After what felt like disastrous weekend, I went back to school on Monday feeling down. I couldn't concentrate on anything except how things went between me and Omari that night.
I should've just had sex with him. I regret not doing it, but apart of me is scared to dive into the adult world just like that with somebody I've known for only two weeks. We haven't even said we liked each other yet!
Was I wrong to freak out at that moment? I couldn't be though. He said he wouldn't do anything I wasn't ready for and I definitely was not ready to go beyond making out with him at that time.
Lunch break rolls around and I got up to go eat at the usual spot with Kaede. I saw her pacing around the bench when I walked up. She spotted me and a grin spread across her face.
"Kimi-chan, you'll never guess what happened!" Kaede shouted. I see something shine on her and I gasped.
"He proposed? YOU'RE ENGA…." I shouted before Kaede covered my mouth with her hands.
"Yes! That's why James-san was super distant! He was going to propose to me, but he didn't know how to keep the secret so he stopped talking to me as much," Kaede gushed as she showed me the ring.
"Wow! That's amazing Kae-chan! Congratulations!" I exclaimed giving her a hug. She pulled out of the hug immediately with a sly look.
"Enough about me, how did the overnight stay go with Omari-san?" Kaede questioned, studying my face. I sighed and grabbed my bento to start eating.
"Oh, it couldn't have been that bad! Tell me Kimi-chan!" Kaede begged with big puppy dog eyes.
"Fine! If you must know, first I made myself look a fool by slipping in the bathtub. He saw me naked Kae-chan! Then I fell asleep while he took a bath. When I woke up again, he was awake on the couch, so I gathered up my courage and kissed him…" I said softly so nobody else could hear my embarrassing story.
"Did you kiss him or completely make out?" Kaede asked leaning in with a mischievous look on her face. I rolled my eyes at her and laughed.
"Can I finish the story, please? Yes, we made out. Then he got a little more aggressive and I got scared. He was touching me, and I didn't want him to so I made him stop. But then I felt really upset after. Like I wanted him to stop but I also didn't want to stop at the same time." I explained looking down at my bento.
"So you guys didn't do it?" Kaede asked confused.
"Nope, we just made out, he touched me a bit and then I got scared and went to bed. The next morning, he dropped me off at the train station and I went home. I haven't talked to him," I explained further, feeling the embarrassment return again.
"Hmmm, that's a little more than I thought you would end up doing," Kaede said softly. I looked at her confused.
"What do you mean? You thought we wouldn't do anything at all?"I exclaimed in disbelief.
"Kimi-chan, let's be honest. You tend to overthink things which causes you to be hesitant with a lot of things," Kaede said. I opened my mouth to deny it, but she was right. I did tend to overthink everything.
"You're right. The whole day I was thinking about how the night would go. Then because of my overthinking, I made myself look like a fool in front of him," I sulked.
"I'm sure he doesn't think you're a fool. He probably understands that you were just nervous. No reason to get down about it," Kaede reassured me. Though I appreciated her trying to make me feel better, I still felt like an idiot.
"Let's just finish our lunch and you tell me more about the proposal okay?" I tried to smile. A cheesy grin spread across Kaede's face as she began to explain how the proposal happened. I just continued to eat my bento, trying not to think about what happened this past weekend.
Four days later. April 24, 2065.
My 18th birthday finally came and I could not contain my excitement. I was closer to being an adult in the eyes of Japanese society which meant multiple things. I could vote for parliament, I could drink, but most importantly I could get married if I wanted to.
Japan used to have the age limit at 20 years old, but a decade ago it got lowered to 18 because of the declining population. Because of that, there has been a slight increase in marriages, however, it didn't increase exponentially until Soulmates, Inc. came into the picture. Now, it's more common to meet married couples more than single people, especially amongst the youth.
My birthday started out like any other day since it was on a Friday and I had school. However, in my eyes, I was no longer girl. I was a woman. Though my face did not reflect that, I was going to own it.
I got up and got ready for school like usual, but put a little more effort into my hair and makeup. I went for a natural glow look and put my hair into a braided bun.
I dashed down the stairs and into the kitchen with a big smile on my face.
"Good morning, Okaa-san! Good morning Kanae! Where's Baba?"I exclaimed while grabbing my breakfast. When I only heard silence, I looked up to see a present and a note on the table.
I brought my breakfast over to the table and sat down. I lifted the gift and gave it a little shake.
"I wonder where everybody went,"I said softly opening up the gift. Inside the box were some makeup and some money. I opened the note and more money fell out of it. I counted the money and it totaled 18,000 Yen.
A big grin spread across my face as I thought of all the things I could buy with my birthday money.
I finished my breakfast, put away my money, and dashed out of the house to meet up with Kaede at our usual spot.
"Kimi-chan! Happy Birthday!" Kaede shouted with a big grin on her face. I ran up to her and hugged her tightly.
"Thanks, Kae-chan! I can't believe I'm finally 18 now!" I gushed as we began walking to school.
"Stop! You're making me jealous that I'm still 17 right now," Kaede pouted before we became a giggling mess.
"Oh Kae-chan, your birthday is in like two more weeks! Do you and James-san have anything planned for your birthday?" I asked with a mischievous look in my eyes. She lightly slapped my arm.
"If you must know, James-san is planning a secret weekend getaway. He won't tell me where we're going no matter how much I beg Kimi-chan!" Kaede sulked as I giggled at the thought of her begging.
"Awww that's cute though! He's really planning a whole getaway. Must be nice," I said. Kaede looked at me suspiciously before stopping me right in front of the school gate.
"Have you talked to Omari-san since the incident? Has he even said happy birthday to you yet?" Kaede investigated. I gave her an unconvincing smile.
"Kimi-chan! You guys are matched! You need to do better before he gets snatched by some college girl." Kaede huffed crossing her arms. I opened my mouth to rebuttal but somebody came up behind me and blindfolded me.
"Happy Birthday Kimiko-chan. Today, school is your last priority.