Summary: There’s only one bed in the hotel room.
“How about we flip a coin for it?” Shawn suggested. “Heads, I sleep on the floor. Tails, you sleep on the floor.”
“No!” she protested, strongly resisting the urge to whack her best friend across the face, though his shit-eating grin made the task impossibly difficult. “The last time I agreed to flipping a coin with you, you cheated.”
Shawn held up both hands in defense, looking far too innocent for her liking. With a casual shrug, he replied, “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, hands resting on her hips. Shawn pressed his lips together to suppress the laughter fighting to burst out of his mouth.
“You wanted to flip a coin for the last chocolate chip cookie. You said it was heads, so you had won the cookie,” she said, putting the word “won” in air quotes.
“Air quotes unnecessary,” he interjected quickly.
“But,” she went on, raising her voice just slightly. “When I asked you to see the coin, you shoved it into your mouth. So, yes, Shawn. You cheated,” she finished, her index finger pressed accusingly into his chest.
Shawn playfully swatted away her hand and rolled his eyes dramatically. “That wasn’t cheating! It was heads, which meant I deserved the cookie.”
“Then why didn’t you let me see the coin afterwards?” she asked. She crossed her arms, looking smug.
“Does it matter who won? You got to have the last cookie anyway,” he pointed out. “If anything, I deserve to be upset.”
“But it was obviously tails!” she screamed in exasperation, throwing her hands up in the air. “Why else would you try to hide it?”
“That’s irrelevant,” Shawn countered. He rummaged through the pockets of his jeans to find a coin. “I know I have one somewhere, just give me a second.”
She let out a loud groan, moving to lie face down on the bed.
The two of them had rented a hotel room on the first night of their week-long road trip, a trip they’d been planning since they became best friends in elementary school. Except, when they showed up to the front desk, the receptionist handed over their key and said, “Room 312, one bed and a view of the oceanfront.”
She had looked over at Shawn in complete and utter confusion. After all, he was in charge of booking all the hotels they were going to be staying at. She’d never asked him before, but she’d assumed there would be two beds — one for each of them. Even Shawn was puzzled. When he asked if it was possible that the hotel had made a mistake, the woman shrugged and said matter-of-factly, “It’s what was listed in your reservation.”
Which led them to where they were now, arguing over who would sleep on the bed, and who would sleep on the floor. Of course, Shawn knew how stubborn she was, and that she’d insist on taking the floor. But there was no way in hell he’d let that happen.
“You’re just going to eat the coin again,” she complained, voice muffled by the bed, when Shawn nudged her arm with the penny he’d found.
“You could always just let me take the floor, and you could sleep on the bed,” he retorted.
She shook her head and sat up straight, crossing her legs beneath her. “Absolutely not.”
“Then, I’m afraid you have no choice but to agree to this coin toss,” Shawn grinned excitedly. “Heads or tails?”
She couldn’t believe she was actually agreeing to this. But it was hard to say no whenever Shawn grinned like that. “Tails,” she chose defeatedly.
Shawn flicked the coin into the air. They watched in anticipation as he caught it deftly and flipped it onto the back of his left hand in one smooth motion.
“Wait!” she screamed, her hands clasping his tightly together, just as he was about to reveal the outcome of the toss.
“Yes?” Shawn asked, eyebrows raised.
She pulled his hands towards her, so that Shawn wouldn’t be able to hide the results from her this time. That way, there was less of a chance it would end up in Shawn’s mouth. Her hands let go of his. “Okay. Now you can do it. And don’t eat it!”
“I won’t. Promise.” Shawn lifted his hand. The coin had landed on heads. He let out a victorious whoop, and bounded off the bed. “Alright, well that settles it!” He reached behind her to grab a pillow, and threw it unceremoniously onto the bare floor beside her.
Without even processing what she was about to say, she blurted, “Why don’t we just share the bed?”
Her words took Shawn by surprise, who didn’t answer with a witty joke the way he usually did, but answered instead, with a very timid sounding, “Are you sure?” He looked so much like the shy boy he had been when they first met. In fact, he had burst into tears the first time she said hello to him because he was too nervous to say anything back. She still liked to tease him for it, even though he clearly wasn’t nervous around her anymore. But her — well, recently, she’d been very nervous around him.
“We’re best friends, Shawn,” she said, though the reminder served more to comfort to her than him. They were best friends, after all. Why did the thought of sharing a bed with him bring butterflies to her stomach? She desperately pushed the image of cuddling with Shawn out of her mind, ignoring the way it made her heart race. She tried to inconspicuously wipe off the sweat accumulating on her palms. “Of course it’ll be fine.”
“I mean, it would be a tight fit with the both of us,” Shawn commented. “The bed’s not very big. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“But you need to sleep well. You’re driving most of tomorrow. Just sleep with me, it’ll be okay.”
“You’re sure?” he asked again.
“Alright,” he finally agreed, placing the coin on his nightstand.
“By the way, nice shorts,” she snorted. She had bought the pair of shorts for him when he was about to leave for his first tour, so that he wouldn’t forget her. Of course, Shawn told her that forgetting her would be impossible. But she wanted to be sure anyway. So, she customized sleeping shorts with her face plastered over every inch of the fabric.
“Thanks,” he said with a smirk. “They’re very comfortable.”
Shawn turned out the lights, submerging them both into darkness. The bed dipped to the right when Shawn settled down beneath her. She moved to the left to make more room for him, except she shifted far more than she needed to, and nearly plummeted to the ground. Shawn’s arms grasped her around the middle, pulling her back onto the bed as if she weighed no more than the penny he’d used in the coin toss. When he let go of her, she started shifting away towards the edge of the bed again.
“If you move any further, you’re going to fall off. I don’t bite, you know,” he joked.
“Shut up. I just don’t want to crush you, or anything,” she admitted, though that wasn’t true. The truth was, she didn’t want Shawn to hear how rapidly her heart was beating. This was ridiculous. They’d shared a bed a couple times before when they were younger.
But you didn’t have a crush on him back then, she said to herself.
Shawn let out a chuckle, leaning on his side to face her. Even though there was still some space between them, the bed was so small that she could smell the scent of his shampoo. “It makes more sense for me to crush you, than for you to crush me. I’m a whole head taller than you.”
“It could still happen,” she insisted. “I could roll on top of you in the middle of the night by accident.”
“And what, suffocate me?” he laughed. “You wouldn’t. Besides, I would definitely notice if you were on top of me.” Even though it was dark, she still noticed some undetected emotion swimming within his eyes. Shawn cleared his throat. “Come on, move closer. You’re still in danger of falling.”
“No, it’s okay,” she replied. “This is fine.”
“I don’t want you to roll off. And that can’t be comfortable.”
“I’m very comfortable!” she persisted stubbornly.
He sighed, but before she could open her mouth to retaliate, his arm had reached over and rested itself on the small of her back. Shawn pulled her towards him until their chests were separated only by an inch or so. “See? You’re not about to fall to the floor anymore!”
“Shut up,” she repeated, lightly slapping his retreating arm. If it wasn’t so dark in the room, Shawn would’ve noticed the way her cheeks were burning. She desperately tried to silence any thought in her head involving Shawn that wasn’t strictly platonic, including the ones involving moving just a few inches forward to kiss him. She couldn’t afford to think like this, not when they were about to spend an entire week together. And besides, Shawn didn’t seem fazed about their predicament in the least.
“I’m hurt,” Shawn responded sarcastically. “I just want to make sure my best friend is comfortable, and what do I get in return? A slap. And I’m told to shut up. Multiple times.”
“You also could’ve let me sleep on the floor!” she asserted, causing Shawn to groan.
“Shush. You know I could never let you do that.”
“Hmph,” was all she said.
They lay next to one another in the dark for a while, staring at one another in complete silence. This was new territory for her; she always had something to say when she was with Shawn. It was why they got along so well — their conversation, and more specifically, their banter, had always come naturally to them. What she wanted to say was, you better stay on your side of the bed, Mendes, or I’ll kick your ass, but her throat was so dry she could barely speak.
“You should sleep,” he said softly.
“You should sleep. I can sleep in the car tomorrow while you drive.”
“True,” he said. “But I’m going to be bored if you’re not awake to talk to me. So, correction: we should both sleep. Okay?”
“Fine,” she huffed. “Promise not to crush me?”
“I promise, princess. Good night.”
Her heart skipped a beat hearing Shawn call her that, even though he’d started using the name ages ago.
She closed her eyes, but her mind was far from tired. Every few minutes, she’d open her eyes just a fraction to see if Shawn was still awake. Not long after, she recognized the slow breathing that indicated he had fallen asleep. She took the time to memorize the way his face looked, free from worry and stress. Her hand reached out to cup his cheek. Tracing his jawline, she wondered if she’d ever gather up the courage to tell Shawn how she truly felt about him. Then, almost instinctively, she leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead.
A couple of hours passed before her racing heart slowed to a calm, steady rhythm. The nervousness she’d felt by being in such close proximity to Shawn slowly transformed into exhaustion. She was so tired that she barely noticed the way Shawn’s hand was rubbing circles against her back, helping her drift off to sleep.
Shawn most definitely was not asleep, but he knew that if he kept his breathing even enough, he could trick her into thinking he was. He almost gave it away when she’d kissed his forehead. He’d wanted to tell her then, to kiss her with all the emotion and passion he could muster, but if she wanted him to know about it, she would’ve done it when he was awake.
His hand moved to brush a strand of her hair out of her eyes, heart skipping a beat when she hummed contently in response. He wasn’t sure when he’d fallen in love with her. If he had to guess, it was probably the coin toss for the chocolate chip cookie. Because the truth was, the coin had landed on heads. Shawn should have gotten that cookie.
But he also knew that she was stubborn. Once they’d agreed on the coin toss, there was no way she’d take the cookie unless she’d won it fair and square, so he’d made sure that even if he won, she’d still get her cookie.
And when he did win, he had to make it look like he’d lost.
Chocolate chip was her favorite cookie flavor, after all.
In truth, Shawn started to love her way before that moment, but it was only then that he realized why he cared so much about making her happy. Because when she snatched the last cookie from the tin with a mischievous smile, wagging it teasingly in front of his face, he almost forgot to pretend like he was disappointed that he didn’t get the cookie. He almost forgot about the metallic taste of the coin still sitting on his tongue. None of that mattered if he got to see her happy like that.
(Then again, maybe he should’ve realized he loved her when everyone on the tour bus started to make fun of him for always wearing those crazy sleeping shorts she’d gifted him. Because no matter how much everyone taunted him for it, he brought those ridiculous shorts with him wherever he went.)
She shifted closer to him in her sleep, her arms encircling his middle. Shawn smiled at how fucking adorable she looked. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, every breath tickling his skin. Without even thinking about it, his arm moved to rest on her back once again, and it was only once he was holding her that he was finally able to fall asleep.
When she woke the next morning, she was incredibly warm. As she slowly regained consciousness, she became aware of how her legs were intertwined with Shawn’s, and how her cheek was pressed against his chest. She could also sense that Shawn was awake, judging on how he was lightly stroking her hair.
She opened her eyes. From behind Shawn, sun was shining in through the windows. Ocean waves crashed up against the sand of the beach. Shawn really did pick a nice hotel. He’d always been particular about where they stayed, though she couldn’t care less. No detail ever went unnoticed by Shawn; he had always been extremely meticulous about the places they went to. Gotta make sure you get the best, princess, he always said.
She pushed herself up on her elbows to glare at her Shawn, the realization suddenly striking her. “You sneaky little asshole,” she immediately said, though she was smiling.
“Good morning to you too,” he responded, pushing away the curls that had fallen in front of his eyes. His eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion, but he was amused.
“You did this on purpose.”
“Did what?” he questioned, feigning innocence.
“You purposely reserved one bed instead of two, didn’t you?” she guessed. “You’re so particular about reservations and vacations. There’s no way you’d mess up a reservation, and you’d never pick a hotel even remotely capable of messing up a reservation.”
A smile spread across Shawn’s lips. “I knew you were too smart for your own good.”
She shook her head in amazement, not even knowing what to say. If Shawn had chosen the bed on purpose, giving them no choice but to share a single bed, did this mean he had feelings for her too? Or did he just want to cuddle with someone? Did this mean anything at all?
“Stop overthinking,” he said softly, his hand lightly tracing the back of hers. “I was ready to sleep on the floor last night if it would make you uncomfortable, but judging from the fact that you’re not running away screaming from me right now, and that you’re smiling, I’ll take it as a good sign. Would you say so?”
“Yeah, I’d say so,” she replied, still astounded that it had taken her so long to figure it out.
“So I’m going to suggest something, okay?”
“Okay,” she said hesitantly, lying back down.
“We’re going to flip another coin.”
She groaned, leaning her head against his chest again. “Do we have to?”
He laughed. “Just this once.” His hands reached up to run through her tangled hair. “Heads, I take you out on a date. Tails, I also take you out on a date. What do you think?”
In that moment, all the feelings of nervousness from the night before evaporated. There was nothing that felt as natural as being by Shawn’s side, her hand intertwined with his, and her grin just as wide, if not wider than the one on Shawn’s face.
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