Spit and Image: 5

 

As the day of the photographer's visit approaches, Paul finds more and more delight
in helping his mother with this project.

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Author's Note: If you enjoy this story, why not consider leaving me a review? ~Clara.
 
This version of Spit and Image: 5 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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Chapter 5
 

"You should have something more substantial than just a piece of toast and a cup of tea, Paulie. You've got a long day ahead of you. Remember, I need you to come right home after school so we can get things ready for tomorrow. We've got a lot to do."

Paul laughed quietly to himself. His mother was getting very wound up and stressed over what was supposed to a simple event to recreate a picture that was taken fifty-five years ago. "Don't worry, mommy. I'll be here by 2:45. I promise. And I'm really not all that hungry. This is fine." He took a small bite of his toast and sipped his tea.

Lilly sat opposite her son, crossed her legs and stirred some berries into her yogurt. "Your hair looks very nice, today, Paulie."

"Thanks, mommy." He was still experimenting with how he wanted to present himself in his male-mode. Today, his hair was brushed straight back and he'd sprayed it rather heavily to hold it in place. The short, wispy bangs that he was sporting curled down to his well groomed, though not overly thinned, eyebrows. It wasn't exactly how he'd need to wear his hair on Saturday, but the look was definitely old fashioned, slightly formal and definitely girlier than boys usually wore theirs.

Lilly smiled and considered how he'd look just a day from now. He would be as beautiful as her mother had been when the original picture was taken. Heck, right now he was trying to be as boyish as possible for school, but his lightened hair, sculpted brows, long lashes (there must be some mascara lingering in them for them to be that long), his grandmother's lovely pendent around his knock where it had hung since she'd put there a week ago, and his overall body language... he was just too cute to be boyish.

"That's a nice shirt. Is it new?"

He glanced down at the plaid, button down he was wearing. "This? This was Meredith's. It was in the bag I brought home, yesterday. It looks ok, doesn't it."

"It looks lovely, honey." The colors were fine, if just a little softer than a man's shirt would be, but that suited him. The buttons were on the left side instead of the right, but who'd notice that? The only distinctly female touch to it were the very short, short-sleeves which also featured an inverted 'V' cut into the cuff with a tiny, white-grey button sewn at the top of the 'V'. If anyone noticed those nuisances, it would more than likely be a girl, so Lilly doubted that he'd have any problems.

The 'toot-toot' of Lori's VW sounded from the driveway.

"Oops! Gotta run!" Paulie stood, grabbed his backpack and kissed his mother's cheek. "Bye, mommy. See you after school."

He hustled out the door, down the driveway and into Lori's cute car.

"Look at you, you cutie, you!" Lori giggled as he fastened his seatbelt. "Pretty hair and a cute little blouse! Hot, hot, hot!"

Paul smiled as he leaned over the shifter and raised his head to kiss her cheek. "Mom's getting pretty excited about tomorrow. She wants me back here right after school."

Lori raised her eyebrows lecherously. "She's not the only one, baby."

He laughed and gently punched her arm, "Stop it."

"Oh, I am serious, Paulie. You are hot as hell in that shirt. That's a fact."

Paul smiled and shrugged his shoulders joyously. He loved that she was smitten with him when he looked cute. He wasn't a bad looking guy and he knew that Lori found him attractive, but this was different. He loved being appreciated as being pretty.

"Besides," Lori continued, "my boyfriend is getting boobies today!!!" She bounced in her seat. "I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!"

They both laughed.

At school, they headed for Lori's homeroom, as was their norm, but, just as they reached the door, Paul stopped. Lori looked at him and she could see that he had something on his mind.

"What's up, babe?"

Paul turned towards her, obviously shaken from thought by her words. "Oh, umm... Lori, I think I need to go to the chorus room for a few minutes before class."

Lori smirked, crossed her arms and leaned on the doorway. "Oh? Is everything ok with you and Mr Mwangi? He’s not giving you a hard time about the way you look, is he?”

He shook his head, but Lori could tell that something was up. “No, no... it’s just that I... I need to grab my folder. We have a quiz today and I haven’t memorized part or the... ummm.... Well, I need to work on one of the pieces.”

“Ok. I’ll walk with you.”

“Oh, no... I’ll be fine... thanks.”

Lori watched as he walked down the crowded hall. Something was up with him. He’d tell her eventually.

Just before he reached the chorus room, he ran into Melissa from chorus who was just headed to her locker.

“Hi, Paulie! Why are you walking alone? Are you headed to your homeroom?”

Paul accepted a kiss to his cheek from the pretty senior girl. This had become one of his favorite parts of being girly – the kisses. So much nicer than a wave or a handshake or man-hug with an abusive slap on the back.

“Hi, Melissa. No, I’m going to see Mr Mwangi for before the bell.”

As they stood in the hall and spoke, a very big kid walked right into Paul, almost knocking him off of his feet.

“Hey, watch it!” Melissa yelled down the hall as she caught Paul falling forward.

“Faggot!” the other student called over his shoulder, causing most of the students in the hallway to stop and look from the bully to Paul, trying to figure out how they should respond – talk to the bully, beat up the bully, call a teacher?

Melissa’s face turned bright red and she was about to go after the bully when Mr Cooper’s voice rang out, “Simpson! My office! Now, smart ass!”

There was some relieved laughter from the students in the hall. Several patted Paul’s shoulders or back saying encouraging things like, “He’s an idiot,” Screw him, Paul,” “Ignore him.” Paul shrugged and thanked them. That was unexpected – not the bully, Mr Mwangi had warned him about them, but the support. Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as he thought.

“Everything ok, here?” Mr Mwangi’s rich voice asked.

“That idiot, Roland Simpson, just bumped into Paulie...” Melissa started, but Paul cut her off.

“Everything is fine, sir.”

Mr Mwangi smiled and patted Paul’s shoulder. “Good to hear.”

Paul found his teacher’s demeanor comforting. “May I speak with you privately, sir?”

“Any time, Mr Rooney,” his smile grew slightly. “I shall walk our friend to Mrs Priestly’s class after we speak. Thank you for getting him to me.”

He bowed, just slightly to Melissa. Considering how aloof Mr Mwangi always appeared, this familiarity with Paul did confuse her just a bit. She nodded, smiled, kissed Paul’s cheek and walked away with a quiet, “Ok. See ya.”

Mr Mwangi guided Paul into the chorus rehearsal room and then into his small office, offering Paul a seat and then he sat himself down in his desk chair. “What can I do for you, Mr Rooney?”

Paul took a deep breath and turned his head to the right to gather his thoughts. “I don’t know, sir. I’m just... well, I guess, I’m just pretty confused, sir, and I was wondering if I might be able to ask you for some help.”

The older man nodded. “If I can help you, I will. What kind of help do you need?”

“Well, sir, I was wondering if you might make a phone call for me?”

Mr Mwangi’s eyebrows rose on his forehead. “Who would you like me to call, Mr Rooney?”

After school, Beth and Lori met Paul at the door of his last class. “All set, baby?” Lori asked as they headed towards the doors and the parking lot beyond.

“I am,” Paul smiled and accepted Lori’s kiss on his lips. “I text mom to tell her that I was going to be a little later than I expected. I hope you don’t mind, but I need to make a stop on the way home.”

“Today!? Ok? I thought that you needed to be home right away.”

“I do, but I just need to make this stop. It’ll only take a half hour or so.”

“Ok. Your mom said ok to this, right? I don’t want to get her upset today, of all days.”

“She’s fine with it. I won’t be long.”

“Yo, Beth!” A voice called from a car that was pulling up beside them. It was Jeff, Beth’s boyfriend. Jeff was a very talented athlete and he worked for his father’s store most afternoon and evenings when he wasn’t swinging a bat or throwing a ball. Beth tended to only spend the late evenings. He seemed like a good guy, but Paul didn’t know him very well.

“Hi, Jeff!” Beth skipped to the side of the car and bent to kiss Jeff through the driver’s window.

As she bent forward and spoke to her boyfriend, Paul felt a pang of jealousy – not as if his girlfriend were flirting with another guy, he’d never thought of Beth as his girlfriend, but more as if someone had just come between him and his favorite, big sister. Her attention had been diverted away from him and it bothered him. AND it bothered him that it bothered him. He had no claim on Beth. Why did he feel so odd that she had looked away. Suddenly, he realized why girls hated their girlfriend’s boyfriends. He decided that this was one aspect of girlhood that he needed to get control over. He didn’t like being petty.

“So,” Beth smiled as she returned to Paul and Lori, “Jeff has to work till 9:00 instead of 6:00. Mind if I hang with you guys for a while?”

“Sure,” Lori shrugged. “Paulie has his mysterious appointment, so you and I can do a little shopping till he’s done.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Beth pulled open the passenger door to Lori’s VW and climbed into the backseat. Paul and Lori climbed in, too, and they were off.

Paul asked Siri how to get to a specific address and within a couple of minute, his phone announced, “Your destination is on the left.”

Lori pulled into the parking lot and Paul pulled the handle to open the door. “Thanks. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

Lori stopped him, “Paulie, are you sure you’ve got the right address? This is a ‘professional’ building. There’s only lawyers and doctors in there.”

Paul leaned over and kissed Lori’s cheek. “Yep. It’s the right place. Love you. See you in a few.”

He held the door while Beth climbed out. She glanced up at a sign bearing the names of some of the names and professions of the tenants of the building, the smiled at Paul. She kissed his cheek and whispered, “Don’t do anything rash, now. Think your decisions through.”

He smiled and returned her kiss. “Don’t worry, but... thanks for worrying.” And they watched as he entered the building.

They drove to an outlet mall down the road and went into one of their favorite outlet stores, Aeropostale. They entered the store and dove into the discounted clothing with all the enthusiasm of two nineteen year old women with debit cards burning a hole in their purses.

Within minutes, Beth had gathered a pair of jeans, a tank top, an off the shoulder top and a short peasant-style skirt. “You like these? They’re really cute. I’m going to try these on. Be back in a sec.”

The tank top showed too much side-boob for her taste, but loved the skirt and the off the shoulder top. She called Lori over to the mirror. “What do you think?”

“Oh, Beth, those are perfect! I love them! Are you buying them both?”

“Sure. It’s only $22 for both of them. Oh, this skirt is so cute! I love it!”

She noticed that Lori had several items draped over her arms. “Did you finds some things?”

“I did. Some really cute stuff.”

“Cool. I’ll get changed. Are you trying those on?”

“Not just yet. I’m going to keep looking.”

“Ok.” Beth went back in to change and returned with a smile on her face. It wasn’t exactly ‘a haul,’ but she’d found some cute stuff and hadn’t broken her budget.

She found Lori still looking through the racks. “Are you trying them on? I’d like to hit Dunkin’s and grab a coffee before we leave.”

“Great! I’m all set,” Lori smiled. “Let’s pay and we’ll head out.”

They’d started towards the cashier when Beth noticed the color of the clothing that Lori was carrying. Bright pinks and yellows and soft baby-blue. Not Lori’s typical clothes palette. “Wait a minute, Lori. Can I see something?”

Thinking that her friend had seen another item, Lori stopped and turned back to face Beth, who reached over and took a pink, lacy, lace up, fit and flare dress off of Lori’s arm. Not only was it have been way too small to fit Lori’s size four body, it didn’t look anything like something Lori WOULD EVER wear.

Beth held up the dress and cocked her head at her friend.

“What?” Lori asked. “It’s cute, right?”

“It’s for Paulie, right?”

“Well... yeah. Everything I have is for Paulie.”

Beth shook her head impatiently. “Put it back.”

“Beth? Why? They’re all priced right and he’ll look adorable in them.”

“Lori, do ever listen to what Paul says? He’s not sure about what he’ll do after the picture is taken tomorrow. You have to let him make up his own mind. He’s not your doll, Lori. If you buy him new, girly clothes, he’s going to feel pressure to stay in girly clothes and that’s not fair. Let him make up his own mind.”

“But...”

“But, nothing. Put them back. If he decides to be your girlfriend instead of your boyfriend, you can come back Monday and buy all of these, but until he decides, you are not allowed to buy him things like this. Period.”

Lori ‘tisked’ at her friend and marched back to return the clothes. “You’re no fun at all, Beth and I absolutely hate it when you’re right. I’ll let him decide on his own, but he would have been adorable in that dress and you know it.”

“Not the point, Lori.”

“I know, I know, but you watch, I’ll be back here on Monday buying this same pile of clothes.”

“And that will be fine.”

Just as the last hanger was rehung on the rack, Lori’s phone chimed, indicating a text. She looked at the phone and read, ‘I’m going to be another 45 minutes. I told mom. We’re meeting her at Allison’s instead of at home.’

She text back, ‘Ok.’

‘Can you call mom? She needs to ask you something. I don’t know what. Do you have her number?’

Lori checked and she did. ‘I’ll call her as soon as we leave this store. Love you.’

‘Thanks. Love you, too. See you soon.’

Beth paid for her purchases and they went out to the walkway. As they headed to the Starbucks, Lori called Lilly.

“Hello, Lori. Thanks for calling.”

“Hi, Mrs Rooney. I’ll get Paulie there as soon as possible. He said he’d be done in about forty-five minutes, so we should be at Aunt Alison’s in about an hour.”

Lilly sighed. “Can you believe he’d do something like this – today of all days!? Oh, well. Whatever he’s up to, I’m sure we’ll hear about it soon enough.”

“I’m sure.” Lori laughed.

“The reason I wanted to talk to you, though is because I’d like you to come dressed up for the photographer, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Sure. Are we going out after?”

“Well, that might be nice, but, actually, I was thinking that, since I have the photographer coming anyway, we should take a few family pictures, too. I’m going to ask Keith to come, too. We’ll do pictures of you and Paulie and the family and you and the family... shots like that, ok? Oh!!! And if you can reach Beth in time, I’d like her to come dressed up, too. Do you think she’d take part?”

“I think so. She’s right here, Mrs Rooney. I’ll ask her.”

Beth, who’d been looking at her phone, looked up. “Ask me what?”

“Will you dress up for the photographer tomorrow? Mrs Rooney wants you in some of the pictures, too.”

“Cool! I can wear my new outfit!!”

Lori smiled. “She’s very excited, Mrs. Rooney. We’ll be dressed up.”

“Wonderful, dear. I’ll see you at Alison’s in an hour, then. Oh! Don’t tell Paulie about the extra pictures. I want to surprise him. Bye, dear.”

“Ok. Bye, Mrs Rooney.”

“We’re getting our pictures taken, too?” Beth was suddenly much more enthused. A real photo session? That was pretty cool. She’d actually had her senior year book picture taken by an artsy classmate. It would be cool to have a real portrait with her friends.

“Looks like it!”

“That’s awesome. Come on. I’ll buy you a latte and a biscotti to celebrate.

They picked Paul up when he was done and then headed to Alison’s salon. Paul seemed very excited for the events of the next fifteen or twenty hours. So much so that they didn’t even realize that he’d not put on his girl-clothes until they arrived.

“I’ll drive you to someplace with a restroom, babe,” Lori said, apologetically. “You can get changed there and we’ll come right back.”

“Nah,” Paul pulled the handle on the door and pushed it open. “I’m sure that there’s someplace I can get changed, here.”

Wow. Just a few days ago, Paul was petrified to enter a salon looking like a pretty girl. Now, he was willing to enter in boy-mode and let people think whatever they wanted. Lori and Beth looked at each other, eyebrows raised, and smiled at his new-found courage.

Lilly was waiting when they entered and she had several waiting room chairs covered with different items, including the rectangular box containing Paul’s faux breasts.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here!” Lilly was stressed and not doing a very good job of hiding her anxiety.

Paul kissed his mother’s cheek. “Relax, mommy. Our appointment is at 4:00. We’re three minutes early.”

“Yes, but we should have already applied your breasts by now. This takes some time, too, you know. Oh, lord, Paulie, of all the days to wander off for God knows what...”

“How are we all doing, today, ladies?” Alison broke into the conversation. She kissed her niece and said hi to everyone else.

“We’re running a little late, Auntie,” Lori said. “Mrs Rooney has some prosthetic breasts for Paulie and we’re running a little behind schedule. Is there someplace she could help Paulie put them on?”

“Sure.” She indicated a doorway. “Let’s go in here.”

When they entered, there was a waist-high, padded table, much like a doctor’s examination table, located in the center of the room. Typically, the room was used for waxing customers’ legs, arms or private areas.

“Paul,” Alison asked, “why don’t you strip to your panties and lay down up here. Let me take a look at your chest. I can give you a hand with the breasts.”

“Oh, Alison, thank you!” Lilly said, relieved. “Have you done this before?”

Alison laughed. “Oh, you’d be surprised what we’re asked to do, here. Every Halloween, there’s always one or two clients with boyfriends who need help with their breasts. It won’t take too long.”

Paul removed his shirt and trousers, revealing a plain camisole and a pair of soft yellow, silk and lace panties.

“Cute, Rooney,” Beth smiled as she took Paul’s discarded clothes from him an folded them neatly.

Paul smiled, coyly. All four women took note of the fact that Paul was already well tucked and his panties presented a smooth, glossy, lacy front. All four women smiled.

He pulled himself up onto the padded table, situated himself and laid back so that Alison could inspect his chest.

“Hmm,” she looked at his chest, closely. “You’re pretty smooth, I assume you used a depilatory recently?”

“I just used the over-the-counter stuff,” Lilly answered. “That’s ok, isn’t it?”

“Oh, sure. If this is going to be a frequent thing, you should consider waxing or laser treatments, but this is fine for today.”

Alison took the prosthetic breasts from the box and placed them on Paul’s chest, then took a white-board marker and made a few marks. “You have lovely skin, Paul. Most boys your age have hairy, sweaty torsos that are covered with pimples and ingrown hairs. Yours is flawless.”

“Isn’t he adorable?” Lori giggled.

Beth and Lilly giggled at that, but Alison was serious. “I’m not kidding. Your shoulders are lovely. You need to let people see them, Paul.”

“Paulie,” he said.

“Pardon?”

“Please, call me Paulie. When I’m getting fitted for breasts, Paul seems a bit... boyish.”

Alison smiled. “Ok.”

She pulled the breasts aside and asked Lilly to help her prepare the Paul’s chest with adhesive, while she did the same to the back of the breasts. Lilly noticed that Paul was shivering while she brushed the adhesive on to him.

“Cold, honey?”

He shook his head. “Not really.”

His mother smiled as she realized that she was seeing shivers of anticipation. That’s how excited her little boy was to be getting plump, womanly breasts.

“Ok,” Alison held Paul’s fake breasts inches above his real chest and smiled. “Are you ready for this, Paulie? Once they’re on, they’re there to stay for at least a couple of days.”

His tongue poked just slightly through his teeth as he smiled and nodded. Then he nodded far more broadly than was necessary. “I’m ready.”

Alison grinned at his reaction. It was cute and childish and undeniably female. She wasn’t looking at a boy who was about to have breasts attached to his chest, she was looking at a little girl who was about to explore one of the most magnificent aspects of womanhood – breasts.

She carefully placed them onto his chest and asked Lilly to hold them in place while she worked the edges as so they would set as smoothly as possible. Then she instructed Paul to lay perfectly still for the next ten minutes.

“Can someone get a mirror so I can see them?” There was an excited desperateness in his voice.

Beth found a fairly large hand mirror nearby and held it up above Paul so that he could see them. She moved the mirror from side to side so he could see them from every angle.

“Wow,” he whispered, “they look so real.”

“And just how would you know that they look real, mister!” Lilly teased and she slapped his shoulder playfully.

Lori leaned forward and unconsciously laid her hand on her boyfriend’s smooth, creamy thigh to balance herself as she peered over the mirror at his perfect, smooth, creamy face, “I don’t see any ‘Mister’ in this room. But I do see another beautiful girl. Holy cow, Paulie, this is almost more than I can take. You’re getting more gorgeous by the minute.”

He smiled and blushed.

“You should be able to sit up, now,” Alison smiled as she placed a hand behind his back and helped him to sit upright. As he did so, the breasts shifted and adjusted themselves in a remarkably natural manner. When he threw his legs over the side of the table and sat up straight, the breasts hung perky and naturally from his chest. The coloring of the silicon was uncannily close to his own skin tone and the nipples sat lifelike and sexily on the teardrop shaped appendages.

He wiggled his shoulder and they moved on his chest. He smiled as he looked around at the astonished women in the room.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Alison smiled at his obvious joy. “These are really nice. Shy of hormones or surgery, you couldn’t ask for prettier breasts.”

“How do they feel?” Lori asked.

“They feel awesome,” Paul laughed, at a loss for explaining how they made him feel exotic and attractive and inexplicably complete.

Lilly touched them. “My goodness. They do feel natural. They’re even warm.”

“Really?” Lori asked and she reached to feel them.

Soon, Beth’s curiosity got to her and she groped him as well. All agreed that they were remarkably real and the barely visible seams would be very easy to cover.

“Do you have a bra?” Alison asked, rousing the others from their fascinations. “You should support them. They will pull on your skin unless you take care of them.”

Lori handed him the pretty bra that matched his pretty panties and Lilly helped him fasten it. Now, in the bra and with his grandmother’s pendent hanging daintily between the mounds, he looked just like a beautiful girl. No make up, just a pretty face and shapely body. He didn’t look as mature as Beth and Lori, his thinner hips and thighs gave him a more youthful appearance. A stranger might say fifteen years old or so – or perhaps a well developed thirteen year old – but the promise of a fertile woman emanated from him and he seemed to sense it. He stood straight and proud, his breasts standing powerful and erect before him.

“How do I look?”

“Oh, Paulie,” Lille started, but she had to stop to wipe a tear from her eye.

“Baby,” Lori filled in the silence, “you’re gorgeous. You could walk down the street in just your undies and no make up and people would swear that you were the prettiest thing they’d ever seen.”

“No BS, Rooney,” Beth’s smile was sincere and encouraging, “you’re unbelievable. I can’t believe it’s really you. I hope it makes you happy.”

Paul laughed. “I think it does. I’m actually a little lightheaded right now. It all feels so amazing.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, Paulie,” Alison interrupted, “because we have a long way to go to transform you into your grandma. Between tonight and tomorrow morning, you’re going to experience a lot of girly things that you may find a bit extreme, but, trust me, you’ll be happy with the results. Do you have something feminine to wear?”

Lori pulled a dress from his bag. It was a simple, soft-green dress with an elasticized top and cap sleeves.

“Oh,” Alison scowled. “Do you have anything that doesn’t pull on over his head? That may be easier.”

“Sorry, that’s all I brought,” Paul said. “I didn’t realize it made a difference.”

“I’ll go buy him something,” Lilly said, but Lori interrupted.

“No! I know the perfect dress! Beth just talked me out of buying it. I can be back in fifteen minutes!”

Beth laughed and shook her head as her friend ran to grab her purse. Lori had gotten her way after all. “You’re in for it, Rooney.” Beth winked at Paul.

Paul smiled and winked back. He loved both Lori’s enthusiasm and Beth’s protectiveness. They were two sides of the same coin and he knew that they both loved him in different ways.

“Here,” Alison handed Paul a clean, sleeveless, front buttoning, pink blouse. “I keep extra tops around in case of accidents when I’m working. This should fit you like a short dress until Lori gets back.”

The blouse was far too big on his small frame, but it did the job. It was very silky and had a very different smell to it than any of his own clothes or any of Lori’s little sisters’ hand me downs. He loved the way that his new breasts held the blouse away from him, making swing against him when he moved. It felt odd, but in a lovely way. It made him feel strangely smaller and somehow more reliant on the women around him – younger and less independent. It was like he was a child again and they’d sent him to school with one of his mother’s shirts to use as a smock in art class. He liked it.

When he was seated at a station in the salon, Alison looked closely at his face, comparing it to the picture. “Alright, Paulie. We did most of the heavy work on your eyebrows the other day, but now I need to shape them just a little more, ok?l

Paul nodded.

“The thing you need to understand, though, Paulie, is that for the next couple of months, you’re going to have women’s eyebrows. You’ll have them for school, prom...”

“Keith’s wedding,” Lilly offered. “Maybe we should just keep them as they are. It won’t make that big a difference.”

Alison nodded. “Ok...”

“No. Not ok.” Paul announced. “I want the picture to be perfect. Go ahead, Alison. Make them just like grandma’s. If I need to draw them in later, I will.”

Alison looked to Lilly who smiled and shrugged.

“Ok, then, young lady,” Alison teased, “let’s give you Miss America eyebrows.”

When Lori returned with the same pink, lacy, lace up, fit and flare dress that Beth had, essentially, forbade her from buying an hour earlier, Paul’s eyebrows had been sculpted into lovely arches – not overly thin, but definitely sculpted.

Beth, who was sitting at a bank of unused hairdryers, saw the dress, laughed and shook her head as her best friend sat next to her. “Unbelievable. You are completely incorrigible, You know that?”

Lori smiled and dismissed Beth’s teasing with the raise of her eyebrows. “He’s looking awesome, isn’t he?”

“You better calm down, Lori, or you’ll have a stroke before tomorrow is over.”

Lori laid the dress on the chair next to her. “Damn,” she whispered, “he’s going to be cuter than either of us pretty soon.”

Beth nodded. “What do you think his grandmother will think? I think that, if we gave my grandma a picture of my brother dressed to look like her, she’d freak.”

“You’re brother is six foot two, has a beard and weighs three-hundredand -seventy-five pounds.”

“Be that as it may,” Beth shrugged, “you know what I mean.”

“Mrs Rooney seems to think she’ll like it.”

Beth looked at Paul’s mother who was standing next to her son, transfixed by his metamorphosis. “What if she’s as blinded by excitement as you are and his grandma freaks out? What then?”

Lori shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Why do you have to be this way, Beth? Can’t we just enjoy this?”

“I’m sorry.” Beth leaned forward and took her friend’s hand in hers. “I just want you to keep at least one foot on planet earth. If she goes nuts when she sees the picture, you need to be ready to help Paulie. You saw what happened this week...”

“Yeah, but he’s stronger, now, and...”

“And... and... and... nothing. He’s not a strong, confident man, Lori. He’s an adolescent girl, right now, and he’s thinking like one. You helped to create this situation – if things go badly, you need to be the grownup.”

Lori looked at Paul, then back at Beth and she considered everything that Beth had said. Finally, she nodded. “Ok. When she sees the picture, I’ll be there with Paulie, but I really think she’ll love it.”

“Since we can’t see the back of your mother’s head in the photo,” Alison was saying to, Lilly, “I’m going to have to guess at how she wore her hair back there. Let me try a few things and you can pick the one you like. That way, tomorrow morning, I’ll know what I need to do.”

“What did you have in mind?” Lilly asked.

“Well, it looks as if she had it done up in a chignon. I’ll try a couple of different styles and you can pick what you like.”

She wound his hair into elaborate formations behind his head until she found one that, when viewed from the front, looked very similar to the way that Lilly’s mother had worn hers all those years ago. His hair had been pinned into a medium sized ball, which started at the back of his skull and curved to the nape of his neck. It was simple, but elegant. Classic.

“Yes, Alison,” Lilly said, sounding relieved that they’d found the perfect look for her son. “That’s it, exactly. You’re a genius.”

“Thank you,” Alison looked at the boy in her chair. “I agree. I’ll do it like this in the morning, but, since it was a very special occasion for your mom, I imagine that the chignon was a little more elaborate. I’ll add some more details – a few waves and curls – and, if you look closely, right here, I’m pretty sure that she had some baby’s-breath woven into it, as well. I’ll pick some up on the way in, tomorrow. I think that will be perfect for this look.”

“How much time will you need to get him ready, then?”

“Oh, I’d say forty five minutes to an hour for his hair and another forty five minutes for his makeup. It’ll be busy here, so I will have other customers, too... let’s say two hours, maybe another fifteen minutes – maybe not.”

“Wonderful. Thank you, so much, Alison.”

“I’m happy to do it, Lilly. Paulie, you’re going to look beautiful.”

Paul was still in the chair, inspecting his hair in the mirror. His face was tingling with excitement. “Thank you,” He managed to reply.

“What about tonight?” Alison asked.

“What do you mean?” Lilly hadn’t really thought about anything but tomorrow.

“I mean – are you going home? Going out? Should I put a little makeup on him or doesn’t it matter?”

Lilly turned to Beth and Lori. “What do you think, girls. Are we going home or would you like to go get some dinner?”

Lori stood and held the pink dress up for Paul and Lilly to see. “I’m starving. Food would be great and look at this dress, Paulie. Isn’t it great?”

Paul smiled and nodded, while Beth stood behind him and looked at his reflection in the mirror. “What do you want to do, Rooney? Would you feel comfortable going to a restaurant or would you rather go home?” She ran her fingers along the beautifully crafted design of his hair.

Paul took her hand in his and held it to his cheek while looking at her in the mirror. “I want to go out.” He kissed her hand. “Thank you for worrying about me, though.”

She bent and kissed his cheek. “You look awesome, Rooney, but I have to head home. I’m meeting Jeff later and I need to get ready. Looking at you, I’m feeling a bit... underdressed to go out.” She winked at him.

“I’ll drive you home,” Lori said, but Beth waved her off.

“Naw, that’s ok. I’m only a couple of blocks away and it’s not dark out. Can I meet you guys here, tomorrow morning, around nine thirty?”

They all agreed and Beth waved as she walked out the door.

“Alright, then,” Alison picked up her makeup palette, “I’ll just put on enough makeup to make you look natural and you are free until tomorrow.”

Lilly excused herself to use the Ladies Room.

Lori watched as her aunt worked on her boyfriend. “Don’t make him look too grown up, Auntie,” she said, quietly. “I like it when he looks natural – maybe just a little younger then he is. You know? Kinda ‘fresh faced,’ I guess.”

Alison let out an amused breath. “Kids,” she muttered, “you get weirder every day.”

Lilly returned as Alison removed the cape covering Paul’s make-shift dress. She stopped and took in the sight of him. He was adorable. Pretty. Unpretentious. Happy. The perfect little girl. She’d miss this if he went back to being a boy. “Oh, honey, you just look so precious.”

Paul stood and looked at himself in the mirror. He like what he saw and his broad, youthful grin displayed his feelings. “Thanks, mommy. And thank you, Alison. It looks... I look... amazing! Thank you.”

“My pleasure, sweetheart. Lori, go get her... sorry, him dressed. You all must be starving.”

Lori grabbed the dress, then took Paul’s hand and led him back to the room with the padded table, while Lilly helped Alison pick up her work station so that she, too, could go home.

“Let me help you with that,” Lori turned Paul toward her and she unbuttoned her aunt’s blouse. Paul shook it from his shoulders and smiled as he stood there in his bra and panties.

“Wow,” Lori said quietly. “You look amazing.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Not very manly, though.”

Lori’s smile turned just a little sad. “No, but still amazing. How do you feel?”

Again he shrugged. “I guess ‘amazing’ sums it up. I certainly don’t feel like me, but I do feel... amazing.”

Lori held up the dress she’d purchased, suddenly feeling little pangs of guilt as she thought of Beth’s chastisement. “I’m afraid I went a little overboard and got you a pretty girly dress.”

Paul looked at it and snickered. “I’ve never seen a macho dress. It’s very pretty. I like it, a lot.”

“Good,” Lori said, relieved. She undid the laced up front of the dress and knelt as she lowered it to the floor. He stepped into it, and Lori started to raise it, but as she reached his knees, her eyes rose to the level of her boyfriend’s smooth, silk and lace pantied crotch and she paused. She leaned forward and gently kissed the bottom of the embroidered front panel.

Caught by surprise, Paul made an odd sound with a quick intake of air. “Not now,” he whispered. “Not here.”

Lori smiled. Was there still a boy in there? She wondered. Was there still a penis tucked in those panties? It sure didn’t look like there was. And what boy would ever turn down a little attention in this area?

She kissed his panties, again. She let is linger this time. He smelled of scented soap and perfume and just the tiniest bit musky. Like a girl.

She smiled up at him, noticing hope ripe and natural his breasts looked from this angle, too. “Sorry,” she kissed his panties one more time, “but you needed some kissing and I don’t want to mess up your lipstick.”

She stood as she raised the dress to his shoulders and she laced up the front. The inch-wide straps hung from his shoulders and the bodice only just covered his newly acquired breasts, following in a straight line around his back to reveal his naturally beautiful shoulders. The all over lace pattern created circles all about the dress which flounced nicely to a few inches above his knees. It was sickeningly feminine and youthful. It was absolutely perfect. He had become the boy of her dreams by becoming the girl of her dreams. Her aunt was right: this WAS weird, but it was wonderful, too.

“God. I could eat you up,” she whispered as she centered his grandmother’s pendent to hang perfectly above his ample cleavage.

“And I’d like noting better,” he smiled, knowing how cute he looked and he stood on his toes to give her a peck on her beautiful lips with his beautiful lips, “but mommy is waiting...”

They said their goodbyes to Alison and walked to a Greek restaurant down the street. Paul walked between his mother and girlfriend. He was mesmerized by the feel of the dress as he walked. The laced up bodice hugged so tightly and accentuated his bosom so beautifully, while the skirt teased his legs and brushed his arms with each step. His white, beaded slippers were flat and felt as if he were walking barefoot.

By contrast, Lori was wearing a grey, tight fitting tee shirt, a pair of jeans and ankle boots with a two inch heel, while his mother was wearing her real estate agent attire – a white blouse, navy blue blazer and a conservative, grey skirt with classic, black pumps.

His bright and playful attire and the fact that he was half a head shorter than his mother and a full head and a little more shorter than his girlfriend, made him feel small and a bit vulnerable. It was wonderful to feel this pretty. He could only imagine how wonderful it must be for some girls who felt this way every day. EVERY DAY!!! God, that must be amazing!

Three Greek salads, three glasses of iced tea and three small triangles of baklava later and they were all sated and happy. The waitress had complimented his appearance several times and had fawned over him with each visit to the table. She made him feel very speacial.

Paul’s phone buzzed, indicating a text. It was from Keith. ‘Hey, Paulie. How goes it? Mom and Lori getting you all ready for tomorrow?”

Paul text back, ‘They are. You wouldn’t believe how I look right now. We’re having dinner downtown.’

‘Where?’

‘Toula’s. Near city hall.’

‘Cool. We’re actually across the street at the Brewing Company. Do you think we could talk to you for a few minutes?’

‘You and ???’

‘Abby’

Paul sighed prompting the others to ask who he was texting. He held up a hand and continued texting.

‘I’m very girly, right now. Will she behave?’

‘Definitely. We’ve had a long day of talking. She wants to apologize. She’s really sorry. I’m serious.’

He thought for a moment before replying.

‘Ok. I’ll be there in a minute or two.’

‘No. You stay there. I’ll come and accompany you over.’

‘Ok.’

Paul put his phone down and smiled at the women at his table. “Umm... Keith is in The Brewing Company across the street. He’s coming over to get me. I’ll just be a few minutes.”

“What!?” both women asked.

“Why?” Asked Lilly. “Does this have something to do with Abby? Paulie, I don’t want you to be upset tonight, so you just text your brother...”

“Mommy... mommy... calm down. If Keith and Abby are ever going to get back together, then this has to be resolved and I am willing to do whatever I can for my big brother.”

“And I am ready to do anything I can for my little sister,” Keith said as he came up behind his brother, bent down over him and and kissed his cheek. “How are you doing, princess?”

“Keith,” Lilly stood as Paul did, “now, I don’t want Paulie to be upset tonight...”

“Oh, don’t worry, mom... Wow! Paulie! Holy Moses! You’re absolutely beautiful! You really are a princess! Ready?”

Paul grabbed his phone and smiled. “Sure. Mommy, Lori, I’ll be back in ten or fifteen minutes. Please, just be patient with me. I won’t be long.”

“Paulie!...” Lilly stamped her foot.

Paul kissed her cheek.

“I love you, mommy. I’ll be right back.” He took his brother’s arm and headed toward the exit.

“Don’t worry, Mrs Rooney.” Lori took the older woman’s hand. “I think he’ll be ok. He’s much stronger than he was on Tuesday.”

“Good God, I hope so, Lori, because I can’t take another night like that one.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Keith asked as he put his arm around Paul protectively when they stepped into the street.

“Sure.”

“Those are... well, how did you sprout real boobs since last night?”

Paul laughed and used his head to hug his brother as they stepped onto the curb on the other side. “You’re a riot. They’re glued on - until Sunday night by the way. Pretty impressive, though, huh?”

“You certainly are,” Keith guided Paul into the restaurant and towards a tall, round table where Abby sat on a tall stool that looked like a kitchen chair with very long legs.

Abby was wearing a pretty, loose, flowered sleeveless blouse and incredibly tight jeans. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. She’d obviously been crying. Her face was reddish and blotchy from stress. If someone didn’t know her, then they’d think she was just tired, but Paul knew how meticulous she was about her appearance and he knew that she was a mess of emotions and that made him feel bad for her...

...but, even though he did feel bad, he also felt a distinct pang of caution and a touch of fear when he saw her. A wave of heat passed through him, but he refused to show her anything but a calm exterior.

Abby looked up and made eye contact with Keith as they approached the table and a smile creeped across her lips, but then she realized that the very young, very pretty girl in pink under his arm was his brother, Paul, and her eyes went wide as her jaw dropped.

“Paul...?” she said quietly, but excitedly. “Is that really you!? You look...”

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘gorgeous,’” Keith’s smile showed his sense of pride and love as he pulled out a chair for Paul.

Paul smiled at his brother’s effusiveness. The chair was a bit high and Paul pondered the best approach to getting into the seat with his short dress, but Keith, ever the gentleman, offered Paul an arm to steady himself and it made it easy for him to put a slippered heel on the footrest and raise himself high enough to sit while smoothing the dress beneath him. He smiled a thank you, while Keith moved the chair closer to the table.

Paul sat tall and royally, back straight, hands laid one on top of the other on the table and smiled confidently, yet cautiously, at Abby. His ‘Mona Lisa Smile’ showed no emotion. He waited for her to begin.

“Well,” Keith pulled up his tall chair and began his work as a liaison, “here we all are.”

There was an awkward silence.

“Abby,” Keith prodded, “I believe you have something to say...”

She heaved a nervous sigh. “Well, Umm, Paul...”

“Paulie,” the vision in the pink dress stated flatly.

“I beg your pardon?”

“My name. My name is Paulie. Not Paul. You’ve always known that, so, please, call me Paulie.”

She looked at Keith, who offered no comment. “Ok... Paulie... look, what I did was... well, it was unforgivable.”

She paused and waited for Paul to say something, but he remained enigmatic.

Her eyes darted from a Paul to Keith, waiting for someone to help her, but she was met by silent stares.

“Even my maid of honor was furious with me, but to be honest, I didn’t really expect you to run out the way you did...”

“Yes, you did.”

She looked hurt. “No, Paul, I didn’t...”

“Abby, you waited till I was alone and then threatened to have me beaten.” Paul’s voice was steady. A slightly condescending smile toyed at the edges of his lips. “My reaction exactly what you wanted and Keith...?” his eyes remained locked on Abby’s.

“Yes?”

“If she calls me ‘Paul’ once more, I’ll be asking you to escort me back across the street.”

Keith looked at Abby, raised his hands, palms up, and shook his head from side to side. “You have to do the right thing, Abby. Truly, I love you, but I love Paulie, too.”

She wiped a tear from her eye and sniffled slightly – a bit too dramatically, in Paul’s opinion. “Ok...Paulie... I was being a self centered, obnoxious bitch. I was at the height of my bridezilla mood and I can’t even explain why I decided to target, you, but I swear that I have learned my lesson and from now on, I promise that I will support you. I will be the best sister in law imaginable, Paulie. I swear it.”

There was silence while Paul remained still and waited.

She looked to Keith who used his eyes to guide her right back to Paul.

Finally she asked, “Do you forgive me?”

“I can’t,” Paul said quietly and emotionless lay.

She looked from one brother to the other, nearly frantic. “What...? Why...? I mean... What do I have to do?”

“Well, the first thing you have to do is apologize.”

Abby looked confused. “I just did.”

“No. You said a lot of things, but you never apologized.”

She looked to her possible-fiancé with a look on her face that said, ‘Seriously?’ but Keith remained impassive.

Finally, she looked at Paul and steeled herself to say one of the most difficult sentences of her life. “Paulie, from the bottom of my heart, I apologize for what I did. I was mean and selfish and I know I hurt you and I will never forgive myself for what I did.”

Paul considered her words for a few moments before he spoke. When he did finally speak, he kept his spine straight, but leaned forward forward just slightly, placing his hands on his crossed knees, now, pulling Abby’s attention closer to him. “Abby, I want to explain something to you. What you did to me was, as you said, unforgivable, and at least right now, I, honestly, cannot forgive you. But I do accept your apology and this is why – I actually considered killing myself that day, did you know that?. That’s how badly you made me feel. But out of that despair, a few things happened.”

“First, I realized that I was a lot stronger than I thought and that the only reason your petty and spiteful words hurt me was because I allowed them to. Your meanness taught me to be a stronger, more confident person. You no longer have that kind of power over me.”

Abby nodded, a bit taken aback by the maturity that Paul was displaying.

“Second, my brother loves you and I want him to be happy, but I know that, if I do not accept your apology, he will feel that he has to chose either you or his family and, if that happened, he’d never truly be happy.”

Keith reached over and squeezed both of Paul’s dainty hands in one of his dig, strong ones.

“And finally, and absolutely most importantly,” he breathed back the emotions he wanted to show, “because you were such a bitch to me, my brother came back to me and the last three days with him have been more precious to me than you can imagine and I actually owe you a thank you’ for that. So – thank you.”

Keith’s head sagged for a moment and when he looked back up, he discreetly wiped a tear from his eye.

“So, Abby, for the sake of my brother, I will learn to love you as a sister and I will never share what you did to me with my mother or anyone else, ever again, but I cannot forgive you, right now. Maybe later... who knows. Can you live with that?”

Abby felt as if she’d been called out on the carpet by a truly superior person. How had she been made to feel this way? Paul was a child, for crying out loud. She could feel the tears welling up behind her eye lids, but she did not want to cry.

Paul saw the redness returning to her eyes and cheeks. He felt as if he’d made his point. No need to remain and gloat.

“Well, I should get back to mommy and Lori, so, Keith, if you wouldn’t mind...”

“Not at all, princess,” he stood and helped Paul to dethrone.

Paul stood and stepped close to Abby, leaned towards her and kissed her cheek. “Congratulations, Abby. Keith is a wonderful person and he loves you, very much. I know that you will have a wonderful life together.”

Paul turned to leave, but kept his back turned to give Keith a moment. He, too, leaned down to Abby and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be right back, Abby.” He stood to go, but stopped for a moment and said in a slightly louder voice, “Didn’t I tell you? I have the coolest sister, ever.”

With that, he placed his arm around his brother’s shoulders and gave him a hug and kissed the top of his head. “Thank you, Paulie. I love you and I am so proud of you.”

Paul was actually shaking from the encounter. He had behaved and explained himself exactly as he’d wanted, but the amount of adrenaline that was coursing through his system was beginning to overwhelm him. He threw his arms around Keith and hugged him tightly, too. “I love you, too, Keith, and I’m glad that things are working out with Abby.”

They stepped out onto the sidewalk as Keith said, “I think we’re on the road to fixing things, Paulie. We still have a lot to work out.”

“You’ll get there,” Paul smiled.

“Well, girls,” Lilly said as she rose from the couch, “this show is of no interest to me, so I think I’ll head up to bed. Paulie, I need you to be up by seven o’clock, so set your alarm.”

“Ok, mommy,” he smiled as he cuddled into Lori a bit more than he had when his mother had been sitting with them. “Love you.”

“Night, Mrs Rooney,” Lori called.

They were watching a mediocre comedian on NetFlix and neither was very interested in what he had to say. Mostly, they just wanted to be together as long as they could before Lori had to leave for home.

“You really do look beautiful, babe,” Lori loved the way he cuddled into her.

He smiled broadly and turned to kiss her. It was a brief kiss, but the one that followed was deeper and more sensuous. And the one that followed that was very, very deep.

“You’ve always been beautiful, Lori. I could never catch up with you.” They kissed again. “I love you, so much.”

“And I love you, baby.”

He settled back down and cuddled again.

After a few minutes, Lori asked, “How do they feel?”

Paul grinned again. He knew that’d she’d been dying to talk about his breasts all night.

“Fine, I guess. I’m pretty used to them, now.”

“Do you like them?”

He sat up straight and shimmied a little to make his breasts wiggle. “More importantly, do YOU like them?”

She giggled and threw her head back in mock frustration. “Oh, Paulie! I LOVE you and, yes, I love LOVE them, and you know it. Now, come on. Tell me how you feel.”

He leaned forward, just a bit, exposing his cleavage a little more than necessary. “I really,” he kissed her, “really,” he kissed her, again, “really like them.” He kissed her a third time. “To tell you the truth, I absolutely love them and I can’t even think about what it’s going to be like to take them off.”

She liked that answer. “Then keep them on forever.”

He giggled and smiled again before going back to cuddling. The comedian on NetFlix told a joke about the lost and found at the airport. The audience laughed hysterically, but neither of them were listening. They were both lost in their thoughts; nervous about saying anything more.

Finally, Paul whispered, “I wish they were real.”

Lori smiled, relieved that he’d said it first. “So do I, baby.”
 
 
To Be Continued...