StaR-CrosseD🔱 {Book 1}

Chapter Five

"Relax, will you? You're giving me anxiety." Brody said, and Sebby felt like choking his ass out, and not even in the fun way.

"I'm perfectly relaxed, thank you. You said one drink, and it's been four."

"Yeah, for me though, you haven't even touched yours."

"Because...!" Sebby snapped, then took a deep breath, urging himself to calm down.

"Because I told you I wanted water, but you ordered tequila anyway."

"I know, but I wanted this to be a special night." Brody whined in a slurred voice. "Our night."
Sebby rolled his eyes.

"And that could still happen, but it doesn't have to be here. And you might wanna lay off the scotch drunky."

Brody's response to that was to down two more shots, then "I'm not drunk!"

"Uh huh. So what is it gonna be? Can you put down the scotch and let's try to salvage this date?"

Brody looked at him strangely. "I wish you meant that."

"What?" Sebby asked in a weird voice, suddenly sick and tired of Brody and his immaturity. He wondered if Quincy was somewhere in the club looking at him, but he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of checking.

"If I could have you, I'd gladly give up the scotch."

Well that came outta nowhere.
Sebby blinked, and tried to get back to the conversation at hand. "Look Brody, I..."

"I mean it Sebby."

"Yeah, for now."

"Forever."

"Stop it, you're drunk."

"Damn it, I'm not drunk!!"

Sebby shrugged, deciding he was wasting his time and energy arguing with the boy. "Fine, you're not drunk."
When Brody didn't respond right away, he took a sip of his water and pressed his lips together. Insisting that coming here had been a mistake, he should've paid more attention to his surroundings. Still he didn't want the evening to become a total loss. He knew he should be trying harder to like Brody, but try as he might he couldn't pretend for shit.

"Will you marry me?"

"Huh?" Sebby asked distractedly.

"Damn it! I said, will you marry me?"

Sebby's eyes widened, and mouth gaped. That went from zero to a hundred real damn fast.
When he could find his voice, he asked "Say sike. That's a joke right?"

Brody's mouth stretched into a bitter line. "It's not a joke Seb, I'm serious. But based on your reaction it probably should be." Sebby tried to come to terms with Brody's bombshell even as he added, "I think we'd make a perfect team. We're both from the same background, have the same friends, and we..."

"Wait, wait a second, this is all happening too fast. Yes all of that is true but that's hardly reason enough to marry somebody,— after three weeks no less."

"I'm serous as a heart attack Sebby, and I'll prove it." Brody reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet covered box, and extended his hand. When Sebby hesitated, he said, "Go ahead, take it. It's yours, it's all yours.

Sebby stared at the box, he wondered what other unexpected shit was going to happen tonight.
"Take it!" Brody urged, sounding a little frantic.

Sebby picked up the box and opened it slowly, with a sinking heart, and his breath caught at the sight of the huge diamond. He snapped the box shut, along with his mouth.

"You don't like it." Brody said.

Sebby picked up on the anger and hurt in the male's voice, but he had no idea how to comfort him. Having zero poker face and no filter was his biggest flaw.

"Actually, I love it. I think it's beautiful, but..."

"But you don't want it." Brody finished for him.

Sebby had convinced himself that settling for Brody, and making his father happy was best for both him and his baby, after all he was two months gone and pretty soon he was going to start showing. But as much as he didn't want to do this alone, he couldn't imagine himself with someone like Brody.
Brody was too much like Sebby's father in his opinion—all work and no play, and dry as hell. Not to mention controlling. If and when he decided to get married, it was going to be to someone who set his body and soul on fire, some like— he axed the thought before it took a dangerous turn.

"That's right, I don't want it." He finally said.

Brody reached out and snatched the ring from his hand, with a force that made Sebby grit his teeth to keep from bitchslapping the tech genius. "One of these days you're going to get what's coming to you Sebby, I just hope i get the pleasure of being there to see it."
Sebby rolled his eyes again.

"Look Brody, you're a good friend and a good person, but I just don't have those type of feelings for you. And frankly I don't think you do either. I'm sorry."

"Don't tell me how I feel!" Brody snapped, then added, "I guess what you're saying is, thanks but no thanks?"

"Pretty much, Yeah." Sebby answered, forcing a softness in his voice that he didn't feel, all he wanted to do was go home and get in bed.

"So where does this leave us?"

"Friends, I hope."

"Friends Huh?"

"Yep."

Brody drained his glass, slammed it on the table and called for the waitress. It was still early hours of the night, so besides the soft music that was playing and a few people here and there, there wasn't really much going on, which made his tantrum loud as fuck.

"What if I don't want to be your friend huh? How about that?" Sebby didn't get a chance to respond before the waitress appeared at their table.
"Give me another double." Brody said without looking at the girl.
"Double coming right up." She said and walked away.

Once the waitress was gone, Sebby said "let's just leave, okay?"

"Hell no!" Brody's voice rose. And Sebby couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't seen how self-centered Brody was before now? Well, it didn't matter. He could never love him, self-centered or not.

"We're not leaving, I wanted this to be a perfect night, and a perfect night it shall be!"

"Fine, suit yourself." Sebby said and made to get up, but Brody pulled him back down hard as fuck.

"Sit your ass down!" He slurred.

Sebby got lightheaded for a second, feeling a sharp pain in his stomach. But as he tried to relax and open his eyes, the first thing he saw was a very angry looking Quincy walking towards them.