Star-crossed double-cross 09

Chapter 09 – I'm ready

Shivering, Lucian stopped dead as he looked down at the hazardous path that lay ahead. He counted the scary-looking icy steps and found there were eight of them. Eight snow-covered banana skins, ready to send him tumbling off his sky-high heels.

Licking his glossed lips and tasting melon, he shivered once more, worried that he was about a break a leg and wondering if it would actually be a bad thing.

“Lucita, why have you stopped?” Mariana barked, turning around to see what the holdup was about.

Lucian looked up, about to tell her how he didn’t know how to walk down steps, but then stopped himself, realising how ridiculous it would sound. Of course, he knew how to walk down steps. It was just that usually, he wasn’t wearing a pair of 6-inch suede boots and a tight PVC skirt. “Coming,” he replied in a shaky voice before looking down at his nylon covered legs.

Pushing one of his tall stiletto heels into the ground to steady himself, he slowly manoeuvred his other leg until it dangled over the edge. Taking a deep breath, he bent his knee, feeling the slick nylon material slide across his smooth thighs. With a click, he reached the first step. “One down, seven to go,” he thought to himself, feeling his fake breasts heave up and down inside his rather revealing stretchy top.

Mariana watched on impatiently as Lucian clicked his way down trying to avoid her judging stare. There were already enough distractions without her pressuring him. The freezing wind against his exposed skin. The gentle tap of the large, hooped earrings against his cheek. The flash of blonde hair as it bobbed in and out of his vision. Even the simple act of carrying a purse felt strange.

“You look like an ape,” Mariana barked, “I taught you better than this. Lift your head and straighten your back.”

Lucian took another deep breath and counted the remaining steps before doing what his tough taskmaster demanded. “Does she want me to break my neck,” he thought angrily to himself, looking her straight in the eyes while pursing his glossy red lips.

(See image 9.1)

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“She’s not ready,” Raul said, looking over at Lucian, sitting on a sofa next to Mariana with one pantyhosed leg crossed over the other around mid-thigh.

Annoyed, Lucian opened his eyes wide, feeling the full extent of his eyelash extension as they fanned out, dominating his field of view. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After all the weeks of training. The dieting. The exercise. Not to mention, how he had just been forced to march up and down this man’s office like a catwalk model. He had even done a dance routine with lip-syncing. The nerve of this man!

“I’m ready!” Lucian shot back in perfect Spanish. “How can I prove it to you?”

Raul paused for a second before turning towards Mariana. “You agree?” he asked. "She's ready?"

“Yes,” she replied with an emphatic nod.

Glancing back towards Lucian, a smile crossed the Latino man’s lips. “Ok, we need a test,” he said, looking back toward Mariana. “Set it up and report back to me. But don’t push things along too quickly. We still have time.”

“Bag or show?” Mariana replied as Lucian looked on with a sinking feeling in his stomach, wondering what he had just talked himself into.

“Bag,” Raul replied. “Set her up with the right look and see how she copes. After that, if all goes well. We’ll move on to the final stage.”

“All will go well,” Mariana answered assertively while standing up. “Lucita is a brilliant student. She knows exactly what to do.”

Lucian watched as Raul followed Mariana in standing up. For a moment, he sat there in a daze, his brain struggling to catch up. That is until Mariana glared down at him, motioning for him to stand up with her hand.

“Oh, sorry,” Lucian muttered, grabbing his purse and pushing himself back up onto his high-heeled feet.

Raul chucked before placing his arm around the feminised man’s waist and walking him over to the door. “Remember this is your chance to show us what you’ve learned,” he said, leaning in and kissing Lucian on the cheek. “Don’t be nervous and listen to what Mariana tells you.”

“Err… I will,” the feminised man replied, trying not to show his discomfort as he looked into the smiling man’s eyes. Shellshocked after being kissed by another man and disgusted that the edge of his lips had brushed his own.

(See image 9.2)

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Back out on the snowy streets of New York City, Lucian once again stood shivering as he waited with Mariana for their car to pick them up. Reaching over, he grabbed his soft shawl-like coat and pulled it tightly around his thin frame. Around him, the noise of the city was deafening as cars honked and people shouted.

“Senorita, Lopez. Do you really think I’m ready?" Lucian asked nervously, bowing his head to look down at his elevated suede feet.

“Yes,” Mariana replied with a nod. “You just need to be confident and believe in yourself.”

“And what is it I actually have to do?” Lucian mumbled back, now mesmerised by the snowflakes landing briefly on his glossy red nails before quickly evaporating away.

“I’ll explain everything in the morning,” she replied as the car pulled up. “Don’t worry about it now. Everything will become clear in the morning."

In a flash, the driver appeared from behind the stretch limousine. “Good evening, ladies,” he said cheerfully as he opened the door.

“Good evening,” Mariana replied as she gracefully entered the car.

Lucian paused for a second as he stared blankly into space. Hearing the driver speak to him in English after hearing only Spanish for so long had felt strange. For a moment, he had forgotten the words to reply. A couple walked by, and he tried to listen in. Again, it felt strange to hear English words.

“Lucita, get in,” Mariana shouted from the back seat. “It’s cold!”

“Sorry,” Lucian answered apologetically, “I’m coming.” Turning his body, he placed his plump backside on the leather seat, feeling his slippery skirt slide as he swivelled his nylon encased legs into position.

“Phew. Thank God that’s over with,” he thought to himself as he reached down to massage the back of his sore calves, relieved to be back in the safety of the car but also very anxious about what lay ahead.