Sitting alone on the staircase in the house he hated more than he remembered, he wished he was in a relationship. He missed Remington and he missed the way Remington made him feel. But the way Remington made him feel was also complicated and double-edged. Wasn’t it wrong to appreciate the things Remington did for him? It couldn’t be normal to be ordered around and instructed and…spanked.
He picked at the backs of his teeth with the tip of his tongue.
“For as much time as the two of you spend together, I’d think you’d spend more time talking,” Callahan said.
“We do talk,” he corrected.
“Apparently not, but we can deal with that when you’re home. Preemptively, I’m reminding you of the same thing you said to me last time we were in Mallardsville.”
“And what’s that?” he asked.
“Get your shit together.”
Sebastian sighed.
“Now tell me why you’re there and why you’re there so unexpectedly.”
“Rhys came and fetched me,” he answered, feeling like a child.
Why was it okay for Remington to tell him what to do and not his brother? If he hated it when Rhys did it, when his father did it, why did it get him so hard when Remington did it?
“You’re not athing,” Callahan protested.
“Tell him that.”
“Why did he come ferry you home?”
“Daniella,” Sebastian admitted.
“What about her?”
“She’s been saying things about me to people. And she is, uhm…Rhys says she’s pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Callahan shouted and Sebastian could picture the horrified look his best friend must have on his face. “Why is this the first I’m hearing about it?”
“It hasn’t come up,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about her.”
“Does Remington know?”
“Why would he?”
“Whywouldn’the, Sebastian?” Callahan asked. “Are you dense? How did anyone marry you in the first place?”
“I have a robust bank account, Callahan. Don’t forget.”
“You’re more than that.”
“Is that what Jace told you?” Sebastian accused, the same old familiar feelings of tension and vitriol creeping up his spine the longer he breathed the air in the St. George mansion.
“Stop.”
“Remington doesn’t know,” he said. “If it turns out to be true, if it turns out to bemine, then I’ll talk with him.”
“Who else could it be?”
“Rhys has…” he trailed off.
“Wow.” Callahan sounded genuinely surprised, and Sebastian wished he’d been surprised by the news, too.
