Byline chapter 5

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Copyright © 2021 Peregrine
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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I was nervous. I was pacing my living room while wearing a skirt and heels waiting for my coach to arrive. Why should I be nervous? Could it be I felt like she was coming to take my manhood away? I knew it was nonsense. Still, in a way she was. She was coming to teach me how to walk, talk and everything I needed to know to be as convincing a woman as possible. I knew I would still be me after my training was over. I would still be C J. Learning how to co-ordinate fashion looks, and styles of hair and makeup can’t make me not be me. Not even these breasts. Right?

I felt self-conscious. Abbey had chosen a low-cut top for me. I had looked at myself in the mirror and I saw a hint of cleavage. I took a second look. My reflection had cleavage! I know I spent the last two days as a woman. I was wearing pants and a full coverage top for most of those two days. Something about being in a skirt and a scoop neck top made me feel exposed. The skirt came about 4 inches above the knee. It wasn’t that short. It certainly was not as short as that Sailor Mars costume skirt I wore way back when. That was really short. Then, I was with a group of girls with skirts as short as mine that night. I guess you could say safety in numbers. Today I was all alone.

I heard the door buzzer and went to check it.

“Miss Cummings,” said the security officer at the desk. “An Andrea Jones is here to see you. She says she’s your personal trainer.”

“Yes, I was expecting her. Please send her up.” I went to the door to wait for her.

Andrea turned the corner and saw me at the door. She waved.

“Hi Casey,” she said.

“Nice to meet you Andrea.”

She walked past me into the living room carrying a sports drink.

Andrea was about average height and in great shape. She had light brown skin. Her black hair was styled in a pixie cut. She put her bags down on the floor.

“I could use some coffee,” she said.

“I’ll go get it for you.”

“Yes, you will. Go to the coffee shop around the corner. I’ll take a latte with a double shot.”

I looked at her with surprise. “I can make the latte here.”

She looked me at with her dark brown eyes.

“I didn’t ask you to make me one. I said to go get me one. Get going. I’ll be following behind you.”

What the hell was she doing? I glared at her, picked up my bag and left. Andrea followed me out. I slowed down to wait for her.

“Don’t slow down. I’m not walking with you. I’m observing.”

I tried to ignore her for the rest of the outing. What was she observing? My mind went in all directions. Could it be the way I was walking? How I was walking in the heels? Every time I made a miss-step I thought I could feel her eyes on my back.

In the coffee shop, Andrea held back and watched me order, pay and wait for our drinks. I got our drinks, turned to leave and saw her walk out before me.

I carried the drinks back to my apartment. I put them on the table. She didn’t pick it up. She just stood there looking at me.

“Did you pick out your outfit?”

“Yes, well, my sister helped.”

She shook her head. “If you’re not going to do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it, what am I doing here?”

“What?”

“My instructions were for you to pick out and wear a skirt and heels. I didn’t ask you to have your sister help you. You don’t question what I tell you to do. You only have a month to get ready. That’s all the time I have to turn you into a woman. I can’t do that if you can’t do what I tell you.”

She looked at her phone for the time.

“Go change into an exercise outfit, no shoes. Your movement coach will be here in a few minutes.”

I left to change. I was not sure I liked her. This was going to be a long, unpleasant month.

~~0~~

During my training, along with my movement coach, I had a slew of others. There was a makeup coach, a hairstylist coach, a fashion coach, and a yoga coach among others. Other than Andrea, the coach I spent the most time with was the movement coach. I was to become as graceful and ladylike in my body movements as I could in a month. I felt I was justified in thinking Andrea was taking my manhood away. This training is a lot of work.

It was three weeks into my training. I was having Saturday dinner with Abbey.

“I was thinking we should take Mom out to that restaurant she likes for her birthday,” Abbey said.

“Good idea. She loves that place. You can’t wear jeans there, though.”

“It’s going to have to be dresses for us, sis. We need to go shopping.”

“Terrific, I have to go dress shopping now.”

“I’ll be with you. Do you think work will pay for two dresses? After all, you can wear it after I do.”

Our food came before I could answer.

We talked as we walked back to my apartment after dinner.

“Casey, I think your training is working. I’ve noticed a difference in you since you started this training.”

“How so?” I said. I flipped my hair away from my face.

“Obviously in the way you dress. Your makeup looks great. You’re taking better care of your hair, nails and skin. Even the way you walked in the restaurant, the way you smoothed your skirt before sitting down, even subtle movements like flipping your hair the way you just did. You look like you’ve been doing this all your life. You’re even talking like a girl. More than that, you seem more confident.”

“Thanks, I guess. It’s been hard work. I’ve had a lot of coaches. Each teaching me something different, walking, talking, makeup, fashion. Andrea’s been a real bitch. She makes sure I put what I learn into practice. She really drills it into me. I hope it’s worth it.”

“She sounds like a real pain.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Andrea is serious about her job. I cringed the first time she told me she was making a woman of me. There was something in the way she said it that almost scared me.”

“Maybe she is fresh from a bad relationship and taking it out on you.”

“You might be right. We’ve discussed guys and she told me to watch out for guys that get too clingy. She sounded like she had some experience.”

“You talked about guys? Why?”

“She said the way I looked, guys will be all over me. I reminded her I was a guy and not interested in going out with a guy. She said that didn’t matter. They won’t see a guy. I was told men are visual creatures. Looking at me, they will only see a woman.”

“Are you having any regrets about doing this?”

“At times. It gets so hard at times I want to quit. If it wasn’t for the idea of the byline and having these breasts, I might have quit. I can’t quit having these things,” I said. I lifted my breasts for emphasis.

“Are you still harping about your breasts?”

“You did give them to me.”

“I did not give them to you. God, I thought you’d be over that by now.”

“How can I be over that? I see them every morning. I still brush up against them when I move my arms. I won’t be over that until I don’t have them anymore.”

“They look great on you. You may decide to keep them.”

“Not a chance.”

“You know you like them.”

“Do not.”

Abbey laughed. I joined in.

~~0~~

It was Wednesday of my final training week. Andrea told me to change into a casual skirt, a top and flats. It was one of the only times I was not wearing heels for Andrea. I came out wearing a black skirt about 4 inches above the knee. My top was a dark green V-neck short-sleeved shirt.

“We’re going on a field trip today,” she said. “No lessons today. We’re spending the day shopping. Let’s go.”

I grabbed my bag. Together we went out the door.

It was a shopping spree. We went to the Fashion District and spent most of the day there. Andrea first took me to a lingerie store. I had no trouble walking in the store. I perused the merchandise like an expert. I found and bought a beautiful lacy bra with matching panties. Andrea looked at my selections and asked why I had chosen the set. I told her the colors went with my skin tone. A dress store was next. I walked the rows of dresses picking something I liked. I would try it on and come out to get Andrea’s opinion. She would ask questions about why I liked it. I gave her the appropriate reasons.

We stopped at a makeup counter. Unlike the last time when I was with Abbey, I was not overwhelmed by the items available. I went right to the palettes that went with my hair and skin tone. I knew what I needed. When asked, I explained to Andrea about the eye shadow, and lipstick I was choosing. A nod of her head indicated her approval of the reason for my choice. It was the same in every store we went to. I showed Andrea I knew why I was there and why I was buying it. It was an enjoyable shopping trip. It was the first time I almost liked Andrea.

~~0~~

Friday afternoon found Andrea packing up. She picked up her ever-present sports drink and put it in her bag.

“This is my last day with you Casey. You’ve come a long way. No one would guess you were not a woman. I’m telling the magazine you’re ready. Before I forget, I need you to sign this.” She handed me a two-page document. A quick glance told me it was a non-disclosure form. “It says you agree not to write any specifics about my training methods. I also need to see anything you write about your training before you turn it in. My methods are my trade secrets.”

“You have nothing to worry about. I don’t want to be on your bad side.” I signed the form and handed it back.

“I’m sorry I was bossy and harsh in the beginning. I needed you to understand I was not playing a game. The magazine feels you need to be totally comfortable as a woman to pull this off. If you don’t mind me asking, why did you volunteer for the assignment? I don’t know many guys who would let themselves become a woman for a year.”

“It just kind of happened. The original idea sounded good. Then it evolved into a guy reporting what it was like to live as a woman. Being androgynous, I guess I seemed like the right choice.”

“You could have said no.”

“Yes, but it’s a big story. The story will have my byline.”

“Okay, but why the breasts?”

“My sister thought I should have a reminder that I’m not a man for the year. She thought when I would take off the fake breasts I might be tempted to go without them for a few hours.”

“Makes sense. Aren’t you worried about any backlash? When the story runs, you could be labeled as being gay, a sissy, a faggot or trans. That might not be good for your career.”

“I’m not worried. It might be good also. I’ll be showing both a male and feminine perspective. How many journalists can say that?”

“You’re a brave person.” She flung her backpack over her shoulder. “Casey, there’s something we haven’t really discussed. I sure you’ll experience it before long. We’ve talked a little about guys. You may not want to hear this but you are a good-looking woman. I don’t think it will be long before men are hitting on you. There will be times when a guy starts talking with you and you have no interest. There will be guys who don’t get the vibe you’re not interested or just ignores it. I’ll bet if you went to a bar around dinner time you’ll understand within the first 30 minutes. Order a drink and stay for about an hour and a half. Tell anyone who talks with you that you are waiting for your date. I think you’ll see what I mean. If you do want to try it, be careful. It could be dangerous. Especially if they find out you’re a man. Be careful.”

She headed to the door.

“You have my number if you run into something we didn’t cover or need a refresher. Even though I’m telling the magazine you’re ready, I feel you have some resistance in presenting as a woman. You have to let that go. You have to believe you are a woman. You have to feel you are a woman. If you can do that, you’ll make it through the year.” She smiled. “Take care and good luck. I’ll be waiting for that article to come out.”

We hugged.

“Thank you, Andrea. I’ll think about your suggestion.”

“Be careful,” she said.

I closed the door behind her and just stood there. I had graduated, for better or worse, I was a woman, sort of. I would be presenting as a woman, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the next year. I did feel like celebrating. I called Abbey. She had a date tonight but would be free tomorrow. I thought about texting Amy, Matt and Jo. I decided against it. I had not told them about my gender change. It would be awkward to see them right now. I’m going to have to go out alone as a woman at some point. So far, I have been out as a woman with Abbey and Andrea. If I can’t go out tonight, can’t go out to get a burger and fries, how am I going to make it through a year? I’ve got to do this. It’s time I went out by myself, as a woman. I got my bag and went out to celebrate. I think I deserved a burger, fries and a milkshake. I laughed to myself. I think I know what Abbey would say about my food choice.

~~0~~

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Thanks for reading. Comments welcome

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Cover picture Credits
Photo by Daria Sannikova from Pexels
Photo by Valeriia Miller from Pexels
Photo Composite by Peregrine

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