A few minutes later, the fitting room door finally opens, and...

Oh God. Kimberly is... gorgeous! Almost as beautiful as Veronica — and I’m not exaggerating!

That electric blue, with all those glittering details, makes her look like a princess straight out of a fairy tale. The deep neckline highlights her huge breasts better than anything I’ve ever seen her wear — curves I’d only ever imagined before now. I swear I could bury my face between those tits and never come back up. And those legs... long, smooth, toned — I’d lick them from her toes all the way up to her pussy without skipping a single inch.

And yet, the most beautiful thing of all... is her smile. A shy, almost embarrassed smile — but brimming with joy she’s clearly trying to hide as she admires herself in the mirror, spinning lightly on the spot.

She’s a genuine masterpiece of nature, without a doubt. Still, I can’t let myself get carried away. I nod, measured and restrained, but Elenoire doesn’t look particularly satisfied — she was probably expecting a lot more enthusiasm from me.

«Just a nod? Seriously? Keep in mind that I even offered your girlfriend the chance to wear this dress at the fashion show we’ll be holding next month to launch the new spring collection!» Elenoire grumbles, clearly annoyed by my cool reaction.

Once again — "my girlfriend". But Kimberly is probably too excited to notice, and honestly, I don’t even bother correcting it anymore.

«Let’s just hope that burn mark on her right leg fades enough to be covered with a bit of cream by then,» Elenoire adds, her tone tinged with regret.

Burn mark...? What burn mark?

Ah. Right. She has a long burn scar that starts at her ankle and runs all the way up to her knee, along the back of her right calf. Since she always wears leggings, I’d never noticed it — and to be honest, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it even now if Elenoire hadn’t pointed it out. Yeah... my gaze is definitely focused elsewhere.

That must be the injury that kept her home from school for a week. Although... hadn’t she said she’d twisted her ankle while hiking and scraped herself on a branch? That doesn’t look like a fall at all — let alone a cut. Well, whatever. It’s none of my business.

«So?» Elenoire presses me. «Isn’t she a sight to behold?»

At this point, a compliment is unavoidable.

A calm but warm «Yes, it really suits her» is more than enough to satisfy her without making Kimberly uncomfortable. If I’d said what was actually running through my head, Kimberly would’ve died of embarrassment on the spot.

«Perfect... So, technically this dress costs eleven thousand dollars — and believe me, that’s a bargain for a diamond-studded gown — but since she agreed to make herself available for the fashion show, let’s say... hmm... eight thousand,» Elenoire proposes.

«E-Eight thousand dollars...» Kimberly repeats, her voice trembling as her face turns redder by the second.

Yeah, sure — what was she expecting? Twenty bucks, like the stuff she usually buys at outlet stores?

«T-Thank you, Miss Elenoire, but I’m afraid I really can’t afford—» Kimberly starts.

«We’ll take it,» I cut her off flatly.

W-What...? Why did I say that? My mouth moved on its own. I’ve never spent that much money on a girl I’ve only gone out with once — especially one I haven’t even fucked. What the hell came over me? But now it’s too late. The damage is done, and backing out would only make me look like a complete idiot.

«N-No, Jace, I don’t want—»

«Excellent choice, Jace,» Elenoire interrupts her. «Kimberly, you’re really lucky to have such a generous and thoughtful boyfriend. Ugh, I’m so jealous. Hold on to him tight — finding men willing to spoil their girlfriend like this nowadays is practically a miracle!»

And once again, she doesn’t even give Kimberly the time to point out that I’m not her boyfriend. The beautiful blue dress is already folded, wrapped, and slipped into its bag. And then...

BEEP!

The sound of my card touching the reader makes my chest clench. And to make things worse, there’s no way I can get this reimbursed by Veronica — she’d kill me if she found out I spent all that money on a gift meant for another woman.

Fine. Let’s call it an "investment". A way to make sure she’ll want to go out with me again. Even though, realistically speaking, with eight thousand dollars I could’ve hired an entire harem of luxury escorts instead of securing a maybe-second-date with a girl who still thinks I’m dating someone else.

Why the hell did I even lie about that...?

Oh right — if I hadn’t pretended to be taken, Kimberly probably would’ve never agreed to this outing in the first place. But... is that really the only reason I bought her the dress?

Sometimes, I don’t even understand myself.

«I don’t know why you did it, Jace. But thank you — really, thank you from the bottom of my heart,» she says. And yet, despite the sparkle lighting up her emerald-green eyes, I catch a faint hint of melancholy in her voice — maybe she doesn’t want to feel indebted to me.

Still, regardless of what her words say, that smile of hers... that sweet, awkward, genuinely happy smile she wore when she saw herself in the mirror wearing that dress...

Who knows... maybe that’s the real reason I gave it to her.

Meanwhile, Elenoire’s shrill voice rings out behind us.

«It was a pleasure having you here! I wish you a wonderful day, and I hope to see you again soon!» she chirps cheerfully.

Go fuck yourself.