The Relationship Pact(56)

Give me a smoking-hot man who has raw edges, a kind heart, and a vulnerability that needs protected, and I’m done. I’m such a sucker.

The doorbell rings, and I all but jog to the door.

“Hey,” I say, pulling it open.

My excitement vanishes.

Standing on the other side isn’t Hollis.

It’s Sebastian.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I came to check on you.”

I look at him with total confusion. “For what?”

“I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“By design.”

He looks over my shoulder and into my house. “Can I come in?”

I step outside and pull the door shut behind me. I don’t give him the pleasure of a verbal answer.

“Please leave,” I tell him.

He looks offended, which is a total joke. Sebastian doesn’t get offended because he doesn’t care. While that might have bothered me at one point, it doesn’t now.

I glance down the road.

“You expecting someone?” he asks.

“That’s really none of your business.”

“I’m just trying to be friendly, Riss.”

I roll my eyes so hard it hurts. “You don’t do friendly, Sebastian. And to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have answered the door if I had known it was you on the other side.”

This bruises his ego. He crosses his arms over his chest.

“I came to ask you if you wanted to go to a New Year’s Eve party with me on Tybee Island,” he says smugly. “But if you can’t be nice, I won’t ask.”

What the actual fuck? He has a flipping girlfriend.

“Good. Take Catherine, your actual girlfriend. Now, leave and forget where I live, okay?”

“Larissa …”

He says the words like I’m an errant child, and it drives me nuts. I never realized the tone in which he talked to me until I have something else to compare it to.

Nothing about Sebastian makes me happy. Nothing makes me feel alive or funny or even entertaining—even if it’s annoying. Standing on the porch next to a guy I spent way too much time invested in makes me sad for myself.

“Goodbye,” I say.

But as I turn to go back inside, an engine rumbles down the street. I don’t have to look to see who it is.

His car sounds like him—rough and smooth and a little grumpy when he doesn’t get his way.

My eyes find his as he steps out of the driver’s side door.

He might not be amused, but he is mouthwatering.

His jeans, white T-shirt with a Badgers logo on the front, and a blue-and-white flannel shirt are in stark contrast to Sebastian’s brown sweater and loafers.

I take a step away from Sebastian for my own safety. If Sebastian says the wrong thing, I’m not sure how this is going to end.

Hollis flips his gaze to Sebastian as he nears the porch.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Hollis bites out.

“We’re having an adult conversation,” Sebastian says.

My mouth hangs open. Sebastian either doesn’t read the room, or he wants to die.

Hollis forgoes the stairs and jumps onto the porch in one swift leap. He stands close enough to Sebastian to make me a little concerned.

“Conversation is over,” Hollis says. He works his jaw back and forth. “Head on out of here and don’t come back.”

Sebastian laughs. “I appreciate your opinion. I truly do. But this isn’t your house.”

“It’s mine, asshole, and I’ve already asked you to leave a couple of times,” I cut in.

“We can do this a couple of different ways,” Hollis tells him. “You can walk out of here, or I can break your fucking legs, and you can crawl. You pick.”

“Are you threatening me?” Sebastian asks.

“Definitely.”

Sebastian tries to posture up against Hollis but quickly realizes that’s not a good idea. He looks at me with a pitied look.

“This is what you want?” Sebastian looks at Hollis like the gum on the bottom of his shoe. “This piece of fraternity trash?”

I look at Hollis. He’s watching me.

There’s a doubt in his eyes as though he’s not sure what I’m going to say.

In a matter of seconds, my emotions toward this man overwhelm me.

How can he be so alpha protective one moment yet unsure of himself the next?

I reach for his hand, and he gives it to me without hesitation. I pull myself against Hollis and rest my head against his chest. He wraps his arm around my side and holds me tight.

This isn’t for show. He’s not doing this to piss of Sebastian. His actions are too genuine, too authentic to be anything other than a concern for me.

“Yeah,” I tell Sebastian. “This is my guy. He is exactly who I want.”

Sebastian blows out a puff of air as he takes the steps hastily to the sidewalk. He’s in his car in flash.

We watch him drive away before we move a muscle.

“You know what’s sad?” Hollis says.

I look up at him. “No. What?”

“Someone is gonna crack that motherfucker one of these days, and it’s probably not going to get to be me.”

I shake my head and extract myself from him. I ignore his cheeky grin as we walk back inside the house.