Chapter 7
Sebastian
What is wrong with me?
One look at my teammates and their interested gazes on Lily, and I’m ready to fucking snap.
I have no business telling her who she can or can’t talk to.
Dean just seemed a little too interested for my liking.
He’s a notorious flirt and loves to use his British charm to win over the ladies. I’ve never cared until he turned those eyes on Lily.
I don’t even bother denying it to myself.
I got jealous.
Jealous that, unlike me, he can actually do something about his interest in her.
He can ask her out, take her on a date, kiss her, and do all the things I want to do with her.
I’m left wanting someone I can never have.
But she deserves to have that chance with someone, if that’s what she wants. I shouldn’t have been overprotective like that.
Lily doesn’t seem to mind putting me in my place, though.
Hell, seeing her all fired up excited me. She’s always so joyful and carefree, and a selfish part of me was happy to rile her up a little when I was feeling murderous on the inside.
I turn the corner, then stop in my tracks and turn around.
Lily walks right into my chest, colliding with me, not expecting me to stop so abruptly.
I steady her with my hands on her arms before I clear my throat and step back.
“I’m sorry about that, Lily. I shouldn’t have acted like that,” I say, not daring to promise her that it won’t happen again.
I’m quickly learning that my self-control and actions around this woman are getting thinner each day.
I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.
Still, I don’t want to upset her, and I did act out of line.
Lily looks at me, slightly furrowing her brows before she quietly says, “No worries,” before walking past me.
She almost seemed disappointed that I just apologised to her.
I stand there, confusion clouding my brain as I wonder if I’ll be able to handle this woman and my complicated feelings for her over the next six weeks.
～
I’m running up and down the field, warming up before practice, when Dean hunts me down.
I can tell this isn’t a conversation I’m going to enjoy from his smug expression.
“So,” he says with the biggest fucking smile ever. It almost looks scary.
“So,” I reply dryly.
He starts jogging beside me, and I up my pace, hoping I’ll be able to drop him.
No such luck.
“Your girl, Lily. She seems fun,” he says, making me exhale hard.
I knew this was coming.
He probably saw my interest in her right away.
Dean is the closest friend I have on the team, and after Luke, I would say he’s one of my best friends.
We were both new to the team when we found each other and quickly realised we were pretty similar.
Part of me really wants to talk to him about my conflicting feelings about her and the whole best-friend-sister thing.
Another part of me doesn’t think it will add much value, since I can’t do anything about it either way.
“She’s not my girl,” I mutter, feeling like the moodiest bastard ever.
“Well then, it should be no problem if I ask her out,” Dean says, which makes me stop.
He looks at me, raising a brow, reminding me a lot of the blonde who occupies what’s left of my brain.
“You’re not going to do that,” I state, not too keen on explaining myself, but also knowing Dean won’t back down from this.
I know I wouldn’t if the roles were reversed.
“What’s the deal then, Sebastian? Come on, man, I’m your best mate on this team. You can tell me,” he says, hitting me lightly in the shoulder.
I don’t know what to tell him, and at my silence, he comes up with his own theories.
“Let me guess. She has a boyfriend, or maybe a girlfriend?”
I shake my head at him, but he only keeps going, enjoying my misery.
Dean likes coming up with his own stories, letting his imagination run wild.
“Oh, wait, you had sex with her and couldn’t get your little man to function?”
Christ, this guy. He needs to be checked in somewhere.
“Hell, Dean. Absolutely not. There is nothing wrong with my sexual abilities,” I say, and he cuts in before I’m finished with my sentence.
“Just bad sex then?”
“I’ve never had sex with her, you idiot. I’ve never done anything with her. She’s the sister of my best friend.”
It clicks then.
Dean suddenly looks like he’s solved every damn problem in the world.
Then he makes an expression that is giving pity on a whole new level.
“Shit, man, that is rough,” he says, throwing his arm around me.
“No wonder you looked at her like she was your next meal. You want her to be, but can’t even have a tiny taste.”
I shake him off me, getting aggravated again.
He’s hitting a little too close to home.
“Just shut up already. I don’t want to discuss this anymore,” I say, and Dean lifts his hands, playing innocent.
I take a deep breath, steadying myself.
“Okay, I’ll drop it for now.”
Coach blows the whistle, and I’m happy to be done with this conversation, feeling ready to blow off some much-needed steam.
～
I meet up with Lily after practice, and I’m grateful the atmosphere between us seems to be back to normal, even after my weird behaviour earlier today.
Another great thing about Lily is that she’s not one to hold a grudge too hard or too long.
At least, if you apologise and try to make things right again.
“You up for dinner cooked by me today? We still
haven’t gone over when we’re going to start with the conversations relating to my project,” she says from the passenger seat of my car.
She spent quite a while in the office space today before wandering down to the stadium seats and watching parts of our practice.
“Harriet has probably made dinner already, but you can eat at my place, and we’ll discuss it,” I tell her, knowing Harriet usually has dinner ready by the time I get back from the stadium.
“That would be lovely.”
It amazes me how effortlessly Lily fits into my life. Driving back from work with her feels like the most natural thing, but then I remind myself we’re not actually going back home together.
We’re simply living in the same building.
And we are having dinner together.
With my chef.
When we get to my apartment, Lily goes right over to Harriet.
“You must be Harriet! Such a pleasure to meet you.” The two women share a hug, and I stand back, admiring their interaction.
They’re similar in a lot of ways.
Open, warm, and headstrong women.
“I must say, it’s nice having a lady around, pleasure to have you, Lily,” Harriet says, smiling fondly at Lily.
“Doesn’t Sebastian bring all the ladies of London back to his condo?” Lily sniggers at her, the ladies having fun on my behalf.
I don’t mind.
I agree with Harriet; it is nice to have Lily around. The condo can get lonely at times.
“I’ve never seen Sebastian James bring any girls here, actually.”
Now it’s time for me to interfere.
The women don’t have to discuss my whole life with me standing off to the side.
“Okay, good to see that you two get along. Now, is it time for dinner?”
Lily gives me a sinister smile, letting me know she’s going to get to the bottom of this.
Harriet is telling the truth.
I’ve never brought anyone back to my condo, preferring to keep my address as private as possible.
Especially after Ashley started blowing up my phone.
The last thing I need is meaningless hookups coming knocking later. I already have one clinger that’s not letting go just yet. It’s bad enough that she calls my phone and sends messages.
Therefore, Harriet’s never caught me with a girl the morning after.
We sit down to eat, and it’s almost like I’m not here. The two women talk each other’s ears off, and I actually learn some new things about the two.
The things I do know are that Harriet went to cooking school in Paris over thirty years ago. She met her husband while there, and after that, they travelled the world, collecting recipes and culinary experiences that she eventually turned into several books.
I have each one lined up in my bookshelf, and Harriet often brings them out whenever she cooks for us.
After many years of living out of a suitcase, they ended up in London.
I was out to dinner after just moving to London when I met Harriet and her husband.
They took pity on me, eating alone in a crowded restaurant, even though I insisted it was no problem.
“Food is meant to be experienced with others,” Harriet told me, and sat herself down at my table.
The rest is history, as you say.
I developed a great relationship with both of them and offered Harriet the job if she wanted it.
She and her husband are the closest thing I have to friends here, outside of the team.
When Harriet finishes the story, Lily sighs.
“Oh, wow. That’s wonderful, Harriet.”
Harriet also tells Lily about her husband and how they’re planning a trip this winter, but haven’t decided where just yet.
I make a mental note to give her an extra-large bonus this year so they can go anywhere they want.
Next up, we talk about Lily and her degree in sports psychology.
Some of her friends are considering continuing their studies with a master’s degree, but Lily hasn’t decided what she wants to do just yet.
She will do whatever feels right for her, she says—the most Lily thing ever if you ask me.
Her ability to live her life to the fullest is admirable. She says she would love to gain more hands-on experience in the field, rather than spending the next two years nose-to-grindstone in more books.
If that doesn’t work out, she’s planning on spending some time travelling, getting a tan, and checking up on handsome men, as she says.
The notorious flirt that she is.
I imagine Lily travelling all across the world, enjoying the beach, good food, and God-forbid, checking up on the local men who’re going to offer her a drink, and much more.
I stop my train of thought, hoping she’ll be able to pursue the practical side of sports psychology—preferably with a women’s team, where no men can derail her career.
At least, that’s what I’m trying to tell myself as I sit here and observe the two women chatting away.
No matter what she decides, I know she’ll excel at what she does.