Chapter Nine
“Tell me about your previous masters,” I say to Sebastian Sunday evening. I got back from Macy’s a few hours ago and crashed on my bed. She and I stayed up until after three last night, talking and watching movies. When I came home, I found Sebastian engrossed in a game show. He’s keeping track of how many questions he answers correctly. It’s cute.
He and I are sitting on the small porch at the back of my apartment. There’s a soft breeze that blows his hair into his eyes. I want to push it away, but I don’t. Instead, I focus on the grape-flavored Popsicle I’m eating. I haven’t had one of these in years, but figured, why not? They always comforted me when I was a kid.
“What would you like to know?” he asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. What did they wish for?”
He leans back, sinking a little in his chair and spreading his legs out. They’re less than an inch away from mine. “It’s usually the same thing,” he tells me. “No matter what century you’re in, women tend to wish for beauty, grace, men. Men want pretty girls—that’s plural, if you’ve noticed—a good job.” He laughs, shaking his head. “One guy wanted me to kill his wife so he wouldn’t have to pay alimony.”
“Did you?”
“No. I’m not a murderer, even if my master wishes it. I talked him into changing his mind.”
I shift in my seat. “But you can kill someone, right?”
He hesitates, keeping his gaze on the floor. When his eyes meet mine, he says, “I can indirectly cause death, yes.”
“But you can’t bring someone back.”
He shakes his head.
“That seems fair,” I mutter.
He stares at something ahead, his eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry.”
“Who makes up these rules, anyway?”
“I don’t know. But over the years, I’ve learned what I can and can’t do.”
“What can’t you do?” I ask.
Something gooey drips on my hand. The Popsicle. With all this talk about life and death, I completely forgot about it. Sebastian watches as I lick the juice off. He laughs a little. “Wish I could try one of those.”
I feel bad for him. I hate when someone can’t eat. I guess I get that from my mom. She hated when people starved. So did Daisy, which is why her dream was helping people.
Sebastian is still staring at my Popsicle. “I can’t do anything for myself,” he says. “No matter how much I want something, I can’t have it.” He looks away. “The only magic I am able to do is for my master.”
I place my hand on his. “What do you want?” I look down at my hand and realize it’s the sticky one that’s on his. I quickly pull away. “Sorry.”
He takes my hand and places it back on his. He doesn’t say anything, and it seems like he doesn’t want to answer my question. That’s okay. As much as I want to know what he’s thinking and feeling, it’s none of my business.
We sit in silence, watching everything going on outside. The man across the street mowing his lawn, the little kids playing hide and seek, the mothers chatting. A teenage guy running with his dog.
“Freedom,” Sebastian says, slowly turning to me. He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “That’s what I want.”
“I can do that for you,” I say.
He shakes his head.
“I can wish for you to be free.”
“Lily—”
I jump to my feet. “I wish for genie to be free.”
He stares up at me, but won’t move.
“Genie, I wish for you to be free,” I repeat.
Again, nothing. He just sits there with his eyes pasted on mine. Why doesn’t he grant the wish? I’m the master, I decide what to wish. Why won’t he do it?
“Sebastian,” I say. “I wish for you to be free.”
He continues to stare at me for a bit before slowly getting to his feet. I sigh in relief. I know he’s going to leave now, and I’ll miss him, but I need to do something for him. Even though I won’t have a chance to use up my wishes, I want him to have this.
He comes closer to me and envelops me in his arms, resting his head on my shoulder. We just stand like that, as if we’re frozen in time. I don’t understand. Why won’t he grant me the wish?
I push off. “What’s wrong?”
He takes my hands, his eyes sad. “I appreciate it, Lily. You are the sweetest and kindest master I’ve ever had. But I can never be free.”
My stomach drops and all I feel is his pain. It’s like we’re one body, one soul. All his hurt rushes into me. I place my hand on his cheek. “Oh, Sebastian…”
He steps away from me, causing my hand to fall from his face. “I’ve accepted it.”
He’s trying to hide how hard this is for him. But I see it. I feel it. I bite my lip. “So you’re supposed to live forever serving humans?”
He nods. “If my master refuses to wish, then I’ll die. Other than that…this is my life.”
I hug him. “I’m really sorry.”
He tightens his hold on me. Then he says, “Do you want to hear about the last master I had? He was a jerk.”
“Seb—”
He sits down. “I don’t even remember his name. Richard or Tony, whatever. He was twenty and took the whole servant thing literally. Made me steal things for him, like booze and pot. When I said no, he hit me. Beat me up.”
I grab his hand.
He shrugs. “No one was able to see me, so he didn’t get in trouble. He didn’t want to wish, and couldn’t care less that I was weakening after a few months. I had no choice but to force him to wish.”
“How did you do that?”
He swallows. “I denied him the drugs. Took a few beatings, and it hurt like hell, but I healed quickly. He realized his only option was to wish.”
“God, Sebastian.” I wrap my arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re done with him. Were other masters as bad?”
“Some.”
I hug him again. I don’t want him to have other masters. I don’t want anyone to treat him like crap. He’s not just a genie. He’s not a slave. He’s a person.
That explains why I found the lamp in a dumpster. Sebastian’s previous master didn’t give a damn about him. I bet if he was able to, he would have smashed the thing.
Sebastian looks at me. “Will you tell me more about your sister and her death? If you feel comfortable, of course. If you don’t want to, that’s okay. I didn’t tell you this so you would tell me.”
I nod. I want to get closer to him. “She had a lot of friends, but she didn’t let the popularity go to her head. Like she wouldn’t exclude anyone from her group. She had a boyfriend. Jimmy. They were together for three years.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yeah. He and Daisy got into a big fight before the accident. He wasn’t at the party. After the funeral, he took off and I haven’t seen him since.”
He’s quiet.
“Daisy was voted prom queen,” I say with a small smile. “She didn’t want it, but everyone loved her so it was no surprise. She gave it to another girl. A girl dying of cancer. She only had a few months to live.”
“That was very kind of her.”
I remember feeling inspired. Growing up, I wanted to be just like her. I wanted to change the world, too. Now, I just…live.
“Were you voted prom queen, too?” he asks.
“I didn’t go to my prom.”
“Oh.”
Quiet again. He shifts, facing me. “Why?”
Thinking back to everything that happened these past few months is hard, but I want to do it. I need to. I cross my arms over my chest at the sudden cold. The breeze is supposed to be hot, but it feels like it’s January as opposed to July. “My prom was two months after Daisy’s death. That in addition to my mom’s shut down…I just couldn’t.”
He nods in understanding. “Do you regret not going?”
“All girls dream about it. It’s supposed to be the most magical night of our lives.” I blink m
y tears away. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it since I was a freshman.”
“Do you regret not going?” he asks again.
“I guess you can say I have mixed feelings about it. But sure, I would have loved to go. Macy and my other friends couldn’t keep quiet about how amazing it was. Like a fairytale.”
He gets to his feet. “Stand.”
“What?”
“Stand up.”
Confused, I do as he says. He’s facing the house and waves his hands around. A second later, a tux appears on him. When I peer down at myself, I’m wearing a light blue prom dress. It’s sleeveless and reaches just above my knees.
I gape at him. He smiles. “Lily, welcome to your prom.” He opens the door and leads me inside. The house has transformed into a ballroom. Blue lights shine all over, the walls are painted in blue crystals. Balloons float around, and soft music plays in the background. It looks exactly like a prom.
I run over to the mirror. I don’t recognize the person standing before me. My crazy hair is pulled up in a hairstyle that belongs in a fashion magazine. My makeup isn’t too much or too little, but just right that it enhances my cheekbones and lips. And this dress. I’ve never worn something so beautiful in my life. The prom dress I dreamed of wearing doesn’t come close to this.
Sebastian walks up beside me and smiles. I can’t stop staring at myself and the scenery. “How? I didn’t wish for this.”
“No, but I can do small things for my master. They’re only temporary, though.” He runs his hand through his hair. “It’s not the real thing, but…”
I hug him. “Thank you.”
“If I was able to, I’d recreate a real prom, one that—”
I squeeze him tighter. “It’s perfect. Better than I could ever imagine.” Sure it’s not the real thing, and I’ll never have the real experience, but this is amazing. He’s amazing. He gains nothing from doing this.
He leads me to the center of the room and twirls me around, a little clumsily that I crash into the wall. “I’m sorry!” he says as I rub my arm. “I don’t know how to dance.”
I pull him close to me and lock my arms around his neck. “You just sway,” I tell him. “Let the music flow through you.”
He stares into my eyes as we do just that. I feel like I’m floating inside a pool of blue as we gaze at each other. The music is slow, calm, relaxing. I forget all the crap in my life. His arms are around my waist, causing me to tingle all over. It burns there. A good kind of burn that I don’t want to end.
I avert my gaze before I lose all sensation in my legs. “Why?”
He lifts an eyebrow.
I gesture around. “All this. Why? I mean, it’s not like you have anything to gain. You survive on wishes. This isn’t a wish.”
He moves his hand to my hair and strokes it. “That doesn’t matter. I just want you to be happy.”
I turn my head and his hand falls. “What if I can never be?”
He doesn’t say anything as we continue moving to the beat of the music. I know I’m ruining this and I hate myself for it, but I don’t understand this. I don’t understand him. Why would he do this for me? I swallow, looking anywhere but at him. “Is it the genie/master bond? Is that what’s…pulling you to do this?” I want to add, “Or is it something more?” But I press my lips together.
His eyebrows furrow. “No.”
My heart skips a beat. He’s not doing this because of the bond we have. Does that mean it is something more? All this wondering is driving me insane. I want to talk to him about it, but I can’t. I won’t be able to stand the rejection.
“You’re the first master I have done this for,” he says after a little while. “You’re the kindest.” I’m on pins and needles, waiting for him to say what I want him to say, but he doesn’t. My heart deflates like one of the balloons that popped and now lies flat on the floor, but I try not to let him see it. Instead, I look around.
His hand is on my cheek, his thumb making circles. When my gaze flits to his, he has an intense look in his eyes, one I can’t read. “You’re beautiful, Lily.” He brings his left hand to the back of my head and slowly lowers his mouth to mine. All these sensations explode throughout my body and I feel like a rocket shooting to space. His lips are warm, soft, sweet. My hands plow through his hair as I push closer to him, practically fusing our bodies as one.
My eyes are shut when he lets go, and all I can think about is wanting to do it again. My lips throb, my breathing is heavy. My legs are seconds away from collapsing. Sebastian’s hands are still where they were, and I can feel him bend toward me again, and when his lips touch mine, they send jolts to each cell of my body.
When I’m brave enough to open my eyes, I see him staring at me as we kiss. He’s so close that I can see exactly how blue his eyes are. They’re magical, exotic, anything but human. Nothing like I’ve ever seen before.
His hand tangles in my hair, messing it up, but I don’t care. All I think about is his lips on mine and his hand caressing my cheek. I’m in another portal now, floating on a cloud. I don’t want him to break away, because once he does, this moment, this magical moment, will be gone and we’ll never get it back.
When we finally stop to breathe, Sebastian lowers my head to his chest, stroking the side of it. He doesn’t say a word, and neither do I, but thoughts cloud my head. What was that? It’s something I’ve never experienced before. Never felt before. I’ve dreamed and wished to be like the women in romance novels and movies, but that’s nothing compared to what just happened.
Sebastian’s heart is beating at an erratic pace. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and I swear his arms are a little weak, since they’re trembling a bit. I want to ask what exactly that was. What am I to him? What does he feel? But I keep my mouth shut because I’m scared he’ll give me the answers I don’t want. Here with my head resting on his chest is perfect. I don’t want to ruin it. I don’t want to think. Just feel. I shut my eyes, taking in his sweet smell and soft skin. I can stay here forever, in his arms and swaying to the soft music.
I don’t know how long we remain like this before something that feels like a table slams against me, and I crash to the floor. When I look up, I see all the furniture is back and I’m wearing my jeans and T-shirt. The walls are back to their usual, white selves.
The fantasy—my magical night—is over.
Sebastian stands up, his eyes on mine. The fantasy may have been just a fantasy, but the kiss sure wasn’t. His lips are a little swollen, his chest is still rising and falling. There’s a look on his face that I don’t understand. It’s not anger, not confusion. And—my heart drops—it isn’t happiness, delight, or passion, either. He doesn’t seem as moved as I am.
Without a word, he transforms into a cloud of smoke and shoots to my room, where the lamp is. I chase after him and pick the lamp up. Sure enough, the swirls are there, which means he’s inside.
I run my finger along it, softly so he won’t come out. As much as I want him to, I can see he doesn’t. After placing the lamp on the table, I walk to the window and peer out. Sebastian and I shared a kiss, a kiss that was so passionate it couldn’t be real. But it was very, very real, as was Sebastian’s rejection. It cuts deep, to places I didn’t know could feel so much pain.
I press my forehead to the window and shut my eyes. In those few minutes in Sebastian’s arms, I didn’t think about Daisy or my mom. All that mattered was the feeling of his lips on mine. Now that it’s over, everything comes crashing down on me.
Chapter Ten
Monday mornings suck. After the weekend, it’s hard to get back to work. But on this particular Monday, I don’t want to get out of bed for another reason. I dozed off by the window last night and woke up at five in the morning. I don’t know what I was thinking, hoping that Sebastian would be in my room, waiting for me. Whatever happened between us…I’m not sure what to make of it. What to make of him. Obviously I like him in a way I shouldn’t, and if he doesn’t feel the same…then
what? I make two wishes and send him packing? But the thought of him no longer being in my life tears me apart. I want to see that sweet smile, to see his intense eyes filled with passion, curiosity, intrigue. I don’t want him to leave.
My eyes drift to the lamp sitting on my night table. He’s still inside, which doesn’t surprise me since he doesn’t have to get up early for work. I don’t understand why he kissed me. He told me he has no “needs.” Why would he kiss me? And it wasn’t just a kiss. It was a kiss. I felt many things from him, but not the most important one: his true feelings. Was he just messing around? Was it the genie/master thing? These thoughts and questions keep rolling around in my head and I’ll go insane soon, but I can’t help it. I need to know. But not now. I’ve got to get to work. I can’t lose this job.
I perk up when I remember I’m having an interview today. I applied for the sous chef position. There’s a high chance I won’t get it, since they’re looking for someone with experience, but at least I can focus on something else besides Sebastian.
As I munch on some toast, Sebastian walks into the kitchen. He looks…normal. Not bothered or turned on or anything to indicate he can’t stop replaying the kiss in his head. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he completely forgot about it.
He smiles. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
I force my eyes not to go to his lips. Those lips that felt so smooth and warm as they swept across mine and sent blood rushing to every part of my body.
He leans against the counter. “I was thinking about your next wish.”
My guts squeeze together. He wants me to wish. Wants to get as far away from me as possible. I take another bite of my toast, squaring my shoulders to pretend this doesn’t bother me. “What about it?”
“I just wanted to tell you…”
I shut my eyes. Don’t say it, Sebastian. Please don’t tell me to get it over with so you can leave.
“…to take your time.”
My eyes spring open and I turn to him. He has an indifferent expression on his face. His eyes don’t have that intensity, but they’re bluer than ever.
“Have a good day at work.” He walks out of the kitchen.
Falling for the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 1) Page 6