The Strongest | ɢᴏᴊᴏ ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ

Chapter 13

"Oh my God, you're driving me crazy," Gojo groans loudly.

"I'm driving you crazy?" I ask, my voice shrill. "You've been complaining for the last twenty minutes!"

"Because you keep piling clothes onto my arms as if I'm a donkey!"

I bite back a laugh because, yes, he looks absolutely ridiculous. I take a step back and provocatively take in his whole form. His chin is resting on the pile of clothes in his arms that hide his entire upper body. I wish I could see his eyes right now because I'm sure they're narrowed at me. Alright, I can't hold back a laugh any longer. It just blurts out of me like a firework, and I double over.

Gojo almost cracks a smile but tries his best to sound annoyed when he says, "I'm so done with you."

I wipe a tear out of my eyes and sigh. "You insisted on coming," I remind him, then head for the dressing rooms. "You love your job, remember?"

He grumbles. "Not that much." But it's the last thing he says. He puts the clothes on the little stool in the dressing room, then sinks into the armchair across from it and crosses his legs.

The first thing I put on is a dress I'm sure I'd never get the chance to wear, but it looked pretty on the hanger, and I wanted to see it on me. It's tight, black, and doesn't even reach my knees. It shows off my shoulders, and the plunging heart-shaped neckline highlights my cleavage. I love it. As I look in the mirror, I imagine myself with red nail polish and lipstick, a cute little bag and black heels. It's a shame I have nowhere to wear it to.

"Are you coming out, or do I have to -"

"I'm sure you can see just fine from out there," I reply before he can finish whatever stupidity he is about to say. "You have good eyes."

He takes a second to answer, and I'm guessing it's either because he's smiling or rolling his eyes. "I'm not going to spy on you."

A huge grin that I can't explain splits my face in half. "Maybe the next one," I say, already taking off the dress.

Gojo doesn't reply, so I don't say anything either. I'm not going to buy the dress anyway. It's too... sexy. If I wear this on my days off, I'm sure someone (Gojo) would have great fun teasing me about it. So no to the dress. Reluctantly and with a heavy heart, I hang it on the "no"-hanger.

The next few outfits are less provocative, less expensive, and more... me. I can even show some of them to Gojo, who's not too shy to tell me his opinion. One shirt that I absolutely adore gets titled "boring beyond comprehension," and when I come out with a cute sweater, he says, "It's summer. You won't fit into this once fall comes." So both end up on the hanger with the dress.

I'm losing his attention outfit by outfit, and he gets grumpier with every minute. So when I get to the outfit that I saved for last - tight shorts with a bodysuit made of black lace - I have to grin. I'm not going to buy this either, but this is payback for what Gojo did to me this morning in his room. For once, I want to be the one to make him uncomfortable.

After checking in the mirror to see if everything is in its right place, I slide open the curtain and watch with a nonchalant expression Gojo's posture changing as he straightens in his chair. His lips are slightly parted, but he shuts them quickly and takes a deep breath in through his nose.

"Do you think Nanami would like this?" I ask jokingly when the silence has gone on long enough, and I'm satisfied with his reaction. Serves him right.

The man purses his lips again. "You look horrendous," he snaps, but I know he doesn't mean it. I've seen myself in the mirror; I know I look good. "Go change. I'm bored."

It takes all the strength I have not to laugh out loud. I close the curtain again and block Gojo from my view. He's a terrible liar, and that fact has me smiling the whole time until I gather the clothes in my arms and step out of the dressing room. I hand the "no"-pile to my personal donkey and tell him to put it on the rack for the things that don't get bought.

"What about this one?" Gojo asks to my surprise and pulls the black dress from the pile.

I shake my head. "I'm not buying it."

"Why not? Didn't fit?"

"It would be a waste of money. I have nowhere to wear it to."

He eyes the dress, then looks back at me. "Wear it for dinner tonight."

I blurt out a laugh. He's not serious, is he? "If you think I'm dressing up for you, you've seriously got it wrong."

Gojo puts the rest of the clothes away but keeps the dress in his hand as he walks back to me. "I don't think that," he argues, his voice strained again. "But that would give you a reason to buy it, wouldn't it?"

Even though I can't argue with his logic, I do my best to try, which results in us snapping at each other in the middle of the store until people start to look at us. Gojo finally has enough and snatches the clothes out of my arms and walks to the checkout with them. He puts the dress at the top so the lady has to scan it first, and I don't even have the chance to say no.

While she scans the rest of the clothes and puts them in a bag, I glare at Gojo. "You had no right," I say.

He pats me on the head like I'm a dog or a child, and his grin his so annoying that for a second, I wish I could slap him again. "I know you're glad to have it," he retorts.

"That's not the point!"

Gojo pulls out a credit card even before the woman can tell me to pay, and he slides it over the machine so fast that I can't even argue. "My treat. Wear it tonight."

He thanks the lady and, with my bag in his hand, heads out the door. I stand there, baffled, looking at the woman. She's swooning, of course, and tells me how lucky I am to have him. I remind myself that she's a stranger and that I can't shout at a stranger, but really... I don't have him. I don't even want to have him.

Outside, the sun has heated up the air so much that it immediately makes me miss the cool air-conditioning inside the store. Summer really feels more summer-y this year. Gojo has exchanged his blindfold for a pair of sunglasses, so even though he did something nice, I don't look at him when I step next to him.

"You can't buy me, you know?" I say and start to walk away.

Gojo follows me, his long legs easily catching up with me. "I'm not trying to," he replies in a serious voice that surprises me but doesn't manage to make me look at him. "You can pay for my shirts. Then we're even."

"So the condition isn't that I wear the dress?"

"No." That surprises me enough to make me look up at him, but the man's gaze is focused straight ahead.

"Thank you," I mumble. "For paying. And carrying the bag."

He glances down at me for just a moment, but his eyes are safe behind the black glasses. The corners of his lips twitch just the slightest bit. "And not making you wear the dress."

"Yes," I reply, rolling my eyes. "That too."

"You're welcome."

I roll my eyes again, but for the rest of the way, until we get to his store, I can't stop smiling. I'm starting to wonder what's wrong with me. It must be the weather. I don't think I've had enough water today.