“Hey, I thought you’d come out naked.”

“Better luck next time. If I had come out naked then there was no way we’d get to go out and eat. Come on, I’m going to get changed. Don’t peek!”

“Hmph, who said I wanted to peek?”

Grinning, Yuichi made a pass for Kanae’s bath towel.

“Hey, we can do that later. Not now.” Kanae stuck his tongue out and went into the bedroom. There was so much of his stuff in here now. After they broke up today, Yuichi would throw it all away. He’d have to buy new clothes.

He put on a shirt and chinos, then went into the living room and sat down next to Yuichi.

“Great. It’s cooled down now. Wanna go?”

“I have something I want to talk about.”

Kanae grinned. Yuichi looked puzzled.

“Something you have to talk about right now?”

“Yeah.”

Kanae nodded. Yuichi’s face was looking more and more mystified.

“What is it? Something's up?”

“I want to break up with you.”

Kanae was afraid he wouldn’t be able to say the words. But the words flowed easily, and now he couldn’t take them back.

“…huh?” Yuichi frowned. “Say that again?”

“I want to break up with you,” Kanae said, firmly. He said it slowly, so that Yuichi would understand that he was serious.

“What are you saying?!”

For a few moments neither of them had said anything. Yuichi looked like he was in shock and just stared at Kanae. Kanae maintained eye contact. He just kept looking at Yuichi, calmly

“What’s this all of a sudden?! Why?!” Yuichi was the first to break the silence.

“Yuichi, you don’t really like me.”

“Oh, right, is that so? And?”

“I was just a little curious too.”

“Hmph, I don’t see how that matters. And?”

“It’s been two months already.”

“Since when is two months the deadline? There’s no law or anything.”

“…where were you yesterday at lunchtime?”

“Lunchtime?” Yuichi looked away, as if trying to remember. “Lunchtime? I was with you in the cafeteria.”

“After that. When you went to class?”

“I didn’t go. Why? Cutting class isn’t a good reason to want to break up with me.”

“Who were you with? Where did you go?”

“Do I have to tell you?” Yuichi was starting to get angry. “What is this?! You suddenly say you want to break up and then you come out with all this stuff I don’t understand!”

That’s fine, get angry. If you’re angry then you’ll say you want to break up, too. But Yuichi kept glaring at Kanae and didn’t say anything. Kanae sighed.

“Yesterday, my third period class was cancelled, so I went into town. I was walking towards the bookstore and I saw you.” Kanae looked for the words. “I saw you with a girl.”

“Huh…walking? What’s the matter? Why did that piss you off?”

“It’s not that.”

It is that. It upset me.

Kanae didn’t say it though.

“If you have yourself a new girlfriend, then you don’t need me anymore.”