The Education of Sebastian & the Education of Caroline(270)

I grinned at him. “Yes, it does, but now you’ve got me thinking other things, Hunter, and my once pristine thoughts are getting a little dirty.”

“How dirty?” he said, his eyes heating under my gaze.

I stood with my hands on my hips and looked him in the eye.

“Very dirty.”

He groaned. “Why didn’t you say that before I did that damn workout, Caro?”

I laughed. “Rain check until tonight, Hunter. It’s a beautiful day, we should be outside.”

He nodded his agreement, then lifted my hand to his lips, brushing soft, sweet kisses over the tip of each finger.

“Yeah, okay. I need to see Atash anyway. He’s got some problem with immigration that he wants me to look into.”

Atash was the name of one of the Afghan men from the café and, against the odds, he and Sebastian had become friends. Atash’s family had been forced to leave their village near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province and were lost and alone in a new country. Being useful to them brought Sebastian back to life, day by day. And day by day, it brought him back to me.

I wasn’t sure if he and Sebastian had bonded over baseball or because Sebastian was probably the only other person in all of Long Beach who spoke his language. But most days they found an excuse to meet up. And once Sebastian had started helping Atash and his family with their legal status, they spent even more time together.

Atash was shy about coming to our home so, mostly, Sebastian walked over to see him. I was glad he had a reason to leave the bungalow, and one that was completely separate from our life together. He needed it, and I think he knew that.

“So, if you’re not talking about sex, Caro,” he prompted me, “what’s this ‘challenge’ that you’re on about?”

“I want you to meet my friends. I miss them, and they really want to meet you.”

His gaze dropped to the floor.

“Okay, I guess it’s time.”

He didn’t look thrilled by the idea, but he didn’t object either.

I spoke to Nicole first.

“He’s doing much better now, and I’d like you to meet him. We want to invite you over this weekend.”

“Oh, he’s finally going to let you see the light of day, is he, Lee?”

I was taken aback.

“That’s … harsh. He’s been ill, Nic.”

I could sense her indignant and judgmental silence on the other end of the line.

“Okay,” she said, rather reluctantly. “Yes, of course I’ll be there. Do you want me to talk to Jenna and Alice?”

“No, that’s fine,” I said, trying to keep my tone neutral and the hurt I felt out of my voice. “I should make the calls. Come for lunch?”

As Saturday approached, I threw myself into a frenzy of cooking. I’d dragged Sebastian all over Long Beach to get the ingredients I wanted. He was beginning to look much more like himself. Although he was still very slender, he was beginning to pile the muscle weight back on. His hair was longer than I was used to seeing it, turning into a crazy, blond mop.

“Thought I’d grow it for a while,” he said, casually.

“Fine by me,” I grinned, tugging a lock in my hand.

Day by day, he was looking more like the surfer boy I’d fallen in love with. He still had bad days and some very bad nights, and he was still in a considerable amount of pain from the shrapnel wounds in his thigh. But on good days he was able to walk without a cane, although he still had a significant limp.

“I spoke to Ches while you were out,” he said casually.

“You did?”

I was pleased that he’d finally gotten around to talking to his friend—but nervous about what had been said: particularly about me.

“And?”

“He said he and Amy would fly out for our wedding.”

I caught my breath and stared at him.

“If you still want to marry me, Caro?”

The small stone of grief that I’d been carrying in my heart melted away.

“Of course I do, Sebastian. I … I thought you’d changed your mind.”

He shook his head slowly, his eyes full of love.

“Never that, Caro, but I didn’t want to marry you if … if I couldn’t be a man … with you. And I promised myself I wouldn’t be using a fucking stick when I walked down the aisle.”

“They don’t have aisles in City Hall,” I said, somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

He gathered me into his arms and rocked me slowly, repeatedly kissing my hair.

“So what else did Ches say?” I mumbled into his chest.

I was pleased that I’d managed to get the words out without sounding too pathetically shaky.

“He said that he’d decided if he still hadn’t heard from me by Labor Day, he was going to come out here and kick my ass himself.”