"Stop it!" he said. I could tell I was getting to him.
I crawled forward and put my chin on his knee.
"Darling," I said, "I don't blame you for playing hard to get. I'm sorry for the way I treated you before." I leaned my cheek against his leg, my head between his thighs. I put one hand on his knee. "Let me make it up to you. Let's kiss and make up."
He stood up abruptly. I fell over.
"Get out! I'm not kidding. Get out of here before my parents get home!"
He grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me to my feet, and roughly forced me to the door.
"Stop!" I protested. "Not so fast! Don't make me trip in my heels."
He threw me outside.
"Don't ever do that again!" he said, and slammed the door.
I stared at the door. I wasn't quite as discouraged as you might think. I knew I'd gotten to him.
"You're not over me," I said aloud.
And I knew I was coming over the next night, for family game night. I had some things in mind for him. This wasn't over.
The next morning I slipped into my wonderful purple floral dress with the full skirt. I twirled, checking myself out in the mirror as I did. I might as well enjoy my time in dresses as much as I could for as long as it lasted, and that dress was pure enjoyment. In that dress I didn't so much walk down the hall, I sort of floated, even danced down the hall, enjoying the lovely feeling of my skirt brushing against my fingers as I went.
I had to go talk to a colleague about a project, and he seemed terribly embarrassed to have to deal with me. And it was made even worse by the fact that wearing that wonderful dress made me feel and act terribly flirty. I sat down, tucking my skirt under me, and crossed my legs. I smiled at him. He didn't smile back. So we got down to business, and as we talked I noticed he couldn't take his eyes off my legs, even though he couldn't see much of them in that dress. I smiled, again.
"I didn't know you were a leg man," I said, sliding my skirt back just a little bit. "If you vote for me on Friday, I promise I'll wear a short skirt for you."
He coloured, and suggested we get back to business.
I saw Lauren that afternoon in the Ladies loo. I was looking in the mirror and freshening my lipstick, and she came out of the stall behind me. She saw me, and shook her head in that exasperated way she has.
"What I don't get," she said, "is why you won't have the operation. Just being so non-committal, not quite a man but not quite a woman, that's what annoys me. I'd have more respect for you if you'd commit to being a woman completely."
I didn't want to antagonize her, though I felt like telling her to mind her own business.
"Well, maybe I will, one day. But I thank you for allowing me in here, Lauren. It makes the men nervous to have me in the Men's room. You know how men are."
"Not as well as you do."
On the way home, I stopped at my favorite dress shop, "Better Dresses", to buy a new dress, something with a short skirt I could wear to Wednesday game night and flirt with Joey. I brought it home.
Before changing into my new dress, I took some pictures of myself in my pretty floral dress, posing with a red heart-shaped balloon. I printed one out on my computer, with a caption about Valentine's day.