Kissing is the Appetizer Before Sex (Yuri)
"Haa..."
Kissing her was all well and good, but I had absolutely no idea when to stop.
If I pulled away too quickly, it might look like I was rejecting her. But if I held on too long, it might seem like I was accepting her feelings too deeply.
Before I could overthink it any further, Meria pulled her lips away first.
"I-I'm so sorry! I mean, uh..."
Meria babbled incoherently, seemingly forgetting that she had been on her way to the restroom, and plopped back down into her seat.
Her face was flushed bright red. Unable to utter another word, she hung her head as if she had committed some unspeakable crime.
I didn't think she needed to feel that guilty, though.
"It's fine. It's not like I pushed you away."
And honestly, if it's Meria, I don't really mind.
I swallowed those last words down.
I was afraid that if I took things any further, there would really be no turning back.
"Are you really okay with your first kiss being with a drunk, clingy brat like me?"
So she was at least self-aware enough to know she was a drunk brat.
"What about you? Are you really okay with a woman who has sharp eyes and a nasty personality?"
"What's wrong with you, Unni? I mean, sure, we haven't known each other for that long, but I can tell you're a good person. No wonder both guys and girls confess to you at the Academy and in town."
"Such excessive praise is making my stomach churn..."
"I-it's not like I was thinking of anything romantic when we kissed."
She was definitely thinking about it.
"So you stole a first kiss from someone you have no intention of dating?"
"Huh? Ah, no, I mean... dating, dating would be nice, but you said you're leaving for an adventure soon, Unni, and I just want to find good food... No, I mean, even if our goals are different, we could still travel together..."
Maybe I teased her too much, especially since I wasn't planning on accepting her anyway.
As Meria stood there stammering, I let out a soft chuckle. Her face flushed even redder, and she practically bolted to the restroom.
A short while later.
"I'm back! I'm completely sobered up now, so let's just forget about what happened earlier—"
"Ah...♥ O-Oppa...♥"
As if to cut off Meria's energetic declaration, the faint sound of a woman's moan and a man's low voice drifted in from the neighboring room.
I knew this restaurant provided private rooms so couples could enjoy their meals in intimacy, but making enough noise to be heard next door was definitely crossing the line.
What is this, an inn?
Thinking, surely they aren't actually having sex, and feeling a sudden wave of awkwardness, I began scraping the tiny leftover bits of greens on my empty salad plate.
Actually, since I was here with a girl and not a guy, maybe it was better to just laugh it off.
"..."
But my optimism was short-lived. Seeing Meria chewing on her meat with a flushed face and a dazed, half-vacant stare, my worst fears began to take shape.
"If they're going to do that, they should've just rented a room on the second floor."
"Well... I guess they're just really close."
"Should I bang on the wall to give them a hint?"
As the moans behind me grew progressively clearer, I lightly tapped the back of my hand against the wall. Meria's eyes went wide, and she frantically waved her hands to stop me.
"Let's just eat quickly. We're almost done anyway."
The truth was, the lingering aftertaste of our kiss was distracting me so much that I couldn't even focus on the food.
Thud.
"Ahhh...!!!♥♥"
Oh, for fuck's sake!!!
The wall vibrated against my back as the couple slammed into it with a heavy thud. I paused, my fork hovering mid-air, before shoving the piece of meat into my mouth.
Smack!
"Ah, that hurts...♥♥"
Or rather, I tried to.
Are they fucking insane?
I grabbed my glass and chugged the remaining wine in one go. I really, absolutely should not have done something so incredibly stupid.
"Ugh..."
Maybe it was because I downed it so fast. I had already been pleasantly buzzed, but the sudden rush of alcohol sent a heavy wave of intoxication crashing straight to my head.
"Ugh, seriously, those jerks are trying to make me look like the bad guy."
With those words, Meria stood up, slid over to my side, and began slapping her hands together to mimic the sound of clapping flesh while letting out lewd, suggestive noises.
"Haa...♥ Ah...♥ Unni...♥ Not here...♥ The people next door will hear us...♥ They're going to hear everything...♥♥"
I flinched and slid away to put some distance between us, but Meria ignored me entirely, continuing to direct her bizarre performance toward the wall.
She started out doing it just to spite the neighbors, but between the alcohol and her own enthusiasm, she seemed to be getting genuinely carried away. Even to my eyes, her expression was looking incredibly erotic.
This was rapidly crossing the line from acting into something else entirely.
"Shh, shh, shh!"
I clamped my hand over her mouth to shut her up. Meria's eyes locked onto mine, and she slowly licked the palm of my hand with the tip of her tongue.
"Hey, stop it."
I pulled my hand back, thinking she had finally snapped out of it, but I was dead wrong.
Meria leaned her weight into me, smoothly pinning me beneath her body.
And for some reason, I didn't push her away.
I didn't know why.
Was it because I was drunk?
Because I didn't dislike it?
With a girl I'd only met a few days ago?
"Unni."
"Yeah?"
"I promise you this one thing. I swear I had absolutely, positively no idea this was that kind of restaurant."
Only after being pinned down by Meria did I finally realize the source of the strange discomfort I'd felt earlier: the seats here were incredibly wide.
When I sat down to eat, the backrest had felt too far away to lean against comfortably. Now, the reason was glaringly obvious.
The width of this bench was perfect for lying down.
While it probably wasn't explicitly designed for people to lie down and have sex, it was more than spacious enough for two people to get tangled up like this.
Actually, given the atmosphere of this place, that might have been the exact intention.
"I... believe you."
Taking my words as a green light, Meria leaned down toward me. In my drunken state, I had absolutely no desire to resist.
"Mmph... Nnh, chupa... Haa..."
As she leaned over me, her hair cascaded down onto my face. Meria gently brushed it back with one hand, never breaking the kiss.
I parted my lips to welcome her, wrapping my tongue around hers as it slipped deep into my mouth.
Our tongues tangled so deeply that it became impossible to tell where mine ended and hers began, deepening into a wet, heavy kiss.
The rich, sweet taste of wine filled my senses. That was my only thought.
It wasn't out of sexual frustration. It certainly wasn't out of loneliness, either.
Yet, just sharing our breath and saliva brought such an intense wave of satisfaction that I couldn't bring myself to stop.
I didn't necessarily want to do anything more, but I didn't want to pull away either.
"Mnh... Chu... Pff... Haa... Unni..."
Meria finally parted her lips to catch her breath, leaving a thin, glistening thread of saliva connecting her mouth to mine as I lay beneath her.
The first step is always the hardest; the second is easy.
With that thought, I lifted my upper body slightly, catching the trail of saliva between us as I pressed my lips back against hers. I wrapped my arms around her petite frame, pulling her back down to me.
Without any other touch or foreplay, we spent several minutes doing nothing but kissing.
By the time we finally parted, the heavy fog of alcohol had cleared just a fraction, bringing a tiny sliver of my sanity back with it.
A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over me, making me turn my head away, but I couldn't deny the truth: I had enjoyed every second of it.
"Let's... finish eating first."
"Y-Yes."
I thought Meria would go back to her own seat, but she simply reached over to grab her plate and fork, naturally settling right next to me to continue eating.
In the quiet that followed our intense make-out session, the obnoxious moans from the next room had thankfully died down.
We quickly finished off the remaining food and stood up.
"Ah."
Chugging that wine earlier was definitely a mistake. My legs felt unusually wobbly.
I headed straight to the counter to pay, but as I reached for my wallet to cover the entire bill, Meria grabbed my wrist and began rummaging through her own pockets.
"It's fine. If it weren't for you, I would've never even stepped foot in a fancy place like this."
"Unni."
I tried to ignore her and pay anyway, but the serious tone in her voice made me look back. Meria was staring up at me with a flushed, incredibly adorable face, still clearly dazed by the alcohol.
It felt like the buzz I thought had faded was rushing right back, but...
Since my head was still too fuzzy to argue, I just scratched my head and let her pay half.
"Please come again~"
Receiving a polite farewell from the handsome, well-dressed waiter, we stepped outside. Feeling a bit tired and not knowing what to say, I quickened my pace to get back before things became even more awkward.
Whether she felt the same way or was just feeling guilty about initiating the kiss, Meria followed quietly by my side without a word, looking so anxious that I almost felt bad for her.
Still, as the cool evening breeze began to clear my head, the combination of a full stomach, a pleasant buzz, and the refreshing night air felt quite nice.
"Well, see you tomorrow."
I wondered if something was wrong with my body. One moment I felt sober, and the next, the drunkenness would hit me all over again.
My head spun, and I couldn't even form proper sentences to talk to her.
Meria's room was right next to mine. The only downside was that we had been unlucky enough to get rooms on the very top of the third floor, making the climb a pain.
I walked her all the way to her door. Meria nodded quietly and unlocked her door, but just as she was about to step inside, she grabbed my hand.
"Could you... stay with me just a little longer?"