CHAPTER 9-I'm Not Your Rabbit
2233 Words
Olivia's POV
The last few days had been surprisingly quiet.
No unexpected encounters.
No drama.
And most importantly, no Sebastian Sinclair.
I wasn't complaining.
After my last class of the day, I headed toward the campus café, already knowing where I'd find Naomi.
Sure enough, she was sitting at one of the corner tables.
Or rather, she was sitting on Warren's lap.
I stopped in my tracks.
"Seriously?" I asked.
Naomi looked up and grinned. "What?"
Warren smirked. "Good to see you too, Olivia."
"There are literally dozens of empty chairs in this café."
"And yet this one is my favorite," Naomi replied shamelessly, wrapping an arm around Warren's shoulders.
I rolled my eyes and sat across from them.
Some things never changed.
"How have you been?" Naomi asked once she'd finally stopped being distracted by her 'friends with benefits' guy.
"Good," I replied. "Busy. Classes have been killing me."
"Tell me about it," Naomi groaned. "I swear one more assignment and I'm dropping out."
Warren chuckled. "You say that every week."
"Because every week I'm serious."
"No, you're not."
Naomi pointed a finger at him. "Stop exposing me."
I couldn't help but laugh.
The conversation drifted naturally after that. We talked about classes, professors we hated, upcoming exams, and random campus gossip.
It felt nice.
Normal.
For a while, I forgot about everything else.
Naomi suddenly leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand.
"Okay, enough about me. What's new with you?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Fine," Naomi said after a moment, leaning back in her chair. "If you say nothing's going on, I'll drop it."
"Thank you," I replied with a relieved smile.
Naomi shrugged. "For now."
"There it is."
Warren chuckled beside her, shaking his head.
"You really don't know how to mind your business, do you?"
"Not when it comes to my friends."
"That's exactly what I'm talking about."
Naomi grinned and nudged him lightly.
A moment later, Warren glanced at his phone and sighed.
"I have to go."
"Already?" Naomi asked.
"Unfortunately."
He stood from his seat and gathered his things before leaning down to give Naomi a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Try not to start any arguments while I'm gone."
Naomi rolled her eyes. "No promises."
"That's what I was afraid of."
He shot us both a final smile before heading toward the exit.
As soon as he disappeared through the café doors, I turned my attention back to Naomi.
She was watching him leave.
"What?" she asked when she noticed me staring.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing."
"Olivia."
"Okay, maybe something."
Naomi groaned dramatically. "Here we go."
I rested my chin on my hand.
"I think you're starting to like Warren more than you're willing to admit."
Her eyes widened.
"What? No."
"Naomi."
"No."
"You literally watched him walk out the door."
"Because he was leaving!"
"And?"
"And that's a normal thing people do."
I couldn't help laughing.
"You're getting defensive."
"Because you're being ridiculous."
"Am I?"
Naomi pointed a finger at me.
"Yes."
I leaned back in my chair, unconvinced.
"Whatever you say."
She huffed and crossed her arms.
"I am not falling in love with Warren."
"I didn't say love."
Naomi froze.
A slow smile spread across my face.
"Interesting that your mind went there."
"Oh my God, Olivia."
I burst out laughing while Naomi buried her face in her hands, already regretting continuing the conversation.
As Naomi and I continued talking, two girls took the empty table beside us.
At first, I paid them no attention. The café was crowded, and overhearing conversations wasn't exactly unusual.
But then a familiar name caught my attention.
"I'm serious," one of the girls said dramatically, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "If Sebastian Sinclair ever looked at me twice, I'd probably pass out."
Her friend laughed, stirring her latte. "Join the club. Half the girls on campus are obsessed with him."
"Can you blame them?" the first girl sighed dreamily, her voice dropping to a whisper that still carried. "Have you seen him? Those eyes? That mouth? I swear, I fantasize about him f*****g me at least three times a week."
Naomi nearly choked on her drink.
I slowly turned toward her.
"Don't."
"I'm not saying anything," she whispered, already trying not to laugh.
The girls continued chatting, oblivious.
"He's literally the most attractive guy here," the blonde continued, leaning in conspiratorially. "And I bet he's incredible in bed. Like, the kind of guy who'd pin you against the wall and just—" She made a crude gesture with her hips, giggling. "You know? Rough. Hungry. No mercy."
"God, yes," her friend breathed, fanning herself. "I'd let him do anything. Anything. The way he smokes those cigarettes? The way he looks at you like he hates you? I'd literally die if he even touched me."
"I heard he doesn't do repeats," the blonde said, her voice dropping even lower. "One night, and you're gone. But honestly? One night with Sebastian Sinclair? Worth it. I'd let him ruin me and thank him after."
Naomi's shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to my coffee, cheeks burning.
Some things never changed.
Naomi smirked, leaning across the table. "You know, they're not entirely wrong."
"Naomi."
"What?" she asked innocently. "I'm just saying the guy has an army of admirers willing to line up and spread their legs."
"And apparently way too much free publicity," I muttered, gripping my cup tighter.
"Oh, come on," she teased, her eyes glinting with mischief. "Don't tell me you didn't feel something in that room. Even a little?"
I shot her a look that could've curdled milk.
Naomi laughed while I shook my head, deciding I had already heard more than enough about Sebastian Sinclair for one day.
But the girls' voices followed me anyway, sticky and persistent, painting images I didn't want—his hands, his mouth, his cold eyes burning into mine while he whispered filthy things against my ear.
I drank my coffee faster, scalding my tongue, desperate to drown the heat crawling up my neck.
He was nothing. Garbage. A cruel, arrogant asshole who'd accused me of wanting him.
Naomi and I eventually left the café, deciding to head back to the dorm before it got too late.
The evening air was cool, and the campus was quieter than usual. Most students were either studying, at parties, or already back in their rooms.
Naomi was still rambling about something Warren had texted her.
I wasn't really listening.
"You're smiling," I pointed out.
"Am not."
"You are."
"Olivia, I swear—"
Suddenly, the faint smell of cigarette smoke drifted through the air.
I wrinkled my nose immediately.
"Ugh."
Naomi stopped talking.
"Do you smell that?"
I nodded.
Following the scent, my eyes landed on a familiar figure leaning against the side of one of the academic buildings.
My stomach sank.
Sebastian Sinclair.
Of course.
He was standing beneath a campus sign that clearly stated NO SMOKING, looking completely unbothered as he held a cigarette between his fingers. The orange glow briefly illuminated his face as he took a drag, his jaw tight, his eyes fixed on nothing.
Naomi let out a low whistle.
"Well, that's ironic."
"What's ironic?"
"The giant no-smoking sign right above his head."
My gaze flickered upward.
Sure enough, there it was.
Sebastian noticed us then.
His eyes met mine from across the pathway, and something shifted in his expression—recognition, then that familiar cold amusement that made my spine tense.
For a second, neither of us moved.
Great.
Just when I'd gone days without seeing him.
"Keep walking," I muttered to Naomi.
"Agreed."
We started moving again, hoping to pass without any interaction.
Unfortunately, Sebastian had other plans.
"Well, well," his voice cut through the quiet, rough and lazy. "If it isn't the little ginger b***h who can't mind her own f*****g business."
I stopped instantly.
Naomi looked delighted.
I looked annoyed.
Slowly, I turned around.
Sebastian was watching me with that arrogant smirk, the cigarette still burning between his fingers. He tilted his head, studying me like I was something he'd scraped off his shoe.
"What?" I asked flatly.
One of his eyebrows lifted.
"That's how you're greeting me after running the f**k away like a scared little rabbit?" He laughed, harsh and hollow. "Pathetic."
"I wasn't aware I needed to report my whereabouts to you," I shot back, my chin lifting despite the tremor in my knees. "And I'm not your rabbit."
"Could've fooled me," he muttered, taking another drag. "Hopping around, sniffing where you don't belong."
Naomi coughed suspiciously, clearly trying not to laugh.
Sebastian's eyes flicked to her, then back to me, dismissing her instantly. "Still got your guard dog, I see. Cute."
"f**k off, Sebastian," I said, my voice sharper than I felt.
His lips twitched, but there was no warmth in it. "Oh, there's that mouth again. Learned some new words, have we?"
"Learned them from you, asshole."
He laughed, low and dangerous, crushing the cigarette beneath his shoe with deliberate slowness. "Yeah, you did. And you loved every f*****g second of it, didn't you? Standing in my room, staring at my s**t, pretending you weren't wet the whole time."
My face burned. "You shouldn't cuss at me like that.
"Why the hell not?" He stepped closer, crowding my space, his voice dropping to a sneer. "You want me to treat you like some delicate little flower? Like you didn't wander into my goddamn room on purpose?" He laughed again, sharper this time. "Newsflash, Bunny. I don't give a f**k what you think I should or shouldn't do. I'll say whatever the hell I want, and you'll stand there and take it like the good little prude you are."
"Sebastian—" Naomi started.
"Shut the f**k up," he snapped, not looking at her. His eyes stayed locked on mine, dark and hungry and cruel. "This isn't your conversation."
I shoved against his chest, my palms hitting hard muscle. "Get away from me."
He didn't move. Just smirked wider, his hand shooting up to grip my jaw, his fingers rough and cold. "Make me."
I stared at him, breathing hard, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Then he let go. Just like that. Stepped back, his expression blanking into something distant and bored.
"Nice seeing you again, Bunny," he said flatly, already turning away. "Try not to wander into any more rooms you can't handle."
Before I could think of a reply, he pushed himself off the wall and walked away, disappearing into the darkness, his laughter trailing behind him—low, satisfied, absolute.
I stood there, trembling, my jaw aching where his fingers had pressed.
"Well," Naomi said beside me, her voice quieter now. "That was... intense."
"No," I replied immediately, my voice shaking. "It wasn't."
"Olivia, he practically—"
"I said no," I snapped, already walking, my legs unsteady. "It was nothing. He's nothing."
But as we headed back to the dorm, I could still feel his grip on my face, his breath on my skin, his words curling through me like smoke.
And I hated—hated—that some twisted, traitorous part of me hadn't pulled away faster.
- Writer
