Feminine Touches - Part 4

OTHER PARTS | ALL STORY LIST

As Chad waited for the nail polish to dry, Katrin put his wallet in his handbag.  She talked with him until she was sure that his nails were dry.  Once she was, she slipped the golden beaded stretch bracelet onto Chad's right wrist.

He smiled at the way it gleamed and shined in the light.  With Katrin's coaxing, Chad got to his feet.  He paused as she carried over his shoes.

Chad was still wary about putting the shoes on.

The heel was two inches higher than any he had ever sported before, but part of that was due to the shoe's one-inch, front-rise platform.  Chad decided to not put up a fuss and situated his foot into the right shoe.

He balanced himself on the wall as he did so before he bent down and buckled the elasticized t-strap around his ankle.  Chad then did the same thing with his left foot and stared down at the peep toe of the rounded toe pump.  Katrin chided, "That's enough shoe gazing.  We've got a public to meet."

"I'm going to see my people?" Chad asked with a smirk.

"Darling, you're gorgeous!  Everyone is your people, now."

"I'll take your word for it, but I don't believe you."

"Then, you didn't take my word for it," Katrin countered.  "Hey, I'm wearing the shoes you picked out."

"And you look lovely in leopard."

"Maybe I'll work it into my everyday wear."

"I always thought you needed to be a little wilder."

"This is way wilder than I normally want to be," Chad admitted.

"Normally?  This may be your new normal."

"Bite your tongue," Chad responded, half-jokingly.  "Alright, just grab your bag and let's go."

"Now?"  "When else?

We've got to go some time."

"Can I just get a minute?"

"For what?"

"To collect my nerves," Chad answered.

"Your nerves?" Katrin exclaimed with a laugh.

"Yes," Chad explained, irritated by her lack of sympathy.

"What nerves can you have?

Do you know how many girls would love to look as good as you today?"

"Not many."

"No!  Quite a lot!"  "I think that if they knew..."

"Well, if they knew, what was under those pretty clothes and makeup, no, they wouldn't trade places, but we're selling an illusion here, not the real thing."

"We're not selling anything!"

"That's right!  This is all in the name of science."

Chad nodded his head after a pause.  He took a deep breath reached down and grabbed his leatherette handbag.  He mimicked the way that Katrin let her purse hang from his shoulder while he adjusted the shoulder strap that he felt turned the bag from elegant to elegantly practical.  Katrin smiled at Chad as she drew his door open.

She stepped outside first before turning her head over her shoulder to say, "Hurry up, Kitty.  Your public awaits!"

"Let's hope I leave them wanting more," Chad replied, missing the name that Katrin had assigned him for the day.

"Just keep up appearances, and I think that'll be fine."

Chad nodded as he strolled towards the door.  He stepped out and felt exposed to the natural sunlight.  He followed Katrin to the sidewalk and started to walk beside her.

Chad looked around, searching for any sign that people were seeing through his feminine guise. That he saw nothing of the sort was nothing short of exhilarating for him.

"Chin up, chest out," Katrin chided as Chad walked beside her.  "Why?" Chad asked.

"You want to project confidence," Katrin advised.

"Okay," Chad replied after a deep breath.

"Slow down," Katrin added.

"My breathing?"

"No, your pace.

I can't believe you can walk so quick in those shoes.

Are you sure you didn't have practice, and I mean a lot of practice?"

"No.  I swear this is my first time," Chad lied.  Katrin gave him a disbelieving look that made Chad nervous anew.  He swallowed hard as he shortened his gait, realizing that he had likely given himself away.

He had hoped that he had concealed it to that point, but he knew that at some point in the experiment, it had become impossible to hide.

"Now, why don't you uncross your arms.  It's not that cold out."

"Oh," Chad replied catching himself, but unsure of how to drop his arms.

"Put your arms down and walk with your left palm turned into your sides and your right on your purse, you don't want to get your purse snatched."

"That would be a hell no," Chad replied, taking Katrin's recommendation to heart.  Chad's mind raced at the prospect of some thief going through his purse and finding his male identification and credit cards.

It would also be a nearly impossible police report for him to make.

Chad gave the thought of him reporting to police that his purse had been stolen an uncomfortable laugh since he knew that it would be mortifying to him and amusing to others.  As they continued down the street, Chad saw a man giving them a leer.

Katrin's eyes darted from the man's gaze, not wanting to give him the wrong impression.

Chad, however, smiled as he saw the man looking him up and down with hungry eyes.

He put his head down and brushed his hair away from his face before he turned his head slightly to catch the man checking out his rear.

"Stop that or you might end up having to give a guy your number," Katrin chided in a low voice.

"I'm sorry.

That's never happened to me before."

"You seem almost upset about that," Katrin teased.

"No way," Chad rejoined, trying to salvage his masculinity in Katrin's eyes, only half-aware that it was a lost cause.

Katrin shook her head in disbelief as they continued walking, with Katrin giving Chad pointers as they moved about the city streets.

Chad felt eyes upon him everywhere he went.  The looks, however, were not the ones of derision he had always feared.  They were more the looks of envy, appreciation, and attraction.

"This is so awesome," Chad whispered when he saw a woman give his outfit an admiring glance.

"It pays to be stylish," Katrin replied with a smile before asking if he wanted to eat.

"Sure," Chad replied in a bubbly tone that nearly made Katrin laugh.  Katrin led Chad into an eatery.

Chad listened in silence as Katrin talked with the hostess who brought them to a table.

Chad kept his mouth shut while the woman walked away, not wanting to do any unnecessary talking that might destroy the illusion that his physical appearance was creating.

Shortly after the hostess left them, a waitress descended upon them.

She greeted them warmly as Chad maintained a smile.

The woman gave Katrin praise for her hair before the girl gushed about Chad's outfit.

Chad kept the smile on his face, not wanting to interact to much with the cheerful waitress.  "Where did you get those shoes and that dress?

I just love them," the girl finished.  Katrin smiled at Chad before motioning with her hand that he had to respond.  Chad struggled to use his most feminine voice as he lied, "It's from a thrift store."

"I've always heard you can find great stuff there, but I'm a little skeeved by the whole, somebody else wore it first thing."

"Well, I'm just a second-hand girl," Chad responded.

"I guess detergent would clean it.

It's not like secondhand underwear," the young waitress joked.

"No.  Not at all," Chad replied, struggling not to blush, but relieved the girl had not shown any indication that his voice was undermining his feminine illusion.

The girl then took their drink orders and left them to look over the menu.

Chad and Katrin talked about what they were thinking about ordering before the waitress dropped off their drinks and took their meal orders.

Katrin raised her glass of wine. Chad met her glass with his as Katrin gave cheers to new experiences.

Chad smiled while he added "And successful experiments."

"Total success," Katrin replied before taking a sip of her rosé wine.  Chad was amazed by how everyone he had come in contact that day with had not raised an eyebrow about his appearance.  He was in disbelief that he was passable in broad daylight.

Chad was unable to keep his amusement and delight for his situation from his voice as he chatted with Katrin as their lunch went long, ending after each had consumed three lipstick-smeared glasses of rosé. Chad and Katrin split the bill, with Chad paying his share in cash before they started out of the eatery.  Chad felt light on his feet as they walked.

The wine had made his face a little flush, but he felt no worse for the wear and he could never recall feeling more confident.

"You know, the café is only three blocks from here.  We should stop in," Katrin exclaimed as if suddenly coming to a realization.

"I don't know," Chad replied as he freshened up his lipstick without prompting.

"Come on.  They have to see the grand finale.  The total validation of my experiment."

Chad was eager to get his female employees to take on his feminized state. He wondered if they would be impressed, amused, or some mix of the two.  The male cooks, however, were a different story.

He knew that he would take some abuse for his appearance and how far he had been willing to go, reputedly, in the name of science.  However, he knew that they had no allusions and that the stated rationale was the reason he had allowed himself to be made over into a girl who attracted attention to herself.

"The whole staff knows this is the last day.  We don't want to disappoint them," Katrin reasoned.  Chad shrugged his shoulders while he smacked his lips and said, "What the hell?  What's the worst that could happen?"

"That's the spirit," Katrin responded with a smile and a short hug before they started towards the café.

They chatted as they walked, even as Chad's mind wandered during the discussion.  Doubts about what his employees would say about his fully feminized appearance ran amok in his mind.

His steps grew shorter and more hesitant while he forced his body to keep pace with Katrin.  Chad swallowed hard and tried to breathe shallowly as he saw the door to the café coming into view.

Katrin approached it first and drew it open for Chad.

"Going my way?"

Katrin asked with a smile as Chad came to a stop before the door.  Chad nodded before he stepped into the café. He tried to put all of Katrin's guidance into practice while he sauntered through the floor and over to Bonnie.

A grin came across Bonnie's face as she looked him over.

She came around the counter and hugged Chad while she said, "You look gorgeous!"

"Thanks, girl," Chad replied with a smile and a laugh.

Chad's eyes scanned the floor and he saw several of his waitresses giving him looks that were a mix of surprise and amusement.

Each made their way over to him and greeted him with compliments before they moved quickly back to their tables.  "What do you think about staying here for the night shift?" Bonnie asked.

"And do what?"

"You could be the manager.  The female manager," Bonnie said in a whisper that was overheard by Carlotta as she walked passed.

Carlotta paused before she turned on her heels and interjected, "Screw that!  Let her spend a night out here as one of her waitresses."

Katrin and Bonnie laughed at the idea which made Chad go silent.  It had been his dream to be one of his waitresses.  It was a fantasy that often went through his head in moments of solitude at home.

"I don't want to be a distraction," Chad admitted.

"I think you'd be a hit," Carlotta replied before asking Venetia her opinion.

Venetia stopped in her tracks to second Carlotta's opinion before she added, "We could use an extra girl tonight."

Chad squirmed at the thought.

He wanted to go through with it.  It was not long before Katrin and Bonnie were prodding him to go along with Carlotta's suggestion as well.  Chad then shook his head and said, "These tights just don't work with the uniform."

Bonnie nodded her head in agreement before Venetia said, "I've got an extra pair in white in my purse.  They're brand new.  I'd donate them to you to see you shake your ass out on that floor."

"Oh, please.  She couldn't put up with all we go through," Irina added as she overheard the conversation.

Chad was aroused by her choice of pronouns for him before he added, "I could do it."

"I don't buy that," Irina challenged him.

"I promise you. I wouldn't ask you to do anything I wouldn't do if I could."

"And, well, you certainly can now," Bonnie rejoined.  Chad blushed before Katrin asked him, "Does that settle it?"

"What can I say?  You've got to give the people what they want."

The girls cheered for a moment amongst themselves.  Venetia then went to check on her tables before stepping into the back of the café with Chad.  Chad passed through the door into the kitchen with a lump in his throat.

He stared over at the cooks who immediately froze when they looked him over.  Phil started to laugh as he made the connection over why the girl's face was so familiar to him.  The other cooks laughed as they similarly connected the dots before Phil said, "Looking good, doll face."

"Thanks," Chad forced himself to reply before Katrin chided, "Be nice, boys."

"When aren't we?" Feather countered.  "I'm as nice to him as he is to me," Bob added.  Chad felt strange hearing himself referred to as a "him" again.  It made sense though to him.  The men knew him as a man.

He knew that they weren't going to, suddenly, see him as "her" just because of a change of clothes.

"Please, remember, she's a her today," Katrin reminded Chad's cooks.  The men laughed, prompting Chad to respond to Katrin with blushing cheeks and a shaking head, "Thanks."  Venetia looked the cooks over and said, "I want to be clear about Kitty..."  "Kitty!" The men responded in unison with laughs.

"Kitty is a waitress here tonight."

The cooks' laughter only intensified with the explanation while Chad felt himself sinking lower as his head lost its proud upturned position.  Venetia shook her head before she reminded the cooks, "No one can know that anything is strange about Kitty, so please be on your best behavior."

"We're just having fun!  What's the worst that could happen?" Phil countered.  "Lost business," Katrin responded as Chad nodded his head.

"We don't want anyone to lose their jobs because of loose lips," Venetia added.  "If that's a real concern, then 'Kitty' shouldn't be waitressing here," Feather rejoined as he used air quotes for Chad's feminized name.

Katrin explained her findings to date to the cooks who were hardly surprised.

They acknowledged Chad's believability as Kitty before they agreed to not say anything that might make its way out of the kitchen to the earshot of the patrons.

With that agreement in place, Katrin retrieved a new uniform for Chad and walked with him toward his office.

She smiled as she asked, "Do you need my help getting ready?"

"No.  I think I can take it from here," Chad replied, not wanting the staff to get the wrong idea about him and Katrin.  "Okay.  I'll be right outside the door if you need help."

"Thanks," Chad replied before he stepped into his office.  Chad closed his office door and clutched the new maid's costume in his hand.

He gazed at it for a moment, taking in its decorative ruffles, lace, and bows.  He had been attracted to the design since the moment he had stumbled upon it.

He had always assumed that his dreams of working as a waitress in the uniform would remain just that.  The closest he could get was living the experience through his waitresses or sporting the uniform in the privacy of his home.