The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 10

"Have you heard from your boyfriend?" Fallon asked me after we sat down for Sunday brunch.

"Don't call him that."

"You said I can't say his name in public!" she retorted.

I shot her a sharp look. "We're just friends, and we haven't spoken since the day before yesterday, but he's been texting a lot."

Briya set down her menu. "He's going to be in Toronto soon for his concert, right?" She then winked at Fallon.

I nodded. He was home already, since his last show before the one here was on Friday. He'd said his first couple days or so would be focused on spending time with his parents and sister, and I respected him for that since my family was a big part of my life.

"And you're going to meet up with him?" Fallon probed.

"That's the plan, but I don't know when."

"Maybe you'll let him into your panties this time," Bri said eagerly.

"If that happens, you'd better give us the details," Fallon added. "We want to know everything from size to skill."

"Why am I friends with either of you?" I groaned.

"Because you love us!" they squealed in unison.

"And you're about to love us more because we have a surprise for you," Briya said excitedly.

"What?" I asked.

"We got three tickets to see the guy who definitely isn't your boyfriend! It's so lucky that it's on Thursday since we have cruises on both Friday and Saturday!"

I hugged both of them. "I really do love you."

For the last few weeks I'd been hoping Shawn would invite me to his hometown show, but so far he hadn't mentioned it. Maybe he just assumed I was going, but it was strange it hadn't come up during our frequent long talks on the phone.

Later that afternoon, I went to my dad's bakery and did some therapeutic bread-making. Whenever I was a little stressed, the repetitive movement of kneading dough made me feel better. Knowing I'd see Shawn soon had me a bit agitated since I wasn't completely sure where things stood.

"Did you ever date anyone on the rebound?" I asked my father as I sprinkled some more flour on the counter.

"A couple times."

"What were your motives?"

He grunted. "I'd rather not talk about them, but let's just say that sometimes you need to be with someone you know you won't get attached to in order to get back in the game."

So it was a physical thing like I suspected. I'd scoured the Internet for evidence of Shawn hooking up after his break-up with Camila, but there was nothing concrete. Some people claimed they'd seen him flirting at clubs, and there were some photos of him doing something with a sexy shaman in Hawaii, but that was it. A 'source' said he was focusing on himself and his music and that he was enjoying being single. I was pretty sure that wasn't the same as being celibate.

"Why are you asking?" my dad questioned.

"There's a guy and I don't want to be his rebound."

"The musician."

"Mmhm. I know you googled him, so you can say his name," I said with a laugh.

"Most of what came up about Mr. Mendes was related to his ex-girlfriend. They were quite an item, eh?"

"It was practically a fairy tale romance. Best friends turned lovers after making a song together...it was all so perfect."

My dad picked up the sheet of scones he'd finished cutting and put them in the oven. "Not completely perfect since they broke up. And remember, what you see isn't always reality."