My Girlfriend Who Is Older Than Me Teases Me When I’m Working At A Bar, But Maybe Because Of Alcohol

Daring Mio and Happiness.

“Can I stop by that vending machine over there, Toma-kun?”

Mio points to the red vending machine several tens of meters ahead. It’s a regular request, but her inner feelings are extremely nervous, and her throat is parched.

“It’s okay. I wanted to get a drink myself.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that to be considerate?”

“I’m not that good at being considerate to that extent,” Toma says, equally anxious as Mio.

“Liar. I know you’re lying,” Mio teases.

“I’m serious!”

They walk along the clean asphalt sidewalk at the same pace, occasionally bumping shoulders, their distance close enough to be comfortable.

(I want to get even closer to Toma-kun…)

(This distance is good, but it’s not enough…)

Mio and Toma have the same feelings, as they are both in love with each other. However, they can’t take a step forward to shorten the distance because they’re not in a ‘dating relationship.’

“U-um, sorry. I’ll back away a bit.”

“Why…?”

“W-why?! U-um, because… our shoulders are bumping, and I’ve heard that people don’t like that sort of thing.”

It’s a misguided idea to keep Mio from disliking him, but in this case, it’s a foolish one.

“…Toma-kun, do you dislike it when our shoulders touch?”

“N-no, of course not!”

“Then, isn’t it fine if we continue like this?”

“…”

“I think it’ll be harder for suspicious people to target us if we stay together like this,” Mio suggested, flustered after noticing Toma’s bewildered expression.

Because Mio was timid and had never experienced anything like this before, she made an excuse to explain herself.

It was embarrassing to reveal her feelings for Toma, but if she had to separate from him, she preferred to stay close to him. She conveyed her thoughts to him.

“But even so, the probability of us being victims decreases significantly if we go home together like this, and I think we should avoid unpleasant things,” Toma said.

“B-but Toma-kun, didn’t you  say you didn’t want to separate from me.”

“I didn’t say that… It’s not like that,” Toma replied, flustered.

“Don’t try to hide it now. You’re such a coward,” Mio retorted.

It was Mio’s words, but the phrase “you’re such a coward” hit Toma deeply.

Yes, he realized that he had been running away, giving in to his embarrassing feelings.

-Just like before, and today too.

“If you’re going to say that, then you can walk alone, Mio-san…”

“…”

Normally, she would respond like this.

“Fine, I understand…” she would say.

But nothing would change if they kept going like this.

Mio shed her skin with the conviction that had brushed through her mind.

“I, I don’t have to leave you… I wouldn’t be with you… If I didn’t like it… I would have stayed away… It’s only natural to protect oneself like this…”

Mio saw Toma, who was once again in a daze, but she didn’t run away this time.

“I-I’ll trip your feet if he makes me say something like this again… Toma-kun…”

“…I’m sorry.”

Toma tilted his head to the upper right. Mio was looking down to the lower left. Not only did a silent space form between them, but they were also blushing at each other.

If it had still been daylight, passersby would have seen their flushed faces.

“A cute couple, huh?”

“Those were the days.”

Whispering comments from passersby.

“M-Mio-san…”

“W-What…”

“We passed the vending machine…”

“L-Let’s go back…”

“R-Right.”

Toma didn’t find it surprising that Mio chose to go back; he actually agreed with her. Their bodies were craving water more than before. Their throats were starting to hurt.

“What do you want to drink, Toma-kun?”

Mio opened her black enamel wallet and looked at Toma as the vending machine light shone on them.

“Oh, no, I’ll pay for myself.”

Toma reached into his bag to take out his wallet.

“No, you can’t.”

“Huh?”

At that moment, the sound of money entering the vending machine echoed as if taking advantage of the opportunity.

When Toma looked up, “500” yen was displayed in red letters.

Mio had put in a coin.

“During the time when you gave me Choco Eggs and when you visited me, Toma-kun, you spent a lot of money for me, right? Let me treat you for once. It’s also for the sake of maintaining your dignity as an older person.”

“That’s a sneaky way of putting it.”

“I know you wouldn’t give in unless I said it that way.”

“…”

Silence was agreement. Mio was right.

“But, Toma-kun, you already lost when I put in the money.”

“Huh?”

Toma’s face tilted down a bit as he followed Mio’s gaze.

“Do you think so?”

“No way, that method is cowardly!”

Toma’s gaze was fixed on the refund lever of the vending machine, which Mio covered with her white hand.

It seemed to express her intention that “this lever will not be pulled.”

“In the end, this is perfect, isn’t it?”

With a delighted expression, Mio blocked the coin insertion slot with her wallet. This eliminated the means of both refunding and adding money.

As a result, there was only one option left for Toma.

“I surrender…”

“Here, choose whatever you want.”

“Thank you. I’ll have the green tea.”

“Sure thing.”

Toma pressed the button lit in blue, and a PET bottle dropped down with a clunk.

He opened the product retrieval port and took the green tea.

“I’ll have the same as Toma-kun.”

“Green tea is delicious, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah.”

Unfortunately, Mio didn’t choose the green tea just because it was delicious.

She had already decided to choose the same drink as Toma beforehand. She wanted to do a sort of “pair look” with him.

After taking her green tea, Mio pushed the refund lever to put the remaining balance back into her wallet.

It was just a drink, but there was no way she wouldn’t be happy to have the same thing as Toma. As her joyful emotions overflowed, her expression naturally crumbled, and suddenly she felt a hole in her heart, as if she had been shot by a bullet.

Mio had started thinking about what would happen after this moment of happiness had passed. It was precisely because she had been wrapped up in happiness that the feeling of emptiness had flowed uncontrollably into her.

“Shall we go then?”

“W-wait.”

Mio grabbed Toma’s sleeve as he tried to take a step forward.

“H-here from here to my house… there’s only about 15 minutes left.”

“Uh… roughly that much?”

Toma was quick to sense that something was off with Mio’s behavior. She was restless in her movements and seemed unsure where to look.

“We’re not going to make any detours today, are we?”

“No, let’s just go home obediently since there was a suspicious person incident.”

“So, we just have to go back now… right?”

“That’s right, but…”

“…………”

“U-um…”

Mio’s hesitation was enough to leave her at a loss, as she continued to hold onto his sleeve and refused to move.

“Mio…san?”

“Toma-kun… I don’t want to. Just walking home together like this…”

Mio’s words were difficult to understand. Toma tried hard to comprehend, but he couldn’t arrive at the right answer. To put it more accurately, he didn’t understand anything.

“…I know it’s not appropriate for me to say this as an older person, but…”

Her beautiful, round, and moist eyes captured Touma’s attention.

“I… feel lonely. If we just go home like this… we’ll have to part in 15 minutes.”

“…”

“That’s why… I want to hold hands with you on the way home…”

Parting with someone you love is painful and lonely. These happy dream-like moments will be gone in an instant. That’s why Mio wanted something to remember it by, something to distract her from the pain and loneliness.

“…with you, Toma-kun…”

Mio quickly thought of something. It was the feeling of holding Toma’s hand. When Toma took her home from Shine and when he came to visit her, their hands had touched.

That sensation lingered in her mind until she fell asleep. It was like she was still holding his hand in bed, and she could sleep with a warm feeling.

“…”

“…”

The sound of the wind and the car stopped. As if waiting for a response from Toma, they remained silent.

“Mio-san,”

In the silence, his voice reaches her clearly.

Toma slowly bends his wrist and tightly grasps Mio’s small hand that he had been holding onto.

It wasn’t a gentle grip that would easily come undone, nor was it so tight that it hurt.

He held her hand firmly, surrounding it with just the right amount of strength.

“Shall we walk home like this again tomorrow?”

“Is it…okay? Tomorrow too…”

“Because I want to walk home with you like this.”

“Okay…”

Mio, who had turned bright red, nodded and answered in a small voice. Their connected hands transmitted their body warmth directly.

Toma forgets to breathe as he continues to gaze in admiration at the girl in front of him.