Chapter 11 - Fear of the bogeyman

On an afternoon when he was not working, they went to a small town near the village to buy groceries. The place was only 20 minutes drive from the village, and had a well-stocked warehouse and some small clothing stores.

The two went first to the warehouse, passed a candy aisle and he noticed that she was looking at some chocolates that were on the shelf, but said nothing. He then took some and put them in the shopping cart.

- You don’t need any specific product, like shampoo, deodorant?

He asked, when he realized that she would not choose anything for herself.

- I’m fine with what you have at home!

Aram stopped pushing the cart and stared at it.

- Lucine, my bathroom shampoo must be expired for a few months! And do you really plan on wearing my deodorant forever?

Lucine blushed a little with his questioning and simply took a shampoo from a random mark, walked a little more and found the place where the deodorants were on the shelf, took one that was designated for the female audience and placed also inside the cart.

- Is that better for you?

Aram bowed his lips in what with great willpower could be considered a smile and answered it.

- Now I can finally put that shampoo off!

 When he realized that he had taken everything he thought they would need, he went to the cashier.

After storing the groceries in the car, he took her to a clothing store.

- Now choose what you need, try to remember everything, I won’t have time to come back here anytime soon.

- Ok Witch!

- What did you call me?

She smiled as she tried to explain herself, had let her thoughts out loud.

— It’s just that, speaking in this full-bodied, authoritative tone, it even looks like a character from a series I’m seeing. He is a solitary wizard who hunts monsters, and is always so, "very serious". - She said, trying to imitate in the placement the deep-voiced intonation of the character.

He smiled at her imitation, making evident two dimples that Lucine had never noticed, but found very attractive. Aram was silent for a moment, as if trying to understand what she was referring to, and after a moment finally commented:

- But, following the logic of our reality, I think I would fit more into the role of the monsters he hunts, don’t you agree?

He asked, raising an eyebrow, still maintaining the smile that left very white teeth with slightly pointed canines. Lucine lost her train of thought for a moment, Aram was always so serious and introspective, she couldn’t help but think about how he looked handsome and younger, with that smile and the dimples that came as a toast. When she was able to reason again, she just shrugged and replied.

- In fact, I think a wizard also falls into the category of monster, he only chose to go after those who did not act within what is considered acceptable within the context of the story.

— Does that mean your sense of right and wrong is biased? - He went on provoking her, she stopped walking again and turned to him, facing him again.

- Ih, what a gut to have in an Aram clothing store, it would be more normal if I asked your opinion about the pieces I’m going to buy, or if you commented that some clothes match the color of my eyes.

He glanced at her intensely for a second and answered quite seriously.

- That would be difficult, because until today I have never seen anything that looks like the tone of your eyes, I can not decide what is more exotic, whether it’s them or it’s your hair!

 Lucine felt too exposed to respond, walked around the store leaving him behind,  grabbed some sets of panties and bra, praying he wasn’t watching her. The Alpha seemed distracted standing at the entrance of the store, her eyes staring at the floor, she thanked him for that, because she never imagined that buying underwear could be so embarrassing. He took what he needed and went to meet him at the register.

- It’s all here!

He spent the purchases at the cashier and he paid the amount that the attendant quoted and returned to the cabin. Sometimes at night, they watched TV together, some documentary or movie, in silence. Lucine had already realized that he had a preference for action films, but always asked what she would like to watch, or simply joined her on the couch when she was already watching something.

After dinner, she was already choosing something to see, for he went to the room after the meal, when he returned and sat down next to her.

- You could go get the covers, because it seems that today only the fireplace will not cope. I’ll make a sweet popcorn for us. - She suggested.

Lucine went to make the popcorn, and they put a movie to watch. The film was a thriller that gave her chills, and when she realized it, she was so close to the Alpha that you could smell his perfume. When some evil spirit jumped from behind a couch on the TV screen, she leapt towards him and nearly knocked over the popcorn.

- Jesus! My heart almost came out of my mouth now!

Aram smiled at her reaction and took the bowl of popcorn from her hands.

- Give me that, you don’t even want to eat anymore, you’re just going through the popcorn in there.

- It’s just this movie is making me tense.

- Sure, it’s a thriller movie, and you picked it out.

— I just couldn’t stand to see another action movie, and I didn’t think you’d want to see any romantic drama. I was sure you’d say it was a woman thing.

Aram looked at her amused, with an interrogation expression.

— And, why would I say something like that? Is being a woman something bad for me to use as some kind of offense? I always said you could choose whatever you wanted to watch.

His comment made her feel a little immature, in fact from what she had known him in those months, did not give her the right to judge that he would make such a comment.

- I know, I like movies like that, but I find it a little scary, because I’m not used to it.

- If you want, you can hold my little girl’s hand if you’re afraid the boogeyman will come and get you.

Said Aram amused. She thought that this would be a good opportunity for closeness and a touch she could bear. He did not wait for him to say he was joking, he came closer and held his hand and put it under the heavy blanket that was covering them. Aram looked at her surprised, but made no mention of getting rid of it. In silence, they returned to pay attention on television.