Tails
mermaid graphic - animated
by Lhynn Cooper

Chapter 29

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"Okay, okay." I said. "I told you I'd talk to him."

"I know you will." Linda replied. "Now when are you going to get this job?"

I told her about the call from Margie, telling me to come in for an interview the next day. I even told her what Margie had said about wearing a short skirt and being able to control her boss.

"I just don't know if I could pull something like that off." I said to Linda.

"Oh, That's an old trick." She replied. "Women have been doing that to men all through history. If you're not as big and strong, you have to find a weakness and use it. Women do that to men, men know they do that, and men still fall for it. Dress any way you want, Terri. With Sam's looks,....I mean your looks,.....well, you'll be able to play the game with the best of them in no time at all."

"I don't want to play a game." I said. "I just want to make some money to help out Sam until I can get back to normal."

"Well, if you're stuck like this for a while, you might as well try to enjoy it a little." She gave me a wink. "Looking good,..... and knowing it, and having men admire you can be fun, if you know how to do it."

She got up and started to walk towards the bedroom. "C'mon, lets see if we can pick out something of Sam's for you to wear tomorrow."

"Wait up, Linda." I said, starting to follow her in the wheelchair. "I don't know if Sam would like us going through all her clothes and stuff."

"Maybe your right." She said, stopping and turning around. "I guess I wouldn't like everybody going though my closets either." She came back into the living room. "You want to get dressed and I'll take you shopping? You might need some new clothes if your going to have to dress up every day."

"Not today." I said. "I really don't feel like it, and I'm not sure I should be spending any money until I actually start getting a paycheck."

"Okay." Said Linda, sounding a little disappointed. "I guess I can understand, with your first period and all that. I guess I should get back to the shop anyway, and see if anything is going on."

She got her purse and headed for the door. As she passed me, she leaned over and kissed me again, fully on the lips, and even with my period I felt a tingling in my groin and my nipples. "Too bad about your period, though, I thought you might be up for a little fun today."

"Jeez, Linda. Don't talk like that, you embarrass me. And, I thought you didn't want to hurt Bob?"

"Just kidding, Terri." She said with a little laugh. "Don't always take me so seriously, it's fun to watch you get so shook up. Do you need anything before I go?"

"No, thanks." I said. "I'm think I'll make myself some lunch, I'm just bored sitting around here, and I'm kind of hungry."

Linda left, and I rolled the wheelchair into the kitchen. Trying to make lunch from a wheelchair turned out to be too much trouble, so I transformed back to human form. As soon as I did, I realized I had forgotten to remove the tampon before changing. Feeling a little surge of panic, I stood up, and spreading my legs apart a little, felt between them for the string attached to the tampon. I was relieved to be able to find it easily, and as I could barely feel it in there, decided to leave it in for a while.

As long as I had to have a period, it was more comfortable not to have to wear some thick pad in my underwear, feeling it's bulk, there between my legs. I shook my head, suddenly realizing how much I had adjusted to being a woman. Just a couple of days before, I had been complaining about no longer having something in my shorts, between my legs, and in such a short time, I was feeling glad not to have something there, what a change.

I made myself a sandwich, and while eating it, walked around the kitchen, trying to remember what my male genitalia used to feel like. I could still recall the sensations, but I wondered, when I got my old body back, how long it would take to get used to it. Would it feel as strange, at first, as my mermaid form, or this duplicate of Sam's body did when I was first changed?

After lunch, I tried watching television again, but became bored rather quickly. I had been sitting around too much the past couple of weeks and I needed to do something. I went into the bedroom and sat down at Sam's dressing table. If I had to play at being a woman, I figured I had better learn how to do makeup and my own hair. I spent some time trying to apply makeup in the way that both Sam and Linda had shown me how to do. After much trial and error, mostly error, I decided that I would be able to get by if I didn't try for anything too glamorous. If I just stuck to a little lipstick and some very light eye makeup, I seemed to be able to do all right. I also practiced doing my hair and after a lot of combing and fussing, seemed to be able to make my hair look pretty good, or at least I thought so. My attempts might not pass Sam's inspection, but I was at least able to take care of it myself.

I thought about the interview I had the next day with Bob and Margie's boss, Mr. Robertson. Maybe Linda was right, I should figure out what I was going to wear. As I started to look through the closet, I realized that as a man, the decision of what to wear to work, or anywhere, was something done in a moment. I had never really given much thought to clothes. As long as what I wore was clean and comfortable, that's what mattered most. I knew men who paid more attention to what they wore than I did, but even the most fastidious of them never seemed to spend as much time looking at, picking out, buying and figuring out what to wear each day, as almost any woman I had ever known. Being female was going to be a lot of work.

I picked through Sam's closet, looking at dresses and skirts and shoes. Trying to find something that would be appropriate for a job interview. After a few minutes, I gave up. Hair and makeup was enough for one day, Samantha would have to help me get ready tomorrow. I decided I had to do something to take my mind off of this and pass the time.

Sam had the car, so I decided to go for a bike ride. Before we moved, I had loved to get out on my bike and ride. I was no great athlete, but I could do fifty or more miles at a time without problem. I had even bought Sam a bike and we had gone riding together. She didn't enjoy it as much as I did, but she would ride with me for a few miles at a time.

I started looking for my bike shorts and helmet, and realized as soon as I found them that they wouldn't fit my new body. I started to dig through Sam's dresser to find something of hers to wear. In one of the drawers, I found some of her exercise wear. I dug through a collection of shiny, brightly colored items until I found something black, that I hoped wouldn't attract too much attention. Sam called it a unitard. It was like a pair of bike shorts with the top of a women's bathing suit attached to it, all one piece. There was no zipper or anything, but it was pretty stretchy and I had seen Sam put it on before. I stepped into it and pulled it up, over my wider hips and round bottom. It was very tight fitting, and standing in front of the mirror, twisting around to see myself front and back, I wasn't sure if I had the nerve to go out in public wearing just that.

It clung to every curve of my body. Looking between my legs, I could clearly see the outline of my outer labial lips and the slit between them. Running my fingers over the shiny fabric covering my flat stomach and then down to my outlined genitals, I decided that I would definitely have to wear something under it. I peeled the unitard off and found some kind of underpants, in the same drawer, that seemed like they might help to hide the more intimate parts of my anatomy. They were made of the same black fabric as the unitard, but thicker, with a little patch of cotton on the inside of the crotch area. I figured that Sam must wear them with the unitard because, when I had seen her wearing it, (and really liked the way she looked in it), I didn't remember her having the same problem.

I decided that before I finished dressing I should probably check my tampon. In the bathroom, I squatted down and found the string stuck to my skin. As I pulled on it, the feeling of it sliding out of me was something that I'm sure no other man had ever experienced. There was not as much blood on it as I had feared. Perhaps my period was starting to lighten. I sat on the toilet and urinated, and after carefully wiping off a little blood and moisture, slid another tampon in. This time, I was able to do it quite easily, and once in place, I didn't really feel it anymore.

Back in the bedroom, I pulled on the underpants. They were quite snug, as all Sam's underwear seemed to be, and did cover the slit between my legs. I picked up the unitard and then chickened out. I wasn't going to wear something that revealing in public. I dug through a couple of more drawers until I found some of Sam's shorts. I picked out a black pair made of some thin, almost shiny fabric with an elastic waist, and pulled them up over the underpants. Much better. I stood looking at myself in the mirror, seeing Samantha staring back at me wearing shorts, but topless. The shorts were looser than the unitard, but were still cut close to the body as well as rather high on the leg. I looked down at Sam's long, slim legs and noticed that it still felt just a little odd to have legs instead of a tail.

I reached up and cupped my breasts in my hands, lightly rubbing the nipples between my fingers. God that felt good, almost as good as when Sam, or Linda for that matter, had been nibbling and sucking on them during our love-making. I was kind of ashamed to admit to myself that I would miss them when I returned to my male body. It seems I was finding quite a number of things, most of them having to do with sex, that I was going to miss.

Looking down at my slightly aroused nipples, I realized I would definitely need a bra and got the sport bra that that Sam had given me when I first started having to wear one, as mermaid Barbie. I found a plain white T-shirt of Sam's in a drawer and pulled that on. I was used to T-shirts that were nice and loose and comfortable. All of Sam's T-shirts were much more form fitting than any of mine, and not only showed off her slim waist, but seemed to almost emphasize her bust line. The sleeves were very short and cut to fit the thin, feminine arms of my body. In the mirror, the outfit was less revealing than the unitard, but not by much.

Sam had said she liked how she looked and I always had too. Going out with her, and seeing the admiring glances of other men had been kind of a boost to my ego. Sam seemed to enjoy it too, and never exhibited the arrogant or conceited attitude that some very attractive women seemed to carry with them. Sam always had a down-to-earth manner and a comfortable feeling about herself that made her fun to be with and actually complemented her good looks. I could only hope that I would be soon be as comfortable in public, getting the same looks that Sam always did. The thought crossed my mind that at least this body would bring less attention than my mermaid Barbie body would, not to mention the problem of trying to ride a bike with a fish-tail.

Chuckling to myself at that thought, I started looking for my shoes and then realized I wouldn't be able to wear my old bike shoes that went with the clip-less pedals on my bike. They were men's size 11 and I now wore a women's size 6. That also meant I wouldn't be able to ride my own bike and would have to ride Sam's. My riding gloves were also now out of the question.

When I bought Sam her bike, she wanted a bike with a more upright position than mine and picked out a light duty off-road model. She said bikes like mine just weren't comfortable to her. In the closet I found the athletic shoes she always wore when we rode. Of course they had to be pink and white.

In the garage, I found our bikes behind a pile of boxes. After a wistful look at my lightweight aluminum road bike, I wheeled Sam's out and pumped up the tires. I found Sam's helmet and put it on, messing up the hair I had just spent much time trying to arrange. I realized I was still wearing the makeup and lipstick I had applied, but I wasn't about to go wash it off now. It was a little unsettling to realize that in such a short time I could almost forget I was wearing it.

I made sure I had the house keys in the little bag under the bike seat and pushed the bike out of the garage, closing the door behind me. As I walked down the driveway to the street, a couple of young men drove by in a car. I saw both of them look me over and as they went past, one turned his head and really gave me a good look. I still remembered what the sight of a pretty girl, dressed as I was, would do to me before I was changed, and I almost turned around and went back in, but managed to keep on going. If Sam could go out dressed like this, so could I.

I climbed on the bike and started off. As soon as I sat on the seat, I was reminded again of just how different my new anatomy was, particularly between my legs. I had always assumed that women had kind of an advantage when riding a bike because of the lack of externally protruding organs between the legs. How wrong I was. These shorts, unlike my male bike shorts, had no padding in the crotch area and I was now actually sitting on some very sensitive body parts, ones that couldn't be tucked up out of the way, and supported by a jockstrap as I used to do in my male body.

I was thankful that Sam had insisted on buying a new seat for her bike, a specially formed and padded women's model. My genital area was still somewhat sensitive from my period and again I almost gave up and turned around, but I was determined to get out and do something. Sam had never ridden very far with me, always saying that it hurt too much to ride more than a few miles and I had always assumed that her legs were getting tired. I found out that it was another, much more sensitive area that couldn't take too much abuse. I mentally vowed to get some padded women's bike shorts at the first opportunity.

Although I really enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine and the change from just sitting around the house, I rode for only about a half-hour before I not only became somewhat fatigued, but the pressure on my vaginal area became too much. I rode back to the house, disappointed in the limitations of my new body. At last I had found something I wouldn't miss when I returned to male form.

Back at the house, I put the bike away and went into the bathroom, rubbing my crotch as I walked, trying to soothe the tenderness in that area. Riding had been pretty good exercise and I was sweating. In the mirror, I saw what a little perspiration and a bicycle helmet could do to carefully applied makeup and hairdo. I undressed, washed up a little and sat on the toilet to pee and check my tampon. The exercise seemed to have increased the flow of menstrual blood, and it was again full of dark red fluid. I cleaned myself up and as soon as I could, changed back into a mermaid, which felt much better. I spent the rest of the afternoon that way, sitting on the couch, trying to read. I went through the couple of magazines I had and started looking at one of Sam's.

Leafing through it, I came across the same advertisement that had affected me so much at the grocery store. Sitting on the couch, I stared at the guy in the ad, trying to see if I would feel the same thing again. This time though, it just wasn't quite the same. There was no instant response, no obvious sign of arousal that I could feel. I was well aware of how good looking the guy was and while looking at him and his tight fitting jeans didn't exactly repulse me, I found that looking at the woman in the ad was just as interesting. I was actually relieved to find that my old self wasn't quite so far gone after all. Or, was it just that my period was affecting me?

I wasn't sure about that. When Linda had kissed me a while before, I had definitely felt some arousal, but now, really nothing special. Sure, I was aware that the guy was quite good looking, but it just didn't feel the same. I thought about it for a while, looking at other ads in the magazine. The only thing I found interesting was an article showing some new women's fashions, and some of models clearly were not wearing anything under their tops and dresses. The picture of a woman, her nipples clearly visible through the fabric of her dress seemed to be much more interesting than the guy in the ad.

I guess I wouldn't have to worry about finding any of the men at Bob's office attractive. I still seemed to be the same old me, inside at least.

I had a thought, and just out of curiosity, sat up and changed back into human form, noticing as I did, some lingering soreness between my legs. I looked at the ad again, concentrating on the couple, trying to figure out which one of them, if either, had any effect on me. After a short time, I found myself somewhat intrigued by the tight fit of the guys pants. How did he ever manage to sit down wearing those things. Sam and Linda were both right about one thing, the guy did have one great looking tush. I found myself wondering how much they had to pay the girl in the ad. I was sure they didn't exactly have to force her to pose with him like that and I wondered how many takes it took to get it right, with her snuggling into his muscular arms, before they got the picture they wanted.

A tingling sensation on my chest suddenly made me realize that not only was I staring at some guys butt, but that my nipples were now fully erect. Shocked and somewhat embarrassed, I got up and walked into the bathroom, also noticing the slippery feeling of the beginnings of female lubrication in my vagina. I took off my robe, and sat on the toilet to pee, staring down at my breasts, with their distended, light brown tips.

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