Vol 6 Bonus track 1

“If you go out as you are now, you should be fine.”

 

“…I feel like it doesn’t suit me,”

 

Peter murmured shyly, fiddling with his shirt.

 

“It suits you well. You look really cool.”

 

“Really?” 

 

Peter checked his reflection in the mirror one more time.

 

“Come on, let’s go. Grandma must be waiting.”

 

“Yes, sorry.” Peter quickly left the room.

 

“You’ll tidy up the clothes when you get back, right?” his mother asked, her voice tinged with laughter. Clothes Peter had taken out were scattered messily on the bed.

 

“Yes, I’ll clean it up right away. Sorry, I forgot.” 

 

Peter’s younger siblings clattered past by the stairs.

 

“Nathan! Logan! You wrote the card for Grandma, right?” 

 

At their mother’s question, the twins confidently pulled out the card from their pockets. Peter instinctively checked his own pocket and gasped.

 

“I left mine on the desk. I’ll go grab it.” He dashed back up the stairs. Smiling with her arms crossed, his mother watched him run back up.

 

***

 

“What about dessert?”

 

“I’ll eat whatever you bring. I already feel like I’m going to burst.” Logan joked, patting his stomach, making the whole family at the table burst into laughter. The owner of their favorite family restaurant, wearing a warm smile, noted down their dessert orders.

 

“And you, Peter?”

 

“I’m fine. I ate too much.”

 

“But you like the ice cream here.”

 

Peter just smiled quietly at his father’s remark. The restaurant was famous for its homemade ice cream, crafted by the owner himself. Peter always raved about how he could never find the same taste anywhere else.

 

“I’ll order some later. I’m too full right now.”

 

“Are you feeling unwell?”

 

His mother looked at him with a worried expression, and Peter quickly shook his head.

 

“No, I’m fine. Don’t worry. I think I just ate too much seafood earlier.” He replied with a smile.

 

“Make sure to tell us if anything’s wrong.”

 

“Yes, Mom.”

 

The table grew lively again. The family, gathered to celebrate Grandma’s birthday, each shared their stories. Peter discreetly checked his phone under the table.

 

“Peter, have you started seeing someone recently?”

 

“Huh?” Peter looked up, startled.

 

“I mean, you’ve been on your phone so much. It’s suspicious,” his aunt teased with narrowed eyes.

 

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. I was just checking,” Peter replied, blushing.

 

“Peter’s been glued to the mirror a lot lately too. It is a bit fishy,” his mother added with a chuckle.

 

“Who is it, the lucky girl Peter’s seeing?”

 

“There’s no one like that… nothing like that,” Peter denied, waving both hands emphatically. Aaron, sitting a bit farther away, sipped his drink with a disapproving look.

 

Thankfully, the topic quickly shifted, a benefit of their talkative family. Peter, feeling relieved, brushed his heated cheeks with the back of his hand.

 

At that moment, his phone buzzed.

 

[What are you doing?]

 

Seeing the sender’s name, Peter jumped up.

 

“Um, excuse me, I’ll just be right outside.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Should I come with you?” his younger brother asked, but Peter quickly shook his head and dashed out of the restaurant with only his phone in hand.

 

Peter sat on a bench a little distance from the restaurant and made a call. After two rings, a low voice answered.

 

<“Sorry, I was just about to call you.”>

 

“No, it’s fine,” Peter replied. 

 

<“Where are you? Sounds like you’re outside.”>

 

“Yes, it’s my grandma’s birthday, so we’re having a family gathering. I just stepped out for a bit.” 

 

<“Oh, really? Where exactly?”>

 

Peter hesitated, a bit surprised. Who usually asked for the restaurant name?

 

“Um, at Carly’s. A restaurant overlooking the sea…” 

 

<“I know the place. I’ll be there soon.”>

 

“What? Now? You’re coming here?” 

 

<“Just want to see you for a moment. Is that alright?”>

 

“If it’s just for a moment, that’s fine.” 

 

<“Fifteen minutes…no, I’ll be there in ten.”>

 

“Alright.”

 

The call ended.

 

He’s coming here? Just like that?

 

Staring blankly at his phone, Peter noticed the wind had tousled his hair, and he quickly smoothed it down with his hand. He brushed off the sand from his sneakers and straightened his shirt, but still, he couldn’t shake his unease.

 

If he’d known, he would have dressed better. Not that it would make a difference, but… this outfit looked too childish. Why did he suddenly want to meet? What could he want to say?

 

Lost in his thoughts, his phone rang again.

 

<“Where are you?”>

 

“I’m standing by the road, just past the restaurant….” He heard the sound of a car engine. Across the street, a red sports car pulled up, and out stepped Phillip Levine.

 

Philip, who had spotted Peter, gave him a light wave. Peter, staring blankly across the street, quickly began waving back with enthusiasm. Philip put his phone in his pocket and strode over.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Ah, hello…”

 

“Sorry, did I keep you waiting? The traffic was a bit heavy.”

 

“No, not at all. You got here sooner than I thought.”

 

“Looks like a fun gathering—you didn’t feel forced to step out because of me, did you?” Philip teased, making Peter’s large eyes widen even further.

 

“No, no, I just came out for some fresh air. It’s fine.” Peter always took jokes seriously, responding with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, waving his hands frantically.

 

Though he knew he shouldn’t tease someone so much gentler than himself, Philip kept his expression neutral.

 

“Really, it’s fine. I didn’t come out unwillingly or anything…” The area near Peter’s eyebrows grew redder. If this went on, he’d probably end up crying—though he looked pretty when he did, Philip didn’t particularly want to see it right now.

 

“Alright, I get it. How about a short walk?”

 

Peter quickly nodded, and the two began walking along the beach. It was late in the evening, and there wasn’t a single person in sight on the shore.

 

During the walk, Peter’s phone rang—it was his mother. He told her he’d met a friend and would be back shortly, then hung up.

 

“A friend?”

 

Philip asked with a smile.

 

“S-sorry. It was just a quick cover-up, but if it bothers you…”

 

Peter stammered, unsure of himself. They weren’t close enough to even sit at the same table in the school cafeteria, let alone be friends.

 

Philip leaned in and pressed his lips against Peter’s, catching his soft, slightly parted lips in a tender kiss.

 

“I don’t do things like this with friends,” Philip murmured lowly, their noses nearly touching. Peter mumbled in a barely audible voice, “Me neither.”

 

Of course not. If he’d done this with anyone else, Philip would have twisted that person’s neck, yanked their head off, and tossed it in a pumpkin patch.

 

Holding back his thoughts, Philip gave Peter’s cheek a few more gentle kisses. Each time their lips met, Peter flinched slightly.

 

“Are you cold?”

 

At Philip’s question, Peter looked up and replied, “Huh?”

 

“You’re shivering.”

 

“…Just a bit,” Peter muttered shyly. Of course, his body trembled every time they kissed. It was Philip Levin, after all—the most popular guy in school, the prince of Woodson, and one of the most celebrated quarterbacks the school’s football team had ever seen.

 

How did he end up with someone like this…?

 

Peter’s heart continued to race with nervousness, with no answer to his endless internal questions.

 

“Here, wear this.”

 

Philip removed his cardigan and draped it over Peter’s shoulders.

 

“No, really, I’m fine,” Peter said, trying to hand it back, but Philip kept a firm grip on his shoulder.

 

“I don’t want you catching a cold. Keep it on.” Not long ago, Peter had caught a cold and missed several days of school.

 

“Thank you.” Peter murmured softly.

 

“It suits you.”

 

“…Really?”

 

Peter responded with an awkward smile, scratching his cheek. Philip, fastening the buttons, asked, “Do you want it?”

 

“No, it’s fine. It doesn’t even fit me. It looks way better on you, and besides, it’s expensive. I can’t…”

 

It was just a cardigan he’d been wearing. Nothing special. Yet Peter seemed overwhelmed, like someone receiving an extravagant gift.

 

Philip gazed at him. He was so different from everyone else around him, who seemed to always expect something in return.

 

“You still have one of my clothes, remember?”

 

“What?”

 

“The team’s training jacket. Don’t you remember?” Peter’s cheeks flushed as he tried to recall the memory of their first encounter in the locker room. He’d been tied up, wearing a cheerleader’s skirt, and Philip had casually tossed him the jacket.

 

“Did you throw it away?”

 

The person who’d nonchalantly told him to get rid of it was now shamelessly asking.

 

“Oh, no. I didn’t throw it away. It was brand new, and it wasn’t even mine, so of course, I didn’t. It’s at home.”

 

He had washed it, neatly ironed it, and placed it at the back of his closet.

 

“You haven’t worn it while you were alone, have you?”

 

It was meant as a joke. Philip fully expected Peter to stammer and vehemently shake his head in denial.

 

“…!”

 

Peter’s face turned crimson. Even in the dim twilight where they could barely see each other’s forms, his embarrassment was plain.

 

Peter’s lips trembled, his words catching in his throat, making it hard to breathe.

 

He needed to come up with some sort of excuse. Anything.

 

But before he could apologize, Philip grabbed Peter’s wrist and pulled him along until they were under a nearby tree.

 

“I…”

 

Their lips met again, but this time, the kiss was nothing like the soft peck from earlier. Philip’s sturdy thigh slipped between Peter’s legs, and his body pressed against Peter’s back, even more solid than the tree behind him.

 

Philip’s fingers ran through Peter’s hair, his touch igniting heat throughout his body. It was their first intense kiss since their first peck in his room. Peter felt like he was drowning, unsure where to place his hands, how to breathe, or how far to part his lips. Floundering, he clung to Philip, who wrapped Peter’s arms around his own neck.

 

It was a deep kiss, a sensation Peter had never even imagined experiencing with someone else. His slender body trembled with a heat he could barely handle, his vision swirling.

 

Every time his small lips parted, the kiss grew deeper. Eventually, unable to hold himself up, Peter clung to Philip, barely keeping his lips open and gasping for air.

 

“Haa…”

 

Peter’s lips, flushed and warm, parted as he released a shaky breath.

 

“Sorry.”

 

At Philip’s apology, Peter looked up in surprise. “Huh?”

 

This was his first time doing anything like this, but he knew that an apology after a kiss usually wasn’t a good sign.

 

“I should’ve asked first.”

 

Philip’s gaze lingered on Peter’s chest, which rose and fell rapidly with each breath.

 

“…Just imagining you wearing my clothes, F*ck… it’s just so cute.” Their noses brushed together.

 

Peter mumbled, dropping his gaze.

 

It had only happened once. After washing and ironing Philip’s jacket, he’d tried it on just once before putting it away. The large jacket had wrapped around his shoulders, and he’d been reminded of the man who’d held him that day in the cabinet. Feeling guilty, he had quickly taken it off and hidden it in the closet.

 

“I’ll give it back to you… the jacket.”

 

“Why?”

 

Philip tilted his head in mild confusion.

 

“Huh? Well, it’s only natural…”

 

“I wouldn’t mind if you wore it to school tomorrow.” Philip chuckled lightly.

Anyone with common sense could understand what it meant to wear a jacket with a player’s name and number on it. Every girl at Wooston wanted to wear something with Philip’s name and number on it.

 

Peter quickly shook his head. “No, it’s not like that.”

 

“Why? Now that you’ve thought about it, you think it’s not going to work out with me?”

 

“What?”

 

“Is that why you avoided me?”

 

“Ah… that’s…”