Chapter 24 Marfil #2
I pressed my lips together. We were back to keeping secrets.
“But I want to make one thing clear,” he said, lifting a hand to my cheek. “I will never hurt you or place you in danger. You know that, right?”
I nodded. He seemed to want to say more, but something kept him from going on. I could see it in his face, and I was dying to know why. His fingers slid down to the back of my neck, giving me chills, and for a second, the only sound was the sighing of our breath and the beating of our hearts.
“I fucked up, Marfil… Everything I promised myself I wouldn’t do…” His mouth hovered dangerously close to mine as he said this. “I swore I would stay out of it. I swore…”
“What are you talking about?”
He rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes as if what he was saying pained his soul. “How am I going to continue with this if…?”
“Sebastian…”
He opened his eyes when he heard me say his name.
“What are you talking about?” I asked again, alarmed to see him so upset.
“Nothing. Don’t listen to me.” He stepped away, collecting himself.
I studied him for a few seconds, trying to decide whether I should push the issue, given how upset he was. “I’m scared,” I confessed, and his attention returned to me. “It’s all just too much sometimes. I feel like I’m going to explode, but just knowing you’re here makes all the fear go away.”
My words seemed to have had a strange effect on him.
“You shouldn’t feel that way,” he said in such a low voice that I could’ve misheard him.
“Something tells me everything that’s happened in this past month is only a foreshadowing of something even more horrible about to happen.”
His eyes gleamed, and I could tell he was conflicted as he once again cradled my face in his hands. “Listen to me, Marfil,” he said, looking me straight in the eyes. “You shouldn’t trust anyone, not even me.”
Of all the things he could’ve said, that was the last thing I expected to hear come out of his mouth.
“You can’t tell me that you’d never hurt me and then say that you can’t be trusted.”
Sebastian clenched his jaw, and I saw the veins in his neck stand out.
“They’re two different things,” he said very somberly, barely moving his lips.
“Are you dangerous?” I asked, remembering Samara’s words.
He closed his eyes for a second before answering. “Not to you… I would never hurt you.”
His words were a comfort to me. I smiled, as I noticed that his hands were still on my face and his mouth was only inches from mine. “Did you really spend the night in the car?”
He seemed to relax, realizing that I didn’t want to keep listening to him talk about secrets, trust, and bitter ex-wives.
“Ask my back.” He lowered his hands and stretched to his full height.
“Does it hurt?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
“I think I could give you the best massage of your life and leave you feeling like new.”
“Oh yeah?” he answered, playing along with me for the first time since we’d met.
“I can show you, whenever you want, wherever you want.”
“I think I may have tempted fate too much already.”
My eyes moved involuntarily to the sling he still wore on his left arm from where he’d been injured in the car accident.
“Are you going to be able to do your job with only one arm?” I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
Sebastian looked at the sling and frowned. “Haven’t I been doing it? Don’t worry, this is coming off soon—I’ll be like new again in a few days… But I can call in someone to help me out if you think that…” he began, very serious.
“No! I don’t want anyone else in here.”
Sebastian gave me a half smile in response to my panic at the notion of another version of him lurking around my apartment. “Are you hungry?”
I nodded, the anxiety I’d been feeling since the night before slowly beginning to fade.
“Well, then help me out.”
I followed him into the kitchen, where we washed our hands before continuing on with anything else.
“You can start by sifting the flour,” he said as he opened the fridge.
“Sorry, what?” I asked, blinking several times.
Sebastian rolled his eyes and took a carton of eggs from the fridge. “You have to sift the flour before you mix the other ingredients into the pancake batter. Come here, I’ll pour it in while you just tap the sieve so it falls through.”
I ambled over to him, feeling totally clueless. “It was more fun when you did all the cooking by yourself,” I said, looking at his injured arm and frowning. “Are you sure you really hurt yourself that bad? I swear I’ve seen you move those fingers a few times.”
“I’m not paralyzed; it’s just a sprain. Start sifting, will you?”
I followed his instructions, and together we made some fairly decent pancakes.
“Wait, I want to make one shaped like the United States!” I said after a few batches.
“Marfil, you tried four times to make one that looked like Mickey Mouse. Do you really think you’ll be able to make one shaped like an entire country?” He’d clearly lost his patience with me.
“Give me that,” I said, yanking the pan out of his hand at the same time as he was pouring the last batch in. I couldn’t help but laugh at the two of us covered in flour, egg, and batter. Whenever he cooked on his own, he didn’t get so much as a hair out of place.
“What’s so funny?”
My laughter almost turned into a howl, smudging my face with batter as I covered my mouth.
Sebastian stared at me, and finally, an amused grin spread across his face.
“From now on, this is my territory. I don’t want you anywhere near this stove, do you hear me?”
“No way! I’ve just discovered my deep love for cooking.”
Sebastian shook his head, picked up the frying pan, which was still on the hot burner, and flipped the last pancake in the air.
Then he strategically balanced two plates on his right arm and placed one in front of me on the table.
When I looked down at my plate, I felt a warmth flood through my body.
He’d made the last pancake in the shape of an elephant, tusks and all, and it had come out perfectly.
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, but he just ate his pancakes as if he hadn’t just made the sweetest gesture.
I smiled silently and started to eat my breakfast.