Page 115 of The Sebastian Guarantee
“I accept, Miss Gale. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to do something as my first official act as VP.”
“I’m not stopping you,” she tossed back, then stiffened. “Wait, I am stopping you.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “You need to know something. This is me, Seb. Nerdy and awkward Phoebe. You’re sure this is what you want?”
“I want everything. All of you.”
“I’m not Phoebe 2.0. I don’t want, nor do I need, to be a man-eater. I like myself just the way I am.”
“You realize that statement is chock-full of man-eater energy, don’t you?”
He was right!
“It appears the Sebastian Guarantee protocols did work.” She glanced at the media, who appeared to be eating up this public display of affection. She leaned in toward him. “There is one thing I’m keeping from my days of being Phoebe 2.0,” she whispered.
“What’s that?”
“I’m wearing them beneath my clothing. Turns out base model Phoebe likes a little satin and lace.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “My God, I love you, Phoebe Gale.”
Before she could take another breath, he kissed her. Their lips met, and she melted into his hot dog embrace as the crowd applauded. She wrapped her arms around what she hoped was his neck. It was hard to tell. That costume was hella bulky. She giggled, then pulled back. “You’ve been busy, Vice President Cress.”
“I’m behind you one hundred percent. I believe in you. But there’s more.”
“More?”
His cheeks grew pink.
Was he nervous?
“I’ve got a pitch to run by you.”
“What are you pitching?” she asked, tightening her hold on her hot dog.
“Whoa!” a guy bellowed, sidelining their little moment. “The Info Darling page was right about you, Phoebe Gale!”
She peered into the crowd and spied the golden-haired mophead dude from the food truck line. “What are you doing here?”
“Who is that guy, Pheebs?” Sebastian asked.
“I met him in a hot dog food truck line the day I got invited to LETIS.”
“Phoebe Gale’s Info Darling page says that she’s attracted to hot dogs,” Mophead called.
Phoebe rested her head against Sebastian’s chest, which also doubled as a fabric squiggle of mustard. “I totally forgot Aria did that to my page.”
Sebastian stepped back, wiggled around in his costume, then produced his cell phone. He stared at the screen and started typing.
“What are you doing?”
“A little webpage tweak. Don’t worry, boss. It’s part of my VP duties.” He typed a few seconds longer. “And we’re good,” he murmured, then pegged Mophead with his gaze. “Refresh Phoebe’s Info Darling page.”
Mophead looked at his phone. A grin spread across his face. “Congratulations! But you probably want to hold on to that costume, though. The heart wants what it wants.”
Sebastian chuckled. “Noted.”
“What did you do on my Info Darling page?”
“You’re about to find out.” He looked out into the crowd. “Tula, I’m ready.”
