37. Georgia
Chapter 37
Georgia
I was holding my breath as we pulled up to Morning View; I’d had a shower and straightened my hair like I was going in for a first date. Sebastian had been holding my hand the entire way, gently rubbing circles into my skin as if he could feel the anxiety radiating off of me. We drove my car this time, mostly because I had Hannah in the front seat with me, and as much as Seb loved the old feline, cat hair is ridiculously difficult to clean up.
"You good?" he asked as he pulled into the visitor's parking spot, idling the vehicle as snow fell around us in thick, fat drops. December had arrived with an onslaught of snow and bitter cold; however, it wasn't too bad. Sleeping next to Sebastian Quinn was like sleeping next to an oven, so I was toasty warm every night. Sure, we were still neighbors, but we had just officially started dating and always came up with an excuse to be in each other's company.
I blew out a breath, scratching Hannah's head as she looked out of the passenger window curiously, her large yellow eyes following the drifting snowflakes. "Yeah, Abbey said it was a good day. I just have never introduced her to any…" I trailed off, the word still foreign on my tongue.
Seb raised a dark eyebrow in amusement and prodded, "Boyfriend?"
I rolled my eyes and nodded. "I know it's early, but with the dementia, I just never know." I sighed, looking out the window along with my grandmother's cat. "I just don't want to wait too long to introduce you, because I don't know how long it will be that I will have to introduce myself to her."
Squeezing my hand, he replied, "I'm excited to meet her. I remember her a bit from when she would drop you off at school or functions. You two seemed very close."
There was silence for a moment, before he finally seemed to get the courage to say what had been on his mind the entire drive here.
“I want to quit the website,” Sebastian said resolutely, looking at me for my reaction. We had kept filming; it was something we had worked into our relationship, something we did for fun that we both enjoyed. I loved getting on his socials and reading the thirsty comments out loud while he blushed redder than his stage lighting.
“Okay,” I shrugged, scratching Hannah’s ear. “Why did you decide that?”
Sebastian shrugged. “I don’t know, I started doing it for fun and then a bit more for a sense of control. Charles didn’t give me an inch, and it was a way to make my own money and own decisions without his involvement. With Charles gone, Maria set up and my investments and savings paying off, I just don’t need it.” He looked at me, amber eyes roaming over me with an appreciative glint. “Besides, I’m done sharing you. I want you to myself.”
Rolling my eyes as I tried to hide my blush, I responded, “Greedy, Quinn, very greedy.”
He smiled, grasping my chin and leaning over for a chaste kiss. “You love it, Clark.”
I bit my lip and gave him another short peck before reaching for the door handle. I paused when a sudden thought came to my mind, and I looked at him curiously. "Were you really into a silent rivalry with me in high school?"
Sebastian groaned and pressed his forehead to the steering wheel in embarrassment. "I am going to kill Fletcher for ever mentioning that." I waited with an amused expression on my face, still petting the purring cat in my lap. "I guess I was. I might have been a little obsessed. Not like in a stalker way, but I was curious about you. Charles had been on my case the entirety of my high school career about my grades and my attendance. I never had a sick day until that lacrosse injury; I just thought if I could get that spot, it would prove something to him. Or at least get him off my back."
I looked at him sympathetically. "I guess I had something to prove, too, back then. I was the poorest in the whole place and had nothing going for me other than academics." I turned my high school memories over in my mind; most of them I had buried for good reason, but I remembered my time in the library fondly. "I remember you in the library studying, wearing your stupid letterman jacket." He had looked extremely hot in said letterman jacket, but he already had a social media full of women and men telling him how attractive he was; I couldn't let him get a big head.
Sighing, I looked at him forlornly and teased, "Sorry I was so smart, Sebby."
Sebastian gaped at me in feigned annoyance and shoved my reusable grocery bag at me before mumbling, "Get out of the car, Georgia, Jesus Christ."
I laughed as I gently placed Hannah into the oversized reusable bag, the bottom lined with her favorite blanket. The cat didn't even seem fazed. She just lay down like she was in on the plan.
We walked quickly inside, the biting wind howling around us as the snow pelleted our faces and clung to our hair.
"Hi, Abbey!" I exclaimed, showing Sebastian where to sign in and where the hand sanitizer was. I urged him to hurry in my head as he signed his name and looked around the facility entrance before I grabbed his hand. Abbey waved at us, her eyes narrowing at the bag over my shoulder that began to move suddenly.
Her eyes caught mine for a moment as Hannah's black and white head poked out curiously from the opening, her whiskers moving as she sniffed the new environment. Abbey just shook her head and smothered a smile as she turned back to her computer. We took our opportunity and walked down the hall while I made quiet, soothing noises to the cat in the bag.
I barely knocked, Sebastian covering my side as another orderly walked down the hall with meal trays for the residents who were room-bound or just wanted their meals delivered that day.
"Come in!" came Mary's bright and very coherent voice from the other side. I sighed in relief as we walked in. The scent of the day was cinnamon apple, and the windows were open to let in the daylight, even as snow clung to the frame.
"Hi, Grandma!" I greeted her, turning to make sure Sebastian was inside and had locked the door behind him. Morning View had a strict no pet policy, and it was the only measure that my grandmother had bemoaned when she moved in.
However, Sebastian had made a very generous, very public donation to the facility, and suddenly, they were reviewing their pet policy for the whole building when he brought up how disappointed he was with the rule, bringing up some random evidence about how pets were good for healing. "I brought a surprise—well, two."
Mary looked over Sebastian's tall frame and muscular body with the appreciation of any person with working eyes; I had told her I would be bringing him to meet her, but I was still nervous. Hannah was the buffer. Without preamble, I lifted the plump cat out of her enclosure and set her on my grandmother's lap.
"Oh!" She cried all her attention on her furry friend, who immediately began purring at rubbing her head on the older woman's chin. "You snuck her in!"
I nodded before Sebastian brought over his bag, full of cat toys, a bed, and her food, and set it down next to her chair before sitting down beside the older woman and reaching out his hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Mary. I'm Sebastian, Georgia's boyfriend."
My grandmother's grey eyebrows raised as she looked at him and shook his hand, his large tan one engulfing her pale, wrinkled palm.
"Oh, it is very nice to meet you, Sebastian." Mary looked at me, her eyes sparkling as she looked between us all while Hannah busied herself with making herself comfortable on the old woman's lap. "And you brought me my cat, so you have two good strikes in my book. The first one is for having extremely good taste in women."
Sebastian smiled and stood, allowing me to sit next to my grandmother and give her the good news. "Grandma, Hannah gets to stay here with you as long as you'd like." I didn't think my grandmother's face could show more surprise than it did at that moment.
We stayed and talked for hours; Sebastian insisted on ordering food and going to pick it up to give us some time to talk one-on-one. I set the table for the three of us while Mary got busy making sure Hannah was at home in her new environment.
“It makes me so glad to see you so happy, Georgia.” My grandmother said as she patted my shoulder. “It gives me peace knowing you have someone taking care of you.”
I looked down, smiling. “I think we’re taking care of each other now.” She smiled and poured some food into the cat bowl we brought before straightening and entering the tiny kitchen with me.
"So, how did you two meet?" Mary asked, pouring a few glasses of water to set on the table.
A smile softened my face, "He was my neighbor."