Star-crossed double-cross 10

Chapter 10 – The test

Curling his fingers, Lucian stared down at his hand, horrified at what he saw. When he had entered the nail salon an hour earlier, trying desperately to remember Mariana’s instructions, he didn’t really understand what they meant. Now, looking down at the monstrous talons extending past the end of each fingertip, the words, full-set acrylic and ballerina, made a lot more sense. If he wanted them to or not.

(See image 10.1)

“We are all done, miss Sanchez,” the perky nail technician announced. “Your bill is paid, and your car is waiting outside. I hope you’ve enjoyed your experience with us today, and we hope to see you again soon.”

“Err… yeah, thank you,” Lucian mumbled, finding it hard to take his eyes off his shockingly long nails.

Standing up, he took a second to find his balance on the tall platform heels strapped to his pantyhosed legs. They were probably the tallest heels he had been given to date, and with the restrictive outfit accompanying them, Lucian had been forced to hobble around all afternoon in a constant battle to stay upright.

As he locked eyes with the nail technician, she smiled warmly, “Have a nice day now,” she sang out in a chirpy voice.

“Err… yes, you too,” Lucian replied as a woman appeared to his right to pass him his bright orange purse. As he took a hold of the strap everything about it felt wrong. Slipping about the palm of his hand, he struggled to gain any sort of grip as his glossy red nail tips prevented his fingers from making closing fully.

“Be careful with them for a few hours,” the nail technician stated, seeing his awkwardness. “Try to avoid using your hands for a few hours. After that, they will be as hard as concrete, and you’ll be able to use them normally,”

Lucian gulped. “Hard as concrete!" he thought as he forced his plump lips into a half-smile. “Normal! I can’t even bend my fingers. How the hell am I supposed to do anything normally!”

“Ok, thank you,” Lucian muttered after clumsily resting his expensive designer bag across one shoulder. “Erm… bye,” he added before turning on his heels and clicking loudly across the room.

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Half an hour later, parked up outside of a high-end shopping centre, Lucian sat shaking as his body refused to move.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Seniorita Lopez. Can’t we just go home? Lucian pleaded as he stared down at his long shiny fingernails resting atop his sleek pantyhosed thighs.

“Calm down. You’ve been practising for weeks. You know what to do. Walk in there with your head up and be confident. Remember that today you’re a different person. A sexy young woman called Rosita Sanchez. Out to do a little shopping on her lunch break.”

“It’s easy to say,” Lucian answered, looking over at Mariana. “What if someone finds out I’m a man?”

Leaning across Lucian, Mariana pulled open a concealed mirror before grabbing the back of his head. Then, With more force than he expected, she spun him around to face his feminised reflection. “Tell me what you see?” she announced assertively. “Do you see a man?”

Breathing out heavily through his nose, Lucian scanned his altered face, searching for any masculine traces that might be left. But all he saw was a beautifully made-up feminine face, framed by a shoulder-length wig.

“I… Erm…,” Lucian spluttered, lost for words as he stared passed the glass of his fake glasses at the long feathery lashes surrounding his smouldering eyes. Above sat two perfectly arched brows, which no man would ever have, and below sat a pair of plump, pouty lips, coated in lipstick and lined to perfection.

“Now go!” Mariana ordered. “Confidence and attitude. You are the customer. You have the power.”

Before Lucian could answer, the back door of the limo swung open. Spinning around, he suddenly came face to face with the driver. “Let me help you, miss,” the driver said as he offered his hand to the crossdressed man. Feeling Mariana’s hand on his back giving him a gentle push, Lucian placed his long-manicured fingers into the larger palm of the driver and stepped out into the sunshine.

“Thank you,” he replied softly, looking up into the driver’s deep blue eyes and feeling rather foolish. Back on his high heeled feet, he quickly stepped by the smiling older man before scurrying off towards the entrance.

Not stopping to ponder how surprisingly warm the weather was for the time of year or where the snow from the previous day had mysteriously vanished too, Lucian marched on. His head held high as the heat from the sun’s rays warmed his tight skirt and blazer, and the silky material of his blouse beneath caressed his smooth skin. “You can do this,” he repeated, over and over to himself as he minced through the entrance. “Today, you’re just another woman out shopping. Let’s get this over with.”

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“That’s a wonderful choice, miss,” the saleslady announced as Lucian stood awkwardly clutching the handbag she had just passed him. “That one is so in right now. All the hottest celebs have been pictured carrying it lately.”

Twisting his ankle a little to relieve the pain he was feeling in his left foot, Lucian nodded back, wondering what he was supposed to do next.

(See image 10.2)

Was he supposed to walk around with it? Try holding it in different positions? He felt completely lost and confused.

“If you’d like to look at some other options, I can bring a few out,” the saleslady announced as she sensed something odd about the smartly dressed businesswoman in front of her. “Perhaps something in a lower price range?”

“No!” Lucian said, almost shouting, remembering his instructions about conversing with confidence and attitude. “This is the one I want. The price is unimportant.”

“Oh, ok, great,” replied the blonde saleswoman, slightly taken aback by Lucian’s sudden and abrupt answer. “If you’d like to come this way, I’ll ring it up for you.”

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Twenty minutes later, Lucian emerged from the shopping centre bag in tow. His facial expression was blank, but inside he was mighty relieved to have completed his task and be heading home. He quickly tottered up to the car. Still cringing at the thought of the humiliating experience at the cash register, fumbling around inside his purse as he tried to retrieve the credit card Mariana had given him. His long nails had made the task next to impossible. He'd eventually managed to prise it out with the edge of his thumb and index finger, but things only got worse from there as he watched it, in slow motion, tumbling towards the ground. Not able to bend in his tight outfit, the skirted man had then been forced to claw around on his hands and knees as he desperately tried to grab the slick plastic card. All the while, the saleswoman just watched, glaring down at him with a bewildered look on her face. Only after what seemed like an eternity of humiliation, scratching around on the ground like some animal, did she finally help. Swooping down, she picked up the card with ease and passed it over, giving the humiliated man a condescending smile in the process.

“Any problems?” Mariana announced as Lucian swivelled his legs into the car.

“Err… no easy peasy,” he lied, hearing the door click shut behind him. “I have the bag you wanted right here.”

“Bravo, Lucita,” Mariana announced, leaning over to hug him. “I’ll call Raul immediately and tell him the news. This is so exciting. I'm sure to get a large bonus this time. We are weeks ahead of schedule.”