The Shy Girl

                        The Shy Girl ©

                             By

                         
                         Michael Casey
 

 

          Helen let herself in the house and shouted hello to her aunt  as
 
she  dashed  up the stairs two at a time .  This was usual for  her  on  a
 
Friday night .  Once in the bathroom she breathed a sigh of relief  ,  her
 
aunt hadn't seen the carrier bags she was carrying . Helen put the plug in
 
the bath and then reaching into the Body Shop carrier she poured a liberal
 
amount  of "enriching body bubble bath" into the bath before  turning  the
 
hot tap on . Next she hit the play button on the cassette and began to get
 
undressed  ,  she got undressed slowly and deliberatly ,  just as she  had
 
read  in  Cosmo in the article on how to turn on your  man  .  She'd  been
 
practicing for three months now , she was very good at it.
 
           Helen  was twenty five and three months old ,  she  wore  baggy
 
clothes  to  hide her figure ,  for she was a shy girl ,  it was  only  on
 
Friday  night when she reformed her ritual "temptress" routine before  she
 
tried  on  her new clothes that she was truely free .  All  alone  in  the
 
bathroom with just a mirror for company Helen could act out her fantasies,

now she stood naked before the mirror ,  she took a bow ,  she really  had
 
mastered the the routine Cosmo had suggested .  If only she wasn't so  shy
 
if  only she didn't hide her bust behind a baggy top and her bum behind  a
 
loose fitting three quarter length skirt .

            Helen took a long hard look at herself in the mirror  ,  she'd
 
look good on any page three ,  only she never bought the Sun , just looked
 
at  it over the shoulder of people on the bus .  She always though  "tart"
 
every time she got a glance of page three ,  but if only she could have  a
 
thimble full of their brazeness , then she wouldn't be so shy , then she'd
 
have  a steady boyfriend .  When she reached 25 she promised herself  that
 
she'd stop being so shy , and for the past three months she'd being buying
 
things  that would show off her figure ,  next week she was going  to  get
 
contacts too , after all men never made a pass at girls who wore glasses.

The  only problem was that for three months she'd bought the nice  if  not
 
exactly  sexy  clothes ,  only all she did was try them on  before  neatly
 
folding them and putting them at the bottom of her wardbrobe .  She really
 
was  a  shy girl ,  some might think a frump ,  just to judge  by  outward
 
appearences , its just that she was shy , shy shy shy.

          Her bath was ready so reaching in her carrier she reached for  a
 
magazine  before  getting in the bath .  This month the main  article  was
 
about sex , relationships and why cann't men just be friends , there was a
 
picture  from the film "When Harry Met Sally" above the article   .  Helen
 
started to read ,  her glasses steaming up already ,  she reached down for
 
her  bar  of Galexy taking a big bite as she read .  Helen's  friends  had
 
started  to  get  married and /or have serious  relationships  ,  she  was
 
beginning to feel left behind  ,  especially as once her friends had a man
 
they had less time for friendship with her .  She read the article  hoping
 
to  find fresh insight into her situation .  It was asking how far  should
 
you go on your first date , second date and so on , there was even a chart
 
so you had an at a glance guide .
 
           Helen thought of her last boyfiend , three months ago in fact ,
 
he  had  assused  that as it was her birthday the thing  she'd  like  most
 
would be him !  He's pressed himself against her , and put his hand on her
 
breast ,  only she'd kneed him in the groin , and his fancy watch with its
 
even  fancier  watch  strap had got stuck on her bra strap  ,  so  as  she
 
stormed  off ,  she had his Cartier watch dangling from her  chest  almost
 
like a nurse's watch . 
 
            She read on pausing for more chocolate ,  if only men were  as
 
nice  as  Galexy that would be something.  She finished the  article  and
 
turned  the page to be met with a picture of agent Fox Mulder from  the  X
 
files . She sighed , she wouldn't be shy with him that was for sure , mind
 
you  millions  of  woman would doubtless say the same  .  She  spent  five
 
minutes  adoring his picture before taking another bite of chocolate , and
 
then sinking lower into the bath ,  yes yes yes ,  oh yes , this chocolate
 
was something else , or was it Fox Mulder ?

           There was another article about pets and stress levels  ,  that
 
was quite interesting ,  apparently you live longer if you have a pet , as
 
you have something to love and it in return loves you unconditionally . if

only she could find a man like that .  Mind you animals did have one major
 
disadvantage  .  they were very wanton ,  very caveman like .  If  a  male
 
animal  liked  a female it just jumped and got on with it  ,  perhaps  she
 
should be wanton  ,  just once , just to see if it worked , could you find
 
true love by being a tart just the once and hoping you'd found the man  of
 
your dreams ? She closed her eyes and shook her head before saying outloud
 
, "a tart is a tart , is a tart " . Then she farted , giggled helplessly

as  the bubbles disappeared .  She thought of her friend Vicky ,  she  was
 
like her ,  very shy and hiding her figure behind frumpy clothes  ,  she'd
 
given herself away , only she'd got pregnant and the lad ran a mile , then
 
her mother threw her out ,  so she ended up running away to London to have
 
an  abortion .  Helen closed her eyes and shivered at the thought of it  ,
 
she  turned the hot tap with her big toe ,  she was determined that  would
 
never  happen to her .  Why she'd even gone on the pill so determined  was
 
she . 
 
           She just wished she'd meet somebody who was gentle and kind who
 
could  make her laugh , and above all was not so fast ,  she wanted to  be
 
courted ,  in fact she wanted to tell him ,  "you can put your hand on  my
 
breast now"  ,  perhaps she was longing for the 50s ,  even though now  it
 
was  nearing the millenium .  She wasn't looking for a man with a book  in
 
his  hand all the time and she wasn't looking for a body builder either  ,  
 
Martin  was  just perfect only the one time he got carried  away  and  had
 
touched  her bum with one hand and felt her breast with his other  hand  ,
 
and without  asking either  .  So naturally she'd kneed him in the groin  ,
 
what  else was she to do ?  In fact the men at work called  her   "frigid"
 
behind her back ,  but she had to have standards didn't she ?  It had been
 
the  first time she'd ever closed her eyes  ,  normally  she'd  keep
 
them  open  so she could keep a lookout for any roving hands  ,  then  the
 
first time she had relented and that had happened .  Perhaps one day she'd
 
love and trust somebody enough to give into her animal insticts ,  but she
 
just wasn't ready now .

           The bath water was getting cold now ,so she got out of the  bath
 
and dried herself in front of the mirror ,  once she was dry she'd try  on
 
her new clothes .  She had bought some red skimpy underwear ,  a red  knee
 
length skirt and a tight fitting blue top ,  as she got dressed she  began
 
to  laugh  ,  if  only people could see her now and  when  she  got  some
 
contacts she'd be really knockout .  Then she sighed , she'd tried lots of
 
bright colours over the past three months , but in her heart of hearts she
 
knew she'd never wear them in public , she just didn't have the confidence
 
besides every time she looked at herself in the mirror the only word  that
 
sprang to mind was "Tart" . But she would at least  wear her contacts , it
 
was at least a start wasn't it ?So slowly and sadly she changed back into
 
her frumpy clothes ,  nobody would ever see her at her best .  Except  the
 
fourteen  year  old lad named Michael who had been  watching  through  the
 
window from the house next door ,  for in her rush Helen had forgotten  to
 
close the curtains .