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I jog towards the other end of the house to completely avoid the pool area. I come out in the front entryway, which is currently filled with balloons and every single kind of card you can think of that says ‘Michael’ on it. I come to the driveway, and turn to come out with all the other adults, and bump into a brick wall.
Actually, no, that’s not correct. A brick wall doesn’t wear a suit.
“Mimi, just the person I was looking for.”
I take a step back, and my mouth snaps shut. It’sSebastian.
“How’s it been going?” he asks, his face full of joy and his eyes full of fire.
“Well, you know how energetic Michael is. Times that by like twenty kids and give ‘em sugar and candy.” I roll my eyes.
Sebastian laughs, and it’s completely heartstopping. I’ve had a crush on him all my life. And he’s never once noticed me. “I bet it’s been fun though,” he says. “Hey look, can you help me out real quick?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“This,” he indicates his suit. “Is what’s up. I was out—busy this morning, so I didn’t have time to iron my stuff. Can you help me with Sophie’s ironing wand thingy?”
I snort and take his hand, dragging him into the house. “Ironing wand thingy? How can you not remember the name? You were there when we bought it. It’s a garment steamer.”
“I just need to look respectable.” He jokes, and his grin lights me up too.
“Oh yeah, Luca’s been talking big about you guys today. No hair out of place.” I pull him through the house and towards Sophie and Luca’s closet. He doesn’t realize I’m joking, so he looks a little worried. I stop us in front of an entrance from the hallway. “So you were busy, huh? Had a late night?” I tease him about hooking up with girls constantly since he broke up with his ex. I know he’s been bummed about his break up with Lindsey, but secretly I’m not bummed about it at all.
“Uhhhh yeah, sure. Something like that,” he says.
My heart plummets a beat, and I wonder why I made the joke in the first place. His hooking up with others is the complete opposite of what I want. Not that I wanted him to break up with Lindsey. I just—
“I like your dress,” Sebastian says. “You’ve never worn that one before.”
I come to a stop and look back at him.Huh?I knock on his head and look into his eyes. They’re dreamy, but I have to keep up my charade of him never suspecting my true feelings. “Is that the real Sebastian in there? Knock knock?”
He laughs and pulls away. “I’m serious. You look great.”
I blush. “Well, thank you. No one else has complimented me on it today.”
“I dare say they’re all too young to be thinking like that.”
I open the door with a grateful smile. The garment steamer is in the corner, and I plug it in. “Well Mister Late Night, what were you up—” The words tumbling out of my mouth come to a complete halt. Sebastian isshirtless.“To,” is all I manage to finish.
He turns his shirt inside out and hangs it with his coat on the rack. He’s standing there as if his bare chest and muscles aren’t complete weapons of sexual fantasy. I’ve seen Sebastian without a shirt before, but not after he’s just complimented my outfit and made me blush. His muscles seem to bulge as he wields the little wand. It’s almost comical how tiny it looks in his strong hands. Tattoos dance as he begins to wipe the wand clumsily over the clothes. “How does this thing work?”
“It’s really hard,” I utter.
“What?” he says, turning to me in confusion.
“It’s easy,” I say, correcting myself and grabbing the damn wand for a distraction. “Like this.” I show him how to hold the garment and let the steam correct the fabric. “You can do it any direction you want, but I always find that in to out is always best.”
“In or out?” Sebastian asks. “I always preferred things going out to in…”
We stare at each other, and I can’t believe what I’m actually thinking, but I’m thinking it, so I mustn’t be blind.Sebastian is flirting with me.
I cough, and he grins, turns back to the garments, and keeps ironing them. I’m practically humming here. He might even need a freaking mop in a second if he keeps this up, but Sebastian leaves the heat between us to simmer and finishes his clothes. He does the shirt first, then slowly and delicately lifts it from the hanger and drapes it around his body. I get the sense that he’s doing this for me. I see it all in slow motion and picture those hands slowly and delicately caressing my body, and—What the hell is going on?Am I dreaming? Did I roofie myself with the damn pizza?
Sebastian finishes the jacket, and then everything’s over. He’s dressed, unplugging the machine, and looking at me expectantly.
“Excuse me?” I blurt.
“I said we should get back to the party,” Sebastian repeats.
