::Chapter Twelve::
The next day we met up with Aaron for lunch and as I took a seat Aaron handed me $450 in cash.
"What's this?" I asked, confused as to why he was handing me a wad of cash.
"That is how much I made from your print you gave me."
"Are you serious?" He nodded. "Wow."
"A friend of mine saw it in my study and ffered me this much up front if he could take it. He said he it was just what he was looking for."
"That's insane."
"Your photography can go far here Brook. If you like once you are more settled I can show you around the Vegas art scene. Help you get your foot in the door?"
"Oh my god, Aaron that would be amazing. Really?"
"Anything at all I can help you with I will." I got to my feet and hugged him.
"You are the best."
"Don't mention it."
Once lunch was over Aaron was heading home to do some work on his Bbig steppin orders while Zak gave me a tour of Vegas starting with the most infamous strip.
"I wll take you back here at night, it is beautiful."
"It's beautiful now so I can only imagine what it will look like at night. I snapped a pic and posted to instagram captioned First trip down the strip. #amazing #beautiful #nofilter #breathtaking
"you're really getting the hang of that aren't you?"
"I love it, I never thought i'd say that about social platforms but then as I said, ive never had anything to share. But this is a whole new chapter of my life and I want to decument everything. I bet you think I'm silly."
"No not at all, I think it's a wonderful idea. IF you really want to capture the memories wy don;t you do an online blog?" I looked at him a long moment before answering.
"Not just a pretty face are you?" I laughed
"You think I have a pretty face?"
"Have you seen your face, it's gorgeous." Another laugh.
"Shush you're making me blush."
"Give over, you're hot and you know it." He shrugged.
"Nothing I say right now will make me sound good."
"It's okay to know you're good looking, it's not okay to go around flaunting it and being a jerk about it, there is a difference."
"Then yes I feel I am a good looking guy." I smiled
"And thousands of girls around the world would agree."
"What about you? Can you admit how good looking you are?" HE asked as he pulled into a starbucks parking lot. I stayed silent. "Brook?"
"No I cannot admit what is a lie." I said praying for the tears to not fall. Zal shifted in his seat and raisd my chin making me look at him.
"Let me guess bullies?" I nodded.
"I was the small little dimpy four eyed chubby freak in school and though I am aware that I don't physically look like that anymore I still feel like her inside..." I trailed off.
"Listen to me, even if you were so what, looks are not important anyway. Honestly you as I mentioned before are such a beautiful person on the inside, you have no idea how attractive you are, again I mean personality wise as well as outwardly, you are just a great person to be around and that beat a pretty face because a pretty face fades a beautiful heart and soul doesn't." He told me as he wiped a tear that got away.
"Thank you." I whispered.
We headed into starbucks once I had recomposed myself we grabbed a drink before Zak took me shopping for new clothes, said a fresh chapter deserved a resh wardrobe. I tried giving him the money Aaron gave me earier as payment for the money he gave me but he was having none of it saying it was mine to have in my pocket to spend on myself or new equipment for my photography. He told me he was in no hurry to get the money back and he refused to take any money back for the mountains of clothes he just bought me.
I exited the shop and sat on the bench nect to a cookie stand. And I willed the tears not to fall.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm so sorry, I'm not usually this emotionally unstable. But I am just so overwhelmed with all your kindness and giving. I don;t know what to say or do, I just I can;t process it all. I am so grateful don't get me wrong but I just don't know how to process it all." He wrapped me up in a hg and in that moment there was a series of blinding flashes. Then we saw a man in his mid thirties scrambking away as Zak yelled on protest.
"Sorry about that and i'm sorry i'm upsetting you. I didn;t mean to make you..." He searched for the emotion I was feeling but came up short, so did I.
"No listen please I will be forever grateful for everything but i'm not used to it. I am a girl who has always had to look after herself and i'm just struggling ti cope with being looked after. I'm damaged I know. Please enough with all the buying. You have given me so much already."
"What can I do to make you feel better?" He asked.
"Let me pay my own way. Sure if I end up struggling a little to begin with then I will appreciate a bit of help but let me stand on my own two feet and pay my own way."
"Sure I can do that."
"I want to start by making you dinner tonight. Then we can discuss a price per month for the room, food and what not you know the usual things."
"You don't have to do-! I flashed him a look. "Okay fine we can discuss costs at dinner."
"Good now on our way home can we swing by a store for me to buy dinner stuff?"
"No problem."
We stopped at Walmart and I collected everything I needed for dinner then we headed on home. Zak told me he had some editing to take care of.
"You go do what you need to do I will put all this new stuff away and I will start dinner around 7-ish yeah?"
"Sounds good. I'll be in my dungeon if you need me."
"Oh And Zak." I called before he walked away. He turned to me. "Thank you." I flashed him as smile as I raised the bags. He simply flashed me a wink before heading off.
I put my new clothes away. Then grabbed my laptop and looked into setting up an online blog. Once I found a site I liked I got started straight away. Before I knew it 7:20 was flashing on the digital clock on the bedside. "Shit" I hurried downstairs and got to work making dinner which was Lemon chicken breast with an avocado side salad.
Once it was ready and I had set the table I called down to Zak who did not respond. I felt weird about going into the dungeon, it felt like it was his private sanctuary and I felt like I was violating his privacy by going in. I did anyway. I found him glued to his screen with headphones on. I tapped him on the shoulder and he about hit the roof.
"Sheesh Brook you scared me half to death."
"Sorry I didn't mean to, I did call down but," I pointed to the fact he had headphones on.
"Guess I'm not used to having someone else in the house yet."
"Sorry, dinner is ready when you are." HE hit pause on the keyboard and followed me up.
"Wow this is delicious." Zak said stuffing a forkful of chicken into his mouth.
"Glad you like it, it's one of my favourite dishes."
"So you're not just a pretty face either." He chuckled
"Guess not." I smiled.
"Honestly Brook this is amazing."
"Get used to it, I love cooking and always love trying new recipes."
"I can't wait." He grinned.
