by Laura Burton
“That’s it, isn’t it?” Chris’s voice was getting louder and louder with each word. “Why would that put you in such a sour mood?” Chris raised his hands in the air.
“You know what? For someone who pretends to know me so well, maybe you don’t know me at all.” I didn’t even wait around for an answer. I spun on my heel in the direction of the building of my first class and took off as fast as I could.
I heard Chris call out after me, but I ignored him. I’d gotten good at that over the past couple of weeks.
“Hey, Abs, wait up,” I heard Shane call out as I entered Cory Hall.
“Go away, Shane. And don’t call me Abs.” I grabbed hold of the strap of my backpack. It had been slipping from the swinging motion I’d been making as I hurried to class.
“Well, hello, Shane. It’s so good to see you, too.” Shane ignored my earlier comment and walked right next to me.
“Don’t you speak English?” I sighed, feeling the weight of my fight with Chris weighing heavily on me. “Don’t call me Abs.”
“Why not?” Shane chuckled, pulling me to a halt as he tugged on my backpack.
“Nobody calls me that. Except my cousin, Will. He’s the only one I let get away with it.”
“I need to meet him. I love him already.” Shane grinned, his bright countenance almost making my lips twitch. Was he always this chipper?
“You don’t need to meet him. You’re practically him,” I countered.
“Perfect. That’s settled. Abs it is. Moving on.” Shane started walking again, and I stood there, dumbfounded. What had just happened?
“Shane, it doesn’t work like that.” I jogged to catch up to him.
“Of course it does. We talked about it. It’s settled. We’re moving on. Please tell me you’re not one of those girls who needs to revisit something once it’s been decided?”
“What?” I shook my head in confusion.
“I didn’t think so.” He started walking again. “So, about our four weeks. I’ve been working on a game plan.”
Mention of his master plan to make Chris notice me threw me off of my previous objection. “Are we still doing that?” My forehead wrinkled.
“What? You thought I’d make a promise and then bail on you? What kind of guy do you think I am?” Shane raised his brows in question.
“Honestly, I don’t think you want to know,” I admitted.
Shane ignored my remark and continued. “So, about my plan. I checked in with Haley, your roommate.”
That comment made my forehead frown. If Shane was not resolved to help me, I would be kind of creeped out about that.
“You’re done with your last class at three. Be ready to leave campus by four. We’re going home.”
“What do you mean, home?”
“Sacramento. Where I live. I go home each weekend. I’m taking you with me this weekend. It’s part of the plan.”
“Um… What makes you think I can just up and leave? And go with you?” I shook my head in disbelief. Technically, I could go with him. I usually worked on the weekends, but I hadn’t found a new job since starting this semester. I hadn’t really looked, either. I was still living off of the money I’d earned during summer break working for my dad.
“Abs, do you want my help, or not?” Shane exhaled, lifting his head up and staring at the ceiling.
“I do.”
“Then meet me outside your dorm at four. I’ll pick you up.”
“Do I even get a say in any of this?” I protested.
“You know, Abs, I’m not sure four weeks is going to be enough. I might need like four months.” Shane narrowed his eyes, his face turning pensive.
“Fine. I’ll meet you outside my dorm at four.”
“Perfect. See you then.” Shane started to walk off.
“Shane.” I called out and he stopped, turning to me.
His brows pulled up in question.
“Can you do me a favor?” I struggled through the words. My voice was so low, Shane took a step closer.
“Sure.”
“Can you fix me? Fix this.” I ran my hands over myself.
Shane’s face scrunched up in confusion.
I swallowed and tried again. “Can you fix how I look, so Chris will see me? Really see me?”
“Abs.” Shane released his breath. “If that’s what you want, I’ll get Mia to help. But any guy that doesn’t see you is an idiot. Okay?”
Shane reached out and tilted my chin up to meet his gaze. His words reached deep inside and made my insides feel kind of funny.
“Okay.” I smiled.
Shane winked and spun around to leave.
“Hey!” I called out. “Don’t you need directions?” I’d never told him where my dorm was. And we weren’t friends. Not really. I doubted he knew.
“No need. I know.” He gave me a wicked grin, and my stomach knotted. A weekend with Shane. Working on a game plan to get Chris—and according to Shane, all other guys—to notice me. Oh, dear Lord, save me now!
-Chapter 5-
At five past four, Shane pulled up in front of my dorm building in an older model bright-red Jeep Wrangler. My first thought was that the car was a perfect match for Shane’s personality. Bright, big, attractive, loud. All the things which made him stand out were projected in his ride. I wondered if it had been a gift from his parents or if he had picked it out himself.
“Ready?” Shane eyed the size of my overnight bag as he got out and opened my door. I guess chivalry wasn’t completely dead. Not that this was a date, but it didn’t hurt that he had manners.
“I didn’t know what I needed to bring. You didn’t give me much to go on,” I said as I settled into the passenger seat.
“Clothes, Abs. Clothes are always a good thing,” Shane said with a straight face as he buckled his seat belt.
“You’re hilarious, you know that, right?” I squinted at him, my eyes thin slits.
“I do. But any reminder is like a stroke to my starved ego. So please, don’t hold it in.” Shane smirked.
I just shook my head and checked my complexion in the mirror in the sun visor, ignoring Shane. Maybe if more people ignored his pompous behavior, he wouldn’t be so full of himself. A girl could only dream.
“Hand me your phone,” I instructed, holding out my hand as I gave myself one last once-over.
“Okay.” Shane obeyed.
I took his phone and stared at the dark screen.
“Unlock,” I directed.
“Bossy,” Shane commented, but he did as I asked. “So why do you need my phone, and why does it need to be unlocked?”
“I’m getting your number and putting mine in,” I explained.
“Oh, Abs. If you liked me that much, you could have just come out and told me straight,” Shane teased.
“Do you ever have a serious thought in that head of yours, or is it physically impossible?”
“Oh, I have them. I just choose to add humor to everyday situations. Otherwise I might end up being all serious and unapproachable. We wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?”
I folded my arms across my chest. I wasn’t unapproachable. Fine. I wasn’t that unapproachable.
“Touché.” I bit on my lip, fighting the twitch I felt. This guy had the ability to chisel through my rough exterior and elicit a smile even on the most disgusting days.
“Now, when we get to Sacramento, Mia will be waiting for us. And she’s taking us to the mall.”
“Mia.” I tested the name out on my lips, trying to remember where I’d heard that name before. Right. “Your sister.”
“My baby sister.” A grin the size of Disneyland appeared on his face. It really was cute to see playboy Shane getting all soft and mushy over his baby sister. “She’s great at fashion. Makeup. All that stuff. She’ll be able to help you out much better than me.”
I nodded, not entirely sure of that statement. I was sure Shane had dated enough girls to have a sense of outfits and hairstyles.
&
nbsp; “Remind me again, how old is she?” I questioned.
“Seventeen. But she’s the youngest sibling. The baby.” His voice was smooth as honey when he talked of his family.
“How many siblings?”
“There’s Trevor. He’s thirty, married. Two kids. He’s the oldest. Then there’s Jacklyn. We all call her Jackie. She’s twenty-seven. She’s married and has three girls. Then there’s Steve. He’s twenty-four. He’s studying law at Los Angeles University. He’s the major brains of the family. Got a full-ride scholarship. Then there’s me. Shane. Twenty-one. The one that got not only the brains but also all the good looks.”
“Don’t forget the humility,” I interjected.
“Right. The whole package deal.” Shane glanced my way and gave me a toothy grin.
“And then there’s Mia.” I filled in the gap.
“Yes. Mia. The baby. We’re all pretty protective of her. She loved it when she was six. She hated it when she was twelve and most of us were still at home. And now, she’s loving the freedom of being home alone.”
Shane fell silent after that, and we sat there like that. It wasn’t awkward. Shane was growing on me.
Shane was the first to break the silence. “What about you, Abs?”
“Are you going to be calling me that name all weekend?” I wondered out loud.
“Oh, not just this weekend.” Shane smiled.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” I mumbled.
“So, what about your family, Abs?” Shane probed, emphasizing my name.
“There isn’t much to say,” I started. “My parents are one of those couples that met in college. At Berkeley, to be precise.”
“Ooohh,” Shane interrupted, sounding more like a girl than the tall hunk of eye candy he was.
No. No, I did not just think of Shane as attractive.
“Anyway,” I continued, shaking my head and warding off any ridiculous thoughts concerning Shane. “They fell in love at first sight.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Yeah, if you’re into all of that.” I shook my hand, dismissing that idea.
“What? You don’t?” Shane pulled back, surprise written on his face.
“Um… No,” I deadpanned. My whole life I’d listened to how my parents met. The fantasy fairy-tale romance. Yada yada yada. I was too levelheaded to buy into that.
“Wow, Abs. Your own parents are a living example of true love, and even that you doubt. You really are a cynic.” Shane shook his head.
“No. I’m not a cynic. I’m realistic. The world just doesn’t work like that. Two people meet. They might feel a slight attraction. But that isn’t love. Love is something that grows. It’s something that comes over time. It isn’t something instant that just happens, forcing you into the arms of the other.”
“Spoken like someone who’s never really been in love,” Shane replied.
“No. Are you forgetting Chris?” I snapped.
“How could I forget,” Shane spat back.
Silence returned to the car, and I welcomed it. We clearly had a whole different perspective on love. And on life. Shane was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. I was not that kind of person. How on earth was I going to make it through a whole weekend with Shane?
After an hour-and-a-half drive, Shane drove into the finer area of Sacramento.
“Which part of town do you live in?” I broke the silence.
“Westlake.” Shane offered only a one-worded answer.
“Fancy,” I replied with a singsong voice.
Shane didn’t answer. In fact, he didn’t say anything until we pulled into a really huge drive. I gazed up at what I expected was Shane’s home, and my eyes went wide. Sure, I’d seen beautiful homes. My parents owned one. But this was bigger and fancier than my home. Probably about twice as big as mine, too. Maybe necessary, with all those kids.
“Hey, Shane?” I reached out and grabbed hold of his arm before he could exit the car. The moment my hand touched his skin, my body reacted, sending a ripple up my arm. Again. I didn’t understand it, and I surely didn’t have the time to analyze it. “I’m sorry about being a brat earlier. I didn’t mean it. I was a jerk, and I’m really sorry.”
“How did that feel?” Shane squeezed his mouth shut, but I could see the corners of his lips twitching.
“Sour,” I admitted, fighting my own smile.
Shane burst out in laughter. It took me a fraction of a second before my shoulders shook and I was joining in.
“Honestly, though. I’m really sorry. All this business with Chris has put me in a perma-bad mood.”
“Because you’re a ray of sunshine otherwise?” Shane teased.
“Well, I might be slightly cynical, instead of my realistic self, because of all of this Chris stuff.”
“Abs, you might try to relax a bit. Guys get spooked when a girl is so uptight all the time. It’s okay to let your hair down once in a while, so to speak.” Shane eyed my hair that hung loose for a change instead of my usual braid or ponytail and waggled his brows.
I exhaled and gave him a small smile as his words swirled around in my mind.
“It’s okay.” Shane reached his fist out to give me a gentle push on my chin. His touch lingered, and his fingers ran over the length of my chin, burning a trail where the tips of his fingers touched my skin. My eyes widened, unsure of what was happening.
Shane’s eyes met mine, and he must have read my shock there. He cleared his throat and pulled back fast, as if my skin had burned his hand. Maybe it had. My skin felt singed where he had touched it.
“Let’s go in. Meet the fam.” He hopped out of the car in a flash.
I didn’t really have time to even think about what had just happened. Not that I was sure I wanted to.
Shane held my door open, and he carried my large bag inside. He led me to the front door and opened it.
“Hi, Mom, Mia. You guys home?” Shane called out. “Oh, by the way. My dad is on a business trip this weekend. Just Mom and Mia.”
I didn’t mind. When Shane had mentioned how many siblings he had, my heart had started beating at double tempo. I’d only ever known a home with Mom and Dad. And holidays with Will and Kelsey’s family. But that was different. We each had our own homes at the lake. I’d have sleepovers with Kels when I was ten, but that wasn’t anything like five kids, and grandkids.
“Oh, you’re here.” A woman walked out into the hallway to meet us, her arms wide open. She looked like an older female version of Shane. Dark, long hair; slim, tall. And those same green eyes. Definitely his mother.
“Nice to meet you, Abby. I’m Nell, Shane’s mom.”
I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Davis.” She ignored my outstretched hand and engulfed me in a tight, warm hug. My parents hugged me all the time. But we didn’t hug complete strangers. This was new to me.
“Mom loves to hug,” Shane whispered in my ear before he got wrapped up in a hug of his own.
“It’s so good to see you, honey.” His mother shook him from side to side.
I took the opportunity to mouth honey behind her back and point at Shane, while I smacked my other hand over my mouth and muffled laughter. I was going to get a lot of miles out of that one, for sure.
Shane just rolled his eyes, and the tips of his ears turned pink. But he hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.
“Missed you, too, Mom. Where’s Mia?”
“Did I hear Hollywood’s voice?” Another female voice called out in the distance.
“Hollywood?” I burst out, my eyes wide as I eyed Shane.
Shane winced. “Later,” he replied. “Maybe.” For the first time ever, I felt like I was seeing the real Shane Davis and not just the completely confident front he portrayed at school. It was a side I suspected few got to see. And I was loving it. It was nice to have the tables turned and not be the only one on the receiving end of all of the scrutiny.
A petite brunette with bright-blue eyes and a megawatt smile strolled
in with the same confident swagger I was used to seeing Shane use. “Hollywood,” she said in a singsong voice, before enfolding her arms around Shane. This family was big on their hugging.
“Mia Pia. What’s up?” Shane picked her up off the floor.
“We missed Shane last weekend. He couldn’t make it home. Had some lab to catch up on,” Shane’s mom said. I knew which lab she was talking about. But I suspected his date on Saturday was more the reason he hadn’t made it home. Still, I kept my mouth shut.
“Do you want to get settled in your room before you all go out?” Nell tilted her head to the side in question.
“Let’s put these in her room.” Shane held my bag up. “Then we can go. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
I just held my hands up, not sure what the plan was.
“Fine. But be sure to feed Abby. I don’t want you starving our guest,” Nell instructed.
“Oh, I’m fine. Thanks so much for having me. Although, all I know is we’re going to the mall,” I added, clearing my throat as I gripped the strap of my purse.
“You haven’t told this poor girl your plans?” Nell’s face scrunched together as she eyed Shane, then Mia, then Shane again.
“No,” Shane answered unapologetically. “It’s much more fun this way.” He sprinted up the wide staircase with my big bag and returned in a flash, my bag nowhere in sight.
“You ready, Mia?” He raised his right brow as he faced his sister.
“Let’s go.” She smacked her hands together and rubbed them. I wasn’t sure if I should feel comforted she was coming or worried about her excitement to join us, when I had no idea what was going on.
“Have fun,” Nell said as she held the front door open.
“Oh,” Mia called out over her shoulder, “we will.”
I followed both of them to the car but paused, not sure where I should sit. Mia made that decision easy for me when she hopped in the back seat and yelled, “Come on, Abs. It’s time to roll.”
His sister, for sure. I shook my head as I got in and buckled up. “Are either of you going to fill me in on the plans for tonight?” I asked warily.