In hindsight, maybe it wasn't exactly the best idea to get into a car with your high school lover. But still, she found herself sitting in the passenger seat, next to him as he drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on the armrest.
It wasn't long before they finally arrived at their destination and the car came to a halt.
The moment her eyes landed on the mall in front of her, he couldn't help but notice the way her eyes lit up almost instantly. It was one of the largest malls in the area, which just so happened to be one of her favourite malls to shop at.
Did he remember? Or was it just a coincidence? She can't help but think. That thought was quickly brushed off as his voice reached her ears.
"So… Are you still a fan of retail therapy?"
She now had this wide grin on her face as she nodded her head excitedly. "Always have been."
Soon, she found herself wandering the aisles of a clothing boutique that he insisted she should take a look at despite her protests. Her fingers were slowly combing through the rack of clothes and dresses that were neatly displayed. She picked up a long white dress and her eyes fell on the price tag in her hand. A soft gasp emerged from her parted lips as she stared at the price in disbelief.
"Oh, Caleb… This is too expensive," she leaned in to whisper in his ear, ensuring that the staff didn't hear her.
"Don't worry about the price, I got you," he responded swiftly, shooting her a playful wink as he flashed her his black card.
"Wait… but-"
"No buts. Go put it on," he urged with a smile. Without wasting another second, he turned to one of the staff. "Hey, could I trouble you to help her with this?" The lady nodded with a polite smile and soon, Alexandra was brought away to the dressing room behind while he patiently waited outside.
"Caleb," Alexandra called out to him as soon as she stepped out, her soft voice reaching his ears, commanding his attention. "What do you think?" Immediately, he tore his gaze away from the screen of his phone, looking up to meet her eyes.
There she was standing in front of him in a long white dress. It hugged her curves perfectly and it almost seemed as though she was glowing in it. He couldn't help but stare in awe for a while before he finally broke out of his little reverie.
As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, he was rudely interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing in his pocket. He glanced down at the screen of his phone, a small frown immediately found its way onto his face.
"Hold on, let me get this call and I will be right back," he quickly said as a smile graced his lips. "You look great by the way," he complimented before turning around to leave the boutique.
Alexandra only stood there awkwardly as she turned around to look at herself in the mirror, admiring the beautiful dress. Barely a minute had passed, and she heard the door being pushed open behind her. Thinking it was Caleb, she whipped her head around in an instant with a smile etched onto her face. But that smile quickly faded when she found herself staring into a pair of familiar dark brown eyes, just like hers.
It was Hannah, her sister who was staring back at her with a smug expression plastered across her face. Her eyes scanned Alexandra up and down as if in disdain, scrunching her nose in disgust.
Narrowing her eyes into thin slits, she sneered, "What is your poor ass doing in a high-end clothing boutique? How could you possibly afford something from here?" Hannah spat, each word laced with venom. "I would like to see you pay for it," she taunted, crossing her arms over her chest.
Alexandra scoffed in response, ignoring her words as she barely spared her a glance. She didn't want to give her the satisfaction by reacting in any manner. She simply spun back around to look in the mirror again, a smile etched onto her face.
Hannah clicked her tongue. "Are you ignoring me?"
"Miss, we will need you to leave the store if you are going to harass our customers and make a scene," the lady who was helping Alexandra spoke up this time, her voice breaking the silence that stretched between them as she stood between them.
Hannah's lips parted in surprise as she stared back at the lady with wide eyes. "Harassing? Are you crazy? I would like to speak to your manager."
"She's not free-" The words barely left the tip of her tongue when they all watched another woman walk out from behind, she must have heard the commotion.
A hint of recognition flashed past the woman's eyes in an instant as her eyes landed on Hannah who stood there with a smug expression masking her features.
"Hannah! What are you doing here? Nice to see you, it's been long!" The woman greeted, her lips curled into a wide grin as she extended her arm to give Hannah a friendly hug while the lady and Alexandra watched in shock and surprise.
The corners of Hannah's lips twisted upwards into a smirk. "Your staff over here is accusing me of harassing your customer," she started, her finger pointing in the direction of the lady who spoke up against her.
Flustered, the lady quickly tried to explain herself but was quickly shut down by her manager, dismissing her words. "I don't want to hear another word from you, go help with the stock take," the woman demanded and she had no choice but to obey, quickly turning away and disappearing into the back.
And now, it's just the three of them left. Alexandra was silently watching everything unfold before her eyes. She then turned around to close the door to the dressing room but was quickly interrupted as Hannah put her arm out, forcing the door open and tension lingered in the air.
The smirk on Hannah's face grew even wider this time. "Tasha," she began as she locked eyes with her friend. "I would like to try the dress she has on."
Tasha took one glance at the dress before looking back up to meet Hannah's eyes. "The one she has on is the last piece." There was a knowing look on Hannah's face. Tasha turned to face Alexandra this time, a serious look plastered across her face. "Miss, I will need you to take off this dress to allow for other customers to try on."
"What? No. I'm getting this dress." Alexandra took a step back but her voice remained unwavering.
"I've seen plenty of customers like you who have tried on dresses they can't afford," Tasha sneered. "So take it off and stop wasting our time, or I'll call security!"