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“What do you mean? It’s what came out of my mouth,” I said even though I understood what he meant. I’d changed the subject instead of thanking him or getting into a deeper conversation.
“Okay.” Sebastian headed toward his car.
“Okay, what?”
“Nothing. Let’s go! I’m taking you to a castle.”
I frowned. As far as I knew, there weren’t any of those around, but I humored him. We got into his car.
Trying to make conversation, I said, “I figured you’d have more to do, being an actor and all.”
“Are you saying I’m lazy?” he teased.
“Nah, just curious.”
“It really all depends. I don’t have a movie to promote and no upcoming roles, so things are pretty slow. When things kick off for Bound and Determined, I’ll be incredibly busy—talk shows, interviews, red carpets—the whole nine yards. I’m loving this downtime, though.”
“Damn, I couldn’t imagine all that. Plus being away from home so much.” I didn’t know how he did it.
“You get used to it. I can’t pretend it’s not hard sometimes, but other times I really enjoy it.”
From there, Sebastian kept the conversation going on his own. He talked about his family, and chatting to his sister, and wanting to get to Idaho to see them or having them out to California. Apparently, it’d been a while because he’d filmed back-to-back movies, which was still weird to hear—that someone I was close with was a movie star.
I realized he did this often. Sometimes he was cool and calm, but others he got in these moods and would ramble on and on, hardly taking a breath. It was usually when he was really excited about something or really happy. Oddly, it made me wonder if I did things like that and if he noticed them. Had anyone other than Parker, Marcus, and Corbin taken the time to know me that way? And why was I thinking about it with Sebastian?
Could I be the reason he got all rambly?
“Have you ever been to Idaho?”
“Can’t say I have.”
“It’s Idaho, so it’s not real exciting, but there are lots of outdoorsy things to do. It’s nice to just get away, ya know? To be in the fresh air and not feel suffocated by the millions of people around you. I love California and would never want to live in Idaho again, but some things about it I miss.”
“I can see that, enjoying the nature and the peace and quiet.”
“You can go with me sometime if you want. I think you’d like it and—”
We both went quiet. Neither of us moved outside of what Sebastian had to do to drive. Had he just…
“Did I just…?”
“I think you did.”
“That was weird.”
“Very.” As was this conversation.
“I didn’t mean to like, invite you home to meet my folks.”
“Of course. That’s not really my thing.”
“And why would it be with me anyway? Also, I didn’t mean to ask you to go on vacation with me either. More like a friendcation, I guess. Friends do that. I’m sure you do with your Beach Bums. I’m never going to stop calling them that, by the way. Not that I’m as close to you as they are. I didn’t mean that either.”
I laughed, and he punched me in the arm.
“You’re always picking on me.”
“You always make it easy,” I teased. “And I didn’t think you meant that.”
He turned to me and cocked a brow. “Which thing, because I word-vomited a lot of dumb shit.”
I couldn’t help chuckling again. Sebastian was good at making me do that, at making me not hate being around people. “Any of it.”
“Good, because I didn’t. Unless you want to go…on a friendcation. Then I meant it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied without looking at him.
“Perfect. You should.”
“I will.”
“Awesome.”
“Are we just going to keep replying about the same thing?” I questioned.
It was Sebastian who laughed first that time, and me who couldn’t help joining in, the two sounds creating a melody that settled into my chest, one I couldn’t stop even if I’d wanted to.
The kicker? I wasn’t sure that I did.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sebastian
Something felt lighter about Declan today, but I didn’t mention it. If I brought attention to it, he would pull away.
For the first part of our day—that I wouldn’t obsess about whether it was a date or not—I drove us to the Venice Canals. They were in a historical district in Venice, and like the Getty, were so close to home, yet not something I’d ever done.
I parked, and before we got out, I grabbed my Dodgers cap and pulled it low on my head.
“Great costume,” Declan teased, and I found myself…sticking my tongue out at him. What the fuck was wrong with me? But when he playfully pretended to grab it, I decided it was a good, cute idea and didn’t regret it.
“Have you been?” I asked as we made our way down the street to the sidewalk by the water. It was in a residential area, with multimillion-dollar homes running the distance of the canals.
