Can't Sleep

Shawn smiled as he scrolled through his recent messages. Messages he shared with Sara.

It had been almost a year since the night they hooked up in Nia and Scott's basement. It had also been almost a year since Sara went home and got engaged to her boyfriend a few hours later. Sara had sent Shawn a message after adding him as a friend a week earlier.

Sara: Can you call me?

It took Shawn a few hours to reply that he would and then a couple more before he called the phone number Sara had sent immediately after.

"Hello?" Sara asked on the other end of the line. She sounded distracted.

"Hi Sara, this is Shawn. I was just calling like you asked but you sound busy..."

"No, no, no! Let me get somewhere quieter." Shawn looked out his apartment window nervously while he waited. A light rain seemed to match his mood. After what seemed like an hour, Sara brought the phone back to her ear.

"Sorry, I was on the stair climber at the gym. I assumed this was a spam call.

"Nope, just me," Shawn half grinned at hearing her voice again. Less nervous, he sat on a nearby chair. "You said you wanted me to call?"

"Right," she sighed. "Look Shawn, I want to tell you I'm sorry."

"Sara, you don't owe me..."

"I do," she cut him off. "I wasn't expecting to have this conversation in my gym or expecting you to find my Facebook and like my post." Her breathing started to return to normal.

"I thought you were cute so I went downstairs that night. Nia was talking you up every chance she got all weekend so I went and saw for myself."

Shawn chuckled at the thought of Nia and Scott conspiring to hook up their friends.

"Kenny and I hadn't seen each other in a month. We had a huge fight and I ended it. I hadn't heard from him at all until the day I came home. And you know what happened from there."

"I think it's great you two are engaged, I really do," he lied.

"Thank you, but I wasn't asking you to call so you could congratulate me. You seem like a really nice guy..." Sara's voice got lower. "...and you were fantastic. I was willing to actually see what would happen. But Kenny and I were together for over a year and..."

"And life happened," Shawn deadpanned.

"Yeah. It really did." Sara's voice trailed away. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to clear that up."

Shawn sighed as he stood back up. "Thank you. And I'm sorry too. I could have not liked your post and left it alone."

"Nope, you don't get to be sorry. This one is all me." They were both silent for a few seconds. "I'm going to go back in and finish my workout. Thanks for actually calling. It was good to hear from you."

"You too Sara. Take care."

Since then, there hadn't been any more phone calls. No more chance meetings when he dropped in on Nia and Scott. Twice.

However, Shawn did send a video to Sara, something he found funny, about two weeks after their call. She responded with a voice note that he almost made her choke on her lunch.

She responded at a later date with a picture of high school age Scott and Shawn hanging out next to one of their first cars.

Sara: Too fricking cute! 😂

Shawn responded with a voice note of his own, accusing her of being the Facebook stalker now.

This pattern continued until now, with one of them sending some video or picture and the other always taking a few seconds to respond by voice.

Which made breaking their pattern even more difficult, even if it was for a lousy question.

Shawn fell back on his hotel bed and took a deep breath. He pushed send.

Shawn: So I'm in town for an IT event tomorrow. I decided to drive in tonight, get a room, and drive home after it's over. I haven't been in this city since I was a kid and it's Valentine's Day... Any ideas where I could get dinner that's not all booked up?

He set his phone down, picked up the remote, and started flipping through channels before settling on an action movie he had seen a thousand times.

The dinging of his phone woke him up from the nap he hadn't planned on taking.

Sara: Why don't you order food to the room?

Shawn: Because I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't mind eating alone in restaurants.

Sara: Oh you are weird! Let me see what I can find.

A few minutes later, Sara shared a link to a restaurant called DaVinci's. Shawn opened it and saw a reservation in his name at 9 pm.

Shawn: You didn't have to make me a whole ass reservation.

Sara: Nothing I wouldn't do for any of my other friends. Hope you're not too hungry though...

Shawn glanced at the time: 5:47.

Shawn: I guess I better find something to do until then. Thank you!

After a shower and a Google search, Shawn realized DaVinci's was in the same lot as a large shopping center. Figuring he'd find enough to entertain him for another 2 and 1/2 hours, he set out.

But by 8:30, Shawn was gently making his way through the crowd of waiting diners to the hostess station at DaVinci's.

"Hi, I have a reservation for 9 but I've already been killing time for over an hour. Is there a spot at the bar until my table is ready?"

The host smiled and looked up Shawn's reservation. Once he was satisfied, he gestured over to the crowded bar. "Good luck," he called after him.

Thankfully, Shawn found the last seat next to the kitchen door vacant, right alongside a dining couple.

When the bartender came over, he ordered a Blue Moon and declined a menu, saying he would have a table ready soon. He drank his beer and people watched, eventually striking up a brief conversation with a different bartender about a sports story that flashed across the television.

The host approached and said his table was ready. Shawn finished his beer and followed him to the other side of the restaurant.

"Your date is already seated."

"Date?" Shawn asked, confused. He began to protest, thinking he was taking someone else's reservation as the host gestured to his seat and the person waiting on him.

"Hi," Sara smiled.

Shawn slid into his seat, off guard. Sara's dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a black dress with thin straps, showing the smallest hint of cleavage. She had a slight touch of makeup, which was more than the bareface look she sported when they met.

"What are you doing here?" he managed weakly.

"Nice to see you too," she rolled her eyes and picked up her menu. "Kenny and I are doing Valentine's this weekend because he's out of town for work. I've been dying to eat here since they opened a few months ago."

"You could have gone with Kenny this weekend..."

"All booked up." Sara sat her menu down and looked into his eyes. Shawn felt butterflies in his stomach. "Do you have to be weird? It's dinner, Shawn, not a marriage proposal."

Shawn cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "Sorry, I'm just surprised. Pleasantly surprised at that." Sara smiled at him again and went back to her menu.

As they were discussing their orders, Sara's phone rang. "Hey babe, how are you?" She looked at Shawn and mouthed the words: "It's Kenny."

Shawn's eyes grew wide but Sara waved him off. "I'm glad you got there safe. You don't need to apologize, Saturday isn't that far away. What am I doing? I'm at DaVinci's with Shawn. Yeah, Scott's best friend. He's in town for a work thing tomorrow, so I took advantage of him to finally get in here." She winked at him.

Shawn relaxed and went back to his menu.

She just told her fiance she's with me, so there's no way I need to worry about anything else happening.

He was relieved but also a tad disappointed.

Sara finished her phone call and put her phone back in her handbag. "I'm getting the filet mignon. No reason to deny myself and my friends have been raving about it." She smiled at him again as the waitress returned. "I'd like a glass of Merlot please. Do you like Merlot, Shawn? He nodded.

"And a glass for him too, please?" Sara closed her menu and looked into his eyes again.

Shawn smiled back as she ordered her food without breaking eye contact.

She's just flirting. It doesn't mean anything.

Does it?

After ordering a NY strip, Shawn decided to change the subject.

"So, you told me how you guys ended up engaged", he began, breaking eye contact with her intentionally. "How did you and Kenny start dating?" Sara took note of his hesitance and picked a roll out of the bread basket, provided by the waitress.

"He came into my job once a week, delivering packages. And he would always try to talk to me." Sara tore a piece of the bread and tossed it into her mouth. "And I thought he was cute but I didn't really pay much attention to him. Then one day, he asked me for coffee, and I said why not. And then we dated for a year like I said."

Shawn listened while he buttered his own piece of bread.

"He took a job out of state when we broke up. He expected me to just follow him. I told him I was happy with my place and my job and he couldn't understand why I was just..." She paused as their waitress set their wines down. "Thank you. Why I was just... not bending to what he wanted, I guess?"

"You didn't want him making decisions like that for you."

"Yes. So he moved. I went to Nia's..." Sara blushed slightly. "And now I'm at dinner with you." Shawn smiled at her reference. "But now, I only see him on weekends and the wedding is on hold while we figure out the logistics of where we're going to settle down." She picked up her Merlot and raised it.

"A toast?" Shawn asked as he picked up his glass to join her.

"Of course." Sara smiled widely and looked into his eyes again.

I can't decide if they're brown or copper...

"To not being alone on Valentine's Day!"

They tapped their glasses together and sipped in unison.

They caught up more while they waited for their entrees. Sara had been at the gym again when he texted and had no intentions of meeting him until she saw DaVinci's had a reservation. Work had been stressful with a visit from corporate on top of her normal duties as lead at her accounting job. He literally became the perfect excuse and remedy for a long day.

When their meals arrived, they made fun of each other as they were both trying to take pictures of their food.

"I don't even post them," Shawn laughed. "I just respect good plating!" Sara was almost in tears when the waitress stopped by one more time before they settled in to eat.

"I think we need two more glasses of wine, especially if all we're going to do is take pictures!" Not in on the joke, the waitress nodded but rolled her eyes a bit as she walked away.

They both calmed down and started complimenting their meals to each other. But then Sara picked up her wine glass after a few bites and looked at him like she did earlier.

"What?" Shawn said as he covered his mouth to hide his chewing.

"You know all about Kenny now. I want to hear about some of these "things" you're working on back home." Shawn winced as his excuse to Scott last year had apparently made it to Sara's ears.

"There's not much to say, honestly." He set his silverware down on his plate and took a long, thoughtful drink from his water.

"I'm on the dating apps, but I haven't checked them in a few months. I did go on a few dates in October and November but one was a casual hookup that happened until she met someone else."

Sara took a drink of wine to disguise her annoyance at his honesty. And her jealousy.

"Three dates went nowhere at all. I was seeing someone who I used to work with around this time last year."

"Did you have big Valentine's plans?" Sara asked as she was cutting off another piece of filet.

"Yeah, actually. I sent her flowers to her new job, we went an hour outside of the city to dinner and then we saw this amazing band right after, and we danced... Well, she danced and I tried my best." Shawn chuckled. "Then we did the hotel thing and came home in the morning."

"Sounds wonderful." It was Sara's turn to laugh.

"What?"

"The hotel thing." She made air quotes with two of her unoccupied fingers. He smiled and rolled his eyes slightly.

"Anyway, a few weeks after Valentine's, I had some things happen with my family so I didn't get to see her. Thankfully, everything ended up okay and we still talked every day. But when I got to see her again, it was different."

"She didn't like that you weren't around?"

"I guess? I never really got an answer. By the end of March, I stopped by her place and she told me she wasn't happy with how our relationship was going and broke it off. I haven't seen her except for a chance meeting in the grocery store last summer."

"That sucks," Sara frowned slightly and she reached out to pat the top of his hand. Shawn laughed at her touch. "What?"

"Then I met this girl in April..." Sara immediately removed her hand and raised a finger in the air.

"Check please!" She grinned sheepishly.

Sara and Shawn made their way out of DaVinci's as one of the last diners drifting out as they closed for the night. They had a minor argument over who was going to pay, but Sara finally got her way and they ended up splitting the check.

Sara started pulling her keys from her handbag and turned around to say goodbye to Shawn, but he was still several feet back in front of the restaurant. Reading a sign.

"Have you ever done this?" Sara read the sign as she returned to his side.

"The river view? Yeah. Once or twice."

"It says they're open until midnight for Valentine's." It was his turn to look into her eyes. "Do you mind taking a ride with a first timer?"

Despite the cold, Sara felt a tingle go down her spine.

"Well, I can't let you ride alone. But you're paying this time!"

"Yes ma'am," he agreed.

They made the short walk to where the ride began. The river view was essentially a closed-in ski lift that goes across a section of the river, the widest river in the state. A popular family tourist destination in the summer, it wasn't even moving when they approached the operator.

"Is the river view broken down?" Shawn asked the man. The operator took his cigarette from his mouth and tapped at it idly.

"You're the first couple to show up since the sun went down. Too cold for most of them. But I can get you all set up if you'd like."

Shawn looked at Sara and she nodded. The operator flipped a few switches and the lift came back to life. As the next car approached, he pushed a button that went from green to red.

"Okay, guys. The ride's about 20 minutes all the way around." He opened the door so that they could enter. "Like I said, it's cold in here no matter what, so here's a blanket. Aside from that, enjoy your ride!" He smiled as he closed the door but within seconds he had restarted the lift and re-lit his cigarette.

Shawn and Sara were quiet for the first minute while they listened to the hum of the cables pulling them along. They sat a short distance apart with the blanket on their laps. About the same distance that had been between them in the basement at Nia and Scott's.

Despite her fairly warm coat, Sara was already shivering. Shawn noticed and immediately moved closer and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe this wasn't my best idea."

"No, it's fine and I appreciate you trying to help." Her words drifted off as she looked over the city skyline. The temperatures were not friendly but the clear night showed the city shimmering all around them perfectly. "This is beautiful."

Sara turned and looked into Shawn's eyes. She wasn't cold anymore. There was just the dark, the lights off the skyline, the hum of the car, and an arm around her shoulder.

Shawn's arm.

They both sensed it. Their lips met and Shawn instinctively brought his other arm around her waist to pull her closer. Eleven months of tension came to the surface. Sara's hand reached inside of Shawn's coat, found his bicep, and squeezed. He reacted by sliding his hand down from her waist and settling on her ass cheek, where he returned the favor.

Before, opportunity and compulsiveness fueled them when they hooked up. Now, despite it mostly being through messages online, their kisses and their touches were filled with an unexpected intimacy.

Shawn went to break to kiss and Sara surprised him by biting his lip. She could see him grin, even in the darkness, and his lips return to hers. He squeezed her ass some more and she couldn't help but moan into his mouth.

"I didn't realize how much I enjoyed your lips until now," Shawn said as he finally broke away from her again. He planted soft yet intense kisses along her cheek and onto her neck. He immediately used his teeth and his tongue there, causing her to dig her nails into his sides now.

Shawn brought his left hand down from Sara's ass now, allowing it to glide across the exposed skin just above her knee. He squeezed, teasing her. A tease to what he wanted to do to her but he knew they didn't have time.

Sara moved her right hand on top of his. Shawn expected her to slide his hand away; to say that he was going too far even though they had both already clearly crossed a line.

Instead, she slit his hand upwards. From her knee, under the black dress, and between her thighs. Shawn wasn't expecting her to not be wearing underwear.

"Oh wow..." he groaned as he slipped a finger slowly into her already wet pussy.

Sara smiled at his approval.

"I don't like panty lines. And I wanted to be prepared..." Her voice trailed off as he found her clit and started massaging her gently. "Please make me come, Shawn."

Shawn pulled away from her neck and locked eyes with her. Sara's eyes fluttered open and closed as he rocked her back and forth on the river view lift.

"You touch me so well..." she groaned. He gently licked her bottom lip in response. She tried to meet his tongue with hers but her head fell backwards in pleasure again. Her head hit the glass with a soft thump.

"Are you okay?" Shawn asked. She gripped his wrist and pushed his fingers deeper inside her.

"Just keep touching me." The blanket had fallen to their feet. Shawn was barely sitting, trying to keep a good angle so he could continue fingering her, all while trying to maintain his balance on the moving lift. "Oh fuck, I'm close." Sara whispered.

"I want to taste you so bad."

"Don't you dare." Sara warned him. "I'm way past the point for you to switch things up on me now. Push..." Her hand moved from his wrist to his fingers, where she added even more pressure to her clit. "...there! Oh fuck, I'm coming. Shawn, I'm coming, oh my God..."

Sara stopped forming words as her body writhed around his hand. She squeezed the cushions of the seats as she bumped the glass again. Her head was spinning; all that existed was the deeply intense orgasm she was riding out and his hand, Shawn's hand, still moving against her clit.

Shawn's cock was pressing with urgency against his jeans but he ignored it. He was taking too much pleasure in watching Sara. After what seemed like several minutes, her eyes flickered open again. She stared at him and smiled.

Shawn brought his fingers to his lips and tasted her, taking one at a time.

"Fuck, I don't know how but that just made me even more wet."

The lift shifted and Shawn lost his precarious balance, landing with a soft bump on the floor. They both fell into a fit of laughter.

Eventually, Shawn managed to pull himself back to the seat and Sara had straightened herself up and replaced the blanket over their laps. Shawn laced his fingers through hers and kissed her cheek, bringing forth a smile.

The operator and the end of the ride loomed ahead. They couldn't have had better timing, even if they had planned it out. Their lift slowed and came to a stop.

"Enjoy the ride?" the operator asked, half interested.

"It was gorgeous out there," Sara replied as she took his hand and stepped back onto solid ground.

"Yeah, I'm really glad we went," Shawn added, not taking his eyes from Sara. "Oh shoot, how much do I owe you? Probably should've thought about that before we got on."