Page 95 of Little Do You Know

Sebastian nods, his cheeks flushing a red hue. “Rachel was so mad at me because I spent the entire night looking at you dancing with…I can’t even think of his name. He looked at you like you were a prize he won, and I thought I might be in jail by the end of the night for murdering him.” He laughs softly, shaking his head. “I tried to ignore the pull I felt toward you for a long time, but I considered blowing everything up that night,” Bash admits when I look up at him.

“You were jealous of Adrian?” I ask, surprised to hear this.

“Yeah. I guess I was jealous. I probably should have just asked you instead of Rachel.”

Yes, he absolutely should have asked me instead. “Well, I only said yes to Adrian because you asked Rachel! I wanted you to ask me.”

“It all ended up working out anyway.” He chuckles, a sad look flashing on his handsome face. “Besides, I wasn’t in a good place after Grandpa died. I would have done or said something to ruin everything, so maybe it’s for the best that we waited to get together. It gave us some time to grow up.”

I bump him with my hip as we walk farther into the park on the dimly lit path. “You’re right about that. I probably still have some growing up to do. My stupid temper likes to get the better of me, but I am getting better at holding my tongue.”

“Oh, I know, Lia. Your temper is one of the things I like about you,” Sebastian says reassuringly, and I hug his arm a little tighter as we walk into the gazebo.

Bash sits, leaning against the brick wall inside the gazebo. I opt to lay against his chest, positioned between his legs. We’re sitting in silence, but the good kind where you’re content with just being by each other. Words that could be spoken aren’t needed.

His arms are wrapped around me, the smell of his cologne strong enough for me to notice but not overpowering. I recognize the scent of cedar, but I can’t quite decide what the undertone is. All I know is that Bash smells great. Sebastian laughs, interrupting my detective skills. “Are you smelling me?”

“Maybe,” I concede, laughing along with him. “It’s not my fault that you smell good.”

Sebastian presses a kiss to the top of my head. Those might be my favorite kind of kisses from him. “I’ll have to wear cologne more often.”

I rest my head in the crook of his neck. “That sounds nice.” Or I could spray my pillow with it—either work.

“Thank you.” He’s quiet, shifting underneath me.

“For what?”

“Giving me another chance. We said a fresh start, but I’m sorry about everything with Vera. Lia, you mean so much to me already. I’m afraid of losing you again.” His voice is shaky and so thick with emotion it pulls at my heartstrings.

I turn slightly to face him, recognizing his expression as the same after visiting Mimi. Sebastian looks worried, and I hate that I’ve helped make him feel this way.

“Hey,” I say softly, and his dark eyes shift to look at me. “Baby, you’re not going to lose me. You weren’t there when I talked to Vera at the Halloween party, but I told her you’re a good man. I still believe that. I’ve never not believed that, even when I was angry. It was part of the reason I was so angry, because I know what a good guy you are.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t. We’re not going to be another almost, I promise. I don’t want you to apologize again for everything that happened with Vera. It’s in the past. Let’s focus on the present and the future.”

Bash plays with the ends of my hair, and I rest my head again on his chest. For a date, this is a good one. He picked me up with a bouquet that I made sure to put in a vase, to his delight, and now we’re here together. It’s simple and meaningful, which is all I wanted.

~

I can taste the strawberry ice cream we had before coming back to his grandparents’ house on his lips. We haven’t made it into the house, though. Bash leaned over to kiss me, and we have yet to leave the car. “You taste like strawberries,” I mumble against his lips as he cups the back of my neck.

“Lucky you.” He chuckles, pressing his lips gently against mine again briefly. “We should go in,” he says, reluctantly pulling away.

“Or we could just stay out here forever doing this?” I smile at Sebastian, pulling him back to me by the collar of his shirt.

“I love my car, but it’s not great for this,” he says, and I groan, accepting that he is right. The dopamine rush I get from Sebastian is enough to block out how cramped it is in his car, but that would be a different story if I were over six feet tall.

“Okay, okay, we’ll go inside,” I agree, climbing out of the car before he can make a big deal of opening the door for me again. It’s sweet, but he doesn’t need to do it every time. We only make it to the living room before Bash kisses me again like I’m the oxygen he needs to breathe. I have never wanted anyone the way I want him.

I don’t understand it, but maybe I’m not supposed to.

“You are a madman,” I say, taking a few seconds to catch my breath. Sebastian slides his hand under my dress, trailing up my thigh to hook it around his.

“Mad about you,” he says roughly as if words are too hard to form right now as he drags his mouth down my neck.

I agree with that. I want to laugh, but it’s hard to focus on laughing when his mouth and hands are doing such wonderful things to me. It’s not fair how everything he does drives me insane. He’s kissing my neck and…words. What are words? My neck! I gasp loudly, pushing him back.

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