“My grandparents. They insisted I eat breakfast with them, then my grandmother handed me a schedule,” he says, handing me a folded piece of paper.
Opening it, I scan the page. It’s a list of calendar dates with fundraisers and social events marked, and names of various girls attached to each event. I’m listed on a few of them. “What the hell?” I question, looking up at E.
“I’m being groomed to be the next Seagrave heir. My grandparents decided my father isn’t suitable, so it'll be me instead. I’m supposed to attend all those functions with the accompanying dates. The girls have all been approved by them.”
“This looks even fuller than my calendar E,” Alex comments, scanning the list over my shoulder.
“What did you say?” I ask.
“Not much.” Shaking his head, he continues, “I was shocked. They're moving fast.”
“I expected they would,” Alex replies.
“I went into the kitchen to make coffee this morning because I didn’t sleep well, and it horrified my grandmother. She kicked me out to wait at the table for it.”
“I see. So what are your thoughts, E?” Please say you’ve changed your mind.
“The calendar's doable. I mentioned school and basketball, and they will stick to our earlier agreement about those, thanks to you,” E says, smiling at me.
Why is he not mentioning all the girls? Seb might be okay with hiding their relationship, but I’m not okay with him dating other girls. Shit. We’re technically not in a relationship though, are we? I guess I shouldn’t blurt out anything with Alex here. We’ll have to talk later. “And the kitchen situation?”
“I’ll work on that. I’ve only been there one night. So, what are you up to?”
I show E what we’re doing, and he jumps in to help us. A few hours later we finish, and E and I make lunch. Zander calls around noon to check in, as he’s working at a wedding today.
Next, we harvest from the garden and spend the rest of the afternoon washing and prepping veggies for storage. We have fun together, although my mind keeps coming back to all those dates E is supposed to go on. Alex excuses himself before dinner, having a fundraiser to attend. I thank him for his help as E and I finish the last of the veggies. “So, E, are you planning on dating all those girls?”
“I have no interest in those other girls, Summer, you know that,” he replies, sincerity shining in his eyes.
That’s a sneaky answer, though. “I do, but you didn’t answer my question.”
“It’s something we should all discuss,” he concedes.
Grabbing my phone from the counter, I call Seb on video. “Sunshine,” he smiles.
“Hey Hurry. I’m here with E. Do you want to tell Seb about your calendar?”
“Sure,” E replies. I hand him my phone as he fills Seb in on his morning and the piece of paper. Once he’s done, I sit at the table and place the phone on its stand in front of me. E joins me in the next seat so Seb can see us both. “So, what are your thoughts?” E asks.
“What do you want to do, E?” Seb asks.
“I mentioned to Summer that the schedule isn’t really an issue and they know academics and basketball come first.”
“What about the girls?” I ask.
“What about them?” E asks in return.
Uh…I look at Seb on the screen and he’s staring at E like he’s trying to solve a puzzle. Glad it’s not just me. “Is this because we’re not official?” I ask.
Now E seems confused.
“We've kept this thing between us quiet so far. Do I need to declare I’m your girlfriend so you don’t date anyone else? Is that how this works?”
“No, Sunshine, you don’t,” Seb replies, shaking his head. “We're already exclusive. Well, with Nick too, but that’s it. There will be no one outside our group, right, E?”
“Yes, of course. You two are it for me. You know that,” E declares, still confused why Seb is asking the question.
“Then why are we sitting here discussing you going on dates with other girls?” I ask angrily. I’m getting frustrated here. Does he really not realize the problem?
