"Makoto, stop. You're being stupid."

I stop and turn to face her. "This is wrong. I need to be honest with her."

"Listen to me for a moment."

"Fine." I sit back down on the sunbed.

"Look. It's obvious that you have feelings for both of us. You asked Katsura out and now you realize that's it's not going as smoothly as you hoped.

But what you're doing right now is not wrong. You don't have any obligation to either of us. You went on one date, that doesn't make you her boyfriend."

"But I have to be honest with her."

"Yes. But maybe you should be a little more tactful. Tell her you're not certain about your feelings for her. You should also tell her that you have feelings for me. For now, there's no reason why you can't date both of us. And if things are going well with one of us, you tell the other you want to remain friends."

"If Katsura is okay with that. But you're right. It wouldn't be fair to you if I only dated Katsura. I have feelings for you too, I just realized this later."

Is it really okay to date two girls at the same time?

If they are okay with it, I guess it's fine.

Let's just hope I can stay friends with both of them, no matter what happens.

/

/

"Quite a view," Katsura says.

"Yeah."

"Why would they put this so high up? There's no one here."

"I don't know. Hey, Katsura, can we talk?"

"Sure, Makoto." She sits down on one of the sunbeds.

I sit down on the bed next to it.

"Kats-...Kotonoha. I...I should be honest with you."

"Is this about Saionji?" she asks.

She's really sharp. "Yes."

"Look. I understand. Things aren't going that easy. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't give her the chance. You can date both of us if you want to."

Why is this going so easy?

"Can I ask you something?" I ask.

"Sure."

"Did you do the Charm?" This has been bugging me ever since Sekai looked at her phone.

Kotonoha stands up and leans over.

What is she…

She places a soft kiss on my cheek and then whispers a single word.

"No."

/

/

Maybe Kotonoha needs some time to open up.

I certainly need some time to sort out my feelings.

"Makoto? Are you spacing out?" Taisuke asks.

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about something."

"Me too. Where are Saionji-san and Katsura-san?"

"I don't know. They've gone up in smoke."

Taisuke shrugs.

"They'll show up," Kuroda interjects. "Maybe they're talking about girl stuff."

I have a feeling this girl stuff involves boys.

"Let's go to that huge water slide," Taisuke suggests.

He takes Kuroda's hand and they start walking.

"Guys," I say. "The big one is on the other side."

"Oh." Kuroda turns slightly red. "I knew that."

Sure you did.

I feel a slight stab of jealously.

They are so carefree. Taisuke just took her hand as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Hey Makoto."

Sekai's voice pulls me out of my spiraling train of thought.

"There you are."

Kotonoha is standing next to her.

"I wanna ask you a question," Sekai says.

"Go ahead." I have a bad feeling about this.

"Will you go out with me?"