Here Comes Your Man

Shaun wanted tonight to be special.

Not only for the obvious reason that this was one of his last night’s in Hawaii (unbeknownst to Pyper, which was a whole other bridge he would have to cross when presented) but mainly because he was planning on dropping the big L word and everyone knew that wasn’t something you casually confess over a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

No, tonight had to be really special.

Shaun just wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it. This dilemma reminded him once again of how Pyper wasn’t like anyone he had ever dated before.

Impressing a girl from L.A. was easy; all you had to do was drive her out of the smog and it was like you took her to another planet. But impressing a girl from one of the most beautiful places in the world? Now that was a lot harder to do. And he had exactly 7 hours to do it.

Glancing at his cell phone he quickly dialed the number of the one person (sans Pyper) that he knew would help him.

The phone rang twice before the voice on the other end picked up.

“Louie? It’s Shaun, meet me at Dane’s. I need your help…”
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“Ohhh, don’t you look pretty” Reagan said as she walked into Pyper’s bathroom where Pyper was meticulously applying a thin layer of plum eyeliner to her upper lids, the color making her brown eyes pop.

Pyper finished and looked at her best friend. “Thanks.”She said with a genuine smile and then eyed her up & down “I could say the same for you, what are your plans tonight?”

“Oh, nothing big, Louie’s coming over and we’re gonna watch some bad horror movies” Reagan shrugged, trying to play up the casual tone in her voice.

Pyper just stared at her, not buying into it at all.

Reagan glanced up at her. “What?”

“Oh, don’t ‘what’ me” Pyper replied sarcastically, using air quotes to add effect. “You know exactly ‘what’ I’m talking about”

Reagan broke eye contact, silently confirming that Pyper had struck a chord. She rummaged through Pyper’s make-up drawer as she replied. “Louie & I are just friends”

“Bullshit”

“Excuse me?”

“Come on Rea, don’t give me that shit. You and Louie are ‘just friends’ as much as Ronald McDonald is just some regular clown.”

Reagan just stared at her.

“Ok, yeah, I know, that was a horrible metaphor. But that’s not the point!”
Reagan laughed as the doorbell rang, keeping the conversation from going any further.

Pyper lifted a pointed finger at Reagan.

“This isn’t over”

Pyper heard Reagan laugh behind her as she skipped down the stairs, two at a time, and swing the door open, revealing a quite dashing looking Shaun.

Pyper just stopped and stared at him a second, taken back by his refined handsomeness.
In this day and age of t-shirts and boy shorts, it was a rare occasion for guys to clean up and wear a dress shirt, and when they did, it was a girls’ right to take a moment to appreciate the male physique in front of her.

Sure, Shaun looked hot all the time, but when he was here, dressed up in front of her, there was less of a boyish charm to him and more of a dangerous confidence that only a man could possess.

Pyper was embarrassed to feel her pulse quicken and leant on the door frame a little harder, afraid that her knees might decide to just give out on her at any moment.

After a long six seconds of Pyper’s silent stare, Shaun glanced down at his outfit, immediately feeling self-conscious.

“Is something wrong?”

Pyper shook her head, feeling silly for her girlish tendencies and immediately wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hard squeeze making Shaun laugh.

“Well ok then” He smiled and looked down at her to capture her lips with his.

Pyper moaned into the kiss, making Shaun contemplate forgetting his plans and doing this with Pyper all night. He shook the tempting thought from his head and pulled away, holding her at arm’s length and looking her up & down.

“You look amazing”

Pyper broke out into a radiant smile, “Thank you, I could say the same for you. Good thing I
wore my high heels, I can use them on all the girls that are no doubt going to be pawing at you all night”

Shaun laughed, “That won’t be near as bad as all the guys I’m going to have to give the ‘stay away from my girl or face the wrath of these muscles’ look to”

Pyper laughed, “Oh yeah? Can I get a sample of the look?”

Shaun did his best stank eye and they both laughed.

“Very intimidating, babe” She said as she patted his chest and they started walking towards Dane’s yellow Lamborghini.

“Oh, very nice” Pyper commented as Shaun opened the door for her.

“Only the best & borrowed for you babe” He smiled as he slipped into the driver’s side and revved the engine, music to any car enthusiasts ear.

“So where are we going?”

Shaun gave her a look. “You really think I’m gonna tell you?”

Pyper shrugged, “I thought it was worth a try”

After a fifteen minute car ride of peaceful silence and light conversation, Shaun came to a stop in what looked to be a vacant parking lot on the west side of the island. It was close to the skating rink and a grocery store was around the corner. Pyper looked around curiously, wondering what in the world they were doing here.

Shaun pulled out his American flag bandana that he had worn to win the gold in the 2010 Olympics. He carried it with him as a good luck charm. He only hoped it wouldn’t fail him tonight.

“Here, where this”

Pyper glanced at it wearily. She wasn’t afraid or anything, she trusted Shaun completely. But a bandanna? Really? What was this, the reveal on a home makeover show?

As if reading her thoughts, Shaun spoke up. “I know it’s a little cheesy, but you know this island like the back of your hand. I don’t want you to know where we’re going”

After making sure the bandanna was tight around her head, Shaun then preceded to do donuts in the parking lot, making sure that Pyper got totally disoriented.

She felt as if she were on a carnival ride as they spun around & around, the tires screeching with delight at the demand of the driver. “Is this really necessary?” She asked after what seemed like the millionth spin.

Shaun laughed, “Eh, probably not anymore. But it’s hella fun” He chuckled as he slowed the car and started to drive, much to Pyper’s appreciation.

They’d been driving for about 10 minutes and Pyper sensed that they were on the highway.

Her hand rested in Shaun’s near the gear shift and a delicious sense of calm filled the car as she listened to him describing one of his Thanksgiving as a child where he choked on a turkey bone and ended up getting the heimlich from his great-aunt. She was laughing but stopped when she heard him mumble.

“What the hell…”

“What is it?” She asked.

She never got an answer as the sound of screeching tires and breaking glass took over.

“Shaun!!” She yelled before feeling his hand yank out of hers. She heard the crunching of metal before her whole world went black…
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The telephone rang, causing Reagan to scream just as an axed killer was about to decapitate his prey. Louie laughed as he paused the movie, and Reagan jumped up, leaving her comfy position in the crook of his arms.

“Hello?”

“Is this the residence of Pyper Grant?”

“Yes this is, what’s this about?” Reagan asked, annoyed. If this was a damn telemarketer, her foot was gonna be up someone’s…

Her thoughts were stopped as the voice continued.

“There’s been an accident…”