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Breaking Up And Making Up


“Well, Nobody’s Perfect!”
Joe E. Brown ‘Some Like It Hot’


by Nikkie Silk


Chapter One

Danny stood at the bar and looked around the pub. It wasn't his usual,
but this one had looked bright and warm from the outside on a gray,
rainy day. The after work rush wouldn't start for a couple of hours or
so yet, so there were only a few old boys who looked like regulars,
nursing their pints and looking miserable, cursing the smoking ban. A
couple at a table in the corner seemed to be in the middle of an
argument. The girl looked upset, and the man seemed to be trying to
apologise to her for something.

He had enough problems of his own to keep him busy for months, so he
didn't have any time to spare for other people's troubles. Danny ordered
a pint, and as he waited for the barman to pour it, he looked round just
at the moment the girl in the corner slammed her hand down on the table,
angrily got up, grabbed her coat and ran out of the pub. The man with
her had his head down and appeared to be crying. Poor sod, he thought,
it looks like he's been dumped. Danny knew how that felt.

Turning back as the barman put his pint on the bar, Danny paid and took
a long pull of the beer. It was a decent pint, malty and dark, which
matched Danny’s mood right now. He had just come from a meeting with his
Director, who had told him that the company was going to have to let him
go. Let me go? Danny snorted, that was the kind of language a gutless
little weasel like him would use. As if it had been my choice to leave,
not theirs. The company had been taken over by an American media company
and everyone knew that there would be lay offs. Danny had hoped he
wouldn't be one of them. A redundancy package which would keep him going
for a while, and he thought it wouldn't be too difficult to get himself
a new job. Danny thought could use his network of contacts to get
himself something quickly.

In the middle of this internal monologue, he sensed the guy from the
table standing next to him at the bar, trying to pay his tab. Danny
turned to look at him out of curiosity. They were about the same age,
but the man was taller and more well built than Danny. It reminded Danny
that his enforced free time would allow him to get to the pool more
often, he could do with losing a pound or two himself. The guy was
trying to attract the barman’s attention, who was busy serving another
customer. He had been weeping, as his eyes were red rimmed, and Danny
suddenly felt sorry for him.

‘Bad day, huh?’ Said Danny.

He turned to Danny and said, ‘What? What did you say?’

‘I said, it looks as if you've had a bad day.’

He looked at Danny with an angry look on his face.

‘Really, you think so?’ The sarcasm aimed to sting, but Danny let it go.

‘Me too,’ said Danny, ‘I've had a bloody awful one too.’

‘Look mate,’ said the guy, ‘what do you know about me that lets you say
something like that? You know nothing about me.’

Danny shrugged and was going to turn away, when the man said, ‘I'm
sorry, that wasn't called for. I'm just upset right now.’

‘That's OK,’ said Danny, stuck his hand out and said, ‘Danny, Danny
Albright. Alright Albright, they call me.’

The guy looked down at Danny's outstretched hand, considering whether to
shake it or ignore Danny. He decided and shook the outstretched hand,
saying, ‘Carl, Carl Jones.’

‘OK, Carl, I hate drinking alone, especially today, how about I buy you
a pint?’

‘No, honestly, thanks but no,’ said Carl. He tried to get the barman's
attention, but he was now changing one of the barrels in the cellar.

‘Come on, Carl, it won't hurt, I have had a shitty day too. Have a drink
with me.’

Carl looked at him, as if hearing Danny for the first time, ‘What's
happened to you?’

‘Only been fired this morning,’ Danny looked at his watch, ‘been
unemployed precisely two hours now. I've been walking around since
trying to get my head straight.’

‘Yea, that's shitty alright,’ Carl said, then realising what he had
said, ‘Oh, sorry, that wasn't deliberate, shitty alright, I mean, that's
your name, right?’

Danny laughed, ‘Well, the way my luck’s been running recently, that's
not too far off the mark.’

‘Maybe I should buy you a drink then.’ said Carl, still flustered at
what he had said.

‘Nah, I asked you first, what’ll you have?’

Carl asked for a pint of lager and Danny finally got the barman's
attention and ordered the lager.

‘You had some bad luck recently, then?’ Carl said, thinking he would
probably regret asking.

‘You mean other than being fired, my wife leaving me, crashing the car,
losing my winning lottery ticket and the goldfish dying?’

Carl looked at him to see if he was joking.

Danny laughed at the expression on Carl’s face. ‘Well the last two
haven't happened yet, but the first three certainly have, all in the
past nine months.’

Carl smiled for the first time since they began talking, ‘Thank God the
goldfish is still alive then.’

Danny said, ‘Yeah, it would be if I had one.’ Which made them both
laugh.

‘I'm sorry Danny, for what I said earlier I mean, about what do you know
about me and all that. It was pretty nasty of me. I was well out of
order, you've had a rough time.’

‘Yea, it's been a bit rocky, I admit, but you looked pretty cut up over
there.’

Carl debated about what and how much to say, before looking down at his
drink and saying, ‘She was my girlfriend, or more exactly my
ex-girlfriend. We had been together a couple of years and she decided
she wanted something different. I was trying to patch things up, and as
you can see it didn't go well.’

‘It always hurts when it happens, Carl, I know it's trite but time does
make a difference. It's been 9 months since my break up.’

‘Does it feel any better?’

Danny thought for a minute, ‘It still feels bad, but not as often, if
that makes sense.’

They had finished their drinks, and Carl bought the same again, as he
felt he owed Danny one. As he waited to be served, Carl wondered why
Danny had spoken to him. He stole a glance at Danny as he chatted to an
old timer who was also waiting to be served. He thought Danny looked a
bit scruffy, with his faded jeans, t-shirt, blond hair in a ponytail,
but he seemed friendly enough and Carl felt it might be good to take his
mind off Simone for a while. Carl guessed Danny also needed somebody to
talk to after what had happened to him. The drinks arrived and Carl
suggested they move to a table instead of standing at the bar.

Over the second pint, they found they had a lot in common; a love of
Arsenal football club, Indian food, old movies and Elmore Leonard
novels. They agreed about the best Arsenal team - the unbeaten
invincibles - but argued about politics. Danny was Labour and Carl
Conservative, but with a small c. They both loved ‘Some Like it Hot’ and
‘North by Northwest’, but Carl loved Grace Kelly, and Danny thought Eva
Marie Saint sexier.

The second pint turned into a third, and when they finished their
fourth, Carl said he hadn't eaten all day and suggested going for
something to eat. Danny knew a great Indian place round the corner, and
so they headed off there, both of them a little drunk by this time. They
ordered their food, and a silence descended. Carl broke it first, ‘It
annoyed when you spoke to me in the pub, Danny. I'm glad you did, I
needed this, I would have gone home and stewed about things.’

‘Me too, Carl, It's been good for me too, thanks,’ They clinked their
glasses in the way that men do and said, ’Cheers.’

Danny said, ‘Oh Lordy, I almost forgot, are you doing anything tomorrow
afternoon?’

‘No, why?’

Danny hunted around in his pockets and produced a ticket. ‘The company
has a box at the Emirates and they have given me two tickets for the
game tomorrow against Chelsea as a sweetener. They’re like gold dust, do
you want to come along? Free food and booze and everything.’

Carl felt a bit woozy by this time, but he thought why not? He could
never get a ticket for that game and it would keep his mind off other
things.

‘Yes, I would love to, if you're sure.’

‘No problems, I didn't have a clue who to invite for the other ticket,
so as a fellow gooner, you're more than welcome.’

They swapped phone numbers and after arranging to meet at Arsenal tube
station the next afternoon, they made their way to their homes, each
carrying a burden that had been only partly lifted by their evening
together. Both slept badly, waking in the small hours as the reality of
what had happened the previous day sank in.

Carl reached across to where his girlfriend would have slept, and his
heart dropped when he realised she was not there.

Danny lay on his back with his hands behind his head as he worried about
finding a new job, deciding he would have to start calling people on
Monday.

They met as planned before the game and dropped into a pub for a drink
before heading to the stadium. When two London teams play each other, it
always becomes a tribal affair; north London against south, Arsenal red
against Chelsea blue, grit against swagger, yet another full blooded
encounter in a long running and bitter rivalry. It ended up close, as
they often are, with Arsenal edging the result in the last minute. Danny
and Carl were ecstatic, high-fiving and hugging each other at the final
whistle, each of them relishing the opportunity to forget their problems
for a while, and finding solace in the shared joy of being a fan.

‘Danny, that was brilliant, thanks for the invitation, I would have had
to watch it on TV. Let me pay you back somehow. How about dinner
tonight? My treat.’

Danny looked at Carl, still giddy with excitement and smiled, ‘Sure, why
not? where do you fancy?’

‘Why not Brick Lane? It's Bangladeshi, great cooking.’ Carl’s enthusiasm
was evident and Danny willingly agreed as it had been a some time since
he had been there. They managed to squeeze onto a crowded train which
gave Danny a chance to think about Carl. Danny didn't have many male
friends as his girlfriend had pulled him away from the few he had before
their marriage. It seemed to him that she had seen him as a project, a
man to be shaped and remodelled.

Danny couldn't believe his luck when Jessica came on to him. Jess was
pretty, vivacious and dominant. She called the shots most of the time,
and Danny followed her lead. She decided when they did things, where
they went, even to when and how they had sex. She liked to play games in
the bedroom, usually with him being the submissive partner. Once or
twice she had him wear her panties during sex, which he had secretly
enjoyed, but had drawn the line when she wanted to use a dildo on him.
He had gone along with most of it; Jess was beautiful, the sex was
great, and he loved her. Unknown to him, however, she had other
admirers, and one of those eventually took her away from him.

He had struggled after the break up; compared to Jess, other girls
seemed dull and uninteresting, and after a few disastrous dates, he gave
up. Online porn became his release, and he spent many evenings in front
of his computer, lost in the fantasy world on screen. He had never
realised there were so many varieties of sexual fantasy available at the
click of a mouse. He loved the story sites as much as the video ones and
spent many hours reading the stories he found there.

Danny had tried to pick up with his old friends, but it seems that they
had moved on, some had families now and didn't want to reconnect. Danny
hadn’t set out to make friends with Carl, he had only spoken to him in
the pub because he felt sorry for him, but they seemed to click. Carl
was easy to talk to, liked many of the same things that Danny did and
seemed happy to have found a friend. It had been good to see Carl so
happy at the football. He thought It had been a good idea to invite him.

Carl gave up his seat on the train to a woman wearing a ‘Baby On Board’
badge, and that made him feel good. He felt manners counted; it didn't
take much effort to be kind. He took the opportunity to study Danny as
he sat on the train, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Danny didn't look
as scruffy as Carl had at first thought. His ponytail was well cared
for, unlike the greasy, unkempt ones you often see. He stood a few
inches shorter than Carl, slim, and striking blue eyes which flashed
when he smiled. He thought it had been generous of Danny to reach out
to him in the pub, and Carl flushed at the thought of how he had
initially reacted to Danny’s gesture. Everything had gone better after
that and it had been good to be with someone after Simone had left him
in the pub. He felt a sting as he thought of her and blinked away a
tear. Danny had been funny, despite his own problems, and Carl had been
touched when he offered him the ticket. That had been a true act of
kindness, thought Carl. He hoped that he and Danny would stay friends,
he thought he would enjoy Danny’s company.

They tumbled out of the train at Shoreditch and made their way to Brick
Lane where Carl had a favourite restaurant among the many that lined the
Lane. Home to waves of immigrants for hundreds of years, the latest
incomers had been from Bangladesh, and their cooking had created what
had become Bangla Town. It's a bright, vibrant and crowded place, but
they found a table in Carl’s favourite restaurant and quickly ordered
some beers and food.

As well as talking about the match and how well Arsenal would do this
year, they discovered more about each other as the meal went on; Carl
cycled, Danny swam to keep fit, Carl liked dogs, Danny cats, and both
hated golf. Danny talked about his job as a graphic designer and Carl
confessed to being a management consultant. Without being fully aware of
it, each one felt drawn to the other, both needing a friend who could
help each other through a bad time.

As the remnants of the meal were cleared away, Danny offered to pay his
share, but Carl insisted on paying the whole bill in return for the
football. They had a final beer together in the Pride of Spitalfields
before setting off home, when to their surprise, they discovered that
they lived only a mile apart from each other in Putney and agreed to
share a taxi home. As the cab stopped to let Carl out, Danny promised to
give him a call during the week for a drink.

As promised, Danny rang Carl, and they met for a drink in a local pub.
Then one of them, they couldn't remember who, suggested they go together
to watch a movie they both wanted to see. Quickly, they became close
friends, meeting regularly for drinks or dinner or a film. They had come
to value each others company and began to share more and more about
themselves. Two strangers, brought together by chance, had discovered a
friendship neither had intended, but which both now began to look
forward to.

Chapter Two

One evening, Carl called Danny to invite him over to his flat for dinner
the following Saturday. For some reason, Danny hesitated, going to
someone else’s place seemed a big step, and would take their friendship
to a new level. He shrugged and said, ‘Thanks, I would love to. Will
there be anyone else?’

Carl said, ‘I’ve invited my upstairs neighbours as well. I have to tell
you, though, they’re gay. Well, lesbian to be exact, but they’re lovely
girls.’

Danny laughed, ‘So you want me as cover? Do you want me to be your
latest boyfriend?’

Carl snorted, ‘You’re not my type, honey.’

‘OK, what time? I’ll bring a bottle, right?’

‘Is 7 OK? You don't have to bring a bottle, but I’m guessing you will,
anyway. It's my homemade chilli, so a bottle of red?’

Danny arrived at the address Carl had given him a little after 7. He had
walked from his flat and had bought a bottle of good red wine on the
way. He whistled as he saw the building, a detached Edwardian villa that
had been converted into apartments which looked expensive. Danny knew
Carl had the garden flat, so he rang the bottom bell and heard it
ringing somewhere inside. The door opened and a strikingly beautiful
woman stood there.

Danny said, ‘Oh, I'm sorry, have I rung the wrong bell?’

‘Not If your name is Danny, Hi, I’m Julia from upstairs, Carl asked me
to let you in.’

‘Hi, Julia, nice to meet you.’ They shook hands and Julia led him
through into the apartment. Danny didn't know whether to look at Julia’s
backside wiggling away in front of him or the apartment, both looked
equally stunning. Julia looked back as he sneaked a peek at her bum, she
grinned and said, ‘Come on through to the kitchen and meet my far better
half.’

Danny thought Julia beautiful; long straight blonde hair, short tight
black skirt barely hiding legs that went up for ever and a smile to die
for. Danny felt his cock stirring and thought, ‘Stop it, she's off
limits.’ They entered a huge room that must have run across the whole
width of the house. At least two rooms had been knocked into one large,
open-plan kitchen and dining area, with sliding doors that opened out
into the garden. The doors were closed as it was still too cold to go
outside, but Danny could see a well tended garden and patio area
outside. Carl stood by the range cooker stirring what Danny assumed from
the smell to be the chilli.

‘Hi Danny, you’ve met Julia, I see.’ Julia waggled her fingers at him
over a large glass of white wine. ‘Let me introduce Siobhan, Julia’s
partner. No, sorry, I mean wife.’

A tall red haired woman stepped forward and offered her hand to Danny,
‘That's right, Julia made an honest woman out of me a few weeks ago.
Pleased to meet you Danny.’

Danny shook her hand and said, ‘Well, congratulations to both of you.
That's wonderful.’

If Danny had thought Julia beautiful, then Siobhan almost took his
breath away. A little taller than him, she had green eyes, and hair for
which a pre-raphaelite painter would have sold his soul to get onto
canvas. She had the hint of an Irish lilt to her voice, which probably
explained the red hair.

Carl put a glass of red wine into his hand and said, ‘Here’s to Julia
and Siobhan, two of the sweetest and best neighbours that anyone could
wish to have. Congratulations on your marriage.’

They all raised their glasses and drank to the toast.

‘Is this a celebration dinner then?’ Danny asked.

‘Sort of,’ said Carl, ‘I missed the wedding. Simone and I were in the
middle of breaking up and it had been a bad day.’

‘Sorry about that,’ said Julia.

‘Not your fault, Jools.’ said Carl.

‘Well, at least she won't cramp your style any more.’ said Siobhan.

Danny caught Julia shooting Siobhan a look and wondered what that meant.
Danny also noticed Carl had reddened a little and guessed that Carl had
been playing away from home and had got caught. He and Carl had never
talked about why he and Simone had broken up, Danny didn't want to open
fresh wounds with his new friend. If Carl wanted to talk about it, he
would sometime.

‘So, Danny, what brought you into Carl’s life?’ said Siobhan. She fixed
him with her eyes and he felt slightly intimidated by this beautiful
woman.

‘We bumped into each other in a pub, we got talking and it kind of took
off from there.’ said Danny.

Carl yelled over from the cooker, ‘It was the day Simone finally broke
up with me. Danny may well have saved my life that day.’

‘Hardly, I was grateful to talk to someone as well, remember?’

‘Oh, why?’ Julia had moved to stand the other side of Danny. Danny
realised he was being book ended by two of the most glamourous women he
had ever met. Julia was a classic Nordic blonde, tall and slender, easy
to laugh and with a naughty look in her eyes. Siobhan was smaller than
Julia, but with her shock of red hair and green eyes, she had an air of
mysticism that made Danny think of misty autumn mornings in the
countryside.

‘I had been fired at lunchtime. Sorry, not fired, Let go was what they
called it.’

‘Arseholes,’ Julia said.

‘Jools, you have such a potty mouth.’ said Siobhan.

Julia grinned broadly, ‘That's not what you say in bed.’

‘Careful, or you’ll embarrass Carl's new friend.’ Siobhan mock scolded
Julia.

‘Oh, I don't think he’ll be embarrassed by that. By this, maybe.’ Julia
moved around Danny and put her arms around Siobhan and pulled her into a
kiss.

‘Oi, you two, stop teasing Danny,’ yelled Carl from the cooker. The two
women giggled and Siobhan said, ‘Sorry, Danny, no offence meant.’

‘None taken,’ laughed Danny. Glad they had stopped if only because he
had started to feel his cock swelling as he watched them kissing.
Carl came across and refilled glasses.

‘Right, food’s ready. I’ll dump the bowls of chilli and rice on the
table, and there's some garlic bread as well so you can help
yourselves.’

They sat down at the table, Danny next to Julia and across from Siobhan.
For a moment Danny imagined he was being presented to the two girls as
if for approval. He shook it off as his imagination and offered Siobhan
first go at the chilli. Their plates were soon full of food and Danny
said, ‘God, this is fantastic, Carl. There's a real kick to it.’

Carl smiled, ‘Thanks, I like making it, makes me feel warm and safe in a
funny way.’

‘So, Danny,’ Siobhan fixed him with those eyes again, he again felt her
sizing him up, ‘have you found a new job yet?’

‘Nope, not yet, it's harder than I thought for out there, cutbacks all
round in my business.’

‘What do you do, Danny?’ Julia joined in.

‘I'm a graphic designer, mainly books and media stuff.’

‘Isn't that all freelance?’ Siobhan asked.

‘A lot is, but that takes time to build up. I spent my time in agencies,
didn't think I would need to go freelance.’

‘But you are now?’ Julia spoke this time.

‘Yes, I've had to. I've picked up some work, but it will take longer
than I thought to get it going.’

Carl said, ‘OK ladies, you can stop the interrogation, Danny's here to
enjoy himself.’

Carl had wondered if it would be alright to invite Danny to dinner with
Siobhan and Julia. They could be mischievous if the mood took them and
it seemed that was happening tonight. Carl didn't think Danny would have
any problem with the girls being gay; nothing Danny had said led Carl to
believe he would. Danny seemed to be laid back about everything. Carl
felt he should celebrate the girls’ marriage, as he had missed the
wedding day, and with Simone no longer around, he wanted someone to be
there with him. Danny seemed to be a good choice, and so far he appeared
to be OK with it.

Danny still felt Siobhan's eyes on him again and tried to change tack,
‘Carl, this is a fabulous apartment.’

Carl looked pleased at the compliment, ‘Thanks, I inherited some money
from an aunt. It gave me the opportunity to buy this place and to
renovate it. I had an architect friend draw up the plans, including the
extension for the kitchen and dining area.’

Siobhan looked at Danny and said, ‘You know, Danny, for a guy, you have
a lovely bone structure, and your eyes are so pretty.’

‘Thank you Siobhan, but nobody has ever told me that before, I can
assure you.’

‘Do you keep your hair that long all the time?’

‘Yes, I've always preferred longer hair, I keep it in the ponytail most
of the time to keep it out of the way.’

‘Mmm, let me see what it looks like if you let it out of the ponytail.’

‘Siobhan, stop teasing Danny.’ said Carl.

‘Pretty please, Danny?’ said Siobhan.

Danny laughed, ‘No it's OK, Carl, really.’

He reached back and took out the scrunchie holding the ponytail and bent
his head forwards so his hair fell down around his face.

He looked at Siobhan, smiled and said, ‘Happy?’

‘You have lovely hair. Let me try something?’

Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and moved behind him. Danny
felt her gather his hair together and remake the ponytail, this time
with it riding higher on the back of his head, level with his eye line.
‘There, that's looks better.’ she said, moving back to look at him.

‘That's how girls wear their ponytail,’ said Julia.

Danny felt himself go pink, and he quickly released his hair so that it
fell back over his shoulders. Siobhan tilted her head to one side and
said, ‘You know, with the right makeover you could look stunning.’

‘Siobhan, why are teasing Danny?’ said Carl, ‘let's go to the other room
and have a drink.’

She looked a little put out, ‘What? Why isn't it nice to say someone
could look pretty?’

‘You don't describe guys as pretty.’

‘OK, he could look cute, is that better?’ Siobhan fluttered her
eyelashes at Carl who blushed a little.

Pretty? thought Danny. What the hell was she on about? He didn't quite
know what to make of Siobhan and Julia. They were both extremely
beautiful and by their words and actions, uninhibited. He didn't have
any problem with gay people, he had worked with plenty in the design
business, and he liked their company. They obviously knew Carl well, and
he seemed comfortable with them. Danny realised he had been invited to
make up a four, but he didn't mind that. It was good to see where Carl
lived and to meet some new people, especially two as exotic as Siobhan
and Julia. The apartment was much more luxurious than his rented flat,
and that reminded him that if he didn't find some more work soon, he
might have to move to somewhere cheaper.

They had all moved into a luxuriously decorated living space, Danny
thought calling it a room wouldn't do it justice. It had enough room for
two large sofas, each facing the other in front of an open fireplace,
with a low table in between. Julia and Siobhan sat on one of the sofas
as Carl motioned Danny to sit on the other one.

‘OK, what does everyone want to drink?’

‘Brandy, please Carly,’ chorused both girls and Carl smiled weakly at
the name. He turned towards Danny, ‘They thought it was funny to call me
Carly, as in Carly Simon, Carly and Simone? Only it's not so funny now
is it girls, without Simone I mean.’

‘Sorry, Carly, old habits are hard to break.’ said Julia and giggled.

Danny thought she was a little drunk already.

‘I'll have a brandy too, please Carl.’ he said.

‘OK, brandies all round, that's easy.’ He went to fetch the drinks and
Danny took the opportunity to ask Julia and Siobhan what they did for a
living.

Siobhan laughed, ‘See, Julia, not everybody knows who you are.’

Julia pouted, held her hair up behind her head and turned her head
sideways and gave Danny a sultry look.

Carl returned with the brandies and said, ‘Danny, Julia's a model. She
gets cranky if you don't recognise her.’

‘I do not,’ pouted Julia.

‘You so do,’ said Siobhan.

Julia picked up a cushion and hit Siobhan with it. ‘You're supposed to
be on my side, wifey.’

Carl took a sip of his brandy and nodded his head at the two girls,
‘Julia's a fashion model and Siobhan is a makeup artist. That's how they
met, on some photo shoot.’

Siobhan lay back on the sofa, ‘So, Danny, which way do you roll?’

Danny must have looked confused, because Julia jumped in, ‘She means are
you straight or gay or bi or something else?’

Carl started to object, but Danny held his hand up, ‘Don't worry Carl, I
don't mind. I'm straight, I like girls.’

Julia giggled, ‘I like girls too, but it doesn't make me straight.’

Danny laughed, ‘OK, let me change my answer, so far in my life I have
always dated girls and got married to one.’

‘Hey, me too,’ said Julia. They all laughed at that.

Danny paused and then said, ‘Let me put it this way, I have no idea what
the future will hold, but I don't have any plans to change.’

‘That's what I said before I met Julia,’ said Siobhan. She put her arm
round Julia's shoulder and pulled her close, ‘It’s a good answer, Danny.
You seem to be someone who doesn't have a binary outlook.’

‘I have no idea what that means, Siobhan.’

Carl rose to freshen everybody's drinks and Danny felt a little drunk
now.

Siobhan took a sip of her drink before replying to Danny. ‘All I mean,
Danny, is that most people think that gender is male and female, that's
binary. I think it's more complicated than that. Instead of having only
two colours, black and white for instance, there's a whole palette of
colours to choose from. You don't have to be restricted to two types of
gender. It's almost infinite and very flexible.’

Danny sipped his brandy, and could see everyone watching him as he
thought about what to say.

‘So, I could decide to be gay tomorrow?’ He aimed for sarcasm, but
somehow it came out as a simple question.

‘Gender isn't about sexual orientation, and anyway, I don't think being
attracted to someone is a conscious decision. I didn't wake up one
morning and say to myself, I think I’ll be a lesbian today, I’ll go pick
up a girl. I met Julia and fell in love with her, I didn't set out to do
it, but when it happened, I didn't fight it.’

‘You couldn't possibly have fought me off, baby.’ Julia tucked her legs
beneath her on the sofa, ‘Have you ever fancied a guy, Danny? You're a
swimmer, right? All those sleek wet bodies in teeny tiny Speedos, did
you ever get a stiffy when you were in the changing rooms?’

‘Not fair,’ Carl piped up, ‘nearly every adolescent boy gets a crush on
another boy.’

Three pairs of eyes swivelled towards Carl, who went pink, ‘Well, yes, I
did.’

‘Come on Carly, you can't leave it there, give us the juicy bits.’ said
Julia.

Feeling the effects of the wine at dinner and the brandies, Carl opened
up more than normal.

‘Well, I spent a school summer holiday with one of my friends one year,
when my parents were away in Africa, and it wasn't safe for me to go out
there with them. He and I got close, and we, well, experimented a bit, I
guess you would say. We used to go swimming in a lake near their house,
and one day he suggested we go skinny dipping. There was nobody about so
we dropped our shorts and ran into the water. It was fun but then he
swam through my legs, came up in front of me, and suddenly we were
kissing. We used to go there whenever we could and we kissed a few more
times, but I think we both got a bit scared, and it kind of ended then.’

‘Very hot Carly, How about you, Danny?’ Julia asked.

Danny hesitated, but he had drunk enough for his inhibitions to have
slipped away, and for some reason he had found Carl’s story liberating.
‘Yes, there was a boy back in school, but it was just a phase.’

Julia raised one eyebrow and drawled, ‘Really? Just a phase?’

Danny felt himself getting pink this time. ‘It was the school play,
Romeo and Juliet. We were an all boys school, so they needed one of us
to play Juliet, and well, I was pushed into playing the part. I had to
spend a lot of the time dressed to get used to wearing the costume. The
boy was playing Romeo, we clicked, and one thing led to another. I think
he got turned on by me in the costume. He only wanted to do anything
when I was dressed as Juliet. It was all adolescent stuff, we would
kiss, and I masturbated him once, that's all. I think he wanted to go
further, but that was enough for me.’

‘Yowsa!’ yelled Julia, ‘Danny for the win.’

Danny laughed and then thought that he had never told that story to
anyone. Why tonight? He didn't know, maybe it had been the brandy and
the presence of Julia and Siobhan.

‘So, both of you had gay encounters back then?’ Siobhan sat back with a
smug look on her face. ‘I think I made my point.’

‘Didn't you get crushes on a teacher? Isn't that what schoolgirls do?’
Danny thought he should fight back.

Julia grinned like a cheshire cat, ‘I did, but it was a lot more than a
crush, as sister Annunciata would be able to tell you. Then again, I
knew I was gay from an early age, and precocious with it. I was expelled
from one school for seducing the French Assistante. She taught me some
French that wasn't in any phrase book. Although, I don't think we needed
any translation for what we were doing together.’

Siobhan shook her head at Julia’s story, then said ‘Sorry, not me, I was
so shy I didn't date anyone until I left school.’

Carl said, ‘I can't believe that.’

‘Nope, it's true, I would break out in spots if a boy came anywhere near
me, and being a redhead, well, that put everybody off back then. I went
to college to do my beauty course and there I had to overcome my
shyness. By then my hair had become an attraction for a certain type of
guy, the artistic types would love to come and tell me how beautiful my
hair looked. I slept with a few, but it never amounted to anything. Then
I met this creature here, who seduced me one afternoon as I was doing
her makeup. She kept putting her hand up my skirt and asking me if she
could see if I was a real redhead.’ She grinned at Julia, ‘Classy stuff,
but I fell for it.’

She bent down and kissed Julia on the lips and they smiled at each
other.

They turned back to face Carl and Danny. ‘So, you two don't fancy each
other, then?’ said Julia.

‘God, no.’ both men spoke at once.

Siobhan and Julia laughed and Siobhan went on, ‘We’re only teasing you,
but Carly does talk about you a lot, Danny.’

‘I do not,’ said Carl, a little too strongly thought Danny.

‘Anyway you boys,’ Siobhan stood up, ‘We have to love you and leave
you. Julia has a show tomorrow evening, and trust me, she needs her
beauty sleep.’

‘Cow,’ said Julia, who got to her feet a little more unsteadily.

‘Say goodnight to Danny and Carly, Julia.’ laughed Siobhan.

‘Nighty night, boys and girls.’

‘Come on, babe, off we go.’

Before leaving, Julia gave Carl a hug and then Danny, ‘I enjoyed meeting
you, Danny. You're lovely.’

‘Likewise, Julia, it's been a pleasure.’

As Siobhan hugged Danny, she whispered in his ear, ‘If you ever want to
be Juliet again, I can help.’

Danny felt an involuntary shiver run through him as he realised what
Siobhan had said. He blinked and said, ‘Thanks, Siobhan, but I don't
think I will.’

Siobhan let go of the hug, locked eyes with Danny and smiled, ‘You would
look lovely, I promise.’

Siobhan promptly dragged Julia out of the door and it fell quiet in the
room. Danny sat back down on the sofa and said, ‘Wow, Carl, they are
some pair.’

Carl smiled and said, ‘Yes, they’re wonderful girls. I hope they weren't
too much for you, they can be a bit overpowering at times.’

‘No, I enjoyed it, thank you for the invitation, but I guess I should be
going too. Can you call me a cab, I don't fancy walking to be honest.’
‘Why don't you stay here?’ Carl said, ‘I mean I have a spare bedroom, so
it wouldn't be a problem. We could have another drink and then call it a
night.’

Danny felt so comfortable on the sofa, and he didn't fancy getting up
and going home, so he said, ‘If you're sure, Carl?’

‘Positive Danny, the bed is made up and everything.’

Danny thanked Carl again and lay back on the sofa. Carl refilled their
glasses and sat on the other sofa opposite Danny.

‘You look tired, Danny.’

‘Yep, I guess I haven't slept that well recently, been worried about
work. It's not coming together as I thought it would. But tonight has
been a blast, and I haven't had so much to drink for a long time.’

‘It turned out well, don't you think? Siobhan took a shine to you,
didn't she?’ said Carl.

‘I guess so, but saying I could be pretty? I think not.’

‘She can be very persuasive.’ muttered Carl.

Danny’s eyes were getting heavy, and he felt that if he didn't lay down
soon he would fall asleep on the sofa.

‘Carl, I’m sorry but I think I'm going to have to go to bed if you don't
mind, I'm about to drop off here.’

‘OK, let me show you the bedroom.’

Carl took Danny through to the back of the apartment and opened a door
into a bedroom.

‘There's a small en-suite bathroom over there, and there are clean
towels there as well. sleep well my friend, I’ll see you in the
morning.’

‘Goodnight, Carl, and thank you again.’ With that, Danny leaned forward
and hugged Carl, startling him, but after hesitating for a moment, he
hugged Danny back.

‘Goodnight Danny,’ said Carl, who looked at Danny curiously for a
moment, and then softly closed the door on his way out.

Carl had been caught by surprise when Danny hugged him, but he had to
admit it did feel good to have someone hold him again. Carl sat on the
side of his bed and wondered if it meant anything more than simply a
gesture of thanks from a friend. He shook his head, trying to clear out
the effects of the evening's drinking, and decided that Danny had drunk
a little too much. He turned out his light and fell asleep in seconds.

Chapter Three

Danny couldn't remember the last time he had felt this tired. The
worries of the past few weeks and the amount he had drunk this evening
had caught up on him. He had surprised himself when he hugged Carl, but
it had felt the natural thing to do. Carl had been so generous to invite
him to his place and then the offer of the bed for the night touched
Danny, and he had reacted instinctively. It had felt nice to hold
someone close. Hoping that he had not upset Carl, he undressed to his
briefs, climbed beneath the duvet and fell fast asleep.

Carl was back at his school friend’s house and they were down at the
lake. He was standing in the water up to his waist and laughing as his
friend dived beneath the water and swam between his legs. Carl giggled
as he felt his friend’s slippery body brush his inner thigh making his
cock stir a little. He was still laughing as his friend surfaced in
front of him making Carl close his eyes as water splashed up at him. A
pair of strong arms reached around him, pulled him close and he felt
soft lips brushing against his. He responded to the kiss, his own lips
opening to allow a tongue to slide into his mouth. Carl’s head spun as
he felt himself melting into the embrace, and he opened his eyes to look
into Danny’s sparkling blue eyes.

He woke with a start, his eyes snapped open as he recalled his dream,
and his heart began to race as he realised it had been Danny in his
dream. God, had he actually been dreaming about kissing Danny? It must
have been all the brandy together with the confessions he and Danny had
made and the hug Danny had given him. Brandy had always given him weird
dreams. He rolled over and tried to sleep again, but all he could think
of were those blue eyes.

Danny woke up with his head throbbing and his mouth dry as sandpaper. He
blinked once or twice as he tried to remember where he was. Everything
came back to him in a rush; the dinner, meeting Siobhan and Julia, the
confession, hugging Carl, and then staying over. Danny lay there and
swore to himself. Why the fuck had he told everybody that story about
the school play. His face began to burn as he remembered telling it in
front of Carl and the girls. He thought he had buried that memory years
ago, so why had it suddenly popped up in his mind and why, oh, why did
he decide to tell it? Then Siobhan, whispering in his ear if he ever
wanted to be Juliet again, she could help. He remembered the tingle he
had felt as she said it. Danny rolled onto his back and put his hands
over his eyes as all the memories came flooding back.

It had been the last year of school when they chose Romeo and Juliet as
the big drama club production of the year. Danny had been chosen to play
Mercutio, in his opinion, the best role in the play. He loved the Queen
Mab speech, with its allusions to magic and fairies and fulfilling your
dreams. OK, Mercutio gets stabbed early on, but Danny still thought it a
better role than the namby-pamby Romeo. Danny could still recall the day
when the boy cast to play Juliet broke his leg falling off the wall bars
in the gym. He could never play Juliet with a plaster cast on his leg.
The following day the drama teacher approached him at lunch break and
asked if he would be willing to swap roles and play Juliet.

The teacher said that the costume for Juliet wouldn't fit anyone else,
and they didn't have the time or the budget to get it altered. Danny had
been unwilling to give up the role of Mercutio, but the teacher
virtually blackmailed him into it, saying that if he didn't do it, they
would probably have to postpone or even cancel the production. Danny
protested that he could never learn the lines in time, but the drama
teacher countered that he had arranged special study time for Danny, so
that he could learn the part. In addition, a member of the local amateur
dramatic society had offered to give Danny voice and movement coaching
for the role. Danny felt it was unfair, but he knew they had boxed him
in; if he refused, everybody would blame him for cancelling the show.
Reluctantly he agreed, but he was heartbroken about losing the role of
Mercutio

Starting to learn Juliet’s lines, Danny discovered to his horror that
she had double the lines he had already learnt for Mercutio. As well as
learning the lines, he had to try on the costume for Juliet. He hated
the idea of wearing a dress, so unlike the Mercutio costume, which he
thought way cooler. So, he turned up for the first fitting for the dress
in a foul mood, determined to hate the whole thing. He felt disconcerted
to find out a woman from the local amateur dramatic society was going to
do the fitting. She had volunteered to do it so she could begin his
coaching for the role. It surprised even more to find out she was pretty
and only about five or six years older than himself.

She introduced herself as Shirley and asked if he had ever played a
girl’s role before. When he said he hadn’t, she cheerfully said that it
wouldn't be a problem, with his figure she thought he would do fine.
Shirley suggested he should try on the dress first as it would be easier
for him to get used to the role in costume. She had him strip to his
underpants, and his face burned to be like that in front of her, but she
didn't seem to notice. He remembered the totally unexpected thrill which
flooded through him as she dropped the dress over his head and laced him
tightly into it. Shirley made him wear some white tights under the dress
and he shivered as he felt his nylon clad legs rubbing against each
other.

She sat him down and applied his stage makeup before styling his hair
which he already wore long. She helped him into the shoes that came with
the costume. They only had a small heel, but as he stood up, he felt how
different it made him feel. His calves felt tighter, and his bottom
stuck out a bit more, so he had to adjust his posture to compensate for
the extra height. Shirley had him practise walking and moving in the
dress which he found quite heavy and he had been exhausted by the time
she called a halt.

‘Danny,’ she said, ‘I'm surprised and really pleased. You seem to have
taken to this much quicker than I imagined and you look so natural in
that dress.’ He remembered blushing at her words and the way they made
him feel. He met with her a few more times to practise and she seemed
happy with the progress he made. He found to his great surprise that he
began looking forward to their sessions and he began to think that
playing Juliet might not be such a bad deal after all. At the end of
their last session, as he prepared to take off the dress, Shirley hugged
him, wished him good luck and to his astonishment, she kissed him on the
lips. He felt himself kissing her back for a few seconds before she
broke the kiss.

‘Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Danny I shouldn't have done that. You look so
sweet and pretty. Please don't tell anyone, please?’

He shook his head, unable to say anything, but he knew he wouldn't tell
anyone about the kiss. All he could think of the excitement he had felt
to be kissed by her. They never met again, but he did spot her smiling
up at him from the audience for one of the performances.

He recalled the way his body responded to the touch of the boy playing
Romeo. The boy had done a double take when he first saw Danny in costume
and thereafter took every opportunity to be alone with him as they
rehearsed their scenes. He touched Danny more often than necessary, but
Danny didn't mind, in fact he went out of his way to stand close to
Romeo and when Romeo kissed him for the first time behind some of the
scenery, he could remember the thrill that had flooded through his
adolescent body. Danny knew that he felt attracted to Romeo only when he
wore the dress, but wearing the costume and makeup for Juliet, he seemed
to immerse himself so deeply into the role, it changed his whole
personality.

Playing the role had brought to the surface emotions that he never
imagined; he felt softer, gentler and yes, feminine. When they were in
costume for the play, he could barely keep his hands off Romeo, even to
the point of masturbating him once in a quiet moment during a dress
rehearsal. Once the play had finished, and he had taken the dress off,
he had felt no attraction for the boy playing Romeo. From that day until
last night he had not told a single soul what had happened. Danny
shuddered at what the others must have thought about his story. Well, he
thought, Julia and Siobhan didn't matter, but he worried about how he
could face Carl. Although Carl did share his own story, so if they both
ignored each other's indiscretions, it might be OK.

He could hear Carl moving around outside the bedroom, so he decided he
should also get up. Having freshened up in the bathroom, he got dressed
and ventured out and into the kitchen. Carl had beaten him to it,
already brewing the coffee and putting out some croissants on the table.
‘Morning Danny, how you feeling?’

‘Horrible, my head is throbbing and my tongue’s stuck to the roof of my
mouth. How about you?’

‘About the same, there's some painkillers on the counter and water or
some juice in the fridge if you want.’

Danny took a couple of tablets and swallowed them with water.

‘Thanks Carl. Did I make a fool of myself last night?’

Carl looked up and smiled, ‘No, no more than I did.’

‘Thank God for that. Thanks again for letting me stay over, I really
appreciate it.’

‘You're welcome, mate.’

Carl's headache eased off with the painkillers, but as he sat there
drinking his coffee, he couldn't stop himself stealing looks at Danny.
Every time Danny looked up, Carl could see those same clear blue eyes
that had appeared in his dream. Carl uttered a little moan as he tried
to force himself not to look.

‘Carl, you OK? not feeling so good?’ Danny asked. He kept catching Carl
stealing little glances at him. Was he thinking of that stupid story
Danny had told everyone last night? Was Carl going to tell him that he
didn't want to see him again because of it?

‘No, I'm good thanks, Danny. Anything you fancy doing today?’

‘No, I guess I should be heading off home soon. What about you?’

Danny felt relieved. If Carl wanted to do something together, then he
might not be so upset with him.

The front door bell rang, making them both jump. ‘Oh, fuck, who's that?’

said Carl. He walked out of the kitchen and Danny heard him open the
front door and then he walked back into the kitchen followed by Siobhan.

‘Hello boys, how are you this morning? Feeling grand are we?’ Her Irish
lilt a little more prominent this morning.

‘Apart from a banging hangover, fine, thank you,’ said Danny, marvelling
at how fresh Siobhan looked. ‘How are you?’

‘Top of the morning, thanks, Danny.’

‘How can you be so cheerful? You had as much to drink as we did.’

‘It's a Celtic secret, Danny. You benighted English wouldn't understand.
Anyway, do you fancy coming to the show tonight? It's a charity thing so
there's plenty of space for you to come along if you want to. It'll be
fun, and there will be a free bar we can get you into.’

Carl looked across to Danny and said, ‘I'm up for it. Danny, what about
you?’

Danny said, ‘Great, I'm good too. Sounds like it should be fun.’

‘That's grand, it starts at eight o'clock, over in Docklands. We have to
be up there early, but you can share our ride back afterwards if you
wait a little for us. I'll put your names on the door and here are the
passes for the bar.’ She gave each of them a plastic card and said, ‘I
should be able to come out and find you when you arrive. Text me when
you get there.’

She looked at Danny and said, ‘Mother of God, your eyes are striking,
Danny. I wish you would let me get to work on you, your own mother
wouldn't recognise you.’

Danny wished she wouldn't keep saying things like that, because every
time she did, a ripple of excitement ran through him; he hated it, yet
loved it at the same time.

Danny blushed and Siobhan laughed. ‘See you tonight boys.’ Carl let her
out of the front door and returned to the kitchen.

Carl said, ‘She normally gets her way, you know.’

‘What do you mean?’

Carl smiled, ‘You’ll find out, I'm sure.’

Danny shrugged, he wasn't up for playing games, his head still throbbed
too badly.

Carl picked up his coffee and stood by the window looking out into the
garden. He thought for a few minutes about whether he should ask Danny
about the idea which had been churning away in his mind. He turned to
look at Danny, checking emails on his phone and decided to go ahead.
‘Danny, can I ask you a question?’

‘Sure, fire away.’

‘You said last night the work search isn't going too well, is that
right?’

Danny put his phone down, ‘Yes, it's taking longer to build up the
freelance work than I imagined and full times jobs don't come up often.’

‘You told me a couple of weeks ago, the lease is up on your flat soon,
right?’

Danny was puzzled; where was Carl going with this?

‘Yes, and the landlord is making noises about a rent increase, which
would be a problem for me right now.’

Carl paused, ‘I don't know if this would help, or even if you would want
to, but I have the spare room here, and if it helped out, you could move
in here.’

Danny had been so surprised he wasn't sure he had heard Carl properly.

‘Sorry, did you just say I could move in here?’

‘Yes, if it would help you out, that is. The room is here and there's
plenty of space here for us not to be on top of each other.’

‘But, Carl, if I can't afford my current place, I couldn't afford to
live here.’

Carl laughed, ‘No you idiot, I wouldn't want rent, I own the place
outright. A share of the running costs would be enough, food and bills
and stuff like that.’

Danny thought quickly. On one hand it would solve a lot of his problems
until the work built up, but on the other hand it would put him under a
big obligation to Carl. He liked Carl, so he didn't think there would be
a big personality clash. There was enough space here for sure, all he
needed would be somewhere to set up his computer, but apart from that,
he didn't need much. As if reading his mind, Carl said, ‘There's a space
off the kitchen that's a storeroom at the moment, we could clear that
out for you to work in.’

‘Carl, are you serious? That's a big step for you to have someone else
sharing your place.’

‘Danny, I am totally serious. I have shared before, and we get on well,
so why not? I would enjoy the company to be honest.’

‘Carl, that's the most generous thing anyone’s done for me. If you're OK
with it, I would love to take you up on it.’

Carl beamed, ‘That's great Danny, I'm so pleased. When do you think you
would need to move?’

‘I know the landlord is keen to get more for the place so I don't think
there would be any problem. I need to talk to him, but would next
weekend be too soon.’

‘No, that's perfect, I’ll get the storeroom sorted, do you need anything
special for your work?’

‘Not much, I do everything on the mac, so fast broadband is all I need.’

‘No problem then, Danny, I’ve got the fastest package I could get
already installed.’

Danny’s head started to whirl, he hadn’t expected anything like this and
he needed to sort his thoughts out.

‘Carl, in that case, I’ll shoot off home and get started on organising
stuff. I don't have much as the flat came furnished. I can put some of
it into storage, so I’ll only bring across what I need.’

They agreed to meet later that afternoon before heading off together to
Julia’s show. Danny walked back to his flat to help clear his head, and
it gave him time to think about what had happened this morning. He hoped
he was doing the right thing; he and Carl were good friends, but sharing
the apartment would be different. Still, it would be a lifesaver for him
at the moment. His business had been growing, but more slowly than he
could afford. Danny reassured himself that it wouldn't be for long as he
would be able to move out again when business picked up.

Carl felt pleased that Danny had accepted his offer to share. He missed
having someone around now that Simone had moved out; he had never
enjoyed his own company much, so having Danny around would be nice. It
would mean a few changes, but that wouldn't be a problem. He had made a
promise, and he intended to keep it.

Chapter Four

Later in the afternoon, Danny walked across to Carl's and they headed
out to Docklands from there. The show was in the ExCel centre in
Docklands, and Danny suggested they catch the cable car across the
river. Carl agreed straight away as he had been keen to use it for some
time. It had been built for the London Olympics, but had turned into an
expensive white elephant afterwards. It only took ten minutes to make
the crossing, and it delighted Danny to see his friend so excited by the
trip.

They arrived at the ExCel in good spirits and set about looking for the
show. There seemed to be a lot of flamboyantly dressed people milling
around as was to be expected, they assumed, at a fashion show. Carl
started to text Siobhan to let her know they were here when Danny nudged
him and pointed to a huge banner hung above their heads.

‘Did you know about this,’ Danny hissed at Carl.

‘No, I had no idea, she never said anything to me.’

At that moment, Siobhan arrived, looking like she had stepped out of a
Rossetti painting. Her hair flowed around her shoulders and heads turned
as she moved through the crowd and greeted both of them with a cheek
kiss.

‘Hello you two, I'm glad you could make it. What do you think?’ Her eyes
were twinkling as she spoke.

Danny looked up at the banner over their heads and said, ‘Er, TransDress
2016?’

Siobhan tilted her head, smiled and said, ‘I told you, didn't I?’

‘No, actually, you didn't,’ said Carl.

‘Ach well, it's for a charity that helps provide dressing advice and
support for transgender teenagers. It's terribly difficult for them to
get help when they need it. It's a great cause.’

‘I thought you said Julia would be in the show,’ said Carl.

‘Well no, I'm sure I didn't say that. She is the producer and coach to
the models tonight. They're all transgender girls and she volunteered to
produce the show and I'm supervising the makeup and wardrobe.’

Danny looked around a little more closely at the people in the crowd and
he suddenly realised most of them were dressed either in an androgynous
way or cross-dressed completely. His eyes widened as a beautifully made
up boy walked past wearing heels, a mini skirt and a transparent silk
blouse, and who turned his head to smile at Danny and gave him a slow
wink.

Siobhan giggled as she saw Danny's face and said, ‘Come on boys, let's
get you a drink, I think you need one.’ They followed her through the
crowd, their eyes flicking from one side to the other as they took in
the sights around them. The music and colour and atmosphere reminded
Carl of the time he had been to carnival in Rio. all around them were
young people dressed in every style you could imagine; boys wearing
skirts and see-through blouses, and girls wearing tuxedos, and a million
styles in between. It was loud and brash, and to Carl exhilaratingly
naughty. His eyes kept focusing on some of the boys dressed as girls. He
felt his heart run a little faster as he watched a boy who had the face
of an angel, stop Carl in his tracks as he turned and smile at him, He
felt his face flush and he hurried to catch up with Siobhan and Danny.
Siobhan ushered them into a private VIP room saying, ‘Have a few drinks
and enjoy yourselves. I've got to supervise the makeup, but I'll come
back for you later on.’ She blew them a kiss and disappeared. They
looked at each other, both unsure of what to do next.

‘Hi, I'm Trixie, what can I get you two girls to drink?’

They turned to find a boy made up as a Goth looking expectantly at them.
Danny's eyes widened as he took in the black leather hot pants, fishnets
and the cropped mesh t-shirt, together with a belly ring which looked
like a snake glittering from a bare midriff.

‘Well, girls? I haven't got all day.’ Trixie laid a hand with black
painted nails on Carl’s arm and said, ‘I've got white wine, red wine and
pink wine. Well it's rosé really, but it's so much nicer to call it pink
don't you think? It's a bit mixed up, like me. So what’ll it be, butch
red, femme white or bi pink?’

Danny started to giggle and Trixie pouted. ‘So, that’s white for you,
you naughty girl, and I think pink for your lovely friend here. Don't go
anywhere, I’ll be right back.’ Rubbing Carl’s arm Trixie smiled at Carl,
then turned and headed for the bar. Carl giggled nervously, ‘My God,
what have we let ourselves in for?’

‘I don't know but I need that drink.’ replied Danny, watching Trixie’s
bum wiggle provocatively across to the bar. Trixie looked back and
smiled at Carl before winking at him. Carl blushed a deep red and Danny
giggled at his friend’s embarrassment.

‘Hi, I’m Peta, who are you?’ A woman wearing a badge with the Charity
logo and carrying an iPad and a walkie talkie approached them, smiling
broadly.

‘Uh, we’re with Siobhan.’ said Carl.

She looked down at the iPad. ‘Ah, you’re Danny and Carl, right? Siobhan
put your names down on the list. Welcome to TransDress, it's great to
have you here. Like I said, I’m Peta and I do the PR for the charity.
Are you friends of Siobhan?’

‘Yes, we live downstairs from Siobhan and Julia.’ said Carl.

‘That's wonderful, Siobhan and Julia have been fantastic supporters of
the charity, we couldn't have put this on without their help. Any
friends of theirs are friends of ours, for sure. Do you know anything
about the charity? Do you have an interest in the TG community?’

At that moment Trixie returned and Peta paused as Trixie gave Danny and
Carl their drinks.

‘That's a femmy white for you, and a lovely bi pink for you, sweetie.’
Trixie winked at Carl once again as he took his drink.

‘Is Trixie looking after you?’ said Peta, smiling.

Trixie giggled, ‘I'd like to look after this one if he'd let me.’
Trixie’s tongue slipped out between black lips and Carl blushed pink
again.

‘Now, now, Trixie, I’m sure there are others who need a drink.’

Trixie pouted and turned away. ‘I’ll be back, don't worry,’

Peta grinned broadly, ‘Don't worry about Trixie, ze is harmless. Ze
likes to flirt.’

‘I'm sorry, did you say, ze?’ said Danny, looking puzzled.

Peta smiled. ‘Ze? It's a gender neutral pronoun.’

Danny still looked puzzled.

‘A lot of non binary people feel alienated if people use he, or she, if
it doesn't fit their gender identity. Ze is a neutral pronoun. It
doesn’t reflect any specific gender identity. There’s a section on our
website which explains it all. Look, I'm sorry I have to do the rounds,
it's great to have you here. Enjoy the show. I’ll