The reason quite a lot of tourists visit Saint Sophia Island is because despite being an island, it has pretty good accessibility to major cities. Take a bus for about 30 minutes and you reach a city, and go a bit further than that and you reach a major city like Liverpool. For tourists visiting Liverpool or Manchester, going to Saint Sophia Island is quite easy.
In other words, it also meant that people living on Saint Sophia Island could quite easily go to nearby cities. Having vaguely expected a date within the island, I hadn’t imagined he would leave the island even when I got into Ruben’s car.
“Um… aren’t we going too far?”
As winter approached, the days had grown short. Already seeing Ruben driving on the darkened road, heading for the bridge that would take us off the island, I asked worriedly. Actually, come to think of it, it had been a really long time since I’d left this island.
For some reason, from a certain point on, I had been quite hated by him compared to Ruben’s other subordinates. If I said I was going off the island even briefly, I was severely scolded for daring to rest without working despite being incompetent, and in the first place, he would assign me such grueling work that I couldn’t leave the island. Crushed by work, or crushed by Ruben’s hysteria, I had been… tied to Saint Sophia Island for such a long time.
“Haven’t been to the city much? Don’t worry. I’ll escort you properly.”
Ruben winked at me playfully and laughed, but my heart kept stirring anxiously. Saint Sophia Island, no matter how big it was, was ultimately a small society. I knew everything within it. The appearance of the streets, down to the sidewalk blocks, who worked where, what each shop sold, whose personality was good and whose was bad—I knew it all.
Just one step outside the space I knew everything about, and my heart stirred with anxiety. At first, I simply didn’t go outside the island because I didn’t want to be attacked by Ruben, but at some point I became unable to leave the island even when I had time. Perhaps that’s why leaving the island felt frightening. I forced myself to ignore the bad premonition. It felt like the things I didn’t know, the unknown elements, would all attack me. The sense of reality I’d tried to ignore felt like it would bare its teeth and bite me.
“Cold?”
“…Huh?”
“You’re trembling. Should I warm up the seat?”
Ruben was a caring lover. I stared blankly as he smiled and turned up the temperature. My heart, which had seemed about to sink, regained its sense of security.
“Thank you….”
When I murmured this, Ruben grinned with his eyes fixed ahead. Right, this is what I should focus on. The white sports car Ruben personally owned. The scent of the sea breeze, slightly chilly yet fresh. The warmth of the seat heating my body and the cool fragrance of the diffuser. And Ruben beside me. My lover, that is. Ruben’s beautiful blond hair and sculptural profile illuminated by the streetlights brightening clearly in the darkness.
Ruben’s presence made me sink back into comfortable fantasy. I leaned back comfortably in my chair and deliberately smiled. A date with Ruben could be anywhere. As long as he stayed by my side.
*
Ruben is a good man to his lover.
Should I say good man? At least it was certain he was a boyfriend who didn’t spare money, time, or stamina.
The place we arrived at after more than an hour’s drive was a restaurant in Liverpool. Led into a restaurant in a classical form like any other British building, not far from the seaside, I was overwhelmed by the sophisticated interior decorated in black tones.
“R-Ruben, this place is….”
“It’s a pretty decent restaurant in this area. It’s Michelin.”
Ruben smiled proudly and took off his coat, handing it to the waiter. Then, before the waiter could approach me, he came behind me and naturally removed my jacket as well, handing it over together.
“Of course, it’s not as good as a starred place. It doesn’t completely satisfy me, but… well, can’t be helped. There are no starred restaurants in this area, you see?”
Let’s go to London someday. I’ll let you taste everything from Michelin one to three stars. Ruben spoke proudly, but I had to worry whether his words might offend the staff. Fortunately, the high-end restaurant staff, not wanting to create unnecessary conflict, merely guided us to our seats with polite faces.
“Is there anything you can’t eat?”
“N-no….”
“Two of the tasting menu I reserved, with wine pairing as well.”
Ruben ordered like that without even showing me the menu. Inside the restaurant, rather than delicious smells, there was a subtly clean fragrance, and each table had an elegant-looking lamp that made Ruben’s face even more visible.
“I really wanted to bring you here. They use Asian ingredients here.”
“Asian… ingredients…?”
“Yeah, their wasabi ice cream got rave reviews. Asians like wasabi, right? I don’t really.”
I don’t particularly like wasabi. In the first place, wasabi is a Japanese ingredient, and I’ve never even been to Japan. Though I don’t eat it often, when I eat sushi I sometimes ask them to leave out the wasabi.
But I know now. That I shouldn’t say such things to Ruben. I think I somewhat understand now what kind of person Ruben is. Of course, it’s not that he doesn’t act impulsively, but I could tell what Ruben truly wanted.
‘…Ruben wants to be recognized.’
The reason Ruben deliberately mentioned that he dislikes wasabi. The reason he said I would like wasabi is not because he thinks I actually like wasabi. It’s not something he’s saying with me in mind. What Ruben wants is, probably….
“Th-thank you, Ruben. Even though it must be an ingredient you dislike… y-you thought of… me….”
“…Right.”
At the correct answer I voiced, Ruben’s face brightened as if lit up. Unmistakable pride and joy spread across his face. Seeing that face, any slight regret, resentment, or uncomfortable feelings disappeared as if washed away.
*
“It was delicious, right?”
“A-am-amazing….”
After finishing the three-hour meal, we came outside. It had become full night and the sea breeze pleasantly brushed my face. Today, successfully, I didn’t exchange a single word with the waiters. The restaurant staff were all kind and came often to check if we were enjoying our meal well, but I tried hard not to answer them even reflexively. Anyway, the food itself was so delicious that I didn’t have much room to pay attention to other things.
“What did you like best?”
“E-everything! I, I didn’t know f-food could be that pretty…. The dishes were amazing too….”
Ruben came close to me, interlaced his fingers with mine and put them into his coat pocket. My hands, cooled by the wind, quickly warmed when they touched Ruben’s. Thanks to drinking all the pairing wines, I was getting tipsy. Not just the pairing wines. When the cheese plate came out for dessert, Ruben even ordered a champagne.
“Th-the pork roasted with cauliflower was so delicious….”
“Mmm.”
“The tiny foods that came out first! They were s-so pretty…. I thought they were jewels, but I was surprised they were jelly, and s-surprised again that… they tasted like soup….”
“Really?”
“Y-yes, and the grilled corn with lots of coconut on top….”
But even in my tipsiness, I could keenly catch the changes in Ruben’s expression. Seeing signs of Ruben’s face hardening unpleasantly, I immediately came to my senses and once again said the correct answer.
“But the m-most delicious was, after all, that wasabi ice cream, wasn’t it…?”
“Heh. Really?”
“Y-yes…! R-Ruben thought of it for me, I was moved….”
When I said that, the sense of discord vanished without a trace from Ruben’s face, and instead a warm smile filled that gap. Seeing that face made my body feel like it was heating up. As long as I could keep seeing Ruben’s smile, his smile directed at me, I could… handle this kind of tightrope walking any amount.
“I’m glad. This was worth the money, right?”
“Wh-yes, yes yes! S-such expensive food…. Thank you so much for… buying it for me! Really…. I’ve n-never had an experience like this….”
When I said the correct answer once more, Ruben squeezed my hand and leaned against me. I was happy. Happier than anything in the world. If we could go home like this and sleep holding each other tight, today would be truly perfect. I was thinking such thoughts as I got in the car following his lead.
“Then shall we go to the next place now?”
“…N-next place?”
“Yeah.”
Saying this, Ruben smiled mischievously. His hand was placed on my thigh, then he applied slight pressure and gripped my thigh.
“G-good.”
Unfortunately, that thigh was the one closer to my cock. If Ruben had moved his hand up just a little more and gripped my thigh, he probably would have squeezed my cock with that hand, but just touching near my cock was definitely a signal to me.
“You’re quite the horny one too.”
When Ruben spoke in a voice full of laughter and caressed my ear, I shuddered as if electricity ran from my genitals to behind my ear.
“S-so you don’t like it?”
“No, I love it.”
Saying this, Ruben started the car. Even until this point, I thought the next place he was talking about would be a hotel. Not knowing it wasn’t—that was my fatal mistake.
