April 2015
The sun beat down on Shannon's bare back as he lounged next to the pool. Seagulls called to each other overhead and he tasted salt in his mouth from the ocean air. The bright blue Sea of Crete reflected the sun's rays, the waves making the light dance across the stone walls of the villa behind him. A splash of cold water jerked him out of his sleep and he lifted his head quickly.
"What the fuck?" he asked in annoyance. When he saw Belle emerge from the water, flipping her hair back over her head in one solid motion, he stopped. "Was that you?" he asked, struggling to keep his eyes off of her chest.
She grinned. "Maybe," she replied, sticking her tongue out at him.
He watched as she submerged herself again before rolling over. The lounge chair had been a comfortable napping space, but he knew he had spent a bit too much time in the sun. The smell of cooking meat caught his attention and he looked over to the grill, squinting in the bright sunlight. He could barely make out the shadow of someone manning the grill.
"Shan! Come inside and help me get this ready, you lazy fucker!" Callie's voice drifted out of the kitchen behind him.
He sighed and stood up, pausing as his head spun slightly. He had spent too much time laying down and stood up too quickly. The wine he'd had around lunch time on an empty stomach probably didn't help much either. His eyes took a minute to adjust when he stepped inside the house. They had been in Greece for three days now and he had only just started getting used to the time difference.
When Callie had called him up and invited him along on the trip, last minute, he had been wary about it. Her friend had canceled so they were left with an extra space in their villa. He wasn't exactly sure how he'd feel surrounded by a bunch of people more than ten years younger than him. But Callie had assured him that it would be fine. She was surprisingly correct. He had met everyone except for Tom and Sam, one of Callie's co-stars from Sanctum, but the other two men were relatively laid back. Meredith had joined them and he was glad to see Lilia rounding out the group. Tom was nice enough and Shannon could see why Callie had taken such a liking to him during filming.
He was very charming and well-spoken. He even had spotless conversations in French with Callie and Belle, much to Shannon's annoyance. By all accounts, Tom was the perfect dashing Englishman. That meant that Shannon automatically had to hate him. Shannon tried to be polite to him, but every time Tom would open his mouth, Shannon cringed internally. Callie hung on his every word like it was the Gospel and Shannon had to restrain himself from reaching over and slapping the grin out of Tom's perfect mouth.
The villa itself was luxurious. It had five bedrooms and about as many baths. Each bathroom had a glorious soaking tub and a beautiful view of a different part of the ocean. The living area was open and airy, flowing easily from the inside to the outdoors. The villa was situated on the top of a hill with sweeping views on all sides. In the distance toward the back of the house, you could catch a glimpse of the nearby town of Elounda, about twenty minutes away on foot, tucked into the hillside.
The decor in the villa was a mix between contemporary and coastal, with plush seating and dark hardwood floors. The weather had been so nice the entire trip that none of the windows had been closed and the whole house smelled of sunshine and sea spray. The girls had taken to wandering around in bikinis and see-through cover-ups and most of Shannon's time was spent shirtless in a pair of swimming trunks or shorts.
"If you stay outside too long, you'll get burnt," Callie warned him. She was standing behind a cook top sauteing vegetables in a skillet. "Can you mix the salad? It's almost time for dinner. Tom and Sam are handling the grill."
"Aye -aye," he said, walking to the large farmhouse sink and washing his hands. "What's for dinner, anyways?"
"Fish and steak," she replied. "Lilia and Sam went into town this morning and got it. I'm starting to think I'll have to keep an eye on them."
"He's a little old for your sister, isn't he?" he asked, drying his hands. He walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two heads of lettuce and various other salad ingredients.
"That's funny, coming from you," Callie replied over her shoulder. He lobbed a piece of chopped tomato at her. "Hey! You're getting it in the food!" she exclaimed, laughing.
Shannon was halfway through chopping up mushrooms when Sam appeared. He was taller than Shannon by a few inches with a mop of unruly black curls and bright sea foam green eyes. He was well-built and Shannon could understand Lilia's attraction to him; he screamed Hollywood Hunk a mile away. If only poor Lilia could see that he was gayer than Peter Pan on a pair of ice skates.
"Grill's done outside. We're ready when you are," he said.
Shannon picked up the completed salad and followed Sam out to the large table that Aya had set. Lilia and Meredith were already sitting at the table by the time Shannon set the large wooden salad bowl down. A second later, Belle popped out of the water and came over, wrapping herself in a plush white towel, taking the seat next to Shannon. Tom placed a platter of fish and steak at the center of the table. It had been garnished with fresh herbs.
"Thanks to Sam and Lilia for getting dinner this morning," he said, sitting next to Callie. A chorus of appreciation rose across the table. "I'm not much of a grill master, so forgive me if things aren't perfect," Tom added in his usual self-deprecating manner.
Shannon had to refrain from rolling his eyes.
"No worries, mate," Aya assured him. "I didn't have to cook it and that's all that matters to me." He took a steak from the platter and passed it along.
"Aya has relatively low standards," Meredith teased, helping herself to some sauteed vegetables. "He's easy to impress."
Everyone laughed as they served themselves. Within minutes, the only noises were forks and knives scraping across plates, the ocean waves crashing below them, and seagulls calling overhead. Shannon was pleasantly surprised with Tom's grilling skills. For an annoying ass, he grilled a mean steak.
"So Shannon, Callie tells me you've launched a coffee company," Tom asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin.
Shannon nodded. "Yeah. Its been a fun experience so far. I'm learning a lot as I go."
"What brought it on, though?" Tom asked.
"I've always loved coffee. And when you travel as much as I do, you come to discover good and band kinds," Shannon explained. "My brother suggested I start my own brand because he realized I had a real knack for finding good coffee."
"Is it just coffee?" Sam asked.
"For now, yeah. We're working on a few new products at add to the line. Merchandise and stuff like that. We'll see how well it goes," Shannon sipped his wine. "But I'm very confident. Its going really, really well."
"That's good. I don't know how you manage traveling and running a business at the same time," Tom remarked. "I can barely keep my head on straight with my current schedule. I'd be lost without my assistant."
Shannon shrugged. "It's a lot easier when we aren't touring. And right now, we're free. So it's not that complicated for me."
"I hear you're the reason Callie has a dog now," Sam said.
Shannon smiled. "How is Trio, by the way? Does he like the new house?" he asked Callie.
She nodded. "He's doing well. I don't think he quite understands that the whole house is open for him. But he'll figure it out. He wasn't there that long before I had to have him stay with my dad, though."
"Well, after this trip, we're back in L.A. for a while, so it's not a big deal. The big lump'll be as comfortable as a termite in a forest," Aya offered. "God knows, he made himself right at home in my bed," he added in annoyance.
Callie smiled. "The dog is missing a leg. He can have whatever the fuck he wants, Aya." A charred bit of meat found its way across the table, connecting with Aya's nose.
Aya picked it up and ate it, sticking his tongue out at Callie. "Still. He could make himself at home in your room. He's your dog."
"Don't let him hear you say that," Callie countered. "He'll piss in your shoes again."
The whole table burst into laughter. By this point, everyone was finished and leaning back in their chairs, clutching wine glasses and beer bottles, looking out at the ocean. Several fishing boats dotted the water and clouds rushed across the blue sky. It had been a relaxing few days so far, but Shannon hoped to make things more interesting soon.
***GOSSIP BOARD***
LADYBUGG POSTED: So I have been wondering what Shannon has been up to lately since the tour is done. He hasn't been seen around Hollywood at all.
PARTYB4BY POSTED: He's probably busy working on Black Fuel. Or maybe he went on vacation? I'd want a break too if I had to deal with Jared for so long.
NIKITALETO POSTED: He's on vacation. Meredith Torres has posted a picture of him on a boat in Greece, apparently.
PARTYB4BY POSTED: He's on vacation with Meredith Torres?!
LADYBUGG POSTED: It looks like Meredith is on vacation with Callie, Aya, and Sam Lister from SANCTUM. Callie also posted a picture of her sister Belle. So it looks like its just a group vacation.
PARTYB4BY POSTED: The full group lineup is Callie, Belle, their younger sister Lilia, Sam Lister, Aya, Meredith, Shannon, and guess who?
TOM HIDDLESTON.
NIKITALETO POSTED: Why the hell would Tom Hiddleston be on vacation with Callie and her sisters/friends?
GUITARWIZARD POSTED: Back in January, Tom and Callie were rumored to have hooked up while filming together. I guess those aren't exactly rumors now, are they? Unless Tom is attached to one of her sisters or Meredith, I find it hard to see any other connection that would result in him joining them. Their circles don't overlap in any other way.
NIKITALETO POSTED: So Tom and Callie must be involved which means that Shannon is literally just her friend.
GUITARWIZARD POSTED: Its still really weird that he's on vacation with a bunch of people who are old enough to be his kids. I just wish both Letos would find more age-appropriate friends. It looks like a damn daycare center around them half the time.
***
"Is your friend joining us for breakfast?" Aya asked when Shannon appeared in the kitchen.
"Oh - uh - no. I don't think so. She's taking a shower right now," Shannon answered, blinking in the morning light. He grabbed an empty coffee mug and filled it at the machine. "I'm surprised you're up."
The whole group had gone out to the bar in town and spent the night beforehand drinking. Aya had gotten too drunk to make it inside, so Shannon and Tom had just left him on one of the sun loungers by the pool. They barricaded him with pool noodles and a giant inflatable duck to keep him from falling in.
"Those bloody loungers are ridiculously uncomfortable," Aya groaned, arching his back. "Thanks for that."
Shannon chuckled over his mug. "Well, maybe next time don't drink so much that you can't return to your own bed under your own power."
"Morning all!" Tom called, coming into the kitchen from the patio. He was sweaty from a run.
"Dude, we're on vacation. Why are you running?" Aya asked, wincing as Tom pulled the blinds up from the windows, letting in more light.
"I have a shoot immediately when I get back. Can't lose the body," Tom explained, chugging a glass of water. "How's your friend?" he asked Shannon. "Attie?"
"Aggie," Shannon corrected him. "She's taking a shower."
Aggie had been an easy acquirement at the bar. She instantly recognized him as she tended the bar and she spent most of the evening flirting with him. When she told him his whole tab was comped, he felt like he had to give her something bigger than an autograph and a thank you. The sex was exactly what he needed and she didn't seem to expect anything more. All three men looked over at the hallway when Callie appeared.
"You look like you've been dragged backwards through a hedgerow," Aya remarked.
"You don't look much better," Callie replied, squinting in the bright room. "I think you've still got the chair pattern on your back."
Aya ran his hand over his bare back self consciously, glaring at Shannon and Tom. He shuffled out of the room, passing Aggie as she came in.
"Hey," she said softly in accented English.
Shannon allowed her to wrap her arms around his waist, looking across the room over her blonde head. He caught Callie's glance and quickly looked away. "Ready to head home?" he asked, clearing his throat. "I'll walk you back."
The walk back to Aggie's home was quiet. They made conversation, but once they got to her front door, he made the goodbye swift but polite. It was convenient to have the excuse of people waiting for him. He did his best to piece together the previous evening in the twenty minute walk back to the house. The drinks had gone down easy, the sex had been even easier, but there was one thing nagging at the back of his mind.
He could clearly remember Callie's expression as Aggie joined them for the walk back to their place when the bar had closed. Granted, he only caught the tiniest hint of it because he was half bent-over helping Aya, but he had seen enough to recognize her chilly reception. He had been too drunk to understand it completely, but he caught it now.
By the time he returned to the house, everyone else was up, shuffling around in a semi-hungover state. Lilia was wearing dark sunglasses inside and Belle was sipping on a cup of tea. Aya had taken up residence in the hot tub, leaning back against the stone, face tilted up to catch the sun. Shannon walked up the stairs to his room, passing Callie's open door. She was looking for something in her suitcase.
"Hey," he started. She grunted a response. "What are you looking for?"
"The top I was wearing last night. I swear I put it in my bag when I took it off," she replied, flipping through clothing. "I think Aggie took it."
He scoffed and sat on the bed next to a pile of clothing. "I doubt that. She was with me all night. One of your sisters probably took it. Don't sisters usually share everything?"
She fixed him with a glare. "Do you think Belle would wear something like I had on last night?"
"No, but I wouldn't be mad at her if she did," he answered honestly. The backless top would stay forever in his memory. "Ow!" Callie swatted him on the head. "What about Lilia?"
"She doesn't have the boobs to fill it out right," Callie said.
"Ah. How silly of me," he teased.
"Shannon, it's not funny! I loved that shirt!" she sighed.
"I'll buy you a new one when we get back to the States. It's just a shirt. Not a big deal," he said.
"It wouldn't have happened if you had just kept it in your pants," she grumbled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shannon asked. "We were at a bar. Any one of us could have come home with someone."
"But the rest of us didn't though, did we?" she pointed out. "This was supposed to be a friends' trip. Not a hook up trip. We were supposed to just spend time together, without extra people showing up."
He blinked. "Hang on. Are you pissed because you think she stole your shirt or because you don't like that I brought her back here?"
"Both! Why does it have to be one or the other?" she asked, her voice rising. "I don't understand why you had to ruin such an awesome trip by bringing back a fucking groupie."
He recoiled like he had been slapped. "Okay. Um...I'm going to go back to my room now." He stood and walked to the door. "I have no idea why you're acting like this, but I'm an adult. She's an adult. We were both consenting. There's literally nothing for you to be complaining about. I'll get you another shirt to replace that one. I'll make sure you don't see her again."
With that he walked back to his room and shut the door, his bed a tangle of sheets left over from the night beforehand.
***
"Your turn Tom," Meredith said, placing her wine glass back on the coffee table.
Tom sighed and taught. "Never have I ever...had sex with someone ten or more years older than me," he stated.
Aya and Meredith each took a sip from their drinks as everyone else laughed.
"I think this is starting to get unfair," Meredith complained, putting her glass back down.
"I've got one," Aya suggested. "Never have I ever swallowed his load."
The four women looked at each other. Once again, only Meredith drank.
"It wouldn't be so hard for you if you weren't such a raging whore," Callie teased, nudging her friend's elbow with her bare foot.
The group was playing a game of 'Never Have I Ever...' in the living room as rain poured down outside. It had started innocently enough, but as the alcohol flowed, the questions got more and more risque.
"Never have I ever had sex in front of other people," Sam said with a grin.
Lilia was the only person who drank.
"Ha! I may be a whore but at least I only have sex in private!" Meredith exclaimed happily.
"What?" Lilia asked innocently, putting her beer down.
"Never have I ever paid someone or been paid by someone for sex," Belle offered.
Everyone instantly looked to Shannon and Aya. Aya shrugged, but his drink didn't move. "I don't roll like that."
Shannon sighed and took a swig from his wine glass. "No comment."
"Never have I ever watched porn with someone else," Lilia said. "And no, SANCTUM doesn't count."
Half of the room drank before looking over at Callie.
"Never have I ever had a sexual experience that included edible underwear," she offered.
For the first time no one drank. Not even Meredith.
"What kind of sex do you think we're having, Callie-Cat?" Shannon chuckled. "Never have I ever slept with my best friend."
"Considering your brother is your best friend, I'd hope that never happened," Sam said as he swigged his beer.
"Check the fan fiction, my friend," Shannon sighed, making everyone laugh.
"Alright, I'm empty," Callie said. "Who needs another?" Several people asked for new drinks.
Shannon followed her to the kitchen. "I'll help you."
He chucked his empty bottle into a recycling bin and walked over to the fridge. "Having fun?" he asked, pulling several new bottles of beer from a carton. "You and Tom look like you're getting along really well."
She nodded. "We are. It's good to see him again away from the atmosphere of a film set."
He watched her mix two drinks. "I thought you two spent time together off set in Toronto?"
"We did. But it's nice to be in a different environment," Callie explained.
"I'm sure it is," Shannon sighed. "Has he spent the night in your room yet?"
She stopped, mid-pour, and looked over at him. "No. He hasn't. He's been the perfect gentleman. My only roommate has been Lilia."
He shook his head. "He's been all over you since we got here."
"So? We're friends. That's it," she insisted. "Why are you so obsessed with me and him?"
He shrugged. "I just don't want you to get attached. He seems like a busy guy. He doesn't live in Los Angeles. I don't want you to get hurt."
Callie looked at him in confusion. "Shannon, I'm aware. But thanks."
"I just thought you didn't do casual sex," he remarked.
"For the last time, Shannon! We are not sleeping together!" she said loud enough that he was sure someone from the other room heard her. "Jesus fucking Christ, its getting old. Stop asking!"
"Okay, Jesus. Don't wake the dead!" he said, holding his hands up defensively. "I didn't mean anything by it."
She sighed and finished mixing the drinks before turning to him. "Will you get the olives out?" she asked, changing the subject.
Shannon nodded and pushed off of the counter to move to the refrigerator. "Hey, we should totally see if we can fit a ride in when we get back," he suggested, handing her a glass jar.
"We should. We've only been talking about it for forever," she smiled. "When are you back from the next leg of the tour?"
"The second week of May," he answered. "It should be better then."
"Perfect. I'm done with press for this season. Maybe we could make it last over a couple of days?" she asked. "I have a shoot to do for the film's publicity stills when we get back, but it should only take a day."
He smiled. "Uh - yeah, sure. If you want."
"It'll be nice to get back out in nature. It's been a while since I really took my bike out beyond going to and from work. I want to go out and explore," Callie remarked,m a wistful look in her eyes.
"So let's ride the PCH," he suggested, leaning back on the counter again. "Start up north and go all the way down to Los Angeles."
"That actually sounds really nice. I always wanted to do the whole west coast from Seattle to Sand Diego, but I guess that'll work," she said. "I don't know how I'll get my bike up there though."
"I'll get a trailer. It's not that bad of a drive, to be honest. And I could really use some alone time after this tour. Jared is driving me up a fucking wall lately," he replied.
"Oh? I wonder why," Callie answered cryptically, sticking her tongue out.
"I just want it all to be done. I'm tired of being away from home. I want to sleep in my own bed for more than three weeks straight," he complained. "I want to have coffee from my own coffee maker and wake up whenever the hell I feel like without having ten people coming in and out of my bedroom before I've even gotten dressed."
"Oh, life sucks for the rock star. Jesus wept," she said sarcastically. "How ever will you survive?"
"Fuck off. It's hard jumping from city to city and having your schedule completely decided for you," he countered. "I swear to God, Jared even limited my bathroom breaks. I don't need someone to tell me when I can and cannot take a shit. Its demeaning."
Callie laughed louder than she wanted to and clapped her hand over her mouth in surprise.
"Are you two making drinks in here or fucking?" Aya asked, walking into the room and taking a beer from Shannon. "We're waiting on you slow assholes."
Shannon saw Callie blush a bit at Aya's harsh comment and they followed him back out to the living room. She didn't seem too upset about him pressing her for answers about Tom and he was glad for that. As the game resumed, he found himself thinking forward to their planned drive. It was the first time they'd be alone together for such an extended period of time.