The first thing Mandy noticed was the sound of shouting and screeching tires. As she slowly started to regain consciousness, she became aware of the atmosphere around her: she knew she was in her house, in her bed, and she was a little cold. Slowly, she opened her eyes, but the strong light attacked her senses. “Ah,” she gasped out, squeezing her eyes shut.
Shane, hearing the little noise she made, turned quickly to see how she was doing. He had been sitting beside her for the past hour, and she had been unconscious for a total of two. To ease his boredom, he had dug through her DVD collection and popped in The Fast and the Furious. “Mandy?” he whispered.
Squinting, she turned to look at him. “Shane?” she questioned, her voice husky. “What…?” She looked him up and down. What a sight to be woken up by—Shane West, shirtless. Even in her dazed state, Mandy couldn’t help but be impressed. He noticed her stare, and mistook the admiration for curiosity.
“You’re probably wondering what’s going on…?” he began, sheepishly. She nodded wearily.
“Well, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, you fainted.” She nodded again. “And when you did, I, well, I panicked.”
She gave him a small smile. “I told you not to.”
He smiled back at her. “I know, but I did. So, I called 911, and the person on the other end led me through a bunch of steps in order to get your fever down—”
“What was my fever?” Mandy interrupted.
“103 degrees.” She grimaced. “Yeah…and then, uh, they told me to put you in the tub filled with cold water, with, um…” Mandy looked at him, urging him to continue. “…Limited clothing on.” Her eyes widened.
“How…limited?” she choked out.
Shane hesitated. “Uh…think ‘step above naked’. I had to…remove your pyjamas, and then took off my top and stuck it on you, so that you wouldn’t be, uh, overly exposed.”
Her eyes opened even wider. Carefully, she sat up and looked at him. “Um…wow.”
“Yeah, you’re telling me…” he muttered under his breath. She looked at him quizzically, but said nothing.
“I have to admit, I’m a little embarrassed,” she confided, blushing.
“Hey.” He took her face in his hands and made her look at him, noting that her temperature felt as though it were back to normal. “Don’t be. First of all, I did it so respectfully, even I’m impressed with myself.” She giggled slightly and placed her hands on top of his. “Second of all, I realize that we’re talking about your, ya know, body here, and we’ve only known each other for a few months now, but you don’t ever have to feel ashamed or embarrassed in front me. And I don’t just mean, like, in a…sexual,” he choked out, “aspect, I mean in…everything, ya know? I mean, it’s nothing I have seen before…” he added, jokingly. She gave him an unimpressed look, and he smiled sheepishly, but she decided not to comment.
Instead, Mandy smiled softly and leaned in, kissing him gently on the lips, forgetting her concern about getting him sick for a moment. “I know.”
*
“Shane?” Mandy stood leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom, looking around the kitchen area for Shane. He came in from the living room area.
“What’s wrong, are you okay?” He gripped her arms.
“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” she said, chuckling. “I just came to get some orange juice.” She motioned towards the fridge with her empty glass.
“No, here, I’ll get it for you…” He pried the glass out of her fingers.
“Shane…” Mandy said, annoyed, hands on her hips.
He gave her a “Who, me?” look.
“I’m a big girl, I can get my own orange juice.”
“Yeah, Big Girl, I don’t want to have to strip you and stick you in a tub of ice water again, okay?” She blushed and he laughed. “Baby, I’m kidding. But sit down, I like taking care of you.”
“So, what, you’re my nurse now?” she established.
“Oh, you know it honey,” he lisped, swaying his hips from side-to-side as he sashayed to the fridge. Mandy couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Whatever you say Shane…” she replied, waving her hand dismissively, as she walked back into her bed. Despite the fact that he was terribly cute when he was helpful, Mandy was used to being independent, and having someone take care of her was a luxury she had gotten used to not having. But oh well…if he wants to wait on me hand and foot…Who am I to complain?
Suddenly, the phone rang. “Hello?” Mandy greeted, when she picked it up.
“Hi Mandy honey!” It was her mom.
“Hey Mum, how are you?”
“I’m good sweetheart. How are you feeling?” Shane walked in with the orange juice then and, seeing that she was on the phone, placed it on her bedside table.
Mandy mouthed ‘Thank you’ to him. “I’m better, mom. I was really sick last night, and I, uh…I just got a good night’s sleep and now I’m better.” She bit her lip and looked at Shane who was shaking his head at her, mock-disappointed.
‘Liar’ he mouthed. She waved him off.
“Oh, well that’s good to hear. Oops, that’s the other line! I’ll call you later, okay honey? Maybe you and Shane could come out to dinner with your father and me tonight?” she suggested.
Mandy looked at Shane panic-stricken. “Yeah…uh, maybe mom. Call later, we’ll talk.”
“Okay honey, bye!”
“Bye mom.” *click*
“What was that look for?” Shane asked, after she hung up.
“My mom wants us to have dinner with her and my dad tonight,” Mandy told him with a grimace.
He appeared unfazed. “So?”
She looked at him like he was nuts. “So!? So you actually want to go out to a restaurant with my parents?”
“Why not?” He couldn’t figure out what was bothering her so much.
“Well, they’re going to be all prying and asking questions about you and…about us…” she trailed off, looking to see what he had to say.
“The thing is, what about us?” he questioned, innocently.
“I don’t know,” Mandy admitted.
“Well…we can be the ever-popular ‘just friends’,” Shane began, ticking them off on his finger as he went. She couldn’t help but giggle. “Then, there’s the ‘friends-with-benefits’ option. And then, finally, we have the ‘full-fledged-boyfriend/girlfriend-put-those-rumours-to-rest-relationship’” He looked at her somewhat hopefully. “What’ll it be?”
“You’re leaving it up to me?” she squeaked, incredulously.
He shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”
“Yeah, it would Mr. Lack-of-Responsibility,” she retorted.
He chuckled. “So…?”
“So!” She threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t know! What do you want? Where do you see this going?”
“Well, I think—” BRIIIIING! The ringing of the phone interrupted him.
“Grr…” Mandy picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Mandy? Mandy, you won’t believe who just called me!” Bonnie squealed on the other end.
“Who?” Mandy questioned.
“Wilmer! And he’s about to call you right—” *Beep* Mandy’s call waiting went off.
“Bon, it’s my call waiting. Is it…?”
“Yeah! Yeah probably. Call me back as soon as you hang up with him, got it?”
“Yeah, I will. Bye.”
“Bye.” Mandy was about to click on the other line, when she grabbed Shane. “Answer it!” she whispered loudly, handing it to him. He looked at her questioningly, but took the phone from her as she clicked to the other line.
“Hello?” he greeted.
“Hi…” a male voice answered back. “Who’s this?”
“You called here,” Shane responded. “Who’re you?”
“Is this Mandy’s house?” the guy avoided the question.
“Maybe…who is this?”
“This is Wilmer,” he replied. Shane’s eyes narrowed and Mandy bit her lip nervously.
“Wilmer, Mandy’s ex-boyfriend Wilmer?”
“Yeah. Now who are you?”
“This is Shane, from the movie.”
Wilmer scoffed. “Shane. I should’ve known.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Can I talk to Mandy?”
Shane looked at Mandy, and offered the phone to her. She vehemently shook her head no. “No man, she’s, uh, showering.” Mandy’s mouth dropped open and Shane winked at her.
Wilmer was taken aback. What was that ass doing there while his Mandy was in the shower? Not your Mandy anymore, buddy the obnoxious part of his brain reminded him, causing him to wince. That was true. But not for long… “Yo, uh, have her call me back when she gets out.”
“No…no, I don’t think she’ll be doing that,” was Shane’s smart-ass reply.
“Look man, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are—”
Shane was about to rip into the guy, when Mandy snatched the phone out of his hand.
“Wilmer.”
“Mands, uh, Mandy! Listen, what’s up with that Shane kid—”
“First of all, Wilmer,” Mandy began, in a bored tone, “he’s older than you, don’t call him a kid. Second of all, last night after you called me, you caused me to have practically a nervous breakdown, and then pass out. You caused that. It was your fault.”
“Mandy, I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
“I don’t care if you didn’t know, mean to, whatever,” she interrupted, in the same tone as before. “But the fact remains that it happened, and it was caused by you. Luckily, Shane was here to take care of me.” She smiled at Shane, who smiled back and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. She could practically here Wilmer’s teeth grinding on the other end. “Stop calling. I told you last night, I want nothing to do with you. It’s over, we’re through. Goodbye Wilmer.”
“Mandy, Mandy wait—” *click* Mandy softly hung up on the phone.
“Are you okay?” Shane asked quietly. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and nodded, swallowing hard.
“It’s just…I don’t have feelings for him anymore, but the memories are there, ya know?”
“Yeah…yeah, I know.” He wrapped her in a hug, and she sniffled on his shoulder. After a beat, she looked up at him.
“So…” she began. He wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“So…?” he prodded, softly.
“So what’re we gonna do?” she asked in barely a whisper.
“Mandy, I know you’ve been through a lot in a short time, and I consider myself really lucky to have been able to help you out as best I can. Where I stand doesn’t matter, because getting into this relationship will probably be a lot harder for you.”
“Shane…where you stand matters the most!” she insisted. “Please, I need to know.”
Shane sighed and looked into her eyes. “Baby…I would love to be your boyfriend. I really would. But at the same time, I don’t want to pressure you into anything you’re not sure of. To start with, you’re five years younger than me. Not only that, you just got out of your first serious relationship. You’re busy with your career, mine’s just setting off…your parents, what would they think about this 23-year-old with their teenage daughter? You’re not even legal yet!” The more Shane thought of it, the more he was psyching himself out.
Mandy nodded. “I know where you’re coming from, but…”
“But what else can we do?” Shane asked helplessly.
“But, but…we have feelings for each other right?” she questioned, almost desperately.
Shane sighed and placed his hand on her cheek. “Sometimes, baby, that’s just not enough.”
*
They had decided to go out to dinner with Mandy’s parents. Shane had left a little while after their “discussion” to get ready and Mandy informed her parents that her and Shane would be joining them. Both had parted with heavy hearts, not bitter with one another, simply disappointed. However, they valued their friendship, and wanted to remain that way: just friends.
The words never really did have much of a ring to them Mandy noted, miserably, as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. Her parents had informed them to ‘dress up’. I haven’t been anywhere where I can just sit down and have a casual dinner in a long time…
Sighing, she placed her mascara wand down and looked at her reflection. She still had traces of dark circles under her eyes from the fitful sleep she had, not to mention feeling ill for over 48 hours. Other than that, she didn’t look half-bad. She had slightly feathered out her layered hair, so it didn’t look overly “70s”, but had kind of a windblown feel. Messy perfection she thought, remembering Shane’s hair on the day of the premiere in Australia. It seemed like a million years ago now. It’s as if they had gotten so far, only to press the rewind button and end up right where they started. Sighing again, she smoothed her black pinstripe pants and adjusted her light pink one shouldered tank. I love these shirts she thought absently, adjusting the little bow on the shoulder. Leaning forward and gazing at her reflection in the mirror one last time, she smacked her lips together, blended her light pink eye shadow, and grabbed her purse and keys. On her way out, she noted the dog food bowls in the kitchen and made a mental note to pick up her puppies from the kennel as soon as possible. She shut off the lights and set out.
*
The restaurant was a five-minute drive from Shane’s house, so he got there in record time. After he had gotten home from Mandy’s, he took a quick shower, found something decent to wear, watched TV for a bit, got dressed, gelled his hair, and then was off. Parking, he stepped out of the car and made his way to the front.
“Uh, I’m with the Moore’s…?” he began, unsure, as the hostess raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. She trailed one manicured nail down the map on her board. Finding “Moore”, she circled the table on her chart and took out a menu.
“Right this way, sir.” She led him to the table where Mr. and Mrs. Moore were there, but no Mandy.
Greaaat… he thought as he smiled broadly and greeted Mandy’s parents.
Meanwhile, Mandy was late.
“Ohhh shit,” she muttered, parking her car. “Shane’s gonna kill me.” She quickly grabbed her purse, adjusted her hair, and jogged lightly into the restaurant. “Hi!” she greeted the hostess, almost breathlessly. “I’m with the Moore family?” The hostess nodded understandingly.
“I just seated your brother,” she informed Mandy as they walked to the table.
“My brother?” Mandy questioned. Which one? she thought. As the waitress placed the menu down at the table, Mandy saw her mom, dad and…Shane. “Oh, that brother…” she said, smiling at her confused parents and Shane.
“Erm, yes… Your waitress will be with you shortly. Enjoy your meal.” She turned and left.
Shane looked Mandy up and down. She looked absolutely gorgeous as usual. He swallowed hard, trying not to make his gaze obvious. Sadly, he looked down at his napkin. Everything beautiful about her, everything that attracted him to her…it had to be ignored. Or else he wouldn’t be able to be around her anymore. And that was the very last thing he ever wanted.
“Hey,” Mandy said softly, placing her napkin on her lap. “Sorry I’m late.”
“No problem, sweetie, we were just asking Shane about his band. Average Jonny, did you say?” Mrs. Moore questioned, genuinely interested.
“Uh, no, ma’am. ‘Jonny Was…’. It was called Average Jo, but we had to change it for legal reasons.” Mrs. Moore just nodded.
“Oh, and Shane, call me Stacy.” She smiled brightly. Shane smiled back, a little more comfortable.
“That’s right,” Mr. Moore spoke up. He extended his hand. “Call me Mr. Moore.” Shane looked surprised, but went to shake his hand, when Mr. Moore laughed. “I’m kidding Shane, I’m kidding…Call me Don.” Shane, almost completely at ease now, laughed as well, and shook his hand.
Mand visibly brightened. Her parents were getting along with Shane so well! Sure, they’d met before, but only once or twice on the movie set, and even then, they were more eager to see Mandy than her co-stars. There was also that one time at her house. Thinking back, she kind of regretted not getting to know Shane’s parents better…Realizing she was getting lost in thought, she took a sip of her water, and tried to get back into the discussion that was going on. Shane and her dad were talking about sports, oblivious to the two women around them. Mrs. Moore caught Mandy’s eye, and motioned towards Shane, mouthing: ‘He’s cute!’
‘You never noticed?’ Mandy mouthed back.
Mrs. Moore shrugged. ‘I do now.’
Mandy rolled her eyes. ‘Anyway, it’s not like anything’s gonna happen.’
‘What?’ Mrs. Moore didn’t understand. Keep in mind, this entire conversation was being mouthed.
‘Never mind.’ Mandy waved it off. Her mom gave her a ‘We’re talking about this later’ look. Mandy just smirked and rolled her eyes again.
The rest of the dinner was not worth reporting. Just idle conversation, back and forth. Mrs. Moore kept giving Mandy sly glances and motioning to Shane while Mandy ignored her mother. Mr. Moore seemed to have forgotten his earlier suspicions about a relationship between Mandy and Shane, as their conversations turned more “manly”—sports, cars…everything but girls and power tools, basically.
Mandy couldn’t help but notice Shane, and the little things about him. His intense eyes. How his lips went pouty when he was thinking. That sexy smirk. The way he tapped his fork on his plate to a silent beat. The way he twirled his spaghetti…
Ugh. Obsessed, Mandy? Just a tad? she thought, angry with herself.
Because of that, the dinner was awkward for her as she assumed it was for Shane, especially considering he avoided her gaze the entire night, except when she had walked in and he had given her a small smile, before looking away again. Sighing, Mandy poked her barely-touched lemon chicken and moved her vegetables around a bit.
After what seemed like forever, the bill came. Despite objections from Mandy and Shane, Mandy’s parents paid for the entire dinner.
“Thanks so much,” Shane said gratefully, once they were out of the restaurant.
“Oh, Shane, it was our pleasure!” Mrs. Moore assured.
“Yeah, after all, we invited you, right?” Mr. Moore spoke up.
“You guys didn’t have to do that though…” Mandy insisted. Mr. Moore just waved it off.
“It was nothing. Plus, you never seem to mind when it’s just the three of us…” he teased. Mandy blushed.
“Oh, Don, leave the poor girl alone. Okay, sweetie, well, you call me.” Mrs. Moore gave Mandy a hug. “It was nice seeing you again Shane.” She leaned in and gave a surprised Shane a hug as well.
“Uh, you too Mrs—Stacy.” He smiled at her.
Mandy’s dad gave Shane a ‘manly’ handshake. “We’ll keep in touch.” Then he turned to his daughter. “Princess.” He gave her a hug. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye daddy,” Mandy said softly. The Moores waved one last time before going to their car. That left Mandy and Shane alone.
“Where’s your car?” Shane asked, breaking the silence.
“Oh, it’s just, uh…over there.” Mandy pointed. Shane nodded, swallowing hard.
“Mine’s that way too.” Mandy nodded back. There was silence again.
Suddenly, Mandy tripped on her heels. “Oh!” Before she could fall, Shane grabbed her arm and steadied her. She looked up at him, and at his hand gripping her arm. “Thank you,” she said, in barely a whisper.
“No problem…we couldn’t have you falling, right?” He chuckled nervously. She gave him a shaky smile back and straightened. He still hadn’t let go of her arm. Not only had he not let go, but he gripped her other arm as well. Shane looked at her, his pulse quickening.
Losing her inhibitions, screwing the “just friends” decision, basically on an impulse, Mandy leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed back. She weaved her fingers in his hair and brought him closer. He inhaled her shampoo and vanilla perfume, kissing deeper and more passionately, running his hands up and down her back.
After a few moments of fervent kissing, they pulled back, breathless. Panting, they leaned forward and touched their foreheads together. Shane kissed Mandy’s forehead, then her nose, then her lips again. Mandy leaned back a bit so she could look at him.
He had never seen her look more beautiful. Her face was flushed, her lips swollen from his kisses. She looked at him with hooded eyes, unintentionally driving him crazy.
“I say…” Shane breathed. “…that we try for a relationship.”
“Uh huh,” Mandy quickly agreed, before pressing his lips to hers once more.