Philautia || Amour Éternel Series BOOK ONE ||

Seventeen - SHANNON

May 2015

Shannon rolled his head on his shoulders as he waited next to his bike in the morning. He had forgone his normal morning coffee in an attempt to get on the road faster, but Callie had other plans. The night beforehand had been a strange one and he was just eager to get on the road and put this stupid village behind them. Henry was a total dick and it took all of Shannon's self control to keep from punching him in the face. But the last thing he needed was an assault charge; Jared had barely gotten over his DUI arrest.

He didn't sleep much and spent most of the night thinking about Callie and what he had done wrong. They had kissed before but last night he thought it was different. Of course he knew she was reacting to Henry's behavior, but he thought things would progress further. The feeling of her body against his had flown around his head all night and he tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. His frustration had spilled over into the morning and all he wanted was to put some miles between him and this place.

When Callie finally emerged from her room, he barely said hello before getting on his bike and starting the engine. She said something to him but he couldn't hear her over the roar. They took off, heading south. The road hugged the coast for about an hour and a half before jutting inland slightly in Cambria.

"I've got to get gas!" Callie called over the road noise.

He nodded and signaled to pull off the highway. He found a gas station and parked at a pump, leaving space for her to pull in behind him. The station was mostly empty and he leaned against the pump as he waited for his tank to fill up.

"No coffee this morning?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. I kind of just want to get back to the city."

She gave him a funny look. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," he sighed, pushing off the gas pump and removing the nozzle from his bike. "I'm just tired." He paid and moved his bike so she could fill up.

She didn't push, so he figured he had given her enough of an answer. She was silent as she filled her bike up, biting her lip in a way that told him she wanted to say more than she had. It was times like these when he wished he couldn't read her as well as he could. The sun was peeking through rare clouds, casting shadows on the ground.

"I need a pee," she said, walking toward the convenience store without looking back at him.

He wasn't sure if she was angry with him or not. If she was angry with him, it wasn't exactly fair. She came on to him. She was the one who put up the boundaries. She was the one who crossed them. She was the one who stopped things. He was barely a consenting party in all of it. His mind was a shambles and he pulled his phone out to check his messages, hoping for a distraction. His search came up empty.

He did find a message from Jared asking him what he was doing later that evening.

I don't know. I'm on my way back home right now. I'll be back in a few hours. Shannon responded.

The speed with which his phone vibrated told him that Jared's assistant was typing and not his brother. It was common knowledge that Jared was terrible about responding to text messages.

Where are you? Jared (Shayla) asked.

Out of town on a ride with a friend. I'll be back later, though.

He didn't get a chance to see what Shayla had typed because Callie reappeared. "Ready?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. You sure you don't need a stop?" she asked, smiling as she pulled her helmet over her head.