Secret Treasures

We pull up and park in a lot just off the high street. It's about 11:40 at this point, workers might be heading for lunch soon, but no chance of anyone from school being around. I don't care if I get spotted going to a sex shop by strangers, but part of me still doesn't want free ammunition handed out to use against me.

We're led by Trish down the alleyways to the street containing the shop. Her and Elise chatting away about the music on the way here. I think. I can just hear my blood pumping. Before I know it, Trish is walking through the door. Elise close behind. No turning back. I want to look around, see if anyone's watching us go in. I can't. I have to just **** my way in. Door shuts behind me. Hard part's over. probably.

"Hey Roz! Busy day?" Trish asks the lady behind the counter. She looks older than my mother, and yet, more youthful. Her clothes are well-fitted and contemporary. Like she had an idea of what she looked like and stuck with it. It's kinda cool.

"Oh, so busy doll!" The woman replies with thick sarcasm. "It's a Thursday afternoon, when I heard the door go I thought it was more likely to be thieves than customers." I stifle a laugh. The woman's dry humour almost reminds me of Rouge. Bet she'd freak if she saw this place.

Up front it almost looks like a thrift store, but with exclusively underwear. It's almost intimidating how many different kinds there are, it's never really occurred to me until I see the walls and stands covered in them. Great. I'm overwhelmed already and we haven't seen the real stuff yet.

"Hey Roz..." Trish repeats in a tone of voice usually reserved for children asking their parents for a puppy.

"What do you want, doll?" Roz answers bluntly.

"I wanted to show my friends the sort of stuff we do here, do you think I could use the back room to show them one of the party kits?" Trish asks, each word dripping with the same sickly sweet tone.

"Sweetheart, I don't care if you kill them back there as long as you clean it up." Roz responds in a worryingly casual tone. "Like I said, no customers, not like anyone'll notice."

"You're the best!" Squeals Trish with a big grin on her face, before turning to me and Elise, who's casually looking through the nearby garments. "Follow me, you'll love this!" I obey immediately, following Trish toward the back of the shop, pulling Elise away from the rows on lingerie. Trish takes us out of the underwear kingdom through an area dedicated to roleplay outfits, past a wall of various edible offerings and into a back office. It's spacious, considering how cramped the main shop is, with a couple of mirrors lent against each wall, with some large leather footstools pushed together to form a bench in the middle.

Trish puts her bag down and takes off her coat, leaving them on a table near the door. Elise and I follow suit, she seems much less excitable now she's here, maybe she's fascinated, maybe she's nervous too. Our fearless leader heads to the opposite corner where several boxes are stacked up. and pulls one from the top. It resembles a large shoebox, but it's deep red, and wrapped in a white ribbon.

"These are our party kits. Customers pay to book a slot and Roz goes to meet them, shows them one of these, it's essentially them paying for us to advertise to them." Trish explains, unwrapping the white bow. "In all seriousness, they're just red boxes that we put some stock in, but Roz is really proud of them, so be nice, yeah?"

"It's a beautiful box." Elise responds patronisingly, " I love the use of the pure white being removed for the solid red. Very subtle." She continues, smiling. Huh. Didn't catch the virginity reference. Is that ironic? Who cares? "Come on, don't leave us in suspense!"

"You're impatient!" Giggles Trish, as if she's realised something. "You have seen sex toys before, right?" Elise's face drops slightly, as she begins to stammer.

"I don't, I mean, I've seen thing, pictures, just, not actual ones." She admits, slowly turning a deep pink. How is embarrassed Elise even hotter? Add that to the list of things she's brought out in me. Wait. Why are they both looking at me? Oh.

"I... I plead the fifth." I respond. It doesn't make sense. We're not American. Please move on.

"It's alright!" Trish relents. "The first rule of these parties, no judgement. It's meant to be about feeling comfortable enough to talk about it. Sisterhood. Girls are made to feel embarrassed about enjoying sex. This is about escaping that." She continues. Neat concept. Doesn't stop it feeling awkward as anything. trish finally opened the box to reveal the goodies inside. "These are all unpackaged, the host is meant to know all of them, but I'm in-house only, so honestly, I might have to look things up."

Elise doesn't seem concerned by this admission as she picks out the nearest plastic object.

"Classic dildo, you're starting me off easy, it's made to be washable, simple to use, it's basically just a spare dick." Trish explains, as Elise looks at it with awe, and what looks like fear.

"Is that... Is that a normal size?" She asks, tripping over her words. It is pretty big, looking at it, maybe a foot long. "For a penis, I mean?"

Wait.

"That's just a toy, okay, it's like that so people can use as much of it as they want. Don't worry, okay?" Trish answers in a soothing tone, before asking the obvious question. "I guess that means you've never seen a real one?

Elise turns red again. "I..." I've not seen Elise look like this, lost for words, she's really worried.

"Me either." I state confidently. You're not alone. I won't let you feel alone. Somehow, admitting to being a virgin doesn't feel so scary when you're not the only one. Elise's head spins to look at me, the fear gone from her eyes, so her an "Pierre" never...

"No." She admits. "I've never had sex or anything, I've wanted to, a couple of times, but I always chicken out... Honestly, I thought coming here would help get me over it." I've got to admit, didn't expect that. Elise seems so confident, and she has a boyfriend, I figured that's all it took for normal people. Makes sense that she was so giddy about coming here, the only difference between excitement and nerves is perspective.

"If it helps, I've seen a couple of dicks, and trust me, they're nothing to be afraid of, and that's the point of those boxes, so people can go at their own pace." Trish reassures Elise, rubbing her shoulder. "And I suppose, for the record, so am I." Bullshit is my first thought. Now I feel bad about it. Sorry Trish. "Amanda would basically decide who I was dating, so I never really found anyone I wanted to do it with, despite their efforts, hence the visual scars." She continues with a chuckle. "But this stuff is still really important to me, people should be allowed to feel good, I just hate the pressure and the taboo."

Wow.

"So I guess we're all losers." Oh God. I said that out loud. Idiot. Wait, are they laughing?

"That's true!" Giggles Elise. "But at least I'm a loser with friends here. It feels good to get it off my chest." Trish smiles gently at this statement, and heads back to the stack of boxes, pulling out some still packaged objects.

"Here, these are on me." She explains kindly. They're much smaller, they look sort of like a small thumb. "These vibrate, they're quiet, easy to use, washable, easy to hide." She asserts, handing one to me, and another to Elise. "And most importantly, you don't have to use them if you don't want to, you choose what's right for you." She finishes, smiling again at Elise.

For a moment I'm not sure what to say. Then my mouth moves by itself.

"Are you not getting yourself one?" It was meant to be an honest question, I'd feel bad her just paying for my pleasure. As much as I appreciate it. Gonna have to hide this pretty well, Mum would freak out, Rouge would probably hold it hostage.

Trish's reacting is a smile of offense, as if I'd underestimated her. "You think I've worked here this long and not made use of my staff discount? I've got like 3 of those!"

This forces a laugh out of all of us. This trip has gone from nerve-wracking to deep to soothing pretty quickly. It's been enlightening, suddenly I know where this confidence has come from. Trish puts away the party box and we make our exit, paying on the way out and stashing our gains in our bags. The journey back is lively, we sing along to the radio, giving me and Trish our first our first taste of Elise's singing voice, it makes sense she's in Music, she's beyond talented.

Elise's house is closest, so we drop her off first. I have to get out to move the seat enough to let her out. As she gets out she launches into a hug.

"Thank you for coming with me." She adds to this embrace. Oh God. That's very close. She finally pulls away and continues. "So, I figure I've seen your place, it's fair you visit mine, what do you say to stopping over tomorrow?" Am I dreaming? I've had to ask that too many times today. "You too Trish?" she asks into the car.

"I'm in!" comes Trish's voice, bringing a grin to Elise's face, looking at me expectantly. like I'm going to say no.

"Sounds like a plan."

We say our goodbyes and Trish drives me home. eventually we pull in opposite my house.

"What's the time?" I ask, truthfully to see if it was an acceptable time to eat again.

Trish glances at her watch. "2:30, damn it, I was hoping it'd be closer to lunch or dinner, either one!" A woman after my own heart. After my own heart. That reminds me.

"Hey, you said you've never had sex because you never found anyone to do it with. I realised, I never asked what your type is?" It sound minor, but I couldn't help but ask, causing a snort from Trish.

"You never told me yours either!" She grins. "Tell you what, when you feel comfortable talking about it, I'll tell you mine."

"Fair enough." I respond, unsure what that means exactly. "I'll see you tomorrow!" I exit the car with a goodbye from Trish and head toward my door.

Comfortable talking about it.

There's no way that'll ever happen.