As they passed through the home essentials section, Paul paused and asked, “Do you need anything from here?”

Miranda remembered that she was running low on both body wash and laundry detergent. “Yes, I do,” she replied.

While she was picking out the body wash, Paul was also adding items to the cart. She noticed he was putting in things like towels, slippers, hooks–quite a few items, in fact, nearly turning their already full cart into a small mountain.

When they went to check out, Paul insisted on paying. Miranda didn’t argue but reminded him to keep the receipt so they could settle the expenses later.

Paul nodded and suggested she wait outside the checkout area, saying, “It’s too crowded here.”

“Okay,” Miranda agreed and headed to wait outside.

A short while later, Paul emerged carrying three large bags. Miranda reached out to take one, wanting to help, but he pulled back slightly, saying, “No need, I’ve got this.”

“But there’s so much to carry…” she protested, glancing at the bags filled with groceries and household items they had both picked out.

“It’s really fine,” Paul reassured her.

True to his word, Paul’s stamina proved impressive as he carried all three bags up seven flights of stairs without even breaking a sweat. Miranda took her own two bags and set them down by the door, then asked Paul for the receipt.

“Uh–” Paul cleared his throat. “It wasn’t that much, don’t worry about it.”

“That won’t do. Is the receipt in one of the bags? It doesn’t seem to be in mine. Let me check your bags then.”

Paul jerked back as if shocked, quickly moving his bag out of her reach. “It’s not in there,” he stammered. “I’ll sort out the total and message you the amount later. You can just Venmo it to me.”

“That works too,” Miranda agreed, though she couldn’t help but wonder about his strange behavior.

Why was he so eager to keep her from looking inside his bag? Was there something in there he didn’t want her to see?

The curiosity crossed her mind briefly, but she brushed it off and went inside to start cooking. She was starving.

Miranda whipped up a simple plate of spaghetti, topped it with a fried egg, and added some slices of ham and green vegetables. It looked delicious and tasted even better.

One serving later, she was full and satisfied.

After taking a short break on the couch, she rolled up her sleeves and headed back into the kitchen. She began the laborious process of making the dough, letting it rest, and preparing the crab roll filling.

Two hours later, the kitchen was filled with the aroma of freshly made crab rolls. She’d made four pans of filling, with over 30 buns prepared. It was enough to last for quite some time.

Meanwhile, Paul finally let out a long breath after entering his apartment. Glancing at the shopping bag in his hand, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d just pulled off a heist.

Ridiculous, he thought. It was not like he’d stolen anything.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, he started unpacking the bag. Out came the towels, slippers, and hooks – but none of those were the real issue.

His main reason for going to the supermarket that day was to buy – underwear.

That was exactly why he’d been so keen to keep Miranda from peeking into his shopping bag, whether it was from embarrassment, a sense of awkwardness, or something else entirely.

He couldn’t deny that the moment she reached out, he’d nearly frozen on the spot. Fortunately, he’d reacted quickly.

Paul sat down on the couch, pulled out his phone, and sent a message to Miranda on WhatsApp.

Paul: “The total was 342, my share is 163, so you owe me 179.”

Miranda, who was waiting for the next batch of rolls to finish baking while casually checking her phone, replied almost instantly.

Miranda: “That’s surprisingly little. I didn’t think you bought that much.” Miranda: “Towels, slippers, underwear, hooks, and dish soap. That’s all, right?”

Paul was stunned.