CHAPTER 378: SHOPPING SPREE (1)

For a while, Damien stared at Lane blankly.

"Come on, my arm is getting tired!" Lane complained, dangling the keys again. Then, getting impatient from waiting, he walked over, grabbed Damien’s hand, and planted the keys on top of his palm. "I’m getting hungry, so let’s get going already!"

"Uh..." Damien reluctantly accepted the keys. They were just going for a drive, which didn’t necessarily mean that he had accepted this very obviously expensive car as his, right? Lane could still take the keys back at any moment. Just like the apartment.

The moment he had taken the seat behind the wheel, though, he hesitated.

Not because he didn’t like the car or anything, not at all. It was a great SUV, very comfortable. But...

Wouldn’t increasing the mileage decrease the car’s value? It might be harder for Lane to return it or sell it for a good enough price later. Even going for a short drive might make a difference...

Or would it? Although Damien had his driving license for over a decade - he had done it pretty early, for work reasons - he didn’t know much about buying or selling cars. For a very simple reason: why bother looking into something that was out of his reach financially anyway? The only car he had ever bought was a used car for his mother, so that she wouldn’t have to always drag the groceries (which were a lot of, because of how insanely big their family was) on foot. And even then, he only gave the money, while his sisters handled the transaction in their hometown, buying an old car from one of their neighbors.

Either way, perhaps it was better to just go in Lane’s car...

Seeing Damien’s hesitation, Lane puckered his lips. "Do you not like it?"

"That’s not it," Damien shook his head. "It’s just... Isn’t this car too expensive to give it to me?"

Lane only chuckled in response. "Nothing’s too expensive."

Damien, however, was still not convinced, so after a moment, Lane added with a sigh, "Then how about it: we treat it as our shared car. It technically belongs to me, but you can use it anytime you want. Does that sound alright?"

"...Yes, that would be better," Damien agreed, albeit still a bit hesitantly.

But that he could still somehow get behind. It was a bit like with the apartment: technically it was Damien’s, but Lane was also living in it. He didn’t HAVE to, since he had an extra apartment just one floor above, but he did. So, Damien didn’t necessarily feel so much as if the place had been given to him for free, but more like he had simply moved in with his boyfriend, who happened to be rich...

And the car? It’s not like he would have many opportunities to use it! The Association Headquarters were too close to drive - even Lane didn’t bother - and at work, they had the Association’s cars and minibuses Damien could use whenever he needed. The only time when he might use it, was when going on a personal trip... And that would most likely be with Lane, so he wouldn’t feel too guilty about using the car.

Was it a bit of a stretch? Perhaps it was, at least Damien thought so. But he also knew that refusing Lane’s gifts would make the man unhappy, so he tried to learn to accept it somehow.

Meanwhile, as Damien was trying to justify himself in his head, the corners of Lane’s lips lifted up in a smile. He was already thinking about all the money he was going to spend on Damien soon, after breakfast...

Which was something Damien remained blissfully oblivious to. At least until Lane directed him to pull into the most luxurious mall in the city. The mall about whose existence Damien didn’t even know before this day - which wasn’t anything weird, as he had no idea about most of the trendy or luxurious spots - but which screamed ’I will completely ruin your bank account’ at a single glance inside. Even with Damien’s untrained eye, he could tell that all the stores inside were bound to be very pricey...

He couldn’t help but frown. He got a bad feeling about it. He doubted that Lane had dragged him here on an all-day date just to buy clothes for himself... It was more likely that he was planning to shop for both of them.

As he soon found out, he was half-wrong.

The moment they had stepped into the first store, the assistants immediately approached Lane. From their attitude, it seemed that they were already somewhat familiar with him - perhaps Lane was a regular patron? - and they were expecting his visit. It was indeed the case - Lane had notified some of the stores in advance, since he wanted the best service. Although it was on short notice, the store was naturally more than happy to accommodate any big spenders!

However, the assistants were up for a surprise, because Lane soon waved his hands at them.

"It’s not me today," he said with a wide grin. "You’re dressing him today. Give me the best you have!"

Having said that, he made himself comfortable on the sofa.

The shop assistants turned their eyes to Damien, looking him up and down, and they almost instantly lit up. Although his clothes left a lot to be desired, his figure and handsome face more than made up for it! He was a great model to work with.

And the fact that his clothes were all cheap and worn out? In a way, that was even better! The clothes from their store would look even better by comparison. On top of that, since Lane was the one paying, they didn’t have to worry about the budget...

Swish!

One of the assistants pulled out the tape. Dressing up naturally had to start with taking measurements!

"Please take your shirt off, Sir!"

Damien glanced at Lane, as if trying to look for help, but Lane only smiled in return.

Let the fashion show begin!