Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~42~

It was hard for Shawn to keep his eyes off Taryn when they were together. As he sat on the sofa sipping his second cup of coffee, she was dancing around the kitchen wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of bright pink panties, which he caught a glimpse of whenever the shirt flew up. He watched her, mesmerized by how uninhibited she was while she waited for their muffins to finish baking.

"Instead of staring, you could join me," she sang out to him.

He was going to say that he preferred the show, but then a particularly danceable song started playing, and she looked really irresistible, so he got up and let himself get lost in the moment.

"This...this right here is what makes life worth living," he thought as he spun her around.

"I love it when you smile like this," she told him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "And maybe I selfishly like being the one who makes you smile."

"How can enjoying making another person happy be selfish?"

"I dunno, but sometimes I feel a little guilty about it. Like maybe I shouldn't be reveling in how much you love me."

He lifted her up but continued to dance with her legs locked around his waist. "Taryn...I want you to revel in my love, though if you asked me to define that word, I'm not sure I could."

Burying her face in his neck, she giggled. "It has to do with celebrating."

"Our love should be celebrated! If I had any friends left, I'd invite them over for a party for that very reason. I'd decorate this place with hearts, serve heart-shaped food, and play nothing but love songs. Everyone might gag over how sappy we are, but I wouldn't care."

Taryn's heart clutched in her chest when he brought up his lack of friends. It infuriated her that they'd essentially abandoned him when he needed them most. "We could have that party for just the two of us, though there's already a holiday for that occasion."

"Fuck Valentine's Day. Love should be celebrated more often than once a year."

The timer on the oven dinged, and Shawn set her down so that she could take out the blueberry muffins.

"These look pretty good for a first try," Taryn said as she admired them.

"Can I have one?" he asked as he reached for the pan.

"No! You'll burn your fingers and mouth! We need to let them cool a few minutes. I'm going to go put some clothes on, and there had better be twelve muffins when I get back!"

He pouted and returned to the couch so he could check his phone. As he looked at the week's weather, two messages popped up.

Hi, Shawn, this is Gretchen Lattner.

Can you please give me a call at this number at your convenience?

She must have finished the article. He'd been waiting months for her to drop this bomb, and he'd even called Andrew last week to see if he'd heard anything. He was perplexed by the delay and promised to look into it.

Taryn emerged from the bedroom wearing a pair of linen shorts and a tank top. "Why the serious face?"

"Gretchen texted me. She wants me to call her."

"Oh. Are you going to do that now?"

He shook his head. "I'll wait until after breakfast. Do you want to eat on the terrace?"

They took their coffee and muffins outside and sat under the hazy summer sun. Thunderstorms were expected later that afternoon, but for now it wasn't too hot and only mildly humid.