The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 23

I looked at Shawn's last text again.

I'll call you around 6 Toronto time

It was now almost seven-thirty and I hadn't heard from him, which felt like the coffee date all over again. I knew he was probably busy with something music related, but it was difficult to prevent myself from imagining other scenarios that involved Camila. I decided to write in my journal to distract myself.

Things that could be delaying Shawn (other than Camila):
1. Flat tire
2. Napping
3. Recording a song and can't stop in the middle of the process
4. He forgot
5. He accidentally deleted me in his contacts
6. He's calling to tell me we're done and he keeps procrastinating
7. Dropped his phone in the urinal at Nobu
8. He had a reaction to whatever he ate last night and is at the ER
9. Hiking and came across

The buzzing of an incoming call prevented me from finishing the ninth item.

"Hello," I said.

"I'm sorry I am so late." He was panting into the phone.

"Was a mountain lion chasing you?"

"What? No. Why would you ask that?"

"You're out of breath," I explained, as if that was a logical answer.

"I don't get it."

"I was just making a list of all the things that might have kept you from calling, and the last item involved a big cat attack while you were hiking."

"That's grim. What else was on the list?"

I read them to him, though I left off item number six because it made me look really insecure. "Were any of them correct?"

"I'm going to Nobu after we talk, and I'm a little freaked out that you guessed that restaurant specifically, but the thing that was closest was the one about recording a song. Only I wasn't recording it, I was doing some remixing and I lost track of time. Sometimes I get in this zone and I forget everything else. It's honestly the only time I'm not checking my phone constantly. Oh, and I was out of breath because I ran up two flights of stairs to get to my room to call you. No mountain lions were on my heels."

"I picked Nobu because it's the only restaurant I know in Los Angeles- I promise I'm not psychic. I love that you get lost in your music, so I forgive the delay," I told him.

"You're going to start thinking I'm unreliable. I swear I'm not."

"And you're going to think I'm insane since I do things like make lists like the one I just shared."

He chuckled. "Not insane. You're...quirky. That's the right word."

"In an adorable Zooey Deschanel way? Or do you think I'm a total weirdo?" I loved the show New Girl so I really hoped it was the first option.

"Adorable."

I felt my cheeks flush. "Thanks."

"How was the rest of your day?" he asked.

"Boring. I worked and then I talked to my dad for a bit. Tomorrow is my mom's birthday so we made plans to go visit her grave together."

"I'm sorry. That has to be really rough," he said sympathetically.

"It is, but we try to turn it into a positive thing each year. He brings cupcakes with purple frosting, since that was her favorite color, and we sit on a blanket and recall some of our fondest memories. We'll both cry, but sometimes it's good to get those tears out."