When Bast unlocks his front door, a curly-haired woman bursts into the foyer. She wraps her arms around Sebastian but keeps the hug brief and cuts her eyes to me.

"Mom, she's my friend Tara," Bast says.

A grin springs across her face. "I'm Nora. I'm so glad to meet you."

"Likewise."  I accept her outstretched hand, shaking it. "Thank you for having me."

"Nonsense. When Basti said he was bringing a friend, we were happy. You'll have to forgive my husband for not being here. Ray's still at work."

My gaze meets Basts. I mouth Basti, and he narrows his eyes in a silent warning, so I refocus on Nora and hand her a box with pastries I bought. “This is for you.”

“Thank you so much, but you didn't have to,” Nora says, taking the desserts. “Basti, did you tell Tara she didn't have to?”

Sebastian huffs out a chuckle. “Yes, Mom, I told Tara she didn't have to. But she's stubborn, and she hates me, so she wouldn't listen.”

Nora’s head snaps up. She glances at me and rewards her son with a glare. “What did you do, Sebastian?”

“Nothing,” I rush to say. “It was just some bugs. But in Sebasti’s defense, I glitter-bombed him first.”

Bast tries to hold in his laughter but fails, and the sound of it rings in the room. I don't think I've ever heard him laugh like that. It throws me off-balance, and my confusion grows even stronger when Nora slips her arm around my waist and presses me to her side. “Thank you.”

I look down at the woman. “For glitter-bombing your son?”

Nora sighs, squeezing me, and her eyes glisten almost as if she were about to cry. A movie is being filmed in Sebastian’s foyer, and I didn't get the script, so I plaster a grin on my face and turn to Bast. “Show me the woods. You promised.”

Nora frowns and points a hand toward the hallway. “But I was going to make tea. Or coffee.”

“It'll get dark soon,” Bast says. “We won't take long. Maybe Dad will be home by then, and we can try the pastries together.”

“I’ll call and ask him. And no more bugs, Sebastian, you hear me?”

Bast presses a palm to his temple in a mock salute. “Yes, ma'am. No bugs.”

After he opens the front door for me, I give Nora a small wave and step onto the porch.

A heavy arm settles on my shoulders. My heart does a small flip, and warmth floods my cheeks. 

“Mom can be too much,” Bast says. “Sorry if she scared you.”

“Of course, she didn't.” I descend the steps of the porch with him still hugging me. “She just loves you.”

“And will probably try to know what her son is up to in college, so please, don't overshare.” Bast drops his arm and shoves his hands in the pocket of his parka.

The memory of Elena's words resurfaces. Does he really hide something? That he works from his bedroom means nothing — he could be tutoring someone online or doing their coursework for money. While not precisely ethical, the second option isn't scandalous or new. He probably hides his job for the same reason I hide mine — he'd rather not be subjected to gossip. In college, I care about my GPA and making connections for the future. The money I make is just a way to support myself and not depend on anyone while studying. That's why I use a different last name for my blog and personal shopping business. But why is Elena so interested in what Bast is up to?

“Elena tried to tell me what your job is today," I blurt out. 

Bast halts mid-step and regards me with his brows raised but resumes the stroll fast. "She has no clue regardless of what she told you," he says as we step onto the path leading into the woods.

"She said nothing. It looked like she was the one who wanted to find out."

"I wonder what for."

I'd love to know the same, considering the possibilities are quite a few — petty drama, intrigues, lies, all to make an indifferent guy notice her existence. It's not even annoying anymore; just sad.

Frosty air nips at my cheeks. I scan the bare trees towering over us and walk faster to catch up with Bast.

When I'm by his side, he stops, pointing a hand ahead of us. "There."

"There?"

"That's where I saw your friend."

The mist enveloping the forest paired with the lack of sunlight make it nearly impossible to discern anything, but I still can't believe Mav could've been here alone. 

"Bast, I—"

Sebastian grips my hand and jolts me into him. "Look. What the…"

The air drains from my lungs. Someone's there — a ghostlike figure clad in white among the trees. 

Fear makes me close my eyes. When I open them, whoever was there is gone. Without letting go of Bast's hand, I take a few steps toward where I saw them.

Where we saw them.

Bast curls his fingers around my wrist. "Tara, stop."

"Why? Someone was there, watching us."

"For fuck's sake. And what are you gonna do? Invite them to have some tea with the pastries you brought? Let's go home."

"For starters, I'd check if there's anything there. Maybe we're both seeing stuff. You've been talking about Maverick and the forest all afternoon; it might be, I don't know, wishful thinking?"

Bast's groan spooks a few birds, and they fly off the thin branches. "Call me a coward," he says, "but I'm freaking out big time. Let's hurry before it gets dark."

Sebastian pivots, and since my hand is still in his, I have no choice but to keep up with his long strides.

When we leave the woods behind, Bast lets go of me and exhales. "There should be a logical explanation for whatever we saw, right?"

I'm still in a daze, and things make no sense at all, but for Bast's sake, I rein in my nerves and nod.

♡♡♡

We have dinner with Nora because Bast's dad is still at work. Contrary to what Bast implied, she isn't nosy at all — she asks us about our professors, coursework, and friends like any parent would.

I speak way more than Bast, and when we finish having tea, I offer to help Nora with the dishes.

She says no at first but changes her mind, and we tell Bast to leave so we can chat. 

I learn about her fascination with plants and love for soap operas, and she tells me she's never learned to do good manicures, so I promise to teach her. In no time, everything is clean.

"Your room's next to Bast's." Nora dries the last dish I hand her. "He said you were friends, so I—"

Here we go.

"We're friends," I say. "And project partners in Ethics."

Roommates too, but we kept that detail from Sebastian's family to avoid unnecessary questions, just like we didn't tell our friends we'd spend the break together.

"I bet you two are the best students in class," Nora says. "As long as you remember to have fun, it's all good.  Now come on; let me show you your room."

I climb the stairs after Bast's mom. The guest bedroom is at the end of the hallway, and Bast has already put my stuff by the bed.

"It looks great," I say to Nora. "Thank you."

She waves her hand dismissively. "The house is old. I tried to do my best decorating, but I'd love to move somewhere better once I get a job. Unpack and get some rest, Tara. I bet you're exhausted."

"A bit," I say. "Good night."

Nora hugs me and exits the room. Crouching down next to my bag, I unzip it and pull out some lingerie and a nightgown.

As I stand under the hot shower in the en-suite, I replay the events of the day, pausing on some and trying to erase others, such as seeing whatever we did in the forest. I'd probably feel better if Bast and I talked about it, but he must already be in his bedroom, and wandering around his house risking running into his parents is far from ideal.

I towel off, get dressed, and dry my hair with a small dryer I brought. 

When I'm done, there's a timid knock on the door.

I open it, careful to stay partly hidden and scolding myself for not thinking about the robe.

Bast is leaning on the doorframe, holding a hairdryer.

"Sorry. Mom asked me to give you this, but I see you already have one."

"Thanks, anyway." I open the door wider. "I thought you were already in bed." 

Sebastian's gaze travels along my body, and my heart skips a beat.

"As you can see, I'm not. Are you sleepy?"

I smooth my palms over my hair despite knowing it's perfectly straight. My fingertips brush against my hot cheeks, and the smirk on Bast's lips tells me he's aware of my nervousness.

He rests the hairdryer on the dresser and crosses his arms. "Who would've thought, huh?"

"What?"

"I make you uncomfortable."

I turn off the light in the bathroom and step into the room, shutting the door behind me.

"I can always ask you to leave, Sebasti," I say, facing the bed. 

Warm palms splay over my bare shoulders, and the electric current zips through me, leaving pleasant tingles in its wake.

"You can," Bast whispers against my temple. "But we both know you want me to stay."

If I turn around, I'll break the spell. Maybe that's why I don't dare to move and keep my eyes glued to the white comforter.

Bast's fingers slip under the thin strap of my nightgown. For a moment, I think he wants to undress me. 

Would I stop him? Would I want to stop him?

I wouldn't, but his touch is nothing but innocent — he trails his fingertips over the curve of my shoulder and neck as if he aimed to memorize how my skin feels to the touch.

I'm not sure how long his caress lasts, but it's long enough for me to wish it didn't end.

My body feels weightless, and I'm about to lean on Bast for support when he lets go of me and circles the bed. 

He pulls the comforter back and pats the mattress. "Wait for me here. I need to get something from my room."

Bast leaves. Too rattled to form a coherent thought, I turn a bedside lamp on and get in bed. 

When Sebastian reappears in the room, a laptop is under his arm. He opens it, slides under the covers by my side, and puts the computer between us, powering it on.

"What are we going to do?" I ask.

"I want to figure out what the hell we saw today in the woods."

"It looked like a person in white."

He rolls his eyes and types something in the search bar.

"Optical illusions," I read. "That's unlikely if we both saw the same thing."

Sebastian deletes the words and types Festivals near Ashwick instead.

"Festivals?"

He groans, rubbing his palms over his face. "Suggest something better then. I thought about festivals because of the white clothes. Maybe someone was performing and needed to pee."

"That's…"

I bite my tongue, but laughter bubbles up in my chest and escapes when Bast circles my waist with his arm and pinches my side.

"You're a pain in the ass, Tara."

"I like you too."

Bast scrolls through the search results. "Oh, I know you do. I have eyes."

"We both have them," I whisper, leaning my head against Bast's shoulder. "That's why I think we should return there tomorrow and look. Maybe it was an animal."

Sebastian keeps looking at the screen, but his fingers caress the curve of my waist as if touching me were natural. As if he's done it countless times.

The rhythmic tapping on the keyboard makes me yawn. I close my eyes in time to feel Bast's lips on my cheek.

His hoarse whisper caresses my ear. "Should I leave?"

I find his hand under the comforter and thread my fingers through his.

"Stay."

Tell me your theories, guys.
Hope you felt the tension. As much as some of you want some action, sorry to disappoint. I plot my books and stuff will happen when it needs to.:) soon, anyway.

Regarding the messages asking for updates, I see them, but you know Im doing my best. I wish a day had 5 more hours and I didn't need to sleep or work.

That being said, please vote. It costs nothing, but it helps me see who's reading and know you if only by the username. Comments are also important for every writer. They help us know what readers think ❤

Hope you have a great week ahead!
Love,
A.