Shigeru's dorm room smelled like him—an earthy, masculine scent that Yurina couldn't quite describe. As she walked in, she watched him pull out a large glass jar filled to the brim with weed. "A whole jar? Really?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Relax, I don't smoke all the time. Only when I'm stressed." He glanced over at her, catching the curious look in her eyes. Yurina wondered what could be so stressful for him to need that much, but he waved it off with a dismissive hand before she could ask. "Let's not get into it right now."
He set the jar down on the table and pulled out a bong. The smooth, practiced way he set it up made it look like he'd done this a thousand times before. Yurina swallowed, her throat going dry. The sound of her gulp was loud enough for him to notice. "Don't be nervous. I've got you." Shigeru said, flicking on a lighter and bringing the bong to his lips.
The flame flickered at the tip as he took a deep pull, the water in the bong bubbling loudly as the smoke filled the chamber. He inhaled smoothly, exhaling a cloud of smoke with a satisfied look. "There, see? Easy."
The smell hit Yurina immediately, and she wrinkled her nose. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was... strange. She sat beside him, the weight of the bong in her hands making her feel nervous.
Sensing her hesitation, Shigeru leaned in closer and positioned the bong near her mouth. "Here, I'll help you out." His hands gently guided hers, steadying them as he held the lighter.
Her stomach twisted with nerves, but she decided to give it a shot. A small puff of smoke filled her lungs, and within seconds, she was coughing—hard. Her body jerked forward as she hacked uncontrollably, her throat burning.
Shigeru let out a hearty laugh, patting her back gently as she continued to cough. "Damn, I forgot you were a rookie."
"I—I can't... handle it," Yurina wheezed between coughs, still struggling to catch her breath. Her throat felt like it was on fire, and she couldn't understand how anyone could do this regularly. It felt like inhaling sandpaper. Maybe this was a mistake, she thought, wiping away tears from her eyes as Shigeru's laughter filled the room.
"Oh, I'll be back," Shigeru suddenly said, his eyes lighting up like he had just remembered something important. He got up and disappeared for a moment, leaving Yurina sitting there, still wheezing. When he came back, he had a water bottle in one hand and something else in the other.
She blinked through her watery eyes as he handed her the water first. She drank gratefully, the cool liquid soothing her sore throat, though she could still feel the burn. "Better?" Shigeru asked with a smirk, clearly amused by her reaction.
Yurina nodded, swallowing another mouthful of water, when she noticed the second thing he was holding—brownies wrapped in plastic. Shigeru waved them in front of her like they were treasures. "Maybe smoking's not for you. I've got something that might be a little easier," he said, practically dangling the brownie under her nose.
Yurina hummed through a sip of water, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. He seemed to understand her hesitation and quickly added, "Edibles. It'll take a bit longer to kick in, but it's way smoother. No coughing your lungs out."
She sputtered out a laugh, half-choking on her water. "Are you trying to kill me or something?"
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be offering you snacks," he said with a grin. He broke off a piece of the brownie and held it up to Yurina's mouth, teasing her. "C'mon, just a little bite. It's not gonna hurt."
He was enjoying this too much, and Yurina wasn't sure if she trusted him—or herself. But with a sigh, she leaned forward and took a small bite, mostly to get him to stop talking.
Okay, this isn't bad, she thought as the rich chocolate flavor spread across her tongue. It didn't taste like weed, which was surprising and a little concerning, but it was delicious. To her surprise, she let out a slight hum of delight and went in for another bite.
"Hey, hey," Shigeru laughed, pulling the brownie away slightly. "Slow down. They'll sneak up on you if you're not careful."
Yurina froze mid-bite, cheeks full like a squirrel, blinking at him. He was still smiling, clearly entertained by her enthusiasm. She swallowed and wiped her mouth, slightly embarrassed by how quickly she'd gone in on the brownie. "Sorry," she muttered, trying to play it off. "It's really good."
"Yeah, they're dangerous like that," Shigeru said, leaning back on his hands, watching her with an easy grin. "But trust me, you don't want to overdo it. Especially since it's your first time."
First time doing edibles, second time acting like an idiot around him. Yurina let out a small sigh, leaning back on the bed in the same casual way Shigeru was. The edible hadn't kicked in yet, but she felt good just sitting there, not overthinking things for once. She thought, "weirdly... this isn't so bad," she glanced over at Shigeru. He looked relaxed, too, his eyes half-lidded as he stretched his legs and propped himself up on his elbows.
What was I so worked up about again? It was strange how comfortable she felt around him now, even though only moments ago, she felt like she would crawl out of her skin. Maybe it was the brownie kicking in, or maybe Shigeru just had this calm, laid-back vibe that made it easy to relax.
Curious, she tilted her head and asked, "Were you looking for Serena so you could do this with her?"
Shigeru turned his head to meet her gaze, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, at first. Figured she'd be down to smoke. But it's fine," he shrugged. "I ended up having more fun with you than I thought."
Yurina blinked, feeling a slight blush rise to her cheeks. She wasn't exactly sure how to take that. "What do you mean by that?"
Shigeru shrugged, looking like he wasn't entirely sure how to explain himself. "I just thought you'd be more uptight about all this, I guess." He couldn't blame her for thinking that—hell, she thought the same thing about herself. She'd always figured she was too reserved, too cautious. But here she was, chilling in his room, feeling surprisingly relaxed, considering the situation. He shifted slightly, his gaze flicking to hers as he added casually, "Besides, you're nicer to look at than Serena."
Her cheeks heated immediately, a small laugh escaping her as she looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "Thanks, I guess," she said, unsure how else to respond. As she tried not to think too deeply about it, she laid back on the bed, fully stretching out. Her shirt rode up a bit, exposing a sliver of her stomach to the cool air. She caught Shigeru's eyes glancing over, but he didn't linger, quickly looking back up like it was no big deal.
The silence hung between them for a moment—comfortable but begging to be filled—so she broke it with a question that had been gnawing at her for a while. "So...are you guys like...just a group of fuck buddies or something? Or...I don't know, is it more complicated than that?" She probably shouldn't have asked, but it had crossed her mind more than once.
Shigeru raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely intrigued by her question. "What made you ask that?"
She hesitated, chewing on her lip before answering. "Well, I mean...you kissed Serena that night at the party, right? And then there was Wataru kissing Daiya. And you...you kissed Daiya too, didn't you?" She shifted uncomfortably. "It's just...I don't know."
It all felt so messy.
"I guess you could put it like that. We have sex, no strings attached. It's not like it means anything more than what it is." Her stomach flipped at how casually he said it. "Serena? Yeah, we've fucked a few times. She just wanted someone to get her off for a while, but she's not into guys. She's a hundred percent into women."
"And Daiya?" she asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
Shigeru let out a low chuckle. "No, we've never actually fucked. The most we've ever done is jerk each other off, but that's about it. Wataru and I? Nothing. We haven't done anything." So it's all just physical for them, she thought, trying to process everything.
"Sorry for prying," she mumbled, feeling awkward for asking so many personal questions.
"Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal." Not a big deal? To him, maybe. But it felt like a big deal to her, considering how much she'd thought about it, replaying those scenes repeatedly in her mind. She tried to sit up, but her body felt heavy like she was sinking into the bed. A giggle bubbled up from her chest, completely unbidden. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her laughter catching even her by surprise.
Oh God, the edible's kicking in. She could feel a warm, almost fuzzy sensation creeping through her body, a heaviness settling in her limbs. Everything felt soft, and even her thoughts were moving slowly.
Shigeru glanced over at her, a knowing smile on his lips. "Feeling it now, huh?"
She nodded, still giggling. The room felt different like it was wrapped in cotton or moving in time with her heartbeat. Her skin tingled with warmth, and she was acutely aware of every tiny sensation, from the fabric of her shirt against her skin to the coolness of the air against her exposed stomach.
His eyes lingered for a moment before he reached over, his hand brushing lightly across the bare skin of her stomach. It wasn't anything more than a casual touch, but it sent a shock of warmth straight through her, settling deep between her thighs. Her breath hitched, and she instinctively squeezed her legs together, trying to control the sudden rush of arousal that flared up from something so simple.
He didn't seem to notice—or maybe he did and just didn't care. His hand remained on her stomach, the warmth of his palm sending little ripples of pleasure through her body, but he didn't push things further. He was just there, smiling at her with that easy, confident grin as if he knew exactly what she was feeling and wasn't about to rush her. "Comfortable?"
She nodded again, but her body was saying something entirely different. She was far from comfortable. The warmth in her belly was spreading, and the simple touch of his hand on her skin made it nearly impossible to focus on anything else.
I need to pull it together. But the more she tried, the harder it became to think clearly. "You must think I'm...I don't know...a whore or something," she blurted out, immediately regretting it.
Why the hell did I say that? She could feel her face heating up even more, a mix of embarrassment and that ever-present arousal churning in her chest.
His laugh only made things worse, the sound of it hitting her in a far too intimate way for the situation. She wanted to crawl under a rock, but the warmth in his voice made it hard to stay mad at herself. "A whore? Really?" He shook his head, still grinning. "Trust me, if that's what I thought, I wouldn't be chilling here with you like this."
"Yeah, but I slept with you." She paused, feeling her heart race. "And with Daiya and Wataru...at the same time, no less." How could he not think less of her after that? Now she was here with him again, acting like it hadn't affected her as much as it clearly had.
"That was different," he said simply, shrugging. "None of us were thinking about it like that. No one's judging you, least of all me." She couldn't help but wonder if he meant that or was just saying it to make her feel better. Sure, maybe it hadn't meant much to him or the others, but it had been a lot for her.
"Look, we're all good. That night? It was fun, but I didn't walk away thinking, 'Oh, she's this or that.' It's not like that for any of us." Shigeru shifted slightly, his fingers tracing absent patterns against her skin. "We're cool, alright?"
Yurina wanted to believe him. "Okay," she said softly, as though trying to convince herself more than him. Shigeru moved in a little closer, his breath warm against her face. For a moment, she swore she could feel the space between them shrinking, pulling them together.