One Night...

Chapter 9

Scarlett stood in the doorway at Shane and Ryland's house as four human faces and two canine ones stared at her, and for all the discussion she'd had with Andrew about how much she wanted to meet the Squad, she suddenly felt terrified. But as soon as she could start to feel anxiety creep up into her face, it was immediately washed away when the booming voice of Shane Dawson filled the room.

"Oh my god! Hi!!!" he yelled out, holding out his arms to her and enveloping her in a bear hug. "I'm SO happy to meet you, I'm Shane. I'm sorry, I'm a hugger! And you must be Scarlett!" The tall red-head grinned widely at Scarlett, and she returned his warm smile. "Wouldn't it be SO awkward if you were like, no I'm not Scarlett?!" a shorter guy with brown hair and beautiful blue eyes exclaimed, and everyone laughed out loud while Shane rolled his eyes. "I'm Ryland," he said, holding out his hand to shake Scarlett's, and he shot her the sweetest grin. "Welcome to our home! Oh my god, you're drop dead gorgeous, girl! I hate you already!" he cheered.

Shane looked at his partner, scratching his jaw a bit, and Scarlett immediately thought how Andrew did the same thing. "Babe, don't tell her you hate her," Shane admonished, and Ryland laughed out loud. "Oh my god, Shane, she knows I don't like, really hate her," Ryland said, and Andrew cleared his throat a little. "Scarlett, this is Morgan," he said, gesturing to the tall blonde girl with the same gorgeous blue eyes as her brother. "I'm Ryland's sister," she said sweetly, giving Scarlett a little wave. "I'm not a hugger, but get a few drinks in me, and I'll be cuddling you on the couch!" she said, and Scarlett couldn't help but laugh at how funny she was. "Literally, so nice to meet you," Morgan said sincerely, pulling at the hem of her black cropped sweatshirt. "I'm always the only girl in this crowd," she said, rolling her eyes a little bit. "You wanna talk about impossible to find a boyfriend," she groaned, and everyone laughed as Scarlett smiled a little. She immediately liked Morgan.

"And Scar, this is Garrett," Andrew said, gesturing to an enormously tall, sandy-haired man with the biggest grin Scarlett had ever seen. "HI!!! Oh my god, I'm so happy to meet you, Scarlett," Garrett told her sincerely, and she grinned, feeling immediately comfortable with him. "Andrew is my best friend in the world," Garrett gushed, and Andrew smiled a little, scratching the back of his neck as he watched them interact. "I'm so happy for you to join the rest of our lives!" he cheered, and before she knew what was happening, the giant of a man had grabbed the tiny blonde by the waist, enveloping her in a hug as big as he was, picking her up off the ground a little as she let out a yelp.

"Ok, Gare, that's good buddy, put her down, OK," Andrew said nervously, and Garrett gasped, dropping her down with a thud. "We don't want to break her, OK Garret?" Andrew said softly, and Garrett nodded a little, looking down sheepishly at his feet. "I'm fine, it's OK Garrett," Scarlett told him sweetly, and he flashed her a sweet grin. She couldn't get over his Golden Retriever energy as Andrew furrowed his brows.

"Uh-oh," Morgan said with a sing-songy voice. "Dad is coming out, and now he's an actual dad," the girl joked, and Andrew rolled his eyes, his face turning red as everyone else cracked up. Scarlett turned to him with a smirk. "Dad?" she asked, and Andrew face palmed. "We all call him that because he's such a nervous Nellie," Ryland chirped, and Shane nodded in agreement. "He's a total dad. You know, telling us to put on our seatbelts and not to run in the house. Reminding us when we're being embarrassing. It's just funny because, well, you know..." Shane gestured between Scarlett and Andrew, and she could see Andrew immediately starting to feel uncomfortable as they brought up the pregnancy.

Scarlett turned to him and put her hand on his forearm gently. "Andrew, it's OK. It's not a secret. You are going to be a dad. Nice to know you've been practicing this whole time," she teased him gently, and he smiled at her before letting out a breath. "Yeah, you're right," he said quietly, shaking his head a little. Shane watched them with interest before Ryland decided to change the subject. "Let's head to the pool!" he yelled out, and the dogs followed him on his heels out to the backyard.