It was pretty late in the morning by the time I woke up, dim gray light filtering in through my open curtains and the soft pitter patter of rain drops on the window glass. I lifted my head to look out the window, the trees in the distance were swaying back and forth as the wind rushed through their leaves. Rolling over in bed, I had forgotten that I fell asleep still dressed in my clothes from my day in the city. Pulling them all off and throwing them in my laundry bin, I threw on some pajamas so I was at least decent before running through the house. Downstairs was our laundry and I wanted my nice skirt for going to karaoke today. Dad was watching the news in the family room and mom was busy in the kitchen as I snuck past to start my laundry. I grabbed a quick shower while the laundry was going and finally walked into the kitchen once I was feeling a little more refreshed and presentable.
"Happy birthday sweetheart!" My mom rushed forward to give me a hug and a kiss on top of my head. "We didn't really do anything for breakfast since you had a late night. I can make you something if you wanted."
"No thanks, I'm going to grab an early lunch with Echiko and Ami before we go to karaoke." My mother just smiled at me, I could tell she wanted to make today special for me. I did grab an apple to munch on while I waited for laundry to finish, and to ease her mind that I wasn't starving myself or anything.
With my clothes washed and nearly time to meet up with my friends, I stood in front of the mirror in my room trying to decide on what to go with the skirt. I knew Echiko would be taking lots of pictures with her phone, something she loved to do on birthdays, so I wanted to look presentable enough for random classmates that would inevitably see the pictures. Given how cold it was going to be with the wind and rain, I picked out a nice black sweater with a wide neckline. I might not like fashion nearly as much as Echiko but I still knew how to throw together a cute outfit. With the sweater showing a little extra skin around my collarbone I knew my bra strap was going to be visible. I picked up the new bra I had bought yesterday, the blue lacy fabric a nice mix of cute and… sexy. I bit my lip slightly, I never would have called myself or anything I wore as sexy, but that guy last night had left quite an impression in my mind about it. I grabbed the matching panties and hastily started dressing, already wasting enough time this morning. To finish off the outfit, I looked through my closet for a blue ribbon to match my underwear, tying back my hair how I usually did with an accent that would match the visible bra strap. Satisfied with the look I took a minute to put on some makeup before I ran back downstairs to start getting my shoes on.
"Hey, it's raining," My dad's booming voice came from the family room and I could hear the news on the television suddenly turn off. "Let me give you a ride over to the cafe… Wow, especially when you make yourself look so nice for your birthday." He had just come around the corner and saw me.
I twirled a little in place, "You think I look good enough for my birthday? Echiko is going to be taking pictures like crazy and I don't want her to post anything that will make me look stupid."
"Oh honey, no one could ever make you look stupid. Let me just grab my coat and I'll drive you into town." I grabbed one of the umbrellas by the door, opening it up and stepping outside as dad came back. The air was a lot warmer than I was expecting, though I was still thankful for wearing something with long sleeves as the wind whipped some rain under the umbrella. Dad and I hurried to his truck before we got soaked and in no time we were heading into town.
Looking at the rain coming down, I turned to my father, "Thanks for giving me a ride into town, were you heading somewhere anyways?"
He nodded, "Yeah, work wants me to swing by the head office in Okayama, figure I'd pick up a few things while I was there. Since it is work asking me to come in, I don't mind driving instead of taking the train."
As we got close to the cafe I could see my friend Ami already inside at a table, her auburn hair like a red sign pointing her out. Her mom was an American, an English teacher in primary school. Her red hair was always a big topic in elementary school but I always kind of liked Ami's more subtle brown with a hint of red. I absentmindedly played with my bangs, wondering how I might look if I ever dyed it to look like Ami's or even more striking like her mother's. When dad pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the cafe I threw the closed umbrella into my bag, trusting that it would be faster to run straight into the cafe than wrestle with getting the umbrella open.
I reached over to give dad a hug before hopping out into the rain and sprinting for the cafe door. I waved goodbye from the dry overhang of the cafe and stepped inside to the strong smell of fresh crepes cooking in back. After joining Ami we chatted for a bit as we waited on Echiko. When the waiter came by I just ordered for Echiko what she usually got. Sure enough Echiko finally arrived right as the food was being dropped off at our table.
"Sorry, I overslept… a lot. Yesterday was just exhausting." I tried to suppress an eye roll as Echiko apologized, I knew exactly what made her so tired. Ami was a lot more reserved than Echiko and I felt like she was even more sheltered than me, so I wasn't about to confess to her about the things that happened in Okayama.
-
After lunch and telling Ami about the swim meet the waiter came by with the bill. We all reached for our bags when my heart lurched in my chest, my bag wasn't there. I thought back, remembering putting the umbrella in it and then… I sprinted out of the truck. I had left my bag in dad's truck which was well in the city by now. "Fuck," I mumbled under my breath before speaking normally for them, "I forgot my bag in dad's truck. I don't have my wallet on me."
Echiko waved me off, "Not a problem, Ami was going to cover lunch anyways and I'm covering karaoke for us, you have nothing to worry about."
I smiled, a hint of defeat on my face. I never really liked it when they paid for me but it was hard to argue when I was without my wallet, and having it be my birthday. I was also a little disappointed in the lack of an umbrella, not really a problem for going to karaoke that was a couple doors down the sidewalk, but eventually I'd have to walk home. Once we had paid we made the mad dash down the sidewalk, hugging the buildings as much as possible, and bursting into the karaoke lounge looking less dry than ideal.
The building was nice and warm, colorful posters of different bands and artists hanging all over the wall. I hadn't been here yet but Echiko seemed to know exactly what she was doing. Not caring that she was still a little wet, or maybe that she was using the fact that she was in a white shirt that showed off her bra underneath to gain some advantage, she leaned on the counter to talk to the cashier. He looked vaguely familiar, a recent high school graduate from a year or two ago, but not someone that we would have ever had classes with.
In her most angelic voice, Echiko started laying on her charm. "I'm so glad you're here today Takaido, karaoke just wouldn't be the same without you around. Do you think you could get a room going for us? It's our friend's birthday today. Doesn't Shizu just look adorable in her outfit? I don't know if you could help us spoil her a bit for her birthday, but maybe you could say it's a room for two and we'll keep Shizu our little secret?" She gave a very playful wink at the guy, pulling me in close by the shoulders so that I would be squeezed a bit, the hint of cleavage showing from the neckline of my sweater. I wanted to push Echiko off of me, but the guy was clearly enthralled by her and rang us up as two discount passes. As Echiko paid, she let her hand linger so that the guy touched it as he grabbed the money, his cheeks blushing slightly as he flipped a switch under the desk. A light down the hall came on, indicating which room we were to use. She waved goodbye as we made our way to the room. "Oh it was just a little playful flirting, what harm can it do?" Echiko whispered into my ear, elbowing my side a bit as she teased me.
The booth was fairly nice. A fridge with a glass door was in a corner that showed various beverages with price tags on them. Couches on either side of the room were facing each other with the center of the room vacant, that way the singer would be in the middle of everyone while facing the screen on the far wall. It looked like the perfect place for a party of friends to spend the afternoon.
-
We were a little over halfway done with our lineup of songs. Half a dozen empty soda bottles stood on the little tables alongside the couches. After the first couple of songs they had handed me presents for my birthday. Ami had gotten me a manga from the series she knew I liked, and Echiko had a pair of designer boots that were clearly worn a couple times but still looked really nice. They were black and made from a soft leather, with just a little bit of a heel to them. I wasn't the most comfortable in heels, but they definitely went with my outfit more than my current shoes. I slipped them on, trying to balance on them as I sang my next song. Ami was in the middle of a solo that was bringing quite a bit of color to her cheeks when suddenly the sound cut out and everything went dark, only Ami's voice echoed through the room for a second longer. I couldn't see anything until Echiko turned the light from her phone on, shining it around to see what was going on. It seemed like the power went out and a moment later the guy from the front counter came to our door, "Sorry, it looks like the power went out."
Echiko pouted a bit and Ami was breathing heavily from singing and being startled. Echiko looked at the bottles of soda that we drank, "Do you think we can get these on the house? Since the power cut out halfway and all?"
The guy frowned, looking at the six bottles, doing the math in his head, "Yeah, that should be fine. It would be about the same as a refund for the room anyways, so we're good. I'd say you could wait around for the power to come back on but you all might want to go home. The storm is pretty bad out there."
We gathered our stuff and went out to the foyer, seeing the trees swaying outside the window. Ami tried looking up the street from the angle we were at, "Mom's office is just up the street, I'll walk there and wait for her to give me a ride home in this. Do you want to come with my Shizu? We can always drop you off."
I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head, "No, I'll just walk. There aren't too many trees on the way home so I'm not too worried about a branch falling on me. Besides, it's just rain, and I did get a nice pair of boots." I gave Echiko a playful wink which she returned with a frown.
"Those are supposed to be nice boots, not walking home in the rain boots."
I just shrugged, obviously they were nice but what was wrong with a little practicality? "Can you take my shoes and book with you in your bag? I'll get them from you tomorrow or something." Echiko nodded, taking my things for me so I didn't have to worry about them in the rain. I waved them goodbye and set out through the rain towards the street that would take me out of town.
-
Despite being the middle of the afternoon, the sky was dark and I could hear the distant rumble of thunder. It was probably in the next town over, so I wasn't really worried, but the atmosphere was a little lonesome for a walk home. With the street lights off and businesses closing in a hurry from the power going out, it felt like some old American west movie where the bad guy walks into town. I passed back by the cafe and a few other stores through town. I hadn't walked through town in a while and didn't recognize some of the places. At the corner of the street was a new arcade, color arcade machines all silent as several disheartened teenagers were gathering up their stuff to head home.
I was barely across the street when I heard my name being called, "Shizu! Wait up!"
I hopped the last couple steps across the street to avoid a puddle before turning around to see who was pursuing me, surprised to see Toin running to catch up to me. Even having just left the arcade, he already looked soaked in the rain, which probably meant I looked like a drowned rat or something. "Hey Toin, what's up?"
"Are you on your way home?" I nodded in response to his question, suddenly feeling a little warm despite the rain and wind. "Would you like me to walk you home?"
I restrained myself from shouting yes, instead pausing for a second before responding, "Isn't that really out of your way on a day like this?"
"Yeah, but I don't mind. What's a little rain going to do anyways? I'm just sorry I don't have an umbrella." I laughed at that, letting him lead the way as I began to tell him about forgetting my umbrella in my dad's truck.
Toin made the walk enjoyable, before I knew it we were past the buildings in town and on the road near the school that led towards my house. A large vehicle drove by, hitting a puddle that splashed water up towards us. We probably would have been hit by it if Toin didn't grab me by the hand at the last second and pull me back. I thanked him, but found myself holding his hand still as we continued walking down the street.
"So, there was something I wanted to ask you… you and Echiko… what is there between you two?" I hesitated to bring up the question, but it had been burning in the back of my mind since Toin walked me home last time. We were nearly in front of my house and who knows when I would get a chance to ask him again this summer.
Toin seemed to feel the same hesitation as I had, because it was a good fifty feet farther down the street before he answered, almost in front of my house. "Well, do you want a comforting answer, or the truth?" I didn't know what I wanted, but a warm sensation inside of me didn't mind what the truth might be, since no matter the reasons I think I might enjoy knowing the answer.
"The truth, please." I turned to look at him, hoping the makeup on my face wasn't washing away as I tried to give him the best "Echiko" look I could manage.
He stared down into my eyes for a moment before answering. "Echiko and I had some fun last weekend, the kind where we really wouldn't want someone walking up on us so we went to the old park by the orchard to have some privacy. I heard that she is dating that upperclassmen, that's fine, I didn't really see things going anywhere with Echiko anyways. If she asked me again, I'd probably agree to go again… but if someone else, like you, invited me… well I would be open to that." My lips were parted slightly, my breathing heavy as I imagined what we could be doing right now in the rain and darkness where no one could find us. He leaned down, both of us closing our eyes as his lips found mine. I didn't hold back, eager to show my willingness by letting my tongue slip inside his mouth, rain crashing down on both of us.
It was a good minute or two before we finally parted, my breathing no less intense than when we started. I opened my mouth slowly, about to push myself to ask Toin if he'd like to go a little further to a place where we could be alone, but as the words formed in my mouth a large flash of light erupted above us with an echoing roll of thunder. I couldn't see anything as my eyes adjusted to the darkness after the flash, but I know somewhere up above the hills was where the arc of the lightning crashed down to earth. I felt like I had sobered up, though I wasn't really sure what that experience was like, but suddenly I was thinking clearer. Did I really want to go up to the orchard with Toin and do things with him? I mean, yes, I did. But not today, not like this.
I took half a step back so I could look at him more clearly. "I… really appreciate you walking me home. Hopefully we can do it again sometime." Not knowing what else to say, I reached up to give him one more simple kiss on the lips before running into the house. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I leaned against trying to catch my breath, as if leaving that spot would be the most hazardous thing I could do at that moment. No one else was home, and finally I slid down to the floor to just think for a minute. I took off my new boots and set them on a rack to dry, peeling off my wet clothes as I went upstairs. The power was on here, the lights turning on when I flipped the switch. No sooner had I reached my room than I had heard the front door opening. I tossed my wet sweater and skirt into my laundry basket and hurriedly threw on some pajamas, running back down the stairs. Mom and Hara were shaking the rain off of their umbrellas as I greeted them.
"Shizu, we didn't expect you home for another hour or so." My mom saw my wet hair, "Did you forget an umbrella today?"
"I left my bag in dad's truck when he took me to the cafe. The power went out in town while we were at karaoke so I just came home." I tried to hide my giddy feelings, knowing mom would pester me until she got the truth out of me if she thought I had something worth hiding.
Mom didn't pry though, getting Hara's wet clothes off of him and telling him to go take a bath before dinner. "Well, I'm going to get katsu started, your father should be home in an hour. After dinner you can open your presents." I followed her to the kitchen to help with what I could as she started cooking, but at a certain point I had to give it up and went to watch a little TV before dinner.
-
I enjoyed dinner a lot more than I normally did, mom served the katsu with fresh tomato slices as a special birthday treat, my secret delight. There was some leftover apple pie so that Hara could have a dessert for the occasion but the rest of us were fine skipping the sweets tonight. Dad stood up and walked to the other room, returning a minute later with two wrapped presents for me. The first one was large and heavy, but also kind of flat. The wrapping paper was colorful and in big letters across the front it read, "To Shizu, Love Dad, Mom, and Hara". As I picked it up and felt the weight, my heart leapt in my chest. I was already thanking them before I had the wrapping paper off, revealing a slim gray laptop. Dad smiled wide, "Now, it isn't a super fancy one. It is only for school work and such, and probably a good place to store photos."
I looked up from the laptop, a quizzical look on my face as he said photos. He slid over the second present, a small one wrapped in very nice black paper. I could tell it had been wrapped at the store, and there was nothing written on the front.
"I talked with your mother, and we decided that it was time you had this, especially if you are going to be going to the city and walking around on your own so much." I started to unwrap it, the black paper giving away to an equally dark and glossy cell phone. It already had a screen protector and plastic guard around it. I was speechless as my parents both wished me happy birthday and got up to give me big hugs.
After heading back up to my room with my new presents, I opened up the laptop and started the long update process that came with starting it up for the first time. I knew a bit about computers through school and was fairly savvy with one despite our house having only the one communal computer. While I waited, I turned on the cell phone and checked it out. There were a few apps already downloaded onto it, and I quickly added Echiko's number to my contacts and sent her a hurried message about my presents. The camera on it was nice too, a lot like Echiko's, and I understood why dad said I should use the laptop for photos. The pictures I could take with this phone would look really nice and be worth saving.
Organizing my desk so I had space for the laptop and homework, I started setting some of my extra knick knacks into the drawer of my night stand. When I opened the drawer, I saw the love letter that Echiko had gotten at the beginning of the week. A mysterious phone number from someone at our school. I wondered if Echiko ever followed through with what she said, about sending the picture of her at the fountain to that number. I found myself clutching the letter in one hand and my phone in the other, laying down on my bed to look at them both. The letter seemed trashy, the kind of thing you'd expect in a high school romance story. It didn't even have Echiko's name on it, just some vagueness that could have meant half the girls in our class. I played around with my phone in the other hand, spinning it around as I thought about what I wanted to do. I could easily just throw the letter into the trash and no one would care. Or, I could maybe see who this mystery number was. Would they even respond if I sent a message? Would they think I was Echiko? I left the phone and letter on the bed, getting up and pulling my pajamas off before bed. I still had my damp underwear on from before, the lacy blue fabric looking extra dark and alluring as it clung to my skin and barely showed my nipples through the fabric. Even the small blue panties clung to my skin and revealed my slit underneath. The thought of it raced through my mind, wishing I had Toin's number just so I could tease him with a photo, but that would be pretty cruel after such a nice walk home. Looking back at my bed, I gave in, grabbing my phone and entering the mystery number. Facing the mirror, I tried out the camera a few times until I had a picture I liked. I added it to the text line for the number, hesitating for what felt like an hour as I paced around the room before finally hitting send.
I set the phone down on the nightstand, taking care of finalizing the settings on my laptop before I closed it up for the night. I turned the light off, took off my underwear, and climbed into bed. The storm had passed a bit ago with only a little rain falling down on the roof now. In the darkness of my room, a bright light suddenly flashed and I was sure the lightning was back, but looking at my nightstand I saw that it had just illuminated to let me know I had a message. I grabbed my phone, seeing that the mystery number had sent a reply. I opened it up to read, "I'm so glad you found this letter Shizu, I was going to miss you this summer. I hope you send me more pictures like that <3". I laughed a little at the heart emoji they had added, but I quickly replied asking who it was. A large smile was on my face, I couldn't believe I had sent such a sexy picture to someone I didn't even know. A couple minutes later there was another reply.
"I'm just a fan". I was confused for a moment, but then another message came in that was just a picture. I opened it up, seeing a distant picture that had been zoomed in. A picture of me… in a skimpy bikini… at the edge of the lake.