The Last Incubus: Chapter 07
Chapter 7: The sex magnet and more changes.
"Put to death, therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed." ~ Colossians 3 v. 5.
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As I was straightening up the men's clothing displays, I found myself humming to the Christmas music being piped in over the loudspeakers in the ceiling. By rights, I shouldn't have had to be in the men's department, but the lunch crowd had just left and there was no one left to refold the shirts and pants that the customers had left for the store staff to put away.
Here it was, the middle of Christmas shopping season, and we were still short-staffed. Technically, we had been understaffed since the pandemic, but back then everyone was shopping online, and upper management could get away with fewer employees.
But now, the crowds were starting to come back, and the higher ups still hadn't hired enough manpower to handle the Christmas rush. That's why as supervisor of the women's department, I found myself folding clothes in the men's department. If you had told me when I first started working here out of high school that I'd still be here in my mid-forties, I wouldn't have believed you. Yet here I was.
"Excuse me, Miss? Can you help us?"
I turned and saw a tall young woman, with long black hair, pale blue eyes, and a beautiful face who appeared to be in her early to mid-twenties. She had a gorgeous shapely figure, and perfect posture-attractive enough to be a model. Her face, and especially her eyes, had that certain "glow" about her that women get after they've been with their husbands. Only this woman wasn't wearing a wedding ring, so I could only imagine the sinful activity that she and so many other girls are engaged in nowadays--not that I'm judging, but...
"The women's department is to your left. Is there something in particular I can help you with?" I asked.
She smiled sweetly.
"No, it's not for me, Miss...uh,... Theresa," she explained, reading my name tag. "It's for my cousin, Ross. He seems to have had a rather unusual growth spurt and he's desperately in need of some new outfits. We were hoping you could take some measurements so we can find something in his new size."
There was no one with her.
"Pardon me, but where
is
your cousin, Miss?" I asked, looking around.
"Oh, call me Tina. He's looking for underwear. I can get him if you'd like," she replied.
"That won't be necessary. Have him meet me in front of the mirrors by the men's dressing room while I go and get my measuring tape."
I grumbled a bit as I hurried back to the lady's department. There should be a male employee running the men's department and taking measurements on male customers. I supposed to be taking bust and hip sizes, not sleeve lengths and inseam measurements. I had no business to be measuring men's bodies. It went against company policy.
There were two people waiting for me by the dressing mirrors. The attractive woman who called herself Tina, and what looked like a local college student with her. He was a little taller than her, muscular and good-looking, as far as I could tell despite the woolen cap and dark sunglasses he was wearing.
He was dressed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants that looked like they had just been purchased from the University Bookstore. The white socks and casual recreational footwear he wore looked and smelled like they had never been worn outside of the mall. There were several packages of boxers and tee shirts in his hands that he held in front of his sweatpants. I couldn't see his eyes because of the sunglasses, but from his posture he looked anxious as I approached.
"Sir, are you looking for shirts or pants?" I asked.
"Both," the couple replied in unison.
"I see. Sir, would you mind standing in front of the mirror, please?" I pulled out my measuring tape.
"Sure," he replied, nervously.
He gingerly moved in front of the mirror, still holding the packages of underwear in front of him.
"Sir, you'll have to put down those packages. Why don't you give them to the lady. I will need your arms free if you want me to measure you."
He turned his back towards me and faced the mirror before handing the packages of underwear to the woman.
I stood on his left and a little behind him as I began my measurements, starting with the neck. He looked very nervous, so I thought I would try and help him to relax.
"Your cousin tells me you've had a recent growth spurt," I said, looking up at the measurement on the tape around his neck.
"Y-yes, th-that's right." He stammered.
"Just relax, this won't take long. Maybe you could tell me your name," I suggested. I thought I could add a personal touch to put him more at ease.
"R-Ross, Ma'am."
"You can call me Theresa, Ross. Now hold out your arm."
"Like this?" he asked as he held it perpendicular to his side.
"That's perfect," I said reassuringly, as I measured his sleeve length.
I wrote the measurements down on a pad of paper before turning back to Ross.
"Now for the pants," I announced.
"May I see those measurements? I'd like to pick out a couple of shirts while you're measuring him for pants," Tina requested.
"Certainly, Madam," I replied as I gave her the slip of paper before turning back to Ross, "Let's start with the waist."