Revenge - Chapter 11

Revenge

By Karen Singer

Chapter 11

Steve woke up the next morning to find a message on his computer.  Before he really read it, he looked at it carefully.  The message was simple text typed in his Notepad program.  There was no clue as to who had written it or how it had gotten there.  But once he read it, Steve knew that somehow the witch had put the message magically straight onto his computer.  He read the note carefully.

As you know by now, you cannot even touch a piece of male clothing until I allow it again.  You also know that you can’t fight me – I’m far too strong. 

If you do everything I want, then I MIGHT let you wear pants on your flight home again next Saturday.  If not, then I have lots of ways to make what you’re experiencing now even worse.  Far worse!  The more you defy me and try to fight me, the worse things are going to be for you.  But if you cooperate completely, then you’ll be able to wear pants to travel home again.  The choice is yours!

So here’s what I want you to do.  For the rest of the week, I want you to go out of your way to humiliate yourself.  You must dress as a girl all the time – dresses and skirts only – no pants of any kind are allowed!  You will act as absolutely feminine as possible all the time.  You cannot hide in your room, you must go out and show yourself to people. 

Every single day, you must go shopping and buy yourself feminine things – lots of feminine things! 

Every single day, you must also to spend time on the beach in your bikini too. 

It’s as easy as that.  That’s all I want.  Do as you’re told, and you’ll be able to buy pants again for Saturday.  But the more you defy me, the worse your situation will get. 

Choose!

Steve couldn’t believe it!  He shuddered as he read through it a second time.  The note even sounded like it was written by a witch.  What more proof did he need?

As he read it a third time, there were some thoughts that seemed to burn themselves into his mind.  He must humiliate himself constantly.  He must show himself to people…all day, every day.  He must shop and buy lots of feminine things.  And he must expose himself on the beach in his bikini.  In other words, every day for the rest of the week should be pretty much like the day he had yesterday – without a doubt, the worst day of his life!

He saved the note to his computer so he could study it later.  It was proof that the witch was after him.  Then he sat on the bed and tried to figure out what to do.  There was no fighting the witch.  He knew that now.  He was nothing more than a puppet that had to do her bidding.  So for now, he had no choice, he would have to play her game – but all the while, he would cautiously search for a way out.

The witch hadn’t said anything about when he had to do everything, so he opted to go to the beach first that day.  As he laid out soaking up the sun, he put his straw bag under his head to use as a pillow.  The result was that it was now easier for him to watch everybody else around him having fun.  There were two really beautiful girls that morning that particularly caught his eye.  He watched them playing in the water.  He watched them tanning on the beach.  He watched them pointing at him and laughing.  Under different circumstances he would have made some moves on one of them – or maybe even both of them.  But he couldn’t do that now. 

Before he left the beach, he decided to brave going into the water, just to see what it felt like.  He had never been in an ocean that looked like this before.  Ignoring everybody around him, he bravely walked down to the edge and let the tiny waves roll over his feet.  He was surprised at how warm the water was.  Almost like a bath.  He walked in a little farther.  The water was crystal clear.  He saw movement in the water and was momentarily startled.  He looked again.  There was a school of fish swimming all around him.  Amazing!  He stared around himself through the water more carefully.  There were more fish.  Beautiful fish.  It was incredible!

But then he felt the presence of someone else coming into the water.  He looked up to see one of the two girls he had been watching earlier wading directly toward him.  “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” she noted as she waded up to him.

Steve was confounded that anyone, especially a pretty girl, would even want to talk to him in his present condition.  He desperately wanted to cover himself up, he wanted to hide somewhere, but there was nowhere to go.  “It’s incredible,” he admitted, feeling more self-conscious than ever with her next to him.  “I’ve never seen anything like it.”  He went back to staring at the fish in the water so he wouldn’t have to look her in the eyes.

“Can I ask you a question?” the girl asked.

Steve still wondered why she should want to talk to him.   “I guess so,” he replied, still looking at the fish.

“Why do you do it?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you dress like a girl all the time?  I’ve seen you here on the beach before and I’ve seen you shopping in town too.”

“I don’t want to do it,” he explained.

“Then…”

“I have to do it.  I’m being forced to do it.”

The girl looked surprised.  “You mean someone’s making you do it?” She looked around at the people on the beach.  “Is it someone here?”

Before Steve could reply, the second girl entered the water and joined them.  Again, Steve felt embarrassed to be standing next to them, dressed the way he was.

“He says that someone’s making him do it,” the first girl explained to the second one.

The second girl looked around at the beach too.  “Who?”

Steve sighed.  They’d never understand.  “She’s not here,” he explained.  “She’s far away.”

Both girls looked at him like he was crazy.  “Then why do you still do it?” the second girl asked.

“If she’s not here, then how would she know?” the first girl added.

Steve just blurted it out with more than a hint of anger.  “Because she’s a witch!  A damn magical, for real – witch!  Somehow she can see everything I do and she knows everything I’m trying to do!  She’s got some kind of magic and it’s damn powerful.  And if I don’t do what she wants then she forces me to do it anyway!”

It was a few seconds before either of the girls answered.  “You’re nuts, you know that?” the first girl said.

“Yeah, so what,” Steve replied as he went back to searching the water for more fish.  He knew they wouldn’t believe him.  Why couldn’t they just go away?

“I think it’s just because you want to do it and you don’t want to admit it,” the second girl said.

“Think what you want,” Steve replied sullenly.

Nobody said anything for a while.  Steve just wished they’d go away and leave him to his miseries.

“So,” the first girl finally said, “are you going shopping later?”

“I have to,” Steve replied without looking up.

“Well then, maybe we’ll see you later,” the girl answered.

Steve watched the two pretty girls playfully leaving the water.  They looked so happy.  If only…  If only….

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

The wait for the next shuttle bus was unnervingly long.  It was especially bad for Steve since he was standing out in front of the hotel wearing his new short red skirt outfit.  The shoes at least were comfortable, but he felt like the bright red color called even more attention to him.  Why had he decided to wear it?  He hadn’t felt any compulsion to wear it.  It was new, and it had just seemed like the right thing to do.  Now he was sorry.

The hotel door opened and he saw the two girls he had met at the beach come out.  Girl number one saw him and came rushing toward him.  “Ooooo, look at you!” she said as she sashayed up right next to him.  Then she bumped her hip playfully against his and said, “Girlfriend!  Don’t you look cute!  Geez, I love that outfit.  I mean really!”

Steve wasn’t sure how to answer.  “Thanks,” he finally said. 

“By the way, I’m Ellie, and that’s Mandy.”

“Hey,” Steve replied, but said nothing else.

Ellie looked at him, obviously waiting for something.  Finally she asked, “And you are?”

“Steve,” he replied quietly.  Were they trying to be friends with him?  Or did they just want to make fun of him?

“Steeeve?” Mandy said, drawing his name out and wrinkling her nose.  “Oh come on, that doesn’t sound like a very good name for a girl like you.”

Steve blushed.  Deep inside, he desperately wanted to shout to the witch, “Is this humiliating enough?” 

“Don’t you have another name?” Ellie asked.  “Perhaps something…a bit more feminine?”

Did they have to tease him so much?  “No,” he replied, “just Steve.”

Unfortunately, both girls seemed to be having too much fun.  “Well, I don’t think that Steeeve sounds right for our new girlfriend here,” Mandy said.  “What do you think Ellie?”

“How about Diane instead,” Ellie offered.  “Or Sarah!”

“Naw,” Mandy replied.  “She doesn’t look like a Sarah.  I think…let me see….”

Steve just wanted them to go away.  He didn’t like their teasing.  He didn’t want to say anything.  He didn’t plan on saying anything.  But the word somehow just came out of his mouth.  “Karen.”

“Karen?” Mandy repeated, surprised at his answer.

Steve looked at both of them, totally surprised that he had said it.  Where had the name come from?  He didn’t even know anybody named Karen.  Well, there had been his girlfriend back in high school, but he hadn’t seen her in years now.

But Ellie jumped on it.  “Karen it is then!”

“Good enough for me,” Mandy agreed.

“God,” Steve thought, “can things get any worse?”

“So Kaaaren,” Ellie said, drawing the new name out, “going shopping?”

“Yeah,” Steve replied, not at all happy about the situation.

“Good.  Then we can all have a good time together.” 

Together?  Steve’s eyes bulged.  They were going to stay with him while he had to go shopping?  Two beautiful girls who obviously only wanted to make his life more miserable…and him!  “Uh…” he searched for a way to politely decline their offer, but the bus drove up just then and both girls turned away toward it. 

“I think he needs a hat,” he heard Mandy say.

“Or a scarf,” Ellie added.

“How about a knife to slit my own throat?” Steve thought silently.

After the bus dropped them off at the shopping district, Mandy decided that they needed some lunch first.  Steve briefly considered begging off to go his own way, but finally decided that, what the heck, maybe there was some way that the two girls could actually help him.

There was no such thing as a quiet place to eat at that time of day, but the girls weren’t looking for anyplace quiet anyway.  They finally found a table in one of the many restaurants and ordered.  All during lunch, the two girls talked constantly and animatedly, while Steve remained mostly silent.  “You’re not saying much,” Mandy mentioned at one point.  “Don’t you have any boyfriends at home?  Hmmm?  Okay, or a girlfriend maybe?”

Boyfriends?  Steve was quick to answer that one.  “I don’t go out with boys.  And as to girlfriends, I guess not right now.  I do have a witch on my case though that I’d like to get rid of.”

Both girls laughed.  “Sure you do,” Ellie replied, obviously not believing anything Steve said.

“Are you going to the beach party tonight?” Mandy asked.

“Beach party?  What beach party?”

“The one they hold three times a week at the club.” Mandy replied.

“Uh, probably not,” Steve answered.  “I’m probably going to have dinner in the bar and then spend the rest of the evening in my room.”

“Why?” Ellie exclaimed, a bit too loudly for Steve.  “You’re here in St. Thomas.  You’ve got to enjoy it!”

Steve’s answer was a bit sullen however.  “I don’t think I’m really here to enjoy myself.”

Ellie looked at him, not believing what he was saying.  “Yeah right!  Look, you go to the party tonight!  You hear?”

“Maybe,” Steve finally replied.

Steve followed the girls all through the shopping district.  Some of the stores they all went into were ones he had been in the day before, but many of them he hadn’t even thought to walk through.  As much as the two girls shopped for themselves, they also seemed to be keeping Steve in the mix too.  He found himself trying on jewelry, clothes, hats, shoes – anything they came across that struck the fancy of the two girls.  By the time Steve got back on the bus to return to the hotel, he was loaded down with bags that included two more outfits, some overly racy underwear, and a new purse.  He was wearing a new bracelet with a matching necklace made out of tiny seashells and a wide brimmed straw hat.  At the rate he was going, he figured that before the end of the week there’d be nothing left in the stores for him to buy.

Back at the hotel, the girls finally left him with further encouragement to go to the beach party that night.  He went back up to his room and just relaxed on the bed.  Surprisingly, he already missed his new friends.  Despite their constant teasing, they had been good company and somebody to talk to.  Maybe he should think about going down to the party later.  He could at least see them again.  What could it hurt?

As he laid there, he realized something else, there wasn’t a single time all afternoon that the witch had bothered him.  Not one moment while he was out that he had felt compelled to go anywhere or do anything.  He had done it all because he thought he had to.  Was she still watching?  He couldn’t be sure.  After yesterday, he was almost afraid to find out.  Was there a way to test it without making things worse for him?  He decided that it was something that he had better think about a lot before he tried anything. 

Then he thought about something else, maybe there was a way the girls could help him.  Yeah, he decided, maybe that was his way out.  There were several ideas already forming in his mind.  And one other certainty, he was definitely going down to the party later.