Chapter 8: The Shopping Trip

“Please tell me you get to keep the uniform,” Chloe said when Elise returned in her gym clothes. “I need to see the full routine. Spats are optional.”

Elise playfully stuck her tongue out. “Nope~. You’ll just have to fund this new cosplay hobby yourself.”

Neferu grinned. “Very well. We shall procure these outfits for you.”

Elise rolled her eyes. “Oh great, now they get along.”

“Well, you’re our common interest,” Neferu teased.

Chloe, Elise, and Neferu got in the car and drove away from the school. “I got a call from the realtor earlier. The owner wants to sell the house and retire in Florida. If we pool our money together, we can buy it outright,” she announced.

Elise looked at her with skepticism. “Uh huh. Did this sudden windfall come courtesy of the S.P.D.? I thought you didn’t have any strings to pull.”

Chloe mischievously smirked. “I know, I’m seriously just a grunt at the agency,” she reiterated. “The guy is almost 60, and he doesn’t want to play landlord anymore.”

“There is more to your tale,” Neferu mentioned from the backseat.

“Uncle Jeff may have given me additional funds to pay for everything on the condition that he can handle the security system himself,” she quietly and quickly added. “He sort of handles the main headquarters’ security, so he might go overboard and turn our house into a fortress.”

“He sounds like a fine man who cares for his family,” Neferu commented.

“Yeah, he’s great. I’ve known him almost as long as I’ve known Chloe,” Elise explained, turning around in her seat to face her. “I thought he just worked security for rich guys, but that might have just been a cover.”

“Eh, he’s still a security specialist, he just works in tech and magic,” Chloe explained. “He’s an actual ace agent with serious pull, I just don’t like to go to him for every little thing.”

“Truly a commendable aspect for my beloved’s concubine,” Neferu praised her.

“Shut it, ‘Great Royal Wife,’” Chloe snapped.

“You’re not sharing my bed again tonight. It was too cramped, and I could barely roll over,” Elise adamantly stated.

Elise’s eyes slowly opened with the morning light. She didn’t even have to look to know Neferu and Chloe joined her last night. They cuddled next to her, using her shoulders as pillows. It would have been her ideal paradise, but she had yet to sort out her very complicated love life.

The three girls sat down for breakfast and planned their day. “The movers will be here later. Before you ask, yes, they’re S.P.D. agents. Our apartment is modified for an agent’s use. Secret compartments, hidden weapons and charms, you get the idea.”

“Not even surprised at this point,” Elise muttered. “Can you handle that? I want to take Neferu out to buy some clothes. She needs her own wardrobe.”

“Ahneith, I can simply summon the clothing I require,” Neferu insisted.

Elise smiled brightly at her. “Where’s the fun in that?”

She drove them to a nearby clothing store with a flexible price range. Shoppers could find cheap clothes for everyday wear and more expensive clothes for upscale events all in one place. “Here we are, my closet away from home,” Elise announced. “Pick out anything you want, as long as I can afford it without blowing my credit.”

“Blowing your credit?” Neferu was confused.

Elise gave her a tired look. “I’ll explain our predatory credit system later.”

She grabbed a basket and brought Neferu over to the shirt area to start their shopping expedition. “Honestly, you’d look great in anything. You’d probably make an onion sack look enticing.”

Neferu gently laughed. “Why, thank you. I’m pleased to hear the same compliment from you again.”

“I said the same thing before?”

“Yes, in Egypt, right as we prepared to attend a festival. I asked you if you liked my dress, and you said that I would look as beautiful as Isis herself, no matter what I wore.”

A sales clerk approached and flashed a warm, friendly smile. “May I help you find something?”

Neferu smiled in kind. “I’m told I need my own wardrobe. Where do you propose I begin my search?”

The clerk looked her over and became entranced. “Well, shirts are a good place to start. Let’s find some comfortable shirts that show off this amazing figure. Have you ever done any modeling?”

Neferu and Elise exchanged looks. As a princess and future ruler, Neferu stood for statues and reliefs, but she couldn’t say that. “No, I’m afraid not.”

“Well, that’s simply a waste! For now, let’s get your wardrobe filled,” the excited woman said. She helped them pick out a few outfits and showed them to the changing rooms so they could try them on before making a purchase.

Neferu changed clothes and showed off for Elise, mimicking the poses she saw on the posters dotted along the walls. She enjoyed having Elise’s undivided attention. “Do you think I could be a model like the women in these paintings?”

“You put them all to shame,” Elise confessed.

Neferu’s smile widened. “You say the sweetest things, beloved.” She gave a playful wink and retreated behind the curtain to continue her performance. Once she was satisfied with her new clothes and the cute reactions she received from Elise, her attention turned to the swimwear section.

“My, people wear things like this in public?” She examined one of the bikinis.

“Well, yeah. Some women like to flaunt their bodies. There are more modest swimsuits, though.” Elise pointed to a one-piece suit that would fit Neferu.

“And less modest swimsuits.” Neferu held up an even smaller bikini. “I wonder if this would fit you? May we test this in a changing room?”

Elise blushed. The swimsuit would hardly cover anything, even if it weren’t at least a size too small for her. “Maybe another time. I have a feeling you’d have a hard time keeping your hands to yourself.”

Neferu gave her a seductive smile. “You know me so well.”