Pt 6

The polite but no-nonsense woman supervising the fitting room explained that store policy only allowed four items to be taken in at a time so Beth agreed to wait on the sofa at the end with the rest of Maddie’s pile, along with a bored-looking man she took to be someone’s husband and an older lady who also had a pile of children’s clothes next to her.

It was not long before the man’s wife emerged, tutting about how the sizes in that shop were never consistent and handing the skirt she had been trying on to the assistant before the pair of them wandered off, much, judging by the look on his face, to the husband’s relief. Two or three minutes later, Maddie emerged wearing a pair of bell-bottom jeans with embroidered flowers around the cuff and a white gypsy top.

“What do you think?” she asked with a grin.

“Looks great!” Beth enthused, thinking how much happier she looked and somehow more herself than in the tight, designer gear she had worn leaving the salon. “So those go on the Yes pile?”

“Definitely!” Maddie gave a little twirl, delighted that somebody was interested in seeing her show off in clothes, especially clothes she had picked for herself, valuing her as a girl rather than wanting her to be naked so they could examine her meat. “Next outfit!” She giggled and disappeared back into her cubical.

“She’s very pretty.” The lady next to her turned and smiled. “Is she your sister?” The asked this a little uncertainly, noticing the very different colouring of the two girls. The age gap seemed just a little too large for them to simply be friends and, while it would not be impossible for a girl of Beth’s age to have a daughter, she could certainly not be as old as Maddie.

“A family I babysit for just adopted her,” Beth smiled at the kindly grandmother, feeling like the full details of the situation were not necessary for sharing, “and she needed some new clothes so I’ve brought her to pick some out.”

“Oh that’s very sweet!” the older lady beamed. “I’m here with my grandson. Actually, I wonder what’s taking him so long?” As if on cue, a chubby boy of around five or six emerged from one of the other cubicles fussing with the buttons on his shirt. With an affectionate and indulgent tut, his grandmother knelt down in front of him and adjusted them so they lined up properly. “There!” She turned him around so that he could see himself in the large mirror at the end of the room. “Very smart!” The boy seemed happy at this praise and gave his grandmother a big kiss on the cheek. “Go on, go put your normal clothes back on and we can pay for these.” She smiled warmly at the little boy as he disappeared back into the cubical.

“He’s been invited to a party at quite a fancy house on Saturday,” the older lady explained as she resumed her seat next to Beth, “and his mum asked me to find him something smart to wear. What is it, dear?” she asked, seeing the surprise on Beth’s face.

“Oh, nothing!” Beth lied quickly, not really wanting to have that particular conversation but wondering, and finding it very likely, that the party at a fancy house to which the little boy had been invited was the very one where she was to be cooked and served! She doubted he would recognise her if that was the case as he had barely glanced in her direction but she was certainly intrigued to see if she would recognise him among the twins’ party guests on Saturday!

Clearly taking the shirt off was much easier than putting it on and the little boy was soon back, dressed in ordinary shorts and a t-shirt with a popular cartoon character on it, carrying the fancy party clothes in an untidy bundle. With more indulgent fussing and tutting, the lady took them from him and folded them slightly neater, ready to be carried to the counter and paid for.

“Have fun picking out new outfits for your friend!” the lady smiled as she collected up the other garments from beside her on the sofa.

“Thanks!” Beth smiled, “And enjoy your party!” she called to the little boy who turned and grinned at her happily, waving with one hand and holding tightly onto his grandmother’s with the other. Just then, Maddie emerged from her own cubical again, this time wearing the dress she had picked out for the party. “Wow!” Beth exclaimed as Maddie gave a little twirl then a curtsey. “That looks great on you!”

“Thanks!” Maddie grinned. “I tried on the other stuff too and it all fits but I wanted you to see this!”

“Guess you’re better at this shopping business than you realised, huh?” laughed Beth.

“Must be!” Maddie replied with a giggle. “Are you going to try yours on?”

“This?” Beth held up the robe. “It’s pretty loose but I can try it on right here!” She stood up and slipped it on over her t-shirt. “See? Fits good!”

“Yeah but that’s not how you’re going to wear it!” Maddie reminded her, teasingly. “Give me a minute to change back so I can wait out here with the shopping then I dare you to try it on properly then come out here and show me!”

“Try it on properly?” Beth was puzzled. “What do you… Oooh!” Seeing the younger girl’s cheeky grin made her understand. With a shrug and a laugh, Beth agreed. After all, she reasoned, she was going to be wearing nothing but the robe at the party in front of mostly strangers, before taking it off and showing off her completely naked body, of course, so why not get some practice? Maddie happily skipped off back to the cubical to change back into the clothes she had come in and in no time at all was back, wearing her own leggings and crop-top.

“Your turn!” She grinned. Chuckling a little to herself, Beth laid the satin robe over her arm and walked over to the cubical that Maddie had just vacated. “Properly, remember!” the pretty little blonde called after her with a giggle. Beth laughed, shook her head and assured the younger girl that she would not cheat!

In many ways, the changing cubical made Beth feel as if she was back at the salon, except that she was in a store full of fully-dressed people going about their business and where nudity was far less commonplace! Still, she reminded herself, it’s not as if she was going to go strutting around the mall in her birthday suit!

Quickly, the amused and excited teen pulled her t-shirt over her head and unhooked her bra. It felt funny to be exposing her chest even ‘though she was in a private cubical but then it was not as if she had never tried on a bra or a bikini in a store before. Next, she undid the button on her denim shorts and hooked her thumbs into the elastic of her panties too, pulling both down in a single motion.

“Oops!” she giggled, “Almost forgot!” Sitting down otherwise naked on the little bench, she quickly untied the laces of her tennis shoes and pulled them off along with the ankle socks that may once have been white. Next, she stood and slipped the robe on, finding that it hung a little higher than she had thought because it was pushed out a little by her butt and hips but could still be regarded as decent. Wrapping one side fairly tightly over the other, she tied the cord which was made from the same satin as the gown itself and flipped her thick ponytail out. The fabric was quite thin and, where her perky nipples pushed against it, she was sure that she could see a little pink showing through the creamy orange and she felt a little self-conscious about stepping out into the public area where anyone could be but a dare was a dare and, after all, it was good practice for the party!

Taking a deep breath, Beth stepped out into the area between the cubicles. To her great relief, there was nobody there except for Maddie and the attendant.

“Wooh!” Maddie clapped and whistled, “Looking good! How does it feel?”

“Actually pretty good!” Beth grinned, giving a twirl but taking care not to spin too fast lest the bottom of the robe flare out exposing far more than she intended to! “It’s so soft and feels really nice against my skin!”

“You look really hot!” Maddie enthused. “Bet the dads at the party are going to be checking you out even more in that then when you’re naked!”

“Well I don’t know about that!” Beth laughed, glancing a little nervously over at the attendant who was smirking a little but made no other comment. “But I admit I do feel pretty yummy in this!”

“The rest of us think you look yummier without it!” Maddie practically fell over laughing at her own joke. “But yeah! You look great! It’s perfect!” Relaxing a little, Beth turned to look at herself in the large mirror and had to admit she liked what she saw. The thin robe was both modestly concealing and somehow teasingly revealing. It was clearly meant to be worn in the home and not in public and certainly, under any other circumstances, she would not have dreamed of doing so unless it was over a swimsuit or something but then Saturday’s party was hardly normal circumstances and indulging in any modesty at all was, she had to admit to herself, a little silly. Even so, she would be glad of the slight privacy accorded by the robe.

“So can I put my clothes back on now?” she asked Maddie, teasingly.

“Sure!” the younger girl laughed. “I’m getting hungry anyway! Can you think of a good place to get some lunch?”

“You know,” Beth grinned, imagining how Maddie might react to one of the deluxe burgers she personally loved so much after years of her mother’s strict meat-girl-approved diet, “I think I know just the place!”