Chapter 140: Aaron Needs Help

After Zak and I had arrived home from volunteering at the shelter, we had lunch, and then Aaron had called.

Aaron said he needed to talk to me about something he needed help with. He suggested the idea of Zak and I coming over to his place for dinner with him and Cheryl, or – if it would be more comfortable for me - if they could come over to our place and we could order something in. Since I was having a good day, I suggested the four of us going out to dinner on a double date, to which Aaron happily agreed.

For the rest of the afternoon, Zak and I decided to take it easy. After debating what to do – and with Zak insisting we could do what I wanted – I decided to boot up my Playstation 4 to continue playing the latest game to my collection: "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition".

The game is an open world Role Playing Game, which basically means while there is a storyline to follow, there is also plenty of optional quests and things you can do. I had originally played the game on my Playstation 3 when it was released, but it was such a fun and fantastic game, that when it was released for the Playstation 4 with additional content and improved graphics, I had to get it.

I was currently working on a quest that involved me exploring an underground cave. Zak was sitting on the couch, and I was sitting next to him, leaning against his chest, and he had his arm around me. Part of me always felt a bit guilty I was doing something Zak wasn't really involved with, but he insisted he always had fun watching me. Besides, I would often give him the controller so we were at least taking turns.

But during this particular instance, Zak was restless, as if he had something on his mind.

"Okay, what's up?" I asked, pausing the game and turning my head to look up at him.

"Huh?" Zak said, a little confused. "What do you mean?" He asked, looking down at me.

"You're practically turning the couch into a vibrating couch with all your movement," I said teasingly.

Zak chuckled.

"Sorry, I'm un…just wondering what Aaron wants to talk to you about," Zak said.

"That's all? I'm sure it's nothing major," I replied, feeling relieved as I looked back at the television and unpaused the game to resume my exploration. "Maybe he wants to get a gift for Cheryl or something, and wants my opinion," I added.

"Maybe…" Zak said, although he didn't sound satisfied. "But he usually comes to me when it comes to girlfriend stuff," Zak added.

"Well, Cheryl and I are best friends, so if he's looking to get her something, doesn't it make more sense to come to me?" I said, and then let out a squeak of fear when three spiders – about half the size of my character - suddenly appeared in front of my character, rising up from the ground. "Damn spiders!" I hissed, beginning to fight them.

I hated spiders. I wouldn't necessarily say I had Arachnophobia – which is a fear of spiders. If I came across one, I usually was able to deal with it. But if they were large ones, then I always had to get someone else to deal with it. I knew that spiders were good for the ecosystem, but the multiple legs and eyes?

Eww.

Zak couldn't help laughing quietly at my reaction, and his hand rubbed my upper arm as if I needed actual comfort.

"Yeah, I guess…just wish he'd tell us what it was about…" Zak said, sounding a little off.

After defeating the spiders, I paused the game and looked up at him. I studied him for a minute, and smiled.

"Zak Bagans, are you jealous?" I teased.

"What? Of course not!" Zak replied in a huff, but he was avoiding my eyes, and I could just tell by his body language.

"You are!" I said, laughing quietly as I jokingly nudged him in the stomach with my elbow.

"…fine! I admit it!" Zak replied. "My best friend wants to talk to my girlfriend, secretly, and it's bugging me," Zak added, pretending to pout now.

I laughed.

"Zak, come on," I said, turning toward him a bit more. "It's not like he wants to ask me out or something," I said jokingly.

Zak's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Oh great, I hadn't thought of that…thanks," Zak replied jokingly, although I did detect a bit of concern in his eyes.

I laughed quietly and shook my head, before leaning up and kissing him gently for a brief moment before pulling back.

"I very highly doubt that's what Aaron wants, he loves Cheryl," I said, resting one hand over his that was on my upper arm still. "Even IF that's what he wanted, it's not what I want. I love you," I said, smiling at him.

Zak's concern and pouty face almost instantly turned into a big grin.

What the…

"I know," Zak smirked, pulling me closer to him, looking proud of himself.

"Zachary Bagans! You said all that on purpose just to get me to reassure you!" I exclaimed.

I wasn't mad though. He looked pretty cute with his proud face.

"I'd say I'm sorry…but I'm not," Zak said, smirking at me and I laughed.

"Pfft," I jokingly huffed, turning back to the television and unpaused the game, pretending I was annoyed.

"Oh come on, you can't stay mad at me," Zak said, laughing at my reaction as he pulled me closer to him.

"Oh yes I can, that was such a- OH MY GOD!" I screamed, throwing the controller to opposite end of the couch and jumping to my feet.

As my character had just walked into a large room within the underground cave, a very large spider had dropped down from the ceiling and started attacking me. It nearly took up the entire – and large - television screen.

Zak laughed at my reaction.

"Doll, it's going to kill you," Zak said, still laughing, as he leaned across the couch and grabbed the controller. Once he was sitting back up, he started fighting back against the spider.

"I don't care!" I exclaimed, cringing as I briefly watched the screen. "Fuck! I remember that now from the first time I played the game, and I promised myself I'd remember if I ever played the game again!" I added, shaking my arms out as if I had come in contact with a real spider.

Zak just continued laughing, and managed to kill the spider before my character died. He then moved the character into a safe corner so my character would recover health, and then he looked up at me.

"You're so cute," Zak said, still laughing as I kept cringing and making noises of disgust. "It's only a spider in a video game," Zak added.

"I am not!" I said, although laughed quietly as I looked at the television screen again. "I know that, but it dropped down out of no where, and it was so freaking huge and- AHHH!" I screamed, suddenly feeling something crawling on the skin of my lower back.

I quickly turned, scrambling to lift up my hoodie to see what was on my back, but immediately saw Zak had managed to lift up my hoodie and had used his fingers to mimic something crawling on me.

I glared at him, reached to the far end of the couch to grab a pillow, and then began hitting him with it.

"Hey!" Zak exclaimed, laughing as he held his hands up to block the pillow. "Okay okay! I'm sorry! I had to!" He said through laughter, as he leaned away from me – slowly sliding downward so he was partially lying down - as I knelt on the couch and continued hitting him with the pillow.

"You…are…such…an…ass!" I exclaimed jokingly, hitting him with the pillow between each word. "I hate you!" I joked, although was laughing myself now.

I yelped when he suddenly grabbed the pillow and used it to pull me toward him until I ended up falling forward, and I just barely managed to throw out my hands so I didn't land on him to hard. His upper body was mainly laying down against pillows at the end of the couch, while his legs were partially hanging off the couch. I ended up mostly laying on top of him, with my chest against his.

He smiled brightly at me as he dropped the pillow to the floor, and then wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm a cute ass," Zak said, trying not to laugh. "And you love me," Zak added, smiling as he held me close.

I laughed and jokingly sighed as if I had no choice but to agree with him.

"Yeah yeah, I love you, cute ass," I said, trying not to laugh, but ended up giggling.

Zak laughed and then smiled before he leaned up and kissed me gently.

I smiled in return and kissed him back gently.

After a moment or so, I pulled back from the kiss.

"Okay, I can't kiss with creepy cave and spider noises coming from the tv," I said, pushing up off Zak, and he laughed.

"Damn video game," Zak jokingly muttered under his breath, pushing himself up to sit normally once I was standing up.

I laughed as I picked up the controller and sat back down next to him, curling up along his side again as he wrapped an arm around me, and I proceeded to get my bearings in the game before I continued.

"Thank you for killing the icky spider and being my hero," I teased.

Zak laughed before he gently kissed the top of my head.

"Anytime, doll," Zak said, squeezing me gently with his arm.

I smiled and snuggled a bit closer to him as I went back to exploring the cave.

That night…

In preparation for our double date with Aaron and Cheryl, Zak and I had both taken fresh showers to wash off the fur and smells from the SPCA, and then proceeded to get ready.

After texting back and forth with Aaron, Zak had made reservations at the "Eiffel Tower Restaurant", which was located on the eleventh floor of the "Paris Hotel". It had a perfect atmosphere for a date, with a spectacular view of the Las Vegas Strip and overlooked the Bellagio Fountains. It didn't have an actual dress code, but since it was a very nice restaurant, it was known that dressy casual was most appropriate.

Since I really hadn't been out much in over a year – let alone a fancy restaurant – I was actually looking forward to dressing up a bit.

I did my usual routine of minimal makeup, although I did extend my eyeliner at the outer corner of my eyes a bit to give me the cat eyes look, just to change things up. I then put some Diamond stud earrings in – one set about average size for the bottom holes, and a set slightly smaller for the holes above the first set.

My choice for outfit was pretty simple, since I wanted to be comfortable. I didn't want to have to worry about getting cold since it was a little chilly out, so I had decided against a dress. Instead, I had decided on a black satin camisole, with a mesh border at the top. I paired that with a pair of black leggings that had rhinestone embellishments from the ankle to halfway up to the knee.

(Link on my profile for Twitter and Instagram picture)

Once I was dressed, I pulled my hair – which I had curled the ends of after I had dried my hair - up into a simple ponytail, letting some short strands frame my face. I used a small spritz of vanilla body spray on either side of my neck, and then put on a pair of black, heeled, ankle boots.

Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I grabbed my purse for the evening and headed downstairs.

Just as I reached the front entryway, I heard Zak come in from the backyard with Gracie, as he had taken her out to do her business before we left.

He was dressed in a black suit with a black button up shirt, and a black tie. His hair styled to perfection as usual.

I was surprised to see him wearing a suit, but I smiled to myself, since he looked really good.

Once he locked the patio door, he turned to walk toward the entryway but stopped in his tracks when he saw me.

"Wow…you look beautiful," Zak said, not at all hiding the fact that he looked me up and down.

I smiled and felt my face flush.

"Thank you, you look very handsome," I said softly as he walked up to me. "I'm pleasantly surprised with the suit," I added, gently running one hand over his chest.

"We haven't been out in a long time, wanted to look extra nice for you," Zak said, smiling down at me as he rested his hands on my hips. "Ooo…what is this?" Zak asked, noticing the silky feeling of my camisole, rubbing a bit of the fabric between his fingers.

"Satin," I said softly, smiling at the cute look of awe he had on his face, but also feeling slightly shy since I hadn't worn anything made satin or silk around him before.

"Mmm, I like it…" Zak said, his hands easily sliding up to the middle of my back. "We should stay home, just sit on the couch, watch a movie, with you sitting close to me…" Zak said softly, as his hands gently stroked my back.

I knew he was joking, but I also knew if I said yes, he'd jump at the chance.

"No way, we haven't been out like this in over a year," I said, smiling as I reached behind me to take his hands in mine and then led him toward the front door.

"But it's so soft…and silky…" Zak said, and I laughed quietly.

"I'm aware," I said, letting go of his hands to grab my jacket and pulled it on. "I'll keep it fresh in my memory that you like it," I said, playfully winking at him before I opened the front door and walked outside.

"You damn tease," Zak said quietly, but in a joking tone so I'd know he wasn't actually mad at me, as he followed me outside.

All I could do was laugh, smiling to myself as we walked to his car.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the update! Please don't forget to review! Until next time. :)