The Women's Job - Part 4

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We waited and all of us walked in together. I did get some looks but so did my friends. I had to wonder, with the way I looked, if I was mistaken as one of them, another girl. My clothes, my hair, the fact that I was wearing two big hoop earrings. It was possible. The only noticeable difference was I wasn't wearing makeup.

It was the looks from guys that really bothered me. They had to think I was some kind of fag and that really made me uncomfortable. I kept my eyes down.

The girls obviously knew where they wanted to go because they headed straight for the end of one of the long bars. Given the look on the bartender's face when he noticed our approach, he knew them.

I would have preferred to sit away from the crowd, at a secluded table, but that wasn't going to happen. I sat nervously on the stool between Kim and Trish.

"And what can I get you, ladies, to drink." The young guy behind the bar asked charmingly.

Judy on the end started. When he got to me I hesitated then asked for a draft beer. The guy didn't bat an eye at me, he went on to Kim. Did he think he took an order from a girl?

I heard Judy cough and looked her way. She raised an eyebrow at me. She was probably thinking the same thing I was but I wasn't sure so I let it go.

When our drinks came I took a long welcome sip of the cold draft.

It didn't take two minutes before the guys started to swarm around us. I kept my eyes straight ahead and down as my friends were propositioned.

Finally, what I was afraid would happen did. Some jerk came up behind me and asked me my name. I didn't know what to do. I tried to ignore him but he didn't let up. "Come on Sweetheart, all I want to know is your name." The guy was sincere. He really didn't know.

They were all watching me to see what I was going to do. I could see their faces in the mirror behind the bar. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the guy behind me wasn't bright enough to glance over there to get a better look at me.

I had to do something. I summoned up all the courage I could and turned to him and, in the deepest voice could find, said, "Buddy, you're definitely not my type."

The guy and his buddies were floored. He was embarrassed beyond words. He looked so flustered at discovering I was a guy, he was dumbstruck.

"Let's go," Kim said to the others. No one questioned her and I got up with them. Leaving was fine with me. At that point, I knew that coming to this place was a definite mistake.

We were almost to the door when the guy found his wits, with his buddy's encouragement. "Hey, pretty boy!" Came the voice from across the room.

Kim turned to me. "Jeffrey, you go outside right now with Trish and get in her car. We'll be right out."

I didn't think I should run away. "Are you sure?"

"Jeffrey, please! Go, now!" She insisted.

I didn't argue anymore. There were five guys headed our way and they looked angry. I followed Trish out the door.

"Hurry up!" Trish encouraged me. "Get in and lock the door."

I did what she told me. "Why are we running away?" I asked.

"Jeffrey, those animals were going to beat you up. They’re the type who love to gay bash." She explained as she put the car in reverse and backed out of the spot.

"But I'm not gay!" I said with emphasis.

"It doesn't matter to jerks like that. Those rednecks don't know the difference."

We were out of the parking lot in a flash. I looked back after the others and saw the five guys burst out the door looking for me. I was glad Kim had the sense to get me out of there. I owed her and the others. "Are the others going to be all right?"

"They'll be fine. Those guys won't do anything to them."

I turned and settled down in the seat. "Do you think they would really have tried to beat on me?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I shouldn't have come," I said to no one in particular, staring out the window.

"You need to get out. You work too much." Trish said with concern.

"I should have changed," I added absently.

"No, you look fine. You just have to be a little selective where you go. We made the mistake, taking you there. Guys in places like that are so insecure, not like you. They're afraid of anyone different. You just have more fashion sense and they don't know how to react toward you."

Her logic made me feel better. I was getting used to my new 'fashion sense' and, unlike what I used to wear, I found my new clothes much more comfortable. Ok, so I just have to be more selective, I told myself. "Where do you suggest we go where that won't happen?" I asked.

"Over by the downtown mall, there's a club that caters to a more upbeat, sophisticated crowd, The Point Club. Let's go there." Trish suggested.

I wanted to trust her judgment. "Ok."

She picked up her car phone and called Kim. They agreed with Trish's selection and would meet us there in a few minutes.

Up till that day, I had led a very sheltered life. It was that or I was as naive as those rednecks at the bar we just escaped from.

If I was skeptical of Connie's fashion sense, I learned I was wrong. My clothes were drab compared to what most of the guys at the Point Club wore.

As we waited for the other girls to join us, Trish explained. "Most of the models in town come here. It's considered one of the most fashionable places to be seen."

Fashionable, it was. If I thought wearing bright colors and light fabrics wasn't macho I wouldn't have had the nerve to tell some of the guys I was introduced to or the women on their arms. It would have been better if I was as well built or as broad-chested as some of the men but I still got a few looks and come on smiles from women. It did a lot for my ego. One girl, in particular, caught my eye and over the next hour, my eyes kept coming back to her. Once or twice our eyes met and I turned shyly away.

Fashionable clothes were not the end of it. Most of the men in the club had long hair and earrings. More than half carried purses but not one acted the least feminine. The purses made sense in a way since their pants had only small pockets or, like mine, none at all. I had to carry my wallet. I still wasn't convinced to run out and buy a purse of my own.

I couldn't help but compare myself to them. Most wore the jewelry; necklaces, bracelets, rings, and even some jeweled earrings. Some of it quite flamboyant, but most was tasteful. Other than the simple hoops, I had none to wear. I almost felt jealous.

We relaxed over several glasses of wine. I was amazed at how comfortable I came to feel there with them. I grew less and less self-conscious as we talked and I watched the people in the place. I felt right at home.

We had a light dinner right there at the club.

Afterward we talked, about me, about modeling, they even shared some of their intimate stories with me. Models had some amazing stories to tell. They laughed when I blushed.

We were just getting up to leave as I turned around and almost knocked over the attractive girl I had been staring at all evening. She was as beautiful up close as she was from afar. I couldn't help but look right into her eyes. "I'm sorry," I told her.

The auburn-haired girl had the prettiest smile. Her reply surprised me. "I'm not." She said. "I've been watching you since you came in, hoping I could find a way to meet you."

She was watching me? I was flattered. I wasn't sure what to say.

"I was a little afraid to come over to you, seeing who you were with." It was her turn to appear flustered.

She thought I was with one of my friends? She flattered me again. "We're all just friends, we work together."

The others were waiting for me. "We really have to go Jeffrey." Kim reminded me.

"OK, just a second." I turned back to the girl. "It was nice bumping into you," I said with a smile. Then I asked her name.

"Christy, Christy Rourke. Maybe we'll see each other again. I stop in most Fridays." Her blue eyes sparkled.

My response was unplanned, "I hope so."

With that, Kim and the others started for the door. I followed but looked back as we went out to the street. Christy was watching me. I waved goodbye, she waved back.

"I don't know her," Judy commented as we walked to the car.

Trish did. "She just joined the Webster Agency."

"She's a model?" I asked. I should have known. She was gorgeous. She had a perfect figure.

"Yes, silly. She's a model." Kim said laughing. "You really should try to watch your drooling Jeffrey."

Blushing was becoming a habit with me.

"She was really hot for you," Gloria added in the spirit of the mood.

I didn't think my cheeks could get any redder. We all laughed together.

I was amazed that in so short a time, after so weird an experience as I had Thursday night, that I would find myself so taken with my new friends. I really enjoyed the evening and was sorry now to go home. I warmly thanked everyone for asking me to go along and thanked Trish and Judy again when they dropped me at the condo.

The weekend was something of a letdown after such a busy week. I was going stir crazy by noon on Saturday. I took a cab to work and let myself in with my key. There was plenty to do and I could use the quiet time well to get ahead on my work.

The following week was extremely busy. As I showed Connie I was capable of handling more and more responsibility, she piled the work on me. I didn't mind at all.

Connie presented me with my own supply of vitamins that Monday. She gave me a set for work and home just so I didn't have an excuse not to take them. She gave me four different types to take. I didn’t see any harm and promised to take them faithfully. I was a small enough concession for all she did for me.

When Friday evening came I was ready to go out. I had waited anxiously all week for the chance to see Christy again. I begged Gloria and Holly to go with me and although we waited around for an hour, Christy didn't show. I was really disappointed. I was sort of depressed all weekend.

Connie turned over all the scheduling responsibilities to me the next week. I was responsible for every detail of the shoots, from scheduling the models to making sure the right outfits were there and ready. It was almost overwhelming, with everything else I was expected to do, but it kept my mind off other things.

I learned, to my disappointment that we didn't do business with the Webster agency, the place Christy worked. I couldn't get her off of my mind.

We had a shoot Friday that ran late. I no longer stayed in the background and watched. I was as busy behind the scenes as Connie was out front. At her request, I helped Stephanie with the girls’ preparations in a wardrobe and I tried to help Pam with makeup. It was awkward at first but no one seemed to mind my being in back. Pam taught me how to apply foundation on the girls to help her. I learned more about makeup than I wanted to know.

I wasn't able to go back to the Point Club that night to see if Christy was there. We worked till nearly ten.

Connie insisted that I not work that Saturday. We went shopping instead.

I tried to tell Connie that I was fine with the clothes I had but she insisted that I have some new things. "You can't keep wearing the same clothes all the time. Besides, you seem to be losing weight. Your clothes don't fit the way they should."

She was right about that. I had no scale to tell by but I knew by the fit of my pants that I had lost a few pounds.

The store Connie took me was a women's boutique. She insisted that it was unisex. "They have some really nice things here." She assured me.

She told me to wait by the dressing room while she collected a few things for me to try on. I received no more than casual glances from the women who went in and out of the dressing rooms as I waited for Connie. She didn't leave me waiting long, thank God.

I didn't see one man the whole time we were in the store. I waited till we were outside before I asked, "That really wasn't a unisex store, was it?"

Connie looked at me sheepishly. It wasn't an expression I saw on her face often. "Actually, no, it wasn't. It's just that you can't always find nice things and I'm afraid you're becoming a little hard to fit."

Did that justify my wearing girl's clothes? "Won't people realize that I'm wearing girl's clothes?"

"They look just like the things you buy in the better men's stores, only they fit you." She passed it off as if it was nothing. "Don't worry. I won't tell if you don't."

Connie hadn't lied to me yet. There was no doubt, "I won't tell."

"Alright then, that's the end of it." Connie was more than content to drop the subject.

We put a half dozen new outfits in the back seat. Some very unsettling to me.

The first was a bright green bodysuit. Above the waist, it was just like a tee shirt except it was snug fitting and had long sleeves. I had seen them in promos for guys. I wondered if theirs fit as snug as mine did?

The jeans she bought me to go with the bodysuit certainly looked like a girl's jeans to me but Connie assured me that no one would know. Unlike my old jeans, these fit. They were snug at my waist but full in the leg, but not too baggy. It was the style. They were made of lightweight denim. I tried on the set and found them extremely comfortable. Wearing a bodysuit was certainly a new experience for me but I convinced myself I could get used to it if I had to.

The next outfit was a purple jumper. I wasn't as comfortable with it as I was with the bodysuit and jeans. It fit perfectly when I tried it on. I was very uneasy about the thought of wearing it to work.

Next, she picked out three new slacks, cut very similar to the ones I had been wearing, only the colors were brighter. One pair was purple with a black geometric print and I didn't notice till I picked them up to try them on that they were different from the others. They were stirrup pants. Connie expected me to wear these, I asked myself? I had never seen stirrup pants for guys and certainly not in a print. They were kind of extreme, even for me.

We bought three shirts. All rayon. Two had flap pockets on both sides, one red, one lime. The third, in teal, had no pockets. They all felt so smooth and silky. They could easily be construed as unisex. I could handle wearing them.

The black linen sport coat was like the ones I'd seen guys wearing at the club a few weeks ago. It was great.

I didn't know until I got home that evening that the last gift she bought me was pajamas. White, silky polyester, long sleeve pajamas. They felt cool against my skin when I tried them on. These, no one would ever see.

I was wondering how I could, in clear conscious, ever thank Connie when I noticed the small box on the nightstand. She must have put it there when I wasn't looking. It was wrapped in hot pink paper. I unwrapped it to find a black velour jewelry box. Inside was a matching gold necklace and bracelet. They were a delicate herringbone with a sparkling diamond cut. The necklace was a long one that hung down almost the middle of my chest when I tried it on. The pieces were beautiful but like the other things Connie bought me, could I wear them?

I didn't go out the rest of the weekend, content to stay in and read.

I was amazed at the number of compliments I received for the outfit I wore Monday. The teal blouse went well with the new black slacks and the black jacket was extremely comfortable. Everyone loved the necklace and bracelet.

After that, I couldn't thank Connie enough. She was thrilled that I was pleased, "It's enough that you like everything. I can't wait to see you in the other outfits." She told me over breakfast.

"I got you one other thing, or I should say the company did. All the models have a membership at one of the local health clubs. I’ve OK’D a membership for you."

I always wanted a health club membership but could never afford one. "Connie, you've already given me so much."

"You work hard Jeffrey but there's more to life than just work. You don't get any exercise here and that's not good for you." She told me with mock authority, "I'll expect you to work out for at least an hour, three days a week."

I laughed, "Yes ma'am." I had a thought, "I don't have anything to work out in. I didn't think to bring that kind of thing down with me."

"I'm sure the girls have some sweats at the condo. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you borrowing a pair till the weekend. We'll go out and get you some things."

I know better than to argue with Connie. The issue was closed as far as she was concerned.

We finished breakfast as we began to finalize the week's plans. We had three shoots this week and I had every intention to see them going off without a hitch. There would be no missing models.