Love At First Text ✔️

Him

Driving that morning was difficult for Sebastian. Not because it was an hour past midnight and he'd had just short of five hours sleep. Not even because the rain was coming down in sheets, making the already terrible visibility even worse. No, it was because of who was in the passenger seat. Eden, and he didn't think he'd ever seen her look more beautiful.

She'd pulled all of her faded ginger hair into a messy bun on top of her head, but thick sections of it still drooped down the back of her neck, where they weren't quite long enough to tie into the bobble. She was sat cross legged in a pair of the baggiest joggers he'd ever seen. They were a couple sizes too large, so the toggles were pulled tight and knotted in a bow. They were part of a set – her jacket matched, half zipped up to show a peak at the pastel pink sports bra she was wearing. As it always did, the charm of her necklace rested just above.

He'd not failed to notice she'd tried to cover the blossoming bruise around her eye. It had begun to darken now. Not too awfully yet, but it was bound to be a violent purple in the next few days. The colour peaked beneath coatings of makeup, and she's lathered her lips in some sort of gloss to distract from the scab that remained on her lips. They weren't very swollen anymore, which was a plus, because he really wanted to kiss them.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Inconvenient, for it didn't make him the most responsible driver.

She yawned, head falling against the headrest with a cushioned thud, and she fixed the fall of her jacket. "I hope I can sleep on the plane."

"Tired?" He asked her, turning up the heat in the car when he saw her suppress a shiver.

"So tired." Sebastian hadn't admitted, but their current flight was earlier than his initial one. When he'd asked Eden to join him, he'd been mortified to realise that there were no available seats left. Naturally, he found a different flight to the same location, and booked two – right next to each other. He hadn't told her that. It was an innocent secret that he was determined to keep.

"I've got you a window seat. You won't want to miss the view." He told her fondly.

"Isn't it just loads of water?" She snuggled further into the seat. God, he wanted to hold her.

"I once saw a shit tonne of dolphins splashing." She turned to him. Raised a brow. "Okay – I think I did. Just the way the sea was going white in some places."

"And you always say Char is dramatic." She muttered, yawning again thereafter.

"Seriously, though. It's beautiful. You're so high up, you can see everything. It feels like you're looking at the entire world. Like you could go anywhere."

She hummed with thoughtfulness. "Maybe I'll stay awake for a little while then." She seemed ready to fall asleep now, closeting her eyes as she burrowed into herself.

"Good. Then you can use my head as a pillow and snore away." She lifted her head with a scowl.

"I don't snore." She didn't. He just wanted her attention. He always wanted her attention.

❀

"God, I'm going to overheat." Eden moaned, fanning herself.

"Told you." She'd taken off her jacket and tied it around her waist. He'd advised this morning that she put on a pair of shorts beneath her joggers, but she hadn't listened, and was now facing the consequences. When they landed and they left the plane, the dry heat of Greece was enough to take their breath away for a second.

Eden was already complaining about it.

He wasn't annoyed though. He'd seen the awe on her face as she tried to contain herself in the drive to their villa. She watched through the window the entire time. The sea was on their left, stretches of grass and palm trees. At one point, when they were driving through a small town, she'd practically clambered on Sebastian's lap to get a look at the shops, and the people, and grinned so wide, he hoped she'd wear it forever.