Chapter twenty-eight - Eva

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🎶 If you ever wanna fall in love 🎶
If you ever wanna bet on us
If you ever wanna be my one
🎶 I'll be waiting 🎶
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Located in the heart of San Francisco's eclectic Mission District, "Lily's Diner" exudes warmth and nostalgia. The diner's façade is a charming blend of 1950s Americana, with neon signage and a vintage exterior that beckons passersby to step inside.

As I enter, the lively chatter of patrons and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingles with the scent of sizzling bacon and homemade pies - cooling on the counter. The interior is a mishmash of retro décor, featuring red vinyl booths, chrome-trimmed tables, and jukeboxes playing classic rock 'n' roll hits.

The walls are adorned with black-and-white photographs showcasing San Francisco's rich history, adding a touch of local charm to the space. Friendly waitstaff, sporting classic diner uniforms, navigate the bustling dining area with trays laden with plenty food and bottomless cups of artisanal coffee. I look around, trying to locate a certain brunette with lovely lavender eyes.

When I fail to find any familiar face, I step further inside and take a seat on the stools positioned along the gleaming counter. I can feel a couple of the customers and the staff eyeing me, wary of the tall and scowling woman dressed in all black. But I just ignore them.

Sebastian must be late.

After the spectacularly disastrous reunion in the bookstore's back alley, I went straight to a popular and extremely private BDSM Club which is owned by a colleague of mine. My intention was to find a willing submissive to fuck and abuse. But, of course, like the countless other times before, I just ended up drinking and snarling at anyone who came close.

I just want to be left alone with my pain and memories. Moving on is overrated.

Then, this morning I woke up to a text from Sebastian with a simple location and time. Technically, I'm supposed to be on my plane back to Russia right now, but... I have never been able to deny my little lamb. Plus, after months of silence, I was not going to ignore his first text.

Suddenly, I notice that I have been sitting here for nearly ten minutes and not a single waiter has approached me to ask for my order. I strongly suspect it has something to do with Seb, so I stay put.

"What happened to your face?"

Surprised at the small voice next to me, I turn sharply to the kid next to me. His clothes are a little battered and dirty. The writings on them are faded. The boy is small but his eyes are big and he's staring at me intently. Although I can never guess children's age, he looks about eight to ten years old.

"What?" I narrow my eyes at the rude question and try not to lift a hand to my face. I'm almost certain there is nothing on it, since I showered before I came here.

He points to his forehead, above his eyebrows. "Did you get in a fight?"

He's talking about the scar I got a few months back. It is lighter in color than my skin tone and runs diagonally on the left side of my forehead and disappears into my eyebrow. I honestly don't remember how I got it except the pain of the stitches when I woke up the next day. Still, I nod to get the kid to stop talking to me. "Yes."

He's silent for less than a minute before he asks another question. "Are you here for Sebby?"

"Yes. Do you know him?" I ask, trying not to appear too interested.

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