Mentor Ch 13 Attire

Mentor

Chapter 13 - Attire

The green mini dress had a

dangerously

low, square neck, with inch-wide straps fastened to the outer sides of the neckline, leaving the reinforced hem that barely concealed my nipples completely unencumbered.

I'd known that already. I'd tried it on, and liked the fit. But what I hadn't expected was that it was too low for my backless bra, which peeked out a quarter inch over the neckline. I was planning to wear the dress at the Halloween party, so I wanted to wear it for our shopping trip, and I was running out of time to find other options. Friday night with Anita had left me short of sleep, and I hadn't woken until noon.

A little of the leftover boob tape let me stick the dress to the bra to prevent it peeking. That would be good enough for shopping. I'd look for a more suitable one for the party while we were out.

The day was chilly, so I wore hose with cotton socks inside my cowboy boots, and grabbed my heavy overcoat when I left, taking an Uber to the meeting point.

~~~~~

My phone had finally woken me. It seemed to have been pinging for hours, but that must have just been the way it affected my dreams, because there were only five messages waiting for me. They were a series of not-entirely-coherent texts from Alex, who was adamant that she didn't want to be a third wheel.

I'd met Alex - more than met her - and knew she was intelligent and quick-witted, even after booze and MJ. The wild texts were clearly for my amusement.

Me: "So, uh..."

Alex: "UR ALIVE AND WILL SAVE ME! what's with the so uh?"

Me: "Just opening a conversation Alex style. I'm awake and will be there. No need to get your panties in a twist."

Alex: "Shd I B nervous when a lesbian talks about my panties?

Me: "Maybe so, but since I'm not technically lesbian you're probably safe."

Alex: "IC"

Me: "Though I might be turning into one."

Alex: "Oh sh!t I am in trbl."

Self-censoring "shit" in a text message made me laugh.

Me: "Need to get ready or I won't be joining you."

Alex: "Pls join. ur TSF will be sadface."

My

token straight friend

has the weirdest sense of humor.

~~~~~

I was on time at the meeting place, but Alex and her friends were ten minutes late. Since she'd texted me about her arrival time, I'd popped into a Starbucks for a caramel macchiato, and had just returned to the meeting point when Alex, Jen and Calvin showed up. Calvin was a tall redhead, while Jen was dark-haired with glasses. They both seemed friendly, but very much into each other. I understood why Alex wanted a companion along.

"So what's the agenda?" I asked.

"I'm looking for my dress?" Alex said. I was puzzled for a second - how would I know how to answer that? Then I remembered Alex's speaking style. "So we're going to visit department stores, but Jen and Cal need to go to the Halloween popup store? If we make it there without my dress, I'll be staying longer. You can leave then, if you like, or we might take in a bar or two while looking."

"Sounds good," I said. "What dress?"

Alex frowned. "I'm not sure I'll find one, but I need a white tee shirt dress? Something that will take iron-on printer transfers. I've already printed the sheets, but the dress I wanted from Amazon wouldn't be here until November, so I'm hoping I can find something."

"Does it need to be white?"

"Maybe not." Alex frowned in thought for a moment. "The transfers are on a clear background, so it could be any color, but white or a very light color would be best? Cream, maybe? Or pink? What about you?"

"I need a headscarf to match a dress. Green."

"There are a lot of greens," Alex said.

"Yeah, that's why I'm wearing the dress. Under the coat."

"Aha, that makes sense," she said.

We started walking. Jen and Cal dropped back a ways to talk privately, so I used the opportunity to add to the conversation with Alex. "Also, I need a new bra, but you probably don't want to hear that from a lesbian, either."

She grinned. "You do know I don't care, right? I'm just winding you up? My roomie is a lesbian, in case you forget..."

"I know you're winding me up," I said. "It's your whole texting mode, and don't think I don't appreciate it. But I didn't want to broadcast the fact that I need to go bra shopping in unfamiliar company, especially mixed company. I'll probably wait until after the popup store, unless you find your dress before and are done."

"If I find a dress you and I can still hop a couple of bars," Alex said, "and we can hop a bra, too?"

I sighed. "You know, your texting style screams 'dork,' but somehow I manage to forget you're a dork when you're not texting, too."

She laughed. "I should remind you more often?"

For once, I really wasn't sure if Alex was or was not asking a question.

~~~~~

We split up in the first department store, Alex looking for dresses, while I examined the headscarf collection. I slipped off my coat, carrying it over my arm, partly because it was too warm to wear indoors, and partly becauseI needed to compare colors. I didn't think I was likely to find an exact match, but I needed for it to be close.

I found more than I'd expected, but none close enough, so I spent more time with headscarves than I'd expected, while Alex had drawn a blank very quickly, so she met me in the headscarf racks.

"Holy God," I heard, looking up to see Alex watching me. "That is a true FMN dress."

"FMN?" I asked, brows furrowed.

"Fuck me now," she said.

I chuckled. "I guess it is, kinda, but it's for Halloween. You know, sexy postman, sexy footballer?"

"That is not for a postman or footballer costume," Alex said. "But I like it?"

I stepped closer, so that no one else would overhear when I asked Alex, "So do you want to fuck me now?"

She laughed. "You know I don't, but I approve of the dress. I'd wear it. It definitely functions as a straight FMN dress."

"Unfortunately, there's no matching green scarf," I said. "Next store?"

We found Jen and Cal and moved on. In the second store there was a single solid-color green headscarf, and it was close enough to the dress that I bought it on the spot. I didn't think I was likely to find anything better. So I located the casual dress section, finding Alex scowling at the selection.

I helped her look, finding an off-white skater dress that I thought might work.

"No good," Alex said. "It can't have pleats, I need to iron on transfers down to the hem?"

"I see," I replied, and carried on looking, finding nothing suitable.

~~~~~

We found nothing that would work before arriving at the popup Halloween store. Jen and Cal went off to hunt for costumes. I asked Alex if she needed anything.

"My costume is ready except for the damn dress," she said, "and we're not decorating, so not really."

"I need elf ears," I said. "I was going to order them online, but I bet they have some here."

"Elf ears?"

"Elf ears," I confirmed.

"Let's find them," Alex said.

We found some. I'm not sure if it was okay to try one on, but I did. They weren't as uncomfortable as I'd expected, and I could hear just fine with them. I went back to the front of the store to grab a basket, but neither Alex nor I had added anything else to the basket when Jen and Cal showed up with a shopping cart.

After we'd paid for our purchases, we parted company with Jen and Cal, Alex setting up a time to get together with Jen for coffee.

"What first?" Alex asked. "Bar hopping, bra hopping, or dress shhh-hopping?"

"Niiice," I said, sarcastically. "I'm thinking bar, because you need fortification before venturing back into dress racks. How about finding somewhere that makes mimosas?"

"I like that idea," she said. "Lead on."

There was a small bar close to the best store for bra shopping. It was well-lit, unlike most bars, catering to shoppers more than dedicated drinkers. Soon we were sitting with our mimosas, laughing at each other's dorkiness, because, be fair, I was every bit as much a dork as Alex.

"At least you found your scarf?" Alex said. "All I have to show for my shopping trip is this mimosa."

"More than that!" I announced. "I also have... da-daaa! Elf ears!"

"Oh, right, I'd forgotten about elf ears. So if I connected the ears, scarf and dress, would I know what your costume is?"

"You might," I replied. "Can I figure yours out from a tee shirt dress?"

"Probably not? Not unless you see the transfers," she said.

"You've printed them already?" I asked.

"I have! Next on my agenda - after finding the dress, if that's possible, is to borrow an iron."

"I have an iron," I said. "I don't have an ironing board, just a stiff ironing mat that I lay on the bed, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I press blouses and pants with no trouble. You could pick up your transfers and come over.

If

you find a dress."

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm not sure it exists," she said, "but maybe we'd better carry on."

"Bra first, since we're close," I said. Alex nodded agreement.

~~~~~

The store assistant insisted on measuring me to fit the bra. She led me to the changing room, then took a couple of quick measurements. The dress was thin enough and just loose enough not to interfere with the band fitting. Then she gave me a couple of backless bras to try.

Taking off my dress in the fitting room destroyed the boob tape holding my dress higher. Stupidly, I hadn't considered that, and hadn't brought extra. Also, when I tried both of the bras, they were more visible than my current bra. I returned to the assistant, shaking my head.

"They're higher than what I'm wearing," I said, gesturing to my top, which had a thick black line rising from the center of each boob to the outside. "The dress rides lower than it seemed, because I had it glued higher."

"I see," said the assistant, lowering her perfectly shaped, narrow eyebrows in a frown. "I don't know of a backless bra that would support that flat line along the bust. How essential is it that it's backless?"

I spun around to show her the low back. Alex watched me with amusement from a chair close by the register. She started typing on her phone.

"Hmm. It's low, but not backless..." She found me another option. It extended lower below my chest than any other bra I owned, with a front catch and plain back strap that might be low enough to remain hidden. I'd have to try it on.

My phone pinged as I took it back to the fitting room. I unlocked it, set it on a ledge so that I could see it as I stripped off my dress again.

Alex: "So, uh..."

Me: "Sigh."

Alex: "Uh..."

Me: "Spit it out."

Alex: "I thought that was more a straight girl thing."

Me: "Oh, God, why did you text me?"

Alex: "She said you had a flat bust."

Me: "..."

I emerged, cautiously optimistic, but took the time to glare at Alex before asking what she thought to the result.

"Still FMN," she stated. "No change."

"I mean, is the bra too high? Too noticeable?" I asked, trying to sound more frustrated than I really was. She did make me laugh. I turned to give her a look at the back. When I faced her again she made a point of staring.

"Nah. It works," she said, at last.

"Good," I said. "I thought so." Then I turned to the assistant and asked if I could pay for it without taking it off. Without the boob tape, the new bra was a much better fit. Also, it was surprisingly comfortable.

~~~~~

I thought I had found Alex the perfect dress in the next store. It was white, made from light cotton, with a V neck, and no pleats.

Alex shook her head, and I scowled at her. "What's wrong now?"

"Too low," she said. "I know you're all about cleavage? But there's a transfer that needs to go

right there

," she said, pointing at the neckline.

I sighed. That was annoying, but she knew what she was creating.

~~~~~

Next stop was another bar, where I had a gin and tonic, while Alex selected a margarita. She looked despondent.

"I wish I could buy the fucking thing online," she groused. "Everyone's delivery times are so long."

"I've noticed that with a lot of clothing lately," I said. "I guess it's mostly fabricate-on-demand in China, these days. But we're not at the end of the line yet. I can think of at least two more stores we can try."

"My feet are feeling the effort," she said.

"Yeah," I agreed, "but we can do it because we're strong in the dork side."

Alex huffed out a laugh, but seemed somewhat cheered.

~~~~~

The next store catered mostly to teen fashion. I had trouble persuading Alex even to try. As she'd expected, the racks were unpromising. After a few minutes I left her to slog through them, while I checked the clearance rack. That's where I found it. I knew as soon as I spread it out over the other garments in the rack that it was perfect. I didn't even bother to take it to Alex. I just turned toward her and whistled, earning us a few annoyed glances.

Alex frowned as she approached, seeing the dress spread wide. I'd checked the size first, and it was what she needed. It was peach, felt like tee shirt fabric, with a fairly high square neck and no waist. It was a cold-shoulder style, with a vertical band and a slightly wider band for the upper arm. Other than the shoulder, it was an incredibly uninteresting dress, which is probably why it was on clearance. It was almost completely straight-sided, with the tiniest of flare in the lower skirt section, but the entire surface was plain, which would be perfect for iron-on transfers.

"Tell me it's my size," Alex demanded, as she approached. "Please tell me it's my size."

"It's your size," I said. "I wasn't sure about the color."

"The color's perfect," she said. Then she looked up at the ceiling for a moment. I could see the wheels turning, before she looked back. "Yeah, it won't clash with the transfers, and it's an ideal background."

I lifted the dress on its hanger and held it to Alex's neck, holding the straps against one shoulder, so that we could get an idea of its length.

It was... short. No longer than mini. Alex pursed her lips, frowning for a moment, then shook her head. "That's fine," she said. "I can rearrange the lower layout if necessary. I'm going to try it on."

When she left the changing room, I realized that the dress wasn't quite as micro as it had seemed. It looked fine on her. Alex was beaming. She returned to the changing room, and a moment later was paying the vast sum of eighteen dollars for the dress.

"Success," she crowed, as we left the store. "You okay with grabbing the transfers on the way to your place to iron them on?"

"Only if you let me see the costume," I said.

"Only if you let me see yours," she countered.

"I'll show you mine, if you show me yours?" I asked. "Remind me again what TSF stands for?"

"Hah!" Alex exclaimed, "What about hopping another bar?"

"I can make drinks at home," I said. "Not a margarita, but G&T, bourbon, wine. I even have lemons I can slice, but no lime. Mimosas. I just happen to have sparkling wine in the fridge."

"That's what you use, is it?" Alex asked. "White wine to seduce the ladies?"

"Truer than you know," I said, as she unlocked her phone to summon our ride.

~~~~~

After a small detour to pick up Alex's printed transfers, we headed to my apartment. I looked curiously at her stack of papers as I held the door open for her. "Isn't that a photo of you?" I asked, seeing the top sheet.

She hugged the papers to her chest. "No peeking! And maybe."

"You're ironing a photo of yourself onto your own Halloween costume?" I asked. "Vanity, much? Are the rest also pictures of you?"

"You'll just have to wait to find out," she said.

"Can I leave you making drinks while I clear around the bedroom? I wasn't expecting anyone to see it today," I said.

"This is your ploy, to get me into your bedroom, is it?" She set the printer sheets face up on the table. I'd already seen the top one anyway, and I guess the transparent foil side was the one that needed to be protected from dust and possible cookie crumbs.

"Yes, yes, it is," I said. "My diabolical scheme is uncovered. I bought an iron and ironing mat for the bedroom because girls are driven to the brink of ecstasy by running a hot iron over a piece of fabric."

"Dork," Alex said. "Where's the booze?"

"OJ in the fridge, fizzy white in the fridge door. That will work for me. Spirits in that cabinet." I pointed to one of the kitchen eye-level cupboards. "Glasses there," pointing to another. "Tonic with the spirits, not cold, but there's ice in the freezer."

"I'm going with a mimosa too," she stated, "so that's all I need."

"Sounds good," I said. "Be right back."

~~~~~

The room wasn't a mess, but I hadn't made my bed, and to iron, I needed it to be perfect. No wrinkles. So I spent a good five minutes getting it that way, then slid my nightstand over to the work area, set my iron on it, turned it on, before carefully laying out the ironing mat.

"It's all ready," I announced, returning to the kitchen. Alex handed me an orange drink with a slight sparkle. "Thanks. I'll stand by until you're done. I promise not to look."

Alex shook her head and shooed me away. "You can put your costume on. I want to see it? I'll shout if there's a problem."

I nodded agreement, then grabbed what I needed from the bedroom. Alex's eyebrows rose at the plastic sword I left with, then she stacked her transfers on the bed, laid out her new dress, and got to work.

The hardest part of dressing was the headscarf. I knew it was going to be. I'd seen that it was possible to fasten one the way I wanted, but I didn't have any instructions. I spent over twenty minutes getting it to look right. When it was done, it vaguely resembled a long, flowing hat. The front was quite solidly hat-shaped, hiding my hair, but the tail was wound into my hair in a single braid.

Then I fitted the leather harness over my chest, clipping the sword to it before it was completely in place. One strap ran from the right side of my neck under my left arm, the other was a band around my chest, beneath my breasts. I removed my boots, stripped off my hose, and stepped into bright yellow leggings. When I had them adjusted correctly, I slipped my cowboy boots back on, and cinched a plain brown belt around my waist.

I was about to knock on the bedroom door to tell Alex I was ready, when I realized I'd forgotten something. I took the elf ears out of their bag, and affixed them.

I knocked on the bedroom door. "I'm ready."

"Almost done," came Alex's voice. "Five minutes."

"How's your drink?" I asked.

A moment later the door opened, and she handed me her empty glass. "I hope that was an offer," she said.

"It was," I replied, and made us another pair of mimosas. Alex had been pretty heavy-handed with the wine. The drink had tasted good, so I did the same, and added another bottle of wine to the fridge, just in case. The OJ was from frozen concentrate, and I had a couple more cans in the freezer, so we wouldn't run out.

At the bedroom, I knocked on the door with my forehead, since my hands were full. "Come in," Alex yelled.

"Open the door," I instructed, since I couldn't handle the door knob.

A moment later the door opened. She must have just put the dress on, because she untucked the rest of her copper hair from it before taking the drink from me.

I moved my hands to the side, so that she could see my outfit. I held my glasses in one hand, because the costume didn't work so well with them.