Stuck In Reverse (Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 9: This Kiss

Kissing Luke back instantly, I'm not quite sure what I'd expected. I mean, this wasn't my first kiss, but it was one of my firsts, because I'd only ever kissed one boy before Luke.

When Luke pulled away, my eyes fluttered open, and he just looked at me, Cal and Ashton patting Luke on the back. I could feel my face getting hot, and I'm sure it was turning redder and redder by the moment.

"Okay," Luke said then. "Louis, truth or dare?"

****

"This kiss is something I can't resist, your lips are undeniable," I sang softly to myself as I wandered around the hotel looking for the vending machine. Upon waking up at two in the morning I was starving and decided to grab a candy bar.

"Singing that song for a certain special someone?" a voice asked, as Ashton emerged from the snack room. "Juke Stemmings got a little action back there,"

"You hungry too?" I asked, changing the subject and looking down at the bag of Skittles in his hand.

"Yes, but you didn't answer my question," he said.

"Okay, yes, since Luke and I kissed that song's been stuck in my head," I said.

"I figured," he said. "You have a pretty voice, Julie,"

"So I've heard," I said. "But how could you hear me? I wasn't singing loud or anything,"

"I've got good ears," Ashton said. "So, if you can't sleep, let's do something. Go down to the pool maybe?"

"Pool's closed, Ashton," I said.

"So we sneak in," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No nononono, we'll get caught," I said.

"Only if we get caught," he responded.

"That makes no sense," I said.

"Oh well," he said. "Get your suit on and meet me back here by the vending machine in five,"

"Fine," I said. "I'll be back,"

Running back towards mine and Harry's room, I opened it slowly so it wouldn't make noise, and I was immediately met by Harry's soft snores. Sneaking towards my suitcase, I tripped over a pillow he'd thrown to the ground, letting out a soft noise as I fell.

"Julie?" Harry asked groggily, lifting his head from the pillow.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Why are you on the floor?" he asked.

"I tripped. I'm fine, go back to bed," I said.

"Okay," he said with a yawn, and his head hit the pillow once more, him starting to snore again.

Getting back up and dusting myself off, I pulled my swimsuit out of my suitcase and slipped it on quickly, grabbing a towel and pulling on my swimsuit cover. Leaving the room, I noticed not only Ashton down by the vending machine but Luke as well. Awesome.

"What's he doing here?" I asked.

"He was awake when I got back," Ashton said. "Apparently I woke him up shutting the door to leave and he sat awake awaiting my arrival. I told him and he said he wanted to come too."

"Hey Jules," Luke said.

"Hey," I said softly, running a hand through my dark curls. "Well, let's go then,"

Following after the boys, we reached the pool and set our towels down. I quickly slipped off the cover up as Ashton did a cannon ball jump into the pool, Luke soon following after. I sat down on the edge, easing myself into the cold water and shivering a bit. I even dunked my head under the water to help me get used to it, but it didn't help. Why couldn't the hot tub be on at a time like this?

"It's so cold," I said.

"You'll get used to it," Ashton said.

"Seriously dude, it's freezing," Luke said.

"You guys are buzzkills man, you guys are just perfect for each other," Ashton said, winking at me as my jaw dropped.

"It's cold, so I'm gonna go," I said, hiding my face from embarrassment.

"Julie, I'll walk you back to your room." Luke said. "Ash, I'll be back,"

"You sure?" I asked. "I mean, I can make it there myself."

"I want to," he said. "Honest,"

"Okay," I said. "Night Ash,"

"Later losers," he said, kicking back in the water.

Getting out of the pool, I ran a hand through my wet hair and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around myself to try to dry off. Luke wrapped his towel around his waist before opening up the door and gesturing for me to go first.

Walking down the hall, I still shivered from the cold. Noticing this and being the nice guy he was, Luke put his arm around me as we stood in the elevator, waiting for it to climb up the floors.

"So, that was fun," Luke said.

"Not exactly the word I'd use," I said, smirking.

"What word would you use?" he asked.

"Weird?" I said. "Maybe awkward?"

"What's wrong with being awkward?" he asked.

"Luke, you're not awkward," I told him.

"Julie, I'm the king of awkward," he said.

"Yeah, you're right." I agreed. "I was just trying to make you feel better."

"Wow, thanks," he said, laughing as the elevator doors opened.

"Hey, what can I say? I'm just a nice person," I said.

"And you're so different from when we first met you a month ago," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Well, when we first met you, all you did was sit and your bunk and read, but-" I cut him off.

"Luke, I still just sit in my bunk and read," I said.

"Yeah, but now it's different," he said. "You've opened up to us, accepted us as your friends. Hell, we've even kissed."

"That was for a dare, Luke," I pointed out. "It didn't mean anything."

"Yeah, it didn't mean anything," he agreed, and my heart fell. I mean, I wanted it to at least mean something to him.

"Here we are," he said. "Room 426. The room belonging to Harold and Juliette Styles."

"Don't call me that," I said, hitting his arm.

"Ouch, sorry," he said, rubbing the spot where it hit.

"Goodnight, Luke," I said, "And thanks for walking me back."

"Goodnight, Julie," he said, leaning down and pecking me on the cheek, before he turned and his lips met mine quickly once more.

Luke and I were kissing... again.

What?

Pulling away, I looked at him once, afraid of what this was meaning. I mean, I liked Luke, but if our last kiss didn't mean anything to him...

"Julie, I'm sor-" he started, but I shook my head, opening up the door to my hotel room and shutting it quickly before he could continue.