Chapter 2: So What if I'd Slept with You?
1219 Words
"Even if I were to have slept with you, you should consider it an honor," Charlie Johnson was saying before he turned around and left quickly.
The sound of the door closing could give Shirley migraines.
She clutched the bedsheet tightly with both hands, with tears sliding silently down her cheeks.
She knew that Charlie could be right, but she still couldn't help crying. That was her first kiss.
The first kiss that she had been anticipating for twenty years had been taken away by that bastard.
In the meantime, Charlie returned to his room, got some fresh clothing, and went into the bathroom. He took off his clothes and turned on the tap. The bone-chilling water fell on his body, bursting into countless fountains of droplets.
This was the first time he had brought a woman home.
It was all because of a single sentence from Andrew Lyons, his best friend.
Andrew had been teasing him, saying how he could very well be GAY.
Charlie had never considered any problem with his s****l orientation seriously before. For the past twenty years of his life, he had never actually dated any women, let alone have s*x with them.
Hence, he brought one home from the banquet to test if he was interested in women's bodies.
In fact, he disliked that woman. He was finicky with cleanliness and was unwilling to let the woman's scent inside his room, so he took her to Shirley's room.
Shirley hadn't been home for weeks, and the last thing he expected was her to be home today and to be caught by her in her room.
Blinded by rage, he behaved in such a brutish manner towards her.
However, this also proved one thing: that he was NOT gay, and he could be passionate about women too, or, at the very least, about Shirley Smith.
Charlie took a 20-minute cold shower, hoping that the bath would calm him down.
It would be Saturday tomorrow and Shirley didn't have to go to school, so she did not have to get up early.
When she went downstairs, Mrs. Sherwood had already made breakfast. Coincidentally, Charlie was sitting there and eating slowly.
As soon as she saw Charlie, her legs went weak.
Whenever she thought of what happened last night, she would feel fidgety and flustered.
"Ms. Smith," Mrs. Sherwood greeted Shirley when she saw her.
Shirley nodded slightly. She wanted to turn around and escape before Charlie noticed her.
But, this probably wouldn't work...Her legs felt like lead as she walked very slowly, step by step.
She deliberately chose the seat furthest from Charlie and sat down.
She carefully ate her breakfast.
Charlie was reading the newspaper as if he hadn't noticed her arriving at all.
"Ms. Shirley, do you still want to go to school later? Because Mr. Lyons is coming to visit at noon, so I thought I might want to make a headcount for lunch later."
Whatever Shirley was going to say, they never came. She stared at Mrs. Sherwood and gulped whatever response was back down her throat and uttered syllable after syllable strenuously, "I'm not going back to school. I'm thinking of staying at home for another night."
"Very well."
Shirley felt that she had managed her facial expression very well and there was nothing wrong with it.
But Charlie's sudden turn of his head to look at her made her feel very uncomfortable.
Shirley lowered her head in a hurry. If it weren't for the sake of... She would not have wanted to have any contact with this man at all!
Shirley shut herself in her room all morning, lying on her bed while she spent her time poring over "Postmortem" by Patricia Cornwell. It's her favourite novel so far.
Even from her room, she could hear everything downstairs.
Charlie liked the house to be quiet. With not many servants in the house, there was only Mrs. Sherwood to do all the sweeping, cleaning, and cooking every day.
Andrew Lyons was one of Charlie's handful of best friends, and they grew up together.
In this way, Shirley and Andrew could be considered childhood sweethearts.
Thinking of this, Shirley couldn't help cracking a smile.
"Mr. Lyons is here." When Shirley heard this sentence, she became excited.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Her palm-sized face looked very cute no matter how she looked at it. Her two braids made her look even more charming.
Taking advantage of this good opportunity, Shirley held her breath, opened the door, and was ready to go downstairs.
The moment she opened the door, she was stunned.
She looked into Charlie's eyes, and there was an awkward atmosphere in the air.
Charlie was just coming out of his room when they bumped into each other. With a perfunctory glance at Shirley, he drifted past her, looking away as if nothing had happened before going downstairs.
Shirley lowered her head, recollected herself, and followed him downstairs.
Andrew and Charlie were sitting on the sofa, chatting.
From Shirley's angle, she could just see half of Andrew's face – his tall nose, his beautiful arc, sword-shaped eyebrows, and those starry and captivating eyes.
Shirley sat there in bewilderment, dazed by his charms.
Andrew turned and saw her. His bright and radiant smile that could eclipse even the sun made her heart skip a beat.
"Shirley, you're at home as well? Haven't seen you for a long while," he greeted her warmly.
Shirley walked over with a broad smile and sat quietly on the other side of Andrew, "Andrew, how forgetful you are! We just met last week in the laboratory."
"Oh, I forgot," Andrew laughed and nodded.
Shirley was a sophomore at Kingtech University while Andrew was trying for his Master's Degree.
"Mrs. Sherwood, can you make me another cup of lemonade?" Shirley's voice was very clear, like a willow branch in spring, which made people want to get close to her.
"Of course, Ms. Shirley."
Shirley's love for lemonade was one of the few quirks she had. That was why there were always lemons in the house. Everyone knew her affinity for lemonade, and so did Charlie and Andrew.
No. Charlie might not know this since he has never paid much attention to me...
"Andrew, Mr. Lewis had left me some homework last week which I could use some help with. Can I come to you when we get back to school?" Shirley asked tentatively.
Having kept her feelings for him suppressed for years, even she could barely notice herself involuntarily trying to get closer to him.
"Okay," Andrew agreed readily. He turned to Charlie, who was busy playing with his mobile phone and said, "Our sister Shirley is a top student at school and it's all thanks to my guidance. Shouldn't that be a reason for you to be grateful to me?"
He just called her "sister". If only she could tell him how she would love to demonstrate her appreciation to him...
Charlie glanced at Andrew impatiently, "Tell me, how do you want me to show my gratitude?"
"I'm sure you know how."
The smile on Shirley's face slowly disappeared. Cupping her chin with her hand, she looked at Andrew and Charlie with envy.
Somehow, her relationship with Andrew just wasn't getting any better.
- Writer
