Page 16 of Away We Go

We wave goodbye and I press my ear against my door and listen. There’s only silence on the other side and I think it’s safe to go in search of coffee.

“Cherry—”

I squeak, tripping over my feet as I confront the sight in front of me.

Nicky walks out of his room wearing grey sweatpants hanging low off his hips and no shirt. He’s rubbing a towel over his wet hair, and water droplets pepper his face, neck, and chest.

Did I mention he’s shirtless?

I swallow the pool of drool threatening to escape my mouth, my eyes following a droplet of water as it runs from his messy wet hair to his shoulder, before making its way down his perfectly formed pectoral muscle and over his two, four, six…eight? pack.

Gulp.

My breath shudders out and I scramble for composure. I’m sure it’s been a good three minutes since I left my room and caught sight of my brother’s best friend half-naked and I haven’t said a word. And neither has he.

Why’s he not talking?

Wrenching my gaze from the tantalising V just above the waistband of his pants, I force myself to look up into his face, stunned to see him staring at me. Kinda like I’d been staring at him.

“Um,” I start a sentence and then stop. His naked chest and stomach have robbed me of all my words.

“Sorry!” His eyes fly from where they’d been glued to the sliver of skin showing between the bottom of my cotton pyjama singlet and the top of the matching shorties. In my lust-filled haze, I’ve forgotten that I’m showing almost as much skin as he is.

“No, I’m sorry!” I duck behind the couch to hide my body from him and then realise it’s one of those trendy low-back couches, and it is covering nothing. “I didn’t know you were back.”

He pulls his lips between his teeth and tips his head back, so he’s now looking at the ceiling instead of at me. This is so awkward; I want to curl into a ball and cry.

“I just got back,” he explains, unnecessarily, given I can see him in front of me. So much of him, in his bronzed skin glory. “I’m going to get dressed.”

Stunned, I watch him retreat to his room and decide to do the same. We may have grown up together, but we are not family. I need to ensure I’m fully clothed around him at all times in the future.

He, on the other hand, is welcome to walk around shirtless whenever it takes his fancy.

With one of my trusty Melbourne Uni sweatshirts now covering me from neck to knee, I go back to my hunt for coffee. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since my last caffeine hit and I have the shakes to show for it.

“Did you sleep?”

I turn around. Nicky has put on a soft white t-shirt, covering all that delicious skin, and still looks good enough to eat. There’s something so sexy about a man in a tight t-shirt and sweatpants that doesn’t get enough credit. They could put him on the cover of a magazine looking just as he does now, and he’d win any ‘sexiest man alive’ competition going.

Come to think of it, who voted him into the lowly sixth position? And why were they so blind?

“Um?”What did he ask me?I fiddle with the coffee pod machine and gather my thoughts. If this year with him is going to work, I’m going to need to get my wits together when I’m with him. Starting by findingwords. “Yes!”

He startles, and I mentally slap myself in the face. In my excitement at finding an answer to his innocuous question, I’d all but shouted it at him.

“Good.” His lips quirk up and I know he’s trying not to laugh at me.

Play it cool, Cherry. Don’t let him see you sweat.

“Do you want one?” I motion to the coffee machine in front of me and he shakes his head, brushing past me to get to the fridge.

“I don’t drink coffee,” he says, grabbing a bottle of water and walking to the couch. Squashing down the shudder I’d felt from having him justbrushpast me, I stare at him, my jaw hanging open.

“You don’t drink coffee?” I’m flummoxed at the thought of it.

He smirks. “Do I have to hand back my citizenship?”

I nod solemnly. “Yes. No true Melbournian would ever admit to not drinking coffee.” I whisper the last part, playfully looking around like someone may hear me and punish us both for this terrible sin.

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