Something truly unfortunate that I have learned today is that the magical scent thing between Liz and I does not hamper embarrassment in the slightest. It was much easier to be around Liz when she was putting on a neutral front. I didn’t like that she was doing it, but at least I didn’t have to experience how seeing her in a good mood made my chest flutter. 

Liz was driving us to the big box store I gave her directions towards with the morning sun shining on her face, which only served to highlight her gorgeous bronzed skin. The shine of her eyes, much more lively than before, made my heart skip a beat. The subtle differences that a warm smile made on her were mind boggling. 

Overall, Liz was somehow even more appealing than before. I already thought she was really attractive, but now she was downright breathtaking. I struggled to form any thoughts, each breath reinvigorating my desire to get lost in her eyes and draw her closer. A flick of my eyes to her soft lips made me wonder what they would feel like against-

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Oh my gosh Sam, get yourself together! Let’s not pretend like we didn’t already imagine Liz in an entirely compromising position earlier, but she is in the same vehicle right now. I already feel embarrassed enough that it happened, and I absolutely do not need to add fuel to that fire while she is right here next to me. 

I would feel really scared of how easily I can lapse into thoughts like that if I didn’t already know that they were real. Mind altering magical scents are a big terrifying thing in principle. Right now, one might think that I was being manipulated into thinking those things by it. I know that isn’t true since I’ve always had a dirty mind. Liz is amazing, and there is no way I wouldn’t have intrusive thoughts about her with or without that magic. 

Putting some thought into it now that I’ve had a little bit of time for things to settle in, my running theory is that it amplifies positive emotions. I don’t think it amplifies emotions in general, because when Liz was upset earlier it wasn’t some explosion of rampant anger. I think her concerns were fairly justified. Maybe a little misguided in blaming herself for everything, but I could see the reason behind it. 

No, the only things that I have felt affected have been positive feelings and emotions. Comfort, warmth, um… lust. Things like that have been the most clearly affected. They haven’t been fabricated, only enhanced. In a way, that helps a lot with coming to terms with it. I was already okay with it, but knowing more about it eases the mind nonetheless.

During this entire time, Liz has been diligently keeping her eyes on the road. Not even a glance spared in my direction, without counting when she needed to look at the passenger side mirror. She wasn’t ignoring me or anything, only driving in companionable silence. The whole way there, she wore a mellow smile that stuck around.

It only took about fifteen minutes for us to pull into the parking lot of the store we were aiming for. A brief search for an empty spot later and we were ready to head inside. We didn’t really say much, but walking side-by-side with her into the store was still exciting in its own way. Continuing the trend of apparent domestic normalcy with a werewolf I have a crush on. No biggie. 

The big box store that I picked out for us had everything that I could think we needed for the most part. We needed groceries, clothes that fit me, and a couple other odds and ends that Liz and I were going to need. 

Both of us grabbed a cart on the way in the door and started making our rounds. First stop was clothing. I desperately needed some undergarments for starters. The tight t-shirt was doing an alright job at holding my boobs in place, but it wasn’t very comfortable against the bare skin. Too much friction. That and underwear were pretty uncomfortable with the extra material in the front.

I would like to think I did an excellent job of only blushing a little bit as I put a couple packs of neutral color panties and sports bras in a couple different sizes to test into my cart. I would also like to not think about Liz looking at my underwear. I don’t dare even see what kind of expression she has right now. It won’t be good for my mental well-being no matter what it is. 

Next was some undershirts, which was easy enough. A handful of colors all in the same cut. The material was comfortable enough and, like the sports bras, were a size or two larger than I used to wear to accommodate the extra mass.

I gave some thought to also looking at shoes, but the sneakers that Delilah gave me fit great. I don’t really need more than the one pair for right now. Definitely later I can experiment, but I already have enough to worry about right now as it is.

Then came sweaters. With fall weather around, these were easy to find a variety of. I was reminded of Delilah, looking at all the different types of clothes. She could give any clothing store a run for their money. 

Since I actually got to try these on, size wasn’t as much guesswork. I picked a couple big puffy sweaters that caught my eye and we headed to the changing rooms and waited for the attendant to let us in. 

Changing from my hoodie into each of the sweaters in turn was kinda fun. They didn’t really go with my sweat pants, but a good pair of jeans would work nicely with a good few of them. Those were next up anyway. Maybe I should have done both at once so I could see them together? It doesn’t make too much difference. An interior designer has to have excellent visualization skills, and I make good use of them outside of my profession.

Sweaters, jeans, and even some colorful socks came together into functional outfits in my head. Motivation drove me through the rest of the process, coming to and from the changing room with some different options, and it was done before I knew it. I wore a smile the entire time and shared some of the outfits I liked best with Liz. She paid some small compliments towards each one I showed her. She didn’t have much to say, but she seemed to be enjoying this in some small part along with me.

Coming to the end of my shopping spree, my eyes caught something interesting. Sweater dresses? Hold on, I think I might need to go back to the drawing board. My scope has been too narrow.

“Is everything okay Sam?” Liz asks, surely regarding the gears spinning madly in my head showing on my face.

“Dresses… but also sweaters…” I mumbled, somewhat in response to Liz and somewhat just letting my thoughts bleed out into the world. 

Liz looked down my line of sight and chuckled. “Yes, yes they are. Were you wanting to try some of those on as well?” 

“Can I…?” I wondered aloud. Trying on sweaters was no big deal in a public place, but sweater dresses in public? I think that might still be a little scary. Even with no evidence remaining of my AMAB body, that fear still runs pretty deep.

“Well…” Liz started, “I don’t see why not. If you want to wear a dress, then you can wear a dress. You don’t have to, but it looks like you really want to. I think it would look really nice on you…” Trailing off, Liz let the words hang in the air.

She thinks it would look nice on me…? 

Never let it be said that I can’t succumb to peer pressure. Really though, I don’t mind getting the shove I need in the form of my crush saying I would look nice in something. That’s almost like saying she wants to see me wearing it. That’s practically like saying that she likes me. Or maybe not that far, but whatever the case may be it got me over the hesitation to do something that I wanted to do anyway.

Without any further discussion, I perused the options that I had to work with. Fall colors are big right now of course, so there are plenty of options in greens, browns, oranges, and such. I had already picked out a few things I liked for regular sweaters, so the process was simplified here. A green here, a tan there, and a classic blue for good measure. Orange doesn’t really appeal to me as much, so I pass on any of those.

Back to the changing room, where the attendant greets us again with a smile. Of course the moment that I get the door shut behind me my hoodie practically flies off over my head. In its place is the first of the three sweater dresses I picked out. I immediately love it, and can’t contain my excitement.

Opening the door, I smile up at Liz and declare, “This is amazing! Some nice leggings to go with it and it all comes together! What do you think?” I give her my best twirl, doing a full turn and coming to a stop looking up into her eyes.

“Very cute.” Liz responds with a smile full of mirth. “And even better, you seem to like it a lot.”

She called me cute. 

Never have I experienced going from full blown giddiness to violently blushing so quickly in my life. I was still really happy, but now I was also very blushy. I couldn’t quite put together enough brain power to do much more than stare into Liz’s eyes dumbstruck.

A giggle from the side drew both of our attention to the attendant who had been watching this go down. “You two are adorable together.”

And now, never have I felt such public embarrassment that also made happy little flutters in my chest. Liz even seemed flustered, shocked out of her more passive enjoyment. She blushed, though not as hard as me, and directed her eyes anywhere but at me or the attendant. This of course only drew another giggle from the girl and she turned back around to organize some clothing that was on her workstation. 

“I uh… I’ll go ahead and finish up here.” I blathered on my way back into the changing room.

“I’ll be out here.” Liz declared, certainly not as calm as she makes herself sound.

Quickly trying on the other clothes I brought in with me, I decided that I really liked all but one of them that had a neckline that was a little lower than what was good for my poor heart. I hung that one on the hook that indicated it would be going back to the shelf, and gathered the others to put in the cart. 

I scampered out of the changing room and thanked the attendant before going off with Liz following behind me with the other cart. Before I left the clothing area, I grabbed a few pairs of leggings in a few different colors that should fit. 

The rest of the shopping went by much more quickly. I brought us over to the home furnishing department and tried to get Liz to pick out a mattress that she would like. My intent was to finally put some furnishings in the guest room so that Liz could have a space to herself. It was something I’ve been putting off doing but needed to do anyway.

Liz started to argue that she didn’t mind her current accommodations and that I shouldn’t go out of my way on her account. I rebutted with my need to do something with that room, but Liz changed tactics. She started insisting that she should pay for it since she would be the one using it. I wasn’t going to let her start trying to pay for things out of obligation though, so I hit her with my ace in the hole by telling her that since I got a magical transition a sizable portion of my savings was now freed up from being put back for treatment and this was how I wanted it to be used. 

Having won our short verbal spar and had Liz forfeit, I was able to have her pick out a mattress, a collapsible frame, a nightstand, and a lamp. She insisted that she wouldn’t need anything else since she doesn’t have much with her. We compromised by also getting a shelf that should prove helpful in organizing herself if she so wishes. 

Next was a quick stop to get some makeup, going with the plan that Delilah recommended. I didn’t have any at the moment, so I had to get something. I just went with the store brand. So long as it looked fine, I didn’t really care about the quality. If I could apparently regrow a severed limb, a subpar cosmetic wouldn’t cause me any harm.

Finally was the quick gathering of groceries. I picked up some chicken, beef, noodles, veggies, and other ingredients that I could use for meals over the next two days or so. Factoring in the increased caloric intake requirements of both myself and Liz meant that the shopping was quite a bit more than I usually would for a couple days’ worth of food.

Our carts full and our list empty, we made our way to the checkout where Liz paid for the food as she had gotten me to agree to earlier and I paid for everything else. The total was a little scary, but I was serious in that I had a good chunk of savings that didn’t have to be put aside for gender affirming care anymore so it was alright.

Though the carts were pretty full, loading everything into the car wasn’t much of an ordeal. The boxes that the ready to assemble furniture came in were pretty light and I had plenty of room when I put the back row of seats down for everything. The memory foam mattress seemed to be the heaviest of the bunch, but Liz didn’t show any sign of strain as she easily lifted the box and deftly put it in place around the others.

Putting our now empty carts into corrals, we hop into the car. Not before I forget Liz is the one who has to drive though. That is rather annoying. I realize that I probably won’t get my stuff back until tomorrow when I meet everyone at the office, so Liz will also have to drive me to work tomorrow. While somewhat demeaning to have to get driven to work in my own car, I would be more worried about someone seeing Liz drop me off.

Actually, that brings a question to mind that I voice to Liz as we are pulling out of the parking lot. “Hey Liz, what are you going to be doing while I’m at work during the week?”

Liz puts on a thoughtful expression, though doesn’t respond until we turn out onto the main street. “Until I get more familiar with the threats in the area, I have to stay near you to be sure nothing unexpected happens.” She pauses almost long enough for me to ask a follow-up question, but before I can she adds, “I don’t have to be right next to you, just close enough to respond if the need arises.”

“How close is close?” I ask, worried that I might have to try to explain why I have to have Liz tagging along into my office or to a jobsite. 

“As close as possible. For work, I can be a little ways away outside whatever building you work in. Or-” She cuts herself off and squints in contemplation. “Where do you work anyway? What kind of job do you have?”

Oh right. I suppose that’s never come up before. “I work as a designer for a local home remodeling business. I have my own office, and the rest of the building isn’t that big if you don’t count the storage area where we keep materials for jobs.” 

Thinking a moment longer I add, “I also have to go out to meetings and consultations and such at jobsites for whatever we are working on at the time.”

Liz spends a few minutes thinking to herself. I might have asked what she does for a living if we weren’t talking about something important. Hopefully this whole thing hasn’t messed up her career.

“Okay,” Liz says to break the silence, “I think we can probably make that work. Are there any public places near the building you work in? A bench, a park, anything within a hundred feet or so?”

I nodded. “Yeah, there’s a diner across the street with some outside seating. I’m not sure how much longer the outside part will be open though with the weather getting colder.”

“Are there any other places?” Liz inquired.

Nothing came to mind, but there was probably something I hadn’t thought of or maybe didn’t know about. “I’m not sure. We could probably check it out with the streetview map online though.”

“Okay,” Liz affirmed, “That should be good enough for now. We can figure out the logistics later once we’ve had time to check out our options.”

Finished with that line of thought, we both kind of fell into a silence while we did some more thinking. There was a lot that we would have to figure out in the next few days, and a lot of it I had very little basis for. For the most part, I just had to trust that Liz knew what she was doing. Or maybe trust that Delilah and Damian trust that Liz knows what she’s doing? Whatever the case, there would be a lot of thinking going around. 

For now though, we had a very peaceful and contemplative car ride back home.

MegaSuperKami

The promised shopping trip happened! That was pretty fun. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but that was fairly mild with all things considered. Still a nice trip though.

I posted a little later than usual, but there is a dose of Sam and Liz nonetheless. Thank you for your patience!

Also, I am somewhat sad that I must part ways with such a nice word count. The story must go on, as they say.

Once again, thank you for reading and I hope you're having a plasidusical day!