I Don't Believe In Fate

Chapter 16

Erica came over after work the following day and it was great to finally be able to sit down and talk to her about what had been going on. She took her shoes off and got comfy on the couch while I made us some popcorn. "I want to know EVERYTHING! What was he wearing? How did he smell? Where did you do it? Who was on top?" She rattled off questions so fast and all I could do was frown.
I exited the kitchen and plopped down next to her with the bowl of popcorn in my lap.

"Alright, let's see, he was wearing clothes, he smelled great, and we did it in my bed. Oh, and I was on top most of the time." I left out all of the dirty little details I knew she wanted, purposely to piss her off.

"Why must you downplay everything? Come on Claire.. It's not like I even got to see him again. You know I think he's sexy as hell, even though I have an immense crush on his brother. You could at least let me live vicariously through you. You gotta tell me step by step what he did!" She complained, grabbing a handful of popcorn and glaring at me like it was story time. "How big is he, really?" She pointed at me. "You didn't really share that information last time, ya know? Was he loud? Oh shit, did you guys use protection?"

Ignoring her first question completely, I answered the last one. "Of course we did! He slept in your bed, you know, the night before?" I had to give her that little detail because I knew she would freak. The second the words left my mouth, she got up and raced to the guest room. She stopped by the door and called out. "You didn't wash the sheets, did you?"

"Nope." I responded, shoving a handful of popcorn into my mouth. Hearing her squeal, I grinned and put the bowl down. I walked to the guest room to find Erica in the bed with her face buried in the pillow. "Seriously? He also used one of your condoms."

"WHAT? Ugh!" She laid on the bed, inhaling the sheet. "He smells so good!" She mumbled with her face in the pillow. "I'm spending the night by the way. Knock before you come in because I'll be naked."

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the doorframe. "You need professional help Erica."

"Give me a break! It's as close as I'll ever get to being in bed with one of them." She shoved the pillow beneath her head. "Either fucking one! Shit, when will you see him again?"

"Wanna come with me to LA this weekend? I think I'm going to stay at Lily's, but he did ask me to come over." That certainly got her attention and she sat up.

"Hell yes!" She got out of the bed and followed me back into the living room. I picked up the remote and turned the movie on. I attempted to get interested, but she just wouldn't shut up. "Do you think I can meet Jared?"

I love Erica, but seriously, meeting Jared was the last thing on my mind. I didn't even like him and she knew it. "I have no idea, I haven't even met Jared, and sorry, he's of no interest to me at all." I shrugged. It wasn't my intention  to upset her, but I was certainly not in any position to start requesting things from Shannon.

We watched part of the boring movie and I thought she was joking about spending the night, but she wasn't. I cleaned the mess from dinner and passed by the guest bedroom on the way to my own. She was asleep, hugging the pillow tightly.

I laid across my bed, texting Lily to ask if she minded that Erica and I came to visit for the weekend. Surprisingly, she was awake and responded immediately, welcoming us to stay. She didn't ask about Shannon and I never brought it up. I also didn't hear from him during the week, but figured he was busy.

Friday afternoon, when I arrived home from work, I found that Erica had let herself in and was in the kitchen making herself a sandwich. She and Lily both have an extra key to my apartment, just in case and she didn't hesitate to let herself in, all excited about the weekend.

"Hey," I walked inside, tossing the junk mail down on the countertop. "How was work?"

"Meh, it was the same as always." I stepped out of my shoes and hurried down the hallway, calling out to her. "I'm going to change, be back in a few."

  I undressed and slipped into some comfortable clothes in record time. Sitting on the bed, I put on my favorite pair of converse and packed a bag.

I slung the backpack over my shoulder and made rounds, turning out lights and unplugging appliances. "Ready?"

"Yup." Erica held her keys up, jingling them. She led the way out of the apartment and I locked up.

She drove us to LA, where Max and Lily were waiting for us to have dinner. My sister made some stir fry and we all gathered around the table. Lily always did have culinary skills that I lacked. I hadn't even called Shannon, but Lily informed me that she had plans on Saturday and asked if I could keep and eye on Max. I assured her that I didn't mind. After dinner, Max became busy with his buddy Alex and Lily was on the phone. I nudged Erica. "I'm going over to Shannon's to say hi. Want to come?"

"Sure." She followed me outside and we walked around the corner. 

The gate was cracked open and we slipped through. I bit my lip and began to feel that nervousness creeping up on me as I knocked on the door. Shannon opened the door with a smile on his handsome face, but only enough to peek out.
"Claire, hey, what's up?" He asked like he was shocked to see me. It were almost as if we hadn't made any plans and I got the funny feeling that he wasn't exactly happy to see me.

"Well, I was at Lily's and thought I'd come by. If you're busy, that's fine, we can talk another time."

Clearing his throat, he scratched his head. "I'm not busy, but I do have-" before he could finish his sentence, a very petite brunette pulled the door all the way open.

"Babe, who's this?" She was very pretty and I noticed immediately the way her arm was wrapped around his.

The smile left Shannon's face and he glanced down. "This is Claire, a friend of mine. Claire, this is Kaylee." He didn't confirm who she was, but then again, he didn't have to. I remembered the name. He looked like he was going to be sick.

She smiled, but I couldn't tell if it was genuine or not. "Hi Claire. I'm Kaylee, Shannon's girlfriend. Nice to meet you."

I sighed and Erica elbowed me, hard. "Girlfriend, wow, that's wonderful. I had no idea." I laughed nervously. "I can see that you two are obviously busy and we wouldn't want to intrude on your privacy. Have a great day." I turned and walked away, so angrily that my hands were balled into fists at my sides.

I heard the door close and Shannon calling out to me. "Claire, wait." He ran behind me, "Let me explain."

I didn't turn around, or stop. I just clenched my jaw and hissed.
"Fuck off and lose my number!"

"Come on Claire, give me a minute to tell you what happened."

"I never want to see you again." I screamed, not caring if anyone heard me. Erica was mumbling as she rushed behind me, struggling to keep up. I left him standing in the middle of the street and never looked back.