Chapter Text
The door opened to reveal a speechless Oliver standing on her porch. "Um, hello Oliver," Shane said in order to fill the silence.
Oliver seemed to shake himself out of his reverie. "Good evening, Miss McInerney. I must say, you look... uh...exquisite." He seemed to also remember the bouquet of white roses he held in his hand. "These are for you."
"Thank you," Shane replied, taking the roses. "You look fantastic too." Oliver had changed from the gray suit he had worn to the post office that day into a blue one, a color which Shane had always thought brought out the blue of his eyes. "Would you like to come in while I put these in some water?"
Oliver nodded as he stepped inside.
"I'll be just one second," Shane said as she walked into the kitchen. "Make yourself at home."
She pulled out a vase, filled it with water, and quickly arranged the flowers. When she got back into the living room, Oliver was sitting on her sofa, looking through a book Shane had on her coffee table. "Ready?" Shane asked.
"Why, yes. Shall we?" Oliver replied, standing and extending his arm. Shane took it and they walked out into the night together.
Shane could see why Oliver picked the restaurant that he did. It reminded her of him - old-fashioned yet charming, with a sense of familiarness. Conversation flowed easily during dinner, and too soon, it felt to Shane, Oliver was walking her to her door while talking about their latest postal mystery. "I still can't believe you chased after that duck," Shane giggled.
"That duck was committing postal theft, Miss McInerney," Oliver replied, struggling, but failing, to look stern.
"Oh, so what, you were going to turn it into the police had it not dropped the letter and escaped?" Shane was tearing up from laughter.
"Well, I will say that no one can say our jobs are dull," Oliver was openly laughing now.
Shane stepped onto her porch. "Oliver... would you like to stay for a while? It's not too cold to sit on the swing."
"I'd be delighted," Oliver replied. He joined Shane on the swing.
"I wonder how dinner with Norman's parents went tonight," Shane mused.
"I don't believe you have anything to worry about," Oliver said with a grin. "Although that insatiable curiosity of yours is probably dying to know."
"Hey, this was their first dinner with Norman's parents as an actual couple, of course I'm curious!" Shane said, nudging Oliver with her shoulder.
Oliver chuckled. "I find that there’s something… wholesome in Rita and Norman’s relationship, don’t you? One might certainly aspire to achieve the level of… mutual respect they have for each other.”
“They’re very sweet,” Shane agreed.
Oliver suddenly stood up and extended his hand. "Would you like to dance with me?"
Shane smiled and stood. "Of course." Shane pulled her tablet out of her purse and started playing the song they had chosen for the showcase.
They had been dancing in silence for a while when Oliver suddenly said, "Thank you."
Shane looked at him. "Thank you? For what?"
"For not asking me about my last evening with Holly."
Shane's face softened. "Oliver, you don't have to explain anything to me..."
"Please, just let me say this. The night of the showcase, when we were supposed to dance together... that was to be Holly's and my anniversary. "
"Oh, Oliver... I completely understand why you couldn't participate. It must've been so painful to even think about dancing with someone other than her on your anniversary."
Oliver seemed to hesitate a moment. "Actually, it was quite the opposite," he murmured into her ear.
Shane's breath caught. Was Oliver saying what she thought Oliver was saying??? "What do you mean?" she whispered.
"Our last practice... I found myself with these emotions that I thought were completely inappropriate to have at the time. It would have been my anniversary with Holly, but all I wanted to do was dance with you. I felt...feel... drawn to you, Shane. At the time I was conflicted, but after reflecting and praying for months, my feelings for you have not changed."
They came to the point in the dance where Oliver was to dip Shane. As he brought her back up, Shane could feel the familiar spark between them. "You called me Shane," she said dazedly, Oliver's face just inches from her own.
"Yes, I did." Oliver's breath ghosted over her lips. "Shane," he repeated.
"Oliver," Shane murmured right before their lips touched. Bang , she thought.
The kiss was chaste, but to Shane, it was the best first kiss of her life. She wanted the moment to never end.
After the kiss ended Oliver said, "It's getting late, I probably should be going." He grabbed his coat and stepped off of the porch. "Good night."
And there it goes, Shane thought. She wrapped her arms around herself. "Thank you for tonight, Oliver," she said. "I had a wonderful time."
Oliver turned around. "As did I. I'll see you on Monday, Shane."
Shane grinned at the use of her first name. "See you on Monday, Oliver."