#66
Number 66 on my 101 in 1,001 Days list was entering a lingerie shop--alone--and buying something for darthcynthia.
Now, I know that's no biggie for a lot of guys. But I've always been very shy when it comes to the thought of entering a woman's store to buy the very things from the ads that helped me get through puberty.
I thought going in on a Sunday shortly before they closed would be a good time to zip in and out. Granted, it's never gonna be the kind of store a 6' 4" guy built like a defensive tackle can sneak into, but it turns out they are having a sale.
And every woman in Southlake, Texas was packed into that tiny store!
I was the only guy.
I could have turned right around and left, but it was more like stage fright, and by entering the store, there was no turning back. I was there to buy something for my sweetie because she's lost weight and I'm proud of her. I noticed her looking at stuff on Victoria's Secret's Web site and wanted to surprise her.
I found what I was there for (or so I thought--more on that in a second), but I had a little difficulty finding how the sizes were laid out. A store employee asked if I needed help. Normally, I'd tell the salesperson, "No thanks--I'm just looking," but Victoria's Secret isn't the kind of place a guy should say that kinda of thing. I'm sure I had an "awwww" factor of shyness going for me, but if I dropped the "just looking" line, I'd instantly slide into creepy guy territory.
I told the person helping me what I was looking for and she helped out. Obviously, other guys must enter the store because she said, "And you're sure that's what you're looking for?" in a manner that said, Look, most guys come in, grab the wrong thing, and run away like an embarrassed apeman.
I repeated what I was there to get, and said, "This is the pushup version, right?"
Now the Italian in me talks with my hands, so when I said "pushup," I gestured as though I were the one with perfect breasts that deserved to be on display. There I was, in the middle of the store packed with women, holding my man boobage!
It cracked the store employee up and she showed me where what I was really looking for was located.
When we found what I was there for, she said, "Is there anything else I can help you find?"
It would have been easy to say, "No--this is it!" and withdraw from the scene like an embarrassed apeman. The other thing I was looking for was a bit more...specialized. It would have been easy to let shyness creep back in and win.
But I really am working at the getting over shyness, so I told her what I was looking for and we wandered to another corner of the store to look at some other stuff. They didn't have the particular thing Cynthia was wanting, so I thanked the person for helping me and proceeded to the checkout line.
The checkout area was packed, and I towered over all the women standing in line, holding all kinds of under garments. For an instant, I felt a little self conscious, but hell--I was holding a female under garment, too! I was an under garment-carrying member of the Sisterhood of Victoria's Secret! Well, until I caught sight of myself in a mirror and realized I needed a shave.
But I did it!
I didn't feel too self conscious packed in line, and I didn't feel self conscious as I turned away from the register with my itty-bitty Victoria's Secret bag in my big apeman hand.
I felt pretty damn self confident...and I will definitely go back.
Now, I know that's no biggie for a lot of guys. But I've always been very shy when it comes to the thought of entering a woman's store to buy the very things from the ads that helped me get through puberty.
I thought going in on a Sunday shortly before they closed would be a good time to zip in and out. Granted, it's never gonna be the kind of store a 6' 4" guy built like a defensive tackle can sneak into, but it turns out they are having a sale.
And every woman in Southlake, Texas was packed into that tiny store!
I was the only guy.
I could have turned right around and left, but it was more like stage fright, and by entering the store, there was no turning back. I was there to buy something for my sweetie because she's lost weight and I'm proud of her. I noticed her looking at stuff on Victoria's Secret's Web site and wanted to surprise her.
I found what I was there for (or so I thought--more on that in a second), but I had a little difficulty finding how the sizes were laid out. A store employee asked if I needed help. Normally, I'd tell the salesperson, "No thanks--I'm just looking," but Victoria's Secret isn't the kind of place a guy should say that kinda of thing. I'm sure I had an "awwww" factor of shyness going for me, but if I dropped the "just looking" line, I'd instantly slide into creepy guy territory.
I told the person helping me what I was looking for and she helped out. Obviously, other guys must enter the store because she said, "And you're sure that's what you're looking for?" in a manner that said, Look, most guys come in, grab the wrong thing, and run away like an embarrassed apeman.
I repeated what I was there to get, and said, "This is the pushup version, right?"
Now the Italian in me talks with my hands, so when I said "pushup," I gestured as though I were the one with perfect breasts that deserved to be on display. There I was, in the middle of the store packed with women, holding my man boobage!
It cracked the store employee up and she showed me where what I was really looking for was located.
When we found what I was there for, she said, "Is there anything else I can help you find?"
It would have been easy to say, "No--this is it!" and withdraw from the scene like an embarrassed apeman. The other thing I was looking for was a bit more...specialized. It would have been easy to let shyness creep back in and win.
But I really am working at the getting over shyness, so I told her what I was looking for and we wandered to another corner of the store to look at some other stuff. They didn't have the particular thing Cynthia was wanting, so I thanked the person for helping me and proceeded to the checkout line.
The checkout area was packed, and I towered over all the women standing in line, holding all kinds of under garments. For an instant, I felt a little self conscious, but hell--I was holding a female under garment, too! I was an under garment-carrying member of the Sisterhood of Victoria's Secret! Well, until I caught sight of myself in a mirror and realized I needed a shave.
But I did it!
I didn't feel too self conscious packed in line, and I didn't feel self conscious as I turned away from the register with my itty-bitty Victoria's Secret bag in my big apeman hand.
I felt pretty damn self confident...and I will definitely go back.