“Of course we can.”
He smiles. “I just want to make you happy.”
After dessert, he does exactly that.
***
Turns out our clothes aren’t for keeps. As soon as we took them off and threw them on the floor of my bedroom, they disintegrated. I guess they’re a one-time-only use. I’m glad we don’t have to worry about the moral and ethical aspect of Sebastian’s magic, though it does suck that the perks aren’t here to stay.
Sebastian is sitting on the couch, watching TV as he licks a Popsicle. He’s on his third, and doesn’t seem to get enough. I bet he’ll finish them all in the next two days.
I’m in my room, dialing Macy. I want to thank her and Andy for everything they’ve done for Sebastian and me. Dinner was perfect. Romantic, special, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
“Hey,” Macy says. “What’s up?”
From the tone of her voice, I can’t tell if things are going well with her and Andy. She seems to be in a good mood, but there’s a sadness as well.
“I just want to thank you and Andy for helping Sebastian out with his surprise. It was wonderful, so thanks. And that salad, yum. Why didn’t you tell me you can make salad like that?”
“I don’t know. It’s something I came up with recently.”
“Nice. Looks like I’m not the only chef around,” I joke.
She doesn’t join in my laughter.
“Is everything okay with you and Andy?” I ask. I hate talking about my relationship with Sebastian when she might be having problems with Andy. It’s very selfish of me. “Or is there something else bothering you? You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know.” She sighs. “We had another fight and he stormed out.”
“About what? Your neighbor?”
“No, it was about something stupid. Nothing to do with the engagement or our future. I don’t know. Lately, we have been getting on each other’s nerves. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to move in together.”
I hate to think of the two of them growing apart. They love each other. They belong together. I know it’s sometimes healthy for couples to take a break, but I can’t stand the pain in my best friend’s voice. I wish I could do something, but she and Andy need to work this out on their own. The only thing I can do is be there for her.
“I’m really sorry, Macy. And I’m sorry for talking about Sebastian and our romantic dinner.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s great that you found someone. You deserve to be happy.”
“So do you.”
She’s quiet.
“Do you want me to come over?” It’s past ten, and I have to get up early for work tomorrow, but I don’t care. Macy needs me.
“That’s okay.”
“Are you sure?”
She laughs lightly. “Lily, you have an amazingly sweet smokin’ hot boyfriend living in your apartment. The two of you had this awesome romantic dinner. So yes, of course I’m sure I want you to stay home. I’ll be okay.”
It bothers me that she’s all alone in her apartment, but she won’t let me come over, no matter how many times I ask. “Andy loves you,” I tell her. “Just remember that. You guys are going through a rough patch—”
“Been there, done that,” she mutters. She and Andy got into a major fight junior year of high school and broke up for three months. Then they made up and hadn’t left each other’s side once, except for now.
I wish I could give her a hug. “You’ll get through this, too.”
“I hope so.”
“Virtual hugs,” I say.
That gets a small chuckle out of her. “Thanks, Lil.”
Chapter Seventeen
I’m thrust awake. All around me is pitch black, the only light coming from the radio clock near my bed. It’s three in the morning.
Reaching to my left, I don’t feel Sebastian. My hand moves all over the bed, but he’s not here. Flipping on the bedside lamp, I find the bed empty.
Noises come from the bathroom. Coughing and the sounds of a toilet flushing. Getting out of bed, I head for the bathroom and knock on the door. “Sebastian?”
He doesn’t respond. I try the door and find it unlocked. I step inside and see him curled up on the floor. I rush to his side. “Sebastian, what’s wrong?”
He moans. He’s drenched in sweat and his hair sticks to his forehead. I push some of it aside. He looks so sick…
He shoots to a sitting position, bends over the toilet, and vomits. After he’s done, he lies back down and moans. I scoot closer to him and rest his head on my lap. I don’t know what’s going on with him, if he ate something bad or…I don’t know. The last time he got this sick, he was a genie and couldn’t consume anything. But this can’t be the same situation. He’s not a genie anymore, and shouldn’t have that problem. And he’s eaten human food before and was okay. This must be something he ate.
“Lily.” His voice is weak. He smiles sadly. “I feel so ill...”
“Maybe you ate something…” But we ate the same thing. Why is he getting sick when I feel fine?
He reaches up to touch my cheek. “I’ll be okay.”
His face is pale and his body is trembling a bit. I grab a blanket from the closet in my room and throw it over him. His eyes flutter before shutting. I rest my hand on his back. “Sebastian, you need fluids. I’ll get you a drink.” Unlike the last time, when he got sick as a genie, he couldn’t drink.
I return with a glass of water and hand it to him. He nods, seemingly too weak to talk, and gulps it down. My hand rubs circles on his arm as I wait to see if he’ll puke that up, too. He doesn’t. “Are you feeling better?”
“Little,” he whispers. I bite my lip as I watch his eyes shut and his chest rise and fall. After placing my hand on his forehead, I sigh. He doesn’t seem to have a fever. That’s a good sign. Whatever this is, it might not be serious. Maybe a stomach virus, or a bad reaction to the food we ate. Sebastian doesn’t have a doctor. I’m going to monitor him and if he gets worse, I’ll bring him to the hospital.
I look down at him. His eyes are opened and he’s gazing at me with gratitude.
“Sebastian?” I say. “Do you want to go to bed?”
He slowly sits up, and I help him to his feet. He’s heavier than he was as a genie, and I nearly buckle over at his weight.
“Sorry,” he whispers, his eyes shutting as he wobbles. I manage to drag him into the hall before we collapse on the floor. He hugs his knees to his chest, his body quaking. I tighten the blanket around him.
“Sebastian.” There’s a pitch in my voice. I bite my lip as I look around for…I don’t know exactly. “Are you okay?”
He nods, his eyes still shut.
“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”
His eyes shoot open. “Hospital? No. I’m okay.”
He looks far from okay, and panic starts to consume every part of me. “Can you use your magic to heal yourself?” Why didn’t I think of this sooner?
Nodding, he lifts a shaky hand over his chest and manages to wave it around before it falls limply on the floor. I stare at him, waiting for the color to return to his cheeks, for the sweat to dry off, for his body to relax. None of that happens.
Why can’t he heal himself? Is he only able to heal others? “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” When I look at him, I find him breathing softly. Maybe he just needs to sleep this off.
Taking him to the hospital might be risky, because he’s not one hundred percent human. What if they find something inside him? I need to protect him.
But I’m not going to ignore the obvious signs that he’s not well.
I’ll stay right here. If he doesn’t get better, I’ll take him to the ER.
***
A hand slides into mine and squeezes. When I open my eyes, I find Sebastian sitting before me with a sweet smile on his face. His face that is no longer pale. His hair isn’t damp and his body isn’t trembling. Whatever that was, it�
��s over.
We’re in the small hallway between the bathroom and bedroom. The blanket is wrapped around me.
“Hey.” Sebastian kisses me. “Good morning.”
“Are you feeling better?”
He smiles again. “Much. Thank you for taking care of me.” He pulls me into his arms. I unwrap the blanket and throw it over both of us. The air conditioning is very strong here.
I rest my cheek against his. “You really scared me.”
“I’m sorry. I think I may have gone a little overboard with the Popsicles.” He cups my face in both hands. “I’m okay, Lily.”
“I’m so glad. But I’m a little confused. Why couldn’t you heal yourself?”
He peers at his hands. “I think I didn’t have the strength.”
“So you normally can heal yourself?”
He shrugs helplessly. “I have no idea. Everything is so new and confusing.”
“We’ll figure it out. Together.”
He nods. “And I need to learn to take things slow and not overdo it.” He gently rubs his stomach. “I’ll be careful next time not to stuff myself too much. Human food is delicious, though.”
I rest my head on his shoulder. My gaze travels to the living room, at the clock hanging on the wall, and my heart skips a beat. “I’m late!” I shoot to my feet, causing the blanket and Sebastian to topple to the floor. “Sorry!”
He gets to his feet, following my gaze at the clock. “I’ll whip something up while you get ready.”
“Are you strong enough to use magic?”
“Yes. I mean, I hope.”
“Be careful, please.”
He nods, and I dash into the bathroom. My boss has been watching me closely ever since I took off those days to go to California, and I don’t want him to think I don’t care about my job.
As much as I want to sit down and enjoy the breakfast Sebastian prepared for me, I only have time to gobble it down, drink some orange juice, kiss my genie goodbye, and fly out the door. Inferno is only a few blocks away from my house, and I probably look like an idiot running like this, but I don’t care. My dream is still to get into culinary school. It probably won’t happen in the next year or two, but it’s going to happen. I’ll make sure of it.
Chapter Eighteen
During our lunch break, Macy and I sit outside on the low wall surrounding Inferno. This is the place where I exploded on Sebastian when he tried to get me a sous chef positon at the restaurant. As sweet as he was, it wasn’t fair for him to get me the job at someone else’s expense. He caused the other applicant to spill soup on my boss. I was hired, but refused to take the position. Sebastian didn’t understand what he did wrong—he just wanted to help get me into culinary school. We talked about being friends, how hard it would be once he left.
So much has changed since then. He’s here to stay.
Macy snaps her fingers in my face. “Earth to Lily.”
I blink. “Huh?”
“Thinking about Sebastian?”
I smile as I stare at the customers walking in and out of Inferno. Summers are always busy. “Yep. So many things have changed these past few weeks. I never imagined I’d be with him. I used to lie in bed and picture a future with him, and my heart cried because I didn’t think it was possible. Now it is.”
Her smile is strained.
“Sorry,” I say, rubbing her arm. “I shouldn’t be talking about this.”
“It’s okay.” She gets a faraway look. Tears fill her eyes. “One minute I’m crazy in love with a guy and plan on getting married, then all that goes to hell. All because I made a stupid mistake.” She bites her lip, blinks, and the tears fall. “I can’t lose him, Lil.”
I wrap my arm over her shoulder. “What’s going on?”
She wipes the corners of her eyes. “He came back last night while I was sleeping. I went down for a drink after midnight and found him on the living room couch. When I woke up this morning, he was gone. What if he wants to break up?”
“You need to talk to him.”
“I can’t.”
“You have to tell him how you feel. I know Andy and I know he truly cares about you. Do you want me to talk to him?”
She gives me a small smile. “I appreciate it, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do. Maybe we’re not right for each other. We’ve been fighting a lot.”
“About what?”
She shrugs. “Little things, like leaving dirty clothes on the floor or not washing dishes. Also, he’s very frustrated with Max. Max keeps calling him, but Andy ignores him. He’s a completely different person than he was at thirteen, when he and Andy were best friends. What he did to Sebastian was awful and Andy doesn’t want to associate with people like that.” She sighs. “It’s hard for him to ignore one of his best friends.”
“I’m sorry you guys are caught in the middle of it. I should have never gone out with him.”
“No, don’t blame yourself. Now Andy sees Max for who he really is.”
“Do you think he’s taking the frustration out on you?” I ask.
She sighs again. “He’s turning his pain from…what I did into anger. I just don’t know what’s going to happen to us. We hardly talk, and when we do, we argue.”
I hug her close. “Then write him a letter, telling him how you feel. Tell him you’re sorry and want to make things work. Tell him how much you love him and what he means to you. If he’s not interested in having a future with you, then—”
“It’s for the best, huh?” Her eyebrows furrow. “You think writing a letter will help?”
I nod. “That way you can pour out your heart to him.”
She’s quiet, probably mulling over my words. “I think I’m going to do that. I want him to know how sorry I am and how much I care about him and love him.” She swallows. “If he doesn’t want to be with me anymore…I’ll have to deal.” She forces a laugh. “It’s not like we haven’t broken up before. Maybe we should just end it.”
“Don’t you dare say that.”
She doesn’t respond and we sit in silence, our heads resting on one another’s. After a few minutes, she says, “Thanks, Lily.”
***
Something is wrong. I feel it the second I step into my apartment. It’s quiet. Too quiet. Sebastian isn’t at the TV or computer like usual. After checking my apartment, I don’t find him anywhere.
Maybe he went out.
Sinking into the couch, I mentally reprimand myself for not providing him with a phone. I don’t want to be a crazy overprotective girlfriend, but Sebastian isn’t used to living in this world. He’s spent hundreds of years here, but he usually lived in his lamp. When he was my genie, he roamed the streets, but he was invisible. What if he gets hit by a car? Or mugged?
My heart skips a beat. What if Max came after him?
I shut my eyes and channel my thoughts to Sebastian. When he was a genie, I was able to call for him. He’s not a genie anymore, but maybe it can work again through his magic. “Sebastian, please let me know where you are and if you’re okay.”
I busy myself with dinner. Chicken parmesan seems like a good idea. As I work, my thoughts drift to Sebastian. Twenty minutes have passed and he hasn’t come home. I send him a few more mental messages, hoping they’re actually doing something.
Just as I shove the chicken in the oven, I hear the door slam. “Sebastian? Is that you?” Before I have a chance to turn around, something soft presses into the back of my neck.
I turn around and come face to face with what feels like a stuffed animal. Its fur is in my mouth. Looking up, I find Sebastian standing there with a wide smile on his face. He draws back, and I have a good look at the teddy bear. It’s white with brown eyes and a red nose. In the center, it’s holding a red heart with the words, “I love you.”
Sebastian gives it to me.
“It’s so cute.” I breathe in the smell. One of the things I love about new teddy bears is the smell. “You bought it for me?”
He nods
. “I know how much you love them.”
I throw my hands around his waist and pull him down toward me so I can give him a deep kiss. “I love it.”
He rubs the back of his head. “I wasn’t sure if buying it was a good idea. I was worried it would remind you of Daisy. But I was at the mall and I just knew Teddy would be good to you.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Teddy?”
His smile brightens. “Her name is Teddy and she wants to be part of your teddy bear family.”
I kiss him again. “We need to get you a cell phone.”
“Why?”
“Because I came home and didn’t know where you were.”
His face falls. “Oh. I left a note on the refrigerator.” He looks at the fridge, but there’s nothing on there. Crouching to the floor, he sticks his hand into the narrow space between the fridge and cabinet. “It must have fallen. I’m sorry I worried you.”
“It’s okay. I tried calling you through my mind, but I guess it didn’t work. We’ll have to get you a phone.”
“Okay.” He takes Teddy and taps her on my nose.
I laugh.
He looks into my eyes. “Are you upset I bought it for you? Because Daisy—”
I place my hand on his chest. “No. I love that you’re keeping her memory alive. So thank you. How did you get the money?”
His cheeks redden. “I thought about using my magic to create the bear, but then I remembered it wouldn’t last forever. I, um, I took money from your wallet. Is that okay? Because once I get a job—”
I pull him close, pecking his lips. “Of course it’s okay. We share everything now.” Just like a real couple. I still get all tingly when I think about it. I don’t know if it’s ever going to settle in that what Sebastian and I have is real.
An hour later, we eat dinner. Teddy sits on the counter a few feet away from us.
When Sebastian bites into his piece of chicken, he sighs like he’s eating the best thing known to man. “This is delicious.”
“Thanks. How was your day?”
Loving the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 2) Page 10