The lady led the trio to the clothing section and handed Ariana several dresses to try out.
Ariana walked into the changing area and began to test each dress.
Looking down at all the dresses, they looked chic and elegant and Ariana knew she'd have a hard time picking one for herself. So the opinion of her little brother, Azaiah and the lady would matter in helping her make a decision.
She tested out different dresses and asked for David's opinion but the little one didn't have a liking to any of them and Ariana wanted to honor the little boy's opinion.
Azaiah didn't say a word the several times she came out of the changing area to show them each dress she had tried out but the expression he had didn't carry satisfaction.
The lady handed Ariana more dresses and one finally grabbed her attention. It was a long, gold sequin spaghetti-strap dress with a sweetheart neckline and a high slit which exposed a little part of her thighs.
Ariana loved how the dress looked on her; perfectly hugging her curves and accentuating her femininity. She had let her hair down and it also elevated her beauty.
She came out of the changing area and showed the outfit to them all. The lady who worked at the mall shrieked the moment she saw Ariana.
"You look absolutely gorgeous" the lady admitted.
"Thank you" Ariana said smiling.
She turned to David to see the little boy giving her a thumbs up "You're so beautiful" little David ran to Ariana and gave her a hug.
"Thank you sweetheart" she ruffled his hair.
Slowing turning to the last witness Azaiah, she saw the look in his eye had changed from dissatisfaction to completely stunned and he didn't mask it.
He didn't utter a word but his eyes said all he didn't say with his mouth.
"It's the best out of the others. Let's go" Azaiah said, standing from the chair he was sitting.
Ariana and David followed till they got to the counter where they needed to pay.
Ariana was about to bring her card out of her bag when she noticed Azaiah had already brought his instead; out of his pocket.
"Azaiah wait, I'd pay for it instead" she said but he only glanced at her in silence before handing his card to another lady behind the desk.
Little David had already picked an outfit for himself while Ariana was changing. So both siblings were on a different outfit now.
Ariana watched Azaiah pay for both their clothes and though she wanted to retort, she didn't because she knew he wouldn't budge.
They walked out of the mall and Azaiah led them towards the main building which had a rooftop restaurant. The place looked so beautiful and had scented candles lit all over the place with the mixture of gold and blue lights.
Little David tugged at Ariana's arm excitedly, loving what he was seeing and she turned to him.
"Stay close to me. Its dangerous because we're on the roof okay?" Ariana warned despite the fact there were about six, stacked thick iron bars around the large space which ensured no one would fall off the roof.
The wind was gentle but it was also cold, giving Ariana goosebumps.
Azaiah noticed how she shivered but unfortunately he didn't have a jacket with him.
"Shall we?" Azaiah said, offering a hand to Ariana who reluctantly took it.
At that point, they looked like a family of tree, with Azaiah holding Ariana's right hand and little David holding her left hand as they walked towards a table.
Little David quickly sat on a chair after Ariana let his hand go, she was about to take a seat when Azaiah walked behind her and pulled the next chair out for her.
She was surprised by how delicate his actions were because she didn't expect it from him at all.
She took her seat and he pulled the chair back in before taking his seat.
The table had four chairs around it, leaving one vacant before Ariana placed her purse on it and the bag the lady at the mall offered her to place her previous dress and also little David's previous outfit in it.
But Ariana felt weird. Sitting at a table, in a fancy restaurant with her highschool bully who now behaved nothing like a bully.
The fact her little brother was here also made it weird because she didn't want Azaiah's presence to inconvenience the little boy but so far, little David seemed to have a liking towards the man. Lessening her worry.
Ariana spoke up first "It seems like they don't really have customers that much anymore. We're the only ones here". She was genuinely surprised at what she observed.
"Don't worry, they still get alot of customers. Let's enjoy the evening" Azaiah said as he picked up the menu pamphlet, when in truth he had rented the restaurant for the evening.
Ariana began to wonder about Azaiah's gentle behavior. She was the one who owed him for his kindess to her but he had been the one taking the initiative since the night began.
The candle at the center of their table exuded such a sweet and delicate fragrance Ariana couldn't help but sniff it and David copied her actions.
She giggled at his cuteness before gentle squeezing his cheeks. Her focus turned to Azaiah who had been going through the menu but was now staring at her.
His gaze, unshaken and deep.
"You look so beautiful" he said in a low tone and Ariana felt her heart beat quicken and she didn't notice little David nod in affirmation.
The way Azaiah stared into her soul made her feel things she couldn't describe.
"Thank you" she said as he quickly looked away from him but a blush was evident on her face.
The waitress arrived at their table to get their order, quickly dismissing the tension in the atmosphere that had formed after Azaiah had uttered those words.
Azaiah's eyes finally left her and landed on the waiter who looked very pretty herself.
"Get their order first" he said to the waitress.
Ariana quickly took a pick and so did David and lastly Azaiah.
After the waitress had left their table, Ariana turned to the man sitting in front of her.
She wanted to form a conversation because for some reason, something strange lingered in the atmosphere.
"It was nice to see you after all those years" she said and Azaiah raised a brow but Ariana thought he didn't understand.
"I mean...we haven't seen each other since highschool until now" She explained and Azaiah smiled as he said to himself "But I've been seeing you".
The words he said to himself, carrying a hidden meaning.
"I thought you didn't remember that" Azaiah admitted and Ariana felt a bit ashamed that she didn't actually recognized him at first when they met at the club.
The feeling of familiarity was there but she couldn't place her finger on who he was exactly, at that time.