THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Camilla Schneider had promised herself she would never fall for another guy ever again. She'd experienced a painful heartbreak at the hands of a dashing Casanova while she was still at the university in Freiburg. He had been perfect in every way — a true gentleman in the eyes of her naive former self. But that hadn't stopped him from shattering her heart to pieces, leaving her an emotional wreck.

From that day, she'd practically developed a phobia for relationships. She was all for the fun part without any of the earnest stuff. But over the past weeks, she'd found herself growing more and more attached to Zachary, although he was like six years her junior. He was like a storm sweeping her off the ground. She could hardly resist.

When they'd first met, she'd initially been captivated by his imposing and manly physique that could rival that of any male model out there. At that time, she'd only wanted to have fun with him without getting into anything serious. However, the more time she spent with him, the more she liked him.

She found him attractive and ever so considerate, from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice. He was caring from his generous compliments, though rare, to the tender touch of his hand upon her own — whenever they were intimate. Moreover, he was a very talented footballer who was rising fast in the ranks. She was finding it more and more difficult to resist his grace and charm.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

The sound of her phone vibrating broke her out of her reverie. Her face couldn't help but bloom into a beautiful smile when she glanced at the screen. Without hesitation, she accepted the call.

"Hello dear," she spoke into the phone after placing it next to her ear.

"Hello, Camilla," she heard Zachary reply from the other end of the line. She couldn't help but frown, wondering why he always called her by name and never by honey, dear, or any other nicknames. That wasn't a good sign.

"How are you?" Zachary continued almost without a pause.

"I'm fine," Camilla replied, her spirits brightening once again. "Just missing you. I'm waiting."

"Oh," Zachary said after a slight pause. "I miss you too. I'm on my way to Møller Bil right now. Let's meet outside—in the parking lot, in about 15 minutes? Are you ready to move?"

"Yes," Camilla was quick to reply. "I'll wait for you there. See you in a bit."

"See you," Zachary replied before ending the call. It seemed he was driving since she could hear the sound of engines roaring in the background. She guessed he would be arriving very soon.

So, she quickly shut down her computer, organized her office desk, and said goodbye to her workmates. She then rushed to the washrooms, where she touched up her lips in the bathroom mirror and made sure there was nothing amiss with her appearance. A short while later, she was in the parking lot awaiting Zachary's arrival.

"You look nice," Zachary said with a smile when he arrived a few minutes later.

"Thank you," she replied, feeling her heart begin to race. "Too bad I can't say the same for you." She added jokingly, hooking her arm with his.

He was, of course, tall and imposing and exotic — all things she relished about him. However, he was wearing a tracksuit, a jumper with a hoodie, and running sneakers — which was about as dressed up as he ever got whenever they were together.

"Why is it that you only wear tracksuits whenever we're together?" She pressed on before Zachary could respond.

"I find them comfortable," Zachary replied, scratching at his chin. "Are you saying I don't look good in tracksuits?"

"That's not it," Camilla replied hurriedly, shaking her head. "I'm sure you would look nice even if you're just in a pair of boxers or even rags. But I'm just wondering why you never try to dress up in anything else aside from tracksuits."

"Oh," Zachary said, scratching at his chin. He often did that whenever he was at a loss for words or didn't want to comment on an issue.

"Let's go shopping," Camilla heard herself say. "Let's go shopping," she repeated, inclining her head to glance at him.

"You want to go shopping?" Zachary queried, raising a brow. "Don't you want us to go for dinner?"

"Of course, I still wish to have dinner with you," Camilla replied, flashing him a smile. "But since it's still quite early, we can squeeze in a shopping trip, maybe at City Syd, and still have time for dinner later. I'll help you pick out a few articles of clothing, and it won't take us long. And one more thing. I'm the one sponsoring the shopping trip."

"Oh," Zachary said, his eyes widening as he inclined his head to glance down at her face. "You want to buy me some clothes?" He asked, pointing at himself. He seemed genuinely surprised.

"Is it so shocking that I want to buy you something?" Camilla said, pouting. "You can simply take it as a girl buying a present for the guy he likes. It's as simple as that."

"Oh," Zachary said, caressing his beard and seeming defeated by the statement.

Camilla couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. It was priceless. It seemed like he was searching for the right words for the situation.

"Why are you laughing?" Zachary asked, cocking his head to look into her eyes.

"I'm just happy, Zachary," she replied, holding his gaze. "I'm happy to be in your company. So, can we first head to City Syd to do some shopping? Don't worry. We'll be lightning-fast—faster than a Rosenborg counterattack."

He chuckled at that. "How can I say no to some free designer clothes? Let's go." He led her to his R8 GT parked a short distance away.

Half an hour later, they were walking into a big clothing store in City Syd. Camilla wasted no time picking a few designer jeans, t-shirts, caps, and sneakers for Zachary. She insisted on him trying them on first so that the two of them could assess whether they looked good on him. Naturally, she also wanted to get to admire him in designer clothes.

Zachary accepted begrudgingly and tried on a few outfits. God! He looked even more dashing in jeans and t-shirts. With his 6'4 physique, he could practically work as a model for any famous clothing brand.

"I can now say that you really look nice," Camilla commented after he'd tried on the fourth set of clothing. "You should wear jeans more often. They suit you better."

"Thank you." Zachary laughed, admiring himself in the mirror. "So, Miss Sponsor," he said with a bit of humor, turning towards her. "Are we going to purchase all these? Isn't it a bit much?" He pointed at the heap of clothes on the cashier's desk.

"Why are you worried?" Camilla asked, pouting. "I'm the one buying this time around. Have you seen me complaining when you take me out for expensive dinners?"

"Oh, then thanks, I guess," he said, smiling at her.

"You're welcome." Camilla returned his smile. "You look good in those clothes. They are much better than your tracksuits. Let me pay, and we can then go for dinner."

She went ahead and swiped her card at the cashier's, spending slightly over 120,000 NOK on the clothes and shoes. But she didn't flinch since that amount of money wasn't an issue for her. Instead, she relished the feeling of finally having done something for Zachary. As an accomplished woman, she didn't like the feeling of being pampered by him without giving anything substantial in return.

'Maybe, he'll think of me whenever he wears those clothes,' she thought as she turned around after making the payment. 'It's a good investment.'

**** ****