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We spent the next two days cleaning up my apartment. I didn’t bother replacing the furniture yet, since I wouldn’t be staying there for awhile anyway. The Wicked producers were providing a place for me in New York, so I didn’t have to pay for one, and I wanted to keep my apartment for when I came back. Dad said he would take care of the insurance claim while I was in New York. The only thing I really had to replace were my clothes, half of which were ruined. Oh well, it was an excuse to go shopping.

Orlando and I went shopping the second day, much to my delight. Though I didn’t have a lot of money at the time, I still looked forward to trying things on and having fun doing it. It was a stress reliever that I desperately needed. I just hoped Orlando wouldn’t get too bored.

“This is going to be fun,” I said as we pulled into one of the parking garages at the Eaton Centre in Toronto. Kitchener didn’t have nearly enough stores, so Orlando had offered to drive me to my favourite mall.

“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” he said, guiding the car smoothly into a parking spot. “You have a very wicked gleam in your eyes.” He grinned. “It’s a bit of a turn-on, really.”

I laughed. “Shopping has always been better than anything else for me,” I said. “Even sex.” I paused, thought about that. “Well, except sex with you, darling,” I added, my body going all tingly at the thought. It was true, he was a mind-boggling lover.

He chuckled and kissed my fingers. “I aim to please,” he teased. He got out of the car and came around to my side to open the door for me. He entwined his fingers with mine and we walked toward the mall.

“This is nice,” I said as he squeezed my hand.

“What is, love?”

“Just this,” I said. “Being able to go shopping and walking through the mall together.” I smiled up at him. “It feels like we’re in a real relationship.” I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth.

“Charlie, we are in a real relationship,” Orlando said, slipping his arm around my waist. He sounded hurt.

“I know,” I said, stroking my hand over his stubbled cheek as we walked. “I just meant it’s one of those moments that makes a new relationship seem more real.”

He smiled. “I love that we have moments like this,” he said, cuddling me closer.

“Me too.”

When we got into the mall, I felt giddy. I have very simple tastes, so we headed to Cotton Ginny’s, one of my favourite stores. I spent about half an hour or so just picking out things to try on before I actually made it into the dressing room.

I could tell Orlando was uncomfortable being in a women’s clothing store for so long, but he didn’t complain. The sales ladies and other customers definitely stared at us, but Orlando didn’t seem to notice or to care, so I didn’t either.

On my third or fourth trip out of the dressing room to show Orlando my outfits, I saw something I wasn’t at all expecting. Joanne, Ramsey’s current girlfriend, was browsing through some of the skankier clothes that I’d chosen to stay away from, two of her trashy friends giggling and fawning over her as she looked. Though he was a real jerk, and as snobbish as it sounds, it still made my stomach turn that anyone would choose someone like her instead of me, with her black miniskirt that barely covered her rear end, her orange tank top that was two sizes too small, and her very cheap faux-leather thigh-high boots with the two-inch stiletto heels. Her hair was bleached blonde with black roots, and I couldn’t help but think she looked like trash, especially since her make-up was so thick it could have been put on with a paint gun. She could have been pretty, if she didn’t look like something from Jerry Springer.

“What are you looking at, love?” Orlando asked, taking my hand to get my attention. “You just sort of trailed off.”

I snapped my attention back to him, and smiled. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I said, my stomach fluttering nervously. “I just saw something, that’s all. Uh, do you like it?” I looked down at the soft pink silk blouse with the floaty Renaissance sleeves, and the cute white skirt that flared to just above my knees that I was currently wearing.

Before he could say anything, we heard a small shriek from the other side of the store. “Oh my God, is that Orlando Bloom?” A pained expression crossed Orlando’s face as he looked away from the voice.

I knew who it was, though, and I wasn’t looking forward to what I knew was coming. I was torn between pulling him into the dressing room with me to hide him from Joanne and her friends, and smiling widely at the fact that he was with me. I decided to stand my ground.

Joanne and her friends came over to us, their eyes wide. She struck what she thought was a sexy pose, but it really just made her look like a hooker working the corner. “Hi there,” she purred, extending her hand. “I’m Joanne.”

“Orlando,” he replied, graciously accepting her hand. I almost gagged at the stench of her very cheap perfume, but Orlando was nothing but charming.

“I saw you on MuchMusic last week,” she said, stepping closer. She hadn’t even noticed me yet. “It was good.” She smiled widely. “How long are you in town?”

“Just a few more days,” he said, slipping his arm around me. We both knew what was coming.

“You know, I work in a bar not too far from here,” she said, fingering the button at the waist of her skirt. “You should stop by, have some drinks, maybe hang with me and my crew for a bit.”

“That’s a very nice offer,” Orlando said, not one to be rude to anybody. “But I’m pretty booked up for the rest of my visit. Maybe another time.”

“So Joanne, where’s Ramsey?” I couldn’t help it, I had to say something.

“Charlie?” She finally noticed I was there. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at Orlando’s arm around me. “What are you doing here?”

“Shopping,” I said simply, shrugging. “After Ramsey’s little visit to my apartment, I needed to restock my closet.”

“You stay away from him,” she practically hissed. “Wait, are you here together?” She wasn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the box.

“Joanne, I believe you’ve met my girlfriend, Charlie,” Orlando said, squeezing me gently. His voice was as smooth as the silk shirt I was wearing. I glanced up at him briefly, loving that he’d used the word ‘girlfriend.’

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she laughed. Her friends tittered away behind her. “Honey, you definitely need to come see me sometime, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Oh, I know exactly what’s missing,” Orlando said, his tone never changing. “Ramsey is missing. Do you know where he is, Joanne?”

“Like I’d tell you,” she sneered, crossing her arms over her chest, her breasts threatening to fall out of her top. “He didn’t do anything the bitch didn’t deserve.”

I tensed, hoping that she wouldn’t start a scene. She was already practically yelling. “You know what he did was wrong,” I said quietly, feeling Orlando’s hand slip up under the back of my blouse to lightly rub my flesh, trying to keep me calm. I didn’t want to lose control in public and he knew it.

“All I know is he was out of his head to get involved with Miss Priss here,” Joanne said, her sneer firmly in place. “Stuck up bitch.”

“You know, that’s really not a good idea,” Orlando said, tightening his grip on me as he stepped forward. He towered over her and her eyes widened slightly. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t insult my girlfriend like that,” he said, his tone low and deadly calm.

“Oh, I see,” she said snottily, her voice rising again. “You think because you’re some Hollywood hotshot that you can get in my face? Buddy, you ain’t nothin’ special, and she ain’t either.”

“Joanne, look,” I said quietly, stepping between them. I’d never seen Orlando really angry, at least not with the object of his anger right in front of him, and I didn’t want him to do something stupid with so many people watching. And yes, pretty much everyone in the store was watching now, and I saw more than one cell phone aimed at us, I’m assuming snapping pictures at warp speed.

“No, you look,” she cut me off. “I’m not telling you where he is, and as far as I’m concerned, he didn’t do anything you didn’t need done. Someone needs to take you down a step, and make you realize that you’re nobody. Ramsey should have beat your ass when he had the chance.”

“Is that what he does to you?” I said softly, not so angry anymore. I was starting to feel sorry for her, knowing exactly what Ramsey was capable of. On closer inspection, I could see that the make-up was covering a bruise around her eye, and there was another bruise peeking out of her tank top, just under her arm. Ramsey had very clearly thrown her around.

“None of your business,” she spat, a slight tremble in her voice. “You don’t know nothing about me, so keep your mouth shut.”

“I know Ramsey, Joanne,” I said. “I know what he’s like sometimes. And I know bruises when I see them.”

Her hand rose to her face, to cover the bruise there. “Just shut up,” she said, backing up. “You just take your movie star boyfriend and mind your own damn business. Maybe Orlando needs to take a few rounds out of you, to teach you to keep your mouth shut.”

“Joanne, I don’t hit,” Orlando said softly, pity in his voice. “A real man knows that women should be treated with respect and love, not violence. What Ramsey does is wrong, and you don’t have to put up with it.”

“When did you turn into an after-school special?” she sneered, her bravado failing fast. I knew the tone of his voice could make anyone weak in the knees. “Butt out, okay?” She began backing up, her friends with her. “I don’t need any advice from you. You live in a mansion with lots of money and cars and clothes, and you think you can tell us real people what to do? Well, screw you, screw both of you. I ain’t listening to this.” She turned on her heel and practically ran from the store, her friends following behind her, throwing dirty looks at us over their shoulders.

I sighed. “We tried,” I said, stepping into Orlando as he wrapped me in a hug. “I never liked her much, but no one deserves that.” I pulled away as I noticed people in the store still staring. “I’m going to finish trying things on, okay?”

He nodded. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said, kissing my forehead gently. “And I love that on you,” he said, looking down at my outfit. I smiled and went back into the dressing room, trying to push Joanne and Ramsey from my mind.

When I’d tried on everything I’d picked out, and modeled it all for Orlando, I eliminated what didn’t fit or what I didn’t like, then I sat in the dressing room, trying to decide what I could afford. This was the depressing part of shopping, the part where I realized how little money I actually had. I sighed as I picked out only what I absolutely needed.

“Is everything okay, love?” Orlando called from outside the door after a few minutes.

“Yeah,” I called back. “You can come in, I’m decent.”

“Damn.” He opened the door, a wicked little grin on his face. “What’s the matter, darling?” he asked when he saw my face.

I shook my head. “I’m just picking out what I can af- uh, what I like.” I caught myself before I’d said “what I can afford.” I didn’t want Orlando to know I wasn’t exactly well-off.

He watched as I sorted through the clothes, discreetly checking price tags. I came to one particularly beautiful midnight blue sweater, and had to put it aside because it was too expensive. I sighed involuntarily.

“Wait,” Orlando said as I went to put the sweater in the reject pile. “Sweetheart, you loved this when you tried it on.” His eyes searched my face. “Why are you not buying it?”

I tried to shrug it off. “I guess I changed my mind,” I said weakly, hating that I was lying to him. I really wanted the sweater, but I could get three other things for what it cost.

He crouched down in front of me. “Charlie,” he said, his tone soft, understanding. “What aren’t you telling me?”

I shrugged again. “Nothing,” I lied.

“Charlotte.” He sounded just like my dad. Tears came to my eyes.

“Okay, look,” I said, blinking the tears away. “I need to be practical right now, and as beautiful as that sweater is, it’s just not practical. It’s no big deal.”

“You mean you can’t afford it,” Orlando said, laying the sweater gently in my lap.

“Yes, that’s what I mean,” I said, trying not to look too sad.

“Then let me pay for it,” he said, taking my hands in his. “Let me buy you what you need.”

I shook my head. “No,” I said, pulling my hands away. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not right,” I said, putting the sweater back in the reject pile. “When I get to New York and start working, I can easily afford this stuff. For right now, it’s just the essentials.”

“But you need clothes.”

“I know,” I said, standing up and sorting through the clothing again. “But not this much, not right now.”

“Why won’t you let me do this?” he asked, rising to his full height. “I’m not exactly poor, you know.”

I smiled, despite the situation. “Oh I’m aware,” I said, somewhat sadly. “I just don’t want money to come between us. It can cause too much trouble.”

“You make it sound like I’m offering you cash or something,” he said, ramming his hands through his hair, which he’d left down and tucked behind his ears today. “I just want to buy you a few outfits that you really want. I must say, it hurts a bit that you won’t let me help you, when I’m clearly in a position to do so.”

I sighed. He looked so sincere, so sweet as he picked up the sweater again and handed it to me. “Anything you want,” he whispered, his eyes burning into mine. I went to him and wrapped my arms around him, the sweater still between us. He hugged me back and kissed my lips gently.

“Okay,” I said, melting against him. “I’ll accept your help.”

I allowed him to put a few things back into the “keep” pile, including the beautiful sweater, and we went to the cash register. The sales lady’s eyes widened slightly at the total of all that we bought, but Orlando easily handed her his credit card, smiling warmly down at me as he did so. His arm went around my waist as he signed the receipt. I felt warm all over. He looked so proud as he handed me the bags.

“Thank you,” I whispered as we left the store, five bags clutched in our hands.

“What good is money if I can’t spoil the people I love?” he said, squeezing my hand. People were starting to stare again, but I didn’t care. I stopped walking and kissed him soundly, holding him as best I could with the bags in my hands. I felt luckier in that moment than I ever had before.