Between Friends

The next day was Friday. You spent the morning applying for more jobs and checking back with salons you had visited before. Sebastian took the day off to drive you around; he wasn't over what had happened the night before.

That evening, you and Sebastian met up with Chris and Sharon at an Italian restaurant. At the entrance, before being seated, Chris introduced you all, you shook hands with her and said the usual pleasantries. Sebastian did the same. You would have hugged her to make her feel more comfortable, but you weren't sure if she would welcome that. So, handshake and big smile it is.

Once you were seated, you across from her and Sebastian across from Chris, she started, "It's so nice to finally meet the people that mean so much to Chris.", she smiled. She was looking at Sebastian when she said the first of her statement and her eyes went to you when she said "mean so much to Chris". You smiled, but unfortunately, it wasn't genuine because you were distracted by your thoughts. You had seen something in her eyes; resentment? She didn't hold eye contact with you long, so it was hard to tell, but it wasn't good.

Great.

You reminded yourself to just be your friendly, caring self and try not to let your own jealousy of losing your Chris affection get in the way.

Yeah, it was selfish for you to be jealous. You really did want him to be happy, but he completed the support system you had had for over a year and it just felt unbalanced without him. Sure, he was still supportive, but not in the same way. You were big on physical contact; you thrived on it, humans NEED physical contact with others to survive. You believed that everyone was connected, but those connections could be strengthened through contact... And now one of the connections you had grown used to was gone. But, those beliefs are why you believed that hugging Sharon would have established a connection and rapport between you to help things along.

Sebastian looked at you and as if reading your thoughts, or probably just your face, he put an arm around you and kissed your temple to help level you. He smiled at Sharon, "So what do you do, Sharon?"

You all loosened up over the course of the meal, less Sebastian, he was always kind of on the 'loose' side in social situations anyway. You had found that Sharon was actually really sweet and pretty funny, too. She seemed more comfortable, but there was still some reservation towards you.

Once dinner was over, you all walked out of the restaurant and down the long sidewalk to the parking lot. Chris and Sharon were holding hands, her head against his shoulder while Chris and Seb talked. You saw Sebastian take out the mint candy he'd gotten from the bowl at the hostess station before you all left, he had handed you one then as well. You asked him, "Can I have that?"

His brows furrowed, "Where's yours?"

"I ate it.", you opened your mouth and stuck out your tongue. "Ahhhhh.", then you snatched the candy out of his hand and ran. He took off after you. Even though you were a runner yourself, he was also a runner and his legs were longer, so he caught up to you pretty quickly. He threw his arms around you tight from behind and tried getting a hold of your wiggly little hand holding the mint in a death grip. You were both shouting and laughing.

Chris and Sharon were quite a ways back behind the two of you since you and Sebstian ran a bit far. They were just strolling, chuckling and watching your antics off in the distance.

Sebastian brought out the big guns and started tickling your side and stomach with one hand while still holding you snug with the other. You hunched over slightly in an attempt to protect yourself from the "attack" and he was hunched over you, since he was holding you firmly against his front. You were shrieking and laughing uncontrollably, trying to talk through it, "Seb! Ahahaha! It's mine!"

He was unrelenting, you had to win. You cried out, "Oh! Ow!"

He stopped instantaneously, "Oh God, sweetie, I'm sorry.", he straightened, stepped to your side and hugged you, tilting his head to the side and down to look at you.

You smiled slightly and said, "I was just playing to get you to stop."

He pulled back, his hands still lightly on you. He looked down at you as you looked up at him, his face was showing hurt and a hint of anger. "If you ever want me to stop anything, just tell me and I will in a heartbeat. And don't make me think that I've hurt you to get what you want. Hurting you is not a joke."

You nodded apologetically, "Of course, I'm really sorry. That was way out of line."

He was still standing to your side as he pulled you to him again and you tucked your arms against yourself in his embrace. His head was dipped down, his lips against your hair, close to your ear, "Don't ever do that again. Please.", he pleaded softly.

You nodded against him, "I promise.", you said quietly.

You gave him back his mint. He released you and smiled, "Thank you." He unwrapped it, popped it in his mouth and gave you a chuck under the chin with a finger, then winked.

Chris and Sharon were just a few steps away and when they reached the two of you, they said goodnight and left.

They got to Chris's car and he opened the door for her, then got in himself. As Chris backed out of the parking spot, Sharon spoke, "She's pretty."

Chris knew this was a test. He may not know a lot about a woman's psyche, but this was an easy trap to spot. He shifted the car and drove foward, then took her hand. His eye contact and smile where quick, "You're pretty, Sharon." He couldn't bring himself to call her by anything but her name, just didn't feel right yet. He also didn't deny your beauty or compare it to hers; that wasn't how he thought, even though he knew that's what she was fishing for.

She seemed pleased by his reaction and she smiled. Sharon had noticed the amount of affection Sebastian had shown you during dinner and having seen those shenannigans and that embrace on the way to the car, she wondered, "So are (Y/N) and Sebastian together?"

He shook his head, slightly, "Nope, just close friends."

Her expression changed to panic with a hint of anger and hurt, "Is that the kind of friend you are with her? You've referred to the her as 'close' before."

Chris sighed, 'Here we go.', he thought. He wasn't going to lie to her, so this could be bumpy, "No, it isn't. I used to be like that with her- Well, not quite like that; Seb is a bit overzealous."

He glanced at her. She looked hurt, so he continued, squeezing her hand, "Once I was with you, that all stopped. It's like an unspoken rule when her or I date, same with Seb. Now, she may get a hug when we meet or part, or a friendly touch on the arm or back, just like any of my other friends, even the guys, but that's about it."

He looked at her again, she was nodding, staring at her lap. He looked back to the road, "I'm with you now Sharon, you have nothing to worry about."

"Okay.", she nodded hesitantly. She believed him, but she needed time to get her jealousy in check.

That night Chris didn't come home. It was the first night since he started seeing Sharon that he stayed at her house. You were watching a movie on TV while sitting on your bed and you couldn't stop thinking about it, it made you uneasy. 'Are they having sex? God, I hope not. Of course they are, why else would he stay over?' Why were you obsessing over your friend's sex life? You never had before. Your train of thought was interrupted by Sebastian flopping down onto your bed next to you.

"Hey, sweets.", he was laying on his side, leaning on on an elbow and put his head against your arm.

"Hiyo! What's up?", replied playfully, smiling at him.

He lifted his head and grinned so wide at your cuteness, "Night watch. I'm here to take up half your bed- okay,", he cocked an eyebrow for a second, "probably more than half, for the rest of the night. Not letting you out of my sight yet. What we watching?"

"The Help. I love this movie." You had just started it.

Sebastian folded a pillow behind his upper back against the headboard, laying on his back. You sat against the headboard, a pillow behind your back so that you could be turned toward Sebastian enough to rest you legs over his stomach and cross your ankles. When you did, he held his hands up slightly for a moment like he didn't know where to put them. You were wearing short little jersey shorts for bed and your smooth thighs were right there. It made him want to do things. Very specific things. But, he opted instead to rest the hand closest to your feet on your shin and the other on his own chest.

You had noticed his reaction and asked, "Everything okay?"

He nodded and pulled the corners of his mouth downward, "Yep." He then gave you tight lipped smile and turned his attention back to the TV.

At some point during the movie you shifted, lifting your legs off of him and he frowned internally at the loss of those lovely legs. You had to move because your butt started falling asleep on one side. You sat back against the pillow and headboard with your feet pointing at the foot of the bed and crossed your ankles, switching which foot was on top from before.

He immediately saw an opportunity and put his pillow in your lap, scooted himself down a bit and laid his head down. Now you didn't know what to do with your hands for a second, you put one on his shoulder and the other arm against your stomach and the edge of his pillow. His lower arm snaked up under your thighs just enough to reach out the other side of them both and tickle the outer side of your one thigh with his fingertips by curling and uncurling his fingers. He really wanted your legs to be touching him and he wanted to be touching them back; God, they were so soft.

Your breath had hitched so quietly, but it didn't get past him, "Everything okay?", he smirked without looking at you, intentionally repeating what you had said earlier.

You sighed, looking down at the side of his face with narrow eyes, "Yes. Just fine."

A good chunk of time had passed and you just couldn't help yourself anymore. You moved the hand that was against your stomach to his head and starting at his hairline, you raked your fingertips back through his hair lightly. You saw his eyes close as he took in a long, deep breath and let it out along with a hum, "Mmmm, that's feels so good."

You smiled. While you continued playing with his hair, he took your hand from his shoulder and brought it to his lips, kissing your knuckles softly. The butterflies... Oh my God, the butterflies. He put your hand back and continued to revel in your touch.

Once the credits started rolling on the movie, Sebastian sat up, "Wanna watch another one?"

"Yeah.", you smiled brightly.

You were both really loving this cuddle session and wanted any excuse to continue. The fact that it had been taken up a notch from the usual made it more intimate, comforting... And a bit arousing.

You both fell asleep during the second movie, he on his back, head against the headboard again and you curled up in a little ball on your side with your head and a hand on his stomach.

He had played with your hair and tickled your back, arm, shoulder... your neck. It had sent delicious heat through your whole body to the point where you thought you'd never fall asleep. But, after his hand stopped moving and rested on your side, you felt so safe and comfortable with him that you went out like a light.