Alianna and Katherine rode the taxi towards the luxury shopping district in the city. The place was not crowded but it was where the socialites, celebrities, and wealthy people splurge their money.
During the commute, Katherine learned that Ali was a year younger than her. She spent most of her time in Europe and would occasionally visit Nana a few times a year. This time, she was going to stay for a month because of work.
When the taxi stopped, they alighted the vehicle and Alianna dragged her inside a clothing shop where beautiful dresses were neatly lined up on the racks.
"Damien told me that you were going on a trip next weekend? Tell me about it. Do you know where you"re going?"
Katherine shook her head. "He wouldn"t tell me anything."
"Hmmm… Well, he only told me a little information. Which means... this dress is perfect." Alianna shoved a light blue dress to Katherine"s arms.
Katherine held up the dress in front of her and thought that it was s.e.xy.
"Go and try it out. I want to see if the color looks good on you." Alianna pushed her towards the changing room and a couple of minutes later, Katherine came out.
"Ooh la la, Katherine… have you ever thought of becoming a model? You really look like one."
Katherine just laughed. "It never crossed my mind."
"I love that color on you. And I know Damien will like seeing those long legs too." Alianna winked at her.
Katherine looked at herself in the tall mirror. The sundress had an easy-breezy design — showing enough of her chest to call it flirty and it flaunted her legs just right.
After changing back to her clothes, Katherine came out to see Alianna pointing to several items off the rack and instructing the sales lady on a few things. When she came close, she heard Ali told the staff, "All of these are mine. And these are hers. Ring all of them for us please."
Katherine"s mouth gaped and she rushed to Ali"s side. "Ali, why are there so many? I don"t need a lot," she softened her voice, "Also… I don"t think I can afford more than one dress here. I should just tell them to—"
Alianna giggled as she stopped Katherine. "Don"t be silly, Katherine. I invited you this afternoon so I"m not going to let you spend anything."
"But I can"t accept so many gifts from you…"
Ali snorted, "You don"t need to worry about that either… I"m not spending a dime this afternoon." She took out her wallet and waved a card in front of Katherine. "I got Damien"s black card earlier."
Katherine"s gaze darted towards the matte metal card in Ali"s hand and she didn"t know what to say.
Earlier, Alianna met Damien in the restaurant where he had his business meeting. She was out with a friend when she saw him enter a private room. After sending him a text message, he came out to see her.
"Katherine"s not with you?" she asked and saw him shook his head.
"She"s at the office."
"Hmmm… I wanted to take her out. How about we go to the lakehouse with the others next weekend? It"s been a while."
Shaking his head, Damien looked apologetic, "I"m taking her on a weekend trip by the coast."
"Really? Then all the more reason that I should take her out today! We should go shopping. You don"t mind, do you?"
Checking the time in his watch, Damien didn"t think he could go back soon so he nodded at his cousin. "Sure, you might as well take her to dinner afterwards."
Alianna gave him a brief hug and waved at him. "Laters!"
Watching her walk away, Damien suddenly called her back, "Ali, wait…" He strolled towards her and took out his wallet. He handed her a black card and said, "Have fun." A knowing smile lingered on his lips.
Ali"s face lit up and squealed. She quickly grabbed the card from his hand, fearing that he might change his mind before she sprinted away. "You"re the best!"
Thinking back about Damien"s gesture, Alianna thought that he was so cheeky. He knew very well that she was going to pick out the best outfits for his girlfriend, especially knowing what her specialty was.
Grabbing Katherine"s hand, she dragged her out of the store. "Come on, we still have one shop to go to."
Katherine thought that there was no point in refusing her. Because of Damien, she had gotten used to being "forced" to go shopping. This pair of cousins sure like to dress her up.
Alianna brought her inside a familiar pink-walled store with dainty interior design, the store clerk greeted her right away.
Katherine could feel her heart slowly increasing its pace when her eyes took in all the lingerie and underwear in front of her. Of course, Alianna brought her to the high-end lingerie brand that she modeled for.
"Alright, so… what style does Damien like?" Ali came to her side with a few pieces.
"What?" Katherine"s head snapped to the sultry clothing in Ali"s hands. "I… I… don"t know…"
Alianna gasped, a hand covering her mouth. "Oh my G.o.d, don"t tell me you guys haven"t had s.e.x yet?"
Katherine s.h.i.+fted her eyes to the side, suddenly feeling so conscious. Ali was as shameless as her cousin. How could she just ask her like that?
Narrowing her gaze, Alianna curled the corners of her mouth upward. It was as if she could read Katherine like a book. "Hmmm…I guess you did more than just make-out, right? But he hasn"t run the home base yet?
"Ugh it"s weird talking about his s.e.x life with you, I don"t want to have that in my head but whatever—I can"t believe he could hold it in. Has he turned into a monk or something?"
"It"s not him, it"s-"
"Hunny, I like you-so I"m gonna tell you not to make him wait for too long."
Alianna picked out a few lingerie that she thought was really nice before turning back to Katherine. "What did you get him for his birthday?"
Katherine"s eyes widened. "Birthday?" She hurriedly took out her phone and checked Damien"s birthdate from the contact information. She knew that it was coming up but forgot all about it. She gasped in shock and checked the calendar. They were going away on the 20th of July and Damien"s birthday was on the 22nd. "Oh s.h.i.+t."
"Uh oh. I don"t like the sound of that." Alianna figured what was going on. Biting her lip, she turned around and scanned the room.
Spotting a s.e.xy set displayed in the center of the room, she strode towards it and handed it over to Katherine. "You cannot say no to this. Trust me, he is going to love it."
Receiving the lacey piece, Katherine swallowed. She felt the material with her fingers and bit her lip when she suddenly thought of how his reaction would be if she wore that during their weekend getaway. Would she be daring enough to wear it?
Without waiting for her response, Alianna s.n.a.t.c.hed it from her hands and sauntered towards the cas.h.i.+er to pay for all the pieces that she picked out. "You owe me big time, Damien."
With all the bags in their hands, they walked to the nearest restaurant and had their dinner.
Katherine enjoyed spending time with Ali because she didn"t seem pretentious and she wasn"t sn.o.bby at all. Alianna didn"t have a lot of friends as she constantly traveled, so getting to know Damien"s girlfriend was such a breather for her.
After their dinner, they were about to hail a taxi when a car pulled in front of them. The man got out of the car and smiled at the two of them. "Good evening, ladies."
"Caleb, what are you doing here?" Katherine asked.
"Damien"s still stuck in that meeting so he asked if I could pick you girls up." Caleb helped them with their bags into the trunk.
"It"s nice to see you again, Caleb," Ali smiled at him, in which he returned with his own gentle smile and a nod.
Caleb jerked his head as he opened the backseat. "Alright, shall we go?"