Chapter 29
Blue Bird
Victoria found Sebastian in the kitchen.
“Hi,” she said.
He looked up to see her standing in the kitchen door. “Hey,” he said, smiling.
“Meatballs?”
“Meatball soup.” He patted a lump of ground beef into shape. “Benson’s favorite.”
“Oh.” Hesitantly, she walked over to where he was standing on the kitchen counter. “That looks good.”
“You ever had sopa de albóndigas before?”
“Once, I think.” She watched him shape another raw meatball with his hands. “A long time ago.”
“I thought you and Corinne would be getting better acquainted right now.”
“Benson’s showing her his new Playstation. I set it up for him, and I thought I’d give them a moment to themselves.” She smiled. “That was a really nice surprise. He never really asked you for one before?”
“He rarely asks me for anything, actually. The last thing he asked me for was permission to try out for lacrosse.”
Vitoria sensed a slight sadness in his voice. “He’s a good kid,” she said.
“Sometimes I wonder...” He paused for a long time.
“Yes?”
“If he thinks I’m just the uncle he’s staying with until his mom decides to take him back. If he thinks my home isn’t his, and he has to be careful about the space he takes up.” He smiled ruefully. “Sometimes I wish he’d break something. Or act out. Whatever it is kids do that make their parents crazy.”
“I think he loves you,” she said. “I think when we care about someone, that’s all we need.”
“I want more than that, Victoria,” he said softly.
When he looked at her, it was as if she could feel the weight of his thoughts.
“He doesn’t know, does he?” she said.
“Know what?”
“That you call him your son when he’s not around.”
“No.” He put the last meatball on the platter. “I’m not sure either of us is ready for that.”
She nodded. “So what’s next?”
He raised an eyebrow.
She pointed at the plate of meatballs. “You put that in the pot?”
“Yeah. Help me?”
“Okay. Hang on.” She moved to the sink to wash her hands.
Together, they dropped the meatballs carefully into the soup that was simmering on the stove. “It smells so good,” she said.
“I hope you like it.” He stirred the soup carefully with a wooden spoon. “We’re having this with corn tortillas and salsa.”
“Yum.” She smiled. “You really like cooking, don’t you?”
“You don’t?”
“I can fry a doughnut. That’s it.”
“To be fair, you do make a good doughnut.”
Sebastian took a fresh spoon and scooped a little of the broth. He blew on it and held it up to her. “Here, taste this for me,” he said.
Victoria sipped the warm soup and let the taste settle in her mouth for a few moments. “It could use a little more salt,” she said.
“Let me check.”
He lowered his head and kissed her.
She closed her eyes, and felt his tongue gently caress her lips before slipping inside her mouth. She moaned softly as his tongue stroked the inside of her mouth languidly.
Reluctantly, she opened her eyes when he broke off the kiss.
He licked his lower lip. “You’re right,” he said. “Maybe a little more salt.”
***
“I’m stuffed,” Corinne said, dropping her spoon into her empty bowl. “Ben, sweetie, leave some room for dessert, okay?”
Benson nodded, and took another bite of tortilla.
“What do we have, Cor?” Sebastian said. “I could have William pick up some ice-cream.” The driver had left for his house a few miles away, and would come back when they were ready to leave.
“No need. I made flan yesterday. Give me a hand, will you, Sebastian?” She got up.
“I’ll help you,” Victoria said, getting up too. “He already made us dinner. It’s only fair.”
“You like flan?” Corinne asked as they headed for the kitchen. “It’s basically the only dessert I can make. I had to learn to make it, because Benson loves it.”
“I’ve never had flan,” Victoria admitted.
They served the custard dessert in the ramekins they were baked in. It was sweet and creamy, and light enough to be perfect after their heavy meal of meatball and rice soup. Benson had polished off two before the adults were halfway through theirs.
“You guys staying in town for the night?” Corinne said, wiping flan off Benson’s cheek.
“I can do it, Mom,” her son said, squirming away. He tried to get the napkin from her.
“We’re flying back to L.A. tonight,” Sebastian said.
It took him a moment to realize how much he regretted this fact. The day was going to be over too soon. He promised Victoria that she would be home by midnight.
In the corner of his eye, he watched her laughing at the sight of Benson trying to stop his mother from wiping his face. He felt his heart skip a beat. The overwhelming urge to reach up and touch Victoria’s hair, to slide his fingers down the curve of her cheek was almost too much to resist.
“But not for a couple of hours,” he added. “We’ll just do the dishes and Victoria and I can get going.”
Corinne waved him off. “Don’t be silly. Benson and I can handle a few dishes. Go.”
***
“Is this the way to the airport?” Victoria said, looking out the window of the SUV.
“We have a little time before our flight,” Sebastian said. “I thought we could get a drink first.”
She turned to him, eyebrows raised. “Where are we going?” She wasn’t sure if she was ready for any more surprises today.
“You’ll see.”
They were dropped off in front of a white, two-story building with bright blue and grey striped awning. A large neon sign over the entrance read “Blue Bird”. Yards of tiny serial lights hung around the entrance doorway.
She looked uncertain. It didn’t seem like the kind of place Sebastian would actually go to. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?”
“You’ll like it, I promise.” He took her hand.
She wrinkled her nose, but allowed him to lead her inside.
It was a dive bar. The interior was illuminated in red light. There was a heart-shaped mirror on the wall behind the bar above a shelf full of liquor bottles. It was surrounded by glowing light bulbs formed in the same shape. On the far corner of the room was a stage with a piano and a drum set, with a red glitter fringe curtain for a backdrop.
“Let’s get a table.” Sebastian spoke close to her ear. “The band should be starting any second now.”
Victoria was staring at the silver disco ball that hung from the middle of the ceiling. She was too puzzled to do anything but let him lead her to a table near the side of the stage.
A waitress appeared by their table. She was petite, and looked like she was about twenty. “You folks thirsty?” she said.
“We’ll have two Yellow Rose, please,” Sebastian said. “Is the band playing tonight?”
“Sure. You two fixin’ to dance tonight?”
“Maybe.” He grinned.
Victoria could have sworn the young woman was blushing as she smiled back at him before leaving to get their drinks.
“I can’t dance,” she said. “Seriously.”
“We’ll find out, won’t we?”
“How about you just take my word for it?”
“Not a chance.” He chuckled. “How do you like the place?”
“It’s ... different.” She glanced around. “Hey, does that jukebox work?”
“I think so.”
The waitress came back with their beers. Sebastian pulled out a couple of bills from his wallet. He handed it to her while whispering something in her ear. The woman giggled and nodded.
After she left, Victoria cleared her throat. “I didn’t know beer costs a hundred dollars a bottle here,” she said.
“That was for the band.” Sebastian folded his arms, resting them on the table. “Why, Ms. Slade, are you jealous?”
“No.” She took a sip of her beer.
He lifted his beer bottle. “Too bad,” he said, and took a long pull of his drink.
She smiled, despite herself. He seemed a lot more relaxed tonight. There were very few times she’d seen him like this.
“What?” he said.
“You seem different here,” Victoria said. “I mean, you’re still bossy and all. You dragged me here without even asking.”
“You’re visiting. I’m just being a good host.”
“I never in a million years would have guessed you’d take me to a place like this. The last one had Italian-speaking waiters.”
“That’s because they were Italian.”
“Exactly. Wait, you live here, don’t you? You have a house?”
“I have two.”
“Why didn’t we go there?”
“Are you asking me to take you to my place?” His glance swept downward from her face to her chest.
“That’s ... “ She turned red. “What I meant was—”
“Because that can be arranged.”
“I’m saying,” she continued, trying to change the subject, “that if I hadn’t come, maybe you wouldn’t have to fly back to L.A. right away.”
“It’s all right. I have an appointment in the morning.”
“But it’s a Sunday.”
“It’s an occupational hazard, I’m afraid. I can’t afford to slack off.”
“Because you’re so young?”
He grinned wryly. “I didn’t exactly have the full confidence of the board of directors when they appointed me. My father used his clout, but he did it grudgingly.”
“But you’re his son. Surely he wanted this for you?”
“Our relationship is rather ... complicated.”
“How so?”
“I think he would have preferred a son who was more like him. Unfortunately, I was all he got.”
“It’s hard to believe he wouldn’t be proud of you. You’re ...”
“Yes?” The corner of his mouth lifted in a slow, teasing smile.
Victoria felt her knees go weak. She was thankful she was sitting down.
“You’re pretty amazing,” she said. “Running such a large company, and at such a young age. Most CEO’s I know are old enough to be my dad.”
“Thank you.” He gestured to his side. “The band’s about to start.”
She turned toward the stage. A woman in a gold evening dress sat on the piano, fiddling with the mic stand. A woman in a pants suit sat behind the drums. They were joined by four men — one had a double bass, another had a saxophone, and the two others had guitars.
After they did a brief sound check, the woman on the piano started to sing. It was a song about freedom, and dreams of a better day. Her voice was soft but clear. A hush fell across the room.
Victoria realized she had been holding her breath.
The band began to play. She looked up to see Sebastian standing in front of her, his hand held out.
“I can’t,” she said.
“Trust me?”
Victoria felt a strange warm feeling in her chest as she looked at him. It was like she could decide then and there to make a fool out of herself, and everything would still be all right.
She stood up and took his hand.
“Be gentle,” she whispered as he pulled her close.
“I promise.” He slid his right hand down her back, pressing her hips against his. “Just keep close to me.”
The closeness of their bodies sent her stomach fluttering, and she felt heady from the scent of his skin. She was afraid that if he would let go of her for one moment, there would be no strength in her to keep standing.
Sebastian navigated the turns slowly, allowing her to familiarize herself with the rhythm of the dance. After a while, Victoria felt a lightness in her step, a confidence she’d never experienced before.
“You asked them to play this song,” she said, smiling up at him. “You like Nina Simone?”
“I do.” He looked into her eyes. “Very much.”