Page 14 of Always Yours

“Also, I’m handing you my card. I don’t want any arguments. You need clothes and other shit that women need. Shampoo, makeup; whatever,” Art tells me as I start to shake my head.

“I’ll pay you back,” I tell him.

“You know you don’t need to, darling. You have always been family to me. I know you guys left with only the clothes you were wearing, so you’ve got nothing. I have been saving up money for a long fucking time. It will be good to use it to help my family,” he tells me softly.

I nod my head as my eyes well with tears, but I make sure they don’t fall.

“Nik, you need some clothes too, so we can go do that now and then we will take you to check out the gym and see what you’ve got,” Art says to his brother.

“Alright. We need phones. I want Lil to get a hold of me if she needs me or runs into any trouble,” Nik says.

“We will get that sorted today. The prospects have their phones, but I’ll give her mine until we get both of you phones. That way, she will have it if she gets separated from the prospects for whatever reason,” Art says.

I nod my head liking that idea.

“Any preference for food?” I ask the men while we are still standing with them.

“Anything, darling. We will eat anything you make. As far as I know, there isn’t anyone who has allergies. If they don’t like it, they can get their own fucking food. You might need to see what is there for dishes and cookware though. I don’t think we have much, so you might have to stop somewhere for that,” he says.

I nod my head and slap Nik on the shoulder before heading to where the kitchen is. Prez is following beside me and, when we get in there, a man is standing there with his top half bent over the counter and his chin in his hands as he watches the coffee maker.

“Prez, we need a new fucking coffee maker. I swear this thing has been going for thirty minutes and it’s only half done,” the guy complains when he sees us.

“Lily will pick up a new one today,” Prez says.

“How old is that thing?” I ask in horror.

“You don’t even want to know,” Prez says with a smile before shaking his head.

I look through the cupboards and drawers to see what they have and, as it turns out, they have practically nothing. When I look back at Prez, he gives me a sheepish expression.

“You need everything. Plus, a good cleaning,” I tell him.

“I’ll get some prospects to clean it while you are gone. That way, you won’t have to worry about it,” he tells me.

I start getting excited as we head out. The first stop is to get all the appliances.

I cringe when I hear the bill, but the prospect waves me off as he pays for everything.

The next stop is to get me some clothes. We just come to a mall where I try to pick as little as I can, but the prospect shakes his head. “Bear is just going to pick stuff out for you if you don’t buy your own, and you definitely don’t want to have him pick out your clothes.”

I let out a sigh knowing that the prospect is right. All I have seen Bear or Art wear is jeans and black tees. I definitely do not want him picking out my wardrobe.

I take a little bit of time grabbing what I can. When the prospect’s arms are full of bags of clothes, underwear, makeup, and hygiene products, I raise an eyebrow at him as he nods his head in approval.

“Can we get something to eat before we shop for the groceries? We have been here for hours,” I ask.

“Sure thing. There’s the food court if you want, or we can head somewhere else,” he says.

“The food court is fine. I’m not terribly picky,” I tell him.

We eat, and I learn that the prospects names are Kyle and Maverick.

After we eat, we head to the grocery store, which is massive, and all three of us grab a cart. When I question Kyle, he says that we will need all three carts as they were asked to buy a lot of food.

I think about all the things I can make for lots of people, and the sauces and seasonings I will need. It doesn’t take long before all our carts are full.

By the time we are done, I am exhausted.

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