SHOPPING
summary : Connor hates shopping. But does that change when he goes shopping with you?
“You owe me.”
Connor didn’t even look up from tying his shoes.
“For what?”
“For making you leave the apartment.”
He glanced over his shoulder, unimpressed.
“I agreed to brunch and coffee.”
“True.”
“I did not agree to six hours of shopping.”
You smiled innocently.
“I never said six hours.”
“How long?”
“…Maybe five.”
He groaned dramatically.
“Babe.”
“What?”
“You know I hate shopping.”
“You don’t hate shopping.”
“I absolutely do.”
“You hate shopping for yourself.”
“Same thing.”
“It is not.”
He sighed, already knowing he’d lost the argument before it had even started.
“What exactly are we shopping for?”
“I don’t know.”
He blinked.
“You don’t know?”
“I’ll know when I see it.”
Connor rubbed a hand over his face.
“That’s the most terrifying sentence you’ve ever said to me.”
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An hour later, the two of you stepped onto Michigan Avenue, the city buzzing around you.
The sidewalks were packed despite the cool breeze rolling in off Lake Michigan.
Connor shoved both hands into the pockets of his hoodie as he looked up and down the street.
“So…”
“What?”
“What’s first?”
You pointed toward a boutique across the street.
“There.”
He looked at the sign, then at you.
“We’ve been here thirty seconds.”
“I know.”
“I already need another coffee.”
You laughed, slipping your hand into his.
“C’mon.”
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The store was bright and filled with racks of dresses, sweaters, and shoes.
Connor immediately found the nearest chair.
“I’m going to wait right here.”
“You’ve officially become every boyfriend ever.”
“I’ve earned this chair.”
“You’ve been inside for twelve seconds.”
“It’s a very comfortable twelve seconds.”
You rolled your eyes and disappeared into the clothing racks.
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About five minutes later…
“Connor.”
“Mhm?”
“Can you come here?”
“No.”
“Please?”
A dramatic sigh escaped him before he stood.
“You owe me.”
“I thought I owed you.”
“You do.”
He rounded the corner—
—and stopped.
You stepped out of the fitting room wearing a simple blue dress.
“So?”
Connor stared for a second.
“…Wow.”
You smiled.
“You like it?”
“I really like it.”
“Actually?”
“You look beautiful.”
Your cheeks warmed.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
────────
Twenty minutes later…
You emerged wearing another outfit.
“What about this one?”
Connor tilted his head.
“I like the first one better.”
“Really?”
“Mhm.”
“Why?”
“It looks more like you.”
You blinked.
“You noticed that?”
“Of course I did.”
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By the fourth outfit…
Something changed.
Connor wasn’t sitting anymore.
Instead, he was wandering the store with you—holding up sweaters, flipping through jackets, picking out colors.
“What about this?”
You turned around.
He was holding a cream-colored knit sweater.
“I don’t know…”
“You’d wear that all the time.”
“I would.”
“You steal my hoodies enough.”
“I do not.”
“You absolutely do.”
“They’re comfortable.”
“They disappear.”
“I return them.”
“Months later.”
────────
You laughed as he handed you the sweater.
“Fine.”
“I win.”
“You win.”
────────
The sales associate smiled as she walked by.
“You two are adorable.”
Connor looked slightly embarrassed.
“We’re trying.”
“No,” she laughed.
“You’re actually helping.”
He frowned.
“Most boyfriends don’t?”
She nodded toward the seating area.
“Most are sitting on that chair over there.”
Connor glanced back.
“…Fair.”
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The next stop was another boutique.
Then a shoe store.
Then another clothing store.
By now…
Connor was completely invested.
“You should try those.”
“The boots?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re kind of expensive.”
“But you’d wear them.”
“I would.”
“They’d look good with that coat.”
You stared at him.
“What?”
“You’ve become me.”
He blinked.
“I have?”
“You just built an outfit.”
“…Oh.”
He looked mildly horrified.
“I’ve changed.”
“You’ve evolved.”
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A little while later, the two of you wandered into a bookstore.
Connor disappeared almost immediately.
You found him five minutes later sitting on the floor flipping through a hockey biography.
“There you are.”
“I found my people.”
“You found one hockey book.”
“It’s enough.”
You sat beside him.
“You having fun?”
He looked at you.
“…Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“I’ll never admit it.”
“So you are.”
He smiled.
“Yeah.”
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By late afternoon…
Your shopping bags had multiplied.
One.
Three.
Five.
Seven.
You reached for another.
Connor stepped in first.
“I got it.”
“You already have six.”
“I’ve got room.”
“You don’t have to carry everything.”
“I know.”
“But I want to.”
Within another ten minutes…
He somehow had every single shopping bag hanging from both arms.
“You literally look like a walking department store.”
“I know.”
“Give me some.”
“No.”
“Connor.”
“They’re not heavy.”
“You can’t even bend your elbows.”
“I don’t need to.”
You laughed so hard people walking by smiled at the two of you.
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“You know…”
“What?”
“I thought you hated shopping.”
“I did.”
“So what happened?”
He glanced over at you.
“I wasn’t shopping.”
“You definitely were.”
“I was spending time with you.”
Your heart melted instantly.
“That’s different.”
“It is?”
“Mhm.”
“I would’ve gone anywhere today.”
“Even six hours of shopping?”
He sighed dramatically.
“Let’s not get carried away.”
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As the sun began setting, the two of you stopped along the Chicago River with coffees in hand.
The shopping bags were piled around Connor’s feet.
You looked over at him.
“Tired?”
“My feet hurt.”
“My shoulders hurt.”
“My wallet hurts.”
You giggled.
“I bought my own clothes.”
“I know.”
“I’m kidding.”
He bumped your shoulder gently.
“Worth it.”
“You think?”
“I got to see you smile every time you found something you loved.”
He shrugged.
“I’d carry a hundred bags for that.”
You leaned over and kissed his cheek.
“You’re sweet.”
“Don’t tell the guys.”
“Why?”
“I have a reputation.”
“Oh?”
“They think I’m tough.”
You looked at the mountain of shopping bags surrounding him.
“The guy carrying eight shopping bags while his girlfriend drinks an iced coffee?”
He sighed.
“My image is ruined.”
“It absolutely is.”
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On the walk back to the car, your fingers found his free hand.
Somehow, despite carrying what felt like half of downtown Chicago, he still managed to intertwine his fingers with yours.
“You know…”
“What?”
“I had a really good day.”
Connor smiled.
“So did I.”
“You’ll come shopping with me again?”
He pretended to think.
“Hmm…”
“Connor.”
“…Only if I get to help pick the outfits.”
You grinned.
“Deal.”
“And…”
He nodded toward one of the boutiques you’d passed earlier.
“Next time…”
“We’re starting there.”
You laughed.
“I thought you hated shopping.”
He looked down at your intertwined hands before smiling.
“I still hate shopping.”
“Then why?”
“Because I realized…”
He squeezed your hand gently.
“It was never really about the shopping.”
“It was just another excuse to spend the day with my favorite person.”
And somehow, despite all the bags hanging from his arms and the miles you’d walked through Chicago…
He already knew he’d say yes the next time you asked.
