Adonis | H.S

chapter twenty-eight: addicted to you

"Sweet thing." Sebastian winked, pulling her in for a hug. His frame was styled in black with an eccentric blazer.

She was grateful that he more than tolerated her now. She fully got why he'd be protective over Harry. But he had accepted her and even looked forward to seeing her. He liked her spark, her defiance to put up with Harry's bullshit. She challenged Harry and it was nice to see someone as powerful as him be tested. And she also didn't mind throwing back cheeky comments to Sebastian when he made them.

"Hi, Seb."

Zayn smiled, dressed in full black, his shirt half unbuttoned to show off the expanse of his inked skin. He greeted both Scarlett and Harry with a poise she admired. He seemed to have settled into the dynamic of the group, and she made a mental note to ask Harry about him later.

"Hold up—are you two matching right now?" Sebastian grinned as they all sat down. She was sandwiched between Harry and Sebastian, and Ben came to drop off the wine Harry had ordered her, leaving the bottle with her topped-up glass.

"I'll wait for your comment about how grossed out you are." Scarlett teased.

Sebastian spread his arms along the back of the booth, brushing her shoulders. He stared at her with darkened eyes. "It's cute as shit, actually."

"We'll send you the memo next time, Seb. Don't worry." She tapped his thigh.

"Yeah? Gonna let me get up in this?" He gestured between her and Harry.

While Scarlett had to press her thighs together at the sudden rush of arousal at the suggestion, Harry lightly slapped Sebastian's cheek.

"Back it up, man. You fucking wish."

"He does," Scarlett smirked and Sebastian nodded, not denying it, although she'd wager that he was just messing with her.

Ben dropped off another round of drinks, including Harry's usual rum. They all toasted to a good night, hoping for success. She felt a little in the dark, unsure of what warranted a night out as successful.

Xander praised the employees of the bar on a good night and anticipated that it would stay that way. She watched as he and Harry exchanged looks and glances every now and again, but knew she'd have to add it to the ever-growing list of things to ask him about.

Her phone buzzed and she checked it, seeing that Melanie had arrived at The Blue Ribbon.

"Mel's here, she's in line." She told Harry.

"I'll grab her." Xander stood, smiling brightly.

"Thank you." She was appreciative. He was a warm hug, an array of polite gestures, and selfless acts. It was rare to find in a man, and it came so naturally to him. Zayn spied a group of his men on the other side of the bar and excused himself to check in with them.

Harry went to put his arm around Scarlett's shoulder, huffing when he saw that Sebastian's arm was already there.

The two were wrapped up in a conversation, Sebastian had one of his arms around her while the other gestured wildly. Scarlett widened her eyes at something overly outrageous that he was saying, nodding to show she was getting what him.

It was probably something not too dissimilar to the outrageous stories he loved to tell, like the one where he'd committed arson or spent a night in a jail cell for doing lines on the hood of a cop car. He was an adventurous soul and felt compelled to fill her in.

Part of Harry was pleased that they'd grown comfortable around each other, and he could sense that Sebastian had warmed up to her and wanted both her approval and her safety.