The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 68

I stood in my closet wearing only my bra and panties as I tried to figure out what to put on for my coffee with Shawn. It was early enough in the morning that the oppressive summer heat wasn't an issue, so I needed something for that weird in-between temperature zone.

I reached for a cute floral dress. "He's seen me in this already," I said to myself before realizing that in reality he had not. All he'd ever seen me in was what I wore on the cruise and my hospital gown.

I took it off the hanger and slipped it over my head before adding a cardigan and a pair of Converse. Then I went to the bathroom to check myself out. I'd gone with minimal makeup, and my hair was down since that was the best way to conceal my scar and semi-bald spot.

"It's not a date," I said to Inky who'd hopped up on the counter. "No need to overthink how I look. In fact, I'll probably never see him again after this."

He'd been very attentive with frequents texts and calls, but as far as I knew, he was seriously involved with the woman I'd heard over the phone. There was no indication that I was any more to him than a friendly acquaintance.

I grabbed my purse and car keys and drove to the coffee shop, which was ironically named Forget Me Not Cafe. It was my lucky day because I found free street parking within a block of the location. As I stepped through the door, I looked for Shawn and spotted him sitting at a table to my right with a baseball cap on his head and a mask on his face. He was engrossed in something on his phone and didn't see me.

"Hi," I said once I was right in front of him.

"Hey! Sorry! I was just looking at a bunch of fan photos from the second show. It's really good to see you again, Lucy. He stood up and nervously shifted from one foot to another. "This might be weird, but I really want to hug you."

"It's not weird at all," I told him before I stepped into his arms. "You saved my life, so I want to give you one."

I lowered my mask slightly and breathed in his scent which was very familiar, though the logical explanation for that was that I remembered it from the cruise. It felt amazing to be held by him again. No, not again, I reminded myself. This was the first time. Probably the last, too.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked when the hug ended. "I always get the Americano, but everything here is good. We could get some food, too."

I looked at the menu. "I'd love a vanilla latté and a blueberry scone, but shouldn't I treat you? I owe you so much."

"You don't owe me anything," he insisted as he got up and went to the counter. He returned a few minutes later with our drinks and then went back for the food.

"You got a scone, too?" I asked, shocked that he was eating a forbidden food.

"I love them. In general I avoid gluten, but sometimes I treat myself."

"You aren't vegan?"

He cocked his head. "Sporadically. Did you read somewhere that I was?"

"No...I just assumed all celebrities were," I said as off-handedly as I could. Then I made a mental note to never refer to anything I knew from the dream.

"Maybe in LA," he chuckled. "I eat healthier when I'm there."

"How'd the deposition go?"

He took a sip of his coffee. "Fine. It took longer than expected, but I know what I saw and it was easy to retell all of it."

"You were in your car when Liam confronted me?"

"We had several limos and my friends had split up into them. I was trying to figure out which one to get in when I saw him going over to you. Something about his body language felt off to me, so I made the decision to observe your interaction. I could tell he was saying things that upset you by the way you were backing away from him. Then he grabbed you and you slapped him. That's when I started to run, but he shoved you in the water before I could get to you. I feel terrible about that, Lucy. I should have gone over as soon as I sensed something wasn't right."