Chapter 3 - The Pink Bra

Pete spent much of the day on Saturday wondering if that pink bra would still be there when he returned. The Scouts had been drafted as workhorses to move things for the church, they weren't involved in the sale itself, so the day passed mowing the lawn and hanging with Dave and a couple of others at the park. Pretty much what he did most weekends.

Except this weekend Pete wasn't quite with it. In fact, you could have called him a space cadet and been remarkably close to reality.

"Yo Pete!" Will hollered. "You want to go?"

"Go?"

"C'mon Pete! What've we been talking about for the last ten minutes?"

"Uh…"

"Man, you're on Planet X this morning. Ice cream, m'boy! Pick your flavor, lick the cone. Drip the goo all over your jeans. It's getting hot and we need to cool off."

"I guess."

"Jesus Pete! You get laid last night or something?"

"That's your fantasy, not mine Lance."

"Oh-ho! So you do have a fantasy, buddy. Tell us all about it. Blonde? Brunette? Redhead?"

"Lance, I'm not sure I want to have ice cream with a misogynistic sex fiend."

"Careful, Pete. Use words with more than two syllables and Lance gets confused."

"Hey - sex only has one syllable."

"Which brings us back to the topic. So, did you get laid, Pete?"

"A gentleman never tells."

"So how's that apply to you, Pete?"

"Hey - he did get a date with a girl named Sheila yesterday," Dave tossed in.

"Whoa! How'd you do that?"

"My sparkling personality and respectful attitude toward women."

"Well la-te-da! A feminist on the hoof."

"And how many dates have you gotten in the last couple of months, Lance?

"Let's change the subject, shall we?"

"Hey Pete? What d'ya think it would take to bribe Sheila to find a blind date for Lance?"

"A fully restored 1949 Packard Woody Wagon? She's into old cars."

"That would beat the pants off of that heap he's driving now." opined Dave.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think he wants to beat the pants off a car." Pete retorted.

"Yeah, It's not like he could talk any woman into removing her pants on her own."

"Now wait a minute! What is this, Crap On Lance Day?"

"Let me check my calendar… Hmmm... Nope, tomorrow is Crap On Lance Day. We're too early, boys."

"Well, Lance," Dave drawled, "as a Scout we're supposed to 'Be Prepared.' Just think of it as preparation for your big day tomorrow."

"Screw you guys! You can sit here working your jaws until they come unhinged. I'm going for ice cream."

"Says the guy who is the dictionary definition of unhinged. Just hope there aren't any shrinks having a cone, you might be taken away by the guys with the butterfly nets."

Eventually six o'clock arrived, but since Pete was in the church basement a little after five he spent the next forty-five minutes trying not to watch the table where the lady's lingerie was set out. It was frustrating not being able to go over and look to see if the things he wanted were still there, but he wasn't about to put himself in the position of having some little old church lady ask 'can I help you?'

Yeah, sure: Is that 38B bra I saw yesterday still here?

Oddly enough, the Girl Scout uniforms were still there. That was easy to tell at a distance by the distinctive green color. That surprised him, Boy Scout uniforms disappeared from second-hand shops in seconds.

°°Wait a minute - some lady is checking out the goodies and there was a flash of pink in what she was sorting. I hope it's that pink bra I saw last night. Even before I outgrew mom's stuff she never had a pink bra. Wouldn't it be a kick if her son was wearing a sexier bra than she was?°°

"Ladies and gentleman," came the announcement, "please make your final selections, the rummage sale is officially over in five minutes."

Trying not to sigh too obviously, Pete saw there was nothing pink in the pile of clothes the lady brought to the checkout register. There was a flurry of activity and then the doors were closed and someone from the church announced,"OK folks, take a few minutes and if there's anything you want to take home with you it's yours."

Grabbing one of the bags, Pete scored a couple of T-shirts that weren't bad, a spare mouse for his computer and camping mess kit that would come in handy at summer camp. Dave was studying the computer junk, Sheila was in the kitchen knick-knacks and about a dozen other people were scattered about the place. Hoping the coast was clear, Pete scooped up the whole pile of bras and panties that were left on the table. What the heck, the Girl Scout uniforms went in the bag on top of the good stuff. Maybe his little sister could use them.

Fashioning the pull ties on the bag into a bow, Pete took the bag to the car and put it in the trunk so it wouldn't get accidentally routed to the Goodwill in the chaos of the cleanup. His treasure secured, Pete then bagged and boxed much of the stuff he had unbagged and unboxed the night before. The things people think are worth trying to sell could give a guy a headache. I mean, who wants to take home a pile of scratched vinyl records or a lazy Susan that must have been related to a tilt-a-whirl?

As the last of the leftovers were secured in the church garage they set up the basement hall for use after the service in the morning. Having the car, Pete was able to take Sheila home.

"Hey Pete, where we going on our date?" she asked as they left the parking lot.

"Crazy? Over the river and through the woods? Nah - that's grandma's place and we do not want to have a date anywhere near grandma."

"That's for sure! If you mean Great-Aunt Aggie, she can be a pain."

"What can we do that's kinda special that we haven't done a million times before?"

"You can get your folks' car?"

"If I ask nice."

"As nice as when you asked me for a date?"

"As I recall, it was you that asked me."

"Details, details!"

"I can get the car.

"How about going to the Coast? I haven't been there in ages and we won't be harassed by our friends if they run into us."

"Nice. Too bad the water's too cold to swim."

"Angling to see me in my bikini?"

"If the suit fits, wear it."

"That's supposed to be 'shoe'."

"The bikini would look better on you, not that you don't have nice taste in shoes."

"Good save. Next weekend?"

"I'll have to check on the car first, but that would be great."

"Let me know."

"I will. See you then."

"Pete?"

"Yeah?"

"C'mere."

"You get any closer and we might have to get engaged."

"Like this?"

Kissing Sheila was very different than, say, kissing Mom or Grandma. With his arms around her he could feel her bra beneath the blouse. Idly, he wondered if it was white or colored. Stupid thing to think about when kissing a girl. Especially for someone who, only twenty-four hours ago, was fantasizing about being a girl.

Scout or not, he just wasn't prepared for the whole experience.

Whew!

"Now you don't have to worry if I'll kiss you on our first date, eh?"

"I may never worry about anything, ever again!"

"Cool. I like you, Petey. See you at next weekend."

With that she got out and, turning around she poked her head in the window and asked "By the way, what are you planning to do with all that lingerie you put in that bag?"

And she was gone.

Shit!