Page 84 of Drawn Together

We sat at a table in the corner, and I said I’d have whatever Sebastian was having. When they brought the food, however, I quickly regretted my decision.

“Did being nice for the first time in your life impair your ability to count?” I said, unable to fathom the quantity of food the waiter had placed before us. “There’s only two of us.”

“I eat for four,” he replied, meticulously positioning the plates in front of us.

It was funny to me how obsessive he could be sometimes, as I’d observed in our time living together. It wasn’t that he was a clean freak, but with certain things like food, he insisted that everything always be perfect.

I picked up a fry and realized something was missing. I stood up, intending to go to the counter, but Sebastian grabbed me by the wrist and narrowed his eyes at me.

“Where are you going?”

“To get something. I’ll be right back,” I said calmly.

Sebastian hesitated for a few seconds, scanned the restaurant, and then let me go. That fleeting touch reignited my desire for him, but I did everything possible to keep it under control.

When I got back to the table, he was already on his second burger. He looked displeased as I placed a bowl of vanilla ice cream between us.

“You haven’t even tried the hamburger and you’re already going straight for dessert?”

I sat back down, and without taking my eyes off him, picked up a fry and dipped it in the ice cream.

Sebastian simply frowned.

“Mmm… delish,” I said, grinning from ear to ear, picking up another fry and repeating the process.

“Just when I thought you couldn’t be any stranger…”

“Try it,” I said, picking up a fry, smearing it with ice cream, and holding it up to his lips.

“No, thanks,” he replied, ignoring my outstretched arm.

“Come on,” I said, watching as the ice cream began to drip down my finger.

Sebastian looked at me, then at my hand, and I couldn’t help but notice his eyes had an unfamiliar gleam to them. Without looking away, he leaned in and brushed his lips against my fingers before he took the bite, the tip of his tongue tickling my skin as he licked away the drip of ice cream.

I froze. His dark eyes blazed as he released me and sat back in his seat. My breathing was ragged and my heart beat wildly in my chest. Unlike Sebastian, who picked up his plastic cup and took a sip as if nothing had happened.

“Did you like it?” I asked, pretending that what he’d just done hadn’t affected me in the slightest, but cursing silently as my trembling voice betrayed me.

Sebastian’s eyes sparkled. “Very much.”

Was he flirting with me?

“Eat up,” he said, back to doling out orders.

I shook my head and smiled as I bit into the hamburger. “Wow, it’s delicious!” I exclaimed, licking my lips.

Sebastian nodded.

As we continued eating, I thought about how I could broach the subject of what was going on between us without starting another fight. I was blabbing away senselessly, trying to get up the nerve to ask him, when the restaurant doorbell jingled, and his eyes shifted away from me, all the fun he’d been trying to fake fading instantly.

I followed his gaze slowly, and saw a young woman enteringthe establishment, looking at the menu. Then she noticed us, paused, and immediately made a beeline for our table, as if we had summoned her over. She was livid, and Sebastian seemed to feel similarly enraged by the sight of her. Before I had the chance to ask who she was, Sebastian stood up and intercepted her in the middle of the restaurant.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” she spat.

“Please, Samara…” I heard Sebastian say in a low voice so that I wouldn’t hear.

I turned back around so as not to seem nosy, but I continued watching them through the mirror on the opposite wall.