Under the Influence

Animal

Chris POV

We had a really nice dinner, we talked honestly about everything, got a lot off our chests, and had a lot of drinks. I missed having nights like this, us just vibing and being with each other. I just stared at her whenever she smiled. I loved seeing it on her face; it did something to me. Seeing her smile tonight took me back to when we first met. Her smile drew me in, made me want more. She always had a way of making me smile and just made me feel good about myself. She doesn't even know that she does that to me. I felt like I had the old Shawnie back, like we were in the beginning. I loved every second of it.

There were a lot of people and paparazzi outside the restaurant when we left. They were taking pictures, asking for pictures, and asking questions. We posed without really posing. Everything seemed to be going well between us.

After we left the restaurant, I just wanted to spend a little more time with her. I didn't want our time together to end, and I got the vibe that she didn't either. I decided to take her to the overlook, which is where I was going to take her earlier, rather than to the beach.

I was a little fucked up, but I kept myself together. The pills from earlier, when I was at home, were still in my system, and I was coming down from them. I had smoked all the way up there, and she was a little drunk from the wine at the restaurant. I was a little buzzed myself, but everything was all good.

Once we got up there, we got out and lay on the hood of my car, smoking and looking at the clear night sky. It was really nice out, and I just wanted to stay like that forever. I've missed her so much.

"Tell me what you want to do with your life," I say

She laughs, "High talk."

"Yeah, it's high talk, but it's a question I should've asked you when I met you." I say, "I know your career of choice, but what else?"

"I would like to be successful in my career, have a couple of offices. I have two now, and I'm not complaining about that, but I want more. I've basically put everything on hold because of our relationship, things that have gone down with Aubrey, and my mental health. I'm working on it, but I want to get better, so I can really focus, like I was in Chicago...before I met you." She says, and it makes me feel like I'm the reason everything went downhill for her. That's a hard pill to swallow.

"So with us hopefully being all good, and Drake is almost out of the picture, do you think you can achieve the level of success you want? I'm willing to do whatever to get you there." I say

"I hope so. I need to get there." She says

"What can I do to make that happen for you?"

"Seriously?" She asks, surprised. I know I never asked her this before, and if our breakup hadn't happened, I wouldn't have known this was a critical question or a conversation we needed to have. I want to be happy, I want her to be happy, and we can't be happy if we don't know what the other person wants or what our needs are. We both need to be happy on our own, well, in her case, she needs to be happy on her own, because I'm only happy with her. I realize that now, and I know how that sounds, but there's no helping my situation.

"Shawnie, I want to make you as happy as possible. I will do anything to get you to where you want to be. I've already decided to hire you on. I can get clients for you, whatever you need. I need you to be in a good headspace so I can be in a good headspace. I'm set, I need to get you straight."

"Chris, that's so nice of you, but let's just take it day by day for now," I say

"Okay, Baby. We can do that." We fall silent for a few minutes, then I speak, "I'm happy we're finally working on this. All I've wanted was for you to give me another chance."