The Last Great Seduction

Chapter Seven

Lying in the bed that night was a cold one. I couldn't sleep, but the house was very peaceful. I knew that the kids were sleeping. I had worn little Daniel out by running around the house with him. Seeing his smile was something that I wasn't used to seeing. In the house, he was always crying or whining. I had to show him, some way, that it was okay to be a kid. It was okay to make mistakes and not have to fear the thought of getting a whooping. I wasn't going to whoop him for the same mistakes I know I made as a child.

I sighed as I got out of the bed. I couldn't take it anymore. My curiosity wouldn't allow me to, at least, not know what happened. I wanted to know what was going through his head that night. I grabbed the nearest blanket and wrapped it around my body. I had a habit of sleeping in only my underwear and a tank top. I'd hate to be the cause of Shawn acting out again.

I went to the room that I knew he'd be in. I was expecting to see him sleeping in the bed, but surprisingly – he was awake. His attention diverted to me as he looked away from his iPad.

"You okay?" He asked me softly.

I stepped closer into the room, but kept my distance. "Can we talk?"

Shawn nodded his head and turned the device off. He placed it on the nightstand and looked at me. "Are you going to stand there the entire time?"

Laughing a bit, I sat down on the edge of the bed. "Can I just ask what was going through your head, Shawn? Was that your sole purpose of coming to surprise me?"

He ran his hands down his face and let out a deep breath. "No. Corey called me earlier that day and told me that our mom was in the hospital. I've always had this resentment toward her for choosing her boyfriend over me. So I told him I didn't care. That angered him, and it made me question if I should really care or not."

I didn't have anything to say, so I pushed him to keep going.

"Times like that are when I realize Rihanna doesn't...get it. So I left her to come see you. Waiting on you, I had every intention of just talking, Bey. I just wanted to see your smile. I wanted to hear your voice," Shawn told me. "But I got drunk. I was drunk before you even made it out there. You were in the shower and I kept thinking about how slow fate was working. I did it, but the look on your face, Bey...."

I looked away from him, but he pulled my face back to him. "Beyonce Knowles, I promise to never put that look on your face ever again in my life." The tears formed in my eyes as I looked into his. I could see his true feelings about that. The entire time, I knew he didn't mean it.

"I want to kiss you right now," I told him with a small laugh. Shawn leaned back against the wall headboard and laughed.

"Stop trying to flirt with me, Beyonce. I'm a taken man."

"Speaking of that!" I said, being reminded of the paper that would be out later tonight. "There's a paper that will be printed today that says that someone from Rih's camp is saying we cheated."

His face was disgusted. "Rihanna doesn't even think like that, Bey. You're one of her friends. She loves Ju. Nah, just a rumor. What did Kelly tell you to do?"

"We're doing it like most rumors. We're shutting up and living our lives."

"You and that girl watch too much damn Scandal," he laughed.

I yawned a bit and nodded. "Yeah, but I need to go to sleep."

"Sleep with me?"

I looked at Shawn and laughed softly. I knew that would be overstepping some boundaries, but could it really do some harm? "Fine. But I'm not getting under the covers."