Wade stared up at the sculpted black script of the boutique's sign. The mall was surprisingly crowded, and he knew that he was blocking traffic, but somehow he couldn't get his feet to move. Wade took a deep breath and eyed the lace and pink tulle decorating the window. Get a grip, Wade, he told himself. It's just an underwear shop. Underwear isn't scary. This had been the part of his trip that he had been looking forward to the most. Vixens & Roses was the lingerie shop. How many times had he been walking by, drooling over the panties and corsets in the display window, only to be driven away by the wary eyeballing from the shopkeepers? There was a reason he did most of his shopping online.

But now…No one would judge him. He was a woman buying women's undergarments. There was nothing wrong about that. It was a completely normal thing to do. So why wasn't he going in?

Wade growled in frustration, earning him a few concerned glances from passerby. Okay, he could do this. He tightened his grip on his shopping bags and forced his feet to move from where they were rooted to the floor. It's just a store, he reminded himself.

Upon entering the store, he was greeted by a cool blast of air and a perky sales clerk.

"Hi! My name's Kelly! What can I do for you today?" The bubbly twenty something was practically bouncing up and down in front of Wade. This girl was way too happy to be selling underwear.

"Um, I need underwear."

"Yeeeaaah, but, like, what kind? Casual? Sexy? Extra support?" With every option that she rattled off, Kelly provided what she no doubt perceived as 'helpful' body language to illustrate just what the purpose of each one was. Despite kelly's helpful hand 'diagrams', Wade was at a bit of a loss. He's never needed his underwear to actually be functional in the past.

"Um, I don't know. I just um, recently got these," Wade grabbed his breasts. "And I'm trying to figure out what I need."

"Boob job, huh?" Kelly eyed Wade's modestly sized rack in doubt. "Don't worry honey, well get you set up and measured."

"Okay, that sounds good," Wade nodded gratefully. "And, um, as for the actual braziers and whatnot…I, uh, I want to look good."

"Don't worry sweetie, that's a given." Kelly winked and started to lead him deeper into the store.

Wade shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean. I mean…" Wade floundered for a moment, searching for the right words. "I want to look good. Like, better than I've ever looked. If someone were to look at me, I want the only words that they are capable of saying to be damn. But like, with two syllables. Basically, I'm treating myself. Once in a lifetime opportunity and all that, so spare no expense." Kelly's eyes lit up, and Wade could practically see the dollar signs in her eyes.

"Oh, darling, you do not know how much I've wanted someone to tell me that," she grinned and abruptly changed direction, pulling him towards a different section and plucking things off from various racks as they went.

xxxxxxxxx

"So what do you think?" Wade looked up from where he was admiring his reflection at the sound of Kelly's voice coming from outside his fitting room.

"Well, it's…umm…just see for yourself." He unlocked the door and draped himself across the doorway in what he hoped was a sexy pose. He had to hand it to Kelly, she was certainly earning her commission. Somehow everything she had pulled was exactly what he had been envisioning. It wasn't just underwear either. There were panties and bras, sure, but there were also a fair number of corsets and baby doll slips.

"Daaaaang girl, you are rocking that get-up!" Kelly drolled and whistled appreciatively. She eyed Wade appreciatively. "Like, seriously, you are fine like wine. Nice like spice. Hot to trot. Other phrases that rhyme." Wade blushed. He wasn't used to people complimenting his appearance. And yeah, she was probably just saying that so that he'd buy more stuff, although a dark something lurking in her eyes told him that maybe that wasn't necessarily the case.

He looked good. Hell, he even looked sexy. Having already chosen some more practical undergarments, he had eagerly turned his attention to the various corsets and ensembles Kelly had picked out for him. Currently, he was wearing a red corset with a lacy black trim. He had also tried on the matching panties and garter belt. He fingered the detail on the corset and turned back to the mirror.

Yeah, he was bald, and yeah, he was a little stockier than most girls with a bra size of 38B (Kelly had helped him measure), but the overall effect was hardly unsightly. Wade had never thought of himself as attractive, at least, not since his time in the Workshop. He felt a warm surge of happiness bubble through him. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy. Mabye this wasn't the worst thing to happen to him. Of course, he didn't know how long it was going to last either, so he might as well enjoy it while he could.

He let Kelly know that he was ready to pay for his items and began changing into the clothes that he had bought earlier. Once dressed, Wade fished around in his purse (another purchase he was excited about) for his to do list. "I know you're here somewhere," Wade muttered, stirring the contents of his purse. "God, how do women ever find anything? Pouches are sooooo much more convenient," Wade lamented. Finally, his fingers caught a hard edge, and Wade triumphantly pulled his pocket free from the clutches of his bag. "Okay, lessee here….Clothes, got that. Underwear, about to get that… Looks like the only thing left is-" Wade broke off, his face stretching into an ear splitting grin.

Oh, this was going to be fun.