The Lesbian Shark

FIVE (RUBY POV)

"I'm moving as fast as I can, I promise," I whisper walking out of the fitting room carrying linen cargo pants, beautiful shirts and colourful swimsuits. Iselen nods, sighing bored, waiting with her back leaned against the wall while I decide which garments I'm taking with me. I look at her from head to toe, noticing her smart white trousers and tan shirt, her clothes are casual but fit her like a glove, as usual. "Why don't you buy something?"

"I have everything I need, thank you... and I'm hungry, but I can't eat because we have to go to that charity dinner in an hour."

"I can't believe you're hungry again after eating a whole pizza for lunch," I answer while giving the shop assistant the clothes I don't like and walking towards the cash desk carrying everything I'm going to buy. The truth is that going shopping is easy when you have unlimited budget because, if you're torn between two T-shirts, you can buy both even if they're from Balenciaga and cost hundreds of dollars.

"That was hours ago, we've spent the whole afternoon and most of the evening wandering around this commercial street, and we still have to go back home to get ready for the party." My girlfriend clicks her tongue, annoyed, and I can't help rolling my eyes hard despite deep inside I agree with her, I'm tired too.

"Okay, I won't buy anything else," I reply shaking my head while she hands her credit card to the assistant and moves some steps away to answer a phone call. It happened several times today, even if she has the afternoon free, supposedly, calls and texts kept coming nonstop. Living like this can't be healthy, definitely. I smile at the kind girl while taking my bags and walking towards the door. "Fuck!"

"What's wrong?" Iselen gets closer, puzzled, shoving the phone back in her bag.

"Paparazzi are waiting outside."

"How do you know that?" my girlfriend frowns, feeling more confused, while looking through the window at the street that's packed with tourists carrying their own bags, there're people drinking coffee while walking and employees from other stores that are taking advantage of a break to smoke a cigarette in a discreet corner. "I see no one carrying cameras."

"They guy sitting on that bench wearing sunglasses and pretending to read a newspaper is a paparazzo, I know him well, he's chased me before through LA. There's a girl eating a sandwich on the café terrace, I know she works for a tabloid and I'm sure she has a camera in her bag and the other guy over there, who's pretending to look at the window of that lingerie store, he's not a pervert, he's another paparazzo... There're probably more out there but I don't know them. We're surrounded..."

"And do you think they're here for us? Maybe Beyoncé is shopping somewhere around this evening." I stare at my girlfriend in disbelief and she smiles, nodding. "I guess you're right, we're front-page news this week. I'm not used to draw attention like this, everything is more discreet in Europe and the circles I move in. I guess I have to make a call." Iselen takes her phone while I look outside, anxiously.

"Who are you calling?"

"The bodyguards you met at the party the other day. I told them to remain on alert, waiting close, so they'll arrive in a few minutes and will escort us back to our car safely, pushing away any idiot who gets too close, gently but firmly." I nod relieved, that sounds good to me, better than making our way between guys holding cameras in front of our faces while we try not to trip over our own feet, fall on the ground and make a fool of ourselves. "We need to talk, Ruby."

"What's wrong?" I ask, concerned all of a sudden. Iselen gestures at me to get closer to a corner of the massive store where there's a couch, we can wait comfortably here.

"It's about our relationship. We need to talk about how we're going to deal with physical intimacy between us," I blink surprised and my stomach does a cartwheel, but it's not exactly an unpleasant feeling. Well, this is a strange way to ask me to share her bed but I don't feel as horrified as I should, I think, rather I'm bewildered and nervous. We met for the first time 10 days ago although, come to think of it, sometimes I slept with women I'd met in a club hours before and it never was a problem for me. "When we're in public, we should touch each other in a way that looks natural, we're supposed to be a couple, after all."