0.15

"morning, karla! i've been waiting for you!" gwendolyn cheered.

ever since they had become an official couple, they'd been conjoined at the hip. karla shamelessly kissed, hugged, and flirted with gwendolyn whenever she wanted to.

yet gwen on the other hand, still shy, visited karla whenever she had free time as the mafia boss told her she could visit at any time she wanted to.

"ma fleur," karla fawned. "what are you doing in here by yourself?" (my flower)

gwendolyn held her cheek out for karla to kiss, which she happily did. "about to clean in here, 'cause it's a hot mess."

"not as hot as me, right?" karla bantered.

"yes, karla." gwen laughed. "but seriously, you can't be the boss of a mafia with a room this dirty!"

"it isn't that bad," frowned karla.

"it is," declared gwendolyn. "but that's alright, i'll help! we can start by picking up all the papers on the floor and sort them out."

"do we have to?" karla complained. "i could think of much better things to do."

"mhm! the sooner we finish, the better it'll be. it's not that bad once you start."

karla enveloped the girl in a hug, hot breath brushing against gwendolyn's neck. "maybe that could wait for a little longer." her thumb trailed over gwen's lips. "your pretty lips are seducing me again."

heavy knocks banged against the door, disrupting the two lovers. "karla? you in there working yourself to death or something?"

"ugh." karla grumbled her breath, stomping over to the door and slamming it against the wall. "the hell do you want? i was busy, connard." (asshole)

"well thank you for that," ezra retorted. "i think i'm starting to see the floor a little bit. you're actually cleaning for once?"

"we were before we got rudely interrupted," karla hissed.

"thank god. it looked horrible—"

"that's enough, ezra." karla gritted her teeth. "what do you want?"

"salope grossière," he muttered. "anyways, the car you've asked for is ready and is in the driveway." (rude bitch)

"perfect. hope you have the keys, because you're driving us."

"quoi? karla, je ne te conduis pas—"
(what? karla, i am not driving you—)

"wait, wait, where are we going?" gwendolyn looked up at karla. "hold on— is this about the ball? are we going to look at dresses?"

karla swore she saw stars in her girlfriend's eyes, so she couldn't reject her.

"that was the plan, mon cher. tu vois le regard sur son visage? conduis-nous, ezra." (do you see the look on her face? drive us, ezra.)

ezra glanced down at gwen's gleaming eyes and shook his head. "i still don't see why you can't drive. but i guess i will. only because of gwen."

gwendolyn clasped her hands together. "thank you, ezra! if it isn't too much, could i bring one person with us?"

▢▢▢

"damn it," karla huffed under her breath. "i knew i should've said no."

gwendolyn and madeline sat in the back seat, laughing and giggling about who knows what, and karla was irritated.

she wanted to be back there with gwen, making her blush until her face turned red.

but instead, she was stuck with a chortling ezra in the driver's seat.

"and you thought that you were going to get freaky in the back of the car, huh?"

"i'm so sick of you. keep on talking and i'll—"

"did you forget who's driving the car?

that shut her up for a good amount of time, making her look out the window and tune into gwen and madeline's banter.

"—but it can't be anything too expensive. i mean, why would i buy a fancy dress just to wear it once?"

gwendolyn nodded her head. "yeah, i know what you mean. but the feeling of putting on such a pretty dress— it's almost like being a princess!"

"i hate to break it to you, but you see the good in things a little too much. the only place i'll be going is the food bar. besides, i doubt anyone would notice me at the party anyways."

"you won't know until you get there. things work in crazy ways, you know what i mean?"

the car pulled into the parking lot of a small boutique with sparkling dresses in the display window. "here it is. go ahead and do whatever you girls do. spend as much of karla's money as you can."

"shut up. you're coming with us too. who else is going to carry all those dresses?" karla smirked.

they lumbered into the small boutique, their clothes contrasting with the soft elegance of the dresses. a woman popped out from the forest of dresses, a bright smile on her face. "good morning, and welcome to bonita's boutique! how may i help you?"

"your best dresses, please. we've got an important even coming up soon." karla instructed, pulling gwen against her side.

"alright ma'am. right this way."

▢▢▢

okay, fine. maybe it wasn't that bad that madeline joined us.

the two friends had been running back and forth from the dressing room squealing with excitement every time they wore another dress. it warmed her heart seeing them have so much fun.

"eh, i'm not sure about this one," commented madeine. "it's pretty simple, but it makes my butt look good." the plain dark blue dress touched the floor with a slit on the side exposing her leg.

"i think it looks nice on you!" gwen complimented. "there's nothing some jewelry can't fix."

"all my jewlery is fake," madeline stated. "what if they pull out the gold tester at the party? i can't just embarass myself like that!"

gwendolyn pointed at another dress from the racks with a dark blue color, a slit in the dress, and a sheer material from the waist down.

"what about this one? it's almost the same, just a bit prettier."

madeline toyed with the dress in her fingers. "yeah, i'll try this one. but you need to wear that dress i decided for you!"

"well, it looks a little... risky for me," hesitated gwen. "i don't usually wear stuff like that, and what if people think i look bad?"

"girl, forget about those people. if they don't like it, why are they looking in the first place?" karla rolled her eyes at the thought. "they talk shit about you, i won't hesitate to—"

gwendolyn rubbed her neck. "okay, okay, fine. i'll try it on."

"perfect!" madeline pushed her into the changing room. "if it makes you feel any better, think about karla when you try it on. and keep those shoulders up!"

the door shut, leaving a red-faced gwen looking at herself in the mirror, clenching her dress in her hands nervously.

"guess i have no choice."

▢▢▢

"she's taking a long time in there," ezra stated.

"don't rush her," instructed madeline. "and i think karla will like this one too."

karla looked up from her phone. "i've liked all the other ones too, you know. i don't mind what dress she wears, she looks good—"

"alright, alright, enough of the cheesiness."

the faint sound of the door creaking open sounded in the back room with soft pattering of footsteps following.

"okay, i think i'm ready." gwendolyn's voice sounded muffled from behind the door.

"whenever you are, gwen! remember, keep your shoulders up and strong."

the door cracked open, revealing gwendolyn in a light green dress that dragged against the floor with pink and yellow flowers imprinted on the outside sheer fabric. at the top was an off-shoulder neckline, highlighting the freckles scattered across her chest.

"i... i think i like this one the most," she whispered.

the mafia boss felt her skin heat up while she looked at her girlfriend in all her beauty. "gwendolyn, you look beautiful. the most lovely woman on this planet."

karla snuck a kiss onto gwen's soft and plump lips, resulting in gwen's cheeks blushing furiously into a bright red, nuzzling her face into her neck.

"do you really mean that?" she asked in awe.

"when have i not meant it?"

right as she was about to put another kiss onto gwendolyn's lips, karla's phone rang in her back pocket. she rolled her eyes. "let me answer this. i'll be back as soon as i can, i promise."

once outside from everyone else, she accepted the call. "hello? what's the problem?"

"ms. valetin... i-it's— how do i say this..."

" spit it out already. i don't play you to stutter, do i?"

"no, ma'am. its just that, well, more money has been stolen."

"what?" karla hissed. "how much this time?"

"the same amount, half a million again."

they must've run out of the money they stole before, she thought. they're using us as their bank. "and how have you allowed this nonsense to happen, again?"

"but ms. valetin, everything was in place when we figured this out, i promise! it was as if someone when through our systems and—"

"enough, i don't need to hear it." she shook her head. "i've tried to avoid it, but clearly they won't let me. i suppose things will get worse for them from here out."

"should we start preparing now, ma'am?"

"get ready, but let's not do anything before or during the war. that's a special time for me and... just tell them that." she hung up the phone and rolled her eyes.

what a way to ruin my day.