It�s been a relaxing day thus far and I know I shouldn�t have thought it was going to stay that way. Now that the interviews were all done, for the day, they were finished until tomorrow, show day. There was a knock on my door and when I opened it Howie and AJ stood before me smiling,
�Prissy, we�re going shopping, put on some shoes.� He was so demanding,
�AJ, I�m not going anywhere. I�m tired.� He shook his head and pushed by me. I look at Howie and he shrugged,
�He�s taken an instant liking to you.� Yeah, he has and he is by far the one I am the most comfortable with, Howie coming in a close second. I can understand it all; it made perfect sense. Two married guys aren�t going to get close to some new woman, especially while they were on the road away from their wives. And the other, Nick, I don�t want him to get close. I invited Howie in and closed the door,
�I�ll just stay here and chill thanks.� He shook his head,
�That�s not acceptable.� My slippers finally took caught his attention and he laughed,
�Tweety.� I looked down at me feet and wiggled them,
�What�s wrong with Tweety? I like Tweety.� He shook his head,
�Oh I think they rock but it just doesn�t seem like you.� I�ve been accused of being too serious but there is a part of me that isn�t so serious all the time; particularly when I get a little alcohol in my system. He began to walk around,
�Where are your shoes? We�re going shopping.� I turned to Howie,
�Do I have a choice?� He shook his head,
�No, not at all.� I nodded and accepted that the rest of my day was going to be planned by AJ,
�Ok, well let me take a shower and change.� AJ frowned,
�You don�t need to shower and change. Let�s go.� I shook my head ardently,
�No way. Shower and change or I don�t go.� That was something about me that I couldn�t get over. If I didn�t get two showers a day I felt absolutely disgusting. If I could I would get three showers in a day, that�s me, that�s how I am. It�s one of my �things�. I guess my firm expression convinced him and he nodded,
�Ok, ok but you�re not going to take forever are you?� I shook my head,
�Nope, after my shower it will probably take me fifteen minutes top.� Howie smiled,
�After the shower? How long is the shower going to last?� He�s quite perceptive. I smiled,
�Well, when I�m home I always play the radio while I�m in the shower. It�s usually a four song minimum.� AJ frowned and looked at me,
�A song is about three to four minutes. So we�re talking twelve to sixteen minutes for a shower?� I smiled,
�And who said rockstars were stupid?� He smiled at me matter-of-factly,
�Probably you little Ms. UCLA.� I returned his smile,
�You�re probably right. Well, what�s it going to be?� I looked between them both and they seemed to have a nonverbal conversation that ended when Howie faced me and said,
�Sure, we�ll be in my room when you're ready.� AJ rolled his eyes as they began to walk out,
�Yeah, yeah but mine isn�t that bad. You act like its Nick�s room." Howie chuckled,
�Yeah, probably grown penicillin.� AJ turned and faced me before closing the door,
�I expect you in D�s room in thirty-one minutes.� I saluted him,
�Aye aye Captain.� I kicked off my shoes and took out something to wear and plugged in the iron before I stepped in the shower.
Sitting in the back of the SUV with AJ, I looked back and saw the other black SUV following us,
�You guys always travel like this?� AJ nodded,
�Pretty much. Its more comfortable besides you�re with us so all of us wouldn�t have fit in one anyway.� AJ and I were in the backseat and Howie in the front seat of one of the SUVs, their two security guards were in the other SUV. They argued that one of them should be with the boys but AJ put his foot down and said it wasn�t necessary and he didn't want to be cramped.
�So, do you always get dressed up?� I looked down at my outfit; I wasn�t dressed up at all,
�I�m casual.� AJ grimaced,
�You�re wearing khakis.� I nodded,
�That�s causal.� He shook his head,
�Don�t you have some jeans?� I nodded,
�Yes, I have a couple pair. I�ve built my wardrobe around what I can wear to work.� Howie nodded as he turned around,
�That makes sense.� Most of my life since I got my job has been all about business.
�When I go shopping I seem to think of what I can wear to work, its automatic, I don�t mean to.� AJ slapped his hand on my thigh,
�Well, when you go shopping today you will buy absolutely nothing that you can wear to work.� I nodded my head to make him happy,
�Sure.� I watched as the city flew by as he made our way down the highway,
�Where are we going? The mall?� Howie laughed and shook his head,
�No, a few shops downtown.� I nodded and they laughed back and forth, chatting about inside things I knew nothing about, some of that �had to be there� memories.
I forgot what it was like, forgot what is was like to go shopping with someone who didn't have to look at the price tag before saying,
�I�ll take that.� I looked over at AJ and he stopped,
�What? You don�t like it?� I shrugged,
�No, it�s nice.� He looked down at my empty hands,
�Why aren�t you shopping? Fun clothes remember?� I remembered but my bank account wasn�t one that could handle impulsive shopping.
�Yeah, I remember.� He walked over and held up a leather skirt,
�Go try this on.� A leather skirt?
�I don�t think so.� My wardrobe and style isn�t one that says look at me. I�m more of the wallflower type when it comes to clothes. Never any designs, never anything flashy, just plain solid colors. My only weakness was short skirts, but they were never inappropriate. Howie walked over and shook his head,
�I can�t see Priscilla in that.� AJ growled in my ear,
�I can see her out of it though.� I rolled my eyes but I couldn�t help but smile,
�Whatever pervert.� He shook his head,
�Prissy I didn't know when I named you that you were actually like that. You're a little too stiff, I�ll loosen you up.� I shook my head,
�Not going to happen AJ, trust me.� He nodded,
�I�ll break you down, trust me.� I nodded,
�Sure you will.�
Chapter 17
Total Control
Stories