“So, what did you think?” Courtney asks as I follow her out to the parking lot.
“It was amazing,” I say, still not down from the high I feel after watching Sebastian lead his team to a 35-0 shutout victory.
To say he’s amazing would never do that boy justice. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen someone so naturally talented before. The way he commanded that team, the field, all of it—it’s comparable to how he controls my heart—effortless.
“See, I knew you’d love it.” She gives me her typical I told you so face—lips pursed, eyes narrowed.
“How could I not?” I stop next to Courtney’s car but make no attempt to climb inside.
We’re not leaving yet anyway. We told the boys we’d meet them out here after they got changed so we could all ride over to the restaurant together.
“Sebastian was incredible out there. To see the entire stadium cheering for my boyfriend…” I hold my hand over my chest, words failing me.
“Our boyfriends,” Courtney adds, and it takes several beats for me to catch on to what she’s saying.
“Wait—you’re official?” I squeak, beyond excited for my best friend who has put up with enough of her fair share from Ant over the past few weeks.
“As of ten minutes ago.” Her smile is so wide it practically stretches from ear to ear.
“That’s what he whispered to you as he was leaving the field?” I question.
Even though Sebastian had stopped by to lay a celebratory kiss to my lips and I was a bit pre-occupied, I still managed to pick up on the quick interaction that took place between Court and Ant, leaving my confident friend looking rather winded. I was too distracted at the time to address it, but now I can see why for a brief moment she looked like she might faint. She probably thought this day would never come. Lord knows I didn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, Ant seems like an okay guy, and I know that Sebastian is really close to him, but the way he’s been stringing Court along has put a bit of a bad taste in my mouth where he’s concerned. Maybe now he can redeem himself.
Courtney nods excitedly, biting down on her bottom lip.
“Congratulations.” I immediately pull her in for a hug. “I’m so happy for you,” I say over her shoulder before releasing her and taking a step back. “It’s about time.”
“Girl, you’re telling me.” She blows out a breath. “I was starting to believe this was my life, chasing after a guy who had no intention of taking things to the next level. I’ve gotta be honest, I was nearing my breaking point.”
“I could tell,” I respond truthfully.
I know Courtney better than anyone, and while some may be blinded by her tough exterior, I know that deep down she’s just as sensitive as me—maybe even more so—though she would never admit it.
“This is so amazing. Look at us, dating best friends who are also both stars on the football team. This is going to be one hell of a school year,” she practically sings. “We can double date, go to homecoming together, spend our weekends hanging at Sebastian’s. Then there’s prom, of course.”
“You’re getting a little ahead of yourself there aren’t ya?” I laugh, shaking my head. “Sebastian and I are so new; I don’t know that I’d be making plans for prom when school just started.”
“Shut up, you two are going to be together forever.” She swipes her hand through the air.
“Cause that’s not premature or anything.” I roll my eyes at her, even though deep down a part of me feels like I could do forever with Sebastian.
“Whatever. You’re crazy about that boy, and he’s just as crazy about you. Look at you.” She points to the smile on my face that’s always there anytime we talk about Sebastian. “You’re already head over heels, and you probably don’t even know it.”
“It’s only been two weeks.” I try to deny my feelings even though I know she’s got me spot on.
“People fall in love after an hour.”
“Yeah, in the movies,” I retort.
“Go ahead, deny it all you want. You forget I know you. I’m not saying you’re ready to start writing wedding vows or anything, but you’re definitely falling for him.”
“So what if I am? You’re just as into Ant.”
“The difference between you and me is that I own that shit, too. Hell yes, I’m into Anthony. Have you seen that boy? Besides, he’s killer in bed.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
“Here we go.” I laugh. “It always comes back to sex.”
“Because sex is very important. Just wait, you’ll see.” Her gaze flips behind me and an instant smile takes over her face.
I know the boys are heading our way before I even turn around and see them approaching. The second I do, I swear all the wind leaves my body. Sebastian is dressed in a plain white tee with dark jeans, his blond hair still wet from the shower, a cocky smile pulling up one side of his mouth as he closes the distance between us.
“There’s my girl,” he says, swooping me up the second he reaches me. Once again, my feet leave the ground as he secures me against his chest. “You miss me?”
“Miss you? I just saw you fifteen minutes ago.” I giggle when he drops his face to my neck and breathes in. “God, you smell good.” He pulls back and something intense flashes through his eyes.
My stomach bottoms out, and that tight coil in my lower belly returns with a vengeance. One look—that’s all it ever takes with Sebastian.
“So do you.” I run a hand through his messy wet hair.
“Are you two about done yet?” We both turn our heads toward Ant’s voice. He’s standing next to Court, arm draped across her shoulders, looking at us like we couldn’t be any more annoying.
“Not quite,” Sebastian answers, his eyes back on me. “Why don’t you ride with Courtney, and Tess and I will meet you guys at Perchatellies?” he suggests, lowering me to my feet but not taking his gaze off me.
“If it means I don’t have to watch you two, hell yes. Come on, Court,” I hear him say, followed by the opening of a car door.
“We’ll see you there, Tess,” Courtney calls out, and this time I give her my attention, nodding, and throwing her a small wave before Sebastian is leading me toward the back of the parking lot.
“So, how was it?” he asks, looking down at me as we make our way to his Jeep. “Your first game I mean?”
“Incredible.” I smile up at him. “You were incredible.”
“Well, I had some motivation.” He winks, pulling open the passenger side door of the Jeep the second we reach it. He waits until I’m firmly planted inside before shutting it and crossing to the driver’s side.
“Did you now?” I continue the conversation as soon as he’s settled in next to me.
“Hell yes. I had the most beautiful girl in the whole school cheering me on, and I had to make her proud.”
“Really, sounds like a pretty lucky girl,” I tease.
“Not nearly as lucky as I am.” He throws me a wink as he backs the Jeep out of its parking spot.
“I think that depends on who you ask.” I wait until he’s pulling out of the parking lot before responding. “And I was—proud of you I mean. You were amazing out there. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I love it.” He shrugs, his gaze focused on the road.
“Do you think you might want to try to go pro one day?” I ask, not missing the way he shifts next to me.
“I don’t know. I doubt it. I mean, I love the game and I definitely want to play college ball, but I’m not sure I love it enough to try to make it a career. The life of a pro athlete is too uncertain.”
“Then why play college ball? Isn’t that usually the end goal? To play pro?” I ask, just wanting to understand better.
“Not always. A lot of players do it to help pay tuition. Playing college ball gives me the freedom to go to school where I want and not where my parents’ think I should go. If I get a scholarship to play ball then it takes away all their power.”
“Where do they want you to go?”
“Ivy league. My father thinks that’s the only way to get a good education. But I don’t agree, and I have no desire to follow in his footsteps.”
“So where do you want to go?” I ask, for the first time realizing just how short our time together actually is.
It’s nearly September. Sebastian will graduate in May and then comes college. I, on the other hand, am stuck here for another year at least.
“I want to go somewhere South. I’ve applied to LSU and Miami so far, but I think I’ll also submit to Georgia and Alabama just in case my first two choices don’t work out.”
“Why South?”
“Because they have amazing football and educational programs. I mean, there’s more colleges, they’re all over the country, but I’ve always pictured myself playing at LSU; that’s my top pick.”
“Well, they’d be crazy not to want you,” I say, ignoring the sudden heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Thank you.” He throws me a sideways smile, reaching over to squeeze my thigh. “What about you, you know where you want to go to school after you graduate next year?” he asks.
“Columbia,” I answer without hesitation.
“Wow. Just like that. Not an ounce of hesitation.” He chuckles.
“I’ve always wanted to live in New York. I’ve known for as long as I can remember that, that’s where I want to go school. My dad went to Columbia. It’s how he met my mom. She was a nursing student and doing her clinical hours at the hospital not far from campus. My dad came into the ER needing stitches in his knee after he busted it open jumping off a second story landing at a frat party.” I chuckle at the story my mom has told me at least a hundred times.
“Sounds like he was my kinda guy.” Sebastian picks up my hand and kisses the back of it. “So Columbia it is…”
“Well, if I can get in.”
“You will.”
“How do you know?” I ask, my eyes locked on the side of Sebastian’s face.
He slows the vehicle, pulling into the parking lot of Perchatellies, not bothering to answer my question until he’s parked. He shuts off the engine before turning toward me.
“Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the short time I’ve known you it’s that you are extremely smart and driven. If you say Columbia is where you’re going, I have no doubt that’s exactly where you’ll end up.”
“I wish I shared your optimism.” I force a smile.
“There you go again.” He reaches over and tugs on the end of my braid. “Always doubting yourself.”
“Sorry.” I blow out a breath, knowing he’s right. It’s something I know I need to work on.
“One day, Tessa Wilson, you’re going to see what the rest of the world does, and I hope like hell I’m around when that day comes.”
“Planning on going somewhere?” I cock my head to the side, eyes questioning.
“Not a fucking chance.” He smiles, leaning forward to press a kiss to my mouth.
Per usual, the second our lips meet, what was meant to be a quick, innocent kiss morphs into something else entirely. It’s like there’s this live wire that dances between us, and the second we connect we spark an electrical current that’s impossible to break.
I shift in my seat, seconds away from crawling into Sebastian’s lap when a loud knock sounds against the driver’s side window.
Like being doused in cold water, we instantly break apart, both of your gazes turning toward the window.
“Let’s go,” I hear Ant, followed by another pound.
“We’re coming,” Sebastian hollers back before his gaze once again locks on me. “Remind me again why the hell I’m friends with that douche bag,” Sebastian groans, sliding his thumb against my now semi-swollen bottom lip.
“I don’t know.” I barely get the words out, my pulse still vibrating through me. “But we should probably go,” I say, resisting the urge to suck his thumb into my mouth.
What the hell is wrong with me?
“Yeah, you’re probably right. To be continued…”
“To be continued,” I agree, pushing open the passenger door and climbing out.
The second my feet hit the pavement I spot Court and Ant waiting at the back the Jeep, arms draped around each other.
I smile at my friend, loving how happy she looks.
“Who else is meeting us here?” I hear Sebastian ask just as I step around the Jeep and join them.
“I think most of the team—looks like a few are already here.” Ant gestures to all the cars in the parking lot of the old family-owned pizza parlor. “You guys ready?”
“Yes.” I’m the first one to answer, taking Sebastian’s hand when he offers it to me.
We follow Ant and Court through the parking lot and then inside the small restaurant which is bustling with high school students, most wearing still wearing their Blue Devils attire.
The second Sebastian steps through the door, voices pull us in every direction.
“There he is.”
“Great game tonight, Sebastian.”
“You looked incredible out there tonight, Sebastian.”
He just nods and smiles like it’s an everyday occurrence for him. Meanwhile, I’m shrinking smaller and smaller behind him as he leads me through the restaurant. He finally stops at the far corner booth where a couple guys from the team are sitting along with Bree, who I’m instantly surprised to see.
“What the hell?” Courtney gets to her before me. “I thought you were joining us for the game.”
“Sorry, something came up.” She shrugs, patting the booth next to her. I immediately slide in, feeling Sebastian’s hand on my leg the moment he settles next to me.
“Where’s Blake?” I ask, watching something flash across her face before her carefree smile once again falls back into place.
“He had to take off.” She shrugs, taking a drink from the soda glass in front of her.
“You okay?” I lower my voice, knowing something’s off.
“Yeah, I’m fine. We just got a little preoccupied.” She says it in a way that I know instantly means they were having sex. “Anyway, we missed the game and instead of taking me home I asked him to drop me here. Since I bailed on the game, thought I’d at least come hang out for dinner.”
“And he decided not to come?” I question, knowing how Blake can be.
I don’t know why but the thought of him dropping her off where all the football players are hanging out and not accompanying her inside doesn’t quite sit right with me. He rarely lets her go anywhere without being glued to his side. It doesn’t seem like the healthiest relationship, but anytime anyone says anything about it Bree jumps to Blake’s defense.
Courtney and I have gotten to the point now where we just keep our mouths shut. If Bree is happy then that’s all that matters anyway. Though more and more recently, she hasn’t really seemed all that happy.
“Wasn’t feeling well.” She shrugs, quickly changing the subject. “So tell me about the game. Sebastian, I hear you were on fire tonight.” She directs her attention to where Sebastian is sitting next to me.
“I did okay.” He leans inward, knocking his shoulder against mine.
“Yeah, okay as in he threw four of the five touchdowns tonight.” I roll my eyes at him.
“Always talking me up.” He smiles, dropping a kiss to my temple. “Keep this up, and I might end up with a big head.”
“Might?” I tease.
“You two…” Bree shakes her head, pulling my attention back to her.
“Why do people keep saying that?” I question, looking at Sebastian for answers. “You two, like we have some kind of disease.”
“Maybe because y’all are sickeningly sweet together.” Bree pretends to gag.
“Oh, whatever.” I laugh, shoving her shoulder.
“I’m serious. You two are like the poster children for a fucking teenage
Hallmark movie.” She rolls her eyes playfully.
I’m seconds away from spitting back some half ass attempt at a rebuttal when the waitress appears. By the time we’re all done ordering and she leaves again, an entirely new conversation is going on around the table.
From there, the rest of the evening went on much like the first. Various people came to our table, talking to Sebastian and some of the other players about the game. A few random girls stopped by and much to my surprise, every time a new one showed up, Sebastian inched closer to me. By the end of the night, we were practically sitting on each other’s laps, not that I minded.
Bree only stayed about an hour. After excusing herself to take a phone call, she disappeared shortly after. Court and Ant seemed like they were in their own little world for most of the night, which was totally fine by me because it meant I got more Sebastian time.
While I was nervous for my first night out in public as Sebastian’s girlfriend, I have to admit I liked the attention of being on his arm more than I thought I would. Unlike at school, most of the people who surrounded us for a good portion of the night were actual friends of Sebastian’s and as such, accepted me with no more than an introduction.
It was like being Sebastian’s girlfriend was an automatic acceptance into the cool kid’s club. The whole night was kind of surreal.
By the time Courtney and I arrived back at my house just after eleven, I kind of felt like the entire experience was just some weird dream, and I’d wake up tomorrow having realized that none of it actually happened.
That’s what being with Sebastian is like—one big dream. And it’s a dream I never, ever, want to wake up from.