Alex sighed contentedly as she walked through the door to her dormitory room, tossed her gym bag over onto her bed, and slumped into her chair. After her latest workout, her whole body was filled with pleasant tingles as she finally relaxed. Her first visit to the gym wasn’t much more than a week ago, but this was already the third time she’d gone back. It was quickly becoming a part of her everyday routine, especially when she was having trouble focusing on her studying  - which was all too often recently. But Alex wasn’t troubled by that. Quite to the contrary, she was delighted with herself! She felt better about her body than she ever had. Even the morning after that first time, when she’d woken up hardly able to move from all the aches and pains in her body, she hadn’t regretted a single thing. She just felt so upbeat, and so in tune with her own body

Maybe that was why her sex drive had been so high? Alex blushed as she remembered having made herself cum in the gym showers. She’d managed to avoid repeating that… but only just. Every time she worked out, she ended up feeling horny afterward. She didn’t really mind, although it was incredibly embarrassing. Come to think of it, Alex realized, maybe she needed to blow off some steam right now. It sounded like the perfect thing. And she was at home, and her computer was right there… fuck it, she decided. Studying could wait a little longer. Sure, her assignment was due tomorrow, but if she blew off steam now she’d be able to concentrate all the better, she reasoned. Her hand already slipping down the front of her shorts, she booted up her computer. She put on her headphones and was about to go looking for some suitable ‘material’ when she noticed something: an email notification.

Absent-mindedly, she clicked onto her email and saw that besides the usual spam, there was an email waiting for her. Alex frowned slightly when she saw that the subject line was ‘Alex, Part 2’. What the hell? She looked at the sender. It was no-one she recognized. ‘MissWinter1993@gmail.com’. Winter… could it be? No, of course not, Alex told herself. Winter probably didn’t even know her name, let alone her email address. It was probably just some spam that had made it past the filter. She considered deleting it on the spot because the subject was kind of creeping her out, but before she really made a decision she found herself opening the email. There was no text, none at all, but there was a video file attached. She really shouldn’t open that, Alex thought. It could do anything to her computer. There’s no way she should be opening an attachment from a mysterious email with no text, from a sender she didn’t recognize. But once again, totally involuntarily, she found herself clicking to open the attachment. She blinked rapidly as it downloaded. Why had she done that? She hadn’t intended to. It had been totally automatic. Like a compulsion.

Alex was starting to feel uneasy. That changed, however, when the video file opened itself, filling her entire screen, and started playing. From the moment it started, Alex couldn’t take her eyes off it. The video was of a pocket watch, nothing more. It appeared to be suspended from a chain, and the background was out of focus. That was it. Just a watch. So… why couldn’t Alex stop watching? She couldn’t peel herself away. She couldn’t even blink. Her eyes locked onto the second hand the moment it appeared, fixating on it. When she realized she couldn’t move, not even an inch, Alex started to panic. At least, she was panicking mentally. Physically, just the opposite was happening. She was slumping deeper into her chair, and her breaths were coming slow and deep. Everything was starting go get fuzzy.  What the fuck was going on? Alex couldn’t even close her eyes. All she could do was keep staring. Keep staring at the tip of second hand as it slowly made its way around the clock face.

2… 3… 4… 5…

Alex felt powerless. She fought to close her eyes, but it was hopeless. She was lost to the watch. She was in thrall to it. All she could do was stare. The more she stared, the more she felt her thoughts become slow and soft and malleable. That was the worst part of it. Alex could sense she was losing herself, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Her breathing, too, was slowing more and more. There was something horrifying about feeling so relaxed, even as part of her mind was screaming at her to get up, run away, close her eyes, or just do anything that might save her. Anything at all.

Through the strange, unnatural fugue that was taking over her, Alex noticed something even weirder. She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like time itself was starting to slow down. That was the only way she could describe it. The way the second hand moved, it seemed to be getting slower and slower and slower with passing moment. She could feel it, the rhythm of the watch’s audible ticks and tocks inside her head, slowing to a crawl. Was that all she could hear? Was there something else too? Alex was so out of it she couldn’t really tell, but she had the strangest feeling there was a voice too, whispering to her. A woman’s voice. A voice she recognized, whispering to her so softly she couldn’t tell if it was real. Was any of it real? Even the time slowing, Alex wasn’t sure if that was the video, or something happening to her. It had to be just the video, right? But then, why was her breathing getting slower? Her heartbeat? Even her thoughts were turning thick and slow as tar. It was awful, and it was only getting worse.

6… 7… 8…

Alex could feel her consciousness slipping away now. She was losing. The watch, and her compulsion to look at it, was too powerful. She couldn’t muster any will to resist, not with those whispers coiling around her mind, those whispers that she still couldn’t quite make sense of. The watch had almost stopped. It was so slow now, just like her. She felt so tired. So relaxed. Her eyes were heavy and threatened to slip shut at any moment. They would have done, if not for the fact that no matter what, she could not take her eyes off the second hand, even though it barely seemed to be moving. Time was almost still. Alex had the sense that something was going to happen when the watched stop, even though she couldn’t imagine what. She couldn’t bring herself to speculate about it, or even be afraid of it. Her head was so fuzzy and empty, there was no room for any of that.

9… 10…

This was it, Alex realized. The second hand had completely stopped moving. It was frozen. The moment she had that realization, her eyes fell closed, and they felt like they’d never open again. The watch frozen, and so had Alex.

Stop.

Blackness

***

A few hours later, Alex yawned and stretched as she slowly opened her eyes. She raised her head. Where was she? In her bed, in her dorm room. That was strange, she didn’t remember lying down. After blinking slowly for a few seconds, the memories filled themselves in. Yes, she remembered now. She’d been at the gym, and after coming home she’d been so exhausted she’d collapsed on her bed and must have fallen asleep. That made sense. That must have been it, even if her memories were still awfully fuzzy. Alex clambered out of bed and rubbed her forehead. Why was she thinking about an email? And a watch? She had the ghost of a memory of sitting at her computer, seeing an email, and then seeing a watch. But that didn’t make any sense. She’d walked into her dorm room and collapsed straight onto her bed. She felt increasingly sure of it. It must have been a dream, but what an odd thing to dream about.

Just to be safe, since it was bothering her somehow, Alex went over to her computer and checked her email. Just as she’d thought. There was nothing there out of the ordinary, nothing at all. Nothing strange or unexpected. Alex breathed a sigh of relief, even though she figured she’d never really had any reason to be worried. She looked at the time. Good, still plenty of the day left for… what? What had she been going to do? Study? Alex rolled her eyes. Maybe she should, but right now she just couldn’t take the possibility seriously. It sounded so boring! After having such a great workout, Alex was feeling good, and she didn’t want to kill the buzz by spending all day poring over books. Whatever studying she had to do, surely it could wait until tomorrow. She wanted to go shopping. She wasn’t really sure why  - it was a pretty unfamiliar desire for her. But since she so rarely treated herself to anything, it seemed only fair to her that she indulge on the one occasion she actually felt like doing it. 
    
    So Alex grabbed her handbag and headed out again, feeling enthused by the prospect of clothes shopping. It was only a short walk down to where she could get a bus down from her campus to the shopping mall in the middle of town. It took about 20 minutes to get there. Once she got off the bus, it took Alex a while to get her bearings. She’d never actually been to the mall before  - any shopping she needed to do besides groceries, she did it online. It just seemed easier. Today though, she couldn’t bring herself to wait for a parcel to arrive. She needed to shop now! She wasn’t really sure what she was looking for though, she realized, so for a time she just wandered aimlessly. Then, for no real reason she could discern in herself, she picked a clothes store and headed inside.

Once she was in the clothes store, she found herself browsing through the clothes racks like a child in a toy store. It was incredible! There was so much on display, so many possibilities. Alex hadn’t really considered it before. She’d always worn the same old styles, the same old muted colors. She’d always assumed that was the only option. Now, she could see herself wearing all kinds of different things. Perhaps because she was losing weight, she considered. If she kept going to the gym like she had been, she’d be able to rock anything she wanted! Alex didn’t normally like the idea of being the center of attention, but the fantasy of being the kind of blond bombshell who could turn heads just by walking past made her feel almost giddy. Wait, blond? That was weird. She was a brunette. But Alex didn’t have time to ponder over it. She had clothes to buy!

Alex spent a long time totally overwhelmed by all the choices that presented themselves to her. Despite her excitement, she was conscious of the fact that she only had so much money to spend. And there was just so many different kinds of clothes to choose from  - skirts, dresses, t-shirts, crop tops, tank tops, bras, panties, heels, jeans, leggings, coats  - and all of them in dozens of colors and patterns. She realized she had shockingly little sense of what might look good on her. She didn’t even know where she might begin building an outfit. She started feeling a little anxious about it, even. But Alex decided that since she didn’t know what she was doing, there was no point overthinking things. She should just follow her heart and get whatever she felt drawn to  - as long as it was a little outside her usual comfort zone. She hadn’t come out here just to buy more of the plain, boring old clothes she had always worn. She wanted something new and exciting, even if she didn’t know exactly what that meant yet.

After a time, Alex started to recognize a pattern in the kinds of clothes she found her eyes lingering on. They were all pink! That took her by surprise. She’d never really worn much pink, not since she was a little girl. To her, pink was associated with the kinds of popular, pretty girls who’d always pushed her aside or ignored her or worse, bullied her. Moreover, it was so bright, so attention-catching, so feminine. It didn’t suit her at all. But, Alex wondered, maybe that could change. She hadn’t come shopping with any clear  intention, but since she was making a big lifestyle change by going to the gym so much, why not a bit of an image makeover to go with it? She wanted to get more confident with her body, and maybe a bit of pink was just the thing to flaunt it with.

With that in mind, Alex found herself quickly gathering up a few pieces of clothing she felt like trying on. A pink skirt and pink t-shirt were easy picks, and she also picked up a pink tank top that she thought might be good for working out in. She ummed and erred over a pink crop top for a while but decided she wasn’t quite brave enough for that yet. She was equally undecided about a pair of pink yoga pants, but ended up grabbing them, figuring there was no harm in trying them on. She added to that another pink top, one with a more daring neckline than she usually opted for, and a pair of pink socks just for her own amusement. With those bundled in her arms, she headed for the fitting rooms.

First, she tried out the tops. They both fit pretty well, and she left the tank top on so she could see how it looked with the other clothes. She liked how it looked on her  - just wearing a top with such a bright color made her feel vibrant and pretty, and it made her giggle to look at herself like that in the mirror of the fitting room. Next, she peeled off her old, faded jeans and put on the skirt. The moment she saw herself in it, she blushed fiercely. It was so short! She hadn’t realized at all when she picked it off the shelves but it was a mini skirt, at least an inch or two above her knees. She had never worn anything that short in her life. Alex was stunned at the sight of herself with so much skin on display. She could never wear anything like that! Or could she? Another voice rose in Alex’s head, counteracting her doubts. Didn’t she want to be more confident? Didn’t she want to feel proud of herself and her body? Wasn’t the very reason she was so happy with herself for going to the gym that she might be be able to wear those kinds of revealing clothes? Alex was torn for a moment, but the side of her that was in favor of buying the skirt was slowly winning. In the end, what settled it for her was the price tag. The skirt was pretty cheap, so it didn’t really matter if she didn’t end up wearing it that much. Why not at least give it a go?

With that settled, she tried on the yoga pants. Seeing herself in those made her blush equally as much. Alex had never pictured herself wearing anything so form-fitting before. Even more so than the skirt, it left absolutely no doubts as to her body’s true shape. Still, it was surprisingly comfy. Alex enjoyed the way it clung to her form, and found that it offered perfect freedom of movement. This would be perfect for the gym! But, gosh, with her legs clad in such neon pink, she’d be so visible. Not to mention… Alex turned around, and blanched as she saw how the yoga pants clung not only to her legs, but also to the curvature of her ass. She couldn’t wear this! There was no way she could wear this! Or… could she? Alex slowly realized that not only did the yoga pants show off her ass, they made it look good. They provided just the right amount of elasticity and support, making her ass look a lot smoother, tighter, rounder and perkier than usual. Alex found herself admiring her own body for a long moment. Damn, those gym trips had done her some good already! Experimentally, Alex bent over slightly, pushing her hips back. Holy crap. She had to get these pants. She imagined herself wearing them to the gym, her bright pink ass attracting the attention of everyone around as she worked out on the cross-trainer. That thought made her blush hard and giggle, and it made her body feel strangely hot.

With her purchases settled on, Alex changed back into her own clothes and headed out to pay. As the cashier rang up her purchases Alex felt deeply embarrassed to be buying such gaudy, out-of-character clothes, even though the woman serving her didn’t bat an eyelid. When the shop assistant handed over the bag full of clothes and her receipt, a sudden impulse came over Alex and she blurted out:

“Hey, is it OK if I use your fitting rooms to quickly change into these?”

The cashier seemed mildly surprised by the request, but replied: “Sure.”

Even more embarrassed now, Alex dashed back to the fitting room. Before she could think twice about anything she stripped off her top and her jeans and slipped on the pink tank top and skirt she had just bought. Then, after packing her own old clothes away, taking a few deep breaths and gathering her courage, she stepped back out through the store and into the rest of the mall. Immediately, she regretted it. There were people around! Sure, it wasn’t that busy, and sure, hardly any of them bothered to look at her, but still. Alex had never, ever been out in public with so much of her skin on display. The feeling of the cool air against the skin of her shoulders and lower thighs was unfamiliar and alarming, but also freeing and exciting.

Feeling very self-conscious but trying not to show it, Alex started walking. She wasn’t going anywhere in particular, just seeing how it felt to walk around publicly in clothes like these. Desperately embarrassing, of course. Alex was struck with the feeling that everyone around her must be staring at her, and every few steps she had to reach down and feel round the hem of her skirt to make sure some phantom gust of wind wasn’t blowing in to flip it up and reveal her underwear. After a minute or two she was reassured that that wasn’t going to happen, and she started to resist the urge. Gaining confidence, she stopped taking such small, mousy steps and started walking normally. Alex looked down herself, and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Pure pink, hanging off the curve of her breasts and extending all the way down to the end of her pleated skirt, giving way to creamy legs that no longer looked quite so soft and shapeless. Alex giggled. She looked so girly! More and more, she stopped feeling embarrassed for herself. She started feeling like she’d become someone completely different, someone who could wear short skirts and pink clothes and prance around without every feeling self-conscious. Alex giggled again.

But her giggles cut off when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Someone was staring at her! She turned her head imperceptibly to get a better look. Sure enough, walking a few paces behind her there was a punk-looking girl with an undercut and a jacket covered in patches and pins, and without a doubt, her eyes were fixed on Alex. Alex’s first instinct was to say something, do something. But her second thought was that that would be utterly, unbearably mortifying to draw attention to herself that way. So, she just kept walking, knowing that the punk girl was watching her every step of the way. And then, once her discomfort faded, she giggled again. A girl was looking at her! A cute girl too, in Alex’s opinion. That thought made Alex feel all giddy. This was the kind of attention she’d always wanted! Well, sort of. Being ogled in the middle of a mall wasn’t exactly the height of glamour and sophistication, but it was a new and welcome experience all the same. It made Alex feel pretty. A wicked thought popped into her head. Keeping one eye on the girl watching her, she altered her step. She started placing her feet closer to together in a crude imitation of how models walked the catwalk, sashaying her hips side-to-side as best she could. Alex didn’t really know what she was doing or how it looked, but she grinned to herself in triumph when she saw the punk girl’s nostrils flare and her eyes widen slightly. This was fun.

A little drunk with the attention, Alex looked around for ways she could take it to the next level. A nearby shop provided ample inspiration. Hoping her punk fan was interested enough to wait a moment, Alex turned into a shoe store she was passing. This time, she was far less aimless than she had been in the clothes store. She knew exactly what she was looking for and it didn’t take her long to find it, in her size too. A pair of bright pink 4-inch heels. Pausing for just a moment to try them on, Alex quickly paid for them and slipped them on, stuffing her flats and socks away in her clothes bag. Wearing her new heels, which seemed to perfectly match the rest of her new outfit, she stepped back out of the shoe store. At first, walking around like that felt very uneasy. Her feet were now exposed to the air along with her legs, which she wasn’t used to, and she didn’t spend a lot of time in heels either. Fortunately, her mother had insisted she learn how to walk in heels properly as a teenager, in preparation for the prom she’d avoided going to, and in the end that memory came back to her much quicker than she’d expected. After a few unsteady steps, Alex was walking in her new heels like she’d been born in them.

She glanced around slyly, and smiled as she caught sight of the punk girl, lingering hopefully nearby. Without giving away that she’d noticed her, Alex gave a little flourish with her feet to demonstrate her new purchase, pivoted on her heels, and sauntered away. Sure enough, the punk girl started trailing after her again, seeming a little more flustered than before. Alex grinned a seductress’s grin. She had no idea what this new feeling of confidence and excitement was, but she was more than happy to ride high on it. Her heels made her accentuate her step even more; she could feel her hips bobbing and swaying rhythmically as she walked. As she looked round carefully, Alex thought she could even see the punk girl’s eyes bobbing in step with her, tracking the way her ass bounced. And then Alex realized she wasn’t the only one staring at her. There still weren’t all that many people around, but of the small crowd of shoppers hanging around, at least half seemed to turn their heads to watch Alex as she passed. Alex turned bright red. Was she really that eye-catching? One look down at herself confirmed that she was. Her body was nothing to write home about, but her bright pink clothes more than stood out against the faded beige furnishings of the mall, and she was walking like she was inviting everyone in the room to think about how they wanted to fuck her. Any by the looks of it, they were. Men, women  - they were all looking at her. Some were scowling, especially some of the older women. Some were looking on in admiration. And some were outright leering at her, her punk girl admirer being one of them.

With that realization, Alex’s stomach started doing loops. She really did not know how to handle this kind of attention. Her seductive walk faltered, as she strongly considered scurrying home as fast as she could, so she could press her head into her pillow and scream at herself for acting like such a fool. But then again, why would she do that? There was no need. It wasn’t like anyone could or would tell her off. If she wanted to prance around in a short pink skirt and let people stare, why wouldn’t she? Wait, is that what she wanted? After a moment’s introspection, Alex realized it was. She wasn’t comfortable with that kind of attention, but she wanted to be. She was enjoying herself. Why else would she have bought those heels, and such a short skirt? Alex’s nerves settled, and she slipped back into the confident, erotic strut she’d been affecting before her brief moment of indecision. Yes. She wanted this. Let them look.

Once she acknowledged that, it started to feel even better. The blush in her cheeks didn’t diminish; on the contrary, it grew hotter and hotter. Perhaps it was just the way she was walking, but Alex started to feel an aching in her hips and between her legs. A craving. Alex’s lips parted slightly. Was she… horny? No, no, she couldn’t be. That was just ridiculous. It didn’t make any sense at all… but then again it didn’t make sense that working out made her horny either, but at this point that was beyond doubt. Alex thought about how high her sex drive had been. Maybe that was what this was. But she wasn’t working out now. So, what was it? Her clothes? Not quite, Alex realized. It was the people. It was the way they were looking at her. She realized it wasn’t just making her feel confident or pretty. It was more than that. She could feel their eyes like a physical force as they roved over her body. Each wide-eyed, lust-filled gaze was a lover’s caress, tracing up along her calves and her thighs, or over her shoulders, or even down her top to coarsely feel her tender breasts and her increasingly hard nipples, or perhaps even up her skirt, pushing her panties aside and touching against her wet…

Alex let out a silent gasp as she realized she was indeed wet. Her panties were soaked. She was filled with embarrassment and shame. How could she be that much of a slut? How had she gotten so wet, just from being stared at? And worst of all, once she realized how slutty that sounded, she only felt more aroused. The feeling she was getting from the gazes of all the people around her was becoming stronger. She was struck with the strange feeling that they could all see through her clothes and were looking at her directly, every part of her. And then she started to fantasize. What if she were really walking around like that, totally naked? That image gave her an unbelievable rush. Then they’d all look. Then they’d all see how slutty she could be. She’d be so embarrassed, and it would feel so good. Maybe some of them wouldn’t be content with just looking. If she was putting herself on display like that, wouldn’t it be obvious she wanted more? Alex had to fight down the temptation to start touching herself over her clothes as the images filling her head became more and more graphic and sordid. It was almost tempting to do something, to embrace those fantasies. She could flip up her skirt. That would really give that punk girl, still following her, a show. No, she wasn’t brave enough for that. Instead, she adjusted her pink top, pulling down the neckline to show more of her cleavage. Fuck, that felt good. Exposing more of herself to the open air only made her realize how hot her body was, and how she had started panting breathily.

Alex closed her eyes for a brief moment. The thrill she was experiencing was beyond words, and it was still growing better and stronger. But it wasn’t enough. Not yet. Alex wanted more. She was so drunk on her own arousal, it was totally overpowering any sense of inhibition or propriety she usually had. Fuck that! She’d wanted to cut loose forever, and now she finally was. Going to the gym, changing her look  - this was the change she’d always wanted. The fact that it felt so good was only proof that it was perfect for her. Why would she question such intense pleasure? She wasn’t going to ruin this for herself by second-guessing things, the way she always did. There was only one question she needed to think about was: how much longer was she going to revel in her newfound exhibitionism before running home to finger-fuck herself to an amazing orgasm?

She decided to push it a little further, partly because she was enjoying it so much, and partly because she feared that once she lost this incredible, euphoric mood, it would be gone forever. She looked around for inspiration as to what to do next, and found it. She’d actually walked passed the store a few paces back, too enraptured with the feeling of being stared at to really notice her surroundings. Alex turned abruptly on her heels and a few paces behind her, the punk girl that was still trailing after her stumbled slightly. Alex flashed her an amused smile, which she returned shakily after a moment. That flustered reaction alone was enough to stoke the heat in Alex’s body, but she knew she could do better. Staring the girl straight in her eyes, Alex slowly, deliberately, licked her lips. Then, she just watched for a moment as the punk girl turned a very bright, very visible shade of red. The exhibitionist rush flooding her body redoubled. Alex broke into a walk again, brushing past the stunned punk and slowing for just a moment to wink, before turning into the lingerie store. 

 As in the shoe store, she knew exactly what she was looking for, and it didn’t take long to find it. A set of pink lace lingerie. It looked like the kind of thing a stripper would wear, to put it mildly. The panties were incredibly sheer  - practically a thong  - leaving little to the imagination, and the stylish push-up bra should do her cleavage some favors. In contrast to her earlier hesitation in the clothes store, Alex didn’t spend even a single moment second-guessing herself. She didn’t care how out-of-character this was for her. She wanted to do this. She knew it would make her feel good. And more than that, she knew she was going to cum so hard at the thought of what she’d bought and done. Alex was reasonably confident she knew her sizes so she didn’t even bother trying the lingerie on. She just asked to use the fitting rooms, as she had done earlier, and changed there. Sure enough, the bra made her boobs look like considerably more than a handful, and the panties felt deliciously naughty. Experimentally, Alex did a little spin and watched with breathless glee as her skirt flipped up enough to reveal the pink underwear beneath. Even though she was now in private, the thought of trying that out in public was enough to have Alex panting with arousal again, and she only grew more turned on when she noticed a little spot of dampness start to appear on her brand new panties. God, she was so desperate now.

It was as Alex was on her way out out of the lingerie store that she noticed something that truly made her light-headed with erotic glee. Tucked away discreetly in one corner of the store was, to Alex’s surprise, a cabinet full of sex toys. Gripped with curiosity she wandered over, enjoying as she did the feeling of her new lingerie under her clothes. Once she got close enough, her cheeks were filled with a fresh blush as she looked over the lurid packaging on the shelves. They had dildos, vibrators and ass toys of all different shapes, sizes and functions, and more besides that  - nipple clamps, handcuffs, collars, and things Alex didn’t even recognize. Normally she’d blanch at something that lewd, but in her current frame of mind, riding high on arousal and exhibitionism, the sight of the sex toys and all the possibilities they represented was nothing other than wildly exciting. Alex knew then and there that she was going to buy something. She had to. She’d never used a sex toy before, but she’d always wondered what they might be like. Now, she could find out. And given how turned on she already was, it was bound to be amazing. They only question was: what was she going to get? There were so many different toys on offer, and she really had no idea what she wanted. But, Alex considered, why settle for just one? It wasn’t like money was an issue. She could get two, or three, or even four if she really wanted to. That really would make for a wild night! Alex imagined how she’d look, walking up to the shop counter with an armful of sex toys. It made her shiver.

In the end, she settled on two toys: a little pink bullet vibrator connected by a wire to a small remote, and a much larger, purple, silicone dildo. The thought of how good that was going to feel alone was enough to make Alex salivate. With those in hand, she walked up to the shop counter as confidently as she could and handed them over. The cashier was polite and professional, of course, but when she first saw Alex she flashed her a look of surprise for just a single moment, and even that was enough to make Alex weak at the knees. She wondered what the cashier thought of her  - a girl in a bright pink top and miniskirt, buying slutty lingerie and then coming back for sex toys. Maybe the cashier saw people like her every day. But Alex hoped not. She hoped she seemed like just as much of a slut as she felt. A wicked thought popped into her head. Maybe she didn’t need to wait until she got home. The mall had a public bathroom. Alex knew from her experience at the gym that she could keep quiet, if she really needed to. The risk of being discovered, and the thrill of that risk, would make Alex melt. Yes. That was what she was going to do, she decided with a giggle as she took the bag the cashier offered her and left the store.

“Hey.”

Surprised and off-guard, Alex wheeled towards the voice addressing her and saw the punk girl who’d been eyeing her earlier. She still seemed flustered  - she was blushing faintly and rubbing the back of her neck with one hand  - but she didn’t shy away from Alex’s gaze.

“I’m Ashe,” she said, by way of introduction. “I… saw the way you were looking at me earlier and, well, I was wondering if you wanted to get to know each other? We could hang out, maybe catch a movie?”

“I’m Alex,” Alex replied automatically. Her brain had completely stalled. Fuck. She hadn’t expected this. She concentrated on trying to make sense of what she’d just been asked, and to act like an actual person in a social situation for a change. “You mean like… a date?”

“Umm… yeah. Yes.” It was small consolation to Alex that Ashe seemed just as embarrassed as she was.

“Oh. Oh!” Alex felt like a deer in headlights. She was being asked out! By a cute girl! But somehow, the euphoria wasn’t quite what she expected. Her excitement at how she’d been showing herself off curdled to utter mortification. How had she behaved like that?! It had felt like a dream, but now she was face-to-face with Ashe, actually talking to her, it all felt horribly real. She needed to run! No, that would be even more embarrassing. She needed to get out of this as gracefully as she could. “I’m sorry, but I don’t really ‘do’ dating.”

“Oh.” Ashe replied after an awkward moment. “Oh! I guess not, a girl like you, huh?” she muttered to herself. Then, to Alex’s alarm, she stepped in closer and forced a confident smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s OK, we don’t have to bother with that. But… if you want, my place is right around the corner…”

It took Alex a moment to realize what Ashe meant, and another to figure out that the punk girl had totally misinterpreted what she’d meant. It figured. Right now, she wasn’t dressed like the kind of girl who’d blanch at the idea of a hook-up. Quite the opposite. “I-I’m afraid that’s not what I mean,” Alex spluttered.

“Oh.” Ashe said again. She backed off and looked away, looking like she wished she could just fade out of existence, so much so that Alex’s heart went out to her. “I just thought… earlier… when you… shit, never mind.” Ashe looked at Alex again. “I really fucked this up, huh? Sorry. I got the wrong end of the stick. I’ll get out of your face now. But… just in case my gaydar wasn’t completely off, here’s my number.”

Ashe handed Alex a scrap of paper with a series of numbers scrawled on it, flashed her as friendly a smile as she could muster, and walked off as fast as she could. For several long seconds Alex just stood there, staring dumbly at the piece of paper in her hand. Internally, she was screaming. Screaming at herself, for buying such ridiculous clothes, for getting so turned on by showing herself of, by acting like such an awkward useless idiot with Ashe… for everything. Then, she thought about what she’d been about to go and do with her new sex toys, in the nearest cubicle. Even she she was still uncomfortably horny, now that she’d been brought back to reality the idea didn’t seem quite so sexy anymore. Alex realized she was pretty worn out. She’d pushed herself pretty hard at the gym earlier, and this shopping trip had provided far more excitement than she’d anticipated. She just wanted to go home and rest. She vaguely remembered plans to spend the evening pushing herself to study hard, but there was no way that was happening now. When she got back to her dorm, she couldn’t see herself doing anything other than spending the evening collapsed on her bed, watching some Netflix and slowly fucking herself to orgasm with her new toys. Alex smiled, and with that happy thought lodged firmly in her head, she went home.