Saturday, December 29, 12:15 PM - Ben Garret and Sam Belli
Ben wanted to be scandalized--- perturbed, even, that Mr. Belli would mention the chastity belts. Nona was a virgin and when she was much younger she'd promised Ben that she'd be one when she got married, too. She was a virtuous young woman who respected her body, the way he'd taught her as she went through puberty and beyond; the boys might chase her but she stayed away from their troublesome desires.
He thought of the way she'd looked in that pink dress, glowing and statuesque, a goddess. Of Jared's hand on her hip, too close to the curves beneath that dress for Ben's comfort. Of Jared's lecherous stare.
He didn't remember walking, but suddenly he was standing in front of the case that Belli had indicated. The cases of weaponry held no interest for Ben, nor did the antique torture devices he recognized from history class. But he immediately realized what he was looking at and his eyes widened slightly.
The chastity belt in question was on a thick leather belt, an ornate perforated silver plate at the apex of its crotch. And beside it was something else, a cage obviously made for male genitalia. Ben gazed at them for a long moment, trying to imagine what Victorians might've worn them; surely it would've been teenagers, lustful and agitated, their parents wringing their hands to try and prevent premarital sin.
Ben had no idea how long he was standing there before he blinked and looked over his shoulder for Belli. The man was not there, and Ben walked back up to the front of the store to find him.
With an embarrassed, self-deprecating little laugh he tried to shake that feeling of interest over the devices he'd seen in the case. "You have quite a collection, Mr. Belli. I half-thought you were kidding about the chastity stuff," he chuckled. "What's something like that pair go for anyway?"