Fireworks 3 and 4

Chapter Eight

    There was a certain weight to Mia Thomas's name these days. It was a weight that she couldn't fully claim on her own. A big part of that weight was the fact that she was Drake's girlfriend. While her solo work was becoming increasingly well-known, it wasn't what made top name designers rouse one of their employees from his or her slumber so their store could be opened at Mia's request. No, that was something else entirely. That was what we call "fame by association," something that side pieces and main pieces the world over made it their life's goal to achieve. Until now, it was something that Mia hadn't fed into. Once you dipped a toe into the pond, you were soon completely and totally submerged. She preferred to stay as far away from fame as possible. But tonight...tonight was different.

    Tonight, she didn't mind rousing designers and store employees from their slumber. She had a point to make, and her boyfriend's limitless credit card burning a hole in her wallet. Poor Chubbs, bless his soul, was along for the ride.

    She tried on countless dresses, and purchased countless dresses - for the red carpet, and otherwise. Boxes and boxes of shoes gently placed in countless shopping bags. She had food ad drinks delivered to a few of the stores, and paused to eat and drink in between shopping.

    Chubbs was always in eyesight, but knew better than to draw too closely. He remained twenty feet away until it came time to escort her from one store to another. More often than not, he spent his time on his phone: texting, social media app lurking, or speaking in low tones. Three guesses as to who he was talking to, and two out of those three guesses don't count.

    She eyed him while sectioning off a piece of cheesecake. Eating cheesecake wasn't necessarily recommended when you were trying on designer dresses, especially when said designer was used to styling size 0's and 1's, but Mia was shopping under extenuating circumstances. Since that was the case, she gave herself a break. While eyeing Chubbs, she thought, And I hope he's keeping track of every dollar I've spent. I hope Chubbs is breaking down just how much shit I've bought. Not that it would matter to Aubrey. 1) He knew he'd fucked up. 2) None of the purchases she'd made today had the capability of putting a serious dent into his finances. She'd have to purchase a small island for that. And still, splurging on myself on his dime is oddly satisfying, she thought, setting her plate aside and standing from the pastel-colored couch. She snapped her fingers at the sleepy-looking store employee. "I'm ready to try on the third round of dresses," she announced.

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    You could only shop for so long, before it became more of a chore than an enjoyable event. Those who are unused to shopping might debate that statement, might shout to the sky that there was no such thing as too much shopping. Most people who have had the fortunate of shopping to their heart's contents would say otherwise. Towards the end of the shopping extravaganza, Mia found herself slumped on one of the store couches with a collection of shopping bags gathered around her feet.

    Chubbs stood some distance away, trying to hide a yawn.

    She glanced up at the store employee, who was nodding off while standing. Then she slid her glance over to Chubbs, who was defiantly fighting sleep. "I think I'm ready to go."

    "Another store?" Chubbs asked, his facial expression impassive.

    She shook her head. "Let's find a hotel."

    "You know that you don't have to find-"

    "Yes," she cut in, giving him a hard look. "I do."

    He sighed and moved to help her with her bags.

    Because the only notable event tonight had been the Drake and Rihanna performance, vacant five star hotel rooms were in abundance. Mia had her pick. She chose the Four Seasons hotel, and kept her check-in brief.