A long sigh and a nod later, the two friends walked out of the house. Leila had no idea where Freya was taking them but she allowed her friend to order an Uber.
It felt right to spoil herself silly after years of hard work without a break. Kelvin was right about her needing to take a leave even if it was only for a day.
But what was the point?
All those years she never took one because there was no place for her to go. She could go home but it didn't feel like home anymore. It hadn't felt like one since she found out the truth. Her eyes stung from thinking about that night, the memory was still fresh.
Leila looked out the window when she felt Freya's gaze on her. Freya knew part of the story, she couldn't tell her everything but she was grateful for her constant support.
The cab slowed down in front of a store. A gasp lodged in her throat at the name written in glitters.
"What the-?" she was saying to Freya who got out of the car as fast as possible. Leila shook her head. She was not going into a Victorian secret store. Her lingerie collection, although small, was perfect. To her friend, she said, "No, Freya. I'm not going in there."
Freya said nothing but yanked her inside the store. The atmosphere inside was cooler than that outside and the soft smell of cotton and silk filtered into her nose. Leila was quiet as Freya dragged her from counters to counters, unhooking hangers with lingerie too skimpy, too sexy, too unholy for Leila to wear.
Every colour was available. Red as sexy as sin. Blue as bright as the sky. Black as dark as the shadows. Just name it, it was there. Leila overcame her shyness the further they went into the store, at some point, she chose a few less revealing pieces that suited her personality.
"Don't you think it's too much?" Leila protested when Freya added another collection to the heap on one hand. She would not exhaust them in a year. "Freya?"
"Have you fucked him? Have you guys fucked?"
Leila blushed. "Don't say it like that."
Fuck as a word was too raw, too crude to describe what she wanted to happen between her and Kelvin. If they ever got to that stage, she wanted him to make sweet love to her. Slow and gentle until she reached the edge. And a cuddle right after to show he cared.
"Yes or no?"
They were inside the dressing room. A floor length mirror stood on one side of the room and a beige couch on another side. Freya dumped the heap on the couch. Standing with her hands akimbo, Freya glared at Leila through the mirror. Leila didn't like this topic.
"No." As she said this, her cheeks burned with the memory from this morning. She was annoyed all over again with Amara or whoever had called Kelvin. Today would have been their first kiss. "We haven't even kissed."
Freya held the red lingerie to Leila's chest. "Is he gay?"
"What? No." Leila snatched the lingerie and changed out of her shorts. Kelvin almost kissed her today. That was not the behaviour of a gay person. "Kev is not gay."
"Then what's taking so long?" Her. She was the issue. She was the one delaying them. "Any sane man would have smashed you a long time ago. Come on, look at that hot body. You're hot, Leila and he is not blind."
Her friend's compliment was supposed to boost her confidence but it did the opposite. She half-shrugged.
"He is taking things slow because I asked him to." Her friend's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "I'm not ready."
Tears welled up her eyes and Freya rushed her in a hug. Her best friend whispered sweet nothings in her ear until she calmed. Leila took in a large gulp of air.
"Is it because of him?" Freya whispered.
The him that almost ruined her life. He might be the reason she couldn't be with another man. The reason she had not been able to open her heart to another person. Leila didn't want to think about him on a good day like today. She had a great husband who cared.
Leila pushed away from Freya without a word and changed into the red lingerie. "What do you think?"
The lingerie was more straps than material. Only a tiny piece of triangular material covered her nipple and crotch area. The rest were held together by straps. Leila spun for Freya to get a good look at her.
Her phone was in Freya's hands when she completed a 360 turn. Her friend clicked away and Leila rolled her eyes.
"Try the black one," Freya said. "Here."
Leila caught the lingerie her friend threw at her and changed into it. This one was more her style. Her nipples stretched against the lacy material but her privates were covered. She could proudly rock this.
"I like this one," Leila said more to herself.
"I like the red one better." Not exactly a surprise. To Freya, sexy meant more skin. Their definition of sexy was poles apart. "Turn." Leila did as told. "Now, smile."
The flash of her phone went off and Leila made a mental note to delete those pictures when she got home. She barely took pictures and she liked it that way. Plus, she didn't want anyone seeing her in this.
Her lips curled in a smile as she inspected herself in the mirror. This black one was perfect for her and she could imagine walking over to Kelvin in them. Wait, where did that thought come from? Leila laughed at herself. Of late, she thought more and more of him.
Freya gasped. "Shit."
Leila was beside her friend in a heartbeat. "What?"
A hand was over Freya's mouth, her eyes were filled with remorse. Leila's heart beat too fast. It couldn't be something so bad, right? She motioned for Freya to speak up and her friend took another deep breath.
"Don't be mad, okay?" Freya started and Leila's heart picked up speed. She knew she would be mad. "I might have mistakenly sent some of these pictures to Kelvin."
Pictures? More than one. Leila's hands clenched at her sides, she tried to laugh this off. Freya must be joking.
"No, you didn't."
Her ringtone cut through the air. Kelvin was calling.