Author: Jack
Keywords: .
Summary: Jenny and her cousin encounter some minor difficulties with their last-minute Christmas shopping . . .
Everyone who knew her commented on Jenny's boundless energy, her enthusiasm, her seemingly endless supply of optimism and her sunny disposition. But next to her cousin Jackie, Jenny was starting to feel like an aging, disapproving, discouraged old hag. Christmas shopping with Jackie was like trying to keep up with the Energizer Bunny: she just kept going and going . . . .
There weren't very many shopping days left until Christmas. It was a weekend and the mall was packed: families with children who wanted everything in sight, disgruntled-looking seniors who held up everyone else and seemed to take a sort of vicious pride in so doing, younger men who plainly had put off their Christmas shopping too late and now hurried from place to place buying anything that looked vaguely like a gift no matter how inappropriate. It was the men who were really starting to get on Jenny's nerves. After the fifth time the two young blonde women were propositioned (and especially the time the pervert with the strange accent and the kilt asked if they wanted to see his Yule log), Jenny was definitely losing her Christmas spirit.
Hearing 'Jingle Bells' repeated over and over on the mall's sound system didn't help, either.
But cousin Jackie was unfazed by it all. Younger than Jenny and still single, she seemed to look on life as an adventure waiting to happen, Yule logs, crazy Scotsmen, and all. Perhaps if she had suffered through as many 'adventures' as Jenny had, she might not have been quite so carefree. Jenny was getting distinctly worried over the jostling crowds, afraid that she might encounter that special kind of trouble that so often dogged her footsteps at any moment. The mall had already been the scene of several of her unfortunate incidents, and even Ashley had gotten into trouble here a time or two.
The shopping trip was further complicated by their two companions, Wendy and Mark, ages seven and five respectively. The two kids were Jackie's niece and nephew, the children of her older brother and his wife who still lived not far away from the farm Jackie's folks owned in the rural part of the state. The entire family was spending Christmas with Jenny and her husband this year, and Jackie had volunteered to look after the kids so their parents could spend a little time on their own before 'family' became a dirty word. So somehow a simple shopping trip had turned unbelievably complicated, more reason for Jenny to feel nervous. In her experience, when things started to get complicated, clothing had a way of coming off.
Still, they had managed to get through most of the excursion relatively unscathed. Their packages were all stored in a public locker, along with their hats, coats, and boots, and they had just finished a late lunch at the Food Court. Maybe, just maybe, they might wrap up the afternoon without trouble, Jenny told herself.
That was when Wendy spotted the line waiting to see Santa in the center court of the sprawling mall. And of course nothing would do but a chance to go and see the jolly old elf.
Jenny studied the line, then looked at her watch and sighed. It looked like they'd be here a while longer after all. With the two kids in tow, the young blondes joined the line.
Santa's chair was at one end of a "Toyland" display, decorated with trees, giant candy canes, piles of gift-wrapped boxes, Styrofoam snowmen, life-sized toy soldiers and ballerinas, all surrounded by a set of tracks where a kiddy-sized train made periodic circuits carrying yelling, excited children at five dollars a head per ride. The non-paying public was kept out by a low wooden fence, with entrance strictly regulated by a couple of Santa's Helpers in colorful elf garb at a gate, selling tickets for the train ride and trying to keep the line for Santa's lap moving in an orderly way.
As the train puffed by, it caught the attention of young Mark, who wriggled free and ran up to the fence shouting "I wanna ride! I wanna ride!" Before either Jenny or Jackie could stop him, he was clambering over the fence and onto the tracks, still waving and calling out as he tried to catch up with the little train.
Jenny groaned and started after him, leaving Jackie to look after Wendy with a hurried "I'll get him" tossed over her shoulder.
Without really thinking, Jenny ran to the fence and started to climb over, intent on catching the youngster before he got into any trouble. She had dressed in seasonal garb, a red blouse with a long, flowing dark green skirt, and Jenny had to hitch up the skirt in order to climb over the fence. It was only when someone called out "Hey, babe, nice legs!" and another gave her a long wolf whistle that she realized where she was and what she was doing. Blushing furiously, Jenny let go of the skirt.
Unfortunately, she wasn't entirely clear of the fence yet. The dress got tangled on the top of one of the fence posts just as Jenny was stepping down onto the tracks. There was a moment's resistance, just enough to throw her off balance . . . and then came THE SOUND.
RRRRRRIIIIIIIIPPPPPPP!!!!!!
Jenny took a tumble, landing in the middle of a pile of gift-wrapped boxes, her ass sticking high in the air, covered only by her bright pink high-cut panties and earning considerable acclaim from the crowd. It took her a moment to get her bearings, slowly rising to her hands and knees and shaking her head. For a moment Jenny didn't realize what had happened.
But Jackie did. With a squeal Jenny's cousin ran toward her, vaulting the fence. Clad in casual slacks and a sweatshirt, she wasn't as badly hampered as Jenny had been, and she didn't have any trouble clearing the obstacle. She stopped long enough to gather up Jenny's lost skirt in passing, though it tore even further when she tugged it free of the fence.
Jenny, feeling a little unsteady, was on her knees now, facing away from Jackie. She was starting to realize that there was a cool breeze blowing across the tops of her thighs, an all too familiar sensation which suggested that she really didn't want to know what had happened. She was just coming to terms with the whole situation when Jackie reached her.
"Come on, cuz!" the younger woman said in an urgent rush. "Get your skirt back on! I'll help you!"
Jenny started to stand, slowly, with Jackie still moving forward and reaching out to steady her. In her eagerness to help Jackie's feet became tangled up in the trailing end of Jenny's skirt, and this time she was the one who stumbled and started to fall. With a sudden cry of alarm, Jackie's hands clutched at Jenny for support . . . and caught the loose material of her blouse.
Jackie's fall spun Jenny around before she was all the way to her feet, and placed a considerable strain on the red blouse. Buttons burst, flying in every direction as the front pulled apart, revealing Jenny's lacy pink 38CC brassiere. A moment later the seams gave way as well, and most of the blouse just tore away, leaving Jenny with marching red sleeves and some tattered material across her shoulders, while Jackie now clutched the rest of the blouse in her hand like some sort of demented matador waving a red cloth in the bull ring.
Her fall left Jackie sprawled across the train tracks, in much the same state as Jenny had been a few moments before. Jenny, meanwhile, was just starting to realize how much of her was exposed to the crowd, but embarrassment and modesty both fled when the little train appeared around the bend bearing down on the prone Jackie. The part-time elf at the controls was staring goggle-eyed at the blonde in her underwear standing by the track, and seemed oblivious to the other girl's plight, so Jenny knew it was up to her to help her cousin even though her automatic impulse was to run for cover instead.
Bending down, she shook Jackie. "Come on! Get up!" she shouted, but Jackie only groaned.
Jenny grabbed her under each shoulder and hauled her up.
Unfortunately, she hadn't noticed that Jackie's fall had left the collar of her sweatshirt caught under one of the wooden slats that supported the rails. Jenny's first attempt to lift her cousin met with resistance, and she felt a rising surge of panic. Putting all of her strength into it, Jenny heaved again, pulling Jackie clear.
But there were consequences, of course.
First, Jackie's sweatshirt parted company with the young blonde, ripping down one side with a noise that Jenny found no more pleasant coming from someone else than it was when it was her own clothing making it. And Jackie was of a much less up-tight and modest disposition than Jenny; she hadn't bothered to wear a bra for the day's excursion. So the loss of the sweatshirt revealed a great deal of the younger woman's charms all at once.
Not that Jackie's 36C breasts were the sole focus of attention, however. For that same powerful effort that had pulled Jackie clear of the tracks had also proved to be more than Jenny's brassiere could stand. The strain caused the hook in back to pop free and also tore the front clasp loose, so that when Jenny stepped back and straightened up with the topless Jackie leaning against her, the pink bra came apart, the pieces sliding down her arms and exposing her own even more impressive chest for all to see.
There were catcalls and applause from the crowd.
Jenny realized she was standing in full view of the Christmas shopping crowd wearing only her panties, shoes, and stockings, with the remnants of her bra decorating each arm. Her natural modesty asserted itself at last, and she hastened to cover her ample bust with both arms.
Unfortunately Jackie was still a little groggy, and Jenny's sudden movement left her swaying uncertainly on her feet just as the train rushed past. The driver, more wide-eyed than ever, with a smile on his face and an uncomfortable bulge in his trousers, leaned over to get a better look. That was the moment when Jackie lost her balance again and toppled, half in and half out of the train.
Unable to believe his luck, the driver found himself with a beautiful and very topless young girl sprawled across him, her head in his lap but her legs trailing out of the side of his control car. Hastily he sought to pull her all the way in, not realizing that her slacks were caught on a small flange projecting from the side of the train car. They didn't come off as he wrapped his arms around her torso and hauled, but she could feel them ripping in back. Jackie squealed and tried to win free, alarming her would-be helper. Mistaking her panic for pain, he finally engaged his brain long enough to stop the train.
Jackie jumped up and started to run, only to fall a third time as her slacks, hopelessly torn in back, slid down her legs and tangled around her ankles. Her plain white cotton panties weren't quite as much of a crowd-pleasing attraction as her cousin's pair, but they earned a few cheers.
"Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" Jenny started to run toward her cousin as Jackie got back to her feet, stepping out of the ruined slacks.
Now a new problem materialized, in the form of a security guard summoned early on in the proceedings when people had first started jumping the fence, and before the floor show had commenced. Now he shoved his way through the crowd and past the ticket-takers, stalking up the tracks toward the two women who had caused all this disruption and brought him away from the college football game he's been watching down in the guard's lounge before the disturbance had been called in. He was in an angry mood, and even the sight of two women in nothing but panties wasn't enough to restore his ill temper.
Jenny caught sight of him and panicked. She had been in far too many encounters with dour-looking men in uniforms who had decided that their authority, however limited, gave them license to grope or humiliate. So rather than welcoming this minion of the mall's private security force, she decided to make a run for it.
She leapt the fence and ran through the crowd, dodging from side to side with her arms crossed over her chest and her blushing face set in a determined expression. She felt a few hands grasping at her bare flesh, but she kept moving and made it almost all the way through the dense crush without incident. It was only at the very last that she felt a tug at the waistband of her panties.
With a last "Ohmygod" she pulled violently away, the underwear ripping free in the process. But Jenny had become so proficient in dealing with situations like this one that she didn't even break stride as she dropped one hand to shield her blonde bush.
Behind her a slightly unstable Scottish gentleman in a kilt brandished the remains of the pink panties over his head, shouting something incomprehensible about a wee dram of Glenlivet back at his place.
Jackie, meanwhile, faced the angry guard, trying to cover her own breasts and blushing almost as furiously as Jenny. She might have been younger, more adventurous, and less repressed than her cousin, but Jackie wasn't any more enamored of being on display like this in front of so many people. "Oh, no, no no . . ." she muttered.
She would have run herself, in fact, if it hadn't been for her other responsibilities, for at just that moment little Mark came running into view on his short, chubby legs, while Wendy was leaning against the fence nearby pointing and asking what had happened to Aunt Jackie's clothes . . .
On the upper level of the mall, Ashley heard a loud commotion from the center court and pushed her way to the railing to look down and discover what was behind it. For a moment she couldn't really figure out what was going on down there, until she noticed a naked blonde running down one corridor while another blonde wearing nothing but panties was trying to reason with a uniformed security guard and keep two small kids from getting away.
Jenny and Jackie, of course . . . Ashley didn't doubt it for a second. She'd been invited on a shopping trip with Jenny and her cousin, but managed to get out of it. Evidently Jenny had still managed to get in trouble even without the 'help' that Ashley usually provided.
If she knew her Jenny, the blonde would probably take refuge in the first ladies' room she discovered in her flight, and then she'd realize that she didn't have a purse. No car keys, no key to the locker where she'd probably left her coat, nothing.
Ashley thought about that for a few moments, and then an unaccustomed emotion stirred somewhere inside. With a little shrug, she turned and headed for the nearest escalator.
Just this once, she'd help. Really help, no schemes or ulterior motives or traps.
After all, it WAS the Christmas season . . .