Page 38 of The Comeback

He turns around with a full plate in his hands and I’m not sure how long I’ve been staring, but it’s definitely too long. “Getting those forks? A smirk twists his lips with humor causing me to jolt into action.

Flustered I forget which drawer he told me they were in and end up rooting through three other ones before I find what I’m looking for. How many drawers can one house have?

Sebastian is leaning against the counter staring at me when I finally pull them out triumphantly.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He pushes off the counter and I finally notice what’s on his apron.

“Oh my god, Lord of the Rings?” The apron says ‘What? No second breakfast?’ on it in fancy gold scroll.

“You know it?” He teases, placing our plates on the table side by side.

I give him a shove. “Hey, I’m not the one who grew up all cool and left his nerd roots behind.”

“Clearly, I did no such thing,” he says, pointing at the apron.

“Could have fooled me in high school.” Me and everybody else. I highly doubt his cool friends back then would have approved of his fantasy fixation.

“I was still a fan. I just didn’t exactly share it with anyone.” His voice goes quiet and a tinge of sadness haunts his expression. “Tolkien got me through, gave me hope for humanity.”

There’s a story there. I want to dig deeper. Find out what’s haunting him, but he straightens up with a smile and a shake off his head.

“Dig in. I did not make this to admire from afar. Not to mention you must be hungry after last night. I know I am.” His smirk is accompanied with a devious wink.

Heat rushes to my cheeks. “Ummm, about that.”

“What? Not a good enough workout for you. I must be losing my touch. I thought I’d done you in after those two orgasms before bed, not to mention that bonus one in the middle of the night.”

“No, I mean, yes. It was good.” I’ve never had this much trouble forming words in my life.

“Just good? My pride is wounded.” He throws a hand to his chest.

“You should take up acting if the hockey thing doesn’t work out there, drama queen. It was amazing and you know it, but…”

“No buts. I refuse to hear any buts before breakfast. Eat up. We can talk after breakfast.”

I’m about to protest, but my rumbling stomach begs me to shut up, at least until I’ve satisfied that hunger.

Chapter 28

Sebastian

Abbyleansbackinher chair with a groan and a hand on her stomach.

“That was delicious. Thank you. I’m gonna go slip into a food coma now if it’s alright with you.”

“My pleasure. You know where my bed is.” No formal practice today, although now that the season’s upon us we’ll all hit the gym this afternoon. I’m going to have to put in some extra time after all that bacon. Although I can think of a much better way to work off the calories.

“I’m not going to your bedroom. I have things to do.” Her eyes fly open. “Shit, what time is it?”

Her eyes follow mine to the flashing red 10:45 on the oven clock and then her feet are on the floor and she’s on the way out the kitchen door before even my sport honed reflexes have a chance to snag her, so I follow her out the door.

“Hey, what’s the rush?” I manage to snag her arm.

She spins around, ignoring the question. “Where’s my purse?”

I scan the area and come up empty. “Hang on. I’ll run upstairs. It’s probably in my room. Don’t turn into a pumpkin.”

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