He's a Keeper

Chapter 7

So I've shown you Felicity and I've shown you Shane but the picture on the side is of both of them. The girl in the photo with Felicity with the brown hair is her sister, and the blonde is Lauren. Also, the blonde guy is Jake.

I left a few hours later, and I drove all the way to New Orleans.
I didn't go to Mom's house, or Dad's, because they don't know I'm in town.
I drive to Lauren's, getting out.
Tori is already in town. She's at Lauren's too.
It's December 16th.
I walk up to the steps with my duffle bag.
I was really expecting Lauren to call me about Shane, but she never did. I haven't bothered to go on my phone.
I knock loudly.
A few seconds later, Tori opens the door.
She lets out a gasp.
"Oh my god! You're here!"
I smile, hugging my baby sister.
She hugs me back.
"Lauren told me all about Shane!" she says as I hug Lauren.
I sigh.
"What ended up happening?" Lauren asks.
"Well...uh, I quit." I say.
"What?" Tori asks. "No!"
"I told him I hate men, that he's going to hurt me, that I don't trust him, I told him all my reason for hating me, from Mom and Dad's divorce to Uncle and then to Steve, and he just stood there with his sexy eyes and told me that if I didn't trust him, I wouldn't have told him any of that, and then I told him that I regretted the other night, and I know he does too, and he said "the only thing-" and he was moving closer to me the whole time, "That I regret...about last night...is that I didn't do this..." and we kissed, and shit guys, I felt so warm and fuzzy and I could feel my walls come down and he convinced me to think about quitting, and he kissed me goodbye an told me to be careful with Dad and Steve." I shrug. "He made me promise to call him once a day."
"Well you've been driving for a day. Have you called him?"
"I haven't even been on my phone." I say.
"So call him." Tori says, rubbing her hands together. "I can't believe you have a boyfriend!"
"I don't have a boyfriend. I have a friend that I kiss and give handjobs that's a boy."
I pull my phone from my purse.
When I hit the home button, I start to panic.
"Uh oh." I say, sitting down on the couch.
"What?"
"This is Shane's phone." I say, staring at the photo of him.
"Is that him?" Lauren gasps, ripping his phone from my hand. "He's hot!"
Tori takes the phone to look.
"Oh my god." She says.
I take his phone back, hesitating.
"Why didn't he call you that you switched phones?" Lauren asks.
"Because I shut off Siri."
They both cringe.
Anxious, I hold the home button.
His phone dings.
"Call Felicity." I say.
It says loading.
"Calling Felicity."
"Put it on speaker." Tori says, excited.
I put it on speaker.
It rings four times.
"I thought you were never going to call me." He says when he answers.
I sigh.
"We switched phones again." I say.
"I know." He says. "When are you coming home?"
"I don't know." I say. "It depends on my Dad and my step Dad."
He sighs, and he's quiet.
I hear a woman's voice in the background.
Who is that?
Lauren and Tori are looking at me with wide eyes.
"Who is that?" I ask.
He starts laughing.
"That is the intercom at the airport." He says. "Why? Are you jealous?" I can almost hear the smile in his voice.
I scoff.
"No." I snap.
"Right." He says.
"I'm not jealous." I insist.
"Okay." He hums.
"Why are you at the airport?" I ask.
"Oh." He hesitates. "Well I was going to go home but I ended up buying a ticket to New Orleans."
"What?" I ask.
"You have my phone and I want it back." He says.
"Did you switch them as an excuse?"
"Nope." He says.
"Shane, go home for Christmas."
"I already paid for the ticket." He says.
"Shane, I'm not kidding. What are you doing to do for Christmas?"
"Well I was hoping you'd extend the curtesy..." he trails off.
"Fuck no." I say.
"Why not?" he asks.
"Because I don't want you to be there if Steve tried to pull a gun!"
"I need to be there to protect you."
"Shane, I swear, you're not coming."
He sighs slowly.
"I knew you'd say that." He says.
"Please try to understand." I whisper.
He's quiet for a long time.
"I'm still coming." he says. "Just to see you, and then I'll go to my parents."
"That's expensive."
"I don't mind." He says. "What's the password for your phone?"
"Song." I say. "What's yours?"
"Guess." He says.
Confused, I exit from the phone app. He's still on the phone.
I type in the first thing I can think of.
1234
It unlocks.
I start laughing.
"Are you serious?" I laugh.
"Nobody thinks I would be stupid enough to put it, so nobody guesses it."
I sigh.
"What time is your layover and what time do you land?"
"I don't have a layover and I land at six at Baton Rouge Metropolitan." He says. "Are you going to make me take a taxi?"
"I guess you'll just have to find out." I say.