Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

August 8, 2017

When Andrew and I set the schedule for the Illuminate tour, we'd made sure to include a short break around my birthday. Conveniently, my two following shows were in Toronto.

Nineteen is a big birthday in Ontario since that's the drinking age. Those lucky fuckers in Quebec could drink at eighteen, but my home province was slightly stricter.

It's not like I hadn't been drinking for years, though. I'd started pretty young, which wasn't uncommon in Canada. I remember learning in school that eighty percent of Canadian teens reported drinking before the age of sixteen. They also told us that in the United States only fifty-eight percent of teens drank before turning eighteen, probably to make us feel bad. It was hilarious when Brian raised his hand and said that the reason for the difference was that we were just a lot more honest than Americans.

I had enjoyed being able to drink legally in Europe during the first leg of my tour. I didn't overdo it often because it could impact my performances, but I liked being able to order a glass of wine with dinner or a beer in a pub.

For this milestone birthday, I'd rented out the rooftop lounge of the Thompson Hotel which was coincidentally only a couple blocks from the condo I'd recently purchased and would be moving into soon. My party would be a nice introduction to my new neighborhood.

"Be honest with me," I asked Ceci as I modeled my outfit for tonight. "Does this look okay?"

We were in my suite at the hotel. I'd reserved a dozen rooms for other people to crash in, Ceci being one of them. I was hoping, however, that she'd be staying with me. We hadn't seen a lot of each other since I'd started my tour in April, and we texted infrequently. When I was back home between legs, she'd kept her distance. We were together at parties and family stuff, but she avoided being alone with me for more than a few minutes. I'd started to think that our last time together really was the last time and that she'd actually meant that we were done, though she'd never truly meant it in the past.

But then I'd gotten home yesterday and had called her to see if she wanted a hotel room, and we'd stayed on the phone talking for hours, during which I'd invited her to help me select an outfit. As the conversation went on, I'd been a little flirty with her, and she made no attempt to shut me down. We'd have to play it cool at my party, but it would be easy enough for her to sneak into my room after the celebration came to a close.

Ceci looked me up and down and then walked around me in a circle. "It's fine."

"That's not very enthusiastic!"

"I'm not completely sure about pairing a Hawaiian shirt with black skinny jeans. Shorts might look better."

I made a face. "Shorts? I don't want to look like my dad!"

"Manny is a good looking man. Don't shit on his style," she said with the wag of a finger.

I unbuttoned my shirt and then pulled it over my head before undoing my jeans.

"Woah there...if you're switching outfits you can go back in the bathroom," she said.

"I'm not switching. I am wearing this one because I dig the shirt and you know I love my black jeans. I am taking them off until it's time to go, because I need to jump in the shower first. And Ceci, you've seen it all before. I don't see what the problem is."

"True, but I don't plan on seeing it again, remember?"

My hopes for spending the night with her started to plummet. I needed to pull out the big guns, although maybe gun was more accurate.

"How many times have you said that and how many times have we ended up fucking again?" I asked. I then casually slid my jeans down my legs leaving me only in my very tight boxer briefs.