The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 9

"Delivery for Lucy Atwood," the older gentleman said when I opened the door after hastily putting a mask on.

"That's me."

"Here you go. Have a nice night," he told me as he handed me the huge bouquet.

I took them inside and put the vase on the kitchen counter. They were so big that it took a second to locate the card which was hidden between some beautiful pink peonies.

Lucy-
I really fucked up. Please forgive me.
-Shawn

I was slammed with guilt over not replying to him earlier, which admittedly was sort of petty. I had no idea where things were going, but until I did, I didn't need to burn bridges. I went back to the couch and picked my phone up to text him.

Thank you for the flowers.

It's fine.

I'm sorry I didn't get back to you.

He immediately called me.

"Hi. Whenever someone says 'it's fine,' it usually isn't fine so I wanted to make sure it really is," he said before I even had a chance to say hello.

"It is. I was bummed that you skipped out on our coffee date, but if you were sick, I understand."

"Truth is, I was hungover. After I left you last night I did more tequila shots and ended up being walked to my suite by my dad, who was not happy. He stayed with me to make sure I didn't puke in bed and apparently he turned off the alarm when it went off. Not that I was in any state to see you."

"Are you feeling okay now?" I asked.

"Somewhat. I think I'll avoid tequila for a few months."

We were both silent for a bit, but then I spoke. "Thanks again for the flowers and everything else."

"Do you like me?" he asked bluntly, catching me completely off guard.

The last time I'd been asked that was when I was thirteen. A boy in my math class slipped me a note with those exact words on it. I panicked and threw it out after class instead of giving him an answer, which made things awkward when we were lab partners the next year.

"Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't have gone to your party."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," he said with a tiny hint of frustration.

After organizing my thoughts, I gave him an honest answer. "I don't know you. We've spent short periods of time together twice, and both instances were at parties where we didn't have the chance to connect beyond a pretty superficial level."

"I guess that's true, but I tried to get to know you better."

"You tried to hook up with me, which isn't exactly the same thing," I corrected him.

He chuckled into the phone which gave me the shivers for some reason. "I think we would have learned a lot about each other if you'd said yes."

I pushed some very dirty thoughts from my mind. "Back to your question...I like what I know at this point. You're perceptive and intuitive, which I respect. You have an amazing group of friends who love you, and that sort of thing speaks well for a person. Family is important to you- a definite plus. You're also insanely generous."