She Fears Love

Thirteen | Little Cupid

Sebastian

She smelled cheap. Like a man's three-in-one soap. Way different than all the other times I've been around her. She usually smelled expensive. Like flowers. Flowers you couldn't smell on a daily basis. It was like she was her very own exotic flower.

There wasn't even a hint of her signature scent today. Just cheap soap. I first smelled it when I walked in after her, and now that I was sitting next to her, it smelled a lot stronger. I caught a whiff of it every time she moved her hair too quickly.

My brows dipped. She didn't seem like the type to be so careless about her hair care. Was she in a rush to get here?

For some reason the idea that it most likely wasn't her dad's soap bothered me.

I looked for any hints on her face as she talked to baby Brit. Any hints as to where she was before she came here. I got nothing.

Her green eyes snapped to me as if she sensed me staring and my breath caught in my throat. I didn't want to look away abruptly when I was already caught, so I smiled before looking back down at the cinnamon roll on my plate.

This time I got to watch her make the cinnamon rolls from start to finish, and I realized she made everything from scratch. Just like my mom. There was something a lot more special about something being made completely from scratch, all their love going into their creation.

Love.

I risked another glance at her and quickly realized she hadn't looked away from me. Unlike me, she blushed and looked away when she saw my eyes again. I smiled.

Seeing her on my own like this made me realize she was a lot more shy than she let on. It was cute.

"Can I have another?" Brit asked no one in particular as she licked the remaining icing off her fingers. Aleah and I locked eyes again and I was interested to see how quick she'd look away from me if I kept staring at her.

I watched as her eyes bounced between both of mine, not seeming to stay still for a second. And I wasn't sure if I imagined it, but they bounced down to look at my lips before looking away.

She grabbed Brit's empty plate and answered her question by plucking a second cinnamon roll from the pan to serve it to her.

Instead of sitting back down, she busied herself with the dirty dishes, as if trying to avoid my gaze. I wondered if she could still feel it on her as I watched her scrub plate after plate.

Finishing the last of my roll in one bite, I stood up and carried my plate over to her, still chewing. I could tell she was doing her best to avoid my eyes as she looked up to focus on something outside the kitchen window. I followed her line of sight, seeing nothing but grass and an empty street. I couldn't help but smile a little.

Her wet hand took a hold of my plate, but I didn't let go. I wanted her to look at me again.

Her brows furrowed as her eyes met mine, both of us still holding onto the plate. She opened her mouth to say something, but I let go before she could utter a word, satisfied just by having another look into the beautiful green hue of her eyes.

I swallowed the cinnamon roll as I walked back to the table to kiss the top of Brit's head. I should really head out, before I made her babysitter uncomfortable.

But before I could say goodbye, Brit beamed up at me. "Wanna watch Frozen and Frozen 2 with us?"

It was hard not to notice the way Aleah tensed at the sink, at the idea of me staying for more than three hours. I already felt like I overstayed my welcome. And although I usually did stay for ten hours at a time sometimes, that was when Nathan was home.