the universe had a higher power that I didn’t know about, but it left me wondering.
The seagulls caw, a muted tone from behind the glass as they fly through the sky. The sun is set, seeping below the line of water edging against the sky as far as the eye can see. Oranges and pinks blend to create a picture no artist could ever recreate.
This is my heaven.
Sebastian isn’t about to lock me in hell. It would be a different kind of hell—a sexually tormented one, but I have endured too much with Kendrick, and I love Sebastian too much for him to be skittish.
If anyone has the right to be skittish, it is me, but I am ready to lay on my back, legs spread for Sebastian to have his way with me.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid.” I bang my head against the glass, hoping to knock an idea or two out of me, but I can’t think of anything.
Sebastian is going to be difficult, thinking he has my best interest in mind, but doesn’t he know he is my best interest? Doesn’t he know he kept me alive all the years? I want him more than I need my next breath, and the last time I checked, breathing is essential for the human body.
Sebastian is essential.
Not like money or frivolous things, but like blood or water.
A knock at the door sounds, and with a tired exhale, I urge whoever is on the other side to come in. “It’s open,” I say. At least, I thought it was. The handle jiggles, proving it isn’t unlocked like I thought. I hurry, putting a pep in my step, and look out the peep hole to see Quinn again. She has bags in her hands.
I open the door wide, and she barges in with a big smile on her face. “Oh man, you should have seen Sebastian stomping down the hallway. I never in my life have seen him so discomposed.” Quinn tosses her head back, her blonde hair catching the faint light left from the sun burning through the window.
“Sebastian is serious usually? Really?” That comes as a surprise to me. I know he had to be tough in prison, but when he was with me before Kendrick set him up to take the fall for something Sebastian didn’t do, Sebastian went out of his way to make me smile. He always joked, always made sure when he saw me, I smiled.
Because every time he saw me, my willingness to smile disappeared along with the will to thrive because of Kendrick. When Kendrick got his brother out of the way and sent Sebastian to prison, that is when things got worse. The abuse, the weird language he’d use when he spoke to me, like how my behavior needed to be perfect or how much I was worth. It was like I was going to meet someone important.
Quinn dumps the clothes on the bed and lays out a few shirts, jeans, new underwear, and tank tops with a built-in bra. I have small breasts, and tank tops work fine. “Sebastian is probably one of the most serious guys I have ever met. Obsessive too. All the guys here have their thing. Jaxon is intense. Owen is an asshole. Heaven is the flirt. Grayson is more of the quiet type. Sebastian is the serious one, the one who obsesses that everything needs to be perfect. He must know everything about everything. He seemed a bit flushed running down the hallway.” Quinn wiggles her brows, telling me she knows exactly what went on in this room.
“Well, whatever happened in here fell short since he ran out as if he was terrified to touch me,” I say with a bit more of a bite then I intend. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude to you. It’s directed toward him.” I grab a pair of simple black silk panties and slip them on under my towel. “We finally have our chance, and he—” I stop speaking, not knowing what else to say. “I don’t know. His reaction took me by surprise is all.” Next, I wiggle into a black pair of comfortable joggers and then turn around, giving Quinn my back when I pull a crop top over my head. There is a statement on the front that says, “Ask me about wiener.” There is a hot dog floating beside it, and it makes me chuckle.
“Can I tell you something, and you can either ignore it and