Don't Wake Me Up - Shawn Mendes

PART FOUR

I wake up on Tuesday morning surprisingly well rested. I head to work and I can't stop myself from thinking about tonight, so my day isn't as productive as it was yesterday. I keep thinking of outfits I can wear, and how I'm gonna do my hair, when my phone screen lights up and I see a text from Sean (sp?). I laugh again, and unlock my phone.

"Still on for tonight?"

"Absolutely! We said 7, right?"

"Yeah! Here's the address:"

He sends me a link to this restaurant, and the reviews pop up. Cool place, on the Eastern part of town, I can get there easily.

"Great, I'll be there!"

"Awesome, see you tonight Alice."

And now it's my turn not to reply.

The rest of the day felt like a week. But 5 o'clock finally comes, so I say goodbye to everyone and rush home. When I get to my apartment, I hop in the shower, and start the whole shebang. Once every inch of me is cleaned and moisturized, I put on dark jeans and a cute blouse. It's not too dressed up without being too casual either, so it's a perfect first date outfit. I put the finishing touches on my lip gloss as my phone dings from a text from my Uber driver. Oh yeah, I don't wanna be late, so I spring for an Uber tonight. I lock the door behind me and get in the car. I make small talk with the driver as we get to the restaurant. I get there at 6:50pm, since I don't like to be late. I kind of regret that move, because I don't know where I'd wait, but just as the driver pulls up, I see Shawn, back against the wall with eyes on his phone, waiting for me. I thank the driver, remind myself to give him 5 stars, and go meet Shawn.

"Hi there!" I say as I go in to greet him with air kisses. He goes in for a hug.

"Oh sorry, I keep forgetting it's only a French-Canadian thing!"

I think I saved the awkward start? Shawn laughs.

"No problem. Hey, you're early!"

"I guess I can say the same about you, mister."

"True. Well, let's not stand here for another 10 minutes, let's go in!"

We walk into the restaurant, and I notice a few looks, but I have to remind myself that I'm acting like I don't know, I'm letting him bring it up on his own. So we sit down at a table towards the back, the waiter brings us glasses of water right away and asks us if we want to start with drinks. I get a kalimotxo, and I get a look from Shawn. I explain that it's red wine and Coke, and that it's delicious. So he says he'll have the same.

"I know it sounds weird, but I think you'd like it. I had them all the time when I lived in Spain," I add.

"Whoa, Spain? What were you doing there?"

I start talking about my trip, and my studies, and the questions keep coming and he makes me feel so comfortable. Then, I notice I'm getting quite hungry. And we're almost done with our drinks, but we still haven't looked at the menu.

"Okay, we should order! Shh!"

"Haha you're right, I'm sorry, I got distracted..."

"No worries, we have all night to talk."

He opens the menu and asks :

"Oh do you eat meat? I didn't think to ask before I brought us to ... La Carnita."

"Haha, yes I do! I do try to balance it out with some vegetarian meals, but I do eat and like eating meat."

"Okay, good. Do you know what you feel like eating?"

I opt for a soft shell chicken taco, it should be easier to eat gracefully. Shawn orders his food, and asks for a starter of chicken wings to share.

"You're killing me here, Shawn!" I joke.

"What!" he smiles. "What do you mean?"

"First tacos. Now chicken wings. I have to try to be cute and ladylike, and eat the messiest foods known to man."

He lets out a laugh, and suggests I can always get a salad if I want.

"Oh yeah, like I'm gonna be that girl! Don't worry, I'm up for the challenge. Eating wings will have never looked so good," I try to say seductively, yet jokingly.

He smiles. I feel relieved he gets my jokes. I take another sip of my drink and I notice Shawn and I are both done with them. He signals the waiter to bring two more.

"So, how was your day?" I ask him.

I always found this was a good way to start a date conversation, since it's a light subject, and it easily opens the doors to so many questions about the person.

"It was good. I worked from home today, I needed to be able to concentrate, and not let anyone distract me."

"Oh I get that! What do you do?"

"Uhm, I work in the music industry. I mostly write songs."

"Really! How cool. Any hits of yours I'd know?"

Okay, I'm pushing it a little. He chuckles, but finally answers:

"I don't know! What kind of music do you like?"

Okay, changing the conversation back to me. I can take a hint.

"Uhm, I like a lot of everything to be honest. My best friend is my personal DJ and he makes me all sorts of playlists. I like pop music a lot, R&B, Reggaeton, anything I can dance to, or any ballad that makes me feel something. So yeah, not the most critical person in music. How about you? What do you like to write?"

"I like alternative-pop music? So like, pop music, but not too conformist either. That's my jam."

"Nice. I'd love to hear one of your songs someday. Do you play any instruments as well or do you write lyrics? Or does it all go together? I have no idea how it goes."

His eyes lit up as he started to explain his song-writing process. He stayed away from performing said songs at award shows and details about arena tours, but he looks so passionate. Truly fun to hear.

"So yeah, that's my day-to-day life."

"Very impressive! You really seem like you love what you do."

"Yeah, I do."

There's a bit of a lull, and we both take a bite of our food. I manage to only drip a little bit of sauce on my chin, and we both laugh as I reach for a napkin. Then, I hand one over to him as he's not doing much better than I am.

"Well, if we were still nervous or shy, that's over after seeing that!" he says.

"Were you nervous?" I ask him, a bit flattered.

"Well, I might've been. A little. I didn't know what to expect from you. You seem so confident and self-assured."

"Oh, well I don't mean it to be intimidating or anything!"

"No! I know, it's... It's good. I'm having a great time." He looks directly into my eyes as he says that last part, and the butterflies from that first day come back. Whoa. I muster what I hope is a natural smile, and:

"Me too."

We finish our food, talking about our families, siblings, a bit about growing up, some hobbies of ours. As we're finishing our third drink — "I told you you'd like kalimotxos!" — we realize we've been sitting here for a while, so we ask for the check. I take out my wallet to pay my share, and Shawn waves me away.

"Oh come on, I can pay for myself!"

"No, no, I invited you, remember! I'll take care of that."

"Fine, but only if I can get the next one."

"Deal," he agrees.