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VII ... retail therapy
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BELLA STRAIGHTENED OUT HER OUTFIT in front of the dressing room mirror. she looked at her reflection in the dressing room mirror as she ran her hand through her hair. she took a deep breath before walking out of the dressing room to where chrissy and jenna were sitting.

"it's cute!" jenna smiled. "how do you feel?"

"it is cute, i'm not digging the color though." bella sighed.

"bella, that's like the 3rd outfit you've tried on." chrissy said. "you look pretty in lavender. just throw on a blazer and it'll look perfect."

"let me try on one more and then i'll decide." bella said as she grabbed the white pantsuit and went back into the dressing room. she took the clothing off of the hanger and slipped it on.

"bella, i found something!" chrissy called out from outside the dressing room. "come out when you're ready!"

bella finished getting dressed and straightened out her blazer as she walked outside the dressing room. "that blazer looks killer on you." a feminine voice said. bella looked up to find her best friend, ali mills.

bella smiled as she went up to the blonde girl and embraced her. "i've missed you so much!" bella smiled. "how's med school?"

"busy." ali laughed. "i knew i'd find you both here, especially looking for outfits for the future product manager."

"oh shut it, who knows if i'll get the job." bella smiled.

"okay, so i found this really pretty black skirt that could go perfect with a blazer." jenna smiled as she held up the skirt.

"oh! before i forget, jenna, this is ali mills. ali, this is jenna parker." bella smiled as the two girls greeted each other.

"nice to meet you!" ali smiled. "tell me, she totally has a shot at this job right?"

"she's beyond qualified." jenna smiled. "she's a badass!"

"she always has been." chrissy smiled as she held some clothing in her hands. "now, that white pantsuit looks cute, but try this one on!"

"a little black dress?" bella chuckled.

"just try it." ali smiled. "besides, black is so your color."

"is not!" bella laughed as jenna handed her the dress she was holding. "but this dress does look cute."

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"hey tony, pass me a banquet!" johnny said as he finished climbing off of a ladder and ran a hand through his hair. he was almost done for the day, but working under the hot california sun made the time go slower.

his coworker tony, who was a tall brunette, opened up a small ice chest and grabbed two beer cans, then tossed one to johnny. "it's almost payday." tony sighed as he opened up the beer can and took a swig. "you doing anything this weekend? we're gonna get some drinks, if you wanna join us."

"thanks, but i'm good." johnny said. "i kind of already have plans."

"going out with bella?" tony said as johnny nodded and softly smiled at the thought of his girlfriend. "where are you taking her, champ?"

"not sure yet." johnny chuckled while he looked down to the beer can he was holding. "we haven't gone out in a while and i wanna make it special."

"take her out to dinner." tony said as he placed the beer can up to his lips. "or take her to the beach, you said she likes the beach right?"

"she does like the beach, but i always take her there." johnny sighed.

"then surprise her." tony chuckled. "take her somewhere you've never taken her before and have one of those, picnic things. chicks like romantic shit like that."

"ah, i'll figure it out." johnny sighed as he finished up the beer.

"you're really crazy for this chick, huh?" tony smiled as he teasingly nudged the blonde.

"have been since high school." johnny softly smiled.

"must be some girl." tony smiled as he stood up from where he was sitting. "gotta hand it to her, she puts up with your dumbass every day."

"so has mandy." johnny laughed as he playfully shoved tony. "she's been putting up with your lazy ass for years."

"hey tony! come give a hand with this, will ya?" a masculine voice called out. "you too, blondie!"

"we better get our asses back to work if we wanna get that paycheck." johnny chuckled as he threw the empty beer can away.

"it's almost payday." tony sighed as he wiped the sweat off of his temple. "we just gotta hang in there."

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"so how're you liking the valley so far?" ali said to jenna as she opened up her coca-cola can. after shopping for a while, the girls headed to the food court to grab a bite to eat.

"i love it." jenna smiled as she dipped her fries in ketchup. "it's a lot hotter than new york, i'll tell you that."

"i loved new york, but it was so nice to finally put those jackets away." bella laughed as she took a bite from her burger. "although the heat is nice, i sometimes do miss the cold."

"the cold was nice, until we went skating and i fell on my ass." chrissy laughed. "johnny and the guys made fun of me all night long, until they fell on their asses too."

"speaking of which, how are you two doing?" ali smiled.

"we're doing good!" bella smiled as she took a sip of her cherry coke. "when we came back here, we moved into an apartment up in van nuys. mom, dad, and laura have helped us financially and well, we're making it work."

"that's great!" ali smiled as she ate some of her fries. "so? you two are pretty serious?"

bella sighed and softly bit her lip. "i mean, i guess. we've been living together for a while now and it's been great." she said. "we've just been so busy working that we don't really spend much time with each other."

"shut up, they are so serious." chrissy laughed as she grabbed the ketchup bottle.

"and about this job, how was the interview?" ali said.

"its in about 2 weeks." bella sighed. "it's good money and since money's kinda tight right now, this offer could not have come at a better time."

"so what i'm hearing is if you get this job, we all get a discount at calvin klein?" ali laughed as she took a sip from her soda.

"hmm, i don't wanna make any promises." bella smirked as she took a drink of her cherry coke. "but, employees do get a 50% discount. so expect a lot of shopping sprees in the near future."

"shopping? at calvin klein?" chrissy smiled as she dipped some of her fries in ketchup. "you don't have to tell me twice."

"speaking of shopping sprees, there's a sale at ralph lauren." jenna said as she finished up her food. "you guys wanna head there?"

"i should be heading home." bella said as she looked down at her watch. "but, looking around ralph lauren couldn't hurt."