Chapter 17

Claire went shopping on Thursday night, while Chad was being a coach. Initially, she told the sales clerk who approached her that she was just looking, but she spent so long doing that that the woman finally came over to stand beside her.

"Looks like this is a serious purchase," said the woman.

"In a way," said Claire.

"Is this for your husband?" asked the woman, glancing at Claire's wedding set.

Claire was just frustrated enough that she just told the truth. "My divorce is slowly working its way through the courts."

"And you've met someone else."

"Yes," said Claire, uncomfortably.

"Life must go on," said the woman, cheerfully. "I take it this new guy is special?"

"Yes," said Claire, softly.

"And is this for a special occasion?"

"Yes," said Claire, again.

"Well, then, we want to knock his socks off," said the woman, making an understandable assumption. "May I make some suggestions?"

"You might as well," sighed Claire. "I can't seem to decide what to do. I haven't done this sort of thing much."

"You just let Tanya take care of everything," said the clerk, speaking of herself in third person. "We'll make this a memorable occasion for both of you."

In the end, Claire left with things she would never have chosen on her own. She was mildly surprised that the dress was actually quite modest in some sense. It was tan, the color of buckskin, to go with the deep auburn color of her hair, and made of a suede cloth that hugged her curves, but allowed only minimal cleavage to show. It came to just above her knees, where it was loose and flowed gently as she walked in it. For wear under that she had a bra and panty set that were decidedly not modest. Of the same color, they were lacy and almost transparent. The bra was an underwire design that barely covered her areolas and displayed her breasts while supporting them. The panties were high rise, with a thin waistband that connected to a V shaped lace panel in the front and an inch wide soft cotton strap that nestled between her buttocks. She hadn't thought she'd like wearing a G string but when she got home and tried them on she found them to be quite comfortable. Tanya had also convinced her to get a garter belt and medium brown thigh high hose to complement the dress. Two inch brown patent leather heels completed the ensemble.

When she had looked at the whole package as Tanya stood behind her, she knew she'd do a lot more shopping at that store, and that Tanya would be her habitual advisor.

The next day, at work, she was distracted. Part of that was just the anticipation of doing something fun with her best friend, and the man she admitted she loved being with. But what caused her to sit idle the most was trying to decide whether or not to let Chad see her in her new bra and panty set, with the garter belt and hose. She tried to imagine doing that, first wearing the shoes and then going in just stocking feet. She knew he'd love it. And she knew she'd love the look on his face if she did that. She found her mind wandering towards what might happen then. What might it be like to kiss him dressed only in her under things? Her imagination couldn't settle on whether he would be fully clothed (which would be much safer), or in only his own underwear, like her. Would he be wearing boxers, or briefs? Would they be patterned, or plain white? What if, impulsively, he took them off and exposed himself to her? Would he be erect? Of course he would. What would she do then?

She got little work done that day, and then it was time to go home, where she would have nothing to do because Chad had a game that night.

She ran twenty miles, to see how that felt. The Marathon was only a little more than a month away. She was also trying to work off the nervous energy inside her.

They had agreed for Saturday to be a rest day, in terms of running. But she felt good and was still fired up. She'd used the rabbit after running, the night before, and then soaked in a hot tub. So she went for another run, this time doing only seven miles. When she got home, she began gathering up John's clothes and other possessions. She stacked everything on the bed in the guest room, and then went on a house cleaning frenzy until, suddenly, it was past time for her to start getting ready.

She took a quick shower and then had time only to get dressed and put on minimal makeup. The bra gave her problems because while the tag said it was a C cup, it fit like a BB. As a result her breasts rode high in the cups and her nipples threatened to creep up out of the lace. There wasn't anything she could do about it, though. If she went braless that suede material of her dress would make that painfully obvious. Because of the time it took to fiddle with the bra, she had time only to brush her hair, leaving it long, unstyled, resting on her shoulders.

They had already agreed to meet at Cindy's, rather than go through the formality of him picking her up. His car was already there when she parked. And he was sitting in an arm chair in the living room when she walked in the door.

He stared. His mouth dropped open. Then his body jerked violently as he tried to get to his feet, to stand as a lady entered the room.

"Oh, you poor, poor man," said Cindy, who was sitting with Danny on the couch. They had obviously been chatting with Chad.

"What she said," said Danny, grinning. "You, my friend, are toast."

"Um ... hi," choked Chad. His eyes looked like they might pop out of his head. "I like your dress."

"It's not like the one I borrowed from Cindy for the dance," said Claire, feeling a little self conscious with three people examining her.

"It's even better," sighed Chad.

"It covers more," said Claire.

"I don't care," said Chad, a little weakly. He sat down, abruptly.

"Don't sit down," said Cindy, standing. "We need to go."

"I can't stand up right now," groaned Chad, covering his groin with both hands.

Cindy's laughter tinkled.

"Claire's a lady. She won't look."

"You're not the boss of me," said Claire, staring at Chad.

"Stop looking at him or we'll be late," scolded Cindy. "It's your fault. I didn't know you were going to bring out the big guns or I'd have tried to prepare him."

"What big guns?" asked Claire.

"Come on," said Danny, standing up. "You're not alone. She got to me too."

"Danny!" squealed his wife, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm normal," said Danny, shrugging.

Claire couldn't help herself. Her eyes dropped to the front of Danny's pants. There was a bulge there! The length of his erection was plainly visible, and he wasn't trying to hide it at all!

"Come on, you husband stealer," said Cindy, taking Claire's elbow. "We'll go ahead to the car so the horn dogs can get themselves in order and follow. Good grief!"

"I'm not trying to steal your husband," complained Claire.

"You don't have to try in that outfit," said Cindy.

"What? It's just a dress!"

"You didn't have time to look in the mirror, did you," suggested Cindy.

"Of course I did."

"Then you didn't look very closely," said Cindy.

They were halfway to the car. They could hear the men closing the door behind them.

"What are you talking about?" asked Claire, looking down.

She saw the firm, positive dents of her erect nipples pressing through the thin suede cloth. Apparently the bra had slipped as she got in and out of her car, and now her nipples were above the lace. She reached to try to do something about it.

"My bra slipped," she whispered.

"Not now," hissed Cindy. "Wait until we get in the car."

"With him sitting right beside me?"

Cindy snorted.

"Trust me. He'll be more than willing to help."

Somehow, the process of everyone getting seated in the car, and working with seat belts and getting going, seemed to calm things down. Now they were just two couples on their way to having a night of fun together. Cindy tended to "help" Danny drive, quite a bit, telling him where to turn and reminding him of the speed limit. She did that whether he was going too fast, or too slow. That left Chad and Claire more or less "alone" in the back seat, or at least not actively being paid attention to in the beginning.

"You look fabulous," he said, leaning over toward her.

"Remember that frilly underwear you hoped I bought? Well I got some,"" she said. "I think it's a little too small or something."

"No it's not," he said, fervently.

She felt no shame in reaching inside the neckline of her dress to adjust the bra. It took more than she wanted it to, though, to coax her breasts back down into the cups of the bra. He watched with plain interest.

"Need some help?" he asked, quietly.

"Cindy said you'd offer," she said, elbowing him.

"I like them," he said, changing the subject to give her some space. He motioned to the front seat.

"Me too," she said.

"You really are gorgeous," he said, unable to keep from turning his attention to her again.

"Thank you," she said.

The whole evening was delightful. Claire felt like Cinderella for some of it. Chad was attentive, but not clinging. The food was good, and the show was wonderful. When the show started, they moved their chairs side by side and held hands for most of it. When she lifted her hand to take a sip of her wine, he rested his hand on her thigh. He didn't grope her, but his finger or thumb often stroked either her hand or her thigh, briefly.

By the time they got back into the car to go home, she was a little tipsy, and a lot horny.

It was dark on the way back. Danny had restricted his alcohol intake, as the driver. Cindy had not. An hour into the drive her head was back and she was snoring softly. Danny kept his eyes on the road.

Chad took the initiative and reached to turn Claire's head towards his. His first kiss was gentle, with almost no pressure. She moaned into his mouth and then whimpered when he reached to cup and gently maul a breast. It slipped clear of her bra again and he was able to tease the stiff nipple through the soft cloth of her dress.

Soon they were making out like teenagers.

When Danny parked, Cindy woke up perky. She faced Chad as they stood outside the car.

"I don't want to seem like a poor host, but I plan to rip my husband's clothes off as soon as we get inside," she said. "Claire had enough to drink that you should drive her home. She can pick up her car tomorrow."

"Will do," said Chad.

Claire said nothing.

She let Chad put her in his car and sat in silence as he drove to her house. When he followed her to the door, she fumbled with her keys, instead of standing at the door to kiss him good night. When the door was open, she turned to him.

"I have a bottle of wine," she said, softly.

"Maybe one glass," he replied, and followed her inside.

He leaned against the counter in the kitchen while she got the wine and opened it. She had kicked off her shoes when she got inside, and now stood on tiptoes as she got down two wine glasses from the cabinet. She poured three fingers in each glass, left the bottle uncorked, and handed him his glass.

"I had a wonderful night," she said, holding her glass up to toast.

"Me, too," he said, clinking his glass against hers, gently.

"I might be sorely tempted to go on an actual date with you," she said, after taking a sip. She smiled, tiredly.

"I look forward to it," he said.

"So ... what now?" she asked, leaning against the counter beside him.

He took another sip.

"Do you have any memories of what it was like to pet?"

She looked over at him.

"I do not."

"Do you think another experiment is in order?"

She sipped again.

"Just petting?"

"I think it best to take things one step at a time, if we're going to try to unlock specific memories," he said.

"Do your students fall for that stuff?" she asked.

"All the time," he said.

"I'm not as young as them," she pointed out.

"Yes, but your amnesia makes you almost as callow, don't you think?"

She put the glass down.

"I got new underwear," she said.

"You mentioned that," he said. "Was it for me?"

"For both of us, I think," she said.

"Do I get to see it?"

"I think so."

"In here?"

She shook her head and a few strands of her hair got caught on the corner of her lip.

"This underwear is more suited to a French bordello," she said.

"I see."

"Not yet," she said, picking up her glass and draining it. "But you will in a minute."

She walked away then, making him follow her. She was trying to feel like she was in control of the situation, and making him follow her just felt like it advanced that agenda. She knew she was in trouble, but she didn't care. She was so aroused that she felt like she was actually trembling ... vibrating with the need to find some release. But the kind of release was still important, even amid the fog of her desire. When she entered her bedroom and turned on the bedside lamp, she turned to face him.

"Only petting. Please?"

"You said I wasn't making this easy for you," he said, softly.

A half hysterical sob burst from her throat and she nodded.

"Is this my punishment?" he asked. "You're making this very hard for me." He took a step toward her. "You're making me very hard."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm not."

"Really?"

"You have no idea how long I've dreamed of being here with you, like this."

"Even if it's only petting?"

"You don't understand. It's not only petting. It's getting to pet ... you."

"Oh, Chad," she rasped. "I'm in so much trouble right now."

"No you aren't. We'll be fine."

"Promise me," she begged.

"I promise," he said, simply.

He saw the tenseness in her shoulders dissipate.

"You sit there," she said, pointing at her bed.

He did, and she reached behind her to unzip her dress. When the zipper was halfway down, she changed her mind and walked to turn her back to him.

"Help me?"

He reached and slowly moved the zipper to the band of soft cotton that was the waistband of her panties. She stepped away from him again and turned to face him. Slowly she shrugged the dress off her shoulders, letting it fall to her elbows. She didn't look to see if her breasts were still secure in her bra. She didn't care.

Pulling her arms from the sleeves, she pushed it down over her hips and let it fall in a puddle around her ankles. She paused, knowing his eyes were raking over her, and letting him look. Stepping out of the dress, she left it on the carpet and again went to turn her back to him.

She didn't have to ask for help again. His fingers came up to unclip her bra and she sighed as the pressure of the underwire was released. Stepping away from him again, she turned to face him. Her arms covered her breasts as the bra straps slid down her arms. His eyes glittered in the soft light as he waited.

Grasping the bra, she pulled it off rapidly and stood in just her panties, garter belt and hose. Again, she just stood and let him look.

He licked his lips and she felt a rush of moisture saturate her vagina. She wondered if it was staining her new panties, but some residual measure of control required that she leave them on.

The garter belt and hose, however, could come off. She couldn't remember wearing a garter belt in the past, and because of that she'd put things on wrong. Or at least not with efficiency in mind. She'd discovered that at the theater when she'd gone to the powder room to pee. She'd had to unclip the garter belt from her hose to get her panties down. It had been a pain at the time, but now that happenstance was fortuitous, because she could remove the garter belt without having to remove her panties first.

She reached, watching his eyes instead of what she was doing, and felt for the clips that released her hose. The belt came off with a flick of the catch and landed on the floor near her dress. She bent to push the hose down her legs and realized that her breasts were hanging like ripe fruit from a tree. She craned her neck, looking to see that he had leaned to one side, to better see what she was offering. When she stood, she tugged the panties, arranging the waistband into a perfect line and, without having to speak, telling him that they were staying on.