ANNALISE
I’m filled with mixed feelings as we make our way back to the city. I wasn’t ready to leave our little bubble of comfortability yet, but I know we need to see if our relationship can work outside of the confines of the cabin. Music plays through the speakers as I make my way down the winding roads that lack any and all cell service. The second I get a bar, my phone rings, and I smile as I see Sebastian’s name fill the display in my car.
I answer his call, and we make the drive back, alternating between talking and pointing things out we see along the road and sitting in silence, with the comfort of knowing the other person is on the other line. We make a quick stop for gas, and as we wait for Walker to use the washroom, I wrap my arms around Sebastian’s waist, holding him close and using his heat to fight off the chill in the air. Contentment washes over me at the simple feeling of being in his arms.
I bury my face in his chest, inhaling his scent, my words coming out muffled as I say, “I don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep alone tonight.”
He runs a hand over my hair before his fingers make purchase and pull my head back to look up at him. “You don’t have to. I can come to your place, or you can come to mine.I’d rather not sleep alone, either. Now that I’ve had you, I’m incapable of going without.”
I lick my dry lips, on the verge of cracking from the cool, dry air, and smile. The offer of going to his place has a pull to it. I want to see just how he’s decorated his place. Is it a complete bachelor pad or has he added touches of softness to it?
“Your place sounds perfect.”
He grins as he leans down and brushes his lips over mine. The kiss isn’t sexual, but rather intimate, a brief need to have our lips on each other.
“Seriously?” Walker groans behind me, and I bury my face back into Sebastian’s chest.
“Yes, seriously,” I yell from my cosy little safe space. “Get used to me kissing my boyfriend whenever I want.”
I pull back and catch Walker joining us, still shaking his head. The sun is already setting, a light glow just at the edge of the horizon giving us enough light to see each other clearly without needing street lights.
“We should get back on the road,” Walker says. “I called Mom and let her know we’re on our way. She’ll have dinner ready for us as soon as we get there.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I say, the thought of my mom’s homemade cooking making my stomach growl.
I step back out of Sebastian’s embrace, but he catches my wrist, stopping me. I meet his eyes and see love and concern mixed in them.
“Be careful. It’s cooling, so there may be some black ice. I’ll be right behind you, and I’ll call you as soon as I get in the car.”
I run my hands up his arms and step back into him, rising on my tiptoes and gently kissing him. “I’ll be careful.”
I slip into my car, and within seconds of starting it, my speakers fill with the ringing of Sebastian’s call. I answer, and he follows me out of the gas station and to the highway.
Pulling up outside my parents’ place, I take in the minimal Christmas decorations. We never kept a lot in the way of decorations here, because we never spent the holidays in the city. I don’t know why Mom never built up her collection after we stopped going to the cabin.
Sebastian startles me when he pulls open my door and offers his hand, which I take, and he helps me out. I can’t recall the last time the two of us were here together. It may have been the day we returned from the trip, where I immediately ran up to my room under the guise I was tired and wanted to nap, when in reality it was just that I didn’t want to be near Sebastian.
Sebastian interlaces our fingers, and we make our way up the walkway to the front door. I haven’t seen Walker’s car yet, so he must still be on his way, and I wonder if we should wait for him. I don’t have the chance to think about that more as Sebastian raises his hand and knocks. My free hand finds our clasped ones and holds them, as though willing them to stay together.
Moments later, the front door opens, and Mom stands on the other side with a look of shock when she meets Sebastian’s eyes, telling me it’s been a while since he’s been here. Her eyes move to me slowly and then glacially to our interlocked hands. She ushers us inside, saying, “Let’s get you two out of the cold.”
As she goes to close the door, Walker jogs up the front steps, and Mom smiles at him as he kicks off the snow from his shoes and slides in beside us. Mom’s eyes flick to Sebastian and me when Walker’s inside, and he ignores it and hugs her before moving further into the house.
Sebastian and I slip off our shoes and follow Walker, Mom hot on our heels. We find Dad in the family room, sitting in his recliner, legs up, with a hockey game on. Walker shakes his hand before grabbing the seat closest to him on the couch and focusing on the game. I kiss Dad’s cheek, and Sebastian offers his hand, surprise filling Dad’s face when he notices who it is.
Sebastian sits in the middle of the couch, and I join him. While Walker seems to be more focused on the game, Mom and Dad seem to both be more interested in Sebastian and me. Neither ask questions, though. When the silence becomes too unbearable, I clear my throat and say, “So…Mom, Dad. Sebastian and I are dating.”
They nod almost simultaneously as their eyes move to Walker. Apparently, my parents were just as aware of how off limits Walker made me to Sebastian as they gauge his reaction.
I lean over Sebastian and stare at my brother, who’s more interested in the TV than anything going on around him.
“Walk, want to add anything?”
“Huh?” He eventually peels his eyes away from the screen and looks around the room, seeing all eyes on him. “Oh, it’s cool, I guess. I’ve had a few hours to process it. I’ll be forever scarred with what I witnessed”—he exaggerates a shiver— “but, yeah. I’m fine.”
“Let’snevermention it again,” I say.
“Agreed.”
