Slime Evolution

Chapter 443 - Bed or Couch?

Lohan pushed the apartment door open with his shoulder, since the two shopping bags in his hands kept him from using his hands to open it, and he had barely taken two steps inside when he heard Isabella’s voice coming from the hallway, a confused tone slipping through the half open bedroom door.

"Halon? Where are you?"

"I’m already here," He replied, closing the door with his foot and letting the presence sensor lock it as he walked into the apartment.

Isabella appeared in the hallway a second later, still with a slightly confused expression on her face, but as soon as her eyes landed on the bags in his hand, full of meat packages with the two bottles sticking out on top, her face lit up in an understanding smile.

"Ah, you went out to get the barbecue stuff," she said, visibly relaxing. "I thought you’d left without saying anything or something like that."

It was only at that moment, with her confusion finally cleared up, that Lohan really stopped to take in how she was dressed.

The white lace dress fell delicately over her body, the long socks complementing the outfit in a way that seemed simple at first glance, but that, the more he looked at it, the more he realized how carefully it had been thought out. The black jacket over it broke up the delicacy of the piece, giving it a contrast that made her look, at the same time, elegant and completely at ease.

’How does she always manage to look like this?’ Lohan thought, feeling a pang of astonishment run through his own chest.

He had already seen Lisa dressed in so many different ways since he had met her, from more relaxed formal looks she wore at college, through casual weekend looks, and the different styles of clothes she wore for so many different occasions, and even after all this time, he simply couldn’t get used to the fact that, regardless of the style, she always looked perfect.

His face, normally stoic and hard to read, let a genuine surprise slip through for a split second, his eyes lingering a moment longer than usual before he managed to compose his own expression again.

Isabella, who was watching his reaction closely, felt a great satisfaction spread through her chest upon noticing that very brief lapse in his usually impassive facade. ’It was worth it...’ She thought, not regretting a single minute of that over thirty minute indecision standing in front of her closet.

But her moment of silent victory didn’t last long, because it was her turn to take a better look at his outfit.

He was wearing just a plain black shirt, loose jeans, and a pair of casual sneakers on his feet. It was a simple outfit, with nothing over the top, but Lisa instantly recognized every single one of those pieces.

"Wait," she said, a different smile forming on her face now. "This shirt and these pants are the ones I picked out for you that day at the mall."

"That’s right." Lohan confirmed, a bit embarrassed. "It was the best combination I found that fit well with today’s occasion."

"They go really well together." Lisa added, her eyes running over his figure with a mix of pride and admiration she didn’t even try to fully hide.

A comfortable silence settled between the two of them for a moment, a subtle mood that neither of them seemed to want to break first.

It was Lohan who finally gave in, a light smile appearing on his expression as he lifted the bags.

"You got here faster than I expected." he remarked, breaking that moment.

Even though Isabella had spent a good amount of time getting ready, she had logged off from Elysium first, since Lohan still had the clones with the guild members he needed to deal with, letting everyone know he was going to log off and getting them prepared to handle things on their own.

Nobody was upset with him, since the convenience his clones brought wasn’t an obligation of his. They were grateful for the help he provided and didn’t have the nerve to demand that Halon, the guild’s Vice President, stay online just to "serve" them.

"Ah, right," Lisa replied, looking away for a second. "It took me a bit longer than I wanted, I had some annoying company obligations to sort out before coming."

She didn’t want to admit she had spent that much time just choosing what to wear for the occasion, and Lohan didn’t question it, just nodding as he headed toward the kitchen.

"I’ll put these things away in the fridge first," he said over his shoulder. "The barbecue can wait until after our test."

Lisa felt a slight blush rise up her cheeks hearing that said so directly and matter of factly, but she didn’t comment on it, just following him silently to the living room while Lohan organized the cuts of meat on the fridge shelves.

After closing the refrigerator door, he turned to her, his expression going back to a more casual tone.

"Do you prefer to lie down on the bed or on the couch?" he asked, like someone asking something completely mundane.

Lisa felt her face heat up even faster this time.

"On the couch," she replied almost instantly, maybe a bit too fast.

’Lying down on his bed would definitely make all of this way stranger and more loaded than it already is...’ she thought, trying to internally justify her own haste in deciding.

"The couch it is, then," Lohan agreed, not minding the choice at all, pointing to the spacious piece of furniture in the living room.

While Lisa was worried about how that might sound, and Lohan felt that the sight of the girl in front of him was thousands of times more pleasant than a Spirit Fox’s body, he wasn’t looking at it with any malice, just treating this test like the many others they had run in Elysium.

But Lohan wasn’t a living buddha either, the sight of the girl taking off her jacket and revealing her beautiful pale shoulders to him didn’t go unnoticed.