Page 16 of The Flirty Forward

She pouts in an exaggerated way. “But I want to see him tonight.”

I laugh. “Then go see him; I’m not keeping you here.”

“Stephanie, you’re my friend. If something happened, I want to know.”

I blow out a breath. “It’s fine; it’s not a big deal. We had a run-in once that colored how I view him, but it’s fine. It just showed me who he truly is.”

“And who is he truly then?” Bri asks.

I sit quietly for a moment, debating what to say to my best friend. “Okay fine. I had a incident with Sebastian once. It was before the run-in with him and Kayla.”

Brielle’s eyes are wide. “When? I didn’t even know you’d met him before that day.”

“Unfortunately, I have. Do you remember that engagement party I threw you guys?”

“Yes. It was so special.”

A few weeks after Aiden proposed, I threw a small party for Aiden and Brielle to celebrate. She’d wanted to let friends and family know because they’d kept it quiet at Christmas because of Aiden’s popularity. So, we had a private party and celebrated together.

“I wanted to invite a few of Aiden’s teammates, but I couldn't have him do it because it was a surprise. Do you remember that community day the team participated in? The one where they all had to find a local place to serve for a day?” She nods. “Well, I found out where a few of them were going to be serving for the day, so I drove over to hopefully get a chance to talk to one of them. I knew Aiden was friends with Sebastian and I thought the goalie guy, right?”

“Rico, yes,” Brielle says.

“Yeah. Anyway, so I had to sign up for this work day.” I frown, remembering that day. “And then when I got there, there were so many people. Half of them were just there to meet the hockey players, not to actually work. It took a while, but I finally had a chance to approach Sebastian. The only reason I knew which one he was, was that I looked him up ahead of time. I walked over to him with an invitation in hand. I called his name, and he turned to me with a smile on his face. I held out the invitation to him. Before I even said anything, he goes, ‘Hey, Doll, I’m not interested. You’re not my type but thank you’.” Just remembering his words and the humiliation I felt makes my face burn. “Andthat’swhy I don’t want anything to do with him; he’s a class one jerk.”

Brielle’s eyes are wide. “I can’t believe he said that to you.”

“I can. Have you ever researched the guy? He’s a total playboy. He never takes the same date to an event, and he only takes perfect size 2 models.”

Brielle blows out a breath. “I mean you’re not wrong, entirely. I remember his date from the gala that I went to with Aiden. She was terrible to me. Even Aiden was irritated with her.”

“Well that doesn’t count for much; Aiden gets irritated with pretty much everybody except you,” I point out.

Brielle smiles. “There is that.” Her smile falls. “I’m really sorry that happened to you. Do you want me to say something to Sebastian? Or better yet, have Aiden beat him up?”

I laugh. “No. Although I would personally love to see that, no. It's fine. It’s actually good it happened. I know what he’s really like. So when he’s flirting mercilessly with me, I know it doesn’t mean anything. He’s only doing this right now because like I said, I’m probably the first woman to ever say no to him.”

Brielle grins. “You’re probably right about that; I’m pretty sure most women don’t turn Sebastian Hart down.”

“Exactly.”

“All right. Then stay strong. I’m with you on this,” Brielle says. “We are on team avoid Sebastian and all his flirty ways at all costs.”

“Yes,” I agree.

“Until he changes and proves himself,” she adds.

“Yes. Wait, what? No.”

Brielle looks at me like I’m confused. “You’re going to make him work for it.”

“No.” I shake my head. “There is no making him work for it; he’s just out. He’s a playboy; I'm not giving him the time of day.”

Brielle’s eyes are wide. “Like never?”

“Never.”

Brielle studies my face a moment. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”

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