because—What
the! He does a double take
and grins. There it is. The singlet. He
hurries into the small underwear shop that is hidden away from
sight, and his spirit lifts. He browses through, wondering what
size Alex is. Small? Yeah, she’d be a small. He picks one white,
size small and then thinks he’d better take two. Grinning to
himself like an idiot, he strolls over to the counter where the
young woman there is watching him with interest. Then his eyes
catch the bras. He has never been into a lingerie shop before, and
this experience is completely new to him.
His eyes are big and wide as he takes it all in, bras all in different colors and
sizes, some plain and some with frills. He places the two singlets
on the counter and says, “Hi.”
“ Hi,” the young woman
replies, smiling at him, her eyes appreciating what she sees. She
picks up the two singlets and says, “You’re not from around here,
are you?”
Jay shakes his head as he
eyes her name badge. It says Brandy. He glances at her pretty face
and says, “No.”
She nods and says, “For
your girlfriend?”
Jayden hesitates. Does
buying underwear for Alex means she is his girlfriend? Just to be
on the safe side, he shakes his head. “No, it’s for, um, my
sister.”
Brandy laughs merrily. “Whoa! I’ve never seen guys coming
into this lingerie shop to buy their sisters underwear,” she
comments, her eyes intense on his face.
Jay smiles pleasantly.
“Well, I’m not like most brothers.” Damn, he never thought he was
such a good liar.
Brandy grins as she scans
the barcodes into the computer. She glances up and smiles prettily
at him, fluttering her eyelashes a few times at him. She does her
best flirting with him. Only he isn’t paying her the least bit of
attention. He’s looking at the rows of bras on the other side of
the shop.
“ You want to buy your
sister bras, too?” she asks curiously.
Jay glances at Brandy.
“Yeah,” he says, walking toward the rows of bras.
Brandy follows him. “Do
you know what size she is?”
What size is Alex anyway?
She must be a small, since she is rather tiny in person.
“ She’s about this high,”
he says, indicating with his hand to his chest. “And this thin,” he
continues, also indicating with his two hands of the space in front
of him.
“ I don’t think we can measure the size of her bra from
that.” Brandy shakes her head. “But from what you’re telling me,
she must be a size small?”
Jay nods.
“ I think we should try a size twelve . Now do you know what cup she is?”
Jay widens his eyes.
“What?”
“ Cups. Do you know what
cup she is? A, B, or C like mine?” Brandy points down, drawing out
her chest just a little bit for him to notice.
Not looking at the sales assistant who is begging for his
attention, Jay glares at the arrays of bras and tries to fit the
bras in front of him onto Alex’s breasts he glimpsed on Sunday
night. Shit! The memory comes to him vividly, and
instantly, his mind starts reeling with imagination.
B! He’s pretty sure
she’s a B.
He says to Brandy, “B.” Then he turns back and picks one
that is a size twelve with a cup B, which is designed beautifully
with light pink laces.
Brandy says, “You’re
done?”
Jay nods.
Once his purchase is done,
Jay thanks Brandy for her help and leaves without a backwards
glance. If he were to look back, he would have seen Brandy watching
him with longing as he walks away.
Jayden strolls the short distant to SAN and waits for Alex
to turn up. He finds the place pleasant this evening as compared to
the hectic pace of that Saturday afternoon. The mood and the
atmosphere are just right for a first date. The lovely soothing
Southeast Asian music, the golden hue of light from the waterfall
chandelier, and the cozy décor of red, gold, and brown all set the
theme for a romantic night. A pretty young waitress places two
menus in front of him, pours him a glass of water, and politely
tells him she’ll be
Bethany Kane
Fern Michaels
Theresa Romain
Wendell Steavenson
Libby Fischer Hellmann
Joey Ruff
Selena Kitt
Brandilyn Collins
Jan Bowles
Julie Campbell