Title: Ignition
Chapter: 1/1
Author: jdc15
Rating: T/PG-13
Word Count: About 1.3k
Summary: After losing a bet, Aubrey visits a sex shop and gets some unsolicited assistance. [AU]
Notes: I found a prompt on Tumblr that someone had written about a character going into a sex shop, so then of course I jumped at the opportunity to throw Aubrey and all of her repression into an adult store. :) I laughed my ass off the entire time I was writing this.
She's never regretted making a bet with Chloe more. After this many years of friendship she should have known that Chloe would make her do something horribly embarrassing.
The bet itself was whether Chloe could get into Beca's pants within two weeks. Doubting Chloe's seductive prowess was the first mistake, and now she's paying for it with every step that brings her closer to the door of the shop.
A bell over the door jingles as she walks in and she winces; it's mocking her, she just knows it. She glances around surreptitiously and is relieved to find the store empty except for the girl behind the counter. She's talking on the phone with her back to the door and doesn't look up so Aubrey takes the opportunity to duck into the nearest aisle before she's spotted. She isn't talking to the clerk until she absolutely has to. Anyway, she's planning to be in and out in five minutes, tops.
Her plan to just grab the nearest item is dashed when her hand comes dangerously close to a bright pink piece of silicone and she recoils. Nothing pink, absolutely not.
However, the more realistic models turn out to be incredibly disturbing, so she slinks back to the first display and reluctantly scans it. She's trying to find something small, discreet, that she can just shove into her purse as soon as she leaves the store and never look at again.
She's getting more and more nervous, and starting to think she may have to bite the bullet and just buy the smallest fake dick she can, when footsteps sound behind her and she jumps violently.
She glues her eyes to the floor and a moment later, a pair of shoes come into view. "Can I help you find anything?" comes the voice, and Aubrey assumes it's the girl from the front.
"No, I'm fine," she says. There's no way she's asking someone for help finding a goddamn sex toy, even if she is about to have a nervous breakdown.
"You sure? You look a little…lost." The voice is sultry and Aubrey desperately wants to see its owner but she knows her face is bright red so she just drags a hand through her hair and sighs.
"Okay, look. I lost a bet with my friend so she's making me come in here and buy something, but I've never been somewhere like this before," she says in a rush. "I just need to get something and go."
The girl lets out a laugh. "Okay, that's a new one." She steps closer and Aubrey assumes she's scanning the shelves. "Nothing catching your eye over here?"
She grabs a large black circular thing that Aubrey doesn't recognize and holds it out. "How does this look?"
"No, it has to be—" She gestures vaguely at the display.
"A dildo?"
Aubrey cringes. "No…brightly colored," she says quickly.
"Okay, well, since you're here already and you have to buy something either way, you may as well get something you'd actually use."
"I'm not—I don't—" Aubrey stammers, heat rushing to her face. She rubs at her brow with her hand, hoping the girl isn't looking at her.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," the girl says kindly. "Look, there are lots of options."
This doesn't help the situation and Aubrey is about half a second from bolting and just enduring Chloe's wrath when the girl pulls something down off the shelf and hands it to her.
"Here. This is one of our best sellers. It vibrates and it's a good midsized model. Plus it's super colorful."
It's a rainbow-striped dildo and Aubrey nearly hyperventilates. "Do you have anything, like, really small?"
"Do you want shorter, or skinnier?"
"No, no," she blushes. "Like, not…one of these things. You know, something else that's just…really small."
"Oh," the girl nods. "Yeah, definitely. Follow me."
Aubrey nods gratefully and raises her eyes to her face for the first time. The girl is gorgeous, with long, light brown hair, greenish eyes, and a nametag that reads "Stacie," adorned with lipstick prints and red hearts.
Aubrey realizes that she's staring, and the girl is waiting for her to pull her head out of the sand and act like a mentally intact human, so she clears her throat and forces her feet to move.
They weave through four more aisles—she didn't even know sex shops could be this big, it's practically Walmart—before Stacie halts in front of a small stack of shelves. "Better?"
"Yes," Aubrey says gratefully, scanning the items and feeling like her eyes are burning slightly less intensely. She still doesn't know what she's doing, though, or what anything in front of her is even supposed to be used for. Stacie must sense this because she smirks and plucks something off the rack and holds it out.
"How's this look to you?"
Terrifying. "What is it?"
"A mini vibrator. Another of our most popular items. As you can see, it's tiny, nothing extreme, but it still meets the color criteria."
She flicks it on and Aubrey actually flinches as the sky-blue vibrator buzzes quietly where it's held between her fingers. Stacie's not even trying to hide her smile, but something about her expression is more seductive than teasing. Or maybe Aubrey's just imagining things. "Great," she says hurriedly. "Let's just go with that then."
"Okay," Stacie says agreeably, but instead of heading to the front desk, she turns back to the shelf and rummages through a small box until she procures a small bottle. "Tell you what," she says, and Aubrey clenches her jaw anxiously. "I'm going to throw this in, free of charge."
"What is it?"
Stacie hands it to her with a smile. It turns out to be flavored lubricant and Aubrey tries to hand it back at once. "Why would you give me that? And why is it free?" she asks suspiciously.
"Because you're cute," Stacie says. "And you can never go wrong having some lube lying around, you know."
"Oh my god." Aubrey buries her face in her hands. "I really need to go."
"Or you could stay. We're having so much fun already."
"Speak for yourself," Aubrey says darkly. "My friend will think I got kidnapped."
"Well, if that's what you're into…" Stacie's mouth twists into a devilish smile and Aubrey kind of hates herself for finding it so attractive.
"Okay, I'm ready to buy it," Aubrey says stiffly, and Stacie shrugs, following her to the front. When they reach the counter she circles around behind it and pulls a small paper bag from a shelf.
Aubrey hands over the vibrator, trying not to look at it. Stacie takes it and wraps it unabashedly in the bag, slipping in the bottle as well with half a glance at Aubrey.
Aubrey hands her some cash (there is no way in hell she's swiping her card at a place like this), takes her change, and turns to leave.
"Hey." Stacie places a hand on her wrist. Aubrey jumps and Stacie retracts it, but shoots her a smile. "Just so you know, if you ever need any help finding, ah, your way around…I'd be more than happy to help. No pressure or anything," she winks. "Just thought I'd offer."
"Okay." Aubrey tries to calm her breathing a little, not wanting to seem like a total idiot in front of arguably the best-looking person in the city, and also not wanting to admit that she would maybe, kind of, possibly be okay with that. "I, um…that won't be necessary."
Unfazed, Stacie hands her the paper bag with a grin, and Aubrey can see a phone number scrawled on the receipt that's stapled to the bag. "Call me if you change your mind."