{ #1 } I Was Shooting For The Moon, I Hit Two Stars (MxMxM || 18+)

Chapter 3 - Is This A Joke?

(Shan's POV - Thur. 17 July 2014)

Damn! Another great idea of mine to go out running in the middle of a too-warm July afternoon! I really have to be insane! Besides, it's not as if I liked running, right? I plainly hate it!

However, seeing Liam's well-defined muscles and abs the other day has motivated me to work out a little more. There's not much I can truly envy him. I have always had a rather slim body - though I can put up some fat if I don't pay attention - and for the past few years, I have often had rather physical jobs, which have kept me in a pretty good shape. Yet, I admit a nice little six pack would look even better. Besides, if I don't exercise the slightest bit, the little abs I have will quickly disappear and I don't want a small flabby belly that neither guys nor girls like, but that's what you get when you mostly feed on junk food and from fast-food restaurants!

Anyway, I guess it would have been cleverer to go running in the early morning when the heat doesn't break you down, but this also means waking up early enough... Blah! This is just too much asking for me!

After less than twenty minutes, I decide to slowly run back home. Now that I take a better look at my surroundings, there are not many people outside, even less running. I think I am actually the only idiot working out in this heat! As soon as I step into the apartment, I rush to the bathroom to strip of my sweat-drenched clothes and jump into the shower to let my body relax under the lukewarm water.

It's already Thursday and I still haven't heard back from Liam about our weekend, and this is worrying me a bit. To keep myself busy, I have spent the last three days visiting pubs and bars, unsuccessfully looking for a job. Although I earned quite a lot of money during my last work assignment to provide for my part of the rent, food and expenses to go out, I really need to find a new job because I know money will run thin in no time.

I am fully aware I messed up in high school, slacking too much and not graduating. Even if it's not much of a diploma, it would still have been better than nothing at all and would have opened more doors to other certifications. I would have been able to get better jobs than all the shit I have been doing for small pay checks in the last three years. Sometimes, I wish my parents had had a better grip on me and forced me to work more at school, but it wasn't entirely their fault, I really ruined their patience back then.

As I turn off the water tap, I hear a ping coming from my phone, indicating I received a text. I wrap a towel around my waist and head for the kitchen. My old mobile device shows two missed calls and a text from Liam. I didn't want to press him to give me an answer, so I only sent him a reminder text yesterday evening to ask if he had any news about spending next weekend together and I am glad to finally hear back from him.

3:38 pm - Liam: Hey chipmunk! Give me a call when you get a chance to!

3:40 pm - Shannon: Are you available right now?

His answer comes only a few seconds later so I call him immediately.

"Hey Bunny, how are you?" I ask when he picks up the phone.

"Great, you?" he replies in a whispered voice.

"Not too bad, just out of the shower. Going out for a run this afternoon was not the best idea I ever had," I explain with a chuckle.

"Are you kidding me?" he whisper-yells into the phone. "Did you really go out running with this heat?"

"I didn't stay out long, it was way too hot," I argue, trying to reassure him, yet laughing it out. Liam playing his big brother is always funny.

"You bet it was! Come on Shan, you can't go running when it is nearly 100 degrees outside, be serious!" he scolds me.

"Yes mom, I promise I won't do it again," I joke as I hear a door opening in the background and a muffled voice talking to him. "Am I disturbing you? Do you want me to call back later?" I ask when the same noise of a door shutting echoes again.