Yes

Deciding it was my best option, I called the number she had given me the other night.

"Hello?" came her voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello, Carrie? Hi, this is Sam. We met at The Pit?"

"Oh, Yeah! Hi Sam, what's up?"

"Not much. I was just about to go out clothes shopping and I thought about you and... umm... would you be interested in joining me?" I was pretty nervous for some reason. I didn't really know the protocol for one girl asking the other out on a shopping date.

"Uhh, maybe. One sec." She left for a few seconds before returning to the line. "Yeah, as long as we don't stay out too late, I'd love to."

"Great!" I pumped my fist in victory. "Should we meet at the northern entrance of the mall in about an hour?"

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you there."

"Alright, see ya!"

Wow, that went a lot smoother than I thought it would. I used the time I had before leaving to make sure I had everything I needed to go out and also tidy up my appearance a bit. My hair was pretty wild, but it looked acceptable pulled back in a ponytail by one of my sister's hair bands. The hoodie I wore was oversized, but it looked cute on my slender body and went well with my sweatpants. It wasn't the best outfit for going out, but it was a perfectly acceptable look for a girl on a lazy day. On my way to the mall I planned out the story I was going to tell Carrie. I remembered I had told her the other night that I had just moved to town, so I was going to use that to my advantage. When I got to the mall, I found her already waiting for me on a bench just inside the entrance.

"Hey Sam!" she said. "Thanks for the invite. I totally needed a break from studying." Carrie had on a cute pink blouse and a tight pair of jeans that hugged her curves nicely. She was wearing some stylish walking shoes, prepared to cover the entire mall in comfort. She was a very pretty girl. I wouldn't be surprised if we had to fight off some men on our shopping trip.

"Thanks for coming," I told her. "I really need some help picking out some new clothes. Most of my clothes got lost in my move and I am actually clueless when it comes to fashion."

"Oh no, that's awful!" she cried, reacting to my fabricated misfortune. "Don't worry, I'll help you get everything you need."

We made our way through the mall, stopping in every clothing store we passed. Carrie was extremely helpful. She was patient with me when I showed a complete inability to pick out what outfits were right for me. And she would always help me find my stuff before she looked for herself. I was reminded of what I had learned that first night I had met her. That she was a very kind person. We got along like old friends and had each other laughing constantly about one thing or another. I found that I liked her more and more the longer I was with her.

I managed to buy most of my clothes without embarrassing myself thanks to Carrie's help. The last place we stopped at was a lingerie store. Carrie insisted that I needed some nice underwear to go with all the new outfits I had. Thankfully I was aware of my sizes thanks to trying on my sister's when I went out. I quickly grabbed up some undergarments to wear every day and even a few sexy ones, just for fun. As I paid for my haul, I noticed that Carrie was carefully considering some very risqué lingerie on display. It was bright red and lacy, allowing much of the skin beneath it to be seen and hiding very little from the eye. Something about the way she looked made me think she was sad.

"That looks hot. You should try it on," I told her.

"Oh, you think?" she said. It looked like I had shaken her out of some deep thoughts. "I doubt it would look good on me."

"Here, take it and go try it on." I handed her the lingerie and pushed her towards the changing room. She reluctantly did as I told her to. A couple minutes later, she had it on and called out to me through the door.

"I don't know about this"

"What is it? Not the right size?" I asked.

"It's not that. It's just... could you come in and tell me what you think?"

I blinked in surprise. I hadn't expected her to ask that of me. When I was a man, this would have seemed like a dream come true. Seeing my own naked body over the last couple days must have spoiled me since I hadn't even thought about peeking in on her while she changed. Or maybe I just wasn't attracted to women like that anymore? I wanted to help her though, so I opened the door and joined her in the changing room.

Standing in front of the mirror was an incredibly sexy sight. The red lacy bra covered her nipples but allowed much of the skin of her breast to peek through. It made her impressive boobs look even bigger than they already appeared on her small frame. The skimpy underwear also hid just enough while revealing plenty. They hugged her hips perfectly and really brought out the best in her adorable little bubble butt. If there was a problem, I couldn't see it.

"Wow, you look hot," I gushed.

"Really? You don't think it looks... stupid?"

"It looks amazing. If a guy saw you in this, you would have to pry him off you with a crowbar."

She turned to look in the mirror again. Even with my reassurance, she didn't seem convinced. Somehow she wasn't the same cheerful person she had been since we started shopping. What was responsible for this change in attitude? I really did think she looked incredibly good in the red lingerie. If I was back in my old body, I wouldn't have been able to tear my eyes away from her. I could feel some heat on my cheeks even now, but that might have been from embarrassment at being in the room with her while she was naked. Finally a small smile returned to her face.

"Ok. I'll get it," she said.

"Great! I'm buying it for you. A thank you gift for being so helpful today."

I ignored her protests and bought the sexy lingerie for her. Finished with our shopping for the day, we made our way to the food court to grab a bite to eat. I had way too many bags with me. I definitely understood why women always wanted a guy around to help carry their load at the mall. Carrie got some Chinese fast food and I settled on a couple slices of pizza. Carrie was back to her fun bubbly self, but I couldn't help but wonder about what had happened earlier.

"Carrie, do you mind if I ask why you seemed so sad earlier in the lingerie store?"

"Oh, well... I don't know... it's a little complicated I guess," she said.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

She pushed her eyebrows together and thought about it for a few moments. I knew something had bothered her, but I didn't want to push her to tell me something she wasn't comfortable with. We were still new friends after all. Apparently she decided it would be fine to open up a little.

"I don't usually wear flashy stuff like that. Most of the underwear I own is pretty boring really," she said. "One day when I was still with my boyfriend, I had the idea to surprise him. I went out and bought a really sexy pair of lingerie just like what you bought me today. I spent the whole evening fixing up my makeup and hair, trying to look perfect for him. It was the most effort I had ever put into pleasing someone else. After I was ready, I called him and told him to come over. When he got to my house I greeted him in a robe. He sat on my couch and I stood before him and let the robe dropped."

Carrie looked uncomfortable as she told me her story. I had a bad feeling about where this was headed. She sighed and then continued.

"He laughed. He didn't even try to hide it, just laughed right in my face. I went from feeling sexy to embarrassed in half a second. He asked me why I was dressed like a whore. Said it didn't suit me. Then he turned on the tv and started watching a movie. I wanted to bury my head and hide forever."

Anger rose up within me. How could someone do that to her? That douche had this amazing girl putting all that effort into doing something special for him, and he laughed at her. If I ever met this guy I was going to punch his lights out.

"I'm sorry, Carrie. That guy was a total loser."

"Yeah, he was. I found out he was cheating on me the week after that. He had probably just got done having sex when he came over to see me that night. I'm glad he's gone, but it still hurts to think about."

"It's his loss. Seriously, fuck him. You looked super hot earlier, don't ever think differently."

"Thanks Sam," she said smiling once again.

We moved on to a happier subject and finished our food. We parted ways in the parking lot as we left to return to our respective homes. She promised to text me later, and I looked forward to keeping in touch. Her help had been a lifesaver. Now I had tons of new clothes to wear. No more borrowing from my sister or wearing my old hoodies. I drove back to Russell's and **** all of my bags upstairs to my room.