Sweet
It was so unexpected to see him again. My heart was racing, and I couldn't think or speak as I just stood there, staring at him and getting lost in his beautiful blue eyes.
Oh, my goodness. I really miss him. He looked ridiculously handsome in his white shirt and faded blue denim pants.
"Thank God, you're here." His eyes held mine, then shifted behind me. "Luna? What are you doing here?"
She didn't answer her brother. She looked at me instead. "Did you tell him?"
"Nope. I didn't." I answered.
"Tell me what?" Sebastian's eyes darted from me to his sister. "Luna, you ignored me. Why are you here?"
After some hesitation, she finally spilled the tea to him. "Um, I actually live here."
"Wait, this is your room?" He looked really surprised.
If he'd know the whole truth, he'd be furious.
"Yeah," Luna nodded, trying to smile. But I knew she was nervous from the way she rubbed her hands together.
His eyes swept across the room until they found mine again. "What brings you here?"
I was unsure about what to say to him. I decided not to be the one to inform him about Luna and Colton's situation.
"Well...it's a long story." I crossed my fingers, hoping Colton wouldn't come out from the bathroom.
"I'm free and ready to hear it whenever you're ready." He widened the door and stepped into the room. His height made the space seem smaller.
"I came here to help Colton...and saw Luna." I said to him, and before I could say more, Luna moved closer to him, blocking his way.
"What brought you here, Seb? Is there anything you'd like to talk about? We can talk at the café downstairs."
"Are you trying to get rid of me too soon?" He asked, when Luna tried to push him towards the door.
"Of course not. The café is more cozy, and they make the best Macchiato."
"I've already had enough coffee, and I didn't come here to see you."
"Oh," Luna looked puzzled.
He looked so gorgeous as he leaned his shoulder and hip against the wall, with his hands inside his pants pockets. Then he continued.
"The receptionist downstairs gave me your room number when I asked for Colton's."
"You were looking for Colton?" I asked him. Now, this is going to go down.
Once again, his gaze captured mine as he turned to face me. "I was going to ask him where you were. I attempted to call you many times, but your phone was out of range."
"My goodness. I completely forgot about my phone."
When I retrieved my phone from my handbag, it did not surprise me when I saw it.
"It's dead." I said.
"That's what I thought." He nodded. "I went to Dansville, and your mother told me you're in the city. I looked for you at the Airbnb where you usually stay, but you weren't there."
"I came here straight away."
He gave a nod, then said. "Sweet. I need to talk to you. This can't go on forever."
"That's right," Luna interrupted us, and turned to Sebastian. "Sweet is just leaving, anyway. You two can talk somewhere very private, not here in my room. Okay? So, off you go. Bye-bye." She pushed him towards the door.
"Okay, we're going. You don't have to shove us away." He said, but not moving an inch. "Anyway, where's your roommate?"
"My room...mate?" Luna's eyes grew big, then glanced at the bathroom.
"Yeah, you mentioned it to us. And obviously, there's another bed here." He pointed at Colton's bed.
"Um, yeah I have. Too bad you missed her just now. She went out to buy...uh, a sanitary pad. You know, it's that time of the month for her." She smiled nervously, then looked at me, briefly. "Sweet is waiting. You should go now. I'm sure you have plenty of things to discuss."
"Okay, we're leaving." He finally moved to the door.
"Bye Luna. It's great to see you again."
"Same here," she replied, and gave me a brief hug.
Sebastian held the door open for me to go out. Just as I was about to walk out, the bathroom door opened up.
All of us froze.
Colton stepped out of the bathroom looking so fresh from the shower. Both men looked shocked as soon as they saw each other.
"Don't jump to conclusions." She raised her hands in front of Sebastian. It appeared as if she was defending Colton.
"Why on earth is he in your room?" Sebastian's face flushed with anger.
"Hey man, it's the other way around. I don't know what she's doing here in my room." Colton butted in.
"What?" Confusion clearly replaced Sebastian's anger.
"Pay no attention to him." Luna rolled her eyes. "There's nothing I can do about the situation. The Admin building and the Headmistress had some misunderstanding. They put an ogre in my room."
"Hey, hold on. What are you talking about?" Sebastian's eyebrows snapped together. "Can you just answer my question?"
"Here's the thing. I shared a room with that ogre behind me."
Shocked, Sebastian shifted his gaze towards me.
"Before you blame Sweet for not telling you, she just found out today." Luna said.
Sebastian's lips thinned and glared at his sister.
"I wouldn't do such a thing without hearing her first. It just made sense to me why she's here. Now, tell me how this happened?"
Luna provided Sebastian with a detailed explanation. Colton sat behind his desk, and I was on his bed as we listened to Luna.
"I already paid the entire year to the Admin building online, you see. This room should belong to me."
Colton interrupted and went on a rant, saying it wasn't accurate. "I was the first to get this spot. I made the reservation five months prior to the start of school."
"That's right, you did. But who paid the deposit first? Me!" Luna reacted strongly.
"Yeah, you did. But it's already taken," Colton said firmly to Luna, then he explained to Sebastian. "The Admin made an error by assigning her to an already occupied room. She refused to go when they moved her to another room."
"Why me? You should have moved to any room with a vacant bed," Luna said.
"You know the reason I won't. Tim Roberts used to occupy this room and my bed."
Before Sebastian could inquire about the person, I enlightened him by revealing that Tim Roberts was NYU's renowned basketball player. Colton aspired to be just like him. Being in his room and bed served as a source of inspiration for him.
"I understand," Sebastian confirmed. "Now everything makes sense."
"Do something, Seb. I want this room by myself." Luna insisted.
"So, when did you two share this room?"
Luna shrugged her shoulders, "since I got here."
"Since you got here?" Sebastian's face flushed with anger again. "For heaven's sake, it's been two months! I can't believe you've been sharing a room for two months with a guy. Mom would surely have a heart attack when she learned about this."
"I was planning to tell all of you, but..." Luna stopped talking when Colton interrupted and asked Sebastian.
"Now that you're here. Can you take her home?"
"I'm not going anywhere, YOU ARE, dickhead!" Luna burst out.
"You don't belong here," Colton waved his hand, "this thing is for the middle class. You should go back to your palace, princess."
"See? He's cruelly mocking me. That's a form of bullying!" Luna burst, shifting her glances at me and Sebastian, then glared at Colton. "Haven't you heard of human rights? As an adult, I can live whatever status I want to."
"Cool. Then take your experiment somewhere else. Not here where you can ruin someone's dream." Colton said.
"Okay, that's enough." Sebastian stood between Luna and Colton, like a referee. "The two of you are simply hurting each other. The more you persist, the more it will harm your mental well-being."
"I'm not going anywhere, Sebastian," Luna warned.
"Me either," Colton said the same.
"Okay. So let's compromise," Sebastian clasped his arms together, then turned to me, "what can you suggest resolving this problem?"
"I don't know. Both won't give way." I said.
"Sorry, Luna. However, I believe it would be best for you to move to a different room. It's improper for you to share a room with a guy. When Mom and Dad hear about this, they will definitely freak out. You will definitely receive a heavy scolding from them."
"No way. I'm not going anywhere, just so you know. I really like this room because of its wonderful view of the cherry blossom trees."
She was right, and it has a marvelous view of the campus garden.
"I understand your point, but unfortunately, another person already occupied this room." Sebastian attempted to convince his sister, "You either move to another room or go home. And to be honest, I prefer the latter. You can concentrate on your studies better in your room at home. You'll be with your cat every night. I know you miss sleeping with her, and baking black cakes and unique dishes during family dinner."
"I can still do that on weekends. I want to do my own thing, Sebastian and I won't be able to achieve that if I stay home."
"Alright... alright." Sebastian sighed and headed to the window. Then he pointed outside. "You see that building, Colton?"
Colton followed him, being all cold and unfriendly. He still had a grudge against Sebastian for the potato incident.
"Yeah, what's up with it?"
"I own that condominium building. It has complete amenities. Gym, swimming pool, theater, bowling alley and basketball court. You'll enjoy living there."
"Nice attempt. But you can't bribe me to move there."
"That's where NBA coaches and players stay and hang out. You'll be rubbing elbows with them from time to time in the basketball court if you stay there." Sebastian put his hands inside his pants pockets and leaned on the wall.
Colton sighed, looking so tempted. "For how long?"
"A year. You can have the presidential suite for an entire year," Sebastian said confidently. "Give it some thought. It's a win-win. You can either snag the basketball captains' room here in the dorm or hang out with the NBA players and their coaches. It's your chance to be noticed, man. I believe it's your dream to be a professional basketball player."
Sebastian was so smooth in using his business techniques in dealing with my brother. I was so impressed as I observed him in action, but what he offered was too much.
Colton's eyes lit up. "Yeah, it is. It's my dream to be one."
"So? What's your decision? Think fast before I'll change my mind. It's a one-time offer."
"I don't know," Colton shrugged his shoulders and turned to me, "what do you think, Sweet?"
I don't know why, but I had a feeling he wanted this to happen. It's a win-win, he said. For whom, actually? Solving Colton and Luna's problem and making it easy for him to get in touch with me.