Paradise City: Harrison Series Book 1

by L. L. Ash

  “I’m glad you’re finally home,” Dad said as he put his lunch box on the table.

  “I wanted to talk with you.”

  “Well that’s a change. You’ve been avoiding me all week.”

  “Because I didn’t want to be chewed out again,” I told him gently, putting the food in front of him.

  Dad leaned back in his chair before crossing his arms and looking at me. His construction-roughened hands closed into fists.

  “I didn’t mean to blow up at you the other day,” he told me in a low voice. “I’m just... I’m at my whits end and I don’t know what to do with you, Sam.”

  “There’s no doing something with me,” I told him, my eyebrows drawn together like a unibrow. “I’m a grown up. I get to make my own decisions.”

  “Well you don’t act very grown up. That’s the part that has me worried.”

  I was insulted. I waited a few minutes, took a bite of food and chewed it slowly.

  “Dad,” I said finally. “I’ve got a new job and I start on Monday. I’ll be making enough to either get my own place or maybe Connor and I could split a 2 bedroom apartment.”

  He looked up at me, shock written all over his face.

  “You don’t need to move out, Sam,” he started but I just shrugged the comment off.

  “It sounds to me like I need to prove my ability to make good decisions and live responsibly.”

  The circus over the first part of the week ran through my head as I said that. Maybe I needed to prove it to myself, too.

  “Where is this new job?” He asked with a sigh.

  “Well it’s not bagging groceries anymore,” I said. “I’m going to be an assistant at Tyler’s dad’s office. They need another person on reception and assisting them.”

  He nodded and picked at his food.

  “You’re serious about him?” he asked, looking at me again.

  “I am. And I wish you could accept that.”

  “Well, maybe we could all have dinner together. So I can get a chance to get to know him a little.”

  “We’d both love that. Ty hates that you don’t like him, but he is determined to change your mind.”

  Dad shrugged then took another bite. We ate quietly for the rest of Dad’s lunch break.

  Chapter 12

  After work on Saturday Tyler picked me up outside the store and after kissing a bunch, we looked at each other, just happy to see one another.

  “I figured out what we should do today,” he told me after pressing one last kiss on my lips.

  “And what is that?”

  “We should go shopping.”

  “For what?”

  “For your new work wardrobe,” he said, as if that was the most natural sentence in the world.

  “Is there a uniform?” I asked, suddenly beginning to freak out.

  “No… Well, I suppose it’s a uniform of sorts.”

  I stayed quiet as we drove to an upscale business drive. Shops for all kinds of things lined the parking lot and I was just seeing dollar signs.

  “Tyler, I can’t shop here.”

  “Why not?” he demanded.

  “I’ve saved up a lot of money with my last job but I still can’t afford these kinds of shops...”

  “It’s my treat,” he said and put the car in park.

  “I can’t let you do that!” I protested.

  “And why not? Can’t I get you some nice things?”

  “This is a work expense. It’s not your job to dress me.”

  “But what if I want to?”

  “Why would you want to spend thousands of dollars on my wardrobe?” I asked, the idea absolutely flabbergasted to me.

  “Because,” he turned to me. “I love you. I want to pamper you. And I can afford it. Let me do this for you.”

  “But...” I protested weakly.

  “Besides,” he interrupted. “If I pay for it I get a say in what you get.”

  “And you think I need help picking clothes?” I demanded now.

  “No. But I get to pick my favorites.”

  The grin on his face belonged to a mischievous 12 year old boy. He got out of the car then pulled me out, practically dragging me to the store.

  When we got inside an attendant immediately latched onto us.

  “How can I help you?” she asked, her big fake smile not doing her sharp features any favors.

  “We’re looking for some suits,” Tyler told her, his smile, though fake as well, looked far more genuine.

  “Men’s suits?”

  “No, women’s.”

  “Oh, ok. Just follow me.”

  She led us toward the large section in the back where suit skirts and jackets were lined on the wall.

  “Is there any particular style or cut you’re looking for?” she asked.

  “We haven’t shopped around yet. So if you could pick out a couple different flattering styles we’d like to compare,” Tyler said, trying to loosen the death grip I had on his hand.

  “It’d be my pleasure,” she said and shuffled through the clothes, grabbing a dark blue pencil skirt with matching jacket and a red power suit with wide leg slacks and jacket.

  “How about we start with these?” she suggested and led us to a dressing room.

  I slipped behind the curtain and got out of my shorts and tee before wiggling into the blue skirt.

  After closing the jacket over my bra I looked in the mirror. The grown up clothes added a good 5 years to me. They were good years though. I looked mature, confident, and I liked the feeling of being professional.

  I stepped out, Tyler looked me up and down and nodded while the woman assessed in a robotic fashion.

  “It’s definitely flattering,” Tyler said and spun his finger for me to spin.

  I complied and he commented further.

  “I’m not a big fan of the blue though. Any of this shape in black? And maybe a more feminine jacket?”

  “I’ll go check. Go ahead and try on the other one while I get it.”

  Tyler grinned at me and kissed me before I swung the curtain closed again.

  After removing the blue outfit gently, I laid it on the bench beside me and pulled on the red one. I hated it instantly.

  “Not a fan,” I said through the curtain, but Tyler told me to come out anyway.

  “It’s like a giant tube of lipstick,” He laughed when I stepped out.

  I glared at him but the woman said, “The cut is flattering but the color is all wrong for her complexion.”

  Evidently my opinion didn’t matter. It was like I wasn’t even there.

  I tried on a good 10 other suits and Tyler settled on 4. 2 different black sets, one with straight features resembling a man’s suit with black skinny leg trousers, and the other with a rounded lapel and deep neckline plunging to one button. That came with a black, knee length pencil skirt.

  Finally Ty and the woman agreed that they liked the grey tweed suit with shorter skirt and the pure white suit with wide legged pants.

  “Do you like those ones?” Tyler asked me as the woman lined them up.

  “They’re fine,” I agreed. “Pretty.”

  “If you don’t like them then we’ll keep looking, Baby,” he whispered to me.

  I shook my head.

  “No they’re great. They’re versatile and will serve me well.”

  “Tell you what, since I picked the suits, you pick the shirts, then we’ll go look for some dresses next door.”

  I nodded and followed the woman to the arrangement of tops. Most were just typical button up shirts, but I found a couple peter pan style collared shirts and gravitated toward them. I got 3 long sleeved ones in pure white, 2 in black with white collar and short sleeves, then I got a few sleeveless silk button ups since Tyler was staring at them. We agreed on the jewel toned ones. Emerald green, ruby red, sapphire blue, and a soft topaz yellow.

  When the woman rang me up I about died at the price tag that came with the pile of exquisite clothes.

&nbs
p; Tyler handed the card to the woman and she took it with relish. Probably imagining the commission she was going to get.

  When we dropped the suits off in the trunk of Tyler’s car, we took a minute to relax.

  “Dresses and shoes,” he said as he pointed to the two shops nearby.

  I held his hand as we went for dresses. The shop had an abundance of evening, formal, business and everyday dresses. Tyler and I explored for a while before getting the attention of an assistant so I could try on our finds. As it turned out, the dresses were a lot funner to shop for, and though they didn’t fit my frame that well, I thought I looked pretty good. They were form fitting, thigh length dresses in assorted colors and styles, with a couple of full skirted feminine dresses. Tyler glanced through the evening gowns and picked up two before handing them to the woman. I didn’t get to see much more than the color, but they were beautiful looking. One was a suede-like black, and the other was a shimmering gold.

  “Will you have these all fitted?” Tyler asked the attendant as she folded up the purchases.

  “We can definitely do that,” she agreed. “We’ve got a seamstress on premises that works on just that.”

  “Great,” Tyler said and motioned me over.

  When the seamstress came out, an older woman with grey hair but kind eyes, she withdrew a measuring tape and took notes of my size.

  I was grateful that the suits all fit me well and I didn’t have to go through this twice.

  When we were finally done we left empty handed, Tyler carrying the receipt in his pocket and an order for the alterations and the extra delivery fee.

  “Shoes,” Tyler said as we walked down to the next stop.

  We passed a lingerie shop and Tyler stopped at the window, looking in at all the risque goodies. He looked at me like a kid begging his mom for candy. I laughed and nodded at him and he ran inside, pulling me along with him. The girl that approached us was young and perky and just made you want to buy lingerie.

  Tyler flew from rack to rack. (Pun Intended) He picked pieces out, mostly impractical, sexy things that he was surely wanted to see me in in his bedroom.

  I went to the back of the store and tried a few things on, getting a sense of my size before a professional fitter joined me and helped me get my real bra size. As it turned out, I wasn’t actually a DD, but a D. The woman loosened up the rib strap, having me go up an inch then I was used to, and she gave me the bra she thought would fit. I tried it on and wow it perked me right up. After grabbing a couple of push up bras and one regular, more comfortable one, I got a handful of panties to match and met Tyler in the middle of the store.

  “If you’re going to make me wear that,” I said, motioning toward the pile of stringy, lacy bits of cloth. “You’re getting me these, too.”

  “It’ll be my absolute pleasure!” he said with a grin on his face.

  It rang up at about $300 and I cringed but Tyler pulled the cash directly out of his wallet.

  “Can’t put this as a work expense...” he said with a crooked smile toward me.

  “What you really mean is you don’t want Scott to find out.”

  He shrugged, but the look on his face told me I’d hit the nail on the head.

  After running back to his car with the bag, we went into the shoe store.

  “Will you let me pay for this one?” I asked him before we even went in.

  “Sam, I don’t mind...”

  “I know you don’t,” I told him with a smile, interrupting him. “But I want to at least pay for something. Please? It’d mean alot to me.”

  “If that’s what you want,” he agreed and we went inside.

  I was already calculating how much I had in my bank account and figured I could get 4 pairs without draining myself dry.

  I immediately went toward a pair of black patent leather pumps. They were tall but not super skinny. I tried them on and they were relatively comfortable. I put that box on the bench beside Tyler and went after a white pair of strappy heels.

  After grabbing a pair of black leather flats and an adorable pair of brown mary jane heels, I put the boxes all on the counter.

  I looked over the assortment as the cashier rang it up and thought it gave me a lot of good options.

  When it rang up at over $1000 I about choked, but handed my bank card to the cashier.

  We walked back out to the car and I considered bringing a pair back until Tyler suggested food. My stomach rumbled at the thought and I agreed instantly.

  After storing the last of my purchases into the trunk we drove to a nearby mexican place. The smell had me ravenous before we were even seated.

  Together we devoured the chips and dip placed on the table, and Tyler ordered 2 appetizers.

  By the time we ordered our meals the guacamole and taquitos arrived at the table for us to nibble on.

  “I’m going to get so fat after this, those dresses won’t fit me anymore,” I joked and Tyler gave me a wan smile.

  “Hardly, but a little more meat couldn’t hurt either. You’ve gotten thin lately.”

  “Because I was too depressed to eat... over YOU,” I informed him and he grinned.

  “While I’m sad that I caused you to starve yourself, it feels pretty damn good that you suffered almost as much as I did.”

  “Oh, well good,” I said sarcastically and bit into another guacamole-smothered chip.

  We enjoyed our meal, and the restaurant emptied by the time we got our food since it was past 8 in the evening.

  We got into the car with bloated bellies and drove back to the hotel. This time, however, I remembered to text Dad to tell him where I’d be.

  -Will you invite him for Sunday dinner?

  Dad texted back.

  I read it about 8 times before I turned to Tyler and asked, “Dad invited you to dinner tomorrow night.”

  “Really?” he asked back, almost as shocked as I was. “Definitely. I’m not going to spit on an olive branch.”

  I replied to Dad.

  -We’ll both be there by 5.

  My already good mood lifted a little more.

  When Scott saw the armfuls of clothes we brought into the house he laughed his butt off.

  “Tyler,” he said with a loving grin. “You are so whipped, my son.”

  “You know,” Tyler said and paused in his path toward his bedroom. “For the first time in my life, I consider that a good thing.”

  “That’s when you know you have the right girl,” Scott said and smiled at me.

  I grinned, feeling really special in that moment.

  A bag fell out of Tyler’s hands as he disappeared around the corner and Scott picked it up. He started bringing it back, then noticed it’s contents, hidden nicely by the hot pink plastic exterior.

  “Whoah!” He said and pulled the strap of a black lacy thing out of the bag. “I see now,” He said, bending, he was laughing so hard. “This wasn’t about being whipped. This was a trade!”

  Tyler peeked around the corner and saw his dad rummaging through the bag of lingerie.

  “Shit,” Tyler mumbled as he watched Scott put a couple different pieces up to the light to see their shape.

  “Now I’m going to guess that you didn’t pick these out,” Scott said, glancing my way.

  I was so embarrassed my hands were pressed to my burning cheeks and I tried to curl into myself like a black hole.

  “I’m going to guess that this way YOUR idea,” he turned to Tyler, a smirk on his face. “Because there’s nothing ‘pretty’ or ‘cute’ in here.”

  Scott fingered a sheer red teddy before stuffing it back into the bag. He strolled up to Tyler, who also was blushing by now.

  “Tyler,” Scott said, putting an arm around his shoulders. “At the risk of sounding like a perv, I envy you, Son. I miss buying these things for a woman.”

  Tyler laughed and grabbed the bag out of Scott’s hand before retreating to his bedroom again.

  “Sam,” he said, seeing my mortification. “Sorry I made
you uncomfortable. I just couldn’t let an opportunity to embarrass Ty pass. They’re so rare these days.”

  I squeaked and Scott laughed before putting his arm around me, squeezing my shoulders to his chest.

  “Believe me, it’s a rite of passage at your age. There’s nothing to be so worked up over.”

  “Oh my God, I’m completely mortified,” I managed.

  Scott chuckled and pushed me toward the hallway.

  “Go on. Go try a few on for him. I won’t bother you guys tonight.”

  The knowing smile on his face looked wistful.

  I looked at him for a moment, wondering what must be on his mind. He looked far too young to have a soul as old as his. He smiled at me when he saw me watching him. In jeans and a vintage ‘The Who’ tee he looked Tyler’s age. His hair was wavy in it’s natural state, hanging a little in his eyes instead of combed neatly to the side which was his norm. But those eyes…. I’d once compared them to Connor’s, but they were far too soulful to even compare. Like he’d lived a hundred lives and still possessed the wisdom and pain from each one.

  “Go on,” he said, motioning gently with his hand. “He’s waiting for you.”

  “You’re a good dad,” I told him. “You’re embarrassing as hell, but you’re a good dad.”

  “Thanks,” he said, his head dipping as if my comment had made him uncomfortable.

  “Have a good night, Scott,” I told him and fled.

  The disconcerting tingles running through my body piqued my curiosity a little, but my stronger urge was to see how Tyler was holding out.

  “There you are,” he said sorting through our purchases.

  “Your dad apologized for embarrassing me. Evidently he only wanted to do that to YOU.”

  “Yeah, he’s always gotten a kick out of making me blush.”

  “I like seeing you blush,” I told him before grabbing the pink bag and making my way to the bathroom.

  I sorted through the few outfits Tyler had chosen, and picked out a completely see-through black lace leotard-shaped one with a neckline plunging to almost the belly button. I slipped it on, glad my period had ended the night before.

  I pulled my hair down from the bun it was in and let the waves tumble around my shoulders and down my back. I hated long hair, but for once I was glad I had it. I fingered through the mid-back length locks before finding my lip gloss and brushing it on.