Page 88 of Tito

He peered through the glass, toward the busy street below. “It’s a nice view, for sure.”

“Would it be childish if I took pictures?” I asked. “To show my dad?”

“Not at all.”

I took pictures of the pillows, tile floor, breathtaking views, the chocolate on our pillows, and of the bathroom. Pictures of the living room furniture followed, as did a few of the fresh flowers that were placed in vases on every flat surface of the room.

“I don’t even know if I want to leave the room,” I admitted.

“I think once you see a few of the things this place has to offer, you’ll change your tune.”

“I doubt it.”

* * *

Without taking a single step outdoors,we wandered amongst the most exquisite shops in existence. BVLGARI, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Harry Winston, Tom Ford, Cartier, Prada, Hermes, and Christian Louboutin were all within eyeshot. It was a shopper’s paradise, and I was right in the middle of it.

“I love window shopping,” I said. “This is going to be awesome.”

“We aren’t window shopping,” he said flatly.

My heart sank. Vegas was known for the gambling, but I wat least wanted to wander past a few of the shops before we started plunking money in slot machines.

“Can we go past that one?” I asked, pointing to Christian Louboutin. “I want to just look at their shoes. You know, the red-bottoms?”

“Sure,” he said. “We can go in any of them you like.”

“I thought we weren’t—”

“We’re not window shopping,” he said. “We’re shopping for real.”

I coughed. “I work at The Buckle. I can’t afford a pair of socks in that place, let alone—”

He waved his hand from the fat left to the far right. “Anything you want is yours.”

The thought of it was exciting. Obviously, he’d never stepped foot in such places. “You can’t say that,” I gasped. “These places aren’t like the mall I work in. This is the crème de la crème.”

“Listen,” he said, facing me. “I know where we are, believe me. I live in a modest home that I paid cash for, I’ve worked hard for years, and I have roughly three hundred dollars a month in expenses. The rest, I save. I’ve saved for a reason. To spoil the woman I love. You’re that person.” He kissed me. “Let’s have fun, shall we?”

How could I argue with that response?

Upon stepping into Christian Louboutin, we were greeted by a gorgeous woman with jet black hair, a perfect figure and pearly white teeth. “Welcome to Christian Louboutin. How can I help you?”

“I’d like to try on a pair of your Pigalle pumps,” I replied. “In black.”

“What size?”

“Eight and a half,” I whispered.

“I’m Taylor,” she said.

“Reggie,” I said. “And he’s Tito.”

She smiled. “Love the name.”

“Thank you.”

When she walked away, Tito looked at me and smirked. “You know the names of the shoes?”