Starting Over {S.S}

17

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"You start working tomorrow", Sebastian murmurs as he kisses my shoulder. I nod my head, "Are you nervous?". I look up at him and shake my head, "Beyond belief", I laugh. He leads me towards the couch and we sit down, draping one of the blankets on us. "You'll be fine, I know you will"

"This week has been a week unlike any other", I say honestly. I look down at my hands and play with the edge of the blanket to distract myself. Emotionally, I was exhausted. The amount of things, both good and bad that have happened in such a short amount of time have left me completely exhausted, and I was starting to feel the effects of it all. "And you came out stronger. Above it all, you came out on top, and I'm so proud of you for never backing down and giving up, even when things got rough", he leans over and places a kiss on my forehead.

"I bought you something", he says suddenly. I sit up straight and watch as he gets off the couch and walks into the kitchen, returning moments later with a small blue box. "What is this?", I smile. He nods toward the box and smiles, "Just open it". I do as he says and my eyes instantly tear up as I stare down at the ocean blue pendant. "Turn it around", he whispers. I flip the pendant over and hold my hand to my mouth as I read the engraving. You are my dream come true. I laugh as I look up at him, my eyebrows raised. "What?", he laughs. "You're my dream come true? I think I should be the one saying that. You're really funny, you know that?", I smile as I jump on top of him. He laughs as he holds onto me by my waist. "I thought it would be funny, considering the whole dream thing, but I'm being serious when I say you are my dream come true". He pulls me back and stares at me intently. He was laying down on his back, whereas I was on top of him now. I lean down and kiss him, as I grip the pendant in my hand, "It's beautiful. I love it, thank you"

"Let me put it on for you". I hand him the necklace and I move my hair out of the way as he slips it around my neck and closes the clasp securely. "Beautiful", he whispers , "Just like you". I can't help the tint of pink that rises to my cheeks and I burry my face in his neck, to conceal it. "We should go to bed, tomorrow is a big day for you", he says as he kisses me. I nod and get up, grabbing his hand behind me as I walk up the stairs.

Once we get to my room, I change into a pair of pyjamas and slip into bed. I wait for Sebastian and he comes in moments later with a pair of sweatpants and no shirt. "How am I supposed to sleep when you look like that?", I say as he gets into bed beside me. "I always sleep like this", he shrugs. "I hope you know I'm your biggest fan", I say as I look at his abs, and then back up at his face. "You're my favorite fan", he kisses me and pulls the blankets over me. "Goodnight, beautiful. I love you"

"I love you too, dreamboat", I say as I shut off the lights. In the dark now, Sebastian begins to laugh, "Dreamboat?". "I have a list of names I can call you", I say and I hear him laugh beside me. I turn to the other side and he pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around me as I relax into my pillow. He kisses the top of my head and I sigh, before letting sleep consume me.

***

"Sebastian the keys! Where are my keys!", I yell as I slip on my shoes. I hear him running down the stairs and he comes barreling into the living room, "Calm down, we'll find them", he says breathlessly. I put a hand on my forehead and sigh, "I'm going to be late", I say as I search for my car keys. "No, you won't. You still have an hour and a half to get there, and it's not far from here. Dani, I need you to take a deep breath and breathe, okay? Everything is going to be fine, they'll love you"

"Okay", I huff as I hug him. He holds me tight and I hear something jingle. I reach my hand in my pocket and my face drops. "Oh", I laugh nervously as I pull out my car keys. "They were here the whole time", I shake them in my hands and grab my work bag. "You need to calm down", Sebastian laughs at me. "Good luck and hey, remember I love you!", he kisses me and walks me to my car. I give him one last kiss before pulling out of the driveway and heading towards Bourgeois By Designs.

When I arrive I take a deep breath before stepping out of my car and into the building. The security guard at the front desk leads me towards Miss Bourgeois' office and I feel my heart begin to race. Maybe she looked nothing like the Miss Bourgeois in my dream. The security guard leaves me alone and I stand in front of the frosted glass door, my hand hovering over it. I form a fist and lightly knock on it. "Come in", I hear a voice say. I open the door and there she sits, at a wide mahogany table, her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose; Belinda Bourgeois.

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Since the first book of this series, Unavailable, I've always pictured Miss Bourgeois as Meryl Streep and I find that she fits the part of Belinda Bourgeois so well!