Before I could voice out any protests, Kawashita truly left. When he returned, faster than I expected, he was alone. Mayuki-san, according to him, was currently busy with the check-ins while his brother would greet me later at dinner.
"Don't you need to help out? Won't it be extra busy with your parents gone?" I asked after I drank water. He stayed with me to eat the little extravagant late lunch that he brought.
"I will. After this." He placed a sweet rolled egg on my bowl of rice with his chopsticks. "Mayuki-neesan ordered me to keep you company."
"I'm okay though." I took a bite of the egg, and it melted in my mouth. The sweetness of it lingered in my tongue. I almost moaned. It was delicious.
"I prefer to be here though," he said with a smile as he placed a morsel of tofu into my bowl.
"Because you like pampering me," I said, smiling, unable to keep the observation to myself.
He'd been so attentive since we started eating. I hadn't been able to get a piece of any of the side dishes myself. He refilled my cup of water every time I drank.
"Pfft." He snorted and rolled his eyes, but his cheeks turned red. "That's only because I already ate unlike someone who's so excited she forgot to buy food but remembered to bring the sake."
"You and the sake." I shook my head and lifted my chopsticks to point at the fish. "I'd like some of this please."
Kawashita snapped his gaze at me, scowling. "Get it yo…"
I wasn't sure what he saw in my face, but he sighed, picked up his chopsticks again and gave me what I asked. My grin grew as I ate the piece of the fish.
"Reiko-senpai." With a shake of his head and another sigh, he added, "I think you'll like the craft beer here. Have you had it before?"
"No," I admitted. "It's my first time in Hakone."
He grinned and put another tofu in my bowl. "We'll start going around tomorrow. My brother already gave me the go signal."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
Kawashita brightened up even more as he went on with details. After that, we finished up lunch and talked some more, catching up with the last few days we spent apart. When we neared the topic of Christmas Eve, I diverted it. I didn't want to recall what happened. Not yet anyway. Nor did I want to be that transparent to him.
"So, Mayuki-san is cute. How long they had been married?" I asked, taking charge of the conversation. "You mentioned it only had been this year."
"June wedding." He shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. "Don't let her hear you say that. She'll be overjoyed, and then she'll turn on you and grill you with questions. She's the reason why aniki found out about us."
"Cute. She's almost thirty." He snorted.
"She is." I hit him lightly on the arm. "But how did she find out when you were out all night last night?"
"She claimed she saw it in my face the moment I arrived." Kawashita ran his hands through his hair and leaned his face closer. "Can you see anything?"
I scratched my neck, unable to follow what he meant. "What did she say exactly?"
"She said I looked lo—" He stopped short and averted his eyes, rubbed his eyebrows. "Anyway, she's a menace."
I grinned. "Did she say you were glowing?"
"Glowing?" His brows furrowed.
"Yes, because you get laid regularly now. Isn't that a thing?"
"Did your friends say you were?" He narrowed his eyes, smirking.
I grimaced, fighting the blush. Why did I ever open my mouth?
"They did. They teased you a lot, huh?" He chuckled. "You are glowing now."
"I'm not." I harrumphed.
"By the way, I saw you spent Christmas Eve with them." He lowered his eyes. "Did you have a good time?"
"A little. I felt like a third wheel." I crossed my arm and pursed my lips. "More like a fourth wheel though."
"Because of Tachibana-san?" he asked and added quickly when he noticed my eyes widened, "I saw his post on Twitter. You were asleep though."
"Oh," I said and paused, still processing the information. "Mina would reprimand me if she saw that."
"Your stepmother?" His brows knitted again.
I blinked at him, realizing I said the last thing out loud. I mumbled an affirmation.
"We were all boys last night too," he said, "And isn't Sasaki-san and Tanaka-san a couple?"
"They are but only a handful of people know." I stretched out and yawned. "I had a feeling you were all boys."
"How?" Kawashita raised an eyebrow and started clearing up the dishes.
I averted my gaze and faked a yawn. "Just a hunch."
I thought he would press me more for a clearer answer, but he dropped it and brought out the dishes with an 'I'll be right back.' When he returned, there was a different energy around him. His eyes gleamed, and he kept on licking his lips, smiling.
"Do you want to sleep now?" He stood beside the table, shifting his weight on one foot and the other.
"Or?" I tilted my head, sure there was something to follow.
His smile widened, showing his teeth. "Or do you want to take a dip in the hot spring?"