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Tilly
I must be delirious from a lack of sleep. I just told Sebastian he makes me feel special.
He hasn’t said a word, so I rush to clarify. “I mean I’ve never had a roommate who worried about what I was eating, or who brought me cake at work.”
His gaze slides over my face. “We’re more than just roommates.”
I inhale sharply. “We are?”
“We’re friends.” His mouth curves into a broad grin. “You consider us friends, don’t you?”
I hadn’t thought about that. We only met a short time ago, but it feels like I’ve known him for years. That has to be because Maya has mentioned Sebastian to me dozens of times since she met Julian.
“I think we’re friends,” I whisper back. “Yes, we’re friends.”
He nods. His face is so close to mine that I’d only need to edge forward a few inches to brush my lips against his.
“I have a feeling that you know a lot more about me than I know about you.” A smile ghosts his mouth.
“I doubt that. Maya loves to talk. I’m sure she filled you in on every detail there is to know about me.”
His eyes drop to the skin on my chest that is exposed. The top of my bra is visible, but I don’t move to adjust the blanket. “She didn’t. I know the bare essentials. You’re twenty-five, a vet assistant, you like chocolate cake and dancing on dining room tables in the middle of the night.”
“I wasn’t dancing.” The rapid beating of my heartbeat echoes in my ears. “I was changing a light bulb that had burned-out.”
His gaze slides from my face to the chandelier before he locks eyes with me. “Let me rephrase. I know you like dancing on dining room tables while you’re changing light bulbs.”
He saw me in the lingerie I bought when I was in San Francisco. I’d put it on after my shower because it was new. I left it on because I loved the way it made my body look. I had no idea that Sebastian would see me in it too.
“I’m not complaining,” he goes on. “You’re a great dancer.”
I laugh. “I like listening to music when I’m home alone. That was one of my favorite songs.”
“Mine too.” He rubs the pad of his thumb over his bottom lip. “I try to keep my dancing reserved to solid ground though.”
I stare at the movement of his thumb. “What fun is that?”
“Maybe we’ll try it together sometime and you’ll see.” His hand drops to his side and I keep my gaze pinned to his lips.
They must be incredible to kiss. They’re full and look so soft.
A loud clap of thunder startles us both. I take a step back and his eyes dart to the windows in the living room.
“It sounds like the rain is back,” I say softly.
He checks his watch. “It’s late. Do you work tomorrow?”
I nod. “Nine o’clock sharp.”
Whatever moment we had was stolen by the approaching storm. I see it in his eyes before he speaks. “We should probably call it a night. I’ve got an early morning too.”
I tug the blanket closer to my body. “Good night, Sebastian.”
He only nods in response before he looks back at the window and the raindrops now beating against it.
***
“Why were you changing a light bulb in your lingerie?” Kate forks a piece of chicken from her leftover stir-fry.
When she texted me this morning to invite me to meet her for lunch at her store, she told me that she’d ordered too much take-out last night and the only thing I needed to bring with me was my appetite.
I sat down in a chair next to her desk ten minutes ago and I’m already filled to the brim with ginger beef and vegetables.
“I put on the lingerie after I had a shower.” I sigh. “I had a robe on most of the night, but then I went to bed. I couldn’t sleep so I got up to listen to some music and I noticed a burned-out light bulb, so I decided to change it.”
“Lucky Sebastian.” She wiggles her brows. “I can’t believe he saw you in nothing but a bra and panties.”
It was the first thing I told her when we started eating. It was enough to cause her to almost choke on a piece of broccoli.
“It was karma for me seeing him without any clothes the night we met,” I say matter-of-factly.
That draws a laugh from her. “That’s not karma. That’s fate.”
I shrug. “Whatever it was it felt like magic to me. I swear something was happening between us.”
“So you’re ready to admit that I was right?” She puts her fork down. “You can see that the man wants you, can’t you?”
If she had asked me that early this morning when I was standing toe-to-toe with Sebastian in our apartment, my answer would be a resounding yes. Since I woke up I’ve started questioning whether I was reading too much into what was going on between us when he got home from work.
“He was flirting,” I admit. “That much I know for sure.”
“Call it what you want.” She reaches for a paper napkin. “I call it a prelude to a fuck. You two are going to sleep together soon. Mark my words, Tilly.”
I pick up my chopsticks. “That’s a huge conclusion to jump to. We are so far from that right now. It’s not even close, Kate.”
“It’s the distance from your bedroom to his. That’s all it is.”
With that, she dives back into eating her lunch and I do the same, the entire time wondering if Sebastian is thinking about me as much today as I am about him.
