Becoming Ready

Chapter 23 - The Other Kiss

"Hello?" Shawn answered his phone groggily.

"Hey, can you come outside and talk to me for a second?" Charlie asked. She was parked in front of his apartment.

"Charlie it's one o' clock in the morning," he said, still trying to wake up.

"And your girlfriend is outside and she needs to speak with you. I'll see you soon." She hung up. Her heart was pounding extremely hard.

He walked out in his sweatpants and a jacket. It was a cold autumn night. He squinted his eyes and found her car, walking over to it and getting inside.

"What's up?" he asked, still bleary eyed.

Charlie wasn't exactly sure how she wanted to play this. If Kaley had kissed Shawn, and he was waiting to tell her in person, well, here she was. If she hadn't, then Charlie needed to tell him the harsh truth about his "friend." She was trying to be a homewrecker.

"I just wanted to see you," she said, keeping her tone normal for the time being.

"That's sweet, but did it have to be in the middle of the night?" he asked, confused.

She sighed, "It's been a weird day."

He reached out for her hand, trying to be comforting. "Weird how?"

"Just," she shook her head. "We filmed the kissing scene today. I'm glad it's over with, but you know I was nervous about it."

"Was River weird about it?" he asked.

Charlie wasn't sure how to answer. Yes, he was weird about it. No, she didn't want to discuss that at the moment, seeing as how she was here to find out if he had kissed Kaley. Plus, she had been very clear with River that she didn't want to talk about things between them. She shut him down as far as she was concerned.

"He was, a little, but I kept my boundaries," she replied.

"Good," he nodded.

"How was your day?"

"It was... fine," he answered. Charlie noticed a pause. Her heartbeat sped up again as she waited for him to say something. He continued, "I just went to a meeting, and hung out with the sober crew after."

"Including Kaley?" she pressed him.

He nodded again. "Yeah she was there."

That was it. She had given him enough chance to tell her if something had happened. He wasn't offering anything up, so she was just going to have to ask.

"Did Kaley kiss you?"

The look on Shawn's face told her everything she needed to know. Her stomach dropped.

"Charlie..." he started.

"I called you, you know," she interrupted. "Before the kissing scene with River. I wanted to talk to you so I could feel less weird about it. She had your phone and she told me you kissed. Why did she have your phone?"

He looked dumbstruck. "I – I must have been in the bathroom."

"Was she here?!" Charlie's voice went up an octave as she motioned to his apartment.

"Yes," he confirmed, still stricken.

"Oh my god," Charlie said. "Are you cheating on me with her?"

"No, nothing like this ever happened until today, I swear," he said quickly.

Charlie scoffed. "Let me guess, you had no idea she was into you?"

He looked like he was trying to figure out what to say. "No, I did. But I'm not into her."

"I just don't understand two things," Charlie cut him off again. "One, if you knew that, why would you have her over at your place? And two, why didn't you tell me right away?"

"I... don't know," he answered. "I feel like an idiot. I want to explain, but it's just going to sound stupid." 

Charlie felt like her heart had fallen out of her chest. "Please get the hell out of my car."

Shawn stared at her, trying and failing to speak.

"Please, get out," she said.

"Charlie," he pleaded.

She just stared at him. If looks could kill, he'd definitely be wounded. Finally, he got out. 

She drove away so fast she heard the tires squeal, and the smell of burnt rubber wafted in through the open window. The cold night air whipped her hair around wildly, and tears fell from her eyes. 

**Do you want to hear Shawn explain himself?