From The Mall To The Boudoir

I chose a table in the food court of the Mall and sat down to eat my salad during an unsuccessful hour of shopping for some new outfits. I ate absent-mindedly and people-watched as I picked through the salad greens and sliced tomatoes on my plate.

The food court began to fill as if everyone suddenly came over all hungry and I was soon surrounded by noisy teens, tired seniors simply wanting to get off their feet, and some families with restless kids. I was glad I had arrived when I did because it would be hard to find a seat now as I watched the people with trays looking hopefully about them for an empty table. I was just about to get up so an older woman could take my spot when I heard a voice coming over my left shoulder.

"Would you mind terribly if I sat here?"

I turned my face and saw a well-dressed middle-aged woman standing next to me with tray held before her, expectantly awaiting my response with upraised eyebrows. She nodded to the empty chair across from me at the small table for two.

"No, please, I was just getting up." I said as I began to straighten the items on my side of the table.

"Oh, thank you." The woman said, placing her tray opposite mine. "No need to leave." And she sat down with a delicate plop on the plastic chair across from me.

She sighed heavily, looked up at me and smiled broadly. "Quite a crowd here today." She said as she busied herself with her plastic utensils and pushed a straw into her drink cup. "Noreen." She said, glancing up momentarily from her preparations.

I looked up to her face and she had an expectant look in her eyes. "Oh, Joy." I said.

When I saw the puzzled look on her face, I realized she misunderstood. "Joy...is my name." She must have thought I was being sarcastic about her imposition on my privacy. I smiled and tilted my head in a comic way.

"Oh, yes, Joy. I see. Well, nice to meet you." She said as she took a small bite of pasta salad from her fork. "Any luck on the shopping front, Joy?" She asked.

I slumped back in my chair and said, "No. Can't find a thing."

"Hmm, what are you looking for?" She asked as she speared a tineful of pasta with her fork.

"Oh, some new work outfits, mostly. I started a new job and I feel like the poor step-daughter at the office." I said with a small laugh.

"A new job. Sounds exciting. What do you do?" She asked before taking a sip through the straw without lifting the container from the table.

"Oh, just a receptionist at a law firm." I answered.

"Hey, receptionist is how I got started." She said as she chewed some pasta salad. "And I know what you mean about feeling wardrobe-challenged. A receptionist needs to look sharp."

I sat up straighter in my chair, looking at Noreen with interest. Yes, "sharp" was the look I wanted. Somewhere between over-dressed and casual but pulled-together. As I eyed Noreen, I saw that she had the look I was hoping to achieve. "I'm kind of lost." I said, suddenly thinking I might get some advice from the sharp-looking lady across from me.

"Have you been to OZA?" Noreen asked glancing up as she took another sip of her drink.

"Oh, no." I said. OZA was one of those stores I would never walk into. It was upscale and the saleswomen all looked like Eastern European models.

"That's my next stop after this salad. We should go together." She said. She ate and looked into my eyes. "I'll help you, Joy. I know it's intimidating for a young lady."

"Expensive too." I said, beginning to realize the let-down already.

"Don't worry about that. We'll have fun, find some great outfits and make a day of it." Noreen said, favoring me with a wide smile before taking a delicate mouthful of pasta salad. She chewed a bit then managed to say, still with mouth full, "Girls out shopping. Don't let the bitches put you off your game." She swallowed, took a quick pull of the soft drink, sat back, pushed her tray a few inches away from her edge of the table, looked me right in the eye and said, "Let's go, Joy." And she was up and waiting for me to grab my tray and we were off through the crowd to discard our trays and next thing I knew we were heading to OZA.

I had to walk fast to catch up to Noreen as she weaved through the food court heading to the main concourse. Damn, she was a fast one. I watched her as I tried to catch up. Noreen was wearing a really nice businesswoman's navy dress and stiletto heels. Her ash blonde hair hung just below her shoulders. Her fine leather purse hung on a long shoulder strap and jumped as it hit her hips as she sashayed through the crowd. With enough separation, I was able to quickly assess her incredibly fit body in the smart dress and the length of muscled calves below the hem.

Noreen stopped in the middle of the foot traffic about her, tilted her head, and said, "C'mon, Kiddo, chop-chop." And she laughed a bit as I rushed to reach her side.

I really did feel like the poor step-daughter walking beside her in my jeans, washed out t-shirt, and beat-up running shoes. I was out of breath, too, as she walked briskly towards OZA. We didn't say anything for a while then she gently pushed my arm to enter the wide archway to OZA. I saw some of the saleswomen lurking near the entrance and my heart sank a little.

When Noreen took the first steps into the store with its minimalist displays of expensive offerings, a tall brunette saleswoman approached and lit up with a wide smile. "Welcome, nice to see you again, Miss Grey." She gave a quick glance in my direction as I sidled near Noreen. "Can I be of service, Miss Grey?"

"Ah, yes." Noreen started. "We're looking for some young professional ensembles." She said confidently. She pronounced "ensembles" with the French swallow of the last syllable.

"Very good." And the statuesque saleswoman led us to a long display of simple but elegant frocks and suits. She swept her hand before the racks like a game show hostess.

"Thank you, Jasmine." Noreen answered sweetly and nodded as Jasmine made herself scarce under her gaze. Turning to me, Noreen said, "Well, here we are then. Let's see what suits you."

That began a long session of picking out and trying on a number of dresses and suits that Noreen would appraise after I had slipped into them in the dressing salon, surveying me through the mirrors and circling me with her own commentary about their appearance on me. Every so often she would put some she liked aside and discarded the rest to a hanger rack. A few times, Jasmine poked her head into the salon to see how we were progressing but never said a word, always ducking back out of sight (probably computing her commission at the pile of clothing left out that Noreen had approved). After awhile, Noreen said, "I can see what works for you now. I think we should keep these."

"I can't...." I started weakly, looking at the pile of outfits and then up at Noreen's expectant visage.

"Don't fret, Joy." She said airily. "Let's go. Grab those." Then she marched out to the main floor.

I caught up with her again and Jasmine was now hurrying towards me to unburden me of my bundle of expensive and (honestly) exquisite clothes. I rushed to Noreen's side and pulled her arm. "I can't afford this. Thanks but..."

"Joy, really." She said in an almost disappointed tone of voice, looking me square in the eyes. "I'll take care of this." Then she lowered her face close to my ear and whispered, "From one former receptionist to another." And then she kissed my cheek very lightly and circled her hand around my bicep as she did so.

"Noreen, really, I couldn't." I said in a certain tone.

"Don't even say it, Angel." She said as she walked to the check out counter and brought her purse up to extract a gleaming black credit card.

"Will that be everything, Miss Grey?" Jasmine asked, almost giddy with the size of the expected sale in her grasp.

After the transaction, I was burdened with bags and boxes in bigger bags and Jasmine walked us out to the store entrance. "Nice to meet you, Miss...?"

"Joy." I answered in a flustered tone.

"Well, do come again, Joy." Jasmine answered, giving me the once over and then turning towards Noreen, "Always nice to see you, Miss Grey."

Out in the Mall's floor traffic again, Noreen whispered, "You need some shoes...and lingerie. Follow me."

Instead of making for the Mall's other purveyors of footwear and lingerie, she steered us out towards the Mall exit. "We'll take my car." Noreen said in the bright sunshine of the parking lot. We trudged a short distance, me fussing with the bags and stuff, as Noreen walked confidently towards the sea of autos. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when she popped the trunk of sleek black Mercedes CLS and unlocked the doors with the electronic chime from her key fob.

"Put that stuff in there and hop in, time's a-wasting." She said brightly.

I did as told and the trunk closed silently behind me. I plopped in the deep leather cushions of Noreen's car. "Noreen, thank you so much. You really shouldn't have and I never expected..."

"Hush, Angel." She said as she steered the big sedan out into the Mall traffic. "Now, I know just the place to get you finished up for your new job."

"But didn't you want to purchase anything?" I asked, realizing that Noreen had not bought anything for herself.

"No. I was just killing time. This is more fun anyway." She said and laughed as she glanced sideways at me and piloted the car into the highway traffic.

We drove for a long time, making our way through suburban highways and byways as we came through a part of the metropolitan area with which I was unfamiliar. Noreen slowed the car a bit then made a careful U-turn on a two lane road and pulled into a small lot beside a nondescript looking store. "Okay, this is it." She said as she parked and turned the car off. "Let's go, Joy." And with that we were exiting the car and walking to the entrance of a small shop with the name "Helene's Boudoir" painted on the front door's glass.

The store was a throwback and when Noreen pushed open the front door, a small bell tinkled as if we were at an old dry goods purveyor at the turn of the century. A woman rushed to meet us in the center aisle as we ambled in.

"Noreen, Miss Grey, how nice to see you again!" The shoplady said as she swept her arm before her to urge us into the main part of the store.

"Hello, Helene. This is Joy." Noreen said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "We need some lingerie and perhaps some shoes."

"Yes, of course, Noreen." Helene said and gave me an appraising look from head to toe and back again. "Yes, yes indeed." She said as she turned to lead us through the store's offerings of sleepwear, negligees, satiny night-things, and carefully displayed girdles, brassieres, camisoles, and more exotic finery.

"Did you have anything in particular in mind, Noreen?" Helene asked, as if I wasn't even there.

"Hmm, well, yes. Ah, we need some figure control, of course." Noreen said, glancing apologetically at me as she said this. "And a few items that are just...divine...to give Joy some confidence for her new job." She finished.

"Please, this way." Helene said business-like as she made her way to a rack of foundation garments.

I looked quickly at the collection of lingerie she stood before. I couldn't see myself wearing anything like that under work clothes. The term "figure control" rattled around in my head and I was uncertain whether I should feel insulted. I was hardly overweight - although I am always wanting to lose a few pounds here and there like almost every woman.

"Joy, you really just need a little control in the tummy and perhaps some lift to the bosom." Helene said smiling as she lifted a bodyshaper from the rack. "Size 10, say?"

Boy, she had me pegged exactly, I thought dispiritedly. "Yes, 10. Y'know, it fluctuates, 8 to 12. In that range." I said with a small, involuntary smile at her insight.

"Try on an 8." Noreen said.

Helene dipped back into the rack and pulled out a beige spandex bodyshaper. "This is an 8." She said, handing it to me. It looked tiny. "Try this on, Joy." She said and pointed to the dressing rooms.

I looked expectantly at Noreen. She smiled and nodded assent to the selection. I took the hanger and garment and walked to the curtained dressing rooms, choosing the farthest one from where the two women stood watching me. I slid the curtain in place, looked at my clothed self in the full-length mirror, sighed, and began disrobing. Naked, I began to climb into the stretch fabric and pulled it up to get my hips squeezed into the bottom, then pulled northward to bring my breasts into the cups. It was a tight squeeze. I guess I was more into my size 12 phase at the moment. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I was astounded at my appearance. This thing was awesome, I thought to myself. I had a waistline and boobs with full cleavage. I smiled to my own image staring back at me.

"Let's see, Honey." Noreen called.

I pulled back the curtain and took a tentative step out of the changing room, feeling both embarrassed and empowered at the same time.

"Oh, yes, very nice, Joy." Helene said with a professional's considered opinion.

"Ha, yes! You look hot, baby." Noreen laughed as she surveyed me in the bodyshaper. "We'll take that one, for sure. If you have the same thing in black, Helene, throw that in too." She said approaching me with a wide grin on her pretty face.

"Noreen, really, I...." I began protestingly but I could hear the hesitancy in my own voice.

Noreen came in close to my head and whispered to me, "Cut it out, Joy. We're just beginning."

Helene came back with a black version of the bodyshaper. "No need to try this on, the same thing." She said and laid it over the top of a nearby rack.

"Helene, do you have one of your corsets on?" Noreen asked kindly of the other woman.

Helene put her head down and nodded. "Yes, I do, Miss Grey." She said quietly.

"We bought a couple of dresses that would benefit from a real corset for Joy. Would you model for us?" Noreen asked.

"Of course." Helene said and straightened to unzip her dress from behind. She carefully peeled the dress off her shoulders and the sleeves down her arms, then shimmied the sleek material below her hips, stepped one leg delicately from the material, and carefully plucked it from her upraised back leg before it hit the floor.

Helene stood before Noreen and I as she modeled a gloriously embroidered gold corset. The boned garment nipped her waist in by several inches, showing off her quite magnificent bosom and cleavage as well as her flared hips where the corset hem ended just below her crotch. Tight black garters suspended a pair of exquisite taupe stockings that gleamed along the length of her thighs, calves, and ankles, ending in her high heeled black stilettos. She raised her face to meet Noreen's gaze.

I was surprised at how Helene's demeanor - her entire bodily appearance - seemed to change as she stood before us in her corset, stockings, and heels. She was older than Noreen, maybe in her early 50's, but she had a rockin' body, I had to admit to myself. With her carefully coiffed retro hairdo and generous amount of cosmetics, Helene looked like a former showgirl or burlesque dancer as she unabashedly displayed herself for us. And there was definitely something strange about her passive attitude towards Noreen when she had stripped down to the beautiful corset.

"Yes, quite lovely, Helene. As always." Noreen said, as she glanced at me.

"Wow." Was all I could muster at the sight of the other woman standing there before us.

"This is a new item, Ma'am." Helene said, addressing Noreen, then glancing quickly in my direction. She began a slow pirouette in her corset.

"Do you have that in Joy's size?" Noreen asked business-like.

"Oh, yes, Ma'am. I'll get it for you both." Helene said quietly and walked to a far corner of the store.

"What-the-fuck?" I whispered to Noreen when we were briefly alone as Helene hunted through some articles several feet from us.

Noreen simply smiled and patted my bare arm as Helene returned to us with a matching golden corset over her arms. She presented it to Noreen as though it was an offering. "This should do, Ma'am." She said lowering her head again.

"Yes, quite nice. Please assist Joy with it, will you, please, Helene?" Noreen asked.

"Of course, this way, Joy." Helene said as she led us to the changing booth. "Let's get you out of this shaper and into the corset, OK, sweetheart?" She said as she fussed with the shaper's shoulder straps.

I let myself be stripped by the amazing woman and she began to fit the stiff corset around my torso. I had to make an effort to stand still as she cinched me into the restrictive garment. Helene stepped behind me and I felt her snapping the hooks closed up the line of my spine.

"Inhale, honey." She said quietly as she worked to close the lower hooks leading down to my hips. "Yes, there you are." She said finally as I tried to exhale with difficulty. Helene stepped in front of me and surveyed me. "Please excuse me, but let me make a small adjustment, Joy." She said in a hushed tone.

"Uh, sure." I answered, as I experienced the tight grip of the corset over my torso. It was not unpleasant - but I felt very strange standing there in the admittedly beautiful garment as I looked at myself past Helene in the mirror's reflection.

Helene reached one hand under my left breast and dipped her right hand into the corset material, taking a palm-full of my fatty breast to plump my bosom up in a nice swell of cleavage. She repeated the exercise on my right breast. "Yes, there you are, dear." She said, proud of her handiwork.

"Oh, yes, I see." I said with surprise as I looked at my bosom propped in two fleshy mounds atop the corset's half cups.

"Let's show Mistress, er, Miss Grey." Helene said and guided me out of the changing room.

Noreen was browsing through some racks and turned when she heard our approach. "Oh, magnificent, magni-fi-cent!" She exclaimed as she stared wide-eyed at me, then shot a quick nod of approval towards Helene. "Very nice, indeed, ladies." Noreen walked in a circle around me, making sounds of approval, and let her trailing hand circle across my waist and hips as she appraised me. "And how does this feel, Joy?" She asked.

I was still somewhat flustered at this latest development. My mind was racing about what was happening to me. I am not a complete innocent about sex or fetish - although I had no great knowledge and certainly no first-hand experience in clothing fetish or whatever it was that Noreen was putting me through. "It feels...weird." I said quietly.

Both Noreen and Helene shared small laughs at my comment.

"Yes, I imagine it does, Joy." Noreen said. "But good weird?" She asked as she stood behind me, her hand now planted atop the flare of my right hip, her breath just barely brushing my bare shoulder.

"Yeah. I guess so." I admitted, perhaps fibbing a little out of nervousness at being on display as I was.

"Wonderful." Noreen said, back to business-like mode. "Helene, let's get our friend some stockings and, my goodness, some pretty shoes, of course."

"Yes, Ma'am." Helene walked quickly away to find the items Noreen requested.

"What's going on here?" I asked quietly as Noreen circled to my side.

"It's shopping, dear. We'll have fun with it." She said as she carefully balanced my bosom and cleavage in the tight corset as though molding a clay sculpture. "Oh, you are a sight, Joy." She said as she leaned in close and kissed my cheek.

I felt Noreen's bosom press against my exaggerated, outcropped breasts when she leaned into me. Her warm kiss on my cheek was cooled by the air when she parted from me. I felt an unexpected and completely involuntary tingle of arousal run through my core when she looked into my eyes and increased ever so slightly the grip of her fingers on my corseted hip. I felt my face turn warm and realized I was in full blush as she watched me eyes-on-eyes.