Ashley sipped at his milkshake as Bella took a bite out of her burger. She'd ordered from McDonald's and was now trying to scarf down a Big Mac, twelve chicken nuggets, two sides of fries and a large Coke. Ashley, meanwhile, just smiled at her, before daintily stirring his chow mein noodles and sweet and sour pork with his chopsticks before taking a bite.

"What do you want to do next?" Bella asked after taking a sip of her soda.

"Nothing really," Ashley waved to their giant mound of shopping. "I think we've bought out the entire mall."

"Well, I've got to keep you here till ten, so we've got about half an hour to kill."

"What exactly did the two of you come up with that requires me to leave the house for so long?"

She grinned; that had to be the fifth time Ashley had asked her in an hour, and she still refused to budge. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Well if you're going to trap me here for another thirty minutes I have one more thing I need to buy."

"What is it?"

"That's a surprise."

Although it's not for you.

🍴🍰🍫☕🍹🍴

"Why do I need a suitcase?" Ashley asked as Bella tossed a seemingly random assortment of clothes, mostly the new ones, into the suitcase she'd bought. She wouldn't let him see what she was packing, because it might give away the surprise, but he did manage to sneak in a special... present for Ethan that Bella didn't know about.

"You're going on a trip."

"I swear to god Bella, I am not getting on a plane."

"Relax, you won't even leave the state. It's only a few minutes away." She zipped up the suitcase and handed it to him. "Speaking of which, your limo should be here soon."

"Limo?" Ashley sighed, pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "How can you even afford all this?"

"Ethan's the one paying for the Limo and the h- rest. It took so much arguing just to get him to let us pay for our shopping spree." She handed him the suitcase and stood up straight.

"Go on. We don't have all day." Bella walked to the door and gave him a little wave. "I'll leave so you can change."

🍴🍰🍫☕🍹🍴

Ethan stood in front of the Glen leaning against the black limo parked out front, hands stuffed in his suit pockets as he waited for Ashley. Ethan's jaw almost dropped as he watched Ashley step out onto the street, pulling his black shawl tighter around him against the cold. He was dressed in a knee-length red dress with a golden belted waist and black stockings.

"Um, hi?" Ashley spoke as he came to a halt in front of Ethan, staring down at his feet which he'd slid into dainty red pumps.

Ethan was at a loss for words as he stared down at Ashley. "Wow...."

"You like it?"

"You look freaking amazing."

Ashley could feel the heat rising to his face, tinting his cheeks with colour. "Th-Thank you."

Ethan held out his hand for Ashley, and the shorter man took it, shyly smiling up at Ethan. Ethan opened the car door for him, and Ashley entered the car, Ethan sliding in next to him.

The inside of the limo was softly lit; Ashley practically sank into the seats. He waved at the driver, who gave him a friendly smile in return. He looked a little confused as he glanced at Ashley again like he was trying to figure something out.

"So do I finally get to know where we're heading?" Ashley asked, leaning into Ethan and playing with his emerald green tie. "Bella wouldn't tell me anything."

"Good." Ethan grins as Ashley pouted, arms crossed over his chest. "We have a bunch of stops tonight and tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, there was a lot of stuff Bella and I planned that just kind of... split off into another day so..." Ethan shrugged. "We're headed to the Hayden Planetarium first, they have a great star show, then to central park for a picnic. After that, we can go down to Rockefeller centre to Ice skate."

"That sounds amazing Ethan but..." He bit his bottom lip and tilted his head in thought. "...you don't have to spend this much money on me."

"I know. That's the point." Ethan reached up to play with one of Ashley's curls, and Ashley leaned into his touch. "Besides, the restaurant has been so successful lately. Kaili and I are actually thinking of opening a second branch."