By the time we all made it out of the bakery, I was quite content. I had eaten all of the samples of both the chocolate and choc-marble cake, and managed to convince Anthony to buy me that deliciously smelling sausage roll. It wasn't hard to do either. All I had to do was explain how annoying I can get when I'm hungry and then simply giving him a quick preview of what that would be like.

Safe to say, the man couldn't pay for my food quick enough.

Charlene and Sandra walked ahead of us and rambled on about the photographer and entertainment but I tuned it all out, I didn't care about anything as long as I had my food.

"Where's the other car?" Anthony asked, puzzled as he looked around the street.

"What car?" I took a big bite. The hot steam filled my mouth making a number of oh and ah sounds come blurting out to try and cool myself down.

Nicely done.

Well thank you, I try.

"The car that is supposed to take us home?"

Sandra and Charlene started sliding into the car that was already parked there. "Just call them honey, other wise you can always come along."

"Yeah no thanks Sandra you have fun." I quickly butted in before he said something stupid and ushered the two older women into the car and far away from me.

Waving a quick goodbye I took one of my last bites of my sausage roll and started to walk over towards the lake thinking it would be a nice place to sit and wait for the other car to show up.

"Why don't you drive?" I asked Anthony as he fell into step beside me.

"I do, I just prefer not to in the city, so many things happening and people always darting across the road in stupid acts of idiocy." He explained truthfully and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Why don't you?"

"I never learned. No one had time to teach me and I never really needed to." It was quicker and cheaper to catch public transport in the city and the only time I needed a taxi was when I visited my father, which until these past few weeks was a rare occasion.

"Understandable." Anthony nodded as he looked out at the lake, taking in the beautiful cite.

"Why don't we just catch a taxi?"

"Because I would have to pay for the taxi." He explained.

"Tight ass."

"It's a waste of money." He nodded and pulled his hands back out of his pockets. He had pulled out a cigar and lighter.

"That is disgusting habit." I scolded him, throwing a look of discontent towards him.

He rolled his eyes and continued to light it up despite my protest.

"Want one?"

"No!" I frowned deeply. "I don't want to die before I'm thirty."

"You're paranoid."

I let my features soften as thoughts began to creep into my mind once again. My inner-self struggling to filter them at such a rapid pace. "No I'm realistic." I muttered giving in to the memories.

The coughing. The wheezy breathes between words that I could hardly comprehend.

"I just smoke occasionally, socially if you will." Anthony tried to explain, his attention shifting towards me.

"I will not." I crossed my arms, my words softer than they were before.

"Fine." He took the cigar out of this mouth and budded it out before slipping it back into his pocket. "No smoking."

I ignored his staring and continued to walk up the lake at a leisurely pace.

"So," He tried to start off another topic of conversation. "You lived with Charlene and your father before you moved to that dump of an apartment?"

I rolled my eyes not liking this conversation any better, but I supposed I should humour him with an answer; after all he was attempting to get to know me a little - I should cut him some slack at least.

"Yep."

Great flow of conversation Sky.

"And before that you lived with your Mother?" He continued to question. "After the divorce I mean."

"My life in a nut shell." I threw him a fake smile.

"How did she die?" He asked me in soft voice.

I looked up at him a little startled by the intrusion.

"I mean, if you don't mind me asking?" He quickly added as if it were an after thought - which it undoubtedly was.

I took a deep breath and decided I might as well say something. He could easily find out from another source but I was glad he had asked me and not just gone behind my back.

"I don't remember too much. Just that she was really sick for a long time. She coughed up blood a lot but I don't really remember."

"You mean never asked how she died?" He seemed shocked and appalled.

"I did." I clarified. "Dad said it was lung cancer."

He frowned even deeper. "That's why you hate smoking?"

"That and the smell." I nodded truthfully. "I think it was a combination of things really, bad lungs, stress and just being generally unhappy. I didn't think you could die of lung cancer at thirty-five."

"It happens." Anthony agreed.

"Both my grandparents were smokers so I suppose that didn't help, then she started smoking in her early teens. She stopped when she pregnant with me but that was only for nine months."

"I see." He was back to short answers.

I took a few more steps as I thought back to that morning. "I remember going up to her and shaking her hand, it was cooler than usual but it wasn't ice cold like everyone says - like in the movies. I calling out to her that I was  burning my toast I needed help. But there was no answer."

"I picked up the house phone and dialled my dads number. Mum had been trying to teach me the emergency numbers and so she kept all the numbers on the wall beside the phone. I remember it took forever for him to finally send someone over and then they called the ambulance." I explained as the thoughts ran through my mind.

"It just weighed on my mind for a while. She wasn't ice cold; maybe if I had been quicker and called the ambulance myself then I could have saved her. I guess that shows the innocence of children, more focussed on their toast than anyone else."

"Sky, you can't blame yourself." Anthony stopped walking and pressed the urgency of his words.

"No, I know. I've had many counselling session to clarify that thank you. I guess I just get a little caught up in the 'what if's' you know."

Anthony nodded a little as he looked off into the distance. "I've never really lost anyone that close to me. My grandparents died when I was a baby, I don't remember them both my parents are only child's and the only family I have is a distant cousin that I've never even meet who loves somewhere in Africa - I think?"

"Well I would say family is a blessing but then again, they are the reason we are in this situation."

"Yes. And ambition." He chuckled slightly as if the idea was some funny, foreign idea.

"Of course how could I forget?" I smiled.

Anthony raised his bottle of water. "To family and ambition."

I giggled softly as I raised my own bottle of water and joined in the toast, taking a small sip of the quickly warming liquid.

A small honk of a car caught our attention and had me spinning around. The black town car with the Lustrous' L on the side crept to slow stop at the side of the road.

"Time to go." Anthony nodded and started off towards the car. He opened the car door and gestured for me to slide in while he held it open.

"Such the gentleman." I smiled a little surprised at the sudden curtsey.

"Not really, I hate having to slide over." He admitted honestly as he followed me into the car and such the door behind him.

"Ah, another convenience." I bit down on my bottom lip to suppress my amusement.

The ride back to the Lustrous was rather silent but strangely it wasn't as awkward as I first thought. We had both retreated into our thoughts.

The car came to a stop and we both silently piled out of the car.

"Did you want something to drink?" He asked as we walked into the apartment.

"No I'm good, thanks." I waved him off and sat myself down on the kitchen stool while he busied himself by pouring himself a drink of filtered water. I rolled my eyes.

Not everyone is like you Sky. Not everyone sticks their head under the tap when they want a drink. Some people actually use a glass.

"Oh I have something for you." I beamed as I reached for my handbag and started looking around for that 'something' I wanted to give him.

"You do?" He seemed genuinely shocked and surprised by the prospect.

"Yep." I pulled out the stack of papers and pushed them towards him for his inspection. It was the agreement - or should I say the new and improved agreement that I had typed up myself meaning every one of the terms are going to benefit me and only me.

Anthony frowned in confusion as he stared at the front page of the small stack of papers I had presented him with. "What am I looking at?"

"Our agreement 2.0 as the name suggests. Or can you not read?"

"I can read thank you very much." He glared at me as he violently flipped over the pages, reading through each and every line that I had re written. "Really?"

"Yep." I smiled sweetly.

"Okay, I am not agreeing to half of this." He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"Why not?"

"You get to critique my fashion?" He read out a line from the agreement. I figured that if he got to re design my entire wardrobe I should at least be given the same opportunity. Plus, it may be kind of fun.

"You did it to me."

"That was because you needed it."

"And so do you." I mirrored his defensive actions, crossing my arms over my chest, not daring to back down to the man.

He leaned forward, placing him arms on the counter top and leaning in so that he was now only inches away from me. I could feel the heat radiating off his body as he attempted to intimidate me. "Oh really?"

"Yes really." I kept my composure despite his close proximity - despite his attempt at throwing me. He could intimidate me. "Sorry to tell you this babe but your habit of wearing grey suits isn't flattering it makes you look fat and very square - and not in good way - the thin black ties are ridiculous, you should wear other colours maybe a nice brown to match your eyes."

I smiled at his suddenly shocked face. Granted I knew more about male fashion than I did that of my own gender - strange I know. Taking a deep breath I continued, enjoying the sudden change in power. "Your hair is always the same way, not really the sexiest it could look, maybe, tousle it a little to make it look better and try a dark blue suit tomorrow. And maybe even a pair of jeans when you have time."

I didn't know what I expected his response to be, but I didn't expect this. He laughed - actually laughed. "Okay, point taken."

He nodded as his eyes took one last look over the words and his fingers traced the edges of the paper. His lips tugged upward as he closed the paper, not bothering to look at it anymore.

"Game on, Sky." He smirked sinisterly.

I blinked a little in surprise. "You're not going to read the rest?" I questioned.

"Think of this as a trust exercise." He clicked his pen and signed his name to the paper. "Let's play by your rules for a change."

I smiled in triumph and followed his example, signing my name to the agreement on the dotted line.

Match point, Sky.

Just wait till he finds out about the pet clause I swivelled in there.

"Oh and Sky," Anthony called to gain my attention. "Since this is now sighed, you're moving in this weekend." He smiled wickedly at me as he took the papers off me for his keeping.

"I didn't agree to that."

"We had a deal that when this was signed you would move in."

We did?

"I never agreed..."

"Too late." He walked around a corner with my papers - probably to somewhere like a study.

"But you promised you would leave me alone for the entire weekend remember?!" I thought of ways to get out of this.

And if he broke his word you get a puppy.

True!

"Never mind so when do I get my puppy."

"Nice try Sky. You will move in this week and I will not be around to interfere at all." He smiled triumphantly.

"And where will you be?"

"New York." He exclaimed. "Its only a brief trip, I'll be back on Monday so you have three days to move all of that..." His voice trailed off. "You know what, just move yourself in and leave everything else behind."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't trust your taste in furniture." He answered me honestly.

I looked up to face the roof and blinked. Why do you hate me? I asked whatever deity would hear my complaint.

They probably think you're annoying.

Gee Thanks.

You're welcome.

"Sky." Anthony called my name again.

"Huh?" I blinked as I focussed back onto him.

"See this is exactly what I mean."

"What are you complaining about now?" I frowned knowing exactly what he was whining about.

"Nothing Skylar. Nothing at all." He shook his head at me.

That's what I thought buddy.

Oh Buddy! We should buy a monkey and call it Buddy.

Damn it! Why didn't you think about that before, monkeys weren't in the agreement?

I wonder if he'll notice a sticky note added in?

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