The Book of Firsts

Five

By Tuesday I’d organised my home life sufficiently to bring sandwiches with me, rather than wasting time standing in line at the school refectory, and so I was first to the student council garden. Not knowing who it would be was one of the most exciting parts. Would I be kissing Bran and making my first comparative rating, or enjoying a massage? Rating was definitely going to be one of the more difficult parts of this challenge. Had I enjoyed Kyou’s or Rin’s kiss most? Both had left me wanting more.

The faint squeak of the gate made a useful warning bell, and I peered cautiously over the fence.

Kyou. A massage then.

He was still making a game of it, not even glancing in my direction as he crossed to the summer house and opened the doors. I sat on the wall, enjoying the sun, and hopped down only after he’d set out two cups and poured.

"Give me your mobile," he said, and spent a few moments transferring an app from his to mine. Opening it on my mobile, he pressed the screen, made a few selections, then held it out to me. "Use your right thumb to create a login," he said.

I obliged, tapping my thumb over and over until the app could recognise me. My login was rewarded with a black and white image—perhaps taken from the early Alice in Wonderland books—of the Cheshire Cat, grinning in a tree.

"This can be used to both store the ratings—somewhere even you can’t access them after you’ve entered one—and, if necessary, exchange messages. The main purpose, though, is the garden status."

I’d found that portion of it already: a little map of this section of the school, where a simple touch would let me indicate my current location—in the trees, or down at the dovecote. Kyou picked up his phone, and a green dot appeared in the garden. A red dot would mean he was there, but it wasn’t safe to approach. A dot with an x across it would mean cancelled.

"We’ve also set up a tiny electronic tripwire across the entry path—nothing likely to be found—which will give us warning of someone approaching whenever the app is in active mode. Only registered thumbprints can open the app, and certain portions of it require passing security again."

"You’ve decided not to use the book, then?" I asked, finding that opening up the list of challenges required me to offer up my thumbprint a second time.

"After Rin so neatly demonstrated its potential to be left about? No. We’ve removed the pages, and transferred everything to the app. The medical reports have been shredded as well." He gave me a faint smile. "Once this became real, we needed to be a lot more serious about secrecy."

I put my phone down, the screen displaying several of the things he would be doing to me toward the end of the year, and sipped tea, looking at him.

"Which of you is the best rower?"

"Technically, me," he said. "But both Rin and Bran have a slight advantage in strength. When they’re on their game, they’ll usually win, but I’m far more consistent."

"And what did you win to be here today?"

"A capture the flag run in Dare to Fall."

I laughed. "Do you usually win the gaming challenges?"

"No." Kyou put down his phone and stood, circling behind me. "No, I was making a particular effort." He rested his hands on my shoulders, and then, instead of my expected massage, he slid his hands forward to cover my breasts.

I straightened; the tea I was holding almost spilling. He was testing me again, and I refused to give him the reaction he sought, simply putting the cup down, and dropping my arms to my sides.

Unhurriedly, Kyou cupped me through my shirt, then began a gentle kneading, not using any great pressure, just a pleasant, rhythmic motion. A massage after all.

Leaning against the back of the café chair, I let myself enjoy it. Sunlight, tea, and a very attractive boy. But I wanted to add his beautiful voice to the mix.

"Did it take a lot of time to put the app together?"

"That one’s not exactly complex—just an adaptation of an established secure framework. Took Bran about ten minutes."

Resting my head against his stomach, I closed my eyes. His boundary testing only made me want to push back, and I was liking this interpretation of a massage, but I was starting to really feel the need for more, wanted to see what he could do with his mouth, given how much I was enjoying his hands.

Kyou’s phone beeped, and his hands stilled immediately, though he didn’t move away, standing with my breasts just a little lifted. We were breathing almost in unison.

Then he went for his phone. As he shut off the alarm, I straightened my shirt and picked up my tea. Beyond being a little flushed, neither of us gave any sign of what had passed, and after I’d finished my drink, I left without a word.