Page 29 of Little Do You Know

I CAN’T REMEMBER the last time I was this stressed out. I’ve got a huge test in my art history class, and I don’t have time to think about how I’m not speaking with either of my roommates. I don’t have time to think about whatever mind games Vera tried playing with me last week at the coffee shop. She’s one of my oldest friends, and I must be wrong. I don’t have the time to sit here and think about it.

I’ve been holed up in my room for an entirely different reason than before, only leaving for class and food. I hear a knock on the door and set my notes on the bed. “Busy! Go away!”

The door opens regardless, and Sebastian pokes his head in. “We need to talk.”

“Can it wait until after my test tomorrow?” I ask, but he’s already stepped in, shutting the door behind him.

“No, it can’t. The team is flying to Florida tomorrow for an away game. Thalia, you have avoided me for two weeks now, and I’m done letting you.”

All right then. I guess we’re doing this.

Having Bash in my room makes it feel impossibly small. I don’t have anywhere to hide. I suppose I could hide behind my notes and laptop. “Fine. Let’s talk,” I say, putting my notes into my textbook and shutting it along with my computer. I should have holed up in Blake’s dorm. She would only tell me I have to face the consequences of my own actions. I couldn’t open that can of worms and expect to avoid Bash forever.

“Did you mean it?” He’s staring intently at me, almost like he’s trying to figure out a puzzle with missing pieces.I actually used to hide pieces from him when we were kids because it made him so mad not being able to find them.

I’m doing my best to keep a neutral facial expression, but I’m not as skilled at it as Sebastian is. I know my face is getting red. I can feel it getting warm. “Do you want me to word it a different way? Want to fuck? Romp around in bed? Screw? Jump your bones? Hook up? Or better yet, Sebastian, can I please climb you like a tree?”

He laughs at the absurdity of my options, lifting some of the tension. “Excuse me?”

“It’s something Penelope likes to say.” I laugh despite this not being funny. “It’d be a one-time thing. If we can get each other out of our systems, then all this can stop. I’ll wear more clothes and give you a break like you asked. We can be people who coexist together.”

Sebastian looks unsure. I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but that’s nothing new. I slip off the bed to step closer to him. “Thalia, sex can never just be sex. It might seem like a good idea, but I don’t know.”

“Sex can just be sex. Are you saying that it wasn’t just sex with Lacey?”

“Lucy. It was just sex with Lucy,” he corrects, running his hand through his brown hair. So does that mean he doesn’t think it can be just sex with us? What exactly is the difference between Lucy and me? “There are so many ways this could go wrong.”

“You don’t think I know that?” I test the waters and rest my hand on his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart. “Bash, I think you need this just as much as I do, or you would have immediately told me no.”

Bash looks down at me, and I feel the same magnetic pull I always do to him. I wonder if he feels it too. Maybe that’s the exact reason why I should take it all back. “And Owen?” Sebastian asks. “He’s not dumb. He will figure it out if we magically start acting nicely toward each other.”

I don’t want to feel this way. I hate it because I don’t know how to act around Sebastian anymore. I want things to go back to normal before I kissed him a year and a half ago. So many things went wrong after that; maybe we can have a clean slate this time.

“He never has to find out. We coexist and move on. Everything will be fine, and we can pretend that none of it ever happened. If you want to continue doing whatever we’re doing, then fine. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of calling you an asshole.” Bash chuckles, and I smile. “This is tempting, isn’t it? We could get creative with positions. I’ve got a tattoo that you haven’t seen yet. I think you’ll have fun finding it.”

I take it one step further by curling my fingers around the chain he wears, gently pulling him down to brush my lips across his. I have Sebastian exactly where I want him. He could easily resist.

His self-control snaps as Sebastian presses his mouth harder against mine, solidifying his answer. His hands pull my body closer, but I angle my head away. “I need to focus on my test.”

Bash closes the gap, kissing me again profoundly and thoroughly. I moan into his mouth as he slides his hand to squeeze my ass. Sebastian takes advantage of my open mouth, and this is just as intoxicating as I remember. Honestly, screw the test. I won’t be able to think about anything else now.

He pulls back, lowering his mouth to my ear. “And I have a game to prepare for, but I’m looking forward to how you’ll climb me like a tree. Good luck on your test.”

I cover my mouth, breathing unevenly as I take a few steps back to create space between us. I don’t see us getting our responsibilities done if I stay close to him. I’m certain Owen will catch us if that happens. I wonder what excuse he used to come in here because I know Owen is home. “Good luck with your game. We’ll figure this out after you get back from your trip.”

Sebastian tilts his head, a playful smirk forming. “You make this sound like a business transaction. Where’s the romance?”

“You don’t want romance, not from me, and I know that. Isn’t this a business transaction? I know exactly what I want this for.” I pause to look at him curiously. “Why do you want to have sex with me? For all I know, you could decide one time isn’t enough to satiate your urges.” Whatever feelings Sebastian might have had for me are long gone…unless they’re not?

Bash quickly closes the space I’d created to pull me against him exactly like he did that night before my going away party. My breathing hitches as he runs his thumb across my cheek and over my bottom lip, pulling on it slightly. “Little Lia, I have no doubt you’ll be begging for more once I get started with you.”

His words send electricity pulsing through me. I don’t want to admit that he could be so very right. Instead, I bite his thumb hard enough to get him to let up. “Watch out, Bash. I bite.”

Bash smiles at me with amusement after moving toward the door. “One night, Thalia. One night and then a ceasefire?”

I nod, shifting backward to sit on my bed. “Yep.”

Sebastian slips out without another word, and I look helplessly at my textbooks. Goddamn, I’m never going to be able to focus now. I should have stayed in Paris. I’d be eating a profiterole and sitting on a bench next to the Seine. It might smell like cigarettes there, but it’d be a much better option as opposed to asking Sebastian fucking Walker to have sex with me. Penelope will be proud to hear I took her advice. I hope she’s right.

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