Page 38 of Playing For Keeps

“Sounds good. I’m going to go find Sebastian.” Farren left the bedroom without meeting Corinne’s gaze, intent on escape and the security she felt in his presence.

The dining room was empty. Chairs had been pushed up against the walls of the room so people could gather around the table freely. In front of them was a veritable cornucopia of food and drink. A feast fit for gods. The next room was the living room, and she finally found who she’d been looking for.

Sebastian waited beside the fireplace in the room, a smoky crackle near his bare legs. He leaned a forearm on the mantle, her drink up on the edge nearby. He’d poured her a generous glug of the golden liquid into the goblets Braxton set up in the dining room, marking a tab with her name and smoothing it onto her glass with some scotch tape.

He stared into the flames, looking pensive and fucking hot. Something about his outfit and the primal vibe of the fire in the hearth transported her mind back to a past she’d never experienced. Mismatched couches, floor cushions, and velvet chairs were arranged in a circle around the coffee table with a half-played game forgotten there.

Farren couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face when he felt her watching him, turning to face her, and noticed her—in full regalia. His eyes burned with their intensity, and he looked like he wanted to devour her. She closed the distance between them, rewarding him with a searing kiss. Farren pulled away to take a swig from the cup on the mantle, her name in his handwriting marked in Sharpie.

Apple cider and bubbly sparkling wine burst over her tongue, the remnants of cinnamon and nutmeg warming the back of her throat. It seemed that “Ambrosia” tasted suspiciously like caramel apple mimosas.

His dumbfounded expression gave way to a sly smile of his own, a dimple she’d never been able to see under his beard carved deep into his left cheek. Without his jacket, the sleeveless tunic showed off his toned arms, looking every inch the warrior god he was supposed to embody.

She didn’t notice Braxton was beside him, or that the room was littered with the rest of her friends. Farren only had eyes for him, so when his hand wrapped around hers on the glass and he gave her a grateful kiss that wandered a little too close to a certain spot near her ear… she understood they were in for a world of trouble tonight. Somehow, she knew before the sun rose, before the world could intrude and force them apart again, she was going to take her chance. Farren only hoped he’d be ready when the time came.

Sebastian forgot how to swallow, how to breathe, how to function at all. He’d been drudging along the whole work week, and every second paid off because it was one second closer to this moment—looking upon a golden goddess.

She’d understood the assignment.

Farren Davis looked every inch as divine as she was supposed to be. She sashayed toward him (a term she’d exposed him to through an episode of Drag Race,) eyes dark, skin even creamier against the brunette wig. Her dress fluttered as she walked, a thick and luscious thigh exposed by a slit up one side, and wings that were worthy of a Victoria’s Secret model. To say Sebastian was thankful for the drink he’d gotten was an understatement. His mouth had gone dry.

Braxton’s place was so warm and welcoming. The floor looked rough, patched over the years, some parts of the wood sagging and creaking. The walls were a dusty shade of green, and Braxton’s furniture was a mishmash of styles that somehow worked together in their eccentricity. When he complimented them, Braxton informed Sebastian with a chuckle that most of it was repurposed from Goodwill or upcycled from local pieces. All the while Sebastian watched Farren move around the room after their searing kiss, interacting with her friends and checking in with him occasionally.

She laughed with her whole body, head thrown back, the wig making her look like a stranger and the person he adored all at once. They danced around each other, especially when the night was young and everyone was still mostly sober. The group got in a few rounds of party games, which devolved into drinking games, and Sebastian realized his body couldn’t handle alcohol as well as it used to. College never felt further away.

He excused himself to the bathroom, splashing water on his face, a little disoriented at the lack of beard he was so used to. Briefly, he remembered he was meant to be filming himself as part of Chris’s request.

“Hi, uh. It’s Sebastian… Ares.” He shrugged, remembering too late he was supposed to use his character’s name. “And I think Chr—Dionysus is going to be the drunkest tonight.”

It was awkward, stilted, the alcohol clearly not erasing the shitty parts of his personality yet, like the social anxiety and his inability to relax. After a few deep breaths, he rejoined the party, music overtaking the games and conversation.

A plethora of tipsy or full-out-drunk gods and goddesses were grouped together in the living room, swaying to the pulsing rhythm that washed over them from the speakers. Farren wasn’t among them, so he wandered over to the dining room, intent on grabbing some food or water to stave off the swirling feeling that came from imbibing.

Corinne stood, or leaned rather, against the wall in the dining room with a handful of nuts and a glazed expression on her face, straightening up when she noticed him and walking over with what Sebastian could only assume was purpose. Her small but surprisingly sharp finger poked him in the shoulder, where the armor didn’t cover and couldn’t protect him from the prodding.

“You.” She slurred slightly. “You better not be an asshole to my friend. If you hurt her…” She pointed a shaky finger at his face.

“Corinne, I think you’re a little out of it. Why don’t I help you find Luis?”

“Why don’t I tell you how it is? Hmmm? She’s my best friend, and I will protect her. Got it?” She seemed so serious, trying hard to be stern but her minute swaying detracted from the overall effectiveness of the threat.

“Okay, Corinne. I got it. You should probably try to reach out to her when you’re sober, and apologize for tearing into her. I know you hurt her, plus she had some family shit go down as well in the interim. She shouldn’t have to come to you first.” Sebastian didn’t mean for his voice to sound so harsh, but he found he didn’t really care once it came out.

She blinked up at him from behind her glasses, his words sinking in slowly, comprehension crossing her face. “I… I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“Maybe you didn’t. I’m just letting you know where she’s at right now. She needs you, and what you said really upset her.”

“What?” Her mouth went slack with shock, something in her eyes cutting through the alcohol-haze. “She said that… Oh god. I have to find her. I’ve been so stubborn and stupid, caught up in my own shit.” Corinne seemed like she was talking more to herself than to him, and before he could get another word in, she darted from the room to find her friend.

Sebastian felt out of his depth, a stranger at a party full of friends, and he kind of hated how much he relied on Farren, especially in this situation. Even without words, just having her pressed against his side with his hand resting on her hip, she grounded him. He craved that surety, the soft give of her body under his hand.

He’d been trying his best to stay level-headed, to let her lead, but the way she looked tonight and the gazes she kept sneaking his way… Sebastian wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to hold back. He’d wanted her since day one, and as the weeks passed, his desire only seemed to grow. Sebastian hadn’t been this gone for anyone since Ashley, and even then, it never felt like this. Farren was a new phenomenon and a risky one at that. One with the ability to send him to his knees.

He poured himself another drink against his better judgment, letting the alcohol warm his chest and cloud his brain, sobriety looking less appealing in the face of his feelings. When she came up to him some time later, he felt blissfully relieved of the thoughts churning within him.

“Hey, stranger,” she said over the music, lifting onto her toes to plant a kiss against his mouth, her lips tasting like sugar and cinnamon.

Sebastian set his glass down on the dining table beside him, gathering her up in both his arms and pulling her flush against his body. He hated how the breastplate deprived him of the feel of her soft chest against his, but the little moan that got caught at the back of her throat was worth it.

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