A Mad Tea Party

The VIP area was on the balcony, overlooking the main club area and the stage. They each showed their passes, although since most of the performers from the stage were making their way there too, they appeared to be unnecessary. The view of the main area from here was incredible: a sea of colour, glitter, sparkle, and feathers rippling below him on the dance floor. He paused for a moment to take in the activity below. A flamingo pirouetted to the driving synth melody. Two flappers were having an animated conversation about something while some lycra-clad superheroes waited at the bar. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The girls had promised that it was a great night, and he certainly had to admit he'd enjoyed it a lot more than any other time he'd been to a club. It was almost over, too. He thought he'd be counting down the minutes until he could remove the ill-fitting, uncomfortable, ridiculous-looking dress, but he wasn't, because it wasn't any of those things. Okay, sure — he still couldn't breathe in fully, his chest was a little clammy under the breast forms and his feet were starting to hurt, but in them he was someone else: someone fun, enigmatic, ...beautiful? It would be hard to go back to jeans and a shirt, and when he did, would he ever get to be that person again?

He didn't get to think about it for long before he felt a hand on his shoulder — warm, familiar. A feather swept across his view of the dance floor.

"Señorita, please forgive me for intruding." He'd only heard Diego's voice once, but he knew it immediately. He turned and saw the same figure he'd danced with earlier, cape still rippling behind him and chest still bare and glistening.

"Diego!" James faltered — he realised Diego probably had not heard him speak before.

"Beautiful, no?" Diego surveyed the scene with him. "People... of all shapes and sizes... each being something they normally cannot... expressing a beauty normally hidden."

Diego turned back to him. "I sense your fire may not always burn so brightly."

"I... well..." James struggled for words.

"Please," Diego interrupted, "you do not have to explain. But know this. In dance, the human body is our clay — our instrument. The female form is art to me. Its beauty is poetry, and its grace is music. The music you played tonight was divine. Unique. Beguiling. I beg of you, do not let this be the last time you play, for I would like, very much, to hear more."

Before James could say anything, Diego's cape swooshed behind him, and he vanished into a throng of people.

The girls were sitting around another table, now joined by Marcus. As James took his place in the remaining chair, Jas poured another glass of sparkling wine and handed it to him.

"More tea, Alice?" She had got into character for the catwalk, and it hadn't worn off yet.

"My, my!" cooed Marcus. "It seems mine is not the only interest that our friend Alice here has piqued."

"Shame — after all that," remarked Lucy.

Marcus challenged her immediately. "Why, dear Lucy, I'm sure I don't know what you mean. You and I watched the same dance tonight — tell me you didn't see the passion in that look?"

"Wait, but I thought you were..." Lucy turned to James, but Marcus interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

"...were what? Not partial to the touch of a gentleman? If I have learned one thing from coming here, my dear, it is that one may find one's ideas, when it comes to who they are and with whom they enjoy being, are rather more complex than they might prefer to think. It is at your peril to ignore them."

Before any of them could dwell on Marcus' words, an announcement came over the PA system. The results of the votes were in, and the top ten entries were to make their way to the stage so the winners could be announced. They finished their drinks and started downstairs. Marcus' words echoed in James's head. What did they mean? Had he felt something when he was in Diego's arms? There was no doubt about it. It certainly felt like he was attracted to him. Why? He'd never been remotely interested in a man in that way before. He was sure of that. So what was different now? Could he really be attracted to him? Or just the person that Diego allowed him to be? If so, he'd hardly be the first person to fall for someone for that reason. He tried to focus, but walking down stairs in heels was harder than the girls made it look.

Backstage was once again crowded, and quite a lot more rowdy again. The contestants had done their work for the night and had started drinking more. James had not had a great deal to drink, but nonetheless, he had drunk that last glass of wine a little quickly. The music went quiet, and the MC asked all the individual entries onto the stage. The MC slowly announced the results. It appeared the Tooth Fairy had won the individual category; she appeared to be ecstatic. Marcus had lost out, but didn't look despondent in the least. Diego appeared to have been given the job of awarding the prize, although James realised he had no idea what it was and the MC hadn't said. He suspected the prize itself didn't matter so much anyway, at least not to Abi. Finally, it was their turn to come out on stage.

The stage was rather crowded between all the groups, so they huddled together a little, arms around each other. The velvet of Steph's costume was smooth and soft, and the fluff of her tail tickled his arm. The MC dragged out the results a little more. James was keen for Abi and the girls to finally win, but now more than that, he hoped that his acting and modelling had been enough.

The MC opened a gold envelope.

"I am delighted to announce that the winner of the group category is..."

James felt Abi's hand grip his waist a little tighter.

"...Alice and the folk of Wonderland!"

The girls collapsed into a mass of arms, embracing one another, shouting and jumping. They had done it. They'd won. He had helped them win. The music roared back to full volume. The lights were blinding. They were being called up to the end of the catwalk and walked, still embracing each other. Abi collected a gold envelope from Diego. The music was now in full swing, and the dance floor was moving again, so everyone on stage joined in. James was just twirling when Lucy wrapped her arms around him, jumping and yelling. She let go, although James had some of his weight on her and had to adjust his footing, and his hair was in his eyes.

Shit. He'd misbalanced. He thought he'd got used to the heels, but with the hasty glass of wine and a dose of over-confidence, he'd gone too far. His balance was way off. He was falling. For the second time tonight, but now not in a good way. Apart from it hurting, he was going to embarrass Abi and the girls. Great. There was nothing he could do now but...

Wait, what was this? The same comforting hands that were around him earlier were now there again. He'd stopped falling, although he was definitely still moving. Spinning, it felt like. He could feel the wind in his skirt again. Now he'd stopped, and he opened his eyes. Sure enough, there were Diego's again. The crowd was clapping and cheering, just like before. Diego appeared to have saved him not only from a nasty bump but also from embarrassment. Whatever he'd done, he'd done it so smoothly that nobody appeared to have noticed James losing his balance. James did notice, however, that he'd somehow ended up with his arms over Diego's shoulders. He had no idea how — perhaps it was instinctive when he was trying to find something to grab to break his fall. His legs were also wrapped around Diego's waist.

There was that moment again. He was in Diego's arms. He could feel Diego's breath. The crowd were distant, but this time very much there, and were cheering for something... for something to happen. James knew what it was, and he wanted it too. He didn't really understand why, but perhaps he didn't need to. Maybe Marcus was right: maybe his desires weren't as simple as he thought. He closed his eyes, Diego turned on the spot, bending down so James was now horizontal and facing up, Diego's waist against his. He felt Diego's lips against his. It was unlike any kiss he'd ever had before. Or at least, Diego's lips weren't all that different, but never before had he felt so secure in someone's arms as he did now. It meant something entirely different. Before he knew it, it was over, and he was back on his feet.

Chapter 11

James woke to the sound of his phone. He slowly remembered where he was. He hadn't drunk that much and remembered the night very well, but it still didn't seem real. As he moved, the weight on his chest reassured him that it definitely wasn't a dream. He still had two sizeable breasts. Last night, Steph had quickly removed the eyelashes and handed him a packet of wipes which got most of the makeup off, while Lucy had quickly and expertly removed the wig, although not quite as expertly as at the start of the night. Jas, however, assured him he could sleep in the breast forms and had gone, exhaustedly, to her room. James agreed, on the grounds that he was also tired, although he had to admit to himself that maybe he wanted to keep a small part of this version of himself for just a little longer. He also still had bright, baby blue nails. At least he had got the solvent and nail polish remover before going to bed.

The text was from his sister. She was finally taking off, so James had a few hours before he had to be at the airport to collect her. The news was still a little unclear on what happened, although it seemed to be some kind of IT failure or power cut, or both. It would only take him twenty minutes or so to get from the hotel to the airport, although he had some work to do first.

After some persevering, applying solvent, waiting, and carefully pulling off more of the breast, he was done. He'd never removed nail polish either, so that wasn't a great deal simpler, but it was more or less how he imagined it. A few more makeup removal wipes and a shower, and he was back to normal, apart from some stubborn flecks of glue stuck to his small amount of chest hair, which he elected to ignore for now.

He looked once again at the two remaining pairs of briefs in the pack. He still wasn't sure whether Abi was joking when she suggested it: he could put his boxers from yesterday back on, but it seemed to make no sense. There were two clean, brand-new pairs of underwear right here, the same as the ones he'd been wearing all night, very comfortably. Screw it — he opted for the green pair. Perhaps he would get to keep another small part of last night for a little while longer after all.

But would he ever get to fully experience again what he experienced last night? To wear something that felt so beautiful... that made him feel so great? The girls had said how much fun it had been and had said he should join them next year, or on another night out, but he wasn't sure. This time, he was doing it for Abi and the girls. Could he do it just because he wanted to? To be that girl again?

Since James was now driving back a day later, he offered Abi a ride back too. She gladly accepted, even if it meant having to get up a little earlier than she would have liked. It also meant she could take her costume home easily, rather than either carrying it on the train or sending it back with Steph or Jas. Abi sat in the back seat while his sister sat in the passenger seat, giving them the details of how terrible the airport staff were and the airport hotel she'd eventually been put up in. After telling them, for the second time, how terrible the room service was, she enquired as to how James spent his evening.

"Oh, actually, I went to Abi's thing," replied James.

"Oh man, hope he wasn't too boring! James never likes parties very much." she teased.

"Boring? Not at all!" Abi replied. The rear-view mirror gave away the glint in her eye, "In fact, you wouldn't even have recognised him."