Help Wanted (closed)

[PlayfulDevil192]

I snicker at the slight, however inappropriate, joke before grinning at him as we sat down. "Pizza Puffs are good. It's like...pizza rolls in a hot pocket! It's good." I gush, smiling.

 

[susurrus]

I smile back.

"As long as you're not gonna starve," I told her. "You need your energy."

A little later, our number was called and I went to the pick-up window to got it.

We ate, not speaking much. Beth asked if I'd ever had the pizza puffs, and offered one when I admitted I hadn't. I had to admit, they were pretty tasty.

When we were finished, we headed back out and pulled in to the local supermarket.

"Always best to not walk in to one of these places on an empty stomach," I repeated the old adage as I grabbed a cart and we went inside...

 

[PlayfulDevil192]

I laughed but nodded. Quietly recalling the amount of times that, as a child, how my father and I would go shopping for our groceries....and leave with them plus some hot plates because of our stomach grumbling half way through our trips. The memory makes me smile. Especially since I can still remember the few times he would get me a small bag of chips from the check out to snack on while we shopped. "Wise words. Very wise words." I reply fondly, putting my purse in the front basket of the cart. "What shall we get?"

 

[susurrus]

"Well, Sarah always said I didn't get enough vegetables in me, so maybe we ought to start there."

We headed into produce and started putting things in the cart. I explained that most of my food dislikes came from the flora side of the natural world, and began to clue her in on which items I wasn't generally fond of...

 

[PlayfulDevil192]

As we walked, talked, and shopped I kept a list on a Google doc on my doc. Making sure to put down anything he didn't like so I could review it later and start coming up with recipes and food ideas of what we could both enjoy. And if I could subtly add a dislike into the food bit make it taste good...I'd call it a win. But baby steps were important. I'd stick with stuff we could both eat for now.

 

[susurrus]

I noticed Beth making her own list, based on what I was putting in the cart. What she didn't know was the vast number of enthic cuisines I was fond of, or wanted to try. We'd get there.

Generally, I avoided the sweets: not because I don't like them, far from it, but because I was getting to the age where I needed to be careful, what with my family's history. Of course, this didn't stop me from tossing in a small container of store bakery cookies and yogurt from the dairy aisle. I tended to make this kind of treat last a while. Day used to be I'd eat practically the whole damn tub of cookies when I got home.

"Anything you want or need while we're here?" I interrupted while Beth was busy typing my latest acquisitions into her list.

 

[PlayfulDevil192]

I looked up from my list and blushed at being caught making it. Not that there was anything wrong with it. Not if it would help me make sure I got things he liked and avoided what he didn't. I hummed in thought, closing my eyes. What was I low on....I blushed a brighter crimson as I thought of something. "Uhm...my...feminine product....You don't have to come and grab it with me! I know guys kinda get a little...weird over that." I said quickly, pocketing my phone.

 

[susurrus]

I shrugged. "I don't give a damn. Anybody can see I'm not there for me anyway. Sarah sent me occasionally over the years. At first, yeah, I was embarrassed, but eventually it was, 'what the fuck difference does it make.' Made points with the gals at the cashier, I'll tell you that. The bag boys were more embarrassed than I was. I'll dmit, I had no idea what I was looklng at, so Sarah had to be real specific."

 

[PlayfulDevil192]

Certainly earning points with me... I thought to myself smiling as I led the way back towards the bodywashes, shampoos and conditioners and other Healthcare bathroom things. I couldn't help myself in double checking that he was still following now and then, not that I would have been angry if he wasn't. It's like I kept expecting to turn around and find him gone. I looked for the pads I was most comfortable with and snatched them up with an, "Ah ha!" I dorkily hummed the Victory theme for Final Fantasy as I put my item in the cart.

 

[susurrus]

I went with Beth to the hygiene aisle where she scanned the shelves for what she wanted. She gave a little whoop of triumph when she found just what she was looking for, then started humming a song I thought I'd heard before but couldn't put my finger on.

I liked that Beth wasn't a stereotypical young person, head almost always in her phone, knowing only the most modern references. I was pretty confident she likely was more knowledgeable on pop culture than I was, but regardless, she didn't view me as this old guy so out of it as to be beneath her interest.

It was pretty evident that certain aspects of what I was willing to do proved I was an atypical man in her eyes. Standing in the pad aisle with her and not looking like I'd rather be getting a prostate checkup ticked me further up the "impressed" list, in her eyes, that was evident. However, I was not curious why that particular package was the one she wanted, and when the day came she needed to use its contents, I would not be interested in having vaginal sex with her. Sarah tried to convince me that her hormones were running high and hot when she was bleeding, and I knew I'd have been a hero in her eyes if I'd have just done it with her once, but I just couldn't. Beth would find that line as immovable as it was for the overwhelming majority of guys. We could do anything else, but not that...

"Need anything else?" I asked as I stepped over to the "family planning" section just down the aisle and grabbed a small bottle of lubricant. When Beth gave me a quizzical look, I shrugged and replied, "Just in case. You never know."

 

[PlayfulDevil192]

I just nodded at his response to my curious look and let it be. I mean, he wasn't wring with idea of having it just case considering what we'd done...and hopefully would do again. If I hadn't been so wet and horny, I'm sure we would have needed that. Dan was big...

I began blushing at my own trail of thoughts there and shifted my focus to my mental calendar. I wouldn't be on my period again till middle of next month or more towards the end of it. Normally I was always either the start of the month or the end of it. And I only went for 3 to 4 out of the 5 days. But this whole thing with Mari, the fighting with her and Casey, and the moving had stressed me out and I knew that stress had affected me physically as well, considering I had gotten my period early this morning due to it. So it would take some time for my biological clock to reset. "I'm okay for now. I'll grab chocolate and something raspberry flavored next month. Those always help with the first couple of days. Along with a heating pad and just being comfy."

 

[susurrus]

I didn't pry. While I was okay with walking down the pad aisle, I wasn't really that interested in the details regarding what all that "absorbency" on the packages meant. I wasn't going to freak out or anything, but if that's what was going on right now with Beth, I'd feel lucky we got our session in before the crimson dam broke. Not that there weren't options, I just wasn't using her pussy for a few days. 'Sorry. I am a typical guy in that respect, I'm afraid,' I thought but didn't say aloud.

From the sound of things, we were done here, so I got in line for the cashier. Yes, there were self-serve lanes, but I'm not an employee of the store, so why should I do their jobs for them? If the articles I'd read about self-serve and shoplifting were true, why were so many stores going all-in with the practice, aside from the fact they could keep some kid out of a minimum wage job?

Anyhow, it didn't take long to check out, and we were back in the car.

"Anyplace you want or need to go? I never did ask if you had a vehicle we needed to retrieve."

 

[PlayfulDevil192]

I shook my head. "No. No car. I was just fine getting around by bus and train when needed. And I always ordered my groceries unless Casey was driving." I shrugged and settled into the car once we had the groceries in the back of the car or in the trunk.

 

[susurrus]

I nodded at Beth's response. Fortunately for her, public transit was pretty good around here. I knew several people who had no personal vehicle. Sure, relying on buses and trains meant you had to work around a schedule, but if you were willing to deal with those parameters, you could do okay.

"So, all we really have to worry about is the rest of the stuff at the apartment, then, right? You don't have a storage unit or three filled to the brim with Beanie Babies or left-handed ping-pong paddles or anything like that that I need to concern myself with, is there?"