Page 8 of Perfect Night

“Sorry, my brain immediately likes to work things out. And yes, that’s not a problem. I’m twenty-seven. Is that okay?”

Sebastian looked Charlie up and down slowly. It was commanding. Charlie almost came in his pants.

Sebastian smiled before turning to pay for the drinks. He hadn’t vocalised his answer, but from the way he was looking at Charlie, there was no problem. How could he have gotten so lucky? Then it hit him: Sebastian lived in New York. This was going to be a one-and-done, and Charlie was fine with that. He had to switch the fantasy in his head from the perfect man to the perfect night, but he could do that. One night with this absolute god would be something he’d probably remember on his deathbed.

They took one of the booths. It was shaped like a semicircle, so it meant they were sitting next to each other. Sebastian’s tree-trunk leg pressed against Charlie’s. Next to Sebastian’s, Charlie’s legs resembled the last chicken drumstick in the shop.

“How long are you in London for?”

“Fly back Sunday.”

“Here for business or fun?”

“Business, but that’s all taken care of now.”

Sebastian gave him a once-over again, and Charlie laughed.

“You know, that line should be corny, but on you it isn’t.”

“I’ll take the compliment,” he smiled. “Charlie?”

Charlie was taking a sip of his drink. He glanced back at Sebastian, who was looking like he wanted to drag Charlie back to his cave like a Neanderthal.

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Charlie was sure his heart stopped beating for a second. His mouth went dry. He wanted to take another drink, but it would look rude. All he could do was nod his head and lick his lips before Sebastian’s mouth was on his. His tongue dived straight into Charlie’s mouth. No hesitation. It was another area where Sebastian was confident. He pulled Charlie close to him, so hewas practically sitting on his lap. The kiss was hot as hell and Charlie was hard in seconds, and in danger of really doing the leg-humping thing. Oh crap, he’d just left Jason on the dance floor. What kind of friend was he?

The kiss came to a natural end. Damn Charlie and his intrusive thoughts. Sebastian was smiling at him like he wanted to rip his clothes off, so he doubted it would be the last time they kissed tonight.

“Will you come back to my hotel with me?”

Charlie nodded without hesitation and went to down his drink.

“Slow down,” Sebastian said, gently taking the drink. “There’s no rush. We’ve got all night.”

Charlie was enjoying Sebastian’s company too much. It was making him fantasise about living happily ever after with a guy who lived three thousand miles away and who was so far out of his league. He wasn’t even sure this was real. Perhaps he’d fallen asleep after he’d gotten home from his shitty job and this was all a dream. He should have insisted they go straight back to the hotel so Sebastian could pound him into the mattress before he changed his mind and before Charlie could see any more of what an amazing guy Sebastian was. Charlie had this terrible tendency to fall hard and fast. He needed to remember this was a one-night stand and enjoy it for what it was.

Sebastian had shared that he worked in property development. He was a twin and had twin nieces, who he clearly adored from the animated way he spoke about them. Charlie hadn’t wanted to bring the mood down, so he’d not mentioned his mother’s ill health, but still talked about how she’d raised him on her own, and the guys he shared a flat with. He’d spoken briefly about work, but just saying he was in marketing. Therewas no way he was mentioning his side hustle. Guys could get funny about it, and it wasn’t anyone else’s business.

“Are you okay?”

Charlie jolted out of his spiralling thoughts and took a sip of his drink. He had been on soft drinks after their first drink together. If this was only going to be one night, he wanted to remember it.

“Yeah, all good.”

Sebastian’s frown made it clear he wasn’t convinced, so Charlie silenced him with another kiss, slipping his tongue in and getting the taste of Jack Daniel’s. He didn’t like whisky of any kind after a rather unpleasant experience on his sixteenth birthday, but on Sebastian it was hot.

“There you are!”

The familiar voice caused them to break apart. Charlie saw Jason standing in front of their table with a shit-eating grin on his face. Charlie had sent a text saying he’d met someone and was going back to their place. So, why was he in the VIP bar and how did he get in?

“How did you find me?”

“Your tracker said you were still here, and when I couldn’t find you, this was the last place to look.”

“You wear a tracker?” asked Sebastian with a raised eyebrow.

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