Disclaimers: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities between the characters in this story and real people (appearances, names, etc.) are purely coincidental. This story may contain homosexual material, including love and sex, so if material like this is illegal in your region or if it discomforts you, please leave.

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The Other Half of Me Unknown

by Tyler Christopher

"Dr. Ritter?" Nurse Elle Carlisle gently beckoned the female doctor's attention while the doctor was reading over a patient's chart.

Turning her attention to the middle-aged nurse for a fraction of a second, Dr. Janine Ritter asked, "Yes, Elle?"

"I didn't find a chart for the patient in room 4C12," Elle answered.

Her attention now on her coworker in confusion and walking to the aforementioned room, Dr. Ritter said, "Room twelve should be empty. We just discharged Mr. Lido from that room."

"Samantha asked me to prep that room for another patient," Elle explained. "When I saw the young man lying on the bed I'd assumed Samantha got room numbers mixed up so I searched for the patient's chart."

The two women entered the hospital room in question. Dr. Ritter, who had walked ahead of the nurse, stopped dead near the entrance upon seeing the mostly nude body of a very young man lying unconscious on the unmade hospital bed.

Approaching the bed, Dr. Ritter said, "He looks like he'd stand at six feet, and his face makes him look to be about sixteen years of age."

Agreeing, Elle replied, "As I said, young."

The doctor instructed Elle, "Get me Doctors Evite and Suarez."

Watching the doctor attach a heart rate monitor to mystery patient's finger, Elle asked, "From the ER and ICU?"

Now attaching a blood pressure cuff to the arm, Dr. Ritter answered, "This boy is no trauma patient. Maybe they treated him before."

The nurse quickly left the room. As Dr. Ritter waited for the machines to read the patient, she placed the tips of her fingers on the well-defined muscles of the young man's chest. What had caught her attention, what her fingers were tracing, were pure-white lines adorning the already fair skin.

Scars.

"Heart rate of thirty-nine and blood pressure of one-sixteen over seventy-seven," Dr. Ritter said after reading the machine when it beeped. "You appear to be a very healthy boy. But what happened to you?"

Dr. Ritter continued to trace the dozen scars on the pale chest. They were small, the biggest she guessed to measure four inches. Examining the rest of his torso, and was saddened to note that more scars were adorning the boy's solid abs.

"You poor thing," Dr. Ritter whispered as she ghosted her finger tip over the thin white lines on the unconscious boy's stomach.

"The doctors will be here in a minute," Elle informed the doctor when she entered the room.

Not looking away from the boy, Dr. Ritter told the nurse, "The poor thing's torso is littered with scars."

Now standing beside the doctor, Elle said, "Even his legs are scarred."

Dr. Ritter's eyes slowly traveled down, noting yet more scars gracing the nearly hairless flesh of the boy's thighs.

Forlorn, Elle said to herself, "Who would do this to such a young fella?"

Dr. Ritter's eyes flew to the nurse's fingers, which were tracing more scars sitting on orange-haired calves.

Dr. Ritter then walked around the bed, examining the boy's arm. She took very small comfort in seeing very few scars adorning the appendage. She then bent forward, scrutinizing the boy's neck. No scars.

No, Dr. Ritter thought, the sting of tears beginning to form.

She noticed a hairless line in the middle of the boy's long orange hair. She slowly turned the boy's head upon seeing a staple on the back of his head. She gently lifted the long orange hair of the boy and her stomach began to churn.

"Dear god," Dr. Ritter whispered in shock at seeing six staples stitching flesh together.

"You called, Jen?" Dr. Evite asked as he walked into the room wearing green scrubs.

Dr. Ritter looked up at the other doctor, and asked, "Hope I didn't interrupt anything, Ralph?"

"Just got done a surgery," Dr. Evite replied. "Do you need an opinion on your patient?"

Still examining the boy's head, Dr. Ritter responded, "No. Elle, I see another staple. Can you check the other side of his head?"

While the nurse turned the boy's head gently, Dr. Evite asked, "Well how can I help, Jen?"

"I'd just wondered if this boy was a patient of yours, Ralph," Dr. Ritter replied. "But I'm guessing he's not."

"He hasn't been in the ICU today or yesterday," Dr. Evite answered. "Is he not a patient of yours?"

Dr. Ritter was about to answer Dr. Evite, but the nurse said, "The boy has two five-inch gashes in total on the back skull. Staples look clean and professional. Want me to call neurology?"

"Please do," Dr. Ritter answered the nurse. She then said to Dr. Eviter, "He isn't a patient of mine. This room was vacated about fifteen minutes ago, and Elle came in to prep the room for another patient. He was lying here."

"Interesting. Have you checked with the ER? I believe it's Isabel heading that department today."

"Indeed I am, Ralph," Dr. Suarez stated as she walked into the room. "What can I do for you, Jen?"

"Is this young man a recent patient of yours?" Dr. Ritter asked in response.

"I haven't treated him today," Dr. Suarez replied as she stepped up to the bed. "Yesterday was my day off, but I'll text Afsin right now."

Also stepping up to the bed, Dr. Evite said, "So many scars. They are all old though. But the skull wounds appear to be very, very fresh."

"My thoughts exactly," Dr. Suarez concurred. "You and the nurse found the boy like this? Wearing just these briefs? That leads me to believe he was not treated here."

Dr. Ritter nodded her head and replied, "So did I. Just making sure."

Dr. Suarez's cell phone vibrated, and she told her colleagues, "Afsin says he didn't treat a red-headed male within the past three days."

"Hello, Jen," a male voice with approaching footsteps. "Isabel, Ralph."

"Hi, Victor. I'll make this quick. This patient was not in here twenty minutes ago when I discharged a patient. He has staples stitching two wounds on the back of his head, so I'm wondering if he was a patient of yours."

After looking at the boy's face, Dr. Evanston replied, "Never seen him before."

After sighing heavily, Dr. Ritter then asked, "How old would you say his head wounds are?"

Dr. Evanston approached the boy's head and closely examined the aforementioned staples. "They can't be more than- an hour old. The closing is very well done."

Dr. Evite looked at a machine and said, "Good heart rate. What was his blood pressure?"

"One-sixteen over seventy-seven."

Dr. Suarez then asked, "Touch receptive?"

"I haven't checked. I know I should have, but I became distracted by the litany of scars."

As Dr. Ritter unpackaged a needle, Dr. Suarez said, "There's got to be- forty scars that I can see. You should also do a rape check."

Dr. Ritter gently pricked the padding of the boy's big toe. "No response from the left foot. Moving to the right foot. No response from the right foot. Moving to the right hand. No response."

While pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly, Dr. Evanston said, "I don't know if I should be surprised by that. The poor boy has forty to fifty scars for fuck's sake. He's probably accustomed to pain because of it."

Dr. Suarez, looking forlorn, said, "What kind of monsters would do this to such a young boy?"

Dr. Ritter asked the nurse for a pair of scissors, then used them to cut the white fabric of the boy's white briefs.

"Vic?" she asked her colleague. "Help me roll him onto his side? Elle, can you and Brennan get a new bed to move the boy to?"

Now the boy was completely nude when the two doctors rolled him onto his side. Dr. Ritter was happy to report a healthy-looking anal entrance.

After rolling the boy back down to his back, Dr. Evanston said, "I'll head down to security to see where this boy came from."

Dr. Suarez offered, "I'll call the police."

Dr. Evite said, "I'll inform the director of the situation."

A few seconds later Elle returned, pulling a fresh hospital bed into the room as nurse Brennan Loria pushed from the other end. Together, the two nurses rolled the boy onto his side while Dr. Ritter quickly placed a blanket under the unconscious boy. Dr. Ritter and Elle held onto the two corners of the blanket holding the boy's upper body, and Brennan held onto the bottom. Brennan counted to three, and they lifted and brought the boy to the fresh bed.

While the two nurses guided the old bed out of the room, Dr. Suarez ended the phone call and said, "The police are on their way."

"Good morning, doctors," Dr. Vivian Lucas greeted as she entered the room with Dr. Evite in tow. "Tell me what you know, Dr. Ritter."

Dr. Ritter solemnly shook her head and answered, "Very little. Practically nothing. A patient was discharged from this room. A nurse came in to clean, but she found this boy lying on the used bed. The boy has two wounds on the back of the head that have been stapled cleanly. He didn't respond to needle pricking, and no evidence of rape could be found."

Dr. Lucas, tracing a four inch white line on the boy's rib cage, said, "So many scars. Have you found any other open wounds?"

"No, ma'am."

"Get a nurse to insert a catheter. Also get some blood drawn for screening. Pupil dilation?"

"Haven't checked the pupils, ma'am."

Dr. Lucas put on a pair of latex gloves and grabbed a flashlight from her coat pocket.

"Pupils are not dilated," Dr. Lucas informed the other doctors as she flashed the light in and out of the boy's eye. "And they are responsive to light."

"Hello," the deep, gruff voice of a man said. "I'm Officer Campbell, this is Williams. This is the boy in question? I'll need statements from all of you, if it's not too much trouble."

Dr. Ritter approached the man and said, "I'm Dr. Ritter. Elle Carlisle will be back momentarily, she's the nurse who discovered the boy. But I can begin the case by giving my statement."

While Dr. Ritter spoke with the two officers in a corner of the room, Dr. Lucas asked Elle to grab a catheter, and then asked Brennan to collect three vials of blood from the boy. The two nurses reentered the room with the necessary equipment, and Brennan had inserted the needle but a millimetre into the boy's arm. That very arm twitched just slightly, and time dragged slowly it seemed for Brennan. All in a millisecond it seemed, the boy bent his leg, planted his foot, leapt off the bed, grabbed the needle from his arm, wrapped his other arm around Brennan's neck, and dragged him to a corner of the room. Though Brennan would normally stand four inches taller than the boy, the boy was very muscular and stable.

Elle, who stood on the opposite side of the bed about to insert the catheter, and Dr. Lucas, who was watching the two nurses carefully, shrieked with fright. The two police officers slowly approached, softly saying soothing words.

"Hey buddy," Officer Williams all but cooed.

Some of the boy's long orange hair hung over his face and his bright, bright pale green eyes glared daggers at the two officers. His grip around the nurse's neck tightened and he pressed the needle against his neck.

"It's okay," Officer Williams said softly when he stopped approaching.

"It's okay," the boy said, still giving the officer the glare of death.

Officer Williams smiled and told the boy, "Yeah, that's right. We're all cool."

"Yeah, that's right. We're all cool."

Officer Williams' smile immediately faltered. He turned his head back and looked at the healthcare professionals unsurely.

When the officer turned back to the boy, he asked, "Do you speak English?"

"Do you speak English?" the boy copied yet again.

Slightly flustered with shock, Dr. Suarez took a step forward and asked, "El hablas Español?"

"El hablas Español?"

"H-he's just mimicking speech," Dr. Ritter whispered.

Dr. Evite stepped forward and said, "Parlez vous français?"

"Parlez vous français?" the boy mimicked again.

"He is mimicking," Dr. Evite said. "But he's doing it so well the accents seem perfect."

Turning to Dr. Suarez, Dr. Lucas told her, "Get me a psychiatrist."

Still crouched softly and his hands extended slightly, Officer Williams asked the boy, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Brennan groaned slightly, and Officer Williams became rigid upon seeing the tip of the needle disappear into the flesh of the male nurse's neck.

Also seeing this, Officer Campbell softly said to the boy, "Take it easy, buddy."

"Take it easy, buddy."

Brennan groaned again, this time louder because the boy rotated his wrist, causing the needle to pull on his flesh.

Steadily approaching the boy again, Officer Williams said, "Hey, I'm gonna need you to calm down there, buddy."

"Hey, I'm gonna need you to calm down there, buddy."

Both officers continued their steady approach toward the orange-haired boy. In a matter of seconds, Officer Campbell's hands were a mere three inches from the boy's forearm. Officer Campbell suddenly jerked forward and his hands wrapped around the pale flesh. But the boy had anticipated this action. The millisecond the police officer touched him he released his grip on the syringe and grabbed the side of the nurse's neck. He then pulled, causing the man to twist and knock his head agonist a wall. In that very same instant, the boy leapt up into the air, kicked up against the same wall, and touched his feet to Officer Campbell's shoulders. Officer Campbell went careening to the floor, and the boy landed with all of his weight on one foot on the floor while the other held the officer's head firmly on the floor.

While all of that was happening, Officer Williams had grabbed his baton from its holster and swung at the boy. The boy lifted his foot off of Officer Campbell's head in favour of the wall behind, while grabbing Officer Williams' fist and wrist. The boy then jumped into the air again and kicked against the wall, tightening his grips on the officer's arm. Williams went tumbling to the floor while the boy landed with his feet on either side of his hips. The boy then grabbed the officer's shoulders and pulled so he sat upright. Officer Campbell had upholstered his gun and fired two shots.

"Arrrrrgh!" officer Williams shouted when both rounds met his back, his Kevlar vest stinging very sharply against his back muscles.

The doctors and nurses screamed as they ran from the room in terror. The boy cautiously peered above Williams' shoulder at Campbell, and leapt to the side. As he flew behind the hospital bed, Campbell opened fire again. He crouched down on the floor for a second before he looked back up. Upon seeing Williams stand and reach for his belt, he bolted toward the man. The second he wrapped his arm around Williams' neck, he swung his leg and kicked the gun out of Campbell's hands. Using the momentum of his kick, the boy spun himself and Williams while at the same unholstering Williams' gun and pointed it at Campbell's head.

When Campbell froze, the boy said to Williams, "Don't move."

"Take it easy, kid," Campbell said cautiously.

"I apologize for my actions," the boy said stiffly. "It took me a while to regain myself."

"I-it's okay," Campbell said, cautious yet again. "Just--"

The boy had felt Williams moving, his hand reaching for his belt. So the boy brought his leg in front of himself, then around Williams, and swung. Williams landed harshly on his chest and his temple kissed the floor excruciatingly. Simultaneously, all the while never removing his eyes off of Campbell, did the boy place his foot on the back of Williams' neck and place his other hand on the gun, creating a better grip and aim.

After a few moments of silence and stillness, the boy said, "If we can all agree to cool off, I'll give you the gun back."

With his face pressed against the floor, Williams shouted, "You've got--"

"You're in control right now," Campbell interrupted his young partner. "Just- just step away from Albert."

After a moment of apprehension, the boy quickly lifted his foot off of Williams' neck and stepped back. At the same time he took one hand off the gun and raised both hands in the air.

The boy's eyes caught a movement he didn't like. He retrained the gun, this time pointing it at Williams.

"Reach for that taser and that will be the last thing you ever do," the boy said by way of promise.

"Williams!" Campbell whispered authoritatively.

Flabbergasted, Williams said to his partner, "He just--"

"He just agreed to comply! Cool it."

Williams, with gritted teeth, relaxed his stance. So the boy dropped his hands to his side, the gun still in his grip.

"What's your name, son?" Campbell asked.

The boy's pale green eyes flicked to the side, then met Campbell's eyes again. "I... I don't know."

Campbell sighed softly before he looked to his partner and said to him, "Go get the doctors."

When Williams vacated the room, Campbell said to the boy, "Mind if I have my gun back, son? I promise not to harm you."

The boy stared at Campbell for a few moments, calculating. He combed the fingers of his left hand through his long and big-waved orange hair, getting it out of his face while stepping forward with the gun held out in surrender.

After Campbell reholstered his weapon, he said to the boy, "Let's - lets get you covered up. What can you tell me about yourself?"

Unmoving, confused, the boy answered, "I don't know. I'm- I'm scared."

"You don't seem scared, son. Come here, get in the blanket, the doctors will be here soon."

The boy cautiously walked up to the bed. His pale green eyes never left Officer Campbell. Noticing this, Campbell took a big step backward, away from the bed.

The five doctors walked back into the hospital room cautiously, followed by a new female doctor wearing a white coat. They watched as the orange-haired boy sat on the bed Indian style. The boy then wrapped the pink hospital blanket around his waist, then noticed the six doctors at the entrance.

A brief moment of silence passed before the boy spoke, "I frightened you earlier and I'm sorry about that."

The new doctor eagerly strode to the boy and said, "Hi, I'm Dr. Xhiang. And you are..."

"I- I don't know."

Dr. Xhiang pressed her lips together in a thin line for but a second before asking, "Can you tell me what city we're in?"

The boy solemnly looked down at the blanket covering his legs. He reached down and pulled a stray piece of thread out.

"State?" Dr. Xhiang pressed gently. When the boy still didn't answer, she asked, "Country?"

When the boy still had not looked up, let alone provide a reply, Dr. Ritter said to the psychiatrist, "Earlier, when he had woken up, he didn't understand what we were saying. Isabel thought he might understand Spanish. Ralph thought he might understand French. The boy mimicked speech so well he sounded like a native speaker of three languages."

Dr. Xhiang turned from Dr. Ritter back to the boy, and asked him, "Do you speak any languages other than English?"

The boy sat still, his gaze still on the blanket in thought. "I... don't know."

Dr. Xhiang turned back to her colleagues and beckoned Dr. Suarez forward.

"Hola," Dr. Suarez said to the boy. "Cómo estás? Entiendes lo que digo?"

The boy's head snapped up in surprise before the doctor even finished speaking. He replied, "Estoy bien, y te entiendo."

Dr. Suarez smiled slightly, then spoke again, "El clima es hermoso esta mañana."

The boy turned his head, looking through the window as he drove his fingers through his hair again. It calmed him somewhat to see blue skies with sparsely scattered puffy white clouds.

"Sin duda, parece un buen día," the boy responded languidly, observing the skies a moment longer.

"El sol se sintió muy bien en mi piel esta mañana," Dr. Suarez told the boy with her smile growing.

The boy nodded softly before saying, "Anhelo agua en mi piel. Lluvia. Olvidé el nombre por un momento."

"Lluvia?" Dr. Suarez asked, surprised, yet her smile reformed.

Looking slightly dreamy-eyed, the boy replied. "Si. Lluvia y nieve. La frescura bailando en mi piel."

Dr. Suarez smiled happily. She then turned back to her colleagues and told them, "He speaks Spanish. Fluently, too."

"Ralph?" Dr. Xhiang beckoned next.

"Bounjour," Dr. Evite greeted the boy. "Vous venez de parler de pluie et de neige?"

"Oui," the boy answered. "Tu ne parles pas espagnol."

Dr. Evite chuckled softly before responding, "Non. Qu'avez-vous dit de pluie et de neige?"

"J'ai dit que je désire leur fraîcheur pour danser sur ma peau."

Astonished, Dr. Evite asked the boy, "Avez-vous des souvenirs de pluie et de neige?"

The boy's eyes darted to the side in deep thought. He searched his brain for- anything.

"Non," the boy answered. "Je peux presque le sentir sur mon corps."

Dr. Evite nodded softly before asking, "Parlez-vous d'autres langues?"

With his brows furrowed in confusion, the boy asked the middle-aged man, "Y a-t-il d'autres langues?"

"Oui, il existe d'innombrables langues parlées dans le monde."

"Parlez-vous d'autres langues?" the boy asked genuinely curious.

Dr. Evite smiled a small smile before saying to the boy, "Sag mir, wie du dich fühlst."

Smiling slightly, the boy said, "Das ist deutsch."

Chuckling slightly again, Dr. Evite said, "Ja, so ist es."

"Es gibt Schmerzen in meinem Kopf. Es ist donnernd."

"Wir versuchen unser Bestes, um Ihren Schmerz zu lindern," Dr. Evite told the boy. He then said to his colleagues, "He speaks French and German fluently as well. He said he has a pounding headache."

Just then Dr. Xhiang's cell phone buzzed incessantly. Someone was calling her. She took the device from her coat pocket, and sighed upon seeing the caller ID.

"Nǐ hǎo fùqīn," Dr. Xhiang said when she accepted the call.

The boy's head once again snapped up. He gazed at the psychiatrist in comprehension as she spoke on the phone using her native tongue.

"W�' bùnéng, w�' jīn wǎn hé m� ikè'ěr gòng jìn wǎncān," Dr. Xhiang spoke into the phone, peering at the boy in the hospital bed, certain that he understood what she was saying.

As the person on the other end of the call was speaking to her, Dr. Xhiang covered the microphone with her hand and said to the boy with a smile, "Qiètīng shì cūl�" de."

Slightly embarrassed, the boy turned away. After a minute of sitting in silence, the boy lifted the blanket and stood from the bed.

Observing the boy walk into the washroom in the nude, Dr. Evanston said amusedly, "He's certainly not shy."

"Elle, is it?" Dr. Lucas asked the nurse. "Mind getting a gown for the boy?"

When the boy closed the washroom door, he caught sight of his reflection. He first noted his long orange hair, which hung in big waves a couple of inches past his shoulders. He drove his fingers through the top, creating a side part.

Satisfied with his hair, the boy continued to examine himself. He was transfixed with his eyes. He remembered that one of the police officers had blue eyes, and the psychiatrist had green eyes. He could the similarity to her green eyes, but his eyes were alarmingly bright green.

He then leaned over the countertop, getting closer to his reflection. His fingertips traveled over his cheekbones and nose, familiarizing himself with the thin dusting of freckles there.

The boy's fingers glided down his face to his lips. They were plump, and soft, and a slightly darker shade of pink than the two police officers' lips. He stretched his cheek muscles, remembering the smiles the doctors had tried to conceal from him. When he saw a smile he liked, his smile, it grew a little.

But then he saw the scars decorating his collarbone. He touched one, then another. Soon enough, his fingers were tracing scars on his firm, round pecs. He even noticed one on his small pink nipple, erect from being exposed and cool.

Staring at his whole torso in the reflection, concerned at all the scars littering his skin, he thought to himself, 'What happened to me?'

The boy then placed his fingertips on his groin, lightly brushing the neatly trimmed orange pubic hair that rested above his four inches of uncircumcised penis. He stopped looking at his private area through the mirror but instead stared directly down at his flesh. He found it interesting that the head peaked out of the foreskin slightly, and peeled it back. Leaving the head exposed, the boy then touched his low-hanging and heavy sack.

Now bored, the boy stepped to the side and stood over the toilet. Aiming, he let the stream flow.

The boy, having shaken his cock, stared at the metal lever for a brief moment. He reached toward it and pushed it down. He watched in boredom as the now yellow water swirled and disappeared.

The boy stepped away from the porcelain bowl, and his eye was caught by a photo. He examined it closely, then looked at the words above the illustration.

"W-wa..." he tried to read the words. "Wash."

Suddenly, his brain worked rapidly. He silently read the paper. Wash your hands. So the boy lifted the sink lever and placed his hands under the running tap.

When the boy exited the bathroom, he stopped dead in his tracks. All the healthcare professionals and the two police officers had stopped talking and now stared at him.

Dr. Xhiang said to him, "W�' xiāngxìn nǐ néng lǐjiě w�'. Zhège hùshì y�'u yīgè chángpáo nǐ chuān."

The boy looked at the nurse who had a hospital gown hanging on her forearm, and said, "W�' xiǎng w�' yīnggāi yǎng� i zìjǐ."

Dr. Xhiang giggled before she looked at Elle and used her head to gesture for to dress the boy.

While the nurse was helping him put the gown on, the boy said to Dr. Xhiang, "Zhè ch�"ng wéi zhōngwén. Shuí ji� o w�' su�'y�'u zhèxi�" y�"yán?"

Trying the keep the despair and unease from her face, Dr. Xhiang replied. "W�'men bù zhīd� o. Zhǐy�'u nǐ zhīd� o. Sh�"nrù nǐ de jìyì. D� n w�'men z� i zhèlǐ yǐ rènhé fāngshì bāngzhù nǐ."

The boy nodded solemnly as the nurse finished buttoning the gown closed, then looked all around the room and said, "English seems to be common language here."

Officer Campbell, holding a notepad and a pen, asked the boy, "Can you tell me your name, son?"

The boy, wracking his memories, sat down on the hospital bed. "I don't know. I don't remember."

Saddened, Officer Campbell looked to Dr. Lucas for a second. He then turned back to the boy and asked, "Do you know how old you are?"

The boy looked at every single person in the room, studying their faces. "I don't. I understand that I am quite younger than you all."

Dr. Ritter, surprised, asked the boy, "Explain your conclusion."

"All of your faces bear such wear," the boy replied with slight unease and melancholy. "But this man- umm- Albert he called you. His face appears to bear much less wear. But his eyes are burdened with such sorrow."

Every single pair of eyes in the room trained on Officer Williams in surprise and curiosity.

Officer Williams scoffed and said, "I ain't sorrowful."

Staring intently at the young officer, the boy said to him, "You try to hide it. But I can see it. You have seen pain. Felt it even."

Softly, Officer Williams said, "Enough. We are here to try to help you. So you don't know your age. I'd guess you are- seventeen. Eighteen at most. What is the last thing you remember?"

The boy's pale green eyes looked off to the side as he once again sorted through his brain.

Finally, after a few seconds, the boy replied, "Nothing. It's all blank before- attacking the man in blue. Nurse. The male nurse. I must apologize to you about that."

Now sporting a half smile, Brennan said to the boy, "No need. You woke with no memories, of course you were scared and confused."

Looking back to the boy, Officer Campbell summarized, "You woke in Los Angeles County Hospital with head wounds and countless scars and no memories whatsoever, able to speak- five languages, and able to subdue two trained police officers."

After a few moments of silence, Officer Williams was staring at the boy in contemplation and suggested, "Military training? No, he looks too young for that. But his physique also leads me to believe he's trained or training in something."

Dr. Lucas chimed in, "Even if he's mixed race, which I doubt based on his appearance, five languages is too much for someone this young."

Removing a digital camera from his utility belt, Officer Williams said to the boy, "I would like to take your photo, young man. Using it we can distribute it to many channels and they can try helping us figure out who you are."

The boy easily gave his consent for the younger officer to snap a pic. He stared at the black metal body of the camera that Officer Williams held out. He was fascinated by the lens that emerged from the body and his gaze became more focused still upon noticing the lens twist and extend further out. The boy then jumped the slightest bit when the flash went off.

"Long orange hair," Officer Campbell said while writing in the notepad. "How would you describe his eyes? Never seen that shade before."

Doctors Ritter and Lucas stepped closer to the boy and crouched forward.

"They are..." Dr. Lucas said, "a very light green. Very light."

Dr. Ritter stated, "They're almost silver."

After writing that down, Officer Campbell then asked Williams, "How tall would you say he is? I thought he was two or three inches shorter than you."

"Yeah," Officer Williams agreed while using his hand to motion for the boy to stand. Both standing straight, Williams continued, "I'd say he's five-foot-nine. Five-ten at most. Yeah, five-ten."

Handing the notepad to Williams, Campbell instructed him, "Get this to social services and have one of them take this case. Also check for any amber alerts and missing persons cases. I'll stay here and finish collecting recorded statements."

Forty minutes later, while Officer Campbell was questioning the last of the doctors, Dr. Evanston examined the boy's head. He had lifted the long orange hair that covered the wounds and tied it in a bun on the top of the boy's head.

"Any pain?" Dr. Evanston asked the boy while lightly pressing his index finger on the thin bald line.

"None more than usual since waking," the boy replied. "But it is worsening. Likely due to my blurry vision."

Still tracing his finger along the closed wound, Dr. Evanston asked, "Blurry vision? Has it become blurred or did you wake up like that?"

"Woke up like this."

Satisfied with the wounds, the black doctor stepped away from the back of the boy in favour so standing by his side.

Holding palm in front of the boy's face, Dr. Evanston asked, "Can you see my hand clearly?"

Staring at the lines on the palm, the boy answered, "Yes."

"Tell me when my palm starts to become blurry," Dr. Evanston instructed while slowly pulling his hand outward away from the boy.

The brown palm had moved about six inches when the boy noticed that he could no longer discern the lines. "There."

While taking a seat on the bed, Dr. Evanston told the boy, "Sounds like you are near-sighted, my friend."

"'Near-sighted'?" the boy repeated. "Meaning I require eyeglasses."

"That's right," Dr. Evanston confirmed. "Social services will take care of that."

Slightly bored, the boy asked the doctor, "What is- social services?"

"It is a government agency whose purpose, in this case, is to find your family if you have one, or find you a home."

Intrigued and confused, the boy said to himself, "Family? A family is a unit of people who care for each other."

Smiling at the boy, Dr. Evanston responded, "Yeah, that's right. For example; my family consists of my wife, my daughter, and my son. And our dog as well, some would say."

Intrigued yet further, the boy couldn't help but to ask, "And you all care for each other?"

"Yes," the doctor answered. Then with a soft chuckle added, "Though my wife has been unhappy with my working so much. I think I owe her a vacation soon."

"Alright, young man," Officer Campbell sighed while stepping to the side of the bed, "I'm finished here. We will do our best to find out who you so that you can get back to your life. The medical staff here are kind and hard-working and will treat you phenomenally. Someone from social services will be here in about an hour and they'll make sure you are safe. Take care of yourself, son. And I'm sorry about whatever's happened to you."

The boy stared at the police officer's outstretched hand with confusion for a few moments. Then his eyes brightened, and he grasped it. The police officer chuckled amusedly as he shook the young man's hand.

Everybody else except the nurse Elle departed from the room to resume their work day.

"Would you like to take a shower now before your CT scan?" Elle asked. "Or would you like one after?"

The boy sat quietly for a few moments, deep in thought. He was pulling at a loose thread and said, "A CT scan is a photo of the inside of a human. I'll take the shower after the scan, if that's okay."

Smiling at the thoughtfulness of the boy and his manners, the nurse replied, "Yes, yes, of course! Follow me."

While following the nurse down the lobby, the boy reached up and undid the bun the neurologist had fixed his hair in. In another room, the nurse there told him that he absolutely could not move during the scan.

The boy became slightly intrigued lying there, his chest and head inside the machine. His intrigue was caused by his face warming, and he assumed the warmth was caused by the machine he was in.

After the scan, the boy once again followed the nurse down the lobby. He unabashedly said to her, "Excuse me. I- I just wanted to- thank you. You have been the kindest and most patient in this place."

"Awww!" Elle gushed as she took that one step toward the boy and pulled him into a warm hug. "Of course, sweetie!"

Continuing down the lobby, Elle grabbed a few towels and a fresh gown from a shelf. She guided the boy to a unisex single shower room and taught him how to run and adjust the water.

"These mini cups are shampoo and soap," Elle explained. "Shampoo your hair very carefully so you don't reopen your wounds."

When the boy stepped into the hot spray of the shower, his eyes closed softly of their own accord. He let out an involuntary sigh, his body relaxing tremendously. His throat nearly let out a hum as he turned, allowing the spray to hit more of his body.

Dressed in a fresh gown, even though the first was barely used, and his long orange hair wet, the boy walked back into the hospital room he'd been occupying. But he stopped suddenly upon seeing two parcels on the bed. One was a a blue box, and the other was a brown bag. Upon stepping to the bed he saw a brown envelope behind the two parcels.

"Bana- Banana," he read the large brown bag. "Repub- Republic. Banana Republic."

He looked inside, and met the sight of white tissue paper. He upturned the bag, and the contents fell onto the bed. He picked up the smallest of the items and read the label with the slightest of difficulties. Socks.

'Clothing,' the boy thought. 'This is all clothing.'

He then grabbed the unsealed envelope and upturned that as well. Quite the number of items fell out of the brown paper, and the first thing the boy grabbed was a pair of eyeglasses. The framed were big and square, black. After sliding the specs onto his face, he grabbed a paper folded in three.

He began to read the typed note, at first having little trouble.

"Th-the wall-et has all you re-really need."

He looked down at the bed from the bed and grabbed a bi-folded piece of brown leather. The first thing he pulled out of the wallet was a piece of plastic that contained his photo.

Florida Driver License Class E Sebastian Carter Fitzroy DOB: 30 April 2000

"My name is Sebastian," the boy whispered to himself.

He then picked the note back up and read again.

Your new name is on the drivers license.

"New name?" the boy said to himself again. "I guess it wasn't my name before."

Your new family background is of Irish ancestry, your grandparents having moved to Florida in 1962. Your parents, Ailbe and Fiona, and your sister Claire died in a car accident in 2018 on their way home from your high school graduation.

The boy walked to the foot of the bed and grabbed the clipboard.

Date admitted: 21 May 2019

"Last year," he said to himself. "They died last year. I'm nineteen-years-old. Or am I?"

With the paper still in his hands the boy paced around the room, deep in thought. He seemed lost and confused, much more than he had been before. That's when he took notice to a small black leather duffle bag in the corner of the room that hadn't been there before. He unzipped it hastily, curious. Inside were more clothes, folded and stacked neatly. Carefully inspecting them, he counted two dress shirts, two plain tees, a red polo shirt, two pairs of jeans, four pairs of boxer-briefs, four pairs of socks, a brown leather belt, and a black leather journal with a blue pen.

Your Bank of America chequing account contains $503,890,700. The MasterCard, VISA, and Amex all have credit limits of $50,000.

"Holy fuck," he whispered to himself. "Who was I before?"

You will need to perfect a signature using your new name and sign the cards. Do this as soon as you leave the hospital.

Take a taxi to Los Angeles International Airport. Check into Virgin Airways, your first class flight to New York City has been paid for.

You will also find a set of keys. The fob with a key is for your car that awaits you at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. The other fob unlocks the entrance to your condo in New York, and the big gold key unlocks the condo itself. The small silver key unlocks your mail box at said condo. The fourth key is used for your new storage unit in New York. The address for this is written and hanging on your fridge.

Once in your car ask the GPS to take you home. It will guide you to your condo. It has been furnished. There are also a cello and an acoustic guitar sitting in your new living room. You were taught to play them, as well as the piano. You'll be able to relearn to play them with very little trouble.

When leaving the hospital dispose of the shopping bag and shoe box so they don't track you that way.

The iPhone 9 is set up and tied to your new Apple account which is also written in your condo. There are a few games installed based on your previous tastes. I've also taken the liberty of purchasing the same music that had been on your previous device.

We will take of any photos the hospital, police, and social services may have of you.

It has been a pleasure. Good luck in your new life.

'Sebastian,' the boy thought himself. 'My name is Sebastian.'

Sebastian stood there in the hospital room unmoving, deep in thought. His eyes remained on the note, though he did not read.

Quickly, Sebastian lifted the hospital gown off his body and over his head. He then grabbed a small box and tore it open, putting the grey Banana Republic boxer-briefs on. He then ripped the cardboard off the green socks and hastily put them on his feet. He undid the top two buttons of the cerulean blue checkered dress shirt and slid it on.

"Thirty-two by thirty-four," Sebastian read the tag on the light grey dress pants before ripping it off and slipping the pants on.

After fastening the pants Sebastian ripped the tags off the matching light grey jacket and put it on. He opened the box that read Call It Spring and found it held a pair of light brown dress shoes and a matching leather belt. After putting them on he inspected the look of the shoes and found them appealing and fitting. He pocketed his wallet and keys in the jacket pocket, placed the note in the inner pocket, placed the silver and black watch on his left wrist, and held onto the cell phone that had a pair of white earbuds wrapped around it.

He walked into the washroom and inspected himself. He was impressed with the fit of the clothes, and loved how the dress pants accentuated his muscular thighs and gluten.

Remembering he had to hurry, he hastily placed the clothing tags in the brown paper bag, grabbed the shoe box and duffle, and did his best to casually walk out of the hospital room. His stomach remained tight as he walked because the dress shoes clicked and clacked on the hospital floors.

Finally exiting the elevator, Sebastian tossed the paper bag and shoebox by a trash can as he passed one on the way out.

Once he hailed a cab and got in, he turned back to the hospital and sighed with relief that nobody was chasing after him. He unzipped the duffle and grabbed the journal. Using it, he began testing out his signature. He knew he wanted it small yet intricate and difficult to forge.

The taxi had been three-quarters of the way to Sebastian's destination when the boy was satisfied with his signature. So he removed the wallet from his pocket and signed the backs of his one bank card and three credit cards.

When he placed the last card back in his wallet, he explored all the other pockets and slots. The wallet contained an Aeroplan card, Airmiles card, a Starbucks gold card, a black Planet Fitness card, a AAA card, and a Farmers Insurance card. There was also six hundred dollars cash in the wallet.

"We are here," said the female cabbie. "That'll be fifty-six-ninety."

Sebastian grabbed a fifty and twenty from his wallet and handed it to woman. He thanked her kindly, and she offered him a warm smile in return.

"Good afternoon," the young woman greeted Sebastian. "Checking in? Photo ID please."

Sebastian handed the woman his drivers license, and she asked, "Is that all you have?"

Sebastian looked down at the duffle sitting at his feet and nodded his head.

"It's small enough to carry into the cabin," the woman replied while typing on the computer. "Unless you would like to check it in here."

Sebastian smiled at her and said, "Thank you, but I'll hang onto it."

She smiled back and said, "Of course, sir. Here is your ticket. Because you are a first class flyer you will have priority boarding, which will be announced prior to the flight. Boarding will begin at two-forty-five with a departure time of three-fifteen. May I be of any more assistance?"

"That'll be all, thank you. Actually, might I bug you for the time?"

The woman's smile, which before was warm, was now highly amused as she pointed up. Sebastian followed, and saw a digital clock, which read that it was one-twenty. Sebastian chuckled in embarrassment before he grabbed his duffle and walked on.

Upon feeling and hearing his stomach rumble angrily, he placed his hand on his abdomen. He searched the airport, seeing a convenience store close by. There, he roamed the aisles and grabbed a cup filled with green and red food.

"Fresh fruit," he read the label.

He grabbed a second and went to the register. He found the young Arab behind the register quite cute, and stared, unable to fight the urge to.

"Sir?" the cashier said u surely. "I asked if that was everything?"

"Everything?" Sebastian asked confusedly.

Perplexed, the cashier asked, "Would you like anything else?"

"Oh. No, just these two please."

"That'll be seven-eighty."

After paying the man a twenty, Sebastian was about to grab the two cups of fruit and walk away.

"Your change, sir," the cashier said quizzically.

Slightly confused but not wanting to embarrass himself again, Sebastian grabbed the money and stuffed it in his jacket pocket.

Once he sat on a bench in front of a glass wall he opened one of the cups and grabbed a piece of fruit with his fingers and quickly put it in his mouth.

Closing his eyes, Sebastian hummed a moan as he chewed. After a moment his cheeks tightened slightly from the tanginess of the green fruit.

'Kiwi.' Sebastian thought. 'This is kiwi. And the red is strawberry.'

Sebastian was about to grab another piece of fruit from the cup when he noticed a piece of white attached to the clear cup. He noted the four spikes protruding from the top. After a moment of looking at the white plastic he remembered that this utensil was used for eating.

After detaching the utensil from the cup he speared a slice of strawberry and brought it to his mouth. He ate that cup of fruit quickly. And then he opened the second cup of kiwis and strawberries and finished that one in no time as well.

Sebastian noticed a metal can to his right that had a hole on the top. He tossed the cups in there before digging the plane ticket out of his inner pocket.

"Gate twenty-one," Sebastian read.

"Gate twenty-one?" a female voice asked excitedly.

Sebastian looked his left. Two seats away a young girl sat with a cell phone in her hand.

Smiling excitedly, the girl asked, "You going to New York?"

Slightly uncomfortable, Sebastian answered, "I- yes I am."

"Oh, my god! I love your eyes!" the girl said excitedly. She then pressed a button on her device and asked, "You going for a visit? Oh, I'm Charlotte."

The girl held her tan hand out, and it took Sebastian a moment to remember to shake it.

"Sebastian. And no, I-I live- in New York."

"Oh, do you?" Charlotte said more than asked with intrigue. "I'm visiting my dad there. Did you come to LA to visit family?"

"I- no. Had a medical- operation here."

"You couldn't get that done in New York?"

Sebastian, still trying to hide his discomfort, merely offered the girl a shrug.

Charlotte giggled and said, "You're not much of a talker. Can I ask how old you are?"

"I-I'm... nineteen."

Charlotte laughed, unable to fight it, and asked, "You sure about that? You're probably just shy. Maybe gun shy?"

"Gun shy?"

"Around girls?"

"Oh," Sebastian said. "Umm, no. I'm- gay."

Charlotte laughed again and said, "Well you certainly aren't shy about that. Do you have a boyfriend?"

Sebastian thought this girl was very straight-forward and outgoing. "No. Nope. No boyfriend."

Charlotte nodded to herself before asking, "Are you really nineteen? You look a lot younger than that."

Still trying his hardest to fight the discomfort, Sebastian took out his wallet, opened it, and handed it to the brunette to see his license.

"Hey, you're from Florida," Charlotte stated. "How long have you been living in New York?"

"Just over- a year."

"And you still haven't gotten a New York license," Charlotte stated with intrigue again as she handed Sebastian his wallet back.

Coming up with a cover, Sebastian replied, "That's my parents' old address. They died last year."

"Oh, God," Charlotte moaned as her free hand went to her chest. "I'm so sorry! May I ask what happened?"

"After my high school graduation dinner, they were driving home with my kid sister and I went to a party. All three died in a wreck."

With a tear in her eye, Charlotte closed the distance and embraced the redhead. Sebastian sat in shock, rigid. So after a few moments, Sebastian snaked his left hand around Charlotte's rib cage and returned her embrace, however awkward he felt.

When Charlotte finally released Sebastian, she was wiping a tear away when she asked, "Hey, what seat are you? Maybe we'll be near each other."

Sebastian removed the ticket from his jacket pocket and searched for the seat number.

"Fuckin' A, man!" Charlotte said loudly. "You're first class! Are you rich or something?"

Shrugging, Sebastian replied, "My grandparents owned a law firm in Ireland. They sold it and moved to Florida. When my dad inherited everything he was good with investments. I got everything."

"Irish huh?" Charlotte said appreciatively. "Explains the orange hair. Shame you don't have an accent, though. And your money explains the suit."

"S-so you're- visiting your dad?" Sebastian asked, trying to make his own conversation. "Has your mother passed away as well?"

"No, I live with her here in LA. She and my dad divorced when I was nine. I tested out of high school a couple weeks ago so I'm spending the summer with my dad before I go off to college."

"Do you visit your dad often?"

"Usually four times a year. His birthday, Easter, summer, and Christmas. Do you have any family left?"

"No. Both my parents were only children."

"Well I'm going through security now so I can get Starbucks."

Starbucks.

Sebastian stood with Charlotte and grabbed his duffle. Sebastian watched where the young girl walked to, noting it so he could do the same later. When he saw her walk through a section that had red lines, he searched for a restroom.

Two minutes later, Sebastian walked around the red ropes, joining the security inspection line. He was lost, but confident in his observation skills. While waiting, he watched carefully as people at the front were ushered to different lines. In each of those lines, the people placed their carry-on items into grey bins. They also emptied their pockets into separate bins, and removed their jackets and coats into those same bins. Some, those wearing tall footwear, also placed them in the grey bin.

At the front of the line, the male agent asked Sebastian to go to line three. There, Sebastian confidently placed his duffle in one bin, and emptied his pockets into a separate bin. He then placed his jacket in the second bin along with the wrist watch.

"Ticket please," the second security agent beckoned. When Sebastian handed her the airplane ticket, she asked, "Any liquids inside your bag, sir?"

"No," Sebastian answered easily.

"Computers and any other electronic devices are out of the bag and pockets?"

"Yes."

"Sir, your belt in the bin please."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Please wait by the yellow line, sir," the agent instructed after Sebastian put his belt in the bin.

As the bins holding his stuff waited to be scanned, Sebastian went over to said yellow line where another man there was motioned by another security agent to step through an arch. When that man was cleared, that agent motioned for Sebastian to step through.

"Thank you," the male agent said boredly.

Sebastian went over to the other side of the scanner where his items were coming out. He hastily slid his grey jacket over his body and repocketed his items. He was thankful he needn't have removed his shoes.

"Welcome to Starbucks!" the young man's cheery voice said. "How are you today?"

Sebastian didn't know if the man was looking at him appreciatively because was working, or because of his eyes. Either way, he was a little uncomfortable again. He needed to work on that.

"I'm fine, thank you. Yourself?"

"Oh, I'm just wonderful! How may I help you?"

Sebastian removed the Starbucks card from his wallet and requested to load two hundred dollars. He then handed his Amex to the young man.

"May I see some ID please?" the employee said politely. "Any credit transaction over a hundred requires verification."

"I understand, of course."

Sliding the two cards back to Sebastian, the cashier said, "There you go, the card load was successful! May I help you with anything else?"

"Sure. May I have a latte please? Umm, that size."

The cashier grabbed the cup with a small chuckle, finding Sebastian cute.

"Grandé latte," the cashier said as he wrote on the paper cup, "for Sebastian. That's five-seventy."

Sebastian handed the cashier the gold card again, and the blonde man asked, "May I ask you something? Are those your real eyes? Oh, don't answer that, it was unprofessional of me."

Sebastian laughed as he grabbed his card back. "They are my real eyes. And my real hair colour, too. But I do hate my freckles."

"Why? They're cute!" the cashier said before he knew what was coming out of his mouth.

And a minute later Sebastian was walking away as he sipped his coffee. He turned back to the cashier and saluted the cute blonde with his cup and a teasing smile. He was incredibly pleased to note the man's tan cheeks reddening as a shy smile formed.

Sebastian sat at gate eight, though he did know it was not his gate. He dug his cell phone out of his jacket and stuck the earphones in his ears. He pushed the button on the right side of the device and studied the screen for a moment.

'HOLD HOME TO UNLOCK' What?

Sebastian noticed a small circle at the bottom of the screen, so he placed his thumb over it. The device accepted his print and opened to the home page. Sebastian studied the applications of the three full pages, and he saw YouTube.

Sebastian had watched three YouTube videos on how to drive. He had no memories whatsoever, so he was nervous to drive his apparent car home from JFK.

Finding himself satisfied and his fears quelled, Sebastian closed the YouTube application in favour of the Music. He briefly scrolled through the hundreds of songs on the device before tapping one.

"All My Friends," the redhead read the song that was playing in his ears.

He closed his eyes after turning the screen off, and leisurely sipped his coffee while the song played. He found his foot tapped rhythmically with the beat of the song and he loved the sound of the woman's voice.

Fifty minutes later Sebastian quickly removed the earphones upon hearing something over the PA about his flight.

"Once again, Virgin America flight four-one-six nonstop to New York will begin boarding momentarily," a female voice said. "At this time we'd like to welcome first class passengers to gate twenty-one to board the aircraft. Thank you."

Once in his oversized and luxurious seat, a stewardess came and asked, "May I get you anything to drink? If you would like something alcoholic I would need to see identification."

"That's fine," Sebastian said with a smile, "I don't drink. Water is fine."

Sebastian spent most of the five hour flight playing game applications on his phone. One he was particularly fond of, even though it frustrated him to all hell, was Geometry Dash. The redhead did put his phone down to eat lunch an hour into the flight. The grilled chicken was delicious, and Sebastian ate it slowly, savouring every bite.

Three hours into the flight, when a steward asked to refill Sebastian's apple juice, Sebastian asked for a piece of the strawberry cheesecake. That, too, he leisurely ate.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," the captain spoke through the speaker. "We have just started descending to New York, where the local time is approximately eleven-fifteen at night. Current weather is gorgeous, with a light breeze and temperatures at fifty-nine. On behalf of Virgin America, I would like to thank you for choosing this airline, and especially trusting in my first officer so much. I hope you all enjoy New York, have a good night."

Twenty minutes later Sebastian had exited JFK airport and just stood, staring at the multi-level parking lot before him. Hesitantly, he pressed a button the fob, but heard nothing.

Looking both ways, he ran across the road, then pressed the fob again. Still nothing. So he climbed to the second level. His jerked to the right just after he pressed the button because he head a car beep. He pressed the fob again, but nothing. He'd guessed the first beep was caused by someone else's car.

On the third level, he stood in front of a silver 2019 Porsche Panamera Turbo Executive. Tired, he got in and noticed a yellow sticky note on the steering wheel that read, Suite 3004. He turned the engine on and told the built-in GPS to take him home.

Sebastian was so tired he didn't even notice at first that he was a pro at driving. He only noticed as he was singing along to an Eden song called 'Drugs' that he was not nervous like he thought he would be. He looked at the speedometer, which indicated that was driving fifty miles per hour, and he shrugged.

"We make these memories for ourselves," Sebastian sang along to Ed Sheeran.

"You have arrived at your destination," the female automated voice of the GPS indicated.

Sebastian parked on the sidewalk only to view the building. He was impressed with the height and beauty of it, and also of the tall windowed front.

He then noticed a tunnel ahead that had a sign that read, 'Tenant Parking. The parking garage was under ground.

Sebastian was surprised that the building assigned parking spots, and was even more suspended to find his name painted on a white plaque.

He took the elevator all the way up to the thirtieth floor, and found his condo easily.

And fuck was the condo gorgeous! Nine hundred square feet and dark hardwood floors throughout. Sebastian liked the sound of his dress shoes click-clacking on them.

By the door stood a mirror measuring eight feet tall and three feet wide. The two inch frame was made of red ash wood, matching the colour of the entrance door.

The kitchen was equipped with stainless steel appliances, cupboards that matched the floors, and light grey marble countertops and island. At the island were two stools made of dark oak and grey cushions; these stools were made for this kitchen.

Six feet away from the island sat a maroon metal table topped with a matching red ash wood. Around the five-by-eight table sat six red metal-frame chairs with black cushions. Walking by the table, Sebastian brushed his palm along the top, loving the smoothness of wood.

Next was the living room. It was furnished with a teal-blue suede sofa and matching love-seat. In front of those was a storm-grey glass-topped coffee table. A fifty-five inch Sony television sat on a navy mini shelf. Beside the flatscreen was an Xbox One, and inside one of the drawers were fifty or sixty video games and four controllers.

Sebastian nearly gasped at what he saw next. The entire wall, which measured thirteen feet wide and twelve feet tall, was entirely glass. Upon closer inspection, Sebastian noticed a handle on the outside of one section. Confused, Sebastian pushed in that window. And it opened! Sebastian walked out onto the balcony, every wall being glass, and the balcony measured six feet by- Sebastian rounded the corner. The balcony carried on another eight feet, which meant this balcony measured ninety-two square feet. The balcony also sported a grill, and a second door!

Reentering the condo through the second door around the corner brought Sebastian into his bedroom. After closing the balcony door he scanned both the glass walls noticed a latch running from the ceiling down to the floor on the far end of the glass wall. He opened it, and inside was a black felt-type fabric. It was a curtain. How did it open, though? The redhead tried pulling on the black fabric, but it did not budge. So he thought that it must be electronic. He looked around the bedroom and found a small black remote sitting on the closest bedside table. He grabbed it, and inspected the device. It had just two buttons; one a white circle, and the other was a white circle filled with a black centre. Sebastian pressed the latter button, and the black curtain slid across the windowed wall quite quickly and quite quietly. It did not close all the way, it had stopped at the balcony door window. So the ginger pressed the same button, and the curtain closed all the way.

By the bedroom door stood another mirror, same size as the other but this one was framed by green wood. Against the far wall laid a queen-sized bed on a black wooden frame. The bed was dressed in green Egyptian cottons, and various shades of green throw pillows. A forty inch television hung on the wall opposite the bed, and under it was a black tall dresser.

The redhead went over to the black dresser and opened the top drawer. It was filled with boxer-briefs of many colours, even mixed colours. The second drawer was filled with sexy underwear; jock straps, thongs, mesh. The third drawer held black, grey, and white wife beaters. The fourth held gym shorts and leggings, both in various colours. The fifth and last drawer held a dozen pairs of sweat and track pants.

Sebastian then walked over to a third door, and opened it. He gasped at the walk-in closet, and at the clothes hanging inside. Three-piece suits, two-piece suits, dress pants, waistcoats, blazers, jackets, dozens of dress shirts, dozens of jeans, dozens of tees, dozens of sweaters, dozens of neck ties, a few bow ties, a dozen tie clips, and a dozen belts.

Having enough of clothes, Sebastian walked out of the closet through the opposite door. He now stood in the spacious bathroom. On the far wall were a glass shower, and a double-ended white bath. The countertop was granite and this floor was white linoleum for a change.

Sebastian walked down the hall, back into the kitchen. He opened a couple of cupboards before he found what he was looking for. He filled a glass with water and downed it. He then noticed another door by the condo entrance that he'd missed. Opening that closet door, he was met with the sight of at least three dozen outerwear; down jackets, trench coats, pea coats, leather jackets, suede jackets, and heavy sweaters hung off of hangers. On the edge of the closet was a narrow shelf that held scarves, hats, beanies, and gloves.

Back in the walk-in closet, he undressed and carefully hung the suit he had been wearing, and threw the socks and shirt in a basket that sat in the corner of his bedroom.

Mostly naked, Sebastian walked back into the kitchen. There, he filled his glass with water, and grabbed the single sheet of paper hanging on the refrigerator. The sheet had the same font of type-written words noting his wireless internet password, his email address with password, Apple ID password, Microsoft password for the game console, online banking password, and address of the bank housing his deposit box. He read it all over three times, memorizing everything before tearing the sheet into a hundred pieces.

Sebastian then went into the bathroom where he stuck a black elastic band onto his wrist. He removed the eyeglasses from his face and looked to the mirror. His vision was so blurry he could only make shapes out. Combing his fingers through his hair, gathering every strand into one. He twisted the handful, and twisted some more while coiling it all together. Now, a messy bun sat on the top of his head. He lazily pushed most of the pillows off the bed and slipped under the covers. In moments, he was out like a light.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Slowly, Sebastian became conscious. He didn't open his eyes, he still wanted to rest. He just laid there, relaxing into the luxurious fabrics.

He didn't know how long he had lain like that before he finally opened his eyes. The electric curtain did a fantastic job keeping light to a minimum, only the faintest of light coming from the bottom edge.

After pressing the button to open the curtain, Sebastian looked to the bedside table, and the clock told him it was three in the afternoon. He had slept just shy of fifteen hours. He brushed his hands all over the bed in search of his eyeglasses. When he put them on, he threw the bottom of the blanket into the air, causing the blanket to straighten. Sebastian then swept his hands over the blanket, smoothing the fabric as best he could. Satisfied with the blanket, he picked pillows up off the floor two at time, arranging them neatly just the way he found them the night before.

Sebastian, while brushing his teeth, went over the dresser and dressed himself in a pair of red gym shorts and a grey tank, and tied his hair in a quick yet neat bun. Walking through his closet, he put on a pair of Under Armour shoes before going into the bathroom and brushing his teeth. He grabbed his phone and keys, and left his condo. To start his exercise he ran down the stairwell, all the way down from the thirtieth floor.

Sebastian was walking through the lobby, heading out for a jog, when a man's voice said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Fitzroy."

Sebastian stopped and looked at the doorman behind the desk. The man was handsome, but a little old for his taste, he looked to be in his early thirties.

"Hello."

"I just wanted to introduce myself," the man as he stepped around the desk. "My name is Xavier. Welcome to the building."

Sebastian shook the man's hand and said, "Call me Sebastian. Listen, I don't mean to be rude, I was just heading out for a jog."

"Of course. When you get back, let me tell you about our fitness facilities."

Walking away, Sebastian responded by giving a closed-lipped smile and a single nod.

Walking away from the building, feeling the afternoon sun heat warming his skin, Sebastian unlocked his cell, opened the Music application, and hit Shuffle. He started out in a leisurely jog, and then he got so into a song called 'The Way I Are' that he realized he was running with quite some speed. He looked down at his feet in surprise for but a second, but otherwise continued running.

Thirty minutes into his run Sebastian was sweating fountains practically, but was astounded and happy to know that his feet were traveling at the relatively same speed as before.

'Thirty-eight,' Sebastian counted in his head. He had run another thirty-eight blocks. Two more blocks and he would turn again. And thirty seconds later, at the forty block mark, Sebastian turned right again.

Eleven minutes later Sebastian stopped running. He was back on his street, he could see the concrete stairs to the entrance. He was happy to see the doorman Xavier busy signing a device for a UPS employee, so he was saved from having to talk to him. He took the stairs again, this time climbing them two at a time. When he finally got to the thirtieth floor, his thighs and glutes were on fire, and he'd wiped his sweaty face on his shirt for the ninth time.

Back in his condo Sebastian stripped his shirt off in a flash and laid it on the island, refilling the glass he'd used the night before and downed the water. He refilled the glass a second time. After that he grabbed the tank off the island and went into his bedroom. He threw the shirt in the large woven basket and stripped himself of the rest of his clothes. He placed his running shoes on the floor of the closet neatly, where he'd grabbed them from before.

'I am a neat freak,' Sebastian thought to himself, causing a smile to form.

Sebastian went out to the hall through the bathroom and opened a small closet. He'd been expecting to find a linen closet, but was met with the sight of a stacked washer and dryer.

He went to the next closet, and this one was linens. He grabbed a large and thick purple towel, going back to the bathroom for a shower. After allowing the spray the soak his hair, Sebastian stepped so the spray hit his back. He grabbed a green button, uncapped it, brought it to his nose, and inhaled deeply. He swore he could've become intoxicated by the sweet smell of this shampoo, Garnier Fructis.

While the shampoo suds soaked his hair, Sebastian grabbed a green oval bar of soap and smelled that as well.

"Mmmm," the redhead moaned, the bar of soap remaining under his nose for another moment.

After his shower Sebastian dressed himself in a pair of black boxer-briefs before he tossed the used towel into the laundry basket. He was going to exit his bedroom but he caught sight of his reflection. He'd remembered that his body was covered in scars. He stepped right up to the green-framed mirror.

His fingers traced a couple of scars lying on his chest. He stepped closer to the mirror, and counted the pure white lines adorning his pecs.

'Twelve,' he thought.

His muscular chest alone had twelve scars. And he continued exploring his flesh. He counted thirteen scars on his ripped abdomen, eleven on his right leg, and twelve on his left. He turned in front of the mirror, and was not surprised to see more scars littered on his back. He was unable to count them, though.

"What happened to me?" Sebastian whispered to himself.

He went back into the bathroom and grabbed the hairbrush off the counter and drove it through his hair. When he'd brushed all his hair thoroughly, he drove the bristles over the top of his head and brushed the hair to the left, creating a side part. He studied his again, making sure the big waves his orange hair framed his pale face perfectly.

He brought his finger to the bridge of his eyeglasses and pushed them up his face securely. It was then that he remembered that there was no food in his cupboards. Even his fridge bore no food. He looked down at his washboard abs upon hearing his stomach growl, begging for food.

Sebastian dressed himself in a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a purple polo. He crouched down in the closet, slightly flustered with the huge selection of twenty-three pairs of shoes. He went with a hair of light brown leather boots.

The elevator door stopped at the twenty-sixth floor, and a young-ish woman greeted Sebastian with a smile and Hello. Sebastian offered her a kind nod. He needed to work on his social skills, he knew.

Sebastian parked his car outside of a café called Caffeine Coma, and was about to enter the shop when he noticed a woman putting coins into a small metal pole. She then pointed her fob at a black car, and set the alarm on it. So Sebastian copied, going to the pole by his car and inserted three quarters.

Inside the café Sebastian drank an iced latte and ate an egg and bacon breakfast sandwich. While eating alone he noticed a couple of girls glancing at him. They talked amongst themselves, and he guessed they were appreciating him. He smirked, but rose from the chair and tossed the paper that once held his sandwich when he left the shop. Back in his car he sipped from the straw of his large plastic cup while turning the ignition.

He parked outside of a Krogers that he'd passed during his run. His cart was full fifteen minutes later, and he didn't know how he knew what he liked and why he grabbed various items, but he went with his gut. While approaching one of the checkout lines, another young man reached that line at the same time.

"Oh," the blonde man said with a soft smile, "you go ahead."

Sebastian noticed, when the blonde blinked, that his eyelids were decorated with green.

That's make up.

Pulling his cart back a little, Sebastian told him, "No, you go first. You have less than I do."

The young man thanked Sebastian kindly before sitting the black basket on the conveyor belt.

When the blonde placed the basket on top of others on the floor, he stretched his hand out and introduced himself, "Hi, my name is Charles."

Grasping the blonde's hand, Sebastian gave his name. Charles asked, "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, thank you. A little tired from my run, and trying to familiarize myself with the town. Just moved here last night."

"Welcome to New York City then!" Charles said with a big smile. "Is it everything you dreamed it would be?"

Sebastian shrugged with a small smile.

"What!?" Charles laughed. "You've never dreamed of living here? Then why move here?"

It took a moment to formulate an answer, a suitable answer. But the redhead replied, "Just- needed a change of scenery, I guess."

"Where'd you move from? If I may ask, that is."

"Sarasota."

"Florida?" Charles said more than asked. "For a Florida boy you're pretty pale."

Sebastian laughed, and Charles joined a second later.

Unsurely, while his fingers went through his neat pompadour, Charles asked, "Can I- ask how old you are?"

Cheekily, with a teasing smile, Sebastian said, "Sure."

Charles stared at Sebastian for a moment, waiting. He then laughed and asked, "How old are you?"

"I'm nineteen," the redhead answered with his own laughter.

"No," Charles said with a tinge of shock. "I pegged you at eighteen, tops."

"Well you're close. My birthday was last month."

While handing the cashier a bit of cash, Charles asked, "Can I- call you- some time?"

With a teasing smile, Sebastian asked, "And why, may I ask, do you want to call me?"

Rolling his eyes, but fighting his nerves, Charles responded, "Because I think you're bloody gorgeous. And funny. And kind. I- wanna get to know you."

While the cashier was ringing his items through, Sebastian handed his phone to Charles and instructed him to put his phone number into his contacts. With the plastic bag hanging off his wrist, Charles was smiling giddily as he typed.

"How do I know you'll call me?" Charles teased while handing the redhead back his phone.

Smiling down at the young man, Sebastian replied, "I promise I'll call you tonight. And I'm a man of my word."

"But I just met you," Charles teased on. "I can't take your word if I don't know you."

Sebastian laughed, then stepped up to the blonde. He bent his neck slightly and placed a soft kiss to Charles' cheek and told him, "I think you're a thousand times more beautiful than you think I am. I'd like to get to know you as well."

When Sebastian sat the eight plastic bags on the island, his arms were dead! It was a struggle to raise his arms to lift the bags up onto the marble top, and he huffed. Grabbing his phone out of his back pocket, he checked the time. It was five-forty. He wanted to call Charles, even though he'd seen the blonde ten minutes prior. But he told himself to wait at least three more hours.

To try passing the time Sebastian took his time to put the groceries away. When everything was put away he grabbed the plastic bags off the floor and counter, stuffed them into one, and stuffed them into a drawer.

He checked his phone again for the time. He was slightly peeved that only ten minutes passed. To him it felt like it was least thirty. So he hit Shuffle in the music again, slid the phone back into his back pocket, and listened to music. He opened the door to the balcony and was shocked. He paused the music as he closed the door. Silence. Complete silence reigned over him. He opened the balcony door again and was met with the sound of car horns, police sirens, and wailing ambulances.

Soundproof suites.

Sebastian was impressed for a moment. Then he stood at the iron baluster parapet and leaned forward, resting on his forearms as he gazed out at the skyline. The skies were blue and purple and pink as the sun was setting.

Sebastian stood there for about twenty minutes, appreciating the skyline before he felt a chill and shivered. He went back inside and to the kitchen. He chopped a chicken breast, a carrot, some mini potatoes, and celery. He got a frying pan out and heated it on the stove while grabbing a bag of green beans.

Fifteen minutes later Sebastian sat on the sofa with a bowl of steaming hot teriyaki chicken stir fry as he surfed channels on the TV.

Some time later, while watching a series called Modern Family, Sebastian let out a laugh at one of the characters before a commercial came on. He'd forgotten about Charles until that moment. He looked for his phone in a panic. It said that it was nine-nineteen in the evening.

"Hello," Charles' voice came on when the blonde accepted the call.

Sebastian's stomach chose that instant to tighten. "H-hey Charles. It's Sebastian."

"Sebastian?" Charles asked, uncertain.

Smiling cheekily, playing along, Sebastian replied, "Yes. Detective Carter Sebastian with the police. I'm calling in regards to a drug ring investigation."

Charles, on the other end of the line, laughed loudly and boisterously. This made Sebastian's smile to grow significantly.

"You are hilarious," Charles complimented. "I've been waiting all evening for your call."

Grinning bashfully and happily, Sebastian said, "Oh. Sorry. To be honest I wanted to call you as soon as I got home from the grocery store."

"God!" Charles moaned. "I wish you did. It would have boosted my ego and made you that much cuter."

"Mm. Next time."

"Listen, I want nothing more than to talk to you, but my break is over."

"Oh, I didn't know you'd be at work. Call me tomorrow. Absolutely any time."

Charles laughed again, and said, "You really do think I'm that beautiful, huh?"

With his face rapidly heating, Sebastian replied, "You are stunning, Charles."

"Thanks for calling, Sebastian. Have a good night."

"Night."

Sebastian stared his phone for a moment when Charles ended the call. He was happy, and flustered.

After washing the dishes by hand despite having a dishwasher, Sebastian stuck his wallet in one back pocket and his phone in the other. He roamed the streets, taking in the sights and the people and the culture.

Two hours into his adventure, as Sebastian was enjoying a strawberry ice cream cone while walking, his phone beeped and vibrated in his back pocket. He looked. It was a photo of Charles. He had no makeup on and he was lying on something bright red.

Below the photo was a message, 'Just got home from work'

Sebastian smiled. He hit a button that activated the front camera of his phone. He snapped a photo of himself with the ice cream cone on his tongue. He typed a text message, 'Exploring the city'

'I'd join you but I'm beat'

'Heading home anyway. Bushed. Call tomorrow?'

'Promise 😉'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning Sebastian woke at eight-fifty, unable to sleep any longer. He followed the same routine; brushed his teeth, made his bed, and went for exercise. The only difference was he decided to weight lift. He took the stairs down to the lobby, where he was expecting to find the doorman Xavier. But standing at the desk was a brunette woman.

"Hi," she smiled at Sebastian. "You must be Mr. Fitzroy. I'm Raquelle."

Shaking the black woman's hand, Sebastian said, "Call me Sebastian. Would you point me to the fitness facilities?"

"Yeah, absolutely. Just go down that hall, and to the left are the swimming pools and hot tubs. To the right is a fitness room equipped with various weights and machines. Both rooms are locked but tenants can access them using your entrance fob. Each room has lockers that you can rent for a hundred dollars per month."

The woman was kind enough to accept Sebastian's proposal of giving him a locker combination and he'd pay for it on his way out.

Sebastian had spent just over two hours in the gym. He had done bicep curls, bench presses, lat pulldowns, tricep curls, weighted crunches, cable rows, and repeated in that exact order four times.

When he opened his locker and checked his phone, he had received another photo text from Charles. The young man looked bored and tired, but gorgeous and wearing makeup, while more people were seated behind him.

'Bored in class' the text message said, which had been sent just forty minutes prior.

Sebastian smiled. He held the device high in the air and snapped a photo. It showed him, and his red skin and sweaty grey tank, with his tongue sticking out to the side.

'Just got done in the gym' Sebastian typed and sent.

Walking to the elevator, Sebastian saw Raquelle signing for FedEx parcels, so he called, "I'll be down in about an hour!"

Placing a couple parcels on the desk, Raquelle called back, "Yeah, take your time!"

While in the elevator Sebastian received another text message from Charles.

'Fucking god damn!'

Sebastian laughed, and was about to type a reply but Charles sent another text.

'But it is such a fuckboy pic 😝😚'

Sebastian looked up from his phone, staring at the metal door of the elevator. Fuckboy is a male slut.

Smirking, Sebastian held the phone high in the air again. This time he lifted the hem of his tank, exposing his well-worked pecs and abs. He finger-combed some hair so it hung over his face. He chewed on his bottom lip and clicked.

'This is fuckboy Sebastian' he texted.

As Sebastian was unlocking his condo door his phone buzzed.

Charles said, 'You sent that as my gf was watching a video'

Smirking again, Sebastian texted, 'Did she not know you were gay?'

'She didn't. She'll leave me now. I can't lose my kids!

Sebastian laughed boisterously. 'I'll buy you more kids. How old were they? Does race matter?'

'Har har. Gtg, call you later.'

Sebastian played music as he cooked himself some breakfast. He put a couple slices of rye bread in the toaster and scramble-fried three eggs. While eating he watched videos on YouTube about iPhones. One video showed him how to synchronize the device with a computer, and the computer the techie used in the video was called a MacBook.

After paying for two lockers, one in the pool room and one in the weight room, Sebastian asked Raquelle, "Would you know where I can buy a MacBook computer?"

"Well there's Apple Fifth Avenue," Raquelle answered.

Sebastian drove, and he was absolutely awestruck with the beauty of the facility.

While standing in front of a table of laptops, an Apple employee said, "Welcome to the Apple Store. Are you interested in a MacBook computer? Or just browsing?"

Sebastian looked up at the man unsurely. But he asked, "I hoped someone- would be able to teach me how to- operate one of these."

"Absolutely!" the man said enthusiastically. "Are you new to Apple?"

Uncomfortable, Sebastian said, "I don't know. I- was in an accident. Lost memories."

"Oh," the man said empathetic. "I'm so sorry, man. But I can teach you as much as I can."

Opening one of the laptops sitting on the table, the man told Sebastian, "The bar at the bottom of the screen is called the Dock. The Dock holds any applications you want easy access to. Any other applications--"

"Would have to be accessed via the Applications folder," Sebastian finished the man's thought, knowledge suddenly coming forth somehow.

"Yyyyeah," the man said slowly.

"I'd like a laptop with the biggest drive, biggest RAM, biggest everything!" Sebastian said enthusiastically.

The man went into the back to grab the requested item. Sebastian walked around the store, appreciating all the devices and accessories. He saw a small box that had a label for the iPhone 9, and it was a red polycarbonate case.

Slowly, Sebastian walked along the wall, examining all the items for sale. He grabbed a blue pair of Sony Bluetooth headphones and a phone car charger.

"I see you've collected some accessories," the man who'd been helping Sebastian said.

Sebastian saw a fairly large box in the man's hand, which had a photo of a laptop on the front. So he asked, "Can you show me some cases for that?"

Sebastian was happy with his collection, and happy with the green polycarbonate case for the laptop.

"Your total comes to five thousand, three hundred, four dollars and eleven cents."

As Matt was processing Sebastian's MasterCard, Sebastian's cell phone rang and it showed Charles' name as the caller ID.

Sebastian slid the bar on the screen to accept the call and said to the blonde, "Hey straight boy."

Charles burst into laughter before he replied, "Hey queen."

Sebastian laughed a little, then asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine. A lot better now. I think I like you a little too much if my day turns completely around just by hearing your voice."

Smiling a small smile but feeling a little worry, Sebastian asked, "Having a rough day? Wanna talk about it?"

"School was fine. Had a meeting with my group partners and that was good, too. But a coworker called and asked me to fill in for her for a few hours. I didn't want to, today was supposed to be my day off, but I need the money so I'm just heading to work right now."

Crestfallen, Sebastian said, "Oh that sucks. I wanted to take you out tonight."

"I- I get off work at seven. I mean! If you- still wanna go out. My treat."

"No, no, no," Sebastian protested happily. "My treat. I was going to ask you anyway."

"We'll see about that," Charles challenged humorously and seriously. "Just pick me up at seven. I'll text you the address."

"Think me a dork for saying this..." Sebastian said with a nervous smile, "but I can't wait to see you."

"Gawd!" Charles groaned in happiness. "You are the sweetest! I'll see you later, Sebi."

Before Sebastian could even get a reply out his phone beeped, indicated Charles had ended the call already.

Less than six hours. I have less than six hours.

"I'll need your signature," Matt asked of Sebastian, holding out an iPhone.

While signing the device, Sebastian asked, "Mind if I use a laptop to search an address?"

"Yeah, go right ahead. And would you like a paper receipt or will an emailed receipt be okay?"

Typing in the address that Charles had texted him, he clicked a Google link.

"'St. Laurent'. Hey Matt, have you ever been to this restaurant?"

"St. Laurent? Once. It's a bit pricey for me, but the food is delicious."

"So the staff would be dressed quite nice, then?"

"The front staff, yeah. Why?"

"I have a date tonight. He works there, and I'm picking him up from there after his shift. Just wondered how I should dress so I don't outshine him, ya know?"

"Oh, yeah. He'll be wearing a black dress shirt, black dress pants, and a tie."

Taking the items he'd just bought, Sebastian thanked the man appreciatively. When he got back to his building he took the stairs from the parking garage up to the main lobby. He went up to the front desk and asked Raquelle for a list of the three fanciest restaurants in town. She excitedly went to work on the task.

Twenty minutes later as Sebastian was setting up his new laptop, a phone he'd never heard before rang. He turned his head toward the origin of the ringing. On a charging base by the refrigerator sat a black cordless phone.

"Hello?"

*"Hello Mister- Sebastian. I have the three restaurants you'd requested if you have a pen."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Welcome to St. Laurent," the hostess greeted Sebastian. "Do you have a reservation?"

"No," Sebastian replied. "I'm actually here to pick up Charles."

With a giant smile the hostess said, "Oh, you must be Sebastian! Charles has been gushing about you all day!"

"Have not!" Charles protested with chagrin as he now stood by Sebastiam. "I'm gonna be about five minutes. Sit at the bar and wait? Have a drink on me."

"Hey Chuck!" Sebastian greeted him enthusiastically, teasingly. "So you've been gushing about me all day, hmm?"

"Maybe just a little," Charles conceded. "Thanks a lot, Kristina!"

The hostess laughed as she went through books. Sebastian said to Charles, "You look great."

"Please. These are work clothes. But thank you. And you look ravishing. Especially with your hair neatly fixed in a bun."

Sebastian looked down at the red and purple checkered dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbow under a grey waist coat with a black bow tie. He also loved the feeling of his black dress pants hugging his muscular thighs and glutes.

"Thank you. Now hurry and finish, we have a reservation."

Sebastian sat at the bar, where all of three other patrons sat. All three were drinking sombrely, their heads hanging low. It confused Sebastian, the lack of business at the bar while each of the twenty dining tables were occupied by two or more people.

"What can I get for you, sir?" the male bartender asked, mostly bored.

"Can I please have a ginger ale?" Sebastian replied. "Is the bar always this slow?"

Filling a glass and chuckling slightly, the bartender answered, "No. Ice? Between six-thirty and eight this is what the bar looks like."

After sipping the fizzy drink, Sebastian said, "Mmm, that's good. I'm a ginger ale addict."

The bartender laughed and said, "You'd have to be if you finish half of it in five seconds. Are you waiting for your party to meet you here?"

"No," Sebastian responded after taking a much smaller sip. "Met him already. I'm here to pick up Charles."

"Ahhh!" the bartender said a little loudly. "Should've known by your hair and eyes. He's been really excited about tonight."

With a smile of contentment Sebastian turned slightly, watching Charles go over receipts with Kristina the hostess. "So have I. He is gorgeous, but he is more kind and hilarious."

"You guys only met yesterday?" the bartender stated more than asked. "You're both already so into each other."

Sebastian was about to laugh and agree with the bartender, but Charles stood beside him and asked, "You ready?"

Sebastian turned his face to look at Charles, and answered, "I am, Chuck."

The bartender chuckled as he cleaned Sebastian's glass, and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Chuck."

"Don't call me that, Benny Boo!" Charles complained before leaving with the redhead.

Sebastian opened the passenger door for Charles. It surprised and delighted Charles, though he tried to protest, saying he wasn't a girl.

Turning the ignition, Sebastian replied, "No. It's a gesture that shows respect. If you want me to stop, just say so."

Charles didn't speak for a moment. Sebastian was the dream man.

"So where are we going?" Charles asked, both trying to hide to blush and hiding his excitement about the night.

Shaking his head softly, Sebastian answered, "Nope. It's a surprise. So tell me about yourself."

"Well my name is Charles Andrew Renfield. I am studying prelaw at NYU. I'm eighteen, but my birthday is next month. In three weeks, actually."

While turning right, Sebastian said with a smile, "Chuck Andy Renfield, attorney at law. Or maybe it'll be Chuck Drew."

Smacking Sebastian's arm with the back of hand, Charles cried, "Fuck you! And I'm going into corporate law."

"We are here," Sebastian said while coming to a stop.

"Eleven Madison Park!?" Charles practically screamed!

Slightly worried, Sebastian said, "You don't like this place? I can take you- somewhere else."

"This place is- kind of a lot expensive."

Charles' phone buzzed, so he took the device out of his pocket. Meanwhile, Sebastian exited the vehicle and walked around. He opened the passenger door, and held his hand out to help Charles out.

"This does feel nice," Charles told Sebastian, referring to the car assistance. "Kristina says you're fucking sexy. And she also said we looked cute together."

After handing his keys to the valet, Sebastian said, "She's pretty. But she's too skinny."

"Yeah, she's a recovering bulimic."

"Reservation for Fitzroy, Sebastian?"

The host smiled kindly and he said, "Ah, Mr. Fitzroy. I was beginning to wonder if you'd become too busy. Right this way."

"How was work?" Sebastian asked Charles as the host laid a menu down in front of him.

"It was fine. It went by way too- slow because I was- excited about tonight. But it was busy. Not that I'm complaining. Good tips."

A waitress came up to the table then, placed a small square plate on the table and said, "Hello, my name is Dahlia and I'll be your server. How about we start with drinks?"

"I love white wine," Charles said with a smile as he went over the wine menu. "I'm looking for something dry, yet fruity..."

"He'll have the Boxler," Sebastian told the server. "And I'll have a glass of apple juice, please."

"Apple juice?" Charles asked when the server walked away. "Boxler?"

"I'm sorry if ordering for you was out of line. She was about to go on this whole spiel on white wines, but in the end she would have recommended the Boxler or the Pommier. I'm sure you'll love the Boxler."

"I don't mind that you ordered for me. But apple juice?"

"Oh. Yeah, I don't drink alcohol," Sebastian explained as he grabbed one of two pieces of break from the square plate.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

With a gentle smile Sebastian replied, "It's fine, Charles. I ordered for you, I promise it's okay."

"This is the best bruschetta I've ever had," Charles said quietly.

Sebastian sipped his water, then asked Charles, "So you want to work in law?"

"Yeah. Early in high school I made that decision. I want to be a compliance lawyer."

"What guided you to that decisions?"

"My mom is an attorney. I don't want to be a defence lawyer, but lawyers made a decent amount of money."

"Your dad? What does he do?"

"He's business owner. Landscaping."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah. An older sister and a younger brother. My sister Paula is studying to be a neurologist, and my brother Frank is still in high school."

"Are you close with them?"

With a smile of appreciation for Sebastian's curiosity and care, Charles answered, "Yeah, I'm close with my family. I text with my sibs every day. I call my parents at least three times a week. And we Skype- probably twice a month."

"Skype?" Sebastian asked, perplexed. "What's that?"

"Here are your drinks," the server stated as she placed glasses on the table from her tray. "Are you ready to order the next course? You have three soups to choose from; tomato bisque, cream of mushroom, or barley lentil."

Sebastian ordered the cream of mushroom while Charles the tomato bisque.

Charles smiled, and answered, "Skype is an application that allows you to communicate with friends and family. It's most commonly used to video chat."

"It sounds like your family doesn't live here," Sebastian stated. "Did you move here?"

With a smile, Charles answered, "Moved here last year. I'm from New Orleans."

"Was it- was it scary for you to move?"

Charles thought for a moment, and answered. "Yes and no. It's always scary to move away from your family, I think. Especially so far from home. But I always wanted to live in New York City, so that helped."

Just then the server grabbed two small bowls from her tray and sat them down in front of the two young men.

"Did your family support your move?" Sebastian asked, not knowing where that question came from.

Charles' brows furrowed and at the same time another smile formed on his face. "Yes. They were scared for me, I mean it's New York. But my parents always ask if I money for rent or food or my cell bill, so they help if I need it. But make a lot in tips at St. Laurent so I never need their help."

Sebastian nodded before asking, "How often do you see your parents?"

"I saw them twice since moving here. They came here with my brother a week before classes, and I flew home for Christmas. They're actually planning to visit here next month for two days before they go off on vacation to Beijing."

"Sounds nice," Sebastian commented with a smile. "Will you be going with them?"

"No. They did ask, but I've been to Beijing before."

"I'm guessing you- came out. How old were you and how did your family react?"

Charles laughed softly and said, "You are just full of questions, aren't ya."

"I'm sorry, it's just--"

"I wasn't complaining," Charles said softly, meaningfully. "I told my parents of my sexuality when I was fifteen. They took it well. They hugged me and thanked me for trusting them. Turns out they suspected before."

Just over an hour later as the two young men were eating their fifth course, Charles said with mostly humour and little exasperation, "You've been asking me questions all evening! Tell me about you now."

Sebastian hadn't even realized that he was trying to keep the attention from himself until then. But said, "Ask away."

"What do you do? Student?"

"No, I'm not doing anything right now."

"I'd guessed, seeing as you'd just moved here two days ago. Are you planning on going to college?"

Sebastian chewed his beef as he thought. "I don't know. Never thought about it."

"How about work?" Charles asked. "When are you going job hunting?"

"Not any time soon. I'm thinking to take a month or two off before I decide anything."

"A couple months!?" Charles said in shock. "Who are you? You drive a Cadillac, you wear Calvin Klein, you wear a Rolex, and you dine at one New York's finest establishments."

After a small chuckle Sebastian replied, "My grandparents owned a law firm in Ireland. They sold it before moving to Florida."

"You are Irish," Charles said dreamily. "Guessed so based on your hair and surname."

Teasing, Sebastian asked, "And you're bummed that I don't have an accent?"

Charles smirked, gave a dramatic shrug, and replied, "I'm actually kind of glad you don't have an accent. You're already too damned sexy as it is."

Charles chuckled again upon seeing his date look down at his plate with a shy smile and reddening face.

"You get a hundred times cuter when you blush like that."

Still looking down at his plate, though taking his time spearing food with his fork, Sebastian moaned in a whisper, "Shut up! You'll make this blush permanent."

Charles laughed before saying, "Okay, I'm sorry. So are you close with your family?"

With his face having fallen, though not because of the memory of his family, Sebastian answered, "I- no. My family- died."

Crestfallen, Charles' hand rose to his face. "Sebastian. I'm- I'm so sorry."

Sebastian waved his fork dismissively, and told the blonde, "It's okay. It was a year ago."

Unsurely, Charles asked, "Can I- ask- what happened?"

"We went out for dinner after my high school grad. After dinner I was going to a party, and on their way home they were in a car wreck. My kid sister was with them, too."

"Oh, Sebastian," Charles moaned with tears forming.

With a gentle smile Sebastian said, "Enough of this. This is our first date, we should be enjoying each other's company."

"Okay, I'm sorry. So- so tell me some of your hobbies."

"Growing up I was taught to play three instruments; the cello, acoustic guitar, and the piano."

"That's impressive!" Charles said with a smile. "Though, not surprising because you're apparently loaded."

"To this day I love playing. I even have a cello and a guitar in my condo. One day, when I have my own house, I want a piano."

"I'd love to hear you play some time."

Another two hours passed. Sebastian and Charles were still talking and getting to know each other and laughing. They both had completed their eleventh courses, dessert, just minutes prior. The restaurant had officially closed twenty ago with the last customers departing thirty minutes ago, and the restaurant staff had started cleaning the dining area. Nobody minded that the two young men were taking their time as Sebastian had warned them when making the reservation and also because the two were kind and sweet and so cute together.

"My god!" Charles moaned happily. "Best meal I've ever had!"

Dahlia, the server, came up to their table holding an iPad that had a black box sticking out of its side.

"Twenty-five percent," Sebastian told the server as he held his credit card out to her.

Dahlia swiped Sebastian's MasterCard through the black box, and while the device processed the payment, she asked, "You boys have a good evening?"

With a shy smile, Charles easily answered, "It was magical."

Signing his signature on the device, Sebastian chimed in, "Best evening I've had in a long while."

'Nine hundred, forty-eight dollars,' Sebastian thought to himself. 'Remember to pay your credit card.'

Dahlia compared the signature displayed on the iPad with the one on the back of the credit card. Satisfied, she handed the credit card back to its owner and bade them a wonderful night.

Smirking and holding the car door open for Charles, Sebastian asked, "So your evening was magical, huh?"

Climbing into the vehicle, Charles laughed. "Shut up! But yes, it was."

When Sebastian climbed into the drivers seat Charles was texting.

The blonde laughed and said, "Lily wants to know if I'm still alive."

Lily Jenkins was Charles' best friend and roommate.

Giving the smallest bit of gas to the engine, Sebastian replied, "Yeah? Tell her I'm sorry for worrying her."

Filled with giddiness again, Charles said, "You're even so thoughtful! But it's fine. Lily's just a worrier."

Sitting at a red light, Sebastian asked, "Do you wanna do anything else?"

Charles slammed the back of his head against the headrest dramatically, Charles replied, "I wish this night wouldn't end. But I have a bit of homework to do, and then I have to sleep because I have to wake at six o'clock."

"Yeah, just put your address in the GPS."

While tapping away on the navigation, Charles asked, "Any plans for tomorrow?"

"Well- I exercise every day. Then I'm going artwork shopping shopping because my walls are too bare. Maybe a bit of retail therapy at Queens Centre. After that I am getting a LASIK consultation."

"Sounds nice. And for the record, I think you look cute with glasses."

Sebastian smiled in appreciation, though dared not remove his eyes from the road. But he did reach over and placed his hand on the Charles' knee. He rubbed it twice, then withdrew it back to the steering wheel.

"How 'bout you?" Sebastian asked. "What're you up to tomorrow?"

"Classes eight til one. Going for a run after that. Then I work four til eleven."

"So I never did ask how you like your job."

"I love it," Charles answered animatedly. "I've had this job since I moved here. My boss is nice, coworkers are amazing, money is great, and the food is delicious!"

Just then Charles received another text message and Sebastian parked outside of Charles' apartment complex. He climbed out of the car, walked around, and opened the door for Charles.

Still holding the hand he'd grasped to help the blonde, Sebastian bashfully said, "I- I hope you had a good time."

The two were staring at each other, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. Charles brought their joined hands down, his thumb stroking the other's hand.

Quietly and meaningfully, Charles responded, "It really was one of the best nights I've had."

Their eyes remained locked for a few moments. Neither spoke, the need to not existing in that comfortable moment. Sebastian then leaned his head down slightly, capturing Charles' lips in a searing kiss. Their lips held motionless contact for all but three seconds, but to them it felt like a minute.

Their lips separated with a soft smacking sound. Their foreheads pressed together, and their eyes remained closed.

Sebastian lifted his head away and said, "I really enjoyed getting to know you, Charles," before lifting their joined hands and kissing the blonde's knuckles.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sebastian had awoken at seven-forty-five the next morning. He fired off a 'Good morning, beautiful' text message to Charles and, like the other days, began his day by tidying his little home while brushing his teeth, then exercising. After his run he ate a bowl of pineapples and strawberries and a cup of Greek yogurt while texting with Charles.

Sebastian passed the time by logging into his online banking and transferring money to pay his Capital One MasterCard. He planned to transfer funds twice a week to each of his credit cards so that the available credits would normally be fifty grand.

Sebastian then opened the iTunes application and explored many links before finally finding what he was searching for. Sebastian went back to his digital music library, which was blank before but now was downloading the hundreds of songs that were purchased before.

He left his laptop on the kitchen island so that the digital media was able to download and went into the living room. There, he stood in front of a big black, oddly-shaped case for a few moments. The case leant against a black wooden stool in the corner of the room.

The wood of the cello felt cool on his inner thigh. Sebastian thought that perhaps he should've dressed after his breakfast or even after his shower. But Sebastian carried on, touching the horsehair of the bow to the strings of the instrument. He pulled his arm but a hair, and the sound that resonated off the instrument did not started the redhead, but he removed the bow from the string.

"Okay," Sebastian whispered to himself while combing his hair out of hair face with his fingers.

He touched the horsehair back to the string, and slowly moved his arm. The sounds were not exactly unpleasant. But he knew they were off.

Sebastian closed his eyes, and listened closely to the notes erupting from the cello. He cleared his mind of all else. Within seconds, the notes resonating off the cello became organized, trained, delightful. He didn't know what the song that came from the cello was called, but he understood that it did have a name.

Twenty minutes later, though Sebastian didn't know how much time had passed, to him it felt like a minute at most, the cello piece came to end. He was in love with the individual notes and the way they formed together that he sat in silence, unmoving, a dreamy smile painted on his face.

Sebastian grabbed his phone off the sofa arm. There was a text message from Charles that read, 'She doesn't believe you're real �... Whats up?'

Before Sebastian grabbed his cello he'd been texting with Charles, and the blonde had explained that he was texting with his friend Carol as well.

Sebastian was about to type a reply but an idea popped into his head. He propped the device on the coffee table on its side using his glass of water. He hit the record button, and took his seat on the stool. With the cello leaning against himself, he closed closed his eyes. With a blank mind he began swaying his bow arm softly, eliciting musical notes. The first notes were gibberish, testing. But within moments he was enjoying his fingers moving of their own accord and the melodies coming off the stringed instrument.

Again, Sebastian sort of woke from his musical trance at the end of piece. So he gently leant the cello back against the stool again and grabbed his cell phone. The second he stopped the recording the screen showed him that it had been recording a twenty-two minute video. He hit a couple of onscreen buttons and watched the new video. He thought he was angelic in the clip; his effortless movements, a look of serenity gracing his face, and the beautiful notes being played.

When the video ended he noticed an Edit button at the top right corner. He trimmed the video into a thirty-second clip and saved it as a new video. Closing the app, he opened the Messages app and sent the new clip to his new blonde friend.

As the clip was sending Sebastian noticed the time. The chauffeur would be there in a half hour, so Sebastian walked into his closet. He dressed in a blue gingham shirt and a charcoal grey suit. He wondered if he should wear a neck tie, comparing a drawer full of rolled ties. But he opted not to, instead leaving the top two button of his shirt undone. He then went into his bathroom where he used his hairbrush to tie his hair in a neat bun.

Riding the elevator down Sebastian received a text message from Charles that said, 'OMG! That was so beautiful!'

Sebastian giggled, then Charles sent another text, 'Melissa and I watched it literally 4 times'

Sebastian was going to type a reply but yet another text message showed up, 'Do you always play in the nude? Not that I'm complaining 😉'

Sebastian laughed, then typed, 'Was lazy to dress up'

'What you doing now, nudist?'

Sebastian laughed as he closed his car door and typed, 'Heading to Agora Gallery. You?'

Charles replied, 'Economics class. Boring'

'Law school has an economics prerequisite?'

'Not exactly. Law students are urged to have basic knowledge in quantitative data

'I see. Do you have another class after?"

'Yeah, sociology. Gtg good lecture. I'll call tonite?'

'Yeah sounds nice'

Sebastian opened his Music application and played the library in shuffle mode.

Fifteen minutes later Sebastian walked into the art gallery. He looked around, seeing about a dozen patrons roaming around, appreciating the pieces.

A slim middle-aged woman approached the redhead, saying, "Good morning. My name is Georgia. Can I help you?"

Smiling kindly, Sebastian answered, "I just moved here. I'm looking for a few pieces to decorate my new condo."

Georgia, with a straight face, responded, "I see. I should warn you that these pieces aren't preschool finger paintings."

Sebastian stared at the bitch with a straight face but his eyes were hard.

"I should hope not," Sebastian said with bite. "This place was not recommended to me for its- what did you say- preschool finger paintings."

Georgia pursed her lips unhappily, but nodded. She went over to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper. She silently followed Sebastian as the young ginger studied every piece of artwork displayed.

Sebastian was standing in front of a painting. It measured four feet wide and and three feet tall, and displayed vibrant colours of a sea of people. But each face was blank, white. It spoke to Sebastian, metaphorically. He told the rude woman that he wanted that one. She placed a red Sold sticker on the paper hanging under the painting.

This carried on for nearly an hour and a half. Sebastian had walked around the entire gallery and had chosen twelve pieces. He wrote a cheque, fully expecting the hag to give him some difficulty.

He was correct. When he handed her the written cheque she told him, "Your delivery will arrive in five days time. If this cheque clears. I assume the delivery will be made to the address printed on the cheque?"

"My, my," said a young-ish woman who'd just come to the desk, "this one is being as difficult as she always is. Hi, Erica."

"Umm- Sebastian."

"I'll take the Sangeau, Georgia," the new woman said to the hag as she stuck a stray strand of light brown hair behind her ear. "Have it delivered today please," she finished while holding a credit card out.

"Absolutely, Mrs. Albright."

The new woman, Erica, turned back to Sebastian with a welcoming smile before asking, "You new in town? Never seen you around, and you bought quite a bit today."

After pushing his eyeglasses further up his nose, Sebastian answered, "Yeah, just moved here a few days ago, actually."

"Where are you from?"

"Florida. Sarasota."

"How are you enjoying New York?"

With a smile, Sebastian answered, "So far it's great! Beautiful sights, excellent dining, fantastic art."

"Good to hear!" Erica enthused while signing the credit slip. "My husband and I are hosting a dinner in two days. Would you like to come? I have a teenaged son and a daughter attending university, they'll want someone around their age there. Here's our address."

"Sure, sounds fun. What should I wear?"

While walking out of the gallery, Erica called, "Dress exactly how you are now!"

Another hour had passed, Sebastian was shopping at the Queens Center mall. Sebastian had four bags in his hands from four different stores. His pale green eyes were trained on a store, walking toward it. Inside Armani Exchange he went straight to the checkout.

"Hello," Sebastian greeted the young woman working. "Would you mind holding my bags?"

The young woman found it difficult to look away from Sebastian's stunningly bright eyes. She closed her lips and rubbed them together, probably making sure her red lipstick was even and immaculate.

Finally, after a couple of moments, she grabbed Sebastian's bags, saying, "Sure, absolutely. You've been having a good day shopping, haven't ya? May I help you with anything else?"

"I'll just browse, thank you."

Fifteen minutes into browsing found Sebastian holding a pair of grey jeans and three sweaters draped over his arm. He was looking at a rack of socks when someone approached him.

He looked, the Asian male employee had silver hair that Sebastian liked.

"Would you like for me to show you to a fitting room?"

"I- I like your hair," the words left Sebastian's mouth without him realizing.

The young Asian chuckled, before saying, "Thank you. But I must warn you that I'm straight. And I'm at work."

"I- oh. I'm seeing someone. I just liked your hair. But yes, a fitting room please."

The employee grabbed the clothing from Sebastian's arms and led the ginger. In the fitting room, Sebastian removed his suit jacket and shirt first. The first item he tried on was a red and faded red colour-blocked sweater. It fit him well, showing off his chest, and the Pima cotton was so soft.

There was a knock at the fitting room door, and a new female voice said, "I found this set of keys and I'm wondering if it belongs to you."

Sebastian opened the door. He told the girl that the keys were not his. But then he asked, "I saw something similar to this sweater, but all grey. Can you get me that in a double extra large?"

When the employee left Sebastian went back into the fitting room. He removed the red sweater, and tried on a plum purple zipped sweater. This one fit just fine, but he knew it would perfectly when wearing a shirt under.

Just then a grey sweater was thrown up to hang on the top of the door. The female employee said from the other side of the door, "Here's the sweater you requested. May I help you with anything else?"

As he unzipped the purple sweater Sebastian replied, "Thank you but no."

Sebastian then removed his charcoal grey dress pants and slid the pair of light grey jeans up his legs. He turned around and looked back, loving that his bubble butt was on full display just like it was with his dress pants. He then pulled the navy blue cardigan on. He played with looks by leaving the buttons undone, and by buttoning either some or all.

Finally, the one he was most excited for. The grey sweater. Sebastian stripped the cardigan and jeans off. He pulled the grey sweater over his head. It slid easily, the crew neck being so big. The sleeves ran about three inches past his stretched fingers. Th hem hung low, about an inch before his knees. He bunched his socks slightly, loving the lazy look with messy socks, an oversized sweater that was three sizes too big, and his hair hanging low past his shoulders.

After knocking at the fitting room door, the same female asked, "How are things going in here?"

"Can- can I get your opinion- on something?" Sebastian asked uncertainly.

"I'd be happy to help," she answered.

Sebastian warned, "Okay, I have no pants on but I am wearing that oversized sweater."

After a brief moment of shock, the girl told Sebastian that it was fine for him to come out of the fitting room.

A couple of seconds of silence ensued after Sebastian opened the door. The girl looked Sebastian over carefully, but being a lesbian she did so in a professional manner.

"Do you- do you think guys will- like this in the morning?" Sebastian asked, yet again uncertainly.

"Yes!" the girl answered easily. "Let me show you something."

The girl pushed Sebastian back into the fitting room, going in behind him. She made him face the mirror, and pushed both the sleeves up past his elbows.

"Wear the sweater like this when cooking or eating," the girl explained. "And when sitting, pull the hem a little higher to show off more leg. And the fantastic thing about oversized sweaters is they're easy to remove."

"How do I get this clean?" Sebastian asked, folding some fabric so the garment was tight against his body.

"Throw it in the wash, gentle cycle. You can either tumble dry or hang dry. I'd recommend tumble drying with regular clothes for half the time, then hang dry. You can also wear this style out in public by pairing it with a pair of leggings."

Three minutes later Sebastian was standing in line at the checkout, waiting to pay so he could leave. Hanging on his arm were the purple cardigan, the red colour block sweater, the grey jeans, and the oversized sweater. He'd opted not to purchase the navy cardigan.

When Sebastian left the store he heard his stomach grumble. When he was roaming through the mall earlier he'd passed a food court, so he went in that direction.

Sebastian was eating a burrito bowl from Chipotle and reading news from the CNN website. He'd just read an article on President Trump offending the Syrian president during the beginnings of a peace treaty when he looked up. There was a young woman and a young man that had been looking at him but looked away when the redhead noticed them.

Five minutes had passed, Sebastian's lunch bowl was a little more than half empty but he'd been satisfied enough he was no longer eating, and he was still reading news articles.

"Hi there," a male voice said.

Sebastian looked up from his phone. Now standing by his table were the two people who had looked at him earlier. The young man's brown hair was shaved to a buzz, and the woman's was a brown chin-length bob.

The man carried on talking, "Sorry to intrude. My name is Dustin, and this is my twin sister Savannah."

"Hi," the girl, Savannah, waved.

Sebastian put his cell in sleep mode and set it down on the table before saying, "Hi, Sebastian."

"We wanted to come over and introduce ourselves because we couldn't stand the sight of a handsome man such as yourself sitting all alone," the man, Dustin, stated with a shy smile.

"Oh," Sebastian said in an awkward state. "Umm... Thank- you?"

"Of course!" Savannah said happily.

Dustin swung his arm and smacked his sister's leg. "Forgive Savannah, she's- special."

Savannah bit her lower lip to try hiding her smile, and she smacked Dustin's leg in much the same manner.

Savannah then said to Sebastian, "Come join us."

Sebastian agreed, though unsurely. He grabbed his tray and phone and shopping bags and walked with the twins.

At the table they'd been sitting at, Dustin asked, "So what do you do?"

"Work?" Sebastian asked while finger-combing the top of head so his orange hair was completely out of his face. "Nothing right now."

"No work but you spend money at- Armani, Nordstrom, Zara," Savannah stated while glancing at the ginger's bags.

"I'm new in town," Sebastian explained. "Moved here a few days ago."

"Oh cool!" Dustin said. "Where're you from?"

"I'm from Sarasota."

Savannah teased, "You're pretty light for a Florida man."

Dustin once again smacked Savannah's leg. He then said to Sebastian, "But with your complexion it's no mystery why."

"So what do you guys do for work?" Sebastian asked the duo.

Savannah answered, "We work part time. Dustin works at Mexx and me at Aritzia."

"Clothing stores," Sebastian stated while pushing food around his bowl. "Do you guys enjoy it?"

"Yeah I love my job!" Savannah replied excitedly.

Dustin answered, "It's okay. Working in commission can be a bit- dramatic with some coworkers."

Savannah then asked, "So what brings you to the Big Apple?"

Sebastian shrugged and responded, "Just a change of scenery."

Dustin laughed and said, "I don't buy that one bit. Was it love? Family issues?"

Sebastian stomach tightened slightly. But he tried to reply calmly, "I- no. Neither."

"So did you have a bad breakup?" Savannah insisted. "S'that why you moved?"

"Umm, no. If it was a bad breakup I wouldn't be seeing this guy so soon."

"Honey, that's called a rebound," Dustin retorted with a small smile. "But you're seeing someone so soon after moving?"

"Seeing how hot you are I'm not surprised," Savannah complimented unabashedly.

"You just started seeing a guy," Dustin said slowly, "so technically you're still single."

Sebastian shifted uncomfortably, then said, "I guess it was only one date. But it was a fucking awesome first date. I'm not interested in seeing anyone else right now."

Dustin conceded, "Well he's a lucky guy. You and I can still be friends, right?"

"Yeah," Sebastian answered, happy again. "I don't have any friends here."

Dustin up pocketed his phone and hit a few buttons to add a new contact. Handing the device to Sebastian, he said, "Put your number in here. We can hang out soon."

Sebastian accepted Dustin's phone, but before typing he went to the same screen on his phone and handed it to Dustin. They put each other's names in their contacts.

While looking at the new contact in his phone, Dustin asked, "Well, Mr. Fitzroy, what are you doing now?"

Sebastian smiled, Dustin was light and funny. "Shopping a little more, Mr. Cayle. I have a LASIK consultation in about an hour."

"Great!" Savannah called. "Come shopping with us!"

Dustin agreed, "Yeah. And after LASIK come to the theatres with us."

Together the trio roamed the mall. At American Eagle the twins helped Sebastian pick out two pairs of skinny jeans and practically pushed him to the fitting rooms.

"Holy fuck," Dustin said quietly.

Sebastian had come out of the fitting room. The pure black skinny jeans were tight on his legs.

"I- I think they're too tight," Sebastian said self-consciously.

"Fuck no," Dustin disagreed, his breath still uneasy.

"Turn around," Savannah instructed. And when Sebastian did, she said, "I want an ass as big as yours."

Dustin couldn't take his eyes off of Sebastian's round rump as he said, "Yeah, you have to get those."

Sebastian bought both pairs of jeans while Dustin bought three pairs of briefs. The next store the trio went to was Fossil where Sebastian bought two watches. After that was Club Monaco, but nothing there interested Sebastian, though Savannah did buy a dress.

While leaving the store, Sebastian said, "I'm going to bring these to my car before my consultation."

Slowly walking in the other direction, Savannah said, "Yeah, just text when you're done so you can find us."

Out in the parking lot, as Sebastian was putting his shopping bags in the trunk of his car, an old woman's voice said, "Excuse me, sonny, you might want to tie your shoe."

Sebastian turned slightly and told the woman, "Thank you, ma'am."

The old lady remained walking by, though she waved her arm softly, saying, "Meh, think nothing of it."

While watching the lady walk off slowly, her upper back slouched the slightest bit, Sebastian thought to himself, 'I hope I'm that kind when I'm old.'

"Can I help you?" the middle-aged woman behind the desk asked, not unkindly.

Sebastian stared at her for moment before replying, "I have a consultation in five minutes. Sebastian Fitzroy."

After checking her computer screen, the secretary told Sebastian, "If you could take a seat Dr. Clyde will be with you soon."

Sebastian took his phone out of his pocket. He was playing a game called Glow Puzzle on his phone when his name was called. He followed the doctor into the back, into a private room.

"How are you today?" the female doctor asked kindly while grabbing a clipboard.

Sebastian smiled at the lady and answered, "I'm doing really well, thank you."

"Good. So what, if I may ask, brought you to the decision to have laser eye surgery done?"

"Just annoyed with eyeglasses, I guess."

"What is your age? Forgive me, but you don't appear to be a legal adult."

"I get that all the time. I'm nineteen."

"What type of vision problem do you have?"

"I'm near-sighted."

"Is there an eye dominance?"

"Sorry, I don't know what that means."

"Is one eye stronger than the other?"

"Oh. Yes. My right eye has slightly better vision than the left when I'm not wearing my glasses."

"Do you wear contact lenses?"

"No."

"How long have you required eyeglasses to correct your vision?"

That question was unexpected. Sebastian didn't know the answer, of course. But he confidently responded, "Since I was four."

"Poor guy," the doctor giggled, "fifteen years. Any eye conditions?"

"Umm, no."

"Are you currently on any medications?"

"No."

"Do you play any sports? Particularly contact sports?"

"No."

"You look like a fit guy, so tell me about your exercise regimen."

"I exercise six days a week. I alternate days by running and weight lifting."

"How often do you consume alcohol?"

"I don't."

Dr. Clyde looked up at Sebastian with a tinge of surprise. But she carried on, "Recreational drug use?"

"None."

Twenty minutes later, after a number of physical eye tests, Dr. Clyde told Sebastian, "Well, no doubt about it, you have the healthiest pair of eyes I've ever seen. Apart from your near-sightedness, of course. You can schedule the surgery with Shoshanna at the front for two weeks from today. During those two weeks, no perfume, no cologne, no makeup, no contact lenses, no medications that cause skin or eye dryness, minimal alcohol consumption, no drugs."

Sebastian, with a gentle smile, said, "None of those will be a problem."

"Great. I have to warn you that completely unassisted vision is unrealistic after surgery. Of course your vision should be considerably improved. There are also some risks, because the eye is quite sensitive. Risks such as dry eyes, complications in making the corneal flap, glare, and errors in vision correction."

"I've read about the risks, thank you," Sebastian told the doctor kindly.

"Great. Any questions for me?"

"How long should I not watch TV post-surgery?"

"TV, computers, and your phone will not be issues the day after. Just keep your eyes moist using artificial tears."

"Will driving be an issue?"

"Almost all patients are able to drive the day after surgery. Just make sure you're comfortable. We don't need a Nervous Nelly navigating our roads."

"And if my vision is still a little blurry, will contact lenses be okay?"

"If you still require vision correction, make an appointment with me four to six weeks post surgery so I can look at your eyes. That'll tell me whether your eyes are healed enough for contact lenses or not."

Dr. Clyde shook Sebastian's hand after he told he that he had no more questions. He walked back out front where he explained to the receptionist that he needed a surgery appointment for two weeks from then.

"Well, does June ten at three-thirty work out for you?" the receptionist asked after checking the digital appointment book. Sebastian agreed, and she said, "We can send you the appointment via email, and send an SMS reminder the day before."

Sebastian knew there was a Starbucks kiosk café close by the LASIK so while waiting in line there he sent a text to Dustin.

Just as he was ordering a drink Dustin replied, 'We're finishing in The Sunglass Hut. Be down soon, wait there'

Sebastian sat down at an empty tables, sipping his iced latte. He opened the CNN application, and he was reading an article about Victoria Beckham meeting with Hillary Clinton to discuss women's rights and equality.

"Hey," Dustin said as he and his sister sat down at the table.

"How did the consult go?" Savannah asked.

"It went really good," Sebastian replied. "Surgery is scheduled for June tenth."

"Cool," Dustin said. "You nervous?"

"I little I guess."

"It'll be fine," Savannah said while staring at something on her phone.

"So you interested in watching a movie with us?" Dustin asked. "We were just gonna leave to catch the seven o'clock showings."

"Yeah," Sebastian answered easily. "Let's go. Do you guys drive?"

The three had stood from the chairs when Savannah replied, "No. Alas, we are simple peasants."

Dustin immediately followed with, "Thus, my ginger, you will be our chauffeur."

Sebastian laughed at the twins' colloquialisms. Then said, "Yeah, that's no problem. You just have to tell me where I'm going."

Ten minutes later, as Savannah, who was sitting in the backseat with hers and her brother's shopping bags, was singing along to some Selena Gomez song when Sebastian parked at Lane Towers. Sebastian told the twins to leave their shopping bags in the car, and they walked to United Artists Midway 9.

"What do you guys think?" Dustin asked, not looking away from the sign. "Avengers or Star Wars?"

"Hmm," Savannah thought hard. "I love Star Wars, but Chris Hemsworth as Thor..."

Sebastian had no idea what to he would like, as you'd expect. So he said, "You guys choose."

Inside the cinema Dustin paid for three tickets to see the Avengers flick, even as Sebastian protested.

"Just let it go," Savannah said to Sebastian with a smile. "He's just trying to impress you."

"Am not!" Dustin said with humour as he handed each of his companions a movie ticket. "Sebi says he's seeing someone so I'll back off."

"Sebi?" The redhead repeated. "Chuck called me that once. Oh, that's the guy I'm seeing."

"Chuck!?" Savannah cried. "He sounds like a meathead!"

Sebastian laughed and said, "Charles is actually quite smart. He wants to be a lawyer."

"A lawyer?" Dustin said in deep thought. "He's not Charles Renfield, is he?"

Sebastian smiled excitedly at Dustin and asked, "Do you know him?"

"Not really. I follow him on Instagram, which is where I know him from, but the bitch doesn't follow me back. God, he's so cute!"

"Instagram?"

"App where you share photos and videos. When you said Charles wanted to be a lawyer I remembered that Charles once posted a photo of his mom's law degree saying he'll have one some day."

"Okay!" Savannah called, annoyed. "Who is this Charles?"

Finally it was their turn at the concession. Sebastian asked the twins what they wanted. As he was paying for the food and drinks Dustin showed Charles' Instagram profile to Savannah.

Savannah snatched Dustin's phone from his hand in surprise. She said loudly, "My lord! He's almost as hot as you, Sebastian! Jesus, he contours better than me."

After snatching his phone back and tapping on one of Charles' photos, Dustin said, "He's wearing red leggings in this one. He has an ass that I'd bury my face in for days!"

The last preview was just ending when the trio walked into the theatre. This theatre was a little full, so it took a minute for them to find three seats. But they found a set of three seats, with Dustin sitting in the middle.

Five minutes into the movie Dustin held his big bag of gummy bears out to Sebastian with his other hand held out, waiting. So Sebastian handed Dustin his bag of popcorn while simultaneously grabbing the gummy treats.

When the movie had ended, the trio headed back to Sebastian's car where the redhead asked, "Want a ride home?"

While Sebastian was turning the ignition Dustin entered their address into the GPS as instructed.

"Do you have any family here?" Savannah asked from the back seat.

While waiting for an opening to turn into traffic, Sebastian replied, "Now don't start crying because everybody does when I tell them. My family died last year in a car accident."

Dustin placed his hand on Sebastian's elbow as he softly moaned, "Oh, sweetie."

"It's fine," Sebastian said with a small chuckle while blending into traffic. "I promise I've accepted it."

"No aunts?" Savannah asked. "Uncles? Cousins?"

Sebastian shook his head softly, turning into a different lane. "Both my parents had no siblings."

Carefully, Dustin asked, "So, is that how you're living right now? How you relocated? You got their life insurance?"

"Umm, sort of," Sebastian answered with a giggle.

After a few moments of silence, when she noticed Sebastian wasn't going to elaborate, Savannah asked, "What else do you like to do in your free time?"

"Umm, I- exercise six times a week. And I love playing the cello and guitar."

"Oh, my god!" Dustin called. "You're a nerd! But it's pretty cool, too."

"I was also taught to play the piano growing up. But I don't have one."

"And you own a cello and a guitar, do you?" Savannah inquired.

Sebastian stopped at a red light, grabbed his phone and answered, "Yeah. This video was taken this morning. Tell me if I'm any good. And be honest."

Before Dustin even hit the Play button he said, "Fuck, you're naked. Is that therapeutic? Playing in the nude, I mean."

"I wasn't naked!" Sebastian laughed. "I had underwear on. And I'd obviously just got out of the shower. I was lazy to look for clothes."

Dustin had watched the first five minutes of the video when the phone buzzed. They were nearly at the twins apartment complex anyway.

Holding his phone out to Sebastian, Dustin told the ginger, "Charles texted you. You play beautifully, by the way."

Dustin thanked Sebastian for the ride as he opened the car door. Sebastian thanked them for a fun day as Dustin grabbed the bags out of the back seat. When Savannah stepped out of the car, she bent down and adjusted the counter of her right black pump.

As the twins walked into the building Sebastian read the text message from Charles, '90 mins left in my shift. Been busy, I'm tired'

Sebastian smiled. Then he typed, 'Good things come to those who hustle'

Back in his condo, Sebastian sat his shopping bags down on his coffee table and went into his closet. There, he carefully hung his suit on the suit hanger, then threw his shirt in the laundry basket. He walked out to the living room wearing only his black boxer-briefs and green socks. While walking, he selected a song to play from his phone. He put the volume to the max.

"Cause I had the best of the worst sides," Sebastian sang along while grabbing the watches out of one of the shopping bags. "And I had these lungs. And I had too many flash fires, that I just let them burn."

Fifteen minutes later, when all his new purchases were unbagged and detagged, Sebastian tossed the new clothes in his laundry basket and sat his new watches on a shelf in his closet.

While picking out a pair of jeans and a shirt, he sang along, "Still miss that old skool love. Not quite that do-right love. Your love was fine, never old time. You're steady on my mind. Still miss that old skool love. I don't want you back, but I'll never ever love the same way again."

Finally, then minutes later, Sebastian stood in front of his full-length mirror looking himself over. Satisfied with the indigo skinny jeans and black polo shirt, he wondered if he should wear his hair up or down. He went into the bathroom and removed his eyeglasses before removing the hair tie. He shook his head harshly, allowing his hair to come undone and land haphazardly. He drove his brush through his thick, lustrous, wavy locks, again creating a side part.

After tying the laces of the black boots on his feet, Sebastian went to his coat closet and grabbed a brown leather jacket.

Twenty minutes later, as Sebastian was leaning his back on the passenger door of his car, his phone rang.

"Hey Chuck," the redhead said upon accepting the call.

Charles laughed on the other end of the line and said, "Hey beautiful. Whatchu up to?"

"I'm just enjoying nature and the night. You?"

"I'm just leaving the--"

Just then Charles opened the restaurant entrance, exiting the building. He froze momentarily because he was met with the sight of the sexy redhead leaning on his car right in front of his workplace.

"How long have you been out here?" Charles asked with a bashful grin, still over the phone despite Sebastian standing eight feet from him.

"About five minutes," Sebastian said into his phone with a grin of giddiness. "Sounded like you'd appreciate a ride home rather than taking the bus. Come here, give me a hug."

Unmoving and the phone still pressed to his ear, Charles replied, "I don't like surprises, ginger."

The grin still plastered on his face, Sebastian said, "The smile you're trying to hide says you like this one."

Charles bit his lower lip to keep from laughing. "Maybe I just murdered an asshole chef. You don't know me."

Sebastian laughed boisterously. "Just get your gorgeous ass over here!"

Still trying to hide his giddy smile, Charles ended the call and slowly walked to Sebastian. Sebastian had stood and opened the door for the blonde man.

When Sebastian began driving, Charles asked, "How was your day? Get a lot of shopping done?"

Sebastian laid his right arm on the centre arm rest with his hand up and open. He answered, "Yeah, I bought twelve pieces of art from Agora. The woman working was a cunt, unbelievable."

"What?" Charles laughed. "Why?"

Before Sebastian answered, he flexed his fingers a couple of times, beckoning Charles to grab his hand. When the blonde did, Sebastian intwined their fingers together. Charles would not admit to anyone what this gesture had done to his heart and soul.

"First, the bitch warned me that none of the paintings were cheap finger paintings done by preschoolers."

Peeved, but mostly entertained, Charles groaned, "Ugh, that bitch!"

"Yeah! And then she doubted the cheque I wrote would clear. Because of this the art won't be delivered until the twenty-ninth."

"Oh, you must have wanted to slap this skank," Charles said with mock empathy.

"Are you making fun of me!?" Sebastian demanded with an amused smile.

With a smile of his own, Charles answered, "Just a smidge."

Slightly more amused, Sebastian said, "Well, bitch, a woman named... hmm... Erica. Erica something. Albright! Erica Albright also noticed the skank's sour attitude toward me. She's having a dinner party in a couple days and she invited me."

"Erica Albright!?" Charles squealed.

"Yeah, do you know her?"

"She's one of New York's elite. Old money. Look at you, Sebi, climbing the social ladder."

"No," Sebastian denied. "She just thought it would be good for her kids to have someone their age at the party."

"No," Charles pressed. "She doesn't just invite anyone, even if it's because she doesn't want her kids becoming bored with old people. She obviously noticed you buying twelve pieces of art."

"So... what?" Sebastian asked, unsure of what to do.

"Are you ready for the world of rich people dinners, galas, charities, and shows?"

"I guess. I'm not scared."

After Sebastian parked, he got out of the car and opened Charles' door for him. He was happy to note that Charles seemed to be warming up to this.

Charles took the offered hand to help him out of the car. Sebastian kept their hands joined when he closed the passenger door. He leaned back against the door, pulling Charles closer to him. When Charles planted his feet on either side of Sebastian's, which were crossed at the ankles, the redhead placed his hands on the blonde's hips.

Charles, normally standing about an inch shorter than Sebastian, stood four inches taller due to the ginger leaning back. He placed his forearms on Sebastian's shoulder and gripped his right wrist in his left hand behind the ginger's head, holding him close.

While slowly leaning into Sebastian, their eyes gazing deeply into each other's, Charles said, "Thank you for picking me up."

Sebastian relished the feeling of Charles' thumb gently stroking his cheek before he said, "I- kind of- wanted to see you."

Charles' cheeks warmed and reddened, he could feel his face heating up rapidly in his chagrin. He bent his neck forward slightly, capturing Sebastian's lips in a chaste kiss.

"I actually- kind of- wanted to see you, too," Charles said quietly, affectionately, with a gentle smile.

Their foreheads remained connected, their eyes closed. Sebastian smiled, then pulled on Charles' hips. Charles allowed the redhead to pull him forward until their bodies were flush against each other.

In the same quiet and sultry voice, with a smirk, Sebastian told Charles, "Yeah, I can feel how excited you were to see me."

Charles laughed slightly, unfazed by his erection pressing into Sebastian's lower tummy. But he made sure to keep his forehead touching Sebastian's. He then lowered his face again. This kiss was passionate, heated. Their lips danced magnificently. Their tongues duelled elegantly.

In the middle of the lascivious kiss, Sebastian's left arm wrapped fully around Charles' lower back while his right arm traveled up Charles' back. At the same time, both of Charles' hands slid to the sides of Sebastian's neck.

After less than thirty seconds of French kissing, the two separated, their breaths uneasy due to lack of oxygen and an abundance of hormones.

"Look who's excited now," Charles teased.

And it was true. Sebastian's achingly hard cock was poking at Charles' inner thigh.

While tucking strands of hair behind Sebastian's ears, Charles asked, "Want to come up? Tour my apartment?"

"Mmm," Sebastian as he pressed his forehead to Charles' chin for a moment. "Bad idea. I might be too tempted to cuddle up to you and fall asleep."

With a smirk, Charles retorted, "Would that be a bad thing?"

While smoothing out Charles' black dress shirt, Sebastian replied, "I think it's too early for that."

Gently, Charles responded, "Who cares about social norms?"

"I want to take this slow. You deserve someone who respects you completely. To be romanced as you get to know the other."

Staring intently into Sebastian's amazingly, stunningly bright eyes, Charles said, "You, Sebastian, are somethin' else. Something fantastic."

Charles gave another kiss to Sebastian, a chaste one, before he stood upright, disengaging their bodies.

While stepping up to Charles again, Sebastian told him, "Text me your work schedule for next week so I can plan a date."

"Will do," Charles whispered before giving Sebastian another smooch.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning before Sebastian went downstairs for his weight lifting session, he threw a load of clothes, colours, in the washing machine. Another two hours later, after working out, before jumping in the shower, Sebastian threw the clothes from the washer into the dryer. He threw blacks into the washer, and finally relaxed in the steamy spray of his shower.

Sebastian spent the rest of his morning doing laundry and cleaning the entirety his condo in between loads. By one 'clock Sebastian had finished his laundry, swept and mopped his floors, disinfected counters and tables, dusted shelves and cupboards and furniture, wiped mirrors and windows, disinfected the toilet and shower, and sprayed Febreze on the rest of his furniture.

When Sebastian put the tray of cleaning supplies back into the sink cupboard and he stood. His eyes traveled over his condo slowly, appreciating how it felt to have a clean home. He then decided he wanted a latte.

"I should buy a coffee machine," the redhead said to himself.

He called the front desk and asked Xavier the doorman where he could buy a good quality espresso machine. The doorman told Sebastian that he would do some research on it and call him back.

Sebastian had been sitting in Caffeine Coma eating a turkey avocado panini when his phone buzzed.

Dustin sent a text, 'Heading out to Industry with friends tonight, you game?'

'Industry?'

"Excuse me," a man's voice said.

Sebastian looked up from his phone. Standing about three feet from the table was a young couple. They were looking at him smiles but unsure eyes.

The man asked, "You're thirty-oh-four, right?"

Confused, Sebastian replied, "Umm- I'm sorry, what?"

Dustin had texted back, 'Gay bar'

"At The Clinton," the woman elaborated. "You just moved into thirty-oh-four, haven't you?"

"I- yes, I did. You are?"

Sebastian texted Dustin, 'Sure, sounds great'

"I'm Steve. This is my wife Bethany. We live in thirty-oh-three."

"Oh. Hi. How- how are you?"

The woman then said, "We're obviously intruding, we'll leave you alone."

"No, no," Sebastian said quickly. "I was just making plans for tonight. Please, sit down."

Dustin texted, 'Great! Come by our place at six'

Sebastian placed his phone face down as the young couple sat across from him.

Holding his hand out first to Steve, the redhead told them his name.

"Sorry that I haven't introduced myself sooner," Sebastian apologized.

Bethany waved her hand in dismissal and said, "Oh, it's fine. You're as busy now as you were last week."

Confused and shocked beyond all hell, Sebastian asked, "Last week?"

"Yeah," Steve replied, but Sebastian remained perplexed. "Furniture shopping. You even helped the movers. And then there were the hundred of bags from the mall or something. You're a busy body."

Sebastian sat quietly for a moment, his mind reeling. And jerking this way. And jerking that way. But he finally said, "Idle hands, ya know. So how long have you two been married?"

With a big smile of excitement, Bethany answered, "This coming August will be our second anniversary."

"Ohhh, that's so sweet!" Sebastian said, exaggerating his enthusiasm. "And how long have you been together?"

"Let's see," Steve thought hard, "four years and- seven months?"

Bethany smiled, but corrected, "Four years and eight months."

"Ah. So where is your boyfriend? Is he still on vacation or something?"

His mind shooting out of his brain again, Sebastian asked, "My boyfriend?"

"Yeah. Black hair, yay high, he helped you with the bags."

"Ah," Sebastian feigned memory. "We- broke up."

"Oh. Seemed like you guys were going through some shit."

"Steve!" Bethany whispered harshly as she whacked his arm.

"You guys could tell?" Sebastian asked.

"We'd only seen you guys a couple of times in passing," Bethany answered. "But you both were so down and quiet and withdrawn."

"Listen," Sebastian said while standing from his chair, "I have to get going. But we should do something some time. Dinner! I'll cook! I'll let you know when!"

Sebastian began walking away from the café with his mind both racing a million miles a minute and spinning out of control. But he remembered that he'd driven because he was heading out to buy an espresso machine. So he walked back to his car. He knew he was in no condition to drive, he put a few more coins into the meter.

And then he ran. He ran faster than he knew he was capable off. Within thirty seconds he'd run five blocks to The Clinton. In his condo he stood in the bathroom, staring at his scared and confused face, into his bright but dark eyes.

"Who are you?" Sebastian said quietly. "Who am I? What happened to me? Fucking hell, what happened to me?"

He unceremoniously stripped the blue polo off his body. He touched the scars littering his chest while looking at them through the mirror, hoping something would trigger something in brain.

After about a minute to looking at and touching his scars, and no memories surfacing, Sebastian gave up. He got up off the counter and put his shirt back on.

Twelve minutes later Sebastian walked into the Williams Sonoma store he was recommended. He slowly walked up and down the aisles looking at the appliances and accessories.

As the redhead was looking at coffee machines a woman came up to him and asked, "Hi, can I offer some assistance?"

"Hi, yes, I'm looking for a good quality espresso machine."

"Okay. Are you looking for a manual machine or automatic?"

"I- I don't know. Let's see what you have."

"Sure. Further down this way. Do you have any experience with espresso making, personal or work-related?"

Uncomfortably, Sebastian replied, "I don't know. I was in an accident and lost some memories."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Well this is our collection of automatic machines. But- I'm afraid they are a bit pricey."

"Price isn't an issue. I just want to be able to enjoy a latte without having to walk to a café."

"Absolutely," the lady said with a gentle smile. "This is our most popular automatic machine. This Jura model holds espresso beans and milk, which are filled by this flap on the top. You just select your coffee strength, type of drink, milk texture, and desired temperature. All this can be programmed, so later you can just hit a couple buttons and-"

The sales lady had noticed Sebastian was no longer paying her any attention. She followed his gaze. He was looking further down the aisle, at the manual espresso machines.

Softly turning back to the redhead, the lady asked gently, "Is it- a memory?"

His gaze still on a silver machine, Sebastian responded, "No. Just a- feeling."

Sebastian made his way to the silver machine, unsure but curious. He touched one of its knobs.

Watching Sebastian carefully exploring the machine, the sales lady told him, "This is the Breville Oracle II."

Sebastian unholstered the espresso basket. While inserting the basket into the automatic tamper, he said, "Select grind and dose using this dial."

Sebastian's pale green eyes traveled over the machine again. "Then reinsert into the group head. Press this button to pull the espresso shot. Use this dial to select milk temperature and texture."

After a moment of silence, in which Sebastian stared blankly at the machine, the sales lady asked, "Do you- remember using one of these?"

"No. It's just like my ability to speak Spanish, French- the knowledge is there but not the memories. I'll take this."

"Oh. Umm- sure. Oh wait. We're sold out of the black model. We have silver and red in stock. Unless you'd like me to locate a black model in the city."

"No, silver is fine. It'll match the rest of my appliances."

The sales lady went into the back stock rooms, and Sebastian continued exploring the store. He'd picked up an eight-pack of Breville machine cleaning tablets, a set of two glass shot glasses which he would use for the espresso machine, three thermos mugs, and a blender when he decided his arms were too full. He grabbed a shopping cart and shopped some more.

As Sebastian was placing plastic travel tumblers with screw-on strawed lids in his shopping cart the sales lady told him that the Breville espresso machine was waiting for him at the checkout.

The next item that our favourite ginger picked was a Breville griddle-grill-sandwich-all-in-one. He hadn't thought about something like this, only remembering how delicious his panini had been earlier that day.

After loading the trunk of his car with his haul, he sent a text message to Charles asking what he was doing.

'Hey handsome. I'm at home, just finished homework. I have work in an hour'

Sebastian replied, 'On my way, giving you a ride. Need to talk to you'

Thirteen minutes later Sebastian sent another text to Charles explaining that he was parked outside.

When Charles exited the main entrance of his apartment complex Sebastian was once again leaning his back against his car. This time the ginger was holding two plastic cups in his hands.

"I've been addicted to these iced lattes from a café by my place," Sebastian said soberly. "Thought you might like one."

Charles caught on to the redheads somber demeanour. He accepted the iced drink, and stood with his body flush against Sebastian's.

"What did you want to talk about?" Charles asked, his lips mere inches from Sebastian's.

Sebastian, who had been a little excited to receive a kiss from the blonde, turned his face to the side. "I've- been feeling- guilty."

"Guilty about what?" Charles asked softly.

"About a couple things, actually. First, I was asked out by this guy at the mall."

"Sebastian," Charles said quietly, softly, "you and I aren't exclusive. We went on one date. If you want to see anybody else you don't need my permission."

"Oh," Sebastian said, a little more confused than before.

"So when is your date?" Charles asked. "So I don't call or text and interrupt."

"I declined his date," the redhead told the blonde. "I- I don't want to see anyone else like that. I don't mean lets rush and be exclusive right now. But you are so gorgeous, and so kind, I want to give you my all slowly. Piece by piece. If you decide to date anyone else before we decide anything, I'll just have to try harder to deserve your heart."

With misty eyes and a pen ecstatic smile, Charles whispered, "Sebastian."

After a small make out session, Charles said, "I don't deserve your affection."

"Why's that?"

With his eyes downcast and after biting his lip momentarily, Charles answered, "I- I have a date tonight."

"What did I just say?" Sebastian asked his blonde companion gently. "You go on this date. I'm not jealous. We're not exclusive. I'll just have to try woo you better than he can."

After another kiss, Sebastian told the blonde, "Now let's get you to work."

During the car ride, Charles asked, "What did you do today?"

Before Sebastian responded he reached his right hand over and held Charles' hand as he drove. "Umm- two hour workout session, then cleaned my condo and did laundry. At Caffeine Coma I met my neighbours and made dinner plans with them, sort of. After that I went to this store called Williams- Cinema?"

"Williams Sonoma," Charles corrected. "What did you buy from there?"

"I bought- a Breville espresso machine, a sandwich press, a blender, and a bunch o' stuff for them."

"You love your lattes, huh? So what are you up to tonight?"

"I am- heading over to Dustin's- that's the guy I met yesterday who asked me out. He knows you, by the way. He follows you on- I can't remember what he called it. You post photos and videos."

"Instagram?" Charles asked while turning his phone on.

"Yeah!" Sebastian called in recognition. "That's it. He says you don't follow him back."

"Is this him?" Charles asked while holding his phone to the ginger.

Sebastian looked away from the road for two seconds and answered, "That's him. So I'm going to his apartment where a bunch of his friends will be playing video games and eating pizza. From there we're going to this bar called Industry."

While looking at Dustin Hersch's Instagram profile, Charles quietly said, "He's pretty hot."

Sebastian shrugged with his eyes trained on the road and responded, "I guess."

"Hey, wait, I thought you didn't drink?"

"I don't," Sebastian confirmed as he parked. "Just because I'm going to a bar doesn't mean I'm going to drink. How should I dress for Industry?" he asked after opening the passenger door for the blonde.

"Definitely not a suit," Charles teased while driving his fingers through Sebastian's orange wavy hair. "Maybe just change the polo to a graphic tee. Or maybe something tight fitting, show off your firm chest."

Sebastian leaned forward and touched their lips together. The kiss was chaste, yet so soft and sweet.

"I don't need to impress anyone else," Sebastian said softly.

"Thanks for the ride," Charles said before pressing their lips together again. "You should let me take you out tomorrow."

After another small kiss, Sebastian replied, "Can't. I have that dinner at the Albrights. But you get off work on Tuesday at six so I can pick you up then."

"But that's too long a wait to see you again," Charles complained exaggeratedly.

"Is not," Sebastian said with a smile before kissing the blonde again. "Besides, you have a date tonight."

"I'm not that excited about it, to be honest."

"I'm sure you'll be fine."

After one more kiss Charles walked into the restaurant and Sebastian made two more stops before heading back home.

Sebastian's arms were dead tired when he set the bags on boxes on the island countertop. He put the two cartons of almond milk in the refrigerator along with the fresh berries and yogurt. Next he unboxed the espresso machine, sandwich press, and blender. While filling the kitchen sink he unpackaged the glasses, and then detagged the mugs and tumblers.

Before washing the new dishes and machine parts he opened his laptop and played his music full blast.

A half hour later, after draining the sink having washed the detachable parts of the espresso machine, he stripped himself of his polo because he's gotten it wet washing the dishes and parts. After throwing the shirt into the hallway, he opened the Breville Oracle II manual. He followed the directions on how to run an initial cleaning cycle after unboxing.

Another twenty minutes later Sebastian filled the hopper of the machine with espresso beans he'd purchased from a Starbucks shop. While the machine was grinding the beans and filling the little espresso basket, our favourite ginger grabbed a carton of almond milk and filled the metal pitcher. He then inserted the basket into the group head and pushed the button to begin pulling the shot. He turned another dial that controlled the temperature of the milk, then pressed it to bring forth the option of milk texture. The steam wand of the machine went into the pitcher, and while everything was happening Sebastian unboxed a bottle of hazelnut syrup, also from Starbucks. He pumped two squirts of the syrup into the black coffee mug sitting on the tray of the Breville machine, just as the last drops of espresso fell into the mug.

Sebastian picked up the mug, swilled the liquids around to mix. He then brought the mug up to his nose and inhaled deeply. The aroma was truly intoxicating.

The machine then stopped whirring, telling the redhead that the milk had reached the one hundred fifty degree Fahrenheit temperature. So he removed the pitcher from the machine, wiped it with a new and wet cloth before hitting the switch to release a burst of steam, expelling excess milk from the tube.

As the milk was being poured into the mug, something told Sebastian to rotate the pitcher wrist back and forth slightly.

Staring at now full mug, Sebastian was amazed to see a white froth heart in the middle of the brown liquid.

Excitedly, Sebastian opened the camera on his phone. He held the mug close to his chin, wore a small smile, closed his eyes, and snapped the photo.

"Holy shit that's good," he said to himself while sending the new photo to Dustin with the caption 'Isn't this a piece of art? Just bought an espresso machine'

As the message was sending to the recipient, something in the ginger's head said, 'This is called latte art. You know how to do some latte art.'

Sebastian grabbed his laptop and it took it with his coffee and phone to the living room. Sitting on the sofa, he watched a YouTube video on latte art. The first video demonstrated the techniques used to make a Rosetta, a flower, and a snowflake.

Dustin texted back, 'That looks delicious! Were you a barista?'

Was I? Sebastian didn't know. So he replied, 'No, always had espresso machines'

'Oh ok. What's up? Just on my lunch

'About to strum a few chords. See you later'

Sebastian downed the rest of his latte before he went to the far corner of the living room. There, he opened the black case and took the acoustic guitar out. When he lifted the instrument a small green triangle thing fell to the floor. He sat himself on the stool, and the curved edge of the guitar on his right knee.

Tentatively, Sebastian flicked his wrist, causing the pick in his fingers to strum against the chords. He did that again. And again. And then his eyes went to his other hand, which was holding the fretboard. While still strumming he placed a couple of fingers on strings, creating a different sound.

Sebastian rose from the stool and propped his cell phone on the coffee table, again recording a landscape video. He retook his seat on the stool, and closed his eyes. He allowed his fingers free reign, to do whatever they desired. The slow, gentle chords emanating from the guitar were beautiful, if a touch sorrowful.

When Sebastian ended the recording he edited the clip like last time. He saved the six minute video into a new thirty-second clip and sent it to Charles.

Deciding to test his new sandwich press, Sebastian made himself lunch. He watched a TV show called Teen Wolf as he ate his pastrami Swiss panini. The sandwich had tomato slices and green pepper bits and was loaded with meat. Sebastian was proud of his creation.

Two hours had past since Sebastian sent the video clip to Charles and the blonde finally replied. Sebastian assumed Charles was on his lunch break.

'Such a sad piece, it made cry a little. But beautiful all the same. Again I ask, do you always play showing off some skin?'

The redhead looked down. Indeed he was still bare-chested from having gotten his shirt wet before.

'Got my shirt wet doing dishes. And you love my bare chest'

'Whats not to love? It's creamy, muscular, warm, and has the sexiest pink nipples'

'No fair, I haven't seen much of your skin'

You had your chance last night'

Sebastian chuckled before replying, 'Dirty boy, thought we were gonna only snuggle and sleep?'

'I would've remembered that you were a nun

'Har har. How's work going?'

No asshole customers, Shaun is hilarious, big tips. It's a great day'

'Glad to hear. Gonna practice strumming again. Have a good evening 😊'

Sebastian made himself another latte, this time using vanilla-flavoured syrup. While pouring the steamed milk into his mug he flicked his wrist back and forth differently. The latte art in his last drink had been a heart, this time was a long leaf-looking thing, a Rosetta.

Just over two hours later Sebastian finally remembered to check the time. It was five-thirty. So Sebastian took his mug into the kitchen where he ran the hot water again. As the sink was filling he put the previously washed dishes away.

Having washed the dishes the redhead went into his closet. He thumbed through the dozens of t-shirts on hangers, and chose a black v-neck adorning a cartoonish unicorn graphic. He thought it was simply too adorable.

Sebastian was walking back out of his closet when his eye was caught by a baby blue hat. He reached up and grabbed it. The visor of the baseball cap was curved slightly, and the Velcro fastener was undone. The redhead stuck the two pieces of Velcro together and placed the cap over his orange hair. The cap didn't fit, the ginger had made it too tight. When he'd gotten the fit right he wore the baseball cap backwards with his hair hanging low.

Before leaving, he brushed the hair hanging out of the hat, making sure waves looked smooth and voluminous.

The time was six-nineteen when Sebastian punched the code to ring Dustin and Savannah's apartment.

"Hello," Savannah's voice came over the speaker.

"Hey, it's Sebastian."

The front door made a jarring buzzing noise, and Sebastian opened it. He took the stairs to the fifth floor, and a pizza delivery guy had just knocked on the twins' door.

After opening the door, Dustin cried, "Dominoes! And Sebastian. How much do I owe ya?"

The pizza guy glanced at Sebastian, bored, and answered, "It's forty-nine-sixty."

Dustin handed the pizza guy three twenties and told him, "Keep the change, cutie."

Bored and unimpressed, the pizza guy rolled his eyes before walking away.

With a smirk, Sebastian said, "You're just a big flirt," while following Dustin inside.

"Hey guys!" Dustin called while setting the three pizza boxes on the table. "This is Sebastian! Sebastian, meet Rob, Eric, Arun, A'Mari, Greg, and Clark playing video games. These ladies are Candace, Charlie, Jess, and Tessa."

Sebastian knew he wouldn't remember any of their names, but he said a small Hi. Well, he would remember Arun because the Indian was the tallest and, by his green tee hugging his body, the fittest. His blue eyes contrasted against his brown skin exotically, so that helped with his appeal.

While spreading the pizza boxes out and opening them, Dustin said, "Get 'em while they're hot, guys."

Four of them out of the group didn't grab pizza because they were sitting on the black sofa with PS4 controllers in their hands. One guy with short blonde hair, while grabbing a plate for pizza, gave a blonde girl a kiss. It made Sebastian smile, seeing how happy that gesture made the girl.

"Hey," a girl with reddish-brown hair said while Sebastian was placing a slice of pepperoni pizza on a plate. "I'm Jess. Jessica, but Jess. Dustin and Sav tell me you just moved in from Florida."

After swallowing the bite he'd taken, Sebastian said, "Yeah. Just wanted a change."

Jess nodded slowly while chewing. She then asked, "So how'd you meet the twins?"

"I was eating lunch at Queens Centre. They both came over, I'm guessing Dustin was too shy to approach me alone, and introduced themselves."

While laughing on the other side of the table, Dustin cried, "Was not! I just wasn't sure about your sexuality and didn't want to make a fool of myself."

Laughing herself, Jess said, "I bet you made a fool of yourself anyway."

Dustin was about to protest but Sebastian said, "He was persistent when I told him that I'm seeing someone."

Another girl chimed in, "That's Dustin Jeffrey Hersch," with a teasing smile.

With a big, amused smile and pointing his finger at the girl, Dustin said, "Shut the fuck up, Candace."

Sebastian had eaten two slices of pizza before he decided to watch the video game session.

While seating himself on the floor in front of the sofa, Sebastian asked, "What's this video game?"

One of the white guys replied, "Halo 6," his eyes never leaving the television.

At that moment his soldier character died and the black man shouted, "Yeah! Take that, bitch!"

"Shit!" the white guy cursed, but his smile said he didn't mind. "You wanna play? I'ma eat."

"I-I don't know how."

"It's easy," the guy said, pressing a button so his soldier respawned. "Walk or run with this. Aim with this. Equip weapons. Equip items. Aim. Shoot. Crouch and stand. Fill magazine. Dive. Action. Here, you'll get the hang of it."

Sebastian accepted the console controller tentatively, to which the white guy chuckled. Sebastian had controlled his soldier character to walk, it had walked just a few meters when his section of the screen went red. His character had died.

The Indian man, Arun, chuckled softly. He looked to Sebastian and said, "Sorry, man, I love winning."

Chuckling softly, Sebastian replied, "Yeah, crush the newbie."

Sebastian's soldier respawned and took off in a run at Sebastian's command. The instant he saw another soldier show up on his screen, Sebastian's fingers moved on their own. His soldier rapidly aimed and fired.

The other white guy, whose soldier Sebastian had just killed, laughed and said, "You're pretty good, noob."

"Thanks," Sebastian said, still making his soldier run through the houses and buildings on the game map.

Five minutes had past. The guy who had given Sebastian the console controller sat back down. He asked, "What's happening?"

The black guy laughed and answered, "The noob ain't no noob. He kicked our asses the last two games."

Rapidly hitting buttons, the other white guy said, "And he's still kickin' our asses!"

Two of the girls, one of them being Jess, came into the living room. The other one said sing-songily, "Our turn! Who are the losers?"

Sebastian gave up his controller easily, saying, "I'm done. It gets boring winning all the time."

The second white guy, with slight laughter, "Hohooo, red's got jokes."

"Sebastian," Dustin called. "Want a beer?"

"I'm good. I don't drink."

"What?" Savannah cried in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything? Why'd you agree to go to Industry with us?"

"I can still go to a bar and not drink."

After another half hour the guys changed the video game to one that involved racing cars. Sebastian tried his hand at this game, having come in second place on the first race, second again on the second, and third on the third.

As the redhead handed the controller to one of the girls, Savannah said, "Sebastian, we're going into my room to get ready. Come with us."

Curious, Sebastian followed the rest of the four girls down the hall.

"Ever wear makeup?" the girl with long blonde hair, who Sebastian learned was Candace, asked the ginger. "You have nearly flawless skin, though."

After Sebastian shrugged his shoulders, the girl with long black hair, Charlie, told Sebastian to sit on the chair she'd placed away from Savannah's vanity.

"I am jealous of your hair," Candace moaned when she removed the baseball cap from Sebastian's head. "So soft and thick and wavy. Is naturally wavy?"

"Yeah, it is. It can get in my way when I'm playing the cello and guitar."

"How long have you been playing?" Charlie asked as she removed Sebastian's eyeglasses.

The redhead shrugged and replied, "Since I could remember." That technically wasn't a lie.

As she began braiding a section of hair from the front, Candace asked, "Do you play anything else?"

"Umm, I can also play the piano."

"Dustin said you're not planning on working," Charlie stated as she started brushing liquid foundation on Sebastian's forehead. "Have you thought about college?"

"I haven't thought about college at all, actually," Sebastian replied in wonder. "I have no idea what I'd study."

Having completed applying foundation to the ginger's forehead, Charlie said, "Look up, sweetie. Are you any good on the instruments?"

"Oooh!" Savannah said excitedly, a makeup brush between her fingers. "Show them the video!"

Sebastian slowly lifted his right cheek off the seat, careful not to disturb either girl fixing him up. He opened the photos application, scrolled through the dozen photos and videos.

Candace accepted the device when Sebastian held it out. When Charlie stood by her side she hit the play button, watching Sebastian play his cello in just his underwear.

"God. Damn," Candace said quietly, appreciating the muscles on display.

The video had been playing for just over three minutes when the sexy Arun walked into the room. He watched the video for a moment, after which he glanced at Sebastian. The redhead's eyes quickly looked away in embarrassment.

"I'd just taken a shower, okay?" Sebastian tried explaining. "I wasn't even planning to record a video. And I only did to send it to Charles."

Arun smiled in amusement, finding Sebastian's chagrin cute and entertaining. But he said, "Those are some amazing strokes and rhythms."

"It sounds amazing!" Charlie said loudly, unable to tear her eyes away from the screen.

"Juilliard!" Candace suggested suddenly. "You should try for Juilliard! It's probably too late to audition for the fall semester but you should get started on planning an audition for the winter semester."

Sebastian had no idea what Juilliard was, but he told himself to remember to research it.

Charlie went back to brushing liquid foundation on Sebastian's face while Candace resumed braiding his orange hair.

"Do you wear contacts, too?" Charlie asked, dropping a couple drops of foundation onto the brush.

"No," Sebastian answered. "But I am having laser eye surgery done in a couple weeks."

Two minutes later Candace secured Sebastian's orange hair with an elastic tie. And Charlie had finished applying a very faint amount of rouge to his cheeks. Both girls sprayed their work secure, Candace using hairspray and Charlie using makeup setter.

"Take a look," Candace encouraged excitedly.

Sebastian stepped up to Savannah's full length mirror. For a few moments he silently scrutinized his new appearance, his face turning this way and that, up and down.

"Well?" Charlie impatiently demanded the redhead's opinion.

"Well, I probably won't ever wear makeup again," Sebastian answered. "I'm not saying I hate it, I just like my freckles. But I do love my hair!"

Candace had French-braided the orange hair from the top to the back, to the middle of his crown. The rest of Sebastian's hair was combed tightly to the same spot, and it was all twisted and coiled into a messy bun resting in the middle of his crown.

"You can watch videos on YouTube on how to do this style yourself," Candace told the ginger. "It's called a French messy bun. Another day, I'd like to try French braiding your hair in different styles."

Sebastian smiled gleefully as he responded, "Yeah, we should hang out, chill."

As the girls fixed up their faces and did their hair, Sebastian and Arun sat themselves at the head of Savannah's full-sized bed. The sexy Indian guided Sebastian through joining a zombie killing spree on a mobile version of Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies. Sebastian, of course, was confused on how to play the game as this was his first time playing the game. But ten minutes into the second attempt, Arun had died on the seventy-first wave of zombies. Sebastian's character was still going strong, and he died on the seventy-fourth wave. The two laughed victoriously and high fived.

While scooting closer to Sebastian, Arun said, "Time for a selfie."

Arun held his phone out, with the front camera just above eye level and took the photo.

While typing a caption on Instagram, Arun said, "You are so photogenic. Here, how does that sound?"

Sebastian accepted the device and read what Arun had typed for the caption, 'This gorgeous kid kicked so much ass in COD and Halo. Can't believe it was his first time gaming. Unfair.

Chuckling, Sebastian handed the phone back to the Indian and told him it was fine what he'd written.

The girls were still fixing up when Sebastian and Arun decided to head back down to the living room.

When Sebastian appeared from the hallway, Dustin was standing by the kitchen counter talking with the blonde guy. He stopped Sebastian because the redhead looked even more stunning than usual.

With his thumb holding Sebastian's chin and his eyes studying every inch of the ginger's face, Dustin said quietly, "My god. You look..."

Dustin couldn't really formulate further words. So Sebastian awkwardly said, "Can you- can you let me go now?"

Sebastian and Arun went back to watching video games. Every now and then Sebastian would take a turn. At one point they had changed the video game from the racing game called Blur to another soldier game called Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

The time was eight-fifty-five when Dustin had called for two taxi cabs. He had decided that Sebastian could drive three of them and the rest would jump in the cabs.

In the backseat of Sebastian's car sat Dustin and Savannah, while Arun sat in the front passenger seat. Sebastian told the group he didn't know where he was going and asked Arun to put the bar's address into the GPS, but Dustin told the ginger to just follow the two cabs.

The big group had to put three tables together to seat everyone together. The black guy went to the bar and bought the first round of drinks. He'd returned to the tables carrying a big tray. He'd handed handed Sebastian a tall glass filled with a bright orange liquid and piece of pink fruit.

Seeing the redhead stare at the glass uncertainly, the black man shouted over the music, "It's a virgin passion fruit hurricane! Non-alcoholic!"

The group talked and laughed through the blaring music for a long while. After the second round of drinks, which Greg, Candace's boyfriend, had gotten, Charlie cried, "Let's go dance!"

Sebastian wasn't going to follow the group to the dance floor but Savannah had grabbed his hand and pulled him along. Just two people, Tessa and the guy who'd showed Sebastian the PS4 controls Clark, stayed at the table talking.

On the dance floor, Sebastian had moved awkwardly for but three seconds before he allowed his body control over his mind. His arms moved minimally, but his feet were on fire!

The group had danced to four fast-paced songs when the DJ played a romantic slow song. Sebastian was about to walk back to the table along with Dustin, but Arun grasped the redhead's wrist and pulled him in.

Sebastian didn't know what came over him, it was an intense and warm feeling. He closed his eyes, his arms moving of their own volition. His right hand slid from Arun's forearm to shoulder and rested there. His left held onto the Indian's hip.

Arun was about four inches taller than Sebastian, and Sebastian laid his forehead on the man's left shoulder. Their bodies, mainly their hips, swayed slowly, sensually. And Arun had placed his right hand on the ginger's left hip.

The slow song was half done when Sebastian turned around, his eyes still closed and his head never losing contact with Arun's shoulder. Due to Sebastian turning, Arun's hand slid from Sebastian's left hip, around his midsection, and rested on Sebastian's right hip.

Arun was breathless, Sebastian was doing so much to him. He couldn't fight the erection that was forming in his pants due to Sebastian's big and muscular ass grinding against his crotch.

While dancing, that warm feeling coming over Sebastian increasingly more. That feeling, he came to realize, was caused by feeling someone flush against him while music played. And then he realized that the warm feeling had been replaced with another.

Yearning.

Sebastian missed something. Achingly so. Realizing this, Sebastian came to his senses. He snapped out of his daze and practically ran. He weaved through bodies on the dance floor and exited the bar. Out on the sidewalk he paced while chewing on his thumb nail.

After about a minute of this Savannah came outside. Leaning against the bar, she said, "Arun wanted to come out to check on ya. I told it might be better if I did. You okay?"

"Yeah," Sebastian replied quietly. "I just- yeah, I'm fine."

After pressing her lips into a thin line for a moment, Savannah told the redhead, "I know we're just new friends but please don't lie. You don't have to tell me what's wrong or what's happening, just say you don't wanna talk about it."

Sebastian continued to pace, and Savannah watched for a few moments.

Finally, Savannah said, "Dancing with Arun made you miss something. Or someone."

Sebastian didn't reply right away. He stood by Savannah and leaned against the building as well.

"Did you have a breakup before moving here?"

Sebastian exhaled slowly, them replied, "I- I don't know."

Savannah, during a brief moment of silence, tucked her hair behind her ear. She then asked softly, "What do you mean?"

Sebastian looked up to the night sky. He could only see the pink clouds, coloured from the city lights. "You can't tell anyone."

Savannah nodded slowly, even though the ginger was still staring up at the sky. "Okay."

Sebastian looked at the girl seriously before telling her, "Not even your brother. No one."

Worried, Savannah told the redhead, "Promise."

Sebastian turned his head gently pulled some hair on the back of his head, just enough to show a staple to Savannah.

"There are two head wounds there," Sebastian told the girl. "Each measures about five inches. I'm surprised Candace didn't notice them when she was doing my hair. I woke up in a hospital not knowing what happened or even who I was. My wallet told me my name."

Savannah touched Sebastian's arm and she moaned, "Sebastian. Oh, honey."

"I don't have any memories at all," Sebastian continued. "But dancing with Arun gave me this feeling of- I don't know- yearning."

Savannah nodded slowly and said, "Your mind doesn't remember, but your body does. And that brings a sense of familiarity."

Savannah slid her arm around Sebastian's and laid her head against his arm. "Not even one memory? Then how do you know how to drive? To play the cello and guitar?"

"The knowledge is in here," Sebastian answered while tapping the side of his head. "But not the memories."

"Are they different things?"

Shrugging, Sebastian replied, "I don't know. I'm planning on looking for a doctor tomorrow to remove the staples. I'll ask about memories. Now let's go back in, I'm sure everyone's worried."

Savannah remained and made sure Sebastian did too. "You should talk to Arun. Tell him you're not interested because your dancing said otherwise. Want me to tell him to come out?"

Sebastian nodded his agreement, and Savannah went back inside the bar. Soon, Arun exited. Sebastian looked at the tall man for a fraction of a second, then looked down at his feet.

Approaching the redhead carefully, Arun said, "Hey. You ran off on me."

"I- yeah. I'm sorry."

"Is everything alright?"

"Arun, listen... I'm sorry that I gave you the wrong impression with dancing with you."

Sebastian was going to say more, but Arun said understandingly, "You're really into the guy you're seeing, huh?"

Sebastian nodded, then said, "You're very attractive and funny, Arun. But Charles is beautiful and kind and humble."

"So you guys are exclusive."

"Not- not exactly."

"Then why- Ohhhh. He's not being exclusive, not yet, but you are."

"Yeah. I think he's that amazing. That's why I'm not seeing anyone else."

"What about you? Do you not think you're as amazing as this Charles is? Because I think the fact that you're not dating anyone else while he is, speaks so much about you than it does him."

"How can you say that?" Sebastian asked not unkindly. "You don't know me. We've spent just four hours together. And you certainly don't know Charles."

Now standing right in front of the redhead, Arun said, "And you know this Charles after one date?" while brushing his fingers on Sebastian's hand.

Sebastian gently grabbed Arun's wrist to get him to stop his ministrations and replied, "I've spent quite a bit of time with him."

"Spend some personal time with me," Arun said sultrily. "Maybe I'm better for you than he is."

"Arun--"

"What happens if Charles decides to date some other guy? You will have wasted your time on him."

Sebastian shrugged before saying, "Not a waste of time. It will have taught me not to go with my gut feeling with guys."

"And your gut tells you Charles is the guy for you?"

"Yeah. It does."

Still standing close to the ginger, Arun said, "Okay. I'll drop it if you give me a kiss. A real kiss."

Sebastian knew he could have refused Arun and he'd understand. Even if the Indian didn't understand, he knew he'd be able to overpower him.

Sebastian lifted himself from the wall of the building. He stood on his tiptoes, capturing Arun's lips in a warm kiss, much to the Indian's surprise. Their tongues mingled together for a second, then Sebastian ended the kiss.

"Did you feel anything?" Sebastian asked the dreamy-eyed man.

"Yeah," Arun answered with a smile. "That was--"

Arun had been leaning in again, so Sebastian put his hand on the brown man's chest and said, "Well I didn't feel anything. So I'm going back inside now."

Back at their table Sebastian sipped from a glass that a different white guy, Rob, pushed in front of him. This drink was red, and sweet.

Tessa leaned into Sebastian and asked, "See anyone you like?"

Sebastian had been surveying the bar. There was, indeed, quite a bit of eye candy. Almost every guy he could see were attractive in their own ways. Some stood talking with companions, some worked the room with intentions of dating or intimate relations, some stood at the bar. And some had danced.

He had been about to reply to the brown-haired girl, but his eye was caught by a guy. This guy reminded him every bit of Charles. The guy had the same lean but muscular build underneath his white tee. His legs were covered by blue denim that hugged his muscles tightly, showing off a great ass. Even his white-blonde hair was fixed into a neat pompadour.

This guy had been dancing, apparently with a bunch of girls. His eyes caught Sebastian watching him. He smiled at the redhead before throwing him a wink, then looked away carrying on with his dance.

"Oh em gee!" Tessa squealed as she grabbed Sebastian's shoulder and shook him. "You should go introduce yourself!"

Sebastian leaned into Tessa and shouted, "No! He's hot but I'm not interested!"

When Sebastian had finished the last bit of his drink he took the tray and went over to the bar. The redhead was surprised to see that the bartender had no shirt on. His short brown hair was fixed into a faux-hawk and the warm smile never left his handsome face. The big, round muscles on his chest and arms flexed as he made drink after drink.

A forearm bearing thick brown hair was suddenly lain on the bar right by Sebastian.

"Hey cutie!" a deep voice shouted close to Sebastian.

Sebastian turned. There was a man standing beside him. This man looked to be in his late thirties. His medium-length hair was brushed back, and Sebastian could see just a couple strands of hair were grey. This only added to the man's appeal.

Sebastian smiled a small smile at the man and shouted, "Hi," as he turned back to watch the bartender make the drinks.

The forearm beside Sebastian moved, the hand now held out for a handshake, and the man shouted, "I'm Keegan!"

Sebastian turned back to the man for a fraction of a second, he nodded his head in response.

The man placed his hand on Sebastian's forearm, and that raised some alarms in the ginger's head, and the man shouted, "I just wanted to say that you have the most gorgeous eyes in the world!"

With a fake smile Sebastian leaned into the man and shouted, "Please get your hand off of me!"

Now stroking his thumb on Sebastian's arm and a sultry smile, the man shouted back, "Come on, cutie, don't be like that! Just let me--"

Sebastian had had enough. He twisted the arm that the man had grasped and gripped the man's wrist. He pulled on the man's arm, turning him. At the same time his other hand gripped the man's neck. The next second, the man's chest and cheek slammed down onto the bar. Sebastian pulled the man's arm higher up his back.

When the man's groan of pain came to an end, Sebastian leaned down and said into the man's ear, "I said I wasn't interested. Maybe this will teach you to listen."

After Sebastian had released the man from the painful grip, he shouted to the bartender, "Sorry about that!"

Placing the last of the drinks on the tray, the hunky shirtless barman shouted back, "You go, girl!"

Fifteen minutes later, Savannah grabbed Sebastian's hand and led him back to the dance floor. Most of the group had followed.

The rest of the night passed without incident. Slowly the group had separated, the first being Rob who'd found a girl to talk to earlier, and left the bar with her.

At twelve-thirty the only three of the group left were Sebastian, Savannah, and Eric. Sebastian hadn't known that the two had been dating, and chided himself silently for not noticing their closeness all night.

Savannah had suggested that they call it a night, and Sebastian offered them a ride.

"You're a really pretty man, Sebastian," Eric told the redhead.

Eric and Savannah were following Sebastian out of the bar holding hands.

Sebastian laughed and asked, "How drunk are you, blondie?"

Savannah laughed as she asked her boyfriend, "Do you want me to drive so you two can make out in the back seat?"

Eric teased, "Maybe for a li'l bit. But I'll get turned off when I cop a feel and realize there's no girl boobs."

Sebastian and Savannah laughed boisterously as they walked out of the bar. And Sebastian stopped walking abruptly. Standing outside on the sidewalk was the blonde man that had reminded him of Charles. With him were three girls who were smoking cigarettes.

The blonde noticed Sebastian. With a warm smile he said, "Hey shy guy. Already leaving? I think you owe me a dance."

With a smile, Sebastian replied, "Yeah? How do you figure that?"

"Well a sexy guy like you watching me dance has to pay somehow, right? I'm Justin."

"Sebastian. I'm sorry, but I'm seeing someone already."

His smile unfaltering, Justin cursed, "Damn. All the hot ones are either straight or taken."

Sebastian tried to fight the blush, and said, "Hey, I just moved here and need more friends."

His smile growing bigger, Justin said, "Oooh, a newbie."

Sebastian traded cell phone numbers with Justin before driving his two friends back to Savannah's apartment.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next day after his four mile run and shower, Sebastian was sitting on his sofa, his feet resting on his coffee table and his computer sitting on his lap. He was sipping on a hazelnut latte and listening to his iTunes collection while researching. He was comparing doctors, he needed someone who would be able to remove the staples from his skull as well as perform regular checkups.

Having found a doctor he thought would be suitable, he clicked on the link to schedule an appointment. The form required a name, reason for appointment, phone number, and email address. After filling the form and submitting, the next page told the redhead that he would receive an email with a date and time of appointment within the next day.

The next thing Sebastian was researching was Juilliard. It took him a few attempts at Googling it because he wasn't sure how to spell it. But he was surprised to find out that it was a music school. The videos he'd watched and the photos he'd seen all looked remarkable. He was, however, disheartened to learn that he'd missed the admissions deadline by nearly three months.

The time had been ten-thirty when he received an email from secretary@docligen.net. The email explained that Sebastian had an appointment with Dr. John Ligen the following day at eleven where the doctor would inspect the head injury and staple stitching, and whether he'd be able to remove the staples then or schedule another appointment.

After the redhead had added the doctor to his contacts with the office address, he'd received a text message from Clark Zikell, one of his new friends from the night before.

'Hey red'

Sebastian chuckled as he typed, 'Don't remember which one you are, so I'll call you Ziggy'

'Lmao what's up?'

'I'm planning a doc appointment for tmrw'

'Everything okay?'

'Yeah just a routine thing'

'Cool. Come over, playing foosball. Heading to Luna Park later'

Sebastian had no idea what foosball was, but he texted back, 'Just give me your address, be there when I'm done'

For about twenty more minutes Sebastian had done research on Juilliard, its courses, alumni, history, and administrative staff. He's written down a couple of names and phones numbers, and decided that was enough information.

He had dressed in black jeans and a lilac flannel shirt, but couldn't decide whether to wear his hair up or down. After a quick Google search on Luna Park he went with up. Following a YouTube video, he thought he would experience a lot of difficulty fixing his hair the way Candace had. But it was surprisingly easy.

"Yo! Everybody!" Clark shouted as he led Sebastian into his bachelor apartment. "This is Sebastian. He's new in town."

The only two people of the six in Clark's apartment that Sebastian knew were the black man A'Mari and the girl who had done his makeup before the bar, Charlie. A'Mari and Charlie were playing foosball as steam against two guys.

Clark clapped Sebastian's back before telling the ginger, "You remember A'Mari and Charlie from last night. The goons they're playing are Mike and Sam. On my bed are Diane, Gwen, and Ava. Tanner is in the kitchen making himself a grilled cheese. Go ask him to make you one if you want."

Sebastian raised his plastic strawed tumbler and told the man, "I'll stick with my iced latte."

With a shrug, Clark told Sebastian, "Okay. Tanner is studying culinary arts and makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches. Tanner! Make one for your new best friend Sebastian, too!"

A relatively short guy peaked out of the kitchen and waved his spatula, "Hi. I'm Tanner. I guess you're my new best friend Sebastian. Sorry about that, Clarky gets pissy when I finish his cheese so he passes me off to someone else."

"Fuck you!" Clark cried with humour. "I was saving that for my future dog!"

"Wha- dogs can't eat cheese!" Tanner shouted back, visibly holding back a smile.

"Says who!?" Clark demanded.

"Says- I dunno- the Queen!"

"Oh, so the Queen commands us, does she?"

"With feeding dogs cheese, yes. Or she takes back America."

Clark had no retort. He was too focused on trying not to laugh he couldn't think of one. But both he and Tanner busted out into laughter.

Tanner went back to his cooking while Clark approached the foosball table. He stood behind Charlie, sliding his arms around to her front. Holding her close, he kissed her neck.

"Clark!" Charlie cried with a smile, her boyfriend having had distracted her.

A plate appeared in front of Sebastian, and Tanner told him, "It's got tomato, in case you don't like 'em."

Sebastian thanked the man before setting his drink on the bedside table. The sandwich was cut diagonally, Sebastian could see tomato slices and lettuce between the melted cheese. He took a bite excitedly, it had looked simply delicious.

"Mmm," Sebastian moaned. "What's in this?"

From the kitchen, through the window looking into the bedroom, Tanner answered, "It's tomato and lettuce between cheddar and Swiss with a light layer of mayo."

Sebastian sat down on the bed and introduced himself to the three girls. Gwen was sitting with her phone glued to her face and she was telling the other two about drama she was reading on Facebook. Ava was kneeling by Gwen fixing her hair in a waterfall French braid. That left Diane, who was painting her toe nails red. They all offered the redhead warm hellos but otherwise ignored him.

Well except for Gwen asking, "Do you have Facebook?"

After swallowing a bite of the sandwich, Sebastian shook his head and said, "Nope. No social media at all."

"Why not?" Ava asked, about half done Gwen's hair

Sebastian shrugged as he took a sip of his coffee, then said, "Just not interested."

"I love your hair," Diane said when she looked away from her toes for a second. "Who did it?"

"I did."

"Really?" Ava asked, surprised. "Your self-braid is flawless. Much better than mine."

"Candace taught him," Charlie told the girls as she sat down beside Sebastian. "Last night while I was doing his makeup."

Appalled, Gwen said, "You put makeup on that? His face is perfect!"

With a smile, Charlie told Sebastian, "Gwen has a thing for freckles."

Gwen bore a dreamy look on her face as she said, "Good god, one time I saw this guy with black hair and a face literally covered in freckles. I wish I'd gone up to him and asked, 'Marry me?'."

Diane giggled, then said, "But she settled for 'Wanna go out some time?'."

With a proud smile, Gwen carried on, "And that's the story of how I met my Donnie. July second will be our second anniversary. Anyway, I do like your freckles. You'd look so much cuter if you had more than just a wispy line of 'em, but whatever."

Ava looked from from Gwen's silver hair for a moment and told Sebastian, "That's her way of saying you're still pretty hot."

Tanner then sat down on the bed, on the other side of Sebastian, with his own sandwich. Diane held her hand out, so Tanner handed her the sandwich, and she took a bite before handing it back to the boy. This made Sebastian guess that the two were dating.

Gwen had seen the interaction and said, "Ugh, you guys are disgusting."

Diane scoffed and told her friend, "What? We put each other's junk in our mouths, so why can't we share a sandwich?"

The guys at the foosball table laughed, and Tanners face reddened.

Ava, while completing Gwen's hair and securing it, said, "Well that's a good point."

Sebastian turned to Tanner and asked him, "How long have you been with Diane?"

"Mm," Tanner was chewing. "Ten months now. Almost eleven."

"Cool. How'd you two meet?"

Tanner smiled with amusement. "I was walking to class, and she was running to hers. She rounded the corner and ran right into my coffee. It was iced, don't worry, she didn't burn. I offered her my high school hoodie from my back."

While fanning her freshly painted toe nails with an envelope, Diane said, "That was so sweet! He took it off his back and handed it to me."

"I asked if she was okay, then rushed off to my accounting class. I didn't realize that I'd left my phone in the hoodie pocket."

Diane continued, "I'd gone to the washroom to change into the hoodie. While I was pulling it over my head, something hard in the pocket hit my forehead. It was his phone."

With an appreciative smile, Tanner continued, "She went through some trouble to get my number."

With her face slightly reddened, Diane went on, "In class I plugged his phone into my laptop and iTunes told me his phone number."

With a slight chuckle and a huge smile, Tanner said, "Two hours later I went back to the spot that she'd bumped into me. She was waiting. My hoodie looked so cute on her tiny body. Anyway, I took my phone back and told her to take her time getting my hoodie back to me. On the bus home, I called this number that tried calling when I didn't have my phone. Imagine my surprise when the familiar voice picks up. She said she was glad that I called, like she hadn't planned it. What if I had a girlfriend already?"

Grinning, Diane replied, "I would have stolen you away. You were just too sweet and thoughtful and so cute! I knew you were single anyway. No taken guy would give a girl his hoodie."

Tanner laid down on the queen-sized bed toward Diane. The blonde girl leaned down and planted a kiss the on her man's lips.

When Tanner sat back up, he asked the ginger, "What about you, new best friend, you seeing anyone?"

"Sort of," Sebastian answered after taking the last sip of his drink. "I went on one date with this guy named Charles. And I'm going out with him again on Tuesday."

Charlie asked the redhead, "Are you planning it or is he?"

"I am. I've already made a reservation at Le Bernardi. Not sure if I should take him to a movie or some other type of show. It'll be late when we finish dinner, so a movie it is."

Still busy playing foosball, Clark asked the redhead, "What other types of shows did you have in mind?"

"I dunno," Sebastian replied with a one-shoulder shrug. "Maybe a ballet recital, or maybe a concert."

One of the guys playing foosball said, "I'd recommend a ballet show."

Tanner, with a smirk, told Sebastian, "Mike's only saying that because he's a dancer."

Charlie grinned as she said, "Don't let his butch crew cut hair and John Cena build fool you. He's just trying to compensate for his delicate and graceful moves."

Mike laughed, still turning and pulling knobs on the table, and called, "Fuck you guys! I pull all the hot ballet chicks while these chums skank shop at the bars."

"Hey!" Ava cried with a smile. "I met Austin at a bar!"

Turning, Mike said with a crooked smile, "I know."

Still smiling, Ava fired a black hair clip at her friend. The clip hit Mike on the back of his neck and fell to the floor.

Twenty minutes had passed and everyone agreed that it was time to head out.

Sebastian had unarmed his car alarm and was walking to the driver seat when Sam said, "Fucking shit, man! This is your car!?"

Climbing into his seat, Sebastian, "Yeah, get in."

Trying to race Sam to the front passenger seat, Clark cried, "Shotgun!"

But Sam was too close to the vehicle, he took one big hop and touched the door latch. He grinned at Clark in victory and climbed into the car.

Just as everyone was buckling their seat belts there was a single honk of a car horn. Sebastian looked at the SUV that was slowly passing on front of Sebastian. From the passenger seat of that vehicle Gwen waved. So Sebastian followed.

"Play music," Charlie suggested.

Sebastian had thought about grabbing his phone from his back pocket but Sam asked, "Mind if I connect my phone to your Bluetooth?"

The first song that Sam had played had Sebastian softly nodding his head and tapping his fingers on the wheel with the beat. After asking about the song, Sam told Sebastian that it was called Taking It Easy.

"Fuckin' sweet ride, man!" Clark said appreciatively upon arrival and exiting his SUV.

Crouching down, Mike agreed, saying, "Must've cost a pretty penny."

Slowly walking into the amusement park, Sebastian gave a nonchalant shrug. To the others his shrug meant he didn't really care, but he had secretly meant that he really did not know how much the vehicle had cost.

Sebastian and his new friends spent four hours at the amusement park riding rides, playing games, eating food, drinking sodas, taking photos and videos and selfies.

Near the top of the Ferris wheel, staring out at the slowly setting sun, Sebastian commented, "This is the most beautiful view I've ever seen."

A'Mari, sitting beside Sebastian, joked, "More beautiful than me?"

Sebastian scoffed in humour, then said, "Yes, straighty, more beautiful than you."

A'Mari shook his head dramatically as he retorted, "Can't believe I'm boys wit a heterophobe. Mama warned me 'bout yo kind, ain't lettin' us breeders live freely."

Sebastian let out a raucous laughter for a moment. He then handed his phone to the light-skinned man and told him to take a selfie with the colourful sky visible in the back because his arms were longer.

Sebastian and A'Mari were the second of the group to step off the ride at the bottom. The first were Tanner and Diane, who were waiting close to the ride exit.

The last to get off the ride were Clark and Charlie. Clark teased A'Mari, "Did you make get to make out at the top?"

"Fuck no, man!" A'Mari said. "But I did get a blowjob up there."

Sebastian immediately punched the mixed-race guy on the shoulder not softly. Everybody, including A'Mari, laughed.

Most of the group had decided to call it a night, all for their own reasons. The only three who didn't want to go home were Charlie, Diane, and Sam.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Diane connected her phone to Sebastian's Bluetooth sound system. Sebastian really needed to learn how to use that.

Twenty minutes into driving around aimlessly, though they talked and laughed, Charlie said with exasperation, "Let's just go to Morning Star."

"Yeah!" Diane readily agreed. "Haven't been there in forever!"

At the café the little group had to wait just a minute as a table was being cleaned.

After the waitress had placed menus in front of them and took their drink orders, Diane asked Sebastian, "So did you win the lottery or something?"

"Oh, my god, they serve breakfast all day!" Sebastian said excitedly upon seeing the menu. "Umm- no lottery winnings. Why?"

"You drive a Porsche, man," Sam stated, as though that was all he needed to say to answer.

"And you wear a Rolex," Charlie added.

"And you wear Gucci sneakers," Diane also added.

"And you're taking what's-his-face to dinner at Le Bernardin," again, Charlie.

"And the cello in your video was a Willhelm," Sam again.

"Okay, okay," Sebastian cried with his hands waving slightly. "My grandparents owned a law firm in Ireland and then sold it. I got it all last year when my parents died. It's not much, though, I want to look for an investor so I can retire comfortably."

With a humoured smile, Sam said, "You'd have to if you're buying Porsches and Gucci and Rolex."

Just then the waitress sat their drinks down, then took their meal order. Sebastian thought the caramel latte was pretty good, but his was a little better.

When the waitress left with their order, Sebastian asked Sam, "So how'd you know my cello was a Willhelm?"

Holding his cappuccino, Sam answered, "The brand name is on the cello case."

Diane then asked, "Where did you move from?"

Sebastian replied, "I'm from Sarasota."

"Cool," Charlie commented. "My family moved here from Miami when I was twelve. Did you leave anyone special behind?"

"No," Sebastian replied easily despite not knowing, he was getting used to lying. "My family died last year, and my last relationship ended about nine months ago."

"What was his name?" Diane then asked.

Sebastian sat his latte back down when he was answering, "His name was Owen. We'd been together since junior year of high school. We broke up because he was accepted to Yale and he was not interested in a long distance relationship."

Sam then asked, "You weren't going to college, right? Didn't you want to continue your relationship and move with him?"

Sebastian then learned that he was very quick-minded when he said another lie on the spot. "There were a few factors in our breakup. Jealousy, changes of heart, he doesn't want kids, and our fights were lasting longer."

After a second of thought, Charlie said, "Sounds like it was a long time coming."

The redhead nodded softly as he sipped his latte, and Diane asked, "So you want kids?"

"When I'm older," Sebastian answered, and that was not a lie. "When I'm thirty I want to raise at least two."

Sam then asked, "Given that you have money and you're planning on investing, are you planning to use a surrogate?"

Sebastian shrugged, and answered, "Haven't planned that far ahead. But probably not, there are so many kids who are put into the system and stay there. So I'll probably elect to adopt."

"How did you meet this guy you're seeing?" Charlie asked the ginger.

Sebastian smiled as he replied, "We met at Krogers. We got to the checkout line at the same time. He had fewer items than I did, so I told him to go ahead. He thought that was sweet and asked for my number."

Diane cooed, "Aww, that's so sweet!"

"Now enough about me!" Sebastian said with laughter. "What do you girls do?"

"In the spring and summer I work full time as a concierge at the Ritz," Charlie answered. "During the fall and winter, when I'm in college, I work there part time at the front desk."

Diane then answered, "I work part time at Sephora."

"Now before you ask," Sam cut in, "I don't work. My parents pay for everything. Rent, utilities, phone, and they give me a monthly allowance for food and car gas and entertainment."

"Wow," Sebastian said with a tinge of shock. "That must cost them a bit."

Sam shrugged and said, "They're so sure I'll make a good career ballet dancing so they want me to not worry about work and supporting myself. My bachelor apartment is the smallest apartment you could ever see, but at least the building has a gym."

"How long have you been dancing?" Sebastian asked, fully curious.

After a millisecond of thought, Sam answered, "Sixteen years. I was four."

"How did you start?" Sebastian then asked.

"My mom and I went over to a neighbours," Sam replied. "Brooke and I were always friends because we were neighbours. So this day my mom and I went over, Brooke told me that she was going to start ballet classes. I had no idea what ballet was, but I begged my mom to sign me up. The next day she enrolled me and took me to shop for black tights and white shirts and the weirdest shoes I'd ever seen. The following week I had my first class. I was the only boy and seeing the way the girls moved made me uncomfortable. I just stood there for a minute, and Ms. Cosima told me to pay attention. Turns out, after copying Ms. Cosima's movements, I really liked it."

"Are you still friends with Brooke?" Sebastian was curious.

Just then their food arrived. Sebastian thought his ham, green pepper and marble cheese omelette with avocado toast looked like heaven.

While pouring syrup over his French toast, Sam said, "Yeah, I'm still friends with Brooke. We share an apartment. We both got accepted to Juilliard."

"Juilliard," Sebastian said in thought.

Charlie then said between bites of her fruit bowl, "Sebastian plays the cello and last night we suggested he try for Juilliard."

"Aw no way, man!" Sam said with a smile. "That's so cool! But you're a few months late for the deadline to apply."

Sebastian nodded as he cut a piece of the egg. "I already have it all planned out. Oh shit! What time is it? I have to go. Sorry, guys, I forgot that I have a dinner party to attend."

Sebastian slammed four twenties on the table and bade his friends a good night.

The redhead rushed home, driving five miles over the speed limit as he had a half hour to change and get to the Albrights.

In his apartment, standing in his closet, Sebastian was dressed in nothing but a solid pink dress shirt and red socks. He had two suits pressed against his body, unsure whether to wear black or medium grey.

Sebastian ultimately chose the grey suit with black leather shoes, rushing out the door again.

"Hello," Sebastian greeted the maid who answered the Albright door. "Sebastian Fitzroy."

The maid beckoned the ginger inside the the house, leading him into the den.

Erica Albright, who had been talking with another woman and two men, noticed him walk in.

"I did t think you'd make it!" Erica said happily as she walked to him with her arms open.

Hugging the woman back, Sebastian told her, "Sorry that I'm late. I went to Luna Park with some friends and lost track of time."

"No worries. Steven, was it?"

"Sebastian," the redhead corrected her lightly.

A man joined the two then, his left holding the woman's lower back and his other out for a shake. "Sebastian. Dean Albright."

Giving the man a firm hand shake and a kind smile, Sebastian said, "Good to meet you, Dean. You guys have a lovely home."

"Well that's all thanks to this wonderful woman right here," Dean told Sebastian, giving his wife a gentle squeeze. "She has an acute eye for interior decorating. She used to actually have her own interior decorating company with her college best friend."

"Oh really?" Sebastian said with a smile of appreciation. "What happened?"

Shaking her head gently, Erica answered, "I just got tired. Signed over my share to my partner Ariel."

Dean then told Sebastian, "Help yourself to something to drink. Liquor is over there, and wine is chilling in the kitchen."

"Do you have anything non-alcoholic?" Sebastian asked kindly.

"Oh," Erica said, slightly surprised. "Are you not over nineteen?"

"I am nineteen," Sebastian explained, "I just don't drink."

With a warm smile, Erica told Sebastian, "Emystin should be in the kitchen, she will show you to the fruit juice and water bottles."

In the kitchen was a small group of four girls were standing over the island talking. Like everyone else in the house they were clothed in nice dresses and pumps.

"You must be the guy my mom ran into at Agora," stated a girl who had a resemblance to Erica Albright. "I'm Jasmine Albright."

Joining the girls, Sebastian introduced himself and shook each of their hands. He then asked the maid to show him to the apple juice.

Perplexed yet amused, Olivia Waller asked, "Mrs. Albright invited a minor to one of her dinners?"

"This is the guy your mom wanted to set you up with?" Kiera McKell asked, highly amused.

Confused, Irina Lox asked the redhead, "Seriously, how old are you?"

With a glass of apple juice now in his hand, Sebastian joined the girls at the island. He answered Irina, "I'm nineteen. I just don't drink."

Eying the ginger uncertainly, Jasmine commented, "You don't look nineteen."

Sebastian offered a noncommittal shrug. Then said, "You'll have to tell your mom it won't work out between us like she wants."

"She's always trying to set me up," Jasmine lamented. "She doesn't approve of the boy I've been dating."

"Hang on," Irina cut in. "Why wouldn't you and Jasmine work out?"

"I'm gay," Sebastian said simply. "So why doesn't your mom like the guy you're dating?"

With a smile, Jasmine answered, "Because she thinks he's trash. He spent his whole life in foster care, dropped out of high school, and he's now the assistant manager of a mechanic shop."

"As long as you're happy," Sebastian encouraged the girl. "This is my first time at one of these things. Any advice?"

The girls giggled, then Kiera said, "A lot of scotch."

"Okay," Sebastian said, totally Unsatisfied with the answer. "Restroom?"

Jasmine directed, "Down that hall, turn left, first door on your right. From there you can continue left twice and you'll be back in the living room and den."

After emptying his bladder, Sebastian continued down the hall entering the living room. Erica was standing behind a sofa with three others, sharing a laugh.

Sebastian was walking by when Erica said, "Sebastian. This is the man I'd mentioned earlier, buying all the good pieces from Agora. Sebastian this is Penelope Darius and her husband Linus, and Isaac Barnaby."

Shaking the redhead's hand, Penelope Darius said, "It's a pleasure, Sebastian."

Her husband, though, was a different person altogether. He chuckled as he asked Erica, "Where'd you really get this one from, Erica? He looks like he's just beginning to go through puberty."

Angry and embarrassed, Penelope swatted her hand at her husband's gut.

Sebastian, amused more than anything, said, "So this is what Jasmine tried to warn me about. Are all of your friends lacking in manners, Erica?"

Erica tried to hide a giggle behind her finger, and she replied, "Most, yeah. So you've met Jasmine."

Sebastian nodded and replied, "I did. She's nice."

"My son Julian is around with his friends somewhere. Come, I wanted you to meet someone. How are you enjoying New York?"

Following Erica to the other side of the room, Sebastian answered, "I like it a lot. Made some friends easily, been busy being shown around."

"Great! Jacques. Jacques, this is the guy I was telling you about."

A young-ish man with short but very curly black hair turned from the people he was talking with. He offered the redhead a warm smile and held his hand out.

Shaking the man's hand Sebastian said, "Sebastian Fitzroy."

"Jacques Trousseault," the man replied, a slight French accent. "Erica tells me you purchased two of my pieces from Agora. How do you like them?"

"Ils n'ont pas encore été livré," Sebastian replied with a crooked smile. "La femme qui travaillait ne m'aimait pas."

Jacques had a surprised smile at Sebastian's ability to speak French as he replied, "Georgina n'aime personne. Elle est particulièrement mauvaise envers les nouveaux gens."

"Peut-être qu'un jour vous pourrez me montrer votre travail personnellement," Sebastian told the Frenchman. "J'aimerais voir votre collection entière. Même ceux que vous n'aimez pas."

Jacques smirked as he teased, "Vous avez juste peur de Georgina. Cela ou vous voulez voir plus que mon art."

"Seulement de l'ar," the redhead responded with an amused smile. "Mais si vous répondez � la porte nue, je ne me plaindrai pas."

Jacques laughed before saying, "Je vais me souvenir de cela. Mais je suis vieux."

Sebastian scoffed and told the man, "Trente n'est pas vieux."

"J'ai trente-deux ans."

Sebastian shrugged as he told Jacques, "Erica a quarante ans et je suis amie avec elle. Je pense."

With a kind smile, Jacques said, "Dans ce cas, permettez-moi de vous emmener déjeuner."

Holding his glass of apple juice out, Sebastian told the Frenchman, "Ce serait bien."

Jacques clinked his glass of wine with Sebastian's in agreement.

Erica, who Sebastian had forgotten about, said, "I had no idea you spoke French."

Being a smart ass, Sebastian replied, "Should that have been the first thing I said about myself? 'Hi, I'm multilingual Sebastian'."

"I guess not," Erica admitted with amusement. "Now come, I want you to meet somebody else."

"Another artist?" Sebastian guessed, being led by the hand.

"Yes," Erica answered simply, approaching a group of five people. "Bianca. Hey. Sebastian, meet Bianca van Ewan. Bianca, this is him."

A heavy woman's eyes studied the ginger for a moment and a disbelieving smile formed. "Are you- are you kidding me? He's, like, twelve. Kid, do mom and dad know you're buying New York's finest art?"

Bristly, Sebastian responded, "My family died last year, you pompous, arrogant, sad woman. Erica, I'm afraid I dislike much of your company this evening. One day soon you and I shall meet for lunch, but thank you so much for inviting me here."

Erica agreed with lunch as she walked Sebastian to the front door.

Standing on the front porch with Sebastian and waiting for the valet, Erica said, "You handled yourself gracefully. I knew they'd be surprised by your youth, but I didn't know they'd be such assholes. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Sebastian said with a hand wave. "Here's my number, text me when a good day for lunch would be."

Sebastian had been driving for a few minutes and sat at a red light. He checked the time. It was seven-forty-eight. He thought it was much too early to do nothing.

Still waiting for the light to turn green, he picked his phone up out of the cup holder and texted Rob and Arun in a group message, 'Help me break in my XBox?'

Arun texted back relatively quickly, but Rob took a few minutes. He'd said, 'Candace and Reece are with me'

While waiting for a gap in traffic to turn right, Sebastian texted, 'Bring them if you want'

An hour later Sebastian had been wearing a plain white tee and grey sweats when he answered his apartment phone.

Xavier said, "Good evening, Mr.- Sebastian. I have three guests here to see you. They are Robert Cason, Candace Blite, and Reece Klein."

"Thank you, Xavier, you can send them up."

The first person he saw when he answered his door was Rob, who walked in and said, "Sebastian, this is Reece."

Sebastian shook the new brunette's hand as he walked in.

Looking around, Reece whistled and told the redhead, "Swanky place ya got here."

"Thanks," Sebastian replied while walking back into the living room. "I was just warming up with Call of Duty. I gotta piss. Other controllers and games are in that drawer there."

After washing his hands, Sebastian stood in front of his mirror and undid his hair bun. While he was brushing his hair, detangling it, he heard his landline ring again. Xavier told him that Arun Saha was also there to see him.

"You playing?" Rob asked the redhead, setting up a multiplayer mission.

"You guys go ahead," Sebastian replied while grabbing his mug off the coffee table. "I'll just enjoy my coffee for now. You guys want a latte or cappuccino? There's regular and decaf."

Candace excitedly got up off the sofa and asked, "Ooh, can you teach me how to use your coffee machine thing?"

Smiling, Sebastian told the girl to follow hi into the kitchen. Just as he grabbed Candace a mug, his doorbell rang again.

"Hey, come in!" Sebastian told the Indian when he opened his front door. "Rob and Reece are playing Call of Duty in the living room. I'm teaching Candace how to make coffee if you wanna join us first."

Following Sebastian into the kitchen, Arun asked, "Espresso? I'd kill for a latte."

"Do you want decaf or regular?" Sebastian asked Candace.

"Decaf please," the blonde woman answered. "I have work in the morning."

"Decaf is already in the hopper, which is up here," the redhead told his friend. "So what you're going to do is secure this grind basket into the grinder. Yeah, like that. Now press this button so the machine starts grinding beans and filling the basket. While its doing that, fill this pitcher with milk up to that line. In the fridge I have two percent and almond milk."

While Candace stood at the fridge filling the pitcher, Arun asked, "How are you?"

"I'm good!" Sebastian answered with a smile. "A little tired. Spent the afternoon at Luna Park with a Clark and his friends, and went to the Morning Star Café. After that I went to this dinner party, but I couldn't stand a couple people so I left pretty quickly."

Now standing back st the espresso machine, Candace asked, "Kay, now what?"

"Now take the basket out of the filler and into the group head. Now press this button to start pulling the espresso. Mug goes under. Yeah. Now use this dial to set the milk temperature. I heat mine to one-fifty. The dial is also a button so press it. Now it's asking whether you want a latte or a cappuccino and exact texture. Kay, then press this lever down to being steaming the milk."

"This is easy!" the girl said excitedly.

"Espresso shots are done. In that cupboard I have four syrups. Vanilla and hazelnut, and each in sugar-free."

Candace had chosen sugar-free vanilla.

When the milk had finished steaming, Sebastian asked the girl, "Want me to pour the milk? I can make latte art. Kind of a pointless talent, but it looks pretty."

"Yes!" Candace answered excitedly. "You have to teach me to do that, too."

Sebastian grabbed the metal pitcher off the machine and immediately wiped the steam wand clean and ran a bit of steam out to expel any milk residue. He then gently swished the milk around and tapped the bottom of the pitcher on the countertop.

"I'm doing this because you don't want too much air in the frothy milk," the redhead explained. "Hold the mug at a slight tilt like so, and pour the milk in at a medium speed. When the mug is filled to about half, slowly ease the milk pour. You see how the milk is nearly at the brim of the mug, so gently rock your wrist back and forth to make a design with the thicker froth. Now quickly bring the rest of the froth across through. There, a white heart in a sea of brown."

Now holding the mug in her hand, Candace told Sebastian, "Wow. You make it look so easy," before sipping the hot liquid.

Sebastian ran the kitchen sink slowly, washing the used items.

"Now your turn," the redhead told his Indian friend.

Sebastian did not need to instruct the Indian man as he did it with relative ease. Though, at the end, his latte art looked like a bunch of random spikes.

Trying to reign his giggle in, Sebastian said, "Umm, are you saying your heart is made of ice?"

Arun laughed and whacked the ginger's arm at the same time. He then said, "Fuck you, man."

Sebastian laughed a bit. Then told the Indian, "If latte art was easy, every café would be doing it."

"I'm making lattes for Rob and Reece!" Candace said excitedly as she began washing the dishes needed.

The second latte Candace made had one arch much bigger than than the other. And the second one had a very round bottom. But she was at least proud that they looked better than Arun's.

Candace carried her boyfriend's latte to the living room while Sebastian carried Reece's.

Reece, because he had the main controller, paused the game when Sebastian held a mug out to him.

When Reece hesitated to accept the mug, Sebastian told him, "It's vanilla-flavoured. And decaf. And made with almond milk, Candace said you're lactose intolerant."

Both Aron and Reece complimented Candace on her fine coffee before resuming the video game.

"Show me around your condo," Candace said sweetly.

"Yeah, come this way," Sebastian agreed, standing from the sofa and leading the blonde. Arun stood and followed as well.

Walking down the hall, Candace commented, "Your walls are so bare."

Sebastian agreed, "Yeah, I'm waiting for some artwork to be delivered. This is my bathroom. I have yet to break the bathtub in. But the shower is amazing! There's a dial on the head that changes the spray. I use the massage setting after working out."

Brushing his finger along the edge of the bathtub, Arun said, "This tub is big enough to fit two people comfortably."

Sebastian looked to the Indian, who had a smirk on his face suggestively.

Sebastian blushed but tried to hide as he continued, "This door leads to my closet. It--"

"Jesus Christ," Candace cursed in a whisper upon seeing how huge the closet was. "This closet could fill three times as many clothes as I have."

Thumbing through the redhead's suits, Arun said, "Armani, CK, Hugo Boss, Brooks Brothers, Brioni--"

"And through here is my bedroom," Sebastian intentionally interrupted Arun.

But in amazement, Arun said, "Dude, this bedroom alone is bigger than my whole apartment."

"So soft!" Candace cooed as she crawled on top the bed. "What brand is this?"

Sebastian shrugged as he replied, "I don't know. I had someone furnish this place before I moved here."

"Two glass walls," Arun said in amazement as he eyed said walls. "Heating must cost an arm and a leg."

Again, Sebastian merely shrugged. He then said, "Listen to this, though.

He touched his hand to the handle of the balcony door and paused to make sure the two were paying attention. Seeing that they were, he opened the door. The sounds of car horns, and ambulance and police sirens could be heard.

Amazed, Candace said, "Sound proof."

Sebastian nodded and told her, "Yeah, and I don't ever hear the other tenants."

Sebastian leaned his lower back on the hand rail of the iron parapet as the two slowly walked and explored the balcony. He then turned around, setting his coffee down on the hand rail. He stared out at the skyline.

Sebastian wasn't sure how long he'd been appreciating the sight before him when Candace said, "It's cold, I'm heading back in."

Sebastian heard the door leading to the living room open. After about twenty seconds of silence, thinking he was alone, Sebastian startled the slightest at bit when Arun stepped up behind him. The Indian placed his hands on Sebastian hips and his chin on the redhead's shoulder.

"I'm- I'm not interested in anything but friendship right now, Arun," Sebastian told Arun.

"Oh," Arun said quietly, slight disappointment evident in his voice as he lifted his chin off the ginger.

Placing his hands over Arun's, Sebastian said, "But I like being held. I understand it's not something friends do like this, but I'm addicted to affection."

Arun chuckled as he slid his arms fully around Sebastian, holding the redhead securely. His heart had begun to melt before, but it melted fully when the ginger leaned his head back, resting it against the taller man's shoulder.

The silence the two stood in was not uncomfortable. Sebastian felt it made him closer to Arun. But after a couple minutes, Arun said, "You have the nicest view in the city. But I'm getting cold."

Sebastian thought for a moment. Arun's chest was pressed tightly against his back, and his arms rested above Arun's around his waist. So he'd guessed that Arun's back was cold. The redhead gently pried Arun's hands off of him. He turned around to face the Indian, then jumped up and sat on the wide hand rail. He then opened his arms, inviting his friend in.

"You really do crave affection," Arun said as he stepped into Sebastian's embrace.

While Arun wrapped his arms around Sebastian's lower back, the ginger wrapped his around Arun's neck. Delighted, Arun nuzzled his cheek against Sebastian's chest.

Sheepishly, Arun told Sebastian, "You know this just makes my crush on you that much bigger."

Sebastian chuckled, then said, "As long as you know I only want friendship. For now at least."

"For now?" Arun repeated. "You saying I could have a chance if things don't work out with the other guy?"

"No," Sebastian said simply. "You do have a chance if Charles and I don't work out."

With a teasing grin, though he knew the redhead couldn't see it, Arun said, "Is it bad that I hope for that?"

Sebastian laughed boisterously before he lightly smacked Arun's back.

"Now let's go back in," Sebastian commanded with a lightness in his voice. "I want see how easily I can kick your asses in Call of Duty."

The two went back inside, joining the three in the living room. Sebastian down the rest of his coffee, despite being disgusted at how cold it had gotten outside.

Twenty minutes after rejoining the group, Candace asked Sebastian if it was okay if she could make herself another latte. Sebastian told her she didn't have to ask, to just make one. This time, her heart of latte art looked better. Not good, but she would eventually get the hang of it.

The four had stayed at Sebastian's for nearly three and a half hours playing video games, with Sebastian winning most battles and races. It was eleven-thirty at night when Sebastian had played a racing game called Split/Second with Rob, Reece, and Candace when they decided it was late and would head home. They giggled at Arun having fallen asleep sitting on the sofa.

The three others had left and Sebastian had washed the coffee mugs they'd used. He went back into the living room and stood over the couch. He placed his hand on Arun's knee and shook it gently.

When the Indian didn't stir, Sebastian gently said, "Arun."

Arun opened his eyes sleeping and said, "Hey. Oh, sorry for falling asleep. Where'd everyone go? Fuck, what time is it?"

"It's ten-to-twelve."

"Shit, I'll never catch the bus home."

"Sorry, should've woken you right away."

"No, it's not your fault."

"Well, you have two options; I can drive you home, or you can sleep on the sofa."

"I can take a cab."

Sitting on the sofa, with his back against the armrest, Sebastian told the Indian, "It's a waste of money to take a cab when I'm perfectly willing to drive you."

"But it's so late for you to drive. You look like you're sleeping on your feet. Or ass, I guess."

Sebastian laughed then, and said, "Then sleep on the sofa! And don't even suggest you'd be intruding! What will it be, brown boy?"

Arun scoffed and responded, "Racist. I guess I'll take the sofa."

"Now was that so hard?" Sebastian teased. "Now come, lets brush our teeth. I have an extra toothbrush."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sebastian had woken up at eight-fifteen the next morning. He went to his dresser and put on a pair of black leggings. He then walked into his closet and dressed himself in that grey oversized sweater he'd bought from the mall. He walked barefoot out onto his balcony, leaning and resting on his elbows on the railing.

Not even ten seconds later the other balcony door opened and Arun stepped out.

"Hey," he brown man greeted lazily, kneeling on his elbows and laying his head on Sebastian's shoulder.

Sebastian placed his hand on Arun's lower back and asked, "How long have you been up?"

"Fifteen minutes. Heard you in your closet and then come out, so I came to see if you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I normally go to workout immediately after waking and brushing my teeth. But I've been working out every day since moving here, so I think I'll just rest. How'd you sleep?"

Sebastian felt Arun's cheek on his arm move, a smile forming. Arun answered, "Your sofa is more comfortable than my bed. I slept really good."

Sebastian shared a small laugh with his Indian friend before saying, "Let's go brush our teeth. I'll cook breakfast."

While the two brushed their teeth, Sebastian typed a text to Charles saying, 'Morning beautiful 😊'

Arun said he needed to pee, so Sebastian made them both lattes. Arun then sat on the kitchen island texting and checking his social media sites while the redhead stood over the stove scrambling eggs on a pan.

Sebastian's phone buzzed having received a text message. Charles had replied, 'Morning Sebi. How are you?'

'I'm good. Resting my muscles today so no workout. How are you? What's up?'

While buttering toast, Sebastian asked, "Do you have to be anywhere soon?"

"No. I have work at one so I'll have to get home to shower and stuff."

Charles texting back, 'I'm great now. Missed you yesterday. Just woke up, laying in bed. You?'

'Cooking breakfast for me and Arun' Sebastian texted back. He then said to Arun, "Just let me know when you wanna go, I can drive you home."

"It's fine," Arun protested. "I can take the bus."

"I have a doctor's appointment at eleven anyway. Ten o'clock sound okay?"

'Arun?' Charles texted.

"Ten is good," Arun agreed.

Sebastian nodded with his phone in his hands texting, 'Friend fell asleep here when I had friends over last night. It was too late to catch a bus so I told him to stay over. And I missed you yesterday too but decided to give you space'

'Oh ok. And why give me space?'

'You had a date the night before and didn't want to crowd you'

"Here you go," Sebastian said, setting a plate down in front of Arun.

Eying the plate of scrambled eggs, avocado on rye toast, and orange slices, Arun said, "This looks great! Marry me."

'I'll call later' Charles had texted back, and Sebastian didn't know how to read that emotionally.

"Do you wanna do anything before ten?" Sebastian asked as he speared some eggs onto his fork. "We have over an hour."

Arun shook his head as he chewed on a piece of avocado toast. "No. Had I not slept here, what would you have been doing?"

Sebastian shrugged and replied, "Probably playing the cello or guitar, I guess."

Smiling, Arun responded, "Then do that. I've been dying to see you play."

Sebastian nodded his agreement, then asked, "So where do you work?"

"I work as a chauffeur," Arun answered before placing a small piece of egg into his mouth. "At a company called Luxor Limo."

"No way!" Sebastian said with excitement. "Do you work on June tenth?"

"Let's see..." Arun said with his phone now in his hand. "Yeah, I have an airport pickup at eleven and then it looks like I'm free after that. Why?"

"Because I have a LASIK surgery then. I was thinking to ask Charles or Dustin to drive me home and hang out with me while my eyes heal. But I can call Luxor and request you. You get a commission, right? I can pay for two o'clock til ten or eleven, and your paycheque will be pretty good. I mean if you want to."

Smiling appreciatively and excitedly, Arun replied, "Yeah, that'd really help me."

"Good. I'll call Luxor later."

After a brief moment of silence, Arun said, "You know for a rich guy you're pretty nice."

Sebastian let out a little burst of laughter before asking, "How do you know I'm rich?"

"You're kidding, right? Huge condo that's sound proof. Exquisite suits. Your doorman requests photo ID's. You drive a Porsche. You even wear fucking Tag Heuer eyeglasses. But you have a heart bigger than most."

"Enough about me," Sebastian said with a laugh that he hoped hid his discomfort. "Tell me about you."

"Whats there to know?" Arun said more than asked, sipping on his coffee having finished his breakfast. "My dad is a second generation American citizen, and my mom met him while going to college here."

Bringing his and Arun's plates to the sink, Sebastian asked, "What do your parents do?"

"My dad is a tax specialist and my mom is a biologist."

"Have you come out?"

"When I was seventeen, yeah. My dad suspected but my mom was surprised. She still supports me, though."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Where are your towels?"

"That drawer there."

While towel-drying the dishes that Sebastian was washing, Arun answered, "I have three older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister."

"You close with them?"

"Most, yeah. I've never gotten along with my brother Locky- Lakshay. Mostly because I called him by his full given name and he hated it. I loved pissing him off. What about you, what's your family like?"

Sebastian inhaled deeply before replying, "Now I don't want you crying or say you're sorry. Promise."

Arun had a feeling. He placed one hand on the countertop and said, "Your family passed."

Sebastian continued washing dishes, he nodded his head. Arun kept his promise, even though he didn't actually make the promise. He didn't say he was sorry nor did he tear up. What he did do was wrap his left arm around Sebastian's back and his right around his belly. Holding the redhead tightly, he kissed Sebastian's cheek.

When the Indian released the redhead, he asked, "Did you have any siblings?"

"One," Sebastian answered, pulling the sink plug to drain the water. "Her name was Claire. My parents, Ailbe and Fiona had taken us to dinner after my high school grad. After dinner I went to a party and all three were driving home. They were in a car wreck. If you get bored while I'm playing, my computer is right there and it has no password."

Sebastian rolled up the sleeves of his giant sweater before seating himself on the small black stool. Then, with the cello leaning against his body and the bow sitting on his lap, Sebastian coiled his hair into a messy bun.

Arun sat on the sofa. He watched Sebastian play the cello with intrigue and amazement. Sebastian had played five minutes into a piece when Arun took his phone out of his pocket and recorded a video. Though the redhead's green eyes were open as he played, they were focused on the strokes of the bow, he didn't notice the Indian recording.

Arun had been recording for twenty-two minutes when the piece Sebastian was playing finally ended. Sebastian looked to Arun.

Sebastian's smile grew in chagrin, and with a chuckle he said, "Hope it sounded worth recording."

Arun hit the button to stop recording and told Sebastian, "Believe, it did. It was beautiful."

Sebastian played again, this time the piece he played lasted sixteen minutes. And this time, Arun recorded from the beginning. The third piece lasted thirty-three minutes. By the end of that, the redhead's fingers were stiff, nearly cramping.

Placing the instrument back in the case, Sebastian asked, "You ready to go?"

Together the two folded the blanket, and Sebastian brought it back to the linen closet while Arun carried the pillow.

While driving the car out of the indoor parking garage, Sebastian told Arun to put his address into the GPS.

Ten minutes later, while choosing another song to play, Arun asked, "What are you planning to do until you can get into Juilliard? I mean you missed the application and audition deadlines."

"I haven't thought about it really. I'll figure something out."

"'I'll figure something out' he says," Arun said with an amused scoff. "Do you really not have a plan? What if you spend an entire year doing nothing? Nothing wrong with that, but you'd get bored."

Shrugging his shoulders, his eyes never leaving the road, Sebastian replied, "I'll figure something out. Want Starbucks? I can search for a drive-through around here."

Sebastian did find a drive-through Starbucks and bought Arun a caramel macchiato and an iced latte for himself.

After dropping Arun off at home, Sebastian parked a couple of blocks away from the doctor's office. While walking the rest of the way to his destination, Sebastian passed a vacant property. The front was covered in six-foot tall windows and was decent size. An idea suddenly popped into the ginger's head. He pressed his forehead against one of the windows and saw it was completely empty. No shelves, no countertops, no tables. He could see a swinging door and hoped it was a kitchen through that door.

He opened the Notes application on his phone and typed the property manager's phone number and address. He then tapped the phone number and his phone made the call.

After two rings, a female voice answered, "Thank you for calling Armsfeld and Company, my name is Linda, how can I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Sebastian. I'm calling about one of your properties listed as vacant."

"Certainly, sir. What property has caught your interest?"

Reading the sign stuck on the window, Sebastian answered, "Address is 1551 Broadway."

Sebastian heard the woman typing something on a keyboard before the woman said, "That property is looked after by Wendy Kellam so I'll transfer you, okay?"

Sebastian agreed, and a second later the line beeped, signalling he was on hold.

A couple of seconds later, another woman's voice said, "Wendy speaking."

"Hello Wendy, my name is Sebastian. I'm calling about a vacant property you are managing. 1551 Broadway."

The woman typed on her computer before saying, "A commercial property in the heart of Manhattan. Okay. Would you like to schedule a meeting to tour the property?"

"I would like to meet as soon as possible."

"Umm... Let's see. If you would like to meet today, I'm free at noon. I know that's very short notice but next opening is Friday at three."

"Noon sounds great."

"Perfect. I'll see you there."

Three minutes later Sebastian walked into the doctor's office and said to the receptionist, "Good morning. I'm checking in. Sebastian Fitzroy."

"Good morning," the woman said with a kind smile before turning to her computer screen. "Dr. Ligen is behind schedule because of an accident. He won't be more than fifteen minutes. Unless you'd like me to reschedule?"

Sebastian smiled at the receptionist and replied, "It's fine, I'll wait."

Twenty minutes later the doctor was inspecting Sebastian's head wounds scrutinously. He gently pressed on the flesh around one of the wounds.

"May I ask what caused such gruesome wounds?" the doctor asked, still inspecting the head.

"I would prefer you not."

"That's fine. Well, the wounds have healed very, very well. Staples were done quite cleanly. They are ready to be removed. Would you like me to do that now?"

Sebastian agreed, to which he was instructed to lie face down on the exam table. So Dr. Ligan mixed a small metal bowl with half alcohol and half saline. He used cotton swabs to clean the wounds thoroughly.

Holding a metal stick-looking thing in his hand, Dr. Ligan said, "You will feel some tugging. There may also be some slight stinging. You ready?

Sebastian felt pain during some of the staple removals, but he did not wince or groan. During, he understood that his body was used to pain. He did have over fifty scars, you know.

After the staples were removed and the wounds cleaned for good measure, the redhead went out front and put the five hundred dollar charge on his AMEX.

While walking back to the property that he'd seen, the ginger fixed his hair back in a bun, the doctor having had undone it to work.

Sebastian walked into the property it's a smile. He said to the lady who was standing in front of a window texting on her phone, "Sorry I'm late. Had a doctor's checkup."

"No problem. You're only a couple minutes-" she looked from her phone then, and became surprised. "You're Sebastian? I thought you sounded young."

Though Sebastian was not offended, he said, "I assure you I'm serious about this property. Maybe I should've dressed in one of my Armani suits."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Sebastian," Ms. Kellam said respectively. "I'm just surprised at how young you are. At Armsfeld we don't judge or discriminate. As you can see, this property is situated in the heart of Manhattan and Times Square. The front measures thirteen feet long and thirty-six feet long for four hundred and sixty-eight square feet of retail space. Over here are two washrooms. The previous business didn't allow customer use."

"What type of business was run here before?" Sebastian asked, his eyes roaming around appreciatively.

"It was a consignment store. The lessees couldn't keep up with the rent. Through here we have a back room. What type of business are you planning on operating?"

"I want to open a café," Sebastian answered, looking around the medium-sized back room.

"Perfect! This room is a great size for a kitchen. It's already equipped with industrial sinks and sprayer. And you can install electric ovens there, countertops along that wall, refrigerators along that one, and an island counter here."

"That actually sounds perfect. Was the other door an office?"

"Yes, come see. It's a decent size, ninety-six square feet. The previous lessees didn't take these coat hangers down, and we decided to just leave 'em for future tenants. You can put lockers here, filing cabinets here, and a desk here."

With a smile, Sebastian told the woman, "Again, you and I had the same ideas. Can you show me to the alleyway?"

Smiling, Ms. Kellam said, "Right this way. This back door locks with a knob and a deadbolt. Back here are recycle bins, both paper and plastic and glass, and a garbage bin. You'll have to contact the city to turn on the water and garbage disposal. Have you obtained a business license?"

Following Ms. Kellam back into the building, Sebastian answered that he didn't, he wasn't even aware that he'd wanted to run a business after all.

"Oh, I see. Well if you're interested you can sign the papers in your name. When you've obtained a business license you can sign it over to the business name."

"I am interested. I would like to sign the papers."

"Great!" Ms. Kellam enthused, opening the zipped file holder in her hands. "Here I have a twelve month lease agreement for you to review with your lawyer. Armsfeld does require a payment of first and last months' rent with a security deposit equal to one month's rent. Total comes to fifteen thousand before taxes."

"At the signing of the contract, I'll pay by cheque?"

"Sure. But before I can give you the keys to this place company will have to wait until the cheque clears. Another option is signing a different form that authorizes a funds transfer from your bank to ours. With that, you'll be given keys immediately."

Ms. Kellam exited the building to fetch the papers. As she did that, Sebastian walked around the property, ideas fleshing out in his head.

Smiling, Sebastian said, "That sounds a lot easier."

"Here's the copy of the contract. We will have to schedule that in. I would recommend bringing your lawyer with you when you come in to sign. There, we will sign the contract, process an immediate funds transfer from your bank. When it's all said and done you will be given a copy of the contract and two sets of keys."

"Sounds pretty straight forward. When can we sign?"

"I'll be in the office tomorrow from ten-thirty til noon. Shall I pencil that in?"

Sebastian agreed. He stood, staring at the potential before his eyes. He was excited.

Sebastian walked back to his car, but only grabbed his messenger bag from the backseat. He inserted more coins into the parking meter and walked on.

A couple blocks down he walked into a Starbucks shop. He sat alone at a table by a window sipping a toffee nut latte and munching on a fruit and cheese tray. His laptop sat on the table, listings of law firms on a Google search.

"Hey Chuck," Sebastian answered his cell phone with a happy smile.

"Hey Sebi," Charles replied, and Sebastian could hear the smile on his face. "What are you up to?"

"I'm sitting at a Starbucks near Times Square."

"What are you doing at Times Square?"

"The doctor that I saw has his practice near here. How 'bout you, what's up?"

"I'm just leaving the uni. Going to lunch with Ora."

"That sounds nice."

After a moment of silence, Charles said, "So... I wanted to call about yesterday. You wanted to give me space, you said. Why did you think I wanted or needed space?"

"Because you went on a date with another guy. I didn't want you to think I was being clingy. And I wanted you to have time to think. Am I worth a second date? Is the other guy worth a second date? Are both?"

"Oh. What if you're both worth a second date?"

"Then go on second dates with us both," Sebastian told the blonde softly. "Charles, I'm not rushing you to make a decision. I do expect you to decide eventually, though."

"I know. I hope I'm not making you feel uncomfortable. It's just... you're both so different. You're clean and refined. He's rugged and impulsive."

"Polar opposites," Sebastian finished the thought. "And you don't know which you like better."

"Talking about this makes me feel guilty. Selfish."

Sebastian laughed before saying, "Charles, there's really no need to feel selfish or guilty. It's your love life, your happiness."

"Okay, if you're sure."

"If I wasn't sure I would cancel tomorrow's date."

"Okay. So what did you do yesterday?"

"After working out I practiced strumming on the guitar. Rob invited me to play foosball at his place. Robs friends are awesome to chill with. From there we went to Luna Park. The Ferris wheel at sunset is stunning."

"Aww, I love Luna Park! Did you go to the Albright dinner party?"

"Yeah, I did. I stayed for twenty minutes and left. Rich people are assholes."

Charles let out a chortle and said, "You're a rich people!"

With an amused half smile, Sebastian replied, "Yeah, I guess. Maybe I should learn how to be an asshole."

"No, please don't. So who did you meet at the Albrights?"

"Mind if I tell you about it tomorrow?" Sebastian asked apologetically. "I have to get going?"

Sebastian had closed his laptop as Charles replied, "Okay, yeah. Listen, though. If you ever want to call or text, just do it. I sort of like hearing from you."

Smiling, Sebastian replied, "I sort of like communicating with you as well."

Charles laughed boisterously before saying, "Dork. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sebastian slid his laptop back into his bag and walked back out of the café.

When Sebastian stepped up to the reception, the guy manning the desk said over the phone, "Okay, Mr. Galsworthy, I'll transfer you up to Ben."

Sebastian waited. The receptionist pressed a few buttons on the telephone hen hung up. He turned to Sebastian and asked, "Hi, how can I help you?"

Sebastian was about to answer, but a woman's voice called "Logan, I'm having an issue with my computer and my idiot assistant can't figure out who to call."

Sebastian had looked for the source of the voice. A middle-aged woman wearing a grey blazer and skirt walked from the entrance of the building to the elevators.

The receptionist called back to the woman, "I'll call tech and HR! Sorry, how can help you?"

"I'm in need of a business lawyer," Sebastian answered the guy.

"Sure. Just take the elevator up to the twenty-first floor. Hello, thank you for calling Latham and Watkins, how can I help you?"

Up on the twenty-first floor, at the desk right by the elevators, he told the lady that he was interested in starting a business and needed a lawyer. She smiled at him and asked him to take a seat.

While Sebastian waited, he sat and looked through the photos on his phone. His favourite in particular was one of Tanner and Diane together on Clark's bed. Their legs were tangled, Clark held Diane's right wrist on his left hand, his body mostly on top of hers, and his face on her collarbone. From the angle of the photo you could see Tanner's toothy grin and the scruff on his face tickling the girl's shoulder and her head thrown back in laughter.

"Sebastian?" a man's voice called gently.

Sebastian walked up to the middle-aged man and shook his hand.

He man patted Sebastian's other arm as their hands shook, and said, "I'm Tony. Good to meet you. Come into my office."

The lawyer opened a mini refrigerator and asked the redhead if he wanted a bottle of water as well.

"No thank you," Sebastian answered. "I'd actually really like to get going on this."

Tony sat down at his desk and accepted the lease agreement. As the lawyer read the contract slowly, carefully. As he did, Sebastian stood at the giant windows looking out at the city and skyline.

After a few minutes, tiny told Sebastian, "Armsfeld has clear lease agreements. This looks fine. When are you signing this?"

"Signing is scheduled for tomorrow morning at ten-thirty."

Tony checked his schedule on his computer before saying, "I will be a few minutes late. Do you have a business license or applied for one yet?"

"No, I haven't applied yet."

Tiny pressed his lips in a thin line, a litre exasperated. "What business do you want to operate?"

"A café. The name will be La Guérison. It means cure, or treatment."

"You will need to get the property inspected before opening. Who are the owners of the business?"

"Just myself."

"Sole proprietorship. You will be solely responsible for legal issues."

"I'm aware."

"Will you manage the business or will you hire a professional?"

"I'm planning to attend college so I'll hire someone."

"Great. I recommend hiring someone who has certification in both accounting and human resources. They will be able to manage your café and staff, and handle all financial responsibilities including tax filing. You will also have to register the business with the county clerk. I can help with that."

"Great. What else?"

"You're obviously hiring so you'll need to apply for an employer identification number, which can be done online. With the Division of Taxation you will have to register as a sales tax vendor, which I can help with. What will the hours of operation be?"

"Twenty-four-seven. Unless you have issue with that."

Tony shook his head no, and replied, "No, no. But because this will be a food and drink service, there will need to be a certified food protector at all times. I recommend having four or five personnel trained in this for eight hour shifts. Also, if you plan to have tables out on the sidewalk you will need a Sidewalk Café License."

"Can you help me apply for the business license?"

"Of course. But before we continue, this was just a free consultation. We are moving on with applying for licenses and permits, so that means this becomes billable hours."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next evening Sebastian walked into St. Laurent restaurant.

Kristina greeted the redhead with a smile and told him, "Charles will be a few minutes. Go ahead to the bar."

The bar was pretty busy with people waiting for their tables or parties. Despite this, Sebastian was greeted by the bartender quickly.

"Hi Benny Boo," Sebastian greeted back, to which the bartender wore a smile of amusement and dispassion.

"Want something to drink, red?"

"Just a ginger ale."

Filling a glass, Ben asked, "What's the plan for the evening?"

"I'm taking Charles out to Le Bernardin and then a movie."

Ben nodded and said, "Classy and classic. What will you guys see?"

"There's a cinema playing Sense and Sensibility at nine-thirty."

"Classy dinner and then a cheesy romantic movie," Ben summarized as he sat the drink in front of Sebastian. "You really like Charles."

Sebastian shrugged jovially and replied, "He's alright."

This caused Ben to laugh before he noticed another customer waved him over.

Three minutes had passed when Charles stepped up to Sebastian at the bar, standing between the redhead and the empty stool. He offered Sebastian a sultry Hey but Sebastian greeted him by giving him a gentle kiss on the lips.

When their lips separated with a slight smacking sound, Charles smiled as he asked, "What was that for?"

Smiling himself, Sebastian shrugged and answered, "Just wanted to."

At Le Bernardin, Charles asked, "What did you do today?"

"I signed a twelve-month lease agreement. And--"

"Wait, are you moving?"

"No, the lease is for a commercial property at Times Square. Maybe I should've started with 'I'm gonna run a business. I put a job ad out calling for a professional in accounting and HR.'"

"You're gonna run a business!?" Charles' volume was due to his shock. "In Times Square!?"

"Sshhh," Sebastian shushed the blonde with a smile while looking around. "Yeah, a café that'll be open twenty-four-seven. So yesterday I applied for the business license and today I signed the lease agreement with Armsfeld. After signing, I went to the Bank of America to open a bank account for the business. I named it Le Guérison. Then I went out looking at commercial espresso machines, ovens, coolers, mixers, and blenders. Then I met a contractor at the property to install grease interceptors."

"Wow. You've been busy. What else do you have to do?"

"Either tonight or tomorrow I'll be putting an ad out for baristas. That job ad will run longer than the manager ad because I'll be meeting with the hired manager to discuss business plans, rules, policies, procedures, etcetera. Anyway back to tomorrow. I'm meeting with a contractor to discuss installing hardwood floors, installing counters in the kitchen and in the café, installing shelves, and painting the walls. Then I'll be running around town again looking at tables. After that I might go back to the bank to get into my safety deposit box."

"What colour will the walls be?"

"The foundation walls are red brick, I love those. But the partition walls are plain white. I want them an azure blue. I also want to change the locks on both outside doors to PIN locks. And I also have to find a top-notch security system. And I have to order an iPad POS."

"Sounds like you'll be really busy for a while. But at least you seem very excited about this. When will you be hiring your potential café manager?"

"The job ad ends on Friday at three. That morning and afternoon I'll be reviewing applications and résumés. At three sharp I'll be calling finalists to interview the next day. When I've made my decision I'll ask them to meet me at the property on Sunday to get to know them a little, and then we'll go through barista candidates together. On Monday I want to meet with the hired staff as a whole to welcome them and go through rules, policies, procedures. After that I will let them know that they are expected to learn how to make perfect latte art, as shallow as that sounds. I'll play videos on latte art for beginners."

Charles nodded as he chewed his food, then said, "I think it sounds cool. A café where every time you get a latte or cappuccino it'll look professional and that you care and want to be the best. Do you know what wages you'll pay and what benefits you'll offer employees?"

"Tony, my lawyer, helped me decide on wages and salaries. For the manager, they'll make a salary of sixty thousand a year. Baristas trained in food protection will have a wage of nineteen-fifty an hour. Regular baristas will be seventeen-fifty an hour."

"Food protection?" Charles asked.

Shaking his head as he sliced a piece of food, Sebastian answered, "Yeah I have no idea what exactly that means either. Every food service business needs at least one certified employee working during hours of operation."

"So that means this place has a food protection certified employee. What benefits are you offering?"

"The manager will have benefits taking effect after three months of employment. Their benefits are health, dental, vision care, occupation accident coverage, mental health, disability, four-oh-one-kay contributions, workers compensation, child care, flexible hours, twenty-one paid vacation days per annum, and a mobile phone allowance of twenty dollars per month."

"Holy shit," Charles said with an astonished smile. "Makes me wish I was certified in accounting and HR."

"I want the manager to love their job. Anyway, barista benefits will include health, dental, occupation accidents, lower four-oh-one-kay contributions, workers compensation, and seven paid vacation days a year."

"Good benefits. All this won't be cheap."

Sebastian nodded, "I know. Tony suggested less benefits, but I want my employees to have good incentives to work. So on Tuesday the property will be fully set up, if all goes well, so I'll have the employees train on both the POS and drink stations."

"How will you schedule baristas?"

"I don't know. That's something else I'll be discussing with the hired manager. So far there has been three people apply for the barista positions and two for the manager."

"Does your job ad specify that baristas will have some late night shifts?"

"Yeah, that was something Tony stressed that I list."

"And will you have a baker?"

"Yes. I'll have the hired manager make the job ad so they get familiar with doing that if they don't already have that experience. I won't be part of that hiring process because I want the manager to start managing without me interfering too much. But what I will have is organic and healthy products in the coolers, using calorie-free sweeteners rather than sugar, fresh fruit in products rather than frozen, and vegan products."

"What about product pricing?"

"Another thing the manager and I will do together. Now enough about Le Guérison. How was your day?"

Smiling, Charles answered, "My day was great. Got a report back from my lit professor with a ninety-eight. And work was pretty busy, made five hundred in tips. And then I was greeted with a kiss by a gorgeous redhead at the end of a great work day."

Sebastian smiled, happy for the blonde. He was about to ask something else but Charles said, "Tell me about your childhood."

"My mom's parents died when she was a kid, so she was raised by her aunt until she turned eighteen and gained access to her trust. My dad's parents died while he was in college, and he invested his inheritance. It paid off, obviously. When my parents married they merged their accounts and invested most of it. My sister Claire was two years younger and we were always close. After my very first day of kindergarten Claire came running down the stairs and told me that mom and dad had gotten us goldfish. We watched the two goldfish for two hours before mom called us for dinner. We could've watched those fish all night."

Smiling sadly and happily at the same time, Charles asked, "What we're the fishes names?"

"They were called Fitzy and Willow. Anyway, I came out when I was fifteen, and I would always talk boys with Claire. Other than Claire my best friends were twins, Natalie and Nathan. Nat and Nate. I graduated high school with them. Nat now lives in London studying physics, and Nate does humanitarian work in Africa."

"What was your favourite subject in school?"

"English. I loved the way you could express yourself, your inner most thoughts, your deepest desires, discover a side you didn't know you had, and find yourself completely immersed in a story or a book."

Smiling at the redhead's spirit, Charles said, "Sounds like you were passionate in English class. Who was your favourite teacher?"

"My favourite teacher was Mr. Zaffria. He was my high school calculus teacher. He was the most straight-forward person I knew, but he was not mean. One of my classmates played basketball, but when Mr. Zaffria noticed he wasn't doing too good in his class he told the player he wouldn't be able to play basketball if his grade went down further. He arranged a tutor and the basketball player never failed calculus and he got a basketball scholarship to university."

"That was nice of him. I'm sorry if this offends you, but did you go to a private school?"

Smiling, Sebastian answered, "No. My parents wanted me to have a regular childhood, one they didn't have. I went to Sarasota High."

"So your parents wanted you to have a normal childhood. What did that mean to your parents?"

"No maids, Claire and I grew up doing chores. We got weekly allowances. In elementary and middle schools we took school buses, and when I got my license my parents bought me an Acura so I drove my sister and myself to school. I didn't know my parents were wealthy until I was sixteen and asked why they didn't work."

The server came up to their table and refilled Charles' wine. While doing so, she told the pair, "Mr. Trousseaud sends you his greetings and has invited the both of you to his table."

Happily surprised, while Charles grinned, Sebastian asked, "Jacques is here?"

"Yes," the server answered. "Four tables behind you."

"We will not be joining him," Sebastian the young lady. "But we will go say hi."

"Really!? Charles asked excitedly.

Sebastian smiled at Charles, grabbing the blonde's hand and leading him to the other side of the dining room.

Jacques smiled at the pair before they reached the table. Sebastian bent down and placed a soft kiss on the Frenchman's cheek.

"Sebastian, merveilleux de vous revoir si bientôt," Jacques said with a smile.

Sebastian opted to speak English for his companion. "Great to see you as well, Jacques. This is Charles Renfield."

Still grinning excitedly, Charles shook Jacques hand and said, "It's- it's an honour meeting you, Mr. Trousseaud."

"Pleza," Jacques said back to the blonde, which caused Charles' heart to soar upon hearing the French accent. "And please call me Jacques. Sebastian, Charles, ziss is my friend Marie-Estelle."

Both shook the woman's hand with Sebastian kissing her knuckles.

Jacques then asked Sebastian, "Ziss is your boyfriend?"

"We are just dating right now," the redhead replied.

"Won't you join us?" Jacques asked, gesturing to the two empty chairs.

Sebastian shook his head no, "We are on a date right now. We're almost done anyway, and I'll be taking Charles to a movie. Thank you. We will go to lunch soon. I just wanted to introduce you to Charles. He said that you were very--"

Sebastian stopped talking when Charles whacked his hip in panic and embarrassment. Sebastian pressed his lips in thin line to keep from giggling before continuing, "That you were a very talented artist."

Jacques' face wore an amused and knowing smile. But he said to Charles, "Sank you, Shawls. You two look like a fine pair."

"Can I- can I ask what is your biggest inspiration when you're painting?" Charles couldn't help but to ask.

Jacques smiled at the blonde before answering, "It's different each time. Sometimes nussing, getting lost in my head. What work of mine is your favourite?"

"It's called Lost. I loved the abstract colours, and I felt a connection to the shadow figure."

"Ze inspiration for Lost came from a boy. He was at a café wiss his girlfriend. She had asked him what he wanted to do after high school. He didn't know. He said he didn't know what his calling was, where he was going, and zet he was scared. The spikes in the painting represent- what is ze word- obstacles. Ze colours represent his feelings, and possibilities. Now go back to your date."

Sebastian gave the Frenchman another kiss on the cheek before leading Charles back to their table.

While setting the napkin back down on his lap, Charles asked, "Biggest pet peeve?"

"Hmm," Sebastian hummed in thought. "People who stop walking in the middle of the sidewalk. Yesterday I dropped my coffee because some dumb lady stopped walking because she was texting and laughing."

Charles nodded his agreement, "That's worse than a family taking up the whole sidewalk. Favourite song at the moment?"

"I Didn't Know My Own Strength by Andrea Faustini. His voice carries so much meaning and emotion."

This carried in for about fifteen minutes before Sebastian waved for the cheque. After paying, Sebastian suggested that they stroll to the theatre to enjoy the beautiful night.

When they began walking, Sebastian stepped closer to Charles and reached for the blonde's hand.

"Had you not been interested in law school, what would you be doing right now?" Sebastian asked.

Charles tugged on Sebastian's hand to behind. Sebastian felt his wrist touch Charles' lower back and Charles' finger slacken. So the redhead freed their interlaced fingers and held the blonde close by the waist. Charles did the same.

Charles answered, "I was also interested in botany. I got into gardening when I was eight, I'd slept at my grandparents and helped my grandma with her garden. That whole summer I visited my grandparents every two or three days and tended to the garden. Two summers later my grandpa started their own garden, and I helped with that, too."

"So why didn't you go into botany?"

"In high school I went with my mom to work, and she looked like she really, really liked her job. She liked helping people. It gave me a passion for law. Just not criminal. I compared other types of law; injury, estate, bankruptcy, intellectual property, employment, corporate, tax, family, the list goes on. I found that I loved compliance and contract law."

Sebastian kissed the side of Charles head before asking, "What did you love about this law?"

"I studied cases. They were exciting, reading the contracts, plaintiff cases, company defenses, court rulings, and appeals."

The two men stood in line waiting to purchase movie tickets. Sebastian stood behind Charles, the blonde's left shoulder blade pressed against his strong right pectoral. Sebastian wrapped his right arm around Charles' right shoulder and kissed the side of his head.

Because the two had just finished dinner, they chose not to buy snacks, but did buy bottles of water.

While standing in the confection stand line Sebastians phone buzzed with a new text message. It was from Tessa, the girl he'd met at Dustin and Savannah's. She'd asked if Sebastian wanted join a group in bowling the next evening, that they were short one person. The redhead texted back that he'd be happy to and to give him an address.

Sebastian and Charles held hands during much of the movie. During a couple of scenes Sebastian took pleasure in holding the blonde in a one-armed hug as he let a few tears fall from his eyes.

After the movie, Sebastian had his arm around Charles' shoulders as they left the cinema.

"Are you okay?" Sebastian asked, a soft smile on his lips.

Charles elbowed Sebastian in the stomach and said, "Don't make fun of me!"

Sebastian laughed as he twisted Charles around. Before Charles knew what was happening, Sebastian had captured his lips in a passionate kiss. In the middle of the sidewalk. Luckily there wasn't much foot traffic. Charles was at least happy that Sebastian wasn't opposed to public displays of affection.

When the kiss came to a halt, Charles smiled and Sebastian told him, "I just wanted to because you are adorable."

Charles was still smiling, this time it grew, as he leaned up a little to give the redhead another small peck on the lips.

"Want me to drive you home now?" Sebastian asked, his arms still wrapped around the blonde's lower back.

"Yeah I have to wake in six hours to get ready for classes," Charles answered, then asked, "Did you have something else in mind?"

"I wanted to hold you some more, and kiss you some more," Sebastian responded quietly, longingly, then gave Charles another peck on the lips. And then another.

The following three kisses that Sebastian placed on Charles' lips were a bit more passionate.

Charles had to force himself out of Sebastian's grasp, no matter how much he wanted keep making out with the gorgeous redhead before him.

"Let's find a café or something," Charles said happily. "I know one that's--"

Sebastian gently interrupted the blonde by grabbing his hands and saying, "No, no. You have to get sleep for classes."

The two continued walking back to Sebastian's car hand in hand.

"Do you play video games?" Sebastian asked.

"Not really," Charles replied, "I have a Wii Ü that--"

Charles stopped talking when a man in a black hoodie walked right up to them.

"Excuse us," Sebastian said to the dark figure.

"Gimme your wallets," the man said, to which Charles noticed his right hand in the hoodie pocket.

"Excuse me?" Sebastian asked, appalled.

Staring nervously at the man's pocket and the point protruding from it, Charles said quietly, "Be careful."

Angrily, the man seethed, "Give me. Your fucking. Wallet!"

Sebastian felt Charles step closer to him, touching his chest to Sebastian's arm.

Sebastian calmly said to the mugger, "We aren't giving you anything. Just leave and nothing will happen."

The man removed his hand from his pocket very quickly, angry. In his hand was a sizeable knife.

"Give me your wallets, both of you, and you won't get hurt."

Sebastian gently eased Charles to stand behind him.

The mugger took a step closer toward the pair and said, "Last time I'll ask."

"Listen, man--"

The mugger had had enough. He lunged, swinging the knife. Sebastian responded by grabbing the mugger's wrist. The mugger looked down into Sebastian's pale green eyes for a moment. He then put his other hand over the knife handle and used all his might to push the knife further toward the redhead. Sebastian swung his arm, causing the mugger to turn. Sebastian the put one foot in front of the mugger's foot and his right hand on the back of his neck. In one swift second his foot pulled back and his hand pushed, causing the mugger to careen down to the concrete face first. The first to hit the pavement was the side of his jaw, to which there was a sickening cracking sound.

The mugger howled in pain, his jaw hanging slack when he lifted his head up off the ground. Sebastian and Dustin watched as the mugger ran off, one of his hands holding his jaw closed. Sebastian picked the knife up off the ground and tossed it in a garbage bin nearby. He then went back up to Charles and hugged him tightly.

Hugging Sebastian back to help make himself feel safe, Charles said, "So you were trained in karate. Or tae kwon do. Or jiu jitsu. Or something."

"Or something," Sebastian replied before kissing Charles' head. "You okay?"

With his arms holding Sebastian close and tight, and his head resting on the redhead's shoulder, Charles nodded his head trying to fight the tears from forming. "I'm a little bit not okay."

Sebastian gently pushed Charles backward, still embracing him securely. When Charles' back touched the window of a closed restaurant, Sebastian tightened his embrace and pressed their right cheeks together, temple to temple.

Charles felt somehow very well protected cornered against a wall. Sebastian was only an inch taller than himself, but the redhead was muscular and strong both physically and psychologically.

After about two minutes of being held and comforted, Charles turned his face a bit and placed a gentle kiss on Sebastian's cheek.

"You ready to go?" Sebastian asked quietly.

Charles pressed his lips to Sebastian's cheek again before replying, "Yeah, let's go."

Sebastian drove with one hand on the wheel, his other holding Charles' in comfort. Outside of Charles' building Sebastian opened the passenger door for the blonde. When Charles stepped out of the vehicle Sebastian embraced him a tight hug, kissing his cheek a few times. Charles responded by turning Sebastian's face a bit, and kissed his lips. At the same time, both men raised their right hands to the other's neck, using their grips to make the other feel that much closer, if possible.

About twenty seconds into making out, Charles slowly stepped forward, causing Sebastian to walk backward, their lips remaining locked and smacking softly. Sebastian chuckled mid kiss because his back touched the door of his car.

Charles slowly brought an end to the heated tongue battle by easing his kisses into small pecks.

"Keep Sunday free," Sebastian told, or begged, Charles. "I'll pick you up when I'm done work."

Smiling excitedly, Charles asked, "What've you got planned?"

Sebastian kissed the tip of Charles' nose before replying, "It's a surprise."

Smiling, though a little disappointed, Charles begged, "Aww! Just a small hint?"

Kiss, "How about-" kiss, "I suggest-" kiss, "how you-" kiss, "fix your hair?"

Grinning excitedly, Charles replied, "Okay! How should I fix it?"

Grinning back, Sebastian said, "Fix it exactly the way it is."

Exasperated, Charles smacked Sebastian's shoulder and said, "Asshole! Well how should I dress?"

Shaking his head softly and still grinning, Sebastian responded, "Mm-mm, surprise."

Frustrated, though smiling, Charles complained, "But what if I'm not dressed appropriately?"

"Then I'll just take you nude along with me."

Charles smacked Sebastian again, and whined, "Sebastiannn!"

"Okay!" Sebastian laughed. "At the place, it is acceptable to wear a tee or a dress shirt. You can wear slacks or shorts."

Charles thought very hard for a few moments, then said, "Okay, I have no idea what you have planned. Bowling?"

Sebastian chuckled with his mouth closed before kissing Charles one more time. "I'll see you on Sunday, Chuck."

Charles huffed. But then gave the redhead another quick peck on the lips.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

On Wednesday, Sebastian met first with a contractor. At the property, Sebastian went through plans with Keith Desmond, and explaining that he wanted the darkest hardwood floors, a well-built and sturdy countertops for both the front and the kitchen, custom cupboards for both the front and the kitchen, and the walls painted the shade of blue shown on a card.

Keith the contractor told Sebastian that there would be a rush free to have it all built and installed by Saturday. So the redhead paid him using the new Bank of America debit card for the business, paying the ten thousand dollar deposit.

While sleigh was taking measurements, a plumbing contractor named Hank walked in. Sebastian showed him where he wanted a hand wash station as well as two washing sinks with press sprayers installed. Hank also took measurements of the requested products, but Hank only required payment at the end of the installation.

When Keith and Hank left, Sebastian placed an order for an extensive QuickBooks point-for-sale system.

At noon Sebastian met Erica Albright for lunch. She was fascinated with the fact that Sebastian had signed a lease and was getting everything ready to open his café. She was of course excited for her very young friend, and asked question upon question.

After lunch Sebastian drove to Cerini Coffee, having researched various companies the day before. There, he paid just over ten thousand dollars for two commercial espresso machines and asked for them to be delivered to the property on Saturday.

From Cerini, Sebastian then drove to Kerekes where he paid for two six-foot wide refrigerated black display cases, and four glass-door refrigerators. He again asked for it all to be delivered on Saturday.

The next store that the redhead visited was City Restaurant. There, he bought two commercial ovens with ranges for just under three grand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

On Friday morning after working out and showering, Sebastian checked his mail box. Raquelle the door woman handed Sebastian a big yellow envelope that was from the City of New York. It contained the business license and the sidewalk café certificate. So Sebastian brought the envelope to Armsfeld to transfer the property lease from his name to the company name, Le Guérison.

After name transfer, Sebastian made his way to the Bank of America, where his safety deposit box was kept.

The first thing lying on top everything else in the deposit box was a letter that shook Sebastian's world. It was typed, not handwritten, like the letter he'd found in the hospital room in Los Angeles.

Hello 2000-07,

We hope you have situated yourself comfortably in New York and that you like all that was prepared for you. It was hard letting you go, but it was only fair to you. We genuinely wish you find happiness and contentment in your new life. Live it filled with adventure, love, heartache, and knowledge. Ensure that you have no regrets when you've aged and settled.

Also know that we fully enjoyed your presence with us, the work you have done, the position you helped us reach, the effectiveness of your skills, and the love that you so freely gave.

My best regards,

2001-03

At the end of the letter, Sebastian was only filled with a billion more questions. So he reread the paper.

Also in the box was a birth certificate that looked aged, which he guessed was fake based on the fact that the paper had his name and his parents' names.

Under the birth certificate were three death certificates for Ailbe, Fiona, and Claire Fitzroy.

The next paper Sebastian grabbed out of the box was a copy of his social security number. Under that were three papers stapled together, which were high school transcripts.

Sebastian looked in the box again, to grab whatever was next. But he froze for a second. He pushed the passport to the back of the box and grabbed stacks of paper. These stacks were euros, and British pounds.

Sebastian removed the paper bill straps. He had counted fifteen million euros and eight million British pounds.

The money sat on the table when Sebastian fell back against the chair, drove his fingers through his orange hair, and breathed, "Fuck."

After a few moments of shock, Sebastian placed everything back into the safety deposit box, except for the letter. He stuck the letter in his back jeans pocket and relocked the box.

It was two-thirty when Sebastian left the bank. He parked his car a couple of blocks away from his future café, and decided to grab coffee as he passed a Starbucks shop.

Tony the lawyer was standing inside his future shop when Sebastian reached, seeing the middle-aged man through the window. Through the windows he could also see six men still renovating and the ADT Security guy installing video surveillance cameras.

"Sebastian," Tony said, shaking the redhead's hand. "This place looks amazing! The two coolers will go here, right? How many tables did you buy?"

"I bought fourteen. Ten will sit in here and four outside. The café tables will have four chairs each, but the sidewalk tables are smaller so they'll have two chairs each."

"Your café will look even more amazing when it's all set up. So shall we start looking at the managerial applicants?"

"Yeah, let's. And thank you for doing this, Tony. You don't know how much I appreciate it."

"Meh, it's no trouble. I just want you and your business to succeed."

Sebastian turned the mobile hotspot on on his phone and connected his and Tony's laptops to it.

"Thirty-five applications," Sebastian said, reading from the website. "The way I want to do this is we both read every application and résumé individually and pick ten or so to interview. The applications we both picked will definitely get an interview. And we will provide reasoning behind the applications that either of us chose but the other did not."

Smiling, Tony said, "That's a new one for me. But I'm on board."

An hour and ten minutes later, the two men finished reading. They had agreed on seven applicants. It took about forty-five minutes for them to discuss the six they didn't see eye to eye on, with words flying back and forth. They were not arguing, but frustration was beginning to materialize in their hearts. Tony did like Sebastian's fire, though.

In the end they made fourteen phone calls. All fourteen applicants were enthusiastic about being given the chance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Annabelle?" Sebastian asked the thirty-something woman who walked into the café.

The woman shook Sebastian's outstretched hand, and asked how he was.

"I'm just wonderful, thank you," Sebastian answered, leading her into the office. "Yourself?"

"I'm feeling fine. No matter how old I get, how many job interviews I do, I am always nervous."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. It's my understanding that most everybody is nervous in job interviews. Annabelle, this is Tony. He'll be doing the job interview with us."

Shaking hands, the lawyer said, "Pleasure, Ms. Lanis."

"Please call me Belle," she said kindly.

Sebastian neatened the small stack of papers in front of him before telling the woman, "Well, Belle, before we begin I'd just like to encourage you to be quite honest, even frank, in your responses. One thing I don't want in my company is fluff and someone who may not have the experience or knowledge to run my café."

Slightly shocked but mostly amused, Belle replied, "Alright, nothing but honesty."

Tony began the interview, "Belle, tell me what interested you in applying?"

Belle had no hesitation in answering, "I've been looking for a career in HR for about a month. I saw this job ad and the benefits sealed the deal."

Sebastian glanced at Belle's résumé for a few seconds to confirm his thought. "So you've been working in accounting for just over two years and you have a degree in HR as well. Do you have any experience in HR?"

"Not formally. During college I worked at The Gap and once a month I made schedules."

Sebastian asked, "The Gap makes monthly schedules?"

"No, weekly schedules. At the Gap there are four managerial positions; general manager, assistant manager, merchandise presentation manager, and key holder. We took turns making the schedules."

Tony carried on with questions, "What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment in your working career?"

"Last year, after tax season, my supervisor wanted me to test my accounting skills. He told me to manually put a spreadsheet together to see if I got the exacts same numbers as the computer software. It took nearly week but the numbers matched. It doesn't sound like much, but I was extremely proud of it."

Smiling, Tony told the brunette, "And you should be proud of that. I have trouble using TurboTax so my wife does it."

Sebastian then asked, "Can you tell us the methods you've used in the past to get results?"

"In sales you just work with a smile, a personable attitude, a kind yet firm voice. Accounting is much different, in which you have to be a lot more firm with clients but not so much that they go to your competitors."

Tony then asked, "Tell us how you work under stress."

"I've always dealt really well with stress. I've never lashed out, I always keep my facial expressions and body language calm. I always wait til I'm in a private area to ease the stress by breathing deeply or letting a few tears fall. My mom is a firm believer in healing tears."

"Working here, you're obviously going to be working with a group of baristas and bakers," Sebastian stated. "How well do you work in teams?"

"I am a very social person. I pride myself in my ability to be assertive but not overly mean. I love getting to know people, working with a diverse group."

"Now tell us about a coworker, past or present, that you had conflict with and how you dealt with it."

"At The Gap the merchandise presentation manager disliked me for some reason. Her tone with me was much different than with anyone else, you could see her expression change from fine to displeasure when she'd talk to me. I attempted to talk with her about it in a calm manner, but she just became even more annoyed. A week later I tried again. Like the first time, she only rolled her eyes and walked away. I decided to just let her be, it didn't affect me at all so why fuss about it."

"Did her attitude toward you ever change?"

Belle smiled and answered, "No. There was an opening in a different store and she got it."

Tony said, "Well I like how you handled that situation. Any difficulties with subordinates?"

"One. Again, at The Gap. He was older than I was, had a lot more sales experience, but his views and methods were not helping the company. He would not abide by my suggestions and later direct instruction, even after explaining why I was directing him this way, he was so set in his ways from previous companies. I talked with my fellow managers about the situation and we agreed to give him a few days suspension. Upon returning to work he apologized to me, and I never had a problem with him again."

"In previous positions how did you evaluate success and how will you evaluate that here?"

"I don't necessarily equate money to success. A company could have profits of a hundred percent but if their values are unethical, then it's all for naught. In my eyes at least. Success to me means directing employees to which they follow company policies and procedures and they actually enjoy coming to work. Success means customers are helped to the best of our abilities and leave as satisfied as possible. Success means your boss has no difficulties or qualms about you. And success means you don't run a business into the ground, obviously."

Sebastian giggled at the end of that answer. "If you absolutely knew I was wrong in any situation, policy, procedure, or value, how would you handle it?"

"Ultimately, this is your company, you can implement any rules and policies you want. If it's qqaqwwwwqwwwqaaaasomething I don't think will help the company, I will do my best to persuade you otherwise and explain why you should change your mind. If the issue is something like racism or unethically maximizing profit, I won't be a part of it."

"I like your fervour," Tony told the woman with a smile. "What ethics are most important to you in a workplace?"

"No racism, no homophobia, integrity, honesty, accountability, teamwork, and commitment."

"I love that answer!" Sebastian said happily. "Now what do you expect from me as the business owner?"

Belle blinked in shock and asked, "You're the sole owner?"

"Yes. Sorry, I should've explained before. Tony is just my lawyer. I am obviously very young so you'd be correct to assume this is my first business."

Belle smiled with impress before answering, "Well as the business owner I expect you to make the policies, procedures, product testing. I would like you to leave everyday operations to me, as well as employee reprimands, but firing will be done at your discretion when I propose. Of course I'd provide strong reasoning behind such a decision, I wouldn't suggest firing lightly."

Sebastian then asked, "Can you tell us why you feel that you're a good fit for this position?"

"I think this position would fit me like a glove because I am strong-willed, assertive when I need to be, kind always, a very hard worker, someone who likes pleasing my supervisors by getting the best results, I love working in teams, and I am very good with clientele."

"What would you say is your greatest weakness?"

"I am a perfectionist. It may take me a little while to get something done. But at least it'll be concise and look professional."

"What is your biggest motivation?"

"My biggest motivation is creating the best future for me and my family. In order to do that I have to do everything I can, to work as hard as I can, to get the best results that I can. I want my future kids to have a comfortable life."

"And what methods would you use to motivate your team?"

"I love seeing the appreciation on employees faces when their work is recognized. You can feel their gratitude when you tell them that you're proud of the hard work they do. When they know they're not failing. It makes them want to continue that work ethic."

"Okay, second to last question from us," Sebastian breathed and laughed. "What are your salary expectations?"

"This is a new company, but it is situated in one of New York's most touristy spots. I'd say fifty-five thousand would be a fair salary for a café manager."

Tong smirked at Sebastian and said with amusement, "It does."

"Fuck you, man," Sebastian said to the lawyer with a laugh. He then asked Belle, "Last question. What would people who know you say about you?"

"My high school friends are still surprised I work in business!" Belle said with a laugh. "I played drums in a high school band. But seriously, people would tell you that I am determined, that I am strong-willed, that I am a people person, that I take zero nonsense, and that I work well in groups."

"Great! Well that's it for us. Do you have any questions?"

"First, this being a café, would I be required to operate the coffee machines out front if hired?"

"I'd like you to be trained on them, yes. If an employee is late or absent, you may have to help out front. You will most likely not have to, but you never know."

Smiling, bell replied, "Yeah, I have no problem with that. I only asked because I've never operated a machine like that so I will definitely need training. Second, the job ad said flexible hours."

"If hired, I would like you to start working tomorrow. I know that is really short notice, but I want to get baristas and bakers hired and trained as soon as possible. So the flexible hours come in during regular operations after training. I don't care what days you work, or even what time of day, as long as you work forty hours per week. That's something I am very firm on, forty hours per week and no more than eight hours per day. No more, no less."

"Sounds fair. The ad also said twenty-one paid vacation days per year. How soon after being hired would the manager be able to use some vacation days? And are there any restrictions on vacation times?"

"Every four months you'll be given seven days of vacation. Of course you can bank it, but it all has to be used before the official twelve month anniversary. If it's not used, I'll enforce a mandatory vacation. I'm smiling because I find it amusing, but I'm serious about it. As for restrictions, not really any. I still haven't decided how the Christmas holidays will work, but I'm sure the hired manager will be able to take vacation days then."

"Okay, great. My fiancée and I will be spending Christmas with family. Who will manage the café when the hired manager is on vacation?"

"Well I was thinking to have the hired manager train myself in scheduling, payroll, invoicing, and a their important aspects of managing. Training would begin when the hired manager is fully set up and comfortable. I don't care if that's two weeks or six months from now, as long as I'm trained before the manager decides to take a vacation."

"Invoicing. Will the café offer accounts to clientele?"

"To any business and certain people, yes. I have friends who I'm sure would like to supply quality lattes and organic muffins to their meetings and such."

"Well, that's all the questions I had. Thank you so much for the opportunity."

Belle shook Tony's hand first. Sebastian walked her out of the building, telling her she'd be called that night whether she would be offered the job or not.

Belle had been their fourth interview since ten, and it was now twelve-ten. Their next interview would be there at one. So the redhead ordered lunch to be delivered.

It was six-thirty-five when Tony and Sebastian finished the last job interview. They talked about who their favourites were for about ten minutes, eliminating some.

It was seven-twenty, and the two choices left were Annabelle 'Belle' Lanis and Emmanuel 'Manny' Hernandez. Tony and Sebastian were practically arguing, voicing their opinions loudly.

"But she has more experience than he does!" Tony shouted. "He graduated from college a fucking month ago!"

"That's right!" Sebastian shouted back. "A month ago! So he has a fresher knowledge base of modern practices!"

Tony sighed, calming himself. "I'm sure Belle has the same knowledge plus first hand practicals. She was more confident in her answers."

"You know how job interviews are, Tony. Weren't you nervous when you interviewed for Latham and Watkins?"

Tony chuckled, fully relaxing in his seat then. "I was. The receptionist told me to calm down because she wouldn't work with a Fidgety Francis. Why do you want to hire Manny so badly?"

"Because I want to be the one that gives him his first big chance. He may not have the experience that all the others do, but he has such ambition, courage, energy, tenacity. Had Latham and Watkins not given you a chance, where would you be right now?"

Shaking his head, Tony answered with wonder, "I honestly have no idea. It's your business, I'm only here for support and guidance. But you've convinced me. Call Manny."

Sebastian squeezed happily, excited, as he hugged the lawyer from behind and kissing the top of his head.

"Hello?" Manny answered his cell phone.

"Hello Manny, it's Sebastian Fitzroy calling like I said I would. How are you feeling since after the interview?"

Manny laughed a small laugh before answering, "I'm good, I'm good. Went go-cart racing and that distracted me. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you. A little tired and overwhelmed from the job interviews, which is why I'm calling you. I am prepared to formally offer you the managerial position if--"

"Oh, my god! Really!?" Manny didn't mean to interrupt his new boss. He was just too shocked and ecstatic. "Oh, dude, thank you!"

Sebastian laughed and said, "Hang on, hang on. I am offering it to you if we can agree on a salary. In the interview you said that fifty-three would be a fair salary for managing the café. Before setting up the job ad, I decided that the manager's salary would be sixty. How does that sound, Manny? Think you can get on board with that?"

"Are you serious!?" Manny said with even more excitement. "That's a lot more than I was expecting but I ain't complaining."

"Good. Can we meet at the café tomorrow at ten?"

"Yeah, ten o'clock."

"Great! And dress casual, we have work to do."

When Sebastian ended the call and sat his phone down on the table, Tony said, "Now we have to call thirteen others and tell them that they sucked."

Sebastian snorted and smacked Tony's shoulder.

Tony had packed his computer bag at eight o'clock, and told Sebastian, "Go home. You've been here for ten hours already, you need to rest. You have a big week ahead of you."

"No, I want to set up the tables in here. And then I want to install the iPad stands. And then I gotta hook the iPads up to the wifi so that I can set up the QuickBooks POS. And then I gotta set up QuickBooks on the business laptop."

"Just do all that tomorrow," Tony suggested, worried for the young man.

"Tomorrow I'm training Manny on espresso. And the dishes are being delivered tomorrow, so I gotta unpack them and throw them in the steam washer."

"Fine. Have a good night, Sebastian."

"Yeah, g'night, Tony. AND THANKS FOR HELPING TODAY!"

Tony had already left the building. Luckily the door was a slow self-closer, Tony heard the thanks and waved at Sebastian through the window.

An hour later Sebastian was kneeling in the kitchen installing a giant felt foot cover on the last of the café tables. When the cover snapped into place the redhead turned the round table upright and carried it over his shoulder into the café. While carrying the table to the end of he room Sebastian's cell phone started ringing. At the end of the café Sebastian sat the table down in the corner and took his phone out of his back pocket.

Sebastian, smiling goofily upon seeing the caller ID, answer his phone, "Hello Charles Andrew."

Charles giggle on the other end and said back, "Hola Sebi."

Happily surprised, Sebastian said, "No sabía que hablabas español!"

"Kay, I can't speak Spanish so I have no idea what you just said," Charles said with a laugh. "I don't know why I'm surprised that you can. What you up to?"

"I'm at the café. Just finished arranging tables. You?"

"I'm on a fifteen minute break, eating a bowl of blueberries. I just wanted to say hi."

"Well hi. How's work going?"

"Mostly good. Had this big group that were complete asshole homophobes that poked fun at my makeup."

"Aww I'm sorry. You look beautiful no matter what. Hope they at least tipped."

"Yeah they tipped about twenty percent, surprisingly."

"Good, good. Is the restaurant busy right now?"

"Yeah but all my tables are set right now so Justine told me to break. I've been dying to know how the manager interviews went!"

Groaning, Sebastian replied, "Ugh, it's been a long day! But the interview process was so much easier than I thought it would be. I hired a guy named Manny, we're meeting here at the café tomorrow morning."

"Oh, my god, this is so exciting! What will you guys be doing tomorrow?"

"He's signing an employment contract that Tony drew up. I'll show him around the place, how to use equipment, teach him the QuickBooks POS and accounting software. We should be done with all of that by noon so we'll go for lunch. After lunch I'll start teaching him to use the espresso machine and makes lattes with art on top. So I'll be picking you up around three o'clock."

"Will you still not tell me what you have planned for us?"

Grinning, Sebastian replied, "It's a surprise. I'm sure you'll love it."

"Will you at least tell me how to dress?"

"No," Sebastian answered while setting his phone between his ear and shoulder to grab two small boxes. "No matter how you dress you'll look gorgeous and sexy and you won't stand out."

"Okay. Just don't embarrass me. I gotta get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow. G'night, gorgeous."

"Good night, beautiful."

Sebastian worked until eleven-thirty. He had installed the iPad stands, hooked up the cash drawers and barcode scanners and receipt printers, made sure the POS system was functional, and installed the QuickBooks software on the laptop that he'd bought for the manager.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Sebastian had finished lifting weights he took his phone out of his locker and had missed a call from Manny the hired manager forty minutes prior.

He'd left a voicemail message that said, "Hey Sebastian, I'm sort of freaking out because I can't remember if we're scheduled to meet at nine or ten. I'm pretty sure we're meeting at ten, but I'm so nervous. Can you call me back, please?"

Sebastian made the call back while leaving the fitness facility.

"Sebastian," Manny greeted with relief. "I am so sorry, man, for forgetting the meeting time. It's just- this is my first big job and I want--"

Sebastian laughed and kindly interrupted the Latino, "Manny, I promise it's okay. I understand. You don't have to try so hard to impress me. You already have. Okay?"

"I just want to make a good impression on you."

"Manny, if I had a less-than-good impression of you, I wouldn't have offered you the job. So we're meeting at ten o'clock. You okay to meet then?"

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll see you then."

After showering Sebastian dressed in a blue polo and black skinny jeans. He prepared himself breakfast barefoot, slicing a banana, kiwi, and blueberries, and making his current favourite avocado toast.

The time had been nine-thirty when the redhead had finished washing the dishes. He quickly put on a pair of socks and light grey boots and went out the door.

Sebastian parked in the alleyway but walked around to the front to wait for Manny. To Sebastian's surprise, the Latino was standing by the front entrance with a backpack strapped on.

Sebastian approached, his hand outstretched and his lips smiling. "Good to see you again, Manny."

"You too, Sebastian."

"I had these keypad locks installed and I programmed them myself. Punch in one, two, five, zero. Now don't walk in just yet. To relock the door, press the centre button. See the lock symbol? There, now the door is locked again. Punch in the code again. Now when you first walk in, the camera up here will pick up motions and engage the alarm. You will have one minute to get to that keypad to disengage the it. If you put the incorrect security key in three times in a row, the alarm will immediately sound and ADT will call my cell. The security PIN is three, six, nine, four. To engage the alarm, punch in the PIN and you'll have a minute to exit."

"When the café opens we'll be open twenty-four-seven so the alarm won't be used at all, basically," Manny surmised. "Except in emergencies."

"As you can see, the front is almost all set up. I worked here until midnight to get it to look this good."

"Midnight!?" Manny asked in shock. "You're dedicated."

Sebastian laughed and said back, "I guess I am. I'm already in love with the business. Anyway, you saw the two refrigerated display cases. I'd like one to hold vegan pasties, and the other will be regular pastries. These are our espresso machines, which you will start training on this afternoon. Under them an ice maker will sit, which will be delivered and installed today. One either side of the ice maker will be a small refrigerators for milk, fruit, and juices. Next we have two iPad POS systems which you will be trained on this morning. When you're comfortable on the POS, we will set you up on the accounting software. Sound like a plan?"

Manny replied, "Yeah, absolutely. What will I be doing this afternoon again?"

Sebastian laughed before answering, "Let's just start with the employment contract. Before I give you this contract I have to ask something."

"Okay," Manny said carefully.

"As the manager, you're obviously going to be getting a lot of calls and texts regarding work-related issues, often while you're not working. Would you prefer I buy a company cell phone for you or give you a monthly mobility allowance for you to use your personal cell phone?"

Manny easily answered, "My personal cell is fine. I hate the idea of carrying two cell phones around with me all the time."

"Okay, I'll write that into the contract. Now just read this carefully, initial the box on each page, and sign the last page."

While Manny read the employment contract Sebastian opened the company laptop and created a login profile for Manny. When the Latino signed the contract, Sebastian turned the laptop to him and told him to create a password that only he would know.

"This laptop is fully equipped with QuickBooks, Numbers, Pages, Word, Excel, and Adobe Reader. If you need any other applications you can purchase them using the business email. The Apple password is Carter-two-one-gee. Capital C and G."

Manny nodded his head, "Carter-two-one-gee."

"I also purchased a music subscription from BusinessSoundtrack so I'll buy a device to play the music from. Shall we start with POS training?"

Following the redhead back out front, Manny said, "I've heard of the QuickBooks POS. Employees can clock in and out using it, right?"

"Yeah, employees can. I have a third iPad still in the box that'll be mounted on the hall wall to be used for clockings. Now I've already created a QuickBooks user profile for you, you just have to create a PIN. Each employee will have their own distinct PIN to be used for sales and clockings. For you, I don't want you to do any clockings. When normal operations begin, I'd like you to sign a physical time sheet and email it to me to approve payroll. You will monitor all other employee clockings, time sheets, and do their payroll. I'll be approving your payroll because you are salary, I want to make sure you're working forty hours a week."

Nodding slowly, Manny replied while creating a PIN, "Sounds fair. Do you have direct deposit set up?"

"Yep. Any employee who wants their payroll deposited directly to their bank account will be asked for a form from their bank. I have a box of blank cheques for payroll and bills. This POS is really easy to use. Right now we've only got coffee drinks because we're waiting for bakers to come up with pastries. So a customer asks for a medium vanilla latte. What you'll do tap the Latte button. Now on the right you'll see the word Ice that's greyed out, but if you tap it, it changes the image of the cup from paper to plastic, making it an iced drink.mIt asks you for an extra small, small, medium, and large. Yeah, the new options are the milk options; two-percent, one-percent, non-fat, almond, and soy. Now flavours; vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, peppermint, sugar-free vanilla, sugar-free hazelnut, sugar-free caramel, and none. Now all that's left to do is mark it all on the paper cups or stickers. The stickers will be used only if the customer brings their own cups or opts to use one of our mugs. Any questions?"

"Will we really carry all those variations of milk?"

"No. A grocery order will be delivered today as well. One-percent milk will be made by mixing two-percent and non-fat. We will carry all the others."

"How many shots of espresso will go in each size of drink?"

"When you making the order you saw the image of the cup, right? As the order is being made, the system tells you how much of what will go into the cup. See right here. At the top it says a medium latte. Under the brim of the of the cup there's a number two. That's the number of espresso shots needed. Under that is the type of milk, which is two-percent. Now this is very important; two-percent milk is the default, unless the customer asks otherwise. Under the milk is flavoured syrups, high is vanilla in this case, and has three pumps. A barista on cash should be able to learn from this how to make drinks and never forget."

"So what if a customer asks for more syrup?"

"You tap the flavour on the image of the cup. It now gives you the option of inputting how many pumps of syrup they want. Same for espresso shots."

Smiling, Manny said, "This system is so easy! Makes me want to be a barista. Now what else will we be selling?"

"At the bottom right corner are two buttons; the trash can wipes the whole order, and cart saves the order for later. You can hit the trash can. The left side has drinks, the middle will have pastries, and the left will be cold-cut sandwiches. So just keep practicing with the POS, the grocery order will be delivered soon."

Ten minutes later, while Manny was training himself on the iPad, the Baldor Foods order was delivered. Two refrigerators were filled with milk, and the third was filled with eggs, fruit, yogurt, and butter.

All of the food was put away when manny went into the kitchen and helped Sebastian break the cardboard boxes and carried e stacks to the paper recycle bin in the alley. Just as they had thrown the last of the boxes, another truck backed up to their building. Sebastian and Manny helped the two guys from 4 Imprint carry in twenty-four boxes.

After setting the boxes in the kitchen Manny asked, "I think I've got the hang of the POS so do you want me to help unload these?"

"No, I've got this. I'd like you to familiarize yourself with QuickBooks on the laptop. It's already set up."

"Like I told you yesterday, at school we learned how to use QuickBooks."

"Righty. Sorry. Then you can set up your bank info for direct deposit, put together welcoming letters for new employees and employment contracts, and then we'll go for lunch."

While Manny did all that Sebastian loaded the four-mm tray steam dishwasher with as many mugs as he could and started the cycle. He then carried eight boxes, two at a time, out to the front. He inserted the various sizes of paper cups into the spring-loaded cup dispenser set on the floor in front of the cash registers, two of each size in the eight slots.

'Shopping and a movie tmrw. You in?' Dustin texted.

'Yeah, what time?' the ginger replied.

'I get off work at 3'

Sebastian agreed. When he put his phone back into his back pocket he slid clear plastic cups into the slanted cup holders by the registers.

When Manny came out of the office at eleven-fifty, Sebastian had a third load of ceramic mugs in the steam washer and was putting the previously washed mugs into the cupboards behind the espresso station.

"Letters and contracts are done," Manny told Sebastian. "Want to read them over?"

Sebastian accepted the papers from Manny's hand but set them down on a shelf and said, "Let's go for lunch, I'm starving. I'll look at 'em later. Do you have any lunch plans?"

"I brought lunch."

"Well put it in the fridge. Let me treat you to lunch."

The Latino readily agreed. While he was putting his soup and sandwich in one of the refrigerators, Sebastian finished putting the new mugs into the cupboard.

While walking into Brasserie 1605, Manny asked, "Don't you need a reservation for this place?"

Sebastian smiled at Manny as he replied, "I made a reservation yesterday. If you had real lunch plans I would've come alone. Thanks for coming, by the way."

"Hey, my boss is springing for lunch. Who am I to say no."

"Good afternoon," the redhead greeted the host. "Fitzroy, Sebastian. This is my party."

"Welcome, Mr. Fitzroy. Right this way. Here are your menus, and your server Zane will be out shortly."

While reading the menu, Sebastian said to Manny, "So were you always interested in business?"

"Well my dad worked in accounting. He wasn't exactly excited to go to work every day but he made a lot of money. My dream job used to be social work, helping kids find good homes and good help."

"Hello gentlemen," a young said, now standing by the table. "My name is Zane. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Sebastian ordered a ginger ale and Manny a lemon water.

When the server left the table, Sebastian asked, "So why didn't you go into social work?"

"When I was in high school my mom died in a car wreck when my dad was driving drunk. I went into foster care and my case worker was a total bitch. I talked to her boss, but he was a prick, too. So I had bad experiences."

"I'm sorry about your mom."

"It happened a long time ago. But thank you."

"What company do you see yourself working for in five years?"

Teasing, Manny replied, "Would you believe me if I said for your company?"

Sebastian laughed before saying, "Seriously, you ass."

"In five years I want to be working at Arizona Beverage Company. I've always liked their values, ethics, and sense of community."

"Here are your drinks, sirs," the server said, setting the glasses on the table. "Are you ready to order starters?"

Sebastian looked at Manny as he answered, "Actually, we sort of have a time-sensitive schedule so we'll just order entrees. Is that okay?"

Smiling, Manny replied, "Yeah. Can I have the grilled ribeye? Medium-well."

"And I'll have the roasted turkey club."

"So what exactly made you decide to start a business?" Manny asked when the server left.

"Boredom, I guess, to be honest," Sebastian answered with a soft smile. "I also make the best lattes with the cutest latte art."

"Have you thought about what could happen if this business doesn't do as good as you hope? How will you pay off the bank loan? If that's how you started all this, I mean."

"I'm not worried about money. I'm set, let's just say that. If the café is unsuccessful, it'll just be a lesson learned."

"What have your parents said about this venture?"

"My parents- actually- passed. And don't be sorry. It happened a long time ago."

Manny fought with himself. He wanted to tell the redhead in front of him that he was sorry. Instead he said, "Okay. Do you have anyone? Other family? Close friends? A girlfriend?"

"I don't have any family at all. I just moved here last week, but I've already got quite a few friends who make New York feel comfortable. And I'm actually gay. No official boyfriend but I've gone on a couple dates with someone. I'm actually taking him out later."

"Oh, my bad, man. I didn't mean to assume."

"It's fine. Hope you have no issues..."

"Nah, man. My girlfriend's brother is gay, and he and his husband are two of chillest guys I know."

"Good. How long have you been with your girlfriend?"

"I've been with Destiny for just over two years."

"Yeah? Wow. Where'd you guys meet?"

Now wearing an amused smile, Manny answered, "We met at the NYU fitness facility. I was walking out of the men's locker room when she was walking to the women's. We collided, and her unlidded water bottle spilled all over me. She apologized relentlessly, but later told me I'd look better shirtless anyway. She's gutsy. That's what drew me to her. So asked for her number."

Sebastian giggled as he agreed, "That was gutsy of her."

"Yeah, she takes no shit and says what's on her mind. So how did you meet the guy you've been dating?"

"I met Charles at Krogers the day after I moved here. We got to a checkout line at the same time, but I told him to go ahead because he has much less groceries than I did. He thought it was sweet and introduced himself. He said I was too pale to be a Sarasota boy, but asked for my number anyway."

Manny laughed as their plates were sat in front of them and said, "You are too pale to be from Florida. But being a redhead, I guess it's better than having red, burnt skin. How old are you, exactly?"

"I turned nineteen in April."

"You must have a good skincare routine. You look like you'd be a high school wrestler or something."

Laughing, Sebastian responded, "I get that a lot. But no, no skincare routine. I just wash my face every morning and night."

The two enjoyed their lunch in much the same fashion, getting to know each other on a personal level. Sebastian paid the bill on his VISA and the two walked back to the café.

"Why didn't you pay using the company card? You could've treated it as a valid company expense."

"Yeah, I know. But I wanted to treat you. Me. Not Le Guérison."

Manny remembered the code to unlock the main café door, which he was nervous about before.

"Now I'll teach you how to operate the espresso machines before I teach you about latte art."

"So you're dead serious about the latte art."

"Yes. I want every latte and cappuccino made with latte art. I want this place to stand out. To say that our product is of the greatest quality and most appealing."

"So what if an employee doesn't get the hang of latte art?"

"I'm not going to fire them!" Sebastian said with a laugh. "I'm not mean. But I'd like you to figure out an appreciation system that rewards the best employees."

"Did you have any rewards in mind?"

"No. Give them cash, or an iTunes card, or a Google Play card, or something. I'll take one of their shifts but they'll get paid for it still. Oooh, I like that one. But it's your decision."

"Would you really take one of their shifts?"

Shrugging, Sebastian answered, "Yeah. Why not? I love my business, I want it to succeed, I want the employees to be excited to work as hard as they can."

"Okay. How about employee of month is given the option of fifty dollars cash, an iTunes card, a Google Play card, or either of us working a shift of theirs for them?"

"I'm fine with that. Now let's get started on lattes. I'll make a latte and that'll show you how one of ours should taste. So this is the Janus Revel espresso machine. As you can see, it has two group heads and two steam wands. The grinder is automatic, which means the machine will grind the beans, fill the basket, and tamp. You just select the dose, or number of espresso shots. I'll make a small, so one espresso shot. This machine doesn't grind in shots, it grinds in seconds. A small grinds for four seconds. There. Now I take the basket out and insert it into the group head, where the shot will be pulled from. Hit the small mug. While the espresso shot is being pulled, I'll fill this pitcher with milk to the second line. This dial is used to select the temperature of the milk. Regular temperature is one-fifty. Now to create airy foam, I'll steam near the top of the milk for about four seconds. Now I fully immerse the steam wand into the milk and set it on the rack to finish steaming. Any questions so far?"

"How did you decide on the times of the coffee grinds?"

"I stayed til midnight last night playing with these machines. Espresso shot is done, so I'll dump it from the shot glass to a small mug. The steam wand will stop automatically when the milk has reached a hundred fifty degrees. See. Take the wand out of the pitcher, wipe it down immediately, and use the lever to expel any milk residue. Now hold the mug at an angle and pour the milk, aiming at the bottom edge. When the milk reaches about half, slowly ease the pouring and slowly straighten the mug. When the mug is straight, I'll gently rock my wrist to set the thick froth in a pattern. Now quickly bring the froth across, the mug. I now have latte art. A heart. I want you and all baristas to know how to make this at least. It's the easiest. Now taste this."

Manny accepted the mug and studied the heart art for a moment before carefully sipping the hot liquid.

"Mmm, that's so good! And these mugs are nice."

"Are black mugs okay? I really liked the red ones on their website, but decided black was neutral."

"I like the black," Manny answered, sipping the latte again. "And the baby blue company name looks beautiful. Elegant font."

"Now dump that and make yourself another."

While holding the mug upside down over the sink, Manny told the redhead, "I have zero barista experience. I hope you know that."

Smiling, Sebastian replied, "I remember. I'm not looking for experienced baristas. We all gotta start somewhere, right?"

So Manny spent the next hour and forty minutes making lattes, practicing latte art. He was getting faster at it, too! And the froth hearts were looking better and better. They weren't good, but he was making progress.

All that time Sebastian had thrown the last of the mugs into the steam washer and put the clean ones away in the cupboards out front. There was also another deliver of dishes and utensils, which were also throw into the steam washer.

"You comfortable on the espresso?" Sebastian asked the Latino.

"Yeah, I could use a break from it."

"Well the power switch is on the left side, near the bottom. Turn it off and we'll go into the office."

Sebastian opened a website and slid the laptop so it sat in front of Manny.

"So this is the barista job ad," the redhead said. "It closes in twenty minutes. Currently there are seventy-three applicants. I'd like you to start going through them and calling the ones you like to set up job interviews. Job interviews will be tomorrow. Do you want me to be a part of the interviews?"

"No, I can handle them. Do you have any restrictions? Like age, hair colours, tattoos, piercings."

"As long as they have documentation, I don't care about age. As for everything else... hmm... keep facial piercings to a maximum of two when they're on a shift. Dress code. Plain black or white shirts, black or brown bottoms, skirts and shorts must sit no higher than an inch above the knee, and laced black or brown shoes. No hats unless it's for a cause like cancer research or other charities. No necklaces, bracelets, rings when working. No cell phones when working."

"Makeup?"

"No face whitening or black lipstick. What else?"

"Perfumes and colognes?"

"I don't care. Smell like heaven at work if you want. So when you're done setting up job interviews I'd like you to put a job ad out for bakers. Have it run til Thursday afternoon, interviews will be done Friday, two bakers start work on Saturday to bake testers for us to approve. Any questions?"

"Will the bakers have any benefits?"

"Yeah, same as the baristas."

"Okay. Well that's all. Go enjoy your date."

Ten minutes later, Sebastian punched Charles' apartment number and the intercom rang.

"Hello?" a female voice answered, Sebastian guessing it was Charles' roommate Lily.

"It's Sebastian. I'm--"

Sebastian was interrupted by the jarring buzzer that sounded as Lily had allowed Sebastian entrance into the building.

Lily answered the door when Sebastian knocked. "I'm Lily. Good to finally meet you."

Lily had looked like she was French-braiding her dark brown hair in a crown around her head when Sebastian had interrupted.

The ginger shook the lady's hand and replied, "It's my pleasure. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Frustrated with my hair. Charles is in his room. Last door down the hall."

Sebastian knocked on said door, holding one hand behind his back. Charles answered the door and a smile immediately formed. Charles looked different. His hair wasn't styled in a neat pompadour, and he had absolutely no makeup on. Charles had nearly flawless skin; one zit on his forehead and one on his jaw, but otherwise smooth and glowing.

"Hello Charles," Sebastian greeted the blonde, his hand coming out from behind himself, holding out a single red rose.

"Awww!" Charles gushed, smelling the pretty flower. "No one's ever given me flowers. I'm sorry I'm late, I couldn't decide what to wear and now I can't decide whether to use makeup or not."

Sebastian kissed Charles' cheek before telling him, "You look wonderful. But I'll wait if you want."

Charles grabbed Sebastian's hand and said, "No. Let's go."

Sebastian drove, and Charles asked, "Where are we going?"

Sebastian laughed and replied, "It's still a surprise."

"Okay," Charles said, slightly disappointed. "Hey, how'd training the new manager go?"

"It went really good! Manny is smart and a quick learner. Everything is set up so we should be opening a week from Monday."

"Nice. So the baristas will have a week of training?"

"Yep, manny will be doing job interviews tomorrow, and start training baristas on Monday. Everybody will have next Sunday off to rest before the big opening. Here we are."

Charles, looking out the window, said, "Central Park."

Sebastian got out of his car and opened the passenger side door for Charles. He gave the blonde a sweet peck on the lips before opening the trunk and grabbing the basket.

"A picnic?" Charles asked. "How cute!"

Sebastian led Charles hand-in-hand into the park.

"How is school going?" the redhead asked.

Charles, before answering, pulled Sebastian's arm to hold him by the hip. "It's going good. I checked my grades yesterday, and I'm averaging ninety-three. But I am tired. I sort of wish I'd taken the spring and summer off of school. But when I get into law school that much sooner I'll be happy I toughed through it."

"So your birthday's in about two weeks, right? Any plans for it?"

"Lily invited a bunch of people to a party we're holding on the roof of our building. You're invited, obviously."

Sebastian kissed the side of Charles' head and said, "I'll definitely come."

"Have you been playing the cello lately?" Charles asked. "I watch your cello and guitar videos literally every single day. You play such beautiful songs."

"I haven't played in a few days. Been too busy."

"So I find it hard to believe that you're not interested in anybody else."

Sebastian smiled at Charles and told him, "It's not that I'm not interested. I've met two guys that are interested in me and they're pretty hot. But I'm more interested in you, and I don't want to date more than one person at a time."

"You are so sweet, Seb. So will you be helping Manny with the job interviews tomorrow?"

Setting the basket down on the grass under the shade of a tree, Sebastian answered, "No. Manny wants to do it alone. I like that he's taking charge so easily."

While helping Sebastian lay the blanket down on the grass, Charles said, "I love that you have a traditional red checkered blanket."

Sebastian laughed as he replied, "I bought this blanket just for this."

Charles laid down on the spread blanket, his right hand under his head as a pillow. Sebastian laid down next to the blond, flush against him, actually. He laid on his left side, laying his head on Charles' chest.

Charles wrapped his left arm around Sebastian's shoulder and said, "This is nice. Thank god I didn't dress formally."

Sebastian lifted his head to give Charles a kiss. "You'd be even more picture-perfect laying right here wearing dress pants and a waistcoat."

This gave Charles an idea. He took his phone out of his back pocket and took a selfie of them all cuddly on the blanket. What made the photo a thousand times cuter was the fact that Sebastian and Charles had their eyes closed, looking like they were sleeping all snuggly together.

Sebastian opened his eyes when he heard the digital click of the camera. Upon seeing the selfie camera active and himself on the screen, he giggled and turned his face into the blonde's chest.

"I just had to," Charles said with a smile. "You are so beautiful. Mind if I post this on Instagram?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Is everybody on this Instagram? Arun posted a picture of us last week."

"Most, yeah, I guess. I've captioned the photo 'Picnic date in Central Park' with the heart eyes emoji."

"I wish I wasn't wearing glasses in that."

"You look sexy. Let's play Twenty Questions."

"How do you play that?"

"We just ask each other questions. How have you not heard of this? So what is your favourite colour?"

"Blue. Like the plea on a sunny day. It just calms me."

"Now it's your turn to ask a question."

"Oh. Okay. What's your favourite colour?"

"Mine is green. Teal, actually. I think it burns a passion in me when I stare at it. Favourite animal?"

"I've only seen photos of snowy owls, but I like them because they are so strong and beautiful and majestic all around. Same."

"Mine is the arctic fox just because it's totally adorable. Favourite fruit?"

"Mmm... I love the taste of bananas. Favourite vegetable?"

"Carrots are delicious and you can do so much with them. Favourite meat?"

"Yours."

Charles burst out laughing boisterously and hit Sebastian's arm, "Fuck you!"

When Sebastian finished laughing he said, "I love chicken. Favourite clothing brand?"

"Express. Yours?"

Sebastian heard and felt Charles' stomach rumble, so he sat up as he answered, "Calvin Klein because they make great underwear and suits. Favourite holiday?"

Sebastian regretted asking that one. He became fearful that Charles would ask the same. After all, he didn't know of spending any holidays with anybody.

Charles helped the redhead unload the basket as he replied, "Easter. It was always so much fun spending it with my siblings and I racing to find as many eggs as possible. Best memory?"

"Waking up in the hospital after a head injury. I don't remember what happened but I was surrounded by people who cared for me. Earliest memory?"

"My grandparents hosting the Fourth of July celebrations. I was three. My dad was chasing me around the backyard and I'm laughing my head off. My dad was making snarling noises. When he caught me he lifted my arm and pretended to eat my armpit. I laughed so hard I wasn't making any noise. He tickled my armpit for so long that my aunt Louisa told him I'd pee my pants if he didn't stop. How many languages do you speak?"

"I speak five languages. English, French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin."

"Why so many?"

Sebastian, while opening containers of food, merely shrugged.

"Say something in French."

Sebastian turned and placed his hands on either side of Charles' legs and leaned forward, causing Charles to lean back. Crawling forward, Sebastian said, "Vos yeux sont si grands et lumineux. Which means your eyes are so big and bright."

Now lying on his back and Sebastian on all fours over him, Charles said, "German."

While placing kisses all over Charles' neck, Sebastian said, "Sie sind die schönsten Augen. They are the most beautiful eyes."

"Spanish."

Now kissing Charles' jaw and cheek, Sebastian said, "Y tus labios son gruesos y deliciosos. And your lips are thick and luscious."

After making out for a few seconds, Charles said, "Mandarin."

Kissing the other side of at he blonde's neck, Sebastian said, "Nǐ hěn h� o chī. You are delicious all over."

Charles had to bite his lip to hide a small moan. He pushed Sebastian off of him and said, "Stop. Before this turns into a porno."

Sebastian tried to kiss Charles again as he said, "I've already got cameras set up around here to record."

Charles laughed loudly again, pushing Sebastian away with some force.

Both sat up. And Sebastian kissed Charles' cheek before telling him, "You have such a beautiful laugh. Do you speak any other languages?"

"My uncles wife is Norwegian and she tried teaching me. The only thing I remember is hvorfor er du slik en idiot, which means why are you such an idiot."

Sebastian laughed and said, "I like that. So we've got diced grilled lemon and basil chicken breast, carrot sticks, tomato rotini, and avocado salad."

"It all looks so good! When did you have the time to make all this?"

"I woke at six and made it all before my weights session. I did cheat with the dessert, though. I bought these red velvet cupcakes from a bakery."

Charles' heart melted. He kissed Sebastian's cheek before asking, "You woke at six in the morning to cook for this?"

"Yeah. Damn, I forgot the plates."

Charles laughed as he asked, "You remembered the forks but not the plates? We can just eat out of the containers."

Spearing a piece of chicken, Sebastian asked, "Did you play any sports growing up?"

"My god, this avocado salad is so fresh! I think I'll have this to myself. I play basketball. My dad installed a hoop over our garage when I was six. Played all the way until I graduated high school. I still play a bit, not that often. What's your favourite movie?"

"That's the reason that I picked Sense and Sensibility. It's timeless. What's your favourite song?"

"Mm!" Charles cried, moving the container of avocado salad out of the ginger's reach.

"Hey!" Sebastian cried in shock and amusement, trying for the salad again. "Share!"

"Mm!" Charles moved it away further.

Sebastian, in a huff, dropped his hand. He then threatened, "I think someone is begging for a tickling."

"I'm not ticklish," Charles said with so much conviction.

Gently setting the bowl of chicken down on the blanket, Sebastian asked sing-songily, "Are you sure?"

Charles quickly sat the salad down and leapt up to his feet. He ran, laughing, with Sebastian quicklime getting onto his feet as well.

"Sebastian!" Charles shouted, laughing fearfully, as he ran around the tree. "If you tickle me I'll-"

Sebastian jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Charles' shoulders. Together, the two flew to the ground, Sebastian ensuring that he landed on his back with Charles on top of him. They rolled once, Sebastian pinning the blonde to the ground. In an instant Sebastian wriggled his fingers on the blonde's inner thighs and drove his face into the blonde's neck gruffly, the stubble on his upper lip and chin tickling.

"Se-Sebastian!" Charles screamed with laughter. Stop! Sebastian! Pl-please!"

Sebastian continued to wriggle his fingers and nuzzle his face into Charles' neck for a few more seconds. He then planted his palms on the grass and lifted himself up but just a couple of inches. He watched the gorgeous man below him slowly come down from his laughter high.

When Charles looked up at him, Sebastian was smiling and he told him, "You are so beautiful."

Charles closed his mouth. With eyes filled with affection and squishiness, he lifted his right hand to Sebastian's face. His thumb stroked the cheek gently, and lifted his head up for a kiss.

"Now let's eat," Charles said, his left hand slapping Sebastian's voluptuous and firm glutes.

Charles sat first. He was utterly surprised to feel Sebastian sit directly behind him and stretch his legs out on either side of the blonde. Charles smiled at Sebastian, and leaned back to rest his back against the redhead's chest.

"Can you pass a fork and the avocado salad?" Sebastian asked. "So I asked what your favourite song was."

Charles had grabbed the bowl of rotini and the bowl of avocado salad. Handing the salad to the redhead, he answered, "My favourite song is Landslide by the Dixie Chicks. It's originally by Fleetwood Mac but I love the Dixie Chicks' cover. Dream artist to see live?"

Sebastian was chewing a little when he answered, "Shawn Mendes. He has such beautiful music and his live vocals are so much more emotional. Favourite YouTuber?"

"It's a couple named John and Jeremy who have a channel called Two Beeps. They are so cute and funny. I've always wanted to go to one of their meetups but never have because of school or work. Do you prefer cuddles or sex?"

Sebastian had no memories of sex, so he answered, "Sex is good but I would choose cuddles over sex seven times out of ten. And I only have sex with someone who's actually my boyfriend. I'm kind of old-fashioned like that."

The two had continued like this for about ten minutes. When they finished eating they cleared the blanket and then laid back down, staring up at the tree branches and leaves. This time it was Charles who laid his head down on Sebastian's chest.

The time had been five-one-six when they folded the blanket and leisurely walked through the park. Sebastian walked with his right arm bent slightly, and Charles' left arm linked to it.

Charles rested his head against Sebastian's shoulder and told him, "This was nice."

"The date's not over. Next stop is Jane's Carousel."

Charles softly kissed Sebastian's shoulder before telling the redhead, "I've always wanted to go there."

At Jane's Carousel, Charles had a look of child-like glee shining in his eyes. Rather than sitting on his horse, Sebastian stood by Charles' horse, one hand on the horse and the other on Charles.

During the ride, Charles closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He didn't noticed Sebastian had taken his phone out and took a photo. Sebastian thought it was the most beautiful photo ever because Charles looked so peaceful and content and truly enjoying himself.

Charles bent down and gave Sebastian a sweet peck on the lips.

After the kiss, Sebastian told Charles, "I wasn't sure if you'd enjoy this."

The blonde smiled down at Sebastian and replied, "This is magical, as cheesy as that sounds."

Sebastian was about to reply, but his cell phone rang.

"Hey Manny," Sebastian answered.

"I am so sorry to interrupt your date, man," Manny said, regret evident in his voice. "I just forgot to ask you how many baristas you wanted me to hire."

"It's fine, Manny. The café will be open all the time, so hire as many as you like."

"Okay, good. The way I have a schedule template set up, the ideal number of baristas to have employed is twenty-four. Each barista will be working on a three-day-one-day rotation. I have thirty-two barista interviews set up for tomorrow. If I do them all myself, I'll be working twelve or thirteen hours tomorrow. I have no problem with that, but you said to get your approval for anything more than eight hours a day worked."

Worried, Sebastian asked the Latino, "Are you sure you can handle that? I don't want you tire yourself out so quickly."

"Yeah, I'll be okay. It really is no trouble."

"Well if you get tired tomorrow, just call me. I can take over the interviews."

"Yeah, alright. Enjoy the rest of your date, Red."

As Sebastian slid his phone into his back pocket, Charles asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Manny has thirty-two job interviews tomorrow and he just wanted to know if I'd approve him to work over eight hours."

"Thirty-two!?" Charles asked in surprise. "How many baristas does he want to hire?"

"He says his ideal would be twenty-four."

Just then the carousel slowed. When it stopped, Sebastian helped Charles down, and Charles was surprised when the redhead slid his arm under Charles' legs and carried him bridal style off the ride.

"Sebastian!" the blonde cried, laughing and wrapping his arms around the ginger's neck.

Sebastian walked a bit, Charles still trying to free himself.

While setting the blonde down on his feet, Sebastian said, "Shall we find a café? I'm craving a latte."

"Yeah, let's," Charles agreed. "Here, let's see if I can carry your weight."

Smiling with amusement, Sebastian wrapped his left arm around Charles' neck. He then lifted his left leg onto the blonde's arm, then hopped up. Charles held Sebastian same bridal style for only a second. Charles took a step forward laughing, laughter which weakened him. Sebastian fell to the ground, with Charles following a fraction of a second later. The two laid in the dirt laughing boisterously.

Sebastian, laughing, threw himself over the blonde and cried, "You could've killed me! Or worse, gotten my clothes dirty!"

"Get off!" Charles cried, laughing.

Lying still on top of the blonde, Sebastian simply said, "No. You must pay for endangering me and my pants."

Charles shoved both of his hands under Sebastian's arms. He didn't even need to wriggle his fingers, Sebastian was already tickled and alarmed. He immediately rolled off of the blonde and rolled away, giggling.

They stood, passersby watching them with amusement. Charles grabbed Sebastian's hand and placed a small kiss on his cheek.

An hour later Sebastian and Charles were laughing at a story Charles had told with mugs of lattes in front of them.

Charles then asked, "Can I ask why you don't drink alcohol?"

"When I was a kid one of my classmates moved to live with his aunt and uncle. His dad had gone home drunk one evening. His mom tried to calm him down, but he just got angrier. He shoved her and she fell down the stairs, and her neck broke. I know not everybody is gonna behave the way he did when they're drunk, but it really scared me. Luckily my parents didn't drink much, just a glass or two with dinner."

Charles reached his hand across the table and placed his hand on top of Sebastian's in comfort.

A familiar voice asked, "Sebastian?"

The redhead looked up. Approaching the table was a friend he'd made at Dustin's.

"Hey!" Sebastian said with a smile. "Eric, right?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"I'm on a date. Eric, this is Charles. Charles, Eric."

Shaking Charles' hand, Eric commented, "So this is Arun's competition."

Charles, his hand still in Eric's, raised his eyebrows in amusement.

Sebastian laughed a small laugh before saying, "For a straight guy you're pretty sassy."

Eric pursed his lips dramatically as he replied, "Mm-mm, baby boy. Y'all ain't got nothin' on me. And I'm sorry Charles, I didn't mean to offend you."

Charles shook his head before telling the other blonde, "I wasn't offended. Sebastian here is hot, it's no surprise others like him."

"What are you up to?" Sebastian asked his friend.

"I'm meeting Savannah here," Eric responded. "She got off work at nine. Ah, there she is."

"Hey," Savannah greeted, stepping into her boyfriend's embrace. "Sebastian. What's up?"

"Date night," Sebastian answered. "Savannah, this is Charles."

"You're even sexier than Sebastian said," Savannah told Charles.

"Oh," Charles said with his cheeks rapidly reddening. "Um- thanks."

"He's cuter than you said, too," Savannah told Sebastian. "Come on, Eric, let's leave 'em to their date."

"Bye," Sebastian waved them off.

Awkwardly, Charles said, "She's- opinionated."

"I like her," Sebastian replied with a crooked smile. "What is a fear of yours?"

"Mmm. Everybody thinks it's silly that I am scared of newborn puppies. When I was fourteen our dog Fifi had puppies, and when my mom tried to hand one to me I puked. I have no idea why."

Charles was about to ask something, but he noticed the redhead stifling a yawn. So he grabbed Sebastian's hand and said, "Let's go. You've been awake for over fifteen hours and you've had a big day."

Being led out of the café by the hand, Sebastian told the blonde, "Would you like to spend the night?"

Charles stopped walking in shock. He turned back to Sebastian and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Sebastian answered, pecking Charles on the lips. "I think three dates warrants a night of cuddles."

Charles grinned for a second. But it dropped and he said, "I have school tomorrow, though."

"I can drive you. You don't live far from me so I can drive you to pick up your stuff before your classes. Or we can pick 'em up right now."

Grinning again, Charles said, "Then I'd love to spend the night with you."

"Can you drive?" Sebastian asked when Charles led him to his car. "I'm tired."

"You trust me with your Porsche?"

Opening the passenger door for himself, Sebastian said, "Why not?"

While climbing into the driver seat, Charles said, "I am gonna be the sexiest guy on the road."

Sebastian buckled his seatbelt laughing, then took his phone out and played music.

Immediately recognizing the song as he turned the ignition, Charles called, "I love this song!"

"Forgive, sounds good," Sebastian sang along.

"Forgive, I'm not sure I could," Charles sang the next lyric. "I'll drive to my place first."

"Hey, if you want we can sleep at your place."

Charles immediately snooks head, "No. You've already seen my place and I want to see yours."

This time at Charles' apartment Sebastian looked around. The walls were adorned with photos. One photo that caught his eye was a family photo of the Renfield's. Charles looked a lot like his dad.

Standing in front the large living room window Sebastian was happy to note that the neighbourhood wasn't a loud one.

Sebastian smiled as he felt Charles stand behind him, slide his hands on his hips, and rest his chin on his shoulder.

Charles whispered, "Shall we?"

Sebastian turned in Charles' embrace and kissed the blonde.

Entering Sebastian's apartment, Charles breathed, "Wooowwwww."

As Charles slowly roamed and took everything in, Sebastian opened his refrigerator and called, "Want something to drink? I've got ginger ale, apple juice, milk, and water."

From the living room, Charles called back, "I'll have whatever you're having."

Sebastian grabbed two small glass bottles of ginger ale and opened them, joining the blonde in his living room. Charles had been standing in front of his sofa gazing at a painting hanging on the wall.

The painting had been of a girl kneeling on the ground, both the sun and the moon in the sky. The flowers on the sun side were beautiful and healthy, but the flowers on the moon side were withering.

"She's conflicted with something," Charles said, accepting the bottle yet still staring at the artwork. "Beautiful condo you have, by the way."

"Would you like a tour?"

Charles was in love with the whole condo. Sebastian had gorgeous artwork hanging on his walls. His furniture only complimented each other. But his favourite was the huge balcony. The two had stood out on it, gazing out at the beautiful scenery with Sebastian holding him from behind.

After about ten minutes of standing out on the balcony, Sebastian said, "Wanna watch a movie?"

"How about we go to bed? I'm kind of tired, too."

Sebastian agreed. He told Charles to go into his bedroom through the bedroom balcony door while we turned the living room and kitchen lights off. When the redhead went into his bedroom, Charles was lying in bed in the blanket and on his phone. The room was lit darkly by one lamp, so Sebastian stripped himself of his clothing and threw them into his laundry basket, quickly crawling into bed.

"Your bed is so soft," Charles said as he laid his phone down on the bedside table.

Charles scooted over, sliding his arm over Sebastian's bare belly and his head on his chest.

Sebastian reached and turned the lamp off. He did have trouble falling asleep, though, due to Charles periodically planting little kisses on his chest. It's not like the redhead minded. He liked the affection.

Sebastian had no idea how much time had passed, but he said, "If you don't go to sleep I'll have no choice but to tickle you to death."

Sebastian felt Charles smile. "Can't help it, you have big muscles."

Sebastian, amused, gently turned Charles over and scooted closer. His bare chest laid flush against Charles' bare back. Charles surprisingly fell asleep within moments, long before Sebastian.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Charles woke at five-fifty the next morning, the room lit by the mostly dark though brightening sky thanks to the pair of them forgetting to shut the curtain. During the night they had moved, they were now on the other side of the bed and Sebastian was the small spoon. Charles gently rolled to the other side of the bed and carefully sat up. He looked back, Sebastian was still sleeping. So Charles stood and walked over to the humongous windows and stared out at the morning city.

After a minute of gazing out, Charles looked back at the sleeping redhead. From his point of view Sebastian looked beautiful. Some time during the night Sebastian had removed the black hair tie and placed it on his wrist. Sebastian's orange hair wasn't messy, it looked beautiful covering the side of his face. Charles walked over and grabbed his cell phone off the bedside table, and then walked to the other side of the bed. He knelt in front of Sebastian. Sebastian look absolutely stunning, so much so that Charles' heart melted at the shear radiance. He snapped a photo of the slumbering ginger. But then his eye caught something on the screen. It was a white line on Sebastian's shoulder. He lowered his phone and looked at the shoulder.

"A scar," Charles whispered to himself.

And then his caught another that was tapering onto the redhead's back.

Sebastian's eyes then fluttered open. He was met with the sight of the sexy blonde kneeling in before him, wearing only his underwear.

"Hey," Sebastian greeted groggily.

Charles gently laid himself down beside Sebastian, right at the edge of the bed. Sebastian lifted the blanket as he did so, pulling the blonde into him.

"How long've been up?"

"Just a couple of minutes," Charles answered, finger-combing the orange hair away from Sebastian's face. "The view of the city is amazing."

"Mm. Time is it?"

"It's about five-to-six."

"Mm. How does breakfast and then a bath sound?"

"Yeah, sounds nice. But let's snuggle a li'l more."

Sebastian pulled Charles closer, if that were possible, and asked, "What time do you want to leave?"

"Seven-thirty, I guess."

"Well we better get going."

Sebastian and Charles had started brushing their teeth when Sebastian walked into the kitchen and made two lattes. His had hazelnut syrup while Charles requested sugar-free vanilla.

En Sebastian handed him a latte, Chsrles cooed, "Aww, this is so cute!" referring to the Rosetta latte art.

The two walked into the bathroom to brush their teeth and Sebastian started running the bath.

"This will be my first bath in this tub," Sebastian told the blonde as he stoppered the tab.

As the tub was filling Sebastian started on breakfast. While cracking eggs into a bowl Charles stepped up to him and made the redhead face him. The blonde looked down at Sebastian's bare body and touched the two dozen or so scars littering his chest and abs. This made Sebastian's stomach drop and his heart to quicken. He chided himself for forgetting about them.

"What happened?" Charles whispered, still eying the scars. "How did you get these?"

"I- I don't know. Nobody knows."

Charles wanted to press further. He chose not to because he could feel the redhead's heart beating hard and wild. He instead bent forward and placed a couple of kisses on individual scars.

Sebastian turned back around to resume breakfast prep. When he did, Charles gently brushed his fingers on more scars on the ginger's back.

"Fifty-two scars on your torso," Charles said quietly, "and nineteen on your legs. But your arms are completely unmarred."

Trying to fight the discomfort, Sebastian sat two plates on the island and said, "Breakfast is served."

Sebastian then ran to the bathroom and stopped the running water. He enjoyed breakfast with the gorgeous blonde, a ham and green pepper omelette with avocado toast.

"You love avocados," Charles said with a giggle. "What are your plans for the day?"

"After my run I'm washing my walls. Later this afternoon I'm going for coffee with my friend Jess. Then I have dinner plans with Jasmine Albright. Can you let me know if you'll be free on Friday or Saturday when you get your new schedule?"

"No," Charles replied with a smile. "Let me take you out."

Sebastian, with some omelette in his mouth, smiled and gave the blonde a sweet peck.

When the two finished eating, Sebastian led Charles down the hall. Doing so, the redhead shimmied out of his boxer-briefs and walked into his bedroom, throwing the underwear into the laundry basket.

Charles' mouth went dry. Sebastian was before him,completely naked. His ass was big and round, he already knew, but it looked a thousand times more delectable uncovered. Those pale white mounds wiggled and danced as the redhead walked.

Sebastian then grabbed three towels from the linen closet and walked into the bathroom. Charles' mouth went even drier upon seeing the flaccid, uncut cock between Sebastian's muscular pale thighs.

"C'mon!" Sebastian laughed, climbing into the hot water.

Charles slowly slid the boxer-briefs off of his legs, hoping to enrapture Sebastian. He sensually walked toward the bathtub, driving his fingers through his blonde hair.

Sebastian was unable to tear his eyes away from the small reddish brown nipples sitting on Charles' lean but firm pecs.

"Mmm," the blonde moaned upon feeling the hot water soothe his body. "This tub is so big."

"So comfortable, right!?"

"Yessss. So what've you got planned for the big café opening?"

"Nothing, really," Sebastian answered as he laid his head back against the tub. "I've invited Erica, Jasmine, and Jacques and they said they'd take friends along."

"Well that's nice of them. I'll have to check it out, too. I'll request to have the day off."

"Just don't bring the other guy along," Sebastian teased. "Can't have him stealing my guy on my turf."

Charles laughed and splashed the redhead. Sebastian retaliated by stroking the tip of his finger on the sole of Charles' foot. The blonde's leg involuntarily shot up.

"That was a cheap shot, Red."

Sebastian laughed before sliding down and dunking his head in the water. His foot accidentally touched Charle's dick.

Resurfacing, Sebastian commented, "You're hard."

Charles was embarrassment but tried not to show it as he replied, "Well how could I not be? I'm sitting in a hot bath with a beautiful man who is fit as fuck with an ass for days. I think I'd be insulted if you weren't aroused yourself."

Sebastian laughed and told the blonde, "Well I guess you aren't insulted."

Charles' cheeks heated up a lot more and he said, "Okay, I'm a lot more flattered than I thought I'd be."

Sebastian opened the bottle of shampoo, squeezing a handful out and began washing his hair. Charles smelled the bottle before squeezing some into his hand.

"Will you wash my back?" Sebastian asked, handing the bar of soap to the blonde.

Charles readily accepted the soap and lathered it all over the redhead's back generously. When he finished, Sebastian grabbed the soap back and swished it in his hands, accumulating a lot of suds in his palms. He stood, peeling the foreskin of his now flaccid cock and thoroughly cleaned it.

After cleaning themselves, Charles stepped out of the tub onto the bathmat first, grabbing one of the towels off the rack.

While Charles stood there towelling off, Sebastian slapped his bubble butt and said, "Move it, blondie."

When the blonde moved aside, Sebastian stepped out and bent forward, wrapping his orange hair in a towel. After towelling his body dry, Sebastian walked through his closet into his bedroom where Charles had been squeezing lotion from a small bottle into his hands and rubbing it all over his lithe legs. He threw the body towel into his laundry basket before he opened his dresser and put a pair of purple boxer-briefs on.

"You're so lucky you don't have to lotion your body to have smooth skin," Charles told Sebastian as he applied lotion to his chest and abs.

"Maybe I'd have smoother skin if I did use lotion," Sebastian replied while putting a pair of white ankle socks on.

Charles was taking his clothes out of his backpack when he said, "Not possible. Your skin is already smooth as a baby's bottom."

Sebastian snorted as he unwound the towel from his head and tossed it into the laundry basket.

After dressing himself in a skin-tight UnderArmour tank and leggings, Sebastian checked the time on his phone.

The redhead sat his phone back down on the bedside table and asked, "Seven-twelve, wanna cuddle a bit more before we go?"

"No," Charles replied as he packed his used clothes into his backpack. "I'd much rather lay in bed and make out with you."

And so e two did just that. They began lying side by side. But soon, Sebastian had rolled on top of the blonde. Within minutes, Charles rolled on top Sebastian.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Charles argued as Sebastian drove. "You can't be interested and not interested in someone. You can be friends with someone you're interested in but that doesn't mean that you're not interested."

Sebastian laughed before plying, "Well that's how I feel. You can't tell me how I feel. I think Arun is hot, I think he's sweet, I think he's funny. I want to date him. But I also don't want to date him."

"Well why don't you wanna date Arun?"

"I don't know. I really don't. Something in my head tells me that we can't."

"I think you're certifiable. What about this Dustin? Do you like him?"

Before the redhead could reply to Charles, his Bluetooth console said that Manny was calling. He hit the Accept Call button.

"Hey, sorry if I'm calling so early," Manny said by greeting. "I just had a question regarding training the baristas."

"Okay, what is it?"

"How will we train the baristas? All twenty-four of them all at once?"

Sebastian laughed before replying, "I hadn't thought of that. Let's do this; you train twelve from eight til four and I'll train twelve four til midnight?"

"Perfect! That'll give 'em all a chance to meet each other."

"Yeah. And we'll treat them to two meals each training day. Order delivery."

"Okay, sounds good. Thanks Sebastian."

"Can I also get you to add something to the employment contracts? Employees will be given a credit account if they want one. Each payday they are expected to pay at least eighty percent of the account. If they do not comply they will be fired and the balance of the account will be deducted from their cheques. Obviously keep the free drinks, though."

"Okay, but I think these credit accounts for employees is a bit risky."

"Noted. You set for the interviews?"

"I just got into the office. First interview is at eight."

"Well lemme know if you need me to take over. Later."

When Sebastian ended the call, Charles asked, "So? Do you like Dustin?"

"Dustin looks appealing, but he's not my type."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two days later Sebastian walked into the café at three-thirty carrying a large box. He was happy to see that the twelve baristas were hard at work.

As he walked into the office he said courteous hellos to the training baristas.

"Sebastian," Manny greeted happily from his chair in the office.

"Hey Manny. I got you a present. No need to thank me, I got it for you mostly so you can practice your latte art at home. It is a Breville espresso machine. It is the same as mine and it works exactly the same way the ones here do."

"Ah, Sebastian," Manny said appreciatively. He then smiled and teased, "You are so anal about latte art!"

The two shared a laugh and Sebastian almost lost grip of the heavy box. "Come on, let put this box in your car."

Sebastian walked behind Manny to the alleyway and asked, "How are the baristas in training?"

"They're doing great! I hired some awesome baristas! Well I guess it's mostly due to Sylvia, who came from Starbucks and knows her latte art. I scheduled Daniel Jasten to train with you. He worked at Habits Café and also knows how to do latte art."

Sebastian sat the box in the back of Manny's SUV and asked, "Any others with barista experience?"

"Five. Two training with me and three with you. Yours are Nikita Johnson, Liling Bo, and Kyle Tuller."

"Any high schoolers?" the redhead asked, opening the back door.

"Two. Katie Espinosa and Devin Lee."

"How's the schedule for next week coming along?"

"It's going alright. I've set it up so that there's one barista with past experience during each shift. I'll revise it if I feel others need more help."

"Did you figure out how to email schedules?"

"Yes, I did. You have to create employee profiles, and when you're making the schedule in QuickBooks you select the employees from a list. When it's completed you can send the schedule showing all employees or send individual schedules."

"Okay. I'll leave you to it. I'll be working on my computer out front."

Sebastian had logged onto the QuickBooks site and was studying employee names. He found that he could upload photos of the employees to their profiles.

"Hi," a girl greeted the redhead as she sat opposite of him. "I'm Frieda."

Sebastian shook her hand, "Sebastian. You excited to be working here?"

Frieda shrugged and answered, "Yeah. I mean Manny seemed really nice in the interview yesterday and the benefits are good."

"Sebastian!" a male voice called.

By the entrance was a tall guy Sebastian recognized. He walked over to the table, a bunch people entering the café behind him.

"Greg, right?" Sebastian asked when the brunette guy stood at the table. "You working here?"

Greg sat down at the table, "Yeah. To be honest I am nervous. Never imagined myself making coffee."

"You two know each other?" Frieda asked.

"We hung out once," Greg answered. "I'm Greg."

Just then Manny came out of the office and he called, "Okay guys, five minutes left! Finish what you're doing and clean your stations please! When you're done you can sit in the café!"

"You guys ready?" Sebastian asked the two.

"I am," Frieda replied smiling, confident.

Sebastian turned around and counted the bodies sitting at the tables. Including the two with him, that made twelve. All twelve of his trainees were present.

When all twelve of the other trainees sat at the tables, Manny came out.

"If none of you remember from yesterday, my name is Manny. Welcome to Le Guérison. I am very pleased with the first group, you guys had a great day of training. And I am sure the second group will do just as great. So the reason the first group didn't do introductions is because we wanted to save it for this. So we'll begin with you, Courtney. Tell us your name and something about yourself."

The girl finger-combed her dark red hair from her face and smiled, "My name is Courtney Richard. I am a genetics major at NYU and I am a huge fan of the show Supernatural."

When Courtney sat back down a light-skinned black guy stood. "I'm Kal Peters. I study orthodontics and volleyball is my favourite sport. I suck at it but it's fun."

The entire group laughed with Kal.

This carried on for about five minutes before it was Sebastian's turn, who was last.

"My name is Sebastian Fitzroy. This fall will be my first year studying music at Juilliard, and I love playing the cello."

"Welcome again, everyone," Manny said with a smile. "Now for the twelve new baristas, I have here employment contracts for you to read and sign with Sebastian. You baristas who just finished training, you're free to go. Remember that tomorrow you'll have the four to midnight session."

Sebastian then story Manny and told the remaining twelve baristas, "I'll have four training on the iPads, four training on bar, and four familiarizing yourselves with stock, cleaning, and communicating with customers. But before we do that I'll make each of you a drink."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Manny told Sebastian with a smile.

"Hang on," Delonda Edwards said with confusion, you're a manager?"

Smiling, Sebastian replied, "Maybe that should've been the thing about myself that I introduced myself with. I am not a manager. I am the owner of the business. I know I'm young, that's why I hired a manager. So if you're done signing the contract hand it to me so I can sign it as well and file them."

With all of the contracts signed, Sebastian sat them in a pile on the desk.

Now standing at one of the espresso machines, Sebastian said, "Can I get all of you to gather here. I'll take your orders to show you how quick I'd like you to be when you're working the bar. Of course I don't expect you to be this quick right away, we all learn at different speeds. Don't rush yourself, don't feel bad if you take a bit longer to learn. Any questions?"

Devin Lee, a sixteen-year-old high school student, asked, "What's the difference between a latte and a cappuccino?"

"The difference is the density of the milk," Sebastian answered. "A latte is more milky, and a cappuccino is more frothy. Because the cappuccino is more frothy, it weighs less than a latte. You will be trained to make both, don't worry. Any other questions?"

Katie Espinosa, the other high school student, asked, "What if none of us drink coffee?"

"I expect you to know what our products taste like," the redhead answered the Latina teen. "Makes sense, right? You should be able to describe to customers what to expect if they ask."

"So if nobody else has any questions I'll take orders. Pay close attention to what I say and what I do. Trisha?"

"Cappuccino," the girl said her drink.

"I'll begin by grinding espresso beans into this basket for four seconds. Now I'll transfer the basket from the tamper to the group head where the espresso shot will be pulled. Push the small cup. Now I'll fill this pitcher to the second line. A cappuccino gets frothed for eight to ten seconds with the steam wand. Set the steam for a hundred fifty degrees using this dial. Hold the tip of the steam wand about half an inch inside the milk and steam for eight to seconds to froth, remember. While it does that I'll take David's drink order."

The guy ordered a soy vanilla latte.

"Now set the pitcher down on the rack. As you can see the espresso shot is still being pulled and the milk is still steaming. So I'll use the machine's second grinder and steam wand. Grind for four seconds. Transfer to group head. There are different pitchers for each type of milk, so the soy pitcher is labeled Soy. Lattes get frothed for five to eight seconds. Now set the pitcher on the second steam wand. First espresso shot is done, so I'll dump the two glasses into a mug. Rinse the two glasses here and set back on the rack. Milk is now done steaming, so immediately wipe steam wand clean and expel excess milk using the same lever. Now pour milk into the mug, holding the mug at an angle. Slowly straighten when the mug is filled to about half. When the mug is straight, gently sway your wrist to create a circle of white froth, then quickly swipe up to create a heart. Here's your cappuccino, Trisha. Rinse the pitcher. Second espresso shot is still being pulled so and soy is still steaming so third drink, Lydia."

"I'll have a decaf sugar-free hazelnut latte."

"To do decaf, hit the decaf button here before grinding. Grind for four seconds. Transfer to group head. Hit the small cup button. Fill the pitcher to the second line. Lattes get frothed for how long?"

"Five to eight seconds!" the group chorused.

"That's right. Good. Now set pitcher on the rack to finish steaming. David's espresso is done, so I'll dump it into a mug. Two pumps of vanilla syrup into the mug. Rinse shot glasses. Milk is just about- there we go. Wipe steam wand clean and expel residue. Hold the mug at an angle, pouring the soy milk. Slowly straight the mug. Gently rock your wrist, and swipe the froth up. Here you go, David. Now rinse the soy pitcher."

Sebastian had made twelve drinks for the twelve baristas in exactly the same fashion. Within five minutes all twelve of his baristas were sipping mugs.

"So I want all of you to be that quick eventually," the redhead said as he wiped the counter clean. "Each espresso machine is equipped with two grinders, two group heads, and two steam wands, so two baristas should be able to make drink after drink after drink. Bam, bam, bam! But like I said, I don't expect you to get this down as soon as possible. Nor do I expect you to learn latte art just like that. Which is why we have you training for five days, eight hours a day."

"What will my schedule look like when I go back to high school?" Devin asked.

"We will work around each of your schedules. You're all obviously going to put school first, and I want you to do that. Some of you have evening classes or are not students at all, so that'll help Manny figure out scheduling."

"If there are no more questions we'll begin training. Daniel, you'll be training with Katie, Bianca, and Ron on bar. Liling, Greg, Courtney, and Julian, you'll be on the iPads. Frieda, Victor, Jose, and Latisha, you'll be cleaning. Every hour you'll rotate to a different station."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sebastian arrived at Charles' nineteenth birthday party when it was in full swing. He weaved through the crowd, recognizing few.

"Hey!" Charles greeted the redhead excitedly.

Sebastian said, "Happy birthday," before placing a gentle kiss on the blonde's cheek and handing him a small gift bag.

Charles opened the bag and took out a small black box covered in plastic.

"An iPhone 9!" Charles cried. "Sebastian, this is too much."

"No it's not. Your iPhone 8 has a crack anyway. There's also a case for the 9 in the bag."

Charles cooed before touching his lips to Sebastian's. "Welcome to the party. Walk, mingle, introduce yourself, make some friends. Drinks are over there. I made sure there was apple juice and ginger ale."

While pouring himself some apple juice in a plastic cup, a female voice said, "Hi."

Sebastian turned away met with the sight of a young woman with long orange hair, wavy just like his. She could pass for his twin, fraternal twin obviously.

"Hi. Sebastian."

Mixing a cup of vodka and orange juice, the girl replied, "Hillary. I have this obsession with people who have the same shade of hair as I do. How do you know Charles?"

"I'm sort of dating him," Sebastian answered.

"What does 'sort of' mean?" Hillary asked, much like a news reporter.

Sebastian laughed a little be replying, "He's been also dating this other named Lance. I'm tired of waiting for Charles to make a decision."

"Yeah, he doesn't know when he's doing wrong or when to make the right choices sometimes."

"How do you know Charles?"

"We've been friends since middle school."

"And you can say those things about him?"

Hillary shrugged and said, "Well friends gotta keep it real. But most times he doesn't take our advice. He's hardheaded."

Sebastian was then lost in thought. He was so caught up in his head he didn't even notice that Hillary had stared, waiting for a response. When she didn't get one, she realized that she'd said too much, and walked away.

When Sebastian regained himself, he turned his head to and fro, searching for the head of blonde hair. He didn't see Charles, so he walked about the roof. He found the blonde talking with three girls.

"Hey again!" Charles said with a smile. "How do y--"

Gently, Sebastian said, "Can we talk in private?" interrupting the blonde.

Charles led Sebastian to a staircase on the ledge and descended down to the first landing.

Charles grabbed Sebastian's hand and said, "Is everything--"

Sebastian interrupted yet again, quietly saying, "Make a decision."

Charles' face softened before he asked, "What?"

Sebastian leaned back against the handrail, keeping his expression neutral, almost soft. "Me or Lance. Please make a decision?"

"I- Sebastian. Sebastian, I can't. I like you both so much. Just give--"

"I'm sorry but I can't give you any more time," the redhead said softly, holding Charles' hand between his.

"Then I choose you."

"You can't. You're not really choosing me. Listen, I hope things work out between you and Lance."

"Sebastian, please."

The redhead leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Charles' lips. "I mean it. I hope Lance turns out to be great for you."

"You should take your gift back," Charles said softly.

Sebastian grabbed the blonde's chin between his thumb and forefinger and replied, "No. It's a gift."

Misty-eyed, Charles said, "Goodbye, Sebastian Carter Fitzroy."

Sebastian snorted and nudged Charles' chin before walking down the stairs and back to his car.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Forty-one days later Sebastian walked out of the café into the alley. Mitch Sweet had won the second Employee of the Month award and he requested that Sebastian take his shift that evening. So Sebastian worked Mitch's four-til-ten shift. He punched in the lock button to lock the deadbolt.

When he turned around after the door locked, a very young woman was standing before him. She had shoulder-length blonde hair.

"Oh, hi. Can--"

Sebastian suddenly tilted his head to the side, dodging a punch. The woman threw her left hand, landing a solid punch to the redhead's side. She threw her right hand again, but Sebastian grabbed her wrist. He pulled on that arm, twisting the woman's back toward him. She jumped up into the air, wrapping one leg around Sebastian's rib cage. Sebastian was flying toward the ground, so he stretched his hand out, landing on the pavement, and pushed so he and the woman rolled. The woman then jumped sideways, landing on her feet.

Sebastian stood as well. The woman had been standing in a defensive position.

Sebastian had prepared to defend himself again, but the woman stated, "You still got it, 007."

Shocked beyond belief, Sebastian stated, "You know me."

Dropping her fists and straightening her body, she replied, "So it's true, you have no memories."

Sebastian's breath had become quick, erratic. "Are you- are you 2001-03?"

"No. I was 2000-09. But you can call me Lynette."

The redhead's heart rate had Ickes up dramatically, and he asked, "Who- who am I?"

"Let's go back to your place," the woman replied.

During the car ride, Sebastian was distracted, understandably. He tried to ask the blonde woman in the passenger seat questions. But the woman only stared out the passenger window.

As soon as Sebastian had closed the door to his condo behind him, he demanded, "Who am I?"

Walking around the condo, eying everything around her, Lynette said, "You haven't changed at all."

Frustrated, Sebastian demanded, "Who. Am. I?"

Lynette turned back to the redhead amused. "You are a lot more short-tempered, though."

Who am I!? Sebastian shouted.

Lynette pressed her lips to a thin line for just a moment. She walked back to the kitchen island, and answered, "At camp we called you James. Because of your ID number."

"ID number. We didn't really have names. What is 'camp'?"

"Camp is the place where we- worked."

"You said that with hesitation."

Lynette huffed and clarified, "We were assassins."

"I don't believe you."

"Didn't you ever wonder how you can defend yourself so effectively?"

"Well who were our parents? Why did we so easily go into this line of work?"

Lynette sighed heavily before answering, "We weren't born, James."

"W-w-w-what do you mean we weren't born? We're here, obviously."

"James. James, we were grown. Our employer- or ex employer- has a doctor who grows infants in tubes using human DNA. Dr. Warren took samples from our ex employer and made us using them. He was able to change us, our gender, our looks, our traits, by DNA alterations. Why do you think we have no birthmarks? Our cells were formed and aligned perfectly."

"We- fuck. So why make us assassins?"

"Our ex employer's money went into our research and development. He had us trained since we were kids, and we began working when we were twelve. The work we did were contracts for wealthy people. Our ex employer gained his wealth back by our work."

"If we were such good assets to him, why release us?"

"Two reasons. One, thanks to our work his wealth doubled what it used to be. Two, Dr. Warren had begun growing more."

"Who was our employer? What was his name?"

"Nobody knows. None of us met him. We only ever saw Dr. Warren and our marks."

"So this line of work is why I have so many scars."

Lynnette's eyes shifted to the side for an instant, and she replied, "Not exactly. Some scars we got are from work. But most are from our trainer Evers. We got punished for displays of affection or having sex. Our ex employer wanted us to focus on training and conditioning and work. He didn't want us distracted. You were difficult."

"I was? How so?"

"You were in love. If you really felt the urge to kiss Riley, you would. If Riley were a girl, you'd be a father to three kids I think."

"Riley? We were in love?"

"You were. It was beautiful to see the passion in your eyes."

"Where is he? Why wasn't he released with me?"

With sympathy in her bright blue eyes, Lynette answered, "You guys broke up shortly before your release."

"Why? Why did we break up?"

"Riley didn't agree with one of your marks. It tore him up that you hit a teen."

As tears formed in his eyes, Sebastian stated to himself, "I killed a teenager."

"James, it was work."

"Why did I kill a teen? Who was it?"

"He was set to ascend to the throne. Someone paid a lot to have this done. It was your last job."

"We got paid for these jobs. That's why I have so much money now."

"It cost us six hundred million to buy our freedom. When you and Riley broke up, he told Evers to transfer his buyout to you. You were set to leave together, to live happily."

"So Riley is still working."

Lynnette's eyes once again bore such despair. "Riley... he died, James. Nobody really knows what happened, why he was less careful. He was shot in the neck. It happened three weeks after your release."

"My neighbours told me that someone with black hair helped me move in."

"Riley. Evers allowed him to help you set up. Location, new name, furniture, everything."

"Was his ID 2001-03?"

Lynette nodded, "That was Riley."

"Why did we have ID numbers? Why didn't our employer name us?"

"Nobody really knows. The consensus at camp was that we were just products, or weapons. We gave our own names. We were the only ones to call each other by name rather than our ID numbers."

"How did they decide our ID numbers?"

"Evers told you that they are the months and years our DNA was extracted from our employer."

"So my DNA was extracted in September of 2000. Weren't there multiples?"

"No. Not all clones were successful."

"So how old am I?"

"You're seventeen. You're a few months older than I am. And no, we don't have birthdays. We weren't born. We were taken out of glass tubes."

"Why did you come looking for me?"

"We were best friends. We were the two best assets at camp. We only ever trained with each other, we'd spend hours facing off with no one winning."

"How did you find me?"

"When I was released I hacked into security cameras around Los Angeles. It took a few days, but I found you checking into a Virgin flight. It took me a couple of weeks to scour all of New York."

"Why do you have memories and I don't?"

"I overheard you and Riley talking. You didn't want to remember hurting Riley, why Riley was hurt. I don't know what Dr. Warren did to erase your memories."

Sebastian turned around and lifted his orange hair. Lynette lightly touched the two large scars there.

"Yeah, you never had those before. I wonder what Warren did exactly."

Dropping his and turning back to face the blonde girl, Sebastian said, "Tell me about Riley's last days."

"No. You're just going to beat yourself up over it."

"I don't even remember him."

"That doesn't matter! You've been beating yourself up over killing a boy."

"Just tell me. If I really was your best friend, tell me."

Lynette exhaled loudly, defeated. "Riley was quiet. He didn't care. He was cold, especially in jobs. He took his pain out in training. He was brutal there."

"Okay. Where are you going from here?"

"Now that I know where you are and you're okay, I want to explore South America. It's good to see you, James. You haven't changed at all. Hey, tell me, which name do you like better, James or Sebastian?"

"James feels familiar. But Sebastian has grown on me. If we ever see each other again I want you to continue to call me James."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sebastian had been leaving Juilliard, thanks to Erica Albright he had gotten an audition with the dean of admissions, when his phone rang.

"Hey Tessa."

"Hey Seb. Kelly canceled shopping because of a family thing. Wanna come?"

"Yeah, where are you? I'll pick you up."

"I'm at the uni. See you in a bit."

Sebastian opened the backseat door of his car and sat the cello case on the floor.

When Tessa claimed into the passenger seat she asked, "How was school?"

"It was good. Great, actually. Hua was really impressed with my essay on Bach."

Tessa smiled and said, "Awesome! How was the date last night?"

"It was horrid. Kevin would not stop telling jokes. Dirty, crude jokes, too. Tasteless. Anyway, how are things with Rob?"

"Meh, we had a fight last night. My cousin invited us to Thanksgiving dinner and I accepted because we hadn't any plans. Rob apparently thought it would be nice if it was just the two of us."

"And he didn't share any of this info with you before?"

"He absolutely did not. Whatever. How is the café doing?"

"It is doing so good! It's doing a hundred times better than I thought it would. Last month's profit margin was thirty-one percent."

"Fuckin' A! Would you consider opening another location?"

The redhead laughed replied, "I don't have the time to put all that together."

"Well who says that you have to do it? You have Manny. Or you can hire a manager to do it all; find a location, hire contractors, purchase equipment, hire the staff."

As the two got out of the car, Sebastian said, "Never thought of that. I'll let it stew."

"So what are your Thanksgiving plans?" Tessa asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cayle invite me with Dustin and Savannah."

"Oh! The Cayles are so nice! You'll love it."

"Welcome to American Eagle," a young sales associate greeted the two.

"What do you want to do for Thanksgiving?" Sebastian asked as he thumbed through a rack of flannel shirts. "I mean when you and Rob work this out?"

"To me Thanksgiving is spent with a lot of family and friends," Tessa responded, holding a dress against her body in front of a mirror. "It's not a thing you do with just your significant other. I'm gonna go try this on."

Sebastian had gone to the fitting rooms a minute after Tessa did. At the entrance to the fitting rooms he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Charles," he said in shock. "Hi."

"Hey Sebastian," Charles greeted somewhat awkwardly. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm doing alright. What's up?"

"I'm just shopping with a friend. Yourself?"

"Hey, Charles, what do you think of this?" Lily asked, stepping out of a fitting room. "Oh. Sebastian, right?"

"I like that," Charles replied to his roommate. "Get it."

"I'm gonna go try these shirts on," Sebastian stated as he started for a fitting room. "Good seeing ya."

"You too. You look great."

Sebastian stopped again. This time in disbelief

"You can't say that," Sebastian said flatly as he turned around to face Charles. "It's not fair."

"How is it not fair? It's been over four months since we last saw each other. I like your hair trimmed."

"Charles, you're killing me."

"I'm not trying to."

"Then stop saying that I look great and you like something new about me."

"Why? We're both adults, we can--"

"Because I'm not over you. You don't know how bad I have it for you. I've gone on countless dates. But I am stuck on you."

Charles walked up to the redhead. He hugged Sebastian, relishing the feeling of having such strong arms holding him again.

"We should talk," Sebastian said stoically.

"Okay."

"In private."

Charles nodded. Sebastian told his friend that he had to go. Tessa said that it wasn't a problem and that she'd take the bus home.

Sebastian and Charles spent the entire car ride to Sebastian's condo in silence. Charles didn't even take his phone out, he was that nervous.

Sebastian sat on his sofa first. He said, "Charles I want to try us again. I really do. But it all depends on how you take my news."

"Okay, what is it?"

Sebastian couldn't find the words to say. Everything in his head was jumbled and all over the place. So he instead ran to his bedroom and dug two sheets of paper out of his bedside table. He handed them to Charles and waited with baited breath as the blonde read them.

When Charles had finished reading them he wore a look of confusion and asked, "What are these?"

"I- I didn't know who I was. I had no memories when I moved here. I didn't even have a real family. It's all fake. I'm a bad person, Charles."

"What do you mean?"

"I was an assassin. During my last job I killed a boy. The reason I have no memories before moving here is because my then boyfriend was hurt so badly by that and I couldn't live with knowing that. I never any parents or a sister."

"Wait, how do you know all this?"

"Another assassin that I worked with found me. Everything she said made sense."

Exhaling loudly, shocked and barely able to process, Charles whispered, "Shit."

"And while you're taking in all that, I'm only seventeen."

"So... you kill people- or used to- for a living. But you don't remember any of this."

"No," Sebastian answered before lifting his hair and showing Charles the two large scars on his scalp.

"And- and you're only seventeen."

Sebastian nodded slowly, nervous.

"I... Wow. Just... I... I'm lost for words."

"Then act," Sebastian said quietly. "Actions speak louder."

After a moment of silence, silence which was killing Sebastian, Charles scooted up to the redhead. He leaned forward, surprising Sebastian with a gentle peck on the lips.

"We can figure this all out," Charles said quietly, confidently. "You. Me. Us. I'm here."

The End