𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖓

"Look, don't worry, everything is completely under control. I just need you to go over the guest list and tell me if it needs any changes," Katherine said, passing me a piece of paper. She was staying over for the weekend.

"Who are all these people?" I asked, sitting down on my bed.

"I have no idea. Georg told me to add them to the list. I guess he knows them," she replied, taking the paper back and reading over it again. "He could have at least invited someone we know."

"You have to add Gabrielle and her friends to the list," I reminded her, looking for a pen in my bedside table.

"Are you two close?" she inquired, seemingly unhappy to hear her name.

"Of course we are close. She is my best friend here. She led me through all the modeling basics and helped me start my career. But not as close as with you, though. You will always be my forever bestie, I promise," I smiled, patting her shoulder.

She gave me an uncertain smile before jumping up and pulling me with her. "We have to buy you a birthday dress," she declared. Now we were on our way to the mall.

Bill's pov:

"Look, you have to stay away," Tom demanded, taking a sip of his whiskey.

"Why? You never did," I shot back, crossing my arms defiantly.

"That was different! We are in a relationship now!" he retorted, his eyes narrowing as he set the glass down with a thud.

"We would have been first if it wasn't for you!" I snapped, taking the bottle from under the table and pouring myself a drink in his glass. All the dishes were already in the dishwasher.

"No, you fucked that up yourself. I just stepped in at the right moment," he chuckled.

"Alright, it's not like you're not going to mess this up soon anyway," I hissed, standing up and leaving the glass untouched.

As I was about to leave, Lolita and her friend emerged from Lolita's room and headed towards the front door. "What are you two up to?" I asked as they passed by.

"We're going to buy Lolita a birthday dress. Would you like to come with?" her friend offered. I glanced at Tom, who was mouthing the word "no," chuckled, and motioned for them to follow me outside.

"Wait, I'm coming as well," Tom yelled behind us as we stepped out the door. I let out a huge sigh. Before I could say anything, Lolita turned to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his lips.

"It will probably be boring for you, and you have a football game to watch anyway. C'mon, I will give you a dress preview later," she said, seductively sliding her finger down his chest. God, I hated this. He was thinking of an argument, but after gifting me with an angry stare, he gave in.

"Just please, remember to feed Bee," Lolita reminded him, pulling him in for another kiss. I turned away and walked to the car where Katherine was already sitting in the passenger's seat.

As I reached for the door handle to the driver's side, I heard a voice right behind me. "I'm driving," said Georg, looking at me expectantly. That meant I got to sit in the backseat with Lolita.

***

After a while, I found myself bored, even though I'm usually the biggest shopping fan. During the whole ride, Lolita ignored me, and now she was having a deep conversation with Georg and Katherine about something that would have been interesting if only all my attention wasn't glued to Lolita.

I walked right behind the three of them, watching her every move. My eyes didn't leave her even when her friend stumbled over someone's leg and fell. I watched her every motion, listened to her every word, even though I couldn't follow the rest of the conversation. Over the past few days, I've realized just how much she meant to me. The fact that I took her for granted and lost her because of that makes my guts wrench. I messed up. Bad.

"Let's check this one out!" her friend said, pulling Lolita into a small dress shop. I trailed behind them like a lost puppy. At least I was given the honor to choose a dress option for her. So I did my best to find something she might actually like.

After some searching, I made my way towards the changing rooms where Lolita was standing in front of a big mirror, checking out a dress, seemingly unpleased. "Maybe I'll just wear what I usually wear?" she suggested. I handed her an elegant rhinestone strap satin mini-dress with ruched detailing. Needless to mention, it was pink.

"Try this one," I suggested, hoping it would catch her eye. She took it from me, a hint of curiosity flashing across her face. After a minute or two, she opened the curtain, revealing herself with the dress on. "It fits perfectly and looks so good! Thank you, Bill, you are amazing!" she exclaimed, giving me a tight hug. She was right. The dress made her look a hundred times hotter.

"Now you just need shoes," Katherine reminded her as we headed for the checkout. "Yes, we could go check out that store with the fake flowers out front," Lolita offered, taking out her credit card, but I stopped her. "It's on me. Consider this an early birthday gift," I smiled. She blushed.

"Thank you, Bill," she said, planting a small kiss on my cheek, big enough to make me blush as well. As we were walking out of the shop, I felt an elbow hit my ribs. "She has a boyfriend, your train has passed," her friend scolded me.

"Oh, but it will be coming back," I smirked, watching Lolita push Georg into a potted bush in front of me.