Chapter 185 – Okinawa Vacation
<span style="font-weight:400">"This is our pad? It looks amazing!" Mio eximed in front of my parents'' beach house.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kana, Rika, Hitomi, and Kaede followed up behind her, jaws hanging open from being at awe of the ce. The chic and modern design of the two-story beach vi was a far cry from what I was used to in the city. There was a grill and pool in the backyard in case someone wanted to enjoy the waters away from the beach. We saw the interior through the wide window along the first floor, furnished with expensive leather couches and an enormous t screen TV.
<span style="font-weight:400">As soon as Mio entered, she threw herself onto the couch.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I fucking love this ce! Can we stay forever?" Mio asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Nope. Five days and it''s back home. We still have summer Comiket, remember?" I reminded her and tossed my duffel bag onto her chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Thanks for inviting us, Saeko!" Rika smiled as she shook her shoes off in the foyer. "It feels like ages since we saw each other, but it''s only really been a few months."
<span style="font-weight:400">Hitomi, burdened with both her and Rika''s bags, came in with sharp eyes scanning the room. Her gaze flicked to the ind countertops in the kitchen. She drew a finger across the surface and squinted.
<span style="font-weight:400">"This ce is spotless. Did someonee to clean it beforehand?" Hitomi asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"My mom mentioned she had a cleaning servicee by to take care of things so we wouldn''t have to. We also don''t need to worry about leaving a mess behind. The same people will deal with it after we leave," I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"A group of youth going on a beach vacation… in swimsuits, experiencing the height of romance, underneath the beaming sun… My mind is just racing with ideas on my next manga!" Kaede eximed, already with the sketchbook and pencil in hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I''m beat…" Kana dragged himself through the door with bags under his eyes rather than his arms.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mio and I hadn''t given Kana much time to resttely. Last night, we were all over him until morning.
<span style="font-weight:400">We headed upstairs to pick a room. There were four. Kaede upied one. Rika and Hitomi took another. The master bedroom went to the three of us lovebirds. To our surprise, it had a ss wall into the bathroom. We would be able to see each other showering, not that I minded. Even better, the bed was big enough for all of us.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Alright, enough screwing around. Time to hit up the beach!" Mio tossed her clothes off right there and rummaged through the suitcase for her swimsuit.
<span style="font-weight:400">"If you''re going to strip right there at least do it away from the window! People can see you!" I quickly pulled her away. The adjacent house had a car parked in front with a bunch of guys just nowing out. Fortunately, it didn''t look like they saw. Judging by their foreignnguage, they must be here for vacation from another country.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You guys go on ahead. I''m going to take a nap," Kana said, letting himself fall t onto the bed.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Whaaaat?" While still bare naked, Mio embraced Kana from behind in an attempt to pull him off. "You can''t just stay in when we''re on vacation! Besides, I wanna fuck on the beach. Get your ass moving ande on!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Just half an hour is enough… I''ll meet you guys there," he mumbled.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Fiiine!" She got dressed in a ck bikini, slung a towel over her shoulder, and went to get the others.
<span style="font-weight:400">When it was just me and Kana in the room, I sat down next to him.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Maybe we should go easier on you from now on?" I offered with a giggle.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Meh. I''ll be fine." Kana rolled over onto his front to face me. "I know I''m your guys'' favorite snack, and this is supposed to be a vacation for all of us. I''m just d to be out here with you two."
<span style="font-weight:400">A smile crept across my face. "Are you? Or is it because we''re going to try your new fetish of me having sex with other guys in front of you?"
<span style="font-weight:400">An erection instantly popped up between his legs. Just <i><span style="font-weight:400">the thought</i><span style="font-weight:400"> was enough to get Kana going, and that made me even more excited. Although Mio, Kana, and I already had a rtionship talk about screwing other people given our subus nature, it was mostly a ''do, don''t tell'' kind of thing between us. Now, Kana seemed more inclined about the ''do and show''.
<span style="font-weight:400">"If you''re going to tease me about it, then we don''t have to." Kana grabbed a pillow to cover his face.
<span style="font-weight:400">"A, don''t be like that!" I pulled the pillow away and snuggled into his chest. "I want to make you happy, because you make me happy."
<span style="font-weight:400">"Okay, well… Let''s get changed before Mio throws a fit again," he said.
<span style="font-weight:400">I got changed into a white bikini, and Kana into swimming trunks. The others were already gone, but it didn''t take long to catch up since the beach was on the other side of the street. Kaede, who was scribbling into her sketchbook, and Rika sat together underneath the beach umbre. Meanwhile, Mio and Hitomi had gone to the nearby shop.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What''s the point of going to the beach if you''re staying in the shade?" I joked to them.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I''m in the water enough at my parents'' sento!" Rika retorted. "Though, it''s been a while since I worked behind the counters."
<span style="font-weight:400">"I almost forgot you, Hitomi, and Kana are going to Tokyo together. Mio was really sad that you decided against attending Tsukiji," I told Rika.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Aha… Life always throws you curveballs. My father convinced me. I''m attending business management courses in Tokyo, so that I can one day run my family''s sento properly! Until then, he''s taking it easy and hired help to run the ce in his stead," Rika exined.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Listening to you guys talk about college makes me regret not going…" Kaede stopped sketching and deted.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You''re working on manga full-time, aren''t you?" Kana asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I am! I even have an assistant now! But I''ve been in a slump. Maybe it''s the Saeko and Mio effect. Being around them again is giving me all the motivation I need. Which means I can''t waste this opportunity. I''ll draw until my hands fall off!" she dered, rmencing her sketches.
<span style="font-weight:400">"This is starting to feel less like a vacation, and more of Kaede''s revival arc as a mangaka," I said, drawingughter from Rika and Kana.
<span style="font-weight:400">The others were right. Coming out to Okinawa for vacation could only be a good thing. I didn''t need to worry about all the problems back home. It was fine to leave it for when we get back. All I should focus on was having the best vacation possible with my friends.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kana and I set up a second beach umbre to make room. After weid some towels down, I tugged on his hand to help put some sunscreen on me. He squeezed cool cream onto my back and began to spread them to a thin finish. Just having his hands glide across my body was enough to make me shiver in pleasure.
<span style="font-weight:400">A minute in, however, we started feeling the burning gaze of a desperate mangaka on us.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hey, Kaede? You''re staring so hard that I don''t even have to turn around to sense it," Kana said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"This is great… You''re both doing great! Don''t mind me and keep doing what you''re doing. I''m just going to capture these memories in drawing for references in my manga!" Kaede shouted.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Well, we can''t help but be conscious about it now!" I shot back.
<span style="font-weight:400">Thankfully, Mio and Hitomi got back with giant tubs of ice cream in hand to break the awkwardness.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Check it out. They were selling buckets of this shit." Mio scooped some neapolitan for me to take a bite.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hitomi sat down next to Rika and just stared down at her two tubs of ice cream.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Is something wrong with them?" Rika asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I suddenly have buyer''s remorse," Hitomi answered emotionlessly.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mio bursted outughing. "Kahaha! It was a buy two, get one free. I convinced Prez to go for it."
<span style="font-weight:400">"What? Why? One tub would''ve been enough for all five of us. For our entire stay!" I eximed.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Mostly because I know she hates wasting food," she replied whileughing with a mouthful of ice cream.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I bet you haven''t made any friends in college with that attitude," Kana said, but Mio seized the opportunity to stuff a spoon of ice cream into his open mouth.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was too much for Kana, making him clutch his head from an apparent brain freeze. He recovered a momentter and finished helping me put on sunscreen, then moved onto giving Mio a hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Saeko!" Kaede kneeled down next to me as I was slipping my top back on. "Can I borrow you for a minute? Just real quick!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Sure, what for?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I want to experience flying over the ocean. For reference!" she insisted eagerly.
<span style="font-weight:400">How could I say no to such a passionate request?
<span style="font-weight:400">I let Kaede climb onto my back. She wrapped her arms around my neck and held both her sketchbook and pencil. Together, we waved goodbye to the others and flew out over the glimmering waters. The ocean was calm. Beautiful blue waves gently crashed over each other and foamed out. We were low enough to feel the sea spray.
<span style="font-weight:400">"This is so cool!" Kaede was in awe. She adjusted the position of her arms to start drawing, giving me a real-time process of her artistry in action.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You know, Mio and I actually joined a manga circle in college. The guys in there are really big fans of Megane-sensei," I teased.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Th-They don''t know my real identity, do they?" she asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">As I figured, Kaede was definitely not big on people knowing her identity. She was a cute girl, too, and the otaku world could get pretty weird.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Don''t worry. They don''t. We might… run into them at Comiket though…" I muttered.
<span style="font-weight:400">"If they''re your friends, then maybe it won''t be so bad. I''ll just be wearing a mask from now on to protect myself," Kaede said.
<span style="font-weight:400">As the rising mangaka continued to draw, the ocean became very still to me. The water was so calm that it reflected the entire sky. Beatrice''s taunting face appeared like someone switched on the television. I tried to ignore her, but the piercing gaze followed my movements.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Oh, the beach! Mio loves the water, I know that very well. I just don''t understand the appeal. What''s so fun about getting wet other than <i><span style="font-weight:400">getting wet?</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Know what I mean?" Beatrice cackled between my ears.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Saeko, can we go over to that buoy?" Kaede pointed to the yellow flotation device drifting to the whims of the wave. I did as she asked while Beatrice continued taunting me.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You know what sounds fun? Drop this chick into the water. She''s buried her face in it since you got on the ne, drawing probably a month''s worth of art in it. Wouldn''t it be fun to see how devastated she gets from all her hard work being destroyed?" Beatrice asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kaede yelped out loud. I tightened my grip on her. She almost slipped off my back when I stopped too hard in front of the buoy.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Sorry! You hanging on tight back there?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Y-Yeah. I''m fine!" Kaede nodded.
<span style="font-weight:400">I repeatedly told Beatrice to shut up in my head, but she fought back like waves crashing in opposite directions. What was supposed to just be a stupid, nagging voice gradually became a painful biting sensation. Somewhere inside me, I knew it would stop once I dropped Kaede into the water. I hated it so much that I was beginning to <i><span style="font-weight:400">want</i><span style="font-weight:400"> to listen to her. I could make it look like an ident.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Kaede, I think we should get back," I said, hoping to return tond before I did something bad.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Remember thest time we were in Okinawa?" Kaede suddenly asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Those words snapped the nipping urge Beatrice had been slowly urging me towards. My mind thought back to when I first tried to get to know Kaede, the quiet and solitary girl.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I wouldn''t be where I am if it wasn''t for you," she continued. "Probably still be with my shitty boyfriend. Now I have so many friends and fans. I want to hang out with you guys more and more. When you''re gone, I''m always a little sad but always hopeful to see you all again. It… It must be weird hearing this from a mangaka drawing inspirations of you and Mio in porn, but I''m so d to have you around— as friends, I mean! Not just as references!"
<span style="font-weight:400">Beatrice clicked her tongue so loudly in my mind like someone pped their hands next to my ears. Her reflection disappeared from the waters.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Thanks, Kaede. I''m d you''re my friend, too. And if you ever want to fly out anywhere again, just let me know." I smiled over my shoulder.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kaede had stopped drawing and started fidgeting.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I do have one more <i><span style="font-weight:400">selfish</i><span style="font-weight:400"> request. Can I kiss you?" Kaede asked, then immediately flustered a secondter. "I-I know you''re in a rtionship with Mio and Kana, so it''s fine if you say no! I just thought that you guys were in an open rtionship and wanted to give it a try!"
<span style="font-weight:400">I repositioned myself into a cradle in the air for Kaede to lie on top of me. We floated listlessly in the air like the buoy in the water. She blushed deep red. Her fingers wrinkled the pages of the sketchbook held tightly between our chests. The sses on her face, spotted with droplets of water on each lens, sagged a little. I cupped Kaede''s face, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut, and then kissed her as tenderly as possible.
<span style="font-weight:400">Seagulls squawked above us, and water crashed against the buoy. All I heard was Kaede''s rapidly beating heart. It wasn''t lust that I tasted, but a kind gratefulness to me, and I returned that gesture by the kiss until our lips parted.
<span style="font-weight:400">"How was that?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"My stomach is full of butterflies… and now I have energy to draw all night!" Kaede roared with great vigor.
<span style="font-weight:400">We brought that high back to the beach and yed with everyone for a while longer before returning to the house. Kana wanted to fire up the grill, so Mio and I went to a grocery store to buy things to barbecue.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You and Kaede were out in the waters for a while. Got a little frisky, carrying her around?" Mio asked, hip-bumping me and nearly knocking the grocery basket from my hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Maybe you''ll find out in her next manga issue," I joked back.
<span style="font-weight:400">A group of rowdy guys around their mid-twenties shuffled out of an aisle. They were only in swimming trunks, bodies slightly glistening from havinge out of the water recently. One of them locked eyes with me. A caucasian man older than the others, sculpted like a Greek statue, with side-swept blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sea. I quickly looked away and returned to what Mio was checking on the shelves.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What do you think? Buy meat marinated with spicy sauce, or just buy the meat and sauce separately? Could get some spicier…" Mio mulled over the many hot sauces on disy.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hey, you girls from the other house?" one of the other dudes, a lighter cocoa skin, asked us in English.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Told you I wasn''t seeing things. They really are subus!" another said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Huh? What''cha want? We''re busy looking up some stuff to get our grub on," she said, brushing them off without so much as ncing their way.
<span style="font-weight:400">There were maybe five of them. It was just a guess, because for some reason I was too nervous to turn around. Just being underneath their shadows several timesrger than me was making me feel things. Did men from other countries get this big? Or was I just too used to my people being regr-sized?
<span style="font-weight:400">"Quit bothering the locals. You''re probably scaring them! Booze is this way, soe on!" the blonde hollered from the end of the aisle.
<span style="font-weight:400">I breathed a sigh of relief when they gave up and left, then peeked down the aisle and met the blonde''s eyes again. He shed a heart throbbing smile, and I waved back to show thanks.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I found it!" Mio eximed, lifting a bottle of extremely spicy sauce. "Hehe… I can''t wait to drizzle this on Prez''s food."
<span style="font-weight:400">"You''re going to get yourself killed." I rolled my eyes.