This Isn't Just Pretend

Chapter 13 : Care

For a brief moment, I saw rage burn in Sebastian’s eyes, but he got a grip of himself rather quickly. He was so different in Grayson in that way, or many of the other people I've ever been with. Most everyone I'd ever been with had an anger that burned through them, but they were never able to push it aside. Often, I found myself in heated arguments or passive-aggressive matches with ex's of the past. Not Grayson, as much. Grayson was just... very absent.

“Grayson?” he questioned.

“He… never abused me or anything,” I backtracked quickly. “He just… he was very transactional.”

I saw the fury rise again for a moment before he seemed to forcefully push it down. “That isn’t a relationship, Mira,” he strained. “That’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

I nodded, but to be honest I wasn’t sure I knew what he was saying. That had been how every relationship I’d ever had been. I was… the caretaker. No one ever took care of me… until now. Until Sebastian.

“Let’s get you this bath, and we can talk more later, okay?” he offered, and I nodded. That was probably for the best. While talking about something other than Breeda had calmed me, I was still incredibly shaken up over the whole encounter.

I undressed rather quickly, and I could tell Sebastian was avoiding making me feel uncomfortable in any way. While I dipped into the warm running water, he went to rummage through the cabinets.

“What are you looking for,” I questioned as I submerged myself in the bath.

“Any bath bombs. I figured they might have some since it’s a high-end establishment.”

“The cupboard on the right,” I told him. He opened the cupboard and there was a rather vase like container with a very aesthetic collection of bath bombs.

“I’m guessing you’ve been here before?” he questioned, bringing the vase over to the tub.

“That I have,” I responded with a small smile. Sebastian asked me to choose a bath bomb, and I choose one that smelled of myrrh. I wasn’t sure too many people would enjoy myrrh as a bath bomb scent, but I rather enjoyed it. Myrrh was an enjoyable scent for me, so any chance I got to smell like it was a win in my book.

While I was in the bath, Sebastian kept busy around the bathroom trying to make sure I felt comfortable.

Sebastian and I curled up in our pajamas after I finished my bath and he’d taken a quick shower, just to rinse the sand off of him.

“Do you want to talk about it, or do you just want to chill?” he questioned.

“We can talk about it,” I told him, sitting up to face him. He frowned momentarily as I moved, but once my hands rested back on him the frown disappeared.

“Where do you want to start?” he questioned.

“... Well, Grayson, I guess. Uhm… he was fine when we got together. He was generally sweet, a nice guy. And that didn’t change, necessarily. But I did seem to become… more like a chore to him. That’s when our relationship started deteriorating. As I said, he never abused me. He just… it’s almost like he came to see me as a means to an end. And… I became used to it. And I came to expect it. Until you,” I said, a light smile making it’s way onto my face.

“You are much more than a means to an end, Elamira.” I didn’t know how to respond, so I remained silent. He sighed as he sat up as well, so he could be face to face with me.

“You are amazing. I mean that. You deserve way better than what you’ve been accepting,” he told me. He leaned forward hesitantly, stopping himself before kissing me. I knew he was wondering if he should or not, so I made the decision for him and leaned forward enough for our lips to crash together.

It started out soft, but I quickly ended up in Sebastian’s lap with my hands tangled in his hair as we ended up making out.