So tonight's my "date" with Sebastian and I honestly don't know how to feel about it. He says it's just a chance for us to get to know each other better, but I feel like it's more than that. Vanessa says that maybe we'll rekindle whatever fire we had that night, which kind of freaks me out. Don't get me wrong that night was...Mind Blowing, but I don't think I want a repeat of it tonight, or ever, not when I have so many unanswered questions. Not when we're about to have a baby together and we barely know anything about each other. We still haven't even discussed what we're going to do after the baby comes. He lived in London and I live here, how the hell is that going to work out?
Ugh, when did my life become so complicated?
As I continue to think about all the holes in this weird thing Sebastian and I have going on, I hear Vanessa yell into the phone.
She's been arguing with someone all the week and I think it has something to do with the work emergency she had last week when I was in the hospital.
"Well then fix it! I don't care how, I don't care when, I don't care where just fix it! And you tell them I'm publishing that article if they don't do what I said." I hear her hiss into the phone.
I walk out of my room and stand against the doorframe, waiting for her to finish up so I can ask her what the hell is going on. I've been patient all week, hoping that she'll tell me when she's ready but this thing is really starting to weigh on her. Yesterday I told her I was going to start drinking coffee again and she said okay! I was joking of course, but she usually freaks out when I say stuff like that.
"Then get help! I can't deal with this anymore, you know what I said, they know what I want, now go fix it!" She yells one last time before hanging up and collapsing on the couch.
"What's wrong?" I ask quietly as I make my way to sit across from her.
"Ugh, some idiot blabbed about the article I was writing and got himself kidnapped. Now I'm negotiating with the nutbags who took him."
"Let me guess, they want the article."
"Yup. But I can't just give it up Lia, that article will make my career! I've worked on it the entire time we were in college! I can't believe one dumbass is going to destroy everything I've worked so hard for." She says as tears drip down her face.
"I'm so sorry. What was the article about?"
"I can't tell you." She says sadly.
"What do you mean you can't tell me?"
"Lia, a guy got kidnapped because of it and I'm pretty sure if I didn't have leverage on them I'd be lying on my death bed right now. No way am I getting you or your unborn baby involved in this."
I nod at her reasoning, I would do the same thing if I were in her position. I'm about to go take a shower when something occurs to me.
"Wait, is that why we were attacked last week?" I ask with alarm.
Vanessa grimaces slightly and gives me an apologetic look. "Yeah, sorry about that. Don't worry though I found out who he was and it turned out that there's an arrest warrant out for him so all I had to do was dial 911. He's gone."
I nod. "Okay, well I guess that's good. I hope you are able to get that guy back and keep your article." I say.
"Me too."
I head over to the bathroom so I can start getting ready.
At exactly seven o'clock, I hear the door knock and know that it's Sebastian. I take one more look at myself in the mirror before walking out.
"...That's a shame." I hear Sebastian say to Vanessa who looks more stressed out than she did all four years of college.
"Hey." I say quietly enter the room. I try not to breathe in sharply when I see Sebastian standing in my living room looking like God's very own creation.
He ditched his suit for a more semiformal look with black dress pants and a blue checkered button up shirt with a few top buttons that he left open. His face has a five o'clock shadow that I'm sure would feel deliciously rough against my skin. My eyes almost roll back when I see that he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to reveal his veiny forearms.
Oh God, I am not going to be able to survive this night.
"Amelia," He breathes. "You look beautiful."
I blush when he compliments me. I honestly don't think I look all that great, I'm wearing Vanessa's nude flower print midi skirt with a black long sleeved body suit and black heels. I barely tried with my hair, just kept it down.
"Thank you. You look great too." I say before biting my lip.
Vanessa giggles in the couch where she's sitting and stands up.
"Okay, do I have to give you guys the speech?" She asks. I point to my stomach.
"Right. Well, don't hurt her and bring her home at a reasonable time." She says to Sebastian before marching off to her room." Have fun kids!"
I giggle at her mom like behavior and look up at Sebastian.
"Ready to go?"
"Yes, shall we?" He asks as he offers his arm for me to take. I don't think twice as I link mine with his. We leave the apartment in silence, leaving me to freak out about what conversation starters I should begin with.
I could ask him where he was born, but that would sound stalky.
Or maybe how many siblings he has, err, had, but that seems insensitive.
Ooh, I could ask what he's doing in New York, but that'll make me seem like I want him to go.
Ugh, why is this so complicated?!
By the time we get to his car I'm still trying to figure out what to say when he beats me to it.
"What do you do?"
I turn my head to face him.
"What?"
"What do you do, for a living?" He asks me again with a smile.
"Oh uh, right well I'm training to be a teacher. For now I'm a teacher's assistant."
"Oh, when do you start?"
"September first." I answer.
"What made you want to become a teacher?"
"Vanessa is dyslexic and I remember in school she used to have so much trouble with school because she couldn't read as well as the other kids. She got bullied a lot because of it. Anyways, there was this teacher names Ms.Monegan and she always used to help her with her reading, even if they had to stay until 8 at night. They worked hard at it until finally Vanessa was so good that she was able to read ahead of our grade and the next. Ms.Monegan really changed her life, if it weren't for her I don't think Vanessa would still be here. Seeing what she did with Vanessa made me want to be a teacher."
I look down and see that Sebastian has hand over mine which creates butterflies in my stomach. A smiles graces his face as he continues to drive.
"Okay, so where are we going?" I ask when we pass the city life and into the more country like part of New York. Most people think that New York is all city but there's more than just that. New York has the most beautiful land and woods the deeper you go into it. It has towns with only houses and when you stand on the roofs you can see trees for miles and at night, the sky is filled with millions of stars that'll make you think twice about living in the city. When I was younger my mother and I would go camping here and I remember lying on the ground with her and counting the stars until we fell asleep. We used to keep track of them but then next night we'd start all over because we'd get confused. A tear escapes my eye as the memories of my mother overwhelm me.
"What's wrong, why are you crying?" Sebastian asks in alarm.
"Sorry, I was just thinking of my mother. I haven't thought about her in years." I say abashedly. I've been a crying mess these last few weeks.
"What happened to her?"
"She died when I was twelve." I answer sadly as I wipe my tears away.
"I lost my mother at a young age as well. It's a painful thing, losing a mother." He says as he gives me a comforting hand squeeze.
I nod solemnly before shaking my head and forcing a smile on my face. I'm on a date for god sakes, why am I crying?!
We sit in a comfortable silence until we reach a two story modern house with a tall gate in the front. Sebastian lowers the window and puts his hand on this touch screen pad that scans his hand before opening the gate and letting us through. He parks in front of the beautiful house and looks over at me.
"Is this your house?" I ask as I ogle at the building.
"Not solely." He says before getting out and opening the door for me.
"Whose else is it?" I ask nervously. I'm not sure I want to know who else owns this house with him.
"Yours."
"What?"
"It's our house."