Athena
Morning arrived much quicker than I had anticipated and Sebastian was still with me. He had spent the entire night by my side, keeping a respectful distance between us. While I slept soundly on the bed, he had made himself comfortable on the couch, never once crossing the invisible boundary between us.
As I stretched and yawned, I couldn't help but wonder what the night could have been like if we had just let ourselves give in to the passion that was simmering beneath the surface, telling us to jump into the fire. But we both knew that we needed to take things slow, that we couldn't rush into anything without considering the consequences.
Last night, We didn't touch, we didn't kiss, we didn't snuggle— It was a tough choice but it was a wise one too.
Despite the distance between us, I could feel his eyes on me as I got out of bed, his gaze following my every move. It was as if we were both holding back, fighting the urge to give in to our desires. But for now, we both knew that we needed to be patient and let things unfold naturally.
Having Sebastian close to me, while I knew he was a changed man willing to prove himself no matter how long it takes, was a struggle to not fall weak and pull him close, once and forever. But at the same time, I was aware of the need to work on myself as well. Though I have agreed on giving him this chance, it was still as hard for me as for him to make this work.
My wounds were fresh and no amount of love and solace can wipe away the pain unless I can succeed in healing myself on my own, in a way that the past won't haunt me anymore and threaten my future and ruin the present for me.
As I looked at Sebastian, the doubt that he got any sleep at all through the night clouded my head because right now, I could see that he was sitting in the same position I'd seen him in before I fell asleep. His gaze was still located on me.
"Did you not sleep?" I asked, grabbing a hair tie and tying my hair up in a messy bun.
"Couldn't sleep."
"Why?"
"I was looking at you and didn't realise the night had passed until the sun went up," He casually stood up and folded his sleeves to his elbow. At least, he'd taken his coat off before deciding to make that couch his place for the rest of the night— It would have been very uncomfortable if he'd spent the entire night wearing that.
"Oh.." A blush crept up my cheeks and I moved to the closet, "Give me a few seconds. I'll change and cook something for us."
"Don't worry, I got it."
"Really?" I glanced back at him in amazement.
It was... interesting.
"Yes." He nodded, taking a bit of pride before walking into the kitchen.
I fought a smile, trying to contain myself as I went to change my clothes.
"When did you learn to cook?" I found myself asking as I slipped on a new pair of undies.
"I have always known how to cook but I rarely use my skills."
"So what skills do you have?"
"You mean what I can cook?" He sounded confused. Cute.
"Yeah."
"Pancakes and..." He paused.
Okay, so my mate only knows how to make pancakes.
"It's okay, this will work as long as you don't burn them." I chuckled as I slipped on my dress, it was a simple crisped-washed white cotton maxi with spaghetti straps.
But closing the chain from the back was a struggle. So I chose to comb my hair first and keep that task for later.
"I won't. I am pretty good at this, trust—" His words ended with a hiss, "Shit."
oh no...
"Sebastian, are you okay?" It did not take more than a second to make a beeline to the kitchen.
"Yeah," He was shaking out his hand, trying to get rid of the heat, "I just touched the pan with my bare hand."
I could already see how red his fingers were.
God this man!
"I can't believe you," I hurriedly grabbed his hand and dragged him to the sink, pouring cold water on his hand.
He scratched the back of his head, "Sorry."
"Be sorry for yourself. God! It's so red, I fear that you might get blisters."
"It's okay, they'll go away."
"No, they won't, you don't know because you never got one. This shit hurts," I heaved out an exasperated sigh.
He fell silent, observing me as I gently dried his hand with the towel, "Is it hurting anymore?"
A smile spread on his lips, and something gleamed in his orbs that made me feel butterflies for the first time, "It's not. It's not hurting at all."
It was then I realised how close we were. With his hand in mine, our eyes locked, hearts beating loud as ever whilst the world around us seemed to come to a halt whilst my world dwindled to the curve of his lips, I could feel nothing but...love.
Not pain nor remorse, not fear nor hate. Just love.
A few moments passed by until I made it out of my daze and withdrew my hand, "I...I'll make breakfast for us."
I scurried to the stove. As I fried the pancakes, I could feel his gaze lingering on me as he leaned against the counter, right beside me.
Within a few seconds, I felt him approaching me from behind.
I stopped breathing, my body froze and my hands went still as well. I could feel his warm breath against my neck. That's how close we were.
Slowly his hands moved to push my hair aside. A shiver ran down my spine, I emitted a low breath, feeling my exposed skin simmer under his gaze. The air grew thick with tension and my heart thumped against my chest, so loud that I was sure he could hear it as well.
"The chain, it's open." He whispered and I nodded.
Then he gently pulled the chain up and closed it, smoothing his hand behind my back as if to wipe away any creases from the fabric, "It's done."
He stepped away, though I felt his reluctance to pull apart and stand at a distance again. But he did it, without having to be told to maintain a boundary.
It took me a few moments to recover but I did it anyway.
Keeping our hands off of each other was harder than I'd thought.
****
As we prepared to leave, Sebastian slipped on his coat and paid attention to the report.
"The doctor, she has suggested someone right?" He picked up the file, "Has she given any name?"
"It's written there. You can see it on the next page," I told him, folding the last few pieces of my clothes into the luggage. I did not have much stuff in this apartment that actually belonged to me.
I did not belong here and nothing over here belonged to me.
"Tristan Perez," He pronounced the name, "I might have actually met him in a couple of seminars."
"You did?"
"Yeah. We'll fix an appointment as soon as we reach London," He walked over to me and grabbed my luggage, "Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright."
"I hope so."
"Shall we get going?" He offered me his hand and I found myself glancing at it for a while.
It was going to be a tough journey. A lot of things could go right or maybe just wrong, who knew? But, he was willing to stand by me and that was all I needed.
So, I did what was right. I took his hand.
He smiled and led us out of the apartment, handing the keys to the guard before we took the elevator.
"Do you want to meet Shelly?" He asked me in the lift.
"How did you know her name?"
"I met her yesterday before I came to you."
"Why?"
"Just wanted to know how you have spent these past six months and what a failure I am," He let out a bitter chuckle.
"Sebastian..."
Before any of us could say another word, the door of the elevator opened, revealing the view of a familiar man.