The Blue Dress Ch. 01

Note: This story follows the events in my story "Harry and Barbara," although it can be read independently.

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Three months after they met, Harry and Barbara were married. Her parents objected, and she turned her back on them. His parents were dead, so there was no family to attend. They were married in a civil ceremony by a judge with a minimum of fanfare and few in attendance. They spent their honeymoon on a cruise ship to the Caribbean and reveled in each other. When they returned home, they moved into a new house they had chosen together. Barbara quit her job and found a new one with a management consultant firm within a few weeks. Harry continued in his position at the bank as a Senior Vice-President in charge of small business loans.

Barbara began to attract positive notice at her company and was promoted twice, each time gaining a substantial raise but also increased responsibility that required additional hours and extra travel. She didn't mind at first, exhilirated by the demands and the new challenges she was facing. Harry too was busier than ever, and as time passed, the two seemed to become so involved in their work that there was little time left to spend with each other. Their honeymoon was their only vacation in the next four years of their marriage. They made love less frequently, but used as an excuse their fatigue from work. Both knew that something was wrong, but neither one acknowledged it to the other, and often not even to themselves. After four years, their marriage, which had started out with such romance and passion, was in serious trouble.

Harry searched his mind for some way to rekindle their relationship. He thought if he could somehow renew Barbara's passion that their lives together could be repaired. He also couldn't see them continuing to live in the empty shell their marriage had become. He truly loved Barbara, and he did not want to look at a future without her. He'd been divorced once, and knew how wrenching that experience could be. He didn't want to go through that again, and he didn't want Barbara to, either. He thought that she still loved him, but that work had slowly become the paramount activity in their lives,leaving very little if any room for anything else. Harry vowed to change that.

Barbara liked to shop, and one Saturday Harry surprised her by suggesting they go to the mall and look for a new dress for her. This was unusual because Harry didn't like shopping, saying he had no patience for endless tours through shops with overpriced merchandise and poor service. Barbara wondered at this sudden change of heart but welcomed it, so off they went. After looking in several stores at the mall, they found a dress they both liked. The dress was dark blue, sleeveless, and a bit shorter than Barbara usually wore, falling an inch or two above the knee. The neckline was square, and the bodice was made of two overlapping flaps held together with three large black buttons. There was also a zipper in the back of the dress. Although the buttons were functional, their main purpose was decorative. Barbara tried the dress on and liked the way it looked on her. It fit her nicely, not too tight. The color set off her red-gold hair, and the style complemented her figure. Harry bought it for her and suggested that Barbara wear the dress and he would take her out to dinner. Barbara agreed.

The restaurant he chose was small and nearly full. They had not been there before, but Harry knew it had a reputation for excellent food and a nice atmosphere. This proved to be the case, and he could see that Barbara was impressed. They were seated in about the center of the room, which buzzed with low conversation that was filtered through soft background music. Before ordering dinner, Harry asked for the wine list and chose a bottle of white zinfandel, one of Barbara's favorites. He raised a toast to her new dress and how good she looked.

Harry knew that Barbara would feel the effects of the wine quickly because she seldom drank. On those rare occasions when she did drink, she relaxed and became more outgoing, forgetting the cares of the workplace that preoccupied her most other times. They each drank two glasses of wine, then ordered their dinner. Harry proposed another toast and Barbara readily downed her third glass. Harry figured that she was pretty relaxed and decided the time was right for the next step in his plan. He leaned across the table to her and said, "I want you to do something for me."

"What?" she asked.

"I want you to go to the ladies room and take off your bra. You can put it in your purse. "

"I will not!" she responded, loudly enough so that the people at the tables nearest to them couldn't help but overhear. Some looked curiously at Barbara, but then went back to their own dinners and conversations. She was astonished at her own vehemence, even though Harry's suggestion came completely out of the blue. What in the world could he be thinking of? She knew she was blushing furiously.

"Please?" Harry pleaded. "Nothing would show and it would really turn me on. Besides, if you do, we might play a little game later."

Harry was no longer the smooth seducer he had been when he and Barbara had first met; four years of marriage had taken that out of him. Besides, his real feelings for Barbara and the importance of what this night might mean had made him hesitant, uncertain. Nor had he formulated any alternative; everything depended on what Barbara decided to do right now.

"What game?" she asked suspiciously, but Harry could see that she was curious, as he'd thought she would be.

"Go take your bra off and I'll tell you when you come back."

"I don't know - - oh, all right." Barbara studied Harry's face searchingly before she got up and walked across the room toward the lobby, where the men's and women's lounges were located. She was gone for several minutes.

When she returned, he couldn't tell if she had removed her bra or not. The fabric of the dress was too heavy to reveal any hint of what was underneath.

"Did you take it off?"

She hesitated, then admitted that she had. She looked around nervously, and was clearly ill at ease.

"Great!" he said enthusiastically. The waiter brought their dinners, and Harry made no further mention of the bra throughout the entire meal. He knew Barbara was getting more curious by the minute. Finally, as they were finishing their desserts, she couldn't stand it any longer.

"What's this about a game?" she asked. "What are you up to?"

She sounded more suspicious than curious now, and Harry wondered if his idea hadn't fizzled before it got underway. Harry figured that he had nothing to lose at this point, though, and went ahead.

"There's just enough wine left in the bottle for each of us to have one more glass. When we drink that, the bottle will be empty. I propose a little game called "a bottle, a button." When we finish the wine, I want you to undo the top button on your dress."

"WHAT?" she responded. "Absolutely NOT!" She looked as if he had asked her to commit a public murder. Heads turned their way. Harry reacted with complete calm.

"Oh, come on," he urged. "The way the dress is cut, opening one button won't show anything but a little cleavage. If you want to, go to the ladies lounge and check it out for yourself. If you think opening a button will show too much, then we'll forget about it. But I would really like you to try it. It would tantalize me a lot to know that you were so close, showing a trace of cleavage, and that I couldn't do anything. "

Barbara sat for a moment with an unreadable look on her face. She abruptly got up without a word and left the table. In a few minutes she returned. Harry was disappointed to see that all her buttons were fastened. She picked up her wine glass and swirled the remaining few drops of liquid in the bottom. While she toyed with the glass in her right hand, she absent-mindedly moved the fingers of her left hand to the top button on the dress.

Harry watched her avidly. She began to move the button between her fingers as if unconscious of what she was doing. As she finished the wine, her fingers moved slightly on the button. When she put her empty glass on the table, the top button on her dress was open and the square neckline was gaping slightly, just enough so that he could see the beginning of the curve of her breasts and the start of the deep shadow between them.

Harry smiled, his eyes fixed on that hint of curve and shadow. He was becoming more excited than he had expected. Barbara's breasts were large and firm, with pink nipples that stood out quickly when she became excited. He loved to look at her breasts, and loved to touch them even more. He also loved her nipped-in waist and the strong, rounded cheeks of her buttocks. She had a fabulous figure, but never liked to show it off. Well, that might change if things went as he hoped.

She had a glint in her eyes. "Satisfied?" she asked. There was a tone of sarcasm in her voice.

Harry's eyes searched her face, but he couldn't read her expression. Instead of answering, he said, "How would you like to go somewhere else?"

She considered a moment, then said, "Sure, let's go."

Harry reached into his wallet and placed some bills on the table. He stood up and moved to the side of her chair to help her. As she rose from her seat, she bent forward a bit and turned toward him a little. She held the pose for a moment, giving him a deep look down her cleavage. When she was sure his eyes were fixated on the open button, she chuckled and stood up quickly.

Harry was mystified as they walked out of the restaurant and across the parking lot to the car. He opened the passenger door for her and as she slid into the seat, the hem of her new dress rode well up over her knees. She wasn't wearing hose, and the smooth skin of her inner thighs shone briefly. He walked around the car and got into the driver's seat, noticing that she had smoothed the dress and pulled it down to just above her knees. But the top button was still open. He thought that might be a good sign.

Harry drove across town to an older section of the city and pulled the car into a parking place under a street lamp across the corner from a neighborhood bar. Without a word, he got out, opened Barbara's door, and again caught a view of her thighs when her skirt rode up as she stepped out of the car. He guided her across the street and to a door at the side of the bar. The sign on the door read: "Ladies Entrance." Barbara giggled.

"A little old-fashioned, isn't it?" she commented.

Harry didn't respond, just held the door open for her and ushered her inside. The room was empty. Harry didn't hesitate but guided Barbara to the end booth at the back of the room. He seated her so her back was to the door.

"How about a beer?" he asked, knowing she liked beer better than mixed drinks.

"Sure, I'll have one," she replied.

Harry walked through the archway that connected the "ladies area" from the main bar. He and Barbara were the only customers at the moment, which is what he had expected. The regular customers would be in later, and around ten p. m. the bar would begin to fill and remain full until closing time, two a.m. He greeted Nick the barman, who was also the owner, by name and ordered two bottles of imported beer.

"We're in the other room," Harry said. "You don't have to wait on us. When we want refills I'll come and get them." Nick nodded, and Harry took two glasses and the bottles and started walking back to the other room. On his way, he noticed the pool table situated in the farthest reaches of the main room, with its halo of bright light illuminating the table's surface while the area surrounding the table was quite dark by contrast.

Barbara was waiting expectantly for his return. After he had set the bottles and glasses down and eased himself into the seat opposite her, she said, "Bottles, I see." Harry still could not read her expression.

"There's no draft beer for sale here," Harry explained.

"That couldn't be the reason you chose this place," she said, not asking it like a question.

"Well, perhaps partly." He poured beer out into the glasses. It would take two full glasses to empty one bottle, he decided.

" Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked as they both finished their first sips of beer. "I really wanted this night to be a special one for us."

Barbara thought for a moment, trying to decide what Harry was asking. She decided simply to answer him as honestly as she could.

"I was shocked, then angry, when you asked me to take off my bra," she responded.

"I can believe that, but tell me, how does it feel to go without it?" he asked, his tone demonstrating his genuine interest in her answer. She hesitated before replying, as if not sure herself what to say.

"It was strange at first. I was certainly self-conscious walking back to the table. I felt as if everyone in the room could see my naked breasts through my dress. But I knew from the mirror in the ladies lounge that nothing really showed. When you asked me to open a button, I panicked for a minute. I thought I couldn't do that."

"And now?"

"Now, it feels - it's hard to describe. I kind of like the idea that seeing that little bit of shadow turns you on. Feeling my nipples rub against the fabric of the dress instead of being confined inside a bra makes me feel a little excited, and wicked, I guess, if you want to know the truth. I don't know --I wouldn't want to go around like this all the time, but it seems OK for right now."

While they were talking, Harry had poured out the bottles into both glasses. They both drank. The glasses were soon emptied, and nothing was left in the bottles.

" Another?" asked Harry.

"Sure, why not," Barbara responded without hesitation.

"It will cost you another button," Harry told her.

She looked down at her dress as if trying to calculate how much more revealing opening another button would be. It surprised her that she was even considering it.

"Come on," Harry urged. "There's no one here but us, and your back's to the door. No one will see you but me."

"What about the bartender, won't he come to check to see if we want more drinks or something?"

"No, I told him I'd come out there and get anything that we wanted. He won't intrude on us unless we call him."

Barbara still hesitated. Finally she said, "You go get the drinks while I think about this."

Harry started to argue, then realized that was the worst thing he could do. He wanted her to enjoy this, not to be forced into something she didn't want to do. He said, "Sure," and retreated to the main room.

Harry chatted with Nick for a few minutes, wanting to give Barbara time enough to decide. After several minutes, Harry figured enough time had passed, so he took the two fresh bottles and returned to the booth. He set the bottles on the table and slipped into his seat. He looked across at Barbara. She didn't say anything.

He let his gaze drop to her neckline, and two buttons were open. He could see her full deep cleavage, the velvet shadow between her breasts and the inner curves of each breast. The edges of the partially-opened dress had fallen back and barely covered her nipples. She let him look for a long moment and then moved first one shoulder and then the other, as if she was a little stiff from sitting too rigidly in one position. Her body moved inside the dress, but the dress itself stayed pretty well in place, and her breasts moved easily and unrestrainedly, revealed even more by her open neckline.

Barbara smiled slightly, looked Harry directly in the eyes, and said, "Let's drink." Harry quickly poured beer into their glasses. He noticed his hands were trembling a little. Apparently Barbara noticed too. "Nervous?"

He grinned and shrugged. They clinked glasses and drank. Barbara emptied her glass in two gulps. Harry hurried to keep up. Soon the bottles and the glasses were empty again. He had never seen her drink so fast or so willingly. Her face was a little flushed, but she didn't seem drunk at all. Harry checked his watch. It was eight -thirty. The bar wouldn't begin to fill up for at least another hour.

"I'll tell you what," said Harry. "There's a pool table in the other room. How about playing a game? There's no one in there but Nick, the owner, and he won't bother us." He knew Barbara liked to play pool but seldom had the chance.

"Like this?" Barbara asked, leaning forward and fingering her neckline in what appeared to be a casual gesture, but pulling the dress away from her body, revealing her left nipple. The nipple was very hard and pointed, dark pink and startling against the blue color of the dress. Harry couldn't tell if her she was exposing it accidentally or deliberately.

"Sure, why not?" Harry answered. He didn't feel he was as much in control of this situation as he had thought he would be, but he decided to try to take things to a higher level of risk anyway. "I'll tell you what. Let's play for some worthwhile stakes. It'll make the game more exciting."

"What have you got in mind?" Barbara asked with a smile that seemed to Harry to contain a bit of a challenge. He thought for a moment. This was completely on the spur of the moment, no part of his plan.

"If you win, I have to do anything you tell me to. If I win, the same in reverse." This was more of a gamble for him than it seemed, because Barbara was a better pool player than Harry. She obviously liked the idea of having the chance to take over the initiative. She knew that under ordinary circumstances, she could beat Harry four games out of five. Barbara regarded him with a critical eye.

"It's a bet. Let's go for it!"