Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

September 7, 2015

I needed to stop staring at Ceci but it was so damn hard. The problem was that if my eyes stayed glued on her sexy body, which was on full display in a skimpy pink bikini, I'd be hard, too.

It was Labour Day and I had a few days off from touring to spend with my family. I was currently finishing up my first world tour while opening up for some of Taylor Swift's shows on my free days. It was weird being a headliner at a small venue one day and then an opener at a massive stadium the next, but I loved every minute of it. When I wasn't touring, I was working on my next album. This meant I wasn't in Toronto for long periods these days.

Ceci caught me looking at her and dove under water, surfacing where I was sitting on the edge of the pool.

"Are you going to get in, or are you just going to dangle your legs in the water all afternoon?" she asked.

"I just ate and I feel like I might pop, so I'm waiting a few minutes."

We were at a BBQ at the Burroughs' house. They'd installed a huge pool in their backyard at the start of the summer, and it made sense to take advantage of it before the weather turned cold. They'd started the party with a bunch of hot and cold appetizers and since I really missed home cooking when I was on the road, I may have overdone it a little. Hopefully I'd have room for the main course when it was done cooking.

She reached out and poked my tummy with a finger. "You don't have a food baby."

"That's because I've got this six-pack holding it in," I said proudly.

Her eyes dropped to my stomach as she checked it out. I was pretty sure I'd caught her admiring my muscles when I first got here, but I didn't mind her looking some more.

"Not bad," she said before flipping backwards and swimming away to join Aaliyah in the deep end.

It had been almost four months since we'd had sex for the first and only time. I was gone a lot, and when I was home, we didn't have the opportunity. There were always people around which prevented us from having any privacy. I had my Jeep, but the fear of getting caught by the local police prevented me from parking somewhere with her. Andrew would kill me if I got some kind of public indecency charge, although he'd have to get in line because Eric would probably want me dead, too.

We had kissed quite a few times because that could be done sneakily even when other people were in the house. Having my lips and body pressed to hers only made me want more, though.

Shit. I was staring again. I hopped up and went to sit down at the canopy-covered table so that my back was to the pool. I really wanted to get in the water and play with the girls, but I knew it would be torture to keep my hands off Ceci.

"Something wrong?" my mum asked from across the table.

"No. I'm just full and I was getting a little hot."

She turned to Lisa. "Is Ceci excited about starting senior year?"

"Yes, but mainly because she can't wait to be done with it and move on to college."

"I think it'll be good for her both academically and socially," my mother observed. "Maybe she'll meet a young man who is as smart and mature as she is."

I didn't really like this line of conversation. Ceci and I definitely weren't exclusive, but that didn't mean I wanted to think of her with some college guy. For one thing, that would be the end of what we had.

Chewing on my thumbnail I wondered what Ceci thought about this. Did it bother her that I might hook up with someone else? I hadn't yet, but it would probably happen eventually. When I turned eighteen, I'd have more freedom and I hoped to take advantage of that. Wasn't that one of the perks of being famous?