LOVEHATE

2

The next Saturday, Lillian was once again trying to get me to go out in her typical overenthusiastic way. Apparently they'd had so much fun at Shawn's afterparty the weekend before that he wanted everyone to come back.

"He specifically asked Owen if you could come!" she said. "Shawn Mendes wants you to come to his condo! Are you really going to say no?"

I was about to say that it was possible that someone could say no to Shawn fucking Mendes, but I stopped myself.

"I find it really hard to believe that he'd want me to come. I was a little rude to him."

So maybe that was a gross understatement. I was a lot rude. In my defense, it really did sound like he was suggesting we hook up. It wasn't a stretch that my mind jumped to that conclusion. In hindsight I should have had him clarify that he was trying to pick me up before I laid into him.

"He's a chill guy. I'm sure he understood why you said what you said."

Lillian and I had been friends with a group of students who were a couple years older than us, and they had all graduated in the spring. We needed to meet people. I liked Owen's friends last week and kind of wanted to get to know them better. Except for Shawn. My first impression of him was that he was a dick. I did want to see him again, though. An apology was in order. I'd feel better about how things went down after I said I was sorry.

"I'll go," I said.

Lillian looked shocked for a split second and then started dancing around. "Let's find something extra cute for you to wear. I'm picking your outfit!"

This did not happen. I picked out my own clothes, which consisted of a white denim mini skirt and a black tank top. I wore my red Converse. I had Chucks in almost every color. I thought about doing something with my hair but ended up just wearing it straight and down. As usual, my make-up was minimal.

Owen picked us up and we drove to the condo, which was in a very upscale part of the city. He was probably mega-rich, so this was no surprise. We were buzzed in through the locked exterior door and then took the elevator up to his floor.

Shawn answered the door. He clapped Owen on the back and gave Lillian a hug. They walked past him before he addressed me, a flicker of surprise passing over his face.

"Sadie?"

"Shawn."

And that was it. I was hoping to have a drink or two in me before I ate crow and apologized anyway.

We walked down a short hall to the kitchen. It was super modern and attractive. The whole place had a comfortable yet stylish look. I was impressed. Shawn Mendes had more taste than I'd thought he would, though of course this could all have been the work of an interior designer. I was probably giving him more credit than he deserved.

Owen asked me what I wanted to drink. I was in the mood for a cocktail, so I requested a rye and coke, having spotted both ingredients on the sandy colored counter. He made it and handed it to me. I took a long sip and was thrilled to find it was nice and strong. I needed it to take the edge off a bit.

There weren't many people there. Most were sitting on the plush white sectional sofa, though a few were out on the huge patio. I took a seat on the sofa and looked out the floor to ceiling windows at the Toronto skyline. It was a spectacular view, and I could see why people would want to hang out here. I'd grown up in Ottawa, which was a lovely city in its own right with its castle-like buildings and tons of green space, but Toronto was far more magical to me, probably because of how it ran along Lake Ontario.

The condo itself was gorgeous and was ideal for entertaining. Music was playing softly in the background. Jon Bellion. He was one of the few current musicians I liked, and I had seen him in concert in 2017.