Chapter 118: Zoomies

Granted getting Flash’s father to allow him sell his product to the vendors at Luna Park had been a fifty-fifty chance, Aiden had pressed on nonetheless.

And boy, was he glad he did.

Not only had the man given him the go-ahead after reviewing the product, but he had been so impressed by the youth’s entrepreneurship, he’d promised he’d introduce him to people whom would also like the product if it sold well.

Grateful for the opportunity, Aiden had equally given them a discount on their first thousand bottles as a show of appreciation.

Not as much as the discount he’d given Haute Cuisine, but it was still a good discount nonetheless. Ten percent to be exact.

Currently seated on the bench at the less crowded pier, his Pops having gone to have some fun at the park, Aiden hung his head over the bench whilst letting out a sigh a resignation as he muttered;

"Yep. I really am not a fan of meetings."

"Totally worth it, though." he added, his optimism on full-display as an accomplished smile touched his lips.

Sure, he didn’t enjoy all the hassle that led up to establishing his business, but he wouldn’t deny that every single one was worth it.

Now, all he had to do was wait till the next two weeks came around.

"You know, when you called me up yesterday, I was expecting a silly request like the last two times." Flash casually walked up to him and plopped onto the bench with his spread arms.

"What do you mean, silly? They were all valid, important requests." Aiden casually corrected without batting an eye, his smile relaxed.

"Sure, sure," Flash rolled his eyes in dismissal.

"I have to say though, I’m just as impressed as my Pops." the youth admitted, his head bobbing mildly in acknowledgement.

"Weird that you’d name it that, though." Flash gestured briefly with a tilt of his head.

To that, Aiden simply chuckled.

Clearly, it seemed like he was the only one--asides his Pops, his buddies, his girlfriend, Dr. Kowalski and Mrs. Rodriguez whom he’d informed them as to why he’d named it as such that shared the same insights as he did.

’You all just watch. It’s gonna make a whole lot of sense in the coming months.’ the youth remarked to himself with a knowing smile.

At the same time, a rather gorgeous lady passed by, seemingly taking in the sights of the pier and the sea as she took a picture on her phone.

"Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you around, North." Flash suddenly rose up from the bench, a charming grin on his features as he flexed his varsity jacket and made his way towards the lady.

"Being a playboy kills, Flash! Do it responsibly!" Aiden casually called out after a brief while, vaguely gesturing with a hand.

"Screw you, North!" Flash gave Aiden two middle-fingers from afar as he added;

"And you’d better not call my line again! I owe you nothing!"

Aiden simply waved him off, the words passing through one ear and out the other.

If there was ever an opportunity that required him to contact the pompous jock, he most definitely would.

Rising from the bench as well, Aiden then stretched his joints a few times and said;

"Alright, Pops,"

"Where are you?" he rhetorically asked as he began to make his way into the fairgrounds.

...

...

...

It was about noon by the time Aiden and his Pops arrived home.

Yet, just as Aiden had stepped out of the vehicle to head in, he suddenly turned to his father and said;

"Pops. Could you toss me the key?"

"What for?" Richard curiously asked, tossing the key nonetheless.

Effortlessly catching it, Aiden simply replied;

"Haven’t seen Her Highness in a hot minute. She’s been rather stressed in recent memory so I figured I’d surprise her."

"Tell her to take care of health first. Send her and her family my regards as well." his Pops approved, casually remarking in response as he walked into the house with a wave of his hands.

"Oh, and don’t you think you need your own vehicle at this point, Champ?" Richard suddenly called out, turning around to face the youth.

Upon hearing that, Aiden halted in his steps, his brows slowly rising and his eyes widening slightly as he muttered in realization;

"Come to think of it, I do..."

Considering he would be resuming college in a little over three months, it was a necessity that he had his own ride, more so since he’d decided he wanted to stay off campus.

Besides, for as much as Aiden had realized he never really had many material things he actually wanted to spend his money on--which was rather ironic given his goal was to become stinking rich--this was one of those material things that wasn’t even a question considering he could easily afford it as he was.

"Yeah," Richard chuckled lightly upon noticing his reaction.

"I figured you probably hadn’t given it much thought since you’re so used to using mine, but it’s high time you get yours." he added.

"Car dealership next week?" Aiden immediately followed up, his head tilted slightly as a gesture of invitation.

"Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Champ." Richard pointedly snapped his fingers at his son, clearly accepting the invite.

Then he casually made his way into the house, the door closing gently behind him.

Smiling in appreciation, Aiden slipped into the vehicle and ignited the engine.

Within seconds, he had pulled out of the driveway and began the drive to Clarissa’s house.

As usual, the one-story suburban stucco looked as imposing as ever, and as usual, Aiden remained unintimidated by it.

Casually walking up the door, the youth rang the doorbell and waited.

For a brief moment, no one seemed to respond, and honestly, Aiden couldn’t blame them. He had come unannounced after all.

Then,

"Who’s there?!" his girlfriend’s familiar voice and her mother’s came from somewhere upstairs.

Casually, Aiden replied;

"It’s Aiden."

No sooner had he said that, the youth could hear the rushing of steps downstairs.

Immediately after, the door swung open and Aiden was met with the sight of his girlfriend in her most natural state, her hair tied into a messy updo and a reading glasses resting on her features.

She was also dressed in a rather skimpy pajama, the thin strap of her pink singlet loosely falling off one of her shoulders and her sleep shorts living little to the imagination.

Granted, Aiden wasn’t ogling her curves or her proportions, they just happened to present themselves to him...

...especially when she promptly jumped and glomped onto him like a baby koala and began peppering his face with kisses.

"Keeping that handsome face away from me for a week is punishable by a thousand kisses! You hear me?!" Clarissa paused in between and promptly continued her assault on his face!

"Yes, yes. I missed you too, sweetheart!" Aiden laughed as he carried her in lest the neighbors in the street caught them lacking, his leg closing the door behind him.

At the same time, the youth was already prepping himself to face the wrath of her father whom could presumably walk around the corner at any minute.

Instead, Selene was the only one who did, the woman in a long bath robe as she carried Milo whilst laughing.

"Mrs. Hale. Good afternoon." Aiden managed to greet her in-between his babe’s assault.

"A good afternoon to you too, Aiden." the woman casually replied, clearly unperturbed by her daughter’s actions.

Suddenly, Clarissa stopped, drawing her head back a bit as she brushed a few strands away from his face whilst staring deeply into his eyes.

Reciprocating her adoring gaze, Aiden then asked, a mix of amused curiosity in his voice;

"What?"

"Have I ever told you I love your voice?" she asked instead, only to immediately resume her assault as she declared;

"I wuv you! I wuv you soooooo muuuucchhh!!"

Once again, Aiden found himself laughing, his mirth on full-display. To that, baby Milo gave his sister a clearly perplexed look while Selene proceeded to explain;

"She’s had the zoomies all morning, and frankly, we’ve been getting the brunt of it,"

"Him, especially." she gestured to her baby by booping his nose, an action that had Milo attempting to scrunch his nose, his reaction cute to say the least.

"So, she’s all yours. Goodluck." Selene casually said and left the living room, though she still called out as she made her way up the stairs.

"Leave the door of your room open, Rissa. And that’s not a request!"

"Understood!" the lady replied and then returned her attention to her boyfriend.

"I’m not heavy, am I?" she suddenly asked in concern, to which Aiden replied honestly, his brow arched in clear confidence;

"I could carry you all day if you want?"

"My hero~." Clarissa beamed to which Aiden then asked, his tone one of genuine interest and concern;

"Busy week, huh?"

"It’s been nonstop, babe. Modelling gigs and casting auditions after the other," she tiredly groaned.

"It’s draining... but I love it still. Passion being both a gift and curse, and all." Clarissa replied with a resigned sigh.

Then she asked softly, brushing aside a strand of his coal-black locks;

"Rough week as well?"

"Nothing I can’t handle." Aiden assured her, then said;

"But before we get around to discussing the nitty gritty of it and catching up..."

"Where’s your dad? I’d have expected him to dropkick me or something by now?" the youth curiously remarked, and Clarissa found herself laughing heartily as she replied;

"He’s gone golfing with his buddies. Might take an hour or two before he arrives."

"Well, let’s hope he doesn’t turn me to mincemeat when he arrives, eh?" Aiden muttered in concern, and the lady found herself chuckling once again as he began carrying her up the stairs.

To that effect, the couple caught up on their endeavors over the course of the week, Clarissa informing Aiden of an indie movie she auditioned for that looked rather promising and would be filmed in LA in the coming months... which would be quite convenient for her if she did get the role since she would be schooling there as well.

It was also during their shared convo that Aiden informed his babe of his recent trip to the art gallery and his plans to establish one of his own.

At the same time, he brought her up to speed on the beverage business dealings and mentioned that he would be pivoting most of his attention back to [Gothic Survivors] in the meantime.

With wishlists having rocketed to 420K+, the gang was rather ecstatic to have the game land in the hands of players.

Afterall, it would be dropping on both AppSphere and Portal tomorrow.