Chapter 11: Snookums

I pull on my white sweater to add to my orange shirt and black pants. Brandon loved me in orange for unknown reasons. Actually, he said he loved me in anything but I know he likes orange on me the best.

There's a knock at my bedroom door and Bloom opens it. "You ready to go sunshine? Brandon's in the kitchen." Bloom tells me.

I sigh. "You know, it's not polite to just walk into someone's room uninvited," I scold as I search for my other black shoe.

"I knocked, didn't I?" I snorted.

"Just help me find my shoe please." She rolled her eyes but started to help. After a minute she found it.

"You know," she hands me my shoe which I quickly slip on, "I don't quite see what's so great about Brandon. I mean, don't get me wrong. He's hot and everything but he seems so… stiff. Like every social exchange is like a bussiness meeting or something."

I laugh as I grab my purse. "He's just not very close to you. Trust me, he's really special." I practically gush and then stop. "And he's waiting for me right now, so if you'll excuse me."

I try to push past her but she grabs my arm. "It's good to see you happy again, Stella."

I smile and give her a small one armed hug, before going into the kitchen. Brandon was sitting at the table, studying a fake, decorative apple from the table. When he sees me approch, he stands up with a drop-dead sexy grin that I love. I think he knows I can't resist that smile.

"Hey," he said and kissed me on my cheek. I smile back and grab his hand.

"Hi," I replied. Bloom walked into the room just then.

"I want her back by 12, Mr. Woods," Bloom says in a parental voice. I scowl at her but Brandon chuckles.

"I'll see to it that she's back on time. Are you ready, Stella?" I nod enthusiastically. I can't wait to see where we're going. Brandon told me it was a surprise which really sucked. I hated not knowing things. That must be why I'm so nosey sometimes.

As we were walking out the door I called out to Bloom over my shoulder, "Don't wait up for me!"

She shouted back, "Don't do anything I would do!" She winked and I rolled my eyes. Bloom could be a hand-full sometimes.

As we started the walk down to Brandon's car, I asked, "So... where are we going again?"

"Just wait and see." That answer wasn't very satisfying so when we got in the car, I decided to guess.

"Movies?"

Brandon shrugged his shoulders. "Sort of."

Sort of? What does that mean? "Uh, okay... restaurant?"

"Kind of." I narrowed my eyes at him but he couldn't see since he was concentrating on the road.

"The zoo?" He knew I loved animals, especially dogs, and I had been hinting that I would love to go to one again. Brandon glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and smirked.

"Good guess, but not exactly. Now stop guessing before you actually get it right."

I threw my hands up and let them fall, loudly, into my lap. "How are you taking me to a sort-of movie that is kind of a restaurant and is also a zoo in some way?"

He kept on hand on the steering wheel and reached his other out to hold my hand. "It's a... interesting place that I'm hoping you'll love. Just trust me."

I sighed and decided to change the subject. "Fine. How's work?"

Brandon squeezed my hand in appreciation for changing the subject. I'm sure that if I would've kept begging to know where we were going that he would eventually break and tell me. He really wanted to keep this a surprise, though, so I'll stop pressuring him.

"Things are looking really good. Our stocks are up and the new project I was telling you about is up and running smoothly. Hiring Musa really helped though."

I smiled. "Just like I knew it would." I had seen Musa a couple of times since she was hired and she seemed really great. She was feisty, too. She didn't play around and apparently kept all the members at Alfea Corp. in line. I liked her a lot.

"Yeah. I could say everything was excellent but Flora has been acting extra weird lately. Things between her and Riven seem to be really strained nowadays. I caught them arguing really heatedly right before I left the office today. I almost swung on him for the way he was looking at her."

I sucked in a breath. I know exactly what that's about. I think Flora may have made a decision already. "Did she tell you anything?"

Brandon shook her head. "Nope, but if she doesn't stop acting all strange soon, I'll have to find out. I sent Helia on a business trip so Flora can get some breathing room, but he'll be back in two days."

I was thinking of how hard this must have been on Flora, but I bet this is just as bad on Riven too. He may be losing his fiancée to the one man he never wanted to have her. And then there's Helia. He made a huge mistake that he is desperately trying to make up for. They both seem to really love Flora.

Brandon squeezed my hand to grab my attention. "You okay?"

I nodded and breathed out slowly. "Yeah, just feeling bad for your sister." Brandon nodded and agreed. Before long, Brandon parked the car. "We're here," He announced and jumped out of the car.

By first appearance, the place just looked like a humongous warehouse with a safari themed front yard. A title on the front of the building says, "THE BITES OF LIFE". There was a red carpet lined out in front of the entrance, just like the one out of the movies. People and families were going into and out of the warehouse happily. Those who were coming out all had gifts or food with them like the gifts and foods from a convenience store. Those who were going in had to apparently sign in with a man who was at the front doors.

I still had no idea what this place was and looked over at Brandon for some type of clue. He just grinned. "Come on." He wrapped an arm around my waist and we made our way over to the man at the front doors.

"Name," the man barked as we approached. He was a short and irritated looking man with a bald head. His attitude kind of reminded me of chef Ricky from the diner.

"Woods," Brandon snapped right back. He obviously didn't appreciate the short man's attitude. The short guy glanced up at Brandon with narrowed eyes, but checked something off on his list. He then proceeded to grab two passes that were labeled 'VIP' and handed one to Brandon. The man looked me over slowly, twice before smiling. Ugh, creep.

"Here you go pretty lady. Let me help you put it on." He stepped in front of me and made an attempt to fasten the clip on my shirt, right on my breast. Before I could swat his hand away or even before he could lift the clip, Brandon's hand snapped out and clamped around the man's wrist. The short guy yelped in surprise and what I'm sure was pain.

Brandon leaned in closer. "Give her the damn pass then step away from her. Now," he ordered in a deadly calm voice. His tone didn't match his grip on the man's wrist apparently because the man was desperately trying to twist his hand away.

"Okay! Let...go of my hand so I can!" Brandon relaxed his grip and the man tossed the pass to me before rushing back to his stool. "En...enjoy your visit," he says shakily, rubbing his wrist.

With his hand on my lower back, Brandon pushed me forward gently. Once I got through the doors we were greeted by a long hallway. Many people were sitting around and talking. At the very end of the hall it seemed that people were circulating in and out of two metal doors. Who knows what's behind there.

Brandon still seemed a little tense from the encounter. "You know, I really appreciate you defending my honor back there. That was hot."

Brandon snorted. "Only you would think that was hot," he replied as he led me down the hallway and toward the metal doors.

"That is so not true. All girls want a strong man to stand up for her every now and again."

"Well I guess you got lucky with me then, gorgeous." He smiled cheekily as we reached the metal doors. I side-stepped around a little girl. She was jumping with joy towards her mother.

I looked at Brandon warily. "Brandon, please tell me you didn't bring me to some kids playground."

He rolled his eyes and opened the door. "See for yourself." I stepped into the room quickly and my jaw dropped open at the sight I was seeing. There were sections of different exhibits all over the place. The closest section to me was a Koala information center. It had a little video screen that was showing different types of Koalas and even had a real live koala behind a glass screen. The other sections I could see had the same set up.

I spun around so quickly that Brandon had to catch me from falling over. "You brought me to an Animal Museum!?"

"Well, you talked about loving animals so much and I couldn't find a zoo near here so this seemed like the next best. I'm hoping your excited spin was because you like the surprise because if you don-" I cut him off by throwing my hands around his neck and pulling him down to kiss me. He grunted in surprise but quickly responded. When I pulled back, I smiled so wide at him my cheeks hurt.

"Thank you!" I wrapped my arms back around his neck and hugged him tightly, my face pressed tightly in his neck. He laughed at my exuberance and replied, "If I knew you would be this happy over a museum, then I would've brought you out here a lot earlier."

"It's just... no one has ever done something like this for me," I mumbled into his neck. He held me for a few seconds before kissing the top of my head and saying, "You don't have to thank me for making you happy, gorgeous. Now let's enjoy some animal time." I pulled back and grinned at him before grabbing his hand again.

We left the Koala center and went on to the amphibian animal section. I didn't particularly like amphibians but I liked the interesting facts about them. At every center there was a spokesperson talking about the animals and answering any questions someone has about the animals. Brandon told me this place was a museum and a zoo in one. It was more of a museum than zoo to me, but Brandon thought the opposite. We argued lightly about this while walking around.

"Brandon, for the last time: zoos are outside. Museums are inside! Therefore this is more museum than zoo."

"Yeah, I don't believe museums have animals just crawling around everywhere."

I rolled my eyes. "Sometimes they do. Oh, look!" I drag Brandon over to the Canine section of the so-called museum. The first exhibit we encountered here was the Red fox. There wasn't a real animal for display but they molded what the fox actually looks like. I look down at the interesting facts podium.

"Hmm. Did you know that even though Red Foxes are in the canine family, they also have a lot of traits that cats do too?" I asked Brandon.

Brandon shrugged. "Doesn't surprise me. I mean, look at its face. It kind of looks like a cat."

I glanced at the molded cat and nodded my head. That was true. I read some more facts. "Oh, they can even hear the sound of ticking from 40 yards away."

"Well its ears are pretty big." I elbow him in the stomach. Then a thought from earlier occurred to me.

"Hey, you said this place was kind of like a restaurant and a movie."

Brandon nodded. "It is. The restaurant is just a couple of exhibits away and there's a movie theater at the end of the tour. We can watch the movie optionally. I think they're playing Marley and Me today."

Oh, I loved Marley and Me. Right now, though, I had other thoughts on my mind. "Uh, do you mind if we go eat now? I haven-" The sound of his stomach growling stops me mid-sentence. We look at each other for a second before laughing.

"Okay, I guess you're hungry too," I say. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and steers me out of the Canine exhibit.

"You read my mind, gorgeous."

"You know, since you get to give me a nickname I think I deserve to give you one as well."

Brandon raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh, really? Okay, what did you have in mind?"

I tapped my chin with one finger. "Hmm. I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know when I think of something."

"Please do."

We arrive at the restaurant but there was no one else there. When I say no one I literately mean no one. It was pretty large and fancy too. Not what you would expect in a museum/zoo. Not at all.

"Um, Brandon? Where... why is no one here?" I asked as Brandon brought me over to a small table for two.

"Oh, that. I kind of rented the place out for the night," he said casually. He pulled out my chair for me and looked up when I didn't sit down. I would've sat down but I was too busy gaping at him.

"You...you rented out a restaurant?"

Brandon nodded slowly. "Yeah. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No! It's just... I can't believe you actually rented a restaurant."

"Well," Brandon replied as I sat down and he went to sit in his own seat, "If you have the means to do things, why not do them? I would say that you deserve about anything I can offer and more." He smiled charmingly.

I cleared my throat. "Okay if you don't mind me asking... how rich are you?" I blurted out. Ugh, I'm so inappropriate, but I didn't think he had more than enough money to rent a restaurant.

Brandon grinned again. "If you must know, Alfea Corporations isn't just exclusive to this town. I have the same business running in New York, California, Washington State, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, and Florida." He thought for a second. "Oh, and Maryland. North Carolina is just where I decided to live."

"Whoa." I had no idea Brandon owned all those companies across the United States. Especially since he is so young. "Why did you never tell me?"

"You never asked." He smirked. Okay, so I knew Brandon was rich, but the fact the he was a multi-billionaire really blew my mind.

Brandon tilted his head to the side. "Does this bother you?"

"Of course not! I'm just trying to process that my boyfriend is probably richer than Oprah."

He laughs. "Maybe not that rich, but pretty close."

I shake my head to clear it. "That's a lot of responsibility. No wonder you're always so busy."

Brandon reached across the small table and took my hands in his. "I always have time for you, gorgeous." He grins infectiously and I can't help but smile back.

"Hey! I think I've got a good nickname."

"Alright, let's hear it."

"Snookums." Brandon was quiet for a second before speaking. "Wait, you're serious?"

I smiled. "Yeah! I like it, don't you?"

Brandon swallowed and squished up his nose like he smelled something bad. "Uh, well, that wasn't what I would think you would have in mind."

"Do you want me to change it?"

He looked relieved. "That would be nice."

"Too bad!" I stuck my tongue out at him and giggled when he narrowed his eyes at me.

"You're evil," he announced. I was about to retort when a woman popped out of nowhere. She was wearing a uniform which led me to believe that she was our waitress for the night. I was beginning to wonder how we were going to get our food.

"Hello, Brandon. Nice to see you again," she smiles to Brandon.

Brandon responds, "Good to see you too, Macy. This is my girlfriend, Stella. Stella, this is my... old friend Macy."

We shook hands. "It's nice to meet you, Stella. Brandon talks about you all the time." Really, now? She's heard about me but I haven't heard anything about her. I look at Brandon when I respond to her.

"He's told you good things, I hope." Brandon shoots me an uneasy grin.

"Of course. His sister and I were good friends before she... left." She glanced at Brandon and put a hand on his shoulder. "How is she now?"

Brandon shrugged which slyly slid her hand off his shoulder. "I tend to avoid her when I can." He said in a clipped tone and cleared his throat. "Are you ready to take our order?"

Macy looks a little shocked at his sudden closed off behavior. She must not understand how sour of a subject Mitzi is to Brandon. That's shocking considering she acted like she knew him since forever ago.

We made our orders for drinks and she went into the back room. I turned to Brandon as soon as she left. He started before I could. "I seriously had no idea she was working here."

"Well still...I never heard of this Macy before."

"Yeah, well it never really came up."

"But my name came up in your conversations with her?"

"She asked me before if I was dating anyone and I told her abo-" I stopped him right there.

"Wait, why did she want to know that?"

Brandon scratched the back of his neck. "We kind of dated a little while a few years back. She probably thinks we could still have a- wait. What are you doing?" I was already standing up and pushing my chair in.

"Let's find somewhere else to eat." I grab his hand and try to pull him up from his chair. He says, "Come on, Stella. She won't bother us other than getting us food anymore. Promise."

I still wanted to leave but the fact that Brandon paid so much just to get a restaurant alone for us stopped me. I'm not going to let jealousy stop us from having a great ending to our amazing date.

I sat back down and sighed. "Okay, sorry."

She comes back for the drinks and takes our orders. We end up having a perfect ending to this perfect date. She didn't bother us other than ordering, like Brandon said, but I could still see her longing for him. Call me paranoid, but I didn't like it at all. I can't blame her completely. If I had let Brandon slip away I would do about anything to get him back. I hope she wasn't thinking the same thing.

I think that's what scares me the most.

After we finished dinner, we continued through the rest of the exhibits. My phone buzzes in my purse but I ignore it considering that it rude to just start talking on your cellphone during a date. A few minutes later it buzzes again and Brandon takes notice.

"Maybe you should answer that."

I shook my head. "Nah, it's probably just my Dad, asking about Thanksgiving again."

"Oh," Brandon nodded. "So are you going?"

I shrugged. "I do want to see my Dad, but his new family isn't exactly delightful. It's why I left in the first place." Well, that and the fact that I thought I was in love with a cheating idiot.

"Your Dad seems to really want you to go though. It might be good for you," Brandon said. Maybe…

"You wanna come with me? He only lives like five hours away. It would save me from being lonely on the ride there. Plus, you could meet my Dad!" Sounded like a perfect plan to me.

Brandon pushed a hand through his hair. "Meeting the parents. That's a huge step, gorgeous. I'm honored you want me to do this."

I nudged him with my hip. "So are you going or not, snookums?" He rolled his eyes at his new nickname.

"I'll see what I can work out with my schedule."

We had the option to watch the movie, but Brandon decided against it since I looked like I was about to drop dead with sleep. I tried to say I was alright but he knew me better than that and we left.

He walked me to my door like he always did. I kissed him on the nose. "Thank you for such an amazing night, Snookums."

Brandon groaned. "So I guess that name really stuck, huh?" I nodded.

"Let's make a deal. You can call me that all you want, but not in front of the guys."

I laughed. "Why not? You shouldn't be ashamed of your new nickname, Snookums." I wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled into his chest.

"I'm not...exactly. The guys just wouldn't let me live it down if they heard you call me that," Brandon admitted. I lifted my head off his chest to look up at him.

"Hmm. I'll have to think about that." I smiled as he leaned down closer to my face. I closed my eyes in anticipation for his kiss, but it never came. Opening my eyes, I see him just staring at me.

"Were you planning on kissing me anytime soon?" I asked impatiently. Brandon grinned.

"I was giving you time to think about that nickname. Come to any conclusion yet?" I glared at him and he chuckled.

"Fine, I won't tell anyone. Now will you kiss me good-night? You know, since that is what good boyfriends do and all."

Brandon tilted his head. "I thought good boyfriends tended to take their girlfriends on surprise dates and rent out entire restaurants just for them, but," he smiled, "I could be wrong."

I rolled my eyes. He was definitely not wrong about that. "Just kiss me."

"Yes, Ma'am."

A/N: Yay we broke 100 reviews! Thanks so much to everyone supporting, reviewing, and reading this story!

So... how was the surprise? It may have sucked for some of you, but I think it was sweet of Brandon to do. I would love if a guy was thoughtful enough to do that for me. Oh, and sorry if there are a lot of grammatical errors, didn't have much time to check it over.

I wanted to respond to a review about me updating around the same time the story 'Expect the Unexpected'updates. Well, I actually know this author personally so when she updates it makes me feel lazy that I haven't updated, so I get up and do a chapter. If you don't know the story I'm talking about, it's by Smiles4Eva and it's another Brandon and Stella story. Check it out!

This is also my longest chapter yet so I hope it didn't disappoint! I also hope you enjoyed this much needed drama free chapter because... well next chapter won't be so drama free. You know I'm a bit of a drama queen. I can't stay away from it too long ;) Let me know how you liked this chapter so I'll be encouraged to update early!

So...Review!