Page 63 of The Flirty Forward

I turn to walk away, and he’s right there. “You sure?” I nod. He frowns. “I still can’t believe they did that to you.”

“It’s fine.” I wave him off as I head over to the table to finish my coffee.

“It’s definitely not fine.”

I shrug. “It got crazy.”

He shakes his head and slides into his seat. “I have another question for you.”

I take a drink of coffee. Realizing I’m not going to have peace and quiet until he’s gone, I motion him to ask his question. “Why are your parents so awful?”

I nearly spew my coffee across the table. Then I proceed to choke on it for a considerably lengthy time. “Good grief. Warn a girl next time.” I wipe my mouth with my napkin, trying to figure out how in the world to answer that question. “We’ve already had this conversation, and they’re not awful,” I finally settle on. He raises his eyebrows. “What? They're not.” Then feeling defensive, I blurt out. “Not everybody has a huge family that’s supportive of their dreams, Sebastian.”

His face falls, and he reaches out and takes my hand. I tell myself that he’s surprised me; that’s why I don’t immediately pull away. “I’m sorry for that. My family is incredibly loving and supportive of me. Sometimes too much.” He chuckles and then squeezes my hand. “Everybody deserves that. I’m sorry you don’t have that and that you have to eat horrible, ungodly food when you’re there.” I laugh; I can’t help it. The look on his face. He grins, and I know he did it just to make me laugh. “Can I ask you another question?”

I sit back, pulling my hand from his. “Seems to be the theme of the day, so go for it.”

“Why don’t you like me calling you Doll?”

I startle. “It’s fine,” I say quickly.

“No, it’s not. You asked me not to call you that. Why?”

“It’s not that big a deal, Sebastian. I just don’t like it.”

“It is a big deal, Stephanie. Tell me why; I feel like there’s a story there. Maybe a story of why you hate me so much.”

I glance up quickly. “I don’t hate you...anymore.”

He laughs. “I love it that you’re so honest with me.” He sits up. “Okay. I want to know why, and you’re going to tell me. Infact, I’m not leaving here today until you tell me why you hate or hate-edme so much.”

I don’t look at him; I don’t want to do this. “It’s in the past, Sebastian. It’s dumb; don’t worry about it.”

“No. I see it on your face from time to time. It's this look you get in your eyes, like I hurt you. You had that same look in your eyes at the coffee shop by your parents’ house. I hate that. I want to know what I did to cause it.” He’s quiet a moment. “Please tell me; I want to know.”

His face is so earnest. I turn away from him, unsure if I can have this conversation. I don’t want to be this vulnerable with him. Yet, I feel like I owe it to him. He’s asking what he did wrong, so he can fix it. I’m not going to be a jerk and be unforgiving. I cringe because that’s exactly what I’ve been. “Fine,” I say on an exhale. “I went to a workday where you and your teammates were volunteering once. I had invitations to give to you and Rico and Gunner for Aiden and Brielle’s engagement party.” I don’t look at him while I’m talking, but I can feel his gaze on my face. “I looked you guys up ahead of time, so I would know what you looked like. I figured I would find you because—”

“I’m the best-looking,” he interjects.

I can’t help my smile. “No. I’d heard Aiden mention you by name before. Anyway, can I get back tomystory?” He waves a finger, motioning me forward. “So, I went to the workday. It took a while, but I finally had an opportunity to approach you. I had the invitation in hand. When I got close, I called your name.” The memory burns within me, and makes my face heat at the shame of it. I take a deep breath. “I didn’t even get out what I wanted to say before you interrupted me. You told me...” my voice trails off.

“What did I tell you?” His voice is gentle, but I can hear the underlying tension in his words.

I face him head-on. “You told me, ‘Hey, Doll, I’m not interested. You’re not my type but thank you’.” I drop my gaze, and absolute silence falls around us. He drops a curse, low and fierce. I don’t know how to respond, and I don’t really want to. So, I stand up and take my cup over to the dishwasher. I walk past him without looking at him. I'm almost clear of the kitchen when he calls my name.

“Stephanie.” I stop, but I don’t turn around. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s fine, Sebastian.” I leave the kitchen without another word. I’m feeling too raw, too vulnerable; and I don’t want to be around him right now. I snag my laptop bag and make my way back to my room before settling on my bed and opening the files for the book I’m working on. I put in my headphones and get to work. I need to get lost in my story. I haven’t been writing all that long when the door to my room pushes open. I look up and pause my music.

“Sorry, I knocked but you didn’t hear me.” I make the mistake of meeting his eyes for a moment. He looks absolutely wrecked. “I need to get back to my house. Thank you for everything.” His words are sincere. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you did for me the last few days.”

“It was nothing,” I tell him.

“It was. Thank you.”

I feel weird sitting here on my bed, so I stand to my feet. “I’ll walk you out.”

He makes room for me to walk past him, but he doesn’t say anything. I open the front door and hold it for him. “See ya.”

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