My Summer in Seoul

“The store.” Grace sighed. “Just the store.”

“Just the store,” I agreed, wanting instead to strip her bare and fuck her against the van.

We’d done things backward. Kissed first, made things physical, then after my mom’s death and Grace’s accident, we’d reverted to just talking, getting to know each other.

The problem now was that I knew everything about her and craved more, along with wanting to just lay claim to the love of my life.

Something I hadn’t said to her yet.

Something I needed to tell her before I exploded.

Before Rae killed me.

She was it, though.

Completely.

“We should get in the van.” Her lips were bruised, swollen from their time against mine. “Yeah?”

“No,” I grumbled. “Yes. I’m driving.”

“I’m better now!”

I just laughed. “Yeah, okay.”

“You’re such an ass!”

“That’s why you love me.” I winked.

She grabbed my hand and kissed it. “You’re right.”

A bomb could have landed on the van in that moment, and my body would be found still smiling at her answer.

She talked, and I drove to the nearest store. I really did need stuff and had made sure of it so nobody could question me when we took off, but I did have a plan. Next to the store was one of my favorite places to get takeout.

They had the best tteokbokki I’d ever tasted, and if we brought some back for the guys, was it really a date?

After we grabbed everything and put it back in the van, I shut the door and pulled her toward the small restaurant.

“What are you doing?” she smiled.

“Taking you on a date,” I said triumphantly. “One day, I’ll make it official and proper, but for now, we’re getting takeout, and you’re going to kiss me; it’s so good.”

“I always kiss you.”

“And I appreciate that.” I winked.

She shoved me lightly. “So, what are we eating?”

“Spicy rice cakes,” I announced. “You’ll love it.”

“Ooo, I’ve been wanting to try more Korean food!”

“You’ve been working too hard.”

“Says the guy who fell asleep face first on the piano the other night with a Red Bull still in his hand.”

I glared. “You swore your secrecy!”

“You had a potato chip stuck to your cheek.”

“See if I ever buy you more food…” I started walking off.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me close, then pressed a kiss to my mouth.

“Mmm,” I moaned softly. “That’s better.”

“Will you feed me now?” she asked in a coy voice and gave a sexy smile that I had no ability to say no to.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes.”

The place was dark inside but packed as we walked to the register and gave our order. Grace’s eyes were wide as she slowly spun and took everything in.

The person helping us kept stuttering, then dropped a pen she was holding, then finally blushed and leaned in and in Korean said, “Can I have your autograph?”

Grace smiled warmly.

“Oh.” I took the pen and signed my name. “Of course.”

I signed the piece of paper then handed it over, pleading, “Just don’t tell anyone?”

She held the paper close to her chest and shook her head, then finally noticed Grace standing next to me, her eyes narrowed a bit.

“Our intern,” I said quickly in Korean. “She’s working for the group.”

“Ahhhhh.” The girl nodded in understanding.

That had been close.

Our food was ready after ten minutes. We grabbed the bags and were walking to the van when I stopped and looked up.

The sky was full of stars.

My chest didn’t feel so tight.

And I wanted to laugh.

Smile.

To kiss the girl I loved under those stars and not feel like I had to hide it.

“Hey, Grace!” I jerked my chin upward. “Pick one.”

“Huh?” She looked up. “Pick what?”

“A star,” I said. “Pick one. One that’s just for us, that no matter where you’re at or where I’m at, you can wish on… so pick one.”

“Stars are different depending on where you live.” Grace sounded sad. “But can I pick the brightest one every time? And imagine it’s the same?”

My chest tightened. “Yeah, Grace. I think that’s a good idea.”

“That one.” She pointed at the brightest star. “That’s ours.”

“Ours.” I wasn’t looking at the star, and without thinking, because it felt natural, I leaned down and kissed her across the mouth.

She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed me back.

We kissed for a good minute before pulling away.

I didn’t realize we had an audience until a gasp reached my ears and then. “Is that Lucas from SWT?”

I quickly covered my face with my hand and shoved Grace into the van, then drove off as fast as possible.

“Did they see me?” she asked in a panic.

“No.” My throat tightened, and my stomach rolled. I took a deep breath and prayed I wasn’t going to throw up. “No, I don’t think anyone took pictures or anything.”

But this did mean I needed to warn the guys.

Just in case.

Which sucked.

My mood was dark when we got back to the apartments. The guys were pumped about the food, but I was too worried about Grace to care.