After the words fell out of his mouth around 9 at night, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the crowd of people at the wedding, ignoring my protests and further questions with a warning shake of his head. The night passed along with more drinks and dancing and meeting new friends whose names I wouldn't remember in the morning.
Around 5 in the morning, hours after we had left the venue to go hang out with Aaliyah and the others, Shawn and I stumbled into his parents home and half-crawled, half-walked up the stairs while laughing the entire time. We collapsed on his bed, tugged off the clothes from the wedding, and passed out as soon as our heads hit the pillows
. Then, at 6 in the morning, Shawn's alarm went off. I screamed into the pillow and fell out of the bed, still drunk, as I attempted to shut the thing off. Shawn sat up with a confused look on his face to find me jumping around half naked and attempting to find the phone.
"Norah, turn it off," He snapped.
"What the fuck do you think I'm trying to do?!"
He fell back onto the bed and rubbed the heels of his hands in his wood colored eyes in a attempt to wake up, letting out a sleepy yawn that was absolutely adorable. "Left pocket of my suit from last night."
I tugged out the phone and stopped the alarm before collapsing back on the bed beside him with an annoyed whine. His strong arms wrapped around my waist as he turned to face me, making me into the little spoon and planting kisses on my shoulders as his bare chest pressed to my back.
"We've got to get up," He mumbled.
"What? Why?"
"Our flight leaves in an hour, Norah."
"Change the time, yeah?" I groaned as I nuzzled further back into him. He let out a soft sigh that obviously meant there was no way he was going to listen to my begging.
"Please?"
"I can't. I have a meeting."
And so, at 6:15 in the morning, running off of one hour of sleep, Shawn and I left Pickering after kissing his sister goodbye and making her promise to visit. I was barely standing by the time we made it to the airport, only Shawn's arms wrapped securely around my waist and the soft kisses pressed to my forehead kept me going. The entire plane ride was spent catching up on much needed sleep. I slept on one of the small leather couches while Shawn stretched out on a reclining chair next to me.
The only time we were woken up was for food, which I declined with a soft groan after vomit threatened to rise in my throat. The next time we were woken was when the plane landed, the slow descent visible through the small windows of the black jet. We left the plane hand in hand with our duffel bags thrown over our shoulders in prime examples of being hungover. Or, at least I was. Shawn somehow managed to avoid looking bad. As usual.
"What time is it here?" I asked as we stepped into the airport.
Shawn glanced down at his watch. "5 in the afternoon. Andrew and I will take you home."
"NORAH!"
My head turned away from the beautiful man beside me to see my best friend standing 20 feet away, one hand on his hip and a wide grin on his pretty face, the usual bow tie on his neck with a dark cardigan to complete the look. I took off into a clumsy sprint towards Tyler and jumped on him, the entire time hoping he could actually catch me. He giggled as he stumbled slightly under my weight, but somehow managed to catch me as I squealed into his neck and planted sloppy kisses all over his face.
My best friend smelled like home and comfort, the two things that I needed most in this world right now. Finally, my weight became too much for his scrawny body to bear and he dropped me down to the ground with a proud smile.
"You idiot!" I yelled, throwing my arms around his neck in a gripping hug. "I fucking missed you."
"How could you not? We have so much to do, so many things to talk about...you are going to die, Norah, absolutely die!"
"You've been straight this entire time and it was just a ploy to watch me change?" I mused. He wrinkled his nose at me and fake-tossed his imaginary hair with all the sass he could muster.
"Ew, don't get too crazy now. We have reservations at Saki in like, 30 minutes, so grab your bags and let's get out of here."
I giggled in excitement and finally let my best friend go, only to turn around and bump straight into Shawn Mendes, who was holding out the bag I had dropped in the midst of my reunion. Sheepishly grinning, I took the leather duffle and tossed it over my shoulder as he smiled at me. "So forgetful, Norah." He scolded.
I playfully shoved him away, half hoping he would catch my hand and pull me into my chest, and then proceeding to let out a sigh of content when he did. My arms wrapped around his muscular torso that was only covered by a thin, black cotton t-shirt.
"Um, I guess I'll see you soon?" I managed, burying my head into his chest to avoid due contact and awkward goodbyes. His deep chuckles vibrating through my chest only furthered my embarrassment.
"Yes, you will, on Monday. You are going to come over."
"Ask me nicely." His muscles went taut under my fingers and he released me from his caring hold, all hint of adoration that might have been on his face gone in an instant. I froze and stared up at him in all of my awkward glory, seeing as I was completely unprepared for his mood swing.
"I will see you Monday," He repeated in a slow, strained voice that made me want to hide behind Tyler. Instead, I raised my chin a little bit and tried to match his gaze before giving up and focusing on the small scar above his eyebrow.
"Then I'm busy."
"Norah."
"Is it really that hard to fucking ask a questions?"
He narrowed his eyes at me, letting them roam shamelessly up and down my body before stopping on the light purple bruise above my collar bone. His ring-clad hands flitted forward and gently traced over the mark and sent goosebumps prickling down every inch of my body.
"Mine," He mumbled before lifting his hand and tucking it under my chin to keep our gazes steady. "Will you come over on Monday."
I decided to then take advantage of our close proximity and press my lips to his quickly, whispering a soft 'yes' as I pulled away. His eyes lightened and his upper lip twitched in an attempt to hide the smile. The more I was around him, the more I noticed his quirks when he tried to keep a straight face.
His lip would twitch, or his eyes would darken, or his jaw would clench ever so slightly in a way that you would only notice if you were looking for it. And I was constantly admiring his chiseled jawline, so it was easier for me to see. He gave me one last kiss on the top of my head before sauntering away, one hand already dialing a number and the other grasping a file folder that was thick with printed papers, back into the world of being a CEO. I watched him go with a smile on my face, then turned back to Tyler , who was typing away on his iPhone with a slight smirk.
"Ready?" He cooed, shoving the phone back into his pocket. At my nod of approval, he offered me a sweater-clad arm which I took with a smile, and then we were walking through the airport already talking about the trip.
"On the plane ride there..." I started. I could only get through that much of the sentence before my face flushed scarlet and I burst into embarrassed giggles. But Tyler, who knew me better than anyone, could read my mind. He slapped my arm as his mouth dropped open with a smile.
"You're kidding?!"
"No."
"NORAH, what on earth?! You're gone for two days and you turn into some sex goddess? How is this possible? Where can I get a Shawn Mendes ?"
I hip bumped him playfully before we separated to climb into his small silver BMW that was waiting outside the door. Tyler quickly backed out, singing softly to whatever was playing on the radio, as we headed towards our favorite sushi restaurant that we ate at almost religiously. My mouth was watering the closer we got; the thought of my favorite sushi roll was almost too much to handle after not eating for an entire day because of possible puking. I began bouncing up and down in my seat as we pulled into the parking lot, and before the car had even fully stopped, I was sprinting out of the door. I slammed my hands on the hostess' desk with a wide smile.
"We have a reservation for two."
"Name, please," She responded in a monotone voice.
"Uh, it's probably under Tyler. Or maybe Norah. Or it could possibly be under Parker." The women scanned down the list before stopping above the name Tyler, highlighting it, and grabbing menus. I felt my roommates small hands squeeze my shoulders as we followed her to a booth in the back. I slid into one seat as Jace slid into the one across from me with a cheeky grin.
"You're a sluuuut!"
"Am not!" I defended.
"I have big news, though."
"Me too. You go first." I scowled at him as flipped through the menu.
"No, because that means you think your news is bigger than mine and you want to trump me. I know you too well, Tyler."
"Maybe," He chirped innocently before a shit-eating grin took over his handsome face.
"Okay, whatever, it definitely is. Just go first!"
"Fine. Shawn admitted that he actually likes me."
"Oh really?" Tyler scoffed. "I couldn't tell by the way his eyes followed your every fucking movement in fascination."
My heart melted as I pictured Shawn watching me with a slight smile, his deep dimple showing. The picture was quickly wiped away due to the fact that it was completely invalid. Shawn did not stare. He glared, or glowered, or maybe pierced little holes in me with his gaze. But never watched adoringly.
"Shut up," I groaned.
"Now your news."
"Whatever, it's totally true. That man is totally whipped," He giggled, tossing his straw wrapper at me. The waiter arrived and took our usual orders before disappearing once again and leaving Tyler practically bouncing in anticipation in his seat. "Okay, are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." He took a slow breath and clasped his hands together, then leaned forward over the table as if to prove how serious he really was about his 'news'. But, considering the fact that his last big news was he had hit over 500 followers on twitter, I wasn't really expecting much. That's why I burst out laughing when he proudly announced.
"I have a boyfriend!" I lost it right there, doubling over in the seat and clutching my stomach in an attempt to calm myself. The waiter setting down our order of edamame with a disapproving glare and Tyler's confused pout only made me laugh harder.
"You...have a....boyfriend?" I managed between fits. Tyler leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. His blue eyes narrowed on me in a way that I was very familiar with, due to the fact that Shawn did it constantly.
"Yes, I do. And he's absolutely lovely." I finally managed to calm myself down enough to spit out a coherent sentence.
"Okay, so is this your boyfriend for this week? Or is this your boyfriend for this week? Or do you still have to break up with whoever your current boyfriend is," I taunted, putting extra sarcasm on the boyfriend word.
Tyler didn't really have boyfriends. Tyler had boys that he just 'completely fell in love with' from across the coffee shop, or at the bar, or maybe picking up his dry cleaning and managed to get a number. Once he met a boy, from then on they were known as boyfriend to me. I had even referred to multiple of his one night stands I'd met in the morning as 'boyfriend', causing them to practically run away. Although, I wasn't sure if that was from the use of the word or the fact that it happened after I jumped on Tyler's bed to cuddle with him, and instead finding two men in the nude. Both were definitely possibilities.
"Norah," Tyler whined.
"Did you hear me?"
"Sorry, what? I think I can see our sushi coming." His head whipped around to follow my pointing finger.
"Shit, you're right. Did you get the spicy tuna roll again?"
"No, I got the spicy crunchy shrimp. I thought you got the spicy tuna? That one is your usual." The plates were set in front of us before we could continue the sushi conversation. After a few minutes of trading rolls and proceeding to down them quickly, Tyler shook his head and slapped his hand on the table in annoyance.
"You distracted me with the fucking rolls from sushi heaven! I have to tell you about my boyfriend. Like, my boyfriend. As in like, we're totally dating and he's totally hot." I shoved another sushi roll in my mouth and quirked an eyebrow at him.
"He's totally British," He continued.
"What's up with all the British people nowadays? And he's absolutely hilarious, and he has these fucking eyes, Norah, I swear to god those eyes make me die a little bit every time I see him." I nodded and motioned for my friend to continue.
"Yeah, well long story short he's totally hot and sweet and really romantic, like we haven't even slept together yet."
"Sure you haven't," I scoffed
At Tyler's glare I backed down and handed him a sushi roll in peace offering, which he gladly accepted. "Fine, fine. What's his name?"
"Russo," Tyler smiled. "Russo Lockheart."
"Oh, what a proper name he's got! Is he a proper lad? Does he go to the loo? Does he eat fish and chips?" I taunted.
"Oi! Your man is half British too, you annoying bitch. Keep talking like that and I won't cook you breakfast for a week."
I threw up my hands in defeat and he smiled happily, running his hands through his short brown quiff before continuing. We ate and maybe took 2, or 3, or maybe 4 saki shots as Tyler rambled on about his perfect boyfriend that he was dying for me to meet. Apparently the guy was even a Maple Leafs fan, so I deemed him a keeper.
I zoned out of the conversation when Tyler said the word 'British' and it brought my mind back to the beautiful man that I would have to wait to see until Monday. The thought of the way he said my name softly, his voice tainted with those damn lips and admitting he was mine, completely consumed me, sending my heart into overdrive. And that's why, when I heard his deep chuckle, I first thought I was imagining it and welcomed it into my daydream. But when I heard it again, my head shot up in confusion to find Tyler still rambling about this Russo character.
"Tyler," I hissed, cutting him off mid 'and his ass is just SO-' He rolled his eyes at me.
"Getting too graphic for your innocence ears?"
"No- fucking look! Look behind me. Is it Shawn?" I whispered. I was too afraid to turn around in my seat for fear of him catching me spying. Tyler leaned to the side slightly, his dark cardigan falling off of one shoulder as he searched our favorite restaurant, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Fuck, Norah! That suit he has on is killer! Ask if I can borrow!" I leaned across the table and punched him.
"You ass, is he by himself? Like should we hide or go and talk to him?"
"Uhm," Tyler mumbled, taking his lower lip into his teeth. "He's uh, he's with that women. The one you said came to the office that you didn't like. The hot one with the clutch. Hailey, maybe?"
"Hailey?" I seethed. Tyler nodded meekly and sunk back into his seat.
"Cover me." With Tyler watching to make sure Shawn wasn't looking, I leaned out of the booth to find him, as Tyler had told me, looking handsome as ever in a dashing navy suit. His hair was combed through and freshly washed; he looked completely refreshed instead of just coming out of a different time zone.
He smiled brightly at the beautiful blonde in front of him. And then my breath caught in my throat as he sat his hand on the table and she gently took it, intertwining their fingers easily in a way that showed how familiar they were with each other.
So maybe he wasn't mine after all.
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So how would you feel if that happened to you? xoxo