"What do you mean, you don't own any lingerie?" Jacob asked.
"Well, I have bras and panties, but that's it," Vicky replied. "And they aren't anything fancy, just department store stuff. I've never had a reason to have anything really sexy."
"You're enough of a reason on your own. When you wear sexy things, you feel sexy, right?"
"Yeah, but what's the point of wearing something no one else is going to see?"
Jacob rolled his eyes. "The point is to make yourself feel good, Vick. To make yourself feel hot and sexy. To excite yourself by knowing that you're wearing something under your clothes that would make people's eyes pop out if they knew about it." He put his hand on Vicky's thigh. "Besides, you have someone who'll see it now."
Vicky smiled. "Yes, I do. I've bought lingerie in the past, though, and I hated how I looked in it."
"You didn't pick the right thing, then. We need to go shopping, you and I. I'll help you choose the perfect items, and then you can model them for me when we get back."
Just the thought of buying something more than her usual bras and panties made Vicky blush. "I don't have money for that kind of thing," she protested. "I barely have money for work clothes."
"Did I not just say I was taking you shopping? Don't worry about the money. I'll pay for whatever we find, on the condition that I get to see it the first time you wear it."
"Okay. Deal. But I doubt we'll find anything."
"Never doubt." Jacob got up and put on his jacket. "Let's go."
"Now?"
"Why not? We aren't doing anything else. Besides, if I give you a chance to think about it, you'll chicken out. Come on. I'll take you to dinner, and then we can hit the mall. I know just the store for you."
There was no store for Vicky, not if it involved lingerie, anyway. She didn't have the figure for it, as far as she was concerned. Her breasts weren't big enough, and her hips were too big. The one time she'd bought something sexy to wear for her ex-husband, he'd laughed at her and told her she looked like a stuffed pepper. She'd torn the green teddy into shreds and had never bought anything like it again.
But since she and Jacob had begun dating, she'd realized that he liked everything about her, including her body. The first time they'd made love, he'd told her how beautiful she was. He was the first man to see her naked since her divorce, and his reaction had surprised and aroused her. If he wanted to see her in lingerie, why not? Especially since he was willing to pay for it.
Vicky put on her shoes and jacket and followed Jacob outside to his car. "Try not to look like you're about to be executed," he teased as they drove out of the driveway.
"You never know," Vicky said. "I've heard scary things about the saleswomen in some of those stores."
Jacob rested his hand on her leg. "You'll be fine. I'll protect you."
He took her to their favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner, then drove to the nearby mall. With his arm around her, he guided Vicky to a small store at the end of one of the wings of the mall. "I didn't know this place was here," Vicky said.
"It's kind of out of the way," Jacob agreed. "But it's a nice place. They take good care of their customers. I think you'll like it."
At the store's entrance was a rack of royal blue camisoles, teddies, bras, and thongs. Vicky touched one of the satin garments. "Soft," she said.
"Beats the heck out of the discount rack stuff you usually wear," Jacob said. "Not that those are bad things. You look incredibly hot no matter what you wear. But imagine how one of these would feel against your skin. How soft it would be; how turned on it would make you to have something like this on under your work clothes."
"I'd never wear something like this to work."
"Why not?"
"I work in a daycare, Jacob! Why would I wear this stuff?"
"It isn't like the kids are going to see it. You'd wear it to make yourself feel good."
"I wouldn't wear it to work."
"Stubborn girl. All right, imagine how turned on you'd be wearing something like this under your jeans and T-shirt on a weekend. Or under your clothes on a date with me."
"You'd know I was wearing them."
"So imagine how turned on I'd be." He took one of the teddies off the rack and checked the size. "I think this would fit you. You should try it on. You like the color, don't you?"
"Yeah. I like anything but green."
Jacob studied her. "Too bad. Green would be a good color on you. But all right, we'll stay away from it. Here, take this, and let's see what else we can find. Oh, and don't even think about looking at the price tag. That's between me and my credit card company."
Vicky took the teddy and managed to resist the temptation to look at the tag. She followed Jacob further into the store. "Can I help you?" asked a saleswoman who was straightening a rack of push-up bras.
"My lady friend and I are looking for something sexy for her," Jacob replied. Vicky blushed; how could he say that to a saleswoman? "She doesn't own much in the way of lingerie, so we're just looking to see what catches her eye," Jacob continued.
"Well, feel free to look around, and be sure to let me know if I can help with anything," the saleswoman said.
Vicky and Jacob went from rack to rack, looking at every type of lingerie imaginable. Before long, Vicky had an armful of teddies, babydolls, and chemises. "You'll have to try those on," Jacob said.
"I'm not even sure how some of them go on," Vicky complained.
"Don't worry. I'll help you. We have to make sure it's a perfect fit." He signaled to the saleswoman, who hurried over. "She'd like to try on a few things," Jacob said.
"Of course." The saleswoman led them to the fitting rooms and unlocked one of the stalls. "Would you like me to stay for advice and assistance?"
"No, I'll take care of it, thanks," Jacob said.
The saleswoman smiled knowingly. "All right. When you're finished, if there's anything you aren't taking, just leave it in the stall and we'll put it away. Enjoy." She walked away.
Jacob sat in the lone chair outside the stalls. "Go ahead, honey," he said. "But remember, you promised I'd get to see you in each thing the first time you wear it."
"I thought you meant after I bought it."
"Nope. That would be too easy. You try something on; if it doesn't fit, then just take it off and try the next thing. But if it does fit, you have to come out and show me, even if you don't like it. Let me be the judge of how you look, honey, okay? You don't think too well of yourself sometimes."
That was true. Vicky shut herself in the stall and stripped off her shirt and jeans. What should she put on first? She started by checking the sizes of the things Jacob had chosen. Some of them definitely wouldn't fit; she put them aside. That still left her with at least half a dozen choices. Finally she picked a ruby-colored set: a see-through babydoll with solid, padded cups and a matching thong. She put them on over her own underwear and looked in the mirror.
