Out Of Focus (Wattys 2023)

12. Sooo, About A Lawsuit.

"Well, well, well, look who showed up," Lily says, as she approaches the table, obviously trying to make nice for her brother's sake.

"I see you've made a new friend, Shayne."

Shayne prays for Ethan's sake that she hasn't gone all Red Wedding and poisoned his drink.

"Yeah, Lily, this is Ethan. Ethan, re-meet my lovely sister, Lily."

Ethan extends his hand towards Lily, a friendly smile on his face, Shayne guesses he must be terrified. "Nice to see you again. I've heard a lot of good things about you; and your coffee."

Lily chuckles, shaking his hand. "Oh, I bet you have. I hope Shayne hasn't been tarnishing my brand too much."

Shayne rolls his eyes at his sister thinking she's actually that important.

Ethan laughs, his eyes glancing at Shayne. "Not at all. He's been very diplomatic."

Shayne rolls his eyes, feigning offense. "Hey, I've been nothing but honest, scout's honor."

Lily smirks, taking a seat next to Shayne. "You were never a scout but sure, sure. So, Ethan, you a big coffee guy?

Ethan shrugs, a playful glint in his eyes. "Not really, but turns  out me and your brother here had some catching up to do."

Lily raises an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Do tell."

Shayne watches as Ethan takes a moment to collect his thoughts, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. He seems nervous, but also determined to make his point.

"Well, after our date, I felt like there was a connection between us," Ethan begins, his eyes locked with Shayne's. "But then I didn't hear from him, and I wasn't sure where we stood. Him injuring himself kind of felt like a sign from the universe as cheesy as it sounds."

Shayne can feel the weight of Ethan's words, the vulnerability in his eyes. He takes a deep breath, realizing that he needs to be honest with Ethan, no matter the outcome.

He shoos his sister away before he says what he knows he has to.

"Ethan, I'm sorry if I gave you mixed signals," Shayne says, his voice sincere. "The truth is, things got complicated in my life, and they honestly were before our date. I wasn't sure if I was ready for anything more than friendship."

Ethan's expression softens, a small smile playing on his lips. "I appreciate your honesty. Life can be messy, and I understand that. But if you're willing to give it another shot, I'm up for it."

Shayne meets Ethan's gaze. "Can we just take it day by day? I'm a little bit of a mess."

Ethan nods, his smile widening. "Sounds perfect to me."

***

The next day isn't exactly as perfect as Shayne hopes it would be as he waves his overprotective sister away from the familiar mansion; Old Humphrey sputtering away into the much cloudier day.

"It's show time," he says, to himself mostly, begging some higher power that it's not as bad as he's expecting.

It's painfully obvious when he walks in (a groan leaving his mouth from lingering soreness) that all eyes are on him; you could hear a damn pen drop honestly (from outside).

"Um, hi," he says to the sea of very concerned faces, a peace offering.

He can practically see the caution signs flashing in their minds. He imagines they read:

Red Alert: Don't talk to this guy or he'll sue us into oblivion. Our show is trash, but we need these jobs.

As he lets out a chuckle from his internal joke Oliver approaches him with a hesitant smile on his face (because of course he does and of course, he came out of nowhere looking hotter than hell too).