I sat quietly, eating my vanilla cone and listening to Jared suggest that we stop at Shannon's on the way home so that I could check the place out. I knew this whole thing wasn't a good idea, but my curiosity had been piqued, and besides, I'd already stupidly agreed.
It seemed that after I gave my word to help him, Shannon was all genuine smiles and far from the overly confident, cocky fucker that had me pinned to the wall earlier in the evening. Gone were the flirty remarks and ridiculous smirking. Now, he was the perfect gentleman, carrying on a casual conversation with his brother.
I took the last bite of my cone and picked up my napkin, crumpling it in my hand while waiting for them to finish chatting so we could leave. It was Shannon who held the door open for me and Jared followed right behind me. Sliding into the passenger seat, I couldn't help but wonder how many women had been sitting right there in the plush fabric seat before me. Jared got in and drove in the direction of his brother's house, switching radio stations every few minutes. Leaning back in my seat, I became very comfortable and relaxed with the near silence.
In what seemed like minutes, he turned into a neighborhood and Jared pulled up to a house hidden by a six foot fence. I opened my door and climbed out without waiting for Jared. Following Shannon, we entered through the front gate and marched up the sidewalk to the front door.
The place was mostly empty and completely different from what I had imagined. Following behind Shannon, Jared guided me through as the two gave a tour. The more time spent around this Shannon, the more relaxed I became. The flirty egomaniac disappeared and was replaced with a man who had eyes full of exhilaration as he talked about what style he wanted for his home.
Listening to Shannon as we made our way to the living room, he showed me his brick and mortar fireplace, insisting that it be kept simple. He explained that he liked modern with a vintage flair.
He appeared pleased with my suggestions and even added a few of his own. Walking down the hall and up a few stairs, we entered his bedroom. White, crisp, and beautiful, it was the perfect canvas for creativity, and I was full of it. "I love the idea of white for the bedroom, but I have no idea what I'm doing." he remarked. I wandered around his room and discovered two boxes that were sitting in the corner.
"May I?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. He nodded in agreement and I opened them, finding a few skulls as well as a fur piece. I looked around the room as ideas began to fill my head and I started to get the feeling that I knew what he liked. "I've got a fairly good idea of what you're interested in, I need to get back to Jared's so I can sketch something out for you. I'm definitely going to need your insight to make sure it's what you're looking for."
An hour later I sat with my legs crossed on Jared's floor with a sketch pad and some colored pencils in my hands, deep in thought. Making a few adjustments to the first sketch, I passed it to Shannon for his opinion. Jared had disappeared into the kitchen to make popcorn and the smell was making my mouth water. "Sorry, this is usually done on my laptop." Pulling up the pieces of furniture on my phone, I handed it to him to look at.
Shannon looked over the paper and the images on my phone as I began talking floors and countertops, I could see the wheels turning in his head as he imagined the way the interior would look. With the fur rug laid out across his bedroom floor and large painting behind his couch, I think it would look great. "This is awesome and the colors, I love the contrast. It goes so well with what I already have. When can you start?"
"Wait a minute, I did not agree to this job. This is not how I normally conduct business Shannon." I pointed out. Glaring at him, I reminded him of his behavior earlier in the evening. "Aside from that fact, I don't know if you can be trusted. It wasn't fair what you did to me earlier." I whispered.
