by Kitty Parker
"It's nice to see you finally smile at me after all those years of glaring," he said with a smirk. His hazel eyes widened. "Aw, you have dimples, Lotte! How adorable!" He grasped my left cheek between his thumb and forefinger to give it a grandma-like pinch.
I rolled my eyes. "How old are you again? Are you going to shake your cane at me and call me a Weisenheimer, too?"
"Drop the sarcasm, you young whippersnapper!"
I must say, Kurt's old man voice was pretty good. He sounded just like Mr. Jenkins, my next door neighbor, who always found some reason to yell at me every time I so much as walked by his house. I think he even whacked Hans with his cane once when our soccer ball landed in his begonias. Actually, Kurt was there, too.
"You sound just like Mr. Jenkins," I informed him. "You remember him?"
"You mean your psycho neighbor?" he asked. "How could I forget? Hans had bruises on his legs for a week." Kurt chuckled at that.
"Hey," Eden piped up. "Speaking of your brother, how is he, anyway?"
"He's good," I answered. "I didn't get to see him all that much before we left, since he only came home for a week, then took off for the summer on some kind of study abroad program in Florence. He's going to try to come see us when we're in Rome."
Eden looked around the food court, then poked me in the side. "Where's Jane?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since we got off the train."
"I saw her head off somewhere with Luke," Kurt informed me.
Now my curiosity was piqued. "Luke?"
"Yeah, Luke." He smirked. "Haven't you noticed that he's been hitting on her like crazy?"
I thought about it. Come to think of it, the two of them were acting quite flirtatious back in Southampton. They had also danced at that party. And knowing Jane…well, let's just say it wouldn't be a small thing.
I grinned to myself. "That's my Jane!"
Eden snorted in a rather unladylike fashion.
"How's your smoothie?" asked Kurt, gesturing toward my cup.
"Good," I answered, taking another sip.
"Better than sauerkraut?" He nudged me.
I grinned at the reference to our meeting back in second grade. "I'll have you know, I happen to like sauerkraut. I'm not going to stop eating it just because a stupid little boy once told me that it smells funny."
"Hey, who're you calling stupid?" Kurt gave me a playful shove.
"You." I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled smugly.
"Eden, she's being mean!" he whined.
"Lotte, you play nice!" Eden chastised, smacking me lightly upside the head. "Remember the Golden Rule. Now apologize for hurting poor Kurt's feelings."
I stuck out my lower lip.
Eden gave me a stern elementary school teacher-like look in response.
Pretending to be reluctant and ashamed, I turned to Kurt, looking at the ground instead of his face. "Sorry," I said in the best little kid voice I could muster.
Then, I realized what exactly I was doing.
I was goofing around with Kurt…
…and enjoying it.
It was almost as if we really were friends.
Well, the devil must've been wearing long-johns, cause it was one cold day in hell.
Kurt broke into my revelation with his own little kid voice. "That's ok, Lotte. I'm not mad."
"Now give each other a hug and make up," Eden instructed.
Kurt grinned like a maniac and enveloped me in his (admittedly well toned) arms. He squeezed me tight, relishing the moment. I, on the other hand, felt considerably awkward. The last (and only) time Kurt and I had hugged had been that incident right after his grandfather had died.
It was a strange new sensation, being embraced by Kurt Matthews. On the one hand, it was basically contradictory to everything that had happened between us since second grade.
On the other hand, it felt pretty damn good.
I really didn't know what to think.
"KODAK MOMENT!"
Bryce jumped in front of Kurt and I with a camera. The flash went off, causing me to see spots for a few moments. Breaking away from Kurt, I rubbed my eyes.
"Bryce! What the hell?" I shouted indignantly.
"Lotte, you and Kurt were hugging," he stated as though that somehow explained everything.
"So?" I asked, shooting a look at Eden, who had broken into hysterical laughter.
"So, it's a Kodak Moment!" Bryce waved the camera around.
"Can I have a copy of the picture?" Kurt asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Sure! Well…it isn't exactly my camera…"
"It's mine!" I exclaimed as I recognized it. "Hey! Who said you could go snooping through my stuff, Bryce?"
"I wasn't snooping," said Bryce, calmly defending himself. "You left it sitting right on top of your bag." He pointed to the bag sitting on the end of the bench next to Eden.
"Well…" I hesitated. "That still doesn't mean you can just grab it!"
"Sorry," he said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "I just thought it was a special moment, alright?"
I sighed, then smiled. I could never stay mad at Bryce for long. "Yeah, yeah. I forgive you, camera thief." I stood up and gave him a hug. I loved hugging Bryce. He was like a big teddy bear.
Kurt cleared his throat behind me. "Is the love-fest over?" he asked when I turned around.
I just rolled my eyes at him, then looked back up at Bryce.
"I want my camera back, you goof."
Grinning, he handed it to me. I gave him a playful glare and returned to my seat on the bench.
"You definitely have to upload those pictures onto your laptop!" Eden exclaimed. "I want to see them."
"Sure," I replied. "I'll do it when we get to Stockholm."
I began absentmindedly braiding my long blonde hair. My mind was really elsewhere (most likely in the Land of I-wonder-what-Jane-is-up-to-with-Luke), but my fingers just went at it on their own.
"Aw," Kurt cooed, breaking my trance. "Now you really do look like a little German milkmaid!" He fingered one of my braids playfully.
I batted his hand away. "Kurt," I warned. "Friends don't call friends names that friends hate."
He smiled easily. "Sorry. I forgot that you hate that one."
I rolled my eyes and grinned. "It's alright. At least you're trying, right?"
He suddenly looked very serious. "I will work harder!"
I raised my eyebrows. "Hey, don't go all Boxer on me! I wouldn't want you to be a mindless slave!"
He bowed to me. "Napoleon is always right."
I gave him a playful little whack. I liked that I could drop literary references into my conversation with Kurt and he'd actually understand what I was talking about.
However, I disliked being likened to a dictator pig.
Nobody likes that.
----------------
The second six hour train ride form Oslo to Stockholm seemed to drag on into infinity. Honestly, I began to wonder whether it was possible to actually die of boredom. The only interesting thing I noted was that Jane seemed particularly happy. Naturally, when we arrived in our Stockholm hotel room(at nine freaking PM), I just had to ask why.
Momentarily neglecting my partially unpacked suitcase, I turned to Jane with a smirk. "So, Jane…"
She didn't look up from her suitcase, but a grin crept onto her face.
"Is there anything you want to tell me about your mysterious disappearance this afternoon?"
Brigid and Eden looked up from what they were doing. All eyes were on Jane, who feigned innocence.
"What would there be to tell?" she asked.
I chuckled. "Well, you either snuck of with Luke to 'make sexy time,' to quote Borat, or you pulled a Houdini and simply went poof. I'm suspecting the former."
Jane giggled and bit her lip. "Well, I wouldn't say that we made sexy time exactly…"
"Ooo, details!" squealed Brigid, leaping onto one of the queen-sized beds and watching Jane with the rapt attenti
on of a five-year-old at Disney on Ice.
"Now Brigid, do you really think Jane would kiss and tell?" Eden reprimanded.
I snorted. "I do. She's done it before."
There was a special sparkle in Jane's eyes that tended to show up whenever she was feeling mischievous. Her grin widened. "Well, I'll spare you all the gory details, and there are a lot of those, but I will say this: Luke Warren is one hell of a good kisser."
This statement garnered three distinct responses: a squeal from Brigid, an affectionate eye-roll from Eden, and a laugh from me.
"So what's the deal, now?" I asked when my laughter subsided. "Are you guys an item?"
Jane shrugged. "No idea."
"Are you going to see him again soon?" asked Brigid excitedly.
"Well, if it doesn't bother you guys…" Jane bit her lip. "Could I bring him here for a bit?"
Eden nodded. "It's okay by me."
"Ditto," affirmed Brigid.
I grinned. "Have a ball, darlin'."
Jane smiled from ear to ear. "Oh, thanks, you guys! I promise we won't be past eleven."
"In that case, I'll see you guys later." Brigid hopped off the bed and made her way over to the door. "I'm going to go see what April and Colette are up to."
"Tell them we say hi!" I shouted after her as she exited the room.
"Lotte, I'm going to head over to Matt's room and see what the guys are up to," Eden announced. "You want to come?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I just need to grab my laptop and my camera so I can upload those pictures. Go ahead, I'll be there in a minute."
Eden nodded and left.
I grabbed my camera and began digging around through my bag to find my computer. At the sound of Jane's voice, though, I simply had to stop and listen. Her phone conversations with boys were always amusing.
"Hey, sexy," she purred. "Bryce?!? Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Please forget I ever, ever said that to you. Holy shit, I'm so embarrassed."
By this point, I was collapsed on the floor, laughing my ass off. Jane shot me a dirty look before speaking again.
"Er, can you get Luke for me? And please don't tell him what happened." A look of relief washed over her. "Thanks."
There was a pause, during which, I assumed, the desired boy was fetched.
A mischievous grin spread across Jane's face, and she began to speak in a husky sex voice. "Hey there."
Pause.
"Well, my roommates all went out for a few hours, and I've got the place to myself. You want to come visit me?"
Pause.
"Fool around?"
Pause.
"You bet I'll wear it."
Pause.
"Alright, I'll see you in a few. Bye." She hung up the phone slowly.
I couldn't help but grin. "So, what is it that you're going to wear for him?"
"Curiosity killed the cat." She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
Chuckling, I located my computer among my things. "Have fun, you crazy nymphomaniac."
"Am I a lovable nymphomaniac?"
"Oh, definitely."
I gave her a wink and headed out the door, just in time to see Luke head up the hall holding something that looked suspiciously like whipped cream.
----------------
"You're being rather antisocial tonight," Elliot commented as he sat down next to me on Adam and Kurt's bed.
"I am not," I protested.
"Are too. You've been on your computer since you got here."
"For your information, Elliot, I'm uploading my pictures so that you all will have the benefit of looking at them."
"Ah, I see."
By this point, I'd gotten through the first half of my London pictures and reached the ones that I'd taken in Hyde Park.
"That one's good," Elliot commented as I uploaded a picture of a duck.
"Thanks."
Matt sat down on my other side. "Looking at pictures?" he asked.
"Yup," I replied as I started to load the next one. It was a picture I'd taken of Eden sitting on the bank of the Serpentine when she wasn't looking. She was gazing down the lake, the wind gently blowing back her red tresses, looking as though she was deep in thought.
Matt stared at the screen. "Wow," he whispered. "That's so beautiful."
I really didn't know if he meant the picture or the girl in the picture, but I thanked him anyway.
"Can I have a copy of that picture?" he asked.
I grinned, inwardly squealing with delight on Eden's behalf. "Of course." I began loading the next picture, but pouted when I saw what it was.
Elliot laughed out loud. "Kurt! Get over here! You have to see this."
Kurt, who had been chatting with Adam and Eden on the other side of the room, made his way over with a puzzled expression on his face, followed by his two companions. He looked over my shoulder and burst out laughing.
There, smack in the middle of the screen, was the picture Eden had taken of me in front of the lake. Kurt stood toward the side of the frame, leaning forward with his arms stretched out, still moving from the momentum of shoving me. And there I was, hitting the water with an enormous splash.
That was definitely one for the "Lotte and Kurt's Completely Screwy Relationship" album.
"Dude, I want a copy of that one," said Adam, laughing.
Eden grinned. "As do I."
"I think we should all have copies of this one, right guys?" Kurt looked at his friends, who all nodded emphatically.
"Fine," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Aw, come on, Lotte." Kurt nudged me with his elbow. "Lighten up. Don't be so sore about it. It's in the past."
I gave him a look. "Dude. Not cool. I could have caught hypothermia or something."
He continued to grin, his hazel eyes sparkling. "But you didn't, did you?"
I bit my lip. "Well…no."
"And you have to admit, it's pretty funny in retrospect, right?"
I sighed and smiled a bit. "I guess so."
Kurt's grin widened. "That's my girl."
I rolled my eyes as he drifted back across the room with Adam and Elliot.
Then something occurred to me.
My girl?
Since when did Kurt refer to me as his?
----------------
After I uploaded all of my pictures from London, I took a break to hang out with Eden and the guys until we determined that it was safe to return to our own room. Luke was luckily nowhere to be found, and Jane was in the process of taking a shower. However, there was quite a bit of whipped cream on the carpet.
Rolling my eyes, I flopped down on the bed I was sharing with Eden to finish uploading the few pictures I'd taken on the train. I eventually came across the one that Bryce had taken. Boy, did it throw me for a loop.
Kurt and I sat on a bench, embracing. He was squeezing me tight, and I was awkwardly hugging him back. Eden sat off to the side, grinning.
It was the facial expressions that really caught my attention, though.
While I looked a bit uncomfortable, Kurt looked as though he wouldn't have traded places with anyone in the world. I'd been expecting his usual smirk or something of that nature, and the look of absolute bliss on his face completely shocked me. I simply stared at the picture.
Then again, maybe it was just the lighting.
Chapter 8: Wish You Were Here
"This city is freaking gorgeous!"
I had to agree with Jane on that one. Stockholm was one of the most beautiful cities I had ever seen, and that was saying something, since I'd been around. The architecture was beautiful, the streets were clean, there were green trees and plants lining the (sparkling blue) canals, and the whole place was alive with color.
It was good to be outside again after being inside the Vasa Museum for an hour. The damn place reeked of preservatives or whatever they used to prevent the centuries-old Viking ship, the Vasa,from decaying. A pretty funny story went along with that ship, actually, one that had most of my fellow choir members snigg
ering. The king of Sweden had apparently financed the building of the Vasa, and it sunk within the first mile of its maiden voyage. The water was apparently shallow enough so that the top of the mast still stuck up into the air, and the king was so embarrassed that he had it sawed off so no one would see it and remember what an idiot he was. I found this particularly amusing.
"Alright, everyone, just wait a bit, please, while I work things out with the manager." Mr. Faulkner looked at us pleadingly, begging us with his eyes not to get into any mischief while his back was turned. He was busy negotiating the group price for bicycle rental at this little place along one of the canals.
I plopped down on the grassy bank nearby underneath a large, shady tree. A few small boats were going by on the canal, and I watched them with a vague interest. My mind was occupied more with thoughts of my family. As much fun as I was having, a small part of me did still miss them, particularly my brother. Since he was at Stanford and I lived in Massachusetts, I didn't get to see him that much during the year. He came home for Christmas, of course, but it just wasn't the same. It's hard to get used to the absence of someone you're used to having around constantly.
Eden and Jane settled themselves next to me on the bank. Together, we watched some of the less mature boys on our trip, who had taken up an impromptu game of "Hide-up-in-the-trees-and-pelt-random-passersby-with-water-balloons-and-see-if-they-notice." Where they had gotten water balloons on such short notice, I had no idea. I had to laugh, though, when one of them decided to drop his wet weapon on the head of Georgiana, the resident bitch.
"SNIPE!" he shouted as the balloon crashed down on her, soaking her flimsy little outfit and making it virtually see-through.
The bitch just stood there a minute or two, looking shocked. Then, she let out a primal cry of rage and, throwing aside her usual sense of propriety, started chucking sticks into the tree in which the perpetrator was concealed.
My classmates were just so entertaining to watch.
"Popcorn?" asked Jane, offering an imaginary bucket to me. I pretended to much on its contents.
"Enjoying the show, ladies?" asked Luke, sitting down next to Jane.
"Of course!" I motioned toward Georgiana, who had abandoned the sticks and taken up rocks instead. "Free entertainment!"
