________

SEBASTIAN

 

It was about 6:30 p.m. and I had not seen Bryan since the incident in the penthouse.  Because he was working on a deadline I had a pretty good idea of where I could find him.  I rode the elevator to the penthouse and my heart was pounding as I listened at the door. I could hear the distinct click of keys clicking on a keyboard and knocked softly on the door.

 

There was no answer and I assumed Bryan knew it was me and was ignoring me.  I couldn’t blame him.  What he walked in on earlier looked bad, so I got it; I understood that he was pissed.  I knocked softly again waiting for him to respond.  After about a minute I was still met with silence.

 

“Bryan, I know you’re in there, I heard you tapping away on your keyboard. Can I come in?”  I didn’t want to use my key because I wanted him to want me to come in.

 

He wasn’t going to be able to avoid me forever so I figured he might as well let me in and just get it over with.  I heard him walk over to the door and when he opened it, he looked like a sad puppy.  My heart broke seeing him look like that because I knew I was the cause of his misery. 

 

I leaned against the doorframe my face filled with anguish. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything was going to be okay, but I could see that he was angry as well. Instead of trying to comfort him I just walked in and went straight to the couch so that I could straighten out the misunderstanding.

 

“Bryan, please come sit next to me,” I said softly.

 

He stood by the door, his arms crossed as he pursed his lips.  He was pissed and he wasn’t moving. 

 

“Anything you have to say you can tell me from the couch.” He said as he held my gaze, his eyes cold.

 

My eyes pleaded with him.  “Please.” 

 

Thankfully, he gave in and sat at the end of the couch and looked at me, waiting for me to explain.

 

“There was a big misunderstanding this morning and I want to make sure that I clear things up. First, I want you to know that I am not engaged to Jason,” I said.

 

He raised his eyebrows at me and cocked his head to the side.  “Oh, really? Did I imagine him draping his arm over your shoulder, claiming his territory?”

 

I took a deep breath and hung my head before slowly raising it again, my eyes searching his.

 

“No, you did not imagine that. Jason and I were engaged but I called it off two months ago and he refuses to accept that we are no longer together.  There is nothing going on between us.”

 

He looked at me in disbelief.  “How stupid do you think I am? He was in your penthouse, half naked, while you were half naked early this morning, and you want me to believe that there is nothing going on with the two of you?   You have already made a fool out of me once, Sebastian, and it is not going to happen again.”

 

“Bryan, I am not lying to you and I meant it when I told you that I would never lie to you again.”

 

He crossed his arms and defiantly held my gaze. “Okay then, explain to me why he was here with you this morning wearing what he was wearing.”

 

“I did not know that he still had a copy of the key because I took his copy from him when we broke up, but he had another copy made without me knowing.  I have not been in the penthouse for nearly a month and when I decided to crash here last night, after being with you so late, I had no idea he would be here. Apparently, he has been staying here for the past three weeks hoping to run into me and I think he thought if I saw him dressed like that I would want to get back together, but that did not happen. Nothing happened. I promise you that.”

 

I could see that he was mulling over what I said and I think he was slowly beginning to believe me. I slid over to him and gently cradled his face in my hands as my eyes searched his.

 

“I am telling you the truth, Bryan. I am not engaged to Jason, and I have no interest in being with him. I am only interested in one omega and that is you. You don’t know how much it killed me when you walked in this morning because I knew what you would be thinking. I probably looked upset and that was only because I was afraid that everything would be ruined between us and I would not have a chance to explain.”

 

Bryan slowly raised his eyes to mine.

 

“I was so sad and hurt this morning, Sebastian.”  His voice was small as he looked down at his hands.

 

I leaned in and kissed his cheek.  “I know baby, and I am so sorry that you experienced any of that.  I never want to do anything to hurt you.  I want your life to be full of happiness.”  I gently placed my finger under his chin and he raised his eyes to mine.  “I swear to you, Bryan, I will never hurt you again.”

 

“Promise?”

 

I smiled at him.  “Promise.”

 

He smiled back and a wave of relief swept over me as I realized I had not lost him.

 

I looked around the room.  “So, what do you think about the penthouse?”

 

“It’s spectacular, Sebastian.  I am going to be able to do so much with this space and I really want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to do it.”

 

“Well, you deserve it.  Did Eva tell you that you both will be going to Paris?”

 

“Yes, and I am very excited about it!”

 

“Good.  We’ll all fly over in the jet so it should be a comfortable flight.”

 

“The jet?”

 

“Yes, the private jet really is the best way to fly.  You’ll like it, trust me.”

 

Bryan’s world was already changing and I could see that he liked it.  I glanced at my watch and then looked at him.

 

“It’s almost 7:30, do you want to get something to eat?”

 

“Yes, I’m starving.”

 

“Okay, there is a great little bistro around the corner.”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

We left the penthouse and my day was ending much better than it started.  I was happier than I had been in a long time and I had Paris to look forward to with Bryan.  Everything was falling into place.