Changing Room Ruse

Read this first:

This is a revision of a previously posted version of this story. Several of those who left comments said they detested the ending, so I've rewritten that part, as well as a few details along the way that play into the new ending. If any of you come back for a second helping, I hope this one is more to your liking.

Be warned also that this is not a short story. If you're in the mood for a quickie, I recommend you look elsewhere. If, however, you have found—as I have—that "getting there is half the fun," then this one just might be for you. I've done my best to make it worth your time.

Hope you enjoy!

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My college roommate this semester is a jock, on a full-ride scholarship to play basketball. He isn't all that tall, as you would normally expect a basketball player to be, but he is a good ball handler and a hot-handed shooter. He confided that he has weak ankles, though, so he always has them wrapped whenever he is playing, and even sometimes when he's not. He doesn't want to risk a sprain.

As a result of this constant ankle wrapping, he has that stretchy tan ankle wrap all over the room (his side of the room anyway). You can't accuse him of being fastidious in his housekeeping, that's for sure. Quite the opposite. When he takes the wrap off, he just wads it up and throws it. Most ends up in the bottom of his closet or under his bed, whichever happens to be the closer target at the time. Once in a while—usually when he can't stand the pungent pile of sweaty elastic anymore, or I not-so-tactfully remind him of his neglect—he'll gather it all up and throw it in the washer. This starts the throw-it-in-the-closet cycle over again.

I was in our room after class a couple of weeks ago, flopped idly on the bed thinking about ... well, thinking about what every guy my age thinks about frequently: sex. [They say we eventually grow out of that preoccupation in, say, 50 or 60 years. In the meantime, though, a significant portion of my brain's bandwidth is dedicated to it.] My roomie was at practice, I presume. His closet door was open—its usual state—and my eye fell on the growing mound of ankle wrap.

Something I read on a web site a few years ago popped into my mind at that moment, courtesy of the pile (with an assist from my current brain activity). Some guy wrapped up both of his hands, feigning an injury, then visited clothing stores, trying to get cute young female store employees to help him try on pants in the changing room. He asked for their assistance due to his "injury," which prevented him from changing without help. What made it more daring is that he did this sans underwear. Supposedly he had success in getting at least some sympathetic girls to help him, even though he was buck naked from the waist down when they did.

This memory led to my next thought: I could put some of this excess ankle wrap to good use and try this stunt myself. If I played it right, it just might work. Besides, what could it hurt? The worst that could happen is that she (the cute young store associate I could picture in my mind) would simply shake her head and say she couldn't help. No doubt she would at least be polite, if I was. I decided to go for it.

It isn't that I am desperate, necessarily. I have entertained two different girls in my bed this semester—one for an entire weekend when my roommate returned home for some kind of family reunion—and both of them have since hinted they would be happy to provide me with the same type of company again. Maybe I just wanted to try something new and, yes, a bit over the top, right then. This idea qualified. At the very least it would make a good "you know what I did once?" story that I could tell someday.

Preparation always pays, but there is also something to be said for dumb luck. Some circumstances worked in my favor when I arrived at the mall an hour or so later—dressed in a pair of sweatpants, a sleeveless sweatshirt, slip-on sneakers, and nothing else (except for my wrapped-up hands).

It turned out to be a memorable evening.

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The first unplanned circumstance was courtesy of Mother Nature. I suppose the weather watchers knew about it, but I didn't. On my ten-minute drive to the mall it started to snow. That a storm front had arrived quickly became apparent, and it arrived with gusto ... at least for our area of the country. A little snow wouldn't mean much except that this university is in the south where the white stuff is an oddity. This unusual event convinced a lot of would-be shoppers to stay home instead. I'm from upstate New York, so driving in snow seemed normal to me; for that matter, the mall has covered parking, so I wouldn't be affected except for the short drive there and back. It didn't threaten to close the mall down or anything, but it certainly thinned down the crowds.

When I entered the mall I felt a little conspicuous at first. Then I realized most people didn't notice the clubs at the end of my arms, or if they did, it was just a passing glance. I had both hands wrapped from well below my wrist up to just below the first knuckle on my fingers. Only my fingertips stuck out the top and part of my thumb stuck out to the side. In between were multiple layers of the ankle-turned-hand wrap that definitely appeared to be hiding some painful injury. In actuality, though I couldn't touch my index finger to my thumb anymore, the wrap had enough give that I still had a bit of dexterity if I needed it—I could wiggle my fingers and flex my wrist a bit. But if I held my hand rigid on purpose, no one would be able to tell it wasn't the wrap causing that rigidity.

I was soon casing a few smaller stores of the "trendy fashion" variety that I thought might be staffed by the type of girls I was looking for—young, sexy, and eager to please. I browsed through a couple of them, pretending to be looking at the clothes, but they of course weren't the merchandise I was interested in.

At the third store is where the second unforeseen, but fortuitous, circumstance occurred. It took only a few moments to unfold, but describing it takes considerably longer.

I was crouched down by a display of men's dress pants, ostensibly looking for a pair in my size on the lower shelf, but actually appraising a cute, red-haired store associate at the checkout counter not far from me, thinking she might be a worthwhile target for my plans. Suddenly I heard a shriek of surprise just over my shoulder, followed immediately by the impact of something that registered in my peripheral vision as a dark shape with bare legs. Instinctively I tried to catch myself after being knocked off balance, but not having full use of my hands like I usually did, I fell over on my side in a graceless sprawl. From my new vantage point on the floor I realized the bare legs belonged to someone in a short black dress. About the same time I became aware of something warm and wet on my arm, but that part didn't sink too deeply into my consciousness yet.

Above the legs [nice ones, by the way ... I'm a guy, and I notice things like that] and the black dress was a blonde head belonging to another store associate—I knew that because she wore a name tag—who was wide-eyed and clutching a Starbucks cup in one hand. Her other hand was over her mouth in a classic "OMG!" gesture. Before I could react further, her gesture became words.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?!" she blurted. "I am SO sorry! I didn't see you there! Oh, I can't believe I just did that!"

"Uh ..." I responded, in words showing true inspiration. I tried to sit up and succeeded.

"You're not hurt are you?!" she said, dropping the hand that had been over her mouth, and quickly bending down to place it on my upper arm in an expression of feminine concern. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry! Oh, I'm a klutz! I'm just so sorr—"

I held up one of my hands to politely silence her, and responded with a smile. "Ah, no, I'm fine. No harm done. Don't worry." I started to get to my feet. When I looked down at myself, it registered now that the warm wet sensation I felt a few moments earlier was caused by the contents of her Starbucks cup, some (most?) of which had just been deposited on my arm and my sweatshirt. I continued getting to my feet, using the pants display to steady myself.

She left her hand on my upper arm as she continued her nervous, apologetic, and rapid-fire chatter. Even though she didn't know me or how I would react yet, she kept her hand where it was because that was her nature. She was a toucher. A perfect quality for my mission.

[I wanted to write here that she was "a sexy babe, right out of the pages of the Victoria's Secret catalog." I read that in another Literotica story, I think. But no, she was more ... more "wholesome" than that. Wholesome. Yes, that was it. She didn't have the sultry, sensual look of a runway model, but was very pretty in a way that would make most guys look twice.]

"I just came around the corner and you were there and I didn't see you and, like, I couldn't catch myself in time and ... oh, now, look at you. You're all wet! It isn't too hot, is it?! Oh, I'm so, so sorry! I feel so bad about—"

I interrupted her again and gave her a smile to assure her I wasn't angry. "Hey, it's okay. As I said, no harm done. Your drink wasn't that hot, and I'm washable, and my sweatshirt is too!"

"But your hands are all wrapped up! Did the fall hurt them? I mean, I feel terrible causing you more pain when you're already hurt!" She slid her hand down my arm as she talked, leaving it just below my elbow while she looked more carefully at my hands.

This actually gave me a subtle opening, and I decided to take it. I lifted my hands to about chest height, holding them as rigid as I could while looking down at them and turning them over as if to inspect any damage. I tried to portray just a little hint of pain in my voice, as if they were actually hurting me but I was being a man about it. "Oh, they are still pretty tender, which is why they are wrapped like they are, but seriously, I'm okay. You're okay, too, right?" I took a small step backward and looked her up and down [to make sure she hadn't sustained any injury from our encounter. Of course that's why I did it].

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I'm not the one who ended up on the floor!" she said. "Again, I am just so sorry about this!" Concern was still written all over her face. It seemed a sincere reaction, not artificial. I almost felt remorse about my own calculated and self-serving response. Almost.

I gave a shrug as if to express my nonchalance about the event, and dropped my hands back down to my sides. Truthfully, I was elated. This blonde in the short black dress looked pretty much like I'd hoped for when I was in my dorm room earlier, contemplating this charade. If she felt a little guilty about stumbling over me and dousing me with her coffee, so much the better.

I decided to lighten the situation with humor. "Well ...," I said in a cheerful voice, as I made a show of leaning over a little to look at her name tag, "Jennifer ... fancy running into you here!"

She giggled, and we both paused and looked down more carefully at the coffee spill. The redhead from the checkout counter arrived right then, obviously attracted by the commotion, and asked, "Is everything okay over here?" She followed our downward gaze, saw the spill—mostly on the floor, but some on me—and quickly grasped what had happened. "Come with me, Jenny. I have some paper towels." Then she addressed me in the same business-like but friendly tone. "Stay here. We'll be right back."

As the two of them hurried off away from me, it gave me the opportunity to observe their shapely forms without employing stealth. Yes, they were both fine specimens of youthful womanhood. Both were easy on the eyes and more than acceptable. But the blonde had just written her own invitation to join me in my dressing room. Hopefully I could convince her to accept that invitation.

-----

I contemplated my tactics as I watched them, now focusing my vision on my primary quarry. Those long legs were definitely beautiful. [How I'd love to have them wrapped around my waist while she writhed and moaned and ... but I forced that fantasy out of my mind. It would serve me better to be realistic in my expectations for tonight.] She wore high platform heels, and her dress stopped at about mid-thigh—not so short as to be inappropriate for someone in her present role, but definitely provocative to a testosterone-laden college student like me. She wore a thin pink belt around her waist, which from my vantage point helped accentuate that shape that guys find so enticing. Maybe my evaluation at the time was influenced by adrenalin, but ... wow.

Jennifer was back shortly with a roll of paper towels. She tore a couple pieces from the roll and offered them to me. "Here, you wipe off your arm while I ... oh, wait ... you can't do that, can you? Duh!" she chuckled at herself for forgetting my "condition" so soon. "Here, let me get it." She wiped my wet arm off thoroughly, then dabbed at the wet spots on my sweatshirt. "I still can't believe I did this! Again, I'm just so sorry!"

"Well, as I see it," I responded, "I owe you a latte, or whatever it was! I think maybe my shirt and I got more of it than you did!"

She giggled. "Oh, you're so sweet!" She looked me in the eye and took a deep breath, then seemed to relax as she exhaled. She gave me a warm smile as she continued. "I just can't tell how relieved I am that you're such a nice guy, and that you're not angry. You wouldn't believe the minor things that some customers here get upset about. This was a big thing and you're being so kind about it."

"Oh, now, forget about it. You're being very sweet yourself," I said, returning her smile.

"Well, if there is anything I can, like, help you find or anything, just let me know," she said cheerfully. "Right now, I have to clean up the aftermath of our impromptu meeting, but I'd be happy to help with anything."

"Good to know," I responded with a smile. I meant that. "I wouldn't be out here tonight with these ...," I held up my wrapped hands, "... except that I have to attend a wedding this weekend, and I don't have a decent pair of dress pants to my name. I, uh, you know, put this off as long as I could and now ...." I shrugged and let my voice trail off.

"Oh, believe me, I understand!" she giggled. I was still within reach, so she touched me on my arm again as she spoke. "You're talking to a member of the procrastinator's club here." She turned away slightly, pulling some more paper towels off the roll. "The dressy stuff for men is right here in this section, but I guess you know that, since you were here already!"

"Yeah, thanks," I said. "I'll browse a bit and see if something catches my eye." Other than what already had, of course.

Now I actually did look for pants. I chose dress pants for a reason. Often they have buttons inside the fly or hooks at the waistband that would naturally be very difficult for someone without good dexterity to fasten and unfasten. I would definitely need some help with those.

Some styles had the waist and inseam size printed on an adhesive strip on the pant leg. I carefully peeled off and swapped the strips on two pairs to suit my purposes. (This was a bit tricky with my hands like they were, but where there's a will, there's a way.) I then quickly picked up a pair of those and two other pairs in other styles and colors, and made my way toward the front of the store to the changing rooms. Looking out the front I could see a few people passing by in the main part of the mall, but I think I was the only customer in this store at the moment. Perfect.

Sure enough, when I got there, two store employees were standing with a bored look behind the counter, and a third was leaning against the front of it. I recognized the redhead and my blonde Jennifer; the third looked to be a few years older and had dark hair.

Jennifer brightened and greeted me with a smile. She asked the standard question, "Did you find what you were looking for?," but she didn't say it with the mechanical quality that often results from repeating the same question by rote dozens of times every day. She seemed to actually be interested.

I politely returned her smile. "Well," I said, "I'm not sure yet, but I'm going to try these on to find out." I lifted the short stack of my selections so she could see.

"Great!" she responded. Then a look of concern clouded her face, and she added, "Are you sure you're going to be able to manage okay without help?"

It was comical to watch what happened next. Both of the other girls, who had been looking upon this brief exchange between Jennifer and I only because there was nothing better to do, snapped their heads toward her and gave her a look as if to say, "Why in the world would you ask him a question like that?" I saw the redhead's eyes widen.

Jennifer noticed their reaction also, apparently realizing how that must have sounded in the absence of other information. "Well, umm ... see, he has ... I mean ... he hurt both his hands and can't use them very well."

I bailed her out, pulling one of my clubbed hands from underneath what I was carrying, and held it up so her co-workers could also witness my dreadful plight. With a tone I hoped sounded a little pessimistic, I answered her original question. "Yeah, I think so ... I hope so ... not much choice, really, 'cause I have to get this done tonight, so ...." I didn't finish the rest of the sentence, but simply shrugged and turned toward the changing rooms, just another 15 feet or so from where they were standing.

The changing room was brightly lit, and equipped with big mirrors on the back wall and one side wall. There was a bench mounted to the wall at one end.

I dropped my pants collection onto the bench and contemplated how long I should wait before trying to lure my babe, Jennifer, in with me. I planned to apply more finesse than simply stripping naked and then asking her to join me. But it made sense to get part way there.

My sweatshirt still had big wet spots, now cool on my skin, so I could easily justify removing it. Removing my shoes was obvious as well. That left me in just my sweatpants, so I was in the state I wanted to be to start with.

This was my chance to chicken out. I was a little nervous, and did think about doing that (chickening out, that is). But a second chance to replicate the same circumstances seemed highly unlikely. I took a deep, calming breath, and decided that now was the time.

I could hear the girls chatting at the counter, though I couldn't make out what they were saying. I opened the door and stuck my head out. Jennifer was talking to the dark-haired girl. I could see the redhead beyond them, walking toward the back of the store.

"Uh, Jennifer ... um, could I ask you a big favor?"

She stopped talking and turned my direction, flashing me her ready smile. "Sure!" she said. When she realized I wasn't coming out, she started walking toward me.

I met her by the partially opened door, letting her see that I was shirtless, but still had my pants on. I lifted the stack of pants toward her. "I'm sorry to have to ask, but could you please unzip the zippers and unhook the fasteners on these? I tried one and just can't seem to get it. I think (and I did emphasize that word) if you do that then I'll be able to handle the rest."

She didn't hesitate at this simple request, which I knew she wouldn't. It was meant to pave the way toward less simple requests. "Of course!" she said. "No problem at all! Here, let me take care of that for you."

It took her less than a minute to bring them back to me. I loved the easy smile she wore around me, at least after she realized I didn't hold her earlier clumsiness against her. "There you go! One of the three was already undone, but that should make it easier for you. Let me know if there is anything else I can do." I took that last offer as a good sign.