Page 64 of The Long Game

"Are you seeing him?"

"No, I’m not. It’s just one dinner before he heads back to Indianapolis on Saturday for his game the next day. He was just in town for his great uncle’s funeral."

"He only wants to take you out to dinner?" He seems skeptical.

The barista making the drinks hands us both our orders, and we turn to leave, Sebastian following behind me out the front door of the coffee shop before I answer.

"I’m going to continue with this honesty thing since you really liked it the first time I tried." Sebastian smiles again at me, though this time there is some tension in the corners of his eyes. "We have a long history. Some of it good and some of it rocky. He wants to try tonight to clean it up and move forward in a better space before he leaves town again."

"And that’s it?" He doesn’t look convinced… and neither am I.

"I don’t know. Tucker is hard to nail down. Right when you think you know what he’s going to do next, he flips the script. He just bought a house yesterday… out of nowhere. I have no idea from one day to another what his next move will be. I do know that we tried when we were younger, and it never ended well."

"Listen, Lexi, I know I’m supposed to play my cards close to the vest this early on but if it wasn’t obvious from last night, I’m extremely interested in you and seeing where this goes. I know this is fast to put this on you. I’m not asking for you to choose. I’m not asking for exclusivity, at least not yet. I’m also not looking to compete with a football player with celebrity status and a Super Bowl win, who’s playing with an injury that would put the rest of us mortals in a wheelchair for the rest of our lives.

"He has the home field advantage here. He’s known you for your entire life, brought your two families together to have lunch yesterday, and has enough emotional charge to bring you to tears in your office." He pauses and focuses in on me. "All I want to know is if I should pack it in right now so that I don’t put myself out there to get let down."

What he says is hard to hear but I get where he’s coming from and frankly, I like him all the more for it. If only Tucker had been this open and honest from the beginning then I wouldn’t be in this situation.

"My past with Tucker leads me to believe that there is no future. To be fair to you, I need to hear what he has to say tonight. Give me the weekend. Let me process everything. Are you ok with that?"

"I don’t have a choice here." He takes a long sip of his coffee and plunges his free hand in the pocket of his slacks. "This is going to be a long weekend." He gives me a side smile and his dimple makes another appearance.

"Thanks for the coffee, again. I’ll talk to you on Monday?"

"Ok," he says as he turns around and heads back for his office. I start walking back to the doors of the entrance of my building when I hear my name called out from a way behind me.

"Lexi!"

I turn around to the sound of someone jogging up behind me. I gasp as Sebastian’s strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me into his chest. His lips slip over mine; they taste of coffee and mint gum. They’re sweet and soft, but also firm and demanding. They're exactly what I thought Sebastian’s kiss would feel like, except so much better. My free hand wraps around his neck as he changes the angle of his kiss and dips in again to take my lips with his.

I open for him, but he doesn’t slip his tongue inside. He’s keeping this kiss PG-13, and I should appreciate that since we’re right outside my office building where anyone could see us.

He pulls away and I know what my face must look like as he stares down at me. I must look satisfied and hungry all at the same time. My lips red from his pressure and desperate for more.

I pull myself together as best I can when his arm unwraps around my waist. My hand reluctantly slides off his shoulder and slowly descends the length of his chest.

I shouldn’t be leading him on after what I’d just told him, but he is the one who instigated it. And after that kiss, honestly… Tucker Evans, who?

"I said I didn’t want to compete, but he’s already got an unfair head start. I thought I deserved one too. Talk to you soon, Lexi."

And he walks away sipping his coffee.

I attempt to get work done in my office for the good part of two hours but after that kiss with Sebastian, there is no way I am going to focus with him across the courtyard in his glass office, staring at me with those perfect lips. I need to head home and get to a quiet place with no distraction.

Going home is the right move. Once I sink into my plush office chair, the kiss with Sebastian and the upcoming date with Tucker fade into the background.

I‘ve worked better than I have this entire week, and I am feeling in the zone. I lose track of time, as I usually do when I’m on a roll with a project. When I see my computer read at nearly five-fifteen.

Shit!

Tucker will be here in fifteen to pick me up for our odd, casual, stair climbing, take-out date.

I still haven’t decided what I will wear. Partly because I’m hoping to trick myself into believing that I don’t care what I wear tonight and partly because Sebastian’s kiss has gone a long way in me forgetting about tonight’s date with Tucker.

Any portion not covered with the first two excuses is covered in the fact that my brain is now laser focused on my presentation and offer to the resort I’m the lead on.

I race upstairs to my walk-in closet. I’ve already done my makeup and hair this morning when I knew I would see Sebastian. All I needed to do now is to reapply some lip color.

---