Page 43 of The Flirty Forward

“They?” I question.

“Yep. I ordered four of each of them.”

My eyebrows hit my hairline. “What? Why would you do that?”

He looks confused. “Why would I order your books?”

“Why would you order four of each of them?”

“Because I want a copy of each of them. And then as soon as I tell my family, my mom’s going to want them, and so will Tina and Kristen. So instead of them trying to steal my books, I just got them their own.”

I stare at him, openmouthed. “You didn’t need to do that.”

He winks at me. “I wanted to.”

A knock sounds at the door, interrupting our moment. “That must be the food,” my mother says, walking out of the kitchen. When she comes back in, she’s carrying a large brown bag. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, Sebastian; so I took the liberty of ordering you what Stephanie normally gets.”

“If it’s food, I’ll eat it,” he says with a grin. “Thank you. Let me know how much I owe you.”

“Nonsense. You’re a guest in our home,” my father says.

“Thank you,” Sebastian says, looking way too happy at the prospect of breakfast. I don’t have the heart to tell him he’s going to hate it. My mother pulls out clear, plastic containers and passes one to each of us. Sebastian takes his, looking at it curiously.

“Stephanie, don’t leave before we have a chance to say goodbye,” my mother says and walks away. My father nods at both of us and leaves the room.

I walk over to the silverware drawer to get us silverware. When I turn around, Sebastian is still staring at his container. He opens the container and looks up and meets my eyes. “Is this food? Is it edible?” I can’t hold back the laugh. “What is it?”

“It’s all vegan. It’s turnip causa,” I tell him.

He scrunches up his face. “Is that food?”

I hold back a laugh. “Yes.”

“What’s the brown stuff on top?”

“That’s mushroom caviar.” I swear he gags.

He holds up the toast. “This is toast right?”

“That is sprouted rice bread with spiced chickpeas and sprouts and toasted pumpkin seeds.”

He stares at it some more. “And you actually eat this stuff?” His eyes meet mine. I shrug. “Are you vegan?” At his look of horror, I laugh.

“No, I’m not.”

“Then why do you eat this...crap?”

“I only do when I’m with my parents.”

He walks over and takes the container out of my hand. “What are you doing?” He drops them in the trash and then pushes them down and covers them up. “Sebastian,” I hiss. “Those were like twenty-dollar meals.”

He pulls out a fifty and leaves it on the counter. “Come on.” He surprises me by taking my hand.

“What are we doing?” I ask as he pulls me to the door.

“Getting real food; I’m starving.”

I let him lead me to his car. “Want to drive?” He dangles the keys from his fingers. It tempts me for a moment.

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