Page 89 of Her Paramedic
Slate took Talia’s face in his hand and moved it from side to side. His girlfriend furrowed her brow.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Trying to see if you’re about to cry,” he teased.
She huffed before laughing. “You got lucky.”
“Sure, baby. Let’s go with that,” he responded, pecking her lips before releasing her.
They exited the go-kart track, and once at the car, he opened the door for her before getting in, and they headed the half mile down to the shopping center. Once they found a space, Taliapulled him towards a clothing boutique closest to where they’d parked.
They looked around through several racks. She picked up a few items before ultimately putting them back. Slate figured she wasn’t looking for anything in particular. They were killing time until dinner, and he didn’t mind checking out whatever stores she wanted to go in.
Talia was looking at a rack of pants when something two racks over caught Slate’s attention. He went to it and picked up the powder-blue dress. He checked the size before taking it to her.
“Will you try this on for me, baby?”
She looked at the dress and smiled at him. “Sure, babe. It’s cute.”
Talia took the garment from him and headed towards the two fitting rooms in the back. She stepped inside, pulling the door closed, and he leaned against the wall opposite it as he waited. She emerged a few minutes later, and Slate took her in. He’d liked the dress when he saw it, but she made it look ten times better. She gave him a little spin.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“You look beautiful as you do in everything else,” he replied. “Do you like it?”
“I do. I think I’ll get it.”
Talia returned to the dressing room and when she exited a few minutes later, Slate took the dress from her. “Did you want to keep looking?”
“No, I wasn’t really looking for anything. I’ll just get the dress,” she replied.
They went to the register, and the cashier rang them up. He paid for the dress, and they exited the boutique. There was a store next door that looked like it catered to tourists, and Talia stopped to look at some items displayed in the window.
“Should we buy something to remember our first trip together?” she asked.
“It isn’t our first trip together, baby.”
“You’re right, but it’s our first trip together as a couple.”
“We could have been if someone wasn’t playing hard to get,” he teased.
Talia pursed her lips at him. “Maybe I knew you enjoyed pursuing me.”
Slate wrapped his arm around her. “Trust me, baby. I did. I still do.” He steered her towards the door. “Let’s choose a souvenir.”
They looked at several options, but in the end opted for getting two magnets. They made the purchase, then left the store. The rest of their time before dinner was spent going into various stores. Talia only found two other things she wanted, and Slate found a shirt he liked that matched the dress from the first boutique.
Bags placed in the car's trunk, they went to the end of the shopping center where the restaurant was. They only had to wait a few minutes before being seated. When their server arrived, they placed their orders.
“You know, you might redeem yourself from that terrible beating at the go-kart track when we go to the arcade, gorgeous,” he teased once they were alone.
Talia playfully rolled her eyes. “That was so long ago. Why are you bringing that up?”
Slate chuckled. “That was a few hours ago, and we both know if you had won, I’d hear it for days.”
“Well, yeah, but that’s different.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “How’s that?”
