Page 37 of Winter Ends
As much as I wanted Shawn to keep kissing me, to proceed with touching, I wanted to clear my head. It was painful, but I disentangled his arms from around me and moved away from the stove.
“Yeah? Maybe we should call them.”
The frustrated sigh that followed me as I walked out of the room didn’t make me feel like any less of a coward. It didn’t stop me from picking up my phone, finding my contact for Chase, and pressing theCallbutton.
“Yo. Have you killed him yet?”
I let out a laugh. “Ass. No.” I looked up as Shawn stopped in my doorway and leaned against the frame. I flipped the call toSpeaker. “He’s listening, by the way.”
“Hey, Shawn.”
Shawn gave a strained smile before moving into the room to sit next to me on the bed. “What’s up, Chase? Danny-boyhere was concerned about the baby of the group. You all doing anything special for him today?”
I glared at the nickname. He’d never used it before, and I wasn’t a fan.
Chase laughed before answering. “Careful, he’ll bite. Yes. We’re taking him out for dinner. Much less exciting than the original plans. I think he was looking forward to drinks with us, but you know...”
I sighed, dragging a hand down my face. “Tell me about it. At least it hasn’t snowed anymore tonight. Hopefully, it’ll stay that way, and they can clear things out. Maybe we can all spend New Year’s together after all.”
Maybe it was a little fucked up. Shawn shrank back a bit. After the last couple of days, I was still trying to get away from him. I needed to keep my distance, and it was a good thing that I wasn’t crossing that final line. This phone call was the out I needed to keep that barrier in place.
“Hopefully. I think Aiden would look forward to that. He’s been pretty bummed about the change in plans, though I think Nathan is relieved.”
I laughed, Nathan being the ever-protective older brother. He’d eventually have to loosen the reins there. The kid needed to make some mistakes on his own. We’d all been allowed to make them and for some of us, it’d fucked things up for us more than others.
We said our goodbyes and disconnected the call. A quiet fell over the room. Shawn leaned back on the mattress and stared at me. A strange prickling of awareness washed over me at his proximity, and I itched to get away from him again. If I stayed, I was bound to continue what we’d started in the kitchen. I wasn’t even in the mood to finish cooking my food. Instead, I threw on a hoodie and headed to the front door, calling over my shoulder.
“I need some air.”
It was stupid. Cowardly. Shawn had proven that I could talk to him. He wasn’t the same as Art at all, but I still didn’t completely trust it. Alarm bells kept going off in my head. Don’t get too close. Don’t go there again.
Chapter 24
Shawn
Daniel was being cagey.
As much as I’d wanted to get up and follow him, giving him space was probably the best idea. He hadn’t been telling the truth in the kitchen. There was no way he’d been thinking about Aiden when I’d been basically humping his ass.
Every time I thought I had Daniel figured out, he threw another puzzle at me to solve.
His so-called friend must have really made him feel bad about himself if this was how he responded. No one should ever feel ashamed of wanting the things they crave. Sex was a normal function. Daniel trusted someone enough to confide in them about being attracted to both men and women, but they made fun of him for it. That was never okay. Yet he still called them a friend.
My thoughts broke off when the phone on the mattress next to me vibrated. Daniel must have left it behind in his rush to get away from me.
There was no name attached to the phone number, just an obscure one eight hundred number. Probably a telemarketer,but what caught my attention was the display telling me that this particular number had called more than a few times. Normally, those calls trying to sell you shit or attempting to scam you switched it up.
It was probably a dumb idea, but I picked up the phone, sliding my finger across the screen to answer it. I pressed the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“This is a collect call from the Grays Harbor County Jail. Do you wish to accept the charges?”
My heart pounded against my ribcage. This asshole was really trying to call Daniel. From the looks of it, he did it often. Hell, I knew that from my digging and finding the phone records.
Blood rushed in my ears because I knew I was playing with fire. I’d pay the damn fees, but this fucker needed to back off. “I accept.”
It took a moment, and the call connected through. “About fucking time you answered my damn calls, asshole. They’re about to stop letting me make them.”
I cleared my throat, my mouth suddenly dry with the prospect of having to talk to this douchebag.
