Changed Paths free porn video

Changed Paths By Trish Nick and I were best friends as kids until we lost contact when my mum died in my mid teens and I had to go live with my grandparents up north. Six years later, I'm stood in the registration queue on my first day at university and as I'm looking curiously at the chaos around me I notice a hulking rugby club type looking at me curiously. Although I did not recognise him there was something very familiar about his eyes, which made me return his quizzical look. "Alan?" he mouthed with a look of astonishment in his eyes. I nodded wondering who the hells that, when a shit eating grin split his face from ear to ear and he bounded towards me. Before I quite caught up he pulled me in to a rough bear hug saying, "How you doing? Man its been a long time!" "Nick!" I squeaked. "In the flesh!" he laughed. After sorting out all the formalities Nick declared, "Beer!" After putting up with five hours of queuing and form filling was not going to argue as he led me gabbing at hundred miles an hour to pub for a few pint and catch up on what we had been doing after I moved away. With in an hour it was clear that we still got on like a house of fire which resulted in me not needing to rent a university room. He did not ask if I was interested he just assumed that I would take the spare room at his place. His decision that I would move in with him was typical of Nick. He had been just the same when he was younger and on more than one occasion his assumption that I would always go along with his ideas had often got me into trouble. When we were at school I sometimes wondered why we were such good friends in truth we did not have that much in common. Nick was what the Americans would call a 'jock' while I was almost a stereotype for the sort of kid the 'jocks' should have bullied. With a company director for a father and British born American doctor mother his family were exceptionally well-off while I lived with my single parent mum on a council estate on the wrong side of town. Literature aside I was a 'could do better' student at school, while he was one of the star pupils and although I was not one of the full on nerds neither was I one of the popular kids who got invited to all the parties. "So what you doing here, I would have expected you to have done your degree?" he asked. "Ha, money what else?" I said explaining that I had spent three years working for a supermarket chain to save up enough money to pay for university. "And I could say the same about you?" "Oh well," he laughed, "I got a kid called David." I was and was not a surprised to find out he had got a girl pregnant when he was 16. Where I had always had close female friends I had never felt quite comfortable with them when it came to relationships while Nick was the exact opposite. He saw them as 'prey' from puberty and even before I moved up north had got something of a reputation as a 'hound.' As he told me what had happened I was surprised to hear was how willingly he had given up all that and put his life on hold to spend time with David. As he talked about him I could tell that the lad was the apple of his dads eye! It was also pretty clear from how he avoided mentioning David's mother that they had fallen out, and I was sure it was that falling out which had prompted him to finally go to university. Given how bright he was he could probably have gone to Oxford or Cambridge but instead he came here to the old polytechnic because it was where we grew up allowing him to see his son regularly. Nick was a mass of contradictions given how mature he was when it came to David, in many ways he was still the same pig ignorant person I knew at school and within a few days it was just like old times. I had never found it easy to make friends and for all we had our ups and downs I found I still felt more comfortable in Nick's presence than with anyone else, and he seemed glad to have someone around who would not take then 'piss' about how much he was missing David. It also became pretty obvious that my savings would not be enough to cover my costs and I needed a part time job. Nick who's never understood the concept of poverty thought I was daft but I ignored him and started working weekends and a couple of nights a week behind the bar in a local pub, but that barely made ends meet given the cost of the books and texts on my reading list on top of my rent. I was that short for money that I could not afford to get my hair cut and as it got longer I took to tying it back into a ponytail which with my short slender physique made look more than a little androgynous. At work this caused me a few blushes as in the dim lighting of the pub I was often mistaken for a 'barmaid.' When Nick found out he thought it was hilarious and took to calling me 'Ally' when he came in which drove me nuts after the girls I worked with followed suit. Yet this teasing side of his personality was tempered by a steak of unusual empathy for my money problems as knowing how I felt about charity, he discretely helped me out, by keeping the cupboards well stocked with food and charging me a peppercorn rent Even so after two terms my lack of funds was getting me down, and one night over an Indian which Nick picked up on the way home I was moaning about not knowing how I was going to pay for the following year when he told me to shut hell up! "Right then I'm sick to death of hearing you carping on about working your arse off and getting no where! We're both in the same boat!" "Nick!" I exclaimed snapping him, "What the hell did you know about being broke?" "I told you to shut up!" We had one of out occasional spats which resulted in us both sat there fuming at each other for a while before he grunted, "This place is a shit hole so how about instead of paying me rent and bills you take care of cleaning the house and doing the cooking and the like?" Ten minutes later in typical Nick fashion he suddenly grinned and said. "Sorry for yelling at Al, but if you think about it through its the perfect solution. We live in a pig sty and I'm crap at housework, and if you take your rent out of the equation it means you'll only need to work a couple of nights a week rather than five, and still be 30 quid or so a week better off? Annoyingly he was right and as I warmed to his idea the argument was soon forgotten. As my lectures were all in the afternoon, it was actually fairly easy for me to make sure I cleaned the kitchen, bathroom and living room each morning before I went to college. Instead of working Wednesday through to Sunday nights I only needed to work Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, which meant for the first time I was able to get in front of my course work. The only bit of the house I did not keep on top of was his bedroom as I did not want to invade his privacy, and so long as he dumped his washing outside the door I saw it got done. I got to be a pretty effective housekeeper, enough that Nick joked about his mother commenting that I was a good influence on him because the house was no longer a pig sty. As a kid I always liked Nick's mother and I spent a lot of time with her. She was a very stylish American although you would not know it from her accent as she had spent almost all of her life over here and her passport aside she was very English. Nick parents had divorced a few years earlier and I never saw Nick's father as he had remarried and Nick did not get on to well with his new wife although he remained close to his dad. I did see his mother though, but as she was a doctor she did not drop in that often and then more often than not I was at work when she called. I found that I rather liked working in the pub and what with the stress of my end of year exams I did not realise Nick was having problems with his ex until we were in that hiatus between exams and results. I noticed he was kind moody and snappy after he got a letter from her solicitors. I tried to find out what the problem was but he was not talking, so all I could do was just keep the house nice and make sure there was food on the table. I knew him well enough to know that when he was ready to talk he would. When he did it the conversation started in a very strange way. I was clearing up after dinner one night when he said right out of the blue. "You know Al, in comparison to my ex you'd make a terrific wife?" I jokingly threatened to break a plate over his head, commenting that got enough of that off the girls at work! "Well you would!" he grinned ignoring my mock threat, before saying, "Sorry for being a grumpy bastard for the last few weeks, but the bitch won't let me take David to the States this summer to stay with my grandparents!" "Why, didn't she agree?" "Yeah well, she did." Nick grumbled, "But then after I had everything booked, the bitch went to the social workers and made up this cock and bull story that she thought I wouldn't bring him back, and now she's saying that unless I drop the overseas request she'll get them to make it so I only get to see him with supervised access!" As the summer break approached, I bumped into a girl who used to work at the pub with me called Beth, who asked if I was interested in a full time summer job going where she was working in town? I said yes, and went to work at 'Budgies' a busy pub-club in town that was very popular with young professional and student market because of its low cost drinks deals and regular themed 'party' nights. When I started the manager Mary gave me a wonderful piece of advice when she guessed I was a little uncomfortable about the fancy dress side of the theme nights, "The bar is your stage and when you're working you're an actor!" Once I got used to working there I think Nick was as astonished as I was in the change in me at work! Remembering what Mary had said, instead of getting embarrassed about being mistaken for a girl I started to have a lot fun with customers who could not work out my gender. I guess it helped that Mary's 'team' were all up for a laugh types who taught me though doing how to play up to the 'punters' and it was just as well because a couple of weeks after I started at Budgies it was their summer St. Trinians night! Given how things worked out I was lucky that it was the weekend after Nick had jetted off to the States to see his grandparents because ever since his comment about me making someone a great wife he had taken to making similar comments and calling me Ali at home. As far he knew for the St. Trinians I going to dress as Flash Harry, the spiv roll played by George Cole in the original films, but there was a mix up in the costumes which meant I ended up wearing one of the school girl uniforms! I'd be lying if I said I felt comfortable when I saw what I looked like after the girls had got through with me. Between them they had clubbed in some clothes and got me rigged with a pair of fishnet stockings, three inch heels, a suspender belt that matched the black knickers and a padded bra that gave me a page three pair of boobs under the white school girl blouse, tie and a tiny box pleated skirt! It was kind of excitingly scary when I saw myself once they had done my hair in bunches and plastered my face with what felt like a ton on make up because I did not recognise myself! Obviously I was not the only bloke that night wearing a school girls uniform but I was the only one who did not look like a bloke dressed as a schoolgirl! As gob smacked as I was, the girls I worked with decided to have a little fun with it and perhaps get a little revenge for the gender on me! Since they had picked up from Beth my unwanted Ali nickname they took to calling me Alison all night which was at first a little weird because the customers soon followed suit. Now I cannot say I was very happy about it at first but as I got used to it I started to enjoy the deception and even ended up like my female work mates getting my arse pinched and having to have a bit of a dance with one or two of the customers. The girls all thought that was hilarious, and they teased me mercilessly about how many of drunken customers tried to chat me up, which was embarrassing as hell for me! I should have guessed that I had been set up, which Beth gigglingly told me I was just before we closed, and although I was a bit pissed off about it as my arse was pinched raw by the end of it the night but it was great laugh and I cannot remember when enjoyed myself so much! I remember joking in the taxi home that even with the embarrassment of having my arse pitched and sore feet from wearing heels all night, I had a lot of fun and given how much money I had been tipped it was worth the discomfort! For the first time I made just as much as the girls in tips and it almost doubled my pay for the night! It was after two in the morning when I got home, and after taking off my costume and jumping into the shower I found that my eyes were still ringed with liner and the mascara on my lashes was untouched by the soap. Although Sunday and Mondays were my days off I went into work Sunday evening to drop off my costume and over a mug of tea with Mary and her daughter Cheryl (a beautician/hairdresser who had done my make up the night before) I grumbled that I could not get eye make up to come off. Cheryl said, "Odd it should have washed straight off," and checked her make-up case. Going bright red, she admitted that she had mistakenly used the 30 day mascara and long stay liquid eye-liner when she did my make-up. "So my eyes are stuck like this for a month?" I said shocked. "Yeah... it will slowly fade and wear off, sorry?" She said looking embarrassed holding up the tubes so I could see how she had made the mistake, other than the 'stay fast' logo on the tops the tubes were identical. Oddly I was not as pissed off about it as they thought, because I rather liked how it made my eyes look but I was not to tell Cheryl that! Asking what I should do about the underwear and shoes Mary told to keep them 'for next time.' I joked that there would not be a next time, and put them back in my bag with out realising that by keeping the shoes and clothes they assumed I was willing to dress as a girl for the next themed evening. Resigned to having 'girls' eyes I decided to ignore it and carry on as usual, never once realising that from then on all the regular customers thought I was a really was a girl until I noticed that I was getting tipped more often. Commenting on this to the girls I worked with, they started encouraging me to dressed more androgynously for work, calling me Alison more often and giving the customers the idea that I was something of a lesbian tomboy! Thankfully by the time Nick got back my eyes had pretty much reverted to normal, and how convincingly I looked as a girl was no longer a hot topic of conversation. He got back sometime after I had gone to work and wanting to let me know he was home he called in at the pub for a pint. Since it was a midweek night I was wearing jeans and a 'Budgies' tee shirt, when he wandered in with a nod at the doorman. Having just spent five weeks working on his grandparents 'dude' ranch he was sun bronzed and looked fit as a butchers dog! The effect on almost all my female work mates was astonishing as they flocked over him and the moment he left started quizzing me. "Does he have a girlfriend?" I told them he had not and I don't know how many times I had them ask me over the next few weeks, "He's not gay is he," after he ignored the advances! "No," I explained, "He's not gay, well I don't think he is but Nick's not really that interested in women just now what with the rows he's been having over access to his son." Thankfully when he saw the photo's from the St. Trinians night on the wall of the pub he did recognise me as the big boobed blonde and the girls for once avoided embarrassing the hell out of me when he asked who she was? He remained completely oblivious to how convincing a girl I made until the big start of term fancy dress. The theme was cartoon characters and when Mary asked who we wanted to go as so she did not have any duplicates I wanted to go as Dick Dastardly or I did until Cheryl pandered to my mercenary side. We were all arguing about costumes and who got to wear what when she pointed out that with my 'figure' and blonde hair I'd make a bomb in tips if I went as Supergirl! I was not so sure it was a good idea as I really did not want Nick to find out about my ability to pass a girl but all my workmates thought it was a great idea and ganged up on me until I eventually gave in. Nick laughed when I told him, and made a comment about mutton dressed as lamb which got my back up enough to comment cattily, "You did not say that when you saw the photo of me in the St. Trinians uniform?" "What photo?" Nick said. So I showed him and the look on his face was priceless! "That's never you?" he exclaimed. "Sorry mate, the bird you've been ogling was me," I laughed, "The girls did not have the heart to tell you when you asked who the 'hottie' was!" I pulled a mock face adding, " You know they have been giving he hell about that 'hottie' comment since?" Nick just looked at the photos I had from that night and then teased, "Well not only do you look after a house better than my ex, but you're better looking than her as well Al!" Since I knew I was going to be wearing heels again, I started practising in the pair I had from last time while I was doing the housework. I don't know why it gave me a kick but I had found that they made me feel very sexy and as the theme night got closer the idea of playing a girl again began to leach into my dreams and some of them were very erotic! Getting into work I collected my costume from Mary and quickly dressed in the clingy mini dress. Instead of stockings this costume required a pair of tights which I had bought earlier and with them over a pair of unisex briefs but under the confining red bottoms that came with the costume the combination squashed my cock and balls uncomfortably against my groin, in a way that felt oddly rather nice. When I was dressed even with out any make up I looked pretty convincing especially as the S symbol on my chest made my padded boobs really stand out and the contrast between the blue body, red cape and red flared skirt with its yellow belt gave the illusion of a figure that had Cheryl teasing, " Ali, dressed like that you'd draw attention!" Beth who was getting ready at the same time called, "And we can guess who 'she' wants to attract attention from!" I told her to bugger off, but she just ignored me and laughed, "Well if you don't want him honey, I'll have him coz your Nick is a hunk!" Commenting that she really must meet 'my' hunky Nick, Cheryl told me to sit down and let her work her magic on my face. As she did my make up she dryly commented that sooner or later she would have to teach me to do this for myself, which made me joke back that perhaps I should book a lesson? Throwing my words in my face she told me what she was doing and why as she did my make up. With a photo of Helen Slater from the Supergirl film to guide her she messed about with my hair and the result was a rather tarty version of Supergirl, which was a real hit with customers! As Mary had paired me with a new girl called Karen running drinks to the VIP guest tables on the balcony I did not see Nick until he almost sent me and a tray of empties flying when I bumped into him on my way to the wash up! I had not expect to see him as usually he had David on a Saturdays and stayed over at his mum's so I got a hell of a shock when I saw him dressed in a Superman outfit! There were quiet a few Supermen costumes on show but only Nick had the height and physique to really look the part and it was clear from the lipstick on his cheek my work mates had been round him like flies before I even knew he was there. "Bloody hell, is that you Al?" Was his comment as he grabbed me before I fell. "Um yeah!" I said going as red as my cape and skirt, "What do you think?" I could not stop myself doing a very girlish little twirl for him. Once he picked his jaw up off the floor he laughed. "Wow! Kind of freaky!" "What do you mean?" I said getting all defensive. "Freaky good!" he laughed, "Shit if I did not know, I could fancy you!" I blushed, "Oh!" My blush only got brighter when I finally realised he was dressed in a matching outfit, which made him grin saying. "I bumped into that friend of yours Beth in town the other day, and when she asked if I was going to dress up as Superman to match and I couldn't resist the temptation?" "Hey hold it?" The student union magazine photographer called, he had been running round all night dressed somewhere between Peter Parker and Spiderman. He took a few snaps and then said, "Hey Superman can you wrap Supergirl in your cape with her arms about your neck?" "No he bloody!" I said, only to be cut off when Nick laughed. "Relax Ali its just a bloody photo?" Overhearing the photographer Karen who did not know I was really a boy, grabbed my tray saying, "Don't be such a prig Alison?" "Alison?" Nick grinned with a questioning light in his eyes, "Shall we?" Karen laughed and whispered in my ear. "Do it he's a hunk and you might get lucky!" "All right!" I said shaking my head as I posed myself like the photographer wanted with one leg raised, unaware that we were going to be on the front page of the next issue. It felt really, really surreal to have myself wrapped round Nick looking like I was about to kiss him. I could feel his arm round my waist and it felt very strange, he was my oldest mate for gods sake and yet at the same time it did feel kind of right in a really wrong way! "Perfect!" 'Peter Parker' said, checking the pictures, "Who are you?" "I'm Nick Millar second year electrical engineering," Nick said, "And Alison works here." I was about to say something but could only yelp when Nick pinched my arse! "Nick!" I yelped, unaware of how in keeping with my girlish image the exasperated look I gave him was. He just laughed and swapped a look with 'Peter Parker' as I said archly. "Can I go now, some of us have work to do!" "Well did you get his number?" Karen asked when I got back to the bar and found a small mountain of drinks waiting for me to take out to tables. "She's already got it!" Cheryl teased, "According to Beth that's our Alison's boyfriend." "Oh you lucky cow!" Karen said. "He's my house mate, not my boyfriend!" I grumbled, "I've got more taste!" "Could fool me judging by how pleased you looked wrapped round him." Cheryl dryly commented which had my face blazing. Nick got spotted by some of his course mates, and was dragged away which was a relief because when he held me for that photograph I felt sure I could feel his cock pressing against me! Mary had a rule about staff drinking, if a customer bought you one you could drink it if it was after midnight and you did not get drunk. Now normally when I was at work I did not bother drinking but after my clinch with Nick I needed one because I was feeling very confused by the conflicting emotions I had felt his arms. However after a few glasses of wine I was to busy to worry about Nick and was soon behaving like the other girls dancing with the customers and the like as I wound my way round my tables. Other than occasionally feeling his eyes on me he kept his distance watching as I played up to the customers... Well flirted if I am being honest! Nick must have noticed how naturally I was acting but thankfully he left me alone. Deep down I was hoping I could get away with out having to deal with Nick until we got home, but a few minutes after Mary called 'last orders' sods law put me close enough to where he was sat with his course mates to hear him call. "Hey Alison? Any chance of bringing us a few drinks before you shut love?" Shit, now my best mate is calling me love! As my brain was trying to process Nick calling me 'love' and the undisguised 'cattle market' looks his friends were giving me, Karen said lifting the tray of drinks I was carrying from my hands, "You get the order, I'll see to theses?" Now I was stuck, and all I can assume is that the wine must have relaxed my inhibitions because even though I felt uncomfortable about serving him dressed like this, I stayed in character and sashayed over to his table. Giving the group a big smile as I pulled my order tablet from the back of my yellow belt saying. "Hi Nick, what can I get you?" "You," he laughed pulling me onto his lap. I could tell from the daft look in his eyes he was more than a little merry from the booze. "Well hello?" One of them said, "Is 'Baby Maker' showing some interest at last?" "Looks like it?" Another one said. Nick laughed, "You're only jealous," and gave them a smirking look before saying to me. "You look like your having fun honey?" Honey! Oh god and I'm sat on his knee! Some how I managed to contain my surge of anxiety and babbled. "Yeah, I am, now what do you want all want?" With Nick's arm holding me on his lap I could not escape until I had taken their drinks orders which came thick and fast and with more than a few somewhat sexist remarks. I felt him tense under me, when one of them said leering at my faux boobs."Nice outfit sweetheart, I'm Mickey by the way, what you doing later?" As kids Nick had always protected me from the school bullies I recognised he was getting a little annoyed about his friends behaviour towards me I said with a smile, "Sorry sweetie, I'm taken," and shocked myself and Nick when kissed him on the cheek! "Oh she really likes you!" 'Mickey' said, "Tenner, says she gets to meet the baby maker later!" I could tell that from Nick's expression that if I remained there much longer his tolerance to his mates blatant remarks was going to snap. Although he could be pig ignorant Nick could be very protective towards people he liked, so I quickly totted up the bill and said with relief. "Who gets the bad news?" "Me," Mickey said giving me his card, which I popped into my tablet and passed over for him to type in his PIN. I am not sure how I felt when I said to Nick. "Let me go you oaf, I'm busy?" "If I must!" he said, letting me free. As I walked away I could hear them ribbing Nick about scoring tonight and I had a sly snigger thinking, if only they knew! Working my way back to the bar, to pick up the order and I could see from the smirk Cheryl on her face that she had seen what had happened at the table. Giggling, "You make a good couple," she handed me a tray containing half the order and picking up the second tray herself followed me back. The whole time I could feel Nick's eyes on me and I wound my way back with their drinks blushing like crazy! "If Nick won't dance with you Alison, I'm game!" One of them said reaching for my hand. Thankfully Nick pushed the hand aside and told him to sod off, before looking up at me asking, "You going to knock me back again?" As Nick stood up I cast my eyes skywards, knowing that the girls were going to make my life hell about this for the next few weeks. It was something of a staff tradition that as soon as the bar shut we all had a group boggie and Cheryl grabbed both our hands laughing. "Come on you two," and dragged us on to the dance floor making any polite refusal on my part impossible. Giving Nick a lets get this over with look, I saw he had a silly grin on his face as he shuffled around in time with music in front of me . "What?" I asked Nick as I danced unconsciously aping the moves of my work mates when it came to shaking my arse and arms. "You... I cannot believe how natural you are like that?" "Like what?" I asked. "As a girl!" he blushed. "Oh! Well its an act." "She's lying." Cheryl said, winking at Nick. "We all think there was a fuck up where Ali's gender is concerned!" Nick gave me a grin and said to Cheryl, "I've known 'her' most of my life and." I did not give him a chance to finish as I exclaimed, "Nick," and jabbed him in the belly, which was like hitting a block of wood! I did not know what I was feeling, as his expression was sending strange feelings through me, and I was not sure I wanted to think about them just yet! "What you still doing here?" I asked Nick sometime later when I noticed him sat at the bar chatting quietly with Cheryl as she flew the glass washer. "Waiting for you." he grinned, "You boss said it was okay," he tipped me a wink. "Since your friend here elected me as your boyfriend for the night, I get to wait for you to finish?" "Well if that's the case you'll have to help clear up same as the rest then!" I said handing him a tray saying, "Glasses, fetch!" "That's the spirit Ali," Cheryl laughed, "Treat him mean and keep him keen!" It took us about forty minutes to clear the place of people and by the time the last glass was clean and the tables and chairs put away ready for the cleaners in the morning it was almost three. Getting home, I guess we were both pretty embarrassed, and not knowing what else to say I said reverting to type. "Tea?" "Yeah," Nick nodded following me into the kitchen and slumping down into a chair by the table muttering more to himself than me. "Fuck this is weird?" I could see he was trying to say something, but did not know how to start and said propping myself against the sink unit waiting for the kettle. "Spit it out?" He nodded at my outfit, "Its not just the costume is it?" "What isn't?" I blushed. "You playing a girl?" "Er no, I like it," I admitted and not just to him but also myself. "How long have you been?" I shrugged, "Being a girl at work?" "Yeah?" "Well this is the second time fully dressed." I said with a sheepish look, "But even dressed normally with the lighting there I'm more often than not taken as a girl?" "Yeah I know that, but tonight you weren't being mistaken as a girl, you were a girl... Your behaviour, body language everything about you was feminine?" I went bright red. "Can't say I'm surprised though," Nick said suddenly grinning. "Because thinking about it now, even when we were at primary school you were always kind of girlish?" "I wasn't?" Nick laughed, "You were, but not in a priming and preening girl way but in your tastes, like how you enjoyed helping mum cooking and doing my chores?" "Oh!" I did not know how to answer that. "You know, I always put it down to being raised by your mum with no close male roll model to follow, but now I am not so sure?" Thankfully Nick sort of changed the subject, "So tell me Ali, what made you decide to play it as a girl rather than like the bloke dressed as Alice in Wonderland?" The question was one I had asked myself, and explaining my motivations to Nick actually helped sort things out in my own head a little as I said. "Originally when Beth set me up first time for the St. Trins I expected I would just look like me in a dress. The thing was once they had me decked out and made up they were as surprised as I was that I looked so convincing, and it seemed like a fun to see if I could fool the customers." "So you started pretending to be a girl for a laugh?" Nick laughed, "God that rich!" "Yeah?" I nodded sheepishly. "But now its got a little out of hand?" he nodded at my Supergirl costume. "Because you've found you like it?" "Oh yeah, it's fun." I blushed "Well mostly. Getting my arse pinched and having blokes come on to me can get a bit tiresome." Adding as I poured the hot water into tea pot. "But I suppose like the other girls I'll put up with that for the tips." Nick nodded. "Mind you this this tonight?" I gestured at my self, "Was Cheryl's idea." "Why did she suggest that?" Nick asked. "She knows I need the money and," I said passing him the mugs and milk. "Putting it bluntly I get way more tips if I look and act feminine." Nick nodded, commenting dryly, "I can see why." Blushing I carried the pot over and I put it down, before sweeping my skirt and cape back as I sat opposite him. "Surprised?" I asked wincing as my pinched arse complained about the hard seat. "Yes and no?" he shrugged, "I'm kind of confused to be honest? I know intellectually that its you but because you look so dammed convincing, its almost as if you are a different person as well?" "What do you mean?" "Well how you sit, how you move your gestures hell even how you speak is well like a girl?" Nick said shaking his head, "Its kind of hard to accept that you are really Alan and not Alison, and where did that name come from by the way?" "What being called Alison?" I asked, "Well indirectly you started it, calling me Ali, and then Beth introduced me to Mary as Ali so that was what I was called when I started there. Then when it was obvious no one was going to guess I bloke at the St. Trinians night they renamed me Alison." "Oh, and do you prefer it," Nick asked. "Alison?" "Do I like the name?" I shrugged, "Yeah I do, but then again I like the dressing up?" I blushed a little as I admitted, "Girls clothes feel nicer somehow?" "Nicer as in a turn on nicer or just more comfortable?" I went even redder, "A bit of both!" We chatted for perhaps another twenty or thirty minutes as Nick as tried to get his head round what I was saying, before adding with a bright blush as he went to bed, "Look if you want to be Alison at home don't let me stop you, because you do look much happier dressed like that and." His face cracked into his daft grin, "Are a lot less painful on the eyes?" I could not be bothered showering this late and made do with washing most of the make up off my face before falling into bed. Next morning we were both kind of embarrassed and avoided the subject of the previous evening and after a day or so things got back to normal. Every now and then I would catch Nick looking at me with an odd look in his eye, especially when he saw me in my work outfits. Ever since the girls had suggested that I'd make more in tips if I dressed more androgynously I had slowly changed my work look. After Nick got back I did revert to things which were a little more masculine but now he knew I started to choose unisex clothes with a more overtly feminine look. First it was female cut black bootleg pants which clung to my arse and unisex shoes for work and then wearing a touch of eye-liner, mascara and lip gloss. It was nothing really overt but enough that if anyone did not look carefully at me it was hard to tell my exact gender which was just what I wanted. A couple of weeks after the Cartoon costume evening my birthday came round, and Nick shocked me by buying me a dress, and a pair of earrings! Grinning he told me, "You're always miserable round your birthday, so I thought it would cheer you up?" What with losing my mother on my birthday and my grandparents both passing away the year before I started university birthdays and Christmas always got me feeling depressed. "Nick?" I looked at the presents stunned, "You shouldn't?" "Why not?" he grinned, "You cannot tell me you don't like them because I can tell you do?" "I don't know what to say?" "Well thank you would be a good start Ali?" he grinned, "Followed by showing me what you look like when I get home from training tonight?" "Do you want me to?" I blushed. "I wouldn't have got you them if I didn't?" "Um, okay, since you ask." I finally said blushing, "But I can't wear the earrings?" "Why not?" "I don't have pierced ears?" "So get them pierced, so you can?" Nick said glancing at the clock and swearing, "Shit I'm late got to run!" As he pulled on his jacket, and grabbed his keys he called, "Hey Ali would you mind pulling my bed sheets and grabbing my laundry basket from my room I forgot to put them out?" "Sure Nick." I called back gazing at the earrings with a mixture of anxiety and desire. "Oh and a blast round with hoover would be nice if you've time, see ya!" I had got in to a routine when it came to the house work, and since I did not have an lectures on Wednesdays it was my washing day. Collecting my washing I dumped it by the machine and feeling a little like an invader went to Nick's room and pushed open the door. The place was a tip the floor was littered with text books and assignment work, CD's and the clothing he had worn was scattered everywhere! Realising it was going to be quite a job, I stripped his bed and shoved the linen in the machine with mine and cleaned the living spaces before returning to his room, to round up his dirty clothing. I was surrounded by evidence of David, the finger paintings on the wall, photographs and mementoes like a wooden train, and a toy car. Flicking though the photo's it was clear that Nick was a good father and as I picked up his books and papers I found a letter from his ex's solicitors. I did not read it but the letter must have pissed him off as it was to tell him that his ex was only going to let Nick see David for two hours on Christmas eve as she was taking him to her parents in Cornwall for the holiday period. Not knowing what else to do I picked up the mess from the floor and put all the CD's back in the rack so I could hoover the floor. Unsure of what to do with the course work I neatly piled it on the desk and after marking the open pages in the text books, popped them back on the shelving unit. Everything else I left untouched as I did not think Nick wanted his life totally organised. With out really thinking about it I made his bed, wondering what to do about the earrings and dress. I was not so sure about dressing up for him as in my head looking like a girl was something I did exclusively for work to increase my tips, well it was so long as you didn't count my preference for wearing my heels to do the house work. I had rationalised that by telling myself that I was wearing them to keep in practice for the next theme night but I guess deep down I really knew I wore them because wearing heels was a turn on! As I set the rest of the washing off and hung the clean sheets and the like on the kitchen creel I decided to call Cheryl and asked her for advice about Nick's surprising birthday presents. "Why didn't you say it was your birthday?" She grumbled at me when I told her. "I try not to think about them." I told her, "My mum died on my 15th birthday and when people make a fuss over it, I get upset." "Oh!" Cheryl sounded very contrite, before asking. "What you got on this afternoon?" "Nothing, I'm finished lectures for the week." I said, "Well nothing other than a mountain of washing, the two essays I've to write and a couple of books I've got to read by next week, why?" "Well I've got a clear slot from three, so why don't you pop down to the salon and I'll treat you to the piercings, and tidy your hair up as a birthday pressie." I was not sure it was a good idea, but Cheryl could be very persuasive and eventually extracted my agreement. "Come on in Ali." Cheryl called cheerfully as I hesitantly walked in unsure if I had found the right place. "Welcome to my domain." "Hi Cheryl." I said feeling a little nervous. "Want a coffee?" She asked with a bight smile "Please," I said looking round curiously as she vanished through a door way. Hairdressers smelt very different to the barber shops I had been in when I was younger. I recalled them as rather chilly places that smelt of stale cigarettes and her salon could not have been more different. It was light airy and consisted of three chairs and sinks along one wall lined with well lit mirrors. On the wall opposite were three hair dryers and under the window were a few seats for waiting customers. She was back moments later carrying a couple of mugs, saying. "Grab a chair honey," adding as I sat in the middle chair. "Here," and passed me a mug. "Thanks." I said wondering if I was doing the right thing. "Hey!" She grinned, "Don't look so scared, auntie Cheryl is going to make you beautiful!" "I'm not sure I want to be beautiful." I said with a semi smile. "Course you do." She grinned wrapping an overall over me, "Just think of the tips?" "Well I guess that's true." I said with a smile at her, via the mirror. Unfastening my high pony tail she picked up her brushes and combs and quickly brushed out my hair telling me that she had been wanting to something with my hair for 'yonks!' "Right then I'm not going to go daft, so trust me okay?" Cheryl said spinning the chair round and tilting it back. "I give you something that you'll be able to tie back so Alan will look the same for college and also work for Alison." "Mm." I sighed as she started washing my hair, "That feels nice." Cheryl laughed and said, "Its supposed to." Keeping up a steady stream of chatter about everything and nothing she quickly, washed, rinsed and brushed out my hair. I was happily chatting back hardly noticing what she was doing as she snipped away the dead and split ends. Stopping once or twice to check how she was doing she straightened everything up and then said, "Do you trust me?" "Yeah why?" "Good!" She said and promptly chopped the front of my hair into a brow line fringe that feathered out towards the edges enough for me to hook it back behind my ears for my Alan look as she called it! Grabbing a tray of rollers she sectioned my hair up and wound it on to the plastic tubes and doused each with a setting lotion before pulling a hair net over the top and popping me under a hair dryer. While the dryer was blasting my head with hot air, Cheryl took hold of my left hand and started on my nails. I vaguely heard her ask something and nodded, although I was not sure what I had agreed to until she started fixing false tips to the end of each nail. By the time my hair was dry and I was back in the styling chair I had ten perfectly formed oval nails painted a pale pink colour. I was kind of surprised but did not have any desire to complain as I really liked how they made my hands look. Not much later my hair was a wavy mass of soft curls which she treated with a long blast of hair spray. Glancing at the clock I was astonished to find I had been there for 90 minutes when she said with a giggle as she attacked my eyebrows with a pair of tweezers. "Still interested in a make up lesson Ali?" Her enthusiasm was infectious and by the time I got out of the chair with two golden balls punched though each ear lobe she had taught me the basics of putting on make-up! I've got to say I was pretty stunned with how I looked, because even though I was dressed as 'Alan's' in boy jeans and a fleece top I looked like Alison! "Well then!" Cheryl grinned, "What do you think?" "Wow!" I gasped. Giggling she handed me a Wonderbra and a pair of chicken fillet breast forms commenting, "Nip in the back and slip them on Ali." "Cheryl you shouldn't?" I gasped. "Relax, they are no use to me." She laughed, "And they cost me nothing as they were freebie's from a customer who works as a buyer for Debenhams." "Right then." She said when I appeared a few minutes later with a more female shape to my body, "You'll do, lets take a run down to Boots and get you a basic make-up set, and go show mum?" "Well, well?" Mary grinned when she saw me a half hour later, "She finally got you did she Ali?" I blushed brightly. Mary patted my hand and said, "You look lovely sweetheart, what brought this about?" "Birthday treat off me." Cheryl said, which got me my second ear bending of the day from Mary for not telling her either. We chatted for twenty minutes or so about ideas for the Halloween night at the end of the month, before Mary gave me a grin and said, "You're missing one thing Ali?" Not sure what she meant I gave her a puzzled look, which made her laugh. "Half a sec," as she vanished into her office, and reappeared carrying a leather handbag. Passing me it she said, "No girl goes out with out her bag and looking like you do just now you need one too!" Blushing, "Thank you." I shoved my wallet inside and hung it over my shoulder. I would have happily sat there chatting all night but Mary had the bar to get open and I was not sure if I was quite ready to face the rest of the staff looking like this! Cheryl also had to get off, and giving her mum a kiss said, "We best make a move Ali?" I nodded, and followed her out. Since driving me home was taking her the wrong way, I declined the offer of a lift home, and after thanking her profusely walked to the bus stop. Since I had a ten minute wait before my bus I rushed back to boots and bought myself a pair of stockings! If Nick wanted to see me in the dress he had bought for me, then I was going to wear it properly! I just managed to make my bus and hopping on, I felt a giddy thrill when the driver said, "Ninety pence Miss." By the time I got home it was gone six so I did not have much time, to fix dinner and then get ready but somehow I did get everything ready just before he got home. I needed a glass of wine to steady my nerves as I waited impatiently for him to get home wearing a the clingy little black dress he bought me, my 'work' heels, and the underwear I had worn on the St. Trinnions night. "Hey Ali, only me," he called slamming the door behind him. "I'm in the kitchen?" I felt like I was walking on hot coals as I anxiously worried about how he was going to react. I knew I looked good or at least I felt I did, and Nick's reaction when he walked in was priceless! "Fuck me!" he gasped with his jaw thudding on the floor! The look on his face reduced me to a giggling mess, as I babbled, "Well you asked me to wear your present?" "But... but?" "Here." I said, getting myself under control and handing him a glass of glass of wine before he picked his jaw up. "Thanks?" he said unable to tear his eyes off me. "Well?" I grinned, "What do you think?" Guzzling the glass back in two large gulps he held in out and stuttered something unintelligible which ended in, "More please?" Giving him a twirl I said, "Like it?" Adding with a tease in my tone as I held my hair back so he could see my right ear and the two golden studs in the lobe. "Oh and I got my ears done but Cheryl says I have to leave them in to heal for a month before I can try the ones you got me?" "Your hair, your nails?" Nick spluttered. "Yeah Cheryl treated me for my birthday," I laughed, adding. "Now if you'll pick your jaw up from the floor dinners ready!" Although I enjoyed surprising him with my new look, deep down I was more than a little worried he was going to make a pass at me as I knew all to well what was behind the looks he was giving me over dinner. I don't know if I was relieved or annoyed that he did not try anything, other than toasting me with his third glass of wine when we sat down to eat saying, "Happy birthday Alison," as he clinked his glass against mine. Grinning as he shovelled a fork full of chicken and leek pie into his mouth he said, "Right then can you tell me just what you've done today to end up looking like that?" "Well after you said to get my ear's done I phoned Cheryl." I said, and told him how that had turned into a full makeover after she found out it was my birthday. "So what you wearing for the Halloween do?" Nick asked sometime later. "Not sure, but probably a witch or something?" I said. "Mary is still working things out." Nick nodded, "So another girl night then?" "Yeah?" "Don't you feel looking?" he gave me a twisted smile, "I don't know how to put what I am saying into words?" "Just say it Nick I won't be offended?" "Well," he blushed, "Kind of like a whore or something, dressing like that for more tips?" "You don't know how often I have asked myself the same thing?" I laughed, "May be if I did not enjoy it so much I might feel that way but I don't?" I shrugged, "It just makes me feel normal?" Nick grinned, "If this," he nodded at me. "Makes you feel normal, then I'd hate to see abnormal!" Even though I knew that it would probably mean the girls would give me a hard time I could not bring myself to destroy what Cheryl had done to my nail's when I was getting ready for work the following day. Just seeing my hands looking so feminine felt really satisfying in a really 'right' way, so I left them on for work. I guess in my head I knew I was turning a corner when I went in Thursday night, because I knew I had gone well past looking androgynous when I arrived wearing make-up, my black heels, girls jeans, with the Wonderbra and fillers Cheryl gave me to shape my staff tee shirt. "You look nice," Mary commented when she saw me, adding with a smile and said, "I guess I owe our Cheryl a tenner as she said you'd not have the heart to remove your nails?" "Oh?" I blushed putting 'my' handbag in my locker with my fleece jacket, "Was I that obvious." Before Mary could answer the rest of the staff noticed and they gave me a right teasing but I did not mind and teased back, "You're only jealous!" Only a couple of months earlier I would have got all defensive and upset about being given such a hard time but now I just took it in good humour. I knew they were my friends and unlike if it had been a group of lads who had been dishing it out I understood that there was no malice in their words. All my life I have never quite understood when my male friends were just 'taking the piss' (to use the male term) or when they meant it and as we got the bar ready and opened up I began to ask myself why I felt more comfortable and able to tell the difference between joking and being serious when I was in a group of girls? As there were only five of us including Mary for the weekly Thursday night 'rock night' I did not have the time to fully work out what I was feeling before the place began to quickly fill with thirsty 'rockers.' As was usual it was mostly a male crowd for the rock nights and as they were mostly between 18 and 22 there was a lot of testosterone flying about. Apart from the staff there was not that many women around which made going out collecting glasses was trial by sexist remarks and you had to very careful of greasy looking blokes with wandering hands! Having said that the 'rockers' were a good humoured crowd, and although the music was not really to my liking I still enjoyed working Thursdays even if getting called, 'Blondy', and 'Sweetheart' by blokes who I knew were mentally undressing me did make me feel a little uncomfortable at times. Later once we were clearing up, Beth grumbled to Mary, "Now that Alison is working here, she should have to wear a skirt like we do on Fridays and Saturdays?" Mary laughed, and told her to mind her own business before getting me off the hook by telling them that my look for tonight was to show them Cheryl's birthday present. The only problem was once Mary had got me off the hook I put myself back on it as I pipped up meaning it as a joke, "If I had a skirt I'd wear one Beth, if only to shut you up!" I half noticed the look Mary gave me but did not think anything of it. "Aw, you're only saying that coz you love me," Beth teased back with a glint in her eye. "Now what's this about your birthday?" I guess it must be a girl thing because they made a fuss about birthdays and always sent the hat round to get the birthday girl something. This was totally different to how blokes did things as if you are bloke and your mates find out that its your birthday at best you might have a pint bought for you but even then there is a fair chance the pint in question is likely to be poured either in your lap or over your head! Even though I had spent enough time with girls to know how they felt about birthdays I was still surprised the following week when the girls sang me Happy Birthday and gave me flowers and card containing ?50 worth of Top Shop vouchers. Blushing like mad I thanked them, as they called out ideas on what should get myself! The following night before the bar opened Mary announced that she had settled on Rocky Horror Show characters as the Halloween theme for the staff. With a cast list in one hand and a pen in the other she asked us who we wanted to be and I half suggested I went as Janet at the wedding, but my suggestion was shouted down by the girls who unanimously decided that I should be Magenta from the first half film. That's the one wearing a maids uniform for those who do not know the characters. To be honest I was not bothered about who I went as so long as did not get a corset and stockings look mainly because I knew there was no way I could pull it off the with out giving my deception away, so I was not that surprised they went for the next sexist look for me! As we all settled on who we were going as Cheryl told me glancing at the information she had from the costume hire place that the outfit came with a wig but that I'd need a pair of high heel boots as she did not own a pair I could borrow. Nodding I told her I'd go and look for a pair next time I was in town. The following evening walking into work I took the long way through the shopping centre and discovered from looking in shoe shop windows that the sort of boots I needed were way out of my price range. Grumbling to Cheryl, "This being a girl thing is expensive," as I moaned about the cost of boots. Over hearing Beth said, "You should try looking in the second hand clothing shops." "Hey that's a good idea." I said, "Should have thought about that." As my lectures were all packed into Monday's and Tuesday's I did not have time to go hunting until Wednesday and I surprised myself by automatically dressing as Alison for my shopping trip to look for a pair boots in the towns second hand stores. Nick did not comment on how I was dressed when I walked into the kitchen dressed when he was eating his breakfast, but I did detect a strange smile on his face when he asked, "Going somewhere Ali?" "Shopping, I need to find a pair of boots for the Halloween do at work, and I think I'd feel more comfortable buying heels dressed like this than as Al." "Oh makes sense I guess." he grinned cramming a round of toast into his mouth. "Want a lift in?" "Please." I said helping myself to a slice as I topped up his coffee as I made myself one. Ten minutes later I was sat beside him in his car laughing to Terry Wogan's Janet and John story on the radio as we entered the one way system. As he flipped on the indicator to pull over he cursed and then said with a cheeky grin flickering on his face, "Want to do us a favour?" "Sure, what do you want?" I expected him to want me to pick him up some shaving foam or the like. "I forgot I was picking Mickey up." he nodded to the bloke walking towards us who I recognised as his course mate who tried to chat me up when I was dressed as Supergirl at the start of term. "When you get out will you give me a kiss on the cheek?" "What?" I gasped shocked, "Why?" "So he thinks we've got something going on." Nick said with a silly grin as he pulled to a stop, "They all do anyway, but if he confirms it to my mates, they'll stop trying to fix me up with girls they know?" I did not feel to comfortable about it and was not going to do it but Nick looked so hopeful I did as he requested. Leaning over in the car at the last second I decided to have a little fun with him and pecked him on the lips, saying as I got out so Mickey could hear, "Thanks honey, I'll see you tonight." I could feel Mickey's eyes on my boobs as he said. "Hello Alison," as I got out, but I was to delighted about the effect my kiss had on Nick to worry about that as there was a faint tinge of a blush on Nick's face which added a giggle of triumph in my tone when I said. "Oh hello Mickey," and hung my bag over my shoulder. Knowing he was watching my arse I briskly walked away taunting them both with a little swish in my stride! After a lot of looking round I found a pair of boots in my size in Oxfam of all places and while I was there I found a simple black skirt. It was nothing fancy just a mid thigh length straight skirt with a short split on the left side, which pretty much fitted the image Mary liked the girls to have on weekends so I bought it intending to wear it the following Friday for a bit of a laugh with Beth. Deciding in for a penny in for a pound I also took a look in Top Shop but did not find anything that took my fancy and decided to come back with Cheryl sometime to spend my gift vouchers. The skirt had the desired result when I got in Friday evening wearing it with a new pair tights, a pink Budgie Girl staff baby tee and my 'comfortable' black heels saying, "Hey Beth, happy now?" The only hiccup in my plan was Mary's reaction. She was not annoyed when I arrived in a skirt, but once she was sure everything was ready she took me off into her office and laid the law down. Mary wanted me to make a decision about my 'work' gender. When I thought about it I could see her point, because you could never be sure how a bloke might react if he enjoyed flirting with Alison one night and then found out the next that she was really a boy. "Its one thing to have you dressed as a girl for fancy dress nights because if a guy assumes you are a girl in fancy dress then its their own fault, but if you're working ordinary nights dressed as one its something else entirely?" She gave me a steady smile, "So what's it to be Al or Alison from now on?" I did not have to think about my answer and said, "Alison." "Fine!" Mary said, "Alison it is, but I'm going to expect you to follow the same appearance rules and guidelines as all the other girls. Oh and I think to be on the safe side I'm going to have to hold you to the Alison commitment even if you come in when you're off okay?" I nodded. "Good!" Mary said giving me a smile. "I kind of hoped you'd say that ?" I was about to ask her to explain that when she added, "Oh and while you're here I might as well as tell you now that I'm promoting you to supervisor." I think Cheryl guessed or already knew about what Mary was asking me about who I was at work but everyone else assumed that she had taken me to the office to tell me about my promotion. They had all seen my name listed with Beth's as a supervisor which simply meant I had a set of safe keys and was able to fetch change and could clear 'my' tills. What with the chaos of a busy Friday night I all but forgot what Mary had asked until I got home around one and found Nick still up burning the midnight oil finishing a project due in the following week. "Hey nice outfit!" he said, wandering downstairs clutching an empty mug when he heard me come in. "What brought that about?" I laughed, "Mary laying down the law, I either work as Alan or Alison no more chopping and changing." I blushed before saying, "I elected on Alison?" "I'm not complaining," he grinned, giving me a mock leer at my legs. "Didn't think you would." I smiled, kicking off my heels and padding into the kitchen saying, "Want to brew?" "Thought you'd never ask!" he laughed. Halloween was a popular night and the place was packed by nine. As I was busy I did not notice Nick's course mates arrive until late as they had commandeered a table at the back of the main room and I was busy with the balcony. I had Karen and a girl called Sue running drinks and taking orders from my 'tables' while I dealt with the revellers who came to the bar. Even though both of them were wearing basques, suspenders and stockings which more than attracted attention on the odd occasions when I did get out from behind the bar my Magenta outfit resulted in more than a few wolf whistles. I was also the brunt of more than a few salacious remarks and innuendo laden comments when I pitched in and started running tray of drinks out. Eventually I ended up helping Beth run a tray over to Nick friends and it was pretty clear what they were alluding to when the saw me. Thankfully they kept their hands to themselves as I placed a tray of drinks on their table but still blushed like mad when they wondered aloud if I wore my maids outfit when I was 'looking after' Nick! "Wouldn't you like to know?" I teased back. Although they could be a bit boorish they were a good laugh, and from what Beth told me the sexist nature of their comments was mostly good humoured if at times a little brutal. As the local council had an eleven o'clock rule, stating that if you were not in a place before then you could not get in so I was surprised to see Nick slip in just after midnight. "Hey Ali?" he said looking pissed off as he slipped into a free stool at the bar. "What you doing here Nick?" I asked, pouring him a pint. Normally he had David until Sunday lunchtime and they usually stayed over at his mothers. "Don't ask!" he said. I guessed his ex was being an awkward bitch again and said. "Sorry sweetie, how you get in?" Nick half smiled, "Told a while lie," and explained that having walked down to town to burn off his frustrations he had headed here on the spur of the moment hoping he could get in late. Nick knew Mary was permitted to bend the 11 o'clock rule for her staff's partners, and he took a guess that if he said to the doorman that he was 'my boyfriend' they would believe him and let him in. He guessed right because even though his name was not on the list they recognised him and let him in with out even checking. I felt kind of sorry for Nick because I knew his Saturday night with David was the highlight of his week but I was too busy to spend that much time chatting with him. He could however chat to me and he did, although other than to tell me I did not suit being a ginger, he did not comment on my costume but I could see it in his eyes that he really liked my outfit. After a few pints Nick cheered up enough that when we all piled on to the dance floor at closing time, he came with us and had a big a grin on his face as I did when we did the time warp! Although I really enjoyed working as Alison there were draw backs to working permanently as a girl. For one it was expensive, as I needed all the beauty products and gubbins a real girl had to buy and then there was the time it took me to get ready for work. It was no longer a case of get home have a quick shower and I am ready once I had tied my hair back. Instead I discovered the joys of hair straighteners, curlers and blow drying which was both a pleasure and a pain. One extra side effect of working as Alison all the time was for the Rocky Horror night and subsequent theme nights I was able to take my outfit home on a Fridays and get changed there so I was mostly ready before I got into work. I still had to rely on Cheryl's help with more complex make ups but so did a few of the other girls. From then on I started to spend more and more time dressed. Obviously it was not an over night thing but by the time the academic year finished about the only time I appeared looking remotely like Alan was for lectures and tutorials, but even there my appearance was raising eyebrows with one or two of course mates. No one ever mentioned anything to me but they must have been thinking and putting two and two together after all most of them knew I worked at Budgies and had seen how I dressed for theme nights. Mary liked to do a theme or fancy dress nights about once a month, they mainly centred round fixed dates like Halloween, Christmas, the Oscars and bookending University terms. Nick's mother finally caught me as Alison a week or so before Christmas. It was bound to happen sooner or later, since she had a key and tended to just come in. It could have been worse, because if it had been the following week she would have caught me wearing the sexy Mrs Santa outfit Mary had got us to wear for Christmas. Even though I was not working I had to go into work to pick up my wages and this meant I had to get dressed up properly as Alison because Mary was serious about her decision that in the pub I was a girl. I was wearing a 'studentish' three quarter length skirt and pink fleece