He wasn't expecting Kim to call, even though he knew she was home for Thanksgiving break. Brad knew that she had just broken up with her boyfriend, who happened to be Brad's best friend, so he figured she wouldn't be too keen to talk with him. But when her number flashed on his cell phone, Brad eagerly answered it.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hi. It's Kim," she said. The sound of her voice made Brad's heart rate pick up. Since Kim had dated his friend Scott for two years, Brad never thought that he would ever have a chance with her. And he wasn't about to make any moves on her while she was dating Scott. But he always felt like they had a certain connection. Kim certainly wasn't shy about flirting with him, and based on the stories Scott told, she wasn't shy about many things.
"Hey Kim. Are you back on break?" Brad asked. Kim, at 19, was a sophomore in college. Brad, just 18, was a freshman. Kim went to Indiana while Brad was at Ohio State.
"Just got home last night," Kim said back. "You talk to Scott?"
"Yes," Brad said, not wanting to lie. "Is it true?"
Scott had told him that he and Kim just couldn't keep their long-distance relationship together as he was at Cornell, hundreds of miles from Kim at Indiana. They had drifted apart, unable to see each other like they used to when they started dating in high school.
"Yes, it's over," Kim said. "I was hoping to talk with you about some stuff I've been wondering. Want to meet at the mall around 3?"
Brad didn't have anything going on, and even if he had, he would have skipped it to see Kim. She was petite, about 5'4'', with long black, curly hair that came down to her shoulders, small but pert breasts and a nearly perfect ass that she loved to show off in jeans that appeared to be two sizes too small and form-fitting yoga pants.
"Yeah, I can meet you there," Brad said. "Got some shopping to do?"
"A little bit, mainly I just wanted to see you and talk about things," Kim said. "See you in a couple hours."
"Later," Brad replied. He put his phone down and wondered what this was all about.
"Talk about things?" he said to himself out loud. He wasn't sure what that meant, but it could go in a lot of different ways. He and Kim had always been close, even when she was dating Scott, so maybe she just wanted to pick his brain about the breakup. But what if it was more than that? Brad's mind wandered. But he wouldn't have much time to stress over it. It was already 1 p.m.
Brad got a text from Kim as he was driving to the mall.
"Meet me outside VS."
"VS?" Brad thought to himself. "Could she really mean Victoria's Secret?" From the stories Scott had told him about his years dating Kim, she was far from a prude. In fact, if Scott was to be believed all she ever thought about was sex. Brad could, and had, imagined her loving to flaunt her body in some of the more revealing offerings at Victoria's Secret.
When he approached the store, he could see Kim standing near the entrance typing something on her phone. She looked as good as he remembered the last time he saw her, about four months earlier. She was wearing black yoga pants and a sweater that just barely covered her ass. Kim smiled when she saw him and spread her arms wide for a hug.
"Brad! Come here, you!" she said embracing him. Brad, always one to over think things, tried to determine whether it was a friend hug or a more-than-friend hug. It was hard to tell, but it certainly felt good.
"Kim, great seeing you," Brad said as they emerged from the hug. He loved the smell of her perfume. Whatever it was, it was distinctly her smell. It was a definite turn on.
"Hey, so, sorry about Scott," Brad said, cutting right to the chase. "I wish I could tell you what he was thinking, but I'm not really sure."
"Yeah, I know," Kim said. "It's not like I didn't see it coming, because I did. Things just weren't going great and we both knew it. But that's why I wanted to be sure to see you right away."
"Oh?" Brad said.
"Yeah, I just wanted to be sure that me no longer being with Scott doesn't mean the end of our friendship," Kim said. "You're my best guy friend and I don't want you to think we can't still hang out."
"Guy friend?" Brad thought to himself. "Hang out?" These were not the words of a woman looking to start a relationship, or get into his pants. His hopes for the afternoon started to fade.
"No way," he told her. "Nothing can stop us from being friends. Scott would be cool with that and even if he wasn't, there's nothing he can do to stop us."
"Aw, I'm so glad to hear you say that," Kim said, rubbing her hand up and down Brad's arm. "Coming home wouldn't be the same if I couldn't see you."
Brad smiled and there was an awkward silence. He really wasn't sure what was going to happen next, other than he was now stuck at the mall to do some shopping he didn't have any interest in doing.
"So, now what?" Brad asked.
"Oh, I just needed to grab some stuff. You want to hang out with me and get caught up?" Kim asked.
"Sure," Brad said. He was used to hanging out with Kim even when she was dating Scott. They got along well because they both knew nothing was going to happen between them. But now with Scott out of the picture, Brad was hoping for more, but Kim wasn't giving off vibes that was in the offing.
"I need to run in here," she said, motioning toward Victoria's Secret. "Can you come in and help?"
Suddenly, Brad was feeling more optimistic about the afternoon. Was this Kim just being the friend, or was this Kim starting to flirt with him? Either way, he was more than happy to help her pick out underwear. The material he would gather for masturbation fantasies would last him months back at college.
They walked into the store that was packed with people, mostly women, taking advantage of holiday sales. The music was loud and the noise from the shoppers was louder still. Kim had to practically scream for Brad to hear her.
"Come on in the back," she said. "There's a sale on panties."
Brad couldn't believe it, but he actually felt his dick start to harden. Was he really shopping for panties with Kim? Her being so casual about it just turned him on all the more.
They got to the back of the store where there was a massive display of panties in all shapes, varieties, colors and sizes.
"Scott always wanted me to wear thongs, and those things are so damn uncomfortable," Kim said. "I need to get some stuff that actually feels good when I'm wearing it, you know."
"Not really," Brad joked.
Kim laughed.
"Do you like these boy shorts?" Kim held up a pair of blue and white striped boy shorts in front of her waist, as if she were wearing them.
"Yeah, those are cute," Brad said, but he was really thinking, "My god you would look so fucking hot in those."
"OK, cool," Kim said. "Can you pick out four different ones of these you think I would like? I'm a small."
Before Brad could answer, Kim had moved to another table of nothing but silk panties and was pawing through a pile of them on display. Brad was actually now semi-erect just at the thought of Kim asking for his advice in picking out her panties. The only thing that stopped him from getting a full-on boner was that he wasn't sure whether she viewed him as almost a sister, or girlfriend, out on a shopping jag, or whether she was also turned on by the thought of him choosing her unmentionables.
Either way, he was tasked with picking out panties that would send the right message. They had to be sexy without being trashy, perhaps a little naughty but definitely not old lady.
He got the four he thought fit the bill and then connected with Kim in another part of the store.