Chapter 21

Jake had no idea how long he had been on his knees, scrubbing the hardwood floor. The lace gloves made the work clumsy, the cheap fabric snagging on the grain every time he moved. Sweat slid down his forehead and into his eyes, but he did not dare wipe it away. The white ruffled cuff at his wrist was already damp and sticking to his skin.

The black maid dress Elaine had **** him into was too tight at the shoulders, too short in the skirt, and too frilly for any dignity to survive. Every shift of his body made the petticoat puff out around his thighs with a soft rustle that was mockery to his male pride. The stuffed bra pressed against his chest, the padding shifting whenever he leaned forward. He felt every useless bounce and pull of the bra straps. The outfit did not flatter him at all. It made him look like a man pretending to be something he was never meant to resemble and doing so badly.

The pink stockings dragged over his unshaved legs, the nylon catching on coarse hair and itching with every movement. The sensation made his skin crawl. The black heels, two inches high and definitely too small, pinched his feet until he wanted to scream. Every small shift of weight sent a fresh stab of pain up his ankles.

Jake knew he looked ridiculous. Yet he felt even worse.

Elaine’s voice floated across the room with bright, cruel amusement. "Missed a spot, Jakey."

Jake stiffened. He always did when she used that name. It felt like she was pressing a boot to the back of his neck. He leaned forward again and scrubbed harder. The petticoat rustled against the floor. His dignity felt smaller every time the skirt brushed his thighs.

Elaine lounged on the couch with her legs crossed, sipping from a pink tumbler the scene she controlled in front of her a relaxing morning show. Her perfume drifted across the room in a sweet, sharp cloud that made Jake feel even more aware of how pathetic he looked kneeling in front of her. "You know," she said lightly, "for someone who bragged so loudly about how you can do anything, you clean like someone who has never done a real chore in his life."

Jake clenched his jaw and kept scrubbing. He did not talk back anymore, not after the threat to take him shopping dressed as he was to get correct fitting heels. Better to suffer in private than be exposed to the world.

Her brown eyes glittered. She leaned forward slightly, studying him like a disappointing pet.

"Posture, Jakey. Straighten your back. I wont have my maid looking sloppy with bad posture,"

He did. The corset-like cut of the dress squeezed his ribs when he tried to sit up straighter. The shift made the heels bite deeper into his feet. The stuffed bra shifted again in a humiliating bounce.

Elaine smiled at the sight. "I did not tell you to stop," she added with a sweet, false kindness.

Jake resumed cleaning, holding back the grumbling that wanted to come out. The wooden floor blurred beneath him. His knees ached. His feet throbbed. His pride felt ground into splinters. He had been **** to do cleaning chores as a pledge before, but that was years ago and this was not hazing. This was not something every guy endured, or should.

This was cruel punishment and it made him feel stupid, exposed.

Like less than the person he had been only a week ago.

Elaine suddenly brightened.

"Good girl."

Jake froze. Not because she said it.

Because she was not speaking to him.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Jake turned out of instinct.

He watched Tim… no, Tammy stepping into view at the bottom of the staircase. She wore a soft white cotton dress that stopped at her knees. The fabric moved with each step, gentle and clean. A pink sash with the word PLEDGE in curly letters crossed her torso. Her makeup was done carefully, a soft and pretty look that made her seem even more feminine than before.

She was smiling. Truly smiling and despite knowing who she really was and what they did together it made him happy to see her in a good mood, though that seemed to falter in her as their eyes met.

Her expression collapsed. Her smile vanished. Her eyes widened with surprise and something close to pity. She drew closer to Sarah as if seeking safety.

Sarah squeezed Tammy’s hand at the same moment Tammy squeezed hers. Sarah pulled her in gently, placing herself slightly in front of Tammy as if shielding her from the sight of Jake.

Jake felt the humiliation strike deeper than anything Elaine had said to him.

Elaine’s voice floated across the room with sugary warmth. "Tammy, sweetheart, there you are. Come sit down with us."

Elaine’s tone changed completely. It was warm and soft, full of affection she had never used for Jake.

Sarah led Tammy to the couch, settling beside Elaine. Sarah kept Tammy’s hand in hers, her thumb brushing slowly across Tammy’s knuckles.

Jake could not stop staring. Tammy looked so pretty and sitting there Tammy looked accepted like she was part of the sorority.

Elaine leaned toward Tammy with a bright smile.

"Do not mind him," she said, flicking her hand toward Jake. "He is finally learning his place. If you want, Jakey can do a courtesy for you."

Jake’s face burned. His chest tightened so sharply he almost coughed.

Elaine turned back to Tammy, her voice soft again.

"But you look adorable today, Tammy. That dress suits you perfectly. We are not just happy to have you but are lucky for it."

Jake felt something twist painfully inside him. A mixture of shame, anger, and something he refused to name.

Elaine caught his expression and smiled wider.

"Back to work, Jakey. Tammy does not need you staring at her."

Jake dropped his gaze immediately and resumed scrubbing the floor. The lace gloves slipped uselessly on the wood. His arms trembled. His face burned but he had to endure. Jake kept his eyes on the floor as he scrubbed, but he could not stop hearing every word the girls said on the couch behind him. Their voices floated through the room in soft tones, far too gentle compared to how Elaine spoke to him.

Sarah spoke first. "Did you sleep any better last night, Tammy?"

Jake’s hand paused for a second.

He heard Tammy’s small, shy voice answer. "A little. It felt easier with you there."

The cleaning rag trembled in Jake’s fingers. He **** his hand to move again.

Elaine let out a pleased hum. "Good. You should stay where you feel safe. Sarah is good for you."

Jake closed his eyes for a moment, jaw tightening.

Sarah laughed quietly, a warm, affectionate sound giving her newest sorority sister a hug. "I just like having her close. She curls up in the blankets like a little cat. It is adorable. My new girlfriend is adorable."

Jake felt the words hit him harder than Elaine’s insults ever could.

He had been on a date with Tammy.

She had smiled at him.

She had trusted him.

She had leaned in close in the dark.

She had looked at him like he mattered.

Now she was curled up in Sarah’s arms at night ‘ Did she say girlfriend?’

Elaine continued in a teasing tone.

"You two share a bed better than anyone else in this house ever has. You are already closer than half the big-little pairs."

Jake swallowed hard.while his chest tightened painfully.

Sarah brushed her fingers over Tammy’s cheek. "We fit. That is all. She belongs with us. I don't know how others haven't seen how amazing they are"

Jake almost lost his grip on the cleaning rag.

He felt something collapse quietly inside himself.

‘Belongs with us. She said and that means not with me…’

Elaine added one more soft line, almost like a dagger hidden under silk.

"You made the right choice staying, Tammy. You are loved here." she said ignoring the fact she had created Tammy under the threat of the police.

Jake stared at the floor and scrubbed until his vision blurred. ‘I have no right to Tammy. No right to want her attention. No right to even think about that night again.’

‘Tammy has a place now.’

Jake had a dress, a mop, and a threat hanging over his head.

Not for the first time since Elaine cornered him, Jake felt something like grief.

Not because he cared about labels.

Not because he feared being gay, though others thinking that about him still felt like a line he didn't want to cross. It was all because he cared about Tammy.

And Tammy no longer cared about him, Tim was annoying while Tammy was a dream he didn't want to wake up from no matter how much he tried not to catch feeling.

Jake scrubbed until his wrists ached, much as he hated the task. He could not bring himself to look at Tammy any more,as we worked though he felt her presence on the couch like a spotlight burning into his back. His humiliation folded tighter around him with each pass of the rag. He tried to focus on the floor. Tried to pretend nothing happening behind him mattered, that it didn't bother him.

Tammy’s voice broke through Jake's flimsy concentration.

"Sarah… he looks sad."

Jake’s entire body froze for a moment.

Elaine’s eyes sparkled with amusement. "Curious about the maid, sweetheart?

There was a small, nervous sound from Tammy. She had not meant to call attention to herself. Jake could tell by the hesitation in her voice, by the careful way she answered.

"I just… heard him sigh. That is all."

Jake swallowed. She had noticed that. Not his face, not his posture. Just the sound. The small, weak sound he had not meant anyone to hear.

Sarah gently smoothed the skirt of Tammy’s cotton dress down over her knees, the soft fabric whispering against Tammy’s legs.

"You do not have to worry about him, love. He is just doing chores."

Elaine let out a quiet hum. "Hmmmm He is fine. He is exactly where he belongs."

Then Sarah whispered softly to Tammy, but just loud enough for Jake to hear. "You are safe here. He cannot hurt you. Let Elaine deal with him."

Tammy spoke again, a bit of hesitation in their voice. "He looks… miserable."

“Oh no not at all.” Elaine shook her head. “Jakey wants to do this.” Elaine’s smile sharpened. "Well then, sweetheart, let me give you something that will cheer you up."

She snapped her fingers lightly.

"Jakey. Front and center. Curtsy for Tammy."

Jake’s stomach dropped and went cold. He **** himself to lift his head and turn toward them. His stuffed bra shifted crookedly again, the padding sliding slightly to one side as he rose. The heels wobbled under him, the too-tight leather biting deep into his toes.

Elaine gestured impatiently.

"Come on. In front of Tammy. Right where she can see you."

Jake shuffled forward. The petticoat pushed the skirt out even wider, making each step feel awkward and exaggerated. He could hear the soft swish of the layers brushing against each other. The lace gloves slipped across the fabric when he pinched the sides of the skirt.

He reached the center of the room, directly in front of Tammy and Sarah. He kept his gaze low, not wanting to see Tammy looking at him like this.

Elaine lifted her hand in a slow, mocking demonstration.

"Pinch the sides of your skirt. Feet together. Bend your knees slightly. Show her a proper curtsy."

Jake swallowed hard. His fingers found the hem of the maid dress, the lace scratchy against his gloves. The skirt flared when he lifted it, the stiff petticoat forcing it outward. He tried to lower himself into a curtsy, but the heels wobbled, and his ankle twisted slightly.

He caught himself, face burning.

Elaine clucked her tongue.

"Horrible. Again."

Jake tried a second time. He bent carefully, pinching the skirt as instructed. The petticoat fanned out again, and the heels shifted underneath him. The too-small shoes made his knees tremble as he tried to maintain balance.

Tammy winced softly.

"Elaine… he looks like he is going to fall."

Jake’s heart thudded painfully.

Tammy was worried about him.

Elaine waved dismissively.

"He will manage. He needs to learn. Again, Jakey."

Jake’s knees ached. His feet throbbed. He lowered himself again, slower this time. The skirt rose slightly as he dipped. The padding in the bra slid again, one side higher than the other. He felt ridiculous and exposed.

"Better," Elaine said. "But you did not smile."

Jake blinked.

"Smile?"

Elaine nodded.

"A curtsy is polite. A curtsy shows gratitude. You will give Tammy a smile to show how willing you are to do your job."

Jake felt the humiliation scorch him from the inside.

He tried again.

Feet together.

Skirt pinched.

Knees bent.

He **** his mouth into a smile. It felt stretched and wrong, but he tried.

The heels wobbled. He almost fell again.

Tammy gasped quietly.

"Be careful… please."

Jake’s heart clenched.

She said please.

Even dressed like this, humiliated like this, she still cared enough to say something gentle. The softness in her voice felt warmer than anything he had heard in days. It hit something deep inside him that had been raw and aching.

Elaine stood and circled him slowly.

"Too stiff. Your smile looks fake. Again."

Jake’s knees protested, but he obeyed.

‘Curtsy, Smile. Hold the stupid skirt steady.’ Jake told himself wanting to get it right so this could end.

He tried to keep his balance even though the heels pinched like vices.

He did it again.

And again.

And again.

By the fifth attempt, the motion made his thighs burn. The skirt and petticoat bounced awkwardly with each dip. He felt sweat slide down his temple. The lace gloves were damp and slipping. Each time he smiled, it felt more **** and painful.

But Tammy spoke again, this time softer and apologetic.

"You do not need to make him do so many. He is trying."

Jake froze mid-curtsy.

Something in him stung.

Not from humiliation though that was there, it was from the kindness that he didn't feel like he deserved.

Elaine smirked.

"Is he making you feel bad, sweetheart? That is not his role here."

Tammy looked down at her lap, smoothing her white dress over her knees.

"I just… he looks tired."

Jake straightened slowly, the petticoat settling around his legs.

For a moment, he let himself look at Tammy.

She looked back, hesitant but gentle. Her dress fit softly around her body. Her makeup was perfect. She looked comfortable, safe, and accepted. There was no sign of Tim to his eyes, Her eyes met him with a softness that cut right through the pain in his feet.

Jake felt his throat tighten.

To be seen kindly while dressed like this hurt worse than the ridicule.

Elaine clapped her hands once.

"One more curtsy, Jakey. Your prettiest one. Make Tammy smile."

Jake pinched the skirt, bent his trembling knees, and **** a soft smile.

Sarah looked between the ridiculous looking Jake and the feminized boy at her side. “This year of college has really just started. Moving forward you will be here with me, Tammy. We can study together, maybe go out to the movies and of course cuddle in our bed. Jake will be here once a week to help clean up. This is the year that I promise will be full of friends.”

The End