Aoi and Izumi’s Date 3

"So, what's her name?" Oka could not hold himself back anymore from asking. 

His voice contained a hint of eagerness, too.

"She is Shinobu Maiko. You can call her Aiko… Never mind, you are not that close to her to call her by that name. For now, If you really want her attention, call her by her family name at first until she will tell you by herself what she wants you to call her."

Aoi was stunned. He was not aware of how expert Izumi was when it came to initiating a conversation.

Suddenly, he tilted his head sideways, recalling his first interaction with her.

He stared at Izumi and said, "Aren't you too good when it comes to striking a conversation?"

Izumi was startled, briefly glanced at Aoi, and laughed lightly.

She replied, "Well, how will I be able to converse with the known colder-than-ice Aoi?"

"You're right." Aoi conceded instantly.

Izumi giggled at his reaction, focusing on Oka once again, and said, "Well, I can help you, at least, by telling you what she likes. It'll be up to you how to utilize this. Hopeless romantic as you are, I'm a bit confident you can have her attention, at least.

Ah, right. If you really want to impress her, why don't you do it through football? The celebrities she liked had always been either a musical group or athletes."

Aoi went silent while gluing his eyes to Izumi, interestingly sharing information about her friend with Oka.

Not once did he feel envious of Oka, for she had been talkative, detaching the awkwardness she was showing earlier as they were waiting on their order.

Speaking of order, Aoi swept his eyes and finally saw the waiter sauntering towards them, smiling lightly, when he met her gaze, increasing her pace.

She was lifting a black circle tray with one hand, and Aoi could see two cups atop it.

He focused on Izumi once more, seemingly so concentrated on her conversation with Oka, so he waited for the waiter to arrive.

"Excuse me," said the waiter.

She placed the two cups on the table, letting Aoi and Izumi grab them by themselves.

She bowed after placing the two cups and left.

Izumi quickly nodded at the waiter but then could not wait to continue telling Oka about her friend. 

Aoi nodded at the waiter while grabbing Izumi's cup, pushing it towards her as she received it with one hand.

"Careful. It's hot."

Izumi beamed a smile so radiant it seemed even her eyes sparkled, causing Aoi to be stunned.

Izumi nodded, settling the cup with one hand while returning to her conversation with Oka. Aoi, on the other hand, just continued to be mesmerized by Izumi's beauty, sipping the coffee from time to time.

Indeed, the coffee was rich and bold with flavor, but…

"Isn't this too intense?" Aoi shook his head.

It was not like he was not used to drinking coffee which pushed him to stay up late every night just to play games.

The double espresso was strong enough to give him a quick energy boost without feeling heavy, perfect after playing a heavy outdoor activity.

If it was not for the upgrade on his Endurance, he might be too exhausted to even feel ecstatic on his date with Izumi already. 

If he recalled correctly, the double espresso cost a thousand yen, and double that cost him two thousand yen. 

He suddenly had a craving to order a light snack, but recalling the prices, he shook his head and forgot about it.

That was he thought, not until his stomach itself growled…

He quickly glanced at Izumi, meeting her eyes as the latter giggled. She raised a hand to call the waiter, and Aoi did not stop her at all.

He just turned to his side, serenely staring at the field of flowers, seemingly bringing tranquility to his mind and heart.

He heard Izumi soon saying, "One Croissant, please."

Aoi hastily faced Izumi and asked, "What about you?"

Izumi shook her head and said, "No, I'm not hungry."

Growl~

A similar but a bit louder growl echoed from Izumi, causing her face to be reddened even more. Oka's teasing voice echoed once again, bombarding the silent atmosphere.

Aoi chuckled lightly, shaking his head, then turning to the waiter and nodded.

There were no words to be said for Aoi, for the waiter had long understood what Aoi meant, so she replied with a nod, too.

She left, and Oka's playful voice still continued to echo until Izumi was forced to press a button to end the call.

Izumi passed the phone to Aoi with a crimson face, and Aoi received it, chuckling once more, as he said, "Don't worry, I have money, really. Well, to be honest, I doubt that the cleats you bought me were pricier than what I would have to spend on this date."

Izumi was taken aback; not born to be a liar, she nodded her head reluctantly.

Aoi was surprised. To think he was right? However, he did not press her even more as he might feel guilty, on the other hand. 

He could only swear to himself he would reciprocate Izumi's act of service.

If it was not for her, he doubted he could play the football match earlier.

Aoi quickly tried to change the topic, and Izumi was sensible enough to pick on it.

"By the way, have you seen my goals? What do you think?"

Such a topic obviously grabbed Izumi's attention as the latter almost spat the coffee she just sipped.

She hastily placed it on the table, enthusiastically nodded, and replied, "Yes, yes! That was perfect. The first two goals seemed to be just based on luck, but if you think about it, it was not.

I-I mean, it was, but… you seemed to have anticipated where it landed, so…

Then, the third goal…. How did you know how to play football? I don't know about it. When I asked you what outdoor activities you fancied, you always shook your head and complained about how sweats bothered you."

Aoi chuckled and replied, "You're right. I guess I'm just that talented."

"Ohhh… I see, I see." Izumi nodded enthusiastically.

With her pretty face and the enchanting aura she exuded, she appeared so cute.

Just like that, they enjoyed the date until they had to reluctantly conclude it when the night fell.