Not before it becomes a problem

Grace pulled the car into the indoor parking garage they had at the mall and went up a few floors before pulling into a spot. You still had no idea what you had agreed to but you felt your first priority was getting a moment alone with Emma so you could tell her your plans.

Getting out of the car, you followed Grace as you got into the mall proper and then found a store layout close by, trying to see where either of them would like to go first when you had little reason to be picky. You did see what looked to be a hardware or security store which may be a good place to check for cameras if your subject registration plan ended up failing.

“Right it looks like there and there are our best bets” Grace said, pointing to two stores you recognised as clothing store brands.

“Yeah, I can check that one and you go with this one?” Emma asked back.

“Sounds like a plan. Max, you're with me and if we end up missing each other sweetie just ring me or go back to the car if you run out of battery” Grace replied.

“Can do!” Emma answered, her back facing the two of you as she was already walking off to where she wanted to go.

The sudden development and your chances of talking with Emma now gone left you a bit bewildered but as Grace started walking off in a different direction you quickly followed after her and decided to just ask what was actually happening.

“So, to be honest I was a bit stuck in my own head earlier so I’m not sure what the plan is here” you said to Grace, falling in line at the side of her once you matched her pace.

“Oh, well me and Emma have packed some clothes in our cases that would be appropriate for getting us into that bar if we did end up doing that but we didn’t think you would have, that’s why we decided to get something for you to wear first and then see how we felt after that” Grace explained.

You had recognised the store brands as male focused but it only now clicked that Emma was checking the other in case she spotted anything she would have liked for you. You did pack something smarter than usual in case you did go out for an evening meal but it wasn’t exactly the fanciest and whatever Grace and Emma could pick out was probably ten times better.

“I’m still not sure about going in there” you admitted, not wanting to burst their bubble but not wanting Grace to spend money unnecessarily.

“I can still get you something. I’m sure we can find some use for it before we head back home” Grace replied, the evening meal now sounding more plausible of an idea.

“Cheers, I would offer to pay but my boss is a real stickler about paying us at the end of the week” you joked, getting a playful shove from Grace as you continued walking down between the stores.

You might have just been imagining things but the reaction from her seemed a lot less **** than it used to be, no longer putting up a barrier between you that stopped you from getting close and now after last night it even seemed like she was acting more like Emma.

It was most likely the other way around but you had never seen her like this and after just that one reaction, you could say for certain that the change was one for the better.

“So what sort of outfit are we gonna be looking for?” you asked Grace, hopefully getting an idea so you could skew it to your own preferences.

“I was thinking something casual but still formal…” Grace explained just as you found and entered the store.

The words being almost opposites of each other didn’t help but you could vaguely guess what she meant. The store wasn’t that large and at first you followed Grace around but eventually you split off from her to have a look yourself, the displays all around chest height so you could see each other from pretty much anywhere you went.

Grace buying your clothes for you did make you feel a bit childish but the fact that she had given you a blowjob last night did help cancel out those thoughts. You were worried about running out of time with your new ‘Eye of the Beholder’ plan so you thought it best to put your effort into getting something for yourself as quickly as possible.

Your own style was usually hoodies and t-shirts so when it came to something like this you felt a bit out of your depth but you decided to just go off whatever the mannequins were wearing and pick whichever one you liked the most.

The store in general seemed to be more business-casual focused or at least smart-casual so it didn’t take long for you to find something. When you did however, you saw that Grace was already looking at something similar as if she already agreed that the style you had chosen was something worth buying.

“What do you think of this?” Grace asked as you approached, holding out some clothes she had already gathered in her hands.

What she had collected was a jumper and polo shirt and some pretty smart jeans compared to what you usually wore, something that seemed too hot to be wearing in the midday heat but if it was for an evening meal you could see yourself wearing something like this.

“I’m happy with this” you replied, giving each piece of clothing a closer look to confirm if they were your size before passing them back.

“You wanna try them on in the changing room just to make sure?” Grace asked.

You wanted to say no at first as you felt rushed for time but you thought it best to avoid any issues later if the clothes did end up not fitting you. You still kept it quick and skipped the idea of any changing room shenanigans.

As you thought, the clothes fit you nicely from what you could see in the mirror, and only after you did an embarrassing little twirl in front of Grace was she satisfied with the purchase.

It was one of the shorter shopping experiences you had had when it came to clothes and you were on your way to meet Emma after what only seemed to have been five to ten minutes.

Grace rang her up to check her location and she hadn’t left the store she was visiting so that made the search considerably easier but once you were all together again, not enough time had passed for any of you to consider what to do next. You did hope to get Emma alone if only for a moment and you considered the options available to you to help make that happen.