Hard to Pretend (Hard to Love #2)

20. Chris

20

“ I got the job!” Seb’s voice was tinny on my car speakers, but even the shitty audio quality couldn’t stop me from hearing the excitement in his voice.

It had been two weeks since his first interview, since he first said he loved me. He’d had his second interview a week later, and I just knew when I saw his name on the display that he’d gotten the job. There was no other possible outcome after the way he talked about how the interview had gone. There was no other answer that I would have accepted after how excited he was.

I would have moved mountains, made phone calls, did everything I could think of if he hadn’t been hired.

Okay, I wouldn’t have. He would have been pissed if I did, but I’d have wanted to, and that was close enough to the same thing.

“Did you sign the offer letter yet? ”

“Just hit send. It’s a great package.” He sounded so happy. Hearing him like that was the best part of my day.

We needed to celebrate. I needed to celebrate with him. I needed to do something to show how proud of him I was for his accomplishments, because I was. Telling him wouldn’t be enough. Actions spoke louder than words, and I always wanted him to know how valued he was. I wanted him to know how much I admired the fact that he’d done all of this on his own. I’d set the wheels in motion by sending an email, but everything else had been on him.

I made a snap decision.

“Be ready at 7:00.”

It was in two hours. I was on the way to hang out my brother, but he would understand. My boyfriend had finally taken those forward steps in his career that he needed so desperately. It was a big moment, and I had to celebrate the big moments. Otherwise, what was the point?

“Huh?”

“Be ready at 7:00. I’m taking you out. We’re going on a date in honor of you getting this job,” I told him. I thought it was pretty obvious, but he was clearly riding high on getting the job offer and needed his hand held a little.

“Where are we going?” he asked with a confused chortle .

“No idea,” I admitted, “but I’ll get it figured out. Probably nothing too fancy.”

Not with only two hours of prep time. I turned down the next street and started back toward my apartment. Seb agreed to be ready at 7:00, and we disconnected. I called my brother and canceled our plans. As I suspected, he wasn’t upset by the sudden change of plans. He did demand that we make up for it the following weekend, and he expected me to bring Seb. I didn’t mind. I wanted my brother to meet my boyfriend.

I spent the next two hours planning and getting ready for our date. I took a quick shower and styled my hair, put on a pair of nicer jeans and a burnt orange polo, and dug out a pair of boots I only ever wore on special occasions. I showed up at Seb’s apartment five minutes before I told him I’d be there, and he was already waiting on the steps. I grinned. I loved how punctual he was.

Our first stop was Firelli’s. While the outside of the building looked rundown, the inside was perfect for a date night. There were white table cloths on all the tables, and the lighting was dim and romantic. The smell of Italian food wafted through the restaurant, making my stomach rumble and my mouth water. I gave our name to the host, and we were seated within minutes.

“Did you make reservations?” he asked as we bypassed the small crowd of people waiting .

I grinned. “Mason used to date the manager,” I answered as we sat at a small table for two. “They weren’t too serious, but we formed a pretty good friendship.”

“And Mason wouldn’t mind you calling in a favor with his ex?” he questioned. I could hear the concern in his tone, the idea that this could upset the healing scabs of my relationship with my best friend.

I loved him even more for it.

“It was his idea,” I assured him. “Like I said, they weren’t that serious. They still talk from time to time.”

He nodded and opened the menu. “None of my friends are really close with their exes,” he said with a shrug. Then he shook his head. “Actually, I take that back. Matt’s high school boyfriend is back in town, and he said they’ve been texting.” I raised an eyebrow, and he shook his head. “I don’t think it’s like that. Noah was his first love, but it was years ago. I’m pretty sure they’re just friends now.”

Our server came over and took our drink orders. By the time she came back with drinks and bread, we were ready to order the rest of our food. When the server left, I turned my attention to the reason for the night: his new job.

He told me about the salary and benefits package. He sounded so excited as he went over everything else he knew about his new position. They’d even sent him the name of his mentor: Jasper. “Don’t tell him to go easy on me,” he teased.

I shook my head at him. “I would never.” Especially after we’d gotten into that fight over my meddling. I knew better than to intervene professionally. It may have worked out well for him, but I had full faith he could have done it without my help. I knew he’d succeed at Enterprise without me saying or doing anything.

He would make it on his own merit, just the way he wanted.

The dinner part of our date didn’t last too long. We ate our food and talked. We laughed over dessert, and after I paid the bill, I drove us to the movie theater. Once a month, they played older movies, and this month, one of the movies he loved was playing.

His eyes lit up when I told him what we were seeing. “I always wanted to see this in theater.”

“I know,” I reminded him. “You told me once that you were pissed you were too young to see it when it came out.”

“I didn’t even know it was playing this weekend,” he laughed. “I never keep up with these. Who knows how many movies I’ve missed that I wanted to see.”

My laughter joined his. It was such a Seb thing to say, and I loved him for it. For the fact that he didn’t keep up with what movies were playing or what was going on around town. It made surprising him easier .

I heard someone call out to us from the concession line. While the voice was familiar, I didn’t have the immediate recognition that Seb did. I watched as his eyes lit up. He practically dragged me toward the voices. I saw the source after a few steps: Silas and Jonas. We stepped into line with them and chatted as they bought a giant bucket of popcorn and soda. I was still too full from dinner to even think about movie snacks, but I bought Seb a small popcorn with extra butter.

“You know, I feel kind of betrayed,” Seb teased Jonas as we walked toward our theater. “You know more than anyone how much I wanted to see this in theater, and you didn’t tell me.”

“Actually, I texted you a few hours ago to see if you wanted to hang out, but you had plans.”

I grinned, raising my hand. “I’m the plans.”

“Absolutely you are,” Seb confirmed, leaning over and giving me a quick kiss on his cheek.

The four of us found seats together in the middle of the theater, Seb and Jonas sitting side by side. I listened as Seb told his best friend about his new job until the lights went down. While this had been planned as a date, I was more than happy to share Seb’s attention. Maybe I should have invited his friends to celebrate with us. He seemed so excited seeing Jonas and Silas, and I thought maybe it would’ve been better than a solo date. Hindsight was 20/20 .

After the movie, Silas suggested we all go to Dana’s for dessert. We took separate cars, and Seb held my hand the entire drive across town. “You’re okay with this turning into a double date, right?” he asked.

“If I’d have been thinking, I would have suggested it myself,” I promised him. “I know how important your friends are to you.”

They were just as important to him as my friends were to me. Everything was made better because they were beside him, just as everything was better when my friends were with me. It was something we had in common, something I appreciated about him. Because it meant that I’d never have to choose. I’d never have to worry that my partner was going to be pissed when I spent time with my friends without him.

It had happened before with other partners, both mine and a few of my friends.

“I love you,” he exhaled, bringing my knuckles to his lips.

We sang along to the music over the radio as we drove from the theater to Dana’s. There were moments in life that you wished you could bottle up, and this was one of them for me. If I could keep this feeling for the rest of my life, I’d die happy.

In that moment, I knew it was true. He was the person I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. Maybe it was too soon to feel that way, but I knew it deep in my soul. This was the kind of love that lasted.

We parked at Dana’s, and we went inside. Jonas and Silas were already waiting for us, squeezed in together on one side of a corner booth. I slid into the opposite side, and Seb squeezed in beside me. We both looked at the sticky, laminated menus, even though I knew exactly what I wanted for my second dessert. Of course, by the time the server came over, our order had gone to more than just dessert.

It wasn’t my fault that a giant plate of loaded fries sounded like heaven, nor was it Seb’s fault for agreeing.

Silas and Jonas ordered chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks, and we all seemed content to know that this was not going to be just a quick dessert trip. We chatted about more potential double dates as we ate our way through our greasy, deep fried snacks. By the time we ordered the desserts we’d originally come for, we had hard plans to go to a picnic lunch and had tossed around the idea of going to one of the summer Shakespeare performances at the park.

Seb and Jonas were eager to make those into group plans. I could see my friends being willing to tag along, and Silas said that his best friend, Isabel, would want to come too. I had a feeling that by the time summer rolled around, it would be a pretty big group sharing blankets on the grass. I loved the idea, loved that our groups would all merge so easily. They’d all gotten along at movie night.

After we finished at Dana’s, I drove Seb back to my place. It hadn’t been discussed, but I wanted him there with me that night. I wasn’t ready for our date to end. He didn’t seem like he was ready either. It was really an easy decision, and we both knew that we slept better together.

Besides, being at my place meant that I had the opportunity to give him the last thing I had planned for our date night.

And no, it wasn’t mind blowing orgasms. (Though those were certainly planned.)

We took a shower together, and we did give each other mind blowing orgasms. After our shower, we went to my bed and laid together. “I love nights like this,” I told him softly.

“I do too.”

“I want you to be able to come and go,” I whispered into his ear. He turned in my arms to face me, a smile on his lips. “I have dreams sometimes of going to bed alone and waking up to you climbing into bed with me, because you missed me. I have a few other dreams about other things that happen when you show up, but those are a bit more X-rated.”

He grinned. “You’re going to have to tell me about those.”

“Later.” He groaned. “I’m trying to be romantic.”

“You’re doing it really well,” he assured me, “but I also love when you get to the sexy parts. ”

I nudged his shoulder playfully. “I promise that we’ll get to the sexy parts, but can I please finish being romantic?”

He sighed. “I guess.”

I laughed and gave him a quick kiss, trying to get my brain back on track. I should have done this when we were in my living room and still dressed. His naked body pressed against mine was a distraction, especially when he started talking about wanting to hear all of my X-rated fantasies. He tried to deepen the kiss, threatening to drive me to further distraction, and I pulled away. “Still trying to be romantic,” I laughed.

“Sorry.” I couldn’t tell if it was the tone of his voice or the sparkle in his eyes that made me not believe his apology. It was probably a bit of both.

I sighed. “As I was saying…” I started again. My cheeks hurt from smiling. He was ridiculous, and I loved him more with every ridiculous thing that he did. “I want you to be able to come and go whenever you want. I don’t want you having to wait outside in your car on the days you want to see me after work or when you have news.” I reached behind me to my bedside table and felt around until I felt what I was looking for under my fingertips.

“I want you to have this,” I told him, offering a silver key to him.

His brow furrowed as he looked first at the key and then up at me. I could see the alarm in his eyes. “Uh, what’s that? ”

“A key,” I explained. “So you can come over when you want.”

“You’re not asking me to move in, right?”

“Not yet,” I assured him. “I know it’s a bit too soon for that. Maybe in a few months, or when one of our leases expire.”

He closed his fingers around the key. “Okay, good. I love you, but I don’t want to rush anything. I think we could last for the long haul, and that means, I don’t have any need to rush.”

My heart skipped a beat in my chest, and I knew that we both shared the same vision for our future.

Me and him.

Forever.