Page 14 of Hot in Witch City
He shook his head, “Right. Right. We went over that.” He ran his hand through his rich, dark hair as if flustered.
The pop of the champagne cork followed, and we turned to Diego.
After we all had a glass, Nova raised hers. “To friendships, new and old.”
“Here here,” I saluted and clinked their glasses. Then I sipped the chilled champagne.
“I’d like that.” Sebastian glanced at me before drinking some of his.
He put his glass down on an end table and walked over to the food. “How about a plate?” He offered me one.
“Thanks.” I stepped over to accept it and examined the options. “What do we have here?”
“This is a gruyere cheese and crab palmier,” he pointed out. “That has figs, goat cheese, and prosciutto. And that’s bacon-wrapped scallops with a hint of maple syrup.”
“Ooh, interesting.”
“That’s a honey-mint lamb skewer. And there’s some smoked salmon.” As Sebastian introduced each dish, his confidence seemed to return.
“Looking forward to trying them,” I said. “I hear you’re an excellent chef.”
A proud smile spread across his face. “Thank you.”
Sebastian smelled good, freshly showered, and he was kind of cute. He had kind eyes that were beautiful shades of brown, honey-colored in the center and darker at the outer circle. If we hadn’t had that debacle at the club, things could have ended up quite differently that night.
No, it was better that we didn’t get involved at all. After all, like Nova said, with our mutual friendships, we’d likely run into each other again.
Once my plate was overflowing, he welcomed me into the living room. It had high ceilings, maroon oriental carpeting, a record player with a case of records, and a flat-screen TV.
I sat on the brown suede sofa and glanced around. “It’s a great place you have here.” I took a bite of the bacon-wrapped scallops “Mmm, this is delicious. Well done, Sebastian.”
He gestured with a casual wave. “It was nothing. You should come by the restaurant.”
“Maybe,” I replied in a noncommittal tone.
Nova sat beside me on the sofa with Diego next to her. Sebastian sat on the recliner. We chatted and drank and sampled the delicious appetizers.
After we’d finished our first glasses and had refills, Nova asked, “We ready for a movie?”
I shrugged. “Sure.”
“After all, it’s a Monty Python celebration,” she teased, grinning at Sebastian.
“Life of Brian?” Diego suggested.
“A classic,” Sebastian noted.
“I haven’t seen that one,” Nova said.
I shrugged. “Let’s do it.”
A few minutes later, I was introduced to the strange world with its bizarre animation sequence and lyrics. Soon, I laughed with them at the ridiculousness on the screen.
“What is this farcical nonsense?” I asked.
“Genius farcical nonsense,” Diego corrected with a thumbs up and clicking sound.
We ate and drank throughout the movie.
