The Movies Make It Look Easy

Chapter 5

Shannon’s P.O.V:

I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning. I looked out my window, it was a grey morning and it looked like it was going to rain later. I sighed; I was well used to rain.
I threw on a hoodie over my t-shirt and strolled out to get some breakfast, rubbing my eyes blearily and humming a random tune quietly to myself.

I had a good feeling about today.

I stopped abruptly in my path, looking at the figure hunched over a bowl of cereal at the table. Crap! I’d honestly forgotten about all the drama from yesterday. Anger from yesterday washed over me as I looked at the guy before me.

Today, he was wearing tracksuit bottoms and had yet to put on a t-shirt. The anger left me as quickly as it had come. I could feel my heartbeat quicken as I stared at him, or more accurately his lovely, defined chest.
Looking at his chest and six-pack caused the images that I had pushed to the back of my mind yesterday come rushing back, overwhelming me.
He looked like an Abercrombie model....no hotter I corrected myself.
He had big arms and an amazing back – I’m a sucker for arms and backs!

I glanced down at myself, the boxers I was wearing barely covered everything, my hair was a mess and I probably looked horrible.
I was just about to back into my room, as quietly as possible in the hopes that he wouldn’t see me.
Obviously luck wasn’t on my side because as I was creeping backwards, probably looking like a complete weirdo - not gonna lie, I am most of the time but he doesn’t need to know that – I heard a voice being cleared.

Double crap! I thought; scratch my earlier thoughts about this being a good day.
His voice interrupted my thoughts
‘Are you going to stand there all day? Or are you going to come sit?’
He gestured at the chair opposite him, that already familiar smirk present, which annoyed me and drew me to him at the same time.
I sighed as I headed to the kitchen to get some breakfast; I supposed I couldn’t really afford to keep storming to my room, I mean a girl’s gotta eat right?
I grabbed a bowl of cereal and some orange juice before returning to what felt like the lion’s den, I was that nervous. Oh well I thought I have to face him at some stage. I sat in the chair opposite him...
Oh damn! I don’t even know the guy’s name. As if he had read my thoughts he stuck a hand across the table for me to shake,
‘We haven’t been properly introduced, I’m Nicholas, but you can call me Nick’ he winked at me, making me roll my eyes, modesty obviously wasn’t in this guy’s, I mean Nick’s vocabulary.
I didn’t say anything as I grabbed his hand. It completely engulfed my own
‘I’m Shannon’
I said as I felt electricity shoot up my arm from the contact with his hand.
As if he felt it too he quickly dropped my hand...he couldn’t have felt it, could he?
I pushed that thought away; it wasn’t a good idea to start having those kinds of thoughts about Nick.
‘So’
He said
‘Tell me about yourself, you’re obviously not from around here?’
‘No’
I took a bite of my cereal, looking down at the table to avoid having to look into his eyes anymore. There was something about them which drew me in until I felt as though I was drowning.
I glanced up again making eye contact for a split second, before fixing my gaze on the wall beyond his shoulder.
‘I’m Irish’ I said, probably pointing out the obvious.
He sat back in his seat, hooking his hands behind his head as he studied me.
‘I thought all Irish people were supposed to be, I dunno leprechauns or something?’
My gaze flew to him as he said that, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth ‘wow’ I said sarcastically
‘I can obviously tell you’re well travelled, do I look a leprechaun to you?’ ‘English people pshh...’ (A/N: no offense to any English People!)
I muttered under my breath.
He looked me up and down obviously taking my comment seriously, checking to see whether I looked like a leprechaun.
A hint of lust flashed in his eyes as his gaze paused on my chest, making me feel self-conscious. I fiddled with my hair nervously as he continued to gaze at me from across the table.
Eventually he said in a husky voice
‘No, you most definitely don’t look like a leprechaun’
He smirked as I felt my face flush.
I looked away as he continued to smirk
‘So where in Ireland are you from?’
I glanced at him before eating more cereal
‘Enniskerry’ I mumbled through a mouthful of food.
He raised an eyebrow, as was his trademark,
‘And where is Enniskerry?’
He asked through a mocking smile.
He pronounced it slowly, as though he was speaking a different language ‘Wicklow’ I muttered, his smile widened, if that was possible
‘Where’s Wicklow?’
As he said Wicklow he put on and Irish accent.
It was awful of course and I suppressed a smile
‘You know you’ve got an awful Irish accent?’
I threw at him bitchily.

He was grinning now, giving me a glimpse of perfectly shaped white teeth – why do some people seem to have everything going for them? –
‘And you have a sexy one’
He countered.
Wait, wait, wait...did he just call me sexy?

My heart started to race, what was it about this guy that made me feel shy and uncomfortable? It was aggravating, I was usually pretty confident, as a general rule.
‘You didn’t answer my question’ he pressed.
I snapped back to reality, he must think I’m such a freak I thought, I always started to daydream when he said something to me.
‘It’s beside Dublin, you know the capital city?’
I quickly added before he asked where Dublin was.
‘Ah’ He said as if I’d just explained a particularly difficult maths problem.
‘You know P.S I Love You, when Holly goes to visit Gerry’s parents in Ireland?’
I took a breath
‘Well I live about 10 minutes from there’
He chuckled
‘I’m sure that’d make sense if I’d seen the movie, but I haven’t so...’
He trailed off, smirking at me the whole time; I felt my face flush again.
‘You haven’t seen P.S. I Love You?’
‘Well it’s a girl’s movie isn’t it?’
‘Do you have a problem with girls’ movies?’
I asked coolly, I liked the movie and I loved the book so of course I took offense.

He raised his eyebrows
‘I’m just not a girl, which is why I don’t make a habit of watching girls’ movies’
I snorted at that, typical boy.
‘So what about you, are you from London?’
I asked wanting to take the heat off me.
Bad choice, I should’ve let him continue to question me.
Something in his face seemed to shut down
‘I’m from around’
I continued to push even though I could see that I was putting my foot, hell both my feet in it
‘What you get to play 20 questions and I don’t?’ I pouted
‘Exactly’ he said in a dangerous tone that radiated anger.

Abruptly, he stood up from the table, storming to his room and slamming his door.
I sat in shock for a few seconds, before slowly rising from the table
‘Well that went well’ I muttered to myself as I grabbed both of our empty bowls, heading for the kitchen.
I mentally ranted at him as I washed up our things, who did he think he was storming out of the room when I deigned to ask him a question.
I mean he’d been grilling me 10 seconds before I asked him one basic question about himself.
I completely forgot the fact that I’d stormed into my own room last night as I continued my mental rant.
I sighed, I shouldn’t let him get to me, my brothers always said I took things too personally, Nick obviously had issues.
When I finished washing up, I went back to my room to get ready. I managed to pass by Nick’s room without as much as a glance at his firmly closed door.

After taking a shower, I put on woolly tights, my grey plaid shirtdress and a pair of black leather flat heeled boots.
I might be an optimistic person – well, most of the time – but I wasn’t stupid, a glance out my window showed me that it had started to rain just as I had predicted.

I studied myself critically in the full-length mirror as I dried my long wavy hair.
I was pretty, I supposed, I had a good body: narrow waist, curves and I actually had boobs.
My friends had always told me I was gorgeous, but then again they were my friends, they were supposed to tell me that. I didn’t see it, but then I know everyone is more critical than they should be when it comes to themselves.
It’s so much easier to see the flaws in yourself and see only good stuff when you look at other people.
Or at least that’s what most of the people I knew were like, unless I thought bitterly, you were vain and selfish and had a horrible personality like Nick.
As I gazed into my bright green eyes in the mirror, I knew it wasn’t true.
Nick wasn’t vain or selfish and didn’t have a horrible personality...at least from what I’d seen so far.
Yes, he was cocky, but not overly cocky like a lot of guys, and yes he’d stormed out when I’d asked him a question, but I didn’t know him, maybe he had stuff going on that I didn’t know about, I really couldn’t judge him.
I couldn’t help but like him, besides all his flaws, no matter how annoying he was...

Oh God! I thought as a look of horror crossed my features, I couldn’t start to like my roommate no matter how good looking he was.
It’d just get complicated because he obviously didn’t like me –
I refused to count a couple of flashes of lust.

I was deep in thought when I thought I heard a knock on the door...