The suit that Nick wore during the new year's eve party finally needed dry cleaning. At first, he insisted that I should use one of his cars for my convenience but I refused. Not that I can't drive, the fancy buttons and high tech gadgets implanted on its console could cause me to maneuver the car to the moon and back into million pieces. I certainly don't want to be held responsible for any of their damages. So the suit followed me in its cover bag via bus and Uber to my morning class and to the laundry after.

The recent new year's midnight quarrel between Nick and I wafted swiftly the next day as though he had an amnesia. After kicking me out of his ride the night before, he called me up the next afternoon asking if I was okay which later supplied me with cold meds when he found out I was having fever. That's the typical Nick I know. We could be starting a nuclear war against each other in the morning and then, go for a picnic together in the afternoon.

Nick is no longer attending classes in his final term, he only had to focus on his final dissertation before concluding his studies by the middle of spring. Nevertheless, his academic matters were my least burden, despite on most occasions that I have to do his assignments because he claimed that I am a better writer and he hated writing long winded essays. My tasks then expanded to frequent visits at the warehouse and fixing appointments with legal clients, also with some illegal ones while keeping me on the leash.

I arrived at his trusted dry cleaners in King Street 10 minutes past noon, greeted by a young lad by the counter. I specified the time and delivery of the apparel before paying him the service in advance. Then a couple of attractive looking blokes in expensive garb sauntered into the shop, waiting for their turn behind me. The one with a takeout cup had an appealing facial feature of Tom Hardy coming out of bed with his hair parted sideways, looking innocent on the outside but naughty on the inside. While the other resembled nothing less than Charlie Hunnam with all that sass. What a perfect combination for head-turning gentlemen. I turned to glance at them and caught Sexy Tom Hardy responded with a polite grin and resumed to chat with his mate.

My thoughts suddenly began to wonder, why men wouldn't want to date a girl like me? I initially thought that men in this country deem me as unattractive but the men I met in Malaysia were even worse. They explicitly expressed that they don't like me because I'm not that typical Malay girl which makes me unattractive. Or perhaps, it was a short span of time for me to find good ones. But in a nutshell, men don't find me attractive. I've got good looking guys as friends to prove my theory. Abs detested me even after years of friendship and Nick was just being polite, or perhaps he was just being Nick.

But for Nick, as our boss-employee relationship blossomed gradually (since he disapproved of the term 'friendship', I'll use this term instead), I was beginning to see the purest pulp beneath his impenetrable layers. I have to admit that Nick was the most charming man I've ever known (after Tok Ba) while Abs was next to none. I was beginning to have Nick on my mind a little bit more, not for work related but on a personal level. Although my feelings for Nick began to escalate, I rather not have them on the loose. Nick reminded me of the snotty rich lad you would see in some Korean dramas girls would kill for. And it's not possible that he could hurt me like how Abs did. But I just wonder if both of them would look at me differently now that another year had made me becoming a bit mature in my fashion sense.

I checked myself in a mirror behind the counter, seeing only my upper body. The blouse underneath my unbuttoned blue trench coat and my minimal effort of putting on some foundation and lipstick to my face made me look more feminine than before despite my boisterous manner. Although Nick never influenced the way I dress, I do believe that I need to live up to his standard like how Anne Hathaway's character changed within a fortnight to represent herself as personal assistant to Meryl Streep's character. Pretty much to say that Nick was my Devil that wears Prada. No, seriously. He did own a pair of Prada loafers.

As I walked out from the shop, I caught Milla coming out her 911 which was parked in front of Rosso Restaurant at the junction of Spring Garden-King Street. She wore the same jacket at Friendship Inn covering her orange-red, halter backless jumpsuit. She looked up at me and waved as I crossed the street towards her and greeted her with a peck on each cheek.

"It's too early for tea, don't you think?" I kidded.

"No, silly. Jani's having a private showcase get together displaying her new collection," Milla said. "What were you up to?"

"I just chucked Nick's dirty laundry back there," I replied, pointing my thumb at the dry cleaners behind me. "So where's this new piece you're observing?"

"Hervia Bazaar. They gave a small lot for her boss to display their collection," Milla explained.

"Wow, getting yourself picked by Hervia Bazaar is an honor," I said, impressed.

"If you have time and want to check it out?" she offered.

"Seriously?"

"No, you can't," she groaned and pinched me on the elbow. "Come on!"

She took me by the arm as we walked all the way to the other side of Spring Garden where Hervia Bazaar awaited us. We updated on each other's lives and people at Scouts Birch Community. Some Leaders I knew were no longer there at Birch Community as they moved out from the county or went back to their homeland after finishing their studies.

Along the way, our conversation was interrupted by some grubby looking men by the corner of the street cat calling at us.

"Hey, piss off, mate!" I bawled at them in disgust.

One of them gawked at us and raised his middle finger at me. "We're not talking to you, sagging fag."

"Hey!" Milla suddenly charged towards him and slapped her Givenchy tote bag on his head. "You better show some respect or I'll stab your balls with my heels, you cunt!"

The man looked at her perplexed while his mates bawled with amusement. Various curses and swearing words fired in the air as we walked away from the scene leaving them behind.