Boy Next Door

Nice to Meet You, Mr. Scott

"God, you're so good at that..." Shawn groaned as Camila stood up and wiped her mouth with her hand.

"Thanks," she giggled. "We make a pretty good team, don't we?" She leaned forward and kissed his bare chest before stepping back under the water, letting it cascade down her body and rinse away the remnants of their steamy rendezvous. He grabbed the lathered up loofah and began to run it over her shoulders and back as he kissed her neck from behind.

"We really do," he agreed. In the few days after they first had sex, they realized they didn't really want to do anything else...so they didn't. Most of their time was spent in bed or on the couch—a few times in the shower, which they were now getting out of.

Shawn began to get ready for his shift of playing at the café while Camila pulled on her everyday uniform of leggings and a t-shirt. Camila's phone starting ringing but when she grabbed it she didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hello, is this Camila Cabello?"

"It sure is..."

"Fantastic!" replied the unfamiliar male voice. "My name is Leo Scott. I work for Harper Collins publishing. A friend of mine recommended your poetry to me and I must say, you're quite the talented writer." Camila's eyes widened and met Shawn's, who was looking at her curiously.

"Wow, um...thank you! I'm so happy you enjoyed my work."

"I did! You're based in Miami, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct." She desperately tried to hide the excitement and anxiety that was overwhelming her.

"Perfect. I'm actually in the city for the next couple of days...is there any way you'd be able to meet for coffee today? I'd love to discuss a potential partnership." Shawn laughed as Camila was silently freaking out while still trying to remain composed on the phone.

"Yes, of course! I'd love to meet." Shawn cocked and eyebrow in confusion, still fully unaware of what was being said on the other line.

"Fantastic. How does 1:00 sound? I'll let you pick the location since you're the Miami native," he chuckled. Camila confirmed the time and gave him the name of the same coffee shop that Shawn played at. She knew she would need moral support for this meeting, even if her moral support was singing on a stage in the corner of the room. The call ended and Camila looked over at Shawn excitedly.

"That was a guy from Harper Collins...he wants to meet with me today to discuss, and I quote, 'a potential partnership'...can you believe that?" She squealed and ran up to her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Wait, like...you could be publishing through Harper Collins?" he asked in surprise. Camila nodded. "What? Baby! That's so fucking incredible, I'm so proud of you!" He pulled her in for a hug and squeezed her as close to him as he could given her bump.

"I'm meeting him during your set so you better be my good luck charm!"

"I'll try my best," he chuckled. "You're going to do so great. I know you are."

——

Camila took a deep breath before pulling open the coffee shop door and walking inside. Her eyes immediately met Shawn's as he sang a cover of "Feelings" by Lauv. He smiled softly and gave her a subtle wink before focusing his attention back onto the small crowd.

"You must be Camila?" She turned to the side and saw a tall, older man standing up at a nearby table. "I'm Leo Scott. It's so great to meet you in person."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Scott."

"Please," he said. "Call me Leo." They chatted briefly after their introductions, getting to know one another a little better.

"So, Funhouse Mirrors—tell me about it. I've read it and I must say, your honesty is inspiring. So, what inspired you?" Camila took a deep breath.

"Well, I was in a pretty horrible relationship for almost a decade. This whole collection revolved around me making the realization that the relationship that I thought I saw was a completely warped version of what it actually was, and the subsequent process of letting that relationship go."

"Wow," he sighed. "To be completely honest with you, I'm not a huge poetry guy—but my husband is. He actually went to school to study poetry. Needless to say, I trust his advice when it comes to good writing versus bad writing...and after he read your work he said that it would be an embarrassment to the company if we didn't work with you."

"I...wow. I don't even know what to say. Tell your husband I appreciate the good word." They both chuckled.

"I mean, being in the publishing industry it's pretty common for people I know to reach out to me telling me to sign on this certain person they know, and when Mr. Azure asked me to take a look at your work—"

"Mr. Azure?" Camila questioned with a shaky voice. "As in...Zachary Azure? He asked you to look at my work?"

"No," Leo said plainly. "Robert Azure. He and I went to school together. He called me and told me that he knew a very talented young poet and that I had to look at your work, and honestly, I'm glad he did! Harper Collins would be happy to have you as one of our writers. So what do you say?" Camila's mouth hung slightly agape as she tried to process all of this information.

"Yes, of course. I would love to work with you."

"Fantastic!" Leo said excitedly. "I'll have to work out the details of everything once I get back into the office, but I'm sure this will be a perfect partnership. I've got to get going, but you'll be hearing much more from me soon. It was wonderful to finally meet you!" They shook hands once more as he began to pack up his things. "By the way—you didn't hear it from me, but guitar boy has been staring over here practically since the moment you walked in. I think he might be into you."

"Well I'd hope so," Camila laughed. "That's actually my boyfriend."

"Damn, lucky you. I'll look forward to reading the poetry about him!" They both chuckled and said their goodbyes. Camila let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding the second he stepped out of the café. She walked up to the counter and ordered and iced tea, sitting down at one of the tables near where Shawn was performing as she waited for him to finish. He strummed the last chord of the song he had been singing and set his guitar down.

"I'm going to take a quick break. I'll be back up in a few." He stepped off of the small stage and hurried over to the table where his girlfriend was at. "So? How did it go?"

"Perfectly," Camila beamed. "He's going to start drafting up the publishing deal when he gets back into the office."

"Oh my god—are you fucking kidding me?" Shawn grabbed Camila's face and gave her a celebratory kiss. "Baby, that's so incredible! I'm so proud of you!" Camila was smiling from ear to ear as tears of happiness threatened to spill from her eyes. "Who was the friend that recommended you to him? Did he tell you?"

"Yeah, he did..." Camila sighed. "It was Zach's dad."

A/N: 👀

P.S. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY. This is no longer America's day. This is Shawmila day and ONLY Shawmila day until America gets their shit together.