Why Does Someone Else’s Drink Always Taste Better?

My hands glided over the fine skin of her back, the lather of the shower gel making every touch feel sinfully smooth. I was supposed to be just washing her back, but my fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, tracing the elegant lines of her spine and the delicate wings of her shoulder blades. I was practically giving a detailed lecture on human anatomy with my hands.

Lost in a daze, I became engrossed. I felt less like I was scrubbing a back and more like I was appreciating a masterpiece finely crafted by God, completely intoxicated and absorbed by the beauty of the art.

What woke me from my dream was Saber’s tearful voice. The sound of splashing water echoed from her direction, her heroic voice filled with helplessness. “This hair is so long! How am I supposed to wash it…?”

I quickly pulled my hands back from the territory of sin. In front of me, Exusiai was bent over, panting as if she’d just run a ten-meter sprint.

You get this out of breath from just ten meters?!

Saber’s complaining continued. “I finally get why girls take an hour to shower. With hair this long, I couldn’t get it clean in an hour either! I realize how stupid I was before. When a girl would text me back after an hour saying she was taking a shower, I’d think, ‘Who needs an hour to shower?’ I figured she just didn’t want to talk to me, so I’d ignore her. Now I see, she was probably telling the truth. I’m so stupid, so stupid. I really am single by my own merit!”

I had no idea Saber had such a tragic backstory. As her good brother, this was my moment to comfort her with all my might.

“Saber, I don’t think you need to beat yourself up over it,” I said. “Even if girls do need an hour to shower, that doesn’t prove that girl was actually showering and not just using it as an excuse to blow you off for an hour.”

Tears welled up in Saber’s eyes. “Do you have some kind of misunderstanding of the word ‘comfort’?”

“Alright, alright, stop messing around.” Yukino’s voice, as crisp and soft as fresh snow, cut in. “I’ll wash my hair first. If you’re still not done with yours by then, I’ll help you.”

Saber looked as if she’d found her savior, her green eyes glistening as she nodded repeatedly.

Unlike the perpetually short-haired, single Saber, Yukino had a long-term girlfriend and had, at the very least, watched or helped her wash her hair before. Plus, she’d had long hair herself back in her rock-and-roll phase, so she naturally had experience.

And with that, the pressure was on me.

I had no experience washing long hair either!

As if she could read my mind, Exusiai turned her flushed, pretty face to me with a grin and said, “I know how to wash long hair. My hair is short, so it’s quick. I’ll help you after I’m done.”

The sight of her slightly panting, flushed face almost made my head rise again. I quickly averted my gaze and muttered, “Yeah, okay…”

The huge bathhouse was as empty as a ghost’s residence, with only our three stalls adding a touch of life. The air was steamy. While I scrubbed Exusiai’s back, she used my shampoo to wash her own short hair. By the time I was done, her hair was clean too. Then, as if she lived in my stall, she used my showerhead to rinse the shampoo from her apple-red hair and the soap from her slender back. Then, with practiced ease, she gathered my long hair and wet it under the warm stream.

Exusiai, a woman of profound skill.

After turning off the water, we sat side-by-side on our little stools. Like a gentle mother washing her daughter’s hair, she carefully worked the shampoo through my long locks. At this point, I’d given up on trying to cover certain parts of my body. What was supposed to be seen and not seen had already been seen. I was like one of those heroines in a colorful adult manga, just letting it happen.

Time flowed quietly. As long as the shower was off, the meter wouldn’t deduct money from our student cards.

After Exusiai had finished tenderly washing my hair, the shower came on again. We both stood under the single stream, rinsing my long hair.

Yukino and Saber were naturally slower, since they both had long hair. Having finished first, we didn’t want to leave, but sitting around naked in the bathhouse was cold. So, in the interest of conserving water, we didn’t use separate showers and just huddled under one stream to stay warm. Huddling under the same showerhead, physical contact was, of course, unavoidable. The specifics are difficult to describe; I’ll leave it to your imagination.

Once Yukino had helped Saber finish, we all left the bath and went to the changing room. I dried the warm water droplets from my delicate skin and slender body and got dressed again.

“I’m going to the vending machine to get some drinks,” Saber said, the top two buttons of her shirt undone, her beautiful collarbones like the spread wings of a bird. She looked at us. “What do you guys want?”

I tapped my chin, thinking. “Hmm… I’ll go with you and see.”

In the end, all four of us, carrying our basins, went to the vending machine by the entrance. Looking at the nearly-empty machine, we each made our choice. Saber, in her usual tough-guy style, just got a bottle of water. Yukino wanted coffee, but I stopped her with a “Are you not planning on sleeping if you drink coffee this late?” and she switched to a sports drink.

Exusiai and I chose the same brand of juice; she got peach, and I got mango.

Leaving the bathhouse and stepping into the night air, filled with the chirping of crickets, I twisted open my mango juice and took a sip. It was pretty sweet.

Beside me, Exusiai did the same with her peach juice. Noticing me looking, her pink, soft lips parted from the bottle with a soft “pop.” The eye not covered by her bangs crinkled in a smile as she raised an eyebrow. Her little tongue darted out to lick her moist lips.

“Want to trade and try?” she asked.

Was this… an in-indirect kiss?!!

As a man of integrity, when faced with such a tempting offer, I couldn’t hesitate or falter. I had to respond decisively, with my resolve centered:

“YES!!!”

“Why are you shouting so loud…” Exusiai laughed, amused. She handed me her half-drunken peach juice in exchange for my half-drunken mango juice.

I glanced at the wet marks on the bottle’s rim under the streetlight, my cheeks burning. I took a sip.

“Huh? This is so sweet. Sweeter than my mango juice.”

Almost at the same time, Exusiai said, “Huh? Your mango juice tastes sweeter than my peach juice~”

At that, we both froze. What was going on? We both thought the other’s drink was sweeter than our own. So we swapped back and each took another sip of our original drinks.

“Huh? It feels sweeter than before,” I said, surprised.

“Hey, you’re right…” Exusiai had the same reaction, looking at her bottle. “It is sweeter than before.”

I was confused. Why did the same drink taste sweeter after Exusiai had drunk from it? And then it hit me. She thought my drink was sweeter after I had drunk from it…

…Could it be that what we thought was sweet was actually each other’s saliva?

I stole a glance at Exusiai, and she happened to be looking at me too. It seemed she’d had the same thought. She smiled and gave me a playful wink.

My face must have been as red as her hair.