Shades of White

Crush

All day Tuesday, I couldn't stop looking at my phone, checking the time and looking to see if there were any new messages that I had missed. I couldn't wait to hear from Shaun, especially because I was lucky enough not to have any rehearsals that evening, so I could join his family for dinner. He had promised to call me and let me know when they were close, and I was planning to surprise them by being at their house, waiting for them. Finally, at exactly 5:48, my phone rang. It was Shaun calling.

"Shaun! Are you close?"

"Yeah, we're about 15 minutes from home, finally."

"Oh, good. How was the drive?" I signaled over at Dawn, who looked confused, and eventually, I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote 'TAXI.' She nodded and picked up her phone, calling a cab company for me.

"Well, let me just say this about it. Jesse decided that it would be fun for him to sing old country songs all day. Off-key. And right next to me." I heard some gruff remarks in the background and heard Shaun insistently telling someone (presumably Jesse) to shut up.

"Oooh. Not good." I walked out of the room, blowing a kiss goodbye to Dawn and then proceeding to the elevator. "Why didn't somebody stop him?"

"I tried, but my mom didn't want us fighting in the car, so...I'm so jealous of Danny, Mason, and Kari. They took Mason's car, so they didn't have to suffer the torture."

"Oh, they are lucky." I walked out of the elevator and out the front doors of CPP and stepped into the sunlight.

"Yeah. Hey, elf?"

"Mmm?" I hummed.

"My cell is dying. Can I call you later?" At this point the taxi had arrived and I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Sure, Shaun. Call me later. Bye." I flipped my phone shut and gave the driver Shaun's address. I sat silently listening to the soft jazz on the radio. And then I started worrying.

What if they were already planning something?

What if they decided to stop somewhere instead of going straight home?

No, Shaun would call me.

Wouldn't he?

Yes. He definitely would.

Am I too dressed up? I was wearing a teal cami, a pastel yellow elbow-length sweater, and a denim skirt.

It's just a skirt, not a ball gown. It's fine.

"Hey, miss, are you gonna get out?" The cab driver asked me, and I realized that we were in front of the White's house.

"Oh, yeah, sorry." I laughed and paid him, stepping out of the cab and walking up to the front porch. I only had to wait for about 5 minutes before I saw their black SUV driving up the street. One of the backseat windows rolled down and I saw Shaun's telltale head of red hair pop out.

"BOBBY!" He cried, and I burst into laughter.

"SHAUN!" I replied, my smile growing more and more with every foot closer that the car got. As it was slowing to pull into the driveway, Shaun's door opened and he jumped out and ran up to me. I heard Cathy shouting at him from the front seat, but neither of us paid any attention to her, we were too busy hugging and laughing. He stumbled and fell backwards on the front lawn, bringing me down on top of him. This only made us laugh even more hysterically.

"Dorks." Jesse muttered as he got out of the car. At this time, Mason's car drove up and parked at the curb, and he, Danny, and Kari got out.

"You're just jealous because you're tone deaf and Bobby can actually sing." Shaun said from his place under me. He looked up at me. "Right?" He said. It was only then that I realized how potentially awkward this situation was. I rolled off of him and sat up next to him.