Chapter 32
Scarlett
I’m in love with San Diego. There’s so much to do here, I don’t want to leave. I also don’t want to leave the company I’m with, even if he is trying to control everything.
I’m finding Matt is like me; he likes to be doing things.
It helps with my anxiousness to be moving.
It’s sexy seeing him plan so many things.
I don’t know why I feel okay with giving up control around him, but I think he’s making me trust him against my better judgement. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.
He’s going to leave.
I shake my head to try to get rid of the doubt.
He told me to get ready for a “girly” activity.
Seeing his face when he said “girly” was a fun activity on its own.
I’m not sure why he thinks I would want to do something girly, or what he means by that.
If it’s shopping, I’m in trouble. I hate shopping.
This morning we went for a run on the beach, complete with exercises like push-ups, burpees, and jumping jacks.
Now it’s time to get ready. I look over my outfit of khaki shorts and a black shirt with black sandals in the full-length mirror.
I’m not sure what you wear for a girly thing, but I’m sticking with my shorts.
I follow him into the garage where some nice, luxury convertible awaits. I should really work on my logos; I can never tell what kind of car he has.
I get into the passenger seat being sure not to touch anything. I don’t want to be responsible for breaking something in an expensive car. There are always so many buttons. You need a separate license just so you don’t push the eject button.
The car is nice, though. I love my car, but if I’m being honest, his cars put mine to shame. I’ll never admit it to him. His ego is already big enough.
The marine layer starts to burn off as we make our way to whatever activity this is. The sun peeking through the clouds warms my skin. The drive is quick, and Matt finds some parking in an area with a lot of tourists.
“Come on, sweetheart.” I stare around at my surroundings inside, trying to figure out where the hell I am. Matt comes to my door, holding it open a minute later. I take my time getting out, unsure of what to do or what direction to start.
He takes my hand and leads me to La Jolla Cove. We look over the edge to see a whole bunch of sea lions. We walk around for a little, and I enjoy the view of the wide-open ocean, the seals, and the waves crashing. After walking for a while, we run into some shops and galleries.
We stay hand in hand while I admire the window displays. I pause at one with a jumpsuit and blazer on a mannequin.
“We can go in, you know,” he insists.
“We could.” I nod.
I hear him chuckle as he shakes his head. Then he puts his hand on my lower back and starts leading me into the boutique. I try to spin around so I don’t have to go in, but then he grabs me by the hip and leads me through the door.
“Matt!” I scold in a whisper. “I never know what to pick when I’m shopping. I usually have my friends who know what they’re doing.”
“You wanted to go in, so we’re going in. Go take a look.” He nods to the store. “There’s no rush.”
“Surely you don’t want to be here with me shopping. We can go on an adventure. You know, somewhere else.” I wave my hand towards the door.
“You’re going to need something nice for what we’re doing later. I’ll take care of it. Come on.”
“You’re not buying me clothes!” I say in another hushed yell.
“Just let me take care of you. You know I’m going to win. Humor me.”
I look up at him with a hard glare, hoping he can feel it down to his toes. It appears to have no effect as he pushes me towards the clothing options. Now I have all this pressure to pick something pretty. I’m going to end up looking like a clown without Jason.
A woman wearing white pants and a black, frilly shirt with an understated belt greets us. “Hi, welcome in! Anything I can help you find?”
Matt answers for me. “She’s just looking for now, but we’re going to need a dress for a dinner tonight, it’s a special occasion.”
“Okay. I can help you get started. We have some options through here.”
We follow her to the dresses. I never wear dresses. Well, unless Paige picks a scandalous one for going out. It’s usually one of her dresses I borrow. What the hell do we need to get dressed up for later? I’m quite alright with going somewhere casual or having dinner at his beach house.
I turn to Matt and whisper. “We can just hang at your place. ”
“I want to take you out. Already have a reservation.”
I give a small smile to the clerk. “Dresses are nice and all, but is there something like the jumpsuit in the window?”
“Hmm, yes. Just this way.” She leads us over to some cool blazers, pants, jumpsuits, and blouses. “I’ll come back to check on you two.”
Matt turns to me with a frown. “You don’t like dresses?”
“I don’t mind dresses.” I shrug. “I just don’t know how to pick one that works on me. I’m very rectangular.” I glance down at my body.
“You’re beautiful.” His eyes hold contact with mine. “Pick whatever you feel comfortable in, sweetheart,” he says, then kisses the top of my head. “I need to step out for a minute. You okay until I get back?”
“Yeah.” I can escape the moment he leaves.
He must know I have ulterior motives. “You need to pick out something by the time I’m back. Got it?” I can tell he’s staring at me from the corner of my eye, waiting for confirmation. He’s not getting one.
I put one hand on my hip, swiping the options across the rack with the other. I pull out something random, ready to put on a show. Then I see the price tags and my eyes widen.
“Okay, off we go.” I hang up the garment and grab his hand. I pull him towards the exit, but he stays put.
“I told you to not worry about it. I’m taking you out and I can get whatever you want.”
“No, thank you. Let’s head down to another spot.” I pull his hand again.
“No. They have what you’re looking for. Get what you want or I’m going to pick a dress that I like, but either way, I’m getting you something to wear tonight. In here.” Another kiss to the forehead. “I’ll be back in twenty. Pick something.”
I watch him leave, my cheeks heating to the temperature of a volcano while I squint my eyes at the back of his head. I don’t have many options here. I can show up underdressed, let Matt pick a dress, or find what I want and return it.
I find the least expensive jumpsuit I can, which is still five hundred dollars—impeccable stitching, lightweight, and dark blue. Why do people need to spend so much money on clothes? People are crazy.
The woman comes over to me and asks if I want to try it on. The other options were twice as much, so I’m sticking with my blue jumpsuit.
“That’s all right. This one will be fine,” I tell her.
The door jingles, signaling Matt’s return.
He comes up behind her, takes the item and goes to the counter where the woman packages up the suit in tissue paper and a nice bag.
Matt pays while I stand behind him like a scared little girl.
My leg pumps as I look around, trying to focus on anything else. This is weird.
My plan is to leave the price tag on and then return it. I’m not letting him buy something so expensive for me. I would do it myself, but let’s be real, that’s half my rent payment.
“Thank you! Enjoy the rest of your day,” she tells us, handing the bag over to Matt.
“Thank you. You too,” he leads me out with a hand on my lower back once again. Once we’re outside he hands me his purchase.
“Thank you, but I’m returning this. Wherever we go tonight, you need to keep your paws off this suit.”
“You’re not returning that.” Then he bends so he can whisper in my ear. “It’s for me to rip off you later.”
My cheeks and ears heat to a hundred degrees. “We’ll see. You aren’t guaranteed to get lucky.” I push my nose up in the air and put some distance between us. He picks up the pace to catch up with me.
“I always get what I want.”
I look over to him, a smug crooked grin on his face.
“I did think you’d enjoy this activity more,” he tells me while grabbing my hand leading me down the road towards more shops.
“I think that’s enough shopping for today.”
“You sure? They have some galleries over here.”
“Oh gosh! So you can spend more money on crazy stuff? How about something more casual?”
“Ah. I know a place.” He starts walking us back towards the car.
After about thirty minutes we end up in one of the coolest places I’ve ever seen: Old Town. There’s an old cemetery, buildings and displays from the early 1900’s, and a lot of little shops and restaurants. Several people wander around.
We take our time exploring. Matt doesn’t have an itinerary here, so I lead him into a restaurant for a drink. Somehow, the place is empty.
I take us over to a small table made for two.
“I called ahead and made sure no one would disturb us.” I wink.
“Oh, did you?” he says with a raised brow. “That was thoughtful. Here I was thinking you had no idea where we would be.”
“I have my ways.”
A waiter comes over to our table where I order us each a margarita and water. We’re only there for twenty minutes, but the conversation is fun and playful.
We head outside where homemade tortillas await. This is much more my speed. I like having control of where we’re going for once. We’ve been here for a few hours, but it feels like we just arrived.
“I think we need to start heading back, sweetheart.” Matt checks his watch as we wait in line to buy candles we made ourselves.
“What?” My face falls. “But this is so much fun!”
“We have a dinner reservation and I’m assuming you need time to get ready.”
“We could skip it and have dinner here.” I give him an enticing smile, seeing if he’ll take the bait.
“I thought you like sticking to a plan.”
“Who me?” I point at my chest. “Nah. You have the wrong person.”
He chuckles. “I want to take you somewhere nice.”
He grabs my hand once we pay and then we walk over to the car.
Matt didn’t touch the margarita I ordered for him, so he’s good to drive.
I’m looking forward to whatever is planned tonight, but that means I’m trusting Matt and that’s the scariest part.
If he doesn’t see a future between us, I’ll have opened my heart for no reason.