Zazan, the sound of the tide echoes from afar, reaching my ears.
The sound and the gentle scent of the tide entering my nose prompted me to sit up. Outside the car window, a vast expanse of blue was spread out before me.
I say blue, but naturally, it's not just one color. The beach's shallows were a transparent, greenish-blue, which deepened into a dark blue as it stretched out to the open sea, where the bottom was nowhere to be seen.
It's beautiful, but also a little scary. That's the impression it gives me.
"Ah, geez, you're finally awake. I know you couldn't sleep yesterday 'cause you were so excited for our first beach trip together, but don'tcha think you're sleepin' a bit too much?"
My cheek was poked repeatedly from the side, so I turned to see a girl gently smiling at me.
Asanagi Umi. She was the first friend I ever made… I'd spent my high school life alone until autumn. But as our relationship deepened and we spent more time together, I eventually started seeing her as more than just a friend.
"Hm? Whaaat is iiit? Starin' at me like thaaat. Were you captivated by my sheer beauty? You were, weren't you? C'mon, say you were captivated, you jerk~"
Sitting beside me and joking around, she was indeed beautiful enough to captivate anyone.
She wore a refreshing pastel blue sleeveless one-piece dress, perfect for summer. Her white shoulders would peek through every time her black hair, which extended to her shoulders, fluttered in the wind from outside.
"Ah, Maki, looks like we're here. C'mon, let's go."
It seems we arrived at the beach while we were fooling around, and Umi was incessantly pulling my hand. As soon as we stepped out of the car, the scent of the sea mixed with the scent of her favorite shampoo, wafting softly and making my heart skip a beat.
…We may be at the sea, but my attention has been solely on her this whole time.
"Oh, seems like there's hardly anyone here today, so we can have a lot of fun without worryin' about others watchin'. …Right, Maki?"
Whether she was aware of my heart pounding like crazy or not, Umi clung to me tightly and whispered in my ear.
"Fufu, your heart skipped a beat just now, didn't it? Your body's all stiff, y'know?"
Her whispering in my ear only made my heart race even more, but I'm a guy, so what can you do?
We've hung out together before, and I've occasionally seen her in vulnerable states, but this is the first time I've seen her so unhesitatingly revealing her bare white skin in a swimsuit.
She has a great figure, too. She seems to exercise regularly in order to maintain her shape, so while she has a girlish softness, her legs are long and slender, and the parts that should be prominent are. Since she's been clinging to me so often lately, I can tell even without staring. I'm fully aware that I'm a closet pervert.
"…There's no one around, so, yeah, this should be fine."
Umi looked around and muttered something, then checked her bag and nodded.
"Maki, can I have a sec?"
While I was spreading a sheet on the sand, setting up a parasol, and listening to the waves, my shoulder was poked from behind.
She still hadn't changed, but it seemed like she wanted to ask me something.
"…Hey, about today's swimsuit… um, which one do you think is better, Maki?"
Being suddenly asked "which one" was a bit troubling, but it looks like Umi brought two swimsuits.
Personally, I'd be happy with any swimsuit, and right now, my vocabulary is limited to "Beautiful" or "It suits you," no matter what Umi wears.
However, it seems she really wants me to choose which one she'll wear.
Umi secretly showed me the inside of her bag, revealing two types of swimsuits. Both were bikinis, but one had cute frills and a very girly feel. The other one had an extremely small amount of fabric—
"Maki, which one do you want me to wear?"
I couldn't look Umi straight in the face out of embarrassment, but I caught a glimpse of her cheeks turning bright red in my peripheral vision, so she must be embarrassed too.
If she's this embarrassed, she doesn't have to go this far, I thought, but since it's a beach trip for just the two of us, maybe she feels a little bolder than usual.
I felt the same way.
Following my honest desires, I pointed to the swimsuit I wanted Umi to wear.
"Hmm? I see, okay okay~ Well, since it's the closer pervert, Maki-kun, who only ever has eyes for me? I guess I~? Kinda knew it~?"
Her little devilish smile deepened as she teased me, but her expression and voice were incredibly bouncy.
"…Fufu, Maki, you dummy."
My request was apparently approved, and Umi trotted off toward the shadow of the rocks.
It's my first time seeing Umi in a swimsuit, and for things to get this intense right from the start— I had to command my heart, and my lower body, to stay as calm as possible.
"──Sorry to keep you waiting, ehehe."
But the moment I heard Umi's timid voice, my composure vanished in an instant.
When I turned around, Umi was wrapped in a large bath towel. She seemed to have finished changing, but the big reveal was yet to come. Satisfied with my reaction, Umi giggled quietly.
"There's no one here, but it's still a bit embarrassin', so… okay?"
Umi pulled my hand, leading me to the shadow of the rocks where she must have changed earlier.
Of course, I understand. Umi doing this is proof that she trusts me completely, but this is really… pushing the limits of my self-control.
"Then, secretly, I'll show only you, Maki, okay──"
As Umi slowly let the bath towel slip open, a gulping sound escaped my throat──
"──Ngah, gohoh!"
And right then, I reflexively coughed and sat up.
Apparently, saliva had gone down the wrong pipe, and I coughed from the shock.
"──Whoa, geez Maki, are you okay?"
"…Ah, um, yeah. I'm okay, it's settled down now."
Looking around, I saw Umi relaxing in front of me as if she were in her own home, eating a tangerine under the kotatsu. As for me, it seems I'd gotten sleepy while warming up in the kotatsu and dozed off.
On the TV, the shark movie we'd rented on the way home from school was playing. It was the classic scene where the characters are having fun on the beach before the shark appears.
"Ah, I see. So that's what it was, huh."
It seems I was having a happy dream that conveniently cut out all the best parts. It hasn't even been half a year since I became friends with Umi, yet it's suddenly summer, so I thought it was strange. The current season is, in fact, still winter.
"Hey Umi, how long was I sleeping?"
"Hmm~? About thirty minutes, maybe? Watchin' your face, I thought you were sleepin' happily for a change. Did you have a nice dream or somethin'?"
"…N-No, not really."
"Ehh~ you liaaar~ You say that, but you were actually havin' a lewd dream about me, weren't you? Maki, you're always so lewd around me, after all~"
"N-No way. In just thirty minutes."
"Heeeh~? Is that truuue~?"
I couldn't possibly say… I was dreaming of you wearing a lewd swimsuit, Umi… and so, I continued to be teased by her for a while after that.