Chapter 7

The three of us walked through the mall with me tucked in between the two of them. Every store that Morana wants to go in, Andras says no. That it is not my style. I can see the frustration literally building up inside of her. Finally, he walks over to a store that has a more diverse selection of clothes. Every store that Morana went to was filled with mostly pink clothes. This one that Andras lead us to has some really cute outfits in darker colors. It is more of a grunge-type store. "This is the store you should be shopping at for Bronwen."

“I do like this store,” I tell her, trying to keep the peace. It's different from the other stores, that if I'm being honest, were a bit too, um, preppy for my taste.

“Remind me who invited him?” Morana demands of me with a roll of her eyes. I shrug and grin. He pushes us into the store, steering us towards a display with a skater dress. It's got a green and black plaid bodice and a solid black skirt that would hit me right at mid-thigh. I immediately fall in love with it.

“This is perfect,” Andras says. Morana looks at me. As much as I love it, I don't want to agree with him, so like a child, I just shrug.

“Come on.” Morana grabs my hand, pulling me to another section. Andras stays behind, much to my relief. She pulls me over to a row of skirts that I have to admit are super cute. “With your fabulous legs, I want to see you in more skirts.”

“Anything for you,” I say with a fake flirty smile, batting my eyelashes at her.

“Keep it in your pants, girl!” She tells me, moving past me with a laugh. I nearly scream when she playfully slaps my butt, I'm so surprised. I burst out laughing and she giggles again.

She holds up a few skirts. “I love that one!” I point to the black one with gray lace underlay. “That one is way too much for me!” I say about the yellow and black striped mini skirt. “That one is a maybe,” I say about the leather pencil skirt.

She adds them to her pile, minus the yellow skirt. We move on to jeans. She grabs me a pair of skinny jeans in a dark wash, light wash, and in black. She even grabs me a pair of black leather pants. “Get a size bigger in the leather. They aren't very accommodating to hips like mine.”

She does as she is told. Then she goes to tops. She buys me some lace tank tops in white, black, red, green, blue, and three different shades of gray. She finds a really pretty black flowy top with red roses and tiny skulls over it that she thought looked good with the leather skirt. For the black skirt with gray lace, she got the gray lace tank and a black half sweater to wear over it. By the time I finally got her out of the tops section, she had at least thirty in her basket.

As we are walking to shoes, she spots a leather jacket. “Oh my gawd, you have to have that!” She runs across the store to it, ripping through them until she finds my size. “Yes! Here we go!” 

She adds it to the basket. They have these jackets in every color and she looks at other colors, but I'm already terrified of how much she has spent. I don't want to get more than I need. We head over to shoes finally and she immediately goes over to a pair of thigh-high leather boots. “Get these in your size. They will make your thighs pop, oh my gawd. You will look so damn sexy!”

I do as I am told, while she goes about adding flats, heels, mini boots, and sneakers. “Come on!” I tell her. “You have way too many things!” I accuse her. She has two baskets overflowing with clothes in her hands and I have three baskets in mine.

“One more thing!” She cries, running off. I am left standing where she left me, feeling as lost as I must look.

“You look like you have been abandoned,” Andras says from behind me.

“Your sister has a medical condition.. seriously. This level of love for shopping is unhealthy.” I tell him. "You're parents must be billionaires if they can support this habit of hers.

He looks at the baskets in my hands. “If that's all she got today, then she is really pacing herself. I am actually impressed.”

“Please tell me that you are joking,” I say. He gives me a sardonic look and a nod. “Right. As if you're known for your sense of humor.”

He grabs the baskets from my hands. “Come on. If we stand by the registers, it will make it easier for her to find us.” He leads me over to where two women stand ringing up purchases.

“There you two are. Come on. We have still got a lot of shopping to do.” Morana breezes past us, walking over to the empty counter and slamming down the baskets. I notice she added purses and jewelry to her basket.

“Oh my God. Shouldn't we stop her?” I ask Andras, concerned. I don't want this shopping spree to be the reason they have to live off of Ramen noodles for the next few months.

“There is no stopping her now. She is way too far gone. We can only fortify ourselves with strength, in the hopes of keeping up with her.” He tells me with mock solemnity. He is joking with me. Andras, the king of serious, actually made a joke. The end is surely nigh because that has got to be a sign of the times. “Morana, we're going to go get something to eat. Meet us at the food court.” He calls out.

Since I did not eat last night because they were at my house, I never eat breakfast and I skipped lunch today, my stomach is growling and gurgling horribly. I am well aware of the three meals in a row that I have missed. I am starving. He grabs my hand in his, pulling me behind him out of the door. Even when we are out of the store, he still holds on, though he matches his pace to mine instead of dragging me in his wake.

We reach the food court and I see all the different options for food. I look around in wonder. “So many options, it's hard to choose.”

Andras just watches me without speaking. 

I see a smoothie shop and I gasp. “Smoothie! That's what I want.” I pull him behind me this time, moving over to get in line. The sign says they will add as many fruits as you want, so I am thinking about all the fruits I want. When it's finally our turn to order, I tell the boy behind the counter. “Hi! I would like a medium smoothie, please.”

He smiles at me warmly. “What fruits would you like in it?”

“Pineapple, mango, strawberry, raspberry, and peach. Is that a weird combination?” I ask him with a grin.

“That's actually one of the better combinations I have heard. The nastiest in my opinion was banana, passion fruit and honeydew. It turned a nasty color and it kind of smelled bad.” He tells me with a small chuckle.

“Eww. That doesn't sound very appealing to me, but to each his own.” I make a face.

He is grinning at me when Andras moves closer. The boy turns serious. “Is that all for you?”

“We will take two of those smoothies,” Andras says. “That will be all.”

The boy gives the total and before I can pay, Andras is swiping a card. “I could have gotten mine.” I protest, to which he just gives me a mean look.

I move over to the next kiosk, seeing cheesecake. My favorite. I get in line, leaving Andras to wait for our smoothies. There are four people in front of me and the line is moving so slowly, that I'm not sure the cheesecake is worth it and I'm contemplating leaving the line when Andras walks over to join me. He waits in line with me, as we drink our smoothies. It is actually really good. I love frozen drinks. Always have. Milkshakes, smoothies, slushies, frozen cokes. All of that.

“So, you're getting dessert first.. are you going to get anything else?” Andras asks me.

“Nope. Cheesecake and a smoothie are all the meal that I need.” I say to him.

“Odd combination, but okay.” Andras simply shrugs and the conversation between us drops. I really have nothing to say to him anyway.

We stand in line for fifteen minutes before I finally get my cheesecake. I pay for it with Alec's money, but when I take a bite, it is disgusting. I have to resist spitting the bite in my mouth out into my hand. Instead, I force myself to swallow it. “Ugh.” I close the plastic lid on it, covering it up.

“What's wrong?” Andras says.

“I don't like it,” I tell him.

We're walking back towards where we left Morana since she didn't come to find us. “It can't possibly be that bad.” He says.

Oh, you think? I open the container and pick up the fork, getting a big old bite for him to try. I offer it to him. When he leans down to take the bite off the fork, I grow flustered. I didn't think about how intimate it is to feed someone. I watch as his lips caress the fork, cleaning the bite off.

Then I watch his face contort in disgust as the flavor hits his tongue. I laugh with glee. “See? I told you!”

I'm laughing and he's trying to swallow the food without gagging when I spot Noah standing in front of us. He looks at me as if I am committing some crime just by being in the mall. “What are you doing here?”

I look at him calmly, ignoring the attitude. “Shopping, of course.” I feel Andras move closer to me. His hand clasps mine gently.

“With him?” He asks, his tone an accusation.

“Clearly,” Andras says.

“And Morana,” I say. I imagine that Maci is here somewhere with him and I don't really want to run into her or have her see me talking to Noah. That's a headache I don't want to have to deal with. “Whom we really should be getting back to,” I say to Andras, tugging at his hand linked in mine. He moves with me but as we pass Noah, he leans down to whisper quietly in my ear.

“I will see you at home later.”

Andras

“I will see you at home later.” The emphasis on later and the innuendo in his words set my blood to boiling. 

I want to rip his throat out. I see Bronwen go pink and I can't tell if it's from embarrassment or arousal. If it's the latter, I might actually puke up the disgusting cheesecake she just fed me.

I feel her hand tugging on mine once more and I watch as she walks on, her hand gripping mine tightly. I wonder if she even realizes. Probably not or she would drop my hand like a hot potato.

I knew that she was going to Noah's apartment. She told us already, so it wasn't a surprise. It was just how he said it that made me want to rip out his tongue and shove it up his ass. He said it with such slimy innuendo and promise.

I know what he is expecting from her tonight. I wonder if she is expecting the same thing. Not that it is any of my business, I tell myself. But that doesn't stop me from wondering anyways. Or from hating it with every fiber of my being.

Bronwen

We find Morana about to head into a lingerie boutique. She spots us approaching and comes over to grab my arm. “Perfect timing.” She says, tugging me behind her. My hand is still linked to Andras's hand, so we all go into the store. “We have got to get you some sexy undies to go with your sexy new outfits.”

I blush at her words. Even though I am sure that Andras couldn't care less about my undergarments, it still embarrasses me to talk about it in front of him. She walks over to a table of thongs and holds one up between her fingers, a lifted eyebrow directed my way. “Huh? What do ya think? Sexy, right?”

“Not really my style.” I saw. I spot a table of lacy boy-short panties and I move over. “This is.” She joins me and together we pick out a pair in every color that has my size. Ten pairs later and we are looking for matching bras for each pair of undies.

I'm looking at the bras with cotton cups that are trimmed in lace. When I look at Morana, she is holding up an all lace black bra that is completely see-through. It has a matching pair of bottoms and she tosses it in the pile. The pile that I didn't notice was in Andras's arms. She is throwing my potential underwear into her brother's arms. Her super freaking hot brother who I only want touching my underwear in one scenario.. and this ain't it.

He seems unfazed but I am so uncomfortable that I feel myself growing anxious. “I need some air,” I say, leaving the shop. There are more than enough things there for me to make do, so she doesn't really need me to shop with her anymore.

I am standing by a video game store, fidgeting with my fingers, when Andras finds me a few minutes later. “You okay?”

I nod, mutely.

“What happened in there?” He asks me, sounding in equal parts confused and concerned.

“Nothing.”

“Not nothing. You freaked out a little bit. I would like to know why.” Andras says.

"And people in hell would like ice water. Doesn't mean they are going to get it!" I'm embarrassed and he's pressing the issue, which only annoys me. “I did not freak out. I was embarrassed so I came outside. That's not freaking out! I did not make a scene or act stupid. I simply excused myself and left.”

“Why were you embarrassed?” Andras asks, ignoring every other part of my little speech.

“Because I just was.” I say.

“Because of me?” He asks, ever the observant one. Give the boy a medal!

“Yes, if you must know. I didn't realize where she was tossing all the things she picked out. When I turned and saw you holding all my- the underthings, it was kind of weird for me. I got flustered, so I come out here.” I glare at him “Happy now?”

“I am not unhappy.” He says with a shrug.

He is so damn infuriating that I want to kick him in his damn shins. He gives me a grin, as if he knows exactly what I'm thinking. “So basically you got all hot and bothered because I was touching your underwear." He gives a sexy smirk, that if I weren't so annoyed with him, would most likely have made me weak in the knees.

“You are so obnoxious,” I tell him, with a roll of my eyes.

“I know. Come on, Morana might actually be done some time tonight.” He tells me with a smile.

“Was that an attempt at humor?” I ask him in mock surprise.

Now it is his turn to roll his eyes. “Just come on.”

I follow him as he heads back to meet Morana. Once he takes the bags she carries, she confesses that she thinks she is done. “I don't know of anything that I might have missed.” She almost sounds sad that she is finished and I smile at the thought. When it comes to shopping, this girl has more get-up-and-go than the energizer bunny.

We pile in to the car, with me riding up front beside Andras. I turn to him, “Do you mind stopping by one more store?”

“Think we will have room for anything else?” He asks with a small smile and a nod towards the back seat. While we got our smoothies, Morana had loaded all the bags of clothes in the car, taking up most of the tiny back seat. Then when we came out with the four bags from the lingerie store, we had to pile them on top of her when she climbed in the back.

“Probably not, but I really need a few things,” I tell him.

So he pulls into the store that I point to and he and I go in together. We leave Morana in the car because if we moved the bags around to let her out, we would probably never get everything back in again. I pull up my phone, making quick work of Alec's list.

He needed toiletries and a few other random items. While we are in the home health and beauty section I find shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, razors, shaving cream, and perfume for myself. I buy a hairbrush because I doubt Noah has one. A toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash later, I feel like I have everything that I might ever need.

Pillows! No man Noah's age has enough pillows in his home. If I am going to have to sleep on the damn floor, which I probably will, I am going to at least need pillows and a blanket.

I'm glad Andras is with me, because I end up having to ask him to push the shopping cart while I carry everything that wouldn't fit. Finally we are ready to leave, but I am dreading heading back. I have actually had a good time with them and I do not want this evening to end.