3 The Man Who Owns Half The Country

"Ohh shit!". Gwen managed to pull her hand away with a chuckle. " I forgot to wash these".

Diane's eye twitched. "Fuck you".

"Did someone say fuck?". Dave fiddled with the doorknob from outside. "Why did you lock it? Wait, Gwen! Are you Bi-?".

Both girls turned to face each other in wonder before bursting out laughing. "Where do you even get these guys?". Diane mocked. It seemed birds of a feather flocked together.

Gwen got up to unlock the door before chasing Dave away. "Don't look for me again. I'm returning to my country".

"I could book a flight alongside you. I mean - plane sex right?". He winked.

"Just go home". She sighed before finally managing to chase him away within the next few minutes.

And that was how easily she ended relationships. Diane couldn't help but wonder if she even had deep feelings for the guys she'd been with.

It was more like a one-month-stand kind of fetish. She didn't envy her, but at least she knew what she wanted when it came to men.

But she had a conscience when it came to Josh. She really couldn't bring herself to end it to his face, that was why she'd planned to ditch their graduation.

Knowing he would be there.

Recently, he'd started talking about meeting his parents. His father was a businessman while his mother was a luxury brand owner.

It would be embarrassing to meet such people who'd probably see her as leeching to their son's wealth. And she was fond of losing her temper once in a while.

What if she slapped his freaking mum?!

Plus, she still remembered vividly what happened the day they'd stopped by his mother's clothing emporium to drop off a package. She'd mistaken Diane for his maid and due to the embarrassment, she'd stopped Josh from correcting his mother.

Instead, she'd ended up moving some bags under the pretense of helping out. Mrs. McNaught had even suggested she could work in her store in the future and at the time - Diane had saved the business card.

'How naive'.

If such a strict woman was to realize her employee was her son's ex.

Diane abruptly shook her head. That was all in the past now since she'd already gotten a job at the place she'd done her internship. It was the biggest newspaper and publishing company in Fredo. She'd planned on working there for about a year while looking for a better place that suited the course she'd studied.

Meanwhile saving up enough to reimburse Josh for all the money he'd wasted on her.

"I'm so tired, baby girl". Gwen stumbled into the bathroom. "I'll sleep right after taking a shower, let's take a shower together".

Diane managed a lazy smile. At some point, they'd become like sisters hence it would be hard saying goodbye.

"Can't wait to get wasted tonight, let's forget about men". Gwen let out a broad smile before heading for the sink.

"You know nighttime is still so far. And how about your flight?". Diane reached down to take off her panties, she wore a loose nightwear top that easily came off.

Yeah, they'd seen each other naked so many times regardless of being straight, and it really didn't affect them.

Or did it?

She'd often tried to avoid socializing with guys since she could never make 'real male friends' - that bore no ulterior motive. But standing butt naked next to a girl was like watching a cow in heat.

"You like what you see?". Gwen teased with a mischievous grin. A look that reminded her of that stranger-

"In your dreams, you look like a cow in heat".

"Boohoo". Gwen sniffled. "I thought I'd managed to lose some weight, but my butt keeps getting bigger".

"Ohh jeez! Shut up Gwen!". Her cheeks flushed up with embarrassment, since talking about each other's bodies was uncomfortable. It brought up a memory she'd have loved to forget after the accident so many years ago.

"Baby girl?". Gwen's arm fell on her shoulder. "You're not coming for graduation, are you?".

In silence, Diane merely turned the shower on. "So cold...".

Gwen hugged her friend. "Just let it out". she rubbed her back.

"Don't just hug me while being naked!". She struggled to break loose from her plumpy roomie's grasp.

"But your boobs are so squishy and firm, give me a few minutes". She squeezed her tighter.

Diane could only regret her former conclusion about them being like sisters, no- she was a complete psycho!

___________________

After a quick tiring shower and putting on something comfy, they both went to Diane's apartment. It was a thirty minutes drive in Gwen's car.

On the way, they'd chatted as usual; Diane complained about how much she'd miss Gwen being around to talk to or share things with. The latter listened intently to everything her friend said.

She's tried to convince her to return to France with her so they could work in her mother's agency.

Diane had declined respectfully saying she wanted to be alone for a while and settle some personal problems.

"A year". Gwen pouted.

"A year?".

"That's how long you have to find out about your past before I come back for you".

Diane smiled tenderly. "Thank you".

The car had steadily come to a halt in a large part and Diane was the first to step out to take in a deep breath of fresh air.

'So my new life starts from here? One year- that's all the time I have to dig into my past and find out about that stranger'.

Her flat was on the fifth floor and the elevator seemed to already be occupied. They both waited with a few boxes stacked in their hands, since there wasn't much to move out with.

The moment it opened, they heard the loud voice of a man. "Yessir, I just checked out the building. No, there's no problem. Ahh... Thank you, Mr. Bermount". His voice echoed through the hallway as he left through the building's entrance.

"What are you waiting for?". Her words jerked Diane back to reality as she scuffled to get into the elevator with the heap of boxes blocking her view. "Did you hear that man say - Bermount?".

"I think the whole hallway did. Who exactly is that?".

Gwen's mouth fell open. "You're shitting me, right?".

Diane shook her head to disagree.

"Don't you listen to the radio or even read the papers? No! Don't you have the internet?". Her friend's silence answered all the questions at once. "He's the man who owns half the country! How don't you know this? Are you sure you're from Rudertine?".

Diane only sighed as they got off the elevator to a narrow corridor. "Never heard of him".

"You must be living under a rock!".

"We've lived together for a while now, so right back at you partner. And can you stop being so loud?". She whispered on reaching her door.

"Ohh... was I too loud?". Gwen whispered with a dopey smile.