Page 62 of Emylia

“I saw that,” I called to Sebastian as I walked toward him, filtering through townsfolk before sliding into the empty seat next to him; our eyes locked.

“Where have you been?” There was no accusation in his tone, just curiosity, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth. I knew how much it would hurt him if I admitted I had chosen to spend time with someone over him.

“Nowhere,” I said, also grabbing an olive and popping it in my mouth.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Then what have you been doing?”

“Nothing.” I sounded guilty even to my own ears.

“You expect me to believe you’ve been nowhere for the last three hours doing absolutely nothing?”

The time I’d spent with Maalikai had gone by so quickly. I hadn’t realized I’d been gone for so long. And even though neither of us acknowledged it, we both knew he saw me walk back into town with Maalikai, hand in hand.

“I was gone for three hours?”

“Yes. I went looking for you and everything. Please tell me you’re not going to start making this a habit.” His voice was unbothered, indifferent, but it didn’t stop a ball from forming in the pit of my stomach.

I didn’t know why it felt like I’d abandoned him on purpose–but somehow, it did. And Sebastian didn’t deserve that.

“I… um…” I had no idea what to say. I had no excuses. At least none that I felt was a valid justification for ditching him.

Absently, I ran a finger across the palm of my hand, the one Maalikai had held. Something about it made me feel whole. I tried to find the right words to explain to Sebastian that I hadn’t deliberately abandoned him.

“Is something wrong with your hand?”

My heart ricocheted, jumping into my throat, and I instantly dropped my hand to my lap. “No. Why?”

“You keep looking at it weirdly,” Sebastian said, scrunching his forehead.

My cheeks flushed the most abhorrent shade of red. Was I that obvious? “I must’ve grabbed some nettle or something.” I scratched my hand dramatically to emphasize.

Suddenly, he grinned. “Is it cooties?”

My heart dropped, an exasperated sigh escaping me. “We both know you saw me withhim, so just get it out.”

I was hoping that Sebastian would be happy not acknowledging the whole Maalikai situation, but I guess I wasn’t that lucky.

“You love playing with fire, don’t you? Josie, is going to be beyond pissed.”

In a second, Sebastian had changed from best friend to overprotective boyfriend, and something about it made me want to stand my ground.

He didn’t have a claim on me. If he had wanted me, all he had to do was say so, I washisfor the taking.

But he hadn’t.

And now that I was finally showing interest in someone else, he was getting his panties in a twist about it. Like I was his property.

Stuff this.

I’d done nothing wrong, so why was he punishing me? I’d had enough of his bullshit, I was about to snap.

“It’s not some dirty little secret. Maalikai and I just hung out. What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s Josephine. She already hates you, so what do you think she’s going to do if you get in her way?”

“She can’t do anything to me. Don’t automatically assume that she can get away with things just because she has you by the balls.”

His expression hardened, and I knew I’d gone too far. But honestly, I didn’t care.

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