"I keep thinking that we'll see Stringer Bell on the street," Brian remarked as we walked through Baltimore's Inner Harbor district.
"We're more likely to see McNulty."
These were characters from "The Wire," a show the guys and I had binge-watched last year. I'd been on the road so we didn't actually view it together. Instead we'd make plans to watch and would then have a group chat discussion afterwards. It was like my mum's neighborhood book club, just with a show about corruption in Baltimore instead of some long book about lost love.
I was wearing a Hogwarts t-shirt, athletic shorts, a baseball cap, and sunglasses with hopes no one recognized me. We had the entire day to ourselves since my show at the Pier Six Pavilion wasn't until tomorrow. Andrew had flown home for some family thing and would be joining us tomorrow, so we were free to do what we wanted. My bodyguard hung back slightly to help me be inconspicuous, and so far I hadn't been approached by any fans.
Brian had joined me on tour for the entire summer, which was my graduation present to him. Since mid-July, we'd been traveling all over North America and it had been a lot more fun for me to have a companion my own age.
In ten days I'd be playing at the Air Canada Centre to a crowd of over thirteen thousand, which would be my biggest headlining gig to date. I was pretty nervous about this because the larger the show, the more pressure I put on myself. Toronto was nothing compared to what was following. In September, I was playing Madison Square Garden. This concert would be recorded so that I could release my first live album.
On top of my concerts, I had a slew of performances scheduled on talk shows to promote Illuminate. I was starting to get pretty good at making small talk with the hosts because Ellen, James Cordon, and the others were great at putting me at ease, though sometimes when I watched myself afterwards, I cringed.
Brian and I grabbed coffees at one of the small shops and walked the U-shaped harbor. At one end was a science museum which we decided to skip since we thought it might be too educational. We decided to go to the Baltimore Aquarium instead since it was pretty famous and it has sharks. Who doesn't like sharks?
It was a Thursday, so the line for tickets wasn't that long. The aquarium was arranged so that you made your way up through the different levels, each having a unique focus. We started out looking at rays and even got to touch them, which was so fucking cool. Then we looked at different water biomes, and I liked the salt water exhibits best because they had the most colorful fish. At the top was a tropical rain forest enclosed in a glass pyramid. To get back down to the main level we walked through a downward winding spiral path that was surrounded by a gigantic four-story tank full of fish from the Atlantic. As you got lower, you entered the shark zone.
"Let's take a pic," Brian said as we stood in front of an area with tons of different sharks.
I pulled out my phone and took a photo of us that I then showed to Brian. My lazy eye was particularly off, probably because I'd been up late after the show in Detroit last night, which was followed by an early flight to Maryland this morning.
"I look good. Send it to Ceci," he said.
"Nope."
"Why not? You text her all the time. She'd love it."
There was no way I was sending her a pic where I looked bad. Since February she'd been successful at resisting me, and I wanted that to change. I'd be home pretty soon and I hoped that when we saw each other she'd realize how much she missed what we had, because I sure as hell did.
I took another pic and in this one I looked better.
"What do you want me to say?" I asked.
"Tell her she's the only fish in the sea for me."
"No fucking way. And if you think Ceci would like that, you don't know her at all."
"Fine. Just tell her I said hi," he said dejectedly.
When we got done at the aquarium, we walked a couple piers over to where I'd be performing the next night. It was a cool tented outdoor venue that was right on the water.
"Where to next?" I asked.
"Let's go back to the hotel. We can come back out later after it gets dark. The lady at the front desk said it's awesome here at night."
We had adjoining rooms, but he stayed in mine taking the second bed. We crashed hard, and when we woke up, the sun had set.
"I'm starving," Brian said as he stretched. "Let's go grab some crab cakes. It's what Maryland is famous for."
I laughed. "You're so good at being a tourist."
Bodyguard in tow, we left the hotel and walked back towards the central part of the Inner Harbor.
"Dude, we should totally eat there," Brian said, pointing to The Hard Rock Café.
I rolled my eyes. "I thought you wanted crab cakes."
"I'll get some tomorrow. Let's go in and see if you'll get special treatment since you're actually a rock star."
I was more soft rock than hard rock, but I figured it was as good a place as any to eat.
The young woman at the hostess station seemed a little overwhelmed and hardly even looked at me. There was only a twenty minute wait, and I shot Brian a dirty look when he suggested I tell her who I was to get seated sooner.
Before long we were at our table and my bodyguard sat at the bar where he could watch over me. Sometimes it felt like I had a babysitter, but Andrew insisted it was necessary.
Our waitress came over and gave us both warm smiles.
"My name is Karli and...oh my god you're Shawn Mendes!" she practically shouted, apparently recognizing me mid sentence.
"Yes, but shhhhh," I told her, holding a finger up to my lips. "I don't want to cause a scene."
"Sorry! Of course! I'll be cool!" she said. "I'm going to your concert tomorrow night! Wait until I tell my friend Hazel that you were here!"
"So you're a fan?" Brian asked.
"Totally! Last year I had a huge Handwritten poster up in my dorm room."
I smiled. "Thanks. Are you liking my new stuff?"
"Oh god yes! 'Treat You Better' is amazing and you are so hot in the video. Oops! That's tacky to say, isn't it?"
I chuckled. "Believe it or not, I don't mind being told I'm hot."
"Happy birthday, by the way! I could get fired for doing this, but if you guys want an alcoholic drink, I can get you one. It will be on the house," she whispered to us.
"Yeah, that's, um cool. Maybe that frozen one?" I said, pointing to one of the speciality drinks.
"Same for me," Brian said.
Karli left to get our drinks and the chicken wings we'd ordered.
"She's cute," I observed.
She was average height with huge boobs and a tiny waist. Her hair was brown with blue ends to match her eyes, and the look suited her. On her wrist was a tattoo of a musical note. I'd just recently gotten my first ink, and I found myself admiring body art on other people.
"Cute? Are you blind? She's straight up hot. And she wants you. You're going to give her your hotel room number before we finish dinner, because it's time you got some instead of wasting your dick by beating off to pics of Fiona!"
My cheeks turned red because he wasn't wrong about Fiona. That sort of move was so not me, but I was a little curious to see if it would be that easy to get her to come to my room.
Karli brought our drinks back and whispered that they were extra strong. My bodyguard was watching something on the TV over the bar and was oblivious to the fact that we were blatantly disobeying Andrew's rules, as well as the law.
"What's good to eat?" I asked as I looked over the menu.
"All of the burgers are great."
Brian and I each ordered a hamburger and fries. His came topped with a crab cake, but I went with a simpler one with bacon, cheese, lettuce, and mayo. While we waited for our food, we finished our drinks and appetizer. I looked around the room which was decorated with memorabilia belonging to musicians from all genres and eras.
"Maybe I'll give them a signed guitar one day," I said wistfully.
Karli brought our food and chatted for a bit before hurrying off to her other tables. When she came back with the bill, Brian kicked my shin under the table.
"So, um, when are you done working?" I asked, the alcohol giving me a little courage.
"Not until ten. Ugh. I've been here since noon," she answered.
"I'm staying at the Pier 5 Hotel."
She raised one eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"
"You're welcome to, uh, come by and hang out after work."
"Can I bring Hazel?"
"Of course," Brian said excitedly.
I gave her my room number and paid the tab, tipping her four times the cost of our meal. Then Brian and I went back to the hotel where I paced around anxiously.
"Maybe that wasn't a good idea," I said.
"Dude...tomorrow morning you're going to wake up with a smile and think it was the best idea ever."
Around ten thirty, there was a knock at my door. I opened it and greeted Karli and her very cute friend Hazel. We sat around talking, and the girls shared that they were both juniors at Towson.
Hazel turned to Brian. "Do you have your own room?"
"Yeah."
She took up and grabbed his hand. "Let's go."
After they'd left, Karli scooted closer to me. "You're kind of shy aren't you?"
"Honestly, I don't usually do this kind of thing."
"I don't usually end up in famous guy's hotel rooms, so I guess were even."
She slowly licked her lips, so I took the cue and leaned closer and kissed her. I thought we'd make out awhile, but she hopped up and started taking off her clothes before climbing on top of my bed naked.
"Come on, rock star...show me what you've got," she said as she spread open her legs as an invitation.
I dug through my suitcase for a condom, which I always had with me even if I'd never needed one until now, and joined Karli.
When I woke up the next morning, I wasn't smiling. It felt weird being intimate with a stranger, so I'd been grateful that she'd left soon after. I couldn't deny that I'd enjoyed having sex again after going without it for so long, and I hoped that with time I'd get used to hook-ups like this.