Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

December 31, 2021

"I think this has been the best Christmas ever," Ceci said as she brushed mascara onto her long lashes.

"Absolutely," I agreed.

The entire month of December had been amazing. Tour ended for a six week break, and I was taking that time off to be with my girlfriend. I knew it would be hard to leave her when the time came, but I'd be done by March. Festivals were slated to resume this spring, which was huge since the pandemic had ruined events like that two years in a row. I was doing a handful of these gigs and Ceci was going to try to join me when she could.

We hadn't spent a night apart since I'd returned home. The first few nights she'd stayed over, gone to her apartment to get ready for work the next morning, worked all day, and then returned to my condo. I suggested she just pack a few weeks worth of clothing and necessities to eliminate the trips to her place. She needed to think about that, of course, but ultimately she did it. At this point she had a side of my walk-in closet and had claimed one of the sinks as her own in the master bath.

I hadn't lived with anyone in awhile, and this time was much easier than the first time I'd attempted cohabitation. It felt natural having Ceci at my place, and I found myself missing her when she was at the office. She'd scolded me because I was texting her too much, so I made an effort to keep it to only once or twice an hour.

She was right that the holidays had been great. We spent Christmas Eve at her family's house, and of course my parents and sister were there, too. On Christmas Day we went to my family home with the Burroughs and were joined by my extended family for a big holiday feast. The fact that our parents were best friends was pretty convenient, since other couples had to divide their time between their separate families.

Eric was initially very wary about our relationship, but I think he could see that we were happy and in love. By Christmas night, he was back to treating me like he used to.

Our moms were overjoyed. For a Christmas present, they'd worked together to cull through every photo ever taken of me and Ceci and then selected the best ones for a digital frame. It was currently placed on a shelf in my living room, and it was embarrassing how many times I just stood in front of it looking at the hundreds of photos of my best friend-turned-lover and me. You could see when things had changed for us; in candid photos, we looked at each other differently.

I'd asked my mom to send me the file with all the pics so I could have them. While Ceci got ready for the party, I was leaned against the counter putting together an IG post. Tonight we were making it official to the public.

"You think five pictures isn't too much?" I asked her.

"That's a good amount. You don't want too many."

I reviewed the photos again and proofread the caption, since I sometimes typed too fast and messed up a word.

Some things never change ❤️

The photos were all very similar. In every one, we had our arms wrapped tightly around each other. The first was from preschool, then there was one from elementary school and another from high school. The last two were more recent. One was taken in 2018 and the other was from just a couple weeks ago when we had our families come look at the Christmas decorations we'd put up around the condo. We were standing in front of the lit up tree, so that I was behind her, pulling her against my body.

I looked up from the photo at the beautiful woman next to me and felt a desperate need to hold her like that. I set my phone down and moved in back of her, our eyes meeting in the mirror.

"I'm almost done. Sorry it's taking so long; I never wear this much make-up."

I took a step towards her and wound my arms around her body, which was clad in just a matching black bra and panty set. Making sure not to mess up her hair, I planted a kiss on her shoulder.