Sunscreen and bikinis are more challenging than I thought!

The water paradise we enter has several attractions, acting as a central hub for anything water-related in this city. Several pools for swimming, water sports, and for children too, some stalls with sweets and drinks, and a water slide area. Koyori marvels at everything in her sight as we slither past dense crowds of people taking advantage of the hot summer weather to enjoy their summer break to the fullest. People can either rent a lounge chair, optionally with a sun-shielding umbrella included, or spread themselves across the various meadows, optionally with sun-shielding trees sprinkled here and there. We claim a sunny spot near one of the large pools with a large blanket Mom packed into our bag.

After changing into our newly acquired swimwear, we’re both eager to take a swim. However, that’s when I remember the dangers of the biggest enemy of wannabe hikis like me.

“Shouldn’t we use sunscreen before we go in?” I weakly argue against the sheer excitement of Koyori jogging on the spot in anticipation of heading toward the pool area. I still haven’t fully recovered from my previous sunburn, the dry, flaky skin a testament to the powers of the star burning down on our planet. Back when I was little, we went here so often that my tan allowed me to go for an immediate swim first before the rays of ultra-violet light became troublesome but years of turtling up indoors lowered my resistance to a dangerous extent.

“Hmm, I guess we should, hehehe,” Koyori snickered, returning to our bag to fish for the bottle filled with protective, white cream. I lunge for the other one Mom packed especially for me, sporting a really high protection value due to my skin being so pale.

Perhaps for the first time, as I’m applying the milky fluid all over my body, I take note of Koyori’s body looking surprisingly… nice? She’s thin but not in a negative sense. Her ribs are visible but not pronounced and her stomach neither bulges nor caves in. For a girl, Koyori looks quite muscular which only adds to the tingling sense of attraction I’m feeling as my gaze continues to linger on her body. As my eyes fall on her chest, the frilly orange swimsuit can’t completely hide the slight bulge. Hastily, I avert my eyes as sweat springs from my forehead.

Koyori soon knows I’m occasionally looking but doesn’t comment on it until she encounters an issue I should have predicted and prepared for instead of ogling at her.

"Keiichi, could you help me with the sunscreen?” the girl requests, an expectant glance now resting on me. “I can't reach my back.”

Well, duh. I can’t reach mine either. Crap.

A sense of dread envelopes me as I come to terms with the task at hand. Neither of us can finish protecting ourselves. We’ll have to help each other which naturally encompasses touching her naked skin with my bare hands. We’re no longer strangers to the act of establishing and keeping bodily contact but this is a lot more exhilarating without a protective layer of clothes regardless. Gulping, I accept the challenge for the lack of other options.

She’s my friend, I can’t risk Yori getting her pretty, smooth skin sunburned. You can do this, Keiichi.

“S-sure, you’re doing mine as well after this, right?” I ask in order to get my jittery nerves under control.

“Naturally!” Koyori beams back at me before turning around, submitting her tender back to my sweaty hands. Awkwardly, I’m staring at the breast piece of Koyori’s bikini, already anticipating the obvious.

“You should unzip my bikini, Keiichi,” Koyori suggests, cocking her head back at me. “Yori-chan needs her whole back protected, hehehe.”

Yeah, I figured just about this much, Yori. But how do I open this thing?!

Bras and bikinis. I’ve seen them so often in doujins yet no one ever elaborated on how actually to get them to snap open. I can see some sort of mechanism included but I suddenly feel extremely hot, my jittery hands hovering before the holy cotton rather than working on unzipping it.

Crap, this shouldn’t be this nerve-wracking!

“Kei-kun, just open it, silly,” Koyori urges me once she catches on to my hesitation. “Yori-chan’s back doesn’t bite or bark.”

That’s not the issue here, dammit!

“How do I open this blasted thing though?” I blurt out, seeing no way to exit this situation without losing my pride.

“Just snap it open,” Yori chuckles in visible amusement, extending one of her arms to demonstrate the technique with her fingers. “You simply press the two small buttons on the top and on the bottom where the two straps connect and - voila!”

Wait, that’s all?

Disbelievingly, I extend my arm and attempt it myself. To my surprise, the bikini piece snaps open immediately, inducing a sudden sense of timidness now that Koyori’s back lays bare in front of me. Seeing a girl’s back bare like that - even if a back alone doesn’t reveal anything indecent, the indisputable knowledge that her small boobs are only covered because she keeps holding the cloth in place is nonetheless lewd enough to induce a sudden flight reaction.

Forget about it, Keiichi. Just hurry up and get this over with!

Awkwardly, I begin to spread sunscreen across her delicate skin. Koyori seems to enjoy the uncertain, circling movement of my hands. After rubbing it into her shoulders, I gradually move lower, sweat dripping from my forehead as I try feverishly to ignore the lewd sensation associated with it.

“Hey, that tickles!” Koyori guffaws as I reach the lower part of her back and her vulnerable sides which are, apparently, quite ticklish indeed. A sudden urge to tickle-torture her springs from the backspace of my mind but my brain faithfully reminds me of the fact that Koyori might go on a vendetta once our roles switch around. Thus, I finish my job without other further excitement.

“Thank you very much, Kei-kun,” Koyori says appreciatively though a hint of sheepishness shines through her voice. “Could you zip the two ends of my bikini now?”

What? Do I have to do this too?

“Can’t you do it yourself, Yori?” I probe her evasively but I quickly realize the underlying issue.

Oh, right. She would totally expose her chest because someone has to hold it in place and there’s a pretty high chance I’d get to see something I shouldn’t see…

“Nevermind, I’ll do it right away,” I reluctantly agree, taking the two loose straps into my fingers. “Let me guess, if it came undone like this, you probably just clip it back together, right?”

A clicking sound predates the girl’s answer.

“Yup, you got it, Kei-kun. That’s my bikini specialist!” she laughs, leaping to her knees and turning my way to see me blush at her comment.

“I told you I’m not a specialist for these things, geez!” I pout at her while looking at the ground in slight shame. “A-anyways… it’s your turn now.”

Koyori doesn’t need to be told twice. The moment I offer my scrawny back to the girl, she turns it into a canvas.

Silly girl, you’re supposed to rub it into my skin, not abuse me as a drawing board!

I keep the fuss to myself though, instead playing along. The coldness of the concentrated sunscreen she applies quickly forms two curving lines that oddly feel like…

Don’t tell me…

My heart starts accelerating as a realization both horrible and wonderful almost makes me jolt.

If she connects the two lines, it’d be a heart!

Just when I expect Koyori to place the next stroke, however, she starts drawing a little to the right, repeating the same two lines five times until they all connect. Finally, she adds a small circle in the center, thus unmasking her creation as a flower rather than a love sign.

“Tada! Yori-chan is done!” she giggles proudly while I sigh at her childishness.

“Good job, now do it properly,” I deadpan. “While I appreciate the art, I’d rather not get a tattoo burned into my back.”

“Aww, meanie,” Yori grouches before reluctantly ruining her artwork in favor of my full sun protection. Gingerly, she massages my back until the sunscreen has reached every nook of my body.

Now, we’re finally ready to go to the pool.