All Yours {BOOK 1 OF THE LAURIE U SERIES}

7| sugar mamma

~Alina~

The next morning Reece and I are in a tuxedo shop. "I can't afford any of these." he says flipping the price tags up.

"Don't worry I'll sugar mamma you." I pick up a jet black overcoat. "Here try this on."

"I'm not charity." he says.

I roll my eyes. "Tucker told me you would say that. And I'm well aware that you're not charity but the hell I'm about to put you through you're going to wish I would have bought you 7 tux's. Now," I said shoving the coat into his arms. "Try it on."

I sit in a deep purple colored armchair while Reece walks in and out of the dressing room, tux's all the colors of the rainbow being showed to me. I already have my dress for tonight. Orange was never my go to color but the fashion model picked it out for me. Something about tan skin and dark hair.

Reece pulls the velvet curtain aside and steps out. He checks himself out in the mirror and smiles.

"Me likey likey." I say smiling at him.

"I hate this." he says motioning to the shop. "But this," he says still looking at himself in the mirror. "I like."

"Me too." I say. "Clark! This one." I say pointing to the suit Reece has on.

Reece turns to me wide-eyed. "Wait what?"

"What?" I say. Clark looks at the tag and nods.

"Good choice madam." he says and walks away. I sip on my mimosa while Reece stares at me.

"I thought we were just trying on the fancy suit and then going to rent one. You can't buy me this." he points to the suit.

"Yes I can." I say grabbing my purse.

"Alina, it's like $800. You can't buy me this.
I could never pay you back." I didn't have the heart to tell him it was more than $800.

"Reece you don't have to. It's a gift." I touch his cheek. "You don't pay back a gift." I walk over to the counter from behind Clark stood. I hand him my card and Reece steps out from behind the curtain no longer wearing the tux. Instead, he changed back into his jeans and hockey sweatshirt.

I deliberately stood in front of the cash register, hiding the true amount of the suit.

"I hate you for doing this." he says.

"Just you wait. You haven't even met my parents yet." I laugh and take my card back from Clark.

"You keep saying that. Are your parents that terrible?" he says. I take the clothing bag and Reece out of the store and down the street to my car. I try to avoid his question while I put the suit in the backseat, but he asks again.

"They can't be that bad... I mean they made you." he says when Ive gotten in the front seat of my car. He just looks at me that reaches deep into my heart.

I built a wall years ago, never allowing myself to truly love or get to know anybody that I knew would hurt me but without me even knowing Reece tore down that wall.

"Yes they really are that bad. I'm eternally grateful to them but they're horrible people. Not really my dad as much, but my mother... Hali calls her the devil incarnate. But," I laugh. "Who doesn't think that about their parents." I try to laugh it off but my heart clenches.

"Mine aren't." he mutters. I put the key in the ignition and start it up.

"What?" I say looking at him. "You're parents don't hate each other?"

"No," he says like that's an impossible thing to even think. "They're still very much in love. And they raised 3 amazing children. I mean money was tight but we never had any bad problems you know..."

I turn away from him begging myself not to cry in front of him.

"Oh... I'm so sorry. I didn't know-"

"Don't." I say harsher than I meant. "It's not your fault." I blink a few times and look back at him. "Wanna eat?"

"Alina-"

"I'm asking a question, Reece. Do you want to eat?" I look him dead in the eye now.

"I'm not hungry. I have to get back anyway-" he doesn't even finish his sentence before I'm pulling out of the parking spot and headed back to the campus.