The Ringing (Very Slow Updates!)

Chapter Twenty-Five

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CALE'S POV

It's Thursday morning, the day I have my first single date with Shay, and fuck am I nervous. I still hadn't had time to talk to Shay or Sam one on one since the night of the fight, and I still couldn't figure out who I truly wanted to believe. I know Shay has always been honest - sometimes too bluntly honest, but honest all the same – and her story would give good reason as to why she attacked Sam; I know if someone insulted me like that, I would have snapped too. I just don't see why Sam would purposely start a fight with Shay like that. All the time I have spent with Sam she has seemed like such a sweet person; most of the other girls seem to like her – some even seem to gravitate towards her – there's just something that Shay is seeing in her that I must be missing.

The fact that I may be missing something in Sam isn't really what had my nerves on edge all last night and into this morning, no, that was purely Shay. The girl was a force to be reckoned with on a normal day, but when she's pissed off I can only imagine what she's going to be like to deal with. It's a good quality to have for a queen, a strong independent woman, who can handle her own in a battle; but when that attitude is shifted onto you and you are not only the full focus of it, but also the cause of it. I had a feeling that I was running head first into a shit storm. I know that Shay is going to be pissed at me, and I guess she has every right to be; I did keep both her and Sam here, so she has to know that I was conflicted as to what story to believe. I know Shay well enough, to know that she won't just let this one slide; now I just had to figure out if she was going to give me the cold shoulder and make me suffer in silence, or if she was going to all out tear right into me.

Things between Shay and I have been shaky since the beginning; over the last few weeks I thought that we were really making some headway. Then this thing with Sam happened and now I feel like we're going to be back at square one; why is everything always so difficult with Shay? Sometimes I wonder if all the hassle is worth it with her; it's like a constant battle of wills between her and... well... everyone else. But at the same time it somehow drives me closer to her, almost as if I like the challenge; she keeps me on my toes and I never know what to expect from her. She confuses the shit out of me and in some fucked up way I like it! What hell is that all about? This whole experience has really fucked with my head.

Today I planned to take Shay to the Aquarium; knowing her love for water and how it tends to calm her down I figured this was the best place to try and break ground with her. The only problem with that is that I didn't want her exploding in front of a whole crowd of people either; I manned up and found myself riding in the limo on the way to the house to pick her up. I figured we might as well get the explosion out of the way before we hit the main event; as the limo came to a stop in front of the house, I began to rethink my decision. Shit, here's to fingers crossed that she is by some miracle in a good mood.

"Cale." Shay greeted coldly as she stepped into the limo; she was dressed in tight fitting dark jeans and a silky looking white halter top.

"Shay," I returned her greeting softly and waited until she was seated to continue. "Look about what happened with you and Sam on..."

"I would rather just forget about the whole thing." She interrupted before looking around the limo as if she was trying to find something that she could use as a distraction.

"Shay I know you're upset about the way things went in the meeting together." I was going to say more but once again she decided to interrupt my train of thought.

"Upset, you think that I'm upset about that?" She raised one eyebrow at me, challenging me to answer; the action threw me off my game and I tried to hide the smile that was threatening to overtake my lips.