Rent or forfeit 26

“Smile girls”, Maddison’s mother said cheerfully, pointing a camera straight at Tammy and Maddison before taking a picture without giving them a chance to do what she had just asked. “Perfect, you two look so beautiful”, she said looking down at the image she had just taken.

Tammy knew she was telling the truth, as he had seen his image moments earlier as the professional makeup artist had finished his hair and makeup and had finally allowed him to see himself in the mirror.

He considered himself to be somewhat of an expert these days at styling his own hair and makeup, but having had a professional work on him, he realised he still had a lot to learn. His skin looked like an actress', silky smooth and blemish-free. His eyes looked less dramatic than normal but framed by his long-extended lashes and the expertly blended greens and purples that surrounded them,  his eyes looked spectacular as the makeup artist had definitely achieved the innocent but still sexy look, she told him she was going for.

Maddison, turned to face him, “so feeling a little better now”? she asked.

“A little perhaps”, he lied, “I still can’t believe you talked me into being a bridesmaid, I don’t even know the bride”.

Maddison giggled, “Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll introduce you later, she’s really grateful you stepped in at the last moment when Gabriella got sick, besides, you look much better in than dress than she ever would have, and now we get to be twins for the day”.

“I doubt anyone would think we’re twins, you look amazing, you make me look like an elephant standing next to you”, Tammy said looking down at his low-cut silk gown that slipped and slid all over his smooth body whenever he moved.

“Don’t be silly, you look gorgeous, just wait until your date sees you, his eyes are going to pop out of his head”.

“Yeah, about that, do you have to call it a date”? Tammy asked, still not feeling particularly comfortable at having to be paired up with one of the groomsmen for the ceremony.

“Fine, I won’t use the d-word, just try and have some fun ok, it’s not like you have to get marry him, just hold his hands a few times and perhaps a dance or two later, besides, you might like him, I haven’t seen him in years, but I remember him being really handsome”.

“Ok, girls, time to take our positions”, Maddison’s mother said walking over.

“Ok mum”, Maddison answered before turning back to Tammy, “just promise me you’ll try to have fun, ok”? She asked.

“I’ll try”, Tammy replied, before the three of them walked through the lavishly decorated arch behind them, the sound of his heart beating, and heels echoing filling Tammy’s ears.

They entered a large room filled with people dressed in gorgeous gowns and smart tuxedos. After standing around for a few minutes feeling awkward, Maddison introduced him to a few members of her extended family, who’s names he instantly forgot. Feeling nervous and extremely exposed in his fancy gown, the pair got around to Cameron, his so-called date for the afternoon.

“Hey, Cameron, remember me”? Maddison said as she stood in front of a tall dark-haired man, smiling.

“Wow, Maddy, look at you, I haven’t seen you in years, how are things”? Cameron replied giving her a hug.

“Oh. You know same old, here I’ve brought you your partner for the ceremony, this is Tammy”? Maddison said, having to practically pull Tammy over who had been lurking behind her trying to hide.

Tammy stumbled slightly on his tall platform sandals but quickly regained his balance, looked up at the man in front of him and introduced himself, “Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Tammy”, he said awkwardly.

Cameron smiled as he looked Tammy up and down before his face quickly changed to look more serious, “Yeah, you too, Tessa”, he replied.

“It’s Tammy, not Tessa”, Tammy replied pouting and looking slightly annoyed.

“Ok, sorry princess, chill out, I’ve met a lot of people today, you can’t expect me to remember everybody’s name”, Cameron replied.

“Not, everyone’s no, but you think you would at least remember the name of your date”, Tammy said frustrated and not understanding why.

“Woah, calm down a bit, will you babe? I know you probably like what you see, but I don’t think you’re my type”, Cameron replied smugly.

Tammy felt a rage build inside him at the arrogance of this man, “and what is that supposed to mean”, he said stamping his foot loudly, making a louder noise than he expected and drawing a few eyes.

“Shit, sorry babe, I didn’t mean to upset you, I just like a girl who’s a bit more laid back, that’s all, you just seem a little high maintenance for my tastes”.

Tammy’s dropped aghast, “I’m not high maintenance, I’m a very relaxed person, I’ll have you know”, he replied not sure why he needed to explain himself to this jerk.

Cameron smiled, “Yeah, I’m sure”, he said before turning to Maddison, “hey great to see you again Maddy, let's catch up later”. He then turned back to Tammy still fuming, “well later babe, I’m going to smoke before this thing starts properly”.

As Cameron walked away through the crowd, Tammy watched him still fuming. “So, that went well”, Maddison said chuckling.

“Oh my god, Maddy, he’s so arrogant, can you believe the ego on him”?

“I think someone might have a little crush”, Madison said playfully.

“What, no way, Him”? Tammy exclaimed turning to look into Maddison’s beautiful blue eyes.

“Hey, don’t get mad at me, just reading the signs, I thought maybe you liked him”, she replied.

“And what on earth could have given you that crazy idea”? Tammy exclaimed annoyed.

“I don’t know, perhaps because I’ve never seen you get so worked up and flustered before, or perhaps the fact you couldn’t take your eyes off him as he walked away” she giggled, “even now, you’re still glancing over at him as we speak”.

Tammy felt embarrassed to be caught looking and quickly turned back to Maddison, “I… I…, was just… can we just change the subject, I can assure you I have no interest in someone like him”, he said pouting.

Madison smiled, “Sure thing Tam, how about we go and find the bride, I’ll introduce you”.

30 minutes later, Tammy stood outside the main hall with all the other bridesmaids in their identical shiny purple dresses, opposite all the groomsmen, ready to walk down the aisle. He looked over at Cameron, still angry from earlier, “so are you going to hold my hand”? he said embarrassed.

Cameron smiled, “wow babe, you must really have it bad for me, I already told you you’re not really my type”.

Tammy glared at him, incredibly irritated at his response, “oh get over yourself, we have to hold hands when we enter, right”?

“If you say so, sounds rather convenient to me, but I guess it won’t kill me”, Cameron replied, offering his hand.

Tammy placed his long nails carefully into Cameron’s larger palm, feeling Cameron’s strong grip as he closed his finger around his as Maddison’s words from earlier echoed through his head, why was he letting this man, he had just met work him up so much? He wondered.

The ceremony started, as all the groomsmen, one by one led their partner bridesmaid down the aisle, where at the end they separated and stood on either side of the room, waiting for the bride to make her entrance. It was a strange experience for Tammy, as he trotted along in his tall sandals, trying not to stumble as a room full of strangers watched and commented, but perhaps most annoying of all, was when he noticed that only about half the couples walking down the aisle actually held hands, making him feel rather foolish.

After an emotional exchanging of vows, the bride and groom kissed and the room of people clapped and cheered, everyone then left the room to relocate to another larger room, for food and drinks.

Sat between Cameron and Maddison, Tammy tried to forget about the embarrassing incident of the hand holding, chatted with Maddison, completely ignoring Cameron, as he ate and glugged down glass after glass of wine.

It was a few hours later, after all the speeches and cake cutting, that all the bridesmaids and groomsmen were invited up to take part in the first dance between the bride and groom.

Having been led to the dancefloor, Tammy felt Cameron place his large hand around his tiny waist, and in return he moved his right arm up and onto Cameron’s shoulder, trying not to look him directly in the eye.

The music started and the couple started swaying side to side in time to the romantic love song, Tammy still not looking at Cameron, tried to block out the feeling of having the man’s hand on his side and concentrated instead on moving his towering heels gracefully without falling.

As the first song ended, and the next one began, some of the other guests, one by one, left their seats and started joining them on the dancefloor. “You can actually move dance pretty well in those stilts”, Cameron said looking down at Tammy’s sandals, that were now pretty sore due to the straps digging into his bare feet.

“Is that a compliment”? Tammy asked glancing at him.

“Just an observation”, Cameron replied with a smile.

“Well, I guess you’re not a bad dancer yourself”, Tammy said looking away from his annoying grin.

“Is that a compliment”? Cameron shot back.

Tammy smiled glancing at him once more, “just an observation”, he replied.

The couple danced for a few more songs before Cameron excused himself going off to smoke, leaving Tammy stood alone on the dance floor feeling self-conscious and a little tipsy. He looked around for Madison but couldn’t see her anywhere, he wandered a little past a few people dancing, on his aching feet but still didn’t see her. He was about to give up and return to his table from earlier when he was grabbed tightly from behind.

“Hey, beautiful, lets dance”, slurred a drunken man, who Tammy recognised as one of the other groomsmen from earlier.

“err… no thank you, I’m actually looking for someone”, Tammy said trying to wriggle free.

“There’s plenty of time for that later”, the man replied as he slid around to face Tammy, his vice-like grip around his waist preventing any attempt at an escape.

Tammy looked around frightened as people danced around them to the loud music, seemingly oblivious to his situation, “err. Please, let me go”, Tammy asked.

The man’s grip got tighter, “come on darling, don’t be rude, I just want one dance”, the man replied stinking of alcohol and cigarettes.

Tammy tried to struggle but the man was too strong, he started to panic as he felt the man’s hand place itself on his right buttock before giving it a hefty squeeze, causing him to shriek.

Nobody seemed to notice over the loud music as the man continued to explore Tammy’s body, his hand now tracing up over his silky gown and before finding his right breast, “How about a kiss beautiful”, the man said as he leaned in. Tammy again tried to struggle, but couldn’t move, “get the fuck off me”, he screamed.

The man laughed, “I like a feisty girl”, he replied closing his eyes and bringing his face closer to Tammy’s, who’s eyes were now wide open as the feminised boy’s mind panicked.

“What the fuck, Derek? get the fuck off her, you creep”, Cameron said appearing out of nowhere and pulling the man away.

“Fuck sake Cam, I was just having a little fun, I thought you weren’t interested”?

“You piece of shit, get the fuck out of my sight”, Cameron shouted pushing Derek to the ground as a few people stopped dancing to see what was going on.

“Are you ok”? Cameron asked turning to Tammy.

Tammy looked around at the crowd of people who seemed to be gathering and staring, as a tear rolled down his cheek. Everyone staring and with what had just happened was all too much for him, he picked up the trail of his long asymmetric gown and made a run for it, feeling and looking ridiculous tottering across the room, in a half walk, half jog, as fast as his could on his extremely high platform sandals.

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“There you are”? Cameron said as he found Tammy sat on the bottom of a staircase looking extremely upset and trying to hold back the tears.

Tammy didn’t respond as Cameron moved over, sat down beside him, and gently started rubbing his bareback, “I’m sorry you had to go through that, that guy is an arsehole, he thinks he can treat women like animals, are you ok”?

Tammy looked up to his left, saw the sincerity on Cameron’s face and nodded, “I didn’t think you cared”, he replied sniffling.

“Listen I’m sorry about earlier, I’ll be honest with you, when I see a pretty girl, like you I get a little shy”.

“You shy, that’s hard to believe”, Tammy answered as he realised Cameron had just called him pretty.

“Well, I am, believe it or not”, Cameron said looking down, “Everything earlier was just an act, my brother Danny taught me how to behave around girls I like, and like it or not, it does work, no woman wants to talk to a quiet nerd, but act like you don’t care and suddenly she’s interested”.

“That’s crazy, that actually works”? Tammy asked astonished.

“Well not with you as it seems, I’m sorry”, Cameron said bowing his head even more.

“It’s ok, and thanks for saving me back there, from that creep”, Tammy said leaning forward and planting a kiss on Cameron’s cheek, instantly feeling embarrassed and wondering what on earth had possessed him to do it.

Cameron smiled and looked up, having gone a little red in the face, “I guess you are shy”, Tammy stated, smiling for the first time since the incident.

“Well only when I’m around someone so beautiful”, Cameron answered.

“Shit now you’re making me feel embarrassed”, Tammy replied laughing.

“Perhaps, I could get your number, we could hang out sometime, go on a date perhaps? Cameron asked fishing his phone out of his pocket.

“Listen, Cameron, that’s probably not a good idea”, Tammy said conflicted.

“Really, because I think it’s a great idea, what’s the problem”?

“The thing is I’m not really as I seem, you see, I… I’m…”, “you used to be a man” Cameron interrupted, “I know, and I’m cool with it”, he said smiling.

Tammy looked at him in shock, “how... how did you know”? he said looking down at his body and feeling really self-conscious.

“Hey sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you, you don’t have to worry, nothing gave you away”, he said placing his hand on Tammy’s cheek and gently lifting up his face, “Maddy told me earlier after I told her I fancied the pants off of you”,

“And you still do, knowing I’m not really a girl”? Tammy asked looking into his deep brown eyes, feeling really confused.

“You look like a girl to me, and the most beautiful one in this whole place”, Cameron said as his face crept slowly towards Tammy’s, stopping mere millimetres away from his plump lips.

Hearing those words made Tammy feel all tingly inside as a sudden urge rushed into his head, he closed his eyes and gave Cameron a little peck on the lips.

Opening his eyes a second later, Cameron was still directly in front of him smiling like a Cheshire cat. Tammy watched as the world became slow motion, Cameron closed his eyes and leaned in as Tammy felt their lips touch once more, he hesitated at first, thinking that it was wrong to kiss another man, and thinking back to the time in the bar with Dom, the forceful footballer, but as he felt the gently caress of Cameron’s lips on his, he relaxed into it and started to feel good.

The two sat on the staircase making out passionately as time seemed to lose all meaning, and as he heard the sound of high heels approaching, Tammy had no idea how much time had passed by. #

Quickly breaking the kiss, Tammy looked up to see Maddison, standing over them with a huge grin on her face. “Oh, sorry, I came to see if you were ok? I heard what happened with Derek, but I guess you’re ok by the looks of things, I’ll leave you two alone”, she said before clicking away, the huge smile still plastered across her face.

Tammy turned back to Cameron and placed his head on his shoulder, “ahh, that was so embarrassing”, he said nuzzling in.

Cameron chuckled, gently stroking Tammy’s long silky hair, “well a bit awkward perhaps, but I’ve definitely got nothing to be embarrassed about, I’m proud to be seen with the most beautiful girl at the wedding, but I guess we can go back and join the party for a bit if you want”?

Tammy smiled, looking up at Cameron and batting his long lashes, “perhaps in a minute, ok”? he replied as he leaned in and initiated another kiss.

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No vote this time as this is pretty much the end of the story, there will be one final part, jumping forward into the future a little.

I hope you enjoyed the story, I’ve enjoyed writing it, although it’s been a challenge at times not knowing what the result of the next vote will be, and how the story will go.

The final part will be posted in a few days and then I’ll take a few days off to compile the story into a PDF file and get going on the next story.