Love for Sale

"But I have no money to even buy a snack," she repeated when he mentioned that you could purchase things from this museum-like complex. Everything was spaced out neatly. There was simultaneously so much space compared to racks and racks of clothing for mass sale, yet somehow Nerina felt like she was suffocating.

"Eric–" she protested, but then he was rubbing something in her hair.

"I don't feel anything," she stated, touching that one lock gingerly. It made her hair feel smoother, but she didn't really need it. Besides, the oil in her hair would just get washed away the next time she went swimming, which would be tonight. If Nerina was a more well-informed consumer, she would have dismissed the sample as containing too much silicon.

He presented her with a whirlwind of choices, and then a floral bikini. She probably didn't need that either.

"Please take it slowly. You can... Actually buy things here?" Was Eric like an art collector or something? She thought things were ludicrously expensive here and it was only to immortalise them in picture frames, like a signed football or hockey jersey.

A saleslady greeted the couple with a smile and informed Nerina that they do fittings for lingerie, though it was probably not necessary for the bikini. She directed Nerina to the fitting room. She probably smelled the scent of Eric's wealth. Nerina was shepherded into one of the small booths.

"No," Nerina insisted. She sounded flustered, like she was having trouble with getting it on. She breathed and seemed to position herself against different walls of the small fitting booth. "I think I'm... okay. Ugh!"

After the sound of more fumbling, and then the iconic 'click' of the bikini clasp going into place, Nerina seemed to manage it fine. The lock turned in the fitting booth and she held the door ajar, just slightly. She was covering her legs with her long skirt held over them, but she managed to put on the bikini okay, with only one twisted strap.

"How do... I look?" The bikini was a dark floral, with green and bursts of muted ultramarine blue and white. It matched well with her pale skin and red hair. She still held the long dress over her legs. They were not her best features.

Nerina squeaked when Eric undid her bikini. She took off her dress fine when she was in his bathtub, but this was different. Luckily, it was set back in place just as quick as he undid it. Eric was really fast at this, like he had practiced this before. It felt much better.

"... Thanks. But I don't think you're supposed to come in. People might think we're–"

It was too late. His hands were already all over her body. She exhaled, somewhat uncomfortable. They were in a public space, even if the door was closed behind them. Not to mention these mirrors meant she saw every angle of him touching her, from all sides she could see how their bodies wrapped around each other. She became increasingly frightened.

"Eric, please..."

She heard the clack of heels approaching and tensed up immediately. It was as though she heard death's footsteps. She expected to be told off sternly that men were not allowed in the fitting rooms for the women's department, but instead she got an "Everything okay in there?".

"I–I'm fine!" Nerina blurted out, shoving Eric into a corner like he was dirty laundry, and covering his mouth so he wouldn't fool around with her. "My boyfriend's just gone to look for... Surfing shorts! I mean, swimming trunks. You know, like budgie smugglers."

Her coloration was going darker and darker. Especially when she realized she just blurted out 'budgie smugglers'.

"It fits well. I– I might get it."

She examined the price tag sticking from the halter neck strap. You could easily buy seven triangles for the price of the top alone.

Nerina returned with the matching bikinis in a small ball. It was hard work to get it back on the clothes hanger, but Eric returned to her with nothing. She frowned. She didn't exactly want to feel like she was the only one buying swimwear.

"You should get the budgie smugglers. Or it won't look realistic." Nerina searched around the male swimwear rack, and picked out a bright red one that would... Definitely accentuate the shape of his... Budgie.

"Or look, maybe this?"

She held up a tiny little black number, turned it over, and realized that the back was merely a thin strip of cloth. "Maybe not."

"They're not called budgie smugglers for being loose." She put the black speedo back where she found it, stuffing it unceremoniously within the rack of discounted men's swimwear. She filed through them again, to see if she would find anything else.

"How about this? Is this even meant to be here?" She picked out a white pair of swim trunks that looked doable. It had the design of tropical plants and leaves scattered on them. Though there was that fuss about a man wearing... white in a swimming pool that wasn't actually swimwear.

"I don't know, Eric. You did pick out a bikini for me. Not a one-piece. I think this is fair."

Granted, she was wearing a black bikini today, but this one didn't show so much skin as the one he liked.