Smokey Souls and Heavy Hearts

Ugh I'm bringing peyton back okay. Bc reasons.

Memory Lane || Shane and Isla

Isla laughed, tucking her legs underneath her to sit on them. She was going to keep her mouth shut, not telling him her preference although she was sure it was obvious by how she reacted. She glanced at the picture and immediately looked away, wincing. “Oh, you have a dog. A big dog.” Gingerly she pushed his phone back towards him, not bothering to look back at the picture. “I’m sure he’s very sweet.” her voice was stiff, as was her body. A dog. Of course he had a dog. Isla cleared her throat, not bothering to look at him.

His grin faded immediately at Isla’s reaction. She stiffened and her voice went cold. Shane didn’t have to have a high IQ to realize that dogs were an issue. “I...he...won’t be a problem,” he answered with focused intention. “Bentley is old...almost thirteen...he’s got arthritis and he’s almost blind...he stays in my room and gets shy around strangers. He won’t ever bother you.” It was almost frightening how important it was to Shane to make Isla feel safe.

Memory Lane || Shane and Isla

Isla had to move out of his lap before the conversation turned again. She laughed, taking herself out of his lap and putting that space between them. “So you’ve always been… the dominating force?” she asked, focusing on the food in front of her. She chewed in thought, thinking on a follow up. “Do you have any pets?” she asked, putting her food down once more.

He missed her instantly the second space was between them...but it was for the better, it helped his head clear just a little. “You could say that,” he answered with a wry smile. “My mother is the head honcho though...so you could say I dabble in both. I know when to be the dominating force...and when to let someone else be in charge.” Taking a bite of his own food, Shane smiled, pulling his phone from his pocket, pulling up a picture, and sliding it across the table. “I have a dog, Bentley. He’s a retired police service dog, German Shephard.”

Memory Lane || Shane and Isla

She sighed into his mouth, relaxing into him. All of this was new for Isla and she could either keep it cool or completely screw it up, the latter being what was most likely to happen. Her eyes fluttered closed as she settled into him, dipping her head just a bit fraction. Family was a touchy enough subject for her but she couldn’t blame him for being somewhat curious. “Two, younger brothers. You?”

His lips traveled against her cheek, kissing moving into her hair as her head dipped. Shane wanted Isla to know that every inch of her was meant to be adored in equal measure. “An older brother, a younger brother and two little sisters,” he answered with a chuckle. “We had a very full house...and my older brother...he was a good few years older than the rest of us...he very swiftly reached the teenage stage where he wasn’t much interested in his siblings. So...I gave myself the job of wrangling my younger siblings...made myself the law in the household...little mini sheriff.”

Memory Lane || Shane and Isla

Not too far apparently. Isla tilted her head to look up at him, reaching a hand up to stroke his cheek with her thumb. At least he was honest about where he was feeling and where his emotions might take him if she kept it up. It was a job well done on his part and that on Isla’s too, finding that boundary so quickly and respecting it. She tilted her head up and kissed him again, the hand on his cheek moving to play with the hairs at the base of his skull. She could forego her food for a little bit longer if it meant continuing to explore and figure out what sort of topic would be pg enough to keep them from consummating the relationship much sooner. “Then you should probably direct the conversation.”

His grin almost said See...this isn’t so bad is it? Look at us figuring it out. The way Isla’s fingers played against the fine hairs at the base of his neck made a contented sort of grumble catch in his chest. This next kiss was less desperate, softly exploration and delicious in it’s own way. Shane’s free hand moved in gentle patterns against her back, and he leaned in till his forehead touched hers. “Hmm...we’d be very safe with the usual 20 questions line of chatter. Family...let’s start with family...do you have any siblings?”

Memory Lane || Shane and Isla

Isla squeaked at the sudden movement, losing her chopsticks in the process. She felt the heat rising in her face as she looked at him. Had this been any other time or any other person, Isla would continue with her playful teasing and let them down gently. Shane however, was an entirely different story. Part of her wanted to slow it way down and the other part wanted to see just how far they could go before one of them backed down. But the way he kissed her…it was letting the latter win out. Just how far could they go before one of them chickened out?

He wasn’t really thinking, and Shane was normally the type of man that did a lot of that; thinking, reading the situation, looking for cues from another person. But Isla’s teasing...it only reminded him that he could kiss her now...and his lips had a lot of time to make up for...far too many hours spent holding back from her. His hands stayed safely where they were. It was just a kiss...a good one...a fantastic one in his opinion, and he didn’t make a move to take it anywhere else. He just kissed her till he was dizzy, till he had to pull away for breath, but his thumb traced her lower lip. “Not that I don’t enjoy a nice bout of playfully flirtatious banter,” he murmured softly, “but as of now I’m not entirely sure of my self control....so if you want to take this slow it might be better if we keep the talk to more pg topics.” But perhaps she could eat her food still nested close against his chest like this...because Shane found he was immediately addicted to having her close, having his arms around her.