"This mall is great!" He looked over at her and smiled as she sat starry-eyed across from him like a kid at the North Pole.
"It's a mall Shay." She rolled her eyes,
"Maybe to you but I've never been to a mall like this before. The biggest mall I've ever been to is that one in Atlanta when I went to visit Anita when she lived in Norcross." He forgot and he felt a little bad now. He was the one who was always out on the road traveling not just the country but also the world. He was the one who was doing exciting things and meeting exciting people, even if he did have to remind himself sometimes. All this was done while she was cooped up back home working everyday at the same place, the same time, doing the same things. She hadn't experience all their life and lifestyle could afford her and maybe it was time she did. Never taking her to publicity events, it was almost unfair. It was almost like having a boyfriend and not getting to tell anyone, not getting to do anything together.
"All it takes is a mall to make you happy?" She popped the last of her ice cream cone in her mouth and nodded,
"Yeah, kind of." He stood up and tossed his napkin in the trash can near their table,
"Come on." She quickly caught up to Nick and slipped her hand in his as they walked the mall with Tim close behind them. They walked into Banana Republic and she looked at him,
"Why are we in here?" He picked up a skirt and held it to her waist,
"You like this store right?" Her head nodded slowly and she spoke at the same pace,
"Yeah." It was so rare that he did this. They very rarely went shopping together and when they did they went in the stores he wanted and it took major begging on her part to get him in a store she wanted to shop in. It was all for not because she only got to spend three minutes before he walked out after telling her he'd wait for her outside on a bench. She would give in and follow him out.
"May I help you?" A woman that looked like she was in her thirties stood before them with a bright smile on her face,
"Yeah, um she wants to get some stuff." Shayna's eyes widened and her face frowned before turning to the saleswoman with an equally bright smile.
"Is there anything in particular you like?" She shook her head,
"Not really but lately I've been into bright colors and I like skirts." She nodded and smiled, "We just got in some great skirts in all lengths. Why don't we go check them out?" She turned to him and he knew what she wanted. She wanted him to be there, she wanted him to give his input but she would be embarrassed if he said something along the lines of 'anything will look great on the floor beside the bed' in front of anyone. He took a few steps forward to let her know he would follow and dutifully stood behind her as she and the saleswoman started picking up pants, skirts, shirts, blouses, sweaters and whatever else he heard them say before Maggie, the saleslady, started a room for her.
"You don't mind me trying on all this stuff?" He shook his head and looked around the store, there was only one other person and she was deep in contemplation about which color shirt to buy,
"No, try it all on." Once she entered the dressing room he went over to Maggie,
"Whatever fits and she likes we're going to get." He could see the sparkle in her eyes and she looked like an idiot trying hard to not smile so hard her mouth swallowed her face,
"Yes sir." Even though Maggie was nice from the beginning it's amazing when money was involved how much more respectful and nice people became.
Between Nick, Tim and Shayna they struggled with bags from Victoria�s Secret, The Gap, The Limited and of course the more high end shops to include Sak's and that was just for Shayna. They had to make a trip to the car after her Banana Republic shopping spree. They were walking towards the car when a couple of girls stopped them,
"Nick! Nick! Can we get a picture with you?" A picture? He never understood all these people who just happened to have cameras with them at all times. Shayna was one of those people but she was a big photography buff. He had a feeling these girls weren't out taking pictures of buildings, skylines and ducks on a pond like Shayna with her thousand-dollar camera equipment. Not with those disposable cameras. Tim looked at him and he knew it wasn't something his bodyguard was thrilled about,
"Yeah sure." He placed his bags down and stood with them. Tim put his share of the bags down and grabbed the camera as Shayna stood there waiting. Once the picture was taken Nick smiled at them,
"Ok guys. I have to go." One of them, she was a little heavier than her friend, smiled in his face made him feel like he was some God-like being,
"Thank you so much. Just thank you for being so nice. I�you're a great person and we know how much you appreciate the fans and we love you guys so much. The CD is good, it's a great CD, the best ever." He was in shock, no matter how many fans he came across that ran off at the mouth and lost all composure when they were near him, it all just blew him away. He couldn't understand flipping out like that. His strategy when confronted with the situation of being face to face with someone he was a fan of was to simply smile and say hello. It wasn't to babble on and on as if they didn't know how to talk. He smiled and he fought hard to look calm but he was afraid he was losing the battle and was looking a little scared,
"Thanks, thank you a lot." Tim had already handed the camera back to her friend and was now ushering them out,
"Alright it's time to go." He looked over for Shayna but she wasn't there,
"Where did...?" The girls were still in earshot and he just didn't want to say anything from of anyone. It was just something he wasn't comfortable doing. They began to walk towards the exit and he lowered his voice,
"Where's Shayna?" Tim held the door with massive body as Nick walked out of the mall,
"She gave the ticket to the valet." No sooner did he finish his answer did the car arrive,
"Where is she?" Tim poked him in the arm and pointed to Shayna, who was sitting on a bench beside a huge potted plant, actually it was more like a tree. They all got in the car, Tim in the front, and the girls waved to them as they pulled away. She placed her hand on his thigh and gave it a little squeeze,
"I hope you aren't going to be too tired for the concert tonight. We did a lot of shopping." They were in the mall for over three hours and did more shopping than he did in a couple of years.
"I'm fine, but go ahead and drop me off at the venue and then take her to the hotel." He would probably be there a little early but it was better than getting to the hotel then having to file right back out and maneuver through the city,
"Where do you need to go?" He frowned at the driver, how the hell was he supposed to know? He couldn't even tell you the name of the arena.
"First Union Center." Leave it to Tim but then again he didn't know why he was always so impressed by such things, it was Tim's job to know where he was going, when and who was going to be there. He pulled a bandana-print halter top out of one of the bags,
"Your taste in clothes has changed." She usually wore solid colors and one of them was always usually always black. Very few prints, maybe a stripe here or there, and always very take home to mom worthy.
"I'm not working. Usually I just bought things I could wear to work." She took the top from his hands and smiled,
"This is going to go great with that red suede jacket." He shook his head at her and smiled. He was going to have her give him a show and changing outfits in front of him was mandatory.
