AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rane sat beside her and pulled up his combot. “So, I’ve been looking around, and I think I found a store that will have clothing more suited to your body type. It’s on Holotulle, the Coalition ringworld, but the delivery from there is fast, and it looks comfortable. Tell me what you think.”
Sandy scooted in closer to get a better look at the holo screen, surprising him. But he didn’t mind. He found himself staring at her as she perused his choices.
“They’re all white and tan and brown,” she said, something strange in her voice.
“Is that a problem?” He cocked his head curiously. Her expression was guarded.
She hesitated to answer him. But he recognized that look in her eyes. It was the same restrained longing he had seen when she’d been about to confess to wanting her hair cut.
“What would your grandmother say?” He asked, making her start in surprise.
She turned to him, eyes wide. Then, she beamed. “She’d tell me to stop dressing like I’m geriatric and dress the way I want.”
“So, what do you want to wear?”
She smiled, biting her lip mischievously, then began tapping at the screen. Getting away from the clothes he had picked for her. She began looking for colorful things. Bright pastels and vibrant neons, glitter and sparkles and ribbons and bows. The style was certainly feminine, but the colors were completely masculine, and the combination was interesting.
He didn’t know much about humans and what they considered fashionable. What he did know was that nothing she was picking was considered proper for a telfay female. But he adored seeing her enthusiasm, watching her ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over everything.
“Why is it all so expensive?” She asked, frowning at the prices. “Is it because they have to be delivered from so far away?”
“No. These are designer brands.”
She shook her head. “I don’t need designer brands. Can we look at something cheaper?”
Rane frowned. The cost shouldn’t even be something she needed to worry about. He knew he had enough credz to afford a full wardrobe of designer brands if she wanted them. But the spending cap hampered his ability to provide something so basic for her.
But she didn’t seem to mind at all when they began shopping for more affordable clothing. And at least this way, she was able to buy more at once. But it made him itch, crest lowered in shame, that he couldn’t give her those things.
Still, she looked so happy as she shopped, and that was enough for him.
He was so focused on her, he wasn’t paying attention to all the things she was picking.
It was the flash of bright pink out of the corner of his eye that caught his attention. He looked at the screen and the things just to the side that she had already added to her purchase list. All of them were bright, masculine colors.
Though, considering Sandy was human, that wasn’t exactly right. He supposed it would be more accurate to just describe them as bright. Pinks and purples and yellows – white being used to soften the harshness of the tones, but not a brown or beige anything in sight.
“This is what you want?” He asked, keeping his tone neutral.
“Yes,” Sandy smiled, adding a pair of pink, glittering shoes to her list. “I used to wear bright stuff when I was a kid, but I went through an artsy emo phase in high school and so I stopped. And then to save money in college, I began thrifting and those were all older style clothes. And then, when I came back home, it was just easier to share clothes with my grandma. We were the same size in everything, so it was easier to buy one thing for both of us. Which meant that my entire wardrobe was catered to an older woman. It drove her crazy. I think she’d like me going wild with the colors now.”
“And the fact that my mother won’t approve is a side benefit?”
Sandy beamed, adding a bright teal shirt to the list. “You know, I hadn’t actually thought about her reaction. Who cares what she thinks?”
Rane couldn’t help but smile, scooting in closer, putting his arm around her shoulder. “Are you going to tell me that your general chaos and mild mayhem wasn’t for her benefit?”
“Her detriment, you mean?” She leaned into his chest, surprising him. “And that’s different. Destroying the things she likes isn’t the same as buying things that I like. One is about her; the other is about me. Do you not like the colors?”
Truly, Rane wasn’t sure. Perhaps others would find it silly but looks and presentation were important to the telfay. Females mated based on sight, so it was important for males to be seen the right way. The separation of colors was also ingrained into their culture.
But Sandy wasn’t telfay. Even if the gendering of colors wasn’t as important to her as them, they still did it, just in different ways. The things she was picking didn’t seem all that fashionable to him, but maybe he was just judging from the standpoint of what a telfay female would wear. So, he couldn’t really make a judgement on her choices.
However, what he could say was that she looked so excited, so eager as she checked over her selection one more time. He honestly didn’t care what she picked at that moment. He might not be able to buy her all the things he wanted, but he could certainly support her buying whatever she wanted.
“Hard to say,” he hummed thoughtfully. “I supposed you’ll just have to model them for me when they get here so I can give you a proper opinion.”
She laughed as he went to purchase the items. She hadn’t fully hit his spending cap for the day, but he knew better than to think she’d want nothing else. They would do this again tomorrow. And the day after that. Every day, until he was satisfied she had enough to wear.
