‘Meeting Chloe’

A ‘fresh start’ contest story.

I had always felt different. When I compared myself to the other boys at my school, I just didn’t relate to them at all. I thought, or assumed, that I was the only one that felt that way, and when I left school I drifted from job to job hoping that someday I would fit in somewhere and find myself, becoming comfortable with who I wanted to be, and settle. I’d never been a ‘boys boy’, I liked being clean and tidy and well dressed. I always admired the girls on a special occasion, in their best dresses. I was fascinated with how mum would fix her hair and make up, even on a day where there was no occasion, and had often wondered what that might be like.

I didn’t have a terrible childhood but my family were a mess, I felt alone growing up and my relationship with my parents never really became anything more than obligation, initially them to me, then, as I entered my late teens and in to my twenties, me to them.

One day I woke up and decided I’d had enough enough. I had a throw away job I didn’t care about and nothing else really going for me. I had a few thousand pounds saved and so I packed a bag and left with a one way ticket to a different town, three weeks booked in an Air BnB and the rest of my life ahead of me. The only thing I hadn’t worked out is how I would discover myself or what my long term goal or outlook was. For the moment I was living in the moment…Little did I know the answer would be delivered to me in a perfect package, called Chloe.

*****

I’d been in my new town for just under a week. I’d picked up some casual cash in hand work but needed something more regular if I was going to get out of the AirBnB. I was rotating the handful of clothes I had brought with me and was determined I wouldn’t be going ‘home’ so had to make a go of it.

Meeting Chloe happened by chance, I was walking along one of the side streets looking around near new home and I saw a young lady sitting out on a raised step in front of a shop. As I got closer I saw she was upset so I asked her if she was ok and if there was anything I could do?

‘It’s ok’ she said ‘i am just feeling a bit lonely and down in the dumps. This is my business and my assistant has just left for a ‘better’ job and I have loads of appointments and no help. It’s all getting a bit much so I’m crying it out before I go back in and carry on’

I looked up. It was a boutique salon that said it catered for ‘everyone’. The sign boasted the best treatment for hair, nails and makeup and also offered fashion advice. Lookied like a nice place.

‘Can I help?’ I asked

‘Oh no, it’s ok’ came the reply ‘I couldn’t ask you to do that!’

‘I’m at a loose end and don’t know many people in town, might be good to meet a couple more people! And it would be my pleasure’ Not really knowing what I might be letting myself in for.

She dried her tears and smiled ‘well it could work, just for today?’

‘Ok, where do you want me?’ I asked.

She got up and offered her hand to me ‘I’m Chloe, and this is my salon ‘Chloe’s’. Catchy eh?’

We both chuckled and stepped inside.

My first impression of Chloe is that she was stunning. Slightly taller than I expected from initially seeing her sitting, she was immaculately dressed in a knee length, pink figure hugging skirt, tan stockings, high shine white shoes with a small but noticeable heel and a white satin blouse, with sheer sleeves and a ruffle collar accessorised with simple but effective silver jewellery. This was her uniform. Her hair was perfect, long with a slight wave in it, platinum blonde. She was beautifully made up with bright wide eyes dusted in light pink and gloss pink lips that she tended to as soon as entered the salon. Clearly her image was important to visiting clientele and to her making sure to keep a high standard.

The salon was smart, professional and welcoming. Very tidy and clean.

She showed me round, first the waiting area and then the treatment spots. She explained, briefly, what it was all about and that she had a packed afternoon. My job was to assist. Keep fresh towels available, make drinks, sweep, answer the phone but otherwise be relatively invisible. We talked about my image because she said she had standards and I didn’t quite match the image she wanted to portray to her clients (she did understand that’s because I was out for a casual stroll, not planning on being her assistant for the afternoon).

We talked for a bit then I agreed to let her style me so I fitted in a little more. She brushed my hair into a neat ponytail, my hair had been growing for a little while but was still kind of short and was neater tied back than left without a tie. She asked if I would wear a fresh tshirt, I didn’t mind so I slipped on one of the plain shirts with the ‘Chloes’ logos on it. It was only then I released it was slightly gathered at the sides and the sleeves were slightly capped. A women’s fit. I liked it.

‘It suits you!’ She said ‘I won’t make you wear a skirt, this time’ and winked. I already thought she knew me, could see me for the real me, and we chuckled. I was pleased she didn’t seem too serious as I wasn’t sure I could go that far although I did want to try it feeling immediately relaxed and invincible in her company. It started to dawn on me maybe this was the kind of accidental moment i had been hoping for all these years. I didn’t feel like I had anything to lose and this was an opportunity to see if I could find myself, but I was too shy to push it any further for fear of rushing into something i wasn't sure about especially in-front of a stranger.

The afternoon flew by. I met some lovely people and Chloe really seemed to not only enjoy me being there but also valued my help. This was the first time I’d had that feeling, almost of belonging, and I didn’t want it to end. Soon 5pm came and we closed the doors. Chloe had plans so thanked me for my help and we exchanged numbers. I walked off leaving Chloe to her Salon, almost as soon as I’d arrived.

*****

It was a few days before I heard from Chloe again. I’d had such a lovely time helping her in the salon but I didn’t want to make a nuisance of myself so I waited for her to call. She did call, and it was an emergency.

She had a hen party booked in to the salon for the day, a private ‘party’ with the full treatment arranged for each of the hens plus special attention for the bride to be. Her helper had let her down (again!) and I was the first person she thought of to help her.

I arrived just 10 minutes before the hen party. ‘Ok’ she said ‘would you mind if I played around with your image a bit, like we did the other day? No time to waste, my ‘guests’ will be here soon and some of the girls might feel uncomfortable with a man in the salon but if we soften you a little, maybe make you seem more androgynous, they should be ok and not really notice!’

I still hadn’t let on that I was having doubts about who I was, and that i wanted to go further than just swapping my t-shirt, but still felt shy so I just told her I’d be happy to do whatever it takes if it helped.

‘Whatever it takes?’ Chloe smiled and hugged me. We had 5 minutes.

On her direction I changed into a pair of plan white tapered trousers and the same white tshirt as I wore last time with the logo ‘Chloe’s’ on it. I then put a white with pink trimmed tabard that looked a bit like a mini dress except it was open at the sides, a bit like an apron. Chloe handed me a pair of white, low heeled shoes a bit like the ones she was wearing and they fitted OK so I wore those. She again tidied my hair, pulling most of it back to a ponytail but she tied it higher this time, not what I was used to but it seemed ok. A few longer bits of my hair were pulled forward to frame my face (according to Chloe) then she ‘offered’ me some light blush for my cheeks and very slightly coloured gloss for my lips. I protested, she gave me a ‘oh go on!’ Kind of look, and I let her dust my face. I looked in the mirror. Wow! I was surprised but i actually looked ok, a bit strange to see myself like that but I liked it. It reminded me of how mum used to start her make up routine when i was a kid. Chloe could see me admiring myself and asked if i wanted a touch of eyeliner or mascara. I let her add a very light touch of mascara and my eyes opened up.

‘Have you ever thought about what it would be like to dress up as a woman’ she said

‘Sure’, I replied ‘I think about it all the time’ is what I wanted to say but all I could muster was a mumbled ‘not really’

‘You should!’

‘What?!’ I exclaimed!?

‘Have a think about it! I think you’d love it and I can see just from a few bits and pieces we’ve played around with today you will be a beauty!’

No time to think now, it was ‘showtime!’

The hens arriving was like a wall of excitement, noise and mischief. They were pumped for their day and Chloe and I had quite a lot to do to keep it all going. I took direction, followed Chloe’s lead and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. As the champagne flowed and the girls got more and more into their salon makeover experience, some started to ask me questions - ‘where have you been hiding?’ And ‘you’re a beauty where did Chloe find you?’ and ‘how sweet, Chloe has her own little helper, maybe you could be her maid’. Lots of laughter and joy in the room. By the end of the event I had painted 30 nails, and also had mine painted to match, a peachy pink colour. I helped with judging the fashion shows that started sensibly then descended into chaos and ended up being more bad taste than bride to be and, with a good deal of persuasion, I let a couple of the girls take my hair out of its pony tail and curl it with tongs then swap the light pink gloss on my lips for a darker pink lipstick and clear gloss coating.

When they left, later that evening, Chloe and I just flipped onto the floor.

‘Look at you!’ She said ‘I hadn’t realised you got so involved!’

‘Well difficult to say no to the hens’ I replied and we laughed.

Chloe and I sat and chatted for a while with the left over champagne and by the time we left that night we were both a bit tipsy. I went back the next day to help clear up and return the clothes. Chloe let me keep the tshirt.

It was agreed then i would help on a regular basis especially at special events. My uniform was to be the same as i had worn for the hen party. People came and went and i got to know the regulars. A big mix of people from a cross section of the town came in from little girls with their mums for their first salon experience, mums after the school run for a pampering, older ladies and even a few young men and boys for eyelash tints and waxing, or hair styles that a barber wouldn’t contemplate but Chloe's Salon was for everyone.

*****

One particularity busy day i was rushed off my feet. The diary was full and had started to take on a few treatments myself, quite quickly. I was going to do an eyelash tint on a middle aged lady when Chloe asked me to hand her a bowl that had peroxide in it for a customer having a hair dye and cut. I dropped the bowl, that fell towards me, and all down my front and trousers. I was mortified but Chloe was fine. She took me out back for a clean up and it was obvious straight away i needed new clothes but mid shift, there wasn’t much time. I was a bit shocked, embarrassed and disappointed and I cried. Now I had patchy blotches all over my face from the crying and my eyes were dark and sore looking.

‘Ok’ Chloe took command ‘this is a bit of an all or nothing moment! Do you trust me?’

I sniffled a bit then said OK, what else could I do there was a shop full of people waiting for us.

I took off my damaged clothes while Chloe found replacements.

‘Now’ she said ‘i can only find these, left from my other assistant. They will fit, but you need to trust me!’

I had to slip in to a blouse, very similar to Chloe's, white satin with sheer sleeves, but mine were capped short, not 3/4 length likes Chloe's. A long satin band was fixed to the neck of the blouse that Chloe tied in a loose bow slightly to the side. It buttoned up at the back that Chloe helped me with. It was a good fit!

Next came the biggest difference. Chloe handed me a bundle of things, notably a folded item made from pink material. I took them into a cubicle to change.

Having looked at what I had been given I said ‘I don't know if i can!’.

‘You want to’ she said ‘I've been watching you looking at the girls and women come in to the shop, admiring their outfits’ (she wasn’t wrong!) ‘its safe here and i know you’ll enjoy the experience. I’m going to add some colour to your face too to help mask the blotches from the crying. It will be perfect!’ Came Chloe’s reply.

I carefully slipped the tan tights along both legs then, as I had seen my mum doing many times, pulled and wriggled until they felt like the fitted ok. I opened the skirt and slipped it up my smooth legs to rest on my waist, closing the zip at the side for it to tighten around me. It was shorter than Chloe's, the tight part of the hem rested about mid thigh, so almost what i would consider to be a mini skirt, but it had a slightly flared ruffle that softened the hem and gave it a couple Of extra inches. It felt wonderful. I put the sandals back on, as they had survived the spill. They fitted better in my nylon encased feet.

I left the changing room and back to Chloe where she finished my transformation with a dusting of foundation, blusher, a light line of eyeliner and mascara and pink gloss lips. My hair was brushed out but left slightly shaggy.

Standing next to Chloe, looking in the mirror I looked like a younger version of her, only slightly but the shorter skirt and different style blouse gave the impression I was an assistant to Chloe who looked more sophisticated and professional.

I took a breath, Chloe reassured me and it was back to work.

As i stepped back into the salon, aware of the tight skirt, soft blouse and with my smooth legs, in my new uniform feeling somewhat self conscious, a huge round of applause came from the customers and i was greeted with hugs and compliments. Then we just got on with our work. I soon forgot my outfit and just enjoyed people telling me how lovely i looked all day.

From that day on i wore the same outfit at work. Sometimes Chloe gave me a new skirt or blouse to try, in various styles, but always a white blouse and pink skirt. My favourite was a flared mini skirt that was pleated and as I worked and moved around it flared and danced around me. I received the most compliments in that outfit.

i started applying my own make up and although Chloe did have to coach me as i was a bit heavy handed and applied too much at times, everything was going well.

I bought a few of my own things, including new underwear and had a varied wardrobe keen to embrace my new found freedom of expression. All of my old clothes were now left unused. I had Skirts, blouses, dresses and and a few more conservative trouser sets. Chloe even gave me a few dresses to try. Some were for everyday wear and others more dressy, so i started practicing at home with different looks and styles.

I had found the person I started to feel comfortable with and who I felt I wanted to be, and I was going to enjoy growing more and more with the help of Chloe.

*****

A few weeks passed and I had been feeling a bit overwhelmed and down as life got into more of a routine and Chloe said she had something that might cheer me up.

One of the jobs Chloe’s assistant always helped with was choosing new outfits to showcase in Chloe’s fashion display in her salon. Chloe hadn’t mentioned his to me before and had been trying to do it on her own so when she did, telling me it would cheer me up, I agreed to give it a go.

My job was to model clothes that had been sent to Chloe while she selected the outfits eventually the two mannequins would wear to express a season, or event, in the display.

The first month I helped was spring colours and styles and involved quite a few trouser suits and flowery blouses. I just tried each outfit on for Chloe to review and choose her favourite two. It didn’t take long and she even gave me a glass of wine while we enjoyed the evening together and so the second month I agreed without hesitation.

We were heading for June. Chloe felt this was definately the month for two key occasions, weddings and end of term (school) proms. So I had a selection of prom dresses, ball gowns and bridesmaid dresses to try on. There were no wedding dresses (this time).

Chloe had a devilish grin as we walked into the back room where the dresses were all waiting and asked if she could fully dress me as her model, for the occasion. I agreed.

My hair was curled and left in loose ringlets framing my face. I had a generous coating of blue eye shadow, rose pink blush, dark mascara and gloss red on my lips applied before I modelled each dress. Chloe gave me a set of black lingerie that I put on then a pink satin bridesmaids dress followed by a baby blue short chiffon dress, a black ball gown with corset waist and sequin detailing, a luxurious purple velvet dress with a fishtail skirt and matching shrug and finally a red long mermaid tail satin evening dress complete with satin elbow length gloves and strappy high heeled sandals. Chloe asked me to choose my favourites. It was the Pink bridesmaids dress, the black ball gown and the red evening dress.

Chloe dressed the mannequins in the Pink and Black dresses while I waited still wearing the red. ‘Its ok’ she said ‘you keep that one, it looks so lovely on you and I hope you can find an occasion to wear it one day’ blowing me a kiss from the other side of the room.

We changed and went home, I hung my new dress up ready for ‘next time’.

****

The following Friday Chloe gave me a bag and told me not to ask questions, but simply use the content of the bag to get ready in the morning and meet her for a day out. We were going to celebrate being friends for almost 6 months.

In the bag was an outfit including new ivory satin lingerie, a pair of white lace top hold up stockings and a day dress. The dress was beautiful in a teal green with a chiffon skirt, calf length, layered over a fitted underskirt, fitted corset top and lace detailing. A pair of matching white patent sandals with a 4 inch heel were also in the bag.

I wore my hair, now longer and almost shoulder length, down and put a small wave in it with some curling tongs I had borrowed from Chloe’s. I wore make up with pink and green tones and a reddish lipstick, i took a thin white bolero jacket from the bag slipping it on and I was ready. i met Chloe outside, as arranged, at 10 o’clock.

‘Wow, look at you my gorgeous friend!’ She said.

‘Right back at you!’ I smiled seeing Chloe in an identical outfit but a pale blue dress and cream coloured jacket, she looked beautiful as always.

We had a few drinks, a light lunch and just enjoyed the day. We had our nails manicured, mine in a deep red, Chloe’s in a baby blue and Chloe treated me to my ears pierced, and we even bought a few clothes, including my first Little Black Dress that I had no idea when I would summon the courage to wear out but it felt like a milestone in my journey.

As we sat, near the end of the day, we spoke about how we were feeling. Thats when Chloe really opened up.

‘I have something i must tell you! She said.

‘Im all ears’ i replied excited to hear her news.

‘Ok’ she seemed slightly emotional and nervous ‘i am you!’ She said.

‘What do you mean?’ I replied holding her hand tighter.

‘I am you, like you….i’m just 6 months ahead of you! I came to this town for a fresh start. I had some experience with beauty and hair from hanging around my aunties salon, and of course playing around with make up, clothes and I even had a close girlfriend once who would dress me up, but at that time I wasn't living full time as a woman, just occasionally. I took a chance, moved, rented the salon, put a pink skirt on, and the rest of the uniform of course’ she laughed ‘and opened my doors and the town welcomed me with open arms and I haven’t looked back!’

‘Oh!’ I was was shocked, surprised and immediately full of happiness.

‘When i saw you’ she continued ‘i couldn't believe how much i related to you and thats why i took you under my wing! I knew you wanted to find the real you and even though you were shy, deep down you were eager to try new things. So I helped you get started. You see, your new start, you finding yourself, i am the same but with a slight head start. This is my new start! I have finally found who i am and i wanted you to experience the same joy and peace that i have found’ she started crying, happy tears…and so did i as we hugged.

We waked to Chloe's house, It had been an exciting and emotional 6 months. We had laughed but also had some very honest and life affirming moments and now I understood more about Chloe it felt almost as if fate had led us to each other. We opened a bottle of wine and settled into our usual spots on the outside swing bench. I was still wearing the day dress Chloe had given me for our outing. My nails still perfectly manicured, my ears slightly stinging from the new studs in each ear but despite this I felt like a million dollars. Finally I could see a future that I wanted to be in and knew that I could be the person I wanted to be.

As we sat, having poured our hearts out to each other, and as we finished a second bottle of wine, we realised whatever had brought us together in the first place was some kind of divine intervention.

We talked about what might be next, maybe we would meet partners, perhaps we would go on to have different careers or just stay close, working together in the salon, and look out for each other. We both felt we were meant to be in each others lives no matter what and we decided, there and then, we would be girlfriends for life x