Callea was swift in changing her dress. Her heart was beating fast. Deive knew her size. He was even better than her when it comes to guessing the size of her body. It fits her perfectly as if his hand molder her body and his measurement was imprinted in his memory. Then he wanted to play Barbie with her? No way, Jose. He won't be that lucky.
She felt sluggish when she tried on the first dress. It was a lavender off-shoulder dress that reached just above her knees. She was not smiling when she looked at herself in the mirror and growled at her reflection like a feral animal. What if she tried to crawl when she modeled the dress for him? That would give her quite a thrill.
A knock on the door made her stop thinking about her evil plans. Then she heard Deive's voice on the other side of the door. "What's taking you so long? Do you need help? Don't you know the difference between the front and the back of the clothes?"
"Just wait at the couch, please. Charm the ladies and smile. Do your thing." She wanted to surprise him with her runway talent.
"Don't get any silly ideas or I will spank you in public," he warned in a low and dangerous voice. "Don't test me, Callea."
She gulped. Is he a mind reader or something? She has not started her plans yet but he already blocked it. It was bad enough that he paraded her in public. If he would spank her in front of other people, she couldn't show face anymore.
"I will behave, alright. I will do whatever you want," she yelled. "J-Just no spanking please."
"Then behave, Callea. I don't mind dishing out some punishment for you. That would be fun." Then his laughter echoed in his wake as he left.
She had to shelve her evil ideas and focus on the task at hand. She must not invite trouble anymore. It was too childish to fight with Deive because she would just lose in the end. She would reserve her evil plans some other time when she was not on a disadvantage.
As soon as she left the dressing room, the sales staff was already waiting for her. "You look like a doll," she said as she fawned over her. "We also have a hair accent that will make you look cuter. Hmmm… some shoes would be better than those flip flops."
Callea suddenly felt uneasy with her offers and just nodded her head for it to be over. She felt like her soul already left her body and watching her from the ceiling. This was not her life. She was not into fancy clothes and shoes. She hated dressing up.
"You must be so happy to have a handsome boyfriend and rich, too. He loves you so much," the other sales staff who brought beige doll shoes said in a saccharine-sweet voice.
In love? She wanted to laugh Sisa-style. (Sisa was a character on Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere / Touch Me Not. She was a mother who lost her two sons and lost her mind. She laughs and cries while yelling, "Basilio! Crispin!")
Deive was such a good actor. He was good at this game.
Callea just gave them an equally sweet smile. There was no use being mad at them. This was her pretending to be his girlfriend. She must do her part.
She didn't bow her head when she walked towards Deive but she didn't look at him either. She was like an item that he was appraising. She was slowly losing her bravado. "Good. Show me the next one."
She didn't know how many times she took the trip to the dressing room to change clothes and parade in front of Deive. She wanted to fidget her dress because her legs were exposed. She was probably beet red while his eyes roam on her body.
He was the only one who was enjoying it and the staffs, of course. He probably promised a handsome tip to those staffs like what he did at the salon.
Shopping and modeling those clothes were worse than her time at the salon. She just sat there while the stylist fixed her hair and treated it. She could close her eyes if she wanted to. But on dressing up, she had to keep her eyes open while showing herself to Deive.
"That mint green dress looks so refreshing. I think everything looks good on you."
She felt like her knees were buckling every time he told her how beautiful she is. And she realized that it made her feel better. Not as irritating as before. It was actually like music to her ears.
She stomped her feet as she slipped on the tulip dress he had chosen himself a while ago. It was wrong to be happy whenever he called her beautiful. The word beauty itself was taboo to her. It was an insult to someone who didn't want to be beautiful.
"Is this okay?" she asked when Deive was unmoving on the sofa as he looked at her. "I am really tired and hungry. Let's end this fashion show." Why was he looking at her intently? Maybe the dress doesn't look good on her.
"Sit," he commanded and tapped the space beside him. I followed him, too tired to argue.