Toni walked into Melanie´s shop late one afternoon. Melanie saw her and whistled.
“Wow! You´re not the Toni I used to know.”
Toni smiled, curtsied. “Thanks, but you know, I´m still wearing the same clothes as before.”
“Well, yes, but you´ve changed them, and there´s someone else inside.”
Toni beamed. She wore a multi-colored print dress of light cotton. Today, it fit her closely, tied with a contrasting sash around her narrow waist, emphasizing her figure. The top was now criss-crossed with cut-outs, showing swaths of Toni´s chest and back that revealed her lacy camisole. The long skirt was slit on four sides to well above her knees. It fit closely across her flat tummy and hips so that, when she walked, you could see movement beneath the fabric.
“What happens when you don´t wear anything under that?” Melanie wanted to know.
“You can see my cleavage, and my nipples come right here...” she touched them through the cloth, making them rise, “... and here.”
“Boy, I could almost sell that as part of my ‘Dirty Duds´ line.” Melanie inspected Toni closely. “It´s lovely. And, so are you. What can I do for you? You here for business or pleasure?”
“Business,” Toni said. “Need something for my legs. Now that I´ve slit all my skirts, I need something – sometimes – for stockings. I never liked panty hose, so I need help.”
“Well, of course, there are garter belts...” Melanie said, doubtfully.
“Yeah, I don´t really like those, either. See, I´ve made everything fit a little closer around the hips...” She turned to show Melanie.
“Hey, you don´t have to tell me, I´ve got eyes. I see you go down the Mall now, with Ned or whatever, I can see every muscle in your ass. It´s gorgeous.”
“Well, I hope it´s not that obvious,” Toni said grinning, and Melanie shook her head. “But that leaves me kind of up a tree, ‘cause I don´t want you to see a garter belt.”
“Come on,” Melanie said, “I´ve got just the thing. I just took this line on – see what you think.” She went to a rack and handed Toni a thin package. “They´re stockings that stay up by themselves. Try them on – use the office, if you want. Let me know if you need help.”
“There´s no one here, why don´t you come watch?” Toni said, swaying provocatively through the office door.
Inside, Toni hiked her skirt up over her waist and perched on the edge of the desk. She wore only the briefest panties. Her long legs were gloriously brown and there was no sign of a bathing suit line.
She opened the package and took out the long, sheer stockings. She began to put one on. Melanie came to the doorway and lounged there, watching her.
“Boy, do you look great,” she said. “Umm, where are you finding a place to sun in the nude?”
Toni looked up at her with a broad smile. “Out at Ned´s. He´s got a big yard no one can see into. You know I´m sleeping with him.”
“I was pretty sure. I see you two on the Mall, and at Wednesday; there´s not much doubt about it. You guys serious?”
“I don´t know what that is, Mel. I like Ned a lot, we like each other. But I´m too new to all this. I need a lot of space to find out where I fit.” She had pulled on both the stockings and leaned back on Melanie´s desk, spreading her legs wide. “Just what I need,” she said. Out front, Toni picked out several pair and brought them to the counter. She looked at the price tag. “Wow, these are pricey. But that doesn´t matter. I´ll take them anyway.”
“Yeah, they cost a lot. But they seem to work, don´t slide down, but don´t cut off the circulation, either. Gal who sold them to me wears them all the time, swears by them. Says they last well, too.”
“She let you see the whole thing?” Toni asked slyly.
“Of course. She and I have a very friendly relationship.” Melanie saw no reason to beat around a bush that neither cared about.
Toni looked her over. “I thought you were wearing stuff from the store. I´ve seen that outfit at Wednesday.”
“Well, I do wear my Dirty Duds a lot, but I get tired of the same old stuff. So, I just leave it on the manikin.”
“I´m getting some ideas, Mel,” Toni said. “I´ll show you some sketches soon. But, I need someone to try them out on. Who do we know who´s a size ten? I´m too tall; so are you.”
“You want someone model size? How about Dana? She´s a ten, and she´s got a great body.”
“Have you made love to her?” Toni lowered her voice. “I see you two rubbing each other at Wednesday.”
“No, never have. We tease each other, but it just hasn´t come up, somehow. I´d love it, though.
“I had another idea, Mel. Do your girls wear stuff from the store when they work?”
“I ask them to, but I don´t inspect their undies every day.”
“Well, why not set up two manikins – those torso ones – and put the girls´ names on them. Change the lingerie every day and tell people that´s what they´re wearing. If they really are, so much the better. Same when you´re wearing something sexy from stock – put it on the manikin with your name on it. Should be very sexy.”
“You suggested that once before. I´ll do it. Thanks.”
Toni, her purchases under her arm, swept out the door and across the Mall, her skirt swinging, legs flashing. She stopped to listen to a young man playing the classical guitar, left him a dollar bill and swung off down the mall toward Broadway.