Tug of War 33.2

"Susan, darling, it's so great to see you again!" said a woman, kissing Susan's face. She was thirty-something years old, had long black hair, and a nice face, with big brown eyes and a thin nose. She was wearing a lilac silk blouse, a light gray pencil skirt and patent low heels. "And who is this pretty young lady?" she asked, looking at Timothy, who flinched, afraid.

"Nice to see you too, Marlene! This is Tiffany, my beloved daughter" Susan said, putting her hands on Timothy's shoulders to force him to step forward. "I think I've already mentioned her once or twice in the past."

"Once or twice?" Marlene raised an eyebrow. "You didn't talk about anything else in your most recent visits, darling! It was all Tiffany this, Tiffany that... It seems like your mother is really fond of you, my dear." 

"Umm... This is, like, fabulous to know" Timothy said in his feminine voice, looking down. "I... I like mom a lot, too" he added, feeling stupid and awkward. "Nice to meet you, Ma'am."

"Oh, aren't you such a dainty and polite young lady? I see Susan raised you well. But you can call me just Marlene, okay? We like to have a close relationship with our clients. So, what can we do for both of you today?"

"Today is all about Tiffany" Susan said, making Timothy wince. "I made an appointment for her... the full-package one. I want her to experience everything that you guys have to offer! Can you believe my sweet little girl has never been in a salon before? Yes, yes, I know... Shocking! The thing is that she has always been a little shy and insecure about her femininity. Now, however, I feel she's finally ready to leave her cocoon. So I want her to be treated like a real princess today!"

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Marlene clapped, delighted. "Don't worry, Tiffany, honey. We'll make your first visit to a salon a very special occasion for you. You won’t ever forget about it, that’s for sure. I see you already are such a pretty girl, but you will be amazed at how stunning you will look when we're done with you! Follow me, please." 

Timothy felt more hopeless and confused than ever. He didn't exactly know what Susan had told Marlene and the other girls about him. Were they awake he just a boy in drag? Had Susan lied to them saying he was a real girl? If that was the case, would they keep buying it? What would happen when some salon clerk realized his true genre?

He was so disturbed that he barely paid attention to the environment around him. Any other observer would have noticed that that beauty parlor was an upscale one, with its elegant and sophisticated decoration, and brand new furniture and equipment. 

The boy was so distracted that he didn't even saw he was walking directly toward a young woman carrying a tray. When he realized it, he had already bumped into the woman, and his clothes turned into a mess of coffee, tea and juice as all the contents of the tray fell on him. 

"Oh my gosh!" he squealed, bewildered. "I'm s-so sorry!" he bended down to collect the glasses and tea-cups, but Marlene stopped him. 

"Don't worry about it, honey. Accidents happen, right? Sara will take care of this for us. Oh my, I'm very concerned about your clothes, though. They are ruined!"

"Marlene is right, unfortunately" Susan said, sighing. "You need to take them off right now, Tiffany, unless you want to get a cold."

"B-but what am I going to wear?" 

"Did you forget that we're at the mall, sweetie? I'm going to get you some new clothes right now. In the meantime, I'm sure you can wear a salon robe, right, Marlene?"

"Absolutely" the hairdresser agreed. "Regardless of this incident, I was already going to suggest you to wear one of our robes so that you can feel more comfortable during procedures." 

"B-but, mom" Timothy gasped, grabbing Susan's arm. "Are you going to leave me alone?!"

"Now, now, calm down, cutie-pie" Susan smiled sweetly. "You are no longer a young girl, are you? You are eighteen-year-old, so I believe you can survive a few minutes away from mommy. I'm sure Marlene and the other girls will make you very comfortable, and before you know it I'll be back, okay? Behave yourself while I am away."

After Susan left, Marlene handed Timothy a purple silk robe and a pair of fluffy slippers, and took him to a small dressing room. Knowing he had no choice, the young man waited until the woman moved away, and then took off his wet clothes, putting on the robe afterwards. 

This immediately made him feel shivers down his body... 

Yes, the garment was very soft and delicate – the kind of garment that Timothy's mind hated but his body loved so much. It was also alarmingly short and tight, as Timothy soon noticed. The robe barely covered his lace panties, and no matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to cover his chest fully, which meant that all the girls in the salon would be able to see his pink bra. 

It was all so scary that Timothy seriously considered the idea of simply running away. He should just put on his wet clothes again, tell some excuse to Marlene, and leave that salon immediately…

However, before he could try anything like that, he heard the hairdresser asking, "Are you decent, honey?" 

"W-what? Umm... Yeah... I guess so."

Marlene entered to the locker room, and looked at Timothy, who was desperately trying to cover his chest and legs. "Relax, Tiffany, dear" she tried to calm him down. "You look fabulous! Girl, I can't believe you were hiding such killer legs under those pair of pants! I’ve to say I think you were born to wear miniskirts and stilettos… all the time! This would definitely catch the boys' attention!" she giggled, and Timothy grimaced. "Now let's get going, shall we? We have a lot to do!"

----------

Timothy was then taken to a hair station. On the way to there, he noticed for the first time that he wasn't the only client at the salon. There were two or three women in other hair stations, and another one under one of the big hair dryers. It was terrible. He had to make sure that none of those people would suspect he was actually a boy, but how would he do so?

"Please, sit down" Marlene told him, and the boy obeyed, remembering to cross his legs gracefully. "Now, let me see what I have to work with."

The hairdresser undid Timothy's ponytail and got a hairbrush. "Oh, you have great hair!" she exclaimed. "Very full and healthy… I can see you take good care of it" Timothy nodded, recalling with soreness the time he wasted every night taking care of his hair as his stepmother instructed him to do. 

"However..." Marlene continued, now with a disapproving expression on her face. "Oh my gosh, you should get whoever cut your hair for the last time arrested! Such an awful work… It was a crime to treat such a wonderful hair like this! But don't worry, sweetie. You're in good hands now, and I promise you that your hair will look gorgeous when you leave this salon. So, have you thought about what kind of haircut do you want?"

Timothy got seriously anguished upon hearing that question. What was he supposed to answer? He looked around, but there was still no sign of Susan. How could he survive to this without his stepmother's assistance? If he wanted Marlene to keep believing he was a girl, he couldn't say anything too weird... 

"I'm not sure, Marlene" he said weakly, biting his lower lip. "As mom said, I don't have much experience going to salons... Could you, like, just do something that will make me pretty?" he asked, burning in shame, but what choice did he have?

"So, are you totally putting yourself in my hands?" Marlene asked, so excited that she seemed about to explode. 

"W-wait, Marlene, what I meant was..."

"Oh, you won't regret this, darling. I promise you!" 

"I... I just ask you not to do anything so extreme, okay?" Timothy begged, but he wasn't sure if the hairdresser was listening to him anymore. 

"To make this more interesting" Marlene continued. "I'll cover the mirror. This way you'll have a big surprise when you see the new you. Doesn't it sound amazing? Now, before properly styling your hair, I need to do something about your its color."

"What's wrong with my hair color?"

"Shhh... Trust me, honey. I'm the one in charge here, remember?" she smiled. "You'll thank me later." 

----------

While Marlene was spreading something extremely slimy and smelly on Timothy's hair, a girl who couldn't be more than two years older than the boy approached them carrying a small case. 

"Hi" she greeted Timothy, smiling brightly. "I'm Sophia, and I'm going to take care of your face today. You’re Tiffany, aren’t you?" 

"T-that's right, Sophia" Timothy stammered, open-mouthed. The girl in front of him was incredibly dazzling. She had long, red hair, which ran down her back in soft waves; seductive hazel eyes that seemed almost mesmerizing; and she was wearing a low-cut blouse that allowed the boy to admire her tempting big breasts. 

"Oh, it’s great to meet you, honey! This is your first time at our salon, right? I bet you you're going to enjoy the experience so much that I'll start seeing you here every week!" she giggled, and Timothy was amazed at how white her teeth looked. "Now, would you mind if I take a look at your face? I need to remove your makeup first, of course."

As if this were even possible, Timothy got even more apprehensive. He knew that without makeup it would be much harder for him to pass as a girl. He desperately needed to focus on talking and acting like a female now if he wanted to have a small chance to keep the charade…

"Yes, you have nice skin" Sophia stated. After taking the boy's makeup off, she was now studying his face with a kind of hi-tech magnifying glass. "This is so moisturized and almost acne-free… The only issue I can spot is that you have some little hairs here and there." 

"Hairs?!" Timothy cried out, sure that now the girl would know he was a male… 

"You don't need to be so alarmed, Tiffany" Sophia reassure him. "This is more common than you think. And they are so thin... I could see it only because of my little friend here" she said, patting her magnifying glass. "Still, I can get rid of them for you, and your face will look and feel even smoother. Would you like that?" 

No, Timothy definitely wouldn't like that. He was a eighteen-year-old boy, but even so his face was almost as soft as a baby's. How could he approve the idea of getting rid of the few hairs he had on his face, even if they were just microscopic? 

However, he wanted people at the salon to keep believing he was a girl. "Oh, that would be, like, totally magnificent!" he claimed, trying to sound as cheerful and convincing as possible. 

"Marvelous. I'll take you to the electrolysis room later. Now, let me fix your eyebrows." 

"My eyebrows?" 

"Yes, girl. You have such beautiful eyes... But your brows aren’t doing them any favor. Trust me, your eyes will pop up after I clear your brows a little bit, and you’ll look even prettier. I'm sure your boyfriend is going to love it!"

"I... I don't have a boyfriend!" 

"Oh, really? Well, I bet you won't be a single girl much longer after you step out this salon" Sophia winked.

As the girl was plucking his eyebrows, Timothy was still having a hard time believing that it was really happening. Since Sophia was apparently convinced that he was a girl, the boy was sure she would make his brows look as feminine and thin as possible. How long would it take for them to look normal again? How was he going to attend school in the mean time?

"Okay, I think this is done" Sophia announced, about fifteen minutes later. "Oh, honey, you won't believe how wonderful you look! Your face seems so delicate and beautiful…"