by Sian Ceinwen
“Oh, sure. Are you okay, Lita?” Ariana asked.
Lita shrugged. “As good as I can be. Sorry again for bringing my drama to your wedding.”
Ariana hugged her and smiled. “Hey, what’s a wedding without some family drama?”
Lita splashed her face with water before they left the small room, and she made her way back to her table to take her seat next to Tim. She listened and clapped dutifully as the first few speeches were made. When Sebastian stood and took the microphone, she felt a stinging pain as he caught her eye before he began.
“What can I say about Gabriel and Ariana? When I first met Perfect Gabriel, all the girls I knew were in love with him.”
Sebastian grinned at Gabriel, who laughed.
“From the moment he met Ariana, though, she was all he talked about. It’s been nice to see them grow together as a couple; they went through some really hard times, but they’ve come out of them happier than ever.”
Sebastian looked directly at Lita as he continued his speech.
“He fell in love with her, and she loved him right back, which must be really nice. I don’t know what to do now; Harrison’s married, Gabriel’s married, even Hayden has a boyfriend. My point is, ladies…” Sebastian allowed his gaze to roam the room and smiled charmingly at everyone. “I’m the last remaining single member of Cruise Control. Feel free to hit me up if you want to continue the party in my hotel room later.”
He gave a dramatic wink to the room, then lifted a half-empty glass of whisky.
“Congratulations, Gabriel and Ariana!”
He drained his whisky and looked back at Lita before sitting back down. She couldn’t stop herself from bursting into tears, and she was grateful that the applause from the rest of the guests drowned out the noise. Immediately, the bridal table started talking to him with angry looks on their faces, but Sebastian folded his arms across his chest and seemed unapologetic.
“Are you okay?” Tim asked Lita as she picked up her napkin and pressed it to her eyes.
Lita shook her head and choked out, “Not really. It was lovely meeting you.”
She picked up her phone and stood up quickly before hurrying out of the room. After unlocking her phone, she sent a text to Heather.
Tell Ariana and Gabriel that I’m really sorry, but I have to leave. Don’t do it if it’s going to cause drama.
Lita was in the elevator on the way up to her room when she saw a reply come through.
Okay. What room are you in? I’ll come up after the wedding is over.
She sent a text back with her room number, and when she got to her room, Lita packed up her things and got ready to leave. She was sitting on the sofa in the living area when Heather knocked on the door an hour later.
“I’m so sorry, darling,” Heather said as soon as she walked into the suite.
She wrapped her arms around Lita and hugged her tightly.
“We all tore shreds off him, but he was determined to be an asshole. He got worse after he saw you leave.”
Lita cringed. “What did he do?”
“He was dancing with two women who seemed more than happy to take him up on the offer he made in his speech. I couldn’t stomach it anymore, so I told Harrison I was coming up to see you as soon as Gabriel and Ariana left.”
“I shouldn’t have come to the wedding. I fucked up their big day.” Lita wiped a tear away from her eye.
“No, you didn’t. Don’t be silly. Look, neither of them is angry; they’re just worried about you. Ariana wanted to follow you as soon as you left, but I got your text, and Gabriel and I convinced her it was a bad idea to go then because if any of us left, it would just start rumors.”
“You’re right. Thank you for thinking of that.” Lita wiped some more tears away.
“Ariana is probably really worried about you; you might want to send her a text.” Heather smiled at Lita.
Lita opened a text to Ariana.
Thanks for everything. I hope your day was amazing as you are and that your honeymoon is brilliant. Say thanks to Gabriel for lending me his bride for part of the reception.
She smiled when she saw the reply.
No worries. I hope you’re okay. Today was the best day of my life, and I’m glad you were there. <3
“She really likes you,” Heather commented. “Are you flying back to Seattle tonight?”
“Yeah, I am. Shit, I have to go back to Sebastian’s apartment to get my stuff. Do you think he’ll take someone back there?”
Heather shook her head. “No, he’s got a hotel room here, so there’s no real need for him to do that. But, since he’s still at the wedding, do you want to go now? I’ll come with you, and you can hang out at our place until it’s time to leave for your flight.”
Lita felt sick at the realization that Sebastian was going to take someone from the wedding back up to his room tonight and screw them in the same bed that they’d had sex in together this morning. She and Heather were both in a somber mood as they made their way to Sebastian’s apartment, collected Lita’s things, then went back to Heather’s apartment.
“I’ve texted Harrison to let him know that I’ll come back to the hotel after I’ve taken you to the airport,” Heather told her. “I’m worried about you flying alone. Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine; Ben’s with me.” Lita smiled, then the smile slid off her face. “I hate that a huge part of me wants to text Seb.”
“Love hurts. Texting him now probably isn’t a good idea, though.”
“I didn’t say I was going to, just that I want to. He basically gave a whole fucking speech designed to hurt me in front of half the world’s celebrities tonight and is probably fucking at least one, if not two, other women as we speak, but—I still miss him and hate that I won’t see him for two and a half weeks now.” Lita sighed.
“I’m about five seconds away from calling and tearing him a new one, but we all saw how well that went last time,” Heather said.
“I also believe that you promised him you wouldn’t meddle.” Lita couldn’t help smiling at Heather as she said it.
Heather grinned back at her. “I don’t think that any of us believed me when I said that, Lita.”
They sat and talked together until it was time for Lita to leave for the airport. Ben and Callum drove them to the airport, and Heather gave Lita a big hug as she got onto the plane.
“Call me any time you need me, okay?” Heather said.
“I will. Heather?” Lita asked.
“Yes?”
“Thank you for everything. I know that you should hate me for being the reason Seb is hurting.”
“I don’t hate either of you. I think he’s being a complete idiot, and if he ever starts talking to me again, I’m sure as shit going to tell him that. But maybe the time apart will knock some sense into his thick head.”
Lita boarded the plane, and as she sat in the quiet luxury, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her text conversations with Sebastian. Then she started to cry.
25
LEVEL 19.1 – Conversations
Your baby is the size of an adipose.
As your uterus grows, you may find your center of gravity shifting forward. This puts pressure on your lower back, causing backaches. It’s important to avoid straining your back further, make others lift heavy loads for you. What is defined as a ‘heavy load’? Anything you don’t feel like carrying, really...
Lita was sitting at the desk in her office doing some work when her phone started buzzing. Her heart leaped into her throat when she saw the words ‘Baby Daddy’ on it. She hadn’t spoken to Sebastian in a week, but she’d seen pictures of him out at Chicago nightclubs with Hayden nearly every night, and the gossip in the fandom was out of control about them.
His speech at the wedding hadn’t gone unnoticed, and it seemed like half of the internet had an opinion on what was going on between them, or not going on, as the case may be.
“Hello?” she said when she answered hi
s call.
“Hey there, princess. Miss me much?”
Lita frowned. “Are you drunk at ten in the morning?”
“No, just hungover. I’m pretty sure all of the alcohol is out of my system, unlike you.” Sebastian chuckled as he said it.
“I can’t drink alcohol, Sebastian; I’m pregnant, in case you’d forgotten.”
Sebastian groaned. “That’s not what I meant. Anyway, I’m calling to let you know that the apartment has settled. Vince will drop around with the keys and codes and give you all the information later today. I’ve got movers who can move all your stuff in on Wednesday. Congratulations, princess.”
“Oh, thanks; that’s really exciting.” Lita grinned. “I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed again.”
“I’m sure.” He sounded like he had a smile on his face. “Well, enjoy your new apartment, princess. I look forward to seeing it when I visit next week.”
Lita’s heart began to race, and she felt like butterflies were flying around in her stomach at the thought of Sebastian’s visit. She wanted to tell him how much she missed him, but she didn’t dare. The longing that she felt to see him was so strong that it was almost painful.
“Thanks, Seb. I really appreciate it.”
“No worries, princess, I’ll talk to you later.”
They hung up their call, and Lita sighed heavily. She’d hoped that time apart would help him to get over her, and, clearly, that was working. He was happily going out to nightclubs and sleeping with other women; meanwhile, she ached every waking moment to have him with her. Hearing his voice today had made that ache a thousand times worse.
It was Wednesday night, and the movers had left two hours ago. They had not only moved all of her furniture into the apartment but had unpacked and put everything away where it belonged. Lita had taken the day off work so she could instruct them on where things should go. Becky sat on the sofa next to her, looking around at the spacious living area.
“It is so weird seeing all of your things in a place like this.” Becky shook her head.
“I know, right? My stuff looks so out of place here,” Lita laughed.
Becky laughed, lifted her phone up, and snapped a picture of Lita, then showed it to her. She was laughing, and behind her, the apartment looked completely empty, just a small four-seat dining table in a cavernous room.
“Send that pic to me?” Lita asked Becky.
When she did, Lita sent it in a text to Sebastian.
Just me and my dining table in this fancy as fuck apartment.
“How are you feeling about him visiting next week?” Becky asked her.
“Well, considering I’ve spoken to him a total of three times since the disaster that was Gabriel’s wedding, and they were all this week and about the apartment, I’m nervous as shit.”
There’s a dining table in that picture? I can only see the most beautiful woman in the world.
Lita blushed, and Becky asked, “Okay, what the fuck did he say?”
She showed Becky her phone, and Becky’s eyes widened. “Damn, he sure as shit knows how to flirt.”
“Let’s remember that he’s off fucking women that aren’t me, probably as we speak.” Lita shrugged, and her phone pinged again.
Thank Becky for the picture I’ve just added to my spank bank. I’m not sure why I didn’t have any pictures of you in my phone before.
Lita’s entire body felt flushed as she read his text. She sent a reply.
I’m lucky. I have plenty of pictures of you in my phone.
His reply came through so fast that Lita knew he had to be sitting and watching their conversation.
Do you masturbate when looking at them, though?
“Fuck. He doesn’t talk to me for a week, and then he does this.”
“Do I want to know what this is, given you’ve turned bright red?”
I’m going to take your lack of reply as a yes. I masturbate every day while thinking about you. It’s nice that I’ll have a picture to help now.
Lita’s eyes widened. “Um, I’m not sure, but I don’t even know what to reply to him with.”
She showed Becky her phone, and Becky gasped and then laughed. “Ask him if he means glorified masturbation and watch him shit bricks.”
Do you mean glorified masturbation?
“He’s typing,” Lita told Becky.
She watched the three dots as they came up on the screen. Then they disappeared before coming back again. It happened several times over the course of a few minutes, and by the time his reply came through, Becky was sitting next to her and staring at her screen, waiting for his response.
Fuck glorified masturbation, it’s the worst. Sex with you. Masturbating when thinking about you. Glorified masturbation. My preferences in order, in case you were wondering.
“Holy shit. I’m judging you less for sleeping with him twice last week. I’d fuck the hell out of him too,” Becky said after reading the text.
“I know, right? Like, fuck. But, let’s not forget that he still listed glorified masturbation because he’s still fucking other women that aren’t me. At least you can see why he makes it so hard to remember that when I’m around him.”
She wrote a reply to his text.
And which one of those are you indulging in tonight?
“God damn him,” she groaned when she saw his reply.
I’m about five minutes away from getting on a plane and indulging in number one if you’ll agree to it.
“Tell him yes and see if he does it,” Becky laughed.
“No, because he will.” Lita rolled her eyes.
Disagree. Sorry, Sebastian Fox, I’ve got a friend over and can’t play tonight.
Her phone began to ring, and she answered his call, blushing as Becky listened in.
“I’m sure Becky’s visit would be finished by the time I got there,” Sebastian laughed.
“How do you know it’s Becky? Maybe it’s someone else.”
“Picked up a boyfriend in the last week, have you, princess? Moved him in already? That was quick.”
There was no malice in his tone, and she could tell that he was joking when he said it.
“Yup, that’s exactly right. He’s got a big cock, too, bigger than yours. He satisfies me with it every night, and I never ever think about you when we’re fucking.” Lita grinned.
“You’re a liar, princess. I think about you all the time, and I bet you’re wishing it was me pounding you, not him.”
Lita’s eyes widened. “Hang on a sec. Becky, I’m just going to take this call into my bedroom.”
“Holy shit, I am not sitting here while you have phone sex with Sebastian Fox in the other room, Lolita Ciccone!” Becky exclaimed while laughing.
“We’re not going to have phone sex; it’s just a private conversation,” Lita protested.
“Oh, we’re going to have phone sex, princess,” Sebastian purred in her ear. “Or, at the very least, I’m going to tell you all the things that I would do to you if I was there, regardless of if you have some theoretical big-cocked boyfriend or not.”
Lita thought about it. “Then you have two options. You can call me back later when Becky’s gone, or you can not tell me those things.”
“I’ll talk to you later, princess.”
The call went dead, and Lita laughed and rolled her eyes, but she could feel that she was wet even from their small amount of flirting.
“He hung up on me,” she informed Becky.
“Enjoy your phone sex later,” Becky smirked.
“We’re not going to have phone sex,” Lita protested.
As if on cue, her phone pinged with a text from Sebastian.
Call me back when Becky leaves. I don’t care what time it is.
“Yeah, sure you’re not,” Becky laughed.
After Becky left, Lita laid down on her bed, picked up her phone, and dialed Sebastian’s number. Her heart was racing, and she felt like this was a bad idea, but she’d missed him so much and loved hearing
his voice earlier.
“Hi, princess. I was beginning to think that Becky might never leave.”
“Look, I considered moving her in with me, just so I would never have to speak to you again,” Lita teased him.
“You hate talking to me that much, huh?”
“I don’t know; you’re the one who didn’t speak to me for a week after the wedding.” Lita shrugged.
There was silence from the other end of the line, and Lita wondered if she should’ve just let him flirt with her and ignored all of the drama from the other week.
“I was hurting, Lita. I’m sorry. I’ve missed you, though.”
“It’s looked like you’ve had plenty of women to keep you company in my absence,” Lita told him.
Sebastian sighed. “What do you expect, Lita? You’ve told me repeatedly that you don’t want to be with me and that I should sleep with other women. I’m sorry for the speech at the wedding, though. I shouldn’t have done that. I knew it would hurt you, and even though I was hurting, it wasn’t okay to lash out the way I did.”
Lita wiped at the tears that were falling from her eyes. “Have you spoken to Heather?”
“Yeah, she’s pretty pissed at me. I’ve been avoiding her a bit,” he admitted.
“You shouldn’t, Seb. I hate that I’m fucking up your friendship with her.” Lita cringed.
“Whoa, Lita. It’s not that.” Sebastian gave a bitter laugh. “The woman I loved who never wanted me telling me that I should be with the woman I love, who also doesn’t want me? Yeah, I’m unhealthy as fuck, but I’m not down for those conversations right now.”
Lita didn’t know what to say; she felt guilty that she’d put him in this position, but also knew that she couldn’t say anything to change it.
Sebastian sighed. “Tell me about the apartment, princess. Are you happy there?”
“Yeah, it’s awesome. Oh, shit, I just realized that I don’t have a bed for you when you come over. In fact, basically, all of my furniture could fit in the living room. The office is set up with the desk we got for the old apartment, but your bedroom and the future nursery are completely empty.”
