I acquire some new appendages Ballroom dancing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t realise just how important it would become in shaping my future until I had to take the place of one of my bosses following an accident. Dancing Queen A novel by Louise Anne Smithson Copyright © 2013 Louise Anne Smithson All Rights Reserved.

Image Credit: Picture from Wikimedia Commons. Free for commercial and personal use with restriction under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence.

Note - The last posting of this chapter fell down the crack in the Big Closet HDD, taking with it all the comments and kudos, so please be generous with this one ;-) Louise

‘How did you get on at Houghton this morning, Michelle?’ asked Sarah as I entered her office and took the offered seat.

‘Alright, I think. I did my best, but we’ll have to see what they decide to do.’

‘That’s all we can ask of you, but don’t be too disappointed if it comes to nothing; there are lots of unsold properties on the market around here at present.’

‘I know. I don’t think that they’ve decided against the house but they’ll need a little time to talk it over between themselves and come to a decision. I didn’t want to pressurize them, but tried to get them to see the potential of the property. They have promised to let me know their decision early next week,’ I replied.

‘Well, thanks for your efforts. That property has been on the books of several agencies in the area for some time and it’s high time that it was sold by somebody. It would be a boost to the office if we were the ones to do so.’

I smiled and was about to get up return to my desk, but she hadn’t finished.

‘There are two other things I need to discuss with you. First of all, Joan rang this morning to ask whether it would be possible for you to call in to her salon at five o’clock this evening to be fitted with your new boobs. I said that as far as I was concerned it would be alright but you would let her know if you were unable to make it.’

‘I’ll need to leave work an hour early to get over to Luton for 5.00pm, would it be alright with you and Rob if I work through my lunch hour to make up the time?’

‘You can take a short lunch break and we’ll let you have the remaining time as it is for a good cause.’

‘Thanks, Sarah. What was the other thing that you wanted to discuss?’

‘I’ve had a phone call from your mother this morning; she’s been looking through her dance costumes and thinks that she has a number of outfits that would be suitable for you to wear, including a dress and shoes for your Quickstep routine for the next demonstration. She has invited me round to your house tomorrow afternoon to see what I think of them,’ said Sarah.

‘Mum’s dresses are quite old; she was dancing in the 1980s and 1990s. Also some of them are in styles dating from the nineteen twenties and thirties.’

‘As long as they are in good condition, that needn’t be a problem. As a rule, ballroom costumes don’t go out of fashion in the same way that ordinary clothes do. In fact sometimes it can be better to have a range of styles dating from different decades to match the period of the dance or music that has been chosen.’

‘So are you planning to come round to our place tomorrow afternoon?’ I asked.

‘Yes, if I can get a lift. Rob and I were supposed to be going to see his parents this weekend, but I honestly couldn’t face the prospect of a four-hour car journey with my leg in plaster, so he will be going alone. I was wondering whether you would mind taking the office car again after work tonight and then collecting me and taking me home again tomorrow?’

‘Won’t the office car be needed over the weekend?’

‘No, I don’t think so; Richard will be working together with the weekend staff and he has his own car.’

‘In that case I should be happy to do so. In fact if I can take the car tonight I won’t need to leave work until 4.30pm.’

‘From what your mother said it sounds as if we will be able to sort out all your costumes for the next few weeks.’

‘OK but I trust that I’ll be given a say in what I wear?’

‘Yes, of course, and I hope you will be present when we decide tomorrow. Under normal circumstances it is up to the dancer herself to choose her costume, but as you’re still something of a novice in this respect it might be sensible for you to take the advice of those with a little more experience, at least for the first few weeks.’

‘I’ll be happy to leave it to the two of you as long as you don’t choose anything too outrageous for me to wear; some of your dresses are a little revealing.’

Sarah smiled.

‘Nobody is going to force you to wear something that you really hate or doesn’t feel right for you, but it will take you a little time to get to know what looks good on you.’

‘I suppose I’ll have enough to do with learning new dance routines and how to live as Michelle without having to worry about choosing my dance costumes as well.’

‘Good, but you should now begin to take an interest in what you are wearing as it is an important part of the ballroom dancing experience for any girl.’

I had to deal with several clients who called in during the course of the afternoon and arranged for a couple of viewings of properties, whilst Sarah and Helen interviewed other clients now wishing to put their houses on the market. Yet the afternoon at work seemed to drag as I was looking forward to leaving early to be fitted with my new breast forms. Eventually, just before 4.30pm, I began to clear my desk.

‘If it is alright with you Sarah, I’m off to get my new boobs.’

She nodded to say that it was ok for me to leave. Richard, who had recently arrived back in the office, at first rolled his eyes in disbelief, but then thought better of it and gave me a nice smile.

‘Good luck, Michelle, see you next week,’ he said.

‘Don’t come back with a pair that put the rest of us girls to shame,’ said Helen, laughing.

‘I hope not, big breasts are not a good idea for ballroom dancing,’ I replied.

This time there were no awkward looks from the staff, when I arrived at the salon. I was addressed as ‘Madame’ and politely asked to wait for a few minutes whilst Joan finished off her last customer. I actually quite enjoyed reading one of the beauty and hairdressing magazines that they left out for their waiting customers.

‘I’m glad to see that you’ve been taking trouble with your grooming, Michelle; you look very smart today,’ said Joan as she invited me through to the back room.

‘Thanks, I’m doing my best’ I said, aware that the compliment was coming from an expert.

‘Have you been doing your hair and makeup by yourself?’

‘ Mum helped me with them on Tuesday morning, but ever since I’ve been managing on my own.’

‘Good, but I expect that you’ll still need my help again next weekend as the makeup needed when you are dancing under spotlights is different from that used for every day wear.’

‘So I understand.’

‘However, we can worry about that at the appropriate time; the main thing is that you will be able to look smart at other times without the help of others. Now, come through to the back and we’ll see how you get on with these new breast forms.’

An hour later I had two realistic looking breasts securely attached to me by surgical glue, comfortably supported by my bra, which had to be adjusted to suit my new shape. The joins between the breasts and my own skin were well disguised with skin coloured makeup, and in any event would not be visible with a normal bra. I even had a hint of cleavage visible as the weight of the appendage pulled down on my own skin. Joan showed me how to enhance this effect by brushing on a darker powder in two arcs from my breast bone. By the time she’d finished, nobody looking at me dressed in my bra and panties would have realised that they were not the genuine article.

‘So how do they feel, Michelle?’

‘It’s as if my centre of gravity has moved slightly forward, but they seem to be quite comfortable and secure.’

‘They should be alright as they are for the next week, but I’ll check that they are all still alright after your two dances on Saturday week.’

‘Thanks again, Joan, for all your help. What about the cost of these?’

‘I haven’t had the bill yet, but when I do I’ll be discussing it with Sarah; you don’t need to worry.’

‘Thanks again, I’d better go home now and show off my new endowments to my Mum.’

‘Well I hope she appreciates them,’ said Joan laughing.

Mum would sometimes go out with a couple of her former workmates to the Friday afternoon session at the Mecca Bingo on Skimpot Road and wasn’t usually home until six thirty. She had arranged to do so on this occasion and so I hadn’t bothered to warn her that I was going to be late home from work. In fact, as a result of my having use of the office car, I was home before she was. I just had time to change out of my work clothes and put on a dark red dress which Louise had given me, and refresh my lipstick when she came in. I chose the dress as it had a low neckline which would show off my newly acquired cleavage to perfection, and I wanted to see whether she would notice,

‘Hi Mum, how did you get on at bingo?’ I asked casually as she came in the front door.

‘Hi Michelle, actually I had a small win - not a fortune, but enough for us to be able to celebrate tonight,’ she replied as she hung up her outdoor coat.

‘Well done!’ I replied. ‘Shall I make a start on cooking us some dinner?’

‘No, I put something in the slow cooker before I left,’ she said, turning towards me. ‘I’ve not seen you wear that dress before,’ she said.

‘No it is the first time I’ve felt able to wear it.’

‘Good heavens you’ve grown breasts!’

I smiled.

‘Not exactly, it’s the effect created by my new breast forms which were fitted earlier this afternoon.’

‘But your cleavage looks just like the real thing.’

‘So you approve of them, then?’ I asked.

‘Well they certainly give you a nice figure, but will they stay in place whilst you are dancing?’

‘I think so; they seem to be stuck on quite securely.’ I said, jiggling them up and down to prove the point.

She smiled and proceeded to examine them more closely.

‘That’s good; there were one or two of my dance costumes which I’d rejected as they seemed to be too low cut for you to be able to use, but it now looks as if you’ll now be able to wear them. We’ll have a good range to choose from when Sarah comes round tomorrow.’

‘I guess so,’ I replied.

‘Hold on a minute, Michelle, I have just the right pendant to go with that dress. It will tend to draw the eye to your latest assets,’ she said laughing.

She disappeared in to her room and came back with a ruby pendant on a thin gold chain, which she placed round my neck.

‘Once your ear piercings have settled down, I also have a pair of matching earrings which you may use as well.’

Over Dinner, we discussed the arrangements for the following day.

‘I’ll be collecting Sarah at 2.00pm, and also taking her home afterwards, but I’m going to need to do some laundry in the morning.

‘Yes, I noticed that you’re going to need some more underclothes; as far as I could see you have only one clean bra and pant set left. Maybe we should also go out shopping together tomorrow morning, before Sarah comes.’

‘I’m afraid I haven’t got much spare cash until I get paid at the end of next week,’ I warned. I’ll have to go into the bank and withdraw some money from my savings account.

(Ever since I’d passed my driving test I’d been saving as much as I could afford towards the purchase of a second-hand car.)

‘That’s alright; as I told you, I was lucky at bingo today and so I should be happy to treat my daughter to some new lingerie.’

As she said this she was looking into my eyes and seemed really pleased with the prospect. In fact I hadn’t seen her so enthusiastic about life for many years.

‘In that case, thank you very much, Mum,’ I replied.

Thanks to Bronwen for editing and to everyone else for comments and kudos which are always appreciated.Louise