Chapter 7

I'm seeing him again. Sebastian.

Everything moved so quickly.

I had three missed calls from Frank by the time I finished the dance class. My thighs burned and all I wanted was to go home and get back into bed. It strikes me that Frank would be pissed if I called him this early in the morning.

I waddled to my car and called him back. Frank outlined that my first appearance with Sebastian was tonight. We would be attending an awards show for the film industry as guests. And yes, there would be a red carpet.

So here I am, dressed up to the nines and waiting in my apartment building's lobby for a car to pick me up.

The label sent me a stunning dress, at least. I'm artfully draped in olive green satin, the corseted waist meeting loose off the shoulder drapes. It flows from the waist, with a high slit up one thigh. It feels luxurious, the buttery soft fabric definitely being an apology from the label for this.

My skin glows. The team that came to get me ready scrubbed and polished me, before dousing me in a fig-scented glittery oil.

I stayed with my natural hair again. I thought that my wigs wouldn't have met the level of class that we were aiming for with this look. Although, several sets of extensions were currently clipped in tightly to my head.

I catch a glimpse of a sleek black limo pulling up through my peripheral. Oh, the label certainly did not spare any expense.

I leave them waiting there for a moment, my nerves getting the better of me. I wasn't sure if Sebastian would be in the car or not, and I didn't know what I would say if he was.

I steal myself and take a deep breath. I can do this.

Keeping my head high and my shoulders back, I leave the building as the driver comes out to open my door.

I'm presented with two things when I enter the car. One, Sebastian looked good before, but the black tux gives him such a sophistication that I can't even begin to comprehend. Secondly, we're not alone.

There is a beautiful, delicate creature here. She is thin and willowy, with a set of horns growing out of the front of her head. They're framed by a pair of down-turned ears, with soft tufting fur.

"Hi!" I say to her in my cheeriest voice. "I'm Flora, it's lovely to meet you."

She takes make outstretched hand and gives me a warm, glowing smile. "Hi, Flora. I'm Matilda. I'll be assisting you and Sebastian this evening." Her cheeriness takes me off guard. I guess not all Monsters are grumps. She's bubbly in the way that an intern in their first job would be. It's adorable, and I warm to her immediately.

"Hi Sebastian," I speak toward him now. "It's so nice to see you again."

He barely looks at me, grunts, and then pointedly stares out the window.

Unfortunately, that is how most of the journey goes. Sebastian, sitting as far away from me as possible. Matilda looking painfully awkward between us. I've noticed that instead of feet, she has hooves.

I see her looking nervously between us now. Her mouth opens as if to speak a couple times, and it's hard to watch.

"Is there anything you need for us to do during the journey?" I ask her, trying to put her out of her misery.

"Yes!" She looks relieved, the poor thing. "Umm… well… the label asked me to take a photo of you for your socials. In the car I mean."

She looks between us both. "They've given me instructions on how it should look, too."

Sebastian makes no attempt to move, or even acknowledge poor Matilda. So I stand up as much as I can and brush myself off.

"I presume you want us together?" I ask her.

"Yes, please. If you wouldn't mind sitting next to Sebastian." I move closer and sit next to him. We're not touching, but I can feel the heat emanating from him.

"If you could lounge back, Sebastian. Drape your arm across the seat behind Flora." She instructs, and he does as he is told, surprisingly. I want to lean into his warmth and it's taking everything I have not to.

"Perfect. Now, Flora, could you scooch a little closer?" I do so, pressing my side against him fully. I can feel him everywhere, even in the places we're not touching.

"Turn in to face him fully," I angle myself more towards him. "That's it. And now put your hand on his cheek."

Matilda moves to guide me into place, and Sebastian's head whips around to glare at her, a short rumble in his chest. Her hand freezes mid way, before she pulls it away altogether. What the fuck? All I can gather from that is that he doesn't want her to touch me? What, did he think that being Human was contagious?

I barely remember my instruction and move my hand up to rest on the side of his face. My thumb brushes against the patch of scales there, the texture smoother than I expected. They are more so firm and soft rather than hard or rough.

"Stretch your arm out, as if you're taking the photo." She instructs Sebastian once my hand is in place. I realize now that they want it to look like he's taking a selfie while I'm nearly draped over his lap.

His whole presence is firm, and hot, and big. I can feel my nipples hardening and I am so grateful for the thick panels of this corset.

"Can you both look at each other please?"

I shift my view up, trying to avoid his eyes. My hand looks so small against his cheek. I may try, but they can't be avoided forever. One small glance and my eyes are locked onto his. I didn't get to look at his eyes properly the first time we met. Now I have the chance to study them in detail. I hear Matilda working away with her photo taking, but I hardly notice. His eyes glow, but the bright green isn't as one dimensional as I first thought. There are flecks of so many shades of green in there too. His slit pupils don't throw me off kilter this time either, and I can appreciate the beauty in them now.

Matilda sighs, "Can you smile, Flora?"

I instantly plaster an open-mouthed smile on my face, like I'm laughing at something funny Sebastian said. I follow directions pretty easily, sometimes I just do it without thinking. This was one of those times.

"Perfect! That's it. I'm going to send that to you now, Sebastian, and you can post it to your socials." I'm kicked right out of my daydream, straight into reality as Sebastian pulls away from me.

"Keep that up on the red carpet, you two."

The car pulls to a stop and I can hear the uproar of a crowd outside. I blink slowly, trying to regain my composure. I don't get that chance though. Sebastian rises, and the door is opened.

I'm surprised at how his demeanor changes. He gives me a charming smile, holding out his hand to me. I let him guide me out of the car and am shocked further when his hand caresses my lower back.

"Don't forget to smile, Sunshine." His deep voice carries to me on a whisper. I need to hold in a whimper at the sound, my thighs clenching together as I put on my best smile.

The camera flashes are overwhelming as I try to look up at him like I actually want to be here. Everyone else arriving has been abandoned by the press, who's only focus is now on Sebastian and I. It's overwhelming. Admittedly, the only thing grounding me in this moment is Sebastian's hand on my back, guiding me forward and to the event.

The staff don't know what to do with us.

I had been so nervous and overwhelmed since this was sprung on me earlier today, that I hadn't really thought about the logistics. It seems the label hadn't either. In fact, I don't think anyone at the event knew that we would be arriving together.

This isn't done. Monsters and Humans don't mix like this. There's a standard set of rules for when events like these occur. Those rules include two different red carpets, one for the Humans and one for the Monsters.

The staff for the event are still looking at us with confusion as we make our way through the paparazzi.

"We can go to the Monster side," I suggest to Sebastian. We've lost Matilda in the commotion already.

"No." He grunts. "I will go with you to the Humans. It's much safer."

That's all he says to me as he guides me forward. He instructs the staff in clipped tones and they all bend over themselves to help us.

We are directed to stand in line now, a brief reprieve from the press ensuing. Red carpets still surprise me. I used to see the photos in magazines and online, and think that it looked so glamorous and fun. In reality? It was just a lot of famous people, all lined up together like cattle, waiting to get their picture taken to be allowed inside.

The other Humans in line with us are being polite, but I can see their uncertainty as they glance up at Sebastian. They're just being well behaved because of all the cameras around.

His hand remains firmly planted on my lower back, his thumb absentmindedly stroking me there as we wait. I sigh, comforted by the movement.

"Thank you," I tell him. "That could have been much worse and taken a lot longer."

He grunts in response. I sigh for a different reason this time. I thought he would be more vocal now that we were alone.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" I look up at him, blown away again by how attractive he looks in this tux. Especially now that he was standing.

He doesn't respond, looking at me intensely. I spot the moment when his eyes drift lower, taking in my breasts first, and then my entire form. I want to say something, but I don't know what. Sebastian looks like he wants to eat me, and I'm not so sure I would try to stop him.

We're ushered forward by a staff member. It's time for us to take to the carpet. Sebastian keeps his hand on me, and I try to look like it's completely natural that we would be touching. Like he touches me like this all the time.

For one pose, I place my hand on his chest and look up at him, smiling all the time. I'm sure the press, and the label, will eat that one up.

It takes far too long, but we eventually make it into the venue properly. I haven't been to many of these awards shows yet, so it's not normal for me at all. I can't help but gape at the lavish decor and place settings.

We're led to a table towards the back, which is fine with me. Sebastian plays the gentleman well, holding out my chair for me to sit. I could almost believe he was into me with this treatment. I certainly know better though.

We're seated in the Human section of the auditorium, and it very quickly becomes obvious as to why that might be an issue. Sebastian's chair is far too small for him. It's almost comical, his giant body in the chiavari chair.

"Don't laugh." He warns.

But that just sets me off. If there's one thing about me, I cannot hold in a good giggle to save my life. Sebastian's mouth quirks slightly, and I know he's struggling to keep up with his gloomy guy demeanor.

I sober up as some other Humans nervously join us at our table. I can tell that they are unhappy with the seating arrangement, they sneer and I can't help but curl in on myself a bit.

Sebastian scoots his chair closer to mine to give the woman next to him breathing room. She looks ready to pass out. I try to give her a gentle, reassuring smile. But the scowl she gives me hurts. I've done nothing to this woman. I kind of wish we had sat in the Monster section at this rate.

The man next to me has arrived, and he seems polite enough, giving me a small smile. Sebastian grunts, scooching closer to me and putting his arm around the back of my chair. My body is pressed flush against him now. The woman next to him must have really been creeping him out.

The waiters avoid Sebastian like a plague, setting his drinks down and sprinting away as fast as they can.

"Do you have everything you need?" He asks, surprising me. The announcement has gone out that they are starting the show in five minutes.

"A back up drink would be nice."

He signals to a waiter and has a drink in front of me in seconds, along with a glass of water.

"Don't forget to stay hydrated."

Who is this man?! Sebastian is doting on me. I'd almost believe someone had done a body swap on him, if he hadn't been pressed up against me the entire time. I haven't been able to help myself either, leaning into his embrace a little.

I could almost believe this ruse myself, settling in to watch the show.

I've noticed that the other Humans have been giving me disapproving looks all evening, but they haven't dared with Sebastian. It's pretty wild considering they're clearly annoyed with me because of him. They're all cowards, that's where their hatred stems from. It's kind of powerful for me to realize that.

The rest of the show goes on without a hitch. I can see a few shots of myself and Sebastian make it on to the cameras, so I'm careful to keep my happy mask in place.

I'm yawning by the time the show finishes up. The other people at our table scatter at the first chance they get, desperate to get away from us.

"How about we sit here for a sec while the crowd disperses." I suggest.

Sebastian nods, then his eyes shift to behind me. I notice that the man who sat next to me hasn't left yet, and he's staring at us.

I turn slightly, and he speaks to me.

"Are you two really together? I haven't been able to figure it out all night, why a pretty girl like you would be interested in him."

How dare he? I thought his smile was kind earlier, but now he just looks creepy. I place my hand over Sebastian's on the table.

"Yes, we're together. Not that it's any of your business. And for your information, he's a way better lay than any Human guy I've ever been with.

"Let's go," I stand, holding out my hand for Sebastian's. We walk away before the man can respond.

Sebastian doesn't address the incident as we wade through the crowd to leave. I'm getting kind of used to his silence at this point, anyway.

I'm relieved when we finally make it back to our car, my feet throbbing. Sebastian holds open the door for me, so I slide inside.

Disappointment rolls over me as Sebastian sits as far away from me as he can again. It feels like we're back to square one. And you know what? I'm pissed. Matilda completely disappeared earlier as well.

I'm fuming, actually. I'm so mad at everyone right now. I definitely let myself feel the fantasy as if it was real tonight. It's no one's fault but mine.

Well, I'm done. If this is how Sebastian wants this to go, then fine. That's exactly how it will go.