Chapter 4 – Blue Jeans, White Shirt, Black Leather Jacket
{Shan-Leigh POV}
I raised an eyebrow but smiled all the same when I rounded the corner before my apartment building, spying Cillian’s familiar figure leant against the head-high brick wall that provided a barrier between the apartments and the street. I bit my lip and felt my cheeks turn pink as I took in his apparel. Blue Jeans, White Shirt, Black Leather Jacket…any woman would drool. My smile widened a little as I grew closer and he looked up, and I offered him a small wave.
“Heya!” I laughed quietly, taking in his determined expression as I paused beside him. “What’s up? You look… worriedly determined…”
“More nervous than worried…” he admitted as he looked down the street briefly before back to me. “But determined all the same.”
“Alright…” I trailed off with a confused laugh.
“It has come to my attention that I’ve yet to ask you out.” He blurted out, then composed himself; taking a breath before he continued. “And… I would like to rectify the situation.”
“Wow…” I smirked. “That is the least romantic way to ask a girl out ever.” My smile turned sweeter. “I’d really like that.”
Cillian’s eyes widened then narrowed. “You’d like what? For me to rephrase-”
“No,” I smiled and knelt down, plucking a daisy from the small bush that grew against the wall beside me and offered it to Cillian. “I’d very much like to go out on a date with you.” I smiled sheepishly when he took the small daisy and then shrugged and looked away. “You know; if you’ll still have me.”
“What?” Cillian quirked a brow at me and I dropped my voice dramatically.
“After the blow of replacing my dad at lunch I wasn’t sure you’d actually want to sit down to another meal with me.” I snickered and he laughed a warm, high-spirited laugh.
“Heavens no,” he grinned, his Irish brogue more pronounce now. “If anything it made me want to take you out and show you a good time more.”
“Well then!” I arched my brow for a moment before reaching up to tap his nose. “I suppose I’ll see you later then!”
“Later?” he frowned, then smirked. “You’d like to do this today?”
“It’s the only night I have off this week.” I made an apologetic face at him. “Unless you’d like to wait til next week-”
“God no.” Cillian cut me off quickly, smiling as he reached out and tucked the step of the daisy I’d given him into my hair, tapping my nose lightly back with a smirk. “I’ll see you around… eight?”
I smiled, hoping to god he hadn’t seen me blush. “Eight sounds great.”
He chuckled as he began backing away. “Nice rhyme.”
I shrugged then feigned an epiphany. “I’m a poet and didn’t know it!” I smiled when he laughed a little louder. “See you tonight!”
“Don’t forget!” Cillian called back as he made to cross the street and I made my way down the short path to my apartment building’s entrance.
I smiled as I mumbled quietly. “Believe me… I won’t.”
***
I fidgeted in my seat across from Cillian, nervously brushing imaginary lint off my clothes as a waitress, quite obviously enamoured with Cillian, set drinks and our starters on the table between us.
“Is there…anything else I can get you?” the young waitress asked with a wishful smile that made me turn my head and cough.
“No, thankyou.” He smiled and looked back to me as she walked away. “Calm down…” he murmured, the soft tone making the lilt in his Irish accent all the sweeter. “You look like you’re on death row!”
I groaned. “Argh! I know… I’m sorry…”
“That male fan of yours from before flustered you that much?” Cillian asked with concern.
“No more than usual…” I admitted. “But fewer people know me over here… so when someone that intense walks up to me… it’s like my brain falls out of my head…” I looked over towards where the waitress was glancing back at Cillian. “She quite obviously fancies you…”
“She’s not the one I’m vying for the attention of.” Cillian’s gentle voice and the feeling of his hand laying over mine on the table snapped my attention back to him.
I took a shaky breath, hoping to steady myself. “That’s…” I swallowed when he raised my hand and pressed a kiss to the fleshy part of my fingers below my knuckles. “A rather old fashioned notion…”
“What can I say?” He smirked and grazed his lower lip across the area he’d just kissed. “I’m an old fashioned kind of guy.”
I felt my cheeks heat and gently took my hand back. “It would seem you area trying to make me blush…”
He chuckled. “So it would seem…” he leant forward and grinned wickedly at me across the table. “Is it working?”
“You tell me…” I bit my lip as the words left me, my cheeks darkening a shade when I saw him notice my blush worsen.
“I do believe…” He smirked wickedly. “I could get anything out of you right now…”
“I’m not secretive…” I breathed, leaning back to put some space between us, and shrugged. “You have but to ask-”
“Did you really date that wannabe rocker kid?” Cillian smirked.
“Who? Logan?” I frowned, taken aback by his forwardness.
“Yes, and I will clarify by saying that, when I say ‘date’ I meant ‘slept with’.” He shrugged when I gave him a baffled look. “I want to know what I’m getting myself into.” My jaw dropped but it wasn’t until he winked at me that I realised he’d been joking. “Kidding.” I breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled with him. “In all seriousness… did you date him?”
“God no!” I laughed. “Far too prissy for my liking… and his voice was lacking.” I smiled and shrugged. “I don’t really date… only been on two in my life.”
“Two?!” Cillian’s jaw dropped.
“I was rather young when the band was picked up… and, being the youngest, everyone was looking out for me.” I added in explanation. “But I was never interested in boys.”
He let out an amused huff of air. “Oh?”
“No,” my smile turned devilish for a second. “I much prefer men… they actually know what they’re doing!”
“How’d you mean?” Cillian smirked.
“Well, guys my age would say ‘let’s go to a movie’ and call it a date… whereas you took me to dinner.” I began innocently, then threw my hands up in fake horror. “And don’t even get me started on the comparisons in ‘moving things to the bedroom’!”
Cillian laughed. “Fair enough…” he quirked an eyebrow. “Wait…who’s better?”
I winked as the waitress started making her way back over. “You are.”
“How are we doing over here guys?” the waitress asked in her perky voice, though it was more to Cillian than to me.
“Well…” I bit my lip, looking at Cillian as I downed my drink and placed the glass back on the table. “Should we get another round?”
Cillian smiled and followed suit. “God yes.”
***
I laughed warmly at Cillian’s jokes as he walked me back to my apartment, my hand finding its way into his at some point along the way. His Irish lilt made me smile and giggle like a school girl; my goodness… did I really drink that much?! No, of course it wasn’t that much… it was only three glasses. The alcohol had warmed me, yes… but it was not the reason for my giddy ‘teenage crush’ act…that was still going on… oh God…
“Well… here we are then…” Cillian’s voice brought me back to the here and now and I looked up just as he turned to me.
“Yep…definitely my place…” I chuckled nervously, my breath hitching for a second as he leant forward slightly before leaning back again and looking at his shoes. “Well…goodnight then, Cillian…”
“Yes, goodnight… Shannon…” he smiled sheepishly before turning away.
But, something inside me decided to make life happen. So I called after him. “Unless…” he turned on the spot to look at me, and it took me a moment to regain my nerve. “Unless you wanted to… to come up…”
Cillian smiled. “Would that be wise?” his voice turned to a whisper. “People might talk!”
“Sod ‘em.” I shrugged and pulled my keys from my handbag, jingling them enticingly as I smiled back at him. “Coming up?”
When he finally smiled, it nearly took my breath away as he closed the space between us easily. “I’d like that…”
My smile turned shy, all my bravado vaporising with his sudden close proximity. “Okay…” was all I managed as I turned and let us into the apartment building and led him upstairs to my flat; more than a little conscious of my extensive movie collection lining the far wall of the living room to my left as I gestured timidly for Cillian to come in.
Then I saw my lyric and composition sheets scattered across the table in the kitchen and bit my lip as I moved to clear them away. “Sorry about the mess…”
“Shan…” Cillian’s soft voice interrupted my hectic thoughts as I felt his hands on my waist and he turned me to face him. “Your place looks fine… and this is your work… I’d think you didn’t care about it if it wasn’t strewn about like this.”
“I-if you say so…” I swallowed, my breathing becoming a little heavier and my gaze darting from his eyes to his lips. “Can I… get you anything?” I asked softly, growing more nervous by the minute. “Water? Tea? Wine? Whisky? Scotch? Cognac?”
Cillian quirked a brow at me. “Whisky and Cognac?”
I shrugged. “I come prepared…and I like a drink.”
He laughed warmly. “You’d make a great Irishman.”
“Irish ‘woman’.” I smirked, my hands coming to rest lightly against his sides as he chuckled endearingly.
“Yes, Irish woman…” his voice lowered and his pupils dilated. “The most important part…”
“Cillian-”
All coherent thought left my head as he pressed his lips hungrily to mine… and my eyes flickered shut; one hand in the small of my back, holding me to him tightly, and his other hand tangled in my hair, cradling my head as he kissed me…and I was lost. Lost in our primal, passionate display of needy, wanton hands, mouths, teeth, and tongues against skin; my arms wrapping about him and my fingers clawing at his clothing and holding onto him as if my very life depended on it.
But then he stopped. His forehead pressed against mine as he cradled head in his hands; his fingers so gentle one might’ve thought I was made of china… and then he spoke.
“We… we’ve been…drinking…” he managed between heavy breaths, trying to regain his composure after kissing me so deeply. “We… we shouldn’t… I shouldn’t…”
“Cillian…” I breathed, my hands going up to cup his face tenderly as I reached up to give him a chaste kiss…but he pulled back slightly.
“I… I don’t want to take advantage-”
“Cillian, that’s not what I’m going to say…” I laughed breathlessly as I managed to kiss him sweetly. “I know it’s too soon to sleep together, but…” I paused, trying to catch my breath still. “Won’t you please stay the night? Stay and sleep with me?”
“I thought you said-”
“I mean actual sleep.” I smiled sweetly, biting my lip shyly. “Please? I… I don’t want you to go…”
I hummed happily as Cillian pulled me into a warm hug as he replied. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure…” he pulled back just enough to look around. “Which way to your bedroom?”
“Through there…” I pointed to the door in the living room surrounded on all sides by DVD’s.
“Wow…” Cillian chuckled. “You love movies…”
“Yeah…” I laughed nervously, leading the way into my bedroom. “Um… bathroom’s in through there… towels in this cupboard for if you’d like to shower…um…”
“Shan…” Cillian smiled as I turned back to look at him and watched him close my bedroom door. “Relax.”
“Trying to, I swear…” I admitted. “I just… I’ve never wanted someone to stay before… let alone asked them in…” I tugged my jacket off and lay it over the chair by my dresser. “On the plus side… there’s no more awkwardness about a first kiss anymore.” I smiled as he chuckled.
“That’s true…” Cillian frowned as I started looking through a drawer. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for long, comfy pants for you…” I replied then froze. “Um…”
“Again, relax.” Cillian let out an amused, airy sound. “I just sleep in my boxers anyway.” He continued and I heard him begin to shed his clothes.
“Okay… I’ll just be a sec…” I smiled, nervous again, and dashed into my bathroom with my pyjamas, re-emerging a few minutes later after taking care of my ‘before bed bathroom things’ and sighed when he all but giggled at my pyjamas. “Yes, I know. They’re Mickey Mouse. Deal with it.” I smirked as I turned the bathroom light out and crawled into bed beside Cillian.
“They’re adorable.” He snickered and gave him a light shove. “Oi!” he laughed. “Careful or I’ll kiss you again!”
I giggled and curled in closer to him. “And there I was thinking I’d have to ask…”
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Hey guys! Sorry I left this alone for so damned long! But, I'm back! And hopefully shall be posting a tad more often! :D
Much love to you all!
Shan~Leigh