Dancing Queen: 2

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Sarah has an unusual request to make

Ballroom dancing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t realise just how important it would become in shaping my future, until I had to take the place of one of my bosses following an accident.


Dancing Queen


A novel


by Louise Anne Smithson

Copyright © 2013 Louise Anne Smithson
All Rights Reserved.

Image Credit: Picture from Wickimedia Commons. Free for commercial and personal use with restriction under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence.


 
Chapter 2 — Filling a temporary gap
Rob telephoned the office the next day to tell the staff what had happened to Sarah and to explain that he would also be late in to work as he had to take her to an out patients appointment at the hospital where she was going to be supplied with a pair of crutches to use over the next few weeks. As soon as he arrived I spoke to him about my suggestion for an emergency committee meeting, and he told me to go ahead and make the necessary arrangements. He also agreed that it would be a good idea for someone to start sounding out possible replacement dancers. However, he had already discussed this with Sarah who would be coming in to work by taxi as soon as her appointment was over. This might be something she could do when she arrived. She eventually made it in to work with the help of her two crutches at about 11.00, just as we were all having a cup of coffee together as there were no clients in the shop.

‘Oh you poor soul,’ said Helen as she got up from her desk to help Sarah through the front door. ‘How are you going to cope with your leg in plaster for the next three months?’

‘With great difficulty; by the looks of things. I think I’m likely to be stuck in the office a lot more than usual, so I shall be relying on your help much more to show clients around.’

‘Yes, of course,’ she replied.

‘I can help as well, if needs be,’ added Richard, our surveyor.’

‘M-M-Me too, if there is anything I can do to help,’ I added.

Sarah looked at Rob, who seemed to be a little anxious.

‘Actually, Mike, there is something you might be able to do for us. We were wondering if we might have a word with you in the back office after you’ve finished your coffee,’ she said.

‘Y-Yes, of course.’

Five minutes later I entered the back office that the two of them shared, although they were rarely in at the same time. Rob began to speak.

‘Mike, Sarah has got a request to make to you, but, before she does so, I want to make it clear that you don’t have to do it, just because you work for us. Whatever you decide will make no difference to how we treat you at work. Personally, I think that she is asking a bit much from you.’

I was about to respond, by asking exactly what she was expecting from me, but before I could do so, Sarah chipped in.

‘No of course he doesn’t have to agree, but I’m hoping he’ll consider my proposal all the same as he loves dancing and is a great supporter of the Society.’

‘Y-You’d better explain what it is you are thinking about,’ I said, painfully aware that she had been injured whilst undertaking a routine that I’d choreographed, and that my hesitation had been a contributory factor in causing the accident.

‘Well, Mike, we’re anxious about who is going to dance with Rob on Saturday afternoon, until we have had a chance to make some more permanent arrangements for my replacement. We were wondering …’ she hesitated for a moment. ‘No … I was wondering, whether you might be willing to take my place and dance the Waltz and the Foxtrot.’

‘B-b-but you mean that I should take your place by dancing - as a girl?’

‘Well, that’s the part I was planning to fill before I damaged my leg. You’re about the same height and build as I am, and so I’m sure my costume would fit you. I could also loan you a wig, and would be able to help you with your hair and makeup on Saturday. The main thing is that you won’t need to learn the dance routines as you choreographed both of them.’

‘S-s-surely there’s someone else who could take your place, the Waltz and the Foxtrot are two of the easiest dances?’

‘They may be easy for beginners but as you know they are not so easy to do well. Rob and I have been discussing possible stand-ins and to be honest I can’t think of anyone other than you who could take my place at three days’ notice.’

I rapidly went through the potential candidates in my mind, and realised that she may have a point.

‘B-B-But Sarah, the girl’s part is quite different from the guy’s. He leads, she follows.’

She sighed as if I was stating the blindingly obvious.

‘Off course I know that, but I’ve seen you take the girl’s part on several occasions when you have been demonstrating to the guys what they need to do.’

I couldn’t deny that.

‘But girls dance in high heels, and I’ve never worn high-heels in my life.’

‘It is only a question of your getting used to wearing them. After a few hours of practice you would be quite used to walking in them.’

‘B-b-but that’s not the same as dancing in them’

‘O.K. so you might need a few more hours of dance practice. What shoe size do you take?’

‘Six.’

That seemed to clinch it.

‘But that’s ideal! You’ll be able to borrow a pair of mine. It’s Wednesday morning now; you would have until Saturday afternoon to get used to wearing them.’

‘B-b-but I couldn’t wear high heels at home and at work, I’d look ridiculous.’

‘You could always say you were doing it as a stunt to raise money for Children in Need.’

‘Th-That’s not until the middle of November.’

‘Look Mike, things seem pretty quiet in the shop at present, will you at least come home with me at lunchtime to see how you would get on wearing my costume. If you look ridiculous, I promise I’ll forget about the whole idea. If, as I suspect, you will look pretty good, then we can discuss the logistical problems.’

I looked across at Rob. He shrugged his shoulders.

‘It’s entirely up to you Mike.’

It was a ludicrous idea but I didn’t wish to dismiss Sarah’s suggestion out of hand, especially as I’d been indirectly involved in her accident. I was fairly confident that it would be a non-starter but at the same time, the idea of dancing a demonstration match once again did have a certain attraction for me.

‘Alright I’ll come back to your house with you this afternoon, but that is all I am promising to do.’

‘Great, if you arrange to finish what you’ve been doing by lunchtime, Rob can drive us both to our house.’

‘This is between you and Sarah, Mike. I’m not getting involved, but I promise not to tell the others what you will be doing this afternoon,’ Rob said as he left us to go and meet a client.

~o~O~o~

It was quite a rigmarole for Sarah to get in and out of the back seat of their car; her leg was in a plaster cast from below her ankle to her thigh and so she had to sit with her leg stretched across both seats. Once we got to her house we found that the stairs were also going to be a problem, but at last she managed going backwards, one stair at a time on her bottom. I did my best not to laugh at her but didn’t succeed. I then felt really guilty. She directed me towards their spare bedroom.

‘First of all, Mike, I’d like you to strip down to your underpants, I need to have a look at your arms and legs.’

My limbs and armpits weren’t particularly hairy, but this wasn’t good enough for Sarah, she insisted that I used a depilatory cream to remove all traces. Whilst I was waiting for it to take effect, she returned with a pair of lace panties, a bra, a camisole top, a pair of tights and two nylon stockings with the feet filled with rice and tied off to make imitation breasts..

‘Once you have showered, will you be able to put on these by yourself whilst I sort out your dress and find some shoes?’ she asked.

‘I g-g-guess so.’

‘OK, I’ll be back in a few minutes.’

I managed to dress myself reasonably well in the underclothes, and had inserted the makeshift breast forms and adjusted the bra by the time Sarah returned carrying the dress and a pair of shoes.

‘This is a dress that I used to dance in but I now use to practice, it should be suitable for the coming weekend,’ she said.

‘It looks nice,’ I replied.

I’d been a little anxious about what she might expect me to wear, as some of Sarah’s costumes were skimpy, bordering on the downright provocative, but clearly she didn’t wish to frighten me off. It was a fairly conservative looking plain full length dress in powder blue viscose, but with the sleeves, shoulders and neck encased in a fine tulle-netting. It looked feminine but without being too flashy. Although the viscose dress had a low bust line the tulle netting would successfully disguise the fact that I was wearing falsies.

‘I’ve found you some black leather shoes with only a 2  ½ inch heel and an ankle strap, since you’re not used to wearing them.

Although the heels were only 2  ½ inches, I noticed that they were almost stilettos and so I would have to learn how to walk and dance on my toes.

‘Before you put them on, let’s see what we can do with my wig and a little make-up.’

‘Go on then.’

It was quite remarkable what Sarah was able to achieve over the next hour using her wig, a fair amount of make-up on my face and some cheap jewellery. The wig was first secured by pins then pulled back into a ponytail and then twisted into a bun as it was important to keep the long hair out of my face whilst I was dancing. I’d never had cause to wear female clothing before but I had to admit to myself that it was a pleasurable sensation, especially when I put on the dress. By four o’clock I was fully dressed and made up and looking at myself in the bedroom mirror.

‘Wow!’ was the only thing I could think to say. ‘Is that really me?’

‘We’re going to have to do something about your finger nails in time for Saturday, but otherwise I think you look pretty convincing, don’t you?’

‘I guess so,’ I replied, still feeling in a state of shock and not quite sure what to think.

Rob re-appeared soon afterwards, having been instructed by Sarah twenty minutes before to leave work early and come round to give us his opinion.

‘See! I told you so!’ said Sarah as he entered. ‘So what do you think?’

‘I think he looks stunning,’ he replied in a slightly surprised sounding voice, ‘but will he be able to dance when he’s dressed like that.’

‘That’s what we now need to find out,’ she replied.

‘What time do you need to get home tonight Mike?’ asked Rob.

‘It doesn’t really matter as my mother is staying in London until the weekend.’

‘Great, in that case we’ll book a practice session at the dance studio, and then we’ll all go out for a meal afterwards.’

‘I’ll find one of my winter coats for you to wear, and a handbag, as well,’ added Sarah, eagerly.

‘Alright,’ I said, not sure what I thought about the idea of going out for the evening dressed as a young woman.

One thing I had noticed though was that I hadn’t stammered once since the beginning of my transformation earlier in the afternoon.

Next time: A change of plan and some introductions.

Chapter 3 will be posted next weekend, Louise

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Comments

Telegraphed In A Way

joannebarbarella's picture

But still a totally appropriate situation for this site. So....is Mike going to be the ballroom dancing sensation of Luton? Or the whole of the UK?

Joanne

Thank you Louise,

I remember my mother and her friends talking about the great talent of the late
Fred Astaire dancing with Ginger Rogers.The girls could not find enough superlatives
to heap on Astaire until Mum reminded them that Ginger was in a long frock and dancing
backwards in 4 inch heels,quite a handicap.Joanne and I go back to that era.Oh! To be so
young again.

ALISON

Astaire and Rogers

Thanks for the encouraging comments Alison, (always welcome).

I'm due to make the same point as your mother in my next chapter when Mike tries dancing as Michelle for the first time. I don't go back quite so far, but I have seen Astaire and Rogers dancing on TV and You-tube. Given the handicaps, I would guess that she was the better dancer.

Louise

Ah...dancing...

Andrea Lena's picture

...Astaire was very classy, but Ginger Rogers was gorgeous. Sigh.... Thank you, Louise!

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

Wonderful story so far.....

Michael's about to find out what it's like on the other side. Never having thought of being a woman, let alone dressed as one, most male's would find this frightening, but Michael doesn't seem to mind to much. The next chapter should be interesting to see if and how Michelle emerges from all this. Thank you Louise, keep'em comin'hon. (Hugs) Taarpa

I haven't read that story ...

... It seems only to be available from Lulu in eBook format and my Kindle has bit the dust. But I trust this will prove to be different. Louise.

The Stammer

As one who stuttered badly through my high school years -- and like Michelle in this story -- was hardly masculine of body, I totally understand how the stammer (or in my case, stutter) would disappear while concentrating on dance steps. Music was my salvation ... and I think my desire to be a girl, even in those tender years, might have resolved that speech problem had I chosen to dress and go out as a girl.

Great story.