chap36

Belle swam back up to the surface and came up, slicking her hair back with her hands. Shawn held her gently as she wiped the water from her eyes and opened the just in time to see Brady high-five Abby over another victory.
"I'm done" she said, once she caught her breath. "I'm exhausted"
"Chicken" Brady taunted.
"So?" she asked. "I need to get a drink of water, you guys want?"
"Yeah, a bottle would be great" Abby answered.
"I'll go with you" Shawn volunteered, as they finished pushing through the waves. Abby collapsed on her towel and Brady shot her a look at Shawn's quick response.
"We'll be right back" Belle said, grabbing her towel as she and Shawn hurried up to the house.
"Wonder what that's all about..." Brady mused out loud, as he rubbed himself down with a towel.
"She looked pretty guilty" Abby said.
"And Shawn was a little quick on the volunteering" Brady added. He contemplated it for a minute and then turned to look at Abby, who was pulling on her sandels.
"Let's go" she said, pushing herself to her feet.
Meanwhile, the other two had snuck around to the front of the house. Shawn opened the door and peered in, relieved to find it mainly empty. He let himself in and Belle followed, wrapping her towel around her more tightly as the cool air hit her.
"Hello?" Shawn yelled out, and no one answered him. "No one's here"
"I wonder where they went" Belle said, sitting down on the bottom step to the outside and absently combing her fingers through her wet hair.
"Haven't a clue" Shawn answered as he walked closer to her. "But I do know one thing"
"What's that, Mr Brady?" she asked, sliding up a step as he came closer, his legs touching her knees.
"That you're incredibly gorgeous" he said, slipping in between her open knees. "And I'm lucky that you even give me the time of day"
"I'll give you more than that" she murmured as he leaned closer to her. She closed her eyes in anticipation but he surprised her by landing his mouth on her neck. She giggled as he rubbed his nose underneath her ear, kissing her earlobe and around her neck. She giggled even more helplessly as he began to move up and down her neck, now using his tongue in a manner that brought goosebumps up and down her arms.
"Shawn, don't" she managed, pushing him away slightly. He responded by pushing himself on her even more and, not expecting it, she fell backwards into the steps, taking him with her. He pulled away to laugh as his hands slipped under her towel to tickle her moist belly. She was now begging him to stop as she tried to squirm out from underneath him.
"Shawn, don't, please" she pleaded. He refused and she finally stopped him by digging her fingers deep into his thick hair and squeezing hard.
"Ow, ow, ow" he protested, at the hair-pulling. But instead of letting go, she used her hold on him to direct his mouth to her own. His lips crashed into hers and she released her grip on his strands of hair, now letting her fingertips run over his scalp. His mouth opened slightly to run his tongue over her lower lip and she groaned into his mouth slightly before allowing him access. Shawn leaned into her as close as he could get and propped his arms up against the stair above her so all of his weight wasn't resting on her.
"What the hell is going on here?" a cold voice came and broke them apart. Shawn spun around to see Brady staring at them in horror with Abby still standing in the open doorway. Her mouth was hanging open and Belle hid her face in Shawn's shoulder.
"Have we stumbled upon a secret romance?" Abby asked, trying to lighten the mood, as she put a hand on Brady's shoulder in case he tried anything. Shawn reluctantly stood up to face Brady and reached out to pull Belle to her feet along with him.
"Well, not exactly a secret" he said.
"Does dad know about this?" Brady demanded.
"No" Belle said.
"Why the hell not?" he asked.
"Alright, everyone calm down" Abby said, stepping in front of Brady. "I'm sure you're making a bigger deal out of this than it should be"
'Brady, we aren't sneaking around" Belle piped up behind Shawn. "This just happend last night. We didn't want to make a big announcement out of it"
"So instead you just make out around the house, waiting for someone to catch you?" Brady asked.
"We weren't making out" Belle said. "And besides, Eric and Greta know what's going on"
"We were just going to let the others find out on their own" Shawn added.
"Well, I for one am happy this happened" Abby spoke up. She had seen it coming, from Shawn's e-mails where he 'casually' mentioned her name a lot to the way they had been looking at each other since they arrived. "I'm happy for you both"
"Thanks Abby" Belle said, giving her a quick hug. As they pulled apart, she looked up at her big brother expectanty. "Well?"
"Well what?" Brady asked, stubbornly.
"Brady, you're my big brother and one of the most important people in my life" she said, quietly. "And your opinion means a lot to me. But if you don't approve of me and Shawn...well, then I'm sorry. Cause I care for you both a lot but I won't stop seeing him just because you're too stubborn to let me go"
"I refuse to let you go, Isabella" he said, sternly. Belle's face drooped and a small smile came across Brady's. "But if I have to share you with somebody, I'm glad it's Shawn D"
"That's just Shawn now" Shawn added, as Belle jumped into Brady's arms with a squeal. When she pulled away she and Abby began talking excitedly as Brady sauntered over to Shawn.
"Take good care of her for me" Brady said.
"I'd do anything for her" Shawn answered.
"Well, all this mushy stuff has given me a headache" Brady announced. "I'm going to go upstairs and take an asprin and lay down for a little"
"Are you coming back out?" Belle asked, her hand on the door again.
"Yeah, in a little bit" Brady answered. He caught Abby's eye and she too began to separate herself from the other two.
"Are you coming Abby?" Shawn asked.
"I'll...catch up with you guys in a few, ok?" Abby asked, unable to meet Shawn's eye.
"We can wait for you" Belle offered.
"NO" Abby said. "I mean, I want to get my things organized a little and then I'll be down"
"Ok" Belle said, shooting Shawn a confused look as they went out the door. Brady began hopping up the stairs to the room he would now be sharing with Eric and Abby followed silently. They walked separately through the living room to Eric's room and Brady entered it with Abby following right behind him. She shut the door behind her and soon was swept up in Brady's arms.
"Do you think they know?" she whispered, her eyes closed at the feeling she felt when his muscular arms were wrapped around her.
"I don't think they do" Brady whispered back, seconds before his mouth made contact with the skin of her neck.
"Mmmm Brady" she murmured, as he began to walk her backwards until her knees met the bed, pushing her down onto it. Outside, Belle and Shawn splashed playfully in the ocean water, completely unaware that anything out of the ordinary was occuring inside of the house.