The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 37

"Do you know what I want right now?" Shawn whispered in my ear as we spooned in my bed.

"If you say sex, I need some time to recover...maybe even an ice pack." We'd already done it three times and I was a bit raw.

His low laughter reverberated through my body. "I want a cupcake."

I turned over to face him. "Don't you still have the pumpkin one?"

"No. I ate it in the car when I drove over here. I needed something to calm my nerves."

"You've got six others."

"Yeah, but they are for my parents and I feel bad about taking one from them," he explained.

"Are you suggesting that we get out of bed, get dressed, and go to my dad's bakery for more?"

"Is it open this late?" he asked excitedly.

"No, but I have a key. We could pick up take-out while we're out, because I've got nothing to eat here."

He kissed me on the nose. "Instead of picking up dinner, let's go out. What are you in the mood for?"

"Out in public?"

"We had coffee earlier. What's the big deal?"

"We weren't together when we had coffee. Now we are. It is a pretty big deal!"

We hadn't labeled our relationship, but we agreed to be exclusive. When he said he wasn't going to fight having real feelings for me, I'd started to cry. He pulled me into his arms to comfort me, which led to kissing and eventually sex. It had been an emotional and revealing conversation, so the physical release was intense and cathartic. As we cuddled afterwards, he told me that he wanted a monogamous relationship. Neither of us had been with anyone else since we'd started our thing, but I appreciated the security that this brought.

Shawn rolled on top of me. "Are you afraid to be seen with me?" he asked before attacking my neck with kisses.

"No, I'm afraid of the shit you might catch for it."

"I don't care what anyone thinks. I want to sit across from you at a swanky place holding your hand as I gaze into those beautiful hazel eyes." He climbed off me and began gathering his clothes off the floor.

I got out of bed, too. "I am definitely not in the mood for anything fancy. Are you back to eating vegan and gluten-free or can we go anywhere?"

"If this is my big cheat day, I might as well go all out. Do you have someplace in mind?"

"Have you been to Golden Diner? They have the best breakfast food and that sounds good to me right now." I looked under the bed for my panties. Our clothes started flying off soon after we'd kissed.

"I haven't, but I've heard of it. It's a date," he said with a grin.

Once we were dressed, I fed Inky her dinner and we took the elevator down to the entrance. "My car or yours?" I asked.

"Since you know where it is, you can drive."

The dinner rush was long over, so we had no trouble getting a booth in the tiny hole-in-the-wall diner. Our waitress brought us menus and asked what we wanted to drink. "I'll have a Diet Coke, please," I told her.

Shawn stuck his tongue out in disgust but didn't say anything about my beverage choice. "Just water, thanks," he requested.

When the waitress returned with our drinks, she asked if we were ready to order.

"I'll have the eggs cosmopolitan and home fries," I told her. This was essentially an eggs benedict with peameal bacon, spinach and feta.

Shawn looked at the description on the menu. "That sounds good. I'll have the same, but I'd like a side of pancakes with it, please."

While we waited for our food, he held my hand like he'd promised, though the atmosphere was several steps below swanky.

"This has been quite a day," I reflected after slurping some of my soda through the paper straw. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"If that was the case, why were you going to send the letter?"

"I wanted to apologize for my share of our problems. Maybe I also hoped it would make you reconsider, but I was convinced we were over."

He kissed my knuckles. "I should have reached out to you these last few weeks just to tell you I missed you and to admit I'd made mistakes. My ego sometimes gets in the way of owning up to things."

"It worked out in the end. Tell me about the final tour stops."

Shawn was happy to share how the last seven shows went as he showed me photos on his phone. Once we had our food, we talked about his upcoming schedule. He was going to be in Toronto for the next few weeks which made me very happy, and then obviously he'd be back for the holidays. In between, he'd be traveling quite a bit.

After our meal, we went by the bakery for two more cupcakes before going back to my place where we crawled into bed to watch a movie together. We were halfway through Ocean's Eleven when Shawn's stomach started gurgling.

"I'm gonna apologize in advance if I end up gassy," he said after one particularly loud tummy rumble.

"Maybe you shouldn't have eaten so much stuff that your body isn't used to."

He belched. "I'll be fine. I've had cheat days before."

An hour later, when he was in my bathroom making noises I'd never heard in my life, I was certain he regretted cheating. I heard the shower run and ten minutes later Shawn emerged with one of my pink towels around his waist. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes.

"Jesus Christ, Lucy. I feel like I have food poisoning."

"I think it's just your body's way of rejecting all the gluten and animal products you consumed. Next time, take it slowly. Can I get you some herbal tea or maybe a glass of water?"

"Water, please," he said as he dropped the towel and crawled under my covers.

We were able to finish the movie without any more interruptions, which I assumed was because he was empty at that point. Sex was completely off the table, but he stayed over and snuggled with me all night. When we woke up the next morning, he was much better.

"I wish I could make you breakfast, but once again I don't have anything you can eat," I told him as I brewed some coffee.

"Do you have eggs? I'll scramble us some."

"You're still eating foods off the forbidden list?"

"I don't think it was the eggs that did me in last night. All that gluten, after not having any for months, was probably the culprit."

I got the eggs out and watched as he made us each a plate. They were excellent, and I gobbled mine up.

"I need to start work soon. Did you still want to meet up later after we are done with our parents?"

A smile lit up his face. "I totally forgot what day it is. Happy Halloween! And yeah, we can do that, but I wish you could come to Pickering to meet my mom and dad."

"I can't ditch my dad tonight."

"What if we did both together?" he suggested. "We'll go to your house first and then we can go to Pickering. My parents won't care if we get there late."

"This means a lot to you, huh?"

"I've told them about us, and I know they're dying to meet you. I feel shitty about not introducing you on my birthday or at the Toronto show, but things were different then."

"It's fine. I understand that we weren't to that stage," I told him.

"When are you done with work?"

"If I start in the next five minutes and work through lunch, I can clock out at four."

He gave me a kiss on the forehead. "I'll be back then."