I peek out from between my fingers. “Really?”
“Really.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Istare at the laptop screen, frowning as I scroll through a selection of black clothing on the site Ada recommended.
Clicking into the listing for a pair of dark jeans that fit the much smaller model like a glove, my frown deepens. There’s no way they’d fit me, right? I check the sizing, but it’s not helpful because I’ve never measured the circumference of my waist or inseam. In the dream realm, clothes manifested when I thought about what I needed. Or they did until I ended up stuck with variations on the outfits from Ada’s nightmares.
“Am I too big?”
Ada looks up from where she’s petting Henry on the other end of the couch. “No, I like how big you are,” she says, cheeks growing pink.
The way she says it makes me think she meant how big my cock is. Something hot coils low in my stomach. “That’s good to know. But I meant will any of these sizes fit me?”
“Oh! Crap, maybe not. I didn’t think to check if they had big and tall clothing. I just, uh, went to a site where I thought there’d be clothes you’d look good in.” Her flush deepens. “I’ve always had a bit of a thing for the bad boy look.”
My lips quirk as I think about the outfit I wore nine times out of ten in her recent dreams. “Shocking.”
“You don’t have to wear that if you don’t like it!” she sputters. “I can find you something else if you have a specific style you’d like. What did you wear before?”
I take a moment to consider the question. When I was at my home in the dream realm, I never thought much about what I was wearing until my physical form got stuck in this nightmarish form.
“Honestly, I was nude a lot of the time,” I say with a shrug.
Ada’s eyes scan down my body, settling on my crotch for a second before popping back up to my face. “I mean, if that’s what you’re used to, I wouldn’t mind…” She clears her throat. “But, uh, probably best to get you clothes in case you get cold or need to leave the house.”
Her flustered reaction has my chest expanding with warmth. It’s nice to know that Ada enjoys this form now that I’m not tormenting her in her dreams. A little shocking, considering how bad I wanted to be anything other than this, but nice.
“I trust your judgement on the matter. And your taste in clothes.”
She smiles and nods, taking the laptop from me for a moment to navigate to a different website, and after examining their sizing, figures out what I should get.
When I go to check out, however, the cost makes me pause.
I’ve never had to worry about money before. I justified using Ada’s money before because it was to purchase things to make her happy, but taking it from her for myself when she’s already being so kind seems like a step too far.
“I don’t have any money,” I say.
Ada frowns, looking up from her phone where she’s beeninvestigating potential virtual therapist options. “I didn’t think you did.”
“I can’t buy these clothes.”
Her frown deepens. I hate making her unhappy even for a moment. Is she upset that I don’t have anything of value to contribute to her life? That I won’t be able to pull my weight if I stay with her?
“I’ll get them for you, don’t worry,” Ada says, patting my arm.
It’s too generous. “I’ll find a way to repay you.”
She snorts, shaking her head at me. “Dude, you saved my life. You don’t owe me anything.”
“But…” I swallow hard, as the reality that I have nothing to offer Ada comes into sharp relief as I continue to stare at the total on the screen.
Before I can register what she’s doing, Ada grabs the laptop out of my hands and clicks the order button before I can stop her.
“There. Now you have all the essentials.”
