Wow!

Before I’m allowed to see Lily leans in front of me to apply the mascara to my lashes, her face just a foot from mine as she takes one last look at her work then pulls back to reveal what she’d done.

Sitting before me and staring back through the mirror that had become a window was a beautiful young woman! The transformation Lily had pulled off was nothing less than remarkable. My every feature was softened, my every blemish erased and my every strength accentuated. My eyes in particular seemed magically bigger and brighter than should have been possible, the subtle but not too subtle dusky rose hues around them and the thickened long lashes provided a contrast that made them shine like sapphires. My lips looked fuller and gleamed a lovely shade of glossy pink and my cheekbones had been oh so skillfully highlighted to both make them stand out and blend in at the same time. The naturally fine structures that put me on the more ‘effete’ side of traditional masculine good looks had become a bridge to cross fully into the feminine. Yes, if you really looked close you could see the Adam’s Apple, and yes my shoulders were a little bit wider than the average female’s, but with anything less than a close inspection the metamorphosis was flawless. Especially perfect with the added touch of the padded bra. I was face to face…with Ellie!

What truly astonished me was how, for the first time in my life, I could really see my mother’s features that had been there the whole time, dormant among my resemblance to my father. Before me and in me was the daughter they never had.

To either side of me Bri and Lily sit smiling, taking in my reaction. “Not bad, my girl. Not bad at all.” Lily says.

“Oh, Lily.” I say, my voice now fitting me to a tee. “You’ve outdone yourself. Wow!”

“Ye might just be the prettiest of us all.”

“Oh, stop Bri.” I give a playful swat of my fingers and we laugh.

“Alright, sweet girl, you’ve got your face on, but it’s the clothes that make the woman.” Taking my elbow Lily leads me back toward the bed where I ponder the options laid out for me to choose from.

Briana comes up to Lily and whispers in her ear. Lily smiles and nods. Taking her cider she glances back my way as she leaves the room to just Bri and I. I look to Bri, curious about why she had Lily leave.

“Tonight is more important to Lily than I think ye realize.” She says. “She deserves a ‘wow’ moment too.”

I look toward the door. “This is about Juniper. A test run?”

“No.” She says. “Indirectly perhaps, but not primarily. This is about Lily finally finding a girl that her soul and her body don’t clash over.”

With a nod I look back toward the clothes. “I can’t imagine what it’s been like for her. Her heart wanting a woman, her chemistry hard-wired for men. I think it would be like me trying to go back to normal women again.”

“I love ye, Ellie.” Bri lays a hand on my shoulder. “But maybe avoid the term ‘normal’ when yer contrastin them with us.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Just sayin.”

I smirk. “You love me?”

“Ye know what I meant!” She laughs. “As a friend!”

“With benefits.”

“HA! Yes, with benefits.”

“Well I love ye too.”

“Now she makes fun of my accent!? The cheek!”

I giggle.

“Okay, okay.” She nods to the bed. “Go on then.”

Though I peruse the selection there was one dress that stood out from the rest right away. Walking around the bed I lay the tips of my fingers on a navy blue dress. “This is Ellie.”

“Classic A-line midi.” Bri nods. “Perfect for bringing out the best in your figure.” Picking up a pack of ‘nude’ color thigh-high stockings she places it in front of me. “These will be good with it.”

I slip into the sheer stockings, pulling the nylons up my lithe legs to my mid-thigh. I run my hands back down the sleek fabric to ensure there were no wrinkles or twists, and I felt pretty damn sexy doing it! “These feel so…he he he! I should have shaved.”

“There’s always next time.” Bri smiles as she ogles me. “Lookin hot, darlin.”

With Bri’s help I slip into the dress and cinch the belt around the waist to help exaggerate my subtle curves. The fit was snug as Briana was leaner than me but that only helped to sculpt my flesh into style of the dress. Looking across the room at myself in the mirror of the vanity I twist back and forth a few times to swish the hem of the skirt.

“Wow.” I whisper as I marvel at the classy lady looking back at me. The style was timeless and elegant without being over the top. The tantalizing glimpse of my upper chest teased the eye toward the shape of my ‘breasts’, nothing at all suggesting that the cleavage beneath wasn’t anything but all natural. It looked and it felt…authentic. The way the hugged my form my shoulders suddenly felt like a part of the outfit, like should pads or something. “Wow.”

“The word of the day.” Bri says as she adjusts the fabric around the cloth belt.

“I could walk down the street like this.” I say. “Nobody would ever…” I touch my neck. “Almost.”

“We’re not done yet. Last step.” For the jewelry Bri chooses for me, for which I was grateful as I felt like I’d make a mess of it. On my ears she puts a pair of simple, twinkling ‘diamond’ stud clip-ons. She arranges my hair and puts a blue hair clip similar to her own but in the shape of a butterfly. For the neck I was sure she was going to reach for the black velvet and lace choker but instead she chooses a delicate silver chain at the end of which was a silver pendant, again in the shape of a butterfly. As if sensing my disappointment at not covering my Adam’s Apple she says. “The chain draws the eye and extends the neck. Come here.” Taking me back to the vanity she lifts my chin and with a little pencil and another selection of brushes works around the little bump to all but erase the shadow it cast, the makeup blending in with my natural tone perfectly. “Voila.”

I look in the mirror one last time and say. “I’m Ellie. I’m…perfect.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far.” Bri teases lightly with an nudge. “But not far off.”

“If I saw me on the street I’d…be nervous to talk to her.” I grin. “I’m hot!”

“Damn right, girl.” She rubs my back. “Nothing we can do about the shoes. Yer not my size.”

“That’s okay.”

“Just another reason to go shoppin.” She put my glass into my hand and picks up her own. “Ready to blow Lily’s mind?”

“You kidding? I’ve been ready since I was fourteen.”

“Perfume?”

Leaning in she nuzzles the side of my neck and sniffs. “And cover that? That’d be a crime. Come on, darlin. Lily’s waitin.”

Bri gives me a gentle push to guide me into the lead and then the pair of us head back out toward the living room. The sounds of the music and the vanilla-orange blossom aroma intensifies as we enter the softly lit room. Lily stood staring out her balcony window as the rain pattered against it. Hearing our return she turns around. She was about to say something but the words are lost the moment her eyes meet me.

Slowly her gaze glides down and up my body, her expression not unlike her mother’s when I was looking extra dapper. I give her a twirl, my skirt floating up a couple inches then swirling to a stop. In a soft, bright voice I ask. “What do you think?”

Her appraisal was short yet summed up her feelings perfectly. “Wow!”