The Lingerie Party 7

Emily looked up at her friend Alice in surprise. "A lingerie party? Really?" The perky Alice, with her short, curly red hair and boundless enthusiasm, was a new addition to Emily's social circle, and she was apparently full of small surprises.

"Oh yes," Alice answered, "it's lots of fun. We model stuff for each other, maybe place an order for something new, and get inspired to go home and knock our husbands' socks off. And hopefully more!" She giggled with a slightly naughty look on her face. "My friend Julia hosts the parties and we get to have wine and cheese, chat for a while, then have fun. It's a nice excuse to get together. I think you'd like the ladies that go. I don't know many of them very well, so I was hoping you could be my party buddy for the evening. Will you go, please?"

Emily hesitated at the thought of wearing lingerie in front of anyone other than George.

Well, it's certainly better than another Pampered Chef party.

"OK, I'd be happy to go. When is it?"

Alice looked down at her purse calendar. "April 10

th

, so you can get deliveries by the start of summer. There's also a November party so you can get stuff in time for Christmas. Julia's catalogue even has some Christmas outfits in it, all stockings and red hats and very little else. I surprised Eric with that two years ago on Christmas Eve, and he still mentions it as one of the best Christmas gifts he has ever received. I put a bow on myself and had him open me up, if you know what I mean! Ha ha! Lots of fun, I'm glad you can come! Its lots more fun when you can shop together, you know!"

"Great, what time should I show up?" Emily broke in, making sure she got the necessary information before Alice babbled into a new topic.

"Around 7pm we'll meet and mingle. You are supposed to bring at least one item of lingerie; we all take turns showing a favorite outfit or something we think flatters us - no exceptions - and get feedback on what the girls think would look good on you. Julia in particular is great about finding styles that really show you to good effect, whatever your body type. Not that you'll have any problems, I can't believe you've had kids! Anyway, I've got to run and get little Jack from preschool, so I'll see you around. I will email you the address!"

In her typical whirlwind way, Alice was off again, all flouncing red hair and rapid hand gestures. She had no doubt that the short dynamo, with her slim figure and perky breasts, could pull off any lingerie to good effect.

Maybe I'll get something fun for George's birthday.

Emily marked down the date on her calendar, and went back to her normal day.

When the date of the party arrived, Emily was surprised by it. The idea of the party had totally slipped out of her mind. She realized that she had to pick out something of her own to take over there and wear, and was hard-pressed to choose.

I'm tired of all this stuff, and I don't want to look bad in front of everyone. Maybe I just won't go and apologize to Alice.

But Emily's sense of duty and an element of curiosity about what new items might be there were enough to motivate her to head out the door. As a compromise Emily chose her most conservative (if you could say that about lingerie) outfit, a long green gown with multiple straps. Emily also had made a point of taking a bath during the kids' naptime and shaving her legs, since they were likely to be seen in public, so she felt as ready as she could be.

Emily called up and arranged for the kids to sleep over at her mom's house, and started in on her makeup. She was keenly aware that she would be showing more of her skin than normal, so she did a careful scan to make sure she wouldn't be embarrassed. She found herself pleased with the results. Her creamy white skin remained unblemished, with only a few freckles on her face that she covered up.

For her wardrobe, Emily went with a simple loose knee-length skirt and medium-cut white blouse to go with her thigh-high black boots and ruby earrings and necklace that emphasized her blue eyes. She combed her long blond hair until it was silky smooth, and added a few curls at the end to give it some body and bounce. A flutter in her stomach warned Emily that she was a bit more nervous about this evening than she had allowed herself to think of, but now that she had committed to getting ready she was definitely going to head out the door.

Besides, I need an evening out to myself. It'll be nice to spend time with just the girls.

Emily headed downstairs to grab a bite so she wouldn't be hungry upon arriving. George walked in the door as she entered the kitchen, and he smiled at her. "Wow babe, you look great! I shouldn't let you out the door!"

Emily smiled back at him, "well maybe I'll find something for you to take off me later tonight," she teased back. "Although I may be all worn out from fending off all the half-naked women who will be panting for me." He had mentioned on a few occasions how erotic he found the idea of her with another woman, so she liked to use it to tease and rev him up. She had never confessed to him that she found the idea erotic too.

George came over and pulled her close against him. "Talk like that, and you definitely won't make it there in time." He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her face.

"Don't muss my makeup! Here, you can kiss this," and she pulled her blouse down to reveal more of her cleavage. George humorously bent down and ran a soft kiss across the top of breasts. Emily was surprised that she felt a zing up her spine from such a playful gesture.

I guess I'm more in the mood than I thought.

With a blown kiss and a wink of promise to George, Emily headed out the door.

Emily happily found Julia's house with no trouble, a pleasantly large white house out in the country off of South End Road.

Hmm, must have some money

she thought to herself at the landscaped yard and arching entryway. There were only a few other cars parked there, so Emily took the spot at the back end of the driveway to the side of the house. She gathered up a "Victoria's Secret" bag that she had borrowed to hold her "change of clothes" and headed in.

Emily pressed the doorbell, and was greeted by a tall woman with shoulder-length black hair wearing tight jeans and a light blue v-neck sweater that dropped down to the top of her ample cleavage and was set off by a golden necklace with a small diamond and matching earrings.

Well, apparently I guessed the dress code right

Emily thought as she took in the jeans of her

presumably

hostess. "Hi, I'm Emily Reed. Alice invited me to the party. Are you Julia?"

"Yes I am, and please come in. Alice told me that she had a new friend, but she didn't tell me that you were a natural blond! Oh, I think you will really help us model certain outfits better. Thanks for coming!" Julia responded in a pleasant voice that was somewhat lower than what Emily was expecting from a woman with such obvious curving feminity, but not so low that it was masculine; throaty, husky, you might say.

With a gesture Julia invited Emily in and directed her to the main living room just down the entryway and to the right, where two other women were already seated on a plush couch and loveseat set with a large coffee table covered with cheese and crackers between them. Neither of the two were Alice, so Emily felt a reluctance to intrude on their conversation.

At Emily's entrance, a curly-haired apparently bottle dirty blond with dark-streaked highlights that looked to be a few years older and a few inches taller than Emily turned and welcomed her into the conversation. "Hi, you must be Alice's new friend. My name is Summer. Alice told me about how smart and organized you are, so maybe you can help me out! I can't seem to keep up with anything anymore since I had little David and he's not even crawling yet. Alice said you had kids and seemed to have everything all figured out!"

Summer's initial volley of rapid conversation left Emily hesitating as she was sitting down, and the shorter

just short

and darker-skinned woman with long flowing dark brown hair who was sitting to Summer's left interrupted. "Summer, just let her sit down and get something to eat before you interrogate her about every little thing. Hi, I'm Melissa, and Alice said that she was bringing someone new to the party. I heard your accent; you are English?"

Her directness initially surprised her, but Emily welcomed the opportunity to enter the conversation on known ground - she'd had this conversation many times before since coming to America. She launched into the "how'd you end up here" conversation as well as noting that she had kids and both Summer and Melissa responded with questions, eventually joined by a petite Asian woman who introduced herself as Keiko, who looked to be at least ten years older than Emily but still remarkably narrow-waisted and having shoulder-length solid black hair without a sign of gray, into the conversation as she also arrived at the party. Emily enjoyed the two gabbing girls and the chance to establish herself at the heart of the conversational group before other women came.

Three more women arrived before the evening kicked off in earnest. The next two who arrived were similar in attitude yet contrasted remarkably. The first, who introduced herself as Mandy, was a tall - at least 5'9, Emily guessed - brunette with shoulder-length straight hair who was somewhat thick-waisted but wore a dark red blouse with a plunging neckline that emphasized her jutting DD-cup breasts. Mandy was immediately throwing out jokes and off-color comments. Clearly not a shy one.

Her friend Sandra was another "bottle-blond" who's slim build belied her early 40s age and suggested a careful regimen of exercise. Sandra was also boisterous and along with Mandy began to dominate the conversation with a soon-ribald story of what she and her husband did after the last lingerie party. The other ladies laughed along with her and at Mandy's interjected jokes at everyone's expense. As Mandy and Sandra took control of the conversation, an average-height woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, in good shape and wearing a black blouse that emphasized both her long light brown hair and perky B-cup breasts, joined them. She introduced herself quietly as Tabitha and interjected little as the chatting continued.

Must be a little shy - surprising if she comes to a party like this.

Alice bounced into the room nearly 20 minutes after the 7pm start time, by which point several of the women had finished off their first glass of wine and were deep into their second, while Emily was still half-way through the glass of red merlot that she had picked up from the nearby dining room. While everyone was still arriving, Julia continued to serve wine to each of them and left out several bottles in the dining room adjacent to the living along with some additional hors d'oeuvres in case they ran low on the coffee table.

Emily found herself doing a mental survey of the women there, wondering who would look the best in their lingerie. She had to admit that Julia the host was the most likely candidate, with her voluptuous figure, but the quiet Tabitha also looked like she could wear most anything well. She caught eyes surveying around the room during the conversation, and realized that the others were doing the same thing she was.

Women are so competitive! Ha.

The other women each had attractive qualities, but as Emily suspected, the whole room settled into the assumption that she, Tabitha and Julia were the "alpha girls" and each picked up a small circle of other women around them. The chatting and wine continued, and in the middle of her third glass Emily felt a pleasant buzz, allowing her to forget the stress of being a mother. Emily was surprised when Julia walked into the room wearing a loose navy-blue lingerie top where the neck swooped down to below her cleavage and ended just below her hips, barely covering matching underwear.

"OK ladies, time to get the show started!" Julia announced, followed by a few whoops by Mandy and Sandra. Julia tracked the sound, and gestured at them. "All right, if you're that enthusiastic, you two get to go first. Head into the back bedroom to change, and we'll get the room ready."

The merry pair sauntered off past the kitchen area, apparently knowing where they were going, while the rest of them shifted the couch and love seat to create a straight line facing an open space where the women could parade in like a fashion show runway. Emily felt a vibration when Julia had turned up the music, sending a pulse through her body in reaction to the now-primal beats. The dimmed lights hid her blush at reacting to mere music, but there was no doubt her body liked the vibration bouncing through the firm cushions of the love seat. Emily looked around to see if anyone else was reacting.

Julia mis-interpreted the look and commented, "No one looks great in floodlights, dear. And it helps with the mood." Julia turned and addressed the room.

"While we are waiting, ladies, let's all change into our outfits - no sense in making us wait for everyone to change. Plus I think some of us - um, maybe not Sandra or Mandy - would be more comfortable if they weren't up there and everyone else was still in their street clothes."

There was some general grumbling, but everyone changed right there in different parts of the living room, which only gave the illusion of privacy because everyone turned to face the walls while they changed. Emily had to resettle her outfit because of the multiple awkward straps, but felt comfortable sitting down on the couch for the show.

Mandy and Sandra both came back in, and Sandra came up front first. She was wearing dark red pleated "babydoll" lingerie, with translucent fabric covering most but not all of her perky breasts and sweeping loosely down her body to the tops of her thighs, with matching underwear. The neckline of the top swooped almost to the bottom of her breasts, fully revealing her cleavage. The other ladies cheered her and Sandra twirled and batted her eyelashes coyly at the group. Julia was interjecting directions and commentary, as Sandra began turning this way and that, responding to suggestions.

The music was loud enough that Emily couldn't quite make it out all of what Julia was saying, but had to do with the style and its fit, and Sandra began to tug on the outfit to pull it tighter across her back and emphasize her torso just below her breasts. Several of the other women clapped, and after a few more twirls and then a languid bending down to "adjust" her pretend shoes that gave them all a good view, Sandra stepped down into the couch area with much fanfare. While everyone was shifting around to give her a seat, Emily took advantage to move over and sit next to Julia so she could hear clearly.

"OK, Mandy, you're up next!" Julia gestured, and Mandy took center stage. She had a similar "babydoll" style, but this time it was pink and had a visible underwire in it to add support. Mandy's thicker legs and waist were somewhat noticeable, but her outfit's presentation of her large breasts dominated the eye's attention. Emily heard someone catcall

probably from Sandra

while Mandy rotated about, showing everyone her lingerie of choice.

Wow, I may have a better body, but her breasts are enormous!

Julia and Emily were the only women who were even close to Mandy in size, and it wasn't that close. After several spins and clapping from the girls on the couch, Julia began her commentary.

"Obviously Mandy has wonderful breasts, and she wants to emphasize them in any outfit. She made a smart choice in getting an underwire garment - if you have big boobs, you don't want them sagging all over the place if you can help it. Cleavage is your friend, remember; a man's eyes will be drawn both to what is uncovered and what is hidden, and his desire to uncover the hidden is what you are aiming for."

Mandy acted like she was offering a drink to a man sitting in an empty chair, and bent at the waist to pour it, clearly giving the imaginary gentleman a look straight down her chest. Julie smiled and gestured for Mandy to turn towards the other side of the room.

"If you are really buxom, the odds are high that you don't have a narrow waist like Keiko, so try and pick an outfit that doesn't hug you through the middle or around the hips. Just get something that flares suggestively and doesn't cover up too much of your thighs."

At that, Mandy wiggled suggestively and ran her hands up from her thighs to cup her breasts, then winked at Julia. The room giggled and clapped and there was a tremor of laughter at Julia continued.

"Avoid the slits in the sides at the bottom; they will draw attention away from what you are trying to emphasize. If you have dark hair like Mandy and pale skin like most of us northerners do, then avoid colors like yellow or white - it will blur out the distinction between your skin and your outfit and make you look washed out, and heroin chic doesn't fly for anybody not on drugs. Mandy, I think red would be your best color; don't go for a girly pink, although it's fun. Red says "I'm ready for some action" and a little girl-vibe doesn't quite work when you have such an un-girlish bust. Good modeling, I liked the pretend pouring of his drink so he could look down your shirt, and I'm sure he will be tonight! All right, who's next?

There was a general pause as no one volunteered immediately. Julia clearly knew how to keep momentum going, and promptly pointed down the row. "Keiko, how about you take the stage?"

"I need to touch up my makeup before getting up there." Keiko responded.

Keiko headed down the hallway while everyone refilled their wine glass, chatted or looked at the lingerie catalogue. Emily grabbed a copy and paged through it, looking for ideas. It was a kind of Frederick's of Hollywood mail-order system that allowed women to see live modeling of the products before ordering. Emily preferred it to the non-changing room styles of Victoria's Secret where you had to take it home and return it if it didn't fit or work for you. Keiko returned quickly, and everyone settled back down at Julia's gesture. "OK Keiko, you're on."

Keiko walked to the front in an ivory outfit that was an unusual style that Emily wasn't familiar with. It clung to Keiko all the way around her, with what looked to be a normal bra top and translucent material all the way down to just past her hips.

Julia was smart to have Keiko go after Mandy - the contrast between Mandy's bustiness and Keiko's petiteness is so stark that no one is really comparing them to each other.

Julia started her commentary with a compliment.

"Keiko made a nice choice here with the ivory mesh and lace chemise. She knows that her body is so slim that it could get lost in a looser choice, and it emphasizes her delicate nature. The translucent fabric promises a lot but doesn't give the whole store away. I'll remind you, ladies, don't overdeliver with your outfits. It's the promise, not the delivery, that starts the fun. You'll notice that her chemise has some ruffles along the bra top. Excellent choice here - it emphasizes that her breasts are different from the rest of her torso and by contrast reemphasizes her waist.

Julia gestured for her to twirl, and Keiko spun in a slow circle with a dancer's grace, and Emily felt a stab of envy at her excellent balance. Julia continued her monologue.

"She is wearing black underwear, and I think that doesn't really work. You need to go with something white - not regular mom underwear, something silk, I'm thinking - so that it both matches the chemise fabric and draws attention to what is covered. But overall, a good choice."