บท 20: Chapter 20 - Am I Going To Be Ok?

I entered his home and was surprised to say the least. "Sorry about the mess, I ran out in a hurry today." He walked in further and grabbed the mix of clothes and shoes and walked into what I presume to be his room to put it away.

Felix was a neat freak and hated mess. The few times I went to visit his house it felt sterile and uninviting. To some it was embarrassing to have someone see the mess in ones home, somehow it made me feel like I was seeing something very personal. I could see the history of him being here. But unlike with Felix, I felt wanted inside.

"Want anything to eat or drink?" Dean walked back from his room into the kitchen where he began pulling out ingredients to make something to eat. "What are you making?" I asked as I pulled a barstool and sat at the counter which separated the kitchen from the rest of the place.

"Hmm pesto tortellini and a toasted bread on the side. I had prepped it last night so all it needs now is to cook and the bread to toast in the oven." He rolled up his sleeves and began to fill the pan with water to cook the pasta.

"You cook?" That shocked me a bit. He never pulled me as the type to cook, especially with is live fast die young lifestyle I assumed he ate out all the time. The pasta he pulled put looked like he made it from scratch.

"Yes I do cook princess, it is an important life skill. But I happen to know more than the average person as I like to challenge myself. Making food both an art and a science."

I raised my eyebrows and took him up on his offer. As he let everything cook we began to discuss the project. "A wedding dress huh." He looked over the mockup I pulled up from my tablet.

"Looks pretty cool, can't wait to see the final result. Will it be a stand or will a live model wear it?"

"I think a live model would be too much and sizing wise it will be hard to be consistent if the model changes so a stand is what we planned it around. Though speaking of models let me pick your brain on this."

I switched the page to the profiles of Fallon and Joan Creed. "Have you ever interacted with these women and if so what do you think of them?" Dean glanced over at the screen and looked back at me with narrowed eyes. "Princess you are sounding too much like my mother right now. Why do you care if I know them?"

Whoa. I never expected him to react that way. He still was showing restraint with me but I could see he was ticked off. Before I could answer he got up and took out the food that was cooking and served it for me.

"Hey its not like that. Why would I bring up potential marriage partners for you? The reason I asked is because I want to invite one of them to be my next brand ambassador for my upcoming seasonal collection. Each of them have worn my jewelry in the past and have good reputations. But I am having a hard time seeing who better fits for my brand. So I wanted to see you opinion on it. You are more likely to know them in real life than myself."

While Dean avoided hanging with our crowd for events like weddings or baby showers or engagements. He would party for everything else. That and a lot of his business was in entertainment like acting and music. So even if not directly he has better ears and eyes for this than me.

His shoulders relaxed and his eyes softened. "Ahh my bad, sorry just a force of habit. My parents have been persistent. I thought this was a new trick they were trying."

"As for them, in my opinion while I think Fallon is someone you would get along with her style is more out there so her vibe may not fit the brand. If she is willing to do something different with her image she has a lot of potential. As for Creed, she is... well to put it bluntly a shrew."

I choked on the tortellini I was about to swallow. Dean instantly got up and began hitting my back hard to help dislodge what was stuck. "Shrew?" I managed to spit out as I coughed and coughed.

"Drink some water." I grabbed the glass he handed me and he went back to rubbing my back. "She is professional but the thing is she is very particular about her image. So she will often want things changed to fit her needs. Don't get me wrong she is a professional but only once things are the way she wants them. If you are comfortable with that then she could work since her image better fits the brand."

I managed to stop coughing and waved him to go back to his spot. "Damn. Ok so then for sake of making it easy, I will contact Fallon first and if it doesn't work out then Joan it is." I pulled the hair that managed to fall out from behind my ears back into their spot and took another bite of the food.

"By the way the pasta is really good." After the initial mishap the rest of the bites were very delicious. He smiled as he took a big bite of his toast. "I appreciate the compliment." We continued to eat and talk about mundane things until I asked how his moms birthday dinner went.

Dean slapped his forehead and looked at me wide eyed. "Shoot that reminds me, are you busy tomorrow night?" I cocked my head to the side and looked at the calendar on my phone to see my schedule. "Uhhh no looks like I am free tomorrow, why whats up?"

"My dad wants to personally thank you for my moms gift so I was wondering you could come over."

As he said that I was taking my last bite of the toast but ended up choking again. As I coughed my lungs out there was only one thought running through my head. 'Meet his Dad?!'. Dean helped me once again until I calmed down. In my whole lifetime not once have I ever met any of the parents of any of my friends alone or outside events.

My only memory of his dad when I was younger was him being scary. He was never afraid to discipline Dean in front of others or call him out for how he behaved. Which left a lasting impression on me. 'Am I going to be ok?'