Page 32 of Away We Go

“The team is going to Kyoto? Like on a field trip?”

Seriously? She’s so freakingadorable.

“No, Cherry. Not the team. Just you and me.”

Her mouth hangs open and I wait for her to say something. Anything. When the silence lingers and she continues to gape at me, I wonder if this is a misstep. That perhaps she won’t want to spend the day playing tourist with me.

“If you want to…?” I add into the void. She’s not said anything in a long while and I’m now planning a way to get out of this. To extract myself with some shred of dignity.

“I do!” she blurts out, finally. “Stay there. Don’t move. Give me five minutes.”

A relieved chuckle escapes my lips and I sink onto her couch, my eyes following her as she bolts into the bathroom. I listen to the water turn on in the shower and force myself to take my phone out of my pocket, unlock the home screen, open up my emails and scroll through them. All to keep my mind from picturing Cherry in the shower. Under the water. Wet.

You are a bad best friend,I lecture myself. Annoyed at my lack of self-control, I open up photos of me and Matt. If he was inside my head right now, he’d never forgive me. And he’d probably be punching me in the face. Deservedly.

With my mind now focussed on my friendship with Matt, I keep my thoughts pure, only to be thwarted when the bathroom door opens and I’m treated to a flash of her pink-tinged body wrapped in a tiny towel flying from the bathroom to the bedroom, leaving a tantalising scent of coconut in her wake. The exact smell that has been taunting me for weeks.

“I’m ready.”

Cherry’s husky voice pulls me from my thoughts and I stand, my eyes running over her as they love to do. Today she’s dressed more casually than usual, wearing light denim jeans, a crisp white t-shirt, a long grey cardigan and sneakers. Her hair is swept up intoa messy bun, with a few damp tendrils curling around over her small ears. Her face is no longer pale; her cheeks are now flushed with colour, her plump lips glistening and oh-so-kissable.

I’m going to hell. And Matt is going to send me there.

“Are those shoes comfortable?” I ask, in place of all the other things I want to say to her. The first being to tell her how truly beautiful I think she is.

“Yep.” She throws her phone, purse, sunglasses, lip gloss and her trusty camera into a small backpack and bounces over to where I’m standing.

I shove my hands into my pockets and exhale her scent out of my nose. This, us spending the day together, may not have been a good idea after all.

“Let’s go!” She marches out of the room and I follow, my hand finding the small of her back like it’s supposed to live there, guiding her to the car waiting for us.

We settle into our seats as Cherry waves at James, who’s in the passenger seat next to the driver, and I’ve never been more grateful for his presence. With him following us today, we won’t be alone just the two of us. He will be protecting me from myself.

“Are we driving there?” She’s vibrating with excited energy next to me and I relax into my seat. Cherry is happy. It’s a good thing.

“No, we’re taking the bullet train.”

She grins at me, all lips and teeth and excitement. I lean away from her, because of how much I want to lean towards her.

“We need to hurry though.” I clear my throat and my thoughts, looking at my wristwatch. We’re cutting it fine to make our train.

“Sorry I wasn’t ready this morning,” she whispers, her chest caved in like she’s trying to make herself smaller. I’ve noticed thisis something she does, something new. Shielding herself away from incoming criticism.

My blood thrums in my ears, anger simmering inside. This is what Matt was talking about. This is Troy’s doing.

“It’s not your fault. I sent the message last night knowing you may not see it until this morning.”

“But still—”

I place my hand on her bouncing knee. “But still, nothing.”

She leans back in her seat, her eyes searching mine. I’m watching her so closely; I see the moment something clicks in her mind. It’s in the way her shoulders come down from her ears, and her spine elongates.

This isn’t on me, her posture screams.

The knot in my stomach loosens as she smiles up at me. I’ve had a lifetime of Cherry smiles to catalogue and this one may just be my favourite. It’s one I feel she gives only to me.

“We’re here,” James says from the front seat, pulling me from the moment where the air between us pulsates with…something.

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