After almost an hour, the motorcycle drew to a halt in front of a hair saloon. Layla and Zane got down and walked into the small brick building surrounded by grasses and trees.
Without exchanging pleasantries, Zane pushed Layla forward and uttered two words, " Change her."
The hair stylist, a skinny effeminate guy in lipstick and earrings simply nodded as he gestured for Layla to take a seat. She sat down on the chair in front of the mirror, and silently stared at her reflection watching the man cover her body in a big white cloth. And when he began to use his scissors, panic swelled within her as she watched her hair fall to the floor.
'What is he doing to me?' Moving her eyes back and forth nervously, she searched for Zane and found him leaning against the door. Their eyes met, and he just gazed at her with a bored expression which made her look away. She heaved a deep sigh and sat up in the chair accepting his decision, and her fate, ' he could do whatever he wants with her.' For she had thought that the hair would come out bad. But to her surprise, the stylist did it so well that she almost didn't recognize herself. Her once long hair was now styled in a tousled waves, with highlights framing the sides of her face.
"Wow!" was the only word that escaped her lips as she was left speechless. Seeing her reaction, the hairstylist beamed, his blue eyes twinkling with pride and he turned around to look at Zane waiting for his comment.
"Hmm!" Zane seemed totally disinterested, but still said, " it looks nice." And without wasting any more time, he paid the hairstylist and walked ahead of Layla out of the building and to his motorbike. Briskly, they climbed onto it, and then Zane stepped on the engine and sped down the highway and into a dirt road.
~~~~~~
Nearing evening, the sun remained high above the horizon. They had been on the road for almost an hour, and Layla couldn't stop herself from breathing a sigh of relief when Zane finally parked his motorbike in the basement of a gigantic building.
Climbing down, she arched her back and began to stretch herself. Zane darted a glance at her, and rolled his eyes, ' What a drama queen!' He looked rather annoyed, and with quick steps entered the building through a glass door.
" Wait for me," Layla ran after him, but stopped when she got to the escalator. 'Why is the stairs moving?' She wondered silently, too afraid to take a step forward. Raising her head, she wanted to call out to Zane, but her voice stuck in her throat.
Zane was already standing before her and was looking straight into her eyes. Something in his piercing gaze made her shiver, and she felt herself blush. "So annoying." He scoffed and held her hand, helping her as they rode the escalator together.
Safe
That was what Layla felt. She looked up at him with soft eyes, smiling shyly ."Thanks."
Zane didn't respond to her. And when he left her hand, she immediately felt the absence of his warmth. "Hmph!" pouting her lips, she averted her eyes from him feeling offended.
If Zane had noticed her antics, he didn't react to it. He was more focused on walking without getting bumped as he hated physical contacts with random people.
Silently, Layla followed him up a spiral stairs and into a well lit room filled with clothes, and other female accessories. Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she looked around the expensive looking boutique.
"Welcome ma'am! Welcome sir! How can I help you?" A female attendant spoke to them
"I need to get some stuffs for her." It was Zane who replied.
The lady smiled cheekily at him before shifting her attention to Layla, " Come this way, miss." She said after eying her for a brief second.
Layla looked at Zane seeking for permission. He nodded, and that was all she needed. She walked behind the lady who freely began to select dresses, shoes and other expensive accessories for her.
Layla eyes widened at how much clothes and shoes she had picked. She felt it was too much, and also the prices were not a joke, a whooping 1000 pesos for just a dress. ' Could Zane afford it?' Spinning around, she looked at him only to see the attention that he was receiving, the traffic that he was causing. Most of the girls in the store, if not all had stopped whatever they were doing to stare and gawk at him. Some were even giggling and whispering as they pointed at him. And the object of attraction seemed not to be even bothered by them.
Layla bit her lower lip as she joined the girls in staring, no openly gawking at him shamelessly. Zane was handsome in a raw, dangerous way. His looks was to die for, handsome and beautiful at the same time. His body was lean, attractive, hot, sexy and ....
" Are you done?" His deep alluring voice brought her out of her trance. She smiled awkwardly at him, rubbed the nape of her neck nervously and nodded her head.
Zane raised his eyebrows at her, wanting to say something. But then he changed his mind and walked with the female attendant to the checkout counter. Layla dragged her feet as she followed them.
"Isn't this too much?" She asked quietly.
"What is too much?" Zane glanced over his shoulder at her
"The clothes?"
He didn't say anything and continued to watch the female attendant.
"The shoes?"
Layla tried again, and this time around he gave her a response.
"You don't need to worry. All of these is in the company's account."
But this answer made Layla even more confused. " Your company?"
He nodded
" Why are they doing so much for me?"
"It is the rule, accept it." He said, with an air of finality and Layla immediately understood that the conversation was over. At that moment, the female attendant handed him two big bags. He took them, and after paying for the goods, they left the boutique and took a long staircase to the food court outside.
"We will have our dinner here," Zane said as he led the way to the table at the balcony. Layla only nodded. When they settled down, a waiter came over to take their order. Zane ordered for both of them- Macaroni and cheese with some strawberries topping. A delicacy that wouldn't be too heavy for them.
Layla smiled her thanks, and then looked around her. The night sky was soothing, blinking with stars and the rich, sonorous tone from the cello captured her attention.
Gulping hard, she watched the cellist play, and Zane was observant enough to catch the look of longing in her eyes.
"How did you learn to sing?" He pried
"From hearing." Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard it.
"Only that?" To say that he was surprised by her answer would be an understatement. 'How could she learn to play by just listening?'
"Um," She nodded, " My mom had a beautiful voice. Also, the tea shop close to our house has a radio. I hear different songs all day."
"Oh!" Zane stopped talking when their order arrived. He wanted to ask her more questions but he didn't know how to put it, so they simply ate in silence.
Tbc