Chapter 14
NOVA play: An Honest Mistake (feat. Lizzy Land) by Mating Ritual, Lizzy Land
Isipped away at my beer as I watched Sebastian set up the pool game. He put the balls in the triangle thinggie, scrubbed the tips of the sticks with blue stuff, then handed one to me.
“Here, I’ll show you how to break,” he said, before setting up his shot at the end of the table.
His lean body stretched over the velvet, and I couldn’t help but notice the way his shirt pulled against him in all the right places.
The dim, overhead lighting cast gentle shadows over the sharp planes of his face, and I really couldn’t deny how attractive he was.
Like a bronzed, Greek god, perfectly symmetrical, but somehow also a little boyish and charming.
He cracked the cue ball, and the rest of the balls shot off in different directions. Two solids immediately hit the pockets, and he grinned, explaining that solids were now his and he was meant to play again until he missed.
“Watch me, then you try,” he ordered softly, and I did my best to observe his technique as he proceeded to expertly sink several more solids.
When he finally missed, he scooped up his beer and took a swig, smirking at me.
“Your turn.”
I put down my now-empty beer bottle, already feeling a little flushed from the alcohol. I wasn’t kidding when I said I didn’t drink often. I was small and lean, so I was the definition of a lightweight.
Hiccuping, I focused on not tripping over my own feet before leaning over the table and doing my best to line up my cue the way I’d seen Sebastian do it.
“Am I doing it right?” I called over my shoulder, and he chuckled softly.
“Almost, but you’ll miss if you hit it from that angle. Do you mind if I help align you?”
“Uhm, no, I don’t mind. Go ahead,” I said, feeling a shot of adrenaline rush through me as I realized what I’d just agreed to.
Sebastian’s warm body pressed up behind me, and I found myself bracketed by his strong, lightly muscled arms. He wrapped his fingers around my wrists to adjust my hold on the cue.
“Here… move slightly this way…” His mouth was directly next to my ear, and his hot breath sent tingles through my entire body. I nearly choked as he moved his head slightly towards me, the tip of his nose gently brushing the shell of my ear.
I inhaled sharply as his words rumbled over my sensitive skin, and my nose flooded with the scent of saffron and cedar.
“Relax, Milo. Let me—”
Suddenly, I was hit with the strangest sense of deja vu.
I glanced at my beer, confused for a moment. Hadn’t that been a sparkly blue cocktail a moment ago?
I wasn’t supposed to be here.
Everything felt wrong, and I jerked in Seb’s arms, messing up the shot as my body convulsed.
“Milo?” Seb asked, sounding confused. I spun around so I was leaning back against the table, my hands flying up to his chest as the strange feeling flickered in and out of focus.
“Milo, what’s wrong?” Sebastian was staring down at me from inches away, his perfect face full of concern.
“I-I don’t know… I just had the craziest sense of deja vu… It just… I must still be super tired.”
Sebastian nodded in understanding. He raised his warm hands up to cup the sides of my face, almost as if he couldn’t help himself.
Tiny shocks of sensation sparked between us as he tilted my head back, searching my eyes with a frown on his face.
“You’re okay, though?” he asked softly.
I nodded slightly, still feeling disoriented and maybe a little drunk as he leaned in closer.
“Milo… can I… I want to…” His eyes fell to my lips, and I realized with a start that he was going to kiss me.
There was a wooshing sensation in my gut, and I couldn’t tell if I was exhilarated or horrified.
My heart began to pound as he came closer and closer, his warm breath puffing across my lips as he continued to lean in.
Anticipation and something… something else zinged through my body as my fingers curled into his shirt of their own accord.
He was so close.
My stomach felt almost nauseous, and I was frozen.
All I could smell was saffron, and then—
The TV turned on randomly, the volume so high and sudden I nearly leapt out of my skin.
“JIMMINEY CHRISTMAS!” I yelped, jerking away from the man who had been seconds away from kissing me.
“What the fuck?” Sebastian spun around, his eyes falling on the screen, which seemed to be glitching out.
It was a news station, but the feed was jerky and kept cutting to different news anchors.
“Man found dead,” one female anchor said before the screen glitched again to a male anchor.
“Man shot.” And on and on it went. An endless roll of news anchors all saying some variation of the same thing.
“Man found dead after—”
“Man dead.”
“Police found a man dead.”
Man dead, man dead, man dead—
“TECHA! TV Off!” Sebastian was screaming to be heard over the volume of the TV, but the AI didn’t respond. Seb’s face went white, and I saw him mutter the word ‘fuck’ before he located the remote and was able to turn the TV off manually.
“What the heck was that?” I gasped, my heart still racing from the freaking jump scare we both had suffered.
Sebastian was staring at me, his eyes wide and his face so pale his lips didn’t have any color anymore.
“Christ… Fuck!” he hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut as he clearly tried to get a grip on himself.
Frowning, I crossed the room so I could comfort him. I reached out to touch his arm, remembering how much that had soothed him earlier, but he jerked away from me, stumbling backward as if my touch burned him.
“No, no. I can’t do this. I thought I could, but I fucking can’t. It’s not right. He’s going to fucking kill me.”
“Sebastian, wh-what? You’re giving me whiplash here,” I admitted, feeling like this was Dylan all over again.
How stupid was I to think someone might actually be into me? How many times was I going to fall for this?
Though looking at how shaken Sebastian was, and noticing his eyes seemed to almost be filled with tears, I softened slightly.
“I… I have to go. I’m sorry,” he stammered before rushing past me and out the front door. Again, the door locked behind him, sealing me in.