Sebastian Bear (complete)

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-ONE

"Truth or dare!"

Madeline hadn't been able to fall back asleep after her nightmare. Her mother's likeness echoed though her head in turbulent waves. Sebastian had come up with the idea to fight her melancholy attitude with a game. Normally she would cringe at his attempts at tricking her into intimate proximity but something about the silly childhood game brought about a nostalgic warmth she found herself leaning toward.

"Truth I guess," she groaned. She was curled up against her headboard in a pool of blankets. She hadn't trusted him with a dare yet. She couldn't even imagine the things he'd dare her to do. There was a part of her that would love to imagine the things he would dare her to do.

"Predictable," Sebastian teased. He had been enthusiastically moving around her small bedroom but fell hard at the foot of her bed with her response. "Let's see. What do I want to know?" He studied the sad stars that barely held a glow on her bedroom ceiling.

"Oh just ask me the first thing that comes to mind," she couldn't help but laugh.

"Why?" Seb glanced over at her curiously, that ever-present smile playing at the edges of his perfect mouth.

Madeline rolled her eyes. "Because you're taking too long."

"Am I making you nervous?"

"Always," Madeline shrugged.

Sebastian smiled, pearly whites peeking out to snag his pretty pink bottom lip.

There was a short staring contest. Madeline sighed, shaking her head at her sneaky friend. He knew exactly what he was doing all the time. She noticed the way his tongue slipped out to wet his lips. Her eyes glazed for a moment. Something about him was so magnetic, almost hypnotic. She swallowed hard.

"Okay. I would like to know what you're thinking right now."

Madeline frowned slightly. She hadn't expected that. She hummed in thought. No. She hadn't expected that at all.

"Now?"

"Yeah, when you got that far off look in your eyes just now. What was going on in there?" Seb tapped his own head, eyes squinting at her hesitation. "If it was about Nolan...by the gods, Madsy..."

"It wasn't about Nolan," she interrupted. "I was just thinking about you."

"What about me?"

"No sir," Madeline grinned. "You get one truth and you weren't specific enough to know the details."

"Cheeky and beautiful. No wonder I'm in love with you."

Madeline blushed all the way down her body. She would never get tired of hearing him say that. She wasn't sure she loved him back, not the way he wanted her to. But by the gods, did she love thinking about it. She smiled until her face hurt, shaking it off as quickly as she possibly could.

"Truth or dare?"

Change of subject. Sebastian accepted it, leaning back heavily against his open palms.

"Hmmm. Truth."

She hadn't expected that. Sebastian seemed like a -dare all the time- kind of guy. She took a deep breath. What did she want to know? Anything and everything. She had so many questions. It was hard to pick just one. Sebastian laughed out loud at Madeline's hesitation.

"Have you dated anyone?" Out of a thousand queries, she had asked that one. She could've asked him about his last ten years in Tres Manor. She could've asked him about his life before mortal friends. She could find out his darkest secrets and she had chosen his love life.