Page 42 of Unexpected Adventures

Chapter Ten

The thought of being alone at Denise’s isn’t very appealing. And although the thought of being alone with Shaun at his sister’s is a bit frightening, it’s far more appealing… and exciting, and nerve-wracking. And I suppose we won’t be completely alone, as Sarah will be there. At least I think she will, to take care of the dogs, see to the house… I distinctly remember Sherri saying Shaun needn’t worry about that.

“Remember,” Shaun says. “No pressure.”

“Easy for you to say,” I mumble, to which Shaun gives me a hearty laugh, in turn, causing me to laugh. I turn in my seat as much as the seatbelt will allow, trying to face Shaun.

“Listen, you have been wonderful, and this evening was great. And all these thoughts are going through my mind as to what I want and what I don’t and how nervous I am, and how I don’t want to make a fool of myself despite knowing you for less than two days…”

“Abby, relax.” He puts his hand on my thigh and gives it a little squeeze before returning it to the steering wheel. “I’ll drive us to Sherri’s, we’ll have a drink if you’d like, talk some more. Or, you can just go straight to bed and get some rest. It is getting pretty late, and I don’t like the idea of you alone at Denise’s. Well, unless she’s there, but I’m guessing she’s with Jim.”

“And you’d be correct, sir,” I say. “I don’t like the idea of being there alone either. So, on to Sherri’s.”

“Sounds good.”

He expertly makes his way through town, climbing the hills back to Sherri’s. Once inside the garage, we gather the blanket and picnic supplies, making our way into the kitchen. Dim lighting ensures we can see our way around. It’s just after one in the morning and the house is quiet. Sarah and the dogs are surely down for the night.

“I think this is the quietest I’ve ever seen it at Sherri’s,” Shaun says.

“Is there always a party with as much activity as yesterday?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say there’s a party every time I come around, but close enough. This is the first time I’ve been here without my sister home.”

“Like being home alone when your parents go out on a date night.” I chuckle. “You want to crank the music up loud and dance like nobody’s watching.”

“Is that what you’d do?”

“Something like that. Although I was never alone, having had Denise, Claire, and Beckham there too.”

“So, it’d be one big dance party.” He finishes putting away the potato salad and turns to me, grinning.

“Actually, yes. Claire and Beckham loved to dance. They loved to be the center of attention, and still do, seeing as they’re performers. They’d raid our mom and dad’s closet, make up costumes, put on little shows. It was great.” I smile at the memories, thinking of all the fun we’d had as kids.

“But not you.”

“What do you mean?”

I watch Shaun as he slowly approaches me, a gleam in his eyes. His sexy, mesmerizing eyes. My back is against the counter so I have no room to move. Not that I really want to.

He puts his arms around my waist before saying, “You were the sibling who liked to be in the background, giving the others the spotlight.”

“I suppose,” I manage to say, not able to take my eyes off his.

“I noticed how hesitant you were to get on stage, and the way you tried to sneak off only to have Denise put a stop to that. Are you always so accommodating? You didn’t put up much of a struggle.” He lightly kisses my right ear before nibbling on the lobe. His lips make their way down my jaw, my neck. I can barely utter a response to his question, only a soft sigh escapes my mouth. I instinctively wrap my arms around his neck.

“Abby?” he says while making his way to my left side, causing me to practically melt into him.

“Hmm.”

“You’re a pleaser, aren’t you?” he says while having my ear for a late-night dessert.“You never want to hurt anyone’s feelings, even if it may cost you your own.”

With that said, he straightens, studying me. I see this when I finally open my droopy eyelids to look at him, wondering why he’s stopped. “Is that question rhetorical, or are you really waiting on an answer?”

He smiles. “Rhetorical. An observation, I guess. Tell me, have you ever done anything purely selfish? Something just for you because you wanted it?”

My mind goes blank because I have no clue how to answer that. Do I even have an answer? I scrunch my face, furrow my brows. Nope, no answer.

He chuckles. “I’ll take that as a no.”

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