I'M NOT HERE | s.stan

005. korean face masks, the beach, and you

Finally, the whole day of driving and gas stops and music was over. We were back at a motel, both of us laying on our now respective beds. Sebastian and I were in our bathrobes we got from the reception.
After hanging out with him and spending time with him every hour of the day, the awkwardness seemed to fade away eventually. The motel didn't have a TV, so I was stuck reading a book or going through my phone. Sebastian brought his laptop so he was watching movies.

"The internet sucks here. I can't even load a single video." Sebastian exclaims, wildly frustrated. I stare at him for a moment as he angrily clicks the mousepad on his laptop over and over again.

"Well, maybe if you stop destroying your macbook, we can do something else?" I suggested. A red blush spreads across his face, why?

"W-what?" He asks, still flustered at my suggestion.

"What? I was going to ask you if you wanted to do some Korean face masks with me." I say, and the heat on his face slowly cools down.

"Oh..." he trials off. What did he think I was going to say? I shrug and take out two face masks out from my luggage. I carry those things with me everywhere.

"I don't know how to do those." I tells me, I nod. "I know. I'll do it for you."

I apply the mask on myself in the mirror in the bathroom. I step out and see Sebastian sitting up on his bed, waiting for me.

I sit on the edge of his bed and he inches closer, I lean in a bit. There it is again, the musky scent of his cologne. Sebastian's minty, hot breath was on my face. It was crazy how close we were. Why was my heart beating so fast?

"So?" He asks expectantly. I snap back to my senses after I realize that I had been staring at him. I rip open the pack and take out the sheet. He laughs at the shape of it, "That looks like...a Halloween costume!"

I chuckle at his reaction, "Shut up and let me put on your face!"

After a few moments of Sebastian squirming around and complaining, I successfully applied the mask on him. He stares at me and finally takes in how I looked with a white, wet sheet covering my face. Sebastian's face goes cherry red and I giggled at how he looks as well.

He takes out his phone and snaps a picture of me, as I continue to laugh uncontrollably. Once I notice it, I attempt to snatch it out of his hand.

"Hey! Stop that!" I say, while laughing. He knew I wasn't serious. After the laughter died down, we were both on his bed, starting at the ceiling with the masks still wet on our faces.

"Hey, how come we never have this when we're around Josh and Joane?" He asks. I raise my eyebrows in realization, Sebastian was right. We've never hung out, just the two of us. He was always with Joane and I was always with Josh!

"Huh, you're right. I don't know, Sebastian. We should do this more often." I reply, my voice light and quick.

"Well for what it's worth, I'm glad I got to spend time with you like this. " He says, finally looking at me. I smile at his statement, I can already feel the blush on my face.

"Me too."

-

The next morning I wake up with a dried sheet on my face. Realized the two of us had fallen asleep on his bed, I wake Sebastian after checking the clock.

We loaded our things back into the car and got on the road as soon as possible. On the way, Sebastian got hungry so now we were trying to find a fast food place on the highway.

"Looks like there's a Wendy's in the next few miles." I say, looking at the map on my phone. He sucks in his teeth in delights We were now only a few hours away from Seattle, and we were both pretty happy to get off the road and take a rest.

"Feels like I haven't had Wendy's in such a long time." Sebastian tells me. I let out a dry chuckle, "Yeah, cause you've been doing those diets with Joane. Right?"

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, "So you've been watching me now, huh?" He says, an amused smirk on his face. I scoff, "You wish, Stan."

My eyes trail off to a sunny beach right next to the highway, and suddenly I feel like a nine year old kid again. I press my hands against the glass and lean in as much as I can to get a good look at the view.

"Oh my god! Look, it's so pretty! Can we stop for a bit?" I ask excitedly. Sebastian shrugs, checking his watch.

"I don't know, Kay. Your parents are expecting us and-"

"Please?" I drag the word, hoping he might relent. Fortunately, he does.

The pier that led to the sandy area is hot and sunny, like I expected it to be. Sebastian took the longer route for some reason, because if we went along with the GPS like we should have, I wouldn't have seen this beautiful sight.

The seagulls were flying around everywhere, and they loved to stand on the wooden poles that held up the pier.

I'm glad I brought my big sun hat. Sure, I looked ridiculous, but there was nothing I hated more than getting a nasty sunburn on my face.

"Sebastian! Take a photo of this!" I yell out, maybe I was acting like a kid. I didn't care.

Sebastian shakes his head and chuckles, taking out his phone and snapping a picture of me.

"How do I look?" I ask, taking off my hat at spinning around playfully. I loved the beach, everyone knew that.

I catch Sebastian staring at me for a moment, before he looks down at his phone. Hm, weird.

"We should probably get back." He tells me and spins around on his heels. I giggle as I run up to him, only to jump on his back and bring him down on the sand with me. What? The guy really needed to loosen up!