Chapter 3: More Than Friends (Nancy series)

More Than Friends
The next few weeks went by in a blur and looking back on them, Nancy couldn’t believe how quickly she’d grown used to having a man desire her or having a man in her life who made her feel as young and alive as Paul made her feel. It wasn’t just the sex, either. In fact, they only had sex once more in the following three weeks and that was another spontaneous event at his house after a day of drinking and hanging out in his pool. They spent time together nearly every day since their initial meeting, but it was often because he would stop by to help her with one of her remodeling and repair projects. In return, she would invite him to stay for dinner and he never declined. During those times, they shared more and more details of their lives and developed a close bond of friendship.
She was surprised the first time he called to invite her for a night out on the town. She couldn’t remember the last time she went on a real date. She spent over 30 minutes looking through her closet for something to wear and another hour getting herself ready. She still had misgivings about whether he wanted to have a serious relationship with her and was afraid of getting her expectations too high. She was used to being alone and didn’t want to deal with heartache and rejection. The evening turned out to be fun and Paul gave her every bit of his attention. He was funny, witty, and intelligent, and he made her feel like she was young and beautiful.
As the evening wound down, Nancy began to worry about whether he was expecting to have sex with her afterwards as a quid pro quo. She didn’t want their relationship to be just about sex and she tried to think of how to respond if he pressed her for more. Her concerns seemed silly when they got back to her place and all he did was kiss her goodnight. It was a wonderful kiss, but when he was gone and she was up in her room, she started second-guessing herself and wondering if he was already tired of her.
However, Paul would call or text her nearly every day and he continued to visit and invite her out two or three times a week, which answered that particular doubt. She came to realize that he was truly interested in her and wanted more in their relationship, but he never pressed her for more than she was willing to give. He was someone who lived to enjoy life and she enjoyed the freshness he brought to her own previously dull lifestyle. She responded by taking a chance and lowering her defenses. He made her happy and she found herself longing for him when he wasn’t around. They were well past kissing, but she still was hesitant to have intercourse again. That reluctance was more about her own self-image than anything else, and she knew that.
It was a few weeks before they started spending every night together. The location varied between his house or hers, depending on where they were and what they had been doing. The very first night that she invited him to stay with her, she began to worry about how she would appear to him. Of course he had seen her naked, but those occasions were more spontaneous and unexpected. She expected the lights to be off by the time she got naked, but before that, he would see her in her sleepwear. That generally consisted of a night gown, which was really nothing more than an over-sized t-shirt, and her panties. Neither item was particularly sexy looking and she didn’t want to appear dowdy to Paul.
When she returned home from work, she rushed around to straighten it up and then rummaged through her closet and dresser to see if she had something more enticing to wear for him when they went to bed. She wanted to make it a special evening for him. Her underwear drawer was full of her “granny panties” and she couldn’t find any of the gowns she had bought many years before when she was still married. She rushed out of the house to buy something for the evening and decided to try Victoria’s Secret. Along the way, she called Paul to tell him she was running late and asked him wait a couple hours before coming over. He readily agreed and asked if she was okay, but she put on a cheerful voice and said everything was fine.
She felt out of place at the lingerie store. She had only been there a couple times before when accompanying a friend who wanted to buy some items for herself. The women working there were all much younger and looked like they were barely out of high school. The lingerie on display seemed designed for young, slender, athletic women instead of someone of her age and physical appearance.
She wandered around becoming more and more discouraged that she would find something for herself. One of the young sales girls came up and asked if she needed help, but Nancy shook her head and quietly said, “No, thanks.”
“Okay,” the woman replied. “I’m Claire, the store manager and you don’t see something that matches what you have in mind, please let me know.” she said.
Nancy looked at her and asked to see them. “Everything out here is beautiful, but not really something I can see myself wearing.” Claire moved a little closer and more discreetly said, “A lot of women feel lost in her and are looking for something a little more conservative. We do have several styles that aren’t in a big display if that’s something you would be interested in.”
Claire took her off to a side area and showed her racks along the wall with more simple designs that were much less revealing than the sheer lacy things on the mannequins. Nancy picked out a knee-length satiny red gown with spaghetti straps and then Claire convinced her to purchase two bra and pantie sets. Both sets were black; the first had a cup-less bra without an underwire support and panties with small patches of fabric to cover her front and bottom with just a narrow piece connecting the two parts high up on her hips. The second set had a similar design, but the material was much more transparent except for a small section over the crotch of the panties. Nancy had doubts about the flimsy bras, but Claire convinced her that she would look great, and if Nancy wasn’t happy, she could return the items.
Nancy hurried home, took the tags off of her new purchases and changed into one of the new underwear sets.