The living room was dim, save for the one floor lamp illuminating a warm light. The room was silent, but the thoughts running through her mind were loud. Alani sat on the couch, feet tucked underneath her as she heard JC’s car pull into the driveway. After several glasses of wine and hours of waiting, her disappointment and worry multiplied. It then turned to anger when JC called her at a quarter till 10pm to tell her he got caught up in the studio. She was relieved that he was safe, but now fuming that he had essentially forgotten about her. 

He promised to explain once he got home, but to her, no explanation would suffice. She was hurt, angry and extremely disappointed. And to top it off, embarrassed that she had put so much effort into getting ready for a date that didn’t happen.

JC entered the living space and immediately went to her side, his face riddled with genuine regret. His eyes caught hers and he could feel the fire radiating off of those brown eyes. He noticed the empty wine bottle sitting on the coffee table and the half-filled lipstick stained glass beside it. He winced, knowing she was not just mad, but most likely drunk and feared this conversation was not going to go in his favor. 

“I don’t know how to explain to you how sorry I am, Alani. I just got so caught up. Adonis and I got in a tough spot and I just zoned out. I am so sorry.” He reached for her hand that was resting in her lap. She quickly withdrew it from his grasp.

Alani sat quietly contemplating the words in her head. The tears were threatening to spill and the alcohol was taking precedence over her judgement at the moment. 

“Am I that easily forgettable?” She seethed.

JC shook his head adamantly, “No, no, no. That’s not what happened.”

“Am I not important to you?”

He reached for her hand again, “Baby, I wish you knew how important you are to me.”

Alani snorted in disgust. “Don’t call me, baby. “

“Alani,” He sighed, “I know you’re angry with me. You’ve been drinking and I don’t want you to regret anything that may be said.”

“How dare you? I know exactly what I am saying. Maybe if you would’ve come home, I wouldn’t have sat here all evening drowning myself in fucking Merlot.” She stood up quickly, grabbing the arm of the couch for stability, then continued with her tirade.

“I had to deal with paparazzi following me around, taking my pictures, asking me questions. You didn’t even answer the phone when I was calling you. I get a new outfit, get dressed just for you to FORGET our date. Is this why all of your other relationships failed, JC? You forget about them too being so consumed with your work?” 

JC’s head whipped up to look at her in surprise. She had definitely hit a nerve and as much as it hurt, there was truth to that statement. “I'm not going to lie, it was an issue in a lot of my relationships. It’s something I need to be better about. I promise I will make it up to you.” He stood up from the couch and reached for her again. All he wanted was to feel her, place his arms around her and apologize profusely.

“Don’t bother. I don’t even know if I want to finish this trip.” Her voice wavered. She wasn’t entirely sure if she meant it, but she knew it would sting and she wanted him to hurt too.

Alani met his gaze for a beat, before she decided she didn’t want to talk anymore. All she wanted was to go to bed. She wasn’t sure what the future held at this point.

She shook her head, “I’m going to bed, JC. We can talk tomorrow.” She said sullenly,

“Okay, I am really sorry.”

“I know. Goodnight.”

She made her way upstairs towards the bedrooms, JC trailing behind her. He stopped mid-step when he saw her go into the guest bedroom and shut the door, instead of his room where she had spent every night with him.

He walked the rest of the way to his own room, dreading spending the night without her warm body by his side. He laid awake for what seemed like hours, regretting even going to the studio at all. He should’ve rescheduled. He should’ve made her feel like a priority. He needed to make a grand gesture, something that told her how much she meant to him. 

JC awoke some time later, groggy and not rested at all. The few hours of sleep he did get were restless. He quickly showered and got dressed. walking past the guest room, he saw the door still closed. He put his ear to the door and heard silence so assumed Alani was still in bed. He hoped he had enough time to get what he had planned done.

—

Twenty minutes later, JC arrived at his destination ready to enact the first part of his plan. During his restless night, he recalled a prior conversation with Alani about how she planned to save up for a new camera soon if she wanted to get serious about being in the photography industry. It was then that he decided that would be a great gift for her. He was going to surprise her with a new one. He made his way through the electronic store  in search of the perfect camera.  He marveled at all the different ones on display. There were some more basic, then some with all the bells and whistles. He didn’t know what half of the things were used for.

A young male employee, who looked to be in his early 20’s approached him, “Good morning, sir. My name is Dave. How can I help you?”

“Um, Hi Dave. I'm Josh. I’m just looking for a new camera for my friend - um, girlfriend. She’s a photographer and her camera is a little outdated. Just wanted to upgrade her a bit.”

“That sounds nice. Is this a gift?” 

“Yeah, it will be a surprise. I just want to make sure I get something she will like.” He said nervously stroking his facial hair.

When he had this idea in the middle of the night, he didn’t know all of the things it would entail. He didn’t know what megapixels were the best, which brand was more or less expensive. Now he was at the store and at a loss. 

Dave motioned to a specific camera that was on display. “This is one of our newest and highly rated models. It’s a Canon. The lens is one of the best qualities out there with 45 megapixels. It also takes videos up to 8k quality. It has multiple shooting modes and can shoot up to 20 frames per second.”

JC’s eyes widened at the camera jargon, clearly not understanding a fraction of what Dave was explaining. “Yeah, man. I don’t know what any of that means.” He chuckled.

“Basically it takes freakishly clear, high quality pictures and videos. Canon is one of the best brands out there.”

“Okay, great. Is this what you would consider the best one you have in the store right now?’ 

“Yes, for sure.”

“I’ll take it.”

“This model in particular is pretty pricey, so we keep it locked up in the back. I will go grab one for you and meet you at the check out.” Dave smiled. 

JC’s ears perked up at the mention of “pricey”. “Just how much does it cost?”

“It’s on sale right now for $4,499. Would you still like to purchase it?” Dave asked.

JC wasn’t quite expecting those numbers when he came to buy a camera for Alani today, but he wanted her to. have the best. He wanted her to know that she was important to him. Of course, that didn’t mean throwing just any expensive gifts at her, but this one specifically was something she would hopefully value. 

“Sure. I still want to purchase it.” He confirmed smiling widely. 

— 

Alani awoke and automatically reached for JC. When she felt the cool sheets beside her, the realization came back to her. She was in the guest room. Suddenly, the previous night came back to her, being stood up, the fight with JC, retreating to the guest bedroom out of spite even when she wanted to still go to bed with him. 

She groaned when she sat up and felt the effects of the Merlot pounding through her head. She hadn’t intended on drowning herself in wine, but the longer she waited for JC, the more she drank. 

She ambled to the adjoining bathroom and took a quick shower and changed into a simple black tank top, high waisted ripped shorts that stopped just short of her ass. Inflicting a little torture on JC in the form of short shorts seemed obligatory considering what he put her through. 

Alani padded barefoot down to the kitchen area, seeing no signs of JC. She was a little disappointed. Even if she was upset with him, seeing him was always a highlight of her day. She sat at the kitchen island just as she heard the front door opening. Seconds later, JC appeared in the kitchen, a cup holder with two coffees and breakfast sandwiches in tow. 

“Good morning.” He said hesitantly as he entered the room. 

“Morning,” She returned.

He sat beside her at the island, setting the food and drinks down. “I got you some breakfast and a latte. Vanilla like you like.”

“Thank you.” Alani said softly, suppressing the smile that was threatening to show. She cursed herself for being so easily enamored by him remembering her coffee order. Big fuckin’ deal, she thought back. Vanilla Lattes are common. She was trying her hardest not to give in.

“Can we talk about last night?” He asked. 

She sighed before taking a sip of her latte, “I guess.”

He turned his body so that it was facing her. She was still faced forward, focusing on her coffee in her hand, avoiding his gaze. “I just want to apologize again. I honestly just got so caught up in the song and time slipped away from me. I did not forget about you or our date. I was looking forward to it all day.”

He grabbed her coffee from her hands and set it on the counter. Before she could protest, he turned her chair forcing her to look at him. He grabbed her hands, “You are so very important to me. More than I think you know. More than I can probably admit to right now because we are still learning so much about each other. What I have learned about you though is that you are such an amazing girl. You make me happy. I have really deep feelings for you and I have for a while. I finally got you back and I’m not letting you get away from me again. I can’t.”

Alani looked at their hands. His big, strong ones nearly hid her small, dainty ones. “You disappointed me, Josh.”

“I know I did. I know. I’m sorry. Let me please make it up to you.” He lifted her chin to meet her sad gaze.

He kissed her forehead, lingering there for a minute. “I’m sorry,  baby.” He mumbled against her skin, causing all of her resolve to crumble as she instinctively leaned into him. 

“I forgive you.” She said just above a whisper. He pulled her out of the chair causing her to stand up. He wrapped his arms around her body, instantly relaxing, feeling all of the worry from the night before disappearing into the air around them. He smoothed his hands up and down her back, resting them just below her ass, leaning back in surprise when he felt how short her shorts were. 

“You wore these on purpose, didn't you?” He asked.

She blushed, “I did. You deserved a little torture.”

He squeezed her ass with both hands and bit his bottom lip, “Tease.”

Alani winked at him. They both sat back down on their respective bar stools and began to eat their breakfast and sip their coffee, falling into a comfortable banter. 

“Thank you for the coffee. It was much needed,”

“You’re welcome. I knew coffee would win you over. I couldn’t have you leaving me before your trip is over,” He hesitated, “You are staying, right?”

“I’m staying. I was just angry last night. I want to finish out my trip.”

“Good. I want to keep spending time with you. I guess I don’t need to give you my big surprise then.” He teased, standing up to dispose of their trash.

“Big surprise? You got me something else?” She asked, taken aback. She was happy with the peace offering of coffee and breakfast. 

“Yeah, I did.” He retreated around the corner to the foyer and returned a few seconds later with a large gift bag in his hands and grin on his face. 

He sat the bag in front of her and motioned for her to open it, “See what’s inside.”

Alani peaked inside the bag and at first glimpse saw the writing on the side of a box that contained the camera. “You didn’t?!” She gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. 

He simply nodded and said, “Open it up.”

Alani carefully pulled the box from the bag and set it in front of her. Another gasp escaped her mouth when she opened it up to see the extravagant camera that was inside. “This is mine?” She choked out.

“All yours.” JC confirmed. 

The camera Alani had didn’t hold a flame to this one in front of her. She had saved up her money after college and purchased the one she currently owned. It wasn’t even the best model at the time. It was just what she could afford. 

“Josh, I don’t know what to say. Why did you do this?” She questioned, running her fingers over the features.

“For a couple of reasons. For one, you know that I have been wanting to help you get out there in the photography world. A new camera is a great start, not to mention the fact that you are able to say you photographed Lance Bass and Michael Turchin’s children,” He chuckled then got serious, “But honestly, I fucked up royally last night and I wanted to show you how much you mean to me. No, I’m not trying to win you over with expensive gifts, because I know that’s not why you are with me. I want to invest in things that make you happy and will help you succeed — that kind of happiness is what you deserve and if I can have a hand in that, then I want to.”

Alani jumped up from her chair and threw her arms around JC in a tight hug. Her hands found their way to either side of his face. She kissed his awaiting lips hard and with all the emotion that she could muster. 

“Thank you so much. Josh, I love it. I don’t know how to ever thank you.” Her thumbs softly stroked his growing beard. 

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to thank me,” He said quietly, capturing her lips.