A few minutes later. Fortunately, my date was done with her clothes, choosing to wear a combination I’ve seen her wearing once before. A black slash neck pullover and a red mini skirt that reached to the middle of her thighs, a black choker without any precious metals in it, was the last piece she had chosen. She decided to wear a pair of casual comfy shoes as well, just because, or so she said

“So, what style should I go with?” I decided to ask.

“Something casual,” answered the still half-naked girl.

“Sweatpants and hoodie?” I joked.

“Something a bit less casual…” she corrected herself.

While going back and forth like that, I decided on wearing a black fitted long sleeve muscle shirt with red highlights, black jeans and casual leather shoes, black as well. As a final touch, I chose an unassuming silver neck chain, black leather belt with a silver plaque, and a simple, yet stylish, silver watch piece with a black wristband as accessories.

With another appraising look, Olivia finally nodded with approval. Then her facial expression got a bit cloudy.

“Hey, honey, how about getting you some new threads as well?” my girlfriend asked out of the blue.

“Hm, you think I should?” I asked back, not caring one way or another.

“Um, well, while I think your current palette is fine, and certainly suits you, but…” Olivia paused, as if trying to find the right words. “But, it's Bella's colors, aren’t they?”

“For the most part, yeah,” I confirmed.

“So, like, I want to add some of my colors into the mix as well,” my girlfriend shyly told me.

Oh, that was quite unexpected, but, the more I thought about her words, the more logic I saw in them.

“Sure, I would love to see you bringing more colors into my life,” I responded with a smile.

***

Saturday evening, just past six. The weather was pleasantly warm, the sky was clear, and even the wind was calm. The streets were full of life. All kinds of people were walking around. Of every age, sex and walks of life. Alone, in pairs, in various groups. Some were taking a leisure stroll, some were hurrying somewhere or other, and some were just aimlessly wandering lost inside their own minds. Kids were playing on the playgrounds, their guardians sitting on the benches while talking about something in-between themselves.

And the two of us, Olivia and I, were currently leisurely strolling toward our destination, the local mall that was a few blocks away. The same one where we shopped on Tuesday. My girlfriend, motivating it as a ‘need to burn away some calories after eating too much pizza’, said that we should avoid getting a taxi. I decided to keep my comments back, even if gaining a bit of extra weight wouldn’t hurt her in any way. She was just joking anyway, and I had no reason to complain about taking a walk with a beauty either.

We were walking in relative silence, of a very comfortable type. I was, frankly, tired of all the talking that happened recently while Olivia was scrolling through her phone, doing whatever she was doing. In addition, we were currently mostly living together, so small talk topics were exhausted to a degree. There was a lot that each of us, no doubt, would love to ask the other person about, but the current relaxed mood definitely didn’t call for a serious discussion.

And just like that, we spend our time in peaceful quietness all the way to our destination.

***

I actually found myself enjoying our spontaneous date much more than I thought was possible.

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The window shopping part was a bit tiring, yes, but, once again, seeing the bright smile on Olivia’s face, as she enthusiastically dragged me from one display to another, was a total treat. My girlfriend kept gushing about one thing or another, sometimes even asking for my input, that was ignored right away, on which little useless things we should or shouldn’t totally buy. I put my foot down when my girlfriend mentioned the idea to purchase a two-meter-long stuffed crocodile, which would perfectly match the color of those new violet curtains. I was almost, yes almost, sure Olivia was just testing whether I was still listening to what she was talking about or not. But the chance of it being serious couldn’t be ignored either.

An hour or so into our date, we finally wandered our way to a men’s clothing section. And that’s where the true battle started. Quick to follow on her decision on making an addition to my color scheme, Olivia made me try on an endless stream of different clothes. Brands, styles, and colors went by in an endless kaleidoscope of fashion hell, as my girlfriend made me pose for her amusement. I was almost certain that the only reason the ordeal finally came to an end, was the fact that shop assistant ladies started to hit on me more and more.

“These hussies,” Olivia hissed. “Can’t they see that you are already taken?”

“What can I say? I’m fabulous.” To make the effect of my words even better, I struck a pose from a comic I’ve seen somewhere at some point.

“Ugh, it’s really hard to argue with this statement,” my girlfriend lamented while massaging her temples.

Leaving that fiasco behind, our way led us to a food court area, as Olivia aptly put it, to eat the stress away. My girlfriend chose her favorite burger chain, and I followed, since it was all the same to me. The fast food tasted exactly like fast food, nothing spectacular, but I was pretty hungry by now, so it was fine. Though, ice cream was great, I must admit.

After our dinner, with milk shakes in hand, we decided to check out the movie theater. That’s where the existential dread crashed upon my poor mind. The two movies, well, one and a third of the second to be precise, that we watched today, were a part of a movie series. With the fifth being just released on the big screen… One glance toward Olivia told me everything I feared to hear.

“Over my cold corpse,” I was resolute.

“I will invite Claire to finish the rest of the four together, and then all three of us can go and watch this one,” my girlfriend parried with an enticement.

“Ugh, that’s… unfair,” I complained.

“Life isn’t fair, honey,” she smirked, completely certain in her victory.

Our gazes clashed in a battle of wills, each trying to overpower the opponent. A moment later, we both started laughing. Following our moment of levity, we finished checking if there was anything else that was worth watching.

Our aimless wanderings led us to the next section. Makeup. Though, I immediately stopped Olivia before she could rush in.

“Talk to Bella about the brands she uses. I still think that you are more than pretty enough without wearing any, but if you insist on using it anyway, stop harming your skin by using subpar products,” I told her in no uncertain terms. A short contemplation later, my girlfriend reluctantly agreed.

And then the moment I was quite looking forward to finally came. The women's underwear section. A place embodying so many desperate males fantasies, and the place that invokes the feeling of dread in the old couple’s uglier halves.

As usual, it was somewhat crowded, hosting a wide array of customers and their companions. Flustered young couples. Single and married women alike, routinely buying the comfy undies for everyday use. Sketchy looking creeps that were trying to look casual. Bored husbands sitting on benches and waiting for their spouses to finish the shopping, praying for this torture to finish faster.

With a smile on her face, and the sparks of mischief inside her eyes, Olivia led us inside one of the shops, dragging me along, with deliberate slowness choosing thoroughly every piece, even asking me for advice. Ah, how naive of her, indeed.

I wasn’t feeling awkward being here, nor I was shy about telling her my judgment on what would and what wouldn’t fit her better. I even picked a few, of a somewhat risky kind, pieces that I would like to see her wearing. Quickly understanding that her cute ploy was doomed to failure, Olivia abandoned it and just went with the flow.

Completing her selection, my girlfriend left for the changing rooms, which I refused to follow her into. And I found myself in need to waste a few minutes. By a strange coincidence, I noticed an advertisement post on the wall that reminded me about one thing that I completely forgot. I checked the time on my phone and, after doing a quick mental math, sent a message to Olivia.

Me: [hey, I need to use a bathroom]

Me: [be right back]

Me: [if anything, just wait for me here]

A moment later I got a message back. Ugh, my girlfriend started to act like Bella more and more.

Olivia: [Sure.]

To the one-word message, she attached a selfie of her wearing one of the risky pieces that I chose for her. Vixen.