The Wedding Plan

Chapter 25

'You watch too many movies.'

'I think you were. Just tell me I'm right. I know I am.'

'Shut up, Sebastian.'

He laughed, and she turned around and started walking towards the kitchen.

Eleanor boiled some water to make the coffee on a French press as Sebastian studied the apartment with his eyes while waiting for his cup of coffee. He felt comfortable there; it has such a cozy and warm atmosphere; it was so much different from what he was used to. His home was so cold and empty.

She turned around with a freshly made cup of coffee in her hands; that smell deliciously; only to find that Sebastian Crain was asleep on her couch.

'I'm going to regret this, aren't I?' Eleanor sighed and placed the cup of coffee on the counter.

He must've been exhausted. She thought as she carefully took Sebastian's shoes off, placed his legs on the couch, and loosened his tie.

'Good night, Sebastian,' she mumbled as she covered him with a blanket.

Eleanor felt restless during the night. Sebastian was asleep just on the other side of the wall. She definitely had not planned to have him staying at her house, but since she met him again, her life did not seem to go according to plan.

There was still a lot of time left before her alarm went on, but Eleanor could not sleep any longer. She pushed the covers aside and sat on the bed. Before getting out of the bedroom, she waited a bit and tried to hear any sounds coming from the living room. Nothing. Not even a snore. Did he leave? Or is he still a sleep? She wondered as she took a deep breath and gathered the courage to step outside.

As she left her room, she saw that Sebastian was still sound asleep on the couch. He had such a peaceful look, and he indeed had his charms, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

'Sebastian,' she whispered as she leaned against the back of the couch and looked at him.

He slowly opened his eyes. She looked like an angel, smiling at him with her face hovering a few inches from his, her hair cascading down as the sun light brighten up the room.

'Good morning, sleepyhead,' she said.

'Good morning.'

'I thought you would be gone by now. You seemed so eager to drive back home,' she said as she walked towards the kitchen.

'I suppose that I was more tired than I thought.'

'You do realize that you were about to do something reckless, don't you?'

'Yes, mother,' he mocked.

'Joke all you want, Sebastian, but I am glad that you fell asleep here and not behind the wheel. You could have had a car crash just because of your stubbornness. And public transportation is a thing you know?'

He rolled his eyes and covered his head with the blanket.

'I appreciate your concern. I truly do. So, if you care that much about me, just let me sleep a little more.'

'No. It's time to get up.'

'Just five more minutes, please.'

'Are you always like this in the morning?'

'I'm not a morning person. I thought that my late nights at work had already shown that.'

'Come on, get up. I can't be late for work because of you,' she said as she looked at what she had inside the fridge.

'I think that your boss would be okay with that,' he said with his voice muffled by the blanket.

'If you are talking about Larissa, I don't think that she would.' Eleanor smiled. She knew Sebastian was talking about himself. 'Do you want breakfast?'

'What are you making?'

'Blueberry pancakes.'

Pancakes for breakfast on the weekends was Eleanor's tradition, so even though it was still a weekday, she was confident enough about her cooking skills, at least when it came to pancakes. But since Sebastian was there, her confidence was plummeting.

'Sure. Sounds good.'

While a nervous Eleanor cooked, Sebastian stayed a lit bit longer, slouched on the couch. He hadn't been this relaxed in a really long time.

'Food is ready,' she announced, putting the plates on the kitchen island. 'Pancakes used to be a Sunday tradition at my parents' place. I still like to make them every now and then.'

Sebastian got up and sat on a bench while Eleanor was washing her hands. When she turned around, she saw Sebastian only wearing his black underwear. He had woken up in the middle of the night and made himself more comfortable. Since he was already sleeping on the couch, he thought he might as well sleep until morning.

'Could you please put something on?' she asked as she turned red from head to toe and looked the other way.

Sebastian was definitively a sight to behold, but she was not prepared to have him look like that while eating breakfast beside her, alone with her, in her apartment.

He picked up his shirt and put it on, but left it unbuttoned.

'You know that's not much of a difference, right?'

He shrugged and started to eat.

'These are delicious,' he smirked.

'Thank you.'

She was relived, even though her heart was racing at least the confidence that she had in her cooking skills was going up again.

'I mean it. These are really good. By the way, you are not wearing much either.'

Eleanor looked down at her pajamas. He was right; she stood dressed like this in front of him last night, and now as well, she didn't even think about that.

They quickly finished eating breakfast, and Eleanor looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. She still had time to clean the kitchen, get ready, and to compose herself before going to work.

'Thank you for the food. And for letting me stay here. Oddly enough, I haven't felt this rested in a while,' he said as he buttoned up his shirt.

'Glad to know you are feeling better,' she said as she cleaned the dishes, avoiding looking at Sebastian getting dressed.

'I'm going to go home, shower, change clothes, and then I'll see you at work,' he said with a smirk as he walked towards the door.

And an embarrassed Eleanor awkwardly waved goodbye as she walked him to the door. As soon as she closed the door behind Sebastian, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her restless heart.

Sebastian Crain had just spent the night at her house. He ate her blueberry pancakes, stood semi-naked in front of her, and yet he could still say "see you at work" in such an aloof way. How am I supposed to look at him at work? Eleanor cursed Sebastian in her head, as her heart was still racing. But at least she felt relieved to see that he seemed to be back to his usual self.