Evan's Addiction (23 page)

     And shit…where did that thought come from. I should be drooling
over this girls’ over-spilling C-cups and long bare legs. Must be the pregnancy
scare throwing me off, but then I realized I hadn’t really drooled over a
female since meeting Shaw. After sparring with her other girl’s had been dull;
in looks and personality. 

     “If you’re looking for Shaw she’s not home.” The blonde’s eyes
tracked me with interest from head to toe as she spoke. “I got home a half an
hour ago and she was leaving with a bag and her cat.” She sidled closer. “I was
just on my way out to a party though…if you’re interested in having fun. The
way that girl dresses she wouldn’t know fun if it stripped naked in front of
her.” She grinned suggestively, like she’d do that if I asked. 

     A scowl carved my face at finding out Shaw had split for what
sounded like an extended trip to who-knows-where for who-knows-how-long.
Ignoring the blonde I stomped away and pulled out my cell.
Don’t think
taking some trip is going to stop me from talking to you. You have to come back
some time.

    
I got nothing back from her again. How fucking long was she
going to give me the silent treatment? Sure, I’d screwed up but it hadn’t been
intentional.

∞                   
∞                    ∞

     I found out that Shaw was damn good at the silent treatment. Three
weeks and multiple text messages later and still no word from her. She hadn’t
gone back to her apartment either. Since she wasn't speaking to me I had to go
through Carrie who was not happy with me and didn’t want to tell me anything.
The only information I’d squeezed out of her was that Shaw was staying with a
friend who’s name was David.

     Who the hell was David? Whoever he was he hadn’t been sleeping
with her, but who knows now. He could be fucking consoling her for all I
knew…both physically and emotionally. The thought of that had my gut twisting
in an unexpected way.

     Carrie said that they’d been friends since high school and he was
coincidently
going through some personal problems that she was helping him with. Neither
Carrie nor I believed that excuse, which was why she was mad at me.

     That fact that I was fixated on finding Shaw so badly when it was apparent
she wanted nothing to do with me had me questioning why. The obvious answer
was; I thought we were friends, she was upset, and I wanted to fix it. However,
I was way more bent out of shape than I should be. I could barely concentrate
at work because I was both pissed and worried about her. I felt like I was
missing something, and that was even more maddening. She had just started to
share with me that weekend and then it had all gotten messed up.

     I’d gone over our night together many times, trying to recall what
I might have done wrong besides the obvious absent condom, but all I could
remember was that it had been fucking awesome. I’d given her two orgasms, and
then I’d experienced one of the best of my life. Yeah, I’d ripped through her
virginity like a man possessed, but I don’t recall her screaming in agony, only
pleasure.

     Damn! I shifted my swollen cock as I marched up the steps to the
house. Every time I thought of that night my dick lifted in commemoration. I’d
gone months without sex, had Shaw one night, and now I’d been dry these last
three weeks. There was fucking irony in there somewhere. The only good thing
about the end of these three weeks was that fall courses for UVA were starting
in four days.

     Shaw wouldn’t be able to hide for much longer. 

     Walking into the house I found Nic, Carrie, Amanda, and Noah
hanging out in the living room watching television. Carrie gave me a muted
glare and Nic frowned, but it was more in indecision than true anger. He was
caught in the middle and didn’t know what to do. Carrie wasn’t calling for my
death, but he didn’t like her upset.   

     “You worked late tonight.” Noah declared, his gaze flashing back
and forth between me and Carrie.

     Everyone knew Shaw had disappeared and wasn’t returning my calls,
and they also knew Carrie wasn’t happy with me either.

     It was a little past eight o’clock at night and I’d had to stay
late to sort out some things that if I’d been in my right mind would have been
sorted hours ago. “Yeah,” I answered shortly.

     “You going to head to the gym or just hang with us? We’re in the
middle of
The Avenger’s
movie.”

     I could see that Noah was trying to break the sudden tension that
had erupted with my arrival. I sighed. “I’m too tired to work out. I think I’ll
just sit here and veg till I’m ready to pass out.”

     I noticed Carrie’s lip purse faintly but was too irritated to
leave the room so she’d feel better. It wasn’t like this was a walk in the park
for me.

     “Evan, how’s your mom doing?” Amanda asked, probably trying to do
her part and hit Carrie’s sympathy nerve. Although, I’m sure it was because she
cared too.

     I frowned. “She’s doing well. The asshole doesn’t have a leg to
stand on since he’s been cheating on her for years. It voids the pre-nup he had
her sign.”

     This was another thing that was confusing me about Shaw. Three
days after Landon’s wedding Dan had received some papers from the Hotel. They’d
said the documents had been left in one of the rooms and that they’d looked important
so they hadn’t wanted to toss them out. When Dan had opened them he’d said they
all pertained to my stepdad.

     That had thrown me for a loop, and after examining them I’d been
even more astounded. It had been pages of printed credit card receipts and
phone records documenting Kyle’s years of cheating on my mother.

     Shaw had told me she knew someone who could find dirt on my
stepfather, and she’d done it within a day. She hadn’t given them to me because
of whatever problem was going on between us, but the fact that she’d gone to
the trouble of doing it for me, for my mother, and done it so quickly was
incredible. Not incredible that she’d been able to do it, but because she’d
cared enough to do it.

     It was making me even more confused and frustrated about
everything. 

     “I don’t know how anyone could cheat on your mom?” Amanda frowned.
“She’s beautiful, and so sweet.”

     Carrie sighed. “Some people only care about themselves.”  

     For some reason I felt like she was shoving me in that category. I
leaned forward in aggravation. “Carrie, I wish you would try to see this from
my point of view. I have no fucking idea what I did wrong, and Shaw won’t talk
to me to tell me, or let me apologize for whatever I did.”

     Nic frowned at my tone and I thought he was going to tell me to
watch my mouth, but Carrie beat him to the punch. “Did you have sex with Shaw
that night and then treat her like a one-night stand?”

     Nic, Noah, and Amanda grimaced and I wasn’t certain if it was because
they thought they knew the answer or they were just sympathetic at my having to
spill my sexcapades with her friend.  

      “Is that what Shaw told you?” Is that why she was mad? She was
the one who’d taken off and wasn’t returning my calls. I should be the one to
feel like a one night stand. 

     “No, she just calls you an asshole and ends any further
conversation about you.” Her expression turned gloomy. “She sounds sad though.”

     I rubbed at the discomfort in my chest. “What happened between
Shaw and me is between Shaw and me, but I will tell you I would never treat her
like a one-night stand. I really like Shaw and respect her.”

     Carrie’s lip twisted and her ice-blue eyes stared at me forlornly.
“You two were getting on so well together, I thought you more than liked her?”

     Nic’s brow’s rose like he couldn’t wait to hear what I said to
that. All I could do was shift in the chair restlessly. I did not feel at ease
revealing my jumble of emotions out loud.

     I expelled a deep sigh. “I
really
like her, and think of
her as a friend.” That was all I could divulge comfortably.   

     Carrie gave me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry if I’ve been
behaving like a witch. I know that you normally don’t do anything too serious
and I thought you might not have warned Shaw about that. Is that why she’s mad?
Did she think you guys were headed toward something serious but you told her
differently?”  

     Carrie’s question alerted me to the fact that I’d never warned
Shaw about my predilection for short affairs. Before sleeping with a woman I
always cautioned them that my attention was normally brief, lasting for only
about four weeks. I hadn’t done that with Shaw.

     She was disrupting all my normal behavior. 

     I shifted in discomfort again, not knowing how to answer Carrie’s
question, but thankfully my phone began to bing. Pulling it out of my pocket I
saw that it was Seth.

     “Hey, what’s up?” I answered.

     “Do you still want to talk to Shaw?”

     I shot straight up in the chair. “Yes! Why?”

     “I’m with Nadia at one of her poker games and Shaw’s here.”

     With a quick wave to the two baffled couples I dashed out of the
house to my car. “Where are you?”

     Seth gave me the address and I punched it into my navigator as I
reversed out of the driveway. Any tiredness I was feeling vanished.
Anticipation and eagerness rushed through me.

     “What’s she doing there?” Shaw had never mentioned an interest in
poker.

     Seth paused for a moment before answering which raised my anxiety.
I did not want to hear that she was there with another guy. “The house we’re at
has these gamer parties and she’s here playing.”

     That sounded innocent enough, so why the hesitation. “Why does it
sound like there’s something you’re not telling me?”

     “She’s just dressed…differently.”

     Seth normally didn’t say a lot, but he wasn’t usually vague
either. “What do you mean, differently?” My first thought was a short skirt and
barely there shirt, and I growled at the thought of other guys seeing her that
way.  

     He huffed. “I can’t explain it to where you would believe it.”

     I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle the guy. “Try.” I
gritted out.

     “Sorry, you’ll have to wait.” Then he hung up on me.

     Dick!

     I raced through the streets as fast as I could without causing an
accident or getting a ticket, arriving at the address in nine minutes…five
minutes sooner than the navigator first predicted. Parking on the road with the
dozens of other vehicles I jumped out and jogged to the house. The neighborhood
was clearly upper class; the homes in the area probably worth around seven-hundred
thousand.

     Music and numerous voices emanated from the house and not
bothering to knock I pushed the front door open and stepped in to find several
people milling around the hallway. Most of the noise was coming from my right
so I turned in that direction walking into a live video game room. Lights were
dimmed and there were monitors everywhere with people sitting in front of them
playing video games.

     A rapid scan of the room revealed no sign of blazing red hair
though.

     “That was quick. Were you just around the corner when I called?”
Seth asked, stepping up beside me.

     “Where is she?” I didn’t have time for chit-chat.

     He just snorted at my rudeness. “She’s over to the left playing
Destiny.”

     My head shot that way but I still didn’t see my red head. There
was only one girl and she had shoulder length purple hair. “She’s not there.” I
grumbled impatiently.

     “She’s the one in the purple hair.” He grunted.

     My head swiveled his way in angry bewilderment to see him smirking
at me. “What the hell are you talking about?”

     “That’s Shaw in a wig over there. Nadia recognized her. She said
she’s seen her here before but never realized that it was her until today. She
was on her way over to talk to her but I intercepted on your behalf. Lucky for
you Nadia likes you and wants to see you two work things out.”

     I glanced back towards the girl with purple hair in disbelief. Why
the hell would Shaw be in a wig? I could only see the back of her head so it
was difficult to believe Seth’s claim. Shuffling around the room, and groupings
of people, I got in a position to view the girls side profile.

     Her hair was in a bob cut that obscured half her face and she was
wearing purple lipstick that messed with her features too much for me to
recognize her from here. The clothes she was wearing wasn’t anything I’d seen
on Shaw before; black combat type boots, black ripped stockings, short black
and purple mini-skirt, two thick leather bracelets, and a black t-shirt with
something written on the front. The girl twisted just enough and I was able to
read the words.

    
Find a short pier and start walking. 

     My heart started thudding…it was Shaw!

     I marched over to her stepping directly in front of her. Green
eyes rimmed with black liner met mine and widened in shock…pain…and then icy
anger.

     “I told you we would talk, and your times up.” I let her hear the
determination in my voice. She wasn’t going anywhere until I discovered what
her problem was.

     Shaw leaned back into the couch with a sneer. She looked like one
of those video game Japanese Goth girls, and astonishingly…it fucking worked
for her. She looked hot, even with the bizarre purple lipstick. The urge to
grab her, slam her against a wall, lift up that shirt, rip one more hole in
those stockings, and drive into her was nearly overpowering. The only thing
stopping me was that she was looking at me like she wanted to drive my nuts up
into my throat.

     “Dude, you’re blocking the screen.”