Chapter 98:

Anna shook her head as she sat in the passenger side of the jeep. "So you still have my smokes in this glove box? Huh or did you either smoke them or toss them." She was trying to make conversation so that there was no awkward silence between them.

Doug shook his head as he started the car. "Uhm no I quit. As a doctor you should know they are harmful to your health." he pulled out onto the street and started to make his way to the mall. "Seriously though, it was messing with my running so i knocked it off. You should probably do it too." Doug drove for a few minutes before finding the turn for the mall. "So I'm putting my faith in you that you won't dress me up like an idiot. No preppy stuff i mean it." he said pulling into the parking deck.

"Yeah I did." She pulled up her sleeve, "patch ya know. It's easier to find dates if I don't smell, oh hell stink from it." She looked at him, "oh come on Doug you would look so cute dressed all preppy. You are the gap poster boy." She smiled and giggled, "Oh no I have a much better idea cowboy."

Doug shot her a look before getting out of the car. "Didn't we already have this discussion? I can't pull off the whole urban cowboy thing. Pretty maybe, but id be far from cute." he started walking to the mall and bumped her shoulder. "Please don't make me look stupid...pleeeaaassee!" he joked with a laugh as they entered the mall. "Ok... I'm following you. Lead on."

Anna just laughed. "Alright, just suck all the fun out of this. Come on studs." She said as she leaned into him, "no gap I promise. I think I'm going for the urban cowgirl thing." She said as she walked into a store. "Cowboy boots, tight jeans, and hat." She said smiling and giggling.

Doug grabbed her hand and walked out. His face was bright red. "Ok, ok ill go to gap...just not that. You'll have to get me drunk before you get me dressed up like that." he said with an ear-to-ear grin. "Ah i don't believe you can still make me blush!"

Anna smacked him, "I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about me...dang I really wanted them cowboy boots and black western hat." She followed him a little further down the mall, "okay I'm still saying no gap, come in here." Anna said pulling on his arm as she literally dragged him into a store. She walked around looking at the racks for a few minutes putting things into her arms. "I think I can handle making you a well dressed attending." She was smiling, "I don't why we bother getting you shirts, come on what we are puked on three, four times a shift on average." She thought that he would look good in warm colors as she pulled a few more things for him. "Here ace."

Doug shook his head as she handed him a pile of clothes. "Well it's not just for work. I have a social life too ya know." he said poking her. He looked at the clothes and was surprised that they were all his size. "How do you know my size?" he asked walking towards the dressing room.

"That's for me to know and for you to someday figure out...and if you do let me know and I'll tell ya if you're right or wrong. Don't worry there's stuff in that pile for both sides of you your professional ah Dr. Ross, and my horse riding, jeep driving," She burst into a fit of giggles, "swear I'm not an urban cowboy, man."

Doug just laughed at her. "Yeah, yeah. I just might give ya a fashion show too." he joked going into a changing room. The things she had picked out were really nice. Everything she picked fit and looked nice on him. It was shocking; it was always so hard for him to find things he liked when he picked them. After going through the clothes he decided he had to show her his favorite outfit she found. He slipped on some black slacks and the cream silk shirt leaving the top two buttons undone. He walked out and walked out in the store. All the people in the store were staring at him but he didn't care. All that mattered was what Anna thought. "I think this is my favorite" he said, holding out his hands. "What do you think?"

Anna's heart about stopped. "I can see why." She said looking at him. "It oh um man ah, yeah it looks good on you. Definitely a keeper." She turned to hide the bright red that was filling her checks now. Trying to pretend to be more interested in the clothes on the rack than him. 'Oh man, damn he's fine.' she thought to herself.

Doug walked over to her. "Hey, you got a great eye for clothes. What can i say? You're my girl...for clothes at least." he joked touching her arm before going back to get changed.

"Yeah." She said watching him walk away. Her mind was going places that she didn't want it to go right now. "Friends Anna, just friends. You two can't be anything else." Anna walked across the store and started looking for a pair of jeans. She found a white tank top that was cut rather low across the front and that would be fairly tight. She walked over to the button up shirts and picked out a red one to wear over the tank top. She also found a really cute jean skirt that she could wear out dancing. Well maybe it was probably a little short, but hey Jack might actually enjoy it. 'Wow' that was the first time that he had popped into her head since she had left the house this morning. She walked into the dressing room and quickly changed into what she had picked out before walking out to get a look in the three way mirror. Why did they have to put the damn mirror clear out where everyone in the damn store you could what you were trying on? She stood in front of it. The skirt showed off her long legs, but she really like the way the tank top hugged her and the shirt over it gave it a really casual look to it. Oh, who was she trying to kid, this was something one of those 20 something girls would wear.

Doug got changed back into his shorts and put his KU hat back on. He walked out with the clothes he was going to buy and saw Anna looking at herself in the mirror. He put his fingers to his mouth and gave a whistle at her. "You look nice Anna" he said with a grin. He actually would only think she looked nice if she wore that when they two of them went out...he'd be jealous otherwise. 'It shouldn't matter anymore' he told himself. 'Ill have something to wear with Lynn tonight now so just think of that' he walked past her and looked her over again. "I'm going to go buy some of this...really nice" he said before walking off.

She was beet red from him whistling. She walked back into the room and put her baggy clothes back on. She'd get it just to turn a few heads. Well, she'd wear it tonight for Jack, he did say casual after all. She was picking her stuff up and walking out of the dressing room as her phone rang. She flipped it open, "Anna." It was Jack. "What's up?" She said crossing the store. As he started to apologize once more for leaving her in the middle of the night and if she got his invitation for tonight. "Hey don't worry about it. Stuff happens. Yeah I did. I'm shopping so I will see you later okay." She about walked right into a rack as he said, that he missed her. It caught her completely off guard. He had only known her for 2 days. Granted they had slept together but she had thought that it was just a casual relationship, no strings attached. "Yeah, you know that I miss you too. Later." She closed the phone and set her stuff down. Before turning her attention back to Doug, "you find everything that you needed?" Maybe there was going to be more to this relationship that she was starting than she had originally anticipated.

Doug had just handed the clerk his credit card when he heard Anna talk to him. "Oh yeah. I just need to get some new basketball shoes and I'm good. What about you? Do you still want to go for the whole tight jeans and cowboy hat look for yourself?" he glanced at his watch. Boy shopping made time go quickly, or maybe it was just spending time with Anna. "We could grab some lunch before i have to head back home. I have some stuff going on tonight."

"Only if we have time. I'd hate to make ya late. I think I'd look good in a cowboy hat and boots." Anna tried to put forward her best southern accent, "Maybe that's where I went wrong with my image ya know. Maybe I should go country instead of gothic." She gave up the feeble southern accent sliding into one that she was much better with having grown up with her father's thick Irish accent, "Maybe I should try the bonnie lass look again. After all Ireland is home." She said pausing for a minute before smiling, as she pushed on his arm playfully, "Hot date tonight there slim?"

Doug looked down at the ground when she asked him if he had a date. "Uhm well you know." he said rolling his eyes and looking back at the clerk who handed him his clothes. "Just a friend. its only one so i still have some time to watch you embarrass yourself with your silly accents." he joked moving over so she could pay for her stuff. He didn't know why he felt bad about his date mow, with an outfit like that he knew she had one too.

She was still smiling, "you know when you roll your eyes and look at the ground like that you give yourself away." She said pulling out one of her credit cards to pay for her clothes, as she nudged him, "I'm happy for you, really I am." She kept the smile on her face, "you are my friend and I want you to be happy. I mean that from the bottom of my," 'broken' was the first word that popped into her head but she didn't say it, "heart."

He just smiled at her. "Ok, ok, what can i say? I'm not good at lying. but i appreciate it." once Anna paid for her things he wrapped his arm around her neck, pretending at first that he was going to put her in a head lock but then relaxing and letting him arm drape over her shoulder as they walked. "See shopping with me isn't all that bad. At least I'm not picky." Doug reached over and grabbed her bag for her so she wouldn't have to carry it. "Now let's get some shoes so we can complete our new outfit's here." he said with a grin. "Then lunch is on me"

"You're not good at lying at all there slim." She said walking next to him, "okay you really are starting to scare me...shoes to complete our outfits. You really are gay." She was laughing now. She looked in a few windows as they walked, "oh I have to have those."

Doug rolled his eyes. "You're not gunna let me live that down are you?" he said as they stopped in front of the store. He was looking at a pair of boots. "You're kidding right?" as asked at first, but after thinking on her new outfit her could see how it would look nice. "Well actually, that might be kind of cute. Just don't kick me with those things." he joked walking into the store. "You check these out...I'm going to be in the, non gay extremely manly, basketball section alright?" he said sarcastically before walking off. Doug looked at the rows of shoes. He didn't see the style he normally bought but decided to stick with Nike. He found a nice white pair and bent down to look for his size.

She smiled as she looked for ones that would fit. When she found the boots that fit her, she found herself looking at hats. There was a black on sitting there calling her name she put it on her head looking in the mirror. Dang it fit and looked good on her head and it would look great with the boots too. 'You've gone country Anna' she said to herself before she wandered over to pay for her stuff and find Doug.