Page 34 of If He Hadn't Cheated
Sebastian’s there.
Smiling. Like he used to, before I learned to not want his after he betrayed me. He’s sitting on the edge of a bed, holding out his hand like he’s asking for a dance.
And I take it. Because in the dream, I’m still that girl who thought love meant staying.
I wake up sweating. My chest hurts. My jaw aches from clenching it in my sleep. I throw off the covers and head straight for the shower. Let the water scald the dream off me. I scrub until my skin is red.
Afterward, I don’t bother with makeup. I pull on jeans and a T-shirt and head outside. I need noise. Movement. Something to drown the leftover panic.
The city’s louder now. I notice every horn, every footstep, every rustle of a plastic bag in the gutter.
I head to the Velvet Room. Not to work. Just to be somewhere familiar.
Jazz is behind the bar, flipping through receipts. She looks up when I walk in. “Didn’t think I’d see you today,” she says.
“Can’t stay home.”
She studies me. “You look like hell.”
“I’ve had worse days.”
She reaches under the counter and hands me a coffee. “Don’t disappear again.”
“I’m not planning to.”
Unless I decide to take Knox’s job offer. I should tell Jazz and the manager that but I don’t even know when I start.
“Planning’s never been your strength.”
I smirk and take the coffee. We sit in silence for a while. She works through numbers. I sip slowly, trying not to think.
Then the door opens. And everything stops.
It’s him.
Sebastian.
Older. Leaner. Wearing a coat too expensive for someone with a conscience. His eyes sweep the room like he owns it, then land on me.
He smiles. The same smile from the dream.
I don’t move.
Jazz notices. Her body goes still beside me.
He walks toward us like he’s on a stage. “Lana,” he says. “You look good.”
I stand. Slowly. The last this I look is good.
Jazz places a hand on my arm, grounding me. But I step away.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
Sebastian tilts his head. “I heard you worked here. I wanted to see how you were.”
“You shouldn’t be here.”
He raises his hands in surrender. “I’m not here to fight.”
