The other side of the world (Bondi Rescue Fanfic)

Chapter 13 - The Conversation

Shannon drove home and unpacked the shopping, very happy that she hadn't bought anything refrigerated as it had been sat in the car for a while. She decided to make herself a bit more presentable for when Kailan came round so she had a quick shower, dried and straightened her hair and looked in the mirror. Her tan was coming along nicely and she was pleased with the healthy looking glow her skin had so she applied some mascara and dabbed on some lip-gloss and left it at that.

There was a knock on the door about half an hour later and Shannon checked herself in the mirror on the way to answer the door. As she opened the door, Kailan smiled at her and took his sunglasses off as he walked inside and gave her a short but very lovely kiss right on the lips.

"So, you recovered from today's drama then?" he said putting an arm around her shoulders

"Yeah so if you could not tease me about it then that would be great" she joked

"What?" he laughed "I'm flattered that you cared so much although I am a bit insulted that you think I'd lose against a shark"

Shannon looked at him to see if he was serious and he started laughing so she shoved him and started laughing too.

Kailan had brought a pack of beers with him so Shannon put them in the fridge and got two bottles out that were already cold. They headed outside into the garden and sat at the big table by the pool and started to drink their beers.

"So how are the new guy and the swimmer doing?" Shannon asked

"James is fine, back in work tomorrow and the swimmer just needed a few stitches so pretty lucky really" Kailan replied

"And the shark?" added Shannon

"Long gone don't worry" he said "Obviously we're monitoring the water but there's been no other sightings"

"Bit scary though" she shivered

"Part of the job though unfortunately" shrugged Kailan

They carried on drinking their beers and Shannon watched Kailan as he leant back in his chair and relaxed in the sunshine. She was starting to really like him and she wasn't sure if she should just go for it or be more careful, she didn't want to get hurt after all. As she was watching him, he turned to face her

"What?" he asked, looking down at his shirt to see if there was a reason she was looking at him.

"Nothing" replied Shannon "Just wondering if you wanted to stay for something to eat tonight? I was gonna make a lasagne for everyone so there will be more than enough"

"Sounds great if you're sure" he grinned

They both went inside to the kitchen and Shannon started pulling ingredients out of the fridge.

"Want any help?" asked Kailan

"Keep me company whilst I cook" replied Shannon

Kailan told Shannon about how long he had been a lifeguard and what made him become one whilst she chopped her ingredients and cooked it with the meat and tomatoes and then layered it with sheets of pasta and a cheese sauce she made. As she put it in the oven, she turned around to see Kailan washing the saucepans she had used.

"You don't need to do that" she said

"It will take me like 5 minutes and you've worked hard making that huge lasagne so it's only fair" he said as he scooped up some of the bubbles from the hot soapy water and put them on her nose.

Shannon laughed and wiped the bubbles away and went to the fridge to get them another beer each and sure enough Kailan had washed all the saucepans and utensils in just a few minutes so they went back outside and sat by the side of the pool.

"So...." Started Kailan

"So?" repeated Shannon with a smile

"I'm gonna sound really lame here but I'm gonna say it anyway" Kailan said looking straight at her

Shannon smiled at him nervously, really not sure where the conversation was going.

"I'm just gonna say it, I really like you and I want to spend more time with you, get to know you better and see where this goes" he said really quickly

Shannon giggled nervously and realising that Kailan needed her to speak actual words she said "I really like you too and I'm enjoying spending time with you so yeah I would like to see where it goes as well"

Kailan smiled and said "Phew! I am so glad you said that, I had a horrible feeling you were gonna say you just wanted to be friends and that you fancied Maxi or something"

Shannon laughed "Seriously? I thought I had made it so obvious"

"I don't like to presume anything, even when you nearly squeezed the life out of me when you thought I'd been eaten by a shark" laughed Kailan

"Oh ha ha, not funny" said Shannon, scooping some water from the pool and flicking it at him "I'm more surprised that you like me to be honest"

"Well I do and I really want to make a go of it" he said seriously "I'm not seeing anyone else, are you?"

Shannon shook her head

"Well that's a good start" he said with a smile and he leaned towards her and kissed her again but for a lot longer this time.

After a while, the rest of the group arrived home as Shannon was checking the lasagne was cooked.

"Perfect timing" shouted Shannon as they all piled into the kitchen

"Smells good Shan, how's things Kailan mate? Fancy a beer" said Darren as Shannon lifted the lasagne out and carried it to the table

"Yeah mate, I brought a pack round actually, they should be cold by now" Kailan replied

"Excellent! A visitor that brings beer is always welcome here" said Darren, slapping Kailan on the shoulder.

They all sat at the table to eat and chatted about the shark attack and how rehearsals were going. When everyone had finished, Jason and Karen offered to wash up and the rest of the group moved into the living room and Tristan announced that one of the fast and furious films was being shown on TV and everyone agreed to watch it.

"I better go, I'm on the early shift tomorrow" Kailan said to Shannon

Shannon tried not to show her disappointment as everyone said goodbye to Kailan and she walked him to the door

"You don't have to go you know" whispered Shannon as he pulled her into a lingering hug "You can always stay over"

"You don't know how much I really wanna do that" he sighed and kissed her softly "But I have to get up super early tomorrow to get everything set up and if I stay, well put it this way, I won't get much sleep will I"

Shannon smiled and looked down at the floor and Kailan put his hand under her chin and tipped her head up to face him

"You do understand that it's not that I don't want to stay ok, I really, really want to, but I want the first night we spend together to be special which is not going to be when I have to rush off at six o'clock in the morning to go to work" he said, looking deep into her eyes.

"I understand" she replied "That's quite sweet really" she added with a smile

She waved Kailan off and as he disappeared from view she closed the door and went back into the living room. Everyone was engrossed in the film apart from Rachel who got up from the couch, grabbed Shannon's hand and dragged her outside into the garden so that nobody could overhear them.

"Right you, I know something's going on so tell me everything" said Rachel excitedly

Shannon laughed and began to tell her best friend every detail of her very eventful day.