Chapter Text
She had so much to do. She only had another week, tops, before it got too cold for her plants to produce anymore crops. She really should have been out in the fields making the most of her final harvest.
But damn if a trip to the bath house wasn’t everything she wanted right now.
She invited everyone in to hang out while she zipped around the cabin getting ready. She threw a towel and the emerald green bikini set she had into a tote before rushing to the bathroom to quickly shave her legs. She chuckled to herself, remembering when she ordered the swimsuit at the end of Spring, thinking she'd get so much use out of it at the beach.
Here it was at the end of Fall, tags still attached.
She redid her ponytail and slipped into a gray oversized crewneck, stepping into her living room.
“Nine minutes and forty six seconds,” Penny said, stopping a timer on her phone. “Well done!”
They made their way up the mountain path at a leisurely pace, chatting about this and that as they went. The Spirit's Eve festival was just a week away, and their plans for costumes and afterparties was the topic of their chatter. Abi had been working on a costume for months, Sam was still planning on doing a duo costume with his brother, and Haley and Jessie were planning on dressing up as fairies. Penny really liked the idea and asked if she could join, to which they obviously said yes. Sebastian made no comment, presumably not having given the festival much thought.
Jessie must have been more exhausted than she realized, because her chest was heaving by the time they made it to the bath house.
“This is where I finally made my first move with Penny, you know,” Sam said, bumping Jessie’s shoulder with his. Penny laughed in front of them.
“If I remember correctly, Samson, that first move took some prompting,” she said.
He shrugged and grinned, taking a few quick strides to catch up with her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He lifted her into the air, Penny shrieking and laughing.
“Lemme tell the story so I look good, Pen!” he said. “Or I'll keep you in air jail.”
Haley spun around to face Abigail. “Don't even think about it,” she said, her glare somehow negating their height difference. “If you put me in air jail I'll ruin your life.”
Abi just smirked, reaching towards Haley and chasing her to the bathhouse door.
“No running by the pool, kids,” Sebastian called. The couples were now ahead of them, already walking into the building. He looked nervous, and had been quieter than usual on the way here.
“You okay?” Jessie asked. He waved her concern away, giving her a shy smile.
“Yeah, yeah. I just don't usually do things like… this.”
She smiled, holding the door open for him.
“Try to have fun for my sake, okay? Or else I'll go right back to working.”
“Don't you dare,” he said, stepping in close to her. “You’re not immune to air jail, you know.”
*****
Sam was doing his best to deliver a locker-room pep talk.
“Come on, man, you look great! There's no way she won't fall in love with you.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes, eyeing himself next to Sam in the mirror. His best friend was a few inches shorter than him, but he was considerably more muscular. His summer tan was still holding on, too. It was hard not to feel inferior next to Sam.
Seb was pale, and skinny, though he'd put on a bit of muscle since being out in the woods with Jessie so often and helping his mom out in the shop more. Still, he could see his ribs in the mirror.
“I don’t need her to fall in love with me,” he grumbled, turning away from his reflection. “I just need her to not think I'm gross.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Alright, now you're just being harsh. Let’s go.”
Sebastian groaned, running his hand through his hair as he followed Sam out to the bathhouse.
His jaw almost hit the floor when he saw Jessie.
Her hair was still pulled up into the ponytail, falling in whisps to the base of her neck, and she was wearing a deep green bikini that might as well have been made from f*cking dental floss.
She was sitting at the side of the pool, dipping her legs up to her calves. The muscles of her thighs were pushed flat against the tiles, accentuating her insane hip-to-waist ratio even further. Her stomach, Yoba, her stomach, had a small, soft curve to it where he might have assumed she had abs. Her sternum tattoo was killing him, the moth's wings wrapping up to her boobs, which were round and perky, and barely being contained by that bikini top. Her nipples were hard, and before he could tear his gaze away, he was able to see those sneaky piercings through the fabric.
“Sam,” he whispered, grabbing his best friend by the wrist. “She's trying to f*cking kill me.”
*****
“Haley,” Jessie said as quietly as she could. “I'm not going to survive this.”
Sebastian was gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous. She had only ever seen him in long-sleeve shirts and full-length pants, so she'd had no idea he looked like that.
He had a full leg sleeve covering his left leg, starting down at the ankle and disappearing under his shorts. His abdomen was flat and taught, a light V shape leading down his sides, drawing her eyes to the small patch of dark hair trailing from the base of his belly button and disappearing beneath the hem of his shorts
Her mind was starting to wander to places shouldn't, so she ripped her gaze further up his torso. Both his arms displayed beautifully done sleeves, and when he turned to talk to Sam she saw a smoke pattern that covered the length of his spine. She noticed, not for the first time, his hands. He had delicate, long fingers, fingers she had fantasized about a hundred times.
He locked eyes with her then, forcing her to swallow the instinct to look away. His eyes roved her body shamelessly. Holy sh*t, she thought to herself. Oh my god, he's… he’s into me.
He looked hungry, possessive even, and a shiver of arousal passed through her. He was normally so reserved, so private, but here he was checking her out in public. The exhibitionist in her was thrilled to have this kind of effect on him, so much so that she stood up and made for her tote bag. She could feel his gaze on her as she walked away from him, and she was aware of every small movement of her hips or jiggle of the muscle in her legs.
The bag was on the ground. She tossed a look over her shoulder, making sure he was still watching, before bending at the waist to get her water bottle from the tote. When she rose and turned back towards him, he was still staring, his pupils blown. f*ck, this was hot. She smirked at him, wondering how much more she'd be able to get away with today.
*****
He was hanging on by a thread. They all lounged in the pool, steam rising around them, making the baby hairs around Jessie's forehead go curly. Between the heat of the pool and the heat of the moment, he was certain he'd pass out any second now.
“Do you guys remember the pool games you'd play as kids?” Penny asked. She was sitting with her head on Sam's shoulder.
“Oh, yeah,” Abi said. Her and Haley were sitting on the edge of the pool, needing to take a break from heat. She had her hand on her girlfriend's thigh. Just that was enough to make Seb's mind race. Jessie was sitting right next to him, it would be so easy to reach over and put his hand on her leg in a similar way.
After the little show she put on getting her water bottle, he was fairly certain she'd be on board. That couldn't have been for anyone else, not with the way she had smiled at him as she sauntered back to the group. f*ck, he was at risk of getting hard again just thinking of the way she looked bent over.
Still, he was doing his best to keep a tight leash on his self-control. They hadn't talked about this. He didn't know for sure that she wanted him. And she didn't know about his ex, Natalie, or the disastrous way his last relationship ended. It wouldn't be fair to lead her into the dressing room, grab her by the hips and hoist her against the wall, grind his co*ck against her until she was begging him to bend her over and f*ck her like a toy, then make her cum until she was screaming his name. No, that wouldn't be fair at all unless she knew what she was getting herself into.
Nevermind the way she was looking at him, or the way she kept scooting closer to him, or the way she had smiled at him after turning around and showing him exactly what he was missing out on.
f*ck, this is impossible.
“Chicken was always my favourite,” Jessie piped up next to him. His eyes flicked to her involuntarily, taking in the freckles on her collarbones, trailing the bead of sweat trickling down her neck.
“It would be, you beefcake,” Haley said. “I'm sure you had no issues winning.”
Jessie smirked, lifting her arms to flex at Haley. Sebastian could feel himself salivating, watching every muscle in her arms and shoulders work. She was so strong. God, would someone with that kind of strength be willing to be dominated? The thought was enough to make him lose his hold on himself for just a second.
“Why don't we play?” He asked. Jessie turned to him, shocked. All eyes were on them, and he knew it, but he couldn't keep himself from winking. “Really put those muscles to work, hmm?”
She was already red from the heat, but her flush deepened. If she could dish it out in front of everyone, she better be able to take it when it was handed back to her.
“Oh, I'm out,” Penny said. “I saw her at the strength game. No thank you.”
“Same here,” Haley said. “That woman has moved every piece of furniture in my house for me, I know I'm no match.”
sh*t. No, this was not how he thought this would go. He shot a feverish look at Sam, who just shrugged.
“Looks like it's you and me, Abs,” Sam said, getting back into the water. “You wanna fight or carry?”
Abi laughed. “Fight, obviously. Come on, Jessie, let's go.”
Relief flooded through him for a second. He dropped his voice, turning to Jessie so only she could hear him.
“Come on then, J,” he said, “sit on my shoulders and show em who's boss.”
She swallowed, suddenly tongue tied, and nodded without another word. He smirked, moving to get in front of her. He was going to push it too far, he knew it, but he couldn't help himself.
“I'll dunk under, then you get on and hold tight, sweets.”
He took a deep breath and dunked himself into the hot water, not rising again until he felt Jessie’s thighs on his shoulders.
*****
He caught her, and she knew it.
Why else would he have suggestested playing Chicken in what was essentially a giant hot tub? She was shocked at how quickly he retaliated, but she was in for a penny, in for a pound.
When she hooked her legs over the back of his shoulders, he secured her in place by sliding his hands up her thighs and squeezing. There was none of the gentleness from the night before, when he'd held her hand to reassure her. She felt his fingers dig into her thighs for a moment before sliding back down to her knees, bracing her as he rose out of the water with her on his shoulders. They staggered for a second, almost losing their balance before leveling out.
He looked up at her from between her thighs, his head resting against her abdomen, and squeezed her knees reassuringly. “I've got you.”
I bet you would, she thought before she could stop herself. As if he could read her thoughts, he winked.
This wasn't exactly how she'd pictured Sebastian's face between her thighs, but it was working for her. Perched on top of his shoulders, she was relying on him to keep her upright, leaving herself completely at his mercy.
She was f*cking soaked, and she knew it wasn't the water.
Sam rose from the water with Abi similarly posed on his shoulders. “Alright, let's go!”
The pairs approached each other, Penny and Haley cheering from the edge of the pool. Abi grinned at Jessie, reaching her arms forward to try to grapple her, but Sebastian moved quickly, moving Jessie just outside of Abi's reach. Abi lurched forward, nearly losing her balance, but Sam righted them quickly.
“Oh no you don’t!” Abi said, a wicked grin on her face.
Jessie was smiling and laughing like a kid as she and Abi locked their hands together, each trying to push the other off the boys’ shoulders. Even though Jessie was stronger, Abi had Sam as her teammate, which afforded her a bit more strength and stability. After a few more close calls, Abi finally managed to send Jessie toppling backwards off Seb's shoulders.
She landed in the water and let herself be submerged, the warmth enveloping her. She felt strong hands on her waist a moment later, pulling her up from the water. When she opened her eyes and took a deep breath, Sebastian was inches from her face, holding her firmly in place.
“You okay?” He whispered, a grin on his face. His grip on her waist didn't loosen. She looked behind him, seeing that Haley and Penny were decidedly distracted by Abi and Sam's victory.
She closed the gap, pressing her body to his and feeling how hard he was against her. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath as she whispered, “Oh, I'm just fine.” Then, quickly as she could, she untangled herself from him and swam back to the group.
When she looked over her shoulder, she expected to find him looking dumbfounded. Instead, he was letting his eyes pour over her body again, smirking at her when he made eye contact.
*****
“I'm going to get all pruney if we don't head out soon,” Abi said. After the first match of Chicken, they had all decided to call it there, awarding Sam and Abi their victory. It had been about half an hour of lounging and chatting since then, and Sebastian was being very good about keeping his hands to himself despite being right next to Jessie.
“Agreed,” said Haley, yawning and stretching. “I think I need a nap, but then why don't you guys all come over for a movie night? Emily's working, so I've got the place to myself.”
Penny nodded, looking fairly sleepy herself. “That sounds great. So does a nap. Text us when you want us over?”
They all agreed, each rising from the pool to go get changed. In the dressing room, Sam wouldn’t stop wiggling his eyebrows at Sebastian.
“What's your deal?” Seb said, doing his best to keep a straight face. Sam punched him lightly in the arm.
“What's my deal? Buddy, you could've cut the tension in there with a knife.”
Sebastian just shrugged, quickly toweling off and getting changed. “Don't have a clue what you're talking about.”
Sam rolled his eyes, shaking the water from his hair like the golden retriever he was. “Don't do that aloof sh*t with me right now. She likes you man. I don’t know what your hang up is, but if you're serious about her, you have to make that move soon.”
Seb turned away from his friend, stuffing his swimsuit and towel into a bag. Even just mentioning his hang ups should have sent him down a Natalie-induced spiral of self-hatred, but his mood couldn’t be dampered.
Jessie was into him. Physically, at least. He’d always told himself he couldn’t handle anything casual, but honestly, he would walk into traffic if she asked him to. He was head over heels insane about her, and he would give her anything she wanted, no questions asked.
“I'm serious, man,” Sam said. The severity of his tone was enough to make Sebastian turn around and face him. “I haven't seen you as happy as you've been around her in a really, really long time. You owe it to yourself to at least try. Even if she's not into you– which, she is, by the way— at least you'll know.”
Sebastian shot him an incredulous look. “When did you get so wise?”
Sam just shrugged, his signature lopsided smile returning. “When I started dating a teacher, I think.”
The group split up outside the front door, Haley and Abi heading for Haley's, Sam and Penny for Sam's. Soon enough, it was just Sebastian and Jessie standing out front. He lit up a cigarette, unsure how to proceed. She was still eyeing him like she was ready to pounce at any second. What was he supposed to do?
It was like nature itself heard his desperation. A short burst of frigid air hit them, making Jessie shiver. “I should probably wait until my hair dries to walk home.”
Yoba, thank you. “My place is close by. Wanna hang out there till you're ready to go?”
She smiled, still shivering. “What a gentleman. Let's do it.”
