“Ethan,” I whispered as I pulled the door open a few inches.

Ethan stood and took the few steps to the door.

“Look,” I said as I swung the door open.

“Holy shit,” he gasped as he glanced over each shoulder, “Close the door.”

“I wanted you to see,” I whispered.

“I can see just fine. Holy fuck, you look great. Jesus, Rain,” he whispered, “The entire store doesn’t need to see you half-naked.”

I didn’t want the entire store to see me half-naked. I only wanted Ethan to see me. Part of the reason I wanted him to see me was because I was proud of the new underwear. A bigger part wanted him to see me because I wanted it to make him want me, and hoped him seeing me in my panties would help fuel that desire.

“I love this bra,” I sighed as I glanced back and forth between the mirror and Ethan.

“I love it too, now close the door and try on the other panties,” he said as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

After trying on each pair of the panties and admiring them in the mirror individually, I totaled the cost of the bra and panties, and decided I could afford to buy them as long as I didn’t buy anything else of significance in the next month. I needed to try and save all the money I could. As much as I hated to, I got dressed, sans panties and bra, and opened the door.

“Okay. I’m ready, boss” I said as I stepped out of the room.

“Now the tough part,” Ethan sighed as he stood from his chair.

Together, we walked to the checkout register, and I carefully placed the items on the counter. As our original saleswoman, Melanie, rang up each item, she smiled, folded them, and carefully placed them in a fancy striped bag. As she pressed the button, totaling the purchase, she jumped back and gasped.

“Holy crap!” she shouted.

“What?” I screeched as I jumped away from the counter.

Fairly certain she’d seen a spider or something gross, and knowing I didn’t want it anywhere near me or my new clothes, I stood away from the counter and waited for her to respond. She held her hands to her mouth and looked as if she was going to cry.

“I can’t believe it,” she gasped.

“What?” I asked as I turned toward Ethan for some kind of answer.

He peered over the counter and shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re our five thousandth shopper this year,” she said through the spaces between her fingers as she continued to stare at the cash register.

I alternated glances between Ethan and her, “What does that mean?”

She reached under the counter and pulled a credit card up and held in in her hand, “You’ve won a $500 dollar gift card.”

My heart raced. I opened my mouth and slowly turned to face Ethan, then shifted my eyes to Melanie, “$500 hundred dollars? Seriously? Me?”

She nodded her head and swiped the card through the reader.

“Looks like you have $409.56 left to spend. You don’t have to spend it today, it’s yours for whenever you like, at any of our stores,” she said as she handed me the card.

I turned to face Ethan and opened my arms, “Oh my God, this is the best day of my entire life.”

As he hugged me and held me in his arms, I was sure I was right. Feeling my body being held tight against his was amazing and I didn’t want it to end. Ethan and Cade were by far the best thing to ever happen to me. My life was changing, my luck was changing, and I had new underwear.

The only way life could get any better was if he didn’t ever let me go.

ETHAN

Five minutes earlier.

“Listen, I don’t give a fuck how you do it, but figure something out,” I growled as I handed her the five hundred dollars.

“I just, I don’t know. Not without just telling her you gave me the money,” the clerk shrugged.

You dumb bitch, don’t you have an imagination?

“Fuck that, it defeats the purpose. I don’t want her to know where it came from. Now hurry the fuck up and figure something out, she’s going to be done in a minute,” I complained as I peered toward the dressing area.

“I’ll do it, Karie. We’ll just use a gift card,” Melanie said as she stepped behind the counter.

“Thank you. Just make it seem real, and no matter what, don’t tell her where it came from,” I said as I glanced toward the dressing rooms.

“Don’t worry,” Melanie said as she accepted the money and grabbed a gift card from the counter.

I saved every penny I made, and never really spent any money to speak of. All of my earnings, short of what it took me to live, was set aside for my dream of owning my own shop. As much as I probably needed a car, I refused to spend the money on one. In hindsight, going two years without a car was probably a subconscious thing, trying to hold on the thought of marriage and Chloe. Not having a car gave me reason to recollect Chloe, the marriage, and the divorce. It took some doing, but with Rain’s help, I was slowly seeing a deep need to let Chloe and everything associated with her finally drift away.

I not only wanted to help Rain out in any way I could, but I desperately wanted to take our friendship to a different level. Knowing she’d probably reject me for some of the same reasons Chloe did prevented me from attempting anything with her in that respect, but it certainly didn’t keep me from wanting. As far as I was concerned, Rain was as close to perfection as a woman could ever get. She was absolutely stunning, humble, intelligent, and full of gratitude for even the simple things life offered her.

I grinned at the thought of how Rain would feel with her newly acquired undergarments, and gave Melanie the thumbs up.

Melanie returned the gesture.

I no more than sat down in my seat, and Rain opened the door to the dressing room.

She was beaming with pride. It was apparent simply trying on the new clothes made her feel much better about herself, and probably about life in general.

Holding her panties in one hand and her bra in the other, she grinned, “Okay, I’m ready.”

I stood from my chair and smiled, hoping everything would go without any tell-tale signs revealing my pre-payment.

“Now the tough part,” I said as I sighed heavily.

As Rain placed the items on the counter, she turned toward me and smiled a prideful smile. As she gazed in my direction for a moment, I not only realized she was the most beautiful woman I had probably ever seen, but she was as gorgeous as she was without the assistance of makeup or any type of preparation that most girls required before leaving their homes. Rain was more beautiful than anyone else, and all she had to do to prove it was smile.

Melanie’s eyes widened and she jumped up and down, “Holy crap!”

Rain jumped away from the counter and screamed, “What?”

Melanie raised her hands to her mouth. “I can’t believe it,” she gasped.

Rain glanced in my direction, turned toward Melanie, and took another step back, “What?”

I stepped toward the register, and peered over the edge as if expecting to see something. After seeing nothing, I turned toward Rain and shrugged.

“You’re our five thousandth shopper this year,” Melanie exclaimed.

Fuck yes, great idea. 

“What does that mean?” Rain asked.

“You’ve won a $500 dollar gift card,” Melanie said as she waved the card in the air.

The excitement on Rain’s face was apparent. She turned toward me, smiled, and stepped closer to the register. After raising her hands to her mouth, she spoke.

“$500 hundred dollars? Seriously? Me?” she squealed.

Melanie swiped the card and handed it to Rain, “Looks like you have $409.56 left to spend. You don’t have to spend it today, it’s yours for whenever you like, at any of our stores.”

“Oh my God, this is the best day of my entire life,” Rain said as she dove into me and hugged me.