Shopping Escapades

It has been two hours and she hasn't bought anything yet except a Chanel perfume. We have been to a million stores and nothing seems to catch her eyes.

"I'm the mommy, I have to look good" She kept saying.

We were walking side by side and Noah was in his stroller dragged by me. Sophia was holding her shopping bag and continuously talking.

We entered a boutique and I was looking down at the happily clapping Noah when I heard a gasp. I looked up to find Sophia with her mouth hanging open. I followed her line of sight and couldn't help but be awed at what I saw.

It was a white floor length gown with a slit on the right side. The bodice was well fitted, made up of a gauzy material from which mini silver diamond tees were winking in the light of the store. It cinched around the waist in a silver metallic belt then flowed to the floor in beautiful waves. The dress was purely angelic.

Ethereal and beautiful.

Sophia squealed and ran to it. Quickly taking it out of its hanger and running to the dressing room as if afraid that it will disappear. I lightly chuckled at her antics.

She looked absolutely perfect when she came out.

The dress suited her tall form well. It brought out her blonde waves and blue eyes. I smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.

Shoes and jewelry were the easy part and bought immediately after the dress and now we were standing outside Victoria's Secret.

"I'm not going inside. I'll wait here with Noah. You go on '' I said to her with finalty. She gave me her puppy dog eyes but it didn't faze me one bit.

"Fine!" She huffed and went inside. I took Noah out of his Stroller and folded it. He instantly started playing with my hair. I smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

I was looking for a bench to sit when someone from my right said,

"Liana, Right?" I turned around to see who it was. A man in his early twenties was standing there with a smile on his face. He had black hair and light brown eyes that looked very friendly. He was in casual attire. I squinted to remember him and it finally clicked after a few awkward moments.It was the man from Mr. Eaton's team. The presentation guy. I hadn't noticed that he was quite good looking.

"Uhh... Yeah, It's me", My social awkwardness made an entrance.

"Hey!" He smiled "Oh, by the way I'm Caleb. We didn't really get to talk back in your office" , He said while jutting his hand out at me to shake then added, "Caleb Carstairs".

I shifted Noah to my left hand and shaked his hand. "It's nice to see you" I said to this friendly guy.

Then his eyes shifted towards Noah and He started saying, "I didn't know you were a mother. You look rather young but then it's the 21st century. Anything is possible" I opened my mouth to deny his statement but he kept on talking, " I just assumed you were single. That's a very douche-y thing to say, I know. I just assumed. ", he blabbed.

" I'm digging a deeper grave. I'll just shut up now", he added with a wince. I couldn't help but chuckle at his unease.

This guy is a chatterbox and a dramatic one at that.

"No Mr. Carstairs, He's not mine. He is Steve's son. His mother is inside" I said, nodding towards the store.

"Johnson's son" He exclaimed and squeezed Noah's cheeks, to which the baby frowned and tried slapping his hands away.

Cue, internal laugh.

"What a cute little guy he is?"He said in a baby voice.

"Join me for a coffee Ms.Liana. My friend is waiting for me at starbucks.Let's go!" With this said, he started walking towards Starbucks which was at the far corner of the hall.

Woah! Just like that? Smooth much?

I glanced towards the store where Sophia was. I knew she wouldn't be getting out of here before an hour.

That woman just loved her underwear.

So I texted her and followed Mr.Chatterbox.

We entered side by side and he turned around and asked me about what I would like to have.I went for a simple hot chocolate. Suddenly Mr. Chatterbox Shouted.

"Hey Helly! Grab a hot chocolate too, Buddy", Whole shop was looking at us and a man on the line turned our way and glared at Chatterbox. It was Mr. Helios Eaton and he was sending a death glare our way. The urge to shrink back into myself was there but I resisted and stood tall.

He was wearing a casual T-shirt and jeans with a cap on his head. He somehow managed to look good in anything.I can see some woman in the shop ogling him but he didn't take any notice of them. He must be used to it. His eyes landed on me and he frowned when they slid to Noah but then he nodded and turned away.

"So are you coming to the party at Johnson's this weekend?" Chatterbox asked me as we made our way to an empty table.

I turned back towards him and nodded, "It's Noah's birthday" I informed him. We sat down and I put Noah in his stroller once again.

"OH" His mouth formed a perfect 'O'. It was rather comical.

" I didn't know that. Helly didn't tell me" He pouted and I suppressed my laughter at the pet name.

Right this moment , a chair was dragged and Mr. Eaton seated himself opposite me and passed me my hot chocolate which I accepted with a thankyou. He slid a Latte towards Chatterbox and he had an Espresso for himself.

Should I pay him? Would he mind? I decided to find out.

"So...ummm.. Mr. Eaton! How much for this?", I tentatively asked.

Mr. Eaton raised a perfect eyebrow at me while Mr. Carstairs- Caleb- burst out laughing. I was looking from one to the other like a lost puppy.

Was it that funny? HUFFFF

"Well! that got to be a first, Helly", he said amusedly.

"You don't need to pay him back, Liana. Like never", Mr. Carstairs grinned at me.

I tucked my twenty back in my pocket and sat silently, sipping my hot choco while the boys were talking about business stuff. I noticed Mr. Eaton's eyes drifted towards Noah a few times but he didn't ask anything. I was waiting for Sophia, so I could get out of here without seeming rude.

And finally I heard the voice I was praying for.

"Caleb?" Sophia's surprised voice drifted towards us.

Wait what!!!