Deep Waters

Chapter Five

"We are almost there!" Aria shouts excitedly over the walkie-talkie.

I just chuckled and stared out of the car window as a loud groan came over the speaker that sounded particularly from my brother. "Why do we have to go shopping every time we travel somewhere?" he asked flatly.

"Because everywhere has a different mall that has new things," she retaliated. "We all agreed that we would each pick out a specific place we wanted to go to, and I choose this mall."

"What's different from this mall than every other mall?"

"I don't know; that's why we're going." I looked over at Kason and smiled as he quietly laughed at our friends.

It wasn't long after when we turned down the exit and pulled into the massive parking lot. We all climbed out of the car and I was sure to grab my wallet just in case the unlikely occurrence of me finding something I liked actually occurred. Kason clicked a button on his car key that locked the doors, before grabbing my hand in his own. I took a deep breath and lovingly held my boyfriend's hand while we walked, thinking about the guy we had met at the waterfall and the advice he had given us. I was going to relish the moments like these and try to live in the present instead of dwelling in the past.

Aria practically ran ahead of us as we entered the building like a kid excitedly looking for a candy store. As soon as the rest of us entered the building, we didn't even get the chance to really look around the structure before Aria dragged us all into the first store she saw. So, being the 'great friends' we were, we wandered around the clothing store and looked for something to catch our eye as Aria picked out an item she wanted to try on from every rack. There were a few things I would have enjoyed owning, but I guess I just wasn't in the mood to spend a bunch of my saved money on a few overpriced items because I didn't end up snatching them from the racks.

While we waited for Aria and Marla to check out with the few things they wanted to buy, I just lingered by Kason's side as he browsed through a sunglasses display. He tried on a few pairs before turning to look at me in a pair of aviators. "How do I look?"

I smiled widely, absolutely adoring him. "Very stylish?"

"But do I look good?" he asked.

"You always look good."

He nodded once, looking satisfied with my answer before lightly tossing the pair of sunglasses at the empty register. The cashier began ringing him up and he paid for them with cash before I could even say anything more. Just a moment later, we were walking out of the store, with a very satisfied Kason wearing his sunglasses inside like an idiot. "Why in the world did you buy those? You already have a pair in your car."

"Yeah, but these make me feel cool," he replied, faking an offended look. I just smiled up at him, leading to him returning the expression.

"Delilah, come on!" The next thing I know, Marla is gripping my hand and pulling me away from Kason and to a photo booth where Aria is already waiting. "We have to get some pictures!"

They both pulled me into the booth, making me laugh as I squeezed between them. Aria put a few dollars into the machine, and just a few seconds later, we were smiling and posing for different pictures. We went through this process three times, just so each of us would have a strip of pictures. By the time we were finished and climbing out of the booth, we were all laughing.

The boys had been waiting for us just a few feet away. I immediately way to Kason and showed him the pictures he took. "Awe, you're so cute," he replied, smiling down at the strip of photos.

I looked up lovingly at him and grinned, getting an idea. "Come on." I grabbed his hand and led him into the photobooth before putting in the required few dollars. We smiled and took a few pictures, one of him kissing my cheek, one of us making silly faces and another of us kissing. Once the session was over with, I rushed out of the booth to look at the pictures. Fortunately, they turned out great.