The Middle | ✔️

Chapter 60

Jamie

I take a deep breath, leaning against the wall of the hallway, the second the front door is shut.

What the hell is this fucking boy doing to me? Showing up here to apologise for nothing, again? It just doesn't make any sense. He doesn't wanna date me, and he knows I like him, so he should be staying away from me. Right?

I straighten up and dust myself off, preparing to go deal with the other tall, dark, gorgeous boy in my life at the moment. Well, at least Shaun isn't completely fucking with my head like Noah is. I know what Shaun wants from me. He only wants one thing, and I appreciate his honesty. He hasn't even brought it up that much since we started drinking Jack in my back yard earlier.

I head out back and find Shaun where I left him, sitting at the picnic table with his drink. He's on his phone, but he looks up as he hears my patio doors sliding open.

"Friend of yours?" He asks with a casual smile.

"Noah." I respond as I sit down opposite him. He raises his eyebrows in interest.

"The famous Noah, huh? What did he want?"

"Nothing." I say dismissively. I've told Shaun all about Noah tonight, because I'm such a fucking motor mouth and I've been drinking. But for some reason, I don't wanna talk about him anymore.

"He came over at this time of night for nothing?" Shaun asks skeptically.

"He wanted to apologise for our last conversation." I say, shrugging my shoulders. "Can we talk about Travis Barker again?'

We had been talking about the Blink 182 drummer before I noticed Benji barking at the sound of the doorbell ringing. I'd rather talk about music again than Noah, but Shaun's not having it. He's shaking his head at me.

"You've done a lot of venting about this Noah guy tonight. You told me you like him, and he doesn't like you. Yet, he shows up here late at night, when he knows you were at a party drinking..." Shaun smirks at me. "Sounds like a booty call to me."

"Probably." The word escapes my lips automatically, because deep down I think Shaun's right. It was my first thought as soon as I saw Noah standing on my front porch. "He does want me that way... Just not the way I want him."

I expect a cheeky come back from Shaun, but he surprises me for the hundredth time tonight. I look up at him, and there's something like sympathy in his eyes. Wow. Who knew he was capable?

"What?" I demand, and he blinks at me a couple of times before speaking.

"Nothing, it's just..." He looks uncomfortable. "I feel kinda bad now."

"Why?" I ask. "You haven't done anything wrong. This mess with Noah has nothing to do with you."

"I know that, but... I've been pretty clear about what I want from you..."

I roll my eyes. "Understatement of the century."

"Right, well... I don't wanna make you feel like you're just a piece of meat. I mean, if this Noah guy just wants sex from you too..."

"Shaun, it's fine." I give him a small laugh. "I don't like you, and I appreciate that you've been up front with me. I'm still not gonna sleep with you though." He laughs at this. "But you've been fun tonight. We could probably be friends."

"Not a chance." He says quickly. "Don't call me your friend."

"Why not?"

"You don't sleep with your friends. You are not friend zoning me." He stands up, picking up his empty glass. I follow his lead.