Someone came out and opened the door, offering us both a hand as we climbed out of the limo. The shop was completely empty when we walked inside. Every attendant was ready and waiting for us to begin. A young man walked up and nodded in greeting.
“Good morning, Mr. Monroe.” He turned to me. “Miss Poplawski.”
I started a bit at the use of my name.
“My name is Ryan. I’ll be your personal shopper while you’re here in our store.”
I almost took a step back. I’d heard of such things, but those were for rich people, not someone like me. I was a country girl from Poland, not a rich upper east-sider like they were used to.
I tried to go along with it at first, but none of the clothes even appeared remotely comfortable. Most of the styles were too professional in nature, and I couldn’t bring myself to pick any of them.
Eventually, James called it and took me to another store and when I felt the same thing at that one, he took me to another. I recognized almost none of the brand names. I’d never been much into fashion. As a last resort, he took me to Bloomingdale’s, but all the expensive price tags made me supremely uncomfortable.
A simple summer dress shouldn’t cost a mortgage payment.
Having grown up with my mother, life was simple. Even though my father was wealthy, he only afforded us a small allowance each month. It didn’t allow for much more than housing and food. Most of my closet was made up of things from the local thrift store. I wasn’t used to anything fancy like this.
To make things worse, my need had never faded away like I’d expected it to. It kept pulsing, a dull painful ache that refused to quell and that made me increasingly agitated.
When we settled back into the limo, James pulled me into his lap.
“If you could shop anywhere in the world, Kasia, where would you go? Where can I take you that would make you happy?” he asked, his voice an endless center of patience, which just frustrated me a bit more.
“Everything costs so much. Maybe just a Walmart or a Target, I guess,” I offered a bit sullenly.
“If that’s what you want, angel, I’ll take you there,” he smiled. With incredible gentleness, he kissed my forehead. “I only wanted to spoil you, not make you uncomfortable.”
“I know,” I sighed. He lifted my chin and pressed his lips to mine in a sweet kiss.
“Thank you for being honest with me, Kasia,” he added when he pulled away only just far enough to give the driver our next destination. His one arm stayed securely around my shoulders through the rest of the ride. We drove outside the city into a smaller suburb, eventually pulling up in front of a Marshalls. After parking the car right in front of the entrance, the driver opened our door.
The two of us walked into the store together and I tried not to notice all the female shoppers staring at the handsome man walking through the store in a suit. Sparks of jealousy jetted through me, and I couldn’t stop myself from giving them several glaring looks. I had no claim on him, but a part of him felt like mine anyway.
If he noticed, he said nothing. He didn’t glance at a single one of them, even when a woman with long blonde hair and big tits made a show of prancing along the aisle toward him. Instead, he just turned and wrapped his hand around mine, pulling me toward him so that he could kiss my cheek.
The woman segued down the Tupperware aisle and I had to stifle a chuckle. There were a few more encounters like that, but he chose me each and every time.
When we reached the ladies’ section, I finally breathed easy. This place felt more like me.
I didn’t have expensive tastes and thinking about wearing outfits that cost more than a thousand dollars had felt both intimidating and suffocating at the same time. Having a personal shopper felt weird and being brought different clothing while I stood there stupidly gawking at the price tag was even worse.
“Pick out anything you like, angel. Make sure it’s enough to last you a long while.”
I chewed my lip, looking around and not really knowing where to start. I wasn’t used to taking gifts from anyone either. His fingers wound around my hip.
“That’s an order, sweetheart.”
I shivered, not needing him to say anything further. For some reason, it also made every last bit of my uneasiness fade away. I blushed a little, looking down at the floor before I glanced around. There was a large collection of yoga pants, jeans, and several soft-looking sweaters for the coming chilly weather as well as a few pretty dresses. His eyes lingered on those, and I picked out a blue one first.
I started to shop in earnest and before long, James had somehow procured a cart. When it was mostly full, he pressed his hand lightly against my lower back.
“Would you like to try some of these on?” he asked.
“Yeah. I think so,” I smiled.
“I just want you to feel comfortable here, angel. I want you to think of my home as yours,” he offered.
I smiled in return, but it felt a bit forced. When he talked like that, it made it clear that he didn’t really have any intention of letting me go back to Poland anytime soon.