After completing her hour-long session, Kylie got out of the psychiatrist’s chamber. She felt much more composed and at ease after talking to Mark. He had been helping her with her panic attacks for the last two years. It was Cindy who introduced Mark to Kylie.
Kylie checked the time on her watch, it was nearly five in the afternoon. She decided to do some grocery shopping before heading back home. She wanted to make something delicious for Sebastian. She started her car to go to the nearest department store.
Kylie pulled her car in front of a departmental store. After parking it safely she was about to enter the store when someone patted her shoulder. Kylie turned around only to see a tall man wearing a cap and black mask. Though it was hard to recognize him in this getup Kylie was used to meeting celebrities with a mask and a cap. So it didn’t take any effort for her to recognize Alan.
“Hey beautiful, what are you doing here?” he asked. Though his face was covered one could easily say he was smiling ear to ear.
“I am here for grocery shopping. But why are you here though? Aren’t you afraid of your fans recognizing you?” she asked and turned around to pick up a shopping cart.
“Can’t you see I am in disguise? No one can know who I am in this getup,” he said following behind her.
“Didn’t I just recognize you in one glance?” Kylie rolled her eyes and pulled out a shopping cart.
“Because we are connected. And I am here to accompany you,” he replied snatching the cart from her hands.
“Hey, you! Don’t you have any work to do? Are you that free? Why are you following me?” Kylie shouted her being agitated but the man already went inside the door. Kylie didn’t have any choice but to follow him.
“I called you several times but you didn’t respond. So I thought if I help you with your grocery shopping maybe we will get closer,” he winked at her. They were already in the dairy section. Alan started picking cheese, butter, milk, and whatever things came into his sight. Kylie couldn’t bear his over-friendly nature anymore. She stopped in her way and took a deep breath before pulling his jacket.
“Alan, I know you are a good person. But my husband doesn’t like it when I go out with another man. He is a jealous man,” she explained with a tense expression. Sebastian halted in his place.
“Whoa! When Sebastian told me that you were married I thought he was just trying to brush me off. But are you really married? Who is your husband?” he asked a lot of questions in a single breath. He felt ashamed of creating problems in her marriage and also for forcing her to go on a date with him. He inwardly cursed his manager and that good-for-nothing investigator he hired.
“I don’t want to talk about my personal life. Our relationship is nothing but professional. And I am grateful to you for saving my life. But I don’t want my husband to misunderstand our relationship,” Kylie replied and pulled the cart away from Alan’s hand. This time Alan let go of the cart. Kylie fished out the unnecessary items from the cart and put them back on the shelf. She started walking to the next section leaving Alan there. When she saw he wasn’t following her, she sighed in relief. Her and Sebastian’s relationship was growing positively. She didn’t want any more trouble.
Kylie picked some fresh vegetables, and fruits and moved to the next section to pick some fresh meat and chicken. But as soon as she turned, she found Alan standing in front of her.
“What the hell! You almost gave me a heart attack,” she snapped at him placing a hand on top of her heart.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to startle you. I just wanted to make a few things clear. I never had any bad intentions toward you or had any plan to play with your heart. I am really sorry if I caused any problem in your marriage,” he said apologetically.
“Apology accepted and I know you are not a bad person,” Kylie gave him a forced smile and walked past him. But soon realized she couldn’t shove off him easily. Alan started walking beside her silently. Kylie stopped and turned to face him. After exhaling a deep breath she spoke.
“Okay, what do you want to say?” she asked crossing her arms in front of her.
“Can we be friends? Like best friends? I don’t know why but I felt a strong connection between you when we first meet. So I don’t want to lose you. We will just be friends, I promise,” he made a sign of peace. Kylie chuckled at his cute act. Now she knew why Cindy was head over heels for him. He was really cute.
“Okay, we can be friends. But only friends and you have to promise me that you won’t ever cross that line,” she said sternly.
“I swear,” he said pinching the skin on top of his Adam’s apple. Kylie sighed and turned around to pick the meat. The rest of the shopping went smoothly as Alan was silent the whole time only helping Kylie by pushing the cart. When they reached the counter to check out, the girl behind the counter smiled sweetly at them.
“You are a cute couple,” she commented while scanning the products. Before Kylie could deny the fact that they weren’t a couple, Alan placed his hand around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
“Thank you for your compliment,” he said. Kylie slapped his hand off her and glared at him before replying to the receptionist.
“He’s joking with you. We are not a couple but friends,” she explained. The receptionist apologized to her for her comment and gave her the bill. Kylie unlocked her mobile to scan the bill but Alan already handed his black card to the girl.
“Give me your PayPal code, I will send you the money back. Why did you pay the bill,” Kylie asked frowning while Alan was helping her load the groceries in her car.
“I don’t remember it now. I will ask my manager and tell you next time. Besides we are friends so I can help with your shopping sometimes, isn’t it normal for friends?” he said scratching his head. Kylie rolled her eyes and got inside her car. Soon she drove off leaving Alan standing there alone.
Alan pulled out the strand of hair from his pocket and watched it intently. He then dialed a number on his mobile.
“I am sending you a hair sample. I want the result as fast as possible.”