Valerie P.O.V.

I just finished another shift at Bean Crushers before coming home to lounge around and find a picture to upload from the fourth of July celebrations to my Instagram. I hadn't gotten a chance to on the day and the day after, as I wasn't on my phone at all. After selecting a few of Ell & I, I played with the filter settings a little before uploading it with a cute caption. I scrolled through my feed and liked a ton of pictures from everyone- but was interrupted as a DM from Jess popped up. Swiping across, I opened the message up to read;

Hey girl! I have a clothing brand collaboration I'm doing and I'd love for you to come style the stuff I've been sent! I loveeee what you dress Ellana in! @sommertamari will be taking the pics & @alexyswang will be the mua. Let me know 😘

Sure I'd love to! Thankyou so much. When & where? 💓

We're thinking tomorrow?

I've got work til 1pm can we do it after?

Yeah! I'll let the gals know. Invite Ellana aswell 😊

Yep! 👌🏽 see you guys tomorrow

I hopped off the sofa and made my way into Ell's bedroom. "Hey Ell!" I greeted her cheerfully, jumping on her bed with a bounce.

"Heeyy," her croaky voice responded as she looked up from her laptop.

"Are you okay? You sound a little sick?" I asked her worriedly, taking in her slightly duller appearance and red nose.

"Yeah, just a cold I think from swimming so much on the fourth, plus the wind," she responded with a sniffle.

"Oh, I hope you get better soon," I said with a small frown, grabbing the box of tissues on the nightstand to hand it to her.

She accepted it gratefully before going to blow her nose. "How are you not sick at all?" she asked me curiously, throwing her tissue in the bin beside the bed.

"Umm... Carter and I got in his hot tub when we got home?" I said with a shrug. "Oh and we also had some tea before bed so maybe that's why."

"Huh..." she nodded slowly. "So... was it steamy? And I don't just mean the hot water," she wiggled her eyebrows at me with a smirk.

My face reddened in embarrassment before I scrunched up my face. "Yes, okay there was some action," I blurted quickly.

Ell giggled at my response before putting on a serious face. "Please spill a few deets," she commanded me as she closed her laptop and put it aside.

"Um... we made out a lot, and uh moved into the bedroom. He went down on me... it was really, really good," was all I said as I bit my lip and waited for her outburst. I could feel it coming. Her jaw dropped as she grabbed my hands excitedly and shook them up and down bouncing on the bed, before having to stop and cough. Poor thing.

"Wow Val, sounds kinky," she winked at me. "I'm happy that you are no longer lonely, and... no longer lonely down there," she grinned before bursting out into laughter.

"Gee thanks Ell," I shook my head in disbelief.

"You're welcome," she poked her tongue at me. "Seriously though, he has made you a lot happier, you've really come out of your shell. He's really good for you."

"Yeah he is," I smiled as I reminisced all the memories we've had together. He's always treated me like a queen. "So anyways I wanted to ask if you'd wanna come to Jess's photoshoot tomorrow, she asked me to be her stylist and Sommer & Alexys will be there too," I brushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"Aw damn that sounds fun but I probably should stay in bed," she pouted. "I have auditions coming up Monday and I want to get better before then."

"Ah okay," I stood up from the bed, "Can I get you anything?" I asked her as I opened the door to leave.

"Tea would be good actually, please," she smiled. Even though she was sick, the bright shine in her eyes was always there.

"Coming right up."

~

I woke up feeling elated, which is very unlike me in the morning, springing off the bed with a pep in my step as I made my way to the bathroom to freshen up. I fixed up some oats and banana for breakfast before making my way to check up on Ellana. I quietly opened the door to see her cuddled up sleeping soundly next to Kean.

"Oh hey Val," he whispered, tilting his head up to me from his position.

"Hey, when'd you get in?" I asked leaning against the door frame.

"Late last night, Ell couldn't sleep," he spoke quietly, his eyes flickering down towards her serene face, stroking the golden strands of hair delicately. He loved her, I could see it in his eyes... I wanted that. It was beautiful.

"Thanks for taking care of her," I smiled appreciatively. He mirrored the gesture softly before I exited the room, closing the door silently behind me.

I got ready for work fairly quickly, wearing a pair of white sneakers, denim blue shorts, a belt and a crop top, before applying some makeup and tying my hair up in a high pony. I was lucky Bean Crushers had a casual dress code being a college hangout spot, the only requirements were you had to have your hair up, enclosed shoes and the work apron. I also made sure to pack a few items to touch up, before heading over to Jess's after my shift finished.

~

"Hi what can I get you?" I asked in a chirpy tone to my next customer on this lazy Saturday morning.

"Could I grab a hazelnut latte please?" the guy standing before the counter said, flashing me a dashing smile.

"Good choice, those are my favorite," I grinned back at him.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Great tastebuds you've got then," he winked, before grabbing his wallet out of his back pocket, holding up his card to pay.

"That's $3.50 thankyou," I chuckled, holding out the eftpos machine to him.

"So are you a student at UCLA?" he asked me whilst he swiped his card through the machine.

"Yep, you a college-dwelling, caffeine-dependent, struggling human as well?" I asked him, waltzing over to the coffee machine to get started on the drink.

"Sure am, I'm taking summer classes," he said humorously, leaning on one arm against the counter.

"Oh god! Why would you do that to yourself?" I joked, finishing up his drink with a foamy milk swirl.

"You're funny," he laughed, "...and really cute too," he added, peering up at me to gage my reaction. My eyes widened for a moment, as I placed the lid over the cup, making sure to keep my gaze downwards. Oh. I think he's flirting with me.

"Thank you," I said politely as I handed over his coffee.

"Could I, maybe have your number?" he asked me hopefully, taking the cup from my hand. Woahhh, definitely flirting.

"I, I'm so sorry you seem like a really nice guy, but I don't think my boyfriend would like that," I tried my best to turn him down courteously. "Thank you though, I'm so flattered," I smiled.

"Oh, uh no worries," he chuckled nervously. "Thanks, see you around," he held up his cup with a small smile and walked out.

Omg. Someone just asked for my number. And I just called Carter my boyfriend on instinct.

Boyfriend.

BOYFRIEND!

What?! The thought shocked me to my core. How could I have totally gotten to this stage so comfortably and easily? I mean... our relationship has made massive leaps and bounds recently... but it's Carter Bryson... he hasn't been in a relationship since he was 19. Would a guy with so much of the world at his feet, want to be tied to me? I breathed out a heavy sigh. There's no point in overthinking it and falling down the "what are we?" trap. I just have to trust, relax, breathe, and be open to this life experience. It's been going well so far... almost perfectly even.

I finished up at work about three hours later, making a few drinks to bring over and cleaned up my hair and makeup before leaving the shop. I hopped in my car and typed in the address Jess had texted me on maps before heading off. Just after 1:20pm I arrived at the apartment complex and found my way to her room number. We were lucky the summer Cali sun set quite late in the evening, so there was still plenty of daylight left for the shoot.

"Hi!" Sommer opened the door up to give me a hug before leading me in to the living room.

"Hey! I got you all iced coffees- it's got almond milk btw just in case anyone was allergic/vegan," I set down the cardboard cup holder on the table.

"Hey, omg you're an angel, thankyou!" Alexys turned to smile at me with a makeup brush in hand, dusting bronzer onto Jess's cheeks.

"Hey Val! How are you? Thanks so much for coming!" Jess gave me a wave from her position on a stool before reaching over to grab a drink.

"Yeah I'm good! How are you guys? And that's okay," I beamed, before taking a seat on the couch.

"Good, super busy as always," Jess replied, sipping on the coffee whilst Alexys chiselled out her cheekbones with contour powder. "Mm this is good!"

"Oh pass me one," Sommer piped up from the kitchen where she had some camera equipment laid out, cleaning the lenses.

"Thanks! It's from my work, we have fair trade, organic roasted whole bean coffee," I replied.

"Mmm yeah, that's good!" Alexys took a sip of Jess' drink, midway through applying some blush.

"Oh! I have all the stuff from I.X. the label over there," Jess pointed over to the corner of the living room where packages of clothes and a few accessories sat, "and my closet is just in that room if you need anything else to add, I pulled out some stuff, but I'm honestly not that good with high fashion," she chuckled. I nodded as she spoke, before making my way over to browse through the items and assemble the outfits together.

"So how are you and Carter? Are you guys like dating?" Alexys asked, packing a few makeup items to bring along with her.

"Omg yaass please, I need the tea. Y'all were so cute on the fourth," Jess spoke excitedly, emerging in her first look, before we could pack the rest and leave for the first location.

"Yes! We all saw you two lookin cosy," Alexys wriggled her eyebrows.

"Yeah... I think," I shyly replied, "I mean well, I met him on his birthday and we've been talking and seeing each other since..."

"Oh really? That was like 3 months ago?" Sommer asked interestedly, as I nodded. "Wow... I've known Carter for a while and I haven't seen him be with anyone for longer than like a month or two. He's always focussed on work."

"Omg I totally ship it though!" Alexys responded, "Valter! or CarVal... Carterie..." she rambled on in thought, whilst I blushed at the names silently.

"or Calerie!" Sommer added, causing all of us to laugh, as we piled out of the apartment with gear in hand.