Temporary Lovers || sm

TWO

Meet Up
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ME

Hey, it's Alyssa Vogel from
yesterday. I just wanted to
let you know that I'll be
free to meet up anytime today.

SHAWN MENDES

Okay. How about Toast at 12:30?

ME

Sure, sounds good. See you then.
Read 10:48

I sigh loudly and run my fingers through my hair. I'm really nervous to meet with Shawn today. I've already pretty much come to my own conclusion so I'm anxious to see what he thinks about the whole thing. When I left yesterday he seemed pretty against the whole idea but then again so did I. It would be a great opportunity for both of us but just like everything else, it has it's pros and cons. We would both be getting great publicity, both of us would be getting an extra $20,000 a month but on the other hand there's the fact that we're both seeing someone else. On my part there would be a lot of things I'm not used to. Constantly being followed by the media and paparazzi but that would happen if I were to become a legitimate model someday. He's also got an extraordinarily large fanbase that are all very opinionated so that would take some getting used to.

I decide to try and ease my mind by taking a shower before going to meet with Shawn. I take my time allowing the warm water to relax my tensed muscles. After lathering my long hair with shampoo and conditioner, washing my body and shaving, I step out of the shower and dress myself in a navy green sweater, dark blue skinny jeans and black booties. After doing my hair and makeup it's a quarter till 12 and I decide to start heading that way because it takes me a little while to get to that part of LA. I live on the other side of Burbank which is why I want to save up enough money to get a place in Los Angeles.

I listen to music as I drive to Toast, quietly humming along to keep myself calm. After fighting through the typical LA traffic I make it there just before 12:30. I walk into the cozy restaurant and look around, not yet seeing Shawn so I go ahead and sit at a table, ordering a raspberry tea while I wait.

I spot a familiar head of dark wavy hair and I wave him over. He sits down and gives me a polite smile. "How are you?" he asks.

"I'm well, and yourself?"

"I'm good. Sorry for the wait, I got stuck in traffic."

"No worries." I smile. "We've all been there."

The waitress then comes back and asks him what he wants to drink and he orders a regular lemonade. "I'm not even sure where to start." He chuckles awkwardly. "I had no idea this was even a topic of discussion amongst my managers so it was just as much a shock to me as it was to you, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I was definitely expecting much different." I take a sip of my drink. "I'm not sure where we should even start."

The waitress comes back with his lemonade and asks if we'd like to order anything else. Being lunch time we both order a chicken club.

"Well," he begins, leaning back in his seat and looking across the table at me as if he's trying to figure out what I'm thinking. "have you decided what you want to do about it?"

I shrug slightly. "I've given it a lot of though but I'm not set on one thing. I kind of wanted to see how you felt about it before coming to a final decision." I explain and he nods understandingly.

"Same here. On one hand I think it would be a great thing but then again it could could potentially cause a lot of problems."

"I know, they put us in a weird position."

"Have you talked to your boyfriend, yet?"

I shake my head. "No, I thought it'd be best if we came to a final decision before I mentioned it to him."

"That's what I was thinking too. To be honest I'm okay with trying it out but the bad thing is is that if it doesn't work out I don't want you to have to pay the entire sum of your contract."

"That hadn't even crossed my mind, to be honest. I was thinking more along the lines of bad publicity."

"I'm not worried about that." he chuckles softly. "If we agreed to do it do you think you'd be able to last the entire year?" He looks to be genuinely concerned about my thoughts on the whole thing. It's heartwarming.

"Absolutely." I nod. "I wouldn't want to jeopardize your career in any way so if for any reason something happened I'd stay around until the contract ended."

"You seem easy enough to get along with, I think if we were to go along with it we'd be fine." He smiles kindly.

The waitress comes back around with our food and we thank her before she walks away. "That's what I was thinking. So, do you think we ought to do it?" I look over his face and watch as he thinks.

His bottom lip is pulled between his teeth and his eyebrows are knitted together in thought. "I think we should do it."

All I feel is relief when he says that. I was worried he'd be against it because I think it could be very beneficial to our futures. Now all I have to worry about is telling Preston and hope he won't be too upset about it. "I guess now all we have to do is let Denise and Marissa know so we can sign the papers?" I say as more of a question. He nods in confirmation.

"I'm sure they'll have us come back by tomorrow so we can get it done as soon as possible."

"Alright." I breathe deeply and we begin eating.

"How did they find you, anyways?" He asks curiously and looks at me.

"I went to a modeling try out thing and I guess Denise contacted Marissa and here we are."

"Ah, I see. Are you from here?"

I shake my head. "Well, California yes but Los Angeles, no. I'm originally from San Diego. How about you? You don't sound like you're from around here." I don't pay much attention to celebrities, I just enjoy their work and try to stay out of their business.

"Yeah, no I'm from Canada. Have you always wanted to be a model?"

I nod my head. "Ever since I was little. I've always kind of had a thing for being the center of attention." I laugh softly. "I love photography and I like being able to convey certain moods and feelings through a simple picture and showcasing the clothes or products the designers worked so hard on. Every aspect of it just fascinates me."

He seems to be genuinely interested in what I have to say. His eyes staying on mine as I speak telling me he's listening to every word. He smiles. "That's how I feel about music."

"Have you always wanted to sing and make music?" I ask him.

"No." He says. "I used to want to be an actor but I learned it's a lot harder than it looks." A soft laugh falls past his lips.

"Well I guess this will be great practice then, huh?"

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