Chapter Fifteen

 

“I need your credit card.”

Aron raised an eyebrow. “Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad you’re going to let me help out but … why?”

I bit my lip. Was he going to understand? No, he’d probably think I was being childish. Well, I was here now, so I’d better just come out with it—right?

I took a deep breath.

“So … there is this guy at school … John, I’ve told you about him.”

Aron nodded, I saw his muscles tense.

“Well, he … uh, pointed out something that I guess some people think we’re together … because of your money.”

Aron nodded, taking it all in. “And you want my card because …”

“I want to go shopping. If people are going to think I look like a gold digger, then why not? You wanted to take me shopping in New York, right?”

I was hoping bringing that up would help tip the odds in my favor. I knew it was stupid. I knew on some level that if I went out shopping and bought a Gucci purse, everyone would be talking about how I was a gold digger but did that really matter?

I’d spent this entire relationship, although it hadn’t been that long, trying to make a point that I was still going to take care of myself. And now, despite all that John wanted to suggest, I was just with Aron for his money. So, I’d give them all something to talk about.

“So… you want to spite people who think you’re a gold digger by going shopping, with my credit card?”

“Something like that.” I bit my lip, wondering if it even made sense to me anymore.

Aron nodded slowly as if it didn’t quite make sense, but he was still trying to make sense of it. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and flipped it open. He looked down before closing it and stood.

“Alright, let’s go.”

I stared at him with wide eyes. “Um, what?”

“Well, I could use a break from work. Anyways, won’t it be more fun if I come with you?” His eyes sparkled.

“You … you don’t think I’m being childish or something?”

“Oh no, I do. But I’d probably do the same if I were in your place.” He circled around the desk and motioned for me to come with him as he led the way out of the office, his hand touching the small of my back.

We came to a dead stop.

“Jamie.”

She had blonde hair and bright green eyes—the kind I’d kill for. My heart skipped a beat as they fell on me. I could have been seeing things, but I’m pretty sure I saw hate behind them.

Though she was a little shorter than me, I was still kinda scared of her when she gave me a snide smile before turning back to Aron.

“Hi Aron.” Her voice was soft and flirty. “Did you like my treat earlier?”

My brow furrowed.

I was sure she was trying to manipulate me into fighting with Aron, but I couldn’t help wanting to ask what the fuck she was talking about. Deep breath. I bit my lip and forced myself to smile.

“He loved it.” I gave her a soft grin.

Her eyes fell on me, widening.

“The brownies were really good,” Aron said quickly as if he was scared of what I thought she might mean.

Brownies. She baked for him? Wow. He had a hard time getting me to make dinner for him; if this girl actually baked for him, I was screwed. I couldn’t blame him if he wanted her. My stomach twisted. Don’t think like that.

“I’m glad to hear that.” She ignored me; instead, her full attention was on the man I was about to leave the building with.

“I’ll wait in the car,” I spoke softly. “I don’t want to get in the way of your guys’ work.” I gave Aron a quick smile and stepped past them, heading for the elevator.

“So, that’s your girlfriend?”

“Um, yea.”

“She … looks young enough to be your daughter.”

I smirked as I waited for the elevator. I wasn’t sure if she realized I could overhear them, or if she realized she wasn’t helping her case by telling him that. She was only hindering her own chances of getting with him by saying that, and I knew it.

“She is a couple years younger than me.”

The girl snorted.

The elevator door opened in front of me as I heard him ask if there was something she wanted or if he could join me.

I didn’t hear her answer before the door closed, as much as I would have loved to.

The elevator ride gave me a couple seconds to think, mostly about the woman who had been talking to Aron. She looked beautiful and about his age. And for some reason, that made me dislike her.

I was supposed to be confident because I was younger, because men weren’t supposed to give up a girl and trade her for an ‘older model’.

It was the other way around. Guys left their wife for a ‘younger model’. Right?

The elevator dinged, and I stepped out onto the main floor. I saw another elevator open.

Aron stepped off it.

“Hi,” his eyes sparkled.

I stared at him with wide eyes.

“I got lucky; there was an open one right as you started to go down. I managed to get away from Jamie just in time to get to it.” He reached out and took my hand in his quickly.

Together, we made our way out of the building and to his car.

“You know, if you want, you can borrow another car tomorrow.” His eyes shone as he said it. “Or I could buy you one.”

I was left speechless because he sounded like he actually meant it.

“No, I’m not going to make you buy me a new car!”

“You’re not making me do anything.” He gave me a quick smile as we came to a stop in front of his car just long enough for him to unlock the door and we slid into our seats.

“I’m not going to let you buy me a new car.”

“But new clothes are fine?”

“Yes.”

He laughed softly. “Fine, but I have six; you can borrow whatever you want, except my Lambo.”

I turned slowly to stare at the man in the car with me. “You … you have a Lamborghini?”

Pride filled his eyes. “Yes.”

“Wow …” I stammered. I hadn’t realized. I really needed to go look in that garage; clearly he was holding out on me in there.

“I hardly drive her, but I do have one.”

I could understand why he hardly drove it. I’d be nervous to take it for a quick run up to the store. They were amazing cars from what I’d heard, but they were so expensive I’d be scared to scratch the paint on it.

Aron pulled out onto the main street. He seemed to know where he was going, though he didn’t give it away to me.

“So, are we talking a couple new things or a whole new set of clothes?”

“In the middle. I was thinking some nice shoes for sure.”

Aron smirked.. “Only if you wear them in the bedroom, too.”

I laughed. I reached out and took his hand; more than anything, I was just glad to see that Aron didn’t seem to mind that I wanted to do this.

We drove for half an hour until we pulled into a large mall parking lot. I looked around. I’d never seen it before. My brow furrowed. I’d never heard of this place before. Why here?

“If you want to get some nice clothes, the best place to go would be here,” Aron said as if reading my mind. “There are a few really high-end stores that sell some really high-end products. If I’m taking you shopping, I’m going to buy you good quality stuff.”

“And what if you’re just paying for a name, not the quality?” I raised a brow.

Aron laughed softly. “Remember, I do have a mother. I’ve been shopping with her too many times not to know. Sadly.” But his eyes sparkled as he guided me towards the mall entrance.

“So she told you all these good brands?”

“No, but I’ve picked up on where she likes to shop, and I do watch TV. I know some brand names. But mostly, I just go shopping with my mother.”

I nodded, taking it all in. I still had so much to learn about Aron and his family. And he still has to meet mine! I’d been avoiding calling my mom to set something up. I didn’t want to deal with it, not yet, and after today, I wasn’t sure I was going to want to for a while. If people at school, my best friends even, thought I was a gold digger, what would my own family think?

And last night … the fight between us had been … hard. The fight scared me. I knew every couple fought, but this was our first one. Would we be able to make it through this?

Aron pulled me closer to him, his arm wrapping around my shoulder, and for a split second, I felt better about everything. I felt like everything would be okay, and like we would be okay. I leaned into him as much as I could while we walked into the mall, and Aron led the way into a store that I’d never even dream of going into normally. Aron didn’t seem phased by the stares he got from the women.

“Well,” he whispered in my ear. “What ones do you like?”

“All of them,” I retorted.

He laughed softly as I pulled away from him and went over to look at a pair of blue lace stilettos. I picked them up, looking them over, and then I looked down at the price tag. My eyes widened and I put them back quickly.

“Excuse me.” Aron grabbed the shoes and held them up. “Could we get these in a seven, please?”

“Of course.” One of the girls headed for the back room as quickly as she could.

“Dude,” I muttered. “Those are like $600.”

“So? I thought that was quite reasonable for Monola Blahnik.”

I stared at him with wide eyes. It wasn’t the brand; it was the price, no matter the brand of shoes. How could he be so clam about spending that much on a single pair of shoes?

Before I could ask, the girl came out with a box and handed them to me.

“Um, thank you,” I managed. I sat down with the box and kicked off my $7 thrift store shoes. I had some designer shoes, after New York. But, as materialistic as it was, I really liked the idea of having more. I wanted more.

I wanted to have high-end stuff. My heart skipped a beat. Why? I’ve never cared about expensive stuff before. But … I’d never been in a situation where I might be able to afford it.

 

An hour later, we walked out of our third store and headed down a few feet before entering the next one. Aron had already made one trip back out to the car to put some bags in there.

“Where to now?” he asked.

I bit my lip, mulling it over. Where did I need to go? I’d gotten shoes, purses, clothing … there really wasn’t much else to get. I could get some more clothes, I thought. “How about there?” I pointed to one of the stores.

“Sounds perfect.” Aron and I headed towards it.

My heart skipped a beat as I looked at all the gorgeous clothing in the store. The employees looked so well put together and so did the dummies in front of the glass that had drawn my eye in.

I headed for the back of the room because even in high-end stores, the sales racks were at the back. I wanted to explore every inch of this store, but I forced myself back to the sales rack before I was tempted to try on a leather jacket that had caught my eye.

I reached out and touched black fabric that caught my eye. Actually, it was the blue flower print on it that caught my eye. It almost felt like silk.

I pulled it off the rack and looked at it. Might be a little too small. But I might fit into it. I mean, there was a good chance I could. I pondered, really wanting to try it on. Fine, I’ll try it on if I can find a couple other things to try on with it.

So, the search began. I was determined to find at least three things; otherwise, I wasn’t going to waste my time trying shit on.

“What about this?”

I spun to see Aron holding a navy blue dress. I stared at it. “Um, sure.” I reached out and took it on a hanger. I couldn’t tell much about it. It looked a little boxy, and I could tell that there was a slit above the chest, but I’d give it a shot and see how it looked on me.

I turned my attention back to the rack. I have no idea where I would even wear that. But I’d humor Aron.

I scanned the rows of sale items, slowly making my way closer and closer towards the end of the racks, my fingers running over the fabric gently until my eye caught a teal. I stopped and pulled the shirt out. It was a deep V with a chain going across it, obviously meant for something to be under it. A halter top. I touched the soft fabric, biting my lip.

Fuck it; I’ll give it a shot, I thought before checking the tag to make sure it was the right size. Bingo. I pulled it off the rack and headed for a change room.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Aron cooed softly, making my heart skip a beat. He’d seemed more than happy to buy me whatever shoes I wanted, despite the price on some of them, and when it came to the purses and the clothes, he hadn’t seemed to blink at the bill. The girls stared at him wide-eyed as he calmly offered his debt card up to them. One of the girls working here noticed me heading towards the change room; she hurried over and unlocked it for me.

“Did you find everything you were looking for?”

“Yes,” I said. I noticed her look me up and down and wrinkle her nose, but I ignored it.

“Thank you.” I gave her a quick smile as I ducked into the change room and closed the door behind me. I took a deep breath, looking at myself in the mirror. I bit my lip. No one she wrinkled her nose at me. I was wearing a pair of dirty jeans and a black three-day-old tank top. She probably thought there was no chance I’d be able to afford anything in here. And she’d be right. I couldn’t afford to shop here.

I blew out a deep breath. Is this stupid? Maybe I should just take everything back and not do this. I knew it was childish to act out like this. Doesn’t matter. I wasn’t going to go back on this.

I was going to buy a fucking $300 shirt; I was going to wear it to school tomorrow with my $600 shoes, and I was going to rock it.

I pulled my pants off and reached for the skirt. I slipped into it, running my fingers over the soft fabric, turning on an angle so I could see my butt. I reached for the shirt. Maybe they didn’t quite go, but I’d put them on together because they were both way too nice to put on with the dingy clothes I was wearing. I stared at myself in the mirror. I’m not sure if it’s that I knew how much it cost me or if it was actually the fabric and the quality, but it felt so much nicer than it normally did trying on clothes.

I turned away from the mirror and stepped out of the change room.

Aron looked me up and down.

“Wow.” His eyes sparkled.

“You like them? I mean, not together obviously.”

“I think you look amazing in them.” He stared at me, taking everything in.

I felt my cheeks burn.

“Go put the other one on.”

“Alright.”

I headed into the change room, stripped quickly and changed into the dress Aron had picked out for me. I stared at it in the mirror.

It hugged my curves; I was wrong about it being boxy, and the soft slit above my breast was just enough skin.

I stepped out of the change room, not daring to admit how much I loved it.

“I have no clue where I would wear this,” I said shrugging.

“A job interview.”

“In two years?” I raised an eyebrow.

“No, next week.” I stared at him, my brow furrowing. “I have a client who is interested in hiring someone. I’m too busy, so I told him I’d send over a sample of a friend’s work. He liked it.”

“You … you found my samples?”

“Yea. I didn’t want to mention it to you in case he wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to get your hopes up for nothing and cause you more stress when I’m sure school and work are stressful enough.”

I stared at him speechlessly.

“I … I could have an interview?”

“He said he’d like to meet you some time to discuss details.”

Aron and I made our way to the counter and placed the three garments on the counter in front of the sales girl.

She looked us up and down, then smiled as her eyes locked on to Aron.

“I hope you were able to find everything you wanted.” She gave him a flirty smile, despite the fact that she looked my age, or even younger.

As stupid as it was, I liked that she looked like she was younger than me and still seemed more than into him.

“I did, yes.” He smiled as she scanned the items and packed them into a bag. “Alright.”

She motioned to the chip reader where he could pay.

Aron nodded before tapping his card against it. I glanced over just in time to see Rejected pop up across the screen. A soft beep after it.

My heart skipped a beat. I had never been around when a card was rejected.

I felt my cheeks go dark. Did we spend too much? I wasn’t sure I’d be able to live with myself if I drained his bank account.

“Um ...” She stared at it, her cheeks flushing.

“Hmm.” Aron didn’t sound worried. “It was debit, right?”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “Uh, no. I’m so sorry, sir. I just assumed ...”

I saw a tight smile spread across his lips. “That might be the issue then. I’d like to pay with debit. Not credit.”

I saw the girl’s cheeks darken. She nodded as she got the machine set up for debit—not credit.

This time, the card was approved right away, and she printed off the receipt, putting it into the bag before handing it to me.

“Have a nice day,” she called as we headed out of the store.

I waited until we were out of the store before opening my mouth.

“I gotta admit, I was freaked out for a second there.”

“What?” He laughed softly. “You thought we had drained my account?”

“I considered it,” I admitted, my cheeks flushing.

Aron laughed, pulling me closer to him. “It will take a lot more shopping to do that to me ... Like, say a new car.”

“Maybe some other time,” I said, not really meaning a word I spoke.

His eyes sparkled and he looked so happy, though, that I didn’t mind lying. I knew I should have felt bad for it, but I didn’t.

We made our way through the mall slowly, looking around for the next store to make our way into.

“How about a phone?’ he asked, guiding me towards a store that had displayed dozens.

“Oh no, I’ve only had mine for five years.”

Aron came to a stop, jerking me to a halt. “You what?” He stared at me with wide eyes.

I stared at him. He looked at me like I had said something horrid to him. “We are going to get you a new phone.”

Without another word, he pulled me into the store.

“Alright, what do you like?”

“How about this one?” I pointed towards a pink one. It looked like it might be a couple models out of date, but it was cute.

“No.” He sounded disgusted. He pulled me away from it and headed towards the newest models.

I tried to fight but eventually gave up. We compromised; I got last season’s top model phone, and it saved us $200 off the bat.

As we walked out of the store, I stared down at the bag carrying my new phone. I couldn’t believe here I was with a brand new phone.

“Are you ready to head back to the place?” I asked.

“Actually, I was thinking about one more thing we needed to do for you.” He paused.

I stared at him. “What was that?”

I wasn’t sure how much more I was willing to let him spend on me. I bit my lip. The more he buys for me, the harder it is for me to say no to him. I knew it was true, but I really hated the idea of saying no to him. No, I hated the idea of not letting him buy me something—as bad as I knew it was.

“Your hair.”

I touched my hair instinctively. “You … don’t like it?”

“It’s not that!” he said quickly. “I just thought it might be a nice change, that’s all.”

I bit my lip, mulling to over. I’d never done anything really fancy with my hair before. It might be fun to try something.

“Did you have somewhere in mind?”

“I think there is a salon in the mall,” he said, looking around.

We made our way over to a mall map, then across the building to the salon, where Aron paid for me to get my hair done.

By the time I was done with my hair, I was done shopping for the day. I was tired and wanted nothing more than to just get home, and go to sleep. When we got home, it took two trips to make it into Aron’s house with all the bags that we had.

We put them all down in the guest room and stared at all the new things I now had.

Damn, tomorrow is going to be fun.