On our third date (which consisted of Damian, Rai, and me), they asked me to help them shop for formal clothes. Apparently, they needed to go to a party, an upper-class party, in a few months. So, they’d still be here for a few months, I thought happily. I loved spending time with them.
We went to the Dior boutique, and they seemed at ease in the store. They knew what looked good on them; they even knew their clothing sizes in Dior’s sizing.
As I waited for them to change, I looked around the store, admiring all the beautiful bags that were on display.
“Kat, come here. Tell us how we look.” Suddenly I could hear Damian’s voice calling me.
I made my way to the huge mirror and froze. They were both wearing suits and white shirts with the top four buttons unfastened. Their suits were unbuttoned too! Damian’s suit was deep dark navy blue, while Rai’s suit was all black.
Damian had both hands in the pocket of his trouser while Rai was adjusting his cuff. I had never in my entire life looked at a picture as perfect as they were standing there. I could see a glimpse of their perfectly sculptured chests, and my heart began thumping. They looked so incredibly hot wearing suits.
Looking at my reaction, Damian smirked. That man knew the effects he had on women. I blushed and went to him to punch him playfully on his arm. He just laughed aloud.
And that was when I really noticed Rai. Granted, I’ve noticed him before, but for me, he was just a calm, beautiful angel. This time, I was amazed. He turned away from the mirror and looked at me.
“How do I look?” He asked, a shy smile adorning his beautiful face.
Rai could look shy? He looked even more angelic with that shy expression of his, and my mind instantly went blank. All I could mutter was, “I.. I.. You look beautiful.”
He gave me one of his slow, soft smiles, and I was lost in his smile.
I was saved by another one of Damian’s smirks. So, he knew the effects his friend had on women too. At that moment, I punched him again, more to disguise my blush caused by Rai.
“Do you want anything, Kat? We’ll pay for you.” Damian asked.
I was stunned by his question. We’d only met thrice, and they wanted to buy me luxurious goods? Were they being serious? How lucky were they that I wasn’t a gold digger?
“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly,” I finally told him, shaking my head.
“Come on; you must want something.” He said again, this time pressuring me a little to tell him what I wanted.
“No, Damian. If I want something, I’ll buy it myself. Thank you, though.” I said, declining him politely.
“As you wished, my lady,” Damian said and paid for their clothes and a few more items.
Next, we went to the Hermes boutique to buy their belts, shoes, and Rai’s perfume. I noticed that they were at ease there too. Damian was even more at ease than Rai.
One of the Sales Associates (SA) knew him by name. It turned out his mom always shopped at the boutique whenever she came to Jakarta, and Damian himself was a regular there.
Damian and the SA talked for a while; he was charming toward the SA. The SA went to the back room and came back with three orange boxes.
I could feel my heart quicken. I wanted to see the bags too, so I went to Damian.
“Damian, are you going to buy a bag?” I asked him, trying to sound as casual as possible, not wanting to show how much I wanted to see the bags.
The SA took each bag out of their boxes and dust bags and lined them up in front of Damian and me. Oh my God, in front of me were two Birkins and one Kelly, in various shades of pink. I loved pink and red, so to see pink bags was exciting for me.
“Mom wants a pink bag, so I asked the nice lady here if they have any in stocks, and luckily they have three,” Damian told me as he took pictures of the bags and sent them to his mom. A moment later, his mom called, and Damian left me to take the call.
The bags with the different shades of pink were so gorgeous. There was one bag that caught my eyes. It was a Birkin size 25 in Rose Confetti. I reached out my hand to touch it. Although I preferred bolder colors, such as shocking pinks, this shade of pink is just too cute for me to resist. I was oohing and ahhing the bag when suddenly I heard Rai’s voice.
"May I?" He asked the SA. The SA handed him the bag, and he, in turn, handed the bag for me to hold.
“Ahh.. Thank you, Rai.” I told him as I took the bag from him. He seemed to notice me eyeing the bag.
I walked to the mirror and saw my reflection holding the bag.
“Oh my God, this is so cute. I love this shade of pink, even more than the Rose Azalee.” I said without thinking, talking to no one in particular. I carried it in my arm, in my hand, and I started oohing and ahhing again. Because I was small, the size 25 was perfect for me.
After some time, I returned the bag to the SA, shaking my head no, knowing that I wouldn’t buy it. I could afford it, but thinking of the price made me still feel undecided on whether to buy it or not.
I looked around the store, but my eyes kept going back to the cute Birkin that Rai had asked me to hold.
Damian went back to the SA after finishing his call with his mom and told the SA that he would take the Kelly. The SA smiled at him and started to tidy up the bags, bringing them to the backroom and preparing the Kelly for Damian to bring home. Damian looked around, picked up some more items, placed them on the cashier, and paid for all of them.
“Umm, Kat?” I could hear Rai’s voice calling me.
“Yes, Rai?” I asked, making my way to him, surprised that he would ask me anything.
“Which one looks nicer? The GHW (gold hardware) or the PHW (palladium hardware)?” He was holding similar Black/Chocolat belts; the only difference was the color of the buckle.
“Hmm..” I pondered for a while, looking at the belts in his hands. Then I looked at the belt selection in front of us and saw something that might suit Rai more. I picked it up. It was Black/Ebene, a deeper shade of brown than the Chocolat, with a rose gold buckle. It looked elegant and would suit Rai to a T.
“How about this one, Rai? I think it would suit you more. And the buckle is rose gold, matches your watch too.” I said to him, giving him the belt so he could try it on.
“You noticed my watch?” He asked. Who wouldn’t notice a Patek Philippe watch? It stood out like crazy, and I’d have bought it myself if only they had a smaller size case. It was 41m and would be too big for my tiny wrist.
“It’s rose gold; I love everything rose gold. And that model you are wearing? I’ve wanted to buy it for so long. So yeah, I noticed it.” I said instead, smiling at him.
He looked at me, looking a bit perplexed. But he quickly thanked me and tried the belt on. He ended up choosing the belt that I’d chosen for him. He went to the cashier to pay for his belt, perfume, and a few more items.
“Kat, do you want anything?” Damian asked as Rai was at the cashier.
“Damian, I’ve told you.” I shook my head no.
“Not even that cute pink Birkin that you’ve been eyeing?” He asked me again.
“Hmm.. maybe I should. Don’t tempt me.” I laughed.
Once I slipped out those words, I saw them exchange a look.