Episode Two-

After cleaning up and having another smoke, I went to bed myself. I was exhausted, and I needed to rest if I was going to be human for the woman who was sleeping down the hall from me. I was so nervous for so many stupid reasons.

When I laid in bed, I thought about why the hell I was feeling the way I was about her. It was so quick. I had never reacted to anyone like that before, male or female. I had found certain people attractive, sure, but it usually took me ages to really like anyone.

I was extremely particular about the people I had dated. I had only dated two women seriously and gone on a handful of dates. I did like being in relationships, though. I had been with Vicky, my ex, for well over three years when we had broken up earlier in the year. I had missed her, but I also liked being on my own again. I didn't realize how little we really had in common until I wasn't with her anymore. I didn't enjoy talking to her at the end. I was lying to myself about my feelings for her, but I was trying. I would honestly want to spend my time with Jasper over Victoria any day of the week. She wasn't a bad person, but we were just a bad match.

I hated myself for lusting over Bella. She was gorgeous, sure, but I was not going to be anything else than a gentleman towards her. I tried to imagine myself dating her. She was a world away from me, on an entirely different coast. This was perhaps the first time I really considered how my money might help me get a woman I actually wanted. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not about myself. It was nice as an option to have, though.

I could certainly imagine myself kissing her, though. I couldn't stop thinking about her mouth, in fact, and how she would look up at me as I kissed her soft lips. That quickly turned into something dirtier. I wondered if her breasts were as perfect as I imagined under that simple black dress. I wondered if she knew how that look would affect me. It was a nice thought to imagine her wearing anything for me.

Most women didn't realize that even when modestly dressed people as tall as me could still see down their shirts whether they wanted to or not. Most of the time, it was just embarrassing. It occasionally had a perverted upside.

I jerked off lazily before falling asleep. I wasn't proud, but I couldn't stop myself either. It felt grossly indulgent.

I dreamed about her, but I couldn't hear her speak. I want to hear her voice. A song I knew but couldn't place was playing over us loudly. She was looking towards me in the darkness, flashes of light, and color behind her. It was making her eyes brilliantly flash in my direction. I kept kissing her in the dream, grabbing her face to bring it towards mine. But it would reset like it never happened, and I would grab her again. Our lips would touch for a second, and it was like I was being kissed for the first time. I could still feel the rush when I awoke. My heart ached in my chest.

What I did in the shower after my workout was far less lazy. It was worse than when I was a teenager. I had even gone extra hard on my workout in the hopes of calming myself down, but it actually made things worse for me.

I wanted to try to dress a little nicer for her while still looking casual. I had a hard time and simply gave up and grabbed the first outfit I could find. My tendency to overthink things was eating at me.

Bella was in the kitchen on her computer when I came to the living room. I hung back for a second to look at her from behind. Once again, her hair was down, and it went to the center of her back in a sheet of messy black curls. She was wearing a tight t-shirt and blue jeans again. Both hugged her body smoothly.

Her ass actually gave me pause. The way it looked in her little dark blue jeans, propped up on the stool? It was perfect. The urge to bite it, among other things, came on strong. I felt embarrassed for even thinking about it. It got worse when she caught me looking at her, glancing back in my direction curiously. I wanted to walk back into the shadows towards my room like the creep I was proving to be.

"Good morning. How did you sleep? Is the bed alright?" I tried to calm my nerves as I went to get something to eat out of the fridge. I didn't want Chinese again. It gave me heartburn the night before. Or, maybe it was my anxiety.

"It's was very comfortable, thank you. I wish I could have slept more, frankly," she said politely as I looked blankly inside the cold box.

I had mostly liquor in it. It was kind of shameful. I had been working or traveling so much that I was living almost entirely on takeout. The maid had thrown all the contents away on Saturday.

"So, I'm going to be real honest. I've never done anything like this before, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to follow you around and capture your real life, yes, but I don't want to get in your way either."

I glanced back at Bella. She seemed so nervous.

I didn't want her to be. I was always most comfortable when I was performing in front of the camera, even if it instantly turned off as soon as the electronic did. I had a very sudden and stupid idea. It came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. "You won't be in the way. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about something," I was actually disappointed in myself. Sometimes I disliked how good of a liar I could be, even if I only used it generally for harmless things.

I was going to have to follow through. I shut the fridge door too hard. It made the glass bottles in the door rattle in quiet complaint.

"Oh?" She asked in soft curiosity, her head tilted slightly to the side as she looked at me.

I came to sit beside her at the corner of the table that she took up. "I was hoping you would like to be a guest in my videos this week."

Bella seemed surprised. Usually, I only asked people I really liked to be in my videos. My closest friends or family. I tried to control as much as possible. A full week of not know how she would be in front of the camera was a lot for me, normally. But, I didn't care in the least. She was lovely, and I wanted to interact with her in as charming a way as possible, as much as possible.

"What do you mean?"

My heart was in my throat as I spoke. She was so close, and I could make out all the details of her lovely eyes. "You know how I like to have my friends in my videos? It's weird to reference my own work like you should know what I'm talking about. Have you actually watched anything of mine? I guess I should ask that first. It's okay if not."

I am a babbling twat.

She opened her mouth a little as she thought about her answer, bringing her hand up to the end of her curls to mindlessly play with one of them. I'm not sure she even knew she was doing it. "Not every single one, but a lot of them. Like when you do a taste test or whatever?"

I smiled a bit too big. I knew it. I couldn't stop it. "Yes! Exactly. I've got three videos to film here today alone, and you could be in some of them. If you want to, of course."

"What if I'm terrible and boring?" She looked at me from underneath her eyelashes.

I couldn't see how it was even possible. "How can you be terrible at trying new foods?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling so vast that it made her cheeks grow round and I could see her nice straight teeth again. She had a very mild gap between the front two. It was adorable.

"Okay. Well...The boring part is more of the problem here. I've mastered eating. Mostly."

I was almost sure she was flirting with me. I was so bad at these things.

"Don't worry about that. It's my job to be the entertainment. If you don't want to, I understand. It's not for everyone, but I love filming with new people." I tried to flirt back in the only way I could think of. Apparently, that was by lying.

"Yeah, sure. Why not? But don't hesitate to kick me out if I'm bad though," she agreed readily.

I was shocked.

I laughed nervously, smiling at how well that had gone. I pulled out some of the papers I brought with me when I filmed. They were pretty general for guests in the video. The business owners mainly.

"Seriously, don't worry about that. Alright, so... I need you to sign something. It's basically says that I have permission to use your likeness. It's so I don't get sued if I put a video up of you."

"Sure, but try not to make me look like a toolbag, please?" She joked as she signed her name quickly.

I.M. Swan

That wasn't going to happen. I was going to do my damnedest to make her look like a goddess.

"The only person I make look like a fool in my videos is me. Okay, so do you have Pay Pal?"

Bella looked confused. "Yes. Why?"

"I give everyone who's in my video a percentage. I give a standard amount to my friends... You know, of the ad revenue from my uploads. Or, endorsements or whatever implies. It's different for every video. Some make more than others. Some videos make nothing because they get demonetized for some stupid reason," I started babbling again. I hadn't entirely thought this part through and was starting to feel like an idiot, but couldn't stop talking for some reason. "I do it through this program that divides it automatically, and it will send the money to your Pay Pal once you reach a certain amount. It can be one hundred, five hundred, one thousand, five thousand, or ten thousand. Which would you prefer?"

Bella blinked a couple of times slowly. I just word vomited all over her. Great.

"Oh, wow. Okay. Um... I guess one hundred? But you don't have to give me any money. I'm going to get paid to be here."

I shook my head. I always felt terrible when I made money when someone else was helping me. Even when I was just starting out and my friends were just helping me do dumb shit for fun.

"No, I do it with anyone who's in my videos. Everyone. I feel guilty otherwise. Here, just fill this out." I gave her the other paper.

Her signature was only six letters long. I.M. Swan. I imagined her mother did that on purpose, her cute initials. Her letters were very loopy and smooth. It was very feminine. As soon as she signed, I felt so much better. I could act in the videos with her. I could be charming with her there. Maybe I could make her like me there and move into her liking me outside of the videos. Maybe. I could hope.

"So, I need to go to the store before we get started. I need to pick up a few things for the shoots. Let's stop for lunch before and then we can go to Target. There is one just up the street." I nervously fucked with the papers, clicking them on the wooden table top. I was trying not to focus on her eyes again.

"Whatever you want to do. I'm just going to bring my camera along with me everywhere and take pictures of you whenever I can if that's alright? Please let me know if I'm starting to bother you or if you need me to leave you alone."

She seemed so apprehensive.

"Yeah, of course. I will, but you shouldn't worry about that. Bring your camera. It sounds like fun, I've never modeled at a Target before," I joked at her stupidly. She smirked at me, so I decided to take it a step further, making a duck face.

"Have you modeled at a Walmart before?" Bella was clearly amused, but she kept her voice even and her face perfectly unmoved. She was good. But so was I.

Oh, I like this. I could play along.

I held her gaze. "Yes."

Bella broke out into a full smile and laughed at me, turning her head away to hide her cute giggle. I shook my head, too pleased that it worked so well.

"I've not modeled before. I've done some photo shoots, but I feel very awkward in them. I actually try to avoid the press and all that. I make it part of my contracts as much as possible," I told her honestly.

"Then why did you agree to this?" She asked, confused. That was a good question. I had really actually tried very hard to get out of it. I decided to try to play it cool.

"I got to pick my photographer."

She bit into her plush bottom lip, her nose a little pink as well as her cheeks. I realized I made her blush.

"But... I've never done this before. I just don't understand."

I didn't want to seem like a stalker, so I figured honesty was the best idea. "I got to look at the portfolios of my options. I liked yours the best."

"I've only ever done product pictures for the magazine. I know what's in my portfolio for them. It's not anything to write home about."

I actually knew that. Her name was literally last on the list of choices, I. Swan- Swan Photography. There weren't that many pictures under her file. It made me curious to why they would include her, so I looked up the page name online. That's when I found her store. She had so many pictures that I liked. So many that were beautiful. Colorful. They made me feel things. Excited. Happy. They were joyful to look at. I sent my favorite to Sasha. She had loved it.

I shook my head as I tried to think about how to explain myself. "I saw your pictures online. The ones in your online gallery. The ones you sell yourself. They were so... vivid. Very pretty. I liked the colors. Everything you shoot seems to be so vibrant and full of life, even if I don't know what it is."

"Thank you. That's very flattering." She turned redder, her chest heaving a little as she breathed. I wanted to imagine her like that because of me. Because of things I wanted to do to her. I was instantly turned on.

Fuck my stupid douchebag brain.

"It's true. I am excited to see your work. I feel like you will be able to capture the enthusiasm and optimism I want to portray in my work." I tried to spit out as smoothly as possible.

"Thanks," she said quietly. Bella held my gaze for a minute before looking away. "I'll be right back. I'll go get my things."

I felt my phone beep in my pocket. Jasper had just gotten up very early for work.

"How's the new love of your life?" The message read. He was fucking with me. "When's the wedding?"

"Fuck off."

"Darling, why must you take things so seriously?" He asked me jokingly.

We had started calling each other annoying pet names as teenagers after my grandparents visited and he heard all the things they called my sisters and me. We had become such vicious assholes about it that it turned into a habit. If he didn't call me darling occasionally I would have thought he was mad at me. It annoyed me how much I still did it in my daily life, not on purpose. Like a slang word you use ironically but then accidentally start to use unironically.

"I am legitimately nervous."

"Why?"

"I have no fucking clue. Maybe because I think she's hot. Her jeans look painted on, though. In my defense."

His response was instant. "Pics?"

"Really? You fucking pig."

"Take them for both of us." I snorted out loud when I read it.

"You're a fucking pervert."

"Look… You want them. I want them. Let's not lie to ourselves." He was harmless. Jasper was just trying to be funny. Though, he had been single for several months. Maybe he was just as lonely as I was.

"What if she, idk, notices I'm taking pictures of her ass?"

"Use your charm and just ask her," he teased me. Then he sent me several winky faces. I wanted to punch him in his stupid face because he wasn't helping. He knew that and enjoyed it.

I swiftly put my phone away when Bella came back into the living room.

When I opened her car door for her, she moved past me smoothly, her perfume wafting up towards me deliciously. Or, maybe it was her shampoo. It smelled faintly of coconuts, one of my favorite scents.

I tried to hold up a normal conversation with her. Bella was surprisingly easy to talk to once we started. In the car, she engaged in mindless chit chat with me about the weather happily.

"It's so warm here," she said pleasantly, looking out the window. "There is so much sunshine. It's so beautiful."

"Is there not a lot of sun in New York?" I questioned.

"In October? No. It's been raining quite a bit. I looked at the weather here earlier, and there isn't even much of a chance of rain in the next ten days," she said as she relaxed back in her seat with one of her feet tucked under her other leg. "Maybe a little the day I leave, but it was like a twenty percent chance. So, probably not."

"Yeah. There hasn't been much of anything in months. There has been a drought. Though it's not as bad as it was before from what I understand. I'd like it to rain. We could use it."

"I love the rain," she said in a quiet hum of pleasure like she was savoring something delicious. "Especially at night when it falls against the window panes. When it's nice and cold with a cup of hot tea while I'm working on pictures. Under a soft blanket on the couch. It's the best way to work."

I liked the look of evident joy and wanting on her face. "You make it seem very relaxing."

"It is. I like working on pictures. It's soothing," she told me lightly. I understood what she meant perfectly. I couldn't imagine editing video was much different. I could see us sitting in the same room together on a rainy fall night, working together in pleasant silence. It gave me a pang of loneliness.

We pulled into the restaurant I had picked out. There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. Sunglasses at Night was playing on the radio when we walked inside. She followed behind me, her large camera bag swaying at her side and bumping against her hip.

She ordered a burger and fries while I ordered my regular breakfast foods.

I was feeling very awkward. She was easy enough to talk to in the car, but I wasn't sure what to move to beyond the weather. I wasn't great at real small talk. I heard the camera click as I looked out the window. I smiled despite myself nervously, pushing my hair out of my eyes. Bella smiled as she looked down onto the camera screen, taking about a dozen pictures in quick order. She must have liked what she saw because she took her whole bottom lip into her mouth, looking as if she were the cat who ate the canary.

"Are you sure you've never modeled before?" She brought her camera up to show me one of the pictures she had just taken. It wasn't bad at all. I hated pictures of myself, though. But she liked them, so I didn't mind. I liked her reaction more than anything else.

"Nope, not even in a Walmart," I tried to flirt.

"I guess it comes naturally when you're this pretty," she teased me.

She was flirting with me again. Right?

"You must be an amazing model then." I decided to try my luck. But my random number generator failed hard, and I must have rolled a one. I could practically see the 'nice try' in her eye roll. Obviously, men flirted with her all the time, and I was going to have to do better than that.

"Aren't you smooth?" She began to make her tea sweeter, adding the sugar then squeezing the lemon into the liquid. Bella licked the juice that came out of fruit from her fingers. It was incredibly sexy, but she certainly didn't do it on purpose or for me. I felt like a pervert again.

I had to take a deep breath to talk evenly. "You seem unaffected so not that smooth, obviously."

She put her chin on her hand delicately, her other hand twisting her straw in her drink. Her lips slightly twitched upwards before she answered, "with an opening that wide?"

"Yeah, it was. I'm sorry. I'll try harder next time." I liked her so much already. She was playful, not mean. I enjoyed our banter already so much.

"Why don't you just try relaxing and being yourself?" Bella told me seriously. It caught me off guard a little bit.

"What if I'm boring and terrible?" It came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. She took a slow sip of her drink as she considered her answer, stirring her drink again when she was done.

"There is a reason your videos have been viewed billions of times," she offered.

I laughed, a bit annoyed about that. YouTube was hardly a measure of success.

"That means literally nothing. Terrible and boring things do amazingly on YouTube. I don't understand why people watch me. I don't. I just make videos that are fun for me to make and... It's all a mask, really. One I'm good at putting on, but it's a routine. That's all."

What the fuck was coming out of my mouth? Why was I babbling this to this beautiful woman? She didn't need to know about my major insecurities. She wasn't my therapist.

Bella brushed her hair away from her shoulder, smirking a little bit to herself. She didn't seem bothered by my stupid rant.

"So... none of that is you in your videos? In them you seem so genuine and witty. Funny, too. What a shame. Is there some writer I should actually be speaking to?" I shook my head slowly, slightly embarrassed. "You don't have to act humble. It's okay. I've seen the news. I've done my googling."

"Do you think I'm funny?" I asked.

"You're hilarious. I wish you weren't so self-deprecating sometimes, but I get it. It's an easy laugh. It's a thing right now. It's just not my style."

My sister Tanya and Jasper, as well as my therapist, would think she was right.

"I should probably work on that."

Bella almost looked bitter when she replied back, "what do I know? You probably shouldn't listen to me. I'm nobody."

"I don't think that's true. Besides, my therapist would agree with you," I said sarcastically even though it was painfully true.

We chatted for the rest of the meal about lighter subjects.

We did argue a bit about the bill. When she saw that I was going to be stubborn about it, she put her part on the tray as a tip in cash. I assured her that I tipped them as well, explaining my theory on the subject. Bella seemed to highly impressed with it, though it wasn't very much money. She was passionate about it, though, so much so that it gave me pause.

Bella's wild black curly hair bounced as it shook her around her head. Her forehead was furrowed in frustration. "No. Fifty is a power bill. Or, a week of groceries. A credit card bill. It's a lot for most of us. It's a lot to me, at least. And to a waitress probably, too."

"Well, I just hope it makes someone's day better then, I guess," I said softly. I didn't know what else to say.

She looked away, obviously a little embarrassed for some reason. We didn't make small talk again until we got to the store. But the small talk quickly changed into more meaningful conversations. Bella seemed so engaged with what I was saying, asking me questions, and making me feel like she actually cared about the answers. I wasn't sure when the last time I felt like that with someone in person. Maybe Jasper? It was part of the reason I hated the media.

"Do you enjoy voice acting?" Bella asked as she mindlessly played with the end of one of her curls. She really seemed to enjoy fidgeting with it.

That was an easy thing to answer. "Honestly, it's what I've always wanted to be. Even as a little kid. I'd do stupid voices all the time and drive my mum up the wall. Even when I was in uni and getting a degree that I knew I'd never use it. I was just getting it to make my parents happy."

"What did you get a degree in?" She questioned curiously. It made me frown even to think about the time I wasted there being unhappy. I was so angry back then. I was always so tired too. I never slept then, practically feeling like a vampire.

"Business and Marketing."

Bella was quick to answer, "well, I don't think that's a waste of a degree. I've got a wasted degree. You're still obviously using those skills. When did you start doing YouTube? Before college?"

I wondered what her wasted degree was. She would have told me if she wanted me to know, I figured.

"Way before. I started doing it when I was still in school. Sixteen, I suppose. But by the time I had finished my first year at university, I was able to support myself fully with my videos. I got my first voice acting role right before I graduated. That was almost four years ago now."

She had brought her thumb up to her mouth to chew on it delicately, nervously. She gave a small uncomfortable laugh. "Christ, that makes me feel old. What are you? Twenty-five or six?"

I glanced over at her, confused by her response. "Twenty four. My birthday is in November."

"Ugh..." She said far too dramatically, making me chuckle. Bella was being silly. "You're still a baby!" I had no idea why she was reacting this way.

"How old are you? You can't be that much older than me, surely! I thought you were my age," I told her truthfully.

"Aw, honey, that is so sweet, even if you're a filthy liar. I'm thirty-three," Bella answered me in an impressively thick, somewhat realistic sounding, southern accent. It was actually really good, but I had no time to consider that as I filtered the new information she had just given me.

"Really?!" I said, embarrassingly loud. Then I realized how much of an asshole I probably sounded like. "Oh, that sounded bad. I mean, you don't look over thirty at all. You are very baby faced. I would have never guessed."

"It's not the face. It's the height." She used her finger to circle her face, then motioned up and down with a giggle. "Being part dwarf knocks ten years off, apparently."

"You're not a dwarf. I'd say you're more halfling," I replied honestly.

She stopped, narrowing her eyes before turning to fully look at me. "Did you just make a Dungeons and Dragons reference?"

I just knew she was about to tease me. I could see the wheels turning in her pretty eyes. I stepped into it.

"Yes. Yes, I did."

"Nerd," she said in a monotone way, but there was a slight curl at the end of her lips. It was so light and not what I was expecting at all.

I laughed quietly, "did you play?" I used to all the time when I was younger. The skills actually helped me as a writer. Most of my friends were gamers, too. Even the female ones. We used to stay up all night with snacks, playing. I missed them all terribly.

Bella bit her lip self consciously before she answered me, "yes. And Vampire the Masquerade. Like decades ago, though."

"Nerd," I commented back to her. I liked the way she smiled at my teasing. She tried to turn her head to hide it. I wondered if Bella knew how charming she was, especially when she fluttered those pretty eyelashes of hers at me. I don't think she did.

She stopped in front of the bags of delicious smelling coffee. "Not to change the subject, but do you have a coffee machine?"

"I have one of those pod machines." She pursed her lips in obvious displeasure. "I don't like it that much either."

She was chewing on her thumb again. I don't think she even knew she was doing it. "Do you have a drip machine or a french press?"

I wasn't even entirely sure what a french press was. "No?"

"Oh. Do you like coffee?"

"Yes, but I'm not very good at making it. I don't know what to buy either, to be honest. And the coffee shops are different than at home. Frankly, it's all pretty terrible."

I had never done anything more than heat up takeout in my kitchen. I had barely used the toaster. I was good at eating food, not making it.

She seemed nervous to ask, "would you mind if I got the stuff to make coffee at your place?"

"Why would I mind that?"

"I don't know. It's loud. It'll take up space. I'll have to leave it or throw it away when I go. If not, I can just get me some strong tea, but I like coffee a lot better. And as much as I drink it would still be cheaper to buy the machine than going to Starbucks or whatever every day."

"I have a kettle if you want tea, but I don't have a lot of things for my kitchen."

Her smirk was a little sarcastic. "I've noticed."

Well, this was one way to get her to agree to have a cup of coffee with me.

"Well, you'll have to leave it at my house anyway, so why don't I buy it? I just haven't known what to buy. I need it anyway. You know?"

"Oh… Um… It's pretty easy. You just have to decide what level of lazy you want to be. It's not a huge difference. But, it does affect the quality of the coffee," she explained as if she was very well informed in the field of hot beverages. I didn't have enough knowledge to argue about it with her.

I thought wistfully about the last great cup of coffee I had. It was a couple of months previously when I went back to visit my family. "I'd like a really good cup of coffee. It's my favorite in the morning... or mid-afternoon, usually. And it's been ages since I've had one. Australian coffee is in another league."

"Do you like it strong?" She tapped her lip mindlessly.

"Very. American's is weak, bitter, shit," I blurted out.

"K. We'll need sugar. Creamer or milk, too," Bella told me after quickly selecting a bag and tossing it into the cart.

There were so many boxes, filled with things I didn't know what to do with, in the coffee aisle. She seemed to be considering her choices carefully. Bella made her selection and practically rolled her eyes at me when I asked if she knew how to use all of it for sure. It was almost as if I insulted her.

When we were done picking up what we needed, we started going towards the front of the store to check out. She stopped to look at a tiny black dress with lovely little flowers on it. I could very easily imagine her wearing it and looking even more stunning.

"That's cute," I tried to say coolly.

"I like the flowers." She ran her finger over the neck, tilting her head to the side to admire it. "I like roses."

"Why don't you get it?" I asked her. Yes, please get it and wear it for me.

"I don't have any reason to get it, and I shouldn't spend the money." Her expression was a little bitter before it softened in embarrassment. "Remember, fifty is a lot to me?"

It was Target. Nothing was ever that expensive at one of these stores. I checked the tag. It had several clearance tags on it that showed it was originally thirty-five dollars. "It's seven dollars."

"Oh, that's not bad." She bit her lip again. I really liked it when she did that. I hoped it didn't show on my face. I was having a hard time stopping myself from staring at her.

"Is this your size?" I asked her. Bella still had her lip in her mouth when she nodded. I took it off the rack without another thought and placed it into the red cart. Her mouth opened wide in surprise.

"Wait-" she called after me as I made my way towards the front again.

"Nah. Consider it your reward for coming with me on a boring errand run. And for showing me how to use this shit," I told her as I pointed at the two boxes.

"I'm getting paid to do that, and you bought me lunch anyway. And, I'll drink the coffee, too," she replied argumentatively.

I rolled my eyes. "You're not getting paid to pick up Zebra Cakes and Cosmic Brownies with me. It's just seven dollars. It's cool." And if I were lucky, I would get a chance to see her in it. On a date, maybe.

"It makes me feel weird." She pouted out her bottom lip a little bit.

"Why?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. It just does. Coffee is one thing. But, you don't have to feel like you need to pay for all these things. I know you have the money, but as I said, I'm getting paid. I don't know how others are with you, but I don't want to use you. I have the cash."

I liked that she didn't want to use me for my money, but it made me worry about how well they were actually paying her. "Well, obviously not enough if you can't impulse buy a pretty seven dollar dress."

Bella waited for a long pause before she answered, looking up at me from underneath those thick black eyelashes, "thank you."

"Yeah, of course. You're very welcome." Just looking at her made me feel warm all over. I had to look away and distract myself. I grabbed a couple of sweets for later.

Right outside the front door of the store, a couple of kids had set up a little stand to sell things. They rushed towards us, jumping right up in front of Bella. They were already nearly as tall as her despite being very young.

"¡Hola!" They yelled at her in perfect unison. They said more, but I didn't understand the rest. Bella did though, perfectly. She smiled at them warmly and spoke to them as if she was an encouraging teacher.

"Disneyland!" They said in unison again even louder this time. I understood that perfectly well. I smiled a little to myself. They were selling things for a trip to Disney. I felt guilty for not having cash. They were very cute. I loved kids.

I hated how sexy I thought her speaking Spanish was. It made me feel flustered. I wondered if she was part Spanish. I wasn't sure. Maybe Mexican? I didn't know how to ask. Honestly, she kind of reminded me of a curly-haired Pocahontas from the kid's movie. Or, maybe the gypsy from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

"I don't speak Spanish," I stupidity word vomited when she got done, walking away with two boxes and a bag of fruit. She actually laughed, but it wasn't in a mean way. Bella just seemed amused.

"I took Spanish in sixth through twelfth grade. I was treasurer of the Spanish club in high school. It's helpful in Texas, where I grew up. And, in New York, too," she explained to me pleasantly.

That made a lot of sense. She still didn't say what she was. I hated being curious. Sometimes I was too nosy for my own good.

Spanish would have been the more helpful language option for me in school. Especially now that I lived in America. Of course, I didn't take Spanish.

"Here, too. I took German in school," I admitted.

"Can you still speak it?" She questioned curiously. I instantly conjured up the basic conversation stuff. She was making me too flustered to think of anything more impressive.

"Guten Nachmittag, Fräulein," I pretended to tip a hat at her as I told her good afternoon and instantly regretted it. I was an idiot.

"Gesundheit," Bella replied back flatly.

"Har Har," I smirked at her. I tried to think of a good German word to describe her. Schön came to mind. Perfekt was another. "Lustige dame," I called her instead.

"What does that mean? Stupid woman?" She laughed a bit again more sarcastically.

Her laugh made me happy. "No. Funny woman. I think."

She pursed her lips a little bit. "So, close then."

I came to open the car door for her. She was so tiny that she had to look up at me with her chin fully tilted upwards. Bella smelled so amazing, perhaps even better than she had right after the shower the day before.

"I don't think you're stupid at all. I think you're lovely. You made those boys very happy. It's funny, you didn't give it a single thought about handing them the extra money but wouldn't buy a seven dollar dress for yourself. I just feel bad that I didn't have any cash for them," I told her honestly.

My words clearly made her flustered. I hadn't meant to embarrass her, but she had a good comeback waiting for me. "They need to go to Disney more than I need a dress. Anyway, you did something nice for me. I can pay it forward. It's not that much. Besides, I needed something for breakfast. I can't just drink the free coffee."

This goes with chapter 3 of IP

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