Lockdown! 21

Chapter 21

As Kamsi slowly trudged up the stairs of his apartment building, he couldn’t help but feel exhausted. His work schedule at the casino had been erratic lately, constantly shifting from day shifts to night shifts as he was called in to cover for absent colleagues.

Stopping for a moment between floors, he reached down to rub the back of his left leg and catch his breath. It was only five o’clock in the evening, but he was planning to climb straight into bed.

Thinking back to the night before, he tried telling himself it was a mistake to go out partying with a 6 am shift the next morning. But if he was honest with himself, he'd had a blast.

Running out of excuses, he had finally caved in after being bugged by Lizzy all day to join her and her friends at a local bar. And as most good nights begin, with the immortal words of, “I’ll come for one.” One drink became two, and two became seven. Before he knew it, he found himself in a nightclub with his arms locked around Lorenzo’s neck, trying to convince himself he didn’t like dancing with the Italian beefcake.

Setting off again up the stairs, Kamsi thanked God that he had chosen to wear a pair of wedge trainers that day. And although a lot of men probably wouldn’t agree with him in saying they were comfortable; those men wouldn’t be comparing the ramped footwear to a pair of tall stilettoes.

Finally finding himself outside the door, Kamsi breathed a sigh of relief as a smile crossed his bright red lips. “Home at last,” he thought, pressing his key into the door, and turning the lock.

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Meanwhile, Stood in the kitchen chatting, Veronica and Ash turned as they heard someone entering. The two old friends had been catching up with the topic of conversation, naturally being the three feminized men residing in the building.

Having just gotten over the shock of seeing Paul, who was now hiding, shellshocked in the bedroom, Ash wasn’t really sure how she would react to seeing Kamsi again after so long. Usually, she just felt angry when thinking about the father of her child, the man who had abandoned her and her daughter, Mira, before she had even been born. But after being prepped by Veronica for the, quite frankly, unbelievable sight, she was about to see, she couldn’t help but feel excited.

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Unaware of the welcome he was about to receive, Kamsi opened the door and stepped inside. The room was silent as he opened the flap of his little leather handbag to place his keys inside. It was only when he looked up, the chaos began.

As the door clicked shut behind him, the feminized man locked eyes with Ash, who at that moment burst into a fit of giggles. Bringing his hands up and pressing them against the sides of his face, Kamsi cried out in anguish as Veronica just stood there smirking.

(See image 30)

“Ash, I… I… oh my God!” Kamsi mumbled, feeling his knees become weak.

Unable to control herself after seeing the sexist pig of a man, she used to know, stood panicking in front of her decked out in his fashionable, edgy outfit, Ash leaned forward, finding it hard to breathe from laughing so much.

Kamsi, on the other hand, was starting to hyperventilate. The exhaustion, the hangover, the conflicting thoughts running through his head all day, and now walking into his apartment to be completely humiliated. It was all too much.

Taking pity on him, Veronica stepped forward. “Karmen, it’s ok. Ash is just a little shocked to see your new look, that’s all.”

“Veronica, why did you bring her here?” Kamsi asked between breaths as tears formed in the corner of his eyes. “Was it just to humiliate me”?

“No, of course not.” Veronica lied. “I thought it was about time you two sat down and talked about Mira. Weren’t you just saying the other day how you wished things had turned out differently?”

“Yes… but… I…,” Kamsi stammered, unable to put his thoughts into words as he felt his world collapsing around him.

Placing her hand in his, Veronica smiled. “Ok, just try to calm down. Let’s move over to the sofa. You two need to sit down and talk.”

With his eyes fixed on his feet, Kamsi allowed himself to be led across the room. Ash followed closely behind, looking the shuffling figure up and down in awe.

Arriving at the sofa, Kamsi turned before automatically placing his manicured fingers beneath his backside to smooth out his skirt before sitting. Once down, he shuffled around for a moment to find a comfortable spot before neatly folding one pantyhosed leg over the other. Looking to his left, his eyes met Ash’s, who was now sitting next to him with her mouth gaping.

“What?” Kamsi blurted out nervously, feeling extremely uncomfortable by the way she was looking at him.

“I like your outfit,” Ash commented, trying to ease the tension. “Did you pick it out yourself”?

“Uhm… yes. I mean no. It’s needed for work,” Kamsi spluttered.

“Nonsense,” Veronica interjected. “Your work gives you a uniform. You picked out those clothes yourself. You even begged me to wear those wedges.”

Kamsi’s head shot around. “Yes! But all the girls wear stuff like this! I’m just trying to fit in!” he announced, flustered. “Anyway, I thought you were leaving?” he added, pouting his lips and folding his arms.

“I am,” Veronica announced, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

As Veronica strolled away, Kamsi bowed his head, wanting the cushions to swallow him up.

"I like your outfit," Ash announced after a few seconds of silence. "It looks really well put together."

"Thanks," Kamsi replied, blushing as he avoided eye contact.

The room fell silent again.

“So, I know this is kinda awkward, but I really did come here to talk about Mira,” Ash said, looking across and shooting Kamsi a little smile. “She’s an amazing little girl, you know? You can come around and visit us sometime if you’d like?”

Hearing the comment and seeing the smile from the corner of his eye Kamsi suddenly felt a little calmer. Forgetting the awkwardness of the situation for a moment, he turned to face Ash. “I’d like that,” he replied with a nod. “I’d like that a lot.”