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God, she was the best.
How she came to find this grump, I had no idea. To be fair, he seemed like a fine enough dog dad. Especially if he took her out for these insane jogs every day. It might not be my cup of tea, but I’m sure it meant everything to this energetic pup.
Sebastian had pissed me off last night with his comment about trying something different. It struck a nerve and although I hated to admit it, he’d been right.
The whole point of coming out here was to stay safe while getting my painting mojo back. Perhaps saying yes to this insane idea would be the change I needed.
If anything, it worked to divert my full attention to how unhappy my physical body was. It was better than dwelling on my dad or the paparazzi. Overnight, my bruised eye became all the more purple. It looked like I’d gotten into a bar brawl, which was kind of badass, but it also meant that it would freak out my dad, so I called him instead of video chatting when I checked in earlier.
“How much further?” I asked once I got my breathing under control.
“Let’s head back,” Sebastian insisted, reversing down the trail toward me.
I put a hand out. “I can do it. Maybe we can alternate walking and running?”
“Fine.” He turned again, and I trailed behind him, willing my legs to keep moving. I knew the second I stopped for too long, I’d start hurting, my muscles not used to the rigor of running.
Maybe I overpromised with the whole walking and running idea. I could barely move. “Go on without me.”
He scowled. "I’m not leaving you behind."
“It’s in your best interest to leave me,” I wheezed, unable to stop myself.
“You have no idea what’s in my best interest,” he said dryly.
I threw my head back. "Gah, you're so damn cryptic. Maybe I should track down your mom and get her to tell me more secrets and embarrassing stories."
In a few quick steps, Sebastian swallowed the distance between us, encircling my wrist with his large hand. I glanced down where he touched me. He smelled of pine and sweat and the combination of pheromones made my mouth water.
"I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
I raised a brow, my voice a little breathy. "Is that a promise?"
His gaze dipped to my lips and my heart thudded in my chest. "Yes."
Then he dropped my wrist and restarted up the trail. I rocked on my unsteady feet. Willow nudged me forward with her wet nose. "Okay, okay. I'm moving."
I pumped my arms as we went up a particularly steep stretch of trail. “So you met my brother in college?”
He glanced over his shoulder and nodded, seemingly happy that I was once again on the move. “Yeah, freshman year. We lived on the same floor, and we’d be up late studying in the student lounge. It must have been the middle of the night, and we were the only ones in the lounge when he asked to borrow a highlighter.”
“A highlighter?”
Sebastian nodded. “As if he didn’t have access to all the supplies in the world.”
“He wanted to talk to you,” I surmised.
Sebastian’s eyes found mine and he damn near ran into a tree before righting himself on the path. “He did.”
“Later I told him it felt like he was trying to hit on me.”
I cackled. “This is good. I’ll definitely tease him about his come-on lines the next time I see him.”
“You absolutely should.”
I guess Sebastian also appreciated giving my brother hell. That alone made me like him more, but I was still curious about him. “How did you go from sharing highlighters to becoming part of his inner circle?”
“Trust me, it wasn't my idea.”
