Seda, Part 4

Seda

Part IV

Over lunch in the DigiSystems cafeteria, Seda told him they were going to a
party on the coming Saturday night. "Nicholas is having some people from his
office over and some of his acquaintances. 'It is going to be casual,'
Nicholas said. But I still think we should dress up. I think it is polite to
dress up."

When Bradley arrived at Seda's house at 8:15 p.m., he nearly had his breath
stolen. Seda was wearing a white sleeveless top. The definition on her solid,
olive-colored arms stood out now. The top's neckline was low and Seda's
cleavage was clearly visible. Seda had on a green skirt that was short,
coming up only to mid-thigh. On her feet were spiked heels, in a shade of
green.

"Wow!" Bradley said.  Seda said nothing and motioned him to come in.

"I have something for you," she said.  She walked over to table and came back
with a wrapped package.  "It is my gift to you."

Bradley carefully unwrapped the blue and red striped paper. Inside the box he
pulled out what appeared to be a blouse.  The blouse was lavender in color,
had a butterfly collar and short sleeves, the kind of sleeves that ended high
on the arms, near the shoulders. The material was not polyester, but still
had a thick shine to it.  There was something different about it, Bradley
noticed. The blouse had two broad pockets in the front, each decorated with a
single pearl.  He had never seen a shirt quite like this. 

"Those pockets are for my cigarettes," Seda explained.  "From now you will
now carry them there whenever we are going to anyplace. I never again want
you to stick the packets in your pockets and then have trouble getting them
out. That is not going to happen now. The cigarettes must always be in your
blouse, where I can see them, where everybody can see them."  

Seda walked over to her purse and pulled out two packs of Ismir. She stuck
each in a pocket of the blouse.  They fit well, with a third of the pack
poking out of the top of the pocket.  "See how nice that is," she said.

Seda laughed. "Nicholas was with me when I bought your blouse. We looked all
over the men's area and could not find anything with two wide pockets. When I
happen to be walking to the women's clothes department, this is stopping my
eyes right away. I love the color and the pockets. When I took a packet of
cigarettes from my purse, it fit exact. So I knew it was right. I think is
quite stylish. Nicholas likes it too."

Seda did not tell Bradley what Nick Timbers said when he learned who the
blouse was for. "You are evil woman, Seda. Truly evil."  In response she had
given him a mock frown and spanked his hand.  

"When the saleswoman asked me who is blouse for, I told her all about you,"
Seda said, breaking into a buoyant smile. "She said I am so lucky. She said
her husband never lights her cigarettes and wants her to stop smoking. So she
wished she had you near. So does Nicholas. He mentioned he would like to use
you at the businessmen's mixer he attends each month. He cannot pay you, but
I said you would do it as a favor."

Bradley stood mute. More and more these days he felt he was a zombie around
Seda.  She talked, he barely listened and then did what she wanted. Much of
his life with Seda was spent sleepwalking. Theirs was not a normal
relationship, he knew. He stayed in it because he did not know how to get out
of it. And sometimes, crazy as it seemed, he did not want to get out of it. 

"Put it on," Seda told him. "Let me see how it is fitting. I did not know
your size and the saleswoman was not able to make women's sizes into men's. I
am a 14. I told the woman you are up to about here on me." Seda held her hand
below her chin. "And that you are not weighing so very much at all. She said
maybe a petite large. We finally are deciding on an 8."

Bradley took off his yellow and brown striped dress shirt and placed it on
the back of a chair in Seda's living room. He picked up the blouse put it on.
He struggled a bit with it because the blouse was quite snug and when he went
to button it up he realized the buttons were on a completely different side. 

"If it does not fit, I will take you to the department store and you will try
on the other sizes of this blouse until we get the one that is right."

With the blouse on, Bradley stared blankly at Seda while awaiting further
instructions.

"Turn around," said Seda, taking a seat in an armchair. She crossed her legs.
"Now walk across the room and wait there. And for heaven's sake, stand up
straight and do not sag the shoulders." Bradley tried to do as Seda said.
Meanwhile, she watched him carefully, holding her Ismir by her mouth, puffing
it as she pleased. "Now tuck in the blouse and turn around again. Yes, go
very, very slowly.  Now pull the blouse out and come forward. To me."    

"It is adorable," she said. "Very sexy."

Surprise swept over Bradley's face. "Sexy? Really?"

"Yes, really. Come to me. Come over and stand in front of me now."

Bradley did and stopped perhaps a foot from where she sat.

She took his left hand in her right hand and held it, as one would a child
who is being explained something. "I could not decide whether the blouse
should be inside or outside of your pants." Holding her cigarette in her left
hand, she reached around him and ran her palm up and down on his behind
several times. She laughed. "Your bottom is not such a good feature. You are
sitting on it too much in your life. Your bottom needs to be tightening up.
Do you know that?"

Bradley shrugged.

"They are having some stretch leggings for sale. Black and other colors. I
like the white ones. They were right next to where I am finding the blouse.
When we go back there, I want you to try them on too. The leggings should
make your bottom much more firmer. That and no more undershorts. Undershorts
only give you more padding on your bottom. We do not want that. And I do not
want to the lines of the undershorts to be showing." 

She held the Ismir to her lips, as if in deep thought. "The saleswoman said
when we come back she would have to be accompanying you into the dressing
room. She said this had happened once before and there were some complaining.
The store made a rule then that if you are a man customer in the ladies area,
a saleswoman must stay in the dressing room with you all the time. Other
women on the floor, they would be upset if you are being in there alone, she
said." 

Seda paused, letting the smoke from her cigarette waft up past her head. "The
saleswoman, her name is Helen, she asked me if you are ever wearing leggings.
I did not think so, I said. She said she would be glad to show you how. She
would help you put them on and take them off in the dressing room. I thought
that was very kind of her." 

She took a deep drag. "I will make sure to tell Helen about the undershorts.
The leggings must go next to your bare skin and Helen will help you. When you
are in the leggings, she will bring you out to the main area so we can all
see how you look.  I probably will want you to try on more than one pair so
we can find the nicest color and a right size." Her exhale rose up across
Bradley's face.

"We will also need to get you some different shoes.  You cannot wear lacing
shoes with the leggings. We will look at flats." Seda paused. "People are
going to be saying you are more attractive than I." 

She dropped his hand and stood up. "The main thing is I do not want you to
have the trouble with the cigarettes. Like the last time. I want you to be
able to find them fast and easy. And you will with this blouse." She took a
deep drag.  "Oh, I almost forgot. I have something else for you. Another
gift."

Seda walked across the room reached into her purse and came out with a small
package no bigger than her hand.  It too was wrapped in bright striped paper.
"Here," she said. 

When Bradley opened the small box, he found a thin, grooved, lavender-colored
lighter. He turned it over and back, inspecting it. On the bottom in small
letters were the words "Ronson Ladylight." 

"But isn't this . . .  a woman's lighter?" He struggled to hide his
disappointment. 

Seda shook her head.  "That is no matter. It is very expensive and I liked
it. And look at how it goes with your blouse. People like to see items that
are matching. It shows a good taste."

Crossing the middle of the lighter was a tiny gold plate that bore an
inscription. 

"Read it," Seda said.

"Lover boy."  

"What do you think?"

"It's . . . nice," Bradley said. He flicked the flame a few times. Then he
forced out "Thank you."

"It is good for you to practice with the lighter now," Seda said. "You will
keep the lighter in your pants pocket all the time.  Leave the blouse pockets
for cigarettes only. That will make it simple for you."

Bradley looked over the lighter as if dumbfounded.

"I am pleased you like my gifts. It is like Christmas, yes?"  

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