Talking to someone who wasn't there was embarrassing on its own, but only a little; it was a mistake that could have happened to anyone. Having someone he hadn't been talking to respond was slightly more embarrassing, and he wasn't sure whether it being a familiar face who replied so casually made it better or worse. Probably no one wandering by would have thought they were out shopping together, but he couldn't stop himself from glancing around to check if anyone was in earshot all the same. (Was that even a thing that would have occurred to someone? It wasn't as though shopping together was a thing that courting couples did at a certain stage in their relationship, or anything, but it the idea of it still seemed weirdly intimate for a young woman he only knew casually. Or did it only feel like a semi-intimate activity because he was here with Tycho?)

He laughed and shook his head slightly, trying to shake off the initial awkwardness and just be casual. "Do people really have different clothes set aside for summer?" he joked. "Men, I mean — you don't need to tell me women do. I've got sisters."

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