live, learn, love (doll)

the first time this guy came into the store, i wasn't actually there but i got a phone call immediately after he left...

clerk: um so i just need to tell you about my last customer.
me: what's up?
clerk: this guy came in here and he was acting kind of weird. he wouldn't stop talking about the mannequin and how beautiful she was. first he asked if he could buy it and just kept talking about it.
me: huh?
clerk: it gets better. he ended up buying a robe set and went on about how beautiful it was and how he was getting it for his girlfriend. his LOVE DOLL.
me: (lolz) no way! i'm so bummed i wasn't there!
clerk: he said he was going to come back and get all the other colors, too...that's how much he liked it.
me: well was he creepy at all?
clerk: kind of...he kept mumbling to himself and i think there was something wrong with him.
me: is he gone now?
clerk: yeah but he said he's coming back. just wanted to tell you about it.
.............

the very next day i was getting ready to leave and the same girl was there to relieve me when a guy walks in. he was a shorter guy with a crew cut and a moustache. he was wearing an old t-shirt from a local radio station and had it tucked into his dad jeans. he seemed nervous, looking around at everything and walking kind of fast. he was also mumbling something to himself. his voice was nasaly. i could tell by the way the girl's face and neck started to turn beet red that i had better stick around. he made it to the counter before she was able  to explain why she was nervous. just as she was writing something down, his eyes lit up and he said to her, "hey my girlfriend looked really good in that robe! i came back to get something else." i already had it figured out when she slid me the note: LOVE DOLL.

love doll: [to clerk] thanks for all your help last night!
clerk: [uncomfortably] hi
me: [to love doll] oh did she help you out yesterday?
love doll: yeah i bought my girlfriend that purple robe that you have on the mannequin. i came back to show you a picture. *he pulled out his flip-phone and held it up to her* she really likes it.
clerk: .....
me: ooh i wanna see
he showed me his phone and right there in a purple, satin robe, was a blow-up doll...just your everyday, plastic, inflatable, wide-open-mouthed-three-holed sex doll. despite the fact that the other girl was obviously uncomfortable, i couldn't help myself. the girl walked away and i started asking questions...

me: so that's your girlfriend? what's her name?
love doll: lucy.
me: niiiice, why lucy?
love doll: it's what it said on the box.
me: right on. so you were just in here yesterday, what's up?
love doll: well that looked so good on her i wanted to get something to go with it. i want to buy all the other colors but right now i don't have very much money. what do you think she'll like?
me: did you get any fishnets? that'd look good with it.
love doll: that's a good idea. what ones should i get?

i grab a pair of thigh highs and tell him they're a good choice because he won't have to worry about them getting in the way.

love doll: yeah, she'll like these.

i start ringing him up and ask more questions like when he got the doll, all about their past. that's when he told me he was a truck driver. "i wanted to take a girl on the road with me but the company i work for wouldn't let me. insurance. so i bought her and she can go everywhere."

i really didn't know what to say besides, "that's cool. hopefully these work out. hey if you really want that black one (robe) i can put it on hold for you."

we worked out the details of when he'd be coming in again and he left after a few minutes.

and did he come back. like once a week for a few months straight. at first he stuck to lingerie for his "girlfriend." we would always talk for a long time whenever he came in--mostly because i needed to know about this guy--and he always had a new picture of lucy to show me. it became routine. he must have thought so, too because he eventually took it to the next level.

love doll: hey sara i was looking for something for myself today. can you help me?
me: of course. what are you thinking?
love doll: i want something i can use by myself. to masturbate.
i showed him all of the pocket pussies we had but he wasn't going for it.
me: something like this?
love doll: um, uh, actually i want something more like this. [points to a 10" dildo] can i tell you something?
me: sure, what?
love doll: i like to wear women's clothes sometimes and use these things on myself. is that weird?
me: nah, everyone's got their thing.
love doll: yeah because i really like the way skirts feel.

just then i noticed he was staring at my feet.

love doll: i really like those shoes. those are nice.

i look down at my shoes and say thanks. then i looked up, and halfway back to eye contact, i noticed something. a raging boner. thank god his pants were done up, though it looked like they might give at any second. normally, i would have gotten a little pissed and walked away but i was pretty sure he had no idea...since he was kind of "slow." <--- a fact that concerned me when he told me about the truck driving

me: [back to the subject at hand: big fake dicks] yep this is all of them now you just have to decide which one you like. let me know if you need anything else.

i walked away so he could calm down and figure out what he wanted. he bought the 10" and left. he came in the very next day to apologize for saying something about my feet. "you're my friend and i don't want to offend you so i'm going to be a man and say i'm sorry." apology accepted, friendship intact.

a week goes by. i get a phone call. it's him. he wanted to know when i'd be working because he had just bought a new leather skirt that he had on layaway and wanted to show me. of course i told him when to come in--later friday night.

from the back of the store i heard the door chime. i looked up and saw it was him. he seemed nervous. he had on a jean jacket that he was holding closed so tightly, his knuckles were white and he scanned the entire store before saying anything. i started walking toward him and besides the radio, the only sound was the clicking of heels. i was in flats.

love doll: i came to show you something.

he rounded the counter and at the same time opened his jacket to reveal himself (not like that).

there he was, moustache and all, in a black silk blouse, black leather mini skirt, stockings, and heels.

me: DANG, lookin good!
love doll: you think so? i was nervous, this is the first time i've gone out in public like this but i promised you i would.
me: that's awesome! and you don't need to be nervous here, nobody cares.
love doll: yeah i just wanted to show you because you're so nice to me and don't make me feel like this is weird.
me: aw, you don't need to feel like a weirdo or anything. i don't care what you feel like wearing.

we shot the shit until some other customers came in and he left. said he needed to go home and change because he was meeting some friends at a bar and they didn't know about his love for women's clothing. after that night, it was an ongoing thing with him. he'd call to see when i was working, i'd tell him, he'd get dressed up and come see me. at some point he stopped buying things altogether and would just come to hang out for a little while.

love doll: do you know anywhere i can go and meet other people who like to dress up like this?
me: you should look on the internet. you can find message boards and groups to join and i'm sure there are some parties you could find that way, too.
love doll: yeah because i like going out like this now. i don't get nervous anymore but i still don't think i could go meet my friends at the bar this way.
me: think you'll get your ass kicked?
love doll: yeah i don't know what they'd think about it.
me: well just look online like i said and i'm sure you'll find something.

the time i saw him after that, he had lipstick on. still hadn't shaved, though. AND he was going to the bar like that. turns out he took my advice and ended up making friends with a lot of people who shared his interests.


i felt good for helping him out. i figured it better for him to be open and honest with himself then try to hide it and end up snapping one day. we were friends. he even brought me a christmas card. but his visits became less and less frequent as his social life outside of the porn shop blew up. he still called on a pretty regular basis up until april. i haven't seen him since march and sometimes i wonder what he's up to. maybe i'll see him again someday: my white trash, doll-loving, cross-dressing friend.