WELL, SHOPPING USED TO BE FUN... (TAG: MANDY)

[mooshi]

Rodney didn’t know what he was getting into. He really didn’t. When he had agreed to going shopping with Mandy, he had expected them to maybe go into a store here and there, but that wasn’t the case at all. Mandy had to go into every single store, even the stores that she knew probably wouldn’t have anything in them that seemed to interest her. It wouldn’t have been too bad if she hadn’t decided to hit up the mall. It would have been different if they just drove around in Rodney’s car and decided on a few stores, but oh no, Mandy had to go EVERYWHERE. The mall in LA was huge and had too many stores to even count. They were definitely going to be there awhile. It had already been an hour and it seemed like they had really just started. But Mandy seemed to be going down the line of stores. He wondered if Men’s Footlocker would be the first store she would skip. He also wondered if they should make a trip back to his car. He already had a few bags draped over his arms. It wasn’t that they were heavy, and he couldn’t handle it. It was just that he could see himself trying to weave his way in and out of the clothing racks when the bags did start to accumulate. Guaranteed he’d be knocking clothes over everywhere.

“So, do you have a boyfriend you want to buy shoes for? I need a new pair myself, so we should totally stop in the Men’s Footlocker too.” After her told her that he immediately regretted it. It wasn’t like she would remember him actually telling her that once they got to the store. It wasn’t for another five stores down. He’d just have to remind her once they got to it. “Oh, and I’m thinking a break to eat something would be good. Do you even take breaks? You are like the energizer bunny, just with shopping instead of big cymbals.” He smirked.

[mandy]

Mandy had to admit, she was pleasantly happy she convinced Rodney to come shopping with her, he was incredibly kind and understanding when she was trying on about seven colors of the same outfit. She was also happy because he was carrying all her bags, it was just amazingly nice shopping with him. Most guys would seem a bit annoyed by going into at least four stores, Mandy and Rodney only hit six stores in the last hour. Mandy was a bit worried Rodney would hit is boiling point at store number four but Rodney was as cheerful as when they started. Though Mandy wasn’t to phased by it though, she was a bit too occupied with her shopping and all her new clothes. But she did notice poor Rodney was struggling not by the weight of her bags, but more like the amount of bags she had. She then heard Rodney say something about boyfriend and footlocker, and something about needing a pair. She wasn’t completely sure what he said but she could put what he meant together. “Oh No, I don’t have a boyfriend. Not many guys can handle this much shopping it seems”. Mandy turned around and smiled at him, catching a glimpse of his face behind all her things he was carrying.

Rodney was too kind for words and Mandy heard him say something about taking a break. She thought it was probably for the good. He deserved one after his hard labor of the day. She then smiled at him and answered him. “Oh yes, we can certainly go take a break, we can go to the Mac, I feel like a bad girl today, so totally going to ruin my diet with a big Mac. Maybe I should help guide you there”. Mandy grabbed, well the little hand he had left over and helped guide him towards the nearest MacDonald’s. It seemed she was pulling him all over the place today though.

She suddenly remembered what he said earlier, like usual, some things just slip her mind and she forgot to make mention it. “And when we are done, maybe we can take some of these bags to your car and then get you those new shoes you wanted to get yourself at the footlocker. Right after shopping my next favorite activity is to help someone buy something. Sounds like a plan?” Mandy smiled at Rodney, she felt he needed to buy himself something as well; he’s been nothing but a great gentleman with her since they arrived at the mall. She might as well give him a few minutes to buy himself something, as long as he knew there was a bit more shopping to do for her as well.

[mooshi]

Rodney chuckled when Mandy explained to him that not many guys could handle shopping with her hence the reason she didn’t have a boyfriend. To him, that didn’t make any sense. Why would a guy not date her because of this? It was just who she was. She liked to shop, just like Rodney liked cars and reading. It was just what she preferred to do with her time. And for someone who was completely rich, that really wasn’t a horrible thing. “Nah, it’s not so bad. Just a bit time consuming.” Which was true. But what else would he be doing? Homework? It was nice to get out and do something different for once. He was happy though when she took what he said about relaxing for a few into consideration. And MacDonald’s sounded great to him. He wasn’t a big fast food eater either, but eating fast food really wasn’t a problem for him anyways because he exercised so much. But he could definitely understand where Mandy was coming from.

“Yep, guiding would be a good thing,” Rodney said as he almost toppled over from walking right into a rack of clothing. Luckily Mandy had grabbed his hand and was leading him out of the store and into the main walkway. As they headed towards the MacDonald’s in the mall, she finally spoke up about the store he wanted to go to. For a moment there, he thought she would completely ignore his preference in shopping. He was wrong. She actually offered to help him pick a pair of shoes out. He smiled at her. He had always heard quite a lot of rumors about Mandy. It paid off not to listen to any of them. It was nice to get to know someone and just find out for yourself who they really were. And as much as shopping with her wasn’t going the way he was hoping, he was still enjoying the time he was having with her. “Good, I could use some help,” he said as they found a spot in the food court. He dropped the bags next to a table and glanced over at her. She was still just as perky as she had been earlier in the day when he had accepted her offer to go shopping. “How about you stay here with the bags, and I’ll go get us some food.” He wanted to say something funny about the Big Mac, maybe the fact that it was high in sodium, fat, and was extremely greasy. But he decided against it. It would have only been a joke, but he wasn’t sure she’d take it seriously or not. Best to be safe than sorry. He turned and headed towards the MacDonald’s.

It didn’t take long for him to order the food and head back to the table. When he got back he sat down across from her setting the tray right in the middle of them. He thought this would be a great time to get to know each other. Back at school, she had assumed he was majoring in psychology, but she had cut him off before he could even correct her mistake. Now, they actually had time. “Physical education. I’m majoring in physical education by the way. Not psychology. Even though psych is pretty interesting.” He unwrapped his chicken Double Quarter Pounder and took a bite. “So, what are you majoring in? I bet you’d be great at Shopping if there was a major for that.” He laughed.

[mandy]

As they found themselves in McDonalds, Rodney set the bags next to a near table as he suggested that he was going to get their meal, she sat there, staring at Rodney, he seemed more comfortable standing in line, maybe Mandy didn’t pay much attention to him before, but he was a rather quiet guy. She never really met anyone like him, the most guys she met were always into themselves and wanted to leave once they were out of the first store but Rodney, was different, Mandy liked different, Mandy was abit out of it before noticing Rodney was already well on his way back, she started playing with her hair a bit, hoping he didn’t notice she was staring at him. He sat across her as he grabbed his meal as did she. Before Mandy could get a word in, surprisingly Rodney started the conversation, which Mandy found pleasant since she was doing more talking than needed. He corrected her and told her he was doing physical education, Mandy felt a bit silly for misunderstanding him then again, Mandy wasn’t the best listener out there.

“Really, Sorry for misunderstanding earlier. Well luckily you are not studying psychology, this little brain of mine could drive anyone a bit crazy. “Mandy opened up her big Mac, it looked so big, this was certainly going to ruin her diet. She’ll just jog a bit more when she gets home. “But physical education is really good to know; now I know where to go to when I want to work my butt into shape. I’m sure you must be a catch, I mean, you study about being in shape, you are in shape and you can work her into shape, girls must be all over you.” Mandy picked up her big Mac as she looked at it, wondering how she was going to get all of this in her mouth, either way, she went for it, here goes nothing she thought to herself. As she took a bite out of the burger, she couldn’t fit most of it in her mouth, as on the other end, lettuce and onions could be seen falling out of the sandwich as it dropped in her big Mac packaging she could help but laugh as she tries to chew what was in her mouth. She quickly picked up a napkin off of the tray and cleaned up the side of her mouth as she felt there might be a bit of mayo on the side after that huge bite she tried to take. Still laughing though, she couldn’t help; it was rather funny to see most of what was in her sandwich fall out on the other end.

She finally managed to get a bit of it down and able to speak again, still a bit in her laughter though. “Well, I just made an idiot of myself." She laughed as she continued her conversation "Well, I guess studying Fashion and design has a whole lot to do with shopping. So I’m studying that. Or well it’s what is expected of me from most my friends and my parents.” As she took a smaller bite this time from her sandwich, this time, it was a bit more civil than her first huge bite. “But secretly I’m doing finance and accounting on the side, I guess shopping goes better when you know numbers. But don’t tell anyone, it’s still a little secret to many” Mandy put her finger in front of her lips, implying that Rodney shouldn’t say anything to anyone about her studying that. “My parents still think they are paying Horse riding lessons, but their paying for those classes. And I can’t ride a horse to save my life”. Mandy took a sip of her drink as she smiled at Rodney, this was the first time she talked to anyone about this before, it felt good to finally tell someone, aside from her teachers, none of her friends or family knew anything.

Mandy then smiled at Rodney, continuing her conversation with him. “Many people don’t take me seriously so I like to prove them wrong for a change.” Mandy took another bite out of her sandwich as she smiled at Rodney, chewing and she thought, it was better she got to know him as well. He was kind enough to come shopping with her, she might as well wonder what makes this guy such a kind one. “So what about you Mr. Workout? Do you have a girlfriend? Or a special lady you just might be interested in? I bet a guy like you must be chasing off cute girls left and right. Now that I mention it, I’m a bit worried some crazed girl might tackle me to get closer to you. Won’t have any crazy exes coming to slap me right? I’m safe right?” Mandy joked, despite Rodney’s good looks, she figured he must be too kind to be a player, or he would have been like most those jerks who flirted with her constantly because, well they were guys.

[mooshi]

Rodney listened to her carefully. He was sort of getting it by now that Mandy had to be listened to like that. He had to make sure he caught everything she said. She talked so fast and jumped from one topic to the next so much that that was the only way that he could keep everything she was saying in order and not all jumbled. “Nah, it’s cool. If physical education doesn’t work, psychology is a possibility. Maybe I’ll be your psychiatrist someday, you know, if you become all crazy and what not.” Rodney thought it was so funny how much Mandy seemed to talk. Rodney had such a hard time talking and doing homework or talking and cooking dinner. Mandy was so multi tasked. She was talking but wasn’t even looking at him. She was so fixated on her Big Mac which was good because she wasn’t able to see his cheeks turn a bit red when she started talking about how fit he was and how girls were probably all over him. He hated when he blushed. Blushing was a girl thing, but Rodney always seemed to do it. And there it was again. People thinking that girls were all over him. Why was that? When Rodney looked back at Mandy, she picked the Big Mac up, bit into it, and its contents fell onto the packaging in front of her, all he could do was laugh. It was so funny who wouldn’t laugh. The Big Mac was clearly over stuffed and too big for her tiny body. That was what made it so hilarious. Such a tiny thing eating a Big Mac. He was still laughing when she wiped her mouth off. “Oh man, if I had a camera, I would so take a picture of you right now. And you are definitely not an idiot. You did something awesome. You made someone laugh for the day. How cool is that?” He gave her a smile as he took another bite of his sandwich.

As Mandy began to talk about her future plans and interests, he was starting to see that her parents didn’t really agree with some of the choices she wanted to make. It kind of irritated him that her parents weren’t open minded enough to let Mandy do what she wanted to do with her life. It was her life anyways, not theirs. But he couldn’t really say anything. He didn’t know her parents first hand, and it really wasn’t his place to be dissing them. He could put his two cents in though if it helped her. “Well, I think you should do whatever you enjoy doing regardless of whatever anyone else says. If finance and accounting is for you, then finance and accounting is for you.” He definitely wasn’t expected that as her major though. He was sure that it was the fashion and design that her parents were hoping that she went for.

When she told him that people didn’t take her seriously, he smiled. “That is just because they haven’t gotten to know you yet.” He was suddenly very glad he was getting to know her. Many of the things that he had heard about her lead up to people not taking her seriously. But Rodney was not one to believe those things until he actually saw them and experienced them for himself. And so far, none of what they had said were true. Except for the fact that she was very cute and perky. But those were a given.

Rodney grinned when she asked about his love life. “No, you aren’t going to have any crazed girls after you, trust me. No girlfriend for me.” He was debating on whether to mention Merry, but Merry and Rodney weren’t even together. He had no clue what they had. He wanted more, but she seemed to be completely content with him just being a friend. It was nice to be that for her, but he knew he was better than Connor if she would just give him a chance. It really sucked having a crush on someone and them not making it any easier for you. He decided that he wasn’t going to mention her unless Mandy pushed the issue. It was funny how he actually did want to talk about her. He was never one to talk about anything personal with anyone. “So what do you like to do for fun other than shopping? I know horseback riding is definitely not one of them.” He joked as he took another bite of his sandwich.

[mandy]

Rodney said he was single, which was nice, it seem every guy had some girl drama in their lives, which was annoying because Mandy usually enjoyed the company of guys, girls can be a bit bitchy to be blunt, or mean to her for no reason, just because she has a different outlook in life she assumed. Or because she had a tight body, hey she worked hard to keep in shape, there she was again, diverting a bit from what Rodney was saying to her but she did catch what he said and he wondered about her interest. Well the better question would be what wasn’t her interests. She was such a curious person at times, she had a whole lot of interests, but what she did on her free time, was a bit of everything.

“Well, I do a lot of jogging, it’s oddly very calming, maybe we should go together some time, I’m sure your knee could use some of that during your rehabi….rehabili…bleh…recovery process. Sorry couldn’t get that word down”. She laughed at herself. How did she forget rehabilitation, oh well, the damage is done. As she took another bite from her sandwich. She took another sip of her drink and continued to mingle with Rodney. “Aside from that, total socialite, I spend most weekends at my father’s business parties, my ancestors invented paperclips, isn’t that clever. So I go to parties, hang out with the guys, oh and I have such a bizarre weird obsession”

Mandy couldn’t keep in her laughter, she was about to tell Rodney one of the weirdest things she did, she didn’t know what it was about Rodney but she felt she could tell him anything, he was similar to her in some ways, she knew he was wealthy, well maybe that was the only thing bit it was something. “Okay this is so embarrassing, I’m like a huge fan of old music.” Mandy laughed again, covering her face, she really felt he was going to think she was weird. “And it all started when I was like twelve and I sneak into my dad’s study and play all his old records whenever he’s out of town. And it got so bad, once when I was fourteen” Mandy couldn’t help it but laugh again, it was a bit embarrassing to say the least. “I had a wig and bell bottoms and all on, and I spent like three hours in his study and my mom heard this racket in his study and walked in on me dressed in those horrible clothes and huge afro wig. It was soo hilarious, we laughed the rest of the night”

Mandy was still laughing it was one of those few moments she spent with her mom she enjoyed. But it was few though. “I know, I know, I’m weird, I don’t mind being weird, sometimes being different is like the best thing in the world” Mandy smiled at Rodney, for a change she felt rather smart, like she wasn’t this complete idiot everyone makes her out to be. “So what about you mister?” Mandy put her elbow on the table as she leaned her head against her hand, looking at Rodney acting all curious, in a cute way though. “What’s does the hotty who is single likes to do on his free time? Well aside from accompanying pretty girls on a shopping spree”

[mooshi]

Rodney listened as she went on to answer his question. When she suggested that they jog together sometime, Rodney thought that was an excellent idea. He hadn’t really been doing much exercise at all because he wasn’t allowed to on campus. Coach was being very strict with his rehabilitation. If Rodney set food in the weight room, anyone on the football team would tell coach and Rodney would be done for. Even the doctor had said Rodney was just using it to much and it had no time to heal, but Rodney didn’t understand that at all. Wasn’t the best way to fix something like that working with it? He didn’t care. Jogging would be a way for him to get away with some exercise. Not doing anything was KILLING him.

Rodney smirked when she couldn’t think of the word ‘rehabilitation’. But that wasn’t out of the ordinary at all. There had been times when he’d forgotten how to spell certain words completely. Words that he knew exactly how to spell and spelled them very often, but it had just slipped his mind at that moment. “Yes, it would definitely help out with my recovery process, no doubt.”

Rodney had to laugh aloud when she said that her ancestors invented paper clips. How random was that? No wonder why she was so rich. Those things were like the needed item in an office setting now adays. And even in a school setting. Hell, they could be used for anything now! “So, is that where you get all this money to buy clothes upon clothes?” He smiled at her, and he kind of wondered if she had a job. Although he wouldn’t say anything to her, he worked very hard for the money that he earned. He wondered if she did the same. He would never take money from his parents. It was just not something he’d be interested in doing. Once he got into high school, he stopped letting his parents buy things for him. He just felt more independent when they didn’t do things for him. Although the car on the other hand was different. He wanted that car so bad, and they surprised him with it. He would never tell them that he wanted them to take it back. No, he was in love with his baby.

When Rodney heard her say that she had an obsession, he was kind of intrigued. She was getting all excited about it too. She was smiling and covering her mouth. He thought it was so funny. It must have been something really out there. It took her a few seconds to contain herself before she explained it to him. And it really was funny. She was into oldies music which wasn’t even the half of it. She also liked to dress up in the style for back then. Now that was what made it so freakin’ funny. He couldn’t help himself from laughing aloud again. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed this much. Mandy was a real hoot. “Well, I bet you looked awesome in your big ass afro!”

Rodney took the moment between laughs to take another bite of his chicken sandwich and a sip of his soda. She continued on, and Rodney definitely agreed with her statement. “Nah, that isn’t weird. That’s what makes people unique. Being funny like that. Being different. I totally get where you are coming from there. Sometimes I wish I had like super powers or something. Like invincibility, or being able to read peoples’ minds. Maybe then I’d be able to be different.” He didn’t intend to sound down, but that was just how it came out. After high school, he really didn’t care what people thought of him, but now he was really starting to get irritated. Just because he was a so called ‘jock’ people assumed he was an ass hole to the ladies and a complete idiot. He was nothing like that. But not many people saw that difference, and when they did, they looked the other way just because he wasn’t what they were expecting. Rodney was sure Mandy probably felt the same way. He’d heard so many things about her before today, and although he wouldn’t have made those judgments until actually meeting her, it still sucked that they were there. Mandy was nothing like what anyone had said about her. She was different in an awesome way.

Rodney looked over at her as he was chewing. He realized she had asked him a question. He swallowed his food and thought about it for a second. “Well, I do a lot of reading and studying. I’m big into weight lifting. I do a lot of muscle toning. I really enjoy walks pretty much anywhere but that’s because I like scenery of any kind. Other than that I’m pretty open to anything really. Bored yet?” He smiled referring to how so un interesting his interests really were. But most of the time, he was really up for whatever. He didn’t really have many preferences. And most of the people he spent time with like his football team didn’t really like the same things he did, so he just went with the flow.

[mandy]

Mandy was happy he agreed that jogging would be good for him. One thing she did hate was going jogging alone sometimes. She didn’t scare easily but it was rather weird at times, you just didn’t know if she was being followed or not, and to have someone big and strong like Rodney next to her, she’d feel a tad bit safer. But she couldn’t help but smile the way Rodney reacted to her family inventing Paperclips, it was odd but they did, she also found it funny, but she assumed he’d find out since well, she didn’t know how he would but at least now he knew. He was right on the money though, which was a rather ironic way of seeing it but it was why she was rich. “Yeah, it is actually. Not that I ask for it, they just seem to think shopping is all I’m good at. Which is true I’m good at shopping but I’m good at bargaining and saving money, so don’t really need it either.” Mandy had to laugh at herself after saying that. It was crazy even to think that. “A rich girl who’s good at bargaining…that’s ….funny”.

“But I’m saving most of it, one day I’ll want to start out my own company like away from my parents and at least I’ll have start up money”. But what got Rodney laughing the most was her little embarrassing story, he really seem to be kind about it, he thought it was as funny as she thought it was, when most guys would think it was childish or dumb, Rodney on the other hand, seemed to have the same sense of humor she did. “Hey, I looked Foxy in the fro” As she laughed along with him. For the first time though, she finally got to hear Rodney speak his mind, about being different. Something she agreed with. But she liked he had such a child like imagination, she was similar like that sometimes but then he said something about if he was a certain way, he’d be different. Now Mandy certainly wasn’t going to have any of that kind of talk. “Now, Rodney, if you were just the tiniest different” Mandy made a small gesture with her finger and squinted her eyes a bit as she tilted her head sideways. “We might not be having the fun time we are now. I personally think you are awesome just the way you are…then again, I’m probably not the best person to judge after my little embarrassing story” Mandy laughed at herself, maybe she wasn’t one to judge, but she wouldn’t want a different Rodney for anything.

She managed to take a bite from her burger throughout all the fun and laughter they have been having. And there she sat, watching all curiously as Rodney was finally going to say a little something about himself, something she has been looking forward to, she’s basically been an open book so far, she finally gets to hear what Rodney had to say about himself. He spoke and it wasn’t like she didn’t see most of that coming some were pretty predictable with exception of a couple. “Okay, studying I get, I mean if I’m not shopping or with friends, I’m studying. Working out? I could clearly see you are into that”. No one could deny that, Rodney was in great shape and this was in his off season when he couldn’t work out regularly, the guy obviously had a great body but one thing did stand out to Mandy. “But reading? You become more and more interesting by the second Mr. Rodney, didn’t take you for a reader”. Mandy found it interesting, she wasn’t huge on reading but it was nice to find a guy who into reading, there is something about a guy who takes the time to read she guessed.

“I’m not one quick to pick a book and read, but it’s interesting when guys do it for some reason, since it’s such a rarity.” She laughed, she didn’t know how Rodney was going to feel towards that remark, and hopefully he takes it well, because it certainly was a compliment. “Are you kidding? I’m far from bored, we’ve been having a lot of laughs, if this was being with you bored…I would worry for a really good time, might literally laugh my butt off” Mandy giggled, she don’t think she could be bored with Rodney, he was great entertainment. He would listen whenever needed to and when he did speak, it was either something super smart or a really funny remark that would make her laugh. “You are a real catch mister; you are going to be a real trophy boyfriend for a girl someday. If a girl refuses to see that, I will personally slap them for you, because you are loads of awesomeness and a good laugh” Mandy laughed at herself, sometimes her remarks cracked herself up.

Mandy took another bite of her sandwich as she smiled at Rodney, hoping she didn’t make him feel too uncomfortable with her last remark. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that too him. Mandy had a bit of a habit of being a bit forward sometimes. She just wasn’t one to hold back she guessed. Sometimes some people had issues breaking the ice, she just brought the hammer a took a crack at it. “So how many more hours of shopping you think you can handle? I may be a slight addict, but I do keep compassion for those I tag along with on my shopping benders, it’s not like I this everyday, but when I do, I kind of go overboard”. She laughed, she was sounding like a crazy rich girl who loved shopping. “Plus we got to go get you something at foot locker and no idea how many I’m going to have you try on just so we find the perfect one, or just so I could see how all the ones I like look like on you”. Mandy had to laugh again, oh yes, she was a crazed shopper, no denying that.

[mooshi]

Well, it was good that she didn’t ask for the money that her parents gave her, but it was also very sad that she made it sound like the only thing they thought she was good at was shopping. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme with the things she had been saying. It seemed like her parents just didn’t care about who she was and cared more about the label that they wanted her to be. He really never had to worry about that. His parents were good with whatever he decided to do, although he did have to always live in the shadow of his brother which wasn’t fun at all. But he did try very hard to be someone he wasn’t to be as ‘cool’ as his brother was just to get the same acceptance from his parents as his brother did. But he decided not to even hit on that part of his life. He smiled when she mentioned bargaining. It was a funny concept. The idea that rich girls can bargain. Oh so many rich girls dug themselves so deep into a hole that they could never dig themselves out. It was nice to know that Mandy was not like that at all. She could actually manage her own money. It made him respect her even more.

When he spoke about being different, his intention was not to make her feel at all sorry for him. He didn’t need a pity party, which was at first what he thought he was getting from her. But it really wasn’t that at all. It was more of encouraging words. And when she said he was awesome just the way he was, it made him smile because it reminded him of the lyrics of the song by Bruno Mars which was one of the artists he couldn’t stand. “Well, you’re not too bad yourself.”

He laughed when she mentioned his hobbies. He could so see her saying something about him reading. “What? You can’t see me lying out under a tree reading some Edith Wharton?” He would be extremely surprised if she even knew who that was just because absolutely no one on this earth except for English Majors knew who she was. But just in case, he wanted to throw her out there. After all, people could surprise you. He shook his head with a grin as she complimented him and told him that she would slap any potential girlfriend that didn’t appreciate his awesomeness. It was good to know other people found him interesting. He still didn’t seem to think he was all that interesting.

After the small conversation that they had had, it seemed that she was moving on to more shopping which was fine because Rodney was getting sick of sitting. “Oh I can handle plenty more. Bring on the hours. As long as we take at least one break every two hours I’m good. Although It would be great to be able to carry everything without running into other clothing and making it hit the floor.” And then she mentioned the place where he had wanted to go which is something that he had told her about a half an hour ago in the last clothing store they had went in. He had even forgotten about that, and here he was thinking she wouldn’t remember. She actually came through. He smiled at her. “Okay I will try on as many as you want me too. Although I sort of just buy the first ones I try on.” He made a face. Yeah, he definitely had no savvy for what was hip or what looked cool. He just bought whatever he could find that fit him and looked half way decent.

Rodney only had a small portion of his sandwich left, and he really did want to get moving again. He was enjoying his time with Mandy, but the mall did close at 10, and he wasn’t exactly sure how long it was going to take for them to both finish up Mandy Shop Time. Rodney shoved the last piece of his chicken sandwich in his mouth and took one last sip of his Coke before sitting back in the chair and sighing with relief. That food had been very filling, and now he felt like he could explode. He was pretty sure he’d have to work off this sandwich as soon as they were done shopping. Maybe they could go for a run together after they did get done so he could break in his new shoes and also break in his knee. He glanced over at Mandy. “You about ready?”

[mandy]

After Mandy complimented Rodney on how he’s awesome just the way he was, he told Mandy she wasn’t bad herself. Mandy liked that he was pretty subtle about, which was nice, Mandy had a knack of being a bit over board with her responses, not that she did it intentional but it was just how she was. Though, he was a guy, so that could have something to do with it as well. But she was thankful for the compliment. “Aww thank you, it means a lot coming from a fellow awesome person”. She laughed, she was really enjoying herself with this guy. Even after she poked a bit of fun of him being a reader, but she enjoyed that he was very jokingly about it himself. “Now, first, I’d think it was a dream because most good looking guys don’t take the time and read a book…then I’ll have to check if they don’t secretly have a sports magazine hidden somewhere in there. But now that you say so, I can probably picture it.” She laughed; most guys were into sports anyways. So she assumed Rodney was too.

Rodney said he could go more hours, Mandy couldn’t help but laugh, as innocent as she may be, she could sometimes come up with the lamest jokes but it was in her nature at times, she couldn’t come up with something clever, why some people found her fun to be around wasn’t hard to figure out, she was full of energy but she certainly wasn’t one of the clever funny people. “So you are one of those guys that can really go huh.”Mindy winked at Rodney as she couldn’t help but laugh at herself. Rodney then said he was one of those, one try and buy guys, it’s the little name she had for them. She certainly was opposed to it. “Oh you can’t by the first one. It all depends what you want to do with the shoes. Like my running shoes, they look horribly big with my skinny legs, but they were so comfortable, if it’s for running, comfort triumphs looks. Well, in any case, any shoe comfort is important, well, with exception of heels, those are just never comfortable”. She laughed, she really had a whole theory on shoes, who has those? Well, only Mandy she thought to herself.

Rodney was practically done, but Mandy and her tiny bite’s had one or two more bites more than Rodney to go. So when he asked if she was ready to go, she gave him a quick answer. “Almost…just one or two more bites and I’m good to go.” She never met anyone as kind as Rodney, who was so patient with her, it was so rare, by the time she thought this all true, she was done, which must have been a bit of a relief for Rodney, the quicker she finished the quicker he got to go home after shopping. “Okay, done!” As she grinned at Rodney, they got up and threw away their things as they walked out McDonalds, Rodney again, with all those poor bags in his hand. Mandy smiled at him as she made the suggestion they made earlier. “Maybe you should carry those to the car and then you meet me in…” Mandy scouted the place for a store and lucky for her there was a new one, one she’s never been in before actually. “There, “Women’s Wonderland”, you’ll find me in there, I’ll wait up for you okay?” Mandy gave the most innocent smile she could to Rodney, trying to be all cute, not because she was sucking up to Rodney, more like a bit of appreciation for his kindness.

- - - -

With Rodney gone Mandy practically charged towards the store as quick as the road runner, it was filled with clothes, just her style and such lovely beautiful dresses. She must have died and went to heaven, they were filled with colors, and not dead colors but lively one, such spring colors, but the time Mandy made her way to the changing rooms, she was carrying a pile into it, she then looked around and knew, she was going to be here a while, Rodney, better be prepared, this store was going to be a bit longer than usual.

[mooshi]

’Women’s Wonderland’ Huh. That was an interesting name for a store. I mean yeah I guess it would make sense for advertising purposes. Obviously it would be a store that sold only clothing for women that they would find very attractive hence the very straight forward name. He’d never heard of this store before, but it was probably just like the other four stores they had gone into today. He was happy that Mandy had agreed to him bringing her bags out to the car and then meeting her in the store. He would admit, he did have quite a lot of muscle, but those bags were getting heavy and too bulky for him to maneuver in and out of clothings racks. So, once he dropped them off at the car, he felt much better and obviously more refreshed from the lunch they had eaten. Lunch had been nice. It was really nice to get away from all the stuff going on in his own life to focus on something a bit more relaxing and enjoyable. Although Mandy did have a way of making Rodney feel a quite uncomfortable mainly because she was so forward with things. She seriously had him blushing the entire time especially when she implied that he must be a guy that could “really go”. He was almost positive that she intended for that to come out a bit sexual and boy had it ever. Her personality was definitely not something he was used too, but it was fun and exciting which made things interesting even for someone who might be as uncomfortable as Rodney. After that lunch, he was pretty sure she’d done everything she possibly could to make him squirm. But as he finally caught a glimpse of ‘Women’s Wonderland’, he was clearly mistaken.

As he stepped into the store he immediately felt out of place mainly because of the fact that the store was filled with women and because of the type of clothing the store sold. Elegant dresses that would probably sport of some major cleavage to silk frilled panties that read ‘I’m Sexy and I Know It’ on the back to tight leather outfits that could only be used for things that Rodney didn’t even want to think about. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting.

Rodney quickly headed to the front counter where he described Mandy to the woman behind the counter. She pointed him in the direction of the fitting rooms. Rodney headed back there trying not to make any eye contact with any of the women in the store. Why, why, why did he have to be the only male in here. What happened to people going as a couple to pick out things like this?

[mandy]

There she was, changing into a short dress she found; it was super tight, really showed off her features as it had same white flowers in it, which you only saw when you were really close. It was a southing yellow, nothing too bright you saw five miles away. As she had on the dress, she figured out what she was missing, heels, it would be perfect with heels. She ran out the changing room and made her way to the shoes section. She scouted all the shoes; something white would be perfect for this, she scouted the place a bit, no sign of Rodney yet, she found the perfect ones, heels slightly high, fours straps you had to tighten as she picked them up and made her way towards the changing room. She was super happy with her new pair of shoes. She picked up a few accessories in hand as she had on one shoe on her foot, the other in hand. She was certainly getting exciting with all this shopping.

As she made her way, she saw someone from behind, the only guy in the store obviously, as she grabbed his arm from behind. “Hey stranger, you found your way back! Come, come I already have something to show you!” Mandy practically yanked him in her direction as they made their way towards the changing room she was using, she was really excited and all jumpy, but looked slightly insane walking with one shoe on her foot and the other in her hand. She quickly told Rodney to have a seat nearby. “Sit, sit get comfortable, let me go get ready quickly” Mandy practically threw him in the chair before making her way to her dressing room, closing the curtain behind her.

There she was, in the dressing room, stumbling a bit, making a racket in the changing room, maybe she should have put on the shoe outside, there she was on one foot, using her hand the lean against the wall as she hooked on her heels. She was digging through her piles of clothes for her accessories she picked up as well. It was all too crazy to be honest, but Mandy loved the excitement of shopping. There, she found it, what she was looking for. “I’ll be just a second!” Mandy found a clip of a white daisy earlier, which would have looked so good with the light yellow dress she picked out. She looked in the mirror as she put the daisy in her hair, right on the side, perfect, not too big, not too small, just perfect

She stood there, looked in the mirror, this dress was just perfect, strapless, maybe a bit too much boobs out but not a problem to her. Any dress that made her boobs like slightly bigger were good, she didn’t have much in that area so that is just pleasant to see. She swung the curtain open as she walked out, did a slight walk like a model on the walkways as she posed for Rodney, slowly turning around. “So, what to you think….it’s soo..spring don’t you think!” She slowly turned all the way around so that Rodney could have a good look, though the dress was a bit on the short end. “Well, it’s all good as long as it doesn’t go north I think” She laughed and tilted her head on the side as she waited for Rodney’s reaction.

[mooshi]

Rodney was headed towards the fitting room when someone grabbed his arm and yanked him forward. All he could see was the person from behind, as she pulled him towards the fitting rooms where he had been headed in the first place. He already knew who it was the moment she told him that she had something to show him. It was Mandy hobbling along with one foot in a shoe and the other barefoot. Once at the fitting room, Mandy pushed him into the chair in front of the fitting room telling him that she’ll be really quick. All he could see was her blonde hair bounce as she ran back into the ladies fitting room. Rodney was too surprised to even say anything to her. He had no clue what he had to get comfortable for. What was she going to show him? Oh dear, what if it was a lingerie set? He wouldn’t put it past her. I mean she had made him completely uncomfortable all day long. He wouldn’t be surprised at all. Not that he thought she did this on purpose. She was just so spontaneous, and they were so opposite from each other that he wasn’t sure what to expect from Mandy.

Rodney could hear the clutter of hangers hitting the side of the fitting room stalls, people stumbling around falling into the walls, as well as Mandy’s voice saying that she would only be a few more seconds. ”O…okay,” Rodney yelled back from the chair he was sitting in outside of the fitting room. Two women walked up with sets of lingerie in their hands just as Rodney and Mandy had that little interaction with words. They smirked and walked into the fitting room where Mandy had gone giggling. He cleared his throat and tried very hard to stay calm as he waited for Mandy. ”Uh, you know Mandy,” he began glancing over at a few more women who were making their way towards the fitting room. ”Maybe I should just w….” Rodney turned his head towards the fitting room once again just as Mandy was walking out in a very stunning yellow tinted dress that was quite short and showed more cleavage than Rodney would ever say. She did a model like walk for him and everything as he stared at her walking towards him. This was definitely new. Rodney stared at her for a few seconds with his eyes probably extremely wide and his mouth open. He knew he probably looked like a complete idiot, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of those very tan legs, and that dress just accentuated every single one of her curves. It took him a few seconds to realize that she had said something to him. He cleared his throat. ”Well, it’s very hot….i mean it’s a very….um….luke warm color….for spring. Yeah….totally spring clothing.” Rodney tried very hard not to let his eyes wander to her chest even though he was sure she had probably already saw them do so a few times. He attempted to laugh at her last comment, but it came out as more of a girly giggle. Oh my gosh, this was a complete nightmare for him. ”Yeah, going north….d….definitely not a good thing.” Rodney shook his head trying to focus on anything but Mandy right now.

[mandy]

Mandy noticed Rodney was a bit lost for words; maybe that’s a good thing. She looked breath taking in her new dress, which was the whole idea of it to begin with. He liked it, which was good, she never settled for okay dresses, they needed to draw attention and looking at Rodney’s reaction this one certainly did. She put her hands on her hips as she turned around and headed back towards the changing room. Right before she entered she turned her head at Rodney. ”Don’t worry, they aren’t too many…I hope” Mandy walked in and closed the curtain behind her as she slowly removed the yellow dress. She slowly removed it as she had this other, fully read dress hanging in the changing room. She studied it for a bit before realizing, she completely forgot something. “Hey Rodney can you go and get…you know what, I might be wrong, I’ll get it myself”

With nothing more than the yellow dress in hand covering the front part of her body, Mandy quickly exited the changing room and headed towards a section nearby, it seemed like it’s where they had socks. Mandy quickly made her way back, again with nothing more than the yellow dressed placed over the front part of her body, luckily no thongs today, but sexy light pink lingerie. As she jolted to her changing room and began trying to pull up those stalking she just got. “Sorry about that…I had to get them myself, not sure how dark I wanted them, good thing I did though, would have had you walking up and down like four times, the first few I had in mind, were a bit too dark for my liking” She laughed at herself before realizing, what she had just done, poor Rodney might have been a bit freaked by seeing her jolt through the place in nothing but her underwear, but she wasn’t one to think much before doing things. She then tried putting o those damn stalkings, at one point her leg jolted out of the curtains just so that she could pull them up, it seemed like extreme war in the changing room if you heard the racket that was coming out of it when Mandy had to put on her stalkings. I'm fine, i'm fine" she quickly said, just in case Rodney worried about all the noise.

She took the red dress of the hanger before slipping it on. It took a bit of work but she managed to get it up, maybe her butt was slightly bigger than she expected, though the dress was one of those that were supposed to be too tight. She finally managed to get it up as she tried to reach for the but she had a hard time trying to lift the zipper. It was slightly out of reach for her to get it all the way up. She gave a slight cry for help. “Rodney!? Can you come over and do me quickly? I could really use some extra hands about now” There she went again, saying the wrong things or well the way she used her words sometimes. She quickly had to change it up a bit before Rodney thought she was a bit too much. She stuck her head out of the curtains. “Uhm yeah, the zipper, you think you can come do it for me, can’t really get it all the way up” As she grinned in the cutest way she ever could, to try to draw the attention away from her previous sentence, which she now thought more about, was a horrible choice of words and lord know how many people in the store probably heard her say that.

[mooshi]

Rodney let his eyes lift to see her spin around in her dress. She looked amazing, but it was still awkward for him. Was he supposed to say she looked nice? I mean he was pretty sure by his expressions she could tell that he liked what he saw. When she walked back into the fitting room he let his breath out. She then poked her head back out to throw a comment his way, and he nodded really without even knowing for sure what she had said. She disappeared back into the fitting room, and Rodney wanted so bad to just walk out of this store. This was craziness.

Mandy had yelled out for him to go get something, but she must have understood real quick that he would probably have no idea where to begin looking for anything she needed. All of a sudden, Mandy came bolting out of the fitting room with nothing but the yellow dress held in front of her to cover the front of her body. Rodney decided not to follow his eyes where she was going. If her front was covered, there was no way her back could be covered too. Was that even legal? For rich people, anything was legal. Hell, if Rodney decided to strip right now and run half way across the mall, he was pretty sure he’d get away with it because his parents could so easily get him out of the trouble that would possibly put him into. Besides, this looked like a very high end store anyways. He doubted anyone who didn’t make over 100 G’s a year would shop here. Rodney could hear the shuffle of feet across the carpeted floor and knew right away that it was probably Mandy on her way back to the fitting room. Just as he thought, Mandy ran right by him, through his line of vision. He lifted his hand quickly to shield himself from the scene of light pink lingerie that he had just witnessed. ”Oh wow…..Mandy….uh can you maybe let me know…..net us all know when you come out completely…..well half naked please? I mean not that it’s bad…..well…..not that it’s good either but there are other people around.” He could hear a giggle from behind him, and he glanced back at two older women probably in their forties who had probably watched the scene as well. Was this a normal thing? Was that why they were laughing because they knew how uncomfortable he was in a store that this was probably second nature to its shoppers?

Rodney could hear Mandy laugh and then apologize for her little display although he was pretty sure she wasn’t sorry at all. This seemed like something Mandy had no problem doing. How was she so outgoing? How could anyone be that open with herself enough to prance around almost completely naked? For that he sort of envied her in a way. Not that he wanted at all to be shirtless around a store. To him it made him feel very strange and exposed. But to be that open and comfortable with herself was really something he’d been wanting to feel for a long time.

Rodney’s attention was drawn away from the women giggling when Mandy asked him to come ‘do her quickly’. He wasn’t really sure what to say to that so he was lucky that she actually added onto that statement. ”Uh….yeah. Hang on.” He glanced back at the two women who must have been looking at him already because they quickly reverted their eyes back to the rack they were looking at with smirks on their face. Rodney stood up and slowly headed back to the fitting room. ”Am I uh….am I even allowed back here?” Rodney continued on making his way back to the large row of curtained fitting rooms. ”Which one are you in, Mandy?” Rodney asked stopping. He didn’t want to go any further until she specified which fitting room was hers. The last thing he needed was to open the curtain on some other woman. Wow, that would make this situation even more awkward.