by T J Vertigo
Mrs. Hewitt looked over her daughter's shoulder in the mirror and smiled brightly. "This is definitely it." she exclaimed.
"Yes, it is." Green eyes roamed up and down in the mirror as Brooke turned sideways. "God, Mom, look what these pants do to my ass!" Brooke said in surprise.
"I know." Harriet giggled. "That's why I picked them."
"It's never looked like that before! What the hell is in these pants?" Brooke held onto her ass and began feeling it like it wasn't her own.
Harriet giggled again. "They have this newfangled lift thingy in them. I think it looks superb." The older woman said, pointing to Brooke's butt. "I think it will turn a head or two."
"There's only one head I want turning, Ma." Brooke said distractedly as she investigated her profile. "Mom, do you think the bra is a bit much?"
"No I think its fine. You have such a beautiful body, Honey, you should be showing it off. I know I did at your age."
"Mom, really," Brooke grimaced. "I can't stand to think of such things." Green eyes narrowed at her chest, the black bra doing things to her breasts she never knew possible. "No, the bra is too much."
"Okay, you don't really need it anyway, those things do fine on their own."
"Mom! God.... must you talk like that?" Brooke blushed.
"Just stating the obvious." Harriet said defensively.
"Well, I don't feel quite so comfortable talking about my personal parts like that." Brooke said as she repeatedly opened and closed the second button on the blouse.
"Honey, you're going to take that button off if you keep that up."
"I can't decide on the buttons... one open and it looks too stiff, two and the bra peeks out... among other things." Brooke hemmed and hawed, then took off the shirt entirely. "I'll take the black pull-over."
Harriet nodded, retrieved the shirt from the pile on the bench and handed it to Brooke.
The blonde put it on and smoothed out her hair, which had gone all static from the constant shirt changing. One final glance in the mirror and Brooke turned away. "Alright, I'll take this one. Hurry before I change my mind." She shooed her mother out of the dressing room and got undressed.
* * *
Cayden figured it would be all dog people, after all, who brings their cat to a party. She scanned the place every so often, recognizing people and smiling politely. Thankfully, Jodie and Wade flitted about the crowd making conversation and showing off things to buy. Cayden felt a little guilty about staying behind the counter, but she deduced that it was only right since people were buying things, and she needed to be there. Looking up again into the small crowd of people, the tall woman sighed heavily. Party's are so not my thing, she complained to herself. She spotted Jake, the owner of three Standard Poodles heading her way with an array of dog bowls. Those animals went through food bowls like some people go through food. She was surprised to see him here, but eternally grateful he left his horses at home. "Hi Jake, they destroyed the old ones already?"
"Yeah, it doesn't take them long. I didn't know you were having a party, I would have brought the kids." He teased, knowing she'd panic. The sheer look of terror on her face when he brought them in to say hello always made him laugh. The dogs were well behaved, but the smell of so many delights in one place made them nuts.
Cayden caught his grin and chuckled. "Oh, yeah, it was Jo's idea. Brilliant," she groused.
"Hey, at least you only have a few dogs in here, things could have gotten ugly."
"You ain't kidding." Cayden bagged the bowls and accepted his money. "So, you were just passing by?"
"Yeah. Should I be hurt that I wasn't invited?"
"No, I didn't do the inviting, Jo did. I bet she only invited the small dog crowd. No offense Jake, but all three of your kids wouldn't even fit in here right now."
"I'm only teasing. You go have fun, enjoy the party,"
Cayden liked Jake, he was a nice guy who she actually didn't mind chatting with. "Hey, stick around a while, unless you have to rush off..."
"I think I will stay. Can I get you something?"
"A beer would be cool." Cayden said, holding up her empty bottle for emphasis, and to show him which one to get.
* * *
A little while later, Wade came over to excuse Cayden from her duties. "You better get out there and mingle, Cayden. This is supposed to be your party."
"Yeah, yeah... but I like it here." She complained.
Wade pulled her up from her chair and quickly sat in it. "Now git." he ordered.
"Fine." Cayden pouted and snuck into the crowd. She mingled for approximately five minutes before hiding in a corner. She refused to make eye contact with Wade or Jodie, she didn't need their looks. She leaned against a wall and watched the people talk, pair up, and laugh. She smiled at the dog's sniffing each others butts, and generally having a good time. Well, it's not so bad, she decided. It could be worse. The tall woman debated with herself to have her fifth beer. She was feeling pretty good already, and another beer would have her good and buzzed. She looked at the clock on the wall and decided it would be fine. It was still early, and Jodie offered to open up the shop tomorrow in return for the party. What the hell... She thought as she reached for the beer.
* * *
Brooke bathed and dried Fred, and spritzed him liberally with cologne before she herself took a shower. She was standing in her room contemplating the bra, when there was a knock on her door. "I'm naked!" She yelled.
The door opened anyway with her mother walking in. "Oh please, like I haven't seen it already."
"Mother!" Brooke exclaimed and covered her breasts with her hands.
"Oh, those are nice panties!"
"Mom!" Brooke protested again.
"Are you going to stand there all night or what?"
Brooke turned her back on her mother and shoved herself into the bra quickly just to have herself covered.
"So, you decided on the bra?" Harriet asked innocently.
"Not really, you left me no choice."
"I can't believe you're ashamed in front of your mother."
"I'm not a baby any more mom. Things have changed."
"Oh, and heaven forbid I should see your Ooni. You know I kissed that thing when it was no bigger than..."
"Did you come in for a reason?" Brooke interrupted with a hand on her hip.
"I know you don't mean to be snippy, you're just nervous."
"Yes, very." The blonde admitted.
"I came in because wanted to tell you that I'm proud of how brave you're being. This is a very hard thing to do."
Brooke softened. "Thank you, Mom."
"Well, I'll leave you to get finished. You better come show your father what he bought you."
"Not to worry, I will." Brooke kissed her mom on the cheek and pushed her out of the room.
* * *
"What the hell is that?" Bert pointed to his daughter's chest in horror.
Brooke looked down at herself. "That would be my boobs, Daddy."
"Christ Brooke! I know that! They just never looked like that before!" he shielded his eyes.
Brooke chuckled. "Its a Wonderbra, and don't make me self-conscious now, I'm wearing it. I already put on my deodorant and if I have to take off this shirt I'll get white stuff all over it getting it back on again."
"But, really, Brooke..." Bert started to complain.
"It is known, Daddy, you protest."
Bert took his hand from his eyes, but refused to look at his daughter. "And you think Fred is going to hide those?" He asked his wife.
"No dear, that's the point."
"I want to meet this Cayden." He demanded. In response, he received two exasperated stares. "Oh Christ.! Fine, go on out and have a good time." He said rolling his eyes.
"Thank you, Daddy!" Brooke ran over and jumped on his lap to kiss him on the forehead.
"Don't you be doing that to anyone else young lady! Especially that Cayden character!" he warned. "Jumping on laps willy-nilly with a Wonderbra..."
"Dad, I'm a big girl." Brooke argued.
"Oh, I can certainly see that." He shielded his eyes again.
"Daddy, honestly." Brooke rolled her eyes. "I better go. Where's Fred?"
"Waiting patiently by the door." Harriet said, hugging her daughter. "You have a great time, and take that cell phone!"
"It's in my bag, Ma, love you! Come on, Fred." Brooke said, grabbing his new leash and heading out.
Bert glared at his wife. "You let her buy that bra?"
"Why not? I think she looks fine." Harriet argued.
"Jesus, Harriet! She looks too fine. I don't want Cayden the Tall getting any wild ideas about our daughter!"
Mrs. Hewitt smiled. "It is known, Dear."
* * *
Cayden was feeling pretty good, and was chatting by the folding table with Jake and Henry, who brought his two Yorkshire Terriers. Cayden hadn't picked up any clues about Jake before, but with the way he got on with Henry, the blatantly gay man wearing a pink triangle on his tie, the tall shopkeeper was wondering if she should leave them alone. Every time she tried to excuse herself though, one of them aimed the conversation at her and she was stuck there. She wasn't bored with the conversation and it was kinda funny to think that both of these grown adults were afraid to be alone, so she hung around. The subject started dancing around partners and Henry asked Cayden about her status.
"Oh, I'm single, happily so." she replied.
"You? Single? Look at you!" Henry gaped. "I'm assuming it's by choice, cuz honey, they must flock around you like you're the messiah."
Cayden had the good sense to blush. "Well, yeah, and thank you."
"CAYD!" Jodie just rushed up to her in a flurry.
"Jo?"
"Wade and Harley both dated the same guy!" she said excitedly.
"This is huge?" Cayden questioned her enthusiasm.
"At the same time!" Jodie blurted.
Cayden chuckled along with Henry and Jake.
"Can you believe it? That is so weird. They never would have known it of we weren't talking about you."
"Me?" Cayden became alarmed, she hated being the topic of conversation.
"Yeah, we were talking about disastrous blind dates, and since you hold the record, you came up." The waitress explained.
"No wonder she's happily single." Henry remarked with a snicker.
"Oh, but by choice." Jake chimed in.
Cayden glared at Jodie.
Jodie, apparently not the least bit intimidated went on. "You wanna talk about luck? Sexy here hasn't got any of it. Her horseshoe is definitely leaking."
"Jo!" The tall shop keeper warned.
The men laughed and Cayden pouted. "I do too have luck."
Jo stuck out her tongue. "Alright Cayden, you do have luck." she said is a teasing manner.
"You do realize I will have to get you back for this." The tall woman half joked.
"Yes, dear." Jodie said with an innocent expression.
"They fight like a married couple." Jake snickered.
"EW!"
"Get out!"
Both Cayden and Jodie replied at the same time, then laughed.
Jodie was happy to see her friend loosened up, she knew the beer had something to do with it, but that didn't worry her. Cayden wasn't coming to work in the morning, and she doesn't drive anyway, so it was all good to the waitress. She smiled up at her tall friend who had backed a few steps away from Henry and Jake. Cayden offered her friend a sneaky smile and Jodie caught on fast, pulling Cayden away by her arm. "I need her for a minute." she said as she dragged the tall woman away.
"Good going, Jo."
"So ya think?" she nodded towards the two men.
"Yeah. I never knew about Jake! How do you like that?" Cayden said in wonder.
"You just never know who you'll be attracted to Cayd. That's the funny thing about attraction, you can't control it, it controls you and it doesn't discriminate."
Maybe it was because she was paying attention for a change, or maybe it was her pleasant alcohol induced mood, but Cayden actually heard Jodie. Her brain digested what her friend said and she nodded mutely, Brooke's image flashing in her mind briefly.
Jodie watched her friend shake loose an apparently unwanted thought and swig her beer. Yep, that hit the spot, didn't it Cayd? "So, you wanna come mingle with me? I get all the dirt."
"Yeah, sure, why not? Cayden agreed and let herself be led away.
* * *
Brooke stopped just a few feet before The Fuzzy Belly Deli, her feet unable to take her any further. Her mouth was terribly dry and her palms were very sweaty. The urge to pick Fred up and run away as fast as she could was strong, and she took several deep breaths to fight it. She looked down at the small dog and smiled, despite her fear, when he looked up at her in anticipation. "Yes baby, I'll pick you up." She scooped up the dog and held him at her hip with one hand, she used the other to rearrange her hair in a store window. She was regretting her choice of clothing now, not feeling quite as cocky as she did when she was home looking in the mirror. "Who am I kidding with these tits?" she asked her reflection. She started to turn away and stopped herself. "You're here, just do it. You have Fred if you need him. She invited you for shit sakes. Just go inside."
Brooke approached the shop slowly and peeked inside. There were plenty of people, but her eyes cut through them all in search of Cayden. I can't do this... she thought fleetingly until the tall woman came into view. Brooke's heart pounded wildly and her knees went weak. "My god Fred, she's even more gorgeous than the last time!" Her belly curled with the familiar feeling of arousal as she watched Cayden drink a beer. "She even drinks sexy." She whispered to herself. "Feel what she's doing to you! You can't let this go!" The blonde put her hand on her chest and felt her heart beating crazily. "Go! Now!" she demanded of herself and entered the shop with an air of confidence she really did not feel.
* * *
Jodie, Wade and Cayden were hovering around the hors d’ouevres, watching a bird-like woman named Cheryl pick her way through the crackers. It seemed that she was searching for a particular cracker, as the three watched on with amusement. Her little Pekingese, Toto, was happily partaking in a gourmet bone.
Cayden leaned over to her friends to whisper. "You know, now that she breathed on all of them I don't want any."
"OH DEAR LORD!"
The tall woman became frightened when Jodie suddenly shouted and was about to turn and see what had upset her when she was spun around like a kid playing pin the tail on the donkey. "Jodie! What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked in irritation, getting dizzy.
"Nothing! I'm fine! Say, you know, I think we need more booties!" Jodie exclaimed, eyes wide.
"What?" Cayden was growing annoyed.
"In the store room, we need more booties!"
The shop keeper rolled her eyes. "Jodie, I hardly think there's a sudden run on... hey! Quit pushing! I'll get them!"
Jodie watched as her friend muttered to herself and disappeared behind the closed door. "Wade! Wade!" she panicked, "It's her! Brooke!" she turned Wade to face the newcomer. "She came!"
"Oh wow! She's a knock out! Holy shit, Jo!"
"Oh my god, what do we do?" Jodie took two steps forward then two back, waving her hands around.
"First we stop acting like a mental patient and go over and say hello."
"Good idea." Jodie agreed and made a beeline for the blonde.
Wade followed, looking over his shoulder for Cayden.
* * *
The tall brunette took the opportunity to sit in peace before she went back out to the party. She had no idea what had just come over Jodie, but now she was a little grateful that her nutty friend threw her in the store room. She sat down on a box and stretched out her legs, thinking of nothing in particular as the pleasant haze of alcohol clouded her brain.
* * *
"Brooke!" Jodie said, catching the blonde's attention.
"Oh, hello." Brooke smiled.
&
nbsp; "I'm so glad you could make it." The waitress beamed.
Brooke couldn't help but smile back.
"Hi, I'm Wade, Cayden's roommate, great to meet you."
Brooke attempted to shake the offered hand and was totally charmed when the good looking man kissed her hand instead. "Oh! Why, aren't you sweet." she said.
Jodie hadn't taken her eyes off of Brooke yet, she couldn't believe how hot the blonde looked. Cayden didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell once she laid eyes on Brooke. Speaking of... "Cayden is in the back room, she'll be out in a second."
"There's a back room?" The blonde said in relief. Her heart began pounding again and she swallowed hard. That would be the perfect opportunity to talk to Cayden, if only she could get her legs to move.
Jodie saw the conflict pass across Brooke's features. "How about a beer?" she offered, pulling Brooke over to the folding table. Jo wasn't sure she wanted Brooke and Cayden alone.
Wade was making goo-goo eyes and silly faces at the tiny Chihuahua. "Who's this little guy?"
Brooke accepted the beer and blinked a few times, trying to snap herself back into the conversation at hand. "Oh, this is Fred." she said, holding him up for perusal.
Jodie petted the dog a bit while Brooke drank. "May I?" she asked, holding out her hands.
"Oh sure, he likes people." The blonde stared at the brown haired girl for a bit. "I'm sorry, I never did get your name."
"Jodie, but everyone calls me Jo." She saw Brooke's gaze darting around nervously. "The store room is back there." she pointed, "But Cayd should be out in a minute."
Brooke nodded, staring at the closed door. She warred with herself whether she should go back there and just confess to the tall woman, or wait til she gets out and try and mingle. No, I came here with a purpose, and I intend to see it through. "You know, maybe I should go back there..."