As we were tasting the snacks laid out on the floor, one by one,
I recalled the main goal of today’s date that I had forgotten.
‘Finger size! I totally forgot about this….’
It was a crucial step in getting the ring resized, and yet I had already forgotten about it.
‘How can I naturally find out?’
I decided to use the method I had come up with last time.
“Hem…. Lily.”
“Hmm?”
Lily, who had been nibbling on the dessert, had one cheek puffed out.
Caught off guard by her cuteness, I was momentarily speechless, but I shook my head and continued.
“Umm… Should we… measure our hand sizes?”
“…Hand sizes?”
Lily’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“No… not for any special reason, but…”
I’m freaking out.
I can’t tell her I need to measure her finger size for the engagement ring!
But it would look suspicious to anyone if I measure her hand size without giving an explanation.
Just as I was trying to come up with a new excuse,
“Okay, then.”
Lily nodded lightly and extended one of her hands to me.
‘Huh…this easy?’
Could this be common for couples…?
I wouldn’t know without experience…
Anyway, since I’ve got the chance now, I firmly grabbed Lily’s hand.
It was her right hand.
‘…Hmm. Both hands aren’t likely to be different sizes, are they?’
But if they are, we’re in trouble.
Placing her hand next to mine, I compared the sizes.
“Wow…Lily’s fingers are huge.”
I thought mine were pretty big, but Lily’s were clearly larger by about half a tone.
On the other hand, the thickness was… about three-quarters of mine? Slimmer.
Speaking of which,
‘…Are her hands this beautiful?’
Now that I think about it, this is the first time I’ve observed Lily’s hands in such detail.
Refined and delicate fingers.
Where else could you find hands that suit the phrase so well?
Her pale, slender fingers and the long nails at the tips were a sight to behold.
Lily tends to keep her nails a bit longer; it feels like they could hurt if pressed too hard.
Her nails were dyed pitch-black, much like her hair, resembling a luxurious gemstone akin to a midnight sky.
Their soft touch made me want to keep caressing them.
As I examined and fiddled with her hands this way and that, Lily suddenly twitched her fingers.
“Ahhh!”
Startled by the sudden movement, I fell back, seeing Lily suppress a giggle.
“What are you so focused on?”
“…Because they’re pretty.”
“My hands?”
“Yeah.”
Lily tried to cover her smiling mouth with a dessert, but her raised corners betrayed her.
“…Can I see your left hand too?”
This elicited a slightly awkward smile from Lily.
“Really? They’re the same on both sides, aren’t they?”
“Bu… but you never know…”
It was a pathetic excuse, even to me.
Nevertheless, Lily smiled and offered her left hand.
The left hand was just as beautiful as the right one.
I compared the sizes again.
As expected, the same size.
While focusing on her ring finger and observing her fingers, an odd urge began to creep up.
‘…Will she get mad at this? Probably…’
Still, I wanted to try it.
I glanced at Lily and, seeing her focused on the dessert, slowly opened my mouth and…
“Ah?!”
I took her ring finger into my mouth and sucked it once.
Startled, Lily trembled all over and quickly bowed her head.
‘…Huh, didn’t expect such a reaction.’
“Loo…!”
Lily stared at me with wide eyes, but her blushing face only looked cute.
“Urm…urm…”
“Stop…!”
“Urm…urm…”
“Tell me to stop already!”
Thinking that continuing like this might really get me hit, I opened my mouth, and Lily quickly retracted her hand.
Her reaction made her resemble a cat with its fur standing up, which wasn’t intimidating at all.
‘…So cute…’
But approaching her like this might result in getting scratched by those sharp nails.
So, I waited for Lily to catch her breath.
“Why did you do that?”
She dropped the question nonchalantly.
“Because.”
“Just… because?”
“Just because.”
I really just wanted to try it.
Her eyes now lacked much of their earlier hostility.
“…Give me your hand.”
“My hand?”
“Give it.”
“…Here.”
When I extended my right hand, Lily shook her head.
“Your left.”
Switching hands, Lily immediately lunged and took my left ring finger into her mouth.
“Urm…urm…”
“Ugh…”
I remember this happening before.
It was when I played with her lips while she was sleeping and got caught…
Back then, it felt the same but much more…
“…Damn! So… intimate!”
It seemed deliberate this time, as her saliva-coated mouth was even stickier than before.
The feeling of her tongue brushing against me was ticklish, sending shudders down my spine.
“Churrp…”
“!!!”
Lily’s tongue began to actively wrap around my finger.
As her tongue wriggled and tightly enveloped my finger, it was hard to describe the sensation.
“I’m sorry…!”
“Churp…”
“Stop please…”
“…”
“Please…”
I started to think we might get into serious trouble if this continued.
Just as I was having that thought, Lily let go of my finger at the last moment.
Looking at my finger glistening with saliva made my heart race for some reason.
“Understand how it feels now?”
“…Yeah.”
“Be careful. If you play with tricks like that carelessly…”
Lily’s eyes flashed red momentarily.
“I might reach my limit.”
“…That’s the second warning.”
“Be cautious.”
“Understood.”
In the end, I got scolded.
Still, after getting scolded once, the atmosphere seemed to lighten up.
“Try this. It’s sweet and delicious.”
“Urm…urm… Yeah, it’s good. This would taste even better with coffee.”
“Try this too. It’s a bit sour.”
“Urm…urm… I’m suddenly wide awake.”
“Here…”
“…This one…”
What’s up? Is she trying to fatten me up to eat me?
While feeding me all sorts of things, Lily put the remaining dessert into a take-out container.
“Shall we head back?”
“Sure.”
We’d been up all night and stayed for quite a while.
As we descended the stairs, an employee came to the counter on the first floor, the same one who had delivered our food to our room.
The employee quickly scanned us, then looked at Lily,
and nodded.
Startled, I turned around to find Lily blushing and bowing her head deeply.
‘…What’s going on here?’
Leaving this mystery aside, I paid and left the shop.
As we walked slowly while chatting, we soon arrived at the academy gate.
Sweet Love wasn’t too far from the academy either.
Just as we were about to cross the gate, Lily suddenly stopped me.
“Lily?”
Thinking something was up, I turned my head to find Lily looking at me with an intense expression as if she was begging for something.
Predicting what she wanted, I asked incredulously,
“…A hickey?”
She vigorously nodded.
Is she really that eager for it?
Even though I had declined in the morning, thinking it might affect the rest of the date (although now that I think about it, the atmosphere didn’t really get less intense…),
I couldn’t refuse this time.
And besides…
‘I don’t really want to refuse anyway.’
It’s not that I dislike this act itself.
I’m worried it might escalate beyond proper boundaries.
But this time, as it’s the end of our date,
I thought it’d be fine.
With my nod of consent, Lily slightly lifted her clothes.
The white clavicle always captivated me whenever I saw it.
Recalling the spot from last time, I buried my face.
“Chup… chup… chup…”
After sucking a few times, a red hickey appeared in the same spot as last time.
“Hmm…”
Lily smiled faintly as if treasuring that mark, gently stroking it.
“…Do you really like it that much?”
“It’s a mark showing that you’re mine, so of course I like it.”
Mine…
It’s true that I had said it first, but I remember blushing after that statement because it was so embarrassing.
“…Should I do the same for you?”
With bright eyes, Lily earnestly stared at my clavicle area, making me smile as I slightly pulled up my shirt.
In response, Lily bent her knees slightly and buried her face near my neck.
“…….”
“……?”
Though I was tense, nothing happened, so I tilted my head and lightly tapped Lily’s shoulder.
“Lily?”
“……”
There was no response.
Feeling uneasy, I tried to step back, but Lily’s suddenly extended hand grabbed my arm, preventing my escape.
And then,
“Sniff… hmm…”
“?!?”
Her nose suddenly started tickling my neck.
“Wh-What are you doing sniffing like that?!”
Ignoring my call, Lily continued to sniff.
“Sniff… hmm… sniff… hmm…”
After sticking to me for a few minutes, Lily finally seemed satisfied and pulled away from my neck.
Then, she placed her lips near my clavicle and,
“Zzook… chup… chup…”
A moment later, the hickey on the same spot mirrored mine exactly.
“…Why did you sniff suddenly? You gave me a scare.”
“…Sorry… couldn’t help myself…”
Did she do it without realizing it too?
Just as I thought to step back and kiss her again,
“Hold on, does your lip still hurt?”
Lily hesitated and asked with concern, but
“It’s fine now after sleeping.”
“…That’s good.”
Regenerative power sure comes in handy at moments like these.
Chup… zzook…….
—-
We walked slowly toward the dormitory, crossing the gate.
Even though we can always be together once we reach the dormitory,
but stepping through the dormitory door feels like declaring, “Today’s date is over!”
So we both slowed down our steps.
Lily also seemed to feel the same way, walking just as slowly.
“…It was fun.”
Lily’s sudden outburst, though without context, was something I understood perfectly.
“I’m glad. I feel like I made a lot of mistakes today.”
Going to the zoo was a mistake.
It just made her angry-
“The zoo was fine.”
“Really?”
“Because of that interval…”
Lily pulled out a photo from her pocket.
A picture of me with a puppy’s ears on my gray head.
“Because we could take such cute photos, right?”
“Ah… that’s true.”
And thanks to that, I also got the best picture of Lily with cat ears.
Thinking about that, it didn’t seem like such a bad decision after all.
Lily leaned her head on my shoulder and asked.
“What do you want for dinner?”
“Hmm… I don’t feel like eating anything right now. The desserts we had earlier still haven’t settled yet.”
“Let’s wait a bit and have some light late-night snacks then.”
“Sure.”
Walking for a while more, we soon reached the dormitory entrance.
A sudden thought came to mind.
‘…How long will it take to size the ring properly?’
Saying “a month” would be problematic.
So, it would be better to mention it sooner.
“Hey… Lily.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you mind if I go out for a bit?”
“…Where?”
…Lily’s eyes keep turning red today.
Fortunately, a plausible excuse came to my mind quickly.
“I lent something to a friend, so I’ll just go and grab it quickly.”
“…Is that really it?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Sorry, Lily.
“Come back quickly.”
“Sure.”
“Try to be as fast as possible.”
“Understood.”
“…Come back.”
I gave Lily a tight hug and quickly headed toward the ring shop.
Unbeknownst to me, a pair of red eyes were chasing after me.
“Friend…”
Unfortunately for Arthur, the number of friends he has who could possibly borrow something from him is very limited.
Moreover, he had been asleep for a month.
If he lent it before that…
Lily immediately saw through his lie.
‘For a ring, huh.’
Realizing that the direction he’s heading is the same as last time, Lily suppressed her laughter.
‘How can he be so pure…? So cute.’
Chuckling softly, Lily turned back and headed for her room.
She decided to wait until he returned with the ring.
Meanwhile, she would refrain from showing any signs that she knew.
“…Can I endure it?”
After entering the room, Lily effortlessly removed all the dust by casually snapping her fingers and finished cleaning.
Dressed in her favored evening dress from her school uniform, Lily lightly sat on the bed.
“Hehe, waiting is also work~”
The expectation building up already made her heart race.
Unable to control her overheating body, Lily suddenly got up and headed to the kitchen.
To welcome him back with delicious food.
“Hummingly~
Black flames began to rise.
And how much time had passed since then.
“……”
Tap… tap… tap… tap…
Lily’s delicate fingers rhythmically tapped the table.
This tapping has been going on for an hour now.
Tap… tap… tap… tap…
And the time she waited…
Tap.
The moment her finger stopped, the second hand of the wall clock precisely pointed to midnight.
Standing up abruptly, Lily’s whole body emitted a deep crimson aura.
Initially, she thought he might be working on resizing the ring, which would take time.
But now, considering the time she spent waiting…
“Four hours…”
A full four hours.
That’s not an excuse that could hold up anymore.
“Could it be…”
“Could it be… what?!”
Gnashing her teeth forcefully, Lily shouted with a voice filled with anger.
“WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE!!!”
