Julia's Second Collection

by Bridy McAvoy

  “I can’t go without any underwear with this dress.”

  He continued to draw her panties down, giving her statement the lie. “Then wear a thong.”

  “But they’re so uncomfortable.”

  She stepped out of the panties and he tossed them toward the linen basket as he rose to his feet. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he hugged her to his body. She put her arms over his and ran her fingers along his biceps.

  “I’m not sure this is a good idea. Let me find another dress.”

  He bent his head and nipped her earlobe again. She wriggled in his arms as the sensation travelled all the way down to her groin and back. “Lift your arms above your head.”

  “Kinky shit!”

  “Just do it.”

  She did as he asked, watching him watching her in the reflection. The dress did slip down a little but not far enough to become indecent or release a nipple, or even both.

  “See, it's fine.”

  She bit her lip. It did feel sexy, and she looked a million dollars, but the idea of going out commando in that dress was a bit much.

  “I guess I’d better find a thong then.”

  Downstairs, someone rang the doorbell.

  “Too late. Steve’s here. Come on.” Max started to tow her toward the bedroom door and she gave her reflection one last look.

  * * * *

  As Julia walked down the stairs, she was conscious of the way her skirt wanted to ride up. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she checked. It had ridden up a little but not as much as she’d thought. Even as she watched, it dropped back into place.

  “Happy?” He was watching her with that lop-sided grin of his that told her he was amused by it all.

  “Nervous.” She shot him her I’ll get you back for this, later look and his grin just widened.

  “You look fabulous. You’ll be fine. Watch Steve and Ryan’s eyes pop out of their head when they see you. Samantha will be jealous as hell too, as will every other woman in the place.”

  “Stop it or I won’t go. I think it’s more likely the men will all be jealous of you.”

  “Too right they will. They’d better be. You look gorgeous. Good enough to eat.”

  She laughed. “Not that there’s a lot in the way of you eating me right at the moment.”

  “Don’t tempt me. I might have a quick nibble.”

  “Max!”

  He laughed and she smiled back at her husband. He’d managed to lift her mood, boosting her confidence.

  Steve, Ryan and Samantha were waiting at the door when Max opened it.

  “About time. I thought we were going to have to bust in with a crowbar.”

  “Hush, Steve. A woman needs time to get ready.”

  “Samantha was ready on time.”

  Samantha giggled. “Samantha was ready on time because she had a half day today, so had the entire afternoon to get ready. Ignore the grouch, Julia. You look fabulous. You look so great in that dress I can hear my husband’s eyeballs click as they move up and down your body.”

  “You cannot.”

  They all laughed, and Julia gave Samantha the once-over. Her layered pale blue chiffon dress hugged her curves, but had just enough loose fabric gathered in the front to provide an opaque cover for her obviously braless breasts. The skirt was much longer than Julia’s but had slits up the sides.

  “Give us a twirl, sweetie. That dress is so you.”

  “You like it?” Samantha gave a girlish giggle, obviously pleased with Julia’s comment. Julia had meant it as well. She did look gorgeous. As Samantha spun around, the skirt was so lightweight it billowed out, the slits opening to show off the tops of her white stockings and an expanse of thigh above them.

  “Fabulous. I wouldn’t worry about Ryan’s eyeballs clicking. You get on that dance floor you’re going to draw everyone else’s. You’ll have a collection of them rolling along the floor behind you wherever you go.”

  The absurdity of the image she’d just painted seemed to tickle everyone and they were laughing as Max locked up and they all walked back across the road to Steve’s driveway. He’d elected to be the designated driver for the evening because of a change to his meds that meant he wasn’t allowed to drink. Julia hadn’t been that happy with having to spend so much time with her lecherous neighbor, but there again it allowed both her and Max to drink without the hassle of getting a cab at the end of the evening.

  Samantha grabbed her hand and held her back a little. “Who gets to sit up front with the old lecher, and who gets to sit sandwiched between the two sexy men?”

  Julia kept her voice down too, as she replied. “I’ve had to go commando under this dress. I’ll need Dutch courage to sit next to Steve without underwear, so you sit up front on the way, and we’ll switch on the way back.”

  “What makes you think I’m wearing any panties?”

  Julia snorted and the two men in front turned around to look at them, but both Julia and her neighbor maintained innocent faces. Steve had simply walked on in front to unlock his car.

  “I call shotgun!”

  This time, even Steve turned around to look as Samantha shouted out. He laughed. “God, I haven’t heard that in I don’t know how many years.”

  Max and Ryan were laughing too.

  Ryan held the door open for his wife to climb in the front while Max did the same in the back, allowing Julia to climb in and maintain some semblance of decorum as she scooted into the middle of the back seat. The skirt rode up, exposing her pale flesh above her dark stockings and she pulled it down as hard as she could, with only some success, although she did manage to cover the tops of her nylons—just.

  Max hopped in and she pressed up against him as Ryan joined them in the back. Steve’s car wasn’t a compact, but it wasn’t huge, so the three were quite squashed together. Since Julia had the transmission tunnel to deal with, her feet were necessarily some distance apart. For a few seconds, she squashed her knees together but it wasn’t the most comfortable way to sit and she gave in and straightened her legs. This separated her knees by about six inches and she tried not to be hyper-aware of the fact the skirt was so short and she had nothing on underneath.

  Steve reversed off the drive and set off. From the corner of her eye, she could see Max kept glancing at her legs, and then up at Samantha sitting diagonally in front of him in the front. Ryan couldn’t see his wife, and she could tell his gaze was directed downward at her, either her cleavage or her legs. She didn’t want to turn and embarrass both of them by catching him.

  She looked at Max and smiled at her husband. He winked and nodded toward the front. She turned and looked at Samantha and suppressed a gasp. Steve, lecherous as ever, had turned the fan on in the front, or otherwise had it set high all the time. As a result, the diaphanous front of Samantha’s skirt was fluttering as if in a stiff breeze. As she watched, the front section of the skirt rose up a little then slid up Samantha’s leg, exposing another bit of her thigh.

  Julia wondered if they were actually going to make the party in one piece as the side split of her neighbor’s dress opened up, exposing her leg once more. She looked up and saw Samantha had turned her head to look back. There was a gentle fire burning deep in her eyes and a smile playing on her lips. She’d always thought her neighbor was a bit straight-laced—certainly compared to Grace, her immediate predecessor in the house next to Julia. Maybe not, as it was obvious Samantha knew exactly what was happening to her skirt, and was doing nothing about it.

  As they pulled out onto the main highway, the low sun was right in their eyes and Steve reached up and pulled the sun visors down. He fiddled with his mirror too, angling it and, for a couple of minutes, Julia didn’t think about that as she leaned back, trying to shield her eyes from the glare. Eventually, she realized she was pressing one leg against Max, one leg against Ryan and leaving quite a gap between her knees. Glancing to the front, she could see Steve’s mirror was angled steeply down, and from the way his head kept turni
ng, he was frequently looking in it, despite the fact there was no way he could see anything behind them with the mirror in that position.

  She gave herself a mental face-palm as she joined the dots together. She frowned at him, although he couldn’t see her face, and pushed her knees together, cutting off his obvious view up her skirt.

  Steve laughed and, reaching up, adjusted his mirror. He caught her eye in the mirror and gave a soft chuckle. She stuck her tongue out at him, startling another chuckle from him, and he returned to splitting his attention between the road and the leg show Samantha was giving him. Julia began to wonder if her neighbor had teased him before. She’d known he was a voyeur and a lecher as well as a camera nut for many months. Indeed, she’d posed for him on a few occasions. She didn’t think Samantha had been drawn into the same web as Julia, but just maybe she had. She tried hard not to shiver as some of the memories flooded back, including the outrageous proposal from Steve and one of his friends at the last party she’d attended with Steve—a proposal she’d accepted with Max’s enthusiastic approval. If Samantha was being drawn into Steve’s web, maybe she should show the woman the video from that night—or maybe not.

  * * * *

  As they pulled up outside the hall where the fundraiser was being held, she watched as Ryan jumped from the car and, hustling around to the front door, opened it for his wife. Julia exchanged a look with Max. It was clear that if indeed anything had been going on between Samantha and Steve, Ryan was aware of it and was going to control it where he could. Even though he was quick, Samantha had been quicker, smoothing down her dress and covering all of her legs once more. The delay as she watched the play-by-play between the other couple had allowed Steve to exit the car too and he was hovering behind Max as he offered his hand to help Julia from the car. With the skirt so short, there was little she could do to maintain her modesty but she tried her hardest. Max seemed happy enough that she’d managed, while Steve seemed even happier that she hadn’t.

  As they all stood on the pavement, with the two ladies adjusting their dresses and giving themselves a once-over, Max’s phone began its familiar ring. He groaned and reached into his pocket. They both knew that ringtone. He’d assigned a different one for work, and the familiar tone gave her a sinking feeling.

  “Oh, no!”

  Max took the call, turning his back, and Samantha gave her a quizzical look.

  “Work. That’s his work ringtone.”

  “Surely not.”

  Julia shrugged. “Comes with the territory.”

  The others waited patiently while Max listened rather more than he spoke. Julia knew her husband well enough to be able to read the line of his back. She had a frown on her face as he ended the call and turned back to them, mirrored by the one on his own face.

  “Max?”

  “Sorry, honey.”

  “Where?”

  “Mexico. They’ve had an explosion on the rig, two men hurt, but apparently not seriously. No fire, thank God, and no leak either, but the well is out of action, and I got the job.”

  “When have you got to go?”

  “Now.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope. I’ll call a cab and he can wait while I grab my bag then take me on to the airport. I’ll sort out a flight on the way.”

  She turned back to the other three who, from their expressions, could clearly see just how upsetting the conversation was.

  “Sorry, guys. Looks like we’ll have to bail.”

  “No.”

  She turned in surprise at Max’s interjection.

  “You’re staying. I’m quite sure Ryan, Samantha, and Steve can look after you and get you home safely. There’s no point in ruining your evening as well as mine…”

  She closed the three paces between the two of them and placed a hand on his chest. “You leaving ruins my evening, you know that.” She bit her lip. “And my plans for later.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I know, but go and have fun. Try and salvage something from the evening.”

  “You realize I only agreed to wear this dress without underwear because you were going to be here.”

  He smiled down into her face. “So go have fun anyway. I’m sure Steve would give his right arm to protect you.”

  She snorted. “I’m sure he would too, but it wouldn’t exactly be protection, would it?”

  They kissed, and as he started to dial for a cab she spotted one coming the other way. He waved it down and with a final wave dived into the back. As the cab pulled away, Julia turned back to the others.

  Samantha stepped forward and hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”

  She shrugged. “I’m proud of him really, and it’s what he gets paid the big bucks to do. It’s just so infuriating.”

  “Does it happen often when you’re out?”

  She smiled. “Only three times in nearly seven years. Tonight and a couple of times in the middle of a meal. We went home both those times. Tonight is the first time he’s abandoned me like this.”

  Samantha squeezed her arm and led her back to where the other two men were waiting. “He didn’t abandon you, he left you with friends. Now, come on. Let’s go have some fun.”

  Just before they got back to the other two, Julia lowered her voice. “As long as you promise to have a little chat about my…de facto date for the evening.”

  She watched as Samantha blushed, which told Julia there was something going on. Steve had clearly pulled another fly into his web.

  Steve offered her his elbow and she slotted her arm through the gap as they walked into the hall. Max had told her to go enjoy herself, so she made up her mind to do just that.

  The party was split across three rooms in the Memorial Hall, and for the first hour they sat at a table in the bar area. About thirty minutes in, she got a short text from Max.

  Managed to get a flight in an hour. On way to airport. Got to change at Dallas, a pain, but only a thirty minute wait. Got more details. Should only be a couple of days, tops. Enjoy yourself. Missing you. Love you xxx M

  She bit her lip and typed a quick reply.

  Stay safe, hurry home. Really missing you. Love you, always. xxx J

  “He okay?”

  “How did you know it was Max?”

  Steve laughed. “Sweetheart, the way you were biting your lip and staring at the screen, there could only be one man who gets your attention in a crowd like this. I watched your eyes. I reckon you read that text five times before you replied.”

  She smiled at him. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. A love like you two have is a very rare flower, a very rare bloom indeed.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Less of the gardening metaphors, if you please.”

  “Only if you’ll dance with me.”

  “As long as it’s not a slow one.”

  He pantomimed having a heart attack from dancing too fast and they all laughed. A few minutes later they picked up their drinks and headed through into the room with the music. The entire place was filling up and they wanted to try and get a table before they were all claimed.

  * * * *

  Over the next couple of hours, Julia danced with several men, most of whom she knew. She danced with Ryan a couple of times, and delivered the promised dance, along with a second one, to Steve. They’d just sat down, with Steve sweating profusely after their latest fast dance, when Julia felt a tap on her shoulder.

  “Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

  “Chris!” She beamed up into the face of one of the managers from work. Chris wasn’t her boss, in fact was Josie’s boss, running the HR department.

  “Of course.” She turned to the others at the table and made her excuses. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “I didn’t expect to find you here without Max.”

  “I wouldn’t have been. He got called away, literally, as we arrived. He’s somewhere over Texas at the moment on his way to Mexico via Dallas.”

  “Not a good
time for a flight.” While he continued the conversation, he guided her between the tables to the edge of the dance floor, arriving just as the current track was finishing. They waited for another song to start.

  “Who’s the dish in the blue chiffon?”

  “That’s my neighbor, Samantha, you old goat, and the lanky guy next to her who hasn’t taken his eyes off her all evening is her husband, Ryan.”

  “Pity.” He sighed, theatrical lines evident in every movement. “I always seem to end up liking the married ones.”

  “You’re married too, remember.”

  He grinned. “I know.”

  “And Christine is where?”

  “At home with a migraine, so while the cat’s away…”

  “You are no mouse. It’s more like while the cat’s away, the tiger is off the leash.”

  “Oh, so you think I’m a tiger?”

  “No, I think you think you’re a tiger.” She laughed and put her hand on his arm to show him there was no malice intended.

  “Is it a private joke or can anyone join in?”

  Despite claiming she’d worn him out, Steve had obviously asked Samantha for a dance, and the two were standing right behind them. Julia made the introductions just as the band started again, and Chris led her out onto the dance floor.

  This time, instead of fast rock music, they started paying a Latin rhythm—not a slow dance per se, but definitely one with a samba kind of beat. Julia loved to dance the samba or even salsa, but Max hated it, so when Chris started showing off a couple of samba moves, Julia was in her element.

  Without thinking, she lifted her arms above her head and started to sway around in a circle. Chris was dancing close to her. As she turned, she could see Steve making an attempt to keep up with Samantha as her neighbor danced in a similar way to her. As Samantha moved, she could see the way the floaty skirt kept rising and falling, the split at the side opening and closing, showing off the top of her stocking.

  As she turned back to face Chris, she could see him grinning, his eyes a little lower than her face. She thought she’d felt the dress move but had assumed it wasn’t by much. She looked down and quickly stifled a gasp. The dress had slipped further than she’d thought and the tops of her areolas were peeping out. Not that much could be seen in the low light on the dance floor, but obviously enough to grab and hold Chris’s interest. She lowered her hands and adjusted the dress back into place, hoping that nobody other than Chris had seen. His eyes rose, and he winked at her. Julia knew she was blushing—she could feel the heat, and it wasn’t from dancing. The near exposure had taken its toll elsewhere. It was as if her nipples had decided to wake up and join the party. As Chris’s eyes drifted back down, she knew they were showing as indentations in the front of her dress. When he chuckled to himself, she glared at him but he wasn’t looking at her face.