Walking down Mason Avenue, I found a strange comfort in being held by Elliott. A warm feeling enveloped me, and it wasn't because of Elliott's body heat. Or, at least, not entirely because of that. His arm looped around my shoulders was a source of reassurance, something I had never experienced before. Whenever Markus touched me, it was always a sign of dominance, like he was showing the world that I was his, and his alone.

Elliott, who didn't seem to mind that people could see us together, made me feel comfortable being in his presence. For once, I walked with my head held up, eyes front and center, without feeling self-conscious of the fact people were staring. After Markus broke up with me and I checked out of my life, people stared and whispered about me, so I kept my head down and tried to hide myself from the world. Now, walking with Elliott, I had a surge of confidence. I had to wonder if it was possible for someone to transfer their positive energy onto another person, because if it was, Elliott was definitely giving me a boost in the confidence department.

"Ok, Olivia," Elliott sounded out my supposed name in a strangled tone. If I had really been Olivia, I would have hated the way it sounded on his tongue, but for now, I shrugged it off and concentrated on what he was trying to say. "The first part of our date involves us going to the Liberty Mall. Did you drive here?"

"No," I sigh out my answer. "My ex-boyfriend never let me drive anywhere, so I'm a little bit of a nervous driver. Anyway, walking helps me clear my head."

Elliott nods in understanding. As we walk, I notice that we're headed towards the parking lot just off Mason Avenue. Typically, being this close to Christmas, the parking lot was heaving. In fact, cars were lining the street, waiting for a space in the parking lot to free up. Easton was a wealthy Connecticut town, and if the big mansions weren't enough of a giveaway, then seeing the fleet of expensive cars lining the street was proof of everyone's wealth. Most vehicles in town could pay a nurse's salary for a couple of years, but they were just another status symbol around Easton.

Surprisingly, the car Elliott guided me to is pretty modest considering it was parked between an Audi R8 Spyder and an imported Italian car whose name I would never be able to pronounce. That is, if it's actually Italian in the first place. I don't speak car.

Elliott beeped the sleek black Range Rover open and held the passenger door open for me. His arm fell from my shoulders, his hand going to gently press on the lower of my back as he helped me climb inside. This time, the fire that burned inside me was definitely ignited by Elliott's touch. Thankfully, he closed my door before he could notice my flushed cheeks and I had managed to calm myself down by the time he took his place behind the wheel of the car. We both clicked our seatbelts and soon enough Elliott was backing out of his parking space.

"So, why are we heading to the mall?" I ask, turning my attention onto Elliott. His smile widened on his face and he clicked his tongue at me, shaking his head while looking at me from the corner of his eye. I groan. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Nope," he laughs heartily. I couldn't help but notice the way his lips moved as he popped the 'p'. He looked childlike as he faced me and smiled, the grin echoing in his eyes. "Come on, I thought you wanted to be fearless."

"Whatever," I petulantly muttered to myself. From the way Elliott said nothing, I guess he hadn't heard me. I suck in a deep breath and shrug. "Fine, Elliott, have it your way. Don't tell me. I can live with that."

That was a total lie. Part of my previous personality that lingered with me was the fact that I'm ridiculously impatient. I'm the worst person when it comes to secret and surprises, too, and the fact that Elliott refuses to tell me why we're going to the mall has me pouting like a six year old. I know how childish I look, but ever since Markus blindsided me with the break-up, my dislike for surprises solidified, and I feared the unknown. I hated not being in control, so much so, this year on my birthday I completely ruined my best friend's surprise plans because I couldn't let go and be fearless, as Elliott calls it. It was the last straw for Talia and we barely talked after.

"You know you're a terrible liar, right?" Elliott muses, although it sounds more like a question. He takes the turn for the Liberty Mall and a familiar Christmas song starts to play on the radio. Elliott starts drumming his fingers against the wheel, and a bright smile curves his lips upwards. "When you lie, it shows on your face, Olivia."

I highly doubt that's true. If my face really did show I was lying, then how come he hadn't worked out that I was lying about being Olivia Campbell? It was just a fluke that he worked out I lied about being okay with not knowing why we're going to the mall. Either that, or my pout had been more obvious than I'd originally thought.

I was about to start whining at Elliott again when he started to sing along with the song on the radio. I'm not sure if he knew he was singing out loud, or if he was doing it subconsciously, but his gravelly voice sang out the lyrics to Faitytale of New York word perfect. I watched as his lips moved fluidly as he sang, his hand still tapping along to the tune. In the minutes I watched him, I forgot all about what I was going to ask Elliott.

This boy was an enigma. From everything I'd heard about Elliott Anthony, I expected him to be this uptight, arrogant jerk that dated girls so he could get what he wanted and leave soon after. Elliott Anthony was a player, or at least that's how I always viewed him, but now I was starting to see him in a different light. It was both worrisome and wonderful. I don't find it easy to read people. I suck at it, actually, but I got the feeling that Elliott was an okay guy. Maybe even better than 'okay.'

The song ends and Elliott smiles to himself. It's infectious and I start to smile too.

"You've got a great voice," I state, gaining Elliott's attention instantly. The smile drops from his features, quickly replaced by a look of confusion and a slight blush on his cheeks. "Sorry, it's just that you were singing, and you were really good, and... yeah, you can sing. Just an observation."

"Oh," Elliott rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Thanks. I didn't realize that I was singing out loud. Don't take this the wrong way because it only proves how comfortable I am around you, but I kinda, briefly, forgot that you were in the car with me."

I laugh. "Don't take this the wrong way," I mimic Elliott's words with a small smile on my lips. "But I'm almost comfortable around you too, otherwise I'd be having a major freak out right about now."

"Almost comfortable? Jeez, I'm hurt," Elliott took one hand off the wheel and placed it over his heart, pretending to be wounded by my words. He sobered after a few seconds and sent me a curious glance. "What would you be freaking out over anyway?"

As his question reverberates around my mind, two things panic me. One- how did we get onto this topic? I'm never usually this talkative in front of people I hardly know, not am I ever this comfortable around strangers. The second thing that panicked me? We'd arrived at Liberty Mall and Elliott was parking the car, meaning Part 2 of our date was about to start.

I guess I don't really need to be freaking out anymore. Now that we'd arrived, I was about to find out what we're going to be doing here, and that makes my heart race creep back to normal.

"We're here," I squealed and clapped my hands.

"You-" Elliott laughed so hard he could barely breathe and get his words out. "Sounded-" Another laugh. "Like a-" Laughter again. "Seal."

I blink at him as his words sink in, and then lift my tiny, insignificant fist to punch his solid bicep. "A seal? I hope you mean that like Navy SEAL, and not the animal."

"A Navy SEAL? With that punch?" Elliott laughs again, wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye. I'm glad he was thoroughly amused by my humiliation. I crossed my arms indignantly over my chest and glared at him, making him stop with his hysterical laughter. "Right, exactly like a Navy SEAL. That's what I meant to say. Navy SEAL. Now, come on. We've got some shopping to do."

Did he just use the 's' word? Oh, God, I hope not. Going against stereotype, I absolutely hate shopping. I was one of those girls that got bored of shopping after visiting two stores. Honestly, I felt like I was losing brain cells whenever I stepped into a clothing store, or burning in Hell, or somewhere equally awful.

Simply put, I do not shop. Ever.

Plus, Liberty Mall is not Heaven on Earth, as the publications like to call it. It's the opposite. The only times I ever came out here were on birthdays and Christmas. Guess it sucks for me that I got my seasonal shopping done and dusted last week. If I had waited just seven more days, I could have avoided this repeat visit. I could have escaped walking around the one million plus square footage again, having to window shop hundreds of store fronts and being in a permanent state of boredom.

How I loathe shopping with a passion.

Elliott wraps his arm around my waist, his fingers brushing my side as he pulls me closer to him. I squirm and wiggle away from him, practically clawing his hands away from me and shivering, my body convulsing at the ghost of his touch.

"Are you okay?" Elliott eyes me carefully, his gaze moving up and down my body.

"Sure," I try to brush away the tension, but feeling Elliott's stare on my made me flush in embarrassment. "I'm ticklish and you kind of had your hand on my weak spot. Don't laugh, Elliott. I'll have you know that I once elbowed my ex in his-" I cut off my words, letting my eyes wander to that area of his body, so that he'd understand. "Don't tickle me unless you're prepared to face the consequences."

Elliott stops laughing and winces, holding up his hands in surrender. "Message received."

I was expecting him to walk at my side from a distance, but as soon as our strides matched one another, I felt a warm touch at my hand where Elliott's hand intertwined with mine. I looked at our clasped hands, and then let my eyes move up to Elliott's face, trying to work out what he was thinking. He kept his eyes ahead of him, seemingly ignoring the fact that he was holding my hand, but his smile was obvious as he purposefully led me through the main door of the mall and started to look around us.

"Ok," he pulls my attention to him, and away from our hands. "Here's the challenge. We both get fifty bucks and we've got to go and buy each other a gift within that budget. Deal?"

"Except, I don't know you well enough to buy you anything," I point out to him, my forehead creased in frustration. I sucked at buying gifts as it was, but buying something for someone I barely knew? That was just too much of a challenge. "On the flip side, you don't know me all that well either."

"I already know what I'm getting you," Elliott states confidently. Noticing my hesitation, he finally looks me in the eyes and smiles. "Need some tips?" I nod gratefully at his suggestion. "I like the Rangers, Bruce Springsteen and football. I collect weird Star Wars things, love building stuff and I have a warped sense of humor. I like stupid slogan t-shirt and I wear a large. Uh, what else? Um... ok, I like the color blue. How are those for clues?"

"Rangers, The Boss, football," I start rolling off his list of preferences. "Star Wars, building kits, joke stuff, blue slogan t-shirts in a large."

"Perfect," Elliott winks at me, making me go weak at the knees. He begrudgingly drops my hand from his grasp as he fishes around in his pocket, takes out his wallet and hands me two twenties and a ten. I go to protest but Elliott forces the bills into my palm. "The guy pays, remember?"

As his words left no room for argument, I duly nod, but in my mind I'm already planning on flashing my own plastic at the checkout. I'm assuming we're going our separate ways to shop so Elliott won't have a clue.

"Hand it over," his instructions pull me out of my thoughts. I frown at him in confusion. "Your wallet, hand it over." Before I could respond- or protest- Elliott's hand delved into the pocket of my coat. He finds my wallet easily, takes out all my cash and cards, until I'm only left with my ID. "Like I said earlier, everything is written on your face. Including when you try to play me at my own game. We'll meet back here in thirty minutes. Happy shopping, Olivia."

"Wait, Elliott," I try and stop him but it's useless. He's lost in the crowd of shoppers and soon enough it looks as if I'm talking to myself. "Great. What now?"

Time to shop, I guess.

What were his preferences again?

Rangers. The Boss. Football. Building kits. Star Wars. Funny stuff. Blue slogan t-shirt. Large.

God, this is going to end so badly.