Possessed (13 page)

Sebastian
laughed. She stared at him, her brows raised in what appeared to be surprise. “I’m
sorry.” Then he shook his head. “Actually, hell no, I’m not sorry that we just
made love. You’re beautiful and you’re hot.”

She
bit her lip. “What are you playing at?”

“I’m
just being honest with you. Becky is inconsequential.”

Her
eyes narrowed. “Bet you say that about all the girls.”

“Never
you,” he said solemnly.

Keva
inhaled as though she’d been splashed with a glass of cold water. She opened
her mouth but whatever she was about to say was cut off by a knock at the door.

It
was a surreal moment. She had to be dreaming. Keva was tempted to pinch herself
beneath the table. But this was real. She was actually sitting at her mother’s
table with her sister on her left, encouraging her daughter to eat her
vegetables and Sebastian to her right, his long curls finger combed and looking
as though he’d just had sex. Which he had. Keva shuddered to think what would
have happened if Kevin had come to her place a half an hour earlier. Her mother
and Lily had been worried about her and sent him after her. Once there, he’d
invited Sebastian to dinner. It had surprised her when he’d accepted the invite.

With
the exception of Kevin, the rest of her family wore their Sunday best. Kevin
had stopped at home after work to change into a button-down shirt and slacks.
Even little Ambrosia wore a fluffy pink dress. Sebastian was the most casually
dressed person at the table in a faded  T-shirt and worn jeans. She had on a
nice blouse and new jeans, yet she didn’t feel as comfortable as Sebastian
appeared to be despite the fact that this was her family and he was surrounded
by strangers. But then perhaps he didn’t know what was coming.

For
a while, the conversation centered around the food. Kevin complained about
being the manager at a pharmacy that was open every day. Each year they seemed
to be expanding work hours. This year they were discussing being open even on
Thanksgiving.

“Kevin,
you can’t miss Thanksgiving,” their mother said, “and your employees shouldn’t
have to either.”

“I’m
hoping it doesn’t come to that. Either way, it won’t be for the entire day.” He
grinned. “I’ll still make it here in time for your sweet-potato pie.”

Her
mother sighed. “I don’t like it, but I understand. Jobs are hard to come by
these days.” She turned to Sebastian. “What do you do for a living, young man?”

And
it starts
,
Keva thought, taking a sip of her sweet tea.

“At
the moment, I’m between jobs.”

Nellie’s
eyes flashed to her as she made a hum of acknowledgement. Keva shifted in her
seat. She well understood that look. It said
strike one
. “How did you
say you met my daughter?”

“We
met while she was working in Nevada.”

“Oh?
Did you work at that place also?”

Sebastian
paused with a forkful of collard greens halfway to his mouth. He couldn’t have
possibly missed her mother’s disapproving tone. “No. I was flipping houses.”

“Wow,
that sounds exciting,” Jackson said. Her brother-in-law loved tools. Lily was
constantly complaining about his attempts to make modifications to their home. The
noise and dirt drove her crazy.

“What
is flipping houses?”

“I
buy foreclosed homes, fix them up, and sell them.”

Nellie’s
eyes narrowed. “You mean you profit off the misfortune of others?”

Keva
suppressed a groan.
Strike two
.

“Well,
they’re not all foreclosed.”

“Hmph.
But you’re currently unemployed. Do you plan on going back to Nevada?”

“No,
ma’am.”

“Mmm.
So what do you plan to do for work? You do plan to work, don’t you?” She eyed
his shoulder-length hair. “You’re not some sort of
hippie
, are you?”

Keva
hid a grin behind her hand. Her mother hated hippies. Keva didn’t think she’d
ever actually met a hippie. It was on principle alone that her mother disliked
them. Kevin choked on his tea. Lecretia hid the lower half of her face behind
her napkin. Jackson had to turn his back on the table. Only Lily remained
unamused.

“I
do plan to work, ma’am. And, no, I’m not a hippie.” Sebastian managed to answer
with a straight face despite the snickers breaking out around him.

“Then
you might want to get a haircut. No one around here is going to hire you
looking like that.”

“Actually,
I was thinking of going back into web design or perhaps running my own
construction company.”

“Mmm.”
Nellie said no more, but she didn’t seem satisfied.

Lily
wiped Ambrosia’s stained face. The baby’s plump cheeks were adorable as she
chewed her food with a sum total of four teeth. “Are you originally from
Nevada?”

“No,
I’m from California.”

“Any
siblings?”

“None.”

“Oh?
Your parents must miss you. Do you plan to return to California?”

Sebastian
tensed at the mention of his parents, but he answered calmly enough. “No.” With
a significant glance at Keva, he said, “I’m finding that I like it here.”

“And
how did you happen to begin flipping houses in Nevada?”

“I
traveled there with friends and decided to stay.”

“Just
like that? Do you often make such snap decisions? Bit of a wanderer, aren’t
you?”

Keva
sighed at her sister’s sharp tone and decided it was time for her to step in.
“You can end the inquisition. You and mom have the wrong idea about Sebastian
and me. We’re only friends.”

****

“Only
friends, huh?” Sebastian whispered, bumping his knee against Keva’s. They sat
side by side on the couch while her family planned who would bring what to
their Thanksgiving dinner. Sebastian thought it was premature since the holiday
was a month off. His family was small. It had always just been him and his parents.
His mother hadn’t been much of a cook. She didn’t like it and had avoided it
whenever possible. The last year he’d spent with his parents, his mom had tried
frying the turkey. The bird had turned out black on the outside and raw on the
inside. He and his dad considered themselves lucky that she hadn’t burned the
house down.

Keva
cut her dark eyes at him. “Barely that,” she muttered.

Sebastian
suppressed a groan. Convincing her that they were right for each other was
going to be more difficult than he’d thought. He’d just assumed she’d be happy
that he wasn’t going to leave.

“Keva,
you can bring the tea,” Lily said, scribbling on a notepad. Her brow wrinkled.
“Do you think you could also manage corn bread? They’ve got some really good
mixes on the market.”

Keva
sighed. Sebastian was probably the only one who heard her. “I can handle it.”

“Sebastian,
will you still be in town for Thanksgiving?” Lily inquired.

“Yes,”
he answered.

At
the same time Keva said, “No.”

There
was a moment of silence. Then Nellie said, “Well, if you’re in town, you’re
welcome to come.”

“Thank
you. I’d love to.”

After
they finished sorting who would bring what dish, the women went to clean the
kitchen. Sebastian had offered to help but was declined. Keva whispered to him
that her mother didn’t like men in her kitchen.

Kevin
dropped into the seat that Keva vacated and grabbed the remote off the coffee
table. He turned on the television and began surfing channels. “That was quite
the grilling my mom and sister gave you. You okay?”

“I’m
fine. I understand. She’s protecting her daughter.”

Jackson
bounced his baby daughter on his lap. Ambrosia giggled before sliding out of
her father’s lap. “I had to go through it when Lily first brought me home. And
I grew up next door!”

“Is
it true? That the two of you are just friends?” Kevin asked without taking his
attention away from the TV.

Sebastian
wasn’t sure how to answer that one. By this time Ambrosia had made her way
around the coffee table to him. She held her arms up, mutely requesting to be
taken. He didn’t know what it was about him, but babies loved him. Scooping her
up, he replied to Kevin’s questions. “I want it to be more than that, but I
haven’t been a very good friend in the past. I want to make that up to her.”
Ambrosia grabbed a handful of his curls and tugged.

Kevin
grinned. “And you’re not a hippie?”

“Definitely
not, but what’s the deal with hippies?”

“Oh,
Mom hates them. Don’t know why, but I guess it’s the work ethic. Mom believes
in hard work.”

He
nodded. He could deal with that. His father had the same belief. Though he
hadn’t seen his parents since he was sixteen, he had continued to live by the
values they’d instilled in him. He always had a job. It’s wasn’t that he needed
to. He had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life. Before
he’d gone into web design as a profession, he’d had his own successful Web site.
Another company had purchased it from him for several million dollars. He’d
retained some stock and the Web site had remained profitable after he resigned.

“Do
you think you’ll flip any houses around here?” Kevin asked.

Sebastian
shook his head and winced as Ambrosia gave his hair a hard yank. “It was fun,
but it’s ultimately not as profitable as it once was.” The baby grabbed his
cheeks and then pressed her forehead to his so that his vision was filled with
her dark brown eyes. She grinned at him, displaying all four of her teeth. He
couldn’t help laughing.

“I’ve
never seen her take to a stranger like this,” Jackson said. “She’s usually kind
of shy.”

“Babies
love me. I guess I’m a natural.” Ambrosia pressed wet lips to his cheek before
sliding out of his lap to investigate the floral arrangement at the center of
the coffee table. Jackson quickly redirected her to a small pile of brightly
colored toys on the floor.

Kevin
put down the remote, having stopped on the DIY channel. He glanced at his
watch. “I wish those women would finish up their gossiping about you in there.
I’ve got to go into work, and I want time to relax before going to bed.”

Sebastian’s
eyes widened, but he wasn’t really surprised. He didn’t think Mrs. Lane
approved of him and that she would more than likely be warning her daughter off
him. Like he wasn’t already facing an uphill battle where Keva was concerned.

****

Keva
rinsed the plates as Lily handed them to her. Passing them to Lecretia, she
wondered if their mother ever used the dishwasher they’d purchased her two
Christmases ago. While they handled the dishes, Nellie put away the leftovers.

“Jackson
might be getting a promotion,” Lily said, her voice full of pride. “He doesn’t
want to say anything about it. He thinks it might jinx the whole thing, but I
told him to stop being so superstitious.” Jackson was an accountant at an
accounting firm.

“Maybe
he’s just being cautious,” Keva pointed out. “He doesn’t want anyone to be
disappointed if he doesn’t get it.”

Lily
scoffed. “He’s a shoo-in. Unless…”

“Unless
what?”

Lily
looked around as though she was afraid someone else might have come into the
kitchen. “You know that sometimes it’s harder for a black man to get ahead.
He’s the most qualified one there, but you never know.” She shrugged.

Keva’s
eyebrows rose. Lily had been making sure Sebastian wasn’t in the kitchen. “I
appreciate you not trying to offend Sebastian, and I really hope Jackson gets
that promotion. But I wasn’t kidding when I said we were only friends.”

Lecretia
grinned. “But he’s so hot.”

“He’s
a hippie,” Nellie grumbled. “At least he’s clean.”

Lecretia
laughed. Keva sighed. Exasperated, she put her hands on her hips and turned to
face her mother. “Mom, he’s not a hippie. He had a job—”

“
Had
being the operative word.”

Lily
matched her stance, placing her hands on her hips. “Really, Keva, the man goes
from job to job. He’ll never get anywhere that way. If you don’t stay on him,
he won’t get a job here and next thing you know, he’ll be living off you. Don’t
let that pretty face and that toned body make a fool of you.”

She
laughed. She couldn’t help it. The thought of straitlaced Lily even noticing
Sebastian in that way was hilarious. “You’re too funny. And you’re worrying for
nothing. I know how Sebastian is. I’m surprised he’s still in town—not because
he’s a flake or a lazy loser. He just likes to move around a lot.” Personally,
she thought that he was running away from his abilities, and as they were part
of him, he would never succeed.

She
turned back to the sink and rinsed off several plates while Lily gathered the
serving dishes. Lecretia nudged her with her elbow. With a glance over her
shoulder, she leaned closer and whispered, “You mean to tell me you haven’t hit
that?” Keva’s mouth dropped opened but she didn’t say “no” fast enough.
Lecretia’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God, you did!”