Ash's P.O.V:
I feel so fucking awkward around Todd and Dani. I don't even like going to the mall, I only said I wanted to come because I wanted to spend the day with Kaia. The way her face lit up when I asked, made me so happy. I guess I'll be doing a lot of fucked up weird things just to spend time with her.
I'm glad her friends were cool with me tagging along, I was a bit nervous because I have yet to apologize to the both of them. I feel like I have a pretty good chance now that Kaia has gone into the changing room to try on some stuff.
I'm sweating like mad as I think of what to say. I man up a bit and clear my throat, finally got the right words to say. I just hope it doesn't fucking go wrong. I don't really apologize much so I have no idea how to, guess I'll just have to be sincere with my words and hope they forgive me. I stand from my place outside the changing room Kaia is in and walk over to Todd and Dani who were sitting in the lounge, trying on shoes. I awkwardly sit opposite them and give them a smile.
"Hey Ash, do you think I could work these shoes?" Dani asks, catwalking around us with high ass freaking heels. I want to laugh but I just hold it in, nodding-- trying to act supportive.
"That's. ..that's nice, really suits you" I said, choking on my words.
Dani glares at me then lets out a loud laugh, making the other customers look at us weirdly. My god this girl was a loud mouth.
She heads back to her seat and takes off the shoes, placing them carefully back in the box.
"You're trying too hard, Ash" she said, smiling at me.
"Wh-what?" I asked, acting as if I had no idea.
"You didn't have to say it looked good. Those shoes were hideous, especially that mega fucking heel, it was like walking on stilts" she said in between laughs.
I chuckled a bit before thinking about what she said. Maybe I was trying too hard. This would actually be the perfect time for an apology so here goes nothing.
"Hey Dani, I'd actually like to say something. ..to both of you" I said, looking between her and Todd.
"Okay!" Todd said chirpily, moving closer to Dani.
They were looking at me expectantly and suddenly I got even more nervous. These were Kaia's friends, not mine- so I have absolutely no fucking idea how they feel about me or how they would react. I take a deep breath and exhale, I need to get this off my chest.
"I. ..I would like to apologize for my behavior. ..at the club" I said nervously, looking down at my feet. All of a sudden my courage disappeared and I felt like crawling into a dark cave and never coming out.
"Oh, hey it's alright" Dani said, standing from her seat and coming to sit beside me. I still kept my eyes down, unsure of how this was going.
"I'm sorry for dragging you both into my mess. I never wanted for any of you to witness that, especially Kaia. I also didn't know that they phoned her or I would have prevented her from coming".
"Ashton, it's fine. Everyone has their bad days and everyone has different ways of dealing with those bad days. You don't have to apologize for anything" Todd said reassuringly. I looked up at him and saw him giving me a smile. I instantly felt a bit better.
"I hope that you won't judge me based on what you saw, I was in a bad place. I hope you can understand" I said, looking at Dani nervously.
She placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me with such kind eyes.
"We understand and don't worry, this doesn't change anything. You're still the same Ash I know. We cool!" Dani said, tapping my shoulder.
I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. It felt really good to hear that come out of Dani's mouth. Up till now I thought they secretly hated me. It's so fucking good to know there's no bad vibes between us. Thank god.
"Oh, your girl's done" Todd says, giving me a smile.
"I better go see her" I replied, standing up from my seat.
"We're gonna head to the food court to order" Dani said, pulling Todd's hand out the door.
As I walked towards my beautiful Kaia, I saw her standing there beaming at me with a few outfits in her hand.
"Did you like any?" I asked, casually tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
She furrowed her brows, examining the clothes that she held onto. I'm guessing she was making the tough decision of which one she was going to take. Girls.
"I'm in a dilemma!" She said, touching her forehead.
"What's wrong?" I replied, taking the outfits out of her hand and holding them up for her.
"I like this one but I also like this one" she said, grabbing two out of the three outfits.
I looked at her and smiled, she looked adorable trying to make a decision. It's only clothes, jeez what's up with girls? The world won't fucking end if they choose the wrong outfit, or will it?
To cut her decision-making short, I grabbed the outfits out of her hand and walked straight to the cashier, dumping all three infront of her. The cashier looked up at me and gave me a smirk.
She then typed in a few things on the computer, packed Kaia's things in a bag and asked me for payment. I swiped my credit card and signed the receipts, trashing my copy and handing the other back to the her. She took the receipt off me and lightly brushed her fingers against mine. I looked at her with a weird face and she gave me a wink.
Is she serious? I'm literally shopping with my girlfriend. Fuck! I hope Kaia didn--
I glanced over my shoulder and saw my angel staring at me with a blank face. I know that look. She thinks it was me who was flirting with this. .I don't know what the fuck to call her.
"Kaia--"
"Let's just go" she replied hastily, cutting me off.
We walked in silence before I handed over her bag to her. She peeked inside and her eyes lit up when she saw that I bought all three outfits.
"Ash. ..you didn't have to" she said, looking at me wide-eyed. Wait, she's not happy? I thought she would be ecstatic that I bought all three. Girls!
"You don't look pleased" I replied, looking at the expression on her face.
She quickly stepped infront of me, stopping me from taking another step. The expression on her face had suddenly changed into a more lighter look. Maybe she's happy now? Oh fuck I don't understand how this works.
"I am pleased, it's just. ..you didn't have to get me all three. I was actually trying to decide on one".
"So you're upset just because of that?" I said, chuckling in disbelief.
"I'm not upset. I'm just--"
"Let me spoil you, angel" I cut in, leaning down to kiss her. She kissed me back but cut it short because she wanted to say something, again.
I swear this girl won't just let us have a moment. Girls!
"Next time, I'll be sure to carry only one outfit around so you don't get any crazy ideas again" she said in a serious tone, before moving out of my way.
"Do that and I'll buy you the entire store" I said, matching her serious tone with my own.
She looked at me wide-eyed, probably wondering whether I was joking or not. My serious tone can be quite convincing, even though I want to laugh at her face right now. God, I love this girl.
"You wouldn't!" She said, laughing out loud.
"Oh trust me, you'd be suprised" I responded, earning a kiss from her.
We spot Todd and Dani sitting at a table by the end of the food court, heaps of food infront of them. Okay, judging by the amount of food I'm guessing we all have similar appetites. I'm fucking glad. I thought these three would be eating salads while I devour a nice beef burger smothered by extra cheese. Fuck, just the thought of it makes me hungry.
"You hungry?" Kaia asks, glancing back at me as we head to the table.
"Fuck, yes" I replied.
* * *
I don't know how much longer I can take this. I thought lunch was the last thing on our list before we head back to campus. Little did I fucking know, we had another round of shopping left. Oh my fucking gosh, how do girls do it? Because I just can't.
We're currently in my territory looking for a gift for Elena. I could tell none of them had ever entered this store before, the look on their faces say it all.
Todd stared at Billy, the huge guy at the counter who had a massive beard and was covered in tattoos. He looked from a distance though, not wanting to interact with Billy. I laughed as I looked at him, standing by the entrance with his arms folded infront of him. He looked like he was about to run the fuck away from here.
Dani wandered around looking at the boots, even though they weren't her style, she was still intrigued.
Kaia stuck by me, browsing in the jacket section in search for the perfect leather jacket for Elena. She held up two and showed them to me, telling me to pick which one to get.
"Come on, Ash! You know Elena better than any of us do. Which one would she prefer?" Kaia said, insisting I pick one. I have never been under such pressure in my life. If I picked the wrong one and Elena didn't like it, Kaia would have my head. Oh fuck.
"Darling, they're both fine. She would appreciate any one of the two. It's the thought that matters" I said, trying to place the decision back on her.
"But I want it to be the perfect gift" Kaia said, hanging both jackets back on the rack. She bowed her head and walked away, looking disappointed. Why though? Fuck, did I say something? I don't understand girls.
I stood by the rack and looked at the two that she was holding. One was fringed and the other had studs. I knew Elena had enough studs, she practically wore one everytime we went out. The fringed one looks new though. I guess she would like this. I grabbed it off the rack and walked straight to Kaia, who was talking to Dani in the other aisle.
"Angel, here!" I called out, placing the jacket in her hand. She smiled happily and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"I knew you knew Elena's taste all along".
"Can we leave now? And I mean leave as in go back to my room. We need some more alone time, like seriously" I muttered before leaning down to kiss her.
"Ay! That's enough now boy!" A loud, deep voice called out from the front of the store.
"Shut up, Billy! Mind your own" I replied, as loud as he was.
Todd looked at me and gasped. Probably wondering why I talked back to Billy.
Kaia and I walked to the counter and placed the jacket down. Billy looked at me with whatever amount of teeth he had left and smiled.
"It's been long, my boy" He said in his rich southern accent, reaching out and tapping my shoulder.
"Too long" I replied, giving him a nod.
"Who's this pretty thing?" He asked, tilting his head towards Kaia.
"Mine!" I spat, pulling out my wallet from my jeans pocket.
Billy gave a hearty laugh and packed up the jacket. I swiped my card before Kaia could offer to pay. I didn't want her to pay for anything, even if it's a fucking three hundred dollar jacket. Fuck me!
I glanced down and saw her giving me the same look she gave after I bought all three outfits. I wanted to smirk but I'm afraid she might just hit me. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
"All set?" Dani asked, picking up her bag from the counter. Looks like she also bought something from here.
"Yep. We're done" I replied, draping my arm over Kaia in attempts that she would just let it go.
"We'll talk about this later" she said, glaring at me. Her grey eyes were brewing up a storm and I was kind of scared. Not of her but more like, what she's gonna say. Hope I didn't fuck anything up. What the fuck is wrong with you, Ash?
* * just a quick warning* *
The following chapter has some mature content.
If you're NOT into it- you can wait for the next update.
If you're OK with it, please proceed!
(It's nothing TOO smutty. Dw!)
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