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Rachel jerks away from me and takes a step back.
“Well, the canvas isn’t going to paint itself,” says Charlie, shaking her can once more and spraying it on my chest. I groan, my skin prickling once more with the cold. “Come on, Rachel. Help me.”
“Okay,” she breathes, keeping her face hidden from my view.
Orange paint comes out of Rachel’s can, hitting my arm and both women focus their attention on spraying every inch of naked flesh. Rachel moves to my back, and I feel her writing the word Aurora.
“Hey, can I have the purple?” Rachel asks, her arm pressing into mine as she hands the orange can over. “I think this will stand out better if I outline it.”
“Oh, yeah! Great idea!”
I wince when I look down, seeing that Charlie is busy drawing purple and orange flowers on my chest. She accents my abs with the purple and orange, making me wish I actually kept my shirt on.
Once they finish, Lucas, Charlie, and Rachel stand in front of me, marveling at the work. Seth stands off to the side, grumbling to himself.
“Yes, absolutely magnificent,” says Charlie with her hands on her hips.
“Pretty good,” says Rachel while stroking her chin, getting purple paint on her face.
Lucas nods in appreciation. “I especially like the flowers, Charlie.”
“Aww!” Charlie beams. “Thanks!”
“Can we go now?” Seth shouts, stomping towards us. He grimaces at the art on my chest and circles around me, huffing at the writing on my back. “I can’t fucking believe this,” he mutters.
“Alright, alright, we’ll go,” says Charlie while rolling her eyes. “God, Seth. You are such an asshole sometimes. It’s not like we’re really missing anything right now.”
“The game,” Seth whines, kneeling in front of Charlie while clenching his fists. “We are missing the game. How can you say we’re not missing anything?”
Charlie shrugs. “I only come for the free beer and the cute boys.”
Seth moans while straightening. “Fuck it.” He tosses his hands in the air as he stalks towards the stadium, giving up all hope in waiting for us to follow.
Rachel chuckles, shaking her head. “We should probably go get him before he blows a fuse.” I watch her run after Seth, grab his arm, and tug him towards her. Seth wrenches his arm out of her grasp and throws it over her shoulder. I hear Rachel’s giggling waft towards me, hating that Seth is the one making her so happy right now, when just minutes before he was being so whiny and immature.
What does she see in that guy?
Probably the same thing I see in him. Seth can be a jerk, but I don’t know why, often I feel like something is pulling me towards him. Call it gravity, or perhaps a little magnet attached to his shoes; every time I’ve come to Aurora in the past, I’ve always searched for him in the crowd, wanting to taunt him, tease him until he goes beet red with anger. It’s not like he’s the most charming guy in the world.
It’s more like I feel at ease whenever I’m around him, even when he’s an asshole.
Maybe it’s the same thing that draws me to Rachel. Neither him nor Rachel wear masks. They’re exactly who they claim to be. Seth—the perpetual asshole, yet loyal to a fault. Rachel— sweet and kind and passionate about what she does.
I don’t have to pretend I’m something I’m not when I’m around them.
At least, that’s what I used to think. After seeing them at Mike’s party, I don’t know anymore.
“You okay?” Lucas’s voice drags me back to the present.
“Yeah,” I say, hoping I sound casual. I pick up my pace, wanting to close the distance between me and Seth, incase Seth and Rachel decide to take another detour towards an empty room. Just thinking about it has my heart twinging and my ears ringing.
Why does Rachel like Seth? Why doesn’t she like me?
“How are things with you and Rachel?” I ask calmly. My tongue feels numb in my mouth. My entire body is stiff, the air in my lungs draining as if I’m holding my breath, wanting an answer.
But which one?
“Things are great,” Lucas says brightly. “Much better than what they were in Paris. I-I finally came to terms with something that’s been on my mind for a while.”
