Not Without You [Chris Evans]

55

Chris' POV

I thought about Megan after she left the kitchen to go pack. I was so relieved she'd came back inside to talk to me without me having to hunt her down. I hadn't known how much I needed her to come to me until just then; I'd gotten used to being pursued over the past couple years, but with her, I was the pursuer instead.

I savored the feel of her hugging me from behind, her small arms barely reaching around my torso, reminding me just how much smaller than me she was.  It had been a while since I'd been in a relationship and I just hadn't thought everything through. I was still concerned that I'd come on too strong, but at the same time I was still glad I'd asked her to join us for the holiday because I was certain she wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. Megan - she had no problem allowing me a place in her life; she was just so hesitant to make a place for herself in mine.

I quickly finished the dishes and called my mom to tell her what we'd decided. She was happy we'd come to a compromise of sorts and she hadn't expected Megan to change her plans on short notice.

"Okay, Ma. I gotta go but I'll call you later. Love you, bye."

"What did Mama Evans say?" Megan asked, setting her bags down by the door. "I'm ready if you are."

I put my phone in my pocket and grabbed my keys before opening the door. "She's excited to meet you and she's glad we worked something out."

Megan gave me a rueful grin when I grabbed her larger bags, leaving the smaller one for her. "Yeah, well - a couple someones convinced me that compromising wasn't going to kill me."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Such a vote of confidence, doll - gosh - if you praised me any more I'd die of shock."

"Smartass," she quipped, following me outside. I set her bag in the back seat of my Lexus.

"Takes one to know one."

Megan loaded the address into my GPS as we pulled out of my drive and then set her hand near mine, letting me make the choice of whether or not I wanted to hold her hand. She smiled when I took her small hand in mine. She looked out the window, just watching the passing scenery and not feeling the need to fill the comfortable silence between us. She jumped when her phone rang and she gave the display a puzzled look before answering.

"Hey Shawn. How's the Land Down Under?"

Her hand squeezed mine lightly and she gave me a smile. I tried not to let it bother me that she was talking to him, but she felt comfortable enough to continue the conversation with me right there, so that helped.

"You want me do what?" she asked, her fingers going slack. I looked over at her in concern, but she only looked confused. "I think I misheard you." She pulled her hand back to rummage through her purse, pulling out a planner and a pen, flipping pages as she listened. "You know it's Sunday afternoon here, right? You're like 18 or 19 hours ahead of us there, so I don't even know if the studio is open today. You're sure he meant today?"

I wondered if Megan had to go back for reshoots, but that didn't make sense since most of the video had been filmed using her twin, not her. She scribbled down a quick note and looked over at me. "Hold on please, Shawn. I'll ask Chris, okay?"

"Ask me what, baby?" I asked as I stopped at a red light. She hit mute as she met my eyes.

"Do you have time to take me by the Universal Music Group Studio in Santa Monica? Shawn's label wants me to record my part of the song because his producer liked how we sounded together when he saw the rough cut of the video."

I was momentarily stunned; I hadn't expected that at all, but she was a really good singer so if she wanted to get into the business, she was going to have to take whatever chance she had to get an 'in'. "Yeah, I don't have anything planned today, just going over some lines with Sadie later. Is this something you want to do?"