Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter 31

The summer zooms by all too quickly. At Shawn's insistence, we take several other vacations after the trip to Quebec. We go to Los Angeles for a long weekend, where he shows me all the places he loves when he is there recording. I get to meet some of the people he worked with on his album. We even manage to do traditional touristy things like go to the Santa Monica Pier.

We also go back to New York, staying in Nana's house again. All the renovations are done, and my parents have been getting it ready to rent. The nicer furniture that Nana owned has been left to showcase the place and so that it can be rented furnished, if desired. All of her personal things have been sorted through and cleared out. It breaks my heart a little to see her house without anything sentimental left.

Our time in New York is spent exploring Brooklyn. We don't venture into Manhattan, except for a meeting Shawn takes with his manager related to the tour. We take long walks each day admiring the houses in the neighborhood. Shawn wears sunglasses and a ball cap and manages to remain anonymous most of the time. We try a dozen different restaurants, each unique. In the evenings we just sit in the townhouse together, reading, watching movies, or just talking. Shawn brought an acoustic guitar, and he finds time each day to play and sing for me.

After visiting New York, we spend a fairly quiet weekend celebrating Shawn's birthday.

"Happy birthday!" I sing, carrying a big plate of challah French toast into his bedroom. "How does 22 feel?"

"Thanks, baby. You know how it feels since you've been 22 forever."

"Are you calling me old?"

He laughs and takes a drink from the mug of coffee I've brought him. "I love that you are older than me."

"I'm not that much older," I say. "And for now we're the same age."

We spend the day at his parents' house by their pool. He opens presents (I bought him a surfboard) and we have cake and ice cream after Manny makes Shawn his favorite dinner.

Later, we have a couple people over to Shawn's condo. It's pretty low key. So low key that his friends tease him about settling down and becoming an old man.

After everyone has gone home, we're sitting on the couch.

"How come you didn't want a big party?" I ask. "I've seen plenty of pics from your previous birthday celebrations. You looked like you were having fun."

"I think that's behind me," he says as his kisses my neck.

"Shawn, don't grow up too fast. You are still young, you should be acting 22 and having fun."

"Is my wise older girlfriend giving me advice?" he teases.

"I just want you to enjoy yourself."

Shawn pulls back a little so that he's looking directly at me. "I've always felt older than my actual age. I think I had to grow up quickly when I entered the music industry so young."

"I know, but-"

He gently puts a finger up to my lips to quiet me. "Hold on, honey. Let me finish. Any changes that have happened to me in the last year are positive. A lot of them are because of you. You've made me a better person. I was never the cliché wild rock star, but I was a bit reckless. Being with you showed me how superficial all that was. You've grounded me and I love it. I'm the happiest I have ever been."

I reach up and touch his face and he leans in and kisses me. I realize at that moment how much I want to spend the rest of my life with this man.

Our last trip is to a quiet beach in North Carolina. Shawn has rented a big house on a strip of shore that is relatively uninhabited. We're able to spend the day on the beach without anyone bothering him. I spend my time slathered in sunscreen sitting in a beach chair watching him try to surf. It's beyond amusing.

"That's a skimpy bikini," Shawn says, peering over his Ray-bans late one afternoon after giving up on surf boarding for the day.

"I bought it yesterday," I say. "I really like the color."

"I like the color, too, but you are showing a lot of cheek."

I was going to sit in the lounge chair next to him, but instead I throw down a towel and lay in my stomach on the warm sand. I figure I'll show off my rear for him a bit more.

"There's no one here but you to see," I say.

"That's good," he says. "I don't want anyone else seeing what's mine."

I laugh. "I thought guys loved to show off their girlfriends."

"Maybe to a certain extent, but there are limits."

I get up and move into the lounge seat next to him. "So you don't want me posing nude for Playboy?"

"No. And you wouldn't anyway."

Which is true.

A few minutes later he takes off his sunglasses and turns to face me. "I think you should move in with me."

To say this surprises me is an understatement.

"I practically live with you already," I respond.

"Exactly, but your clothes are all at your place. You still go there each morning to shower and get ready. Why? You should just move all that stuff into my condo."

"But then my condo would just be sitting empty. That's kind of a waste," I say.

"Your dad could sell it. I'm serious Jess; I think we should take this step."

I sit back and stare out at the ocean for a minute. This is a lot to process.

"Forget I said anything," he says after a while.

"Shawn, you took me by surprise by asking me to move in," I try to explain.

"You don't want to live together, do you?" he asks.

"It's not that," I say. "You are going to be gone for almost seven months. I know you'll be back for a couple breaks, but for a lot of that time you'll be gone. I could move in, but I'd be there alone."

"I thought you loved my place."

"I do. But living in it without you there will make me miss you more."

"This is why you should be coming on tour with me," he says. He then gets up and walks down to the water and dives in.

I go inside and shower. When I get out, he's still by the ocean. I start making dinner and it's almost done by the time he comes in.

"Do I have time to shower?" he asks.

"Of course. The marinara sauce can simmer as long as we need it to."

I pour myself a glass of red wine and sit on the couch looking through my phone. Shawn reappears with wet hair wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He gets himself a beer from the fridge and sits across from me.

"It's fine if you don't want to move in together yet," he says, "but will you consider it when I am done with the tour?"

"I think that sounds like a good plan," I say as I get up to finish putting dinner together.

"Jess baby, I love you so much. You are my life, which is why I want you to share every single day with you."

I take a detour from my path to the kitchen and climb onto his lap.

"Shawn, I love you, too. You make me so unbelievably happy. This summer has been pure bliss." I give him a long kiss. "When you come home from the tour, I'll be waiting, and we can start a life together."