20. Chapter 20
Cameron
“What the fuck do you mean you told Mason you’re Calvin Waters?” Sebastian stared at me with an open mouth while I tried to focus on anything other than this morning.
Luckily, with the chaos of this morning, I never cleaned up after I made breakfast. So, while he lectured me on something he had no idea about, I wiped the counters with a disinfectant rag.
“I was drunk and wasn’t thinking clearly.” I shrugged. “But, she had a right to know.”
Talking to Sebastian would never be my first choice, but it was becoming more and more apparent that Seb and I would need to be on the same page. Dale was up to something, but with no idea what, it was best Seb and I stuck together.
“Oh my god, are you fucking stupid?” he harped. “Wait, don’t answer that. I know you are.”
If this had been the first time he insulted my intelligence, that might have phased me.
“Ain’t you smart enough to find somethin’ else to pick on me about?” I asked, paying more attention to whatever sticky stuff was on the counter .
It looked like dried maple syrup, but we didn’t use that this morning.
“Oh trust me, if I were to list every detail about you that I abhor, we’d be here all day,” he assured me.
I cast him a glance just long enough to let him know I didn’t care.
“Using big words don’t make you sound smarter.” Anyone with a dictionary could expand their vocabulary.
The longer I spoke to Sebastian, the more I realized he was all about appearances. When he was at home, his face was adorned in silver piercings and his clothes were dark. But, when he ran the risk of needing to impress someone, his jewelry was out, and he clothed himself in tailored suits.
There was no way he could do both of those while being true to himself… But I just didn’t know which Sebastian was the real one.
Sebastian gripped me by the chin before forcing me to look him in the eyes. His jaw was tense as his blue eyes burned with determination.
“I don’t think you’re funny,” he warned. “Mason may be a game to you–but she’s more than that to me–”
“Woah, woah, woah.” I stood up straight and shook his hand off my face. “Who the hell said Mae is just a game for me?”
“You’re acting like it.” He scoffed. “The number one rule the doctor gave us on Friday was–”
“No stress. I remember.”
“Then why are you telling her you’re a serial killer? That seems rather stress inducing.” He laughed.
“Because I ain’t a killer,” I warned, pressing my nose to his. “Unlike you, I’m not a monster .”
The way Sebastian smirked made my heart feel light, and a dull rush flooded my senses. I wanted to ask him what was so funny and wipe that smile off his face, but before I could do anything in the slightest, the front door opened.
My heart went into overdrive as my brain short-circuited. I didn’t look to see who was at the door. All I knew was that two of the people in this house thought I was suspicious. I didn’t want to risk anyone asking what Sebastian and I were doing, so I swallowed my pride and let instinct guide me.
I put a hand on the back of Sebastian’s neck and drew him closer, pressing my lips to his. His eyes widened as he realized what was going on, and I was afraid he’d push me away. But, after a moment, he eased into me.
“Uh… Hi?” Sophia called.
My shoulders fell as I exhaled and pulled away from Sebastian. A subtle flush dusted his cheeks, and he swallowed hard before looking away from me.
I turned to see both girls standing in the doorway. Sophia’s head was tipped in confusion, but Mason looked almost excited to have caught us in the act.
“Hi, Sophia… Mason.” Sebastian’s voice was high as he rushed through his words.
His face had only gotten redder since I looked away. What the fuck was his problem?
“How was the, uh, how was your appointment? With the baby?” he babbled.
Mason held up a finger as she braced herself against the door and struggled with her shoes.
“The appointment went fine.” Sophia’s tone was unusually short. “We are officially T-minus twenty-eight days until baby girl is here.”
I scratched my chin as I tried to think about how far we were from Christmas. “No? Soph, that wouldn’t even take us to December.”
Mason continued to struggle with the laces on her high-top tennis shoes.
Sebastian seemingly came to his senses and motioned for her to come near.
She breathed a sigh of relief before making her way to one of the nearby chairs.
Sebastian took a knee in front of her, and I felt a small pang of jealousy.
Did things like this always come easy to them?
“Your daughter is huge and they want to induce Mason at thirty-seven weeks,” Sophia explained as she came closer and rested her hand on the crook of my elbow.
She inched in, and I braced myself for a kiss. Instead, she tipped her head forward, refusing to look away.
“What’s going on? Two days ago, you and Seb couldn’t stand each other?” she hissed .
“What do you mean?” I tried to laugh off my nerves. “He’s been sleeping in my bed the last few days.”
“When he realized you two were holding hands, he literally threw himself out of the bed.”
The weight of Sophia’s anger was new and unwelcome, and I would have done just about anything to make it stop.
“There was some uh… unresolved tension between us.” I scratched my head and looked away.
But, she was having none of it. Sophia grabbed me by the chin and forced me to look at her.
“I just want to know what’s going on,” she promised. “I’ve had time to think, and I won’t be mad.”
The fact she had to tell me she wouldn’t be mad made me think that was a lie.
A laugh from Mason drew my attention, and I looked over to see Sebastian still on one knee, holding her hand as they talked.
I couldn't hear what they were saying, but if I didn’t know Sebastian was a creep, I’d like the way he looked at her. It was warm and loving, and from anyone else, it would have been enough to make me swoon. Unfortunately, as much as I needed Sebastian, I couldn’t trust him—but I wanted to.
“Sophia, nothing is going on.” I forced myself to hold her gaze as I spoke. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about getting fired from the church. Truth be told, I didn’t want to think about it.”
She studied me for a moment. “And Seb?”
I looked back over to see him helping Mason to her feet before smoothing her pink sweater.
“I’m still trying to figure him out. He’s…different.” Fucking crazy. “And we’ve been trying to keep our… whatever we are to ourselves.”
Her face softened just enough to let me know she bought my story, even if it was begrudgingly.
“Do you promise?”
I nodded. “Cross my heart. ”
Before she could push me any further, I pretended to stifle a yawn.
“I’m sorry for bein’ weird. I’m just tired,” I explained.
Sophia knew I was prone to bouts of insomnia, so she appeared to just accept that at face value.
“Fine. Just remember, if you have a secret, I’ll find out.” She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. “If you’re tired, why not get some rest?”
My mouth went dry, and I nodded. I should have argued and told her I was fine, but I just wanted to get away from everything going on today.
“Yeah, a nap would probably help me,” I admitted.
“Ooh, can I come with you?” Mason called.
I didn’t realize she’d been listening to us, but I’d never say no to cuddling with Mason. But I wasn’t the only person who wanted Mason's attention.
“Princess, I was getting ready to do some work. Why don’t you use my bed? I miss having you upstairs,” Sebastian explained.
Mason studied him like he had just asked her to stick her finger in an outlet.
“Because I want to take a nap with Cameron?”
Her response was almost automatic, and despite the fact Mason didn’t say anything wrong, Sebastian looked like she punched him. Normally, I’d of found that funny… but right now, it was a little sad.
His smile faltered for just a moment before he plastered on a big, fake grin.
“That’s fine… I’ll probably go to the gym instead,” he relented.
“But what about work?”
His smile stayed as he shrugged. I still didn’t like Sebastian, but it was hard seeing his heart so obviously break, even if it was just a little.
I waited for Sebastian to leave before I joined Mason. It was weird. As much as I loved rubbing Mason’s love for me in his face, today, I couldn’t do it. So, with Sebastian at the gym and Mason in my bed, it felt like I could finally relax.
Except, I was pretty sure zero part of Mason wanted to sleep. Instead, she used my arm as a pillow as she looked through her phone .
“What about Rosemary Adelaide?” she asked.
I closed my eyes, hoping that would tell her I wanted to sleep and we could pick out a middle name later.
“Too long.”
“Rosemary June?”
I scrunched my nose. “Too close to Juniper, and she’s the last kid that needs to be given a complex.”
Recently she’s started telling us I’m right and you’re wrong when we correct her. I couldn’t imagine how she’d behave if she thought we named the baby after her.
Mason softly traced absentminded patterns on my skin, causing goosebumps to erupt in their wake.
“What about Rosemary Anne?”
I cracked an eye just to stare at her. “Did you actually want a nap, or did you just wanna bug me?”
Because if it was the latter, she could have stayed upstairs with Seb.
“I did want a nap… but not having her name picked out is really bothering me.” She sighed.
That was understandable, but that also caused a question to sprout in my mind. I opened my other eye and slid my gaze to her.
“Why didn’t you tell Sebastian we changed baby girl's name?” It shouldn’t matter to me that she hid this, he wasn’t my problem.
I told myself that this was because I was just curious. That my worries were founded in Mason being scared of him rather than the fact that her hiding this would absolutely break Sebastian.
She focused on her stomach, gently rubbing the curve as she thought.
“You probably think I don’t love him, right?” she mumbled.
Honestly, until recently, I would have preferred if she didn’t. “Not at all.”
She nodded, and I watched Rosie press some body part directly under her mother’s hand. I wondered if Rosie was excited to finally have an escape date before realizing she had no concept of time .
“I do love Sebastian, but I don’t think he really understands how relationships work.”
My brow furrowed. “Can you explain that one?”
“When he and I first started dating, he was genuinely confused about how I got pregnant because my fiancé was a woman.”
That should have confused me, but when he and I first met, he yelled at me for not wearing a condom—something about all men needing to carry them.
“...So he never had sex-ed?”
Mason’s lips pressed into a thin line. “No, I think he did; he’s just been very… sheltered? And, I don’t feel like he’d react well to knowing I still love him, but I didn’t want him to name the baby that he’s loved longer than anyone else in this house.”
I mulled the thought over, and I felt like Mason was right. Seb didn’t have experience with relationships, and that probably wasn’t an easy concept to grasp. Honestly, it was weirdly cute that someone as rough as Seb was so uneducated about stuff like this.
“He’s gonna find out eventually,” I reminded her. “I’d rather have him make a scene now than while you’re recovering from giving birth.”
She went silent.
“Mason, I–”
“Can we talk about this later?” she pleaded.
I took a deep breath before giving her what she wanted. At least I’d finally get my nap. But, in the back of my head, I was worried about how Seb was going to react to all of this.