Chapter 6 One of the girls

Back at the flat the girls had decided that we would forget the casual looks for this evening and dress ‘to the nines’. So after a quick shower and moisturise I brushed out my hair, really glammed up with heavy evening-out make-up, put on one of my new undie sets, sheer tights, my ‘little black dress’ and some 3” heels, a quick spritz of hairspray and ‘Allure’, grabbed a clutch bag for my essentials, and went out to meet the others.

“Wow Maria you are gorgeous, you are a natural at this, grab your coat, we’ve ordered a taxi, lets go and have a good night out”

Gina had reserved a table for us right next to the stage, and had arranged with the bar staff to have some cocktails and wine ready to welcome us, so we were already in party mode when they came on to do their performance. They put on a great show, I think they were even better and more professional than when I was with them. Near the end of the show, Gina made an announcement.

“The first time we did a show here, Anni-Frid here was unwell and my cousin Maria stood in, I would like her to come up and join us for our final number, which as usual will be ‘Dancing Queen’, all of you please feel free to get up and dance or wave your arms around and join in.”

The girls pushed me up to the stage, I was given a spare mic, and we launched into the number. The girls were the first to join in on the floor which led lots of other guests to follow. They all seemed to be getting into the swing of things so we continued to go through the song a second time. and we all left the stage to lots of applause. I rejoined the girls. After they had got changed and freshened up Gina, Maggie, Bob and John joined us for the rest of the evening. the girls all complimented them on their wonderful show and with promises that we would do this again next time they were in town, we set off for home.

Back at the flat, we all got changed and cleaned up and sat around in our pyjamas and nighties to have a last drink to finish off the night. This time I was more in tune with them wearing one of my new pyjama sets with a cami top and shorts rather than the satin nightie.

Sunday morning I realised that when Gina had brought my stuff over that she had forgotten to include the glue solvent for my “breasts’, so I was, literally, stuck with them until I could find a local shop that stocked some. I called Gina who told me that she would post it over when she got home but that it would be a couple of days before it got to me. I could have cut through the breasts, but I didn’t want to ruin them as they were not cheap so the only choice was to remain as Maria until I could get them unstuck.

Still feeling a little light-headed after last nights drinking, I drifted into the kitchen, still in my pyjamas, to get a coffee, Megan was the only one up.

“Morning Maria, that was a good night out, we’ll have to do it again next time they are in Plymouth. They were really good they could probably make a living doing the clubs and local theatres as a tribute band, and when you got up with them you really fitted in, you knew all the words and dance movements you were very good too.”

We generally chatted for a while about the night out, the show, comparing what we had all been wearing and how we looked, when she suddenly realised that I was still Maria.

“ How come you are still dressed as Maria, you are just so natural that I didn’t even notice until just now. It was the same last night you just blended in as one of the girls.”

I explained my problem with the breasts and that for at least a couple of days Maria would still be around, and Megan said that she didn’t see that as a problem, as the others were now used to Maria anyway.

When the others turned up I got pretty much the same reaction, it seemed to take them all a few minutes to notice how I was dressed and they didn’t seem to care, I was just another flatmate. Sunday was always a lazy day, and when all our heads had cleared, we threw on some comfortable casual clothes to go for a walk down by the seafront, I just put on leggings and a tunic top and my flats, grabbed my bag, and off we went.

The sea air soon cleared the cobwebs from our heads and we had a pleasant afternoon just strolling around, browsing the shops before going back to the flat for an evening in preparing for classes tomorrow.

This was going to be a problem for me, obviously I could clean off all the make-up and nail polish, re-style my hair, and change my clothes, but the boobs would be hard to hide. I bound them as tight as I could, covered up with a couple of thick sloppy Gino’s sweaters, and looking as masculine as I could, but quite androgynous, I went off to classes. Luckily all my classes today were in large lecture groups rather than small study or tutorial sets, so I was able to get into corners and keep out of the way of anyone who knew me well and hope that I went undiscovered.

I was glad to get back to the safety of the flat, take off my clothes, unbind my breasts and put on a bra, which was strangely comforting, get into leggings and a top, and relax for the first time that day. By the time the other girls got back I had been practising my catering skills with a lasagne and some focaccia and we all settled down for a nice meal during which the main topic of discussion seemed to be how my day had gone and whether anyone had noticed.

Tuesday and Wednesday went very much the same way, but the glue solvent arrived on the Wednesday, and I was able to feel comfortable again as Gino.

The rest of the year came and went, My studies were fine and I sailed through my exams as I had already picked up a lot of the basics at the local college and when working in the hotels. Gino was around all week, but Maria was normally about at weekends and if we were going out anywhere special. I kept my hair trimmed so that it could be styled for to suit Gino or Maria without looking out of place as either.

Although I was dressing as Gino, the girls tended to treat me as one of them, and the rules about walking around in underwear, and leaving clothes around relaxed a lot. As Linda and I had the two en-suite rooms and the others had to share, my bathroom soon became common territory and was quickly filled with all sorts of shampoos, conditioners, body washes, and a variety of creams and lotions, even some hygiene products and drying underwear, it was almost as bad as sharing at home with Gina. The girls seemed to make no allowances for the fact that I was really a boy.

We left for the summer break, having arranged for an off-campus flat for the six of us for next year and it was back home to work in the hotel again. This time I was mainly working ‘back-of-house’ in the office assisting Mum with the book-keeping and marketing and learning more about the business plans and finances, dealing with the bank and accountants, and was expected to keep up a smart professional appearance.

The only time the rules changed was when I appeared with the group as Maria, covering for when Maggie was away on holiday or visiting her folks. The act had diversified and when they had a booking for two sessions they performed the second as ‘Bucks Fizz’, so there were a lot of new songs and routines to learn.

It was good fun to be doing the shows and touring around again, but I was glad it was only for a few weeks, as I felt that I was getting sucked into femininity, spending too much time as Maria, and was trying to settle down as Gino again. I spent a lot of spare time surfing down at the beach, and as it was a warm summer it was mostly in just speedos rather than a wet suit so I quickly built up a tan, helped by my Italian genes.

Soon it was time to go back to university, and I packed up everything I thought I would need. I debated whether to take Maria’s stuff with me, but in the end decided that both I and the girls were more comfortable when she was around ,so with twice as much luggage as normally needed and a big supply of glue and solvent for the breasts, I headed back to Plymouth

To be continued.