FSE

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“ AHH COME ON!" I yelled as a car cut me off to steal the parking spot I was about to turn into. “What a jackass…" I muttered as I continued driving in the packed parking lot. I'm already running 20 minutes late… Pat's going to be so annoyed if I don't get in there soon. After several minutes I finally found a spot and began making my way to the entrance of the mall.

I headed toward one of the fancier clothing store to meet Pat. He had this idea that he could afford anything, which spoiler alert, is not true and he is in for a rude awakening. I was almost to the store when I heard a familiar voice talking as a group of girls walked by me. I looked over and my eyes met hers. “Oh my gosh, Dan?" she asked with a smile on her face, “long time no see! How are you doing? How long has it been?"

“No way, Erica?" I stopped and reached out to give her a hug. Erica is a cheetah I went to high school with. She was a grade below Pat and I. We were good friends back then. She was one of the most friendly, genuine, down-to-Earth girls I have ever met, but once we graduated, we didn't stay in touch -- mostly due to the fact that Pat dated her for a while before graduation. Their breakup made our friendship complicated… Looking back on it, things were only complicated because we were hormonal teenagers and everyone had to 'pick a side.' Now that it's been a while I'm sure that's all water under the bridge.

“Hmm…it's been at least 3 years! How do we let this much time go between seeing each other?"

“I don't know, but I don't like it!" she exclaimed holding me even tighter as a sign that she meant what she was saying. “So tell me," she stated as she released me from our embrace, “how is your mom and dad? AND Pat? I assume you two are still as tight as ever?" she smirked.

“Oh everyone is really good. No complaints," I smiled.

“That's good to hear!" she replied. “Girls, this is Dan. We went to high school together."

“Nice to meet you," they replied in unison.

“I don't want to bore you gals while I catch up with Dan for a minute so why don't you go on ahead and I'll meet up with you in a bit, ok?"

“Sounds good Erica," one of the girls smiled, “we'll meet you at La Blanc Chat." The girls then walked off and left Erica and I alone to catch up.

“Funny you mentioned Pat, I'm actually here to meet him. So if you wait a minute I'm sure you'll see him…" And as if on cue I heard another familiar voice, this time much louder than Erica's voice.

“Hey Dan!" Pat yelled from the other end of the hallway causing a few people passing by to glance over in his direction, “took you long enough!"

“I know, I know," I moaned annoyed at how long it took to get a parking spot, “but I'm here now."

“And look who you ran into… Erica… how is it going?" Pat asked giving her a big hug.

“Oh Pat, you two haven't changed at all," she laughed. “I hope things are going well for you."

“Oh they are. GUESS WHAT?" Pat exclaimed.

“What?" Erica replied humoring him by mimicking his excitement.

“Dan and I met Travis Setter, THE Travis Setter."

“Oh wow!! That's so awesome!" she replied amazed.

“Do you even know who that is?" I questioned, calling her bluff.

“Nope," she laughed, “but I'm assuming he's cool?" she questioned in a playful tone.

“Cool?" Pat stared at Erica, “Cool is an understatement. He is a self-made millionaire, owns the gym we work out at, and invited Dan and I to a super exclusive fundraising event on Wednesday. So yeah you could say he's cool."

“Whoa. You sure are passionate about him… Too bad you couldn't be that passionate about other things in your life…"

Whoa. Low blow Erica. I don't think Pat is going to take that well.

“I've actually done a lot of growing up since back then Erica. I'm sorry for how things ended. You know you are special… and I definitely didn't treat you the way you should have been treated. You deserved better."

Erica and I looked at each other; puzzled that something so serious came out of Pat's mouth.

“Oh… well. I honestly wasn't expecting that… I'm sorry for that snarky comment. It was uncalled for…" she trailed off clearly embarrassed by her lack of filter.

“Well I'm glad you said it since you were thinking it. That's the first step in repairing and mending our past issues." Pat stated looking her intensely. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. It appeared that Erica was really taking what he said to heart and wasn't sure how to digest it.

“Well…" I said breaking the awkwardness, “this has been fun, but we need to go shopping… you know for the millionaire's party" I smirked.

“Yeah…" Erica forcefully smiled, “it was great seeing you both, maybe we can catch up in greater detail sometime soon. Particularly you Pat, it seems you've matured in recent years. This new look suits you," she paused and looked up at Pat showing him a genuine smile. “Here's my number – text me sometime."

“Yeah, I would like that," Pat countered, acting coy, “talk to you soon."

“See you Dan," Erica turned to me then made her leave.

“… Well… that was awkward," I laughed, “and what was that? Do you still like Erica?"

“I mean…" Pat trailed off.

“Ok… well we'll tackle this subject another time. We need to get you some new clothes for the fundraiser."

“Ok," Pat said putting his hand on my shoulder. “Where to Mr. Fashion sense?"

_Oh boy is today going to be a long day. _We walked toward a tuxedo shop. It was a fairly big store comprised of several sections. The second we walked in we were greeted by an employee of the shop asking us if we needed assistance. Pat mentioned he was looking to update his wardrobe but just wanted to browse for now.

We walked over to a mannequin that was wearing a 5-piece suit that caught Pat's eye. “Oh wow… I really like this one!" Pat mentioned. It was a really nice suit, I thought. Charcoal gray with a white shirt and maroon tie, really classy.

“Well do you want to try it on?" I asked.

“Yeah, I think this might be the one!" Pat said rather ecstatic. He began looking for his size off the rack so he could go try it on.

“First of all, it's the first suit you're looking at… there's so much more to look at in this store."

“What did I tell you earlier?" yet another familiar voice said behind me, “you like what you like…" the voice trailed off for a second… “And what he likes… is real good." I got chills remembering those exact words from our much more intimate conversation from this morning. I turned around to find Travis standing over me with a big grin on his face.

“T-Travis" I stuttered taken back a bit by seeing him so shortly after leaving him.

“Travis! How's it going?" Pat asked, “thank you so much for the invitation to your fundraiser on Wednesday. I am beyond excited."

“You're welcome Pat," Travis replied. “What brings you two here?"

“Well we're looking for suits for Wednesday," Pat replied proudly.

“If that's the case, why don't you put these two suits on my tab. I couldn't bear the thought of you both paying for something so expensive because of my fundraiser." Travis gestured.

“N-no we couldn't do that" I retorted.

“Yeah, although that's really nice of you to offer I wouldn't feel right about that," Pat agreed.

“Well… did you look at how much that suit costs?" Travis countered pointing to the sign next to the mannequin, which read 'on sale -- $1499'

“No… no I did not. There's no way I can afford that." Pat said almost crying.

“Yes, these designer brands may look amazing but they will cost you," Travis informed us, “but you you know who can afford it?"

“You?" I asked, knowing it was pointless to even debate this topic anymore.

“Precisely," Travis answered, “Julio, please put this suit on my tab… and whatever this young gentleman wants as well." The salesman nodded and went back to stocking some new inventory. “Pat, go try on the suit. Let's make sure it looks good on you before making the decision to purchase it. “

“O-Ok, be right back!" Pat exclaimed practically ran to the changing room, leaving Travis and me alone.

“So… fancy meeting you here. Weren't you meeting a friend?" Travis questioned.

“Yeah. We already met, she had other things to do today so it wasn't very long."

Travis was inching closer and closer to me. I began blushing. He moved his head close to mine and his lips close to my ears. “So have you told Pat about us?" Travis whispered chills going down my spine, yet again.

“You mean since I left you a few hours ago? That would be a 'no'" I blushed.

“Oh…" Travis trailed off, “but why not, it seems you've had plenty of time… my little buttercup" he finished, slowly licking the side of my face and causing me to get a little hard. Travis looked down and saw the tightness in my pants. “Didn't mean to arouse you in public…" he laughed.

“The hell you didn't," I joked and pulled away. “Pat will be coming out any minute."

“You're right, I'm sorry. Let's go find a suit for you. We need to make sure it matches mine, since you're my date."

“W-wait. Date?" I asked nervously.

“Well yeah," Travis laughed. He seemed to love how nervous I was, “we are exclusive right? If I invited you to the fundraiser and we are exclusive… that would mean you're my date," he laughed again; “it's simple math" he winked.

“I guess I wasn't sure I was going to tell Pat by then, because it's so soon and this is so new…" I trailed off.

“You're not having second thoughts are you?" Travis inquired now concerned by the way I've been responding to him.

“N-no, not at all." I answered shyly. I didn't want Travis to get the wrong impression. Anything I'm feeling is not because of him specifically.

“Please know I'm here to listen to anything that you're thinking. There's no need to hold it in or hide your feelings. Whatever it is you're feeling. It's not wrong. It's not insignificant. If you feel it, I want you to share it." He reassured me.

“Thank you…" I looked down at the ground, “that means a lot to me." After a second, I looked up to Travis and gazed into his eyes. Our eyes locked on to each other, I could tell he was a good man. Not just a good man, a great man. I have no idea how I got so lucky. I did not deserve how good he makes me feel.

After a moment, I broke eye contact and Travis broke the silence, “then it's settled, you'll be my date to the fundraiser and you will wear a fabulous suit that compliments mine nicely."

I looked back up at him, and he gave me the warmest smile, which made me happy. I wrapped my hand around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He was genuinely shocked. I shoved my tongue into his mouth and made him moan. Our tongues danced around for a short moment and then I pulled back. “You're amazing" I smiled as I gazed into his eyes.

Travis was about to say something but looked over because he sensed someone close to us. It was Pat. He stopped dead in his tracks.

“Pat, I have something to tell you," I said calmly, “Travis and I are seeing each other."

Pat, looking astonished, just stood there for a moment. What was he thinking? How could I be so reckless? I wanted to wait at least a few more days before letting anyone know since this is so new. “You know… “ Pat began, “yesterday night at the gym when you got a ride with Travis… the invite to a fancy fundraiser… the free suit to attend the fancy fundraiser… this makes so much more sense now."

“Pat," Travis chimed in, “Dan is my date to the fundraiser and I realize now that it is rude of me to not give you a plus one. So please bring anyone you like."

“Well… now that you mention it, I do have someone in mind I could bring. She's a big fan of yours," he lied.

I couldn't help but laugh. Oh boy. That date's going to be a disaster. I wonder if she'll even say yes.

_ _

“Dan, after we're done here will you come over later today or tomorrow to help me set up for the fundraiser?"

“Sure, how about tomorrow?" I asked, thinking about all the things I should be doing today.

“Oh don't play hard to get Dan," Pat moaned, “get your ass over there tonight. And try to have some 'fun' after helping with the 'logistics' of the fundraiser."

Travis looked at Pat and held his hoof out for a high five. Pat returned the high five and the both grunted at each other.

I rolled my eyes and sighed._What have I gotten myself into? _