Fire On Fire (#Wattys2019)

Chapter-17

I stirred as the car came to a stop, not fully awake, before I felt a gentle hand on my knee and feather light kisses on my jaw. My eyes flew open, to see a concerned Sebastian inches away from me.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," he mused.

"Did I fall asleep?"

"You did," he affirmed. "I'm sorry, I should have realised you were drained."

"No, no," I shook my head. "I'm awake now." I sat up a bit straighter. "You shouldn't have let me sleep my way through half our date. Where are we?"

"Belgravia," he replied, before removing his seat belt. "Come on."

I half stumbled out of the car, and as my vision cleared further and I took in my surroundings, I realised I was standing in front of a charming, yet chic cafe. The doors were wide open, and out poured the sounds of clattering cutlery, quaint music, and the smell of freshly baked lasagne. Sebastian came up beside me and reached for my hand, lacing my fingers with his, giving them a soft squeeze. "Shall we?" he asked.

I turned my eyes to him and stared at him incredulously, before I shook my head and dropped my hand.

"No," I snapped. "Nope. No way. My hair looks like two pigeons fought in it, and I pointed out I'm wearing sweatpants, and you told me you knew just the place. This is not it, okay? There is no way I'm walking in there looking like a homeless person."

He rolled his eyes, before reaching for my hand again. "Trust me, this is the place."

"No," I shook my head. "We're going someplace else."

"You're too impulsive," he studied me with amused eyes. "Except for a handful of staff, it's empty, no one will come in and disturb us for as long as you want."

"How can you be so sure of that?" I asked.

He smiled at me before tugging at my hand. "Come and find out."

I groaned and followed him inside, the smell of something freshly baked hitting my senses as soon as I stepped into the well lit space, and the warmth seeped into me, a welcome reprieve from the cold outside, and I felt myself relax slightly.

It really was a quaint little place, with it's round wooden tables and chairs, adorned with china pots, a grassy floor, classical music, and large windows lined with dainty flowerpots, the carnations in full bloom.

Someone was approaching, and I tore my gaze away from my surroundings, only for it to settle on a familiar pair of warm brown eyes, and motherly smile.

"Genevieve!" I beamed, genuinely happy to see her. It's her cafe?

She smiled at me, wrapping me into a hug, before she pressed a kiss on Sebastian's cheek.

"Welcome, my dear," she said, running a hand affectionately through my hair. "You look tired."

"I'm fine, thank you, it's just been an unusual day." I replied. "I know it's very late, I'm really sorry for the inconvenience.

"Nonsense," she waved her hand. "I'm heading home, you kids have fun." She turned to Sebastian. "Make sure she eats, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am," he smiled. She gave me another quick parting hug and a kiss on the forehead, and I watched her leave before I turned to Sebastian.

"Well?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"It's beautiful." The corners of my lips tugged upwards. "I didn't know you did beautiful. I thought you were the bar kind of guy."

"The bar kind of guy?" he asked, amused, shaking his head, pressing his hand against the small of my back as we made our way to a cozy couch in the corner of the room. A server approached with a bottle of wine, but I shook my head and asked for a iced coffee. I was completely awake now, but alcohol still didn't seem like a good choice.