Temporary Lovers || sm

SEVEN

Lots in common
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"Miss Vogel?" The lanky bald man asks as he pulls up to the curb. This isn't the same driver as yesterday.

I nod. "That's me."

He nods, giving me permission to get in the car so I climb into the backseat noticing it's empty. I guess Shawn is taking a separate car this time.

"I'm Eric, I'll be your personal chauffeur from now on." He tells me, looking at me through the rear view mirror.

"Oh, okay. Nice to meet you, Eric."

"You as well, Miss Vogel."

"Alyssa.. please." I smile warmly.

"Alyssa." He confirms with a nod and a gentle smile.

He takes off down the street and I watch out the window paying attention to where we're going. I have to be honest, being in a vehicle by myself with someone I don't know has me a little bit on edge so I want to sure I'm paying attention. At least until I get to know him better. He seems like a nice guy but I can't help but be paranoid.

I recognize the streets he's driving on so I come to a conclusion on what restaurant I'll be meeting Shawn at. Certainly not one I'd ever be able to afford, thankfully the management team has it covered. Seems a bit over the too to me for a second date. Hamburgers or tacos seem more appropriate but whatever.

When we arrive at the restaurant Eric let's me out at the door. "I'll be here to take you back home when you're finished."

"Okay, thank you, Eric." I say before slipping out of the suv, making sure I have my bag with me.

Slowly, I make my way up the rocky walkway and an older man leaving the restaurant holds the door open for me. I graciously thank him and walk inside. It even smells expensive. Eventually I make my way to the hostess stand and tell them I have a reservation under "Mendes" like Marissa instructed me to do in a text I received moments ago.

The blonde hostess leads me to a table near the back and I see Shawn dressed in an all black suit sitting at a table in the corner. "Here you go ma'am." She sets the menu on the table and I thank her before she walks away.

Shawn stands from the table and hugs me gently. "You look very nice." He casually looks over my outfit and I smile thankfully.

"Thank you, so do you." He does look extremely good, I must admit.

We both sit down and I cross my legs under the table. "This is a bit much, isn't it?" I say quietly as I glance quickly around the restaurant then back to him.

He nods in agreement. "That's what I was thinking. Especially if no one even knows about it, what's the point, you know? She didn't tell me if they tipped off the paparazzi or not but I'm assuming they didn't since they're not here."

"I don't know, it's strange. Anyways, are you excited for tonight? Do you know who's party it is?"

"Justin Timberlake's throwing it and I'm real excited. He throws some pretty good parties."

My older sister had a thing for Justin Timberlake for the longest time. "My sister would be very jealous, she was obsessed with Justin Timberlake." I laugh softly.

"He's a great guy. It's gonna be great, you'll love it." He grins. "I'm gonna be performing tonight, too."

"That's awesome! I didn't know that either. They sure forgot to mention a lot."

A tall brunette waiter approaches the table pulling our attention towards him. "Hi, sorry for the wait. I'm Nathan, I'll be your waiter tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?" He asks with a rehearsed smile.

Shawn looks at me, signaling for me to go first. "Um, I'll have the raspberry lemonade."

He nods then looks at Shawn. "I'll have the same."

"Okay." Nathan nods again. "I'll be back with those in a moment."

We both say thank you before he walks away leaving us alone once again. "Before the style team came over to get me ready I wasn't really feeling tonight but now I'm super psyched."

"How come?" He looks at me.

My shoulders shrug. "I never cared for parties when I was in school. Too many drunk, careless people but I imagine this party will be a little more dignified."

"Little bit." Shawn grinned cheekily and I smile.

"I just wanted to stay home watching a Harry Potter marathon all day in my pajamas and maybe order a pizza." I chuckle.

"You like Harry Potter?" He asks excitedly. He almost reminds me of a child on Christmas the way his face lights up.

"Love it. I've always loved it, I read all the books by fifth grade."

"Julia doesn't like Harry Potter, says it's not her thing so I don't have anyone to talk to about it. Some of my friends like it but they say I'm obsessed." We laugh.

"What House are you in?" I ask him. If he gives me the wrong answer I'm not sure I'll be able to continue this any further.

"Gryffindor. I've never actually taken the test but I'm pretty sure I'm in Gryffindor. It's pretty obvious, although a lot of my fans think different. They like to say I'm in Hufflepuff but I genuinely take that as an insult."

"Hey now, Cedric Diggory was in Hufflepuff and he was one of the best characters in the whole series. But I think you'd fit best into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw for sure."

"What are you in?"

"I'm a certified Gryffindor." I say jokingly boastful. "One of these days we'll have to take the time out for you to take the quiz because I'm curious now."

"We'll have plenty of spare time on tour. We could probably do it then. Who's your favorite and least favorite character?"

"Least favorite is without a doubt Dolores Umbridge. I despise that woman. My all favorite character is Professor Snape but McGonagall is a very close second." I answer without hesitation.

"Interesting choices. I'd have to say my least favorite is Lucius Malfoy and my favorite is either Dobby or the Weasley twins."

"Lucious is a despicable man." I shake my head in disgust and we both laugh. "I actually cried when both Dobby and Fred died. Like full on bawling, it was a truly terrible time."

"I almost cried when Dumbledore died. I hated Snape during that moment."

"So did I but it was hard because up until that moment I kind of had a love-hate relationship with him."

"Yeah, but thankfully the ending set it straight."

I'm glad we had this time to ourselves to get to know each other even better. Shawn is someone I can definitely see myself being very close friends with.

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