We came home from the Doc Marten store with a load of new shoes. However, all except one of the boxes was for Zac.
And he bought his yellow boots.
Zac had conned me into buying a pair of knee-high black lace-up boots. I was surprised when the bill came up to well over a thousand dollars, and apparently so was the cashier.
"I guess I went a little overboard with the shoes, huh?" Zac said, looking over the receipt. I laughed. "What?"
"Well, I would figure that a woman would go overboard at a shoe store, not you Zac." He shrugged. "But geez kid, $1,406.87 for shoes?" I asked, looking at the total.
"Well�I had a good reason! They have good shoes. And you spend a hundred and fifty on those boots."
"You told me to buy them! I don�t need shoes, I don�t even wear shoes!" I told him. He glanced at my feet. They were bare.
"I guess you don�t, but you�re going to need them."
"Why?" I asked. "I have my sandals, I don�t need anymore." He gave me a look, biting his lip. I didn�t like that look. "Do I?"
"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise, but we�re going to a really fancy restaurant tonight and they don�t accept sandals. I was going to take you out for something to wear but�I just might not take you if you keep up an attitude."
"Zac, I don�t do a lot of shopping, but we won�t have enough time if you stay here!" I said, grabbing his hand this time and running out of the room.
We went to some fancy smanchy store, and once we got inside I felt out of place. I was wearing sandals, five year old shorts and a tank top, when everyone else there was all proper.
I had to admit I was in the hospital I went down to the line between slob and alright. Zac was much better than me. I just stopped caring lately.
Quickly avoiding them, I went over to the evening wear section of the store. "People here are giving me strange looks, Zac," I said to him. He shook his head.
"Ignore them. Once they find out we have money they�ll be a lot nicer. Trust me. I�ve been here before, they know me. Especially after my mother had a five thousand dollar shopping spree here."
"I want money," I said, shaking my head and walking over to the skirts.
An employee there came up to us, with Zac facing away. By the look on his face he was going to ask us to leave. "Excuse me," he said. Zac turned around.
"Yes?" he said. The employee look at Zac, surprised.
"Nevermind. I�m sorry," he said, and walked away. Zac smiled.
"That�s the same guy who almost kicked me out when we came here last month. He used to work in LA too, I remember him. He was at Sacs Fifth Avenue."
"You went shopping there before?" I asked. Zac nodded. "I can�t afford to LOOK in there!" I turned away in pure disgust. I wish I had money.
I found a really good outfit within an hour. I wouldn�t let Zac see it because I wanted to surprise him. It was really nice, and it only cost two hundred dollars.
When we got back into the hotel, I took my boots and my new outfit and ran into my room, closing and locking the door behind me. Zac came knocking more than once and each time I told him that I was getting ready.
"But Tini it�s three o�clock! We don�t have to leave till six!"
"Then I better hurry up! I only have three hours! Leave me alone so I can get ready!" I yelled through the door. My mom was in there, shaking her head.
"Tini I�ve never seen you so frantic," she said.
"Well mom I want to look like I have color in my skin tonight. And that takes a lot of time and a lot of make-up."
"You�re going to give yourself a panic attack."
"No I won�t, I know what I�m doing. Now if you�re not going to help then go away." My mom just shook her head and watched.
Three hours later Zac pounded on the door. "Tini? Are you ready yet?" he asked.
"Almost."
"Almost? What the hell are you doing in there?" he asked.
"You�ll find out when I come out. Now I�m done. You ready to see me?" I asked, fixing the tendrils of hair I had let down on my face. I even cut them to have them lay well.
"Yeah." I smiled, giving myself an extra coat of maroon lipstick, stuck the tube in my black purse and walked over to the door.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah! Come on, Tini." I unlocked and opened the door. Zac took one look at me and his jaw dropped. He took a few blinks and shook his head.
Well I would understand. When I saw what my mother did to me I was shocked too. My hair was pulled back into a claw clip, the tendrils outlining my face. It took a can of hairspray to keep it that way. My face had color, I wasn�t pale. I believe it was my rosy cheeks and my maroon eye shadow and matching lipstick that did it.
My shirt was low-cut and tight in a deep maroon color with long sleeves. I guess maroon was the color for the day. There was a black fur (fake fur) along the neckline and wrists. My skirt was black silk, and it was a little too short, but I was only going to wear it that night. And I was wearing my boots.
"Dang�" Zac trailed, looking over me a few times.
"Well are you going to just stand there and look at me or are we going to dinner?" I asked. He took my hand, not really being able to say anything, and led me to the elevator.
Diana walked out of her room just as we passed by it. "Zac, where are you going?"
"To dinner," Zac said.
"I thought you were going with Tini," she said. I smiled. "Where is she? And who is this?"
"It�s me," I said, holding up my manicured hand. My mother had a job as a manicurist before my father died, and she did my nails.
"No�" she said. I nodded. "Walker, you gotta come see this!" I turned to Zac.
"Do I really look that different?"
"Actually," Zac said, "Yes." I sighed, as Diana told an amazed Walker who I was.
"Dang�" Walker said. Now I know where Zac gets it.
"Come on, let�s go before we get anyone else wanting to drool over me," I said. Zac nodded. And of course, right before we got into the elevator we were stopped by Taylor.
"Hey you ditched Tini and got a good chick. What�s your name?" Taylor said to me.
"I would hit you if I wasn�t afraid of breaking a nail," I told Taylor. He went white.
"No. You�re not Tini." I nodded. "Man, you got a real good body on you!" he said. I glanced at Zac, and instead of punching him and probably breaking a nail, I kicked his chin and got into the awaiting elevator.
"I hate him," I said once the doors closed.
"Really? I couldn�t understand why!" Zac said. I rolled my eyes. "Tini, now I can say you look eighteen."
"Why thank you, I finally look my age. Where are we going?"
"Just somewhere," Zac said. "It�s a really fancy place, they won�t let you in if you�re not dressed up." I looked Zac over. He was wearing black slacks and good shoes, a gray silk shirt with a tie. He was holding his coat.
"Why Zac, you dress up pretty well."
"I don�t like it, but they have really good food. And the best part about it is there�s a no paparazzi rule, so celebrities such as myself go there a lot."
"Oh, you consider yourself a celebrity now?" He smiled.
"Yes I do."
"Zac, how come the elevator isn�t moving?" I questioned. He realized this, and looked at the panel.
"Duh, I forgot to press the button!" He pressed G and the elevator dropped. They opened at ground floor and Zac let me go out first. I grinned and walked out. Even when trying to be polite he seemed goofy.
He said that the restaurant wasn�t that far away so we walked there. "You know, these boots are very comfortable," I told Zac, "maybe I should wear them more often."
"Maybe you should. They are comfortable."
"Quite." He groaned. "What?"
"Quite?" he asked. I smiled. "You�re weird."
"So are you."
The restaurant seemed the same as all the other ones I�ve been to on the outside, but once we got inside it was the total opposite. Even the carpet seemed fancy.
All the attendants there were male, walking around in proper tuxedos bringing food in dining carts and doing what they do. Our attendant was rather cute, I had to admit. He looked to be in his mid twenties, and from the way he walked, and the way he acted, he was new to the job and he didn�t like it.
We sat down at a table next to the window. Two menus were placed in front of us. I opened mine and placed it flat on the table, looking over the meals. And I noticed there was no prices next to the names and descriptions.
"Do you want a course meal of just the main dinner?" Zac asked. I looked to him.
"Zac, the only time I go out to eat is when I go to a fast food place. Otherwise I eat TV dinners or whatever I make myself. I don�t think I can handle a course meal."
"That�s O.K.," Zac said. "We can just get the main dinner. Order whatever." I looked over the meals. Everything looked so expensive. A steak fillet cooked in brandy and the most elegant wine from Paris. Geez, you think we were made out of money! But then again, Zac did spend three hundred and fifty dollars on my outfit just to be able to go there.
I finally just decided on the shrimp salad. On the last page was the wine list. I glanced over it, and noticed at the bottom that you had to be 18 to order wine. Hmm�they had white zinfandel. Looked pretty inviting.
A lovely tall, thin glass of white zinfandel made in the many vineyards of France, imported to London in 1907. Stored in our wine cellar, it has been the newest addition to our list, and the most popular.
That�s it, I�m getting it.
Our cute attendant came over. "Good evening, my name is Alec, I will be your attendant tonight. Have you decided on what to order?" he asked, his English accent making him very sexy.
"Yes we have," Zac said, glancing over to me. I was almost drooling. I didn�t hear what Zac ordered, I was busy staring at him.
"And for the lady?" he asked, with a twinkle in his eye. He was so cute. I smiled.
"I�ll have you." Zac kicked me under the table. I shook my head, embarrassed. "I mean I�ll have the shrimp salad and a glass of white zinfandel."
"You don�t look old enough to have wine, I�ll need to see your license." I went in my purse and took out my driver�s license, giving it to him. He looked it over, nodded, and gave it back to me. "Cute picture," he said, and walked away.
I watched him leave, then turned back to Zac. He had anger and embarrassment in his face. "And what was that?" he asked.
"What was what?"
"You�re flirting with the waiter! I just spent three hundred and fifty dollars to make you happy tonight. I didn�t expect you to be that happy. Why didn�t you just jump on him when he gave you back your license, Tini?"
Now I felt bad. I flirted with him, I knew that, but I couldn�t help it, he was so sexy. If Zac wasn�t there I probably would of jumped on him.
I sullenly played with my napkin, not understanding why I was the way I was. I had such a great guy willing to spend a lot of money on me and I flirt with an attendant that I�ll never see again after tonight. Well, at least he looked interested.
The food came quicker than I thought. Zac hadn�t said anything at all the whole time. The waiter dropped a slip of paper in my lap as he put my plate on the table. Zac didn�t notice. When he left, I discreetly looked at the paper.
His phone number.
The attendant gave me his number! I put the slip of paper in my purse, screaming inside. Outside I calmly ate my shrimp salad and took occasional sips of my wine. Damn, this night was not a good one for Zac.
The rest of the evening went by quickly. Zac didn�t talk to me, Alec kept giving me smiles, and when the bill came I realized the white zinfandel cost the most on the wine list.
Zac put a fifty on the table as a tip. "You�re giving him a fifty for a tip?" I asked.
"Ten percent of the bill. He would of gotten more if I liked him better."
"The bill cost five hundred dollars?"
"Congratulations, you can do math." I grabbed the bill and my eyes grew wide.
"Zac, you spent six hundred dollars just on me tonight. Not counting the other half of this bill and whatever you spent on what you�re wearing. What the hell is wrong with you? If I would of taken us out, we would probably have gone to a McDonald�s and gotten a few burgers wearing whatever we have. Compared to this I�m a bum! I don�t want you spending this much on me."
"Well I do, so you better live with it. Cause this is the way I am, I can do this if I want to. And I want to. But the way that waiter keeps looking at you I just might return your clothes."
"Go ahead, whatever. Pay the bill and let�s get out of here." I sat back, and looked out the window. Whenever I got mad I looked out windows, seeing things outside always made me calm down a little bit.
So Zac paid and we left.