Fifi - Book 2 - Chapter 3

David shivered as he turned to see Annisa bossing around an intimidated-looking bellboy. Having spent the last few months in the tropical Jakartan climate, he had almost forgotten how cold the weather was in Europe this time of year. Not to mention how depressing the sight of the dark grey clouds looming above could be.

“How do things keep getting worse?” David thought as he failed to close his pink faux fur coat due to the padding in his bra. The ultra-girly coat had been a gift from Annisa, purchased alongside the furry white boots he was currently perching on to help him stay warm. And given the weather that day, he was glad she'd persuaded him to wear it. Even if he couldn't help but wish she'd bought it in a larger size and different colour.

“How is it so cold here?” He moaned quietly to himself as he watched Annisa disappear inside the five-star hotel with the bellboy in tow, most likely to retrieve a trolley for their mountain of bags piled high on the curb. Shivering again, David rubbed his hands down his furry sleeves. Having grown up in London, you'd think the young man would have been better adjusted to winter weather. But to be fair, back then, venturing outside this time of year in a tiny skirt with only a thin layer of nylon covering his legs below would have never crossed his mind.

(See image 3.1)

It had been two nerve-rackingly long weeks since finding out he was going on the trip to the French capital, and if truth be told, he was still in shock. At first, he’d tried to talk Annisa out of it, but it soon became clear that her mind was made up. And if he was honest with himself, David couldn’t really fault her logic. Fifi was homesick, and what better way to cure that than with a visit home? She wasn’t to know that David had never been to Paris. It had been his lies that led to this position, rocking atop a pair of impressively tall heels while freezing wind swirled around his pantyhosed legs!

To make matters worse, Annisa had always dreamed of visiting Paris and was expecting a tour guide, someone with local knowledge to show her the hidden gems of the city. That thought had been keeping David up at night as he scoured the internet for things to do and studied street maps until he passed out from exhaustion.

Then there was the language predicament! He was not going to fool anyone with his basic French. As soon as he opened his glossy lips, everyone would know he was a phoney. But he had devised a plan to combat this and hoped it would work. The thought popped into his head while travelling over in the private jet. Yes! A private jet! Even David had been shocked by that revelation. He had long suspected Annisa’s family was well off, but jet money! That was another level.

Anyway, going back to the plan. It was a simple idea. He just wouldn’t speak French! Not a single word for the entirety of the trip! He had pitched the idea to Annisa as a learning opportunity, convincing her that the only way to truly test herself was to completely immerse herself in the language. Thankfully, she bought it, leaving David free to speak English.

Seeing Annisa return with the bellboy, David leaned down to rub his ice-cold thigh. “Once the suitcases are unpacked, I’ll have to find a pair of pants or at least a warm sweater,” he thought to himself as he raised his manicured hand to give Annisa a little wave. He knew that she wanted to explore and do a little shopping later, and for the undoubtedly stressful adventure, he definitely wanted to be warm.

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“So far, so good,” David thought after congratulating Annisa on successfully ordering their lunch entirely in French. They had been in Paris for just over twenty-four hours now, and thankfully his plan seemed to be working. To his delight, most people would ignore him as soon as he started speaking English, especially when Annisa spoke a little French to them. But it hadn’t been entirely plain sailing! Not understanding most of what people said but having to pretend that he did, had its downside. One example was their morning appointment at the nail salon, where he had left with longer nails than he would have liked. To keep up appearances, he was now stuck pretending to like the long green-tipped claws that even made something as simple as holding the food menu a challenge.

Annoyingly, the food turned out to be distinctly average. Especially after David had researched the place thoroughly before recommending it to Anissa as one of his favourites. Not being the type of person to complain, Annisa said that she liked it, but David could tell she was disappointed. So far, he was doing a poor job of convincing her that Paris was his city. If he didn’t want to outted, he’d have to up his game!

With their bellies full, it was time for a little sightseeing. So, after a short taxi ride (where Anissa again communicated their intentions to the driver in French), David found himself tottering along the Pont des arts, struggling to remember the reason why people liked to attach padlocks to the old bridge. He made something up about a couple forced apart, who locked away their love until they could finally be reunited. Surprisingly, Annisa loved the story, deciding to commemorate their visit by buying her own padlock from a local vendor. On it, she wrote F for Fifi and A for Annisa before adding the date and securing it high above the river Seine.

When Annisa turned with a huge smile plastered across her pretty face, David asked what she wanted to do next. She replied by saying it was time to visit the Eiffel tower. They had dressed up that morning in preparation for the pictures, and with the sun finally peeking out through the clouds, it was time. She then asked how far away it was.

Full of confidence, believing that he had finally done something right on their trip, David made a mistake! Thinking back on all the nights that he had spent studying in preparation for the trip, he remembered reading about how nice the walk was supposed to be from the Pont des arts to the Eiffel tower. The problem was that the person who had written the blog had almost certainly not attempted the 3.6 km trek wearing a tight skirt and designer platform pumps. And to make matter worse, having only bought the high-priced stilettos on the previous day, the towering shoes had yet to be broken in!

The walk was a miserable one! As even though his augmented feet could handle the highest of heels, unfortunately, his leg muscles above weren't up to the task. And Annisa was in a similar boat. It wasn’t long before he started seeing signs of frustration on her usually unflappable face. He then annoyed her more by insisting, whenever she asked, that they were almost there. In his defence, the tower in the distance did appear closer than it looked, but as a born and raised Parisian, Fifi should have known this!

When the tired and sweaty pair arrived at the gardens surrounding the tower, they were barely talking. Annisa was annoyed that she had missed her window of sun, while David was worried about Annisa calling him out as a fraud. Finding an overpriced vendor selling coffee, they bought two cups before sitting down on a nearby bench to rest their aching legs.

“Sorry about that?” said David nervously after taking a sip of the molten hot coffee and almost burning his lip. “I… I haven’t walked that route since I was a little b… girl.”

Annisa turned. “It’s ok, Fifi. I understand,” she said with a smile. “I’m the same when I have to show someone around Jakarta. It’s not like I’m visiting the Istiqlal mosque or the national monument every day, you know?. Shall we just forget about it and try to make the most of what's left of the day?”

David smiled as he remembered why he liked Anissa so much. She was always so optimistic. She always seemed to be able to ignore the negatives and focus on the positives. It was something he was quite envious of. “I’d like that,” he replied as he fussed with the folds of material surrounding the midsection of his bright white peplum dress.

“Great!” Annisa announced, jumping to her high-heeled feet. “I want to take some photos while it's still light out. Here, take off your coat and go stand by that lamppost.”

With his backside already freezing cold pressed against the metal strips of the bench, David winced before quickly remembering who he was supposed to be. “Ok,” He said in the cheeriest voice he could muster before slipping off his coat and tottering over to the suggested position.

(See image 3.2)

For the next few minutes, David received pointers on how to position his legs and hold his arms. And while focusing on the instructions, the humiliated man tried to give the excited-looking Indonesian girl snapping pictures what she wanted. After all, it was better than focusing on the chill surrounding his crossdressed body. Or how ridiculous he must have looked, posing away like one of those extravagantly dressed influencers he used to make fun of.

The photoshoot was ended abruptly by the sound of a loud wolf whistle, accompanied by what David assumed to be a lewd comment, but seeing as it was said in French, he couldn’t be sure. Looking over to see a group of young men gawking and smiling in his direction, David lowered his eyes in shame. But the sight of his thin womanly legs swaying atop a pair of outrageously tall heels only compounded his humiliation.

There was another whistle followed by another shout as David, not knowing how to react, stood rooted to the spot feeling vulnerable and ashamed. Annisa, on the other hand, knew exactly how to respond as she marched right up to the men to give them a piece of her mind. They looked as surprised as David when the Indonesian pocket rocket exploded with anger, and startled by the unexpected barrage of words, they quickly apologised before scuttling away.

After seeing off the louts, a satisfied-looking Annisa skipped back over towards her overdressed companion. “Are you ok?” She asked as she passed the shaking man his pink faux fur coat that she had plucked from the bench on her way over.

“Yes! I’m fine,” David lied, forcing a smile. He was trying to show a brave face, whereas inside, he had never felt so humiliated.

“Don’t let people like that get to you,” Annisa said while raising her head. “I want to go to the top,” she added with a smile.

Turning to see what Anissa was looking at, David frowned. He suddenly felt even worse as he had looked into getting tickets to go up the Eiffel tower but found that they needed to be booked weeks in advance.

“I’m sorry, but I tried to get tickets. They were all booked,” he replied, bowing his head once more.

“Hey, stop looking so miserable,” replied Annisa while placing her freshly manicured hand under David's chin and lifting his head. “We’re two well-dressed pretty girls,” she added with a flick of her long silky hair. “Follow me and watch!”

In the minutes that followed, David got to witness firsthand how different life was for a pretty girl. Watching her toy with the young man in the ticket office who was powerless to resist Annisa’s feminine wiles, he couldn’t help but feel impressed. Like putty in her hands, the ticket seller would have most likely let them through even before being presented with a wad of Euros. But that was another weapon in Annisa’s arsenal. Not only was she a knockout, but she was also stinking rich.

Standing atop the Eiffel tower, gazing out upon the city of love as his skirt flapped around his pantyhosed legs, David had learnt two things that day. One, money, if you had enough of it, could seemingly buy you anything. And two, Annisa Wijaya was the type of girl that always got whatever she wanted.