Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sebastian
It had been almost two weeks since I last saw Chloe. I still smiled when I thought about her standing in the hallway of my building in her pajamas. I respected her wishes and didn’t try to contact her. I was still giving her time, and we’d cross paths again when the time was right.
I had just finished a business lunch and was walking down the street back to the office when my phone beeped with a text message from Damien. Quickly responding and looking down, I bumped shoulders with someone.
“I’m—Chloe?” I spoke in shock.
“Sebastian.”
“Hello, Sebastian.” Ophelia smiled.
“Hello there, Ophelia. It’s nice to see you again. By the way, congratulations.”
“Why, thank you.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Chloe. “Do you have the day off?” I asked her.
“I took a half day. We went crib shopping.”
“Sounds fun. Well, I need to get back to the office. It was good seeing you, Chloe.”
“Yeah. Good seeing you too, Sebastian.”
Ophelia placed her hand on my arm before I walked away.
“You should come to my yoga class on Sunday. It starts at nine o’clock. I think you’d enjoy it. There are other men in the class, so you don’t have to feel embarrassed about being there. Many corporate men do yoga. Did you know that?”
“No. Actually, I didn’t.”
“It’s a great stress reliever. Plus, it helps you to connect with your spiritual being. It clears your mind and opens the gate to better clarity. What happens when your mind is clear and your body is free of stress?”
“What?” I smiled.
“You’re able to allow new ideas and better decision-making to flow through.”
“Maybe I will.”
“Aw, that would be great. Wouldn’t it, Chloe?”
“I don’t know. I can’t see you doing yoga.” She looked at me.
“It never hurts to try new things. It was nice seeing you both, but I have to get back to the office.”
When I stepped into my office, Damien was sitting behind my desk.
“Hey. Have you ever taken a yoga class?”
“A couple of times. Why?”
“I was just wondering. Someone told me that a lot of corporate men take it.”
“Are you thinking about taking one?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Does this have anything to do with Chloe?”
“No.”
“Liar!” He laughed as he got up from my chair. “Do what you must to prove to her that you still love and want her back. If that means taking a yoga class, then do it.”
It was Sunday morning, and while I showered, I tried to think about what to wear to yoga class. I couldn’t believe I was actually going, but I was doing it for Chloe. Okay, I was doing it for me too. Being able to see her, even if it was only for an hour, was better than not seeing her at all, no matter what the circumstances were. I had no clue what to wear as I stared inside all my opened drawers. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I decided to suck it up and send a quick text message to Chloe. I highly doubted she would respond, but it was worth a try.
“Good morning. I’m sorry to bother you, but I have a quick question. What does one wear to a yoga class?”
“LOL. You’re actually coming?”
“Yes. I could use some mental clarity at the moment.”
“Wear your black athletic pants in the second drawer to the left and the matching black t-shirt hanging in your closet towards the back by your casual pants.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her “LOL” made me smile. The fact that she could laugh about me coming to her mother’s yoga class told me that maybe, just maybe, the hate she had for me was starting to disappear. I couldn’t wait to see her. When I wasn’t up all night thinking about her, I was dreaming about her.
Chloe
What was he up to? He would be the last person on this earth that I ever expected to see at a yoga class. Just as I was about to walk out the door, my phone rang, and it was Sienna. When I answered it, I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Why are you still in bed? We have yoga in ten minutes.”
“I can’t make it today. I’m sorry.” She pouted. “Sam and I did our own yoga last night, and now I can’t seem to get out of bed.”
“Me either,” Sam mumbled.
I sighed. “I packed the picnic basket.” I held it up.
“Please forgive me. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Yeah. We’ll make it up to you,” Sam mumbled.
“Go back to bed. I’ll call you later.”
“Love you, buttercup.”
“Love you, beautiful friend.”
“Love you both, too.” I sighed.
When I arrived at the center, I looked around for Sebastian and didn’t see him. Setting my mat down on the floor, I heard his voice next to me.
“Do you mind if I do yoga here?” He smiled.
Ugh. Why the fuck did he have to look so sexy? His black athletic pants and the black t-shirt that clung to his body sent shivers down my spine.
“No. Feel free. There’s a mat over there.”
“Ah. I guess I would need one of those.”
I giggled softly as he walked over and grabbed a mat. This was going to be good. Once class was over, I looked over and saw Sebastian lying down on the mat.
“Class is over,” I spoke. “You can get up now.”
“Actually, I can’t seem to move.”
Laughing, I held out my hand. He moaned as he got up from the mat.
“That is a lot harder than it looks.”
“It can be challenging.” I smiled.
“So what did you think, Sebastian?”
“I feel very stress relieved, Ophelia.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” She grinned.
“Well, I’m going to take off, Mom,” I spoke as I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you later. Bye, little sibling.” I placed my hand on her growing belly.
“Bye, sweetheart. Thanks for coming, Sebastian.”
“Thank you for suggesting it.”
I grabbed the picnic basket I had sitting on the shelf in the back of the room.
“Going on a picnic?” Sebastian asked as he pointed to the basket.
“Yeah. Sienna was supposed to be here, and then the two of us were going to have a girls’ day at the park, but she had to cancel.”
“Why?” he asked as he held the door open for me.
“Apparently, she and Sam did their own yoga last night, and now neither one of them can get out of bed.”
Sebastian chuckled. “I can understand that. I think. I’m going this way.” He pointed to the right as I headed left. “Have a nice day and enjoy your picnic.”
“Thanks.” I gave a small smile.
What the hell was I doing? Get it out of your head, Chloe.
“Hey, Sebastian?”
He stopped walking and turned around. “Yeah?”
“You wouldn’t by any chance want to come with me, would you? I mean, I packed all this food, and I would hate to let it go to waste, considering there are so many starving people in this world.”
“Are you sure?” He tucked his hands into his pockets.
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
“I would love to join you.” He smiled.
“Then let’s go. We can walk since it’s such a beautiful day.”
We walked to Central Park and set up on the Great Lawn. Sebastian helped me spread the blanket, and then we removed our shoes and made ourselves comfortable.
“It’s a beautiful day,” I spoke as I took in the sun that was beating down on me.
“It sure is. We’re not going to have too many days like this left.”
“I know. Before you know it, Mother Nature will blow in the snow, cold, and ice.”
Being here with him reminded me of times not too long ago. It felt weird because, as well as I knew him, and after all the things we had done together, it felt like we were two strangers sitting next to each other. I took to heart the conversation that Connor and I had a couple of weeks ago. Sebastian hadn’t tried to contact me at all, and I had wondered if he’d moved on with his life. It was gnawing at me, so I had to ask.
“So, what have you been doing since you got back from Seattle?”
“Mainly working.”
“Sounds boring.” I smiled as I opened the picnic basket and took out the sandwiches and fruit.
“What have you been up to?”
“Not much. Just work, dinner with my parents, and an occasional night with Sienna and Sam.”
“Sounds fun. Your mom is really starting to show.”
“I know.” I took a bite of my sandwich.
“I really can’t believe she’s pregnant. How old is she again?”
“Forty-six. It’s going to be weird to have a little brother or sister who is twenty-five years younger than me.”
“I bet. Just think, when he or she is twenty-five, you’ll be the big five-o.”
“Weird.” I slowly shook my head, and he laughed.
We continued our conversation, both of us treading carefully so as not to bring up the subject of us. After a couple of hours, I found myself not wanting to leave him.