My mother, having spotted me staring said “I don’t think you want any of those Andrew.”
I gulped and felt myself blush as I returned my eyes to the selection of flat-bras on the counter. The owner seems engrossed as he describes each one, “This one has a similar lace trim to the panties.” he says as he runs his manicured fingers along the stretchy lace trim. “Or there’s this one with lace inserts.” he adds as he picks up another flat bra with lace ‘cups’. “It’s a very popular choice.” he adds.
“Oh yes that’s lovely.” Mother said as she slid her hand beneath the ‘cup’, demonstrating its translucence to me. “What do you think?” she asked.
“Er!” I croaked.
“Or do you like this one better?” she asked, referring to the plainer white bra with far less lace.
“I guess.” I gulped.
She lined them up in the manner they’d be worn with the bra laid above the panties and asked me more assertively if I was happy with the set. I spent a moment observing the ensemble. The bra is relatively plain; stretchy white sateen with a little lace trim around the chest band and cups. The knickers are much the same in style. I’ve worn much worse beneath my Sunday dresses, so I said they were ‘nice’. “What are those for?” I asked, pointing to one of four short clip things that hung from the leg holes.
“They’re for your stockings.” Mother replied. I guessed that the moment I asked.
“Will you be wanting stockings?” the owner asked me directly.
“Er!” I croaked.
“Oh yes.” Mother gleefully replied on my behalf. “What colour do you fancy?” she asked me.
I’ve only really worn my bottle green school tights and sometimes a pair of white girlie tights in the past, so I didn’t really know what colour I ‘fancied’. “I don’t know.” I gulped. Mother suggested either thin black ones or something more natural looking. “Natural?” I half heartedly suggested.
“There’s bamboo, champagne, nude, light tan, sun kissed, honey…” the owner listed. “Why don’t you go and have a look.” he suggested, gesturing to the display.
Mother and I perused the selection. All the different ‘natural’ colours looked more or less the same to my untrained eye, being in the light beige part of the spectrum. Mother explained the difference between gloss, satin, soft and velvet, before removing a ‘nude’ pair from the revolving rack. “These look nice.” she said as she passed me the slim oblong box.
I gulped as I looked at the package… everything about it is so feminine and the model’s stocking clad legs do look fantastic. I said they looked OK, for no other reason than to get it over with.
“They’ll look lovely I’m sure.” Mother smiled. “Actually, you’d better take three pairs.” she added, grabbing another two packs.
“I don’t need three pairs Mother.” I said.
“You need a spare pair in case you get a ladder.” Mother replied. “And a spare pair in case you get another.”
I wished I was anywhere but here as I placed the three identical packs of stockings on the counter. Mother passed him her credit card before smiling at me I gulped as I watched the owner carefully fold my new control knickers and my flat bra. He wrapped them in a sheet of pale pink tissue and carefully placed them in a branded paper bag along with the stockings. He returned my mother’s debit card along with a receipt, then looked at me and smiled as he pushed the bag towards me. I gulped and muttered something along the lines of ‘Mother … carry … please’. My mother just gave me one of those looks, so I timidly took hold of the bag and dreaded every second I’d spend carrying it.