My small workshop was quiet for once. I’d just finished a large job and was cleaning up when I noticed someone standing in the doorway.

I looked up and saw silhouetted against the later afternoon sun, a very shapely young woman. As I looked at her, she flicked her long hair. For half a second, I wondered if I was going to have a heart attack.

I didn't so, I walked towards this vision of beauty.

“Hello,” I said.

I stood alongside her, and seeing her for real was just as beautiful as her silhouette.

“Can I help you?”

“I think so,” she replied slightly hesitantly.

“Please come on through to my office,” I offered and directed her towards the rear of my workshop.

“Thanks,” she replied quietly.

“Please take a seat,” I said as I sat down.

“I’m Paul Saunderson, by the way. How can I help you?"

She smiled back at me.

"I have something that needs a bit of work done to it. I was given to understand that you can do just about anything to metal, so here I am."

“I try… Ms?”

She chuckled.

“Jenny Marsh.”

“Well, Ms Marsh, what is it that needs some attention?”

Slightly hesitantly, she opened a large shopping bag that she was carrying. She took the contents and put them on my desk.

I knew in an instant what it was.

"This is a … beautifully made piece. What do you want me to do to it?"
“Thanks. I like it. I’ve lost weight since it was made and it is now far too big for me.”

I reached over and took hold of the item. It was indeed beautifully made.

“I think I can do what you want. There is a plain section on each side that I can cut and adjust the size.”

She smiled.

“Ms Marsh, you do realise that I will need to see you wearing it.”

Her shoulders slumped.

“I thought that you could take out two inches and that would be it?”

“I could but what if that is too much or not enough? You would not be very happy with me, now would you?”

“Well, no I wouldn’t,” she replied in a flat tone.

“Do you want me to do it?”

“How much would it cost me?”

I smiled.

“How about letting me take you to dinner once it is done and you are wearing it?”

“Why?”

“Ms Marsh, you don’t need me to tell you that you are a very attractive woman. I would be honoured to take you to dinner. Nothing more I can assure you but it is not every day that I get someone such as your good self coming into my workshop."

She managed a smile.

“Very well, I accept. When can you do it?”

I smiled.

“How about now? I can close up the workshop. It should only take half an hour or so.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. No time like the present is there?”

She hesitated for several seconds.

“If you would rather come back another time?”

"No…No, let's do it now."
Then she laughed.

“That’s not what I meant.”

I grinned back at her.
“No problem.”

I stood up.
“Why don’t you get yourself ready in here. I’ll close up and get you a couple of towels.”

“You have towels here?”

“Yes. I often take a shower here after work if I’m going somewhere straight after work.”

She visibly relaxed.

“Could I change in the shower?”

"That would be rather difficult because I added the shower to the toilet. All in the same small space."

She nodded her head.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” I said as I left the office.

As I grabbed two clean towels, I stopped for a second or so and wondered…
“This is certainly a different end to the day. Very unexpected indeed.”

She appeared a minute or so later. I was expecting that. But… she was stark naked. That I wasn’t expecting. She was very, very attractive. I hoped that I wasn’t staring.

I handed her the belt. Without hesitation, she stepped into it. It was clear that I’d have to take more than two inches out of it. She had indeed lost a good deal of weight.

I picked up a piece of chalk that I used for marking out.
“I’ll need to take a bit out here, here and here,” I said as I chalked lines on the waistband.

“How will you do it?”

“I'll do one bit at a time and tack weld the joints together. Then you can try it to see how it fits. A little bit at a time. Then I won't take too much out. Does that seem sensible?"

“Yes. Sorry for asking.”

“No. You don’t have to be sorry for anything. It is good to have someone who asks questions. Makes a nice change. Most customers just want it done and with no delay at all. Perfection takes a bit longer.”

She just smiled back at me.

“If you would take the belt off, I’ll start work.”

While she was doing that, I cleared some space on my workbench and moved over my Electric Arc welder and my air driven saw. I checked the saw blade and estimated that it should last long enough to do this job but I'd soon see. If the stainless steel that the belt was made of was of a very hard alloy then it would blunt the blade very quickly.

I smelt her exquisite perfume come close to me. Ms Marsh was holding the belt.

“Thank you, Ms Marsh. I think that in your current state of dress that you should stand well back. There will be some hot sparks flying around.”

“Sorry.”

She stepped back. The more I looked at her, the more I realised that she was possibly the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen… in the flesh.

I turned around and began to make my first cut. I breathed a mental sigh of relief when the saw cut through the metal quite easily.

After cutting out a piece almost an inch wide, I tacked the ends together with a couple of spot welds.

“Right, can you try this on? I want to see how it hangs on your hips."

“Thank you,”

The belt fitted a lot better but was still loose. She could easily get out of it even with it locked.

I knelt in front of her and made some more marks on the steel.

As I stood up, I noticed that she had a small light blue tattoo on the inside of each wrist.

"I think I know where and how much to cut to make it a very snug fit. That's what you want isn't it?"

“Perfect. My Father was a bit of an old fashioned type. He had it made for me for my sixteenth birthday. I wore it every day for over five years. Then I lost a lot of weight. Now that it has stabilised, I want to start wearing it again.”

I smiled back at her.

Ten minutes later, I had the now smaller belt spot welded together.

I checked the welds for temperature. They were fine so I handed the belt to Ms Marsh.

She didn’t hesitate and stepped into it. I could see that it was going to fit very well.

“Can you make sure that the catch can close?”

Ms Marsh smiled as she made sure that the hasp would close over the place where the padlock would be placed.

“It fits.”

She tried to take it off but it would not go over her hips.

“Perfect. Thank you.”

“Good. If you would remove it then I can complete the work. I should have it done in less than half an hour.”

“Thank you.”

Twenty-six minutes later, the welds were complete and polished down making them next to invisible on the outside. I deliberately left some indications that some metal had been removed on the inside just in case it needed further work in the future.

“There you are. That should be a much better fit than before.”

“Thanks. I need you to do one more thing.”

“Sure. What’s that?”

She smiled.
"Two more things actually. The first is to lock me into the belt. It is just a superstition that I have."

“No problem. What the second?”

“Come to dinner tonight? Please say yes. You have been so courteous with me standing here naked. Most men would have tried it on in a flash. So, even if you say no, thank you for being a gentleman.”

“No problem. It isn’t every day that I get to do a job as interesting as this one.”

Ms Marsh didn't hesitate one second and stepped into the belt. She jiggled it and smiled. That fits perfectly. Thank you so much."

She then reached into her handbag and pulled out a padlock. There was no key in the lock.

“Can you do the honours?”

I took the lock from her and examined it carefully. It was an expensive bit of kit. It was clear from the hardness of metal that a pair of normal bolt cutters would not touch it. If someone wanted to get her out of the belt, they'd have to cut the belt. This whole setup was for very strict control of the wearer.

“Ok. Last chance to back out?”

“No. just do it.”

I knelt down and put the hasp in place. Then the lock and snapped it shut. The click seemed to ring out around my workshop. A sound of finality.

“Thank you so much.”

Before I could say anything, she turned around and disappeared. I knew that she was going to get dressed. That was fine. My job was done.

I started to clear up my things. I’d nearly done when I smelt her perfume again. She’d refreshed it.

“I want to thank you again for your work. The fit is better than it has ever been.”

“As I said earlier, it wasn’t a problem. An unusual request for sure but pleasurable.”

“Are you going to come to dinner tonight?”

“I’d love to do just that. I need to get clean find something to wear. Finally, I have to see to Cleo.”

“Cleo?”

“My cat. If she is not fed soon, she’ll start moaning.”

“Cats are like a lot of women, in that they are never satisfied with anything.”

“That’s very true.”

---

The evening was delightful. She went home and got changed into a long back off the shoulder dress. I’d found a suit that wasn’t to creased from hanging in my wardrobe for several years.

When I saw her in that dress, I fantasised about being able to wear something like that. I’d never be anything more than a very plain woman no matter what sort of clothes I might wear. I’d resigned myself to wearing female normal clothes in the privacy of my home. Something like that was way out of my reach.

The night went very well. Jenny was the centre of attraction at the restaurant. Her beauty meant that we got the best service anyone could have wished for… apart from me being in her place.

I tried to be the perfect escort to someone who was clearly confident in her own self. The kiss on the cheek that she gave me at the end of the evening was more than payment for the what I’d done to her belt earlier in the day.

[two days later]
I arrived home from work to find a small package waiting for me on the mat. Seeing it lying there had phased me for a moment. I hadn't ordered anything for delivery at my home in several months. That fact made me puzzled as to what was inside the package.

Any further deliberation was cut short by the arrival of Cleo. She needed feeding and then turned out to go mousing for a few hours. Then she’d be back scratching at the back door. I’d delay letting her in until I was ready for bed. Then she’d come inside, hiss at me for a bit and then finish her food from earlier before finding somewhere to sleep. That was her life in a nutshell.

I fed Cleo and then myself. Once I’d cleared away, I remembered the package.

It didn't take me long to open it. Right away, I knew what it was and, more importantly, what it meant. Quite how she'd found my home address so quickly was a bit of a puzzle. My address was not exactly a secret. After a bit of thinking, it became clear that she'd done her research before setting foot anywhere near my workshop. She had this aura of certainty about her. That certainty was about what she wanted to achieve, the end game. She didn't bat an eyelid about stripping off in front of me, a perfect stranger.

The package contained what I assumed to be the keys to her chastity belt. The very lock that I’d snapped home less than 60 hours before.

I sat at the kitchen table for more than an hour, wondering why she'd chosen me. Firstly, to take in the waist on her belt and secondly, why she’d chosen me to be her keyholder.

By the time Cleo was scratching at the back door, to be let out to go mousing, I'd come to a decision. I'd hide the keys outside in my garden key-safe. The safe is a flower pot that I had buried in the garden more than a year before. A broken paving slab sits over it, and a much larger pot that contains my bay tree plant covers the slab. This makes it very much hidden in plain sight. If she came for them, then she could have them. If anyone else came looking then like the keys to my floor safe, they would not find them inside the building.

Jenny Marsh had trusted me enough to be her keyholder. While that was good, it also made me sad. I would have loved to have taken things a lot farther with her, especially as I had my very own belt upstairs. Swapping keys was something that I’d dreamed about many a time.

So near yet so far. I wondered when I’d see her again, if ever. For a moment, I regretted being such a gentleman but it was just for a moment. A proper gentleman never reveals his secrets until… It was too late to do anything for now. I had to hope that she did return to claim the keys unless they were nothing more than a teaser.
That's life, I suppose and life most things so far in mine, I lose.
[the end]

[authors note]
This is an old story brought out of the vaults. It is also a sad tale and one of lost opportunities. Keeping things bottled up is not good for our mental health as these past two years has shown. A more confident person would have told her at least something that might suggest an interest but no…