota forced himself to pull his eyes away from hers and look at the table.

“It’s fine,” he replied. “I just... I mean...”

His cheeks were burning up, and his head felt like it was about to explode. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then looked at Mai again.

“I was... worried that you wouldn’t show up,” he mumbled.

“I wouldn’t miss our first date.” She giggled. “I would never miss a chance to spend time with you.”

He looked away, staring at the ground.

“What did you order?” she asked, looking at the drinks on the table.

“Oh, um...” He grabbed his glass and showed it to her. “Orange juice.”

“Hmm...”

She looked at his glass, then took a sip from it. Ryota’s cheeks reddened as he watched her. She put the glass down and looked at him.

“You know, I like orange juice.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. It’s nice and sweet.”

He gulped, trying to calm himself. “Y-yeah.”

Mai giggled, looking at his reaction. “It’s just orange juice. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“I know, but...”

He sighed, shaking his head.

“So, um... where should we go first?” she asked.

Ryota glanced at her. She was still smiling at him, her eyes filled with excitement. He glanced at the clock, then back at her.

“Let’s...”

“Let’s go to the game center,” she said, cutting him off.

Mai stood up and walked toward the door.

“Wh-what? But...”

Ryota jumped to his feet and rushed after her. In the blink of an eye, the plan he had so diligently worked on went in vain. He followed her outside, his head spinning as he tried to keep up with her pace.

They walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the view of the city.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day,” she said.

He looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

“You have?”

“Yeah. I’ve been planning it in my head for a while now. I can’t wait to see your reaction.”

She looked at him, a smile on her face. Ryota was surprised to see the twinkle in her eye, but he couldn’t deny his happiness when she smiled at him.

“Let’s go, Ryota-kun.”

She took his hand, leading him toward the game center.

Immediately after they arrived, she pulled him toward one of the arcade cabinets.

“This one,” she said, pointing at a video game.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while since we last played. Let’s have some fun.”

“If you say so.”

Mai pulled the screen open, and they took position to start. As the game began, Ryota noticed how excited she was. Her fingers were flitting over the controls, and she was giggling and smiling at the screen.

“You’re going to lose,” she teased.

“Oh, yeah?” he replied, his eyes fixed on the screen.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was having fun. It felt like it was the first time he had ever played this game.

The time flew by, and they soon found themselves in the arcade’s lunchroom.

Ryota sighed as they sat down.

“You’re good at video games,” he said.

“You mean you’re bad at them?”

“Touch some grass,” he replied, chuckling.

“Hmm... maybe if you weren’t distracted.”

“What? I wasn’t...”

He trailed off. Mai had a mischievous smile on her face. He shook his head and took a bite of his lunch.

“You kept glancing at me,” she said.

“What? No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did.”

She giggled, and he looked away.

“I can’t help it if you look so cute,” he mumbled.

“C-cute? Me?”

“Yeah.”

She looked at him with wide eyes.

“I’m not cute,” she whispered, hiding her blushing cheeks with her hands.

She glanced at him and smiled. “Thanks, though.”

“So... um... what do you want to do next?” he asked.

“Hmm... what should we do?” she replied.

They left the game center and walked down the street.

“Let’s see,” she said. “I thought we’d go to the mall and then enjoy a stroll in the park. Then maybe...”

She looked at him, smiling.

“Let’s head to the mall first.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I want to try out some new clothes, and there’s this cute cafe there that I think you’ll like.”

“Cute cafe?”

“Yeah. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

She grabbed his hand, leading him into the mall.