26. Chapter 26
Cameron
I stared at Sebastian for what felt like forever. Up until now, I’d viewed Seb as an annoyance at best. But… assuming he was telling the truth, Sebastian wasn’t some creep who just attached himself to Mason. He was a protector, a hero even .
Mason didn’t owe him her hand in marriage because of his sacrifices, but I no longer had a problem with them dating.
Sebastian’s eyes were red and still rimmed with tears as he swallowed.
“Well, say something,” he commanded, his voice shaking as he did.
I cleared my throat and shifted around, trying to stop myself from staring at him.
“I, uh, I like your hair,” I mumbled, reaching over to touch the newly black strands.
Sebastian slapped me away.
“This isn’t a change for you to like.” He glared. “I did it for me… and Mason.”
My heart flipped. After he left, Mason, Lucian, Sophia, and I settled in for our movie. Lucian casually let it slip that he and Mason were engaged. Immediately, I knew that’s why she really rejected Seb .
I pulled her to the side and asked her why she kept lying to the guy, and she told me it wasn’t a lie. She wanted to preserve his feelings and let him down as gently as possible.
But, as I stared at Sebastian, I didn’t think she did a good job. He seemed like a shell of the pompous asshole he normally was. Honestly, he almost seemed human.
“Well, that don’t matter none. I think it looks good. It makes your eyes super blue.” Like almost hypnotically so.
Sebastian turned away, but not before I saw the start of a shy smile on his lips. Again, I was struck by just how handsome Sebastian was.
My goal in coming up here had been to tell him about his brother and Mason’s engagement, but now I couldn’t stop staring.
He and Lucian shared most of the same facial features.
However, where Lucian’s were sharp and almost feminine, the differences between the two made Seb’s face stronger and more masculine.
Sebastian still had a youthful appearance, but he was one hundred percent man.
And he was sitting before me in nothing but a pair of navy sweatpants.
“Between the kiss earlier and this, I’m starting to think you’re interested in me.” Sebastian’s words had an almost playful sort of tone. But that changed the second he looked back. “Do you think Mason will like my hair?”
A lump formed in my throat, and I realized I should probably do what I came up here for and go.
“You know she loves you, right?” I started slowly.
Sebastian eyed me for a moment before arching his back and reaching into his pockets.
The lines in his well-defined abs twitched, and I took a deep breath to remind myself that I was seventeen years older than him. And, also, it was Sebastian.
Eventually, he grabbed his phone and swiped through its contents before handing me the device.
On his screen was a picture of him and Mason standing in front of some sort of garden that looked more like it belonged in a fairytale than in real life.
Due to Mason's much smaller bump, I guessed it was taken sometime in the early summer .
Her hair was curled, and she wore a sundress. Sebastian’s shirt matched, and he lovingly rested a hand on her stomach. In this photo, these two looked like a happy couple.
Sebastian then took his phone and scrolled through it to find a much more recent photo. In this one, the house was a mess, Juniper was half naked, and Mason was with Lucian in the kitchen.
“Can you spot the difference in these two photos?” Sebastian challenged.
“… The second one is taken on a different continent?” I suggested, not wanting to rub dirt into any wounds he may have.
It was obvious that these photos were about as different as snowflakes. But I thought that the answer he wanted may have had something to do with the way Mason looked at Lucian.
“You’ve never been shy in terms of honesty. Don’t spare my feelings now,” Sebastian lectured as he took his phone back. “The difference is she loves my brother more . Why else would she be engaged to him?”
My eyes involuntarily widened. I thought for sure Mason didn’t tell him… actually, I know she didn’t. After Seb left, Mason ate dinner, passed out on the couch, and was currently curled up between Lucian and Sophia in Sophia’s room. She didn’t have a chance to tell Sebastian.
I didn’t think anyone had. “How’d you know that?”
Seb started to laugh before freezing. His confidence momentarily faltered as he focused on me. The intensity of his gaze caused me to shiver. But, after a moment, he eased up.
“If you didn’t know, I’m Maine’s best detective,” he bragged, resting a hand on my bare shoulder.
“It’s no secret that Lucian’s been wanting to propose to her, and Mason was desperate to marry me two weeks ago.
I assumed Lucian played a part in that, and your reaction told me everything I needed to know. ”
I traced his face for any sort of deceit. Unfortunately, Seb was such a good liar that I’d never be able to make out if he was lying without being told. But what he said seemed plausible. Seb did seem to be good at his job. Plus…. How else would he have gotten that in formation?
“Did you know I saved my virginity for her?” Sebastian’s scoff quickly turned the tide of our conversation.
“How long did ya save it for?” Not that it mattered. I was just curious… especially because he had a long-term boyfriend before he and Mason got together.
“I didn’t get to experience consensual sex until I was twenty-two.” He sounded bitter.
But I was curious.
“So that Fella you were with before…” I tried to remember his name. Unfortunately, Leona had only said it once, probably in an attempt to embarrass her brother.
“Alex?” Sebastian winced a little as the name fell from his lips.
“Yeah, him… how long were y’all together without touching?”
Sebastian shifted uncomfortably, “I’d rather not discuss my personal relationships if it’s all the same to you… but I don’t consider Alex forcing me to say yes as touching .”
The muscles in Sebastian’s arms became more defined as he hugged himself. It didn’t take a genius to know what he meant.
Poor guy.
I took a deep breath, suddenly remembering I basically forced him to kiss me earlier. “I uh… sorry for kissin’ you earlier.”
Sebastian looked at me with what could only be described as shock. “Why are you apologizing? Was I bad?”
I winced as if Sebastian were poised to hit me.
Somehow, the fact that kissing him earlier was almost enjoyable was worse than a shiner ever could be.
I wanted to hate him, to continue to hurl insults his way in hopes he’d eventually leave.
But, after everything he just told me, I had a new, weird adoration for Sebastian.
It was the type of feeling that left your chest in knots and your head in the clouds.
“No, I uh… I liked it.” My voice got softer as I continued to speak. I took a deep breath, but that only added fuel to the fire in my face. “But normally, I’m real big on consent, and I didn’t have that.”
His icy gaze bounced around my face as his lips parted. He studied me with slow breaths before swallowing hard. He regained his composure, and I braced myself for him to call me stupid with some big word that’d take me a second to understand.
“So, if you had my consent, what would you do to me, Daddy?” His tone was slightly robotic like this was some poorly rehearsed script he’d memorized.
Still, it caused my mind to race. What was I allowed to do with Sebastian? Was this a trick? If I told him that I’d like to tie him up and fuck his mouth, would he laugh at me like I was some sort of clown?
“...What do you want me to do to you?” My words were slow as molasses as I tried to gauge the situation.
Sebastian smirked as he brought his vape to his lips. His chest swelled with a breath before he blew the sweet-smelling vapor toward me.
“I’m going to be completely honest with you, Cameron.” He rubbed the square of his jaw as he talked. “I’ve always heard the best way to get over a lover is to get under another, and while I’m not interested in leaving Mason behind, I want to be able to say I willingly had sex with someone else.”
My heart skipped at just how direct Sebastian was. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole… but I was curious. The best way to sate that curiosity was to fuck him once and get it out of my system.
“So, I’m going to ask you one last time.” Sebastian slipped his glasses off, placing them on the end table before turning to me. He shifted to being on his hands and knees, placing his palm on my chest. “Seeing as you have my consent… What do you want to do to me ?”
A tingle swept across my skin. This had to be some sort of joke. He wanted a rise out of me, something he could insult me over. But… if that were the case, he was committed.
I placed a hand on top of his, “You’re too young for me.”
Flashbacks of me telling Mason something similar danced across my subconscious.
His smile was somewhere between a shit-eating grin and a cocky smirk. Lucian smiled the same way when he was intentionally getting on my last nerve .
Sebastian leaned in close enough for his breath to warm my skin. The sour, herbal smell of marijuana clung to him like cologne, barely masking his natural scent. He was high. This was wrong. I needed to be the adult and stop this.
Somehow, he got closer still, and now his lips were pressed to my ear. “I’m young, but I know what I want.”
His whisper sent chills down my spine, and I gulped. My heart cartwheeled in my chest, and my mind swam with the idea of what we could do with just one night.
“Seb, I’m not gentle,” I warned. That was my last attempt to dissuade him, of defusing the ticking time bomb this situation was about to become.
He pulled away again, his gaze pinned on mine. He squinted slightly and I wondered if he was doing it to see me better.