[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 564 & 565. (Patreon)

Chapter 564: Shopping for gear.

So from what Sarah told us, we could either get to the resort by car or leave the car with the staff and then go on a fairly long hike. Hearing that it would take like four or five hours of walking, Grace and Mila were the most hesitant. However, they were swayed by Noelle’s enthusiasm.

“Come on, Sarah says the view is great! Clear water streams, waterfalls, green forests… I want to see it!” The redhead smiled excitedly at us, bouncing in place as she tried to convince us. “We should take this opportunity to take in the fresh air, appreciate nature… We’re all in fairly good shape, aren’t we?”

“You know, I’m with her,” Alice said. “The check-in isn’t until 2:00 pm, right? We start at 8:00 am, we make some sandwiches to take a break halfway through, we take our time walking… No one’s saying we need to run, right? We can take it at our own pace.”

“The hike takes a path through the forest, but it’s close enough to the road that we could call a cab or something if anyone gets too tired,” Sarah said.

“See? See? Let’s at least give it a shot,” Noelle said. “Please?”

With that pleading look, neither Mila nor Grace could turn Noelle down. We’d be going on a hike to reach the resort. And of course, that also meant shopping, apparently.

We got together on Tuesday morning because Diana had a late shift that day. We went to the mall and checked out different shops, but the first one we went to was a large store for sporting goods. If we were hiking we’d need shoes, and while I argued I had perfectly good shoes, the girls said I should get new ones anyway.

I admit I like shopping in a place like this more than in a department store. Seeing all the equipment here was more interesting than regular clothes, at least. While the girls were trying on shoes and picking some new t-shirts, I checked out the prices of things like treadmills, stationary bikes, weights, stuff like that. After all, we wanted to have a gym at the new house.

As I was looking at an expensive stationary bike, frowning and wondering what made it cost almost five times as much as the others, one of the employees approached me.

“Hello, sir. Can I help you with anything?”

I turned to look at the woman. She looked older than me, but still young. Maybe 22 or something like that. She was… pretty damn attractive, I had to admit. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, small pointy nose and a cute roundish face. She was wearing the store’s T-shirt, dark blue and form fitting to show her slender, busty figure. Her black pants, too, fit her tightly and probably even pushed her butt up. Honestly, if not for the ID hanging from her neck I would have mistaken her for any other customer.

She smiled kindly at me, and yeah, I had to admit she was pretty much my type. And yet I couldn’t help the strange feeling coming to me. A faint headache.

It had been a while since I felt something even remotely like this. My ‘sixth instinct’ as I used to call it often gave me an idea of how to act or what to do around women. If not for it, I wouldn’t have dared to do the things I did with Mila, Grace and Sarah, wouldn’t have dared to ask Noelle and Alice while already dating three girls, would’ve been intimidated by Diana’s glare instead of understanding her issues. In a way, this ‘sixth sense’ born from Frey’s powers gave me a vague idea of what to do to get closer to the girls I liked. This time, however, it felt like a warning.

Don’t get closer to this girl. You’re incompatible.

It was an off putting sensation. It made me dizzy for a moment.

“You already look like you work out. Those are nice arms…” the woman said, looking at me up and down. The look in her eye was crystal clear, the slight blush in her cheeks telling. “What are you looking for?” she asked me.

“Just… Just looking, nothing more,” I told her with a polite smile.

“Mmm. Say, haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” she asked, a smile still on her face as she put a finger on her cheek.

“I… don’t think so, no. You don’t seem familiar,” I told her.

“Really? I could swear I’ve seen you somewhere before? What gym do you go to?”

I managed to catch myself before letting it slip. I really did not know this girl, never seen her at the gym. Was she trying to get me to say where I worked out so she could go there? Man, that thought would’ve never crossed my mind if not for this odd, warning feeling.

“I… I work out at home…”

“Oh, really? Just like me, then! Ahaha!” Her laughter seemed innocent enough, and the way she talked did make her seem pretty approachable, but the feeling wasn’t going away. 

I was getting really uncomfortable and wanted to get out of there quickly, so I did just that. “But… yeah, I don’t need anything. I came here with other people, so I better go find them. Thank you very much for your help.”

I turned around and walked away. Rude or not, I had to. I had trusted this sixth instinct when it came to approaching girls, why not trust it when it came to avoiding them? And anyway, who flirts with customers while in the middle of work? Not me, I assure you.

Not me. Shut up.

Still, it was interesting. This was the exact opposite of when I met Diana. She had glared, scowled, kept a cold and professional tone when talking to me and overall came off as unapproachable, yet I had a strong feeling she and I would hit it off. And what do you know? We did.

…

I had a very similar feeling about Fernanda, too.

************

Chapter 565: Noelle and Diana.

I found Sarah and Alice still in the shoe aisle. I walked up to them with worry and confusion plain in my face. “You still haven’t picked a pair?”

“It’s hard, okay?” Alice argued. “These look nicer but these ones are more comfortable,” she said, holding a pair of sneakers in each hand.

“And I can’t find good sneakers that go with these new pants I got,” Sarah told me.

“We’re hiking. Just pick whatever is most comfortable,” I told them.

“So… Not paying our looks any mind?” Alice asked.

“Exactly.”

The two blondes shared a look and sighed in unison.

“You say that, but you do realize that we look good because we put in the effort, right?” Sarah asked.

Well… That’s true. The girls put a lot of thought into their outfits, especially when we went out on dates. Can’t say I didn’t appreciate it, but…

“Comfort comes first,” I maintained. “Besides, soon I’ll see you walking around in sweats and pajamas with no makeup on the daily, remember? I think we’re past the point where you need to dress to impress every time.”

Sarah and Alice shared another look, this time with widened eyes.

“I guess he has a point,” Alice said.

“Well, yes, but… Ugh, my pride…”

Ah, there was that, too. It was my turn to sigh. “We can check other shops, too. Isn’t there one for shoes only on a lower floor?”

They both smiled. “Yeah. Okay, we’ll check there. Let’s see some new jackets, Alice. I hear it gets windy up there.”

“Where are the others?” I asked them.

“Grace and Mila went to check the swimsuit selection,” Alice said. “Diana went with Noelle, but I don’t know where they are.”

“I’ll go look for them,” I told them.

“Alright, but you need to give us the okay on the new jackets,” Sarah said.

“You don’t need…” I stopped myself when she raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed again. “I’ll be there in a second…”

Sarah smiled, kissed my cheek and walked away. Alice kissed me, too, and whispered, “Don’t get mad. She doesn’t want you to stop thinking she’s pretty.”

I smiled, resigned, and watched her follow Sarah.

I began to look for Diana and Noelle, but as I did I was a bit paranoid to find that woman again. Had to look both ways when coming out of the aisle like I was trying to cross the street. Maybe I should’ve just gone with Sarah and Alice.

It was as I was standing there, peeking outside, that I heard Noelle’s voice coming from the other aisle, right behind the towel rack in front of me.

“Oh, this one’s cute, isn’t it? Do you think I should buy it?”

I also heard Diana chuckle. “It looks good on you, so why not?”

“Why don’t you get one, too?”

“Mmm. I should. I don’t really enjoy wearing hats, but it’s dangerous to spend too much time under the sun.”

Ah, they were looking at hats. I was going to make my way to them, but then Diana asked a question that I didn’t want to get in the way of.

“You’re really into this trip, Noelle. Or more like you’re excited to go hiking. You do it a lot?”

“Ah. Hehe… No, actually,” Noelle said, now suddenly sounding very shy. “I… I’m really indoorsy. Even when I go out I normally just go to other people’s houses, like yours or Oliver’s. Before I started hanging out with everyone I stayed in my room a lot just playing games, building model kits or just watching videos. Not very interesting, I know…”

“But you enjoy it, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I like having my own space. It’s comfortable. In fact, I think I’m gonna miss my room once I move out.” Noelle giggled. “But you know, some of the videos I like to watch are these about people traveling to all sorts of places. The sights they see, the trains and planes they take, the sense of adventure… Sometimes I wish I could do that, even though I know I’d miss my bed after two days.”

I heard the two laughing and found myself smiling as well.

“It’s not like I want to travel to other countries or go on long expeditions, but this trip sounded like just the kind of thing I’d be up for. Grace and Mila ended up agreeing, but I still worry I forced them to do something they didn’t want to.”

“Relax, they’ll be fine. They’re a lot more forward with what they want, so them having to back down once in a while is good, especially since it was for you this time.”

“Ah?”

“You don’t normally push for what you want to do, right? I think it’s good that you did it this time. And besides, hiking is a good experience. Well, not that I’ve actually gone hiking per se. I was herding sheep while on a horse.”

“Oh!? That sounds fun!”

“It kind of is until you count them and realize one of them got lost. Then it’s a big hassle.”

The two laughed again. I was glad I got to hear that conversation, but I didn’t feel right eavesdropping so I went over to the other aisle. They saw me and Noelle immediately called to me.

“Oliver, look!” She put on this light blue bucket hat while having the biggest smile on her face. “What do you think?”

“That it’s perfect and you should buy it,” I told her. “I suppose I should get one too. See anything that would look good on me?”

Noelle took off her hat, walked up and put the blue bucket hat on me before stepping away. “What do you think?” she asked Diana.

The older woman looked me over. “Not bad, but the gray one would match his eyes.”

Noelle grabbed the gray bucket hat from the rack and replaced the blue one on my head with it. The two women nodded. “Yep, better,” Noelle agreed.

Diana didn’t see any hats she liked so we went to look for the others to see if they were ready. The first one we found was Sarah, not on her own but also not with Alice.

The employee that talked to me before was now talking to Sarah. And if my girlfriend’s frown was any indication, she wasn’t asking for help finding something.