People don’t take trips, trips take people - Antoine 04

Stood waiting for a train to take them back to the apartment, Antoine looked over and glared at Lily to remind her of how absolutely miserable he felt, she mouthed the words I’m sorry at him as he sighed, looking down at the ground, not wanting to see if anyone was staring at him.

Hours earlier in the apartment, Antoine had discovered just how stubborn Monique could be, as, after a few attempts to get out of going into the centre of Paris with her, he had given up and resigned himself to his fate.

The whole trip out had been one of embarrassment and awkwardness for Antoine as Lily’s words from earlier on the sofa echoed through his mind, “don’t worry, we’ll just walk about for a few hours, then we can think of some excuse and you can get back here and change before your flight”. The problem was Monique had other ideas, excited to be spending time with her daughter, having not seen her in a long time, she had taken them out shopping, and to Antoine’s utter disbelief, shopping turned out to be a full afternoon of traipsing around fancy shops and boutiques, he had never heard of, trying on humiliating outfits and shoes, all the while having to pretend, he was some sort of fashion expert.

It wasn’t much better between shops where he was forced to try dresses and high heels, it felt strangely vulnerable to be walking the streets of Paris wearing a skirt, the soft fabric lapping against his thighs just felt so unfamiliar, the feeling amplified, even more by the cool summer breeze, circulating around his underwear and his smooth-shaven legs, which Lily insisted on before they left the apartment.

It was still a blur when he thought back to that hour before they left the apartment, as Lily gave him a turbocharged makeover, knowing Zara wouldn't have a thin layer of hair across her body, it was marched straight into the ensuite bathroom where he sat in stunned silence as Lily removed every hair below his eyebrows. He was then, still in a state of shock taken back into the bedroom where a light coating of makeup was applied, which Lily again insisted on, telling him a girl like Zara would never leave the house without painting her face, so not wanting to arouse suspicion he agreed to at least allow her to brush his lashes with a little mascara, and coat his lips with a little gloss.

With each change to his appearance, Antoine felt his male self slipping away, he had always had quite delicate features having taken after his Asian mother, and as he sat there watching the woman he loved, with nothing but a few brush strokes and a little makeup seemingly erase every trace of his masculinity, he wondered if she would ever see him the same way again.

By the time Lily had finished his makeover, leaving Antoine to stare glumly at his feminized reflection in Zara’s full-length mirror, he knew it was too late to back out, he was going to have to leave the house, where people would see him dressed in woman’s clothes. He examined the image in the mirror, looking for anything that might give him away, his figure wasn’t too bad, as he tried to keep in shape, running two or three times a week, the problem was he didn't know how to act or move like a woman, and in his mind, the afternoon could only end badly.

He shifted in his seat as he tried to adjust the bra strapped tightly around his chest, which felt tight and uncomfortable digging into his shoulder blades, he didn't want to wear it but filled with a couple of pairs of rolled-up tights for padding, it at least fulfilled its purpose, giving him the illusion of having small breasts beneath.

looking down at his legs he was surprised again at how worryingly feminine they looked without their coating of fuzz, they now looked long and lean and dare he say it, sexy. He tried to pull down the hem of the short skirt slightly feeling uncomfortable showing so much thigh, remembering how he had fought against putting it on, when Lily first produced the short, flared flimsy piece of material from Zara’s wardrobe, but having tried the alternative a pair of short denim shorts, where he'd had to tuck back his penis between his legs and push his balls up inside his body, he quickly came around to the idea of wearing the skirt, as humiliating as it was to be seen wearing one in front of Lily.

“Ok, I think that’s the best I can do on short notice" Lily announced,  "let’s see if any of Zara’s shoes fit you”? She said snapping Antoine out of his daze.

“Let me guess, a pair of heels to go with this skirt”? Antoine moaned.

“Well, I was thinking a pair of flats as we’ll be doing a bit of walking, but if you want a sexy pair of heels, I’ll see what I can find”. Lily quipped back.

“No, no, please no heels, flats are fine”, Antoine said frightened.

“Come on lighten up a bit, I know you’re worried, but look at yourself, I mean, you’re not going to win any beauty contests or anything, but you pass well enough as a girl, we just have to fool Mama for a few more hours, here try these”, Lily said dropping a pair of flat strappy sandals next to him.

With Lily’s help, Antoine strapped the sandals to his feet, as he sat there quietly, still hurting from the comment about passing well enough as a girl, “wow, they fit perfectly, I guess you and Zara are not just the same dress size, but you also have the same size feet, what a stroke of luck”, Lily said cheerfully, as Antoine felt like he had been pierced by another dagger through the heart, not feeling lucky at all.

“We should really paint your toenails, it will seem odd if we don’t”, Lily said thinking aloud, “but I don’t know if we have time".

“No”, Antoine said firmly, “please enough with the girly stuff, and besides have you seen the time, we’re already ten minutes late to meet your mother”.

“Well, I promise you she will be later than us, but you’re probably right, we don’t have time”, Lily said sounding disappointed.

It had felt like a small win at the time, but that decision not to paint his toenails, although he didn’t know it then, would come back to haunt him later.

A few hours later, Antoine felt extremely apprehensive as Monique led them through the doors of a fancy nail salon in the middle of Paris centre. As Antoine looked to around the unfamiliar location and whiffed the foreign smells, he thought back to Monique's comment back in the apartment and remembered the way she had looked down at his unkept toenails in disgust while examining his appearance.  He had no idea the result would be him sat red-faced and embarrassed, as a surly Vietnamese woman gave him not just a pedicure but a manicure to go along with it if only he could turn back time, he would have happily let Lily paint his toes any colour she wanted.

So after actioned packed afternoon around the French Capital en femme, a shellshocked Antoine stood on the station platform, wondering what the hell he was going to do to get out of his predicament. His flight to Spain was taking off in a few hours, and he had no hope of catching it, even if he could get home in time and change, he couldn’t think of any way to hide his new nails, which now extended past the end of his fingertips, changing the way he moved his hands as he was constantly worried about stabbing himself.

“Thanks for the day out girls, I really had a lot of fun”, Monique said happily.

“That’s good Mama, I’m glad you had a nice day”. Lily answered.

“So, where to now”? Monique asked, “who’s up for some cocktails”?

Antoine shot Lily a look and she nodded, knowing what he meant, “It’s been a long day Mama, we should probably get back home”, Lily replied.

“Oh, my goodness, of course, silly me, Zara has a date tonight and she will need time to get ready. I’m so sorry Zara, it completely slipped my mind, let’s get you home and get you looking beautiful for your man”, Monique said excitedly. Antoine just bowed his head, things that day just seemed to be getting more and more out of control, as he was forced against his will to live out Zara's day.