TALK ME DOWN → SEBASTIAN STAN

thirty | real life

Head pounding, Riley buried her face further into the seat. Just as she did this, the car came to a stop. She heaved a heavy sigh and rolled onto her back, glancing at Chris in the passenger seat. His blue eyes met hers, and he forced a smile onto his lips. It didn't fully cut it though, looking more like a grimace than a smile. Still, she faintly smiled back and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.

"We're here," Scarlett said softly, looking over at the sleepy woman lain across the back seats. She offered Riley a supportive smile as the blonde pushed the door open.

When she had just clambered from the back, a pair of arms wrapped around her, tugging her forward into an embrace. She jumped with surprise, feeling one hand pressing against the back of her neck and the other clutching her waist. Her heart stuttered when she realised it was Seb.

"You scared the crap out of me, Riles," he whispered, his deep voice moving through her ear and making her knees go weak. She curled her arms around her body and buried her face into the crook of his neck. "I didn't know where the hell you'd gone."

"I'm here now," was her quiet response as she clung to him for dear life, taking in the smell of fresh laundry and his house. As she pulled back, she realised he was dressed in his pyjamas, his baggy blue shirt fitting his body perfectly like his loose grey sweatpants. Her mouth dried at the sight of his tousled hair and her eyes met his. "Can we go inside?"

His eyes searched hers and he took her face in his hands, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. She melted against him instantly, her hands loosely hanging to his waist and his fingers moving into her hair. A feeling of bliss passed over her and she rested her forehead against his chest when they pulled apart. "Of course," he answered the question she had, in all honesty, forgotten. She couldn't move; she stared up into his bright blue eyes and a stab of guilt filled her. She hadn't told Chris everything that had happened, and she didn't intend to.

Still, Sebastian clutched her hand and pulled her into the warmth of his apartment, running his fingers through his messy hair. As Chris and Scarlett stepped in after the pair, they smiled at each other. As far as they were concerned, everything was peaceful and fine. Little did they know . . .

"Do you want to head to sleep?" Sebastian pulled Riley into the adjoining corridor leading to his room and looked down into her eyes. "You can. You know where my room is."

As he finished that sentence, Riley hooked a hand behind his neck and pulled his mouth down to meet hers. He made a noise of surprise when she did so, but soon warmed to the feeling. She clutched his face tightly and moved her fingers into his hair, pulling their bodies together. His hands went to her waist, struggling to get rid of any excess space between them. She pulled back slightly and mumbled, "Are you coming with me?"

The question made his cheeks flush and he pulled back even more, smiling down at her. "I just need to talk to Chris and Scarlett," he said, as if to remind her that the other two were still in the house.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled at him. "I'll wait," she said under her breath, turning to walk down the corridor. When she reached the doorway, she turned back and smirked at him.

He took a moment, before stepping back out into the rest of the house. "Thank you so much, Chris and Scarlett," Sebastian said, stepping into his kitchen. He leaned against his counter, smiling at his friends. "Thank you for finding her. Honestly, I can't tell you how grateful I am."

"When are you going to make things official with her?" Scarlett asked, folding her arms over her chest and raising at the flustered man ahead of her.

Sebastian's cheeks went bright pink, even redder than they had before. "Uh, I don't —"

"You two are clearly crazy about each other," Chris added to Scarlett's point, smiling at his friend. "You may as well go for it."

"Alright, love experts, you can go now," said Sebastian, ushering the pair to the door.

"Let me guess, she's waiting for you."

"Maybe she is."

Sebastian didn't hear their response, because he had shut the door behind them. He took a deep breath in and walked to his room. Riley smiled at him when he walked in, blinking slowly. She was half-asleep, but soon woke up when he threw himself down on the bed and pressed his lips to hers. A soft squeal left her mouth, her arms moving around his shoulders as she lay on the messy duvets. One of his hands went to her waist, while the other knotted into her long blonde hair. He began to pepper kisses along her jaw and neck and collarbone, pushing the strap of her tank-top from her shoulder.

His hands moved to the waistband of her trousers and he went to push them down, when she pulled back suddenly. His eyebrows knitted together and he leant on his side, rolling off her. "Riley?" he asked, moving a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

She jerked back, sitting up on the bed. "I can't do this," she mumbled, burying her face in her hands. It was less directed at Seb, more directed at herself.

"You don't have to," he reassured her, beginning to feel the weight of guilt on him. He didn't mean to pressure her. "You can just go to sleep in here and I'll go to sleep out there and it'll all be okay. Besides, you're leaving in two days and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, Seb," she whined and ran her fingers through her messy hair. "You're making it worse."

"Making what worse?"

"I did something," she said, the words slipping from her mouth on their own accord. She hadn't intended to mention it yet, not when they were both tired and emotional. But once the words came out, she couldn't take it back. "You're going to hate me."

Sebastian sat up and shuffled to her side, trying to take her hand. She wouldn't let him, balling her hands into fists so his hand fell flat over hers. "I won't hate you, Riley," he said, "I couldn't hate you."

"God, Seb," she murmured, her eyes stinging and the base of her throat burning. "I nearly slept with someone."

Nothing could've prepared him for that. They weren't together - he knew that well - but he felt like they'd made some kind of connection at the very least. They'd kissed. Surely that meant something to her. "You what?" Sebastian said, his voice quiet.

"Please don't make me say it again," she pleaded, knotting her fingers into her blonde hair. "Please."

Unable to summon any words, he rose from his seat on the bed and walked to his window, staring out at the sky overhead. It was getting lighter, being four in the morning and all, and the sun was peaking over the horizon. His hands were trembling slightly and he wasn't sure why. Because I fancy her, he thought before shaking his head slightly.

"I was kissing him and then I thought about you and I couldn't do it," she explained, knowing it wouldn't help but still desperately hoping it would change what had happened. She didn't want to hurt him.

"Let's talk in the morning," Sebastian said.

"You hate me."

He couldn't summon any words of reassurance for her. He just turned and left the room, leaving her to stare at the door with sad eyes.