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He laughed so hard he coughed, and the sight of Sebastian practically gleeful made him even more attractive. I clearly did not get the full measure of his hotness yesterday, I’d been too busy melting and feeling anxious about Keane’s chilly reception, which was unfortunately only metaphorical. I twisted off the cap to my water bottle without really thinking about it, passing it to Sebastian as he wheezed a little and took a sip.
He passed the bottle back over, the very tip of his tongue flicking deftly over his lower lip to catch a drop of water. I tried not to stare, but Idefinitelydid. He cleared his throat and rolled his eyes dramatically. “The weather isn’t the only thing that’s brutal today. My poor ego. It’s down for the count.”
“Oh hush.” It was shockingly easy to fall into warm familiarity with this man. I felt like I’d known him for months, and I didn’t even know his last name yet. “You know damn well you’re pretty, Sebastian. I don’t know if that routine works on other girls, but the bashful act won’t fly with me.” I teasingly flicked the edge of his hand and raised a brow at him.
“Ohh, so the artist thinks I’mpretty, does she? Well, I’ll have you know I can appreciate a work of art too.” His eyes were nowhere near my sketchbook, and something in my lower stomach flipped pleasantly at his drop in tone. His voice softened further, a conspiratorial whisper. “And red just so happens to be my favorite color, by the way.”
“Oh?” I took a long sip of the water, hoping it would cool the flush rising in my cheeks. “And how does Keane feel about your…art appreciation?” I offered the question cautiously, curious about the answer. Sebastian was a beautiful man, but I’d been cheated on before by an ex. I’d never inflict that pain on anyone, even if they were consistently a dick to me - it really wasn’t cool, and I wouldn’t enable it.
Several emotions flickered over Sebastian’s face, and for a moment his usually wide-open expression was unreadable, confused. His brow furrowed, like it hadn’t even occurred to him before I asked. “I - don’t know, honestly. He wasn’t happy yesterday.”
“So -” I flipped to a blank page, doodling with my pencil for something to do. These felt like personal questions and I wondered if I was overstepping.Keep it casual, Poppy.“-are you two…together, or?”
Again that blank look, and a few blinks. “I mean, yes. We - well, we do what I’ve seen on-”
My nose burned as I choked on the mouthful of water I’d been taking. Sebastian had just name-dropped one of the raunchiest porn clip sites on the web like we were talking about the weather. He looked immediately concerned, coming over to gently thump on my back with an open palm, visibly relaxing when he saw me pull in a breath.
I whispered, voice raw from the coughing. “Sebastian, you can’t just spring that on a girl!” I laughed, rubbing at an undoubtedly flaming-red cheek. Now my artist’s brain was in overdrive, imagining the two of them at play. It was an extremely appealing mental sketch.
He grinned bashfully. “Sorry, what I meant was that we’ve been physically together for what feels like forever. I don’t think we’ve ever called it anything in particular, though, if that’s what you mean. We’re not married, I don’t think.”
I snorted. Sebastian had a really weird sense of humor, but it was kind of endearing. “Well, you probably ought to figure out what you are, hon. Keane might think you aresomething in particular, that may be why he’s not too fond of me, you know?”
I waited for that sly look, the one that guys that teased and poked at boundaries always seemed to wear, but Sebastian simply looked puzzled. Nearly introspective, really. He nodded absently, getting to his feet.
“You know, that’s really good advice. I appreciate it, Red.” He turned, getting ready to walk towards the concessions trailer. “Oh! Hey, before I forget - do you do drawings for money?”
I raised a brow at the sudden change in subject, and at the fact he was apparently just leaving the conversation without a goodbye. “Uh, commissions? Yeah, I mean, I guess I could take one on. I’m done with most of my involved coursework now for the semester.”
“Ah, right,commissions. I didn’t know the word. Well, if we gave you…hm.” He tilted his head and stared off into space before looking back at me. “Five hundred dollars, could you make something very personal for Keane and I? It would be for our eyes only, and it’sveryimportant no one else sees it and you don’t talk about it, okay?”
The smutty cogs in my brain started turning so fast they produced smoke. I answered before I’d really even thought about the question. Getting to sketch the two of them out NSFW-style for a month’s rent? Sign me the fuck up. “Absolutely.”
He smiled brightly, bobbing his head in a quick nod, his black curls bouncing with the movement. “Perfect. Will you be here tomorrow? Keane will let you know what he wants, and we might need to demonstrate a few things to make sure you get the line work right.”
I felt light-headed. I held onto my water bottle like it was a lifeline, only barely resisting crushing it a little. “No - no I mean, I can come by Friday but I’ll be, I mean, I have class. Stuff. I have class to do. For a test. In class.” How could my tongue be simultaneously stuck to both the bottomandthe roof of my mouth? On my wrist, my fitness watch gently vibrated to let me know my blood pressure was currently “in the zone” for aerobic activity.No fuckin kidding.
He nodded again, nibbling on his full lower lip as he looked thoughtfully over at the trailer. “That’s okay, we can wait a little longer I think. I’m going to go tell Keane the good news - I’ll see you here Friday and hey, good luck on your test!” He grinned and gave me a double thumbs-up before he walked away.
I glanced down to my sketchbook, where a pissed-off Keane stared back up at me from the table.
What thehellwas that?
Chapter 4 - Keane
It was only through sheer force of will that I didn’t absolutely explode in anger at Seb as he clambered up the back steps. Not only was the goddamned redhead back, they’d been talking and laughing at the picnic table like I wasn’tright here.
“Keane! I’ve got great news! Poppy is going to do our sigils for us!” He smiled brightly, expression dimming as he realized I was not at all happy with the development. “What’s wrong, did something happen?”
I looked at him incredulously. “Seb, did I not tell you last night that I had it handled? I don’t wantPoppy’shelp. The way she looks at you is no better than Zina used to, like you’re a goddamn corn dog to be devoured.”
He folded his arms over his chest, scowling. It was completely unfamiliar body language from Seb, who I don’t think I’d ever seen angry before. Scared, yes. Sad, definitely, but never angry. Until now, he’d been content to follow my lead - it was yet another thing that girl was interrupting. If she could cause this much chaos in only two days, that was more than enough proof that she was trouble.
Seb’s tone was a new one too. It was serious, and entirely unlike the man I knew. “That’s my concern though, isn’t it? You know that Poppy asked me what we were, and I didn’t even know what to tell her? What are we, Keane? I’ve been following you for so long and I’ve never questioned where you were leading us, but you - it’s like you want tokeepme likeshedid.” His voice thickened, big brown eyes watering with emotion that tangled in his lashes.
I could almost hear my own heart crack in the sterile, air-conditioned chill of the trailer. “Seb - Sebastian, love. Oh no, I’m so sorry.” I closed the distance between us in a step, pulling him into my arms and crushing him against my chest. “You are everything to me, and don’t you ever, ever doubt that. You’re my whole world, Seb. I just want you happy, I don’t want anyone to hurt you, and if Zina can…hold us that way, Poppy might be able to as well, can’t you understand that? I’m trying toprotectus.”
He sniffled against my shoulder, cuddling closer in my arms. “She’s different, Keane, she’s not going to hurt us. She’ll help us escape for good, she even promised she’d never tell anyone what we asked her to draw. I told her you’d want to demonstrate what we need, too, so we can hopefully get it right the first time.”
