This is another series of tales I wrote many years ago on another site. The "theme" may seem familiar to those UK readers of a certain age...
Sue was in a bit of a quandary. it was Wednesday morning and she was walking into the old town looking for a particular shop. Part of her wanted to find it and go in, the other part of her wasnt so sure about what it might lead to.
On the previous Monday evening her pain in the ass husband has announced he was was off on another of his overseas business trips.
"I know it's your birthday at the weekend, but the CEO is insisting I have to go to Japan and sort this issue out, it could be a couple of weeks. I am sorry!" had been his pathetic excuse when he got in from work.
These trips had become more frequent since his promotion last year. She knew the new role meant travel, as well as more money which was nice, but he seemed to be away nearly every other week recently. She was sure he was playing away, just hadn't found anything incriminating to confront him with. So Tuesday night she had opened a bottle of wine and sat there alone watching repeats on TV, when her best friend pinged her on Whatsapp.
"OK whats that old fart of a husband planning for your birthday this weekend, or do we girls get a chance for some fun?"
In a mildly intoxicated haze she had responded. "The fart buggered off to Japan for two weeks this morning. So no birthday celebrations for me."
She was a little surprised when Helen didn't respond, but even more surprised when there was a knock on her front door. She peeped thought the spyhole, worried who might be out there at nine o'clock on a Tuesday night. It was Helen, clutching a bottle of prosseco, a pizza box and a tub of ice cream.
"Early birthday party you old tart, open the bloody door it's freezing out here!"
Helen was divorced a few years back and now lived on her own, her kids away at Uni the same as Sue and John's two boys. Sue opened the door and soon they were giggling away at some trashy old film as they demolished the pizza and prosecco before starting on the ice cream. By midnight Helen had convinced Sue to come with her to a fancy dress party on Saturday night.
"Listen, come and let your hair down for a change, Forget your bloody useless husband, in fact forget you are married!" she giggled.
Sue looked aghast, but something inside her was really tempted.
"It's a masked party, so no-one will know who you are. Well unless you get close enough to let them take your mask off that is..." Helen giggled again. "Look there's a great fancy dress shop in the old town that someone has recommended to me. I've got my costume all sorted it's an old Princess Leia outfit I used to wear for Steve, turned him on no end the kinky sod! But by hiring something you won't have to explain away a new outfit in the wardrobe to John, just take it back on Monday."
"Oh I'm still not sure," said Sue, "I'm not really in a party mood right now."
Helen took her by the shoulders, "OK, listen to me. Tomorrow go the hire shop, it looks a bit run down apparently and the old guy the runs it is a bit strange, but it is fine. Hire an outfit, then you can make your mind up on Saturday if you want to come with me. What have you got to lose?"
By now the prosecco had done it's job and Sue was beginning to relax, "OK I'll go and choose an outfit, nothing as risque as your Leia bikini mind you! I haven't got your figure or the suntan!"
Helen looked her in the eye, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with your figure! I would kill for your legs and those pert breasts are just so tasty!"
As she spoke she slid her hands down and gave Sues breasts a squeeze.
"What the fuck!" she gasped, "when did you get your nipples pierced you sly minx?"
Sue giggled, "fucking waste of money, but about 3 weeks ago. John has always had a thing about pierced nipples so I got them done as a surprise for his birthday. he hardly noticed them!"
Sue was now blushing furiously, as Helen's fingers traced the outline of the nipple bars through her blouse and bra.
"Well he is even more of a bloody fool than I took him for!" laughed Helen, "I am not accepting any excuses you are coming to the party on Saturday even if I have to kidnap you!"
Sue laughed back, "OK I give in, I'll come with you. Even if it's just to see all these men you keep going on about."
Helen smiled, "Perfect I'll pick you up at six, be dressed and ready to go. Nothing frumpy, I will have a naughty outfit in my boot to put you in if you are too sensible. This is about you having fun. Now unlike you I have to get up for work in the morning, so I'm off home!"
Finally Sue found the street that she had been looking for, it was full of old fashioned shops, books, antiques, curios. Finally tucked down a little lane she found the one she was looking for, "Costume Hire" the weather beaten sign above the shop announced. The windows were in need of a good clean so it was hard to see inside.
"Helen was right about the run down!" she thought to herself. "OK lets do this, how bad can it be after all!"
She pushed open the door and a little bell tinkled above her head as she stepped in. There was a small counter, but around the shop were dozens of costumes of all types. Suddenly when she looked back to the counter, as if by magic the shopkeeper had appeared. He was a rotund gentleman, in a bright red waistcoat, round glasses and strangest of all a small red hat.
"Ahh, you must be Sue, I was told you might be popping in today." he announced in a strange accent.
"I understand you have a party to go to on Saturday and you are looking for a perhaps more risque costume shall we say?"
Sue blushed furiously, "Well I am not really sure, my friend wants me to be a little more daring, but I am not sure I can do it yet?"
The man laughed quietly, "Don't worry yourself, I have lots of ladies come in here with a similar concern. But once they try the costumes they cant wait to wear it for real. Lets go and have look shall we? Shall I put the closed sign up so you have some privacy?"
Sue looked back at this strange slightly camp gentleman and smiled, she felt entirely comfortable with this complete stranger, he seemed like an old friend already.
"That would be wonderful thank you so much. I would be so embarrassed if someone I knew came in."
He laughed, "have no worries my dear, I will keep you safe from exposure. Now lets head to the back of the shop where I keep my more delicate costumes shall we say. Perhaps a glass of chilled bubbly to help you relax?"
He reached behind him and poured her a glass of champagne as he steered her towards the back of the shop. he swept aside a large curtain and revealed a plethora of costumes on mannequins around the room.
"This is the ladies section, I have another for the gentlemen. Do you have any idea of the sort of costume you might be willing to try?"
Sue looked around, there were all sorts of costumes, french maids, school girls, Little Red Riding Hood, Catwoman, Indian squaw, the choice was incredible. But all of them were tailored to be quite revealing and sexy, although you could clearly see the original character of the outfit. Then she caught sight of a belly dancers costume,
"Oh that looks interesting!" she gasped under her breath. One of her oldest fantasies was about being in a harem after watching the old Carry On follow that Camel film in her teens. "It's a lot more daring than I was thinking about," she whispered to the shop owner, "but can I try it on?"
He laughed, "Of course my dear, you will look delightful in it!"
He pulled the tape measure from around his neck and quickly and deftly confirmed her measurements, then reached for a package from one of the shelves. He directed her to a cubicle with a wooden door.
"You can lock it from the inside if you want to feel safer. I'll go make myself a coffee and be back in a few minutes. Would you like a refill?" he asked pointing to her empty champagne flute.
"Urrmmm, yes please, it does seem to be helping!" she giggled.
He poured her another glass and then disappeared back through the curtain. She opened the packaging and stepped into the changing room. A few minutes later she had stripped off everything and was now looking at herself in the long mirror in the gauzy material of the outfit, her trim belly clearly visible.
"Glad I kept up the gym classes!" she giggled.
The rest of the sheer material covered her, but if you looked closely everything was visible, if a little blurred. She turned around a few times to see how her bum looked in the mirror. The changing room was a little small and she suddenly wanted to practice her belly dancing in the outfit, so opened the door to step back into the shop. Only the shop wasn't there, in front of her was the inside of a large tent, draped with silks and a crowd of men sitting around on large cushions.
"Aah at last!" clapped the man at the end of the tent, "the entertainment has arrived!"
Music began to play and for some reason Sue felt the desperate urge to dance in front of all these strange men. She stepped through the door and into the heat of her teenage fantasy!
The strange sounds and rhythms of the music infected her body, she tingled all over with excitement and moved to the music as if she had been dancing like this all her life. She moved around the group, her bare feet moving across the luxurious carpet on the floor of the tent. The metal discs adorning the costume tinkling in time with the music. "Exquisite!" called one of the men, "where have you been hiding this one my Sheikh!"
The Sheikh laughed, "I only captured her in a caravan raid yesterday, I had no idea she was this exquisite beneath all those layers of western clothes!"
Another of the men called out, "That pale skin is like alabaster, it is unblemished and beautiful! I cant wait to see the rest of her!"
It was then that Sue realised something, "Oh God, they expect me to undress from this costume!"
But at the same time as the shock of the expectation hit her brain, another part of her mind came to life.
