Then he’d finished and wanted to move back to Ontario and she...hadn’t. She was from Toronto, but she’d wanted to stay out there.
They’d broken up.
Frankly, he hadn’t been as hurt as he’d expected, given they’d been together for so long.
That was a couple months ago now. He’d figured he wouldn’t bother dating again for a while as he got his life settled in Ontario, but when he’d come to the grocery store for his weekly shop, he’d thought it wouldn’t hurt to have condoms on hand.
And then he’d run into Amber.
Nothing would happen, but it was nice to have her looking at him appreciatively.
Sebastian had never gotten vast amounts of attention from women. A little, but not as much as, say, Zach. He was too serious, too quiet, occasionally gruff.
Normally, he’d be getting out of this awkward situation as fast as possible, but for some reason, he stayed. Not because she was pleasant to look at, but...
Okay, maybe that was the reason.
“Best to be prepared,” he said with a grunt.
“But Magnums?” she said. “Puh-leeze.”
He frowned. “What’s wrong with my choice in condom?”
“Men who think they need those almost never do.”
Well.
There were so many lines he could say in response.
“Is this from personal experience?” he asked.
“Yes. Condoms shouldn’t be loose, you know.”
“Don’t worry, I’m aware of that. These fit...snugly.”
Was he flirting with her?
Sebastian was not well-versed in the art of flirtation, but this might qualify as such, even if his tone of voice was all wrong.
“Right,” she said skeptically.
That bothered him. Not because she assumed he was smaller than he actually was, but because she thought he was dumb enough to not know what kind of condom he needed.
He’d first had sex when he was twenty, and he’d purchased regular condoms. However, the condom had broken the second time, and after that, he’d invested in some larger ones.
He’d had no problems with broken condoms since then. Nor had any slipped off.
Amber tilted her head and stared at him, as though considering the size of his...member. Wondering if he was telling the truth.
She even licked her lips while looking at his crotch.
And then Sebastian did something so bold, he later couldn’t believe it, though the fact that it didn’t require him to speak probably made it easier.
He took the condoms out of her basket and dropped in a box of Magnums instead.
“That’s presumptuous,” she said.
He’d been paying careful attention to her body language. If he’d thought she would have been disgusted, he wouldn’t have done it.
He managed a casual shrug. “I know.”
“You should also know that I’m not interested in a relationship.”
“Neither am I. I just got out of one.”
“I have a tendency to date terrible men, so I’m taking a break from dating.”
“But you miss sex, and you haven’t had it in so long that your condoms expired.”
“Yeah.”
The silence. It was heavy.
This was not what he’d expected to happen when he’d arrived at the grocery store.
They continued to stand there as a woman walked down the aisle and picked up a bottle of shampoo, followed by some lube, before continuing past.
“That’s a good idea.” He grabbed a tube of lube and placed it in Amber’s basket.
Her cheeks turned a delightful shade of pink, but he could tell she was enjoying this. Which was why he was still here, even though he’d known her since she was a small child.
But she was grown up now, and she could make her own decisions.
“You don’t think this is a little weird?” she asked.
“It is,” he admitted, but he was getting used to the idea. It didn’t feel wrong the way it had when he’d first realized who she was.
She ran her hand over his bicep, which was covered in a gray sweatshirt. He wasn’t wearing anything fancy, but her lips parted and she hummed in appreciation.
He definitely wanted to feel her hands on his skin.
He swallowed. “How about this. I’ll give you my number, and if you decide you want to find out whether I actually need those condoms...” He glanced meaningfully at the box he’d put in her basket. “Send me a text, okay?”
That would give her some time to think about it—give them both some time to think about it—and leave the ball in her court.
He slid his hand over her neck, just above the neckline of her sweater, and to his satisfaction, she inhaled swiftly.
“You should know that I don’t care about size,” she said. “I’m not going to be impressed just because you’re apparently bigger than average.”
He shrugged. “I hear you.”
“You sound like you don’t believe me.”
“Oh, I believe you. I also believe that I have the skills to impress you.”
Why was he so cocky right now? It wasn’t like him.
Most men probably thought they were better than average at sex, and it stood to reason that many of the men who thought that actually sucked.
But somehow, Sebastian was confident he could make Amber very happy in bed.
“You know,” he said, “your ice cream’s going to melt if you keep standing there with your mouth hanging open. You want my number before you head to the checkout?”
She held up her phone, and he entered in his number.
Then he strolled toward the fish counter, whistling.
It was only when he got there that he realized he didn’t need any fish.
Chapter 2
“Let me get this straight,” Gloria said. “Your parents are good friends with his parents, you’ve known him your whole life, and now you’re going to fuck him?”
Amber sighed and had a sip of her beer. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
They were at The Tempest, a bar they’d taken to frequenting recently. The walls were covered with posters of every production of The Tempest that the Stratford Festival had put on.
Amber worked in marketing for the Stratford Festival. It was basically her dream job.
When she was younger, she’d dreamed of being on stage herself. Unfortunately, she couldn’t act. Or sing. Or dance.
