The Island Ch. 02
Keywords: 02, Island, Ch., The,
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They both set their menus down and looked up at me as though they were hanging on my anticipated answer.
"Just not the same without chips and salsa." I replied.
They seemed to have enjoyed the comment when the waitress reappeared, delivered the drinks and took our orders.
Idle chitchat of their early shopping adventures and the party the night before filled the minutes before our food arrived, the kitchen back on top following the lunch rush. I nibbled at the romaine lettuce and croutons while Christa chowed down on the Philly cheesesteak I really wanted while Julie savored her wet burrito, her taste for Mexican food apparently unquenched from the night before.
I continued to nibble at my salad for fear of eating too much and having to use the ladies room for the second time in two days. It was on the other side of the restaurant and it was still too crowded in here to even think about having to go. I felt full at least and the butterflies had found temporary shelter elsewhere.
Christa and Julie did most of the talking as we continued to eat. I wasn"t feeling particular shy but they had enough to chat about for the three of us. The waitress had made her required visits and never let on that she knew anything was different at our table today. They had worked over their plates and polished off lunch while I had half a salad remaining. Left over Caesar was not one of my favorites so I passed on a doggie bag when it was offered and we were presented with the tab.
"I"ve got it girls." Julie offered, quickly pulling out her wallet. We did the usual protesting but it really was a half-hearted effort and we thanked her for lunch.
Time was up. I had grown comfortable in the snug booth with my back to the majority of the other patrons but we were done and it was time to go. A few butterflies crept in and began nibbling at my meager lunch as we scooted out and stood up. I felt naked and exposed for the first time in 45 minutes but also felt the rush of adrenaline facing the prospect of making our way back out into the mall.
"May I?" I asked, offering to carry one of the larger bags.
"Thank you Stacy." Christa said selecting the largest.
It was a gracious move on my part but not without ulterior motives. Holding my purse strap with one hand, I could carry the handle of the bag with my free, right hand. It gave both hands something to do as we stepped out into the exposed air of the building and kept my manly arms from swinging out away from my body.
"Have a good afternoon ladies." The teenage hostess said as we passed, her companions elsewhere in the restaurant.
Apparently Christa and Julie had an idea of where we were going next because they both were a step ahead of me when we reentered the mall and made a choreographed turn to the left. As we reached the first few stores they slowed down and I managed to move up beside them as they scanned through the windows looking for something else to spend our money on.
I was feeling fairly exposed now as a constant stream of people worked past us but if you"re shopping it actually involves going into stores and we were a scant hundred feet from lunch when the pair cut through an opening in the string of pedestrians and darted through the open portal. It was an upscale clothing store specializing in wrinkled looking cache and flannel dress-down apparel. I didn"t frequent this store but thought that paying twice the price as similar stores to buy clothes that made you look like you slept in them was as humorous as the clientele who shopped here religiously. At least they had really, really cool hardwood laminated floors that clicked under my heels sending a gentle shiver through me.
A tall, good-looking lad stepped up to offer us assistance, but I could tell he was taken with my companions. It was a mixed blessing really as he conversed with the ladies and all but ignored me as I stepped around the racks looking through the various garments. They were listening intently to his sales pitch and following him around as he pointed out the various sales while I continued deeper into the store, unconsciously moving towards the safety of a relatively unoccupied department.
"Can I help you find anything?" a voice asked from a nearby table.
I reacted on instinct and looked up meeting her friendly smile.
"Ah. No. Thank you. Just looking." I said, trying to smile but it felt forced as my eyes tried to get away from hers.
"If you do need any help, please let me know. I"m Stacy."
Stacy. Her name was Stacy. She had been born a woman and was on the short side but had a great figure, beautiful hair and skin and was undoubtedly popular wherever she went. Here I was, a man trying to be a woman, and in front of me another Stacy went about her chores not having the least idea how lucky I thought she was. Life for her probably wasn"t all a bed of roses as the expression went but all I could picture were the positives. As I stood there watching her work I could feel were the lustful pangs of envy at having almost everything I ever wanted, being the person I had always wished I could be. Here I was standing in the store a fraud, wanting to be something so bad and knowing that it was never going to be. Such was the life I led every day, the hardships of being transgendered. In a way I thought it was no different than being an alcoholic or a drug user, the constant pangs hammering your brain for a fix. That was the term I used for my crossdressing habit in fact. In a way, after dressing up as Stacy, I often had a weeks reprieve or more from the overwhelming desire to do it again. After this week, I might be able to go a month or more before slipping back into my feminine self.
She turned back to refolding some sweaters on the table while I went back to my casual perusing. The salesman was done with his spiel but continued to prance behind the pair pointing out all the reasons to buy the various items they took an interest in. He was looking particular rattled, I noticed with glee, when the girls split slowly apart, moving towards different racks, the young man not knowing who to follow. He eventually took up a spot between them, dashing back and forth when he saw the need arise.
"Ready?" Christa asked, floating over to me.
"Yup."
Stacy looked up and caught some unseen clue from Christa and we slowly walked out, continuing to keep the shops on our left as we moved along the storefronts. Traffic had picked up in the afternoon as people moved about on both levels, most were killing time, getting some exercise or just loitering with friends. Normally I would just stroll myself, but we were shopping and the constant darting in and out of stores gave me a few minutes to catch my breath from the crowds.
After visiting a few stores we came upon the most glorious of sights. I paused, stunned by the absolute vision that floated in front of me bathed in brilliant, white light. My two companions had made it a few steps ahead before noticing my departure. They stopped and looked back at me before turning in the same direction as I. They couldn"t see what had me so enthralled but after looking up, Christa finally understood and tried to explain it to Julie.
"Stacy has a major shoe fetish." She explained, pointing up to the sign. Julie had a giggling fit, admitting her own inability to pass by without at least browsing so we went in and had a look around. I felt a little manly in the store. The few shoe stores I had been in before had every model out with each shoe size represented. Here, the different sizes were grouped together and I found myself in the back of aisle in the big girl"s shoes, size 11"s that were woefully under represented in the cool styles. My feet were wide too which didn"t help the fit. Meanwhile, one aisle over, Christa was sitting down watching as Julie tried on several pairs, her beautifully narrow size sevens had the pickings of the best in shoe styles. Even though my choices were limited I was able to find a cool set of platforms that were terribly impractical but were absolutely irresistible! I also found a trampy pair of heels with clear sandal tops. Not something I would wear outside the house but I found them in my hands boxed up and was ready to head for the cash register when I saw the salesperson finally alone.
"Hello." She said, staring a little too long.
"Hi."
"Is this it for today?" she asked. I nodded.
"Will this be cash or charge?"
"Cash please." I said, fumbling through my purse.
She rang it up, boxed them up and bagged them as she took my money and rang up the sale. I was aware of several people behind me in line but knew it wasn"t Christa and Julie, their voices still echoing from the back of the store.
"Eight dollars and eleven cents is your change." She said, handing me the money. "Thanks for shopping with us today."
I smiled, stepping aside to file the change as she immediately went to work on the next sale. I managed to bundle up my purse and packages and stepped back into the store to see how my companions were faring.
As expected, Julie had found a cute pair of low, sensible heels and a flirty, sleek pair of sandals that were barely there. Damn those petite feet I thought to myself, green with envy. I smiled back when they looked up and noticed my presence, another bag in hand.
"Ready?" Christa asked.
"I am. No hurry though."
"I"m ready too." Julie replied, taking her choices up front to pay as we followed at a leisurely pace. By the time we reached the front of the store, Julie had a matching bag in hand and we continued on journey.
I was straightening out my purse when I heard the girls gasp out loud. I"m not sure why I didn"t pick up on it having seen the store a hundred times and wishing every time I did that I could simply stroll in and shop for me instead of having to do it on the web. I thought they might have been kidding when they shot inside the lingerie store.
"I can do this." I said to myself.
There was a single clerk behind the counter but he could smell the money and quickly offered his assistance to them.
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Keywords: 02, Island, Ch., The,