Crystal's StorySite
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The Contest Beginnings

by Sarah Bayen

  

Part Eight

Boutique

  

I followed Sylvia to the back of the shop with some reluctance. Her tall form preceded me, and swept the rough brown curtain to one side, and she held it back for me to allow me to pass through. What was revealed looked something like a soccer changing room. It was a small square room, with benches around the walls. There was a further door in the corner, painted blue. Interspaced on the walls were coat hooks, and more noticeably, were five or six tall mirrors. I jumped as I saw myself in one, to all intents and purposes a rather attractive girl, in a blue jumper and denim mini skirt, with her hair in rather jaunty bunches.

"Admiring yourself?" asked Sylvia, smiling at me for the first time. "I don't blame you. You look really good."

I tore my eyes away from the mirror, and looked at Sylvia.

"Well let's see what we've got to work with," she said, still smiling. "Take your top and skirt off; and those boots, and we'll see if we've got any dresses that will suit you." She folded her arms in front of her, obviously intending to watch me remove my clothes.

I hesitated. I had spent the last hour or so wanting so much to take off this skirt, but somehow I didn't want to do it now; not with Sylvia leering at me as she was.

"Come on," she urged.

I considered my alternatives. I could ask her to leave, but she was unlikely to agree to that. She particularly wanted to look at me to see what dress would suit me best. I could refuse entirely, but having come all the way back here to the changing room with her, that would be odd. Anita wouldn't be best pleased, having arranged this for me. Above all else, whatever I did would delay things. The longer I spent resisting her requests, the longer this torture would go on. So, after a bit of delay, I unfastened the front of my skirt.

"I should take your boots off first," Sylvia suggested, still standing in front of me with her arms folded. I knew that if I had any difficulties, she was unlikely to help as Anita had.

I started to bend down to unzip the boots, but Nikki's constant warning of 'knickers' came into my mind. It was entirely illogical; Sylvia would see my knickers as soon as I took my skirt off, but somehow I didn't want her to see them with me bending down indecorously. I walked over to the bench, and sat down carefully on it, remembering to smooth my skirt as I did so.

Sylvia turned to make sure she was still facing me, as I fumbled with the zips, and stepped out of the boots. Anxious as I was about Sylvia's constant gaze, my feet felt relieved to be free.

"Now the skirt," Sylvia commanded. I looked up at her petulantly. I didn't like being told what to do in this sort of way, but I stood up, and unzipped the front of the skirt, and pulled it down.

"Oh my!" gasped Sylvia, looking at me. "You're wearing a slip!"

I had almost forgotten that, but looked down and saw the shimmering white of the slip, and the little pink rosebuds in between the scallops of the hem. I cringed with shame for a moment, and then decided to brave it out.

"Yes," I replied provocatively. "That's not a problem is it?"

Sylvia looked a bit nonplussed. "No, not a problem. You'll have to take it off for the dress in a minute. I'm just a bit surprised you thought to wear a slip. Most boys wouldn't not even to dress as a girl"

"Well it helps the skirt hang better," I responded, pretending to know what I was talking about.

"Of course it does," Sylvia replied, her eyes still glued to the garment in question. "Don't get me wrong, I wasn't criticising, I think is great that you've got one." She seemed a little flustered.

"But you want me to take it off?" I asked, wanting to make the most of this.

"Well, yes, if you don't mind. It's just that you don't really wear waist slips with dresses."

"I don't mind," I said, shrugging, and pulled the slip down as well, stepped out of it, and placed it on the bench. Having done so, I turned to face her again. If she was going to stare at me, I was going to stare back. I was getting tired of passively accepting all that had been happening to me so far that day, and I had decided to take it out on Sylvia.

"Knickers as well," she said approvingly. "I like that. I think that if a boy is going to dress as a girl, he ought to have girl's knickers."

I stared back at her. "I've got two pairs on actually," I pointed out.

"I can see that," she responded quickly and breathlessly. "That's," she paused, searching for the word she wanted, "excellent." She stopped again for a moment, and then seemed to decide to tell me more. "Most boys think they're too good to wear girl's knickers. I'm pleased to see you're not like that." She stared at me in a curious way. "I used to love dressing up my boyfriends in my stuff you know. I did it all the time, but it was always a battle to get them to wear knickers; and I don't think I ever got one to wear a slip."

I stared back at her. Was she saying that I shouldn't have worn a slip, or maybe that I should have put up more of a battle to not wear knickers? Her eyes were fixed on the flowery pair of knickers I had on over my tights, which made me a little uncomfortable.

"Now you'd best take your top off as well," she said eventually, having been lost in some sort of daydream.

I decided to comply, but it was more difficult than I had imagined. The top was elasticated at tight around my chest and arms, and resisted my attempts to remove it. Eventually, with some difficulty, I managed to take it off over my head.

"That's it, now let's look at you," she said. This seemed a bit odd, as she had been doing virtually nothing else since we had entered the changing room.

"Well you make a very pretty young lady," she said at last. "Nice and slim, and with nice smooth skin." She was circling me now, looking at me from every possible angle. I felt decidedly awkward about her attentions.

"Do you know you're one of the best I've ever seen," she declared after a pause. "I've dressed up quite a number of boys in my time, but I don't remember one who looked as good as you. You've got nice tits, what have you stuffed your bra with?"

I pulled a face. The whole world seemed obsessed with my bosom. "Socks," I replied.

"Well they've turned out very nicely," Sylvia continued. "You might want to try something a bit better next time; breast forms or something like that; but they look realistic enough for now." Her eyes remained fixed on my bra and I shuffled awkwardly.

"They're not really the tights for formal wear," she went on, "but they'll do for now. You might want something else for the contest itself."

"What's wrong with them?" I asked.

"Well," she began, "Thick black tights look sexy enough with a short skirt, but when you've got an elegant dress on, you'll need something a bit lighter; perhaps a nice pair of stockings or something like that."

I pulled a face. I thought I had managed to avoid stockings, I just hoped she didn't mention her idea to Anita, who was bound to pounce on it.

"We've got some out the front. You'd need a suspender belt as well of course, unless you've got one?"

I shook my head.

"Well, we'll see about that later."

She continued to examine me. "You really are nice and feminine all over," she told me, "especially your face. You've got really dainty features, that's what makes you so pretty."

I squirmed at this comment, as she returned to face me again. "You really should have been a girl, you're so good at it. I can't imagine you'd be a very good boy, although I've never seen you as one of course."

I pulled another face. The idea of making a good girl and a poor boy didn't appeal to me at all.

"Don't look like that," she went on. "It's a compliment. I often think I'd have made a better boy myself, so it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I don't think you'd make a good boy," I mumbled.

"Oh I don't know," she went on. "I'm really tall, and quite strong. Besides, I like to take the lead in relationships as well." She stopped for a moment, and tilted her head to one side. Then she continued. "Still, that's enough about me; we're supposed to be sorting you out a dress."

With that she went to the door at the corner of the room and opened it. All was dark inside, but she fumbled around the corner and found the light switch, then turned it on. Standing where I was, I couldn't see much of the room, but it was obviously bigger than the cupboard I had imagined it to be.

"Let's think what would suit you best," Sylvia mumbled to herself. "You're quite short, so we'd best be careful." She looked over at me again, "and because you're going to have to wear a bra, I suppose we can't have anything too strappy or backless."

She went into the room, and despite my misgivings, I moved over to the doorway to see what was going on. Inside were three or four racks of dresses in every colour of the rainbow. I could hardly make them out individually, but here and there I saw a piece of netting, or animal skin. I guessed this was where they kept the hire costumes.

Sylvia had disappeared inside, between two of the racks.

"I think we've got something that might look quite nice," she said, without looking up at me. I was by now at the doorway. She looked intently at one costume, and then, shaking her head, put it back. I couldn't see what it was from where I was standing, and up to a point, I was quite grateful. I wondered for a moment if it might not be better for me to go in, and pick one myself. That way I could make sure I didn't get anything too outrageous. On the other hand, I didn't want to appear to be too keen to try on a dress, especially as everyone was telling me what a good looking girl I made.

Sylvia continued to rummage, and my thoughts turned to Anita and Nikki outside in the shop. They must be getting bored by now, I thought. Then, with a sudden panic, I realised that if another customer came in, and wanted to try something on, they'd come in here and see me as I was. I really had to hurry this process up.

"Anything will do for me," I said, as brightly as I could.

"I don't think so young lady," responded Sylvia, without taking her eyes away from her search for the perfect dress for me. "It's not every day you get to wear a dress as special as these; I'm going to make sure you remember it for as long as you live."

"I will that," I mumbled disconsolately, and looked nervously towards the curtain that separated the changing room from the shop.

I still had my head turned away when Sylvia announced triumphantly, "Ah this will do nicely!"

She pulled one of the dresses free from the rack, and held it up. My heart sank. It was bright pink and shimmering, reflecting even the dim light of these back rooms. Sylvia marched out from between the racks and walked towards me. "Come on then, let's see what this looks like on you."

I reluctantly moved out of the way of her advance, transfixed by the thing she held. She held it high off the ground, still on its hanger. I could see that it had flimsy shoulders, in the same horrendous pink material, and a plunging neckline that would draw attention to my bosom even more than Anita's tight top.

"Come on," she said, "Let's see if it fits you all right."

I prayed a silent prayer that it would not, but, trembling, moved slowly back into the changing room. Sylvia took the dress off its hanger, and smoothed it out. It was fairly simply cut, for which I was grateful, and plain, without any fancy bits and pieces like glitter or flowers; but it was so pink!

Sylvia undid the zip on the back of the dress, and motioned me over. Like an automaton I moved forwards.

"Turn around then," she urged me, and I did as I was asked. Taking advantage of her superior height, she put her arms over my shoulders, and held the dress out in front of me.

"In you get then princess," she urged me brightly. She shook the thing a couple of times, so I could see the hole through which I had to step. I bit my lip. I knew I was going to regret this, but I could see no alternative but to put the dress on. I stepped in, and Sylvia immediately began pulling the thing up to my shoulders.

It felt so odd. Strangely cold and satin like, and yet heavy with the yards of material it contained. Sylvia eased it over my bra, and lifted the shoulders into place. They were, I noticed, thinner than I had thought, but were sort of covered with a little flap of pink material that hung down my own shoulder.

Fumbling at my back Sylvia found the zip, which was more or less in my bum. I jumped as she touched me.

"Breathe in," she commanded, and I did so, closing my eyes in anticipation of the horror. Sylvia pulled the zip up to my neck. "There!" she said. "My word, you are a beauty!"

I opened my eyes, and they fell on one of the mirrors. I was transfixed. Where before there had been a gauche and awkward looking schoolgirl, there was now something quite different. My mouth fell open in surprise. I really was beautiful, and I hated it. The dress clung tight to my chest, and then was fitted into my waist, making it look narrow and girlish. Below there, it fell away to the floor like a pink waterfall, shimmering in the light almost like plastic. Even I was impressed at how feminine it made me look. Without thinking, I turned sideways a little to get a different view. The dress swayed crazily against my legs as I did so.

Sylvia was smiling benignly. "So do you like it?"

I couldn't speak, but feebly shook my head.

"I think your girlfriends will," Sylvia said smiling. "Come on, shall we show them?"

I froze. I didn't want Anita to see me like this. There was no way on God's earth that she would ever go out with me after seeing me like this.

"No, it's all right," I said timidly.

Sylvia's grin only broadened. "Oh I think they would want to see you; come on." She offered me the crook of her arm, still smiling, and reluctantly I took it. "Let's go."

Walking in the long frock was an entirely new experience for me. It seemed determined to trip me up on every step, and the 'thwap' of my skirt had been replaced by a 'swish' from the satin against my legs.

"Mind you don't tread on the hem," advised Sylvia, as we walked slowly forward to the curtain. She pulled it back, and the light blinded me for a moment, then she led me forward. I was dreading Anita seeing me.

Once my eyes adjusted, I was in for another shock. There were several customers in the shop, looking at the clothes on the rails. I looked around for Anita or Nikki, but couldn't see them for a moment. All of the customers seemed to turn their heads to look at me as I walked through, and I closed my eyes in shame. They were bound to realise I was a boy.

"Oh my goodness, you look wonderful!" came Anita voice. I opened my eyes to see her coming from behind the till. She looked around at a couple of young women, who were also looking at me. "Sarah," she declared, with emphasis on the name, "that is just so you! Come and have a look Sue!"

I looked into Anita's face, willing her not to give the game away by some rash comment. She was opened mouthed and wide-eyed with excitement as she eyed me up and down. "Come over here so I can see you better!" she exclaimed.

By this time Sue had come over from behind the till as well. Both of them looked shocked at how I looked, and I bit my lip in shame.

"Look at you!" exclaimed Sue. "Oh that is just fantastic! Give us a twirl then! Go on!" she urged.

Reluctantly I turned slowly around, and the dress turned with me.

"Oh my goodness," said Anita, "you look adorable in that. Doesn't," she paused almost imperceptibly before continuing, "she?"

"She certainly does!" agreed Sue. "I've always liked that one, but I'm too dumpy for it. But our Sarah looks a dream in it."

"Yes!" agreed Anita enthusiastically, "an absolute dream. There's only one thing spoiling it though, hang on." She stepped over to me, and reached up for my hair. With some effort, she removed the hair ribbons and elastic bands, and took out my bunches. The hair from the wig tumbled down onto my shoulders and into my face. Anita brushed it gently away, and I trembled at her closeness.

"Oh that's much better!" declared Sue with gusto. "We'll really have to think what to do with it for your big night though."

"That's true," agreed Anita, still only inches from my face.

A woman who had been looking at blouses came over to Sue at this point, while looking at me. I held my breath, thinking she was going to complain that they'd let a boy try on one of the dresses.

"Excuse me," she said, with a quaint and quiet voice, "I didn't know you did formal wear like that."

"Oh yes," said Sue brightly. "Most of it is for hire, but we sell some too. We've got a brochure if you would like one?"

"Oh yes please," the woman replied. "My granddaughter's graduating in a few weeks time. It would be nice for her to have the perfect dress for it."

"Of course, let me get you a brochure then." Sue replied.

"We'll have one too," came a voice from behind me. It was one of the younger women who had been staring at me before. "We're having a bit of a posh do at college. Something like that would be perfect."

Sue looked nonplussed for a moment, then said, "Of course," and went over to the till

"Well it looks like your doing wonders for our sales!" said Sylvia from behind me. "Maybe we ought to have you in here more often."

"Oh that's good!" exclaimed Anita. "How about that Sarah? An offer of a modelling job already!" She giggled at this, and I squirmed even more. Sue came back with the hire brochures, and handed them out. To my relief, the other customers moved away to read them, and the old lady, at least, left the shop.

"Well Sarah," said Anita. "Do you like it?" She looked intently at me for an answer.

I shrugged, which probably looked odd in the dress, and said, "It's all right I suppose."

"Oh don't be so coy!" exclaimed Sue. "You look fantastic in it, and I bet it feels fabulous."

"I don't know about that," I responded. "It's really heavy."

"But it's worth it for the effect," grinned Anita. "You look just so lovely in it, I can't believe it. I can't imagine we could find anything better for," she paused again, looking over at the two college girls examining the brochure. "Your big day!"

"I thought Nikki had already sorted out something," I said, hoping that this would relieve me of the threat of having to wear this dress at the contest. "Where is she anyway?"

"She's gone to get that shopping she promised her Mum." Anita replied. "She did say she'd sorted out something you could have, but I can't imagine it would be as wonderful as this. I really think you ought to have it."

"Well there's the small matter of the hire charge," Sylvia put in.

Anita looked immediately crestfallen. "Oh," she said, with a worried expression on her face. "How much is it then?"

"How many nights will you need it for?" Sylvia asked.

"Well," Anita began, "Sarah's big night is on Thursday. We can't really pick it up that morning, because we've got other things to do. We'd have to pick it up on Wednesday, so two nights I suppose."

Sylvia was silent for a moment. "Well, that's forty pounds then; plus a fifty pound deposit, which you'd get back when you get the dress back here."

Anita looked heartbroken. "I haven't got that sort of money," she said. "I've already spent most of what I had spare on tights and that necklace. Oh what a shame!"

"Yes," agreed Sue. "Especially when it suits her so much."

"And makes her look so feminine," added Anita, earnestly.

The two girls both looked sullen as they continued to stare at me. Over their heads I noticed the two college girls leaving the shop, which was something of a relief. At least now I could loose the feminine pronouns, which were being fired at me. I waited for a while, considering when would be the best moment to suggest I took the dress off, since I couldn't have it.

"Well I could make a deal with you," said Sylvia, stepping in front of me, and addressing Anita.

"A deal?" she asked.

"Yes. I could always do with some extra help around here, especially at this time of year. Maybe you could work off the debt."

Anita looked shocked for a moment. "You mean me work in here with you and Sue?"

Sylvia grinned in response. "I wasn't so much thinking of you my dear," she turned to face me, "I was thinking of her!" she declared, triumphantly pointing in my direction.

Anita turned to face me again, with a thoughtful expression. "That might work," she conceded. "What do you say Sarah?"

"I'm not working in a boutique!" I spluttered. "Anyway, it would put the customers off, having a boy serving them."

"You don't have to be a boy," Sylvia said, conspiratorially, with a wide grin on her face.

"No," agreed Anita. "You could work in here as Sarah. It would be fun!"

"Oh yes!" agreed Sue.

I was astounded that they could think that this was a good idea. There was no way I was going to give up my valuable time to dress as a girl, and serve in a boutique. "Well I'm not going to do it. Once this contest is out of the way, that's the end of Sarah!" I declared with venom.

"Oh come on Steve," pleaded Anita, obviously forgetting my temporary name in her anguish. "It'd only be for a few days!"

"Yeah," agreed Sue enthusiastically. I earn twenty pounds a day here, so that would only be two!"

"Well there was some talk about her having a suspender belt as well," butted in Sylvia, "so I think it would have to be three."

I stared from one to the other. This was unbelievable. Did they really expect me to dress up as a girl for three Saturdays just to be able to wear this damned dress?

Anita stared earnestly at me. "Please Steve! You're absolutely bound to win if you wear that, honestly."

"That's right," agreed Sue. "No-one else will have anything anywhere near as pretty."

"No," I said firmly. "I won't do it. I can't"

"Pretty please!" pleaded Anita, her eyes boring into mine. I felt backed into a corner with no way out.

"Well let's think about it," I said eventually. "We ought to ask Nikki as well anyway, she might be put out if I don't wear what she sorted out for me."

Anita continued to look forlornly at me for some moments, and I braced myself for the next attack, but it never came. "Well all right. We'll ask Nikki when she gets back."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Well I'd best go and get changed back," I suggested.

"Don't be silly!" exclaimed Anita.

"No!" agreed Sue.

"Nikki needs to be able to see what you look like in that to make her mind up!"

"Yeah," agreed Sue.

And so it was that I spent the next fifteen minutes in the shop wearing a long pink evening gown, waiting interminably for the return of Nikki. Customers came and went, and all of them looked with curiosity at me. Several took brochures of the hire wear, which pleased Sylvia no end, and reinforced her desire for me to work at the shop.

"See," she declared as one of the customers left. "It's really good for sales to have a pretty young thing in a nice frock in the shop!"

The waiting seemed to go on forever, but at last Nikki came back into the shop, carrying a bag of groceries. Anita rushed over to her almost as soon as she was through the door.

"You must come and see Sarah in her dress!" she exclaimed. "We want to know whether you think she should have it for the contest or not." I flinched at the feminine pronouns, which had been much in evidence when there were customers in the shop. I decided Anita must have forgotten there was nobody there at the time who didn't know I was a boy.

Nikki looked strangely unenthusiastic, as she put her shopping bag down, and walked over to examine me. She tilted her head first to one side, and then the other, and she gazed at the new pink me.

"It's not bad," she announced eventually.

"Not bad!" exclaimed Anita. "It's wonderful! Look at it!" She walked over to me, and lifted some of the material to show Nikki the quality. "If we have her in that for the final she's bound to win!"

Nikki shrugged. "Maybe, but she hasn't even tried on the dress I sorted out for her. We ought to see what she looks like in that before making up our mind." There was a petulant note to her voice.

"But is it as nice as this one?" asked Anita, oblivious to Nikki's distress.

"Well I think so, but there again I would." Nikki said, rather curtly. "After all, we agreed that I'd be sorting out the outfit for the final, and that you could do the school uniform."

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Nikki was obviously upset that she had nearly lost her chance to put me in a dress of her own choosing.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry." Anita said eventually. "Sorry Sylvia, we probably won't be having the dress, and you won't be having Sarah in the shop helping."

Sylvia simply shrugged. "There'll be other times," she said, obscurely. "Still, if you change your minds, you know where we are."

"Yes," agreed Anita.

"Well if that's that, I'll help the young lady out of her dress then," she went on.

"I'm not a young lady!" I declared.

Sylvia looked at me with curiosity in her eyes. "Aren't you now? That could be interesting. Come on, let's get you out of that dress then."

I followed her back through to the changing room, leaving the three girls in the shop, and hoping that Nikki and Anita would make up. The last thing I needed was those two having a flaming row before I could get back to being a boy.

I stood in the changing room, while Sylvia undid the zip on the dress.

"It really is a shame you won't be wearing this for the contest you know," she told me. I didn't respond. "You look really lovely in it. Like a debutante."

I grimaced, but didn't say anything. She pulled the dress from my shoulders, and helped it slip down my back.

"You know if you ever wanted to try it on again," she began.

"No thanks," I said quickly.

"Or any of the others," she continued. "You wouldn't have to work in the shop you know, if that's what puts you off."

She pulled the dress down over my bottom, and held it while I stepped out of it. Once I was free of it, she shook it a few times, and retrieved its hanger from one of the coat hooks on the wall.

"I'd be happy to take you to dinner wearing it, or to the theatre or something. Do you like the theatre Sarah?"

"No," I replied, "And my name is Steve." I was getting annoyed with her languid, seductive tone. She seemed to have put it on deliberately to humiliate me further.

She looked at me with her head tilted. "But I like you so much better as Sarah" she said, smiling. She took the dress and its hanger back into the other room, and pleased to be alone, I picked up Anita's jumper from the bench, and began to put it on. It took me a while to lift it over my bra, so by the time my eyes were free again, Sylvia was back. She walked over to the bench, and picked up the slip, holding it up to look at it carefully, examining the hem with the scallops and rosebuds between her fingers.

"Don't forget your lovely little slip," she said, handing it to me. I frowned. Her behaviour was becoming even more eccentric by the minute. I took the nylon monstrosity, and holding the elastic wide, stepped into it, and lifted it to my waist.

"Very nice!" she whispered. "A boy in a slip. Very nice!"

I tried to ignore her, and reached for my skirt. She got there first, and held it for me.

"In you get!" she urged, still using her seductive tones. "Into your nice little skirt Sarah, there's a good girl."

I glared at her, but this did not change the smile on her face. I stepped into the denim skirt, and tried to grab the waistband, but she held it firm.

"I'll pull it up for you darling" she whispered. She lifted the skirt up my legs, and into place, careless of the mess this made of my slip. Pushing my hands away, she did up the little button at the front, and lifted the zip, patting it when she had finished.

"Very nice," she said, looking down at me, and putting her hands on my shoulders. "I do think it's good when boys wear skirts," she said, smiling broadly.

"I need to put my boots back on," I said, nervously. She released my shoulders, and watched me as I sat down on the bench, trying desperately to make sure my knickers did not show. I managed it, but when I came to put the boots back on, my decorum was ruined.

"Oh dear!" she declared, "Naughty little Sarah's showing her knickers!"

"Well you shouldn't be looking if you don't want to see," I retorted, remembering this from what Anita had said to me once.

"I didn't say I didn't want to see them!" Sylvia went on, grinning wildly now. "You can flash your knickers to me any time you want."

I glared at her again, and went back to trying to get my boots on as decorously as possible. Eventually I succeeded, but not without offering Sylvia a good few more glimpses of my flowery underwear.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I was done. Now at last I could free myself from this mad woman. I stood up, and went to move to the curtain that led to the shop. Sylvia stood in my way, towering over me, and smiling oddly.

"Not so fast young lady," she said, "Let me sort your slip out first. Its in a bit of a mess."

"I'll do it," I said hurriedly, holding firmly to the hem of my skirt.

"Oh no you won't," Sylvia replied, "It's the least I can do after all the fun you've given me today."

I held the hem of the skirt firmly down between my legs, but she grabbed it from the side and lifted it up my thighs, standing only inches from me, and staring with a leer into my face. I could smell her breath, spicy from some strange food she must have eaten the night before. My breathing became shallow and fast, and I was genuinely frightened of what she might do.

"Stop it," I whispered.

She smiled even wider. "Now you told me that you were no lady!" she began, her hand moving to the inside of my thigh, and stroking my leg through my tights. I tried to push her away, but somehow couldn't. "Let's give you another little lesson in being a girl shall we?"

"No!" I bleated, "Please!"

Her eyes became wilder, and her smile broader as I pleaded with her to stop. Her hand moved up to between my legs, and stroked me gently, through the knickers and the tights. Her face bore down onto mine, and she began to kiss me tenderly on the forehead. I was by now in a blind panic, my legs shook as I tried to get my face away.

I managed to get my hands up between us, and pushed as hard as I could against her, but I just fell back against the wall. She began to laugh, quietly but cruelly.

"I was raped once," she told me, "it's not very pleasant is it?"

I thought perhaps I had seen a glimpse of where her madness was coming from, and shook my head enthusiastically. "No," I whispered hoarsely in reply, hoping she would stop.

"But you're really asking for it, wearing a tiny little skirt like that."

The hand between my legs began to knead at me more urgently, and I heard myself whimpering in fright. I was feeling dizzy and insecure as I had never felt before, as Sylvia's mouth came down on mine, and, forcing it open, allowed her tongue to snake into mine.

"Is everything all right?" The words cut through the haze, and immediately Sylvia backed away from me. It was Anita.

"Yes, everything's fine," responded Sylvia, standing tall and moving away from me. "I was just helping your friend Sarah here with her slip. It got a bit rumpled when she put her skirt back on."

I was still leaning against the wall, unable to move. Anita looked at me with concern, and then at Sylvia.

"Sue asked if you could come through and help. There are a couple of customers who want some advice on stuff she doesn't know about."

"Oh, fine," said Sylvia breezily, and she sauntered past Anita and through the curtain.

"Are you all right Steve?" asked Anita, moving over towards me. I tried to lift myself away from the wall, but fell back again. My hand instinctively pulled at my skirt at the front to try and straighten it, and then, suddenly, I gave a single huge sob.

"Oh Steve, what's the matter?" Anita said, coming over to me, and pulling my head onto her shoulder. I shook my head, but was unable to speak. Anita's shoulder felt warm and comfortable, and I her perfume filled my head. The silken softness of her hair caressed my face, mingling with the strands from the wig.

Suddenly I felt so ashamed. I had burst out crying in front of the girl I loved because some other woman had had her hand up my skirt. Despite the warmth and loveliness of being held by Anita, I pulled my head up away from her.

"It's all right," I hissed, "Just a bit of a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? What do you mean?" asked Anita, still holding the sides of my head.

I shook my head again. "Nothing, I'm all right."

Anita took her hands away, and found a tissue from her bag. "Here you are. Dry your face. Come on, otherwise your mascara will run."

"Thanks," I responded weakly, taking the tissue, and dabbing my face with it. I sniffed a bit, and when I took the tissue away, was surprised to see it having a vaguely pink hue.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Anita asked again.
I nodded, and managed to respond, "Yes. Can we leave now though, I think I've had enough of this shop."

Anita still looked concerned, but eventually said. "Yes. We're about done here anyway. Come on, let's go shall we?" She smiled at me. I managed to smile back, although running the gauntlet of the shop, especially with Sylvia in there, played on my mind.

"You'd best sort yourself out a bit first though," Anita went on. I looked at her puzzled. "You're skirt," she whispered, gesturing downwards with her head. "It's a bit crumpled still."

I looked down at myself, and saw that she was right. As expertly as I could, I put my hand up it to straighten out the slip, and then tried to smooth the skirt back into place over it.

"That's better," declared Anita. "Come on, we'll go."

We walked back through the curtain to the glare of the shop. It was quite full, for which I was actually grateful this time. Both Sue and Sylvia were serving people, and having paused briefly to orientate ourselves, Anita and I moved purposefully towards the street door.

Sue turned briefly to wave to us, but Sylvia paid us no attention, and suddenly we were outside. I heaved a huge sigh of relief, but in my hurry to get out of the shop, accidentally bumped into a young boy of about twelve.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" he snapped.

I was flustered. "Oh! Sorry, are you all right?"

He looked at me appraisingly for a second or two. "Yeah, it's all right. Nice tits by the way!" and then swaggered proudly up the High Street.

Anita seemed to pay him little attention, although I watched him for a moment as we merged into the crowd.

"What was going on in there?" Anita demanded. "It looked like you were getting a bit friendly."

I looked into her blue eyes. If I told her the truth, it would look pathetic. "It was nothing," I said, shaking my head. "Sylvia just got a bit enthusiastic about straightening my slip, that's all."

Anita looked at me disbelievingly, "Then why were you crying?"

I looked at the floor between us. I could hardly deny that I had been. I shrugged. "I don't know," I replied eventually. "I suppose it's because I'm not used to that sort of thing."

"What sort of thing?"

I shrugged again. "Well, being treated like a girl I suppose." I decided to try and change the subject. "Where's Nikki?"

"She's gone home. She wanted to take that shopping back."

There was a silence as Anita continued to stare at me. I sensed that she was deciding whether to question me further on the Sylvia incident or not. Eventually she decided not to.

"I said we'd meet her round there when we'd finished," she went on. "She's particularly keen for you to try out the dress she'd sorted out for you. I think she was a bit put out about you trying on the other one."
"It wasn't my fault!" I exclaimed.

"I know. But I think it would cheer her up if you could try on her one as well. Is that all right?"

I shrugged, "I suppose so."

"If you decide you'd rather have the one from the shop, we can always come back."

"No!" I exclaimed. "I'm sure Nikki's will be fine."

Anita again looked at me probingly. "Well if you're sure."

"I'm sure," I replied.

"Come on then, let's go to Nikki's"

We walked off down the High Street, with my skirt thwapping around my legs, and the bag weighing heavy on my shoulder. We reached the end, and moved into the suburban street maze that made up the majority of our town.

  

  

  

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