Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
I tensed, but then the song ended. His head tilted more, and I was sure Sebastian would kiss me, and I was sure I’d let him, but instead he stepped back and said, “Let’s go swimming.”
He ripped his shirt off, then his shorts. He was definitely hard, I could see through his underwear, but Sebastian then gave me his back, ran for the pool, and jumped in.
I laughed, loud fucking belly laughs for no reason. Ones that filled me up and pushed blood through my heart that suddenly felt swollen. Before I could stop myself, I was taking off my clothes until I got down to my underwear, and then I was running and jumping in too.
We swam for over an hour, laughing and dunking each other and having competitions from one end of the pool to the other, which I’m proud to admit, I won every time. Eventually, we ended up lying down on a fancy outdoor futon with fluffy pillows all over it. We weren’t touching or cuddling, just lying there and looking up at the stars that weren’t always this visible in the city.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Sebastian said after a while.
“What?”
“Your parents. It wasn’t your fault, and you deserve better. Life isn’t easier alone. Don’t let them or anything else make you feel like it is.”
I almost said I wouldn’t because I had Parker, Marcus, and Corbin, but it felt hurtful to say that, like I was doing Sebastian a disservice. So I just said, “Okay.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad I’m here too.” It was a truth I couldn’t stop from spilling. “What’s your favorite movie you’ve never played in?” I asked.
Sebastian launched into a story, which led to another and another, and more questions from me and some from him. I didn’t know how long we talked, but my eyes began to get heavy, the lulls in conversation slightly longer, until my world went dark.
* * *
Ring!
My eyes jerked open at the sound of my cell. It was light outside, really fucking light. It took me a minute to get acclimated to my surroundings…to the patio cover above me, the skylight tinted to help with the sun. To the warm body snuggled close to me, and the way my arms wrapped around him, holding him tight.
I was wearing my shorts with no underwear, which I’d had to let dry after our swim. Bastian was in a pair of briefs and nothing else, his stomach rising and falling, drawing my gaze until my ringing phone pulled me out of my thoughts again.
Fuck. Fuck! I knew without looking that it would be Parker because I must be late meeting the guys.
I twisted away from Bastian, which woke him up. I sat on the edge of the cushion and grabbed my phone from the table. “Hey, Park, sorry. I’m on my way.”
“Where are you? It’s not like you to be late like this. I texted like five times before I called. I was worried sick.”
“I’m fine. I’m just…” I turned to look at Bastian, whose honest, brown eyes were watching me, the insecurity in them plain as day. “With a friend.”
“With a friend. At ten in the morning, and forgetting about meeting me, which makes me think you didn’t just meet with this friend this morning.”
I stood and looked around for my shirt. “Are you expecting a medal for figuring that out on your own?” It wasn’t as if I could hide the fact that I’d stayed over at Bastian’s.
Parker laughed. “We have some talking to do after we record. I’m excited for it.”
I ignored that. “See you soon.”
I went to end the call but heard him say, “Hey!”
“What?”
“You don’t have to come right now if you’re busy. You should stay. We can always work on The Vers later.”
I looked at Bastian, who was still watching me. I saw the question in his eyes, which made me think of last night: him saying he liked me, the dancing, the almost kiss, the swimming and talking and falling asleep together, me holding him. We’d fucked in the past. He’d been inside me, and I’d been inside him, but we’d never slept together all night. It was unnerving.
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll see you soon.” I shoved my phone into my pocket and turned to Sebastian. “I gotta run. I was supposed to meet the guys, and I’m late. We’re recording today, and…” And I could totally cancel, but I wasn’t going to. Part of me wanted to cancel, and I didn’t know how I felt about that.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Of course. Sorry I passed out like that. I didn’t mean to fall asleep and make you late.” He sat on the edge of the futon.
“You didn’t make me fall asleep too. It wasn’t your fault.”
He nodded. “Sorry about all the other stuff. God, I’m never drinking wine again. I’m not usually like that.”