The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 18

The girls and I ventured out to happy hour at one of our favorite bars, and once the half-price drink deal ended, we walked back to my apartment to share a bottle of wine. It was Tuesday night, but none of us minded having a slight hangover at work the next day.

Briya leaned her head against my arm in the elevator. She was almost six inches shorter than me, so even in her platforms I towered over her. "I want a boyfriend," she whined.

"Your last two relationships were disasters," Fallon reminded her.

"I know, but I miss knowing someone is thinking of me and loves me."

"You need to love yourself." Fallon pointed a finger at her friend.

"My vibrator is broken," Briya lamented.

"That is not what I meant and you know it. Don't play dumb to avoid real talk."

The elevator door opened and we stepped into the hallway. I immediately spotted a package by my door.

"Amazon?" Fallon asked.

"Maybe. I ordered two books but they can't possibly be here already and that box looks too big." I picked it up and saw that it was from a local shop I'd never heard of.

We went inside and I set the box on the coffee table before getting each of us a glass of wine. The girls kicked off their heels and got comfy on the couch and I sat on the floor. I opened the package and saw that there was a note on top.

Lucy-
Thank you for a wonderful night.
-Shawn

I pushed aside the packing paper, which my cat immediately started playing with, and found two bags of coffee beans. Further down in the box was a coffee grinder that looked very expensive, and nestled next to that was a pour over coffee maker. I took each item out and set them on the table before tossing the box aside so that Inky could have some fun with it.

"Damn girl. You really upgraded your coffee set up," Fallon commented.

"It's a present," I said as I handed them the note.

Both girls read it and then exchanged a look.

"What?" I asked.

"It's a parting gift," Bri said.

"What's that?"

"You know how on old game shows they'd give everyone a consolation prize even if they didn't win? That's a parting gift. Some guys give them out after a hook-up as a thank you but also to remind the woman it was a one time thing. They didn't 'win' him, but they were a good contestant."

Fallon chimed in, "There was a baseball player who was famous for sending women gift baskets after sex. They included a signed ball, which is super tacky if you ask me."

"Most dudes just send flowers," Briya said as she handed the note back to me.

"You're saying he sent me an expensive gift as if to say, 'Thank you for playing! Goodbye!'?"

It made sense. I hadn't heard from Shawn since our tryst, though I'd assumed that was because things were nuts for him considering he had to pack and get ready for his flight. Before he left my place, he made no mention of ever seeing me again, so perhaps it was the end.

"Maybe not," Briya said, "but he literally thanked you in the note. That doesn't look good."

"What do I do now? I need to thank him for the present, but I don't want to come across as needy or that I'm trying to latch onto him."

"I'd wait a day or two," Fallon said.

I nodded and took a sip of my wine. That's when a thought occurred to me. "He tried to get me in bed three- or I guess technically four- times before we actually had sex. What if he couldn't handle rejection and kept pursuing me and being attentive and sweet just to accomplish his goal of fucking me?"

"He'd have to be really full of himself to do that," Fallon said.

Shawn told me his biggest flaw was that he had a big ego and that he hated to lose. He kept at it with me until he won! I couldn't share that with the girls since he'd said that in confidence. "Or he's just an asshole," I muttered instead.

"But the sex was great, right?" Bri asked. She was clearly hoping I'd open up about it since earlier at the bar all I'd said was that we'd done the deed.

"Nope. He was terrible and he has a dick that looks like this," I said as I held up my pinky finger.

Both girls gasped, and then Fallon shook her head sadly. "What a waste when he's so smokin' hot."

"I'm kidding. All I'm gonna say is that I've got no regrets, even if I never see him again. It was worth it."

"Should we hate him or no?" Briya asked.

"No. I went into it knowing it was going nowhere." This wasn't exactly true considering he told me he liked me and wanted to have some weird thing in between hooking up and dating. I thought we'd keep that going a little longer, but maybe he only said that to get his little victory.

"Sorry, boo," Bri said sympathetically.

I shrugged. "It's fine. At least my drought ended, but let's hope I don't have to wait that long again."

"You are smart, funny, and beautiful! You could have any guy you wanted," Fallon said. "Or girl, if you decide you want to keep all options open like me."

Any guy except the one I actually felt something for. I stood up and carried the coffee stuff into my kitchen. "Who needs more wine?"

My friends left just before midnight, and after putting the wine glasses in the dishwasher, removing my makeup, and brushing my teeth, I crawled into bed and pressed my face into the pillow Shawn had slept on. It still smelled faintly of his cologne and shampoo, which was a heavenly combination.

I was staring up at the ceiling when my phone buzzed.

Made it to LA

Did you like the present?

I got a notification that it was delivered today

I decided to leave him on read, because yes, I was the type to have my read-receipts on.

I set my phone back on my bedside table and closed my eyes, hoping the alcohol in my system would help me sleep. Surprisingly, it worked, and I woke up seven hours later when my alarm went off. I put on some sweats and trudged into the kitchen for some much needed caffeine. Even if I resented the idea behind Shawn's parting gift, I wasn't about to let it go to waste.

I removed the grinder from the box and skimmed over the directions. One of the bags of beans said it was extra bold, so I measured some and poured it into the grinder, secured the lid, and pulsed it until they looked like the right consistency. Then I put a kettle of water on to boil. While it heated up, I washed the pour-over carafe and put the reusable filter in place before adding the aromatic grounds. When the kettle whistle sounded, I slowly poured the water over the coffee and watched it trickle into the glass container.

"This is such a process," I mumbled to myself.

When it stopped dripping, I served myself a cup and added a little cream and sugar. The smell was amazing as I brought my mug to my lips, and when I took a sip, I realized how subpar my K-cup maker was. It was also not environmentally friendly, which had always bugged me.

I took my coffee over to the table and opened my laptop so that I could get to work. Wednesdays were always somewhat crazy since that was when payroll hours were entered for all four businesses. Around noon, my phone vibrated on the kitchen counter where I'd left it after making myself a second cup of heaven. It was Shawn again.

I wanted you to have better coffee each morning

Sorry

I didn't mean to insult you

It took me a second to figure out what he was getting at, and then I remembered he hadn't finished the coffee I made him. He was worried that he'd offended me, which was kinda cute. I typed a several replies before making myself a third mug.

Thank you so much. I never knew homemade coffee could be so good.

I wasn't insulted at all.

Good luck with the rest of your tour.