Page 31 of The Flirty Forward

"What are you doing?” a little voice asks, and I jerk around in surprise. Of course, that means bringing Sebastian with me, because his hand is still in my front pocket. My quick movement causes him to jerk forward, stumbling into me. He puts his free hand out and braces us against the siding of the house.

“Hey, Eliza,” Sebastian says casually, like we’re not standing in the most ridiculous position.

“Uncle Sebastian and his girlfriend are here,” she calls out and runs away.

“Would you take your hand out of my pocket?” I demand as soon as she’s gone. “And why did she say I was your girlfriend?”

He finally removes his hand from my pocket, and I nearly jump away from him. “Because she’s smart,” he says from behind me. I shake my head and step into the entryway since Eliza left the front door open. Sebastian comes in behind me and closes the door. I still haven’t moved because I’m taking in the gorgeous home spread out before me.

“Next time, put them in the back pocket, Teach,” he says right next to my ear before walking past me and into the living room. “We’re here,” he calls out loudly.

I take a breath and try to get my face to stop flaming. I can’t tell whether it’s from embarrassment or...something else that I’m not going to let myself ponder. I take a deep breath and follow Sebastian.

“Hi, Miss Winston.”

I smile at Kayla. “Hey, Kayla. How are you?”

She smiles sweetly. “Good.”

Another boy joins us. “Eliza said you were wrestling on the front porch. Is that true?”

Oh boy.

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” a guy asks, coming into view. He’s wearing glasses, and I remember him from the game.

“Andrew, leave them alone,” a new voice says, coming to join us. I smile at Tina, Sebastian’s sister. “Ignore my husband. Come on in and relax.”

She waves me forward, and we walk into the open concept living room and dining room. Suddenly, Sebastian’s family is everywhere. It’s all at once overwhelming, and I feel so out of place.

Chapter 11

Stephanie

I try to keep a pleasant expression on my face as I reach out and tug the back of Sebastian’s shirt. “Hey,” I say, a little more urgently than I wanted to. He turns to me. “Hey, can we just get that picture and then I’ll be on my—” The words die in my throat when I remember that I didn’t drive. I don’t have a car so that I can leave whenever I want to. Panic threatens to overwhelm me, and I don’t know what to do with myself.

Sebastian is suddenly in front of me. “Hey, you okay?”

I look up at him. It’s a weird time to notice, but I realize again just how tall and broad he is. “Can we just take that picture and then I’ll get a ride and go back home.”

His eyebrows knit together in concern. “If this is too much, we can leave.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” There is noweleaving. It’s his family; he needs to be here. His family starts gathering around the table, and I feel an urgency to get out. I don’t belong here; I don’t belong with these people. A bad feeling fills me.No. I amnotgoing to cry. I rarely cry. I’m usually pretty tough; there are only a few things that push me over the edge. I blink furiously, refusing to let a single tear drop. “Who’s going to take the picture?” I look around the room blindly. “Kayla!” I say it a little too brightly, too loudly. “Kayla, can you take a picture of us?” While she comes towards us, I quickly send off a text to Bri asking if she’s available and willing to come pick me up. She responds almost immediately that she can. Relief flows through me as I send her my location.

“Stephanie—”

“Where do you want to stand?” I ask him, cutting off whatever he was going to say. I can feel his gaze on my face, but I don’t look at him.

“Who’s hungry?” Sebastian’s mom asks, coming into the living room, carrying a platter of pancakes. “Stephanie, I didn’t even hear you come in.” She hands the tray to her husband and walks towards us. I find myself taking a step backward, even though I don’t mean to. When I hit something immovable, I know without looking that it’s Sebastian. Kelly, oblivious to my blunder, advances on me. She wraps me up in a warm hug, and I freeze. I squeeze my eyes shut, refusing to let emotion overcome me.

It’s just a hug,I tell myself repeatedly. Still, it’s such a nice hug. The moment’s over far too soon, and she steps back. “How are you doing, Dear?”

I swallow. Hard. “I’m good,” I manage to tell her, but my voice sounds off. “I can’t stay,” I blurt out. “I need to keep moving; I just wanted to...drop in real quick,” I manage to say. I whirl around, trying to find Kayla. I barely glance at Sebastian. “Ready for that picture?”

“Yeah.” He doesn’t say anything else, and I stand next to him, unsure of what to do with myself. “Mom, why don’t you stand on the other side of Stephanie,” he says, taking charge. “Tina, can you come take a picture with us?” He wraps an arm around my waist and settles me against his side. It probably looks completely relaxed for him; he’s probably done this a thousand times. But I’m stiff as a board.

“Really? I didn’t even do my hair this morning?” Tina complains but stands next to Sebastian.

“It doesn’t look any different from how it usually looks,” Sebastian says. He grunts a moment later, leading me to believe she elbowed him for that comment.

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