Catnip [romance]

Norwegian Forest Cat

After Nathan had left for work, Freya, still in her dress and at Tiffany & Co., had let her hair down in its waves before hailing for a cab to bring her to Lord & Taylor so that she could do some necessary shopping. As she waited for a cab to stop, she glanced around the streets to not look as alone as she was. It was nine in the morning— the streets were more crowded than before, the roads were packed and at the corner of her eye, she sensed people watching her.

She frowned, it was probably because of her dress, but then an unannounced flash of a camera had flared off in her direction. Luckily for the sunglasses, no one could see her sudden panic. Out of the moment, as a desperate attempt to not be photographed up close, she placed a finger each from both hands in her mouth and whistled loud enough for a cabbie to brake hard in front of her. The cabbie was a middle-aged man who stuck his head out of the window in annoyance and slight curiosity. The taxi was available and she briskly made her way into the cab where the paparazzi tried to hound her but she had slammed the car door before any of them could throw questions.

The cabbie, glancing at Freya and the media, shook his head. "Who the hell still whistles for a cab, lady?"

"I had to get a cab as quick as I could, sir." She politely responded. "Lord & Taylor, just down Fifth Avenue please."

Upon hearing her destination, the cab driver grumbled under his breath but Freya couldn't hear what he was saying. Instead, she watched as they drove away from the paparazzi and then looked at her cellphone. A text message had come through and she opened it upon seeing that it was from Zaira.

You're back!

She couldn't help but smile. She quickly texted back, Yep, I am.

Suddenly, a few seconds after she responded, her cellphone rang. It was also from Zaira. She picked it up and smiled. "Yes?"

"So? Where do you want to meet up?"

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, I'm heading to Lord & Taylor right now and then I'll have to go somewhere else briefly. How about we meet at a café? I'll text you the details. Eleven sounds okay?"

"Perfect. See you then?"

"Definitely. Laters," Freya said and ended the call when she saw that she had arrived in front of the renowned shopping place. Quickly fishing for cash, she passed her twenty dollar bill to the cab driver. "Keep the change. Thank you for the ride."

She got out of the cab and into the building. Immediately, she was greeted by the salespeople and she flashed a smile at them in return. She was one of the first few in the store since it was a weekday morning so that meant a quiet, low-key appearance over there. It was pleasant enough and she could look for what she wanted to get without many eyes watching.

She avoided the womenswear section totally as she walked to the men's. Glancing around for prying eyes, she made her way deeper into the men's and stopped at the underwear column. She stared at the variety and for a second, she nearly got herself confused. What was Nathan's size and what type of underwear does he prefer?

Luckily for her, there were samples beside the packaged designer underwear. She frowned, sifting through the samples as she tried to remember his size from when they... did that last night. Vague but oh-so-clear memories made their appearance. He was wearing...

Freya took a look at the sample boxer briefs and checked the sizes. He was... impressive. Hurriedly, she snatched a pack of black Calvin Klein boxer briefs in size XL and briskly made her way to the nearest counter. She had the sunglasses on but she still didn't feel secure enough about nobody not noticing her. There wasn't a queue so she paid in cash instead of the usual credit card and survived getting out of the store as quickly as possible.