“I’ll let my dad know when he gets back home on Wednesday,” Avian responded, not commenting on her mother.
They enjoyed their lunch, and once finished, they headed to the spa to enjoy a full package that included facials, hand massages, foot soaks, and hot stone treatments. Eri felt refreshed and relaxed when they walked out two and a half hours after arriving.
They pulled up at a shopping center after the spa and headed into one of the clothing stores. Eri found a few things that she liked, and then attempted to help Avian choose between two different cute summer dresses for a brief second before they decided the correct choice was to get both.
When it was her turn at the register, Eri pulled her wallet out of her purse. Opening it, she found Elias’ card in her wallet.
“That man,” she muttered.
“Is something wrong?” Avian asked.
Eri shook her head, pulling out her debit card and giving it to the cashier as they gave her the total. “No,” she started, turning her attention back to Avian. “Elias tried to get me to take his card last night to pay for whatever I wanted today. I declined, but he snuck it into my wallet.”
Lucy let out a laugh. “He’s his father’s son. If he gave it to you, use it. I’m surprised he didn’t take your cards out, leaving you no choice but to use his. It’s something Lorenzo would do.”
“He probably thought about it,” Avian said as Eri thanked the cashier, took her card and bag, and stepped aside. “That’s definitely something I could see my husband doing.”
“You and me both,” Lorna added while the cashier rang up her items.
Eri knew her boyfriend well enough to know that if she didn’t use it, he’d say something about it. So, she decided that if she found a single item in one of the other stores they went in, she’d use it then.
When they finished shopping, they dropped her off first, and Eri asked that they all let her know when they got home safely. Once in her apartment, she removed the tags from the clothing items she bought and put them in the washer. She put away the other things she had bought before going to her closet. Elias was taking her out that evening when he finished working.
Once she’d chosen her outfit, she went into her office to check if she’d gotten any more job requests or if there were some listed that she wanted to bid for to kill the few hours she had before she needed to get ready.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Elias refrained from chuckling as Eri glared at him before it morphed into a pout. He clearly wasn’t doing a good job of hiding his amusement as she pinched him playfully.
“It isn’t funny. You told me that the movie wasn’t scary.”
“No, I told you it wasn’t gory, which is what you asked,” he countered.
“I asked if it was scary, and you said no.”
“You asked if it was filled with blood and guts, and I said no.”
“You’re splitting hairs,” Eri replied.
Elias pulled her into his chest. “You didn’t enjoy the way I distracted you?”
She draped her arms over his shoulders. “I didn’t say that.”
He kissed her. The same distraction he’d given her through the movie, unfazed by the other people exiting the theater. When they pulled apart, he took her hand and led the way through the shopping plex to the other end, where they were having a late dinner at a Mexican restaurant.
Once they were seated in the restaurant and waiting for their server to come take their order, Elias reached across the table and took Eri’s hand.
“Did you have fun today on your outing?”
“I did,” she responded. “After lunch, we went to the spa and then did some shopping.”
“What did you buy when you went shopping?”
Eri gave him a rundown of what she bought before their server came to take their order. Once they were alone again, he continued the conversation.
“That sounds like a lot for thirty-seven dollars,” he responded, and he saw the exact moment she knew what he was saying.
He’d put one of his cards in her wallet because he wanted her to use it, but he should have known she wouldn’t for everything she wanted. Elias was sure she’d only used it when she did, because she thought it would pacify him.
