Lost in Japan

Why

Andrew continued:

"But seeing him gracefully juggling his love life and career has been a blessing. You know, he is not only my client. He's like a little brother to me. And that's not because Manny thinks I'm his long-lost son!"

That was typical Andrew's humor and they both chuckled. It was such a relief for Camila as it seemed his declaration was about to go the right direction.

He added:

"Getting into a relationship in the middle of a world tour was not the simplest choice. But just like with his work, he really put in the effort and was not afraid to jump in. Long story short, we may not have been able to talk too much, but I'm really happy for you both."

And for maybe the fourth time during this trip, Camila felt silly again. She really had only allies among Shawn's entourage. And she was happy knowing they had her back, unanimously. She felt emotional but tried to hold it together.

"Thank you Andrew! I really appreciate. It was already the case when we were just friends, you know Shawn's happiness is my happiness."

"Oh, I know Mila, if he wins, it's like you win!"

Well, that sounded familiar. Did he just quote her? That was quite revealing. In fact, he may have been really attentive to their past interactions and has been a real supporter of the two, and as he suggested, a real brother and listening ear for Shawn all this time.

He hugged her. It reminded Camila that, as far as Andrew was the man behind Shawn's rise to stardom, he genuinely mostly cared for his personal life before his career.

"It's showtime now!", shouted Andrew while releasing Camila and converging towards Shawn and the crew.

Lua arrived behind her and energetically grabbed her hand.

"Come on! Come on! It's about to start and you don't want to miss Lost in Japan in Japan."

Camila laughed at loud at the very meta joke of her Brazilian favorite girl.

"I'm so here for this! I've actually travelled to Japan specifically with this objective in mind."

She winked at Lua, pulling her hand, taking the lead as they started running joyfully and loudly towards their seats like two little girls.

That caught Shawn's attention from afar, who flashed a little tender smile, combined with his signature nose scrunch, in the middle of his usual pre-show motivational circle ritual with the crew.

Camila had attended his shows countless times, from this era and the previous ones. But she could never get tired of it. She was all hyped up each time with the same teenage fangirl excitement, as if it was the first show she had ever attended! They often joked together that she could officially name her CEO of the Mendes Army. He was so touched by her big enthusiastic gestures while he was performing. That was a way for her to be noticed and stand out in the crowd, to show support to her lover. He couldn't wait to return the favor when her album would come out and be her number one supporter. They both agreed on the fact that whoever you're with should be your biggest fan after all.

She was so proud of him during the concert; him occupying the scene while the guitars were rotating and each member of the crew was frantically bustling with their respective mission. Shawn's clothes were going the "de-layering" way as recommended by Tiff, his stylist: starting with a lightweight jean jacket and ending in a cut-off shirt. The way he navigated on stage always moved her. He was tall, lean yet strong and gracious. He was a true icon. From Lost in Japan, to There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back, to Treat You Better, he put in the same energy and passion connecting with his public, sometimes trying to catch her eyes as a way to feel his lady's support and love more specifically. She was there from the very beginning and has had the privilege of being the special witness of his blossoming into a global megastar. She remembered when back in 2015, they made a pact to try their best and go down history together. She remembered when Stitches went number one she was so happy just as if she was the one getting it, and she admitted she'd like to have that one day too. She remembered when three years later, it was her turn and Havana hit the top spot.

In a way, they had to be apart to fully achieve their potential, by their own, and become the successful individuals they were meant to be...to finally be able to reunite again and form this iconic power couple. It's not that they didn't love each other back then, far from it. But it was a matter of timing. And Señorita was the best time for both of them to seal their union.

Then came Why. Its live performance always hit her the hardest. Was it even real? The love of her life serenading her, putting all his heart and soul in it, in front of 17 000 people. It was the dream of all the girls around the world, and that precious, precious dream belonged to her.

"I wish that I could tell you that you're all that I waaaaaaaaaaant".

At this part of the song, Camila forgot about everything else. She forgot about Lua next to her, the sound engineers right in front of her, the thousands of people in the public. It was her and Shawn's song, and seeing Shawn screaming his love for her made her feel so connected to him that she felt thousands of butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't help but flash a sweet smile looking at him all enamored. And she couldn't wait to be reunited with him again, to hug him tight, to reciprocate and show him how much she loves him, and to flood him with thousands of kisses.

At the end of the concert, she went straight outside led by Jake, the bodyguard, and joined Shawn directly into the car. The second they reunited in the backseat, they shared a passionate electric kiss, both still hyped up from this magic night and having insanely the hots for each other, wanting each other. The SUV cruising the streets of Tokyo surrounded by the city lights, they never felt more alive. It was as if Shawn was injecting all the passion and excitement of the show into Camila's body. They barely could get a hold of themselves, but both were chuckling when reminded of the presence of their driver.

So they patiently waited to get into their hotel room to let their mutual passion explode.

They took it to the bathroom as an attempt to cool off a little. Camila went out a little earlier. As soon as Shawn got out, he felt a sudden huge adrenaline drop. He felt drained and left with no energy at all. He didn't run the marathon, but it sure felt like it in his body. He just needed to rest on the safest spot for him at the moment. Mila was already laying on the bed, wearing just one of his blue tee-shirt, checking her phone. Without saying a word, he went straight to rest his head on her thighs. Looking at him tenderly, she dropped her phone and started slowly, lovingly caressing his curls. It was just what he needed to recover from all the excitation and adrenaline from the show. Two hours where his empath self would absorb all type of energies sent his way by thousands of people, where he would try to redirect them with the best possible enthusiasm, where he would remind himself he is the luckiest guy on earth and has to live up to it, where his people pleaser self would give the best of him, all of him, and make sure everyone enjoy the show, even by asking it every time he went down to face his public closer. Two hours of playing the guitar, playing the piano, improvising dance steps, running all other the stage, but also from the main stage to B stage, hugging fans, jumping, screaming, posing for Josiah, providing content for Connor, hyping up his musicians, shouting out his crew...

It often took hours for him to cool off after this, preventing him from falling asleep at a decent hour so many nights. The life of a young artist with such pressure on his shoulders was made of high highs and low lows and it was often hard to navigate comfortably in such a wide range of emotions. That is part of the reason why he set himself a strict discipline and schedule when it came to his daily routine: wake up at 8am, workout session at 10, coffee run at 11.30, guitar practice, vocal coaching or rehearsals on the afternoon. And of course, all these activities were fueled by liters and liters of water to make sure he eliminates toxins and stay hydrated.

Yes, it was usually hard to fall asleep those nights. And it was usually hard to breath when he heard her sing, in awe of everything she was: the muse in the back of his mind, his main source of inspiration, a very unique woman he would put on the highest pedestal, the tireless purveyor of constant demonstrations of affection and the love of his life.

But that night, with the help of her petite hands and her crystalline voice, as she started singing a typical Cuban lullaby, he closed his eyes and let himself fall smoothly in the arms of Morpheus.