roses & thorns

chapter 1

Glancing around, embarrassed, she watched as a man walked nonchalantly through the room towards the back, going through a beaded curtain into the next room. She didn't even want to know what was back there. Though, she assumed it was the video section, which made her skin crawl. Her only time seeing porn was a complete accident. Her sophomore year of college, she had been doing research for an assignment on her laptop when suddenly her screen was covered in naked and scantily clad women, touching themselves or each other. She remembered snapping her laptop shut faster than the speed of light. And as much as it made her blush with juvenile curiosity, she made sure to install the highest rated pop-up blocker she could find.

"Let's see what's upstairs," Melody lead them to the staircase after they'd looked around and laughed at every blow-up doll and penis-shaped toy in sight. Apparently they were skipping over the lingerie section across the room, which Cheryl was fine with. Her choice in undergarments weren't completely modest, but she didn't exactly have a need for the sheer nighties and crotch-less panties she was sure this store had to offer.

Heels clicked on hardwood floors as the six of them walked up the stairs. Cheryl kept her arms crossed tightly against her chest as everyone else looked around, giggling as they picked up some of the dildos and vibrators that were on display, playing with them and laughing like a bunch of twelve year old boys looking at a Playboy for the first time. The redhead just glanced around, her blush increasing as her eyes took in everything around her. The store seemed to be divided into different departments like some kind of kinky walmart. The room they were currently in had a whole wall of toys of different shapes, colors, and sizes, no two were the same, but they all served the same purpose.

She wandered away from the girls, biting her lip as she glanced at the selection in front of her. Cheryl was no stranger to self-pleasure, but she wasn't exactly a connoisseur either. On the rare occasion that she did decide to explore herself and give herself some much needed release, all she knew was her own hands. Which worked fine for her, but the array of toys in front of her hard her curious about what was so special about them. This little red one didn't look too scary...

"Need any help?" a male voice made her jump with a slight yelp, retracting her arm that had been reaching for the small red bullet vibrator.

"No. Thank you. Just browsing," she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and straightened out the wrinkles in her dress, not making eye contact with the man who would probably be about her height if she weren't wearing these heels.

"Okay. Well, my name is Fangs. I'm working the floor, so just holler if you have any questions," he smiled politely.

"Fangs?" she quirked an eyebrow, admittedly looking a little judgmental.

"Just a nickname. I'm not as scary as the name makes me sound," he waved a hand with a shrug before walking off.

That was definitely a sign that this just wasn't for her. With a deep, cleansing breath, she walked across the room to where the others were playing with a fluffy pair of handcuffs. She just wanted to leave. This place made her skin crawl. There was a fucking bed in the corner with different restraints wrapped around the four corner posts. Apparently for people wanting to test them out before buying them. A chill ran down her spine as she tightened her arms across her chest. She felt like such a prude, blushing at every little thing she saw while the girls were completely comfortable making jokes about it. She already knew that she was the only virgin in the group. And the only lesbian, since all the others seemed to think this was the perfect time to discuss and compare their boyfriends' sexual stamina.

"Betts, I'm gonna go see if they have a bathroom downstairs," she interrupted the fit of girlish giggles.

"Okay, we should be right down," the blushing blonde smiled before Cheryl turned and walked back down the stairs. She was tempted to grab the red toy she had been eyeing and subtly buy it quickly and hiding it in her purse. But then she would have to face the girl at the counter. And there was no way she was going to put herself through that embarrassment.