The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 29

I woke up nestled against Shawn, and I could tell he was awake since he wasn't softly snoring. "Good morning," I said as I lifted my head to look at him. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock. You?"

"Really well. Weren't you supposed to get up early for a workout?"

"I canceled. Are you hungry? I need coffee, but we can order some food, too," he said as he sat up and stretched.

"I'm starving."

He opened the room service menu and placed an order for two coffees, an oatmeal with fruit for him, and a stack of pancakes for me. "They said it'll be fifteen minutes."

I climbed on top of him and made good use of the time.

"You sure you don't want a bite?" I asked as I held out my fork. We were eating in bed since it was so cozy.

"I do, but I can't. You really drenched them in syrup, eh?"

"Is there another way to eat pancakes?"

He laughed. "I make really good buckwheat pancakes. I'll fix them for you one day."

"I'd like that, but it's buckwheat. Doesn't that mean there's gluten?"

"Nope. That's a common misconception. You'd be surprised by how many flour alternatives there are."

I chewed my last bite of food. "My dad has considered adding some gluten-free items, but so far he's stuck with regular flour. He's a very traditional man."

"I respect that. My parents are like that about some things, but very non-traditional about others."

"My mom was the free spirit in my family. She never cared what other people thought or what was considered conventional."

Shawn leaned over and kissed me. "Sounds a bit like you."

Something occurred to me. "You're not mad about last night are you?"

"Not at all. That game you played may have been the most intense foreplay I've ever experienced, but I hope you understand why I initially didn't want to have sex."

"I'm sorry you felt the need to prove to me that this isn't just about sex. It's not that I thought you were using me, but I did think it was a large part of your motivation for seeing me. It's hard for me to believe that this is something more than that."

"Why?"

I couldn't tell him that I knew he still loved Camila or that I was afraid they'd get back together. "You're Shawn Mendes, world famous pop star."

"That's irrelevant."

"Is it? You made me sign an NDA. I'd say that makes it very relevant."

He let out a sigh. "At that point I didn't know how things would progress with us. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize again, but you need to understand how that influenced my perception."

After breakfast we took a shower together which meant I got to use his wonderful shampoo. Once we were dressed, we texted our friends and made arrangements to meet up at the hotel casino.

"You both look hungover," I said to the girls when we saw each other in the lobby.

"Shawn's entourage knows how to party. We were at The Flamingo until three and lemme tell you, those free drinks will knock you on your ass," Fallon shared.

"Did you have a good night?" Briya asked with a giggle.

"Yep. Slept like a log." That's all I was willing to say.