“You getting hungry, baby?”
“Starving. And I want to run our errand before tonight.”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
She grinned at me and shook her head. “Not a chance.”
We stopped for lunch at a Ramen Noodle joint near my house, which was amazing, and we spent the meal laughing at each other as we made pathetic attempts at eating noodles with chopsticks. Aly had made a deal that the first person to ask for a fork or spoon had to pay for lunch, and I wasn’t going to let a challenge like that go. Especially given the sorry state of my bank account.
Afterwards, and having split the check, we climbed back into her Mini Cooper and she pulled away.
“Aly, where are we going?”
“Not telling. It’ll ruin the surprise.”
She was wearing the most adorable smile, her eyes sparkling with mischief. I just couldn’t help but smile back. “Fine, be that way. But if you’re taking me to be sacrificed in some pagan sorority ritual I’m going to be very upset.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s not even a full moon. Oh, here we are.”
She turned into a strip mall and I surveyed the occupants. There was an H&R Block, a fish and chicken joint, a Great Clips, and an, oh shit.
Sure enough, Aly pulled up to the shop on the far right where the large windows were curtained, with only four mannequins visible. Three were female, each wearing brightly colored lingerie, and another was male with only a tight pair of red shorts.
A pink sign was shining in the window, advertising Adult toys and novelties, lingerie, DVDs, etc. I realized my mouth was hanging open a little and I was staring. Aly turned to me with a big grin on her face.
“We’re going in there?” I was completely unable to wipe the look of shock off my face.
“What? You’ve been in these before, I mean you do have the Captain and Tennille.”
“God, Aly, I ordered those online.” I bit my lip.
She giggled, reaching out and touching my cheek. “You really are nervous.”
“Aly, when I was a kid these places were beyond taboo. My mother would start praying if we even drove past one.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, maybe not, but close.” I stared at her. “You’ve been in there?”
“No, but I’ve finally met someone I plan on having a lot of great sex with, and I want to see what they have.”
I just gaped at her, my mouth in full ‘fly-catcher’ mode, which made her laugh.
“C’mon, sweetie, let’s go.” She opened her door and climbed out, her grin still plastered across her face. I followed suit, forcing my jaw shut. Aly stepped up onto the sidewalk and held out her hand. My heart was starting to thump, but sliding my hand into Aly’s made everything calm down. How does she do that?
The store was mercifully empty, as it was a Tuesday afternoon, except for the blue and purple haired shop girl. She called out a welcome, which Aly returned warmly. I was studiously averting my eyes, using the old ‘if I can’t see her, she can’t see me’ philosophy.
Aly pulled me over to the right hand side of the store, where innumerable bright packages were hanging from floor to ceiling wire racks. There were dildos, vibrators, handcuffs, men and women in various states of undress adorned nearly every package, or at least it seemed that way to me.
“You okay?” Aly ran her hand reassuringly up and down my arm.
I nodded stiffly. What the hell was wrong with me? They’re just sex toys. I mean, I owned some; I used them. I was supposed to be the tough girl. Okay, I can do this, I’m…
“Can I help you ladies?”
I sucked in a breath and almost jumped out of my shoes. Aly and I spoke at the same time, my hurried “No!” was quickly overridden by her far more honest response.
“Yeah, actually.” Aly slipped her arm through mine and looked up at me with that soft expression of hers. “The strap-ons that we’ve been using just don’t give her enough stimulation when she’s wearing them. I’d really like something that would let her orgasm while she penetrates me.”
I think my jaw actually bounced off the floor, and my cheeks were about to spontaneously combust. But I didn’t let go of Aly’s hand.
The shopgirl, whose name was Trinity according to her tag, just nodded, like she was asked that question every day. Who knows? Maybe she was. “I got you. We have our double enders over here, and these have a vibrating pad at the base. I have one like this for pegging my boyfriend, and it feels amazing.”
“Really? Yeah, I think that would be good.”
Aly and Trinity kept talking, comparing various models. Aly tried to include me in the conversation, asking my opinion and the like, but I’m ashamed to admit I wasn’t keeping up my end of the deal. I kept just hoping the floor would open up and swallow me.
Aly finally took pity on me. “We’re going to take a look around. Thanks for your help.” When Trinity moved away she turned to me. “What’s with you, sweetie? Do you want to go?”
Her voice told me she was hurt. She was doing this for me, and I was shutting down.
“No, I’m sorry. I just….” I looked around terrified, like a vampire in a garlic store.
“I shouldn’t have sprung this on you. Sorry.” She ran her hand up my arm.
I smiled. “No, I can do this. I’m a big girl.” I nodded my head a few times, psyching myself up and turning back to the rack of toys.
“Yeah, you are.” She went up on her tiptoes and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Now how ’bout this one?”
We talked it over, and eventually picked out a double ender with a built in vibrator for the wearer. I balked at the price, as the thing was not cheap, not in the slightest.
“You sure, baby?”
She was holding it almost lovingly. “Oh, yeah, if this is the one you like, if it gets the job done, it’s worth every penny.” She carried it over to Trinity at the counter, and I followed like a puppy. “Is this one okay?”
“Yeah, the reviews say it’s good, high quality. I’ve never had one come back.”
“Excellent.”
“Is this all? Or do you want to look around some more?”
Aly looked eagerly up at me, and I knew she wanted to look around more. She’s so cute. “Alright, let’s go. Can you hold that here?”
The sales girl nodded, and Aly grabbed my hand and pulled me back over to the novelties. “What do you think about these?”
Aly was standing in front of a bunch of black leather items, but what she was holding was a pair of padded handcuffs.
I was staring. “You want some of those, like bondage stuff?”
Aly blushed and looked down at the pink item in her hands. “Kind of. I mean, I don’t feel the need to be trussed up like a Christmas turkey, but being a little helpless would be okay, if you want. I mean, My Lady could chain me to the headboard, and have her way with her baby. If she’d like that.”
The way she was looking at me was enough, but the thought of Aly lying naked on my bed, hands tied above her head, made me tingle all over. I could just imagine the look of sweet surrender in her eyes, the giddy anticipation mixed with just a touch of fear.
“What do you think?”
Her voice snapped me out of my fantasy. “Yeah, absolutely.” I couldn’t help the wicked grin that stole across my face. “But if we’re getting that, I want this, too.” I pulled down a black leather wand tipped with feathers.
Aly’s grin was ear to ear. “You’re mean.”
I shrugged. “Maybe just a little.”
She took the tickling device I was holding. “Now how about over here?”
She dragged me over to the lingerie section, and we spent about twenty minutes discussing things. She’d hold up outfits, and I’d tell her what I thought. I really liked the idea of her in lace teddies and babydolls, the more feminine and innocent the better. By the end I was really into it, my embarrassment pretty much gone. And I was just stunned by how much Aly wanted to make me happy, and how much thought she was giving to what would please me. It was humbling.
We exited the store with the feather wand, cuffs and, of course, the new strap on. It hadn’t been cheap, and I was a little ashamed to have let Aly pay for it, but she was so excited I got over it. She didn’t buy any lingerie, saying that would be a surprise for later.
As I put my seatbelt on, I looked over at my girlfriend. That is what she was, I was starting to admit it to myself. “So where to now?” It wasn’t yet three o’clock.
“You could take me to some art.”
I laughed. “Huh? What do you mean by that?”
Aly shrugged her shoulders. “I mean I want to look at art with you, someone who’s really studied it. Is there a place we could do that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think so. Get back on the freeway and head south.”
I directed her to a beautiful studio just north of Hollywood. I knew the owner, and had even exhibited a few pieces occasionally. I’d never had a full show, though, and I’ll admit it was a dream of mine. Maximillian Beville could make an artist.