Fire: Chapter Fifteen

CONFESSIONS OF A PYTHON, PART II

"Well um...," Michael began, hesitantly. He could feel the tension crackling like static between them. The very air seemed to have become charged - there was no sound anywhere - it was absolutely, deadly silent. Shannon just looked at him - her elfin face the picture of innocent acceptance. How could he do this to her? He sighed. Here goes nothing. "We were all getting high one night - not the hard stuff, just pot - and Graham was drinking his usual mother's ruin, you know - mega G&T's - Eric got up and put Pink Floyd on the record player - so we were all just kind of lying around half-bombed, listening to Dark Side of the Moon, anyway it was the middle of the night - Graham and David went bed, then I think John and Connie left, and Terry was having it off with some Senorita he met at the pool - well all I know is when I woke up out of my smoked-up fog, there was only Eric and me left in the villa - anyway we lit up another joint, and opened another bottle of Sangria - "

Shannon stared at Michael as he talked, loving the way his eyelashes brushed his cheeks as he blinked, and the long waves of his hair
framed his face, watching the graceful lines of his lips as he spoke, softly and evenly, the merest trace of temerity in his gentle English voice. What was so terrible about what he was telling her, she wondered. She had smoked pot in school - so what? Everybody had. None of this was any surprise. She smiled, but he was studiously avoiding eye contact.

"So um...well, one thing led to another and er...to tell you the truth to this day I'm not sure whether it was Eric who seduced me or the other way
round..."

The last words came out all in a tumble. Michael put his head in his hands. "And now I guess you're going to ask me to leave, and I don't blame you," he mumbled.

Shannon gaped at him. "You slept with Eric?!" she exclaimed. Michael nodded, his face still buried in his hands. "You and Eric? Had SEX?!" Her voice was getting squeaky. She was attempting to squash the storm of giggles that threatened to erupt from the pit of her stomach. Michael nodded glumly. What had he done? Why did he always feel the need to be so damned honest? He was never going to...

"Michael!" Through the fog in his brain, Michael thought he could hear Shannon's voice calling his name. "MICHAEL fucking PALIN!!" she yelled.

Finally he looked up at her through his fingers. "Um...yes?" he said in a tiny voice.

"Would you look at me?" Shannon had her hands on her hips and was glaring at him. Michael cringed. "You know what," she said. "If I was looking for someone to elevate to sainthood, I wouldn't have come back to England. I would have gone to some monastery in Tibet!" Michael stared at her, and tried to speak but no sound came out. "Michael Palin," she said firmly with just a trace of a smirk, "If you can't get over the fact that you've slept with a member of your own sex, then how on earth do you expect me to be able to tell you that I've done exactly the same thing?"

Michael's mouth fell open. He stared at Shannon, who was smirking wildly at him, looking for all the world like Wally Wiggins, the host of Blackmail. "You...you've slept with a..." Michael was momentarily confused, then figured out what he was trying to say. "a...a woman?"

Shannon grinned hugely. "Yes, I have and I'm not ashamed of it either," she said. "It's not a crime to be bi, Michael. And it's no shame to experiment with your sexuality either. You're a liberal thinker, you should know that! This is the 20th century you know!" Michael opened his mouth, then shut it again. Shannon smiled genuinely this time. "Michael, I'm telling you it's okay. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm glad you told me. I'm honoured that you would trust me with this. And I think that any friendship-loveship that's not built on trust and honesty, isn't worth the paper it's printed on."

Friendship-loveship. He liked that. Michael smiled nervously. "So...this means you're not leaving?"

Shannon shook her head and took his hand. "I'm not leaving, Michael. I love you, and that means all of you, including your past, your mistakes, or things you perceive to be mistakes - everything about you - good, bad and crazy."

"Actually, I'm relieved," Shannon continued. "I was thinking for a moment there that you might be perfect, and how would that make me look?!" She laughed.

Michael managed a timid giggle. "You really slept with a woman?" He asked.

Shannon smirked. "Yes, geez! Why so surprised? She was my best friend in school and actually come to think of it, her birthday is the same as
yours, May 5 - and that's not the only non-square thing I've done, so don't think you're the only naughty person around here, young man!" She squeezed his hand. "My God, you look like you swallowed a bag of lemons! Come here and kiss me, you dope!" Not needing to be asked twice, Michael shuffled up next to Shannon and kissed her with a passion born of intense relief.

"So, um...." Shannon murmured a few minutes later, her head resting on Michael's shoulder. "You slept with Eric, huh?"

She could feel Michael smirking. "Yeah, I did," he said, awaiting the retort that he knew would come.

"What's it like?"