You Only Live Once

Chapter Twenty Five

Jamie got out of the passenger seat of her car and turned to open the back door to retrieve the bags and her dress bag once they parked in the parking garage. "I really hope that you like the dress that I picked out. There were so many to choose from... I even asked Grace for help."

"I'm sure I'll love it, sweetheart," Sebastian assured as he stepped out and closed the door behind him. "Let me help you with something," he offered.

"You can hold the dress if you promise not to peek," she told him.

He nodded, taking the dress from her and draping it carefully over his arm. "I won't peek. I promise," Seb chuckled.

She smiled at him as she turned and led the way to the elevator. "Despite what happened to me, did you have fun with Chris and Scott?"

"It was good. We had a couple of drinks, read some lines with Chris, and just kind of hung out," he replied as he followed her.

"Sounds like you had some good guy time." The elevator ride was short, and Jamie let Sebastian walk out first since he had her keys on hand. "I hope I didn't intrude."

"No, no, you didn't." Seb paused, and then added, "Besides, you know how much I love spending time with you."

Jamie smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up. "I love spending time with you too." She watched as he unlocked the door then walked inside, keeping the door open so she could walk in behind him. "Could you hang that in the bedroom, on the bathroom door please?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart," he said, kissing her temple before turning around and heading towards the bedroom. Seb hung the dress on the bathroom door, making sure it was hanging straight so it wouldn't wrinkle.

She followed behind him and placed her bags on the bed. "Thank you Seb. For everything today."

"It's my pleasure, baby." He leaned forward and kissed her softly. "You needed the break, and to treat yourself to something extra nice. I know your day out ended on a rough note, but I hope the rest of your time was good."

"It was." She reached up to caress his cheek. "Next time I would feel a bit better if you came with me... if that would be okay."

"I won't always be able to be there, sweetheart. You know that. But, I will come with you next time, I promise," he assured as he cupped her face gently in both hands.

Jamie nodded softly. "I know you can't. I just wish I was more prepared. It was frightening to see them out the windows of the store. Just... waiting."

"We can plan to make some trips out in public, if you want, so you can get used to seeing them around. Most of them aren't bad, just annoying," he told her.

"I would be okay with that. I want us to work, Sebastian, and I know that the attention is a part of that." She leaned upward to kiss him softly. "Today scared me, but I'm willing to work through it to be with you."

"You did amazing today, dragă. I'm proud of you," Seb replied softly. "I'm more than happy to help you adjust to this life. I know it's not easy, but we'll work through it together," he said as he hugged her tightly.

Jamie held onto him tightly, then laughed as he let them fall back onto the bed. "I did so well because of your help. You helped me think clearer." She turned and brushed her lips against his.

Sebastian kissed her deeply as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. He pulled back from her lips, only to nuzzle the side of her neck with his nose before trailing soft kisses down to her collarbone.

A soft sigh left Jamie's lips as she let her head tilt back. "You don't want to see what's in the bags?" she teased, then gasped, feeling his teeth against the skin of her neck.