Inevitable (Book One)

Chapter 7

Lyla

I look across the table at Shawn as his eyes are focused on the beer glass in his hand as he takes a long swig from it. We've been at this restaurant for almost fifteen minutes and neither of us has spoken a word besides relaying our orders to the server. I could tell as soon as I saw Shawn come up into the lobby that he was in a bad mood. I didn't understand why though, his team had won and he played amazing. If anything, I had been a bit moody when I watched Erica run and latch on to him again in the lobby after the game.

I had been surprised to feel a pang of jealousy course through me and I had to turn my attention back to Tyler before I was caught glaring at them by Shawn. I am not sure if I should call him out on his attitude or not yet, I mean I've only known him a week so I'm not sure I've earned the right to. Our food arrives and we both devour our meals as the silence continues. I glance up from my meal once while I am eating and catch Shawn starring at me but he looks away immediately.

By the time our server removes our empty plates from the table, I feel myself growing more and more aggravated with Shawn's silence. We both still have a few sips left of our beers. Perhaps it's the bit of alcohol in my system or the fact that it's almost eleven o'clock and I'm not a late night person, but I finally have had enough of the silence.

"What's going on with you?" I demand out across the table, surprising myself with how strong my voice comes out. He makes eye contact with me for longer then a second for the first time during this dinner. I watch his mouth open as if he's going to speak but then he closes it. He looks like he's contemplating what to say to me.

"I'm just not a fan of Tyler and think you need to be careful around him," his voice is stern as he answers me. His expression is serious and I can tell he's still annoyed. I wouldn't have guessed the issue was over Tyler, I had assumed they were buddies.

"He seems nice to me," I say and watch him roll his eyes as he sighs heavily. "He is the third person at this school that's actually been nice and talked to me, instead of just starring and pointing at the new girl." There's a snippiness behind my voice as I find myself getting more and more annoyed with Shawn's attitude.

"He's a player," Shawn continues his argument. "He's only being nice to get in your pants." I look at him shocked by his statement and watch his face change from angry to concerned as he sees that I am getting upset. Before I can hear anymore from him, I stand up from the table and head for the exit.

"Lyla!" I hear him call out behind me but I don't stop or look back. I get outside and realize that I have no car here. Frustrated with my predicament I pull out my phone and open my map app to find out how far of a walk it is back to campus. It's just over four miles to my dorm building which I know is doable, but it's dark out now and I'm not a fan of walking the streets by myself at night. I walk over to Shawn's car, begrudgingly accepting the fact that I will have to get a ride home from him. Speak of the devil, he comes running out the front doors of the restaurant and up to me in the parking lot.

"Please take me home," I tell him curtly as soon as he reaches me. His eyes look worriedly at me. I watch as he runs his fingers through his hair and he groans softly in frustration. He brings his hands back down to his sides as I watch him, waiting for him to unlock his car. His eyes meet mine again and I swear I see hurt flash over them, but it's so quick I convince myself I misread it.

"I'm sorry," he blurts out, his eyes pleading with me. I simply stare back at him, waiting for further explanation of his apology.

"I know I've been acting like a total ass. The truth is that I wanted tonight to be a date and it is on me for not specifying that and I know that. I was just so excited about spending time with you and then when I looked up during the game to see you and Tyler laughing and talking I just saw red. I have trust issues and it's not fair for me to put that on you, but I couldn't help but get pissed off with the whole Tyler thing. When you kept smiling at him I just got more and more jealous and I know that sounds crazy because we just met and I have no right to be jealous, but that's just how I felt."

"Something inside of me is drawn to you and I want to be the one making you smile and laugh. All my energy during the game was spent trying to keep my mind focused on the ice and not on knocking Tyler out. I'm sorry that I took my own issues out on you, that's not fair and you don't deserve to be treated like this. I honestly can't explain it, but I haven't felt like this about someone since... hell, I don't think I have ever felt this way. This whole week, everyday I looked forward to any chance I got to see you or talk to you."

Shawn chest rises and falls as he finishes talking and I take a second to absorb everything he just laid out in the open. His behavior makes more sense now, but it's still no excuse. He seems to be genuinely sorry though and is acknowledging that he has been an ass tonight.

"I understand the trust issues. Tyler told me about what happened with you and Erica," I tell him, my voice soft and barely above a whisper. Shawn turns his head up to the sky momentarily before he looks back down at me, letting out a long sigh.

"What did he tell you?"

"That Erica cheated on you last Christmas break and left you for the guy. I'm sorry that happened to you," I offer him a sympathetic smile and he smiles softly in return for a brief moment before his face falls to a frown.

"I actually found out she had been cheating on me with him since the summer," he admits softly, there's still a bit of hurt evident in his voice as he relives the memory. I can feel my anger towards Erica start to rise up within me again, growing even more with this new information.

"I'm sorry, no one deserves that."

"Thanks," he offers me another soft smile. "I am the one who needs to apologize though. I'm sorry about the way I treated you tonight, you did nothing wrong and I just got in my head with some of my own insecurities. I really like you and was hoping this night would have went in a different direction." He smirks at me, flashing his dimples for the first time this evening.

"I was having a fun night to begin with," I admit to him. "And to be honest, I was also a bit annoyed when I caught you and Erica hugging in the lobby after the game." I confess shyly as I glance down as my feet.

"She just pounced on me again like at the track the other day. There is nothing there to worry about though I promise you. I am not interested in her." I meet his eyes again and can tell he's serious with his words and I believe every one of them.

"Well to be fair, I also have no right to be getting jealous. I get the vibe from Erica that she's still trying to stake her claim on you. I was surprised also to feel that pang of jealousy hit me when I saw the two of you. I understand the complication that some exes might bring to your life even long after you have broken up," I watch Shawn raise an eyebrow at my statement, but I continue before he has a chance to comment. "I really like you too. Which is confusing since we just met, but that's just how I feel."

I confess my feelings to him and see his smile spread wider on his face at my words. He takes a step closer to me, closing the distance between us to just mere inches. I know that if I lean forward just a bit, my chest will press against him.

"So," Shawn says, his voice low, "You like me and I like you." His eyes are locked on mine as we both are frozen in our spots. I can feel my breathing start to speed up as I glance down at his lips, catching his tongue sliding across them briefly.

"I know I've been a complete ass half the night, but something about you drives me to act a bit crazy. And I know I don't deserve to be taking any more of your time tonight, but I thank whatever reason it is that you're still here with me." His voice is just above a whisper now as his head starts to dip down towards me.

Shawn's hands move to my arms and he softly takes a hold of me, pulling me up against him. "I have no right to ask, but the selfish side of me can't help it. Can I kiss you?" His lips are almost touching mine as he pauses and waits for my response. I feel his hand softly cupping my chin, his thumb softly stroking across my jawline.

"Please," I manage to respond before I feel his lips press into mine. His lips are cool on mine, the faint taste of his beer still lingering on them. His hand that's still on my arm runs up and down it softly, sending a shiver up my spine. My hands find the sides of his torso and I slide my hands under his suit jacket, pressing them against his chest in-between us. I am delighted to feel the firmness of his chest underneath my fingertips. His tongue lightly traces across my bottom lip before he slowly pulls his lips back from mine. Both of us are breathing hard as we stay holding each other. I want to lean in and kiss him again, but I also want to take the moment to relive our first kiss over and over again in my mind. It was perfect.