Peach Snaps

by Sally Stephanie

  

In part one …

"There, you are the perfect alpine serving wench Maria! No-one could say you're a victim of 'discriminatory fashion' now!"

As the wording of his original complaint echoed in his ears he looked at himself in the mirror. Only last week he had spent part of the night in the bar antagonising girls who had worn the same uniform that he now found himself wearing.

He wondered how on earth he was expected to get away working like this? And what if some drunken guys tried to 'hit' on him?

Patricia Crawford allowed herself a satisfied smile. She was going to enjoy this.

 

Now, things get tougher in part 2…

He could not possibly be seen in public like this, he did not even think it was legal to have such a humiliation heaped upon him. His thoughts were broken when he heard the click-clack of someone else entering the staff room. When he turned around he saw one of the other staff members approaching.

She wore a black version of his outfit, with a white braiding on the bodice, and large pink hearts on the lace-frilled skirt. White hold up stockings and silver heels completed her look.

Two red ribbons kept her blonde hair in cute pigtails and her makeup was much heavier than his. She looked at him and smiled, then she turned to Patricia and asked,

"So this is Maria then?"

Patricia nodded then looked at Mark before making the introductions,

"Yes, Heidi, this is Maria. Heidi will be your mentor this week, so pay very close attention to what she tells you"

He was now embarrassed beyond his wildest nightmare. There was no way this girl was called Heidi and the entire scenario was just ridiculous. And it was time he said so,

"Okay, I get the joke! I know you're still annoyed about me taking you to the equal opportunities, but you can't seriously expect me to work in this outfit?"

The expressions of both the women told him it was no joke. They were deadly serious, as Patricia promptly pointed out,

"You signed your contract of employment didn't you? That contract has your agreement to wear the company uniform at all times when you are working - and you also agreed to buy the clothes too – so if you want to quit go ahead, but you'll owe me over a thousand pounds before you go!"

Mark Andrews could not see how on earth she had arrived at such a figure? He was still hoping this was just her way at getting back at him.

"That's a ridiculous amount!" he protested.

Patricia shook her head then opened up his locker to reveal another two complete uniforms hanging inside. There were also two additional pairs of high heels, a pair of lace up ankle boots, a pair of white patent knee high platform boots with pink lacing, and a bundle of underwear.

"You really are slow! You have two extra uniforms which you will wear on special occasions, not to mention that wig you're wearing which, incidentally, cost over two hundred pounds on it's own"

He looked at the other outfits, they were the same style as the one he had on but one was pink with a white lace-up bodice, and the other was black PVC.

Patricia waited until he had digested the contents of the locker then smiled,

"I think you'll look great in the rubber one, what do you think Heidi?"

Heidi nodded and replied,

"We wear that one with the ankle boots whenever there is a stag party in the bar, easier to wipe away any spills that we always get when those nights are on. The pink and white number we keep for the Hen parties, it's a girly thing you know"

Patricia interrupted then gloatingly remarked,

"Incidentally we have a Stag night this coming Saturday so you might want to try on the uniform beforehand, just to get an idea of how tight it is going to be!"

This did nothing to make him feel any better and he was desperate to get the clothing off.

"Listen, you cannot seriously expect me to serve customers in your bar dressed like this?"

Patricia almost laughed then said quite forcefully,

"Of course you're not going to serve my customers looking like a man in drag! You'll spend your first week pouring the drinks from behind the bar. And, Heidi here will make sure you come up to scratch by the end of the week".

Heidi nodded in agreement then took Mark by the hand and led him over to a mirror on the far wall. She made him look at his reflection before telling him,

"I'll soon get you looking the perfect little Tyrol princess, it's amazing what you can do with makeup these days!"

As he stood listening with growing horror, Heidi put a hand on his bodice then made a mock attempt to plump up his 'breasts',

"I'm not sure makeup is going to help with these though?"

Patricia Crawford looked at her wristwatch then reminded Heidi that it would soon be opening time.

"Make sure that Maria knows exactly where everything is and introduce her to the rest of the girls. And Maria, I know you'll understand what I mean when I tell you it's in your best interests to make yourself look as convincing as possible"

She watched him wilt under the force of her words then finished with a polite,

"Boys can be so unforgiving when they find out they've been cheated on"

With her instructions issued Patricia headed back to her office feeling more than happy that her new member of staff was in the capable hands of her best supervisor.

Mark Andrews turned round from the mirror and asked when he would get his own clothes back? Patricia ignored his question, leaving Heidi to answer it for her.

Heidi told Mark he would only take off his uniform at the end of his shift and it was better not to attempt to intimidate Patricia, she had the only key and she might well leave him dressed up for his journey home.

"Come on Maria! lets go to work!"

She gave him little choice but to do as she asked and he allowed her to take him by the hand and into the main bar area.

As a previous customer in the place he already knew the basic layout, but he was taken aback by the size of the bar from the employee point of view. There appeared to be endless pumps offering the continental beers that made the place so popular.

Heidi watched with delight as he began to take in the enormity of the task ahead.

"Don't worry Maria, you'll soon pick it up!"

Mark Andrews was not convinced by the tone of her voice. He felt intimidated that he was going to be responsible for making sure the beer kept flowing. What would happen if his over-indulgent mates discovered the 'girl' behind the bar was in fact him?

Heidi started to describe the various beers that each pump contained and made sure he knew exactly what bottles were also stocked in the fridges behind the bar.

For his part, Mark appeared to do his best to keep up with the introduction. After all, it was in his best interests to be as efficient as possible.

Ten minutes later, while Heidi was explaining the finer points of beer barrel pressure to him, the evening crew arrived to begin their shift. Heidi assembled her team together and brought Mark to the front. They looked at him with a mixture of mirth and surprise – they had never had a man working the bar before.

Heidi made sure they all knew where they stood with the new arrival,

"Girls, this is Maria, she's starting behind the bar tonight so any help you can offer her will, I'm sure, be most appreciated. She is especially nervous given her circumstances".

Mark hated the way Heidi emphasised the words 'she' and 'her'. Some of the girls giggled at the prospect, others thought to themselves it was a great idea to turn the tables on the opposite sex.

Heidi waited until the chatter abated then spoke,

"When you give her an order for drinks please try and write it clearly for once"

Heidi told the girls to introduce themselves to Maria then get ready for opening time. Each girl smiled as they exchanged introductions with him. They did not appear too concerned about him being dressed as a girl, in fact they seemed more worried that he might fall behind pouring the drinks and cost them valuable tips!

As Heidi was the team leader the task fell to her to issue the motivational team talk. She wanted maximum effort and no trouble, and that was from either side of the bar.

Mark asked if he could take off the heels? His argument, that he would be out of site from the customers, fell on deaf ears.

"You will remain in full uniform at all times when on duty Maria! Please remember that and never let me find you improperly dressed! Understood? "

Resigned to his fate he nodded then went behind the bar as one of the girls opened up the front door.

Even though it was usually quiet early on a Wednesday evening, the bar started to fill with customers – mostly male, and mostly young. He knew this was going to be a long night.

Before he had time to draw breath the first order arrived and he started to fill glasses with the requested ale. When it was complete he passed the tray to the dark haired girl named Paula. She took the tray without as much of a 'thank you' and he hoped it was nothing personal.

The orders came thick and fast in the first half hour and he had no time to worry about the possibility that any of his friends might be in the bar. He was too busy trying to get trays of drinks ready for the serving girls.

Mark Andrews felt sure the serving girls were telling the customers that there was a guy in drag behind the bar. He noticed how they whispered then appeared to point in his direction.

Heidi came round the bar and helped him complete one very large order. When they handed the tray to one of the girls it was Heidi who spoke first,

"Maria, what on earth is that stain on your skirt?"

He looked down and noticed a damp patch right down the middle of the skirt. He knew it must have been spillage from some of the glasses of beer he had poured but he could appreciate that it did look somewhat incriminating,

"It's beer Heidi, the glasses overflow sometimes when the pressure is so high"

She did not look too pleased at his response – either way he'd cost the bar money in wasted beer or he had started to enjoy wearing a skirt too much?

"Well, whatever it is you'd better make sure it doesn't happen again. That uniform will need to go to the dry cleaners first thing in the morning – and you'd better get it done express"

In between trying to pour further orders he tried to reason with Heidi,

"Whom do I give the uniform to?"

"To? the dry cleaner of course!"

"No, I meant who takes it to the dry cleaners?"

Heidi almost burst out laughing then politely told him

"You do of course! It is your uniform after all"

Mark Andrews half expected such a statement but it was still a shock to the system,

"And what do I say when I walk into a shop with a dress?"

Heidi finished a drinks order, handed it to one of the girls, then told him,

"Please can I have my uniform cleaned express service – I find that usually works. Now get back to work and no more back chat. We will talk about this after the shift"

She left him alone at the bar and went back upstairs. He hoped she was not on her way to tell Patricia.

 

For the rest of the night he did his best to keep up with the demand. One of his fellow team members reminded him it was only a quiet Wednesday night, and he'd better sharpen up before Friday.

And then there was the Stag party at the weekend. Not only was it big tips night, they were always the most boisterous,

"You wait until it's you're backside getting slapped because the drinks are late!"

She was not impressed and her tone of voice made that clear. When he finally managed to complete her table order, she all but swiped the tray off him. If he'd remembered this was the same girl he had 'slapped' on the backside last week – but he wasn't paying attention to her face then.

Mark Andrews wiped more beer from his skirt and decided that, working in a bar should have been relatively easy for any man, but was he a man? Men did not wear high heels and white hold up stockings, or bright green bodice ripping dresses.

By chance rather than good fortune he managed to get through the shift and was relieved when Heidi came downstairs and locked the front door. He had not particularly ingratiated himself with the girls working the tables and none of them were particularly talkative towards him.

She told him to help clear the bar then report back to Patricia in the main office. It could only spell trouble. He cleared away the remaining glasses and tried his best not to imagine the worst.

Patricia Crawford sat back in her executive chair and listened as Heidi debriefed her on the first night efforts of Mark Andrews. When her second in command had finished, Patricia digested the report carefully then spoke

"Not very encouraging is it?"

"And then there is the dry cleaning problem too"

Patricia stood up and ran her highly manicured fingers through her hair. She went over towards the door and, before opening it, told Heidi

"Oh, that's not a problem. Let's get him in"

Mark Andrews was asked to enter the office. He looked both exhausted and unkempt; the beer stains on his uniform no longer restricted to the skirt.

Patricia walked around him and inspected the state of the outfit, lifting the skirt to get a better look at the mark. She shook her head then sat back down before speaking

"Not the most convincing start to your employment is it?"

He shook his head and entered his defence,

"No, but I did say you shouldn't have put me out there dressed like this"

She held up the contract, making sure he could see it. Then reminded him,

"I'll decide what happens in here. And you're the one who agreed to it! I have your signature on this contract".

She handed him the contract and he looked at her,

"I didn't know what I was signing! If I'd-"

Before he could finish she interrupted,

"Then you really are a silly girl aren't you? In business you learn never commit to anything unless you know exactly what you're getting in to. You should remember that in future".

For the first time he started to read the terms and conditions properly. His heart sunk at some of the 'obligations of contract', which included,

1.All employees agree to the adoption of a suitable female name in keeping with the theme of the bar in which employed. Throughout employment they will be addressed only in the name they have chosen/been allocated. This will not conflict with salary information, where the real name will apply in all cases.

2.Employess will be issued with appropriate uniforms – the cost of purchase shall be born by the employer UNLESS any probationer decides to quite within the first month of commencement of employment. In such cases the full cost of clothing shall be deducted from any final salary due.

3. Employees have a responsibility to ensure they comply fully with the working dress code at all times when on duty. Failure to maintain minimum standards will result in non-payment for that entire shift period.

4. Employees, especially those working in front of house, will be required to wear appropriate makeup at all times whilst on shift. Breaks will only be permitted to enable staff to freshen up their makeup.

5.Employees are forbidden to court customers with the view to forming a relationship.

6.Where the situation arises, the employer may request staff members to issue 'flyers' to the general public. As this extra work is usually carried out during the early afternoon, overtime will be paid at the appropriate rate.

He did not want to read any more. The first half dozen 'agreements' were bad enough.

Patricia took the contract back and glanced at Heidi,

"Do you think our Maria has got the message now?"

Heidi nodded.

"I think so"

Patricia put the contract back in to the filing cabinet then asked Heidi,

"Now, this dry cleaning nonsense – what do you propose we should do?"

Mark Andrews looked at Heidi and hoped she would be a little more merciful that Patricia had been.

Heidi walked over to him and took a minute or so to assess the situation. Then she beamed and said,

"He can't go in his other uniforms – I might have something he could borrow, I always keep an extra set of things in my locker in case of emergencies. Not uniforms but my own stuff, a skirt and things"

Patricia looked over to Mark and asked him,

"That's a most generous offer, don't you agree?"

He nodded.

Patricia was not satisfied and insisted he thank Heidi for making such a helpful gesture to solve his problem.

"Thank you Heidi, I'm very grateful".

Patricia was now very pleased indeed. She took the locker key from her jacket pocket and held it up for him to see. She asked Heidi if it was okay for him to take her clothes back home with him?

Heidi said it would be much better if Maria changed in to her clothes before she left tonight.

"Otherwise she won't have any of her own clothes to change back into after tomorrow nights shift".

This was a splendid idea and Patricia then warned him that a repeat of such a poor performance would see a deduction from wages. She said it was okay for someone to make mistakes but she was running a business and could not afford to carry passengers,

"Heidi is going to have to spend more time watching you rather than getting on with more important things. You need to shape up quickly, and that includes your appearance. Now it's rather late and I want to get finished here"

 

The meeting over he was escorted back downstairs to the locker room by Heidi. The other girls had already changed back in to their own clothes. They said their goodnights just as they reached Heidi's locker.

She opened the door and took out her spare clothes, which she then handed to him. He took possession of a candy pink sweatshirt, a knee length denim skirt, and a pair of pink and white training shoes. At least they were not high heels. She even provided him with a small handbag and a pair of very thick tan coloured tights.

"Every girl needs a bag Maria, we don't shove things into pockets like men do"

Heidi then began to change out of her uniform and suggested he did the same

"Remember you're to leave your things here and put my stuff on. Don't forget your tights, girls with hairy legs don't wear skirts."

The prospect of going home dressed as a girl did not particularly appeal to him but there was little point in arguing so late in the evening.

He went to his own locker and unlaced the bodice and stepped out of the uniform. After folding it up he put it in the bottom of the locker. The knee-high stockings and the high heels followed it.

As he started to remove the bra and knickers it was Heidi who shouted across the room,

"Keep your underwear on Maria! you'll need to fill out that sweat top as much as possible"

As he changed in to the clothes he did not feel at all comfortable. It was probably a blessing in disguise that he would get back to his apartment in the early hours of the morning to avoid any of his neighbours catching a glimpse of him.

After tying the pink laces on the trainers he stood up and pulled the hem of the denim skirt down just a little further. It made no difference to its length but he wanted to give it a go anyway.

Heidi handed him a small carrier bag,

"Here, put your uniform I this. There is a dry cleaners just round from here, I'd take it there, they open at nine".

Mark thanked her for her help and then put the outfit in the bag. As he shut the locker Heidi told him to sit down and she would fix his hair. With a brush and plenty of spray she combed his loose red locks into something approaching a female style. Next she tied a pale pink and grey silk headscarf over the hair, finishing by tying under the chin

She handed him a red denim jacket to keep out the chill. Although it was a touch small he managed to get it on without much difficulty.

He did not like wearing the scarf, it reminded him of the way his grandmother had worn hers way back in the nineteen fifties, but at least it disguised the fact that his red hair was cut in a male style. When Heidi finished adjusting the scarf she smiled and told him

"Oh Maria, that scarf is definitely you! very 'Audrey Hepburn' now! And, if you take it off carefully when you get home, you can wear it tomorrow when you visit the dry cleaners"

Heidi started to freshen up her lipstick. As she lined her lips wit the cosmetic she caught a glimpse of him standing watching her. He looked both curious and anxious so she held the lipstick up and said,

"Come here, you'll look slightly more convincing with a touch of makeup."

He did not want any more makeup on his face but she insisted that he stand quite still as she transformed his lips with a dark red colour, and lined his lashes with some black mascara.

"There, at least you might convince the taxi driver if he keeps his cab lights off"

When he looked at his reflection in the mirror he was taken aback. The pink sweat top and denim skirt were girly enough, but with the scarf covering his own hair and the red matte lipstick on his lips he felt he had to agree with Heidi.

She then went into her makeup bag and produced a spare lipstick which she handed to him and said,

"Here, you should take this and make sure you wear some tomorrow morning. Now, lets call a cab"

It had not been his intention to take a taxi home. He had no money for a start and his flat was only ten minutes away from the club. He said he did not want a taxi.

Heidi gathered up her bag and smiled,

"Fine, you're going to walk home then? It's not that safe for a girl at night these days"

"But I'm not a girl, I keep telling you all that!"

Heidi nodded and let out a small giggle,

"So your not a girl – look at what you're wearing and tell me how many boys wear short denim skirts and pink tops?"

Of course she was right and he told her that he had no money for a taxi. She said he could share her taxi but told him in future to bring some money and take a taxi.

With everything now locked up and only Patricia working upstairs they waited at the front door for the taxi to arrive.

Mark Andrews found the night chill even more obvious as it hit his bare legs and caused the skirt to flutter slightly in the breeze.

Heidi allowed herself a grin at his predicament. If only he had known just how tough Patricia Crawford was he probably would never have pursued his application for employment.

When they settled in to the back of the taxi Heidi told him to do his best not to upset Patricia tomorrow night. As the taxi pulled up outside his flat whispered in his ear

"Come in at four tomorrow and I'll do your makeup for you. We'll have you looking good if nothing else"

It was an offer he knew he could not refuse.

On Thursday morning he woke a little after seven thirty. He felt tired and his legs ached after standing in heels last night.

Slowly he sat up in bed and looked down to see he was still wearing the white padded bra that Patricia Crawford had fastened round his chest. He had little ideas how to wear one so had decided to keep the garment on all night. The straps irritated his skin and the under wire inside the cups cut under his 'breasts'.

He looked over at the door and saw the carrier bag with the stained uniform inside. Then he remembered that he had to get out before his neighbours were up and about. He jumped out of bed wearing only his white female underwear.

The skirt and top Heidi had leant him lay over a chair and the scarf was carefully placed over the chair back. It was still tied in the knot that Heidi had made and he hoped he could get it back on without it coming loose.

After a very quick wash he returned to his bedroom and put on the skirt and top as quickly as he could. The tights were a new mystery to him and he struggled with them for quite a while. Next he laced up the trainers then sat himself down to replace the scarf as best he could.

When he'd managed to place the scarf over his head, he stood up and went through to the bathroom to check in the mirror. His face was framed within the brightly coloured silk scarf. Then he remembered the lipstick.

Putting on the pink lip colour was not easy and he had to wipe it all off at least twice. After the third attempt he once again saw the girly face staring back at him from the mirror.

Back in his front room he took his last ten pounds from a drawer, picked up the carrier bag, placed the handbag over his shoulder, and unlocked his front door.

Then he froze. He looked down at his dress and panicked. Although the thick tights did cover up the hair on his legs, he was about to step out in the daytime wearing female clothes. He had no idea how to behave and had a mortal dread of being seen by the other tenants on his floor.

His wristwatch looked out of place with such a girly pink top, so he took it off and put in the handbag. It was now just after ten past eight and he knew that Margaret, the young lady across the hall, left for work about a quarter past the hour. It had to be now or never.

Taking a deep breath he left the flat and headed for the lift. He pressed the call button and hoped it would not take too long to arrive at his floor. His heartbeat quickened as the lift still did not arrive. He pressed the call button once more.

From down the hall he could now hear Margaret leaving her flat, the clicking of her usually high heels echoing off the tiled flooring. Normally this sound was a source of delight for him, he loved girls in high heels and his neighbour preferred especially high ones. But his only emotion now was fear.

Then, the lift door 'pinged' open and he quickly stepped in. He reached for the ground floor button and pressed it.

As the doors began to close the young woman shouted out,

"Can you hold the lift please?"

He wanted to get away before she could see him but instinctively he pressed the hold door button and waited for her to step in.

She was running now as the clicks had increased considerably. Then her perfectly made up face appeared in the lift beside him.

"Thanks, I thought you hadn't heard me for a moment!"

She stopped to look at him for a moment, before pressing a beautifully manicured nail against the ground floor button. She turned to face the lift doors and the lift started to descend.

Mark felt sure she had not recognised him. He hoped that the odd look she had given him was simply because she did not think any other females stayed on the fifth floor.

He stood behind her and stared at her black pointed toe shoes with the silver metal stiletto heel. The smart grey trouser suit she wore complimented her curves and her perfume filled the lift with a bright flowery scent.

As the lift reached ground level he noted the irony of it all, that she was wearing trousers and he was the one in a skirt.

When the door opened, Margaret turned round and smiled at him before saying,

"Hello Mark! love the skirt by the way!"

She hurried out of the lift doing her best to hold in the fit of giggles that were waiting to happen.

He felt terrible. She had recognised him after all, and must now be wondering what on earth the male chauvinist pig Mark Andrews was doing dressed as a woman?

Walking to the dry cleaning shop was one of the most uncomfortable things he had ever experienced. He felt sure that everyone else knew he was a man in a dress, and he could only imagine the comments being expressed about him.

The dry cleaners had only just opened when he got to the door. At least it was quiet. He waited for the assistant to take his uniform and said very softly,

"I need this cleaned express service please"

The young woman took the outfit and nodded,

"This is quite a delicate garment, do you need it for today?"

"Yes, I need it by lunchtime if possible"

He hoped his voice was not too much of a giveaway and wondered why everyone he had come in contact with had to be a young female?

She filled out a receipt and clipped the instructions to the outfit.

"There you are madam, it'll be ready in a couple of hours if you want to call back around eleven?"

He nodded then turned to leave. The assistant called out,

"Excuse me madam, would you like to pay for the cleaning now, or wait until later?"

Mark said he would pay for it now then took the money out of the handbag and waited for the girl to ring it up.

"There you are madam, one pound fifty change!"

The girl handed him the receipt and some change. He disliked being referred to as 'madam' but could do nothing about it.

"Isn't that the kind of dresses they wear at the Beer Keller? Do you work there too?"

"Yes", he replied nervously,

The girl looked thrilled and told him,

"Great! I've a friend's birthday party there next month! God, I wish I could get away wearing such a hot outfit, I don't know how do you girls cope?"

He was glad to get back out in to the street. Thursday was usually the start of the weekend and it promised to be a long one - but he had no idea just how long.

It had only just left nine fifteen and he knew the Beer Keller would not be open until late afternoon. What was he going to do for the next few hours? There was no way he wanted to walk about town in a skirt all morning, and if he went back to his flat he would only have to come out again later.

He started to walk towards the main shopping centre thinking what he was going to do when he got there. At least the place would be busy and he reckoned he stood more chance in a busy shopping area than sitting on a park bench alone.

After entering through the main set of large swing doors he headed for the cafeteria on the top floor. He hoped no one would pay particular attention to him and was thankful that he did not have to wear heels on such a well-polished floor.

The caf้ he chose was self-service so he did not need to ask anyone for service, it was a simple matter of putting your money in the slot and waiting for the coffee to pour into the waiting plastic cup.

At the end of the caf้ the seating offered additional cover by means of partitions and it was in one of the single table booths that he sat down to contemplate what lay ahead.

The tights he wore irritated his legs and he hated having to wear a headscarf when it wasn't even particularly cold. But he knew there was little option but to keep it on for now.

Perhaps he should jack in the job? How would he pay back the money though? He could argue his case, but that would require him to let others know that he had dressed up as a girl in order to find work. In any case, the contract he had so foolishly signed was a particularly secure nail in his coffin.

He took a drink of the coffee and discovered that he had left a large pink lipstick mark on the rim of the cup. When it happened a second time he realised this was something else he had never anticipated. It was obvious to him that he would need to re-apply the makeup in the toilets? But what toilets would he use?

Finishing his drink he made his way towards the toilets. It was obvious he could not go into the gents dressed as he was, but the fear of being discovered in the ladies was even more frightening. But he had no choice and stepped inside the female toilets for the first time in his life.

The difference between a male and female washroom staggered him. Apart from the obvious difference in cubicles, there were also larger basins and a huge mirror that extended right across an entire wall.

Lucky for him there was no one else in the washroom, so he quickly took the lipstick from his bag and crossed over to the mirror.

With a very steady hand he did his best to refill his lips with the colour. There was no margin for error as someone might come in at any second. When he had completed sweeping the lipstick over his mouth he closed the tube and put it back in the bag.

Back in the main concourse he looked up at the large clock on the wall – it was only ten twenty and his dry cleaning would not be ready for almost another hour. The whole scenario was playing on his nerves. After he picked up the uniform he would still have a further four and a half hours to wander about town before he could report to Heidi as arranged.

There was not enough money left for him to do anything other than hang around until then. Where could he go that would not draw unnecessary attention to him?

Realising there was little else for it he walked into the department store, taking the escalator to the women's department. He'd figured that he could spend some of the time pretending to shop for clothes – girls always did that and never seemed to get into trouble.

The first section at the top of the floor was lingerie. He was turned on by some of the lacy underclothes that were displayed on the mannequins. Although he had spent hours in his room browsing through magazines and underwear catalogues, he was actually seeing them for real.

As he' browsed' the bra collection it never actually occurred to him that he was wearing one himself right at this moment.

A woman in her early thirties joined him at the bra display. He lifted up a burgundy lace padded one and did his best to look as if he was checking the size. She paid little attention to him as she looked for something in her size.

Watching her as she examined various styles, Mark Andrews began to get a little excited. He loved the way she felt the lace trimmed cups and checked the shoulder straps to see how elastic they were. He never imagined that women could spend so long deciding on what to wear underneath their clothes.

He moved on to the next department and was presented with a whole section of summer dresses and skirts. Again he did his best to pick up the occasional dress and look at the sizing label. Looking interested in the shape and cut of a dress did not come easy to him. He loved to see girls wear them but had no wish to see himself parading around in one.

By the time he reached the footwear department he still had at least twenty minutes before his dry cleaning would be ready.

Lifting up a high-heeled ankle boot he had a new appreciation of what girls had to contend with wearing heels. He loved to see a girl stepping out in killer heels, it made their bums move in such a sexy way, but he could not help but wonder why they bought shoes and boots with such leg-straining heels?

As he moved on to the more 'formal' collection, a sales supervisor approached him. She wore a figure hugging grey trouser suit with black pointed toed heels. His jaw dropped when he recognised the girl from his apartment.

She looked at the black patent court shoe that he had in his hand and then smiled at him before saying,

"My Mark, you seem to be taking things seriously don't you?"

He was speechless – how could he possibly explain things to his neighbour?

She took the shoe from him and told him,

"You sit there miss, and I'll get the other half of these for you to try!"

Before he could protest she headed off to the stock room to find the matching heel. Things were getting worse by the minute. He had no idea that she worked in the store; it had always been his assumption that she was a secretary or something. Now she would be convinced he was dressing full time as a girl.

Margaret returned carrying a white box and told him to take of his trainers while she put the shoes on him. He took of the trainers and she lifted his left foot into the shiny black heels. Although they were a little tight he did not say a word.

With the second shoe on Margaret stood up and said,

"Perhaps you'd like to walk in them, to see if they're comfy enough?"

He got to his feet and was thrown by the extra height the shoes gave him. He walked a few steps and Margaret watched with glee as he did his best not to stumble.

Margaret indicated that he should sit down while she took the shoes off,

"I think they're a little tight on you miss? I'll see if we have something a little more suitable for you"

She put the black shoes back in the box then stood up to lean closer to him. In a whispered tome she told him,

"Maybe you won't spend so long staring at my backside in the lift every morning after this?"

He sat back and waited for her to return. This was obviously her revenge for all the times he must have made her feel uncomfortable. Thee were no obvious way out of the situation.

Margaret enjoyed putting him in bright pink peep-toe sandals; she took a little extra time to do up the buckles then said he should see how they looked in the mirror.

The mirror was, of course, at the other end of the department so he had to take careful steps in order to view his new shoes. They were even higher heels than the black ones and the thin leather strap dug into his ankles.

"They are much prettier aren't they?"

He did not respond to her question and she looked him in the eyes and repeated,

"I said they're much prettier aren't they MARK?"

She shouted out his name so anyone else in the department must have heard it. He nodded his head and answered quietly,

"Yes, they are".

Margaret was really having fun now.

"Oh that is such a sweet girl voice you've got there! I wish you'd told me about all of this before"

His humiliation was complete. Margaret was so obviously enjoying herself that his time in the flat would be unbearable from now on.

Margaret helped him off with the pink sandals then told him,

"I don't suppose you have the money to buy any of these do you?"

"I wasn't here to buy them", he replied.

"Oh, so you just like dressing up as a girl to come and try on things! Is that it?"

He shook his head before answering,

"No, it's, it's just a job I've got at the moment"

She packed the shoes away and looked at him with a grin on her face,

"A job! doing what may I ask?"

He though it best to tell her the whole story. Perhaps she would not look on him in such a poor light if he explained how he'd been conned into signing a contract that involved him dressing as a woman.

Margaret listened to his tale of woe. But she was not impressed, he had fully deserved his comeuppance and she had little sympathy with him and she told him so in no uncertain terms.

"I think I'll need to pay the Beer Keller a visit very soon", she told him.

Mark Andrews laced his trainers up and said he had to go.

"Run along then little miss, make sure you don't forget your uniform! I want you to look your best when I call in for a drink with the girls!"

He hurried from the store as fast as he could. The prospect of his neighbour turning up with a posse of girlfriends did nothing to calm his fears.

 

To be continued…

  

  

  

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