Sunday at the mall.

Overall, those two days of work did a lot to reassure me that I wasn’t too out of my depth. I had built up some basic waiter skills at the coffee shop, and more importantly, I had learned more people skills. That said, waiting tables and doing dishes wasn’t all I was hired for. Eventually I’d be bartending along with Diana. This was all part of my training, so I’d have to work hard not to embarrass myself, or worse, disappoint Diana.

But that was that. It was now Sunday and I didn’t have to go to work. Regardless of how important a job is for economic stability, personal growth or whatever it is you get out of it, it still feels good to NOT have to go. I did have something else to do, though, something I promised to help with, but it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, so it was still a day to have some fun.

I met Mila and Noelle outside the mall at around 11:00 am since they both had some shopping to do. The others would meet us later. I was waiting outside for a bit, and Mila was the one to arrive first.

“Can’t you be like, just a little late? Every once in a while, at least?” she asked me, pouting.

“No.”

She smirked, ran up to me and got her arms around my neck, pushing herself against me as she kissed me hard on the lips. Public setting be damned, I kinda needed this, so I hugged her back and slipped my tongue between her lips. Mila giggled and met mine with hers, caressing the back of my neck.

“How did work go?” she asked, her face still very close to mine.

“I told you in the group chat it went well.”

“I want to hear it from your own mouth.”

“It went well.”

“Oliver!”

I laughed and kissed her forehead. “It was better than I expected. Maybe it’s too early to say for sure, but I think it suits me. And working with Diana is comfortable. The other guy, though… Well, it is what it is. He’s not a bad guy, but I don’t know if I’ll ever like him.”

“Uh-huh. Just like you still hate Mark, right?” she asked, smirking teasingly.

“Um…”

“Or how you’re here to help Eric despite disliking him so much.”

“I don’t… Um…”

Mila giggled. “I love you so much.”

“So Noelle is a little late, huh?” I abruptly changed the subject, but Noelle being late was rare enough that Mila took the bait.

“Yeah, I figured she’d be here with you already.”

A couple minutes later, we got a message from the girl herself.

-Noelle: SORRY. OVERSLEPT! BE THERE IN 20.

“She overslept?” Mila asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I kind of expected it,” I told her. “When I got home from work last night she was still streaming.”

“At… 3:00 am?”

“I think she’s hooked with a new game. I’ve been there, so I get it.”

“Seriously? Why would you stay up so late playing games? Don’t you get sleepy?”

“Like you haven’t stayed up late just scrolling down your phone for hours.”

“W-Well, time just flies by!”

“It’s the same here. Time just flies by.”

“Oh, speaking of scrolling, I watched this short video last night of two cats who moved in total sync! Here, look at it.”

We sat down at a bench and waited for Noelle while we talked about nothing in particular and watched a few videos Mila found funny or interesting. Twenty minutes later, our lovely redhead arrived, panting from having run all the way here from the bus stop.

“I’m… I’m so sorry I’m late…!” she said, gasping. Her face was red from the sudden physical exertion.

Mila and I looked at her silently, noticing something neither of us had the heart to tell her, but had to. I looked at Mila, who gave me a nod and started reaching into her purse.

“W-What? Why the silent treatment? Are you mad?” Noelle asked, worried.

What Mila got out of her purse was a comb. She stood up, stood behind Noelle and started brushing some matted hair on Noelle.

“You didn’t have to rush THAT much,” I told her with a teasing grin.

“Oh my god!” Noelle covered her face in shame, but Mila kept brushing.

“Try not to make it a habit of streaming so late,” I told her.

“I figured that… if you were working late, so would I?” Noelle said, her eyes trying but unable to meet mine.

“Yes, that was the reason. How’s the new game?”

“It’s weird! It’s hard! It’s disgusting! Why can’t I stop playing it!?”

“What ARE you playing?” Mila asked.

“It’s better if I don’t even tell you…” Noelle said, sighing.

“You always leave us out when you talk about games,” Mila said, pouting.

“No, in this case, you really are better off not knowing,” I told her. “It’s a weird, disturbing horror game that I’m not sure I want to touch.”

“Coward,” Noelle told me.

I shrugged. “I like what I like.”

Mila finished combing Noelle’s hair, and the shorter girl shot her a thankful smile.

“Okay then, shall we?” Mila asked.

“Not yet,” I said.

I stood up, put a hand on Noelle’s waist and kissed her deeply, slipping my tongue inside her mouth and catching her off guard. A second later, though, she was gripping my shirt and pulling me closer.

When we broke the kiss, she was grinning at me with a hint of that familiar arousal. “I needed that,” she said.

“So did I.”

“I really am sorry to be late.”

“I know. Don’t worry about it.”

“Do we still have time or do we have to meet Eric already?” she asked me.

“We’re fine. We can do our own thing for a while. What exactly is it that you need?” I asked them.

“Um… Bras,” Noelle said, shocking both me and Mila.

“What? Don’t tell me they grew again!?” Mila asked.

“N-No! They didn’t! It’s just… the last ones I bought were low quality and the hooks just… snapped.”

“I mean…” I began, carefully eyeing her chest.

“Shush, you.” The redhead shushed me with a finger to my lips. “And you, Mila? What are you looking for?”

“A gift for my dad. His birthday is coming up.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you tell me? I have to get him something too, then,” I said.

“It’s fine, Oliver. He doesn’t really care about gifts.”

“Still.” It’s important.

The three of us went into the mall, with Mila holding my entire arm while I held hands with Noelle. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten used to it or because it makes me so damn happy, but I was starting to care less about what onlookers thought. But also, not that many people looked at us to begin with. It’s true that the majority of people simply don’t care, huh?

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