Part Six.
Prince Charming with the designer shoes.
Soren was a keen observer.
Ever since his teenage days, he could pick up subtle cues no one could, notice tiny minute inflections in people's voices and expressions, their body language, even the way their fingers moved, and deduce what they were feeling, what emotions they were undergoing
It was a blessing and a curse.
A blessing in the sense that he could infer and get out of difficult situations, could avoid conflicts and disagreements, find out their likes and dislikes and could figure out what people were thinking easily.
This helped him a great deal in designing. Some stars were fickle people, fickle yet silent and with his gift, he could deduce if they truly liked his designs or not
But it was also a curse.
Being this perceptiveness had its disadvantages. Being able to deduce people's true feelings, he could see the never ending stream of pity in people's eyes when his mother died, could see the disappointment and hatred in his father's perpetual stoic look he finally mustered up the courage to tell him about the most important part of his life, could deduce how sad his aunt was every time he returned from school with bleeding knuckles and a busted lip, could tell how back in high school, every day his crush was falling deeper and deeper in love with her boyfriend and didn't see nor notice how much he adored her in silence.
Even now, here seated in the car with Aspen, he could pick up how awkward the air was between them, even though she was smiling and singing along to the song playing on the radio, dancing slightly in her seat, he could still feel it, that subtle tense air, she wasn't as relaxed with him as she was back on the roof or at the bar
Soren couldn't deduce what caused this, was it because of seeing Caleb again? Was it because of something he said? He was racking his brain here
He glanced at her again discreetly, watched her as she and Rhys took turns singing along to Lil Nas X on the radio, laughing and squealing in delight when he made obscene faces at her through the overhead mirror.
Soren could help but feel a tiny bit jealous. Just a tiny bit though
His hands tightened around the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. He tried hard to keep his emotions in check and stay level headed. He had almost achieved a balanced level of zen by the time he stopped the car.
He watched how the pair stopped goofing around to stare out the window at the place he stopped the car, he observed how the gold flecks in Aspen's eyes started glowing as she continued staring. She was surprised,' her eyes only glowed like that when she was surprised'. He thought
As if to prove his hypothesis, she whirled back to him, a wondrous smile on her face "Your store?"
Soren nodded, trying but failing to hold back his own smile, he couldn't control it, whenever she smiled, he did too. It was just one of those things, those weird, unexplainable things.
"Cavanga is your store?!" He heard Rhys exclaim behind him
The brightly lit, tasteful boutique in front of them shone a golden light down at the sidewalk, illuminating not only the concrete outside but the exquisite clothes on display inside, the name, written in elegant cursive above the entrance shone with a similar golden light
It gave Aspen the impression of a Victorian era ball, the wide ballroom being illuminated by thousands of candles.
Rhys was shocked speechless, he thought Aspen was lying when she told him Soren owned Cavagna, or at least she thought she was drunk as hell.
Soren was the first out of the car "Come on guys, I told the staff to keep it open, we wouldn't want to waste their time now would we?"
Rhys was the second out, eyes still filled with wonder as he continued staring up at his dream store.
Aspen opened the passenger door to alight but stopped when a hand appeared in front of her, looking up she saw Soren staring indulgently down at her, his dark eyes staring holes into her "Need help?" he asked simply, his voice even and low
Her heart quickened again at the picture they presented right now, he helping her out of the car, like how a boyfriend would help his girl, hands clasped around each other as they smiled softly at themselves
Aspen shook her head internally, 'What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I keep thinking about boyfriends? And Soren?' she thought
Steeling herself, she placed her hand in his and allowed him to gently haul her up and out of the car, closing the door softly behind her. She tried to ignore the sparks and electricity that raced up her hand when his thumb brushed the back of her hand almost suggestively, repeating a mantra in her head almost obsessively 'Its all in my head, its all in my head, Soren is not my boyfriend, he's just being a perfect gentleman'
Standing this close to Aspen, he couldn't help his heart from thumping strongly in his chest as her floral, almost fruity scent wafted to him, the sparks he always felt when he touched her were there, electrifying his blood and muddling his brain. He couldn't explain how pleasurable they felt, he could only sigh happily internally, like a love stuck teenager.
Dimly he wondered if she felt them too, he couldn't be the only one that felt them, so he observed her stable expression, her body language for any clues
He almost gave up hope when he spotted the faintest hue of red painting her ears, it was almost invisible but it was there and Soren couldn't help but grin
It wasn't a confirmation that she felt it but it was something, it was better than nothing at all.
He had to confirm it though.
Slowly he let go of her hand and turned towards the store, pushing open the door, he ushered them in with a wave.
Once inside, a smartly dressed lady almost immediately appeared infront of him, she had on a professional yet sly smile that went well with her neatly bunned blond hair and her immaculately pressed light blue skirt suit that was the uniform of the store. On her breast pocket, right above her decorative brooch sat her name tag which read 'Kiera, Manager'
"Welcome Mr Ishida" she said in an elegant voice, smiling widely at the tall, handsome man infront of her, her obscenely rich boss who was still undeniably single and available according to the gossip of her co-workers
But if he was single, her eyes flitted behind him at the bare foot lady and handsome brunette man behind him looking around the store with wide eyes, why was he with them? and why did he call about….
"Did you secure the pieces I asked about?" He asked, his tone curt and cutting
Kiera swallowed and pulled back on her smile, although she was rattled inside "Right this way"
Smartly she led him and his group to the back of the store where she and the now absent co-workers set out the items he had requested for
Dimly she heard him speak softly to the woman behind him, he couldn't discern the words spoken but the lilting laugh she heard come from the unknown lady told her it was a joke
He was curt with her but jovial with that hussy, why is that?
When they arrived at the back room, she motioned him inside, smiling as the two strangers walked by her inside, settling on the tasteful white couch while Mr Ishida stepped up to the rack of clothes set out. Kiera stood a ways behind him as he observed the every piece with meticulous ease, sifting through them like he was looking for something, only speaking when he had to ask a question, mostly about the location of accessories
When he was done, he dismissed Kiera with a mere wave of his hand before donning a dazzling smile and turning around
"What pieces were you talking about?" Aspen asked immediately he emerged
"Pieces means outfits dumbass" Rhys hissed out, yanking on her ponytail, she replied by whirling and punching his arm
"Fuck off asshole!"
Soren chuckled at their antics "Pieces does mean outfits"
"Told you" Rhys let out triumphantly
But Aspen ignored him, instead she asked "But I don't need clothes, I just need shoes"
"But clothes go with shoes, and if you're going to wear one of my designs, its going to be the full deal"
Suddenly Aspen looked a bit apprehensive "I don't know, I'm okay with what I'm wearing right now"
"Dude, we're going to a club" Rhys said, a dead serious look on his face "Not a courtroom, you can't wear slacks to a club, let the man dress you for God's sake"
She turned to him and replied in a low voice but Soren heard anyway "But its too fancy, I don't feel comfortable wearing such expensive and fancy clothes"
Rhys tsked and shook his head, a pitiful look on his face "You bum, you spend thousands of dollars on a car but get squeamish when it comes to wearing designer clothes" he paused and pinched the bridge of his nose "I'm going to peg this on you being separated from me for a while"
He stood and held a hand out "Now get up"
Aspen, who was still ticked at being called a 'bum' glared at him and folded her arms defiantly "No"
A vein started ticking at Rhys' temple, he grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet, swatting away her flailing limbs. In one swift move, he shoved her in Soren's direction "Do with her what you will, please"
Soren caught her just before she slammed into his chest, cradling her gently. Sparks raced through their point of contact, zinging across their skin.
Their eyes met and held and Soren felt all the air in his lungs leave, he was breathless and lost in the jade pools that were Aspen's eyes
Aspen on the other hand, was feeling hot, heat flooded her cheeks and tinged the tips of her ears. The way Soren was looking at her, it made something twist in her chest, her heart was thumping rhythmically against her rib cage.
They probably looked like a couple in a sappy romance movie, getting lost in each other's eyes and shit…
'and speaking of which, Soren's eyes are kind of dreamy, like glossy obsidian….'
She snapped out of her haze when Rhys let out a less than discreet cough
"Sorry" she muttered to Soren, stepping out of his hands, the blush still colouring her cheeks
Soren thought she looked meek and adorable, that was before she whirled around and started attacking Rhys, with her little balled up fists.
When they finally settled down, Soren directed her to stand still before drawing out different outfits from the rack and holding them against her frame, he studied them for a bit before replacing them back
He did this for a couple outfits, well until Aspen started to feel slightly suffocated by the array of clothes.
Finally, he picked out a navy blue, sleeveless dress and held it against her frame. A wide smile cracked across his face
"This will do, the colour will compliment your skin tone and hair" he paused to take a small step back, viewing it from a farther angle "Its from my collection from last season" he paused again to tilt his head to the left, he obviously wanted a view from all the angles "You should try it on and see if it fits"
Aspen looked down at the dress she held, it was a beautiful dress, she couldn't deny that, even the fabric felt luxurious. It was a low cut dress with tiny straps and a tight bodice
'it would probably be skin tight too' she thought dryly
Her eyes widened when she saw the price tag attached to the dress, she never expected to see so many zeros attached to a piece of clothing.
'Soren must be stupid rich' she admitted mentally
That made her even more apprehensive, what if she ruins the dress? Will she have to pay for it? She's currently unemployed, she couldn't possibly afford such a luxury item
But it is a really pretty dress, she had to admit that Soren was a genius designer
"Something wrong?" his voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she let out a smile she prayed seemed relaxed and easy going
"Nope, I'll go try it on now. Dressing rooms?"
He pointed to the pair of rooms a little ways behind him and she slipped past him and into them.
Meanwhile, Rhys sat, silently watching the confused as hell pair infront of him, oddly he felt sorry for how clueless they seemed. It was so obvious that Soren liked Aspen a lot, but Blind as a freaking bat Aspen didn't see it, but she obviously liked him too but she was holding herself back
If they weren't so cute, he would grab their ears and jerk some sense into their dumb as hell brains
He would yell at the stupendously hot Soren 'Tell her how you feel, you shy dingbat!'
And he would scream at the utterly clueless Aspen 'Stop denying your attraction to him, you empty headed whore!'
And then he would tell them to fuck their brains out
Their sexual tension was through the roof
'they should just fuck already' Rhys thought dryly as he watched Aspen slip into the dressing rooms
Now was his time to act, and bust out his matchmaking skills
Quickly, he stood and walked to Soren, slipping infront of him and blocking his path. Standing close together, Rhys noted that Soren was a few inches taller than him
'Damn, it was as if he was made for that slut' he thought
Soren looked down at him, a mildly interested look on his face "You want to talk about something?"
His tone was perfectly polite but a tad rougher than the soft as feathers tone of voice he used with Aspen
Rhys rolled his eyes internally but outside, put on his most charming smile
"Yea, its about how much you want to fuck my friend"
The number of emotions that passed over Soren's face were too many for Rhys to count at once but he noted his final expression was dark, very dark, like send shivers down your spine dark
But he wasn't scared, instead his smile grew by leaps and bounds
"What in the hell made you think that?" Soren asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"Dude, the subtle longing looks you've been giving her all night gave you away" Rhys paused to scoff playfully "I do have eyes"
Soren opened his mouth to retort but decided against it and instead stepped past Rhys and continued on his way
But Rhys was hot on his tail, whispering quite audibly "So how long have you liked her? Do you have a crush on her?"
Internally, Soren was panicking quite thoroughly, pulling at his hair and all that, but externally, he was cool as a cucumber, sifting through shoes boxes that were positioned at the other end of the store
Not getting a reply, Rhys answered his questions himself "Oh my god! You do have a crush on her, has it been since highschool? Why didn't you tell her how you feel? Why haven't you told her how you feel? Are you shy?"
Soren couldn't take it anymore and whirled to the nattering brunette behind him "Would you please stop?"
"What? Scared I'll let your little secret out?" Rhys wiggled his brows at him suggestively and let out a thrilled little laugh, he was thoroughly enjoying himself
"Although I'll let you in on a secret"
Soren couldn't help but be intrigued, so intrigued that he leaned closer "What secret?"
Rhys made a show of cupping his hands around his mouth before whispering "She totally likes you too"
Stunned, Soren could only stare, not even reacting when Rhys brushed past him and said over his shoulder "I'm rooting for you pal, you don't mind if I take some clothes do you?"