Chapter 12 #2
“Not frilly,” Thomas mumbled. “Lace, maybe some ribbons.”
Scott glanced back at him. “What do you think frilly means?”
Thomas shrugged.
“Any…colour?” The woman’s breathing came harder and faster, and she started to sway, her gaze never leaving Thomas.
Scott turned to Thomas. “Maybe you want to wait outside?”
“No. And blue. Preferably the same shade as his eyes.”
“Blue isn’t sexy. Black or red,” Scott answered.
Thomas scoffed. “Red won’t suit you.”
“Everything suits me.”
The shop assistant reached into her pocket and tugged out her inhaler. She took two puffs, then held her breath.
“Erm…” Scott bit his lip. “Are you okay?”
“Phobia…snakes…”
Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I can cure you?”
Scott smirked. “No chance. You’ve probably just undone years of therapy.”
“Actually, can you point us in the direction of the corsets? I’d love to tighten one around him until he can’t breathe.”
“That’s what constrictors do,” Scott said.
Thomas nodded. “They do. Well done, Scott.” He patted Scott on the head. “When we get home, I’ll let you go on the swing as a reward.”
“It’d better not be a sex swing.”
The assistant held her inhaler like she was about to take another puff.
“I’ll tell you what,” Scott said. “Me and my friend here –”
“We’re not friends.”
“Me and the random snake guy I found on the street,” Scott amended, “are going to browse. I see there’s a changing room over there, perfect.”
He dragged Thomas away from the counter. “I don’t know what the charge will be if your face literally scares someone to death, but let’s not risk finding out.”
Thomas turned his back on Scott and started rummaging around the bras.
“I still think black is better, it’s…sexier,” Scott said.
“You are soft, and subtle, not sexy.”
“Fucking ouch, Thomas!”
Thomas shook his head. “What you do on camera, what you do to yourself, what others want to do to you, that is sexy, but you yourself are not. We need blue to match your eyes. If you wore black, it would be like putting the wrong font on a book cover.”
“Oh, you bastard.” Scott narrowed his eyes. “Don’t use my book comparison against me.”
“If the font fits…”
“That doesn’t even make any sense!”
Thomas shoved a bra at Scott’s chest. “Here, go try this one… It’s that, or I gag you with it.”
Scott took the bra and trudged off to the changing rooms.
They ended up buying two sets of underwear. One black. One blue.
Thomas insisted they stop by a jewellery store to accessorise, and Scott didn’t complain.
Thomas bought him pearls, real pearls.
“I know they’re for the shoot, but can I put them on now?” Scott pressed his hands together, begging.
Thomas nodded dismissively and walked away.
Scott couldn’t stop touching the pearls around his throat as they headed back to the car.
“At least this necklace isn’t going to shock me.”
“Shock you?”
“I mean, it’s not a shock to me. It’s – I love it.”
Thomas smirked. “The necklace that client of yours put round your neck was an abomination.”
“It sure was,” Scott whispered.
“Piss yellow.” Thomas shook his head. “What the hell was he thinking?”
Scott paused by a shoe shop, his eyes growing wide at all the high heels on display.
“We need shoes,” Scott said.
“No, we don’t. The underwear is fine on its own.”
Scott tugged his new necklace. “It was you who started accessorising, come on.”
He led the way into the shop and smiled at the shop attendant. She blanked him in favour of gawping at Thomas.
“Hi,” Scott said, jumping to break her line of sight with Thomas.
She seemed to come back to herself and blurted, “Hi.”
“Can you help me? I’m a size eight. I don’t want to go too high because I’ve never walked in heels before – not that I need to walk, I just need to masturbate in them.”
The woman recoiled with a gasp.
“Wait,” Scott said, clutching his head. “By in them, I don’t mean inside them, I just mean, I need to be wearing them while I touch myself.”
“Christ, Scott,” Thomas growled. He grabbed the back of Scott’s hoodie and pulled him away. “I don’t know what the charge will be if your weirdness kills someone, but let’s not risk finding out.”
“Ha. Funny.” Scott tugged his hoodie free of Thomas’s grip, then followed him out of the shop. “Can we say hello to Zara and Jade on the way past?”
Thomas huffed. “If we fucking have to.”
“You’re such a charmer.”
Scott led the way and pushed into the shop.
Zara beamed at him, then opened the back door to call out, “Scott’s here!”
Jade appeared soon afterwards, rubbing her hands together. “So what did you get?”
“I need you to settle an argument for me.”
Thomas audibly deflated. “Here we go.”
“I think the black underwear is hotter than the blue set, but Thomas disagrees.” Scott handed the bag over. Zara and Jade pawed at each set.
“Black is definitely hotter,” Jade said.
Scott narrowed his eyes at Thomas. “See.”
“But the blue set suits you more,” Zara said.
“What?”
“Without a doubt,” Jade said with a smile. “Blue’s your colour, Scott.”
Scott snatched the bag from them.
Thomas chuckled, slow and dark. He bowed. “Thank you, ladies, have a wonderful day.”
He took Scott by the wrist and dragged him out.
“I don’t get it,” Scott said.
“It’s simple. The black set is too sexy. You’ll take away from its sexiness.”
“I am trying hard not to be offended by that, and I’ll be honest, I’m failing.”
Thomas snorted. “You’re going to elevate the blue set. You’re going to make them sexy.” He looked towards the car park. “Now come on, let’s go home. I’ve had enough peopling for one day.”