3 SUM by Quig Shelby Read Free Book Online Page B

buying. Next stop.” He rang the bell.
    It wasn’t the only bell he’d pushed, and he took the drivers number as we alighted.
    Steve pulled out the sunglasses from his bandana, and we strolled to Claude’s, arm in arm. Steve had the longest legs, and made the most of them in his orange flannel hot pants. He’d look even more stunning after his full body wax. Mother Nature, had I really just thought that? Did I fancy my best mate? But I loved women, didn’t I?
    â€œWhat was it like, Steve, turning to the other side?”
    He laughed.
    â€œYou mean going after men?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYou’re considering changing sides after all this time?” he asked.
    â€œNo, but I always wondered how it must feel.”
    â€œIt seems like the most natural thing in the world.”
    â€œStill, I couldn’t.”
    â€œThen you must like the peg,” he said.
    â€œYou know?”
    â€œThe whole office knows, Valery. Gillian let it slip out.”
    â€œThe shame,” I said.
    I could imagine the catcalls, and the toys pushed into my desk to remind me of my greatest humiliation.
    â€œHey, don’t feel sorry for yourself; most of the office is jealous.”
    Claude ran up to us as we entered his emporium. He smiled at Steve, and then looked me up and down with his mouth turned down. He wore an obvious silver curly wig that covered the tops of his ears.
    Claude had a Roman theme in the shop this year, and the staff wore togas. He clapped his hands, and Steve and I parted ways.
    My beautician was Keenan 15. He’d tried to greet me with a kiss on the cheek, but I’d turned away; machismo handshakes were banned years ago. It wasn’t a good start and I staggered out, still grimacing. The things a man had to do to stay beautiful.
    I was a biological freak, too much oestrogen in the food chain, finally engineered into what I was today. But was it really for the better? I’d keep those thoughts to myself, but what did I do for excitement, satisfaction? Look through glossy magazines, dress up, or simply shop for bags, was this fulfilment or betrayal? Instinctively, I knew something was missing.
    The often submerged sensations were enough to drive you into the arms of Mason Adam Deviant, the underground masochistic. His movement was outlawed, but I suspected there were women who harboured sadistic dreams. After all, they were human too. In which case, I needed to find them, and lose myself in total subjugation. Is that why I hadn’t mentioned the token ride, or had fear caused my amnesia?
    â€œYou want a hand?” Steve shouted through the bathroom door as I showered.
    â€œNo thanks.”
    Steve was in the lounge, towelled dry, and waiting for me.
    â€œWhy don’t you wear one of my catsuits this evening?” I asked him.
    â€œYou got something against guys in dresses?”
    â€œOf course not, take a look in my wardrobe if you don’t believe me. I just thought tonight we could try something different.”
    â€œOK.”
    We stepped out on the town, foundation powdered and suited, if not suited to be together.
    We dropped by Suzi’s nail bar, for a file and paint. I went for lime, Steve for sunset pink. We never paid, and instead left Suzie more boxes of samples from the office.
    We breezed into the crowded restaurant, garnering our fair share of stares, and ordered our usual vegetarian pizza and pasta. There was no meat; the cost of production was extortionate, prohibitive. It took seven units of grain to produce just one of meat.
    Animal specimens were outlawed too; food was needed for humans. The last zoo in Europe had closed its gates twenty years ago. Mother Nature was our guardian, and we lived in an agricultural utopia.
    Yet still we had to be careful, ruthless. There were no props anymore. If you needed long term care, then your future was short term. The invalids were invalid, and the fragile geriatrics quickly put to compost