Page 6 of To Cuddle A Gremlin

“If Samantha getting involved in your courtship is going to cause trouble, you must tell her that her suggestions aren’t helpful,” Jacob lectured. “This sort of interference has a good chance of blowing up in everyone’s faces. So be careful.”

“Yessir. Thank you.” Sebastian lowered his head and focused on his meal. While being chastised by his boss on his lunch had Sebastian’s stomach churning, Sebastian accepted that Jacob was right. He had to tell Sammi to step back. “Sir, would it be alright if I worked on the reference floor this afternoon?”

Jake nodded. “Remember, hiding is not the answer. You must be clear with Sammi about your boundaries.”

“Yessir.” Sebastian finished his pasta before playing on his phone. As the lunch hour disappeared, Sebastian plotted ways to explain to Sammi why her method wasn’t in Sebastian’s best interests. Every idea was flimsy, with no substance to back it up. The afternoon on the upstairs reference desk flew by. He answered questions about bestsellers and what movie was the one everyone was talking about. Sammi phoned a few times to encourage Sebastian to chase after Isadore, but the desk was too busy for Sebastian to fully engage.

When the evening librarian came to take over, Sebastian heaved a sigh of relief. Patrons with password issues or book requests for the latest social media sensation overwhelmed him. Being helpful was good, but tiring. He didn’t have a quiet moment to stew about his problems. How could he approach Isadore without appearing a creepy stalker?

The wind was bitter on his walk. He peeked in corners to see if Isadore was hanging around, but he was alone. Of course not. The outside was cold. No one would want to wait in the freezing air for a bumbling fool.

Once at home, he logged into his game and checked to see if Kazmier had left any messages. Still nothing. Concerned, Sebastian sent another private message. Was he obsessive? Possibly, but Kazmier helped Sebastian fight through anxiety by suggesting breathing techniques. He listened rather than offering suggestions. Sebastian was comfortable with them. And not being able to share his day ratcheted up some of his worries.

As Sebastian lay in bed, unsettled but tired, he made the resolve to approach Isadore sooner rather than later. And he’d mention his plan to no one, so if he failed, only he’d be upset.

“Okay, Sebby. Today is the day you talk to Isadore. If you like him, it should be easy to say something. Isadore isn’t that scary. He’s really sweet,” Sammi insisted, placing a piece of reinforced tape on the spine of a book.

Shrugging, Sebastian passed her another one from the processing cart. Sammi had been after him all morning to approach Isadore, and he had reached his breaking point. This was what Jacob had warned him about the previous day. “I’m fine with how I’m doing this. Sometimes, nodding is good, like saying hi without words. I don’t need to rush. If it’s meant to be, we’ll connect, but nothing has to start until I’m ready.”

“Sebby, you shouldn’t be okay with living in a social rut. You have to get out and take life by the horns. You’ll be happier if you check this off your to-do list.” Sammi reached up and squished Sebastian’s cheeks between her cool hands. “You deserve someone. You’re not the weirdo freak your family calls you. You’re amazing.”

“I deserve a lot of things, Samantha, and one of them is not to be pestered about Isadore every day.” He stepped backwards, letting her hands slide off his face. Her comment about his family stung and wasn’t relevant to the conversation. Was he somuch of a pushover that boundaries didn’t exist in her mind? This had to stop. “Sammi, I’m fine, really. I am happy with how my life is at the moment. Honestly, if you continue to push, bad things will happen. You’ve seen it.” Sebastian grinned to take the edge off his comment. His day needed to be done now.

“Okay, okay. I’ll lay off. I just think if you tried harder, you could get everything you’ve always wanted and be happy.” Sammi pushed the cart back to its spot and shut down her station, ending the impromptu interrogation.

Shoving his toque over his ears, Sebastian braced himself for a cold walk home. He accepted humans were social creatures who needed others to feel complete. And even he longed for someone to share his joys with. Sebastian didn’t have a family who delighted in his victories. They wanted him to be traditional, have a wife and children, and do everything they did. When he ventured to the house he grew up in, Sebastian smiled and nodded, not wanting to get caught up in their daily drama of who wronged them at the time. But that was a problem for a different day.

“Hi, uh, wait up?” A husky voice came out of the blue, startling Sebastian into meeping. He meeped. Of course.

Pasting a smile on his face, Sebastian turned and discovered Isadore, rosy-cheeked and smiling. He drank in the sight of Isadore bundled up against the cold. His beautiful auburn hair was covered by a hat with earflaps. Isadore slid his hand down Sebastian’s arms, grazing his fingers.

“You look cold.” Sebastian lifted his hand toward Isadore’s face but pulled back at the last second. “You could have stepped inside the library.”

Isadore shrugged, like he was okay with the blustery day. “So it’s a bit nippy. This is nothing compared to my home realm. I can see why your people would have issues.” He shuffled closer to Sebastian, his torso blocking the wind.

“Yeah, this weather. The temps dropped again.” Sebastian cringed. He had Isadore literally within his grasp, and the conversation sucked.

“How do you mean?” Isadore cocked his head in puzzlement. Sebastian worked through what he said and blushed.

“The weather. It’s got a bite with the temperatures falling.”Make it stop. Please, oh God, stop the inane words from leaving my mouth. Get the right ones instead.

“Oh yes, I understand. Anyway, I was wondering if you—” Isadore started with a bright smile. Sebastian waited, his breath held, curious and anxious about what Isadore wanted to ask, when Isadore’s phone rang. With an aggrieved expression, Isadore turned away and answered it professionally. Sebastian stepped to the side to give an illusion of privacy and watched the slow traffic.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Work phone.”

Sebastian nodded. “No worries, pal. It’s cool. Totally cool.”

“It’s just a mix-up at the Centre for new residents. Dammit.” Isadore sighed. “I wanted to do this right. Shit. So, lunch? Tomorrow at the café? Say one-ish?”

Sebastian nodded, startled at how quickly Isadore brought up going out together. He’d never be able to ask the question without pondering the ramifications, analyzing every angle.

Isadore clasped Sebastian’s coat sleeve and gave Sebastian that perfect smile. “I really gotta go help Adam. I would have loved to have chatted longer. But tomorrow, right?”

“Right,” Sebastian agreed, nervous and excited at the same time. Isadore nodded once more before spinning around and heading toward the centre of town. His three-quarter wool coat flapped around, but he looked so cool, as though he was from the movies.

A silly grin made a home on Sebastian’s face as he stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and aimed for his apartment. Thefrosty air was a balm on his heated cheeks. He had a date. Sort of. He had a lunch date with Isadore.Oh shit. I have a date. With a person. A person who I like.

This could be good. Or it could be bad. And Sebastian wanted it to be goodsobad.

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