With the DDBBQ prep finally finished, we could at last get down to the business of eating.
Skewers of meat and vegetables sizzled over the grill, perfectly charred. It had been forever since I’d seen beef cut this thick. The vibrant summer vegetables nestled between the morsels of meat were a feast for the eyes, sending my appetite into overdrive. As the rendered fat dripped onto the coals, an even more mouthwatering aroma wafted through the air—
"Good grief, Ryouta-kun! How long are you going to stand there doing an internal monologue like some tedious character from a gourmet manga?"
"Don't bother me, Tanaka. I'm having a conversation with the meat right now."
"I don't care! Stop standing like a statue in front of the food and move!"
Interrupted by Tanaka, my communion with the beef was cut short. Honestly, this is how she always gets whenever she’s hungry.
Shoved aside by Tanaka, I made my way over to Yuria, who was bringing tableware to the table.
"Yuria! Tanaka’s being mean to me!"
"Sigh, you two aren't children anymore. Why are you always bickering?"
Exasperated, Yuria handed me a plate.
"Fine then, go grab some meat for me too. I want the best, most delicious parts, okay?"
"The delicious parts...?"
My gaze instinctively drifted downward. If we were talking about "delicious parts," there was only one place to look. I let a scummy grin spread across my face.
"Don't go looking at my thighs right as I say that!"
"B-But..."
"Besides, it's not like you've actually gotten a taste of them yet."
"Yet?"
"Hey, you two! Let's eat already!" Tanaka shouted at us, her mouth already stuffed with meat.
"Yeah, yeah. Come on, Ryouta, let's go."
"O-Oh, right."
"Mmph! I can feel every cell in my body coming alive!" Tanaka squealed.
"Don't be ridiculous. It's not like you're absorbing Gourmet Cells or something."
Tanaka actually seemed to be glowing for a second, but I must have been imagining things.
"Man, summer vacation is almost over, isn't it?" Tanaka said. "If every day of summer could be this delicious, I wish it would never end."
"Greedy, aren't you? Though, if I could make that one moment at the pool last forever, I'd be all for it."
I shot a leering look at Yuria. If I could experience that moment at the pool endlessly—the feeling of Yuria's "cherries" pressed firmly against my back—I honestly think I could endure fifteen thousand, five hundred and twenty-one repetitions of it.
"Wait, Ryouta, that's..."
"What are you talking about?" Tanaka asked.
"Nothing. It doesn't concern a kid like you, Tanaka."
"Wait, did you two do something super lewd? Tell me!"
Savoring high-end meat while trading the trashiest dirty jokes during a barbecue... moments like these felt truly special.
(I wish this could last forever...)
I chewed on another piece of meat, the thought lingering in my mind.
The end of summer vacation was here, and the footsteps of a tumultuous second semester were growing louder.