A week had passed since then. Nothing happened. Kawashita raised his hand before I could open my mouth. "Think about it, first, Matsumoto-senpai. Don't reject me now." He grabbed a napkin and scribbled something. "Call me anytime."
Just like that, he fled the café like I did in the restaurant before. Only I didn't go after him. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I were going to reject him or not. I was still trying to wrap the idea around my head up to now. God knows he was cute. More than that, he was like a dream but none in the sense that he was my dream guy. He was ethereal. Someone I didn't expect to be in my real life. I wasn't sure if I was even making sense. But casual sex with someone younger, my mind stopped functioning properly.
CASUAL SEX. It flashed in my like that neon boards in Shibuya. I hadn't done that before or even thought about it.
I could only sigh, groan, and think but not necessarily in that order.
All week long I had been staring at his e-mail address and thinking about him—what he said. I was almost sure it was too good to be true, but his face kept on popping in my mind along with his words and that warm laughter. My body yearned for that heat as it recalled how cozy it felt when he pulled me closer trying to stop me.
It was torture.
In the end, dropping it seemed like the right choice and an opportunity—food and beer—arrived at the perfect time. Only there was no such thing as impeccable escape. Kazuya brought me back to Kawashita hell as easy as one two three. I had been dodging his questions about my date the last few days. It also helped that we had fewer classes together this semester but there was no avoiding him now.
We were on our way to a restaurant near the university to meet up with the few guys from the law and engineering circle. The sun had set hours ago, and the night breeze was beginning to have some bite in it. My steps were rushed but Kazuya had something different in mind.
He asked, "When are you going to tell me who was your date last Friday? Did it go that badly?"
"Haven't I told you?" I glanced at him without slowing down. He gave me a face, so I told him Kawashita's full name.
"Kawashita Akira?" Kazuya exclaimed, stopping abruptly. "Don't you know him? He's like a prince in that art and music school near here."
I laughed at his exaggeration. "How'd you even know that? Our school is large enough not to know everyone, let alone someone from another school."
"You know my sister had a thing for art and good-looking guys. I saw pictures. He was that famous, Reiko." Kazuya's eyes brightened. "I would have pushed it later with Ren if I knew you were meeting him. What happened? Don't tell me you crushed his ego. Come on. Tell me everything."
"How could you be even sure it was the same guy?" I asked, recalling Kazuya's sister who just graduated from high school last March and was attending a community college. She sure liked art exhibits and handsome guys just as much as Nanami and Kazuya. We were into boy groups anyway.
"We could search his SNS accounts and check," Kazuya said.
I shook my head. "Let's just hurry up. I'm freezing and I'm hungry."
"But—" Before he could finish his sentence, I began rushing again, escaping the Kawashita hell or so I thought.
When we arrived at the regular place, we just followed the raucous conversations and shouts and entered the reserved tatami room with two long short legged tables. The mix of beer, men's cologne, sweat, and fried food hit me. It smelled peace to me. I joined the ten men and five women downing the glasses of beer like it was water.
I was on my fourth glass when Tachibana-senpai wandered in, sitting between me and Kazuya, nudging me. "How was your date, Matsumoto?"
Was he asking because he didn't know or was he teasing? I stared at him blankly as I thought of how to evade him, but Kazuya spared me of an answer. He placed his phone in front of us. "Is it this guy? This Kawashita Akira?"
Tachibana-senpai pushed back his glasses before he looked at the photo while I peered in. It was indeed Kawashita perhaps a little younger, but it was really him. His hair was longer, his face thinner, but that smile, and that nose were all still vivid to me.
"You know him too?" Tachibana-senpai grabbed a karaage and put it in his mouth.
"See, I told you so." Kazuya looked at me before he turned to Tachibana-senpai. "How'd you know him? I didn't know you have decent friends."
"Hey!" Tachibana-senpai replied with his mouth still full, crumbs flying out of his mouth. Kazuya cringed but Tachibana-senpai continued, "Your boyfriend is one of my friends too."
"I wouldn't say Tanaka is decent either," someone quipped in, followed by laughter all around.
The discussion and jokes dissipated among everyone. I was secretly thankful. Kazuya's attention on me shifted away until Tachibana-senpai tapped me just as finished my current glass of beer. "By the way, Matsumoto, I invited him over. He promised to bring some girls."
Tachibana-senpai snickered and brought his glass to his lips when I grabbed it, exclaiming, "What?"
"Who?" Kazuya butted in. "The Kawashita Akira?"
As if on cue, the shoji screens opened.