Diamond Has It Rough

Some people find comfort in the serene sounds of nature. Others prefer the business of a city block. If Diamond Tiara ever got stressed out, there was a one-stop cure, Monday through Sunday, from 8 AM to 8 PM.

“Diamond Tiara?” Diamond perked up after hearing her name called. She turned the phone in her hand off and stuffed it into her purse by her side. She quickly made her way to the end of a counter where a pair of cups had been snuggly fit into a cupholder. She checked the cups, gave the cashier her thanks, then left just as fast.

She retreated until she was free of the small crowd around the coffee stand. Finally free of all the hustle and bustle, she was free to look around a bit. Her target shouldn’t have been hard to locate, considering he’d be towering over many other guys in a crowd. As she predicted, Anon’s larger frame stuck out like a sore thumb near a collection of benches a short walk away. She smirked, then skipped over. He looked up as she approached.

“Hey!” she called. As she approached, he turned to meet her. “Sorry for the wait. Didn’t think it would take that long, but I guess they are pretty crowded on a weekend.” She sighed, then shook her head. “Anyway, here. Your coffee.”

“Thanks.” He got to his feet and grabbed the cup Diamond handed him. He held it in his hands for a moment before savoring a sip. After a deep breath, Diamond could tell he was satisfied.

“Do you mind if we walk and drink?” asked Diamond. He replied with a quick shake of the head, then walked to Diamond’s side. “Alright, perfect! There were a couple of places I wanted to check out.”

Diamond couldn’t remember a time when a mall trip on a weekend wasn’t common for her. Even since she was a kid, she could remember dragging her mother and father along to every store with a dress in the window. Though she could look back on those days and laugh, she couldn’t deny that they shaped her adult life in more ways than one.

And today, it was the scene of her next scheme.

“Are you sure that you were okay with just a normal coffee?” asked Diamond, turning back to him as they walked. “They had a lot more options, you know?”

“Hmm,” he hummed. “What did you get?” Diamond took a sip before she answered.

“Iced white chocolate mocha,” she answered. She flashed him the cup as she spoke, showing him the contents from the top. “A bit sweet, but delicious.” He hummed again.

“I’ll try that next time.” He took a sip and Diamond chuckled. Though they still weren’t the full-fledged conversations she was used to having with her friends, these short talks were getting a bit longer with each interaction.

The pair walked through the winding halls of the building, making small talk every now and then courtesy of Diamond. While it seemed like they were wandering aimlessly, Diamond was actually incredibly focused. Her eyes were working overtime, monitoring his face and their surroundings at the same time. As soon as he expressed interest in something, Diamond had to swoop in and take advantage of it.

Her plan was simple. Advertise her best trait. Her best trait being the laughably large amount of money to her name.

To her understanding, Anon wouldn’t be swayed by money alone. If that was true, he would've already been hers. No, she had to wield her advantages intelligently in order to get his attention. Despite this, she knew that it wouldn’t be easy to catch him reacting strongly to something. So she had prepared several safety nets.

“Ooh, look,” called Diamond, pointing to her first safety net. It was a sports goods shop, the kind she would never think to enter alone. “How about we check this place out?” He looked up at the sign, his expression changing slightly. With that, she knew she had him. Still, she waited for him to nod before she led the two inside.

Much to her surprise, there wasn’t a pungent stench of sweat about the place. Instead, the air had an oddly fresh and pleasant aroma of a mix of rubber and pine. Instead of being primarily dudes, both buff and portly, she found a mix of men and women of all kinds of body shapes. After she recovered from the small shock from that realization, she turned to him.

“How about we check out some of the exercise equipment?” she asked. Again, he nodded his agreement, then made off for the section. She followed closely behind, weaving through the aisles of both general and sportswear clothing until they reached the sign.

He looked through the shelves, slowly scanning each item like he was performing an inspection. She watched in silence, waiting for him to show interest in even the slightest thing. Fortunately, he reached out and grabbed something.

“What’s that?” asked Diamond. He turned toward her, presenting his choice to her as he did.

“Lifting gloves,” he answered. “My old ones were getting worn out.” After showing her, she realized something. Though he was in great shape, she'd never seen him work out before. Then another, more erotic idea played out in her head. She brought herself back and formulated her thoughts.

“Y-Yeah, you work out often, right?” she asked. Her eyes drifted past him, to the next section where the large equipment was. “Do you use those when you go to the gym?” He followed her gaze.

“Yes, sometimes.” He nodded. “They are a little fancier there. These are for home use.”

“Maybe we should get one for the house, then?” asked Diamond, perking up. “I could definitely afford it!” He paused again, then shook his head.

“Those are too big for the house,” he responded. Diamond cursed the small living space again. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

"No way, that wouldn’t bother me!” exclaimed Diamond. She narrowed her eyes. “I think I’d like to see you work out, actually.” He hummed, then nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll bring you with me next time.”

“That’s a promise!” she said, her mind running wild with all sorts of ideas on how to go about turning that outing into a new plan. “That reminds me, though. Why do you work out so often? I never see you play any sports, and you work an office job…” She tapped her chin. “Is it just to stay healthy?”

“So that I won’t be bullied,” he answered. “That’s how it started, at least.”

“O-Oh, sorry.” She pursed her lips. “I didn’t think it would be something like that.” He shook his head.

“I don’t mind it anymore.” He looked at her with his normal gentle gaze, putting her back at ease. “Should we get going?” Diamond nodded her head, then quickly took the gloves from Anon’s hands.

“Let me take care of these,” she said with a smile. “Today is my treat after all.”

After a bit more browsing, Diamond paid for the gloves and left the store. Soon, they were back outside amongst the crowds. That meant it was time for Diamond to get back to work. She hadn’t noticed his interest in any store yet, but she still had several safety nets in mind where she could show herself off.

Unfortunately, it was becoming a lot more difficult. Every now and then, Diamond would bump into the increasing number of other mall-goers when she wasn’t paying attention. Though she expected the place to be crowded, it felt like they’d arrived during peak business hours. To avoid getting separated, she moved closer to him. He was basically a walking landmark anyway. The space between the two dwindled until Diamond was basically hugging him as they walked. She definitely didn’t mind being so close, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to walk.

“Let’s go there.” His voice caught Diamond off guard. She hadn’t been keeping track of his eyes, so she quickly checked to see what kind of store he pointed to. She looked up at the name Joy Road on the banner in fancy letters.

“A… clothing store?” she asked. This was far from the thing she thought he’d be interested in. Before he could answer her, the two were all but pushed inside.

This place was much more crowded than the previous store, but still a far cry from the wave of people outside. He grabbed Diamond’s hand, then began leading her through the aisles of clothing. He didn’t even pause to look at anything. It almost seemed like he knew exactly what he was looking for. Diamond tried to look past him to see where he was headed, but couldn’t see past his large frame.

In a matter of moments, he broke from the crowd of people clogging the aisles. Finally, after he paused for a bit, Diamond could see just where he had led them. As she looked up at the sign, her heart skipped a beat. As soon as she realized his plan, he’d pulled her along again, heading straight for the changing rooms. He picked a door, pulled it open, and entered.

“Finally…” Despite the buzz of conversation and rustling of clothes around them, his low voice came through clearly to Diamond’s ears. He sighed, then turned to face Diamond. “Sorry for pulling you. It was starting to get a little rowdy.”

“Right. No problem.” Diamond’s brain started turning. This was a golden opportunity she didn’t want to miss. She clasped her hands behind her back and puffed out her chest slightly. “By the way, why bring me here?” He looked down.

“It was the first place I saw where we could get away from the crowds,” he answered. She took a deep breath, then looked him in his eyes. The small space made her feel a lot hotter than before.

“Well… now that we are here. What do you think of my clothes?”

His eyes scanned her up and down. She always took care of her appearance, but she made sure to go all out today. A burgundy sweater dress and a nice pair of navy leggings. She’d skipped on her usual heels, since she planned to do a lot of walking, instead wearing thigh-high boots. Her ears sparkled with gold earrings, and around her neck was a chain adorned with a small ruby. She’d taken almost an hour to pick this out, but didn’t get a word of praise. It wasn’t unexpected from him, but she’d still like for her effort to be rewarded.

He was silent, but Diamond could tell his stare had intensified. He was probably thinking of what to say. She did feel a little bad for putting him on the spot, but wondering what he would come up with overpowered that feeling.

“I can’t explain it well. I don’t know anything about fashion,” he explained. “But… you’re stunningly beautiful.” She opened her mouth, but no words came out. In her silence, he continued. “Before I met you, I thought women like you were just fairy tales. But you’re patient enough to put up with me. And the food you make is so good, I can hardly believe it’s real.” He looked up at Diamond, whose face burned red. “You really are an amazing woman, Diamond.”

She bore into his eyes. Her heartbeat was so hard and fast, she was sure everyone could hear it. Even so, she refused to back down. This close, there was no way that she would let this opportunity slip from her fingers.

“I…” She stumbled on her words. She swallowed hard, then continued. “I think you’re an amazing guy, too.” Surprisingly, he broke his eye contact before Diamond did.

“That was probably embarrassing to hear,” he said with his head down. “I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have worded it like that.” Her body responded before her brain. She closed the distance and grabbed him in a tight hug. Her face rested on his chest.

“No, don’t apologize,” she said. “I really wanted to hear that.” It was a bit slow, but he returned the embrace, squeezing her close. She smiled and hummed her satisfaction. Her scheme be damned, this was just fine.

“Um, hello?” A voice brought her back down to Earth after the short burst of bliss. She turned around to face the speaker, finding a very visibly annoyed store attendant. “Yeah, I don’t want to know what’s going on here, but you’re gonna have to take it somewhere else. There are people actually waiting to try on clothes out here.”

“Sorry,” Anon spoke, breaking his hug on Diamond. Reluctantly, she let him go as well. She kept her forehead on his chest for a bit longer. “Are you ready to go, Diamond?” She pulled away, quickly spinning on her heel, and faced the attendant who stopped them. Her face was enough to send the man reeling back.

“I’m ready to go,” she responded, turning away from the worker and heading out of the changing room area. She looked back to make sure she was being followed, then continued. “Was there any place you wanted to go?” He hummed, then nodded his head.

“There was a bookstore a bit of a way back,” he said. Though his expression didn’t change, she could see the lights in his eyes. She smiled, then stopped in front of him. “Hm? What’s wrong?”

She reached for his hand, pressing their palms together before interlocking their fingers. She squeezed it tight, then looked up at him. His speech from before played in her head on repeat, making her heart flutter each time she looked at his face.

“Nothing,” she answered. “Let’s check it out!”