Page 62 of Waiting for Sunshine

“Maybe so, but I kind of owe a big thank you to Luther.” Shane shrugs, piquing my interest. I raise my brow in question, so she continues.

“Luther is the one who told Lauren about Chattahoochies. I never would have walked in to drink away my shitty week if it wasn’t for him.” She looks up at me and smiles.

“Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that.” Leah remarks.

“I’m kind of seeing aforgettablepattern with this guy.” Tucker mutters under his breath.

“I never would have met you,” Shane says, her eyes so full of peace. Tucker clears his throat dramatically.

Attention whore.

“Or you, Tucker.” She says reassuringly, smiling at him.

“You ready to go home, Sunshine?” I ask. The rest of the table seems to stop breathing at my question, making me look up at them. “What?” I ask. Looking at Tucker and his shocked to shit expression, I realize I just insinuated we shared a home. To be honest, I don’t quite mind the thought.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.” Shane smiles. I drop money on the table and we all stand to leave. Shane stays with me more often than not recently, and little pieces of her are starting to flood my house. We’d gone to the store for groceries not too long ago, stocking up on her Toaster Strudel and iced coffee, and she convinced me to buy some blankets for my living room. Some of her clothes hang in my laundry room, her bathroom products are overtaking the counters and her blonde hair is absolutely every damn where, and I fucking love it.

“I’ll see you back at Taylor’s later to talk party stuff?” Leah asks Shane. Damn, they weren’t kidding, they’re doing the most for this damn party.

“Yes, of course.” Shane says, hugging her friend bye.

We hop in my truck and head towards the house while Shane looks for a good song on her phone. She stops scrolling and looks over at me. “Oh, can we stop by the store again? We need more paper towels and I want to get some treats for Riley.” She says, not knowing how the wordwesounds like music to my ears because so many things feel shared between us now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Of course. But we gotta hurry, I have something for you back at the house.” I say, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it before letting our intertwined fingers rest in my lap. She looks at me curiously but doesn’t ask for further information.

When we finally pull back up at the house, with not only paper towels and treats, but another damn blanket and some tiny couch pillows, I am eager to get to the package that arrived while we were out. I pick it up from the front porch, before opening the door for Shane. When we go in, she walks over to Riley to tell her about the new treats she got. She’s spoiled my girl senseless and Riley just eats it up.

“I’ll be right back.” I tell her, taking the package to the bedroom. I rip it open and smile when I see that it turned out absolutely perfect. I find some dusty old gift bag and place the item inside before making my way back out to her.

When I round the corner back to the living room, I hear Shane talking to Riley.

“See, isn’t this so much cozier? You gotta back me up on this Riles, us girls have to stick together.” She says, fluffing the pillows and readjusting the blanket over the side of the couch.

“I think it looks great too, no need to gang up on me.” I wink at her and a big grin spreads across her face.

“I knew you’d love it.” She beams.

“Alright, come here. I have something to give you.” I nod her over to the kitchen island where I’ve set the bag down. She looks at it curiously.

“You know my birthday isn’t for another two months, right?” she asks accusingly.

“Yes, I know. This isn’t a birthday present. This is just a regular present. One that’s long overdue.” I answer. “Go ahead and open it.” I cross my arms, my fist covering my mouth, anxious to see her reaction. When she lifts it out of the bag, and unfolds it she looks over at me with a smile.

“You bought me a Chattahoochies sweatshirt?” she exclaims.

“I did. You told me I owed you a new sweatshirt, but instead of one that’s ridiculously white and just waiting for a disaster, I thought this would be a safer alternative. Especially for you.” I look down at the white and brown tie dye Chattahoochies sweatshirt that rests in her lap.

“The perfect coffee spill camouflage.” She states, smiling down at the gift.

“That was the thought process I had, yes.” I glance back at her. “You really like it?” she sets it down, throwing herself in my arms.

“It’s perfect, thank you.” Lifting her chin she kisses me hard and every part of me relaxes. I never want to live a life where Shane’s lips don’t find mine everyday.

“I’m gonna wear it right now.” She says excitedly.

Jumping over to the counter she begins stripping out of the clothes she’d worn to the gym. Standing in the kitchen in her bright green sports bra that displays her perky nipples perfectly. She slides the sweatshirt over her head, disrupting my view, and holds her arms out to the sides.

“What do you think?” She smiles wide.

---