Page 17

Now

“I’m a bit nervous,” Nina spoke suddenly.

They were walking toward the spot that they’d meet Jae and Anya, which was just outside the tattoo parlour Anya worked at. It was situated in Darling Square, a bustling area at the heart of Sydney, nestled between high rise apartments that were full of various restaurants.

“What are you nervous about?” Seth asked. He wondered if it was for the same reasons that his pulse was beating rapidly. He doubted it, but only in the slightest.

“Meeting your friends,” her voice had grown a little quieter. He noticed she did this when she was not in a comfortable state.

“My friends are really chill,” he said, hoping it was the right answer to make her feel better, “I wouldn’t hang with them if they weren’t.”

Nina paused, as if hesitating, taking a second longer than usual to answer. Seth turned to her, unsure of what he had said and if it had offended her somehow.

The moment passed, and Nina shook her head.

“You’re right, I’m just nervous meeting new people sometimes. I’m sure they’ll be great.”

“They are,” Seth assured. Thought for a moment. Then added, “As are you.”

Nina turned to him, almost surprised, before smiling at him.

They reached Jae and Anya within minutes.

Upon seeing them, Seth nearly burst into laughter. Jae was wearing one of the four outfit choices he’d shown Seth - a plaid cardigan over a plain white shirt, paired with denim jeans.

And he matched perfectly with Anya, who was wearing a pair of plaid trousers within the same grey colour scheme with a black turtleneck shirt.

Seth wished he could take a picture of the moment.

Reaching Jae, they exchanged a little hybrid handshake-high-five and gave Anya a warm smile. Then, moving aside, he allowed Nina to step forward. She was wringing her fingers together, her shoulders slightly hunched, but her smile was wide.

“Hi,” she said, and he could feel the nervousness in her tone.

“This is Nina,” Seth introduced, pointing at Nina, “She’s my - uh - my old classmate and good friend. And this is Jae and Anya.”

Heat began to lick up his forearms, and he got the sudden desire to rip off his skin and run away from this entire situation. Jae seemed to sense Seth’s awkwardness, and stepped forward, with his classic Jae smile.

“Nina! It’s so great to finally meet you,” he said, “I’ve heard so many good things about you from Seth.”

Seth froze at that, wanting nothing more than to kick Jae into absolute oblivion.

Yet, Jae had a hidden superpower, an uncanny ability to soothe any awkward situation with that charming vibe of his.

He wouldn’t ever admit it to his face, but Seth was so grateful for him.

He stepped forward, offering Nina a hug that should’ve been strange since it was their first time meeting, yet it looked all too natural as Nina took it.

Seth noticed that her shoulders were no longer tense.

“Wow, it’s so nice to meet you too,” Nina replied, eyes fixated on Jae, “Seth just loves talking about you to bits.”

Jae turned to Seth, a smirk on his face, to which he rolled his eyes.

“She’s lying, obviously.”

Anya stepped forward, her lips pursed into the smallest of smiles.

Nina waved, and Seth could tell she was a little uncertain of whether she was a hugger, like Jae.

Unlike him, Anya didn’t warm up instantly to others, unless there was a click, and Jae was an example of that.

The two of them had gotten along immediately, yet with Seth, it’d taken a few weeks to totally surpass the politeness of an interaction and fall into natural friendliness.

Seth could tell, however, that Anya was at ease. More at ease than he’d seen her with others, even with him when they first met. He let his gaze settle on Nina’s smile.

Of course. How could you avoid warmth, when you stood before the sun?

“So where do we want to eat?” Jae asked, clapping his hands together. “Personally, I’m craving some Japanese, and wow, why don’t you look at that. We are standing just a few mere steps away from a Japanese restaurant.”

And so it was, they were standing in front of DOPA, one of the popular Japanese restaurants here in Haymarket, Sydney.

At that, Seth shot him a look, caught between amused and unimpressed. Jae held up his hands in mock surrender.

“I am just saying.”

“I don’t mind Japanese,” Nina chimed in, “I can honestly eat anything.”

Jae raised a brow at Seth and Anya, arms out.

“Well…we’ve got two for Japanese. Any protests?”

Seth resisted the urge to protest just because it was Jae. Anya, on the other hand, was smiling at Jae, in her own little way. It seemed like Japanese was the go.

Seth motioned down the path, looking at Jae.

“Well, lead the way.”

Seth had to hand it to him. The cuisine at the restaurant looked and smelled delicious.

Luckily they’d arrived just before the lunch rush began.

The four of them were all squished into the corner table, barely enough space for all of them.

Seth sat against the wall, pressing himself right against it, to make sure that Nina was comfortable.

She sat beside him, and her leg brushed against his slightly.

He tried to focus on the menu.

“Oh wow, this looks delicious. What are you guys craving?” Jae chimed. His knee was shaking up and down, and only Seth knew that meant he was more nervous than he let on.

“Honestly, everything here looks so good,” Nina responded. Her eyes lingered on the set meals page. Seth realised she was considering the price. The set meals were around $25 and while it may not seem like alot, for students like them…

Jae leaned forward, peering at what Nina was looking at.

“Wow, those meals look good! Let’s each get one - “

“Sounds good to me, I was eyeing the wagyu beef set.”

Before Seth could reply, Jae had already gotten up from his seat. He motioned for Seth to follow him.

Once they reached the line to pay, Jae turned to Seth. His eyes had grown wide.

“Dude, are you ok-”

“I am sweating. I am so nervous. Why am I so nervous?” Jae said, his words pouring from his mouth.

“Bro calm down,” Seth tried not to raise his voice too loudly. After all, the girls were still not far behind them, “We are literally in a whole group.”

“I know, I know,” Jae breathed, “I just. I’m kind of planning on like, asking her out, like for real on a date later on.”

Seth couldn’t help but grin. He punched Jae on the shoulder.

“Finally. I mean, it’s been how long now? Like -”

“11 months. I’ve known her 11 months. And 3 days.” Jae responded. Seth grinned even wider.

“It’s about time. You don’t have anything to be nervous about, she clearly likes you too,” Seth said, and it was true. It was the most obvious thing ever.

Jae smiled, blush tinting his cheeks.

He pushed his fist against Seth’s shoulder this time.

“And how about you?

Seth pretended not to understand what Jae was clearly insinuating.

“What about me?”

“Shut up. Nina clearly is into you too,” Jae said. The confidence in which he said it made Seth’s stomach stupidly turn.

Was it true? Could Nina really like him again?

And then, the part of him that he wasn’t proud of, the part of him that dominated his high school life thought - well, of course. It was just a matter of time.

“We’ll see,” Seth murmured. “And like, remember, we’ve only been reconnected for like 2 weeks.”

“I know, but you’ve known each other since high school.”

Did they really though? At least, did Seth truly know her?

He turned to sneak a discreet glance at Nina.

She was laughing. Whatever she was conversing about with Anya had given her that smile.

Beautiful .

“And damn - you’re fully whipped over her.”

Whipped?

That sent his cheeks aflame.

Him ? Whipped?

It’s impossible. Ridiculous. Stupid, really. He’d only reconnected with her two weeks ago. How could he be whipped? Isn’t that something that happened after you start dating someone?

Seth didn’t do whipped. Or romance, or anything that deep of the sort. He wouldn’t go anywhere near what his parents went through.

Seth’s brows furrowed down, and he glanced back toward Nina. Anywhere but Jae’s eyes.

At that moment, Nina glanced up, as if sensing Seth’s stare. She caught his eyes, and his breath caught. He couldn’t look away now, or he’d look stupid. Instead, he held her gaze.

Not quite smiling, just…admiring. And she smiled at him.

The first thing he thought was, well, he couldn’t think. That was the problem. Nina jumbled up his brain, and nothing ever made sense with her.

He wasn’t one for feelings. For touching anything that would resemble what his parents went through.

But when he saw Nina’s smile, when she looked at him with those brown eyes, pulling out all these emotions he’d never felt before…

Well, shit.

He was whipped.