* * *
Half an hour later, Sebastian was standing by the north gate entrance to the city park, checking the map on his phone one more time to make sure he was in the right place. He sent a text to Viggo letting him know he’d arrived, ignoring the missed calls and furious text messages from his mother.
Taking a seat on a nearby bench, Sebastian settled in to wait.
Bjorn was the first to arrive. He came marching down the street in full uniform, his face set in a stern scowl that had people parting for him like a school of fish giving way to a shark, spotting Sebastian and shooting him a blinding grin.
Sebastian’s stomach fluttered, the idea that someone like Bjorn would light up like that for him making him feel like he’d stepped into a fairytale. He rose, brushing his hand down the front of his shirt as he waited for Bjorn to reach him.
“Sebastian!” Bjorn greeted warmly, walking right up to him and wrapping him up in a hug. He smelled like a campfire, and as he pulled Sebastian to stand between his massive boots, he squeezed him tight enough to press the air right out of his lungs. “It’s nice to see you again.”
Bjorn released him from the hug and took a small step back, resting his hands on Sebastian’s shoulders and beaming down at him.
“It’s nice to see you, too,” Sebastian said, meaning it both literally and figuratively. Bjorn’s uniformed body filled his vision, pecs bulging and shoulders like boulders, the line of his jaw looking like it was cut from marble.
“Since you wanted to meet early, I didn’t have time to go home and change,” Bjorn said, pushing Sebastian back to sit on the bench and dropping down next to him. He draped his arm possessively behind Sebastian’s shoulders, making butterflies explode in Sebastian’s belly. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Sebastian shook his head, face burning when he remembered the talk from the day before about Bjorn’s boots.
Just thinking about it made his face feel hot and tight with embarrassment.
“Not at all.” Sebastian relaxed against Bjorn’s side, feeling the heat of his body seeping into his skin. “I hope it wasn’t too inconvenient.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Bjorn laughed. “You saved me from having to think about what to wear.”
The idea that Bjorn spent time and effort on picking his outfits for dates was somehow surprising to Sebastian, even though he knew it shouldn’t be.
“I liked what you wore the day before yesterday.”
It was easier to pay Bjorn the compliment when he couldn’t see his face, gaze fixed on the hot dog cart across the street.
“Thank you,” Bjorn said, curling his arm down and giving Sebastian a squeeze. “I like what you’re wearing now. You look very handsome.”
Sebastian blushed. He was in chinos again, though this time he’d paired them with a short-sleeved shirt that a saleswoman had told him brought out his eyes. It was blue.
“Thanks.”
“There’s Viggo,” Bjorn said, nodding toward the sidewalk on the other side of the street.
It took Sebastian a second to find him. He was so used to seeing Viggo in a suit that it took him a moment before he realized that the muscular man in tight jeans and a white t-shirt was him. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, and he was wearing sunglasses.
Standing up, Bjorn and Sebastian watched as Viggo looked both ways before jogging across the road to join them.
“Hey, you two,” he said, pulling Bjorn in for a quick kiss before looking down at Sebastian. “Have you been waiting long?”
Sebastian shook his head. “No, not long at all.”
“Good.” Viggo cupped the side of his face, broad palm pressing against his cheek, and leaned down and kissed him, too. It was chaste, just a quick touch of lips and a hint of tongue, and then it was over.
When he pulled away, Sebastian realized he was holding his breath. He blushed, looking down and smiling at his feet.
“Bjorn and I were thinking that we could have a picnic in the park. There’s a free concert going on later, and after that we can walk back to the apartment and have a drink. Sound good?”
“Very,” Sebastian said, finding the whole idea very romantic.
“Are you parked close to here?” Viggo asked, putting his hand on Sebastian’s neck and steering him into the park. Bjorn fell into step on his other side, the two werewolves boxing him in and making him feel incredibly short as they walked through the arched gate separating park and city.
“Yeah, I found a spot a few blocks from here.” Sebastian was hyper aware of the bulging pecs on either side of his face, and for a second he had a mental image of himself caught between them as the two giants trapped him in their embrace.
