The smell of fresh paint immediately hit Logan’s nostrils as he walked into Lolita’s. Gabriella was at it again. What was she painting now? Couldn’t she learn to leave well enough alone? He followed the scent like a dog, to the back room of her store, and found her on her knees, wearing shorts that were too short for work, with her paintbrush in hand, painting yet another oak chair. He walked over to her iPhone and turned down the music.
“Cinderella, how many chairs are you going to keep painting?”
“I needed another chair. Those pink garters I bought a week ago have all sold out already and people are asking for them non-stop.”
“So what does that have to do with another chair?”
“Logan! Duh! The chair they were displayed on clearly wasn’t enough so when my shipment comes in today, I can lay those garters on that chair and once this baby dries, I am going to lay the new matching stockings and panties on this chair.”
Logan ran his hand through his chestnut hair that got lighter every time he was out in the sun. He leaned up against one of her worktables and absent-mindedly began caressing the tiniest pair of panties he’d ever seen that were lying next to him. They were red. His favorite color. They were made out of mesh lining, making the entire front of the panties see through. Also his favorite. No panties at all would be his preference but for whatever reason, ladies seemed to love wearing them, so see-through panties would be the next best thing. Every time he came in here and helped Gabriella, he was astonished how much money people, mostly women, were willing to pay for this crap. The red panties he was currently fingering cost...twenty-eight dollars! They were made of the flimsiest material; he could literally rip them off in one fell swoop.
“Quit touching my panties.”
Logan tensed up at her command. They were technically ‘her’ panties, but they weren’t her panties. At least he didn’t think. He supposed she could be wearing these exact same panties underneath those short shorts of hers. He rubbed his hand over his eyes. Why had he even begun to wonder what little Cinderella was wearing underneath her clothes? They had been friends since second grade and he never once had considered what she might wear down there.
Well, there was that ONE time when they had just graduated high school and he was helping her out of her gown and underneath she had worn this yellow sundress and somehow the zipper had managed to get stuck on the gown...or the gown got stuck in the zipper? Either way, to this day, he still never understood how that could happen. But he was the only one inside her house and he was designated with the task of helping her get the gown unstuck. He had been nervous. He could feel some kind of tension in the room, which was crazy because it was just Gabriella – his nearest and dearest friend since grade school. He managed to unzip her dress and the zipper had gone down low enough that he could see the dimples in her lower back as well as the pale yellow thong she had been wearing.
In a whisper she threatened him, “don’t look at my panties.”
But the way it sounded didn’t sound like a real threat. Her voice was real breathy and quiet. He had managed to get the gown out of the zipper’s teeth and zip her dress back up before he had stormed out of her bedroom. That had been the only time he had ever considered doing anything to Gabriella that had went far beyond friendship.
“I’m kidding, you know that right? Don’t look so serious, Logan.”
He was brought out of his trance by Gabriella’s soft laugh.
“I was just thinking about something else,” he told her truthfully.
“Do you like those panties?” she nodded to the red ones in his hands. “That’s just a sample. Then I can decide if I will order more or not.”
Without thinking he asked, “Who samples them?”
She tilted her head and looked at him like he was an idiot, “Who do you think?”
Visions of Gabriella prancing around in these panties came to mind. He forcefully set them back down on the table and cleared his head.
“So do you need any help then?” he cleared his throat, “with any painting or anything?”
Gabriella laughed, “Come hold this for me, please? What has gotten into you lately? Ever since the trouble with the credit union, you haven’t been acting like yourself. Is it still bothering you? Is there anything you want me to do to help you get through this?”
Again, her and the red panties.
He shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Lucy and I are going out to dinner tonight to that new restaurant by the mall. Have you tried it?”
“No. Ginger and I want to but haven’t found time yet. Are you and Lucy finally an item?” She bent lower, painting along the lower rim of the chair as Logan held the back, tilting it just enough for her to reach. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and she balanced on her paint splattered shoes, deep in thought. She wore her grubby clothes to paint. Her denim cutoffs and a pink vee necked shirt.
“No, we aren’t an item. We are still just seeing each other. We are free to date whomever we want. No strings attached.”
Gabriella rolled her eyes, “Is that what you think she wants?”
“No. She wants to be exclusive but I am just not feeling it yet. Anyway, what about you and what’s his name? Are you guys “together” together?”
“His name is Cody and things are definitely heating up but so far, I’m much too busy for a relationship.”
Logan wasn’t sure what his problem with Gabriella was lately. He’d been around her more than any other female in his entire life aside from his mother. She was his nearest and dearest friend. They had laughed and cried together. Had gone through break-ups together. Had experienced college and everything thereafter together. And here he was unable to stop himself from looking down her V-neck shirt at her voluptuous tits that he had no business looking at. Especially when all she had asked from him – a friend, was a helping hand.