We strolled around in front of the station for a while and finally decided to enter a nearby café.
The store wasn't so crowded, which made us feel at ease.
To be honest, I don't really like noisy places.
The clerk led us to the inside of the store, put down the water and the menu, and then left. At this moment, Blake tapped the menu in front of me lightly with his fingertip for some reason.
"What, what's wrong?"
I didn't understand the meaning of his action and asked, tilting my head. Blake narrowed his eyes and stared at me tightly.
"Are you thinking of ordering coffee first right now?"
The moment Blake finished speaking in a slightly surprised tone, the water in my mouth went down the wrong way, and I started coughing violently.
"Are you okay?"
"No, no, I'm fine."
I hurriedly stopped Blake from standing up and nodded repeatedly while coughing. Blake frowned and reluctantly sat back down.
"Seeing your reaction, I guessed it right."
"Well, I'm not very hungry yet."
"Did you eat in the morning?"
"No, I don't eat in the morning."
I avoided Blake's gaze, and suddenly his hand was placed on mine, which was on the table.
I reflexively tried to pull it away forcefully, but he held it tightly.
"You are both picky about food and have an irregular diet. You don't seem like the type to gain weight easily, but you are actually very thin."
"Well, it's a family trait. Everyone in my family is thin."
"Even so, when I hugged you that day, I was a little surprised. You were even weaker than you looked, and I thought you might break."
Blake said these words casually, and my face instantly became hot.
I clearly remembered being hugged by Blake that night, and my head felt even more dizzy.
"No matter what, I wouldn't break. I'm already paying attention, so don't say that anymore."
I glared at Blake, who sighed, and forcefully pulled back my held hand.
"Having a low metabolism is not bad, but you'd better develop the habit of eating. In your case, teacher, your body probably has forgotten the feeling of hunger."
I heard Blake's worried voice, but I couldn't listen anymore.
To be honest, I was now stiff and in pain due to nervousness.
I quickly withdrew my free hand, covered my face with both hands, and let out a deep sigh.
"Are you angry?"
"No, I'm not angry. It's just that Blake, you are too direct about everything. For someone my age, I simply can't handle it."
Blake was too direct about everything, without any change, too direct.
Indeed, if he did something in a roundabout way, it would also be troublesome.
But in that case, I might still have some room to cope.
But he didn't even give me such an opportunity - too direct.
Unfortunately, I had no immunity to him. Yes, in my life so far, I had never been liked so directly and passionately by anyone.
"Do you find it troublesome?"
I felt Blake's breath become tense because of my reaction.
Hearing his probing voice, I hurriedly looked up.
"No, it's not like that. Well, how should I put it... No, I understand. I think I might have been like this when I was young, well, full of energy. Ah, that's not what I mean."
What I said was incoherent, and I just randomly grabbed my hair with both hands in a rush. Blake let out a gentle sigh.
"I understand in my heart. But I want to be by your side for as long as possible and want you to know me."
Hearing Blake's voice gradually getting smaller, I somehow felt a sense of guilt.
But his expression like a scolded child made me feel a little pitiful and cute.
But -
"To be honest, I always want to touch you."
At the moment I thought he was a little cute, the lamb turned into a wolf.
I was hit by Blake's words again and lowered my head in frustration. To suppress my fast heartbeat, I opened the menu.
However, the lunch menu had a wide variety of options, including meat, fish, pasta, and others, which was quite confusing. After some struggle, I finally ordered a lunch mainly based on fish.
It also came with salad and soup, which was very abundant. If I were alone, I definitely wouldn't have the confidence to finish it and wouldn't order this.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
After a while, the lunch that was served exceeded my expectations. Not only was the portion generous, but the food itself was very delicious.
But now, rather than the first bite's delight, I felt shyness first, to the point that I couldn't even taste the food in my throat.
"Is it so interesting to keep looking at someone else's face?"
I looked at Blake, who was smiling while supporting his cheek with his hand, with a puzzled gaze. Instead, he relaxed his cheeks even more and smiled happily.
During the process of ordering and serving the food, Blake kept staring at me.
Once we started eating, he would stop from time to time and stare at me again.
"I think it's cute."
He ignored my surprise and smiled even deeper.
"Only you would think so."
I really wanted to say that there was something wrong with his eyes, but I didn't know what else he would say excitedly.
He said he would pay attention, but in fact, he was still as direct as ever, showing no sign of paying attention. Or maybe, this was simply impossible to notice?
I think Blake's every move was probably not intentional.
He must just be frankly expressing his thoughts and taking actions.
But I suddenly had a question.
"No, is this a calculation?"
"What is a calculation?"
Blake curiously tilted his head at my whispered self-talk.
I couldn't tell his true intention from his expression.
"No, it's nothing."
Blake was very smart. Maybe I was just being skillfully manipulated by him. But this also made me feel a little lonely.
"Really?"
"Ah, yes."
I felt that I was being too capricious. I found it troublesome when he was too direct, but also felt lonely if it was a calculation.
In any case. My heart will bear a great burden in the future.
I really wish I had a heart as strong as a hairy one.
I thought deeply about this while gently sighing without letting Blake notice.
"This time, whatever."
To be honest, I didn't dislike seeing Blake smile.
"Just as I said, right? Seeing food makes you feel hungry."
"Well, indeed."
Before ordering, I kept opening and closing the menu, and Blake narrowed his eyes and said that I could order anything.
And now, regrettably, I had almost finished the lunch that was served.
"And eating together is more delicious than eating alone."
"... I feel like I'm being fed."
"Do you really want to be fed?"
"Please let me refuse."
Blake smiled and pointed the fork with the rolled-up pasta towards me, and I firmly refused without hesitation.
And Blake showed an unconvinced expression and put the pasta into his own mouth.