I belonged to another man. I was in the home of another man. I was in the bedroom of another man. And yet, there I was, my lips pressed to someone else.
"Okay now, watch your step," Joe muttered as he guided Ariana out of the passenger side of the car. She placed her hand into his and stepped out of the truck, moving quickly enough for an impending ice-related injury.
"I got it, I got it," she said once she'd steadied herself on the sidewalk. "But thank you, sir," she smiled.
"Of course," Joe replied, a kind smile on his face. He then turned his attention to me, and extended his right hand. "May I?"
Grinning, I placed my hand into his, and slowly but surely slid out of the passenger seat. Only this time, unlike Ari, I didn't step away from him once I was steady. Instead, I ended up chest to chest with him, and I held his hand longer than I probably should have.
"Thanks," I said, my eyes frozen onto his. He turned one corner of his mouth upward.
"Anytime, Miss Demi." I felt his hand squeeze my palm just slightly enough for me to notice, before he released it entirely. I moved over beside Ariana then, and we both watched as Joe shut and locked his car.
"I saw that," she whispered from the side of her mouth. I rolled my eyes playfully, pretending to ignore her comment.
"Alright Joseph, where should we start?" I heard her ask as he began to walk toward us. Joe stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Frankly, I'm not too sure," he responded as his eyes wandered the outlets that surrounded us. The air around his lips became visible with each breath he took, each word he uttered. I couldn't help but watch him; I was crushing so hard it was a little painful.
But he was just so . . . fucking hot.
"We can browse around for a while," I suggested, looking at Joe. "Maybe just looking will give you some ideas."
"It's definitely worth a shot," he replied, shrugging.
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"Alrighty," Ari agreed, cheerfully. I had actually forgotten she was there up until that point, but I turned to her and nodded toward the first store.
"Let's go."
-----
Ariana was mainly in charge for the entirety of the shopping trip, mostly because she was way better at finding gifts than I was. I had never had anyone to shop for, so naturally I felt as awkward and useless as I had first anticipated. So instead of following Ari and Joe around in each store, I started shopping around for things for myself; something I did almost every Christmas anyway. I was pretty far away from the two of them, since I was sifting through a women's clothing rack.
