Chapter 69 A Girl Could Only Dream
We stepped into the next boutique, and I almost gasped. The hats were absolutely fucking ridiculous. I immediately burst out laughing as we looked at them. Who the fuck wears these fucking things!?
From row to row, all we could see were oversized sun hats, feathered fascinators, glittery crowns, even a sparkling cowboy hat that looked like it belonged on a costume stage.
“Oh, Kitten,” Isabelle said immediately, picking one up and plopping it on her own head. “You have to try these. Life is too short for boring, normal hats.”
I hesitated, holding a ridiculous pink hat in my hands. “Isabelle...I… I don’t know…these things look hideous”
She laughed... infact, cackled as she grabbed my hand and pulled me straight to the most hideous of them all. “Come on, don’t be shy. Here, put it on!”
I held it against my head and let her adjust it for me. She stepped back and squinted, tilting her head dramatically. “Oh, darling, perfect! Absolutely perfect.”
I felt my lips tug into a laugh. “You really… you really do this all the time?”
“Girl...all the time,” she said with a mischievous grin. “Now, come on...we’re going to have fun.”
And then the fun really began. Isabelle and I started trying on every hat in the boutique, laughing hysterically as we held oversized sunhats over our faces, twirled in feathered things that tickled our noses, and modeled crowns like royalty. For the first time in weeks, I felt my shoulders loosen and my chest stop feeling so heavy.
Then Isabelle’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Kitten," she beckoned me closer to her by crooking her finger at me. I hurried towards her, already laughing at the mischievous glint in her eye.
"...I have an idea. Let’s turn Jeffery into our canvas.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
She pointed at him, and I turned to look. Jeffery looked... well... like Jeffery. Straight like a pin, eyes alert, arms crossed, standing stiffly near the door, protecting us like his life depended on it, because well, with Cole Ryder, it most definitely was depended on it.
Isabelle whistled to him, abd he turned, eyes sharp and quick, clearly not expecting this. “You’re too serious, Jeffrey. Come here. Now.”
Jeffery walked briskly towards us, covering the slave between us in just two steps.
"Well well well... us ladies have come to a unanimous conclusion...
Jeffery squinted his eyes at her and then at me, clearly not understand what the fuck she was talking about.
Before he could protest, Isabelle dragged him overvto the furry hats “We’re going to fix you, darling. You need some color in your life!”
I laughed so hard I nearly cried. Isabelle plopped a glittery fedora on his head, adjusted a feather boa around his shoulders, and held out a bright pink scarf. “There. Now, strike a pose!”
"What?"
"Strike. A. Pose... or I'll tell Cole you disobeyed an old, fraying woman so close to her grave..." Oh she was diabolical with her blackmail! I loved this woman.
I stood on the side, giggling like fried fish while Jeffery and Isabelle got into a staring contest. I knew he would not win against her. Nobody could win against her.
Jeffery glared, muttering under his breath, but the corners of his mouth twitched. He was trying not to smile, but we could see it.
He posed. He fucking posed and I laughed so hard, I landed on the floor of the mall, with people staring at us.
When it was my turn to dress him up, I grabbed a neon-green hat with a ridiculous feather sticking out of it and placed it on his head too. “oh Amazing... There, you look… fabulous,” I teased.
Isabelle clapped. “Oh, Jeffrey, you look like a model. Absolutely stunning. Have you ever thought about modeling?”
"I'll be his manager..." I screamed, raising my hand like I was volunteering for an assignment in class.
We took turns, draping colorful scarves over his shoulders, placing oversized sunglasses on his face, and making him pose in the most ridiculous ways. Each time he tried to resist, Isabelle and I would glance at each other and burst into laughter, which made him crack a tiny smile, and then we’d go at it again.
Finally, I flopped onto a chair, trying to catch my breath. “Okay, okay… we’re horrible people.”
Isabelle leaned over, brushing her hand over my arm. “No, we’re fantastic. You see, Kitten? Life isn’t just about surviving. It’s about enjoying the little ridiculous moments too...even though someone else does not agree"
I nodded, letting the laughter and warmth wash over me. It felt good to feel… normal. And I could almost forget that the world outside the mall, outside this room, was dangerous and tense.
I looked at Isabelle and grinned. “Thank you ma'am?”
"Oh Godforbid, Celene... don't ever call me that... ewwww"
"So, Isabelle then..."
“Please,” she said with a wink. “No titles today. Just me. And you... Kitten.”
I laughed again, leaning back in my chair, finally letting myself breathe and play. For a little while, everything felt light, safe… and even fun.