Taking Chances (Learning to Love) (10 page)

"Man-whore huh?"

We both broke out into laughter. He was trying to dodge the serious talk, but I knew he heard what I was saying and that was the important part.

"Oh my God, Lexi get back in here!" Becca called from the upstairs window. The exasperation in her voice told me Jamie was only getting worse. I wasn't sure I'd have better luck, but I supposed I should at least give it a try. Matt handed me the earrings and kissed my head before I headed back up the stairs to see if I could help tame the beast.

Once we finally got Jamie calmed down with a few Xanax I swiped from her mother's medicine cabinet, things went a whole lot smoother. Kat and I managed to keep her away from the alcohol in the limo on the way to the church because she was a little more calm than she needed to be already and scenes from
Sixteen Candle
s were flashing through my mind. I probably should have only given her two Xanax.

The ceremony began without a hitch, though I was paired up with Sebastian to walk down the aisle. When it was our turn, he took my arm into his, avoiding eye contact, and down the carpet we went.

Damn, he sure did smell good
.

During the ceremony he kept his attention elsewhere. Not once did he even look in my direction, despite the fact that I was finding it difficult to keep my eyes to myself. I couldn't help it, he was smoking hot in that tux.

Unfortunately, Gary was all about the eye contact. I could feel his stare burning into me through the entire ceremony. The poor guy had a small flesh colored bandage over the bridge of his nose and a dark bruise under his eye. I felt guilty seeing him there like that, since it was my fault Sebastian hit him. Not that it made sense though. Sebastian had no reason to care who I was trying to drunk-fuck in the men's room, especially since he had already turned me down. He clearly had no interest. I glanced at Gary again and he was smiling, still staring me down. I just knew I would have to deal with him at some point before the end of the night.

Luckily, Jamie made it through the ceremony without any major issues and by the time they finished with the million pictures the photographer insisted we needed to take, she was getting back to her old self again. She really did look beautiful, even I had to admit that, but to spend tens of thousands of dollars on one day that would only become a bitter memory one day when the relationship fell apart, was insane. I hoped my father's wedding was not going to be an over-the-top waste of money like this one, not that it mattered much. I planned to be as intoxicated as I could be, while still standing upright.

As I stood near the bar, I already noticed Gary heading in my direction. He wasn't wasting any time, that was for sure. I took a deep breath and braced myself to apologize, then nicely tell him I was so not interested, despite the fact I stripped for him in a men's room two nights earlier.

"Hello, Kitten."

I spun around to see who the voice belonged to. It was Sebastian, a devilishly sexy grin pulled the corners of his mouth up just enough to leave a little mystery. The tux fit his muscular frame perfectly. I couldn't stop my mind from wandering and imagining how much better he would look out of it. Gary stopped in his tracks, his face fell as he looked at Sebastian standing next to me, and slunk down in the nearest seat.

"Hi," I managed to say, trying to push thoughts of him minus the tux out of my mind. After what Jamie told me he said about the other night, I was actually surprised that he approached me at all.

"You're not drinking tequila tonight I hope," he teased, but I could tell that behind the smile and light tone, he was serious.

"No, not tonight. I was thinking I'd go right for the vodka, straight up." I was joking. He didn't laugh. "Look, I am really sorry about the other night. I had too much to drink and well I don't really remember much, but I know that I should apologize, so I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't drink so much," he said flatly, the smile now gone.

"Okay, thanks,
Dad
. I'll keep that in mind." I started to walk away, not really interested in a lecture from some guy I didn't know, about my drinking habits, not even one as delicious as Sebastian Michelson.

"I'm sorry, please don't go," he said, and grabbed me by the wrist, preventing me from leaving.

My skin tingled under his hand. My whole body screamed to feel him touch each and every part of me. My body betrayed me wickedly with this man. I stood looking at him, waiting for a reason to stay. His lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something, yet nothing came from his mouth.

"Why not?" I asked, still wondering why it would matter if I left, yet really wanting him to have a good reason to keep me there.

"Because I am not the jerk you must think I am." His smile returned and his eyes sparkled with flecks of teal, turquoise, and sapphire. I nearly melted into a puddle right there in front of him.

"So what kind of jerk are you then?"

He laughed, letting his eyes fall to my lips before licking over his own and biting the bottom one for a few seconds before looking back to my eyes.

"Maybe we should try this again. Hi, I'm Sebastian Michelson." He held out a hand, smiling.

A do-over huh?
Not that I really deserved one, but I wasn't going to turn it down either.

"Lexi James." I smiled back and took his hand into mine. His skin was surprisingly rough against mine. I thought he was some sort of CEO or something, yet his skin was tough and callused like someone who did manual labor.

"Wonderful to meet you, Ms. James," he purred and rubbed his thumb over the top of my hand, tingling the flesh beneath. My breath caught in my chest, leaving me at a sudden loss of the ability to speak, which of course, only deepened his smile. "Tell me Ms. James, how is it you spend your days?" he asked, releasing my hand.

My skin instantly missed the feel of him, but my brain began higher-order functioning once again, clearing out the fog that seemed to roll in whenever he touched me.

"I'm a freelance journalist for the Ledger. What about you, Mr. Michelson? What do you do over in Europe?"

"The same thing I do here. I run a medical technology and research facility. We have labs in Europe as well as here. I guess you don't remember that from the other night?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I do not. I thought we were starting over anyway?" I tried not to let my embarrassment from that evening seep through.

"Indeed," he smiled, making a hat-tipping gesture in apology.

"Besides, wouldn't I have told you what I did the other night as well?"

"Well, you were a bit unclear about that," he said, stifling a giggle.

"What does that mean?" I knew I shouldn't even ask, but not knowing what I did or said had gotten the better of me.

He thought for a moment, as if trying to find the right way to answer.

"You said that you...'write shit', for a living." This time he could not hold back the laugh.

"Oh." Well, it was the truth at least. I did write shit for a living.

"They are serving dinner. Maybe we should eat." He motioned over to the tables.

"I'm not really hungry, thanks."

He frowned. Maybe the poor guy was starving and didn't want to be rude.

"But, uh, you go if you're hungry," I said, trying to give him an easy out of standing there with me.

"Only if you'll join me." He offered me his arm, ready to head over to the tables.

For one brief moment, I thought about telling him no. I couldn't deny it, I was crazy attracted to Sebastian, but he had already made it clear he was not interested in me that way, so why torture myself being in his company when it only made me want him more? I just wasn't strong enough to walk away. Just the thought of my arm entwined in his was enough to make me agree, so I looped my arm in his and followed.

***

Once at the table, he poured water into the glass in front of me, and pushed the champagne that sat untouched away. I should have been irritated at that, but after the way I'd acted Thursday, I really couldn't blame him. I stabbed at a roasted potato on the plate and popped it in my mouth. He smiled and went to work on his own meal.

"How's it going over here?" Kat asked, sliding herself into the seat next to me and stealing a carrot off my plate. She looked over at Sebastian with a sexy little smile on her face and I knew she was thinking dirty thoughts. I was pretty sure he knew too, because he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and cleared his throat.

"So, Katarina, I hear that you are dating Lexi's brother Matt," he said, calling attention to her boyfriend which stopped her from looking at him like the big bad wolf checking out Little Red.

"Yes, Sebastian. I heard you were gay. Is that really true?" She batted her long eyelashes innocently.

Poor Sebastian nearly choked on his prime rib.

"You have been misinformed, Ms. Kaverin. I most certainly am not gay," Sebastian stressed, quickly gaining back his composure.

Well, that's good to know
.

"Hey Bas, how's the food?" Justin asked, slapping Sebastian on the back and taking the seat next to him. He eyed me sympathetically, probably because of what Sebastian told him about the other night.

"Very good. How's yours Lexi?" he asked, his eyes prompting me to eat.

I cut a small piece and forked it into my mouth, chewed a few times and shook my head in agreement. He watched me until I forked another cube into my mouth, smiled, then turned back to Justin for a detailed conversation about the honeymoon. Kat was giving me a strange look.

"What the hell is with you two?" she asked in a loud whisper.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I looked at her innocently, forking another piece of meat into my mouth.

Kat sucked her top lip into her mouth the way she always did when she was thinking hard about something. I noticed Gary over her shoulder sitting at the next table and glancing in our direction. He seemed to be looking from me to Sebastian and back to me. I just hoped he wasn't about to come over here. I knew I needed to apologize, but that was probably best done outside the company of the guy who beat his face bloody.

Kat suddenly got up, walked over to Matt, and sat on his lap, talking into his ear. Great, she was telling on me. It was about time for that champagne sitting next to my water and maybe a few shots of tequila. I felt a hand slide up my shoulder behind me.

"Care to dance?" Gary asked, looking like he might throw up.

I glanced over at Sebastian, who was glaring at Gary, and gripping his knife with hostility. Gary was seriously lacking in life skills because he didn't know when to back down. I took pity on the poor guy and figured it was best to keep him away from Sebastian, at least while he had a weapon. I let him lead me out on to the dance floor and wrap his arms, a little too tightly, around my waist.

"Listen, Gary, I'm really sorry about the other night--" I started to apologize but he cut me off.

"I'm not. Sorry that is," he said looking up at me, because in those heels, he was about two inches shorter than me.

"Okay, well, nonetheless, I am sorry. I got really drunk and I don't even remember most of what happened. I'm sure whatever it was, it was my fault." He let me finish speaking this time, mulling over what I said thoughtfully.

"You aren't drunk now. We could try again?"

I stopped and pushed my hands back against his chest to create some space between us. He was serious.

"I don't think you understand," I said, trying to find a good way to tell him that was never going to happen. "I was
really
drunk. That's the
only
reason I was even in that bathroom with you. Do you get what I mean?" I asked, scanning his face for understanding. There was none. Instead, he slipped his hand down from my waist, resting it right on my ass. Before I had a chance to react, he was pulled off of me, and held up by the front of his shirt three inches in the air.

Sebastian just stared into his eyes as he held him there. I thought poor Gary was going to piss his pants.

"Sebastian, Let him go!" I yelled, not wanting him to kill the guy. He lowered him to the floor gently, not releasing the death grip on his shirt, and turned his face to look at me coldly.

"You were enjoying his hand on your ass then?" he asked between gritted teeth.

"No," I admitted. "But, I don't want you to hurt him either."

A crowd started to form around us. Hushed voices passed over the circle watching the spectacle that was now Sebastian, Gary and me. The last thing I needed, was more embarrassment. I made one last ditch effort to plead with Sebastian to let go of Gary with my eyes, and turned to head for the door, nearly tripping in Kat's skyscraper heels. I pulled the shoes off my feet and made my way out to the parking lot, not stopping to see what happened behind me. That was not turning into a good week for me.

Well, last night was good, but that was a onetime thing. After having some time to think about things, I knew it was not something I was going to do again, but I wasn't going to regret it either. At least, I was going to try not to.