"Say, what's the difference between lovers and friends?"
Tobe, who had just sat down after putting all his things on the table, couldn't help but fall silent when he heard Yukinoshita's question.
Yunoshita frowned, wondering why Tobe showed such an expression after she asked him such a question.
"No, I am just surprised by your question."
"Is it weird of me to ask you such a question?"
"No, it's not weird."
"Well, let's see..." Tobe sat down beside Yukinoshita naturally as she stared at him, who seemed to be thinking deeply to answer her question. "If I have to say, the difference between a friend and a lover is physical intimacy."
"You know? Like holding hands, hugging, kissing, then sex. A friend can't do that, right?"
Only, Tobe realized what he had said, and as expected, when he turned and looked at Yukinoshita, her face was as red as that of a ripe tomato.
Tobe quickly apologized, realizing his words could be mistaken as sexual harassment. "Please forget what I said. I just blabbered what was inside my mind."
"No, don't apologize. I am the one who asked you a question, after all."
Yukinoshita was also quite flustered as Tobe apologized so quickly and seriously, but she also understood why he apologized, as what he had said was quite explicit, yet that was the truth, right?
The difference between a friend and a lover was whether one could have sex or not.
This was correct, yet this also made her heart feel complex when she heard how easily Tobe gave her such an answer.
Tobe was so calm as if... as if he had done such an intimate exchange in the past, which troubled her heart.
If he were a little more flustered when he gave an answer, would she feel this way?
"By the way, I can't forgive you."
"Unless you tell me whether you have done it or not."
"...that's unfair, so I won't answer you."
"...have you done it?"
"Aren't we here for a study? If not, then I will go back."
"W-Wait, I will teach you. Show me your textbook."
Yukinoshita never expected such a strong reaction from him, which made her even more curious, so she decided to retain him, and at the same time, she also felt a little guilty for using his sincerity to satisfy her selfish desire.
Tobe sighed and didn't take out his book immediately as he looked at her and asked, "Are you that curious?"
"Well..." Yukinoshita's face reddened, waiting for him to laugh, yet when she saw him staring at her calmly as if waiting for her answer, she hesitated before she nodded softly. "If you have done it, please tell me..."
Her voice was so low that it might be impossible to hear, yet Tobe heard it clearly. Still, he hesitated for a moment before he said, "If you are curious, why don't you try it?"
Yukinoshita's face turned red, never expecting such bold words from him.
"I mean... holding hands."
"Yes." Tobe nodded and asked, "You mean how it feels to hold hands, right?"
Yukinoshita was at a loss, wondering whether Tobe was playing a fool, teasing her, pretending not to be clear with her words, yet frankly, she also had to admit that it wasn't good to go all the way, especially when she had just met him yesterday.
Even if she had to admit that his face happened to be her taste, and it was also fun to be with him, to have sex immediately was just too fast.
Yet, if it were just holding hands, it should be okay, right?
So, stretching her hand, Yukinoshita waited for him to hold her hand. "Okay, let's try it."
Still, Tobe was speechless.
This wasn't a holding hand!
This was shaking each other's hands!
There was a huge difference between them!
However, as this was her understanding of holding hands, Tobe decided to follow her whim and hold her hand.
As their hands shook, they could feel the difference.
Tobe's palm was large, rugged, and warm; on the other hand, Yukinoshita's hand was soft, long, yet relatively cold.
While Tobe felt affected slightly, which was probably due to him being a virgin, Yukinoshita was also a beautiful girl. Also, while he had a lot of experience in his life as Ishigami and Satoshi, in this life as Tobe, his experience was zero.
Still, while Yukinoshita's face was slightly reddened, thinking that his hand was big, and comfortable as it was warm, she felt a bit unsatisfied. "...it's different from what I imagined."
"Yes." Yukinoshita nodded. "It lacks... something somehow."
"This is shaking hands, after all, not holding hands."
"What is holding hands, then?"
"Er..." While he hesitated, her expression was still that of a curious one, and he knew that he should be okay to say it within his mind, so he didn't hesitate. "It's hard to explain, but the way we hold hands and also the time will be different if we hold hands."
"The way, we hold aside, what is the time?"
Yukinoshita also noticed that the way she held his hand was just like how adults shake each other's hands, which made it different from how lovers usually hold each other's hands in novels or movies, and this also made her understand why she felt unsatisfied, but what did he mean by a time?
"Let's say that we continue to hold each other's hands until the break ends, it will feel different."
"Till the end of the break? Isn't that too long?"
How long was their break?
While some time had passed from the start of their break, there were more or less about 30 minutes before the class continued!
Still, Yukinoshita also understood the difference between shaking hands and holding hands, since if a couple held each other's hands for too long, then it was understandable that their hearts would race so hard!
Yet, she also had to admit that it was too long!
"Then... you want it to be a short time, yet still giving a similar effect?"
"Is there a way?" Yukinoshita quickly asked.
"Then, a hug is the answer."
"The act where two people embrace each other?"
Either hold hands till the end of the break or hug each other for a moment.
Frankly, Tobe knew that Yukinoshita could refuse, but unexpectedly, her choice was—
With a shy expression on her face, Yukinoshita asked him nervously.