CHAPTER TWO
SEBASTIAN DOWNS
The airplane stairs open and I shove my hands in my pockets, waiting for the winner to be revealed.
A petite figure appears and the cameramen move quickly to capture her every move.
Patiently, I wait as the woman grabs the side rail. I admire her subtle curves in the white dress that stops above her knees.
She’s a tiny little thing but her body is pure perfection.
As she nears, it dawns on me that she looks familiar. Like I’ve seen her face before.
My brain begins working overtime to place her face and when it happens, I’m nearly floored.
Olivia fucking King!
My high school crush and the girl who turned me down for prom a decade ago.
Carefully, I watch her face for any signs of recognition but she only smiles while tossing furtive glances at the cameras surrounding us.
Holy shit.
She looks good.
Exhausted, but good.
Still a dainty little thing, her hair is darker than I remember and her eyes don’t hold the same light they once did, but not much else has changed.
The next few moments pass me by in a blur.
We are cued by people on the sidelines to shake hands and smile for camera two. Then a distant voice instructs me to present her with the prize money and pose with the obnoxious, oversized check.
Olivia goes through the motions, smiling but not making eye contact and I know without a doubt that she recognizes who the fuck I am.
When I present her with the keys to my private compound for the week, our fingers brush and a shock jolts my entire body.
What the hell?
Following her lead, I maintain my cool for the cameras and smile charmingly as she accepts the grand prize and proclaims her love for someone named Winnie.
It all passes me in a haze of activity as I’m transported back to Prairie View High School ten years earlier.
The halls were crowded as I made my way through the mass of people to get to my next class.
Only one thing was on my mind at the moment and that was asking my longtime crush, Olivia King, to the senior prom.
I’d liked her since I had laid eyes on her earlier this school year, and I’d harbored this crush secretly, all the way to prom season.
But today was the day.
I was going to bite the bullet and just go for it.
I’d never wanted to go to prom before. It wasn’t really my scene.
As a self-proclaimed tech nerd, my circle was pretty small and I stuck with them for the most part.
But something about Olivia had called to me and made me eager to learn more about her.
From our limited interactions in art class, I knew that she was sweet and soft spoken. She always slid me an easy smile and engaged in small talk as we worked on our projects in the studio.
I was a terrible artist but it was the elective I looked forward to most.
I arrived in the art studio and dropped my backpack near the door before pulling on my smock. I collected the tools I’d need to complete my project and went to sit down to wait for Olivia’s arrival.
She didn’t keep me waiting long and walked in wearing a pretty yellow sundress and sandals. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled up and secured by a white ribbon.
She was perfection.
Her usual easy smile was missing and replaced with a serious, contemplative expression.
But she still greeted me sweetly after putting on her smock.
“Hi, Sebastian.”
Butterflies swarmed in my stomach.
“Hi, Olivia. How’s it going?”
She tilted her and appeared to think about her answer before settling on, “I’m really happy it’s Friday. I don’t think I could take another day here.”
“I hear you. Any plans this weekend?”
Shaking her head, she frowned.
“What about you?” she asked, selecting a pencil to start her new sketch.
“Not much. Probably just helping my dad out at the shop and then I may go see a movie.”
Olivia made a noncommittal sound and just nodded before diving into her art work.
We worked in silence for a few minutes before I gathered up the nerve to speak again.
At that moment, I was thrilled that our workstation was near the back of the gallery, not exactly in earshot of the other students or the art teacher for that matter.
“Olivia, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
Distracted, she looked up.
“What’s up?”
“Would you like to go to prom with me?”
After what seemed like hours, Olivia found her voice.
Though her next words made me wish she’d just remained mute.
“Sebastian, I’m sorry.”
I cleared my throat and tried to pretend that the words didn’t sting as much as they did.
“It’s not you, trust me.”
If I wasn’t so crushed, I’d probably roll my eyes at her weak attempt to console me.
“This is just not a good time for me. I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. I wouldn’t be good company anyway. But it was really sweet of you to ask.”
Unable to speak, I just gazed at her and only nodded, letting her know that I understood.
Even if it was the furthest thing from the truth.
This is why I never put myself out there.
No matter how good my chances seemed, I just wasn’t cut out for this shit.
A sad smile claimed her face before she went back to work as if she hadn’t just crushed my teenage dreams.
Jolted back to the present by a hand on my shoulder, I allow myself to be escorted to the awaiting limo.
Olivia slides in before me and I follow close behind her.
This should be fun.