Ch.7
He'd expected the neighbors to talk. Rather than force Gus to pretend they were strangers to each other, they played under the guise that they were old friends, Matt and James, that decided to be neighbors. Joss took the role of Gus' fiancé, Marissa, fresh out of grad school. It was a risky cover with a lot of details to maintain but Shawn would put up with it as long as Gus was happy. And he was, apparently. He'd even begun talking to Shawn again after two weeks of living across the hall.
The distance still hurt. Instead of being a mere few feet away from him, Gus was further away now. And this was made even more painful by the passing comments he heard in the hallway about the sweet couple down the hall. Shawn maintained that it wouldn't have been as agonizing if Joss refrained from playing her part so thoroughly.
Whereas Shawn and Gus had maintained a politely, yet affectionate distance in public, Joss had no limits. He couldn't be sure if she was trying to further pull Gus away from him or if she was just out to hurt him. If they went anywhere together, Joss would permanently latch on to his arm. They'd gone out to the local shopping center to replenish their wardrobe and she'd insisted Shawn carry the bags so she could hold Gus' hand. And he could've sworn on his disputed life she waited until he was watching to caress Gus' hand.
Whenever they were introduced to anyone new, she'd boast about their engagement and proudly show off her ring. She'd insisted on hosting a "New to the Building" party, inviting Shawn at Gus' insistence. At his expense, she'd introduced him as 'Gus' oldest friend', belittling his title as much as possible. Her bubbly, animated personality kept anyone from thinking too much on it. Gus included.
Shawn feared staying anywhere near them for longer than a few moments. Joss would run her hands down Gus' sides and kiss him so softly, the hesitation turned a knife in Shawn's stomach. And God forbid they get invited to a neighbor's apartment, she'd limit herself only to completely straddling Gus' lap. Those kisses, those deep searching kisses with her roaming, ringed fingers made Shawn wish he'd never taught Gus to play along so well. He'd return every kiss in full, occasionally he even initiated them, his hands on the delicate small of her back. And if he ever went so far as to trail his hands down to her hips, she'd let out this sort of, soft sigh and- Shawn couldn't take it anymore. If he'd felt bad about lying to her about Bailey, those feelings were gone. Especially now that Joss had taken to touching Gus anytime she felt like it, even when they weren't simply keeping face.
And he'd been ready to refuse the invitation to the sweet married couple down the hall had Gus not chosen that day to ask Shawn personally. He'd been avoiding the sickeningly sweet couple as often as possible. But avoiding Joss meant avoiding Gus and now that they were speaking again, well Shawn wasn't strong enough to give up all contact together. The relaxed grin on Gus' face made his worries seem fleeting and moronic. And he'd already nodded his answer when he noticed the love bite on Gus' neck. He followed Gus to his apartment like a death row inmate to his execution. He prayed there would be alcohol.
"Hey, babe. I picked out some stuff to wear but I wasn't sure if you wanted to coordinate or what." Joss was calling out from a room as they entered. Upon seeing Shawn, her smile morphed into one of victorious satisfaction. "Hey, Shawn. It's been a while." Her sharp teeth glinted threateningly. This was fun for her.
Shawn shrugged and lowered his gaze to his feet. He knew this was for the best but slowly, his voice of reason had been losing its power. He was seconds away from grabbing Gus and dragging him far, far away. "Yeah, it has. I've been busy."
Joss sat down on the couch, sheathed in a form fitting blue dress. "I'll bet." She smiled at Gus and continued. "You should get dressed, we have to go soon."
Gus nodded and at Shawn's disbelief, headed into the room Joss had left earlier. Shawn shuffled over to sit on the far end of the couch. "So, sharing a room."
Her smile fell, only a fraction. "Yeah. Seemed to fit." She started playing absently with her dress. Her eyelashes fanned out across her cheeks and she appeared younger. Shawn wasn't sure if it was her makeup or the relaxed expression on her face. His heart fell as he realized that Joss was happy, truly happy.
"I should've known better than to underestimate your… influence." Shawn finished with a suggestive glare.
"I'm not sleeping with him, if that's what you're getting at." She eyed Shawn warily, almost regretfully. "I've gone no farther than you have."
Shawn shook his head and leaned close enough to whisper, "You sure? I've never seen him act that way and you've wasted no time in getting your hands all over him."
Joss started to object, "Shawn, I've had to-"
"And don't say it's all for cover. I know exactly what you're doing. I just don't get why it took you so long to go through with it."
She lifted her gaze and Shawn could see that her eyes were clear and honest, if not a little regretful. "There's nothing to get. He wouldn't have come if it weren't for you and you're what's keeping him here." Gus stepped into the room again, wearing Shawn's favorite blue shirt. She stood and added, "Is it such a surprise I don't always get what I want?"
Gus held Joss' hand as they entered the apartment but his attention was on Shawn's expression. "Hey, are you okay?" Joss glanced at him quickly before excusing herself to go help Kate with the food. Gus followed Shawn into the living room. "What's up?"
Shawn avoided his gaze, choosing to instead study the fading marks on Gus' neck. "Nothing. I'm fine. I'm just a little tired." Sensing he wasn't being very convincing, he changed the subject. "How's your training going?"
He looked as if he was going to challenge Shawn before responding. "Fine, I guess. Great, actually. She's been very patient with me." Joss caught his eye from the kitchen and smirked secretively before turning back to Kate's conversation. You can't fake it that well, Shawn thought. "I feel like I can actually do this now."
"Yeah?" Shawn asked, swallowing thickly. Gus nodded tentatively, his eyes sliding over to Joss in the kitchen. "How are things… with your cover?"
"I don't know, Joss is amazing." How vague, Shawn thought.
"That she is, Gus." Shawn picked up a magazine from the coffee table and pretended to read it. "She is definitely that."
Joss wandered over and sat down on Gus' lap gracefully. She buried her face into Gus' chest, closing her eyes and sighing sleepily. She yawned and mumbled something presumably adorable into Gus' ear. "Yeah, we can go whenever you want." He conceded, his hand finding its way onto her waist. The childish, selfish part of Shawn wanted nothing more than to shove her off of Gus, grab him, start running and never look back. Anything to get away from watching them look more perfect and together than Shawn ever had with Gus.
Joss shook her head and sat up. "No, that's rude. I can hold out until after appetizers. And if not, Shawn can cover for us." She met his eyes defiantly, her jade eyes flashing daringly. "Right, Shawn?"
"Yeah. Of course." He agreed before standing and joining the rest of the party. He made his way over to Kate and leaned against the counter. He pointed at the tray of appetizers. "Can I have one?"
Kate nodded, a friendly smile on her face. "Help yourself." She nodded at Gus and Joss a few feet away. "They're a cute couple, aren't they?"
Shawn grinned, flashing his teeth. "The cutest."
"Marissa says you've been James' best friend practically from birth. You must be so happy for him." She finished setting up the trays. She started to carry them into the dining area, asking Shawn for assistance.
They passed the pair on the couch, now cheerfully laughing together, Joss' eyes shining brightly as she concluded her story. Gus added something and Joss' eyes crinkled at the edges as she laughed before pecking him briefly on the lips. Her hands came up to Gus' face and, as if on cue, their eyes closed and their lips met. Shawn's hands started to shake at the sight of Joss' clever tongue blending into their kiss. He almost lost his hold on the trays at Joss' soft sigh as her body appeared to melt into Gus'.
Shawn felt like a voyeur, like this was too private for him to witness. They fit too flawlessly together, his hands on her waist and her hips against his; it was all too… perfect, complementary. Too believable to be scripted, to be acting, to be fake.
"How long have they been together?" Kate asked cheerily, oblivious to the heartache in Shawn's expression. It seemed impossible but there was no other explanation. Shawn set the trays down on the table, his eyes on Joss' ringed finger.
"I don't know." He answered, feeling the truth in his words.
Shawn spent the rest of the night avoiding Gus' eyes. Even when the older man asked him a direct question, he refused to look up. Any time he gave in, his eyes found the love bites trailing down Joss' neck, or their locked hands on the table or the brightness of Joss' smile whenever Gus looked to her. He felt sick to his stomach and so close to the point of losing it when Joss excused them to leave.
He watched them leave, Gus' hand on the small of her back. He barely responded to Gus' farewell as they left. He'd seen that predatory expression on Joss' face before and he knew the next time he would see Gus, it would be too late. He remained seated, reaching back briefly to feel the gun in his waistband.
*
Joss guided Gus into the apartment, her hands pulling at his shirt. She only had tonight, this was her last chance. Shawn wouldn't hold off for long, he knew her all too well. She sucked at the skin beneath his jaw and jerked Gus' shirt from his slacks. In some ways, the comfort she felt in his touch hurt more than the feel of his hands, heavy and gentle against her skin. She covered his ears with her palms as she kissed him, drawing his tongue into her mouth. Every brush of silk cloth seemed heightened and she couldn't hold back a plea for Gus to hurry.
They danced their way to the edge of the couch, Gus' hands never leaving her waist. His shirt came off and her dress was lowered. They pressed together, bare skin against bare skin, a small moan escaping her lips. "Gus," she breathed, as he smoothly lifted her onto the edge of the couch. Her hands had reached Gus' belt when he pulled back. "What are we doing?" she breathed, confused and Gus stole one more kiss before answering.
"Not thinking. We're not thinking," he nipped as her throat once again before continuing. "And we're not talking." Joss reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. With no prompting from her end, he carried her into their bedroom.
Her dress fell fluidly to the floor beside their bed and Joss climbed atop, straddling his waist. She traced a trail of gentle bites down his chest. She threaded her fingers through his and brought his hands up to cover her breasts. Her head fell back and she started to ask, "Did you and Shawn ever do this?"
Gus shook his head and flipped them over, maneuvering her arms above her head. "Not talking." He settled between her legs, trailing his hands from her knees to her inner thighs. She arched her back in anticipation, wanting everything at once.
"Now." She gasped and spread her legs wider. "Please."
Joss opened her eyes to see it was still dark out. She had to go now if she wanted to avoid hurting Gus. She turned and watched as he slept, his arms enveloping her. She trailed her fingertips down his side and allowed herself to place a kiss to his lips. She carefully lifted his arm and rolled out of bed, gathering her clothes as she went.
She pulled her phone out and dialed Shawn's number. "Hey, Shawn. Bailey called and said he wanted to meet us at the docks in an hour. We should go now." She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.
*
"Hey," she greeted nervously. Something was off on Shawn's expression. She shook it off and started past him down the stairs, slightly comforted as he followed. They were just around the corner when Shawn stopped. She paused, drawing her gun as she spun around. Shawn was staring her down, cold and calculated expression, his gun raised to eye level.
"What's going on?"
Shawn shook his head and bit back the urge to laugh. "I figured you out, weeks ago. I didn't know for sure, I was never absolutely sure until tonight. I just didn't understand why you'd do it, why you'd go so far to betray me." He tilted his head and eyed her hastily fastened clothes and her messy hair. "You slept with him didn't you? God, you really have no limit, do you?"
Joss denied it, her eyes pleading, her gun lowering. "Shawn, I didn't. You've got it all wrong. I would never-"
"I never called Bailey. I never told him I was running." Her mouth snapped closed and she dropped her gaze.
"But you- you had all of the paperwork. How would you've gotten it if you hadn't of told Bailey." She demanded, her eyes wide and disbelieving.
Shawn grimaced and responded, "I killed him." He stepped closer to her and shrugged his shoulders. "So you see, there's no possible way for him to have called you."
"I don't understand." She fell to her knees, her head in her hands. When she looked up moments later, tears freely fell from her green eyes. Running a hand through her hair, she lifted her head. "Shawn, you have to listen to me! I didn't want to but they were going to kill me."
"I would've helped you before you agreed to help me and endangered Gus' life!" He exclaimed, towering over her. There was so much to hate about her yet he couldn't help but feel sorry for this shaking figure at his feet. "They didn't make you do that; that was all you."
She struggled to stand to her feet and wiped her eyes. "I didn't do that hurt you. Honest, I didn't."
He hovered closer to her, his stomach turning at the smell of sex lingering around her. "You tried to take him away from me."
"From me!" She screamed, shoving at him angrily. "I wanted him away from me. I never wanted to hurt him. He wasn't going to leave you alone. I did everything I could to keep him safe. We were going to run." She explained, holding herself tightly.
Shawn's hand wavered as he tried to understand. "He wanted to leave?"
She nodded eagerly. "Yeah. He said that he wanted to tell you himself but I told him not to. You would've never let him leave." Shawn blinked, hearing an almost silent footfall from around the corner too late after the gun sounded. Things had just gotten entirely too complicated.
Shawn turned around slowly to see Gus watching, stunned, as Joss fell to the ground.