He played around a minute, and then I heard Niel Diamond and the first part ofComing To America. “Oh, my God. Noooo. You’re such a smartass. Play a real song, or I’m taking your privileges away.”
Sebastian was laughing and smiling like a kid with a new toy. He was loving the fact he was annoying me. And to be honest, I didn’t mind. I could even admit it was a little bit fun. I found myself excited to find out what the next song would be.
When the song started to play, I was surprised. I hadn’t expected him to like George Michael, but even if he had,Careless Whisperswouldn’t have been my first guess.
“I love this song so much,” I said under my breath, and Sebastian nodded his head.
“I do, too.”
I couldn’t help it. It was out of my control. No matter where I was or what I was doing, I had to sing along with this song. So, I did. I started softly, but as the song went on, the heartbreak sounded so real, when the chorus began, I just belted it out.
“I’m never gonna dance again…”
And to my surprise, Sebastian started singing with me. He was a little off-key, but he knew all the words. We were both singing at the top of our lungs about heartbreak and the loss of love. It was the best time I’d had with another guy in a long time. Against my better judgment, I was beginning to like Sebastian.
The song ended, and we both glanced at each other, smiling and enjoying the moment. It was the best until the next song came on.
“Baby Got Back, dude. Really?”
“What can I say? I like a nice ass.” Sebastian leaned over and came so close to my ear that I could feel his hot breath on my neck and earlobe. “And, baby, you got a really nice ass.”
I stiffened, and he went back to his seat, grooving to the song’s beat. I wanted to dance to it with him, but I was scared. Scared of him, scared of my reactions to him. I needed to get away from him for my own self-preservation, but that tiny voice of reason kept saying what was the point of preserving my sad life if I was always going to be alone.
I didn’t have that answer yet, but I was beginning to question how safe I’d been playing my life for all these years.
Chapter 10
Sebastian
“The snow’sstarting to get heavier, Josiah. Are you okay driving?”
“Yeah, my baby can handle it. We don’t have that much further. Didn’t you say we’re almost to the turnoff?”
“Yeah, it’s still several kilometers down this road. I’ll tell you when we get there.”
This weather had me worried. I wasn’t used to snow.I’m from Southern Australia for fuck’s sake. Snow isn’t a thing we have often. Hardly ever.I would be glad when we got to the cabin, but Josiah kept insisting he was dropping me off and getting back on the road to his conference, and I didn’t think that was a good idea at all.
“I still think you should stay the night and see how the weather is in the morning. With the way the snow is coming down now, you might get stuck on the road and get stranded.”
Josiah was concentrating hard on the road, so he didn’t answer right away. We had slowed down once we’d left the highway about thirty minutes ago and were crawling down this two-lane back road. Any faster and the tires got slippery with all the heavy wet snow and ice forming.
“I don’t know. I’ll see how it is once we get there. It doesn’t look good, though, does it? These roads are starting to get super slick.”
I didn’t want him out there in the freezing weather on his own. I had ulterior motives for wanting him to stay at the cabin, but honestly, I didn’t want his wrecking and getting hypothermia either. I wasn’t altruistic, but I was honest.
“The turnoff is right up here. See the brick pillars? It’s Hemlock Hills.”
Josiah turned onto the road, which quickly turned from asphalt to crushed rock. The rock gave better traction, but not for long. The elevation got steeper and steeper until we were climbing up the mountain. When we came around the first hairpin turn, we both held our breath. The road was so narrow that only one car could go around it at a time. After a time of climbing, the road leveled out for a while following around the edge of the mountain, and then it started to climb again. We drove on the mountain road for what seemed like hours. We were going incredibly slow since the snow was accumulating quickly on the road, despite the trees all around.
“How much further is this driveway? This road is getting covered, and the tires keep slipping. I can barely see out of the windshield now.”
I saw the signpost and pointed out the windscreen. “It’s up there to the right. See the sign with the bear on it?”
“Yeah, but that incline looks really steep. I hope we can make it.”
Josiah took the turnoff, and the road immediately started climbing. It was a much steeper angle than we’d met before. We went slow but started sliding back when we got almost to the top.
“Hit the gas, we need to get up to this peak, and we’re almost there.”
