11. You Scrub Up Pretty Good
11
YOU SCRUB UP PRETTY GOOD
KYLIE
Three days later, I’m still on a high from the skydive.
We only spent one night in Austria before hitting up Prague, and now we’re in Berlin. The whole time, I’ve been on cloud nine. Between our daring act and the time spent with Seth, I can’t remember when I last felt so content. Who knew just how much I would enjoy travelling?
Seth seems to have undergone some sort of change as well. I’ve noticed a lightness in his demeanour that wasn’t there in the days before he threw himself from a plane. He’s been quicker to laugh, and the banter between him and Lincoln has increased.
“I can’t believe we get to go clubbing in Berlin. This is going to be huge.” I’m rummaging through my suitcase, looking for the dress Tara had told me to wear in Rome, but I look up when she doesn’t reply.
She’s staring at her phone, chewing on her thumbnail, which she only does when she’s anxious.
“You okay?” I give up on my search and move to her side.
She looks up at me quickly and drops her phone into her lap. I raise an eyebrow, unsure whether to be concerned about her weirdness.
“Yeah. I’m okay. I think I’m going to give clubbing a miss, though,” she says, and I place my hands on my hips.
“Why?”
“I just don’t feel like partying all that much. And I think I’m getting a cold.”
I stare at her for a few seconds. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been avoiding all the fun stuff for days.”
“Just because I didn’t want to jump out of a plane?” She gives me a defensive look, and I have no idea what is going on.
“No, I don’t mean that. I knew that was never your thing. But you’ve been avoiding a lot of the fun group stuff. That’s not like you. You’ve been looking forward to this trip, and now I’m worried you’ll regret everything you have been avoiding.”
She doesn’t respond right away, and I don’t know if we’re in a fight or she’s just being weird. We’ve been friends for ten years and had our share of disagreements, but she’s usually pretty open with me about her feelings.
“I just haven’t felt like going out. I was never a huge partier, you know that,” she finally replies, and I watch her closely for a few moments.
“Okay… Why don’t you just come to the first club at least? If you hate it, we can bring you back here and meet everyone else afterwards. I think, once we’re out, you’ll have a great time.”
She sighs and drops her hands to her sides. “Fine.”
“Yay!” I clap my hands together and return to searching for the dress, giving an excited cheer when I finally find it amongst the clothes buried in the bottom of my bag.
I’d lasted precisely one day before my suitcase was out of control again. I really do need to learn to be more organised, but it’s never been my strongest quality. At least it’s all mostly clean now, thanks to Tara arranging to do our laundry in Austria.
Tara slowly gets herself ready, and once we’re both done, I insist on snapping a selfie to share with Bri back home. I also send a copy to Will with yet another reminder to get over himself and start spending time with Tara again, but know he’ll maintain his radio silence on the topic.
“Holy crap, you ladies look amazing!” Lincoln looks us both over appreciatively, and my gaze meets Seth’s, who is staring at me with wide eyes.
I’m glad I left the dress for this occasion because it’s the type of dress that needs a reason to be shown off. The way Seth is looking at me right now makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. I stop before him, and he pulls me close, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“You look incredible,” he says quietly, bending to kiss me softly.
“Aw, thank you. You scrub up pretty good, too,” I reply, leaning back a little to appreciate how hot he looks.
He’s rolled the sleeves up to his elbows on a button-down shirt again, and I wonder if he’s aware that this amps his sexiness up even further. Judging by our past interactions, he is completely oblivious, but that doesn’t stop the butterflies from going crazy in my stomach.
“You both look hot as hell,” Lincoln pipes up beside me.
Seth shakes his head. “Thanks, Buddy.”
Lincoln looks at us both, eyebrows raised. “Is that all?”
I grin at him, Seth’s arms still wrapped around me. “You look very handsome, too, Lincoln.”
He pops his hip out and places his hand on it, striking a pose. “Oh, why thank you.”
“Alright, everyone, time to get on the bus!” Brendan claps his hands, and everyone standing around in the lobby makes their way outside .
After a short bus ride through the busy Berlin streets, we pull up in front of the first club and pile out, milling around while we wait for further instructions. As much as I’ve enjoyed the trip, I’m looking forward to not having to follow people around constantly.
“So, we have a special VIP area roped off inside, and you each get two drinks - just present this card at the bar.” Brendan hands each of us a card, and we head inside.
The techno music pumping loudly through the speakers is not my usual choice of music, and I’m pretty sure Tara is going to bail at the first opportunity. I’m grateful when Lincoln grabs her hand and immediately drags her out onto the dance floor. While their friendship seems to be purely platonic, they have become close, which is great to see. Her self-confidence has taken a huge hit over the years, and add in Will’s ghosting her, and it’s no wonder she’s become so withdrawn lately. But Lincoln has definitely been helping her come out of her shell a little more.
“Dance?” Seth says loudly over the music, and I nod.
“Well, we can try. Not my favourite type to dance to,” I reply while he leads me out to the dance floor.
“I’m sure we can make it work.” He turns to face me, pulling me close to place his hands on my lower back, and I reach up to loop my hands loosely around his neck.
Somehow, I manage to find a rhythm, and Seth follows along, the same as the night in Paris. But there is so much more between us now, and it’s not long before we’re making out in the middle of the dance floor.
“I think I’m addicted to kissing you,” I say, coming up for air and pressing my forehead against his.
“The feeling is definitely mutual.” He gently rubs his nose against mine and kisses me softly.
I rise up onto my tiptoes and deepen the kiss again, pressing my chest against his. He moans, his grip on my waist tightening, our bodies touching in every place possible .
“Oi! Get a room!” Josh, another Australian on the trip, sidles up beside us and claps a hand on both our shoulders.
We pull apart, and I shoot Josh a disgusted look, but he just grins and wanders off to rejoin Georgia, who is glaring at me once again, and her little group of friends in the VIP area.
“Ugh, that woman is a pain in the ass,” I say with a shake of my head, turning back to look at Seth.
“I don’t understand what her problem is.”
“Jealousy. I overheard her saying she couldn’t understand why both you and Lincoln were so interested in people as boring as Tara and me. Which I think is hilarious, because I’m amazing.” I grin, and Seth laughs. “She’s just delusional though, because you’ve literally never even spoken to her. For all she knows, you’re the boring one,” I say, poking out my tongue.
“Must just be my good looks,” he says with a wink, and I laugh, tipping my head back and feeling my hair brush against the skin that is exposed on my lower back.
He places a hand on my cheek, bringing my eyes back to his. “God, you’re gorgeous.”
“Right back at ya,” I reply, biting my lip while my gaze drops to his mouth.
His eyes darken, and he surges forward, kissing me again. We pick right up where we left off, winding ourselves around each other, hands weaving their way through hair while we lose ourselves to the sensations running through our bodies.
After awhile, Seth pulls back, catching his breath while he strokes my cheek. “We should probably pump the brakes on this.”
I eye him closely momentarily before nodding. “You’re right, sorry.”
“Hey, no.” He bends his knees slightly to bring himself to my height and slides his hand along my jaw. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I completely respect your boundaries. I just don’t want it to go further than what you’re comfortable with.”
How is this man even real ?
I’m almost ready to give up on the whole tour celibacy thing and throw caution to the wind, but something is still holding me back.
I take his hand and lead him outside to get some distance from the deafening music. Once we’re away from all other people, I turn to face him, keeping a hold on his hand.
“I really, really like you, Seth. And I would normally be jumping straight into bed with you. But I think it’s because I like you so much that I’m holding back. We’re from different sides of the world, and I’d hate to become even more attached to you than I already am when there’s no future here.”
He reaches to stroke my cheek again, a small smile on his face. “I respect that. I feel the same way. I don’t want you to feel pressured in any way. I’m happy to stick with kissing. We’ve only got a few more days left on the tour, so let’s just enjoy each other’s company, okay?”
I squeeze his hand. “Thank you.”
He pulls me into his arms and rests his cheek on the top of my head when I sink into the embrace. “Of course. I’m gonna miss you, though.”
“I’m gonna miss you too, Seth.”