Page 36 of Sebastian

“Yeah. It’s right down the street from the hospital, so I go there all the time. It’s great.”

“I like it too. The owner lets me read the comic books on my breaks. He even showed me some golden age Justice League comics.”

With that, we’d finally managed to find a topic of conversation we could both enjoy. Steven was a diehard DC fan, while I’d always enjoyed both DC and Marvel equally. It wasn’t like the two were exclusive, and I saw no reason to limit my choices. However, it was fun to take the stance of arguing for Marvel over DC just for the sake of debate. Especially, since Steven didn’t get mad whenever I disagreed with him, like some fans would.

Rosalind and Dean seemed happy to let us talk and occupied themselves with their own wedding discussions. The debate of Marvel versus DC led into a conversation about which comic book movies we thought were the most successful in adapting their source material. We could easily agree on which ones had failed, but differed when it came to our opinions on success. He argued that it was only a success if the movie stuck to the original storyline, whereas I was less concerned with plot so long as the movie captured the heart of the characters.

This conversation lasted us most of the way through lunch. I was glad to see that Steven wasn’t as standoffish as he first seemed. Once he got over his initial shyness, he was actually pleasant company.

I had just finished the last bite of my crab cakes when Steven’s tone suddenly changed.

“Hey, Newton. I wanted to apologize if I was awkward earlier. I’m not very good at this, so thanks for understanding.”

My mouth was still full, making me resemble my chipmunk nickname more than usual. I used the excuse of swallowing and taking a sip of water to buy myself time. Something about his choice of words struck me as odd.

“Not good at what? Lunch?” I laughed, hoping to play it off as a joke.

Yet, Steven’s serious tone remained.

“No, I’m not good at dating. I always get so nervous on first dates that I end up making a fool of myself, or just not saying anything at all. But this one has gone much better than usual.”

My brain stalled, and for a moment I heard nothing but the sound of an old dialup Internet connection.

“I’m sorry. What did you say? Date?”

I didn’t give him time to answer, instead directing my demands at my sister. “Rosalind. Is this a setup for a date?”

My blood boiled, and my pleasant meal sat like ash in my stomach.

Yet, Rosalind just waved her hand like my anger could be simply brushed aside. “Oh, come on, Newton. You need to get out there and start dating. You’ll be much happier with a partner in your life. I’m just helping you out.”

My teeth grated against each other, and I gripped my fork hard enough to leave an impression of the handle against my palm. “You should have asked me first. I’m already seeing someone. If my boyfriend finds out I went on a date with someone else, who knows what he’ll think.”

Earlier, I’d questioned if Sebastian and I even counted as boyfriends, but now the word slipped easily from my mouth.

I couldn’t even look at Steven. There was probably a lot of hurt and confusion on his face that I couldn’t bear to see. He was a decent man who didn’t deserve the situation my sister had put him in.

Rosalind, on the other hand, didn’t even look ashamed. In fact, she only got more excited.

“Oh, Newton. You’re seeing someone? Why didn’t you tell me?”

If this were a cartoon, steam would have been spewing out of my ears like a pair of tea kettles. “Because you aren’t entitled to front row tickets to my private life. And after this little stunt, I don’t think I’m going to tell you anything ever again.”

“Hold on,” Dean interrupted my tirade. “Are you really dating someone? You’ve never managed to get past a first date for as long as I’ve known you, and now suddenly, you have a boyfriend? Who is this person?”

I didn’t usually curse, but this situation called for it. There was no choice. I had to either tell them about Sebastian or look like a liar.

Still glaring at my sister and Dean, I pulled out my phone. I’d taken several pictures of Sebastian over the last few weeks, but most of them were from after he’d been injured. He would never want those images to be someone’s first impression of him. There was only one picture on my phone from before the car crash, which I had taken during our date at the coffee shop.

This was the picture I handed over to them. “His name is Bastian. I met him at the hospital when he came to check in on a patient.”

My sister’s eyes grew large when she looked at my screen, and Dean even let out a little “Woah.”

At first I thought they were impressed with the sight of Sebastian. It was an understandable reaction. He was an impressive man.

However, I turned out to be wrong when Dean started laughing.

“Seriously? You’re trying to claim that you’re dating this guy? Newton, man, if you’re going to lie at least make it believable.”

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