Choices (Book Four)

Chapter 15

Lyla

"Lyla!" I hear someone call out from behind me as I'm walking across campus.

I turn around to see Bailey racing up to me with a stack of books under her arm.

"Hey," I greet her with a smile.

I haven't see her in a few months and even then it was a brief run in on campus. I do miss her though, she always felt like a little sister to me when I was dating Shawn. Her spirit is just irresistible.

"How are you? How was your Christmas holidays?" She asks when she reaches me.

"I'm good thanks, and my holidays were great, it was nice to get home and spend time with my parents. How about you?"

"Same old same here! Break was amazing though, Shawn got to come home for two days and I hadn't seen him since the end of summer so it was great," she tells me with a smile.

"I bet your dad was happy to see him too," I comment and Bailey nods her head in agreement.

"He's coming to town tonight you know," Bailey says and I give her a curious look wondering why her dad is coming to campus or why she is bothering to mention it to me. "Shawn, not my dad," she clarifies and laughs. "He is visiting for the weekend."

"That'll be fun," I manage to tell her meanwhile my heart is already racing in my chest.

"We are going out to that new bar on campus tonight if you want to stop by," she tells me with a hopeful smile.

I just nod my head in response, not knowing what to say. Shawn is going to be in Oakridge. Tonight. We haven't shared a text, email or phone call since New Years. I've tried to put our conversation to the back of my mind but it's no use.

"Anyway, I gotta get to class, but it was good to see you," Bailey says and pulls me into a tight hug. "Maybe we'll see you tonight. He misses you, you know," she adds softly and must notice I start to shift on my feet uncomfortably because she waves quickly and takes off in the other direction.

I regain my ability to control my motor functions and start walking again towards my next class. I can't believe Shawn will be here in town tonight. The idea of seeing him excites me while at the same time I feel nauseous. After everything he said on New Years I haven't said a peep to him. I also haven't mentioned anything to Will which has me feeling buried in guilt. Speaking of Will, we are supposed to go out tonight with the track team and I rack my brain trying to remember where the hell we are going. I can't show up to the same bar Shawn will be at with Will. That has disaster written all over it. I pull my phone out and shoot Will a quick text asking him what the plan is for tonight again. A few minutes later he confirms my worst nightmare by telling me the team is all going out to the new place on campus tonight. Fuck.

I take a sip of my drink as I try to return my heart rate to a normal rhythm. Shawn is here. And I just experienced the moment I never knew for certain would actually come again, a face to face encounter with him since our night together before I left for Africa. I knew he was going to be here, Bailey had told me and all but begged me to come out tonight with her puppy dog eyes. Seeing him in the flesh was something I had not been prepared for. The way his green eyes captivated my gaze, the way his dimples creased deeply into his cheeks. He has a bit of scruff growing on his face that always seems to give him that more rugged look and somehow makes him sexier. And damn does he look sexy.

I'm not the only one that has noticed, as he walked away from me and Will I watched many girls in the bar drool over him as he passed by. But he didn't even bat an eye at a single one of them. It's been about an hour now since our run in and I haven't seen him again in the bar. A part of me wonders if he left already and I can't fight the feeling of disappointment I feel if that is true. I don't even know what I would say to him if I saw him again, I just know I need to lay eyes on him once more tonight.