her. He is handsome and blonde, and Ash and I can both see it.
'Totally.' He sits down beside her, and Ash beams at me, totally forgetting her mission to find me a date, and then goes to talk to this fancy stranger.
I sigh to myself. Five minutes in, and I'm already getting abandoned. Great. It's like this club is a metaphor for my life. I take a sip of wine, closing my eyes and waiting for all of this to go away.
'The wine is good for making you forget,' a man's voice says behind me.
I don’t look at him. I don't have the energy. After all, he's probably just a random creeper I have no interest in. 'Yeah,' I mutter. 'It sure is.'
There's a pause. 'First time here too?'
'Fortunately,' I manage to say, taking another sip.
He laughs then. That stops me dead. He has a nice laugh. A really nice laugh. It's thick and masculine, warm and inviting all at once. His voice is kind of nice, too, now that I think about it. It's almost sing-song, in a sexual, growling kind of way.
So I turn around to face him.
And goddammit, was I wrong about calling him a creeper.
He is--let's face it--smoking hot. He wears a newly-tailored suit that runs the length of his body. His dark hair is wavy and slicked back, and his skin is that perfectly sun-kissed kind of tan. His jaw is thick, and his eyes are a deep blue, smoky and icy all at once, like a fire on a frozen lake. He smiles at me when I look at him, broad and toothy, revealing a pair of killer dimples on either side of his mouth.
'May I?' he asks, reaching for my hand.
I hesitate, then nod.
It takes him less than a second to take my hand into his, lean in, and kiss it. Slow. Affectionate. His lips lingering on my skin just a little too long. He lifts his head up slowly, locking eyes with me, and I feel my skin crawl, because his lips feel so good against me.
'What's your name?' he asks after a minute.
I'm so busy thinking about his lips that the question catches me off guard. I look up, startled. 'What?'
He smiles, but not rudely. 'What's your name?' he repeats.
'Oh. Um, Crystal. I'm Crystal.'
He cocks his head to the side for a minute, then nods slowly. 'Crystal,' he says quietly, like the word is sacred. 'It's fitting,' he says at last, looking up to meet my gaze. 'It means you're clear and pure, like your soul is.' Then, he reaches out a hand. 'I'm Sebastian.'
I smile despite myself. 'It's nice to meet you, Sebastian,' I say, and we shake hands like we're business acquaintances or something. And for once, when I say the words, I'm not lying.
'I could say the same about you, Crystal,' Sebastian says. 'Now, tell me, what brings you here on a night like tonight?'
I take another sip of my drink. 'Loneliness,' I mutter. 'What else?'
'Ah yes,' he says. 'I know a thing or two about loneliness myself.'
'Oh yeah?' I say, smiling a little. It's more of a challenge than an actual question. I can't imagine anyone this good-looking ever being lonely.
'Yes,' he says. 'I'm good at… abandoning people. Things. Finding a way to push away anyone who gets close to me.
'Drinks to that,' I mutter, and we clink glasses.
We drink for a while, just talking about things, the weather, what shows are on tomorrow, and all that jazz while I wait for Ash to finish her flirting so I can leave. Sebastian is the perfect gentleman. He orders me more drinks, but stops me at three, saying getting too drunk in a club can be dangerous, and I reluctantly agree.
Whenever he talks, I let myself get lost in his words, in the emotion behind them. I feel connected to him, somehow. I don't even know why. I just know that talking to him makes my pulse pick up speed, makes my heart flutter a little, makes the empty feeling in the pit of my stomach go away, if only for a little while. Talking to him is an escape; Sebastian is an escape.
After a while, Sebastian sighs, deep in thought. 'This is going to sound stupid,' he says at last.
I frown at him at first, not understanding what he means, but the curiosity quickly sinks in. 'Tell me,' I say. It isn't like I have anything else to do.
Sebastian nods. 'Okay. I have a, uh… proposition.'
I narrow my eyes. Oh hell, don't let him turn out to be a freak after all. 'Proposition?'
'Yes.' He clears his throat. 'We're both lonely, right? We both know what it's like to lose everyone we care about. And now… now it sounds like we both have no one left?'
'I'm following.'
Sebastian pushes his drink aside, and locks eyes on mine. He really does have beautiful eyes. Strong and intense, no matter what. 'So what if we came together and… used each other to feel less lonely?'
Music continues to thump all around us, and the sound of laughter carries throughout the giant room. The whole place is stuffy and smells like beer and sweat, but with Sebastian, I feel sucked away into my own little world.
I snort. 'So is this all part of your clever plan to get me into your bed so you can fuck me?' I don't mention that it's working.
Sebastian smiles vaguely. 'I don't fuck, baby. I only fix your pain,' he says, smooth as ever. There's a pause, and then he leans into me. His breath smells like some sort of weird mix between alcohol and mint. 'So what'll it be?' he asks softly.
'Well, that depends. What does this plan involve?' I say. I'm mostly joking. It's not like I'm going to agree to some sketchy-sounding plan with a random stranger. But still, something about Sebastian… pulls me in, I guess.
'It involves whatever you like,' he says. 'I get us a hotel room. You come every Wednesday night, and we spend the night kissing, touching, talking. Whatever. We just stay there and we heal each other, heal our broken pasts.'
I could laugh at the idea. In fact, if anyone but Sebastian had just said that, I probably would have laughed. But something about Sebastian's words feel so honest and true, like he really doesn't care about sex; he just wants me. And I guess, based off of the tingling sensation he gives me, I want him too.
'No strings attached?' I ask at last. I can't believe I'm seriously considering this. I must be a complete idiot.
He smiles. 'Of course.' Then, 'Meet me here tomorrow night so we can discuss further?'
I hesitate. 'Okay,' I finally say. It's not like I have anything left to lose in my life. A little adventure can't hurt. 'I… I'll see you around.'
Sebastian stands up and adjusts his coat. He smiles at me. 'I'll see you around, too, angel,' he coos.
I laugh. 'Did you just call me 'angel'?'
He nods.
'Why?'
Sebastian doesn't look at me then. He just starts walking away, giving off more of his wonderful cologne scent. 'Because you're an angel,' he calls back at me after a minute. 'An angel who is too far out of reach for me to ever really have.'
I'm too stunned to ask what he means.
