Aftertaste (Sin #2)

XLIX.

I don't even finish the sentence when his head swiftly turns in my direction. "What?" he asks, his eyes widening.

"My friend that was with me before," I explain.

He shifts in his seat. "Did she say something to you?"

I frown. "No," I say.

He rubs his jaw. "Maybe there are a few things I should've told you, but I can't do it here and now. Coffee later?"

I hesitate. Oh, Alexander is going to be crazy mad if I prolong coming home. "Sure," I say because I have a feeling something weird is going on and I just want to be a good friend, especially after not being here for such a long time. I think I might've missed some things that were right in front of me.

He nods courtly and this is the end of the conversation because a few professors come in. I sigh quietly. This is going to take a long time.

˙˙˙

I was right. The meeting was long and not that important. I'm already so over this day that I had a hard time focusing on what was going on and listening because my thoughts kept drifting away and I was starting to feel sleepy. And when it was finally over, I had literally no energy to go for a coffee with Sebastian, but I forced myself because I told him I'm going before and I didn't want to ditch the last second.

I told Alexander that I'm grabbing a drink with my friend after the meeting so he won't be worried.

With June? he asked.

With Sebastian, I texted. I have a feeling he's not going to like this.

And I'm right when my phone starts vibrating with an incoming call from him.

"Hi," I say, walking besides a quiet Sebastian. He seems to be in his own thoughts.

"You're really going to be that mean to me today?" Alexander asks right away and I can hear through the phone that he's sulking.

I chuckle. "Yes, sorry. Make yourself something to eat or order something."

"I might as well go out to eat. What are you going to do about it? You're not here to scold me."

I roll my eyes. "Shut up," I say with a grin."I won't be long."

He lets out a long groan. "I really don't like that you're going out with other guys when your boyfriend is lying at home with a wound."

Oh, my God. Am I dating a drama queen? "That's why you need to rest so you'll heal quicker and I'll be able to go out with you. Bye now. I'll be quick."

"Bye," he grunts in response, clearly unhappy.

I'm still grinning when I hang up. "Your boyfriend?" Sebastian asks.

"Yep," I say.

"So you two have made up now. That's great, you two are clearly meant to be together."

I look at him in surprise. I don't know why his comment surprises me so much. "Yeah, I hope so," I say.

When we come to the café and find a table, Sebastian seems to be distressed about something. He's quiet and he's avoiding my eyes which makes me suspicious and makes me restless.

We order our drinks; I order cocoa and he orders tea. "Ok, so ..." he starts when we get our drinks, breaking the silence finally. "You asked me about June before and I thought she said something to you about me or ... us."

I blink. "You? What?" I ask, not following.

"Well, I ..." He rakes his hand through his hair. "We've been going out for some time now. I mean, more like friends or whatever, but ... This is going to sound weird, but when I saw you were her friend, I actually hoped I'd be able to get to know her better through her."