It was a night of firsts! It was the first time Oliver described himself as Shane's boyfriend. She had called her sister as promised and Oliver was with her to provide moral support. As Shane described her life in Denver to Alex, Oliver whispered: "tell her,…you have a boyfriend". Shane was already emotional, but this declaration made her even more so. Tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks. Oliver took her hand and kissed her knuckles without taking his eyes off her.
Later, Oliver and Shane met up with Norman and Rita. They had something to ask the two of them, aside from advice on their wedding cake selection. Norman wanted Oliver to be his Best Man and Rita wanted Shane for her Maid of Honor. It was the first time both had been asked to have these kinds of wedding duties and Oliver could not help but think the four of them were truly family.
After spending some time all together, Oliver and Shane went to Oliver's home to have dinner. It was the first time he invited her to his home, and she was dying to see the inside of it. She had seen his house from the outside on that unforgettable Valentine's night last year when she saw him having a glass of wine while listening to her record. She had not forgotten about it; she just hadn't had the opportunity to ask him why he took it. Maybe this would be the night to have that conversation.
Their relationship developed as quickly as everything else had between the two of them, which meant, very slowly. They finally had a lovely date where both were relaxed and on the same page. Oliver complimented Shane on how beautiful she looked, and she found him extremely handsome. They both enjoyed the evening walk to the Ephlat jazz Lounge. Time flew by and they missed their reservation at Montaldo's. Both were having such an amazing time at the lounge they lost track of time. As they left the lounge, there was a brief kiss on the stairs outside of the club. They then walked arm in arm to her house, planning to end the evening on her porch swing. Both wanted kiss again, but it was not to be. Steve, her old flame, was waiting on her porch, ready to take her on an assignment. Shane was needed immediately at an undisclosed location for an unknown amount of time.
She left and Oliver was haunted by his fear Shane would not return, just like his mother and Holly had not before her. He was an emotional wreck for 3 months. While trying to distract himself and get out a little bit, he learned to play poker and watch action movies every Wednesday with Ramon, Joe, Rita and Norman. They were all very worried about him. Norman stepped up and counseled Oliver to take action and not wait for Shane to return. Oliver headed to Washington DC to find her and bring her back to Denver. Oliver had his suspicions as to why Steve wanted to keep her there. He strongly doubted Shane was still needed for the mission. Instead he believed Steve wanted to keep her close in the hopes of rekindling his past relationship with her. Shane was reluctant to believe that was the case, but after talking with Steve after Oliver left, she realized Oliver was right. Shane packed her bags immediately and quickly returned to Denver. She surprised Oliver at the DLO. After working through all the hurt and misunderstandings they were finally in concert and shared passionate kisses. From there, their relationship quickly deepened and evolved… From "friends" to a "mess" to a "thing" to "going steady"… and now finally he was her boyfriend. Shane was over the moon. Progress!
They arrived in Oliver's driveway, where he quickly got out of the car to help her out of the Jag. They walked to the front door and he opened it, letting her go inside first. She entered and looked around. A hallway led to the living room. Oliver took her hand and walked with her to the living room, a beautiful space with a leather Chesterfield couch in front of a fireplace. It was a lovely spot to spend some time reading one of the many books in the shelves at both ends of the fireplace. There was a coffee table and a stuffed armchair by the window next to the record player. That was precisely the same spot he was sitting last Valentine's day when she stood outside, peering into his window.
"This room is lovely, Oliver," she said, "Very masculine, it is very…..you."
Oliver was very comfortable and at ease in his home. He told her to make herself at home while he set the table. The food would be delivered shortly, and he wanted to have everything ready.
Shane checked out the books in Oliver's library. There was a collection of Shakespeare's works and other classics, an unusual amount of grammar books, a collection of Agatha Christie's books, as well as the four novels in the Sherlock Holmes canon.
Oliver was busy with the table, setting plates, napkins, and cutlery, but something was nagging him. There was something in the back of his mind he knew he should remember but he couldn't. He kept himself busy, but the nagging feeling grew, unsettling him.
Shane looked at the record player. It was a very well-preserved antique, very similar to the one her dad had. There was a side door to store the records. When she opened it, she immediately found her father's record. It was the first one she saw! When she took it out, Shane quickly found the sticker in the corner with the S.M. initials, along with a number. It was her father's initials, Sean McInerney and the number 52. Shane didn't know what the number meant. She assumed it was record number 52 in his collection, as there was a number on every record he had. She was so happy to see it again! Shane carefully touched the corner of the sleeve and took the record out. She turned on the player, placed the record on the turntable, and guided the needle to the correct groove. The room was filled with the piano chords and soon with Billy Joel's voice.
Oliver was looking at his watch to check the time, wondering when the food was going to arrive. Then he heard the piano chords drifting from the other room. He gulped and realized immediately what he'd forgotten. Oliver sighed and slowly walked into the living room. Shane stood by the record player, looking at her record. He felt like a deer caught in headlights. At first, Oliver was almost paralyzed, but he managed to walk the few steps towards her to explain.
Shane had her eyes closed and felt Oliver's presence near her when the song was about to end. She silenced him with a gesture of her hand when he was about to say something, letting the song conclude. Once the last note had dissolved into the air, she lifted the needle and placed it once more at the beginning of the song. As the piano chords again drifted around them, she turned to face him, and when their eyes met, he once again swallowed nervously. Shane's eyes were soft and full of love. He had braced for her disapproval. After all, he had stolen her record and she had found the evidence! However, she wasn't angry.
"Dance with me, Oliver?" Shane asked, and Oliver immediately obeyed. They danced, but this time it wasn't a rehearsal and they didn't follow any steps. He held her as close as he had wanted to all those months ago in the DLO when he first heard the song. They swayed to the rhythm, her arms around his neck and his around her waist. They swayed until the song was over and the needle bumped into the record's paper label and lifted itself automatically.
The room was silent for a moment. Without releasing Shane from his embrace, Oliver apologized. "I'm sorry I stole your record. It was foolish, but I needed something tangible to hold on to, to hold on to you, after the mess I made with cancelling our showcase dance."
"I knew you had it, Oliver. It's alright. When I realized you had the record, it was the hope I needed that maybe you thought of me as I thought of you. Knowing you had it, and the song moved you as much as it did me, gave me the strength to wait for you, even after the disaster that was our date after Valentines Day."
Oliver sighed. "It still was wrong and I hope one day to make it up to you."
"There's no need," Shane said, as she placed her hand on his cheek. "I'm going to need that particular copy back, but I have another one I can give to you."
He looked at her quizzically, "How come?"
"It was my dad's record. It's part of a collection."
Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, feeling mortified. "I really messed up, didn't I?"
"No! Oliver, really, it's okay! I have another copy. You can have that one. It will be my gift to you, and you can play it to your heart's content." She smiled as she softly kissed his cheek.
"I promise I will make it up to you somehow." He flashed her a soft tender smile, his eyes never leaving hers.
Shane leaned her head on his shoulder, and they continued to sway to the notes of the stolen record's song, although this time it played directly from their hearts.
Later while they were having dinner, Shane cleared her throat to catch Oliver's attention.
"Hmm, Oliver. Someone should tell the Office of Postal Security the Closed Captioned TV (CCTV) outside the DLO isn't working". Oliver was a bit puzzled as to why she was telling him this. Shane continued, sensing his lack of understanding. "A few months ago, darling, when I was looking for my record, I hacked into the CCTV network for this building and I noticed the camera outside the DLO entrance was not working. There was no way I could report it without "blowing my cover". She winked at him, smiling sweetly and continued eating as if she had just made a passing comment about the weather.
Oliver smiled. Theirs was going to be a journey full of surprises and he was so ready for it!