Chapter Seventeen
The sense that I’m alone in bed is what pulls me out of the last few moments of sleep.
I can’t always feel him, but sometimes, even subconsciously, my body is highly aware that Sebastian’s not close by.
I immediately reach for him, but my hands find nothing.
I open one eye slowly and then the other before sitting up in bed, and I realize I’m alone in the room.
The hotel room wasn’t big by any means, an average-sized guest room with just enough space to fit a bed, two nightstands, a couch, and a desk, so it’s easy to see that I’m alone.
The television mounted on the wall in front of the bed is still on from the night before, now playing reruns of The Big Bang Theory.
I reach for my phone on the nightstand and note a few school emails, a couple of Instagram notifications, and a couple of messages in my group thread with Dex, Bryce, Addison, and Jase, making me wonder if maybe Jase hadn’t told anyone what happened between us at the bar the other night.
The bathroom door is closed, and when I sit up farther, I see light shining out from under it, so I figure Wild is in there.
I go back to my phone when I hear the distinct sound of a low voice.
Like when someone is talking in hushed tones so as not to alert anyone to what they’re saying.
I get off the bed and grab a shirt and sweatpants from my suitcase on the way to the door before tapping on it gently.
I have a brief thought that I should have listened at the door first because is he hiding something from me?
No. He’s never hidden anything from me ever.
The door swings open, and I can immediately tell he’s agitated. “One sec,” he barks into the phone, and then his hand is on my face. “Did I wake you?” he asks, concerned.
“No… well, maybe when you got out of bed.” I look at the phone in his hand. “Is everything okay?”
His shoulders sag while he expels a breath before he puts his phone back to his ear. “Let me call you back.” I can’t hear what the other person says, but I hear Wild’s agitated reply. “I said I’d call you back.” He doesn’t wait for their answer before hanging up, and then he guides me to the bed.
“Evidently, Dylan is pressing charges,” he says. My mouth falls open, and my heart starts to accelerate.
“Shut up. Are you serious?”
“Yep.” His jaw is tight, and I reach up to rub it gently because I can tell he’s gritting his teeth. It softens with my touch, but I can still feel his distress radiating from him.
“How do you know?”
“Mom called. I certainly loved that conversation at seven o’clock in the morning.” He rolls his eyes. “She says she’s trying to get Mike to talk him out of it, but…”
“But what? Did you tell them what happened? What he said?”
“Yes, but it’s not the story he told, and evidently, I’m an unreliable narrator when it comes to you.” I tense slightly because I mean, I suppose there is some truth to that.
“What did he say?”
“Just that he was trying to make small talk, and I went off because he was talking to you.”
“That’s bullshit. He was absolutely instigating.”
“Yes, we know that. But it’s our word against his.
” He sighs. “I called my lawyer. Even if he drops the charges and nothing comes of it, I just wanted to bring him in the loop. Obviously, he’s based in Seattle, so he reached out to one of his colleagues based in North Carolina.
I’ll have to fly back if I can’t get this all taken care of in the next twenty-four hours.
” He falls back onto the bed and stares up at the ceiling.
“Fuck, this is not what I need right now.”
“This is ridiculous. I’m sorry. What can we do?”
“I’m not sorry. That asshole deserved it. But nothing. Just hope Mike can get him to drop the charges, I guess.”
“Who were you talking to?” I ask, remembering that he was on the phone.
“The head of my press team, who is currently having a fucking fit. He’s still on fire about Quinn trying to go public about my relationship with you.”
“You have a press team?” I ask with wide eyes. I knew he was in the spotlight quite a bit, from interviews to events and community outreach, but I didn’t realize it was that intense that he had a whole team.
He nods. “Most companies do with how accessible everyone is thanks to social media.” He sits up and rubs his eyes. “My board is also not happy. They were already throwing around words like misconduct and ethical violations. And this is not going to help.”
“Because of… me?”
“Us,” he corrects. “We’re in this together, Halle.”
“Of course, we are, but this affects your whole livelihood. Something you’ve built, and it could all go up in smoke. All because you’re in a relationship with me?”
“I am going to talk to them. Explain how different we are and how we got here. It’s going to be a hard sell, but maybe I can make them understand.”
“What… just pray that they’re hopeless romantics?”
“What other choice do I have?” I give him a sad look, referring to the other option we might have, and he shakes his head. “No.”
“It just might help until all of this dies down.”
“No. I’d consider it if you and I weren’t the endgame.
But we are, so we’re going to have to deal with this at some point.
Dating some girl for show would just delay the inevitable, and I’m not doing that.
I am not delaying anything, and I refuse to let anyone believe that I’m in a relationship with anyone other than you. ”
God, this man loves me too much. The thought that I could end up being his downfall when I love him just as much weighs on me.
“I just don’t want you to wake up one day and resent me for costing you so much.
Your relationship with your mom and some of your family is strained.
You just punched someone in the face over me, and now you could potentially be in legal trouble.
Your job isn’t on board with us,” I explain.
“It just seems like you’re the only one affected by all of this. ”
“First of all”—he sits up and grabs my hands, pulling them to his mouth—“I could never resent you. Do you hear me?” he asks.
“Never. And I’d walk away from my entire company before I walk away from you.
” My heart flutters, and warmth spreads across my chest as his words wash over me.
“I have a great lawyer, and at most, it’ll be a misdemeanor, and I’ll have to pay a fine.
He’s just trying to stick it to me anyway he can for God knows what reason.
And my mom…” He shakes his head. “Either she’ll get on board with all of this eventually or she won’t.
The ball is in her court. But I’m not going to give you up just because she doesn’t like us together.
” My hands are still in his when he grabs my left ring finger and rubs it gently.
“Do I need to put something here for you to realize how serious I am?”
I gasp, not because I’m stunned but because I know he means it, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he dropped to his knee and pulled out a ring he’d been carrying around for years. “Now?”
“Don’t tempt me.”
I rub his jaw, scratching at the hair there and tugging on it gently like I do when it’s longer than usual. “I know you love me. It’s never been about that.”
“We’ve been back and forth about really doing this for years. We decided to be together, and I’m not going back on that. Are you?”
“No.” I shake my head because I’ve wanted to be with him since I was old enough to know what that even meant. “I expressed my concerns about all of this. If you don’t see any issues, then… neither do I.”
The next day is cloudy and dreary and matches the mood I always have when I’m preparing to leave Wild.
Although this time is different because we haven’t had some terrible argument that will lead to us not talking for weeks.
The plan is for me to fly to Seattle on Thursday, since I don’t have class on Friday.
We’re only going to be apart for four days, which is so easy compared to the months we used to go without seeing or talking to each other.
Sebastian is waiting with me at my gate as I’m about to start boarding since his flight doesn’t leave for another hour.
“Text me when you land,” he murmurs into my hair.
“Of course,” I respond. “My flight isn’t nearly as long as yours, though. You’ll still be in the air when I get to New York.”
“I want to know that you made it safely. Actually, text me when you’re back at your apartment too.”
“I will.”
He wraps his arms around me. “We’re going to figure this all out, I promise. Do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Do you trust that I’ll protect you from all of this?”
“As much as you can, yes.” He pulls me in for a hug and presses a kiss to my lips. “I love you.”
His face lights up, and I love the grin that flashes across it, carefree and happy. It’s my favorite of all his smiles, and they were always directed at me. “I love you too.”
After one last kiss, I board the plane, and as soon as I get to my seat, the exhaustion hits me hard.
I don’t think the plane is even done boarding before I’m asleep.
Halle: 14 years old
Sebastian: 15 years old
Oh. My. God.
Those are the first words I think when I open my eyes the following morning.
I kissed Sebastian last night.
No, I made out with Sebastian last night.
A lot.
For multiple hours.
I rub my fingers over my very chapped lips and spot a full glass of water and one of my lip balms sitting on my nightstand that was not there when I finally went to sleep. Or when Wild snuck out of my room a few hours ago. I take a long gulp of the water as I recall the events of last night.
I can’t believe that happened.
What does this mean?
Well, he did say that he couldn’t stop thinking about me.
Does that mean… he’s my boyfriend?