By the time Kerri finally arrived, more than half an hour later than promised, Marty was no longer in any doubt at all as to his new sexuality - he was now she and she was Martine.

    Not only had her breasts and thighs continued to fill out into unmistakably feminine contours, but her legs themselves seemed to have grown in proportion to her torso and her feet shrunk to no more than a size five. Absurdly, the boots appeared to be shrinking with her feet, except for the heels, which retained their original height, the effect of which was to force Martine's feet into an even more stringent arch.

    Miserably, she stared down at herself, at the incredibly narrowed waist and the twin globes swelling out of the support cups at the top of the corset. She held out her hands, splaying her fingers inside the caressing gloves, shaking her head as she saw how slender and long they had now come and wondering how the whole outfit could not only force these changes upon her body, but how it continually altered its own dimensions to maintain a perfect fit.

    Not only that, she realised, but, apart from the precarious stance the boots were demanding of her feet, the rest of the garments did not feel uncomfortably tight; the strange fabric simply formed itself against her flesh in the manner of a second skin, compressing, but not seeming to force itself upon her - though forcing itself was certainly what it was doing in every other way.

    Miserably, she teetered through into the bedroom, eased herself down onto the bed and curled up in an unhappy little   ball, face buried in the crook of one arm. That was how Kerri found her, having let herself in with the door key she had never bothered to return since her departure a week earlier.

    `Good lord!' she breathed, when Martine raised her head upon hearing her enter the room. `Oh my!' Martine extended an accusatory finger.

    `You knew this was going to happen all along, didn't you?' she almost screamed. `How could you do this to me?' Kerri stepped forward, grasping the extended hand and squeezing it in her own and perched herself on the edge of the mattress.

    `I didn't know this would happen,' she whispered. `At least, not in this way. She said the clothes would help you sort out your identity. I guess I sort of assumed it would be a psychological thing. She said that once everything was on and the key mechanism activated, it would be impossible to remove anything for five days and that the corset would get slowly tighter, though not tight enough to cause any physical harm.

    `I though that maybe she meant that if you were forced to spend that long a time dressed in female clothes, you'd either decide you were sick and fed up with it, or else maybe the other thing, if you know what I mean.'

    Martine stared at her through tear filled eyes.

    `Five days?' she echoed. `You mean this lot won't come off for that long? I can't even cut it, at least not with anything I've got around here. Not that it would matter if I could. Look at me!' she wailed, plaintively.

    `I'm looking,' Kerri assured her in an awed croak. `And do you realise just how beautiful you are?' Martine screwed her hands into two fists of frustration.

    `I don't care about that!' she shouted. `I want to know what sort of black magic, weird science or whatever has done this to me - and I want it reversed, the sooner the better. Always assuming it can be reversed,' she finished, her voice dropping to a whisper.

    `Perhaps you'll change back once you can take it all off again,' Kerri suggested.

    `Perhaps?' Martine snorted. `Oh great. Perhaps it'll all be okay in another five days and perhaps it won't. What'll I do in the meantime?'

    Kerri sat back, forcing a smile onto her face.

    `It needn't be that bad,' she said, soothingly. `After all, you've spent complete weekends dressed as a girl, haven't you? And last time was a bank holiday weekend, so it was three days. This is only two more than that.'

    `That was different,' Martine sobbed. `That was just a game, a turn on which we both enjoyed. But we also both knew it was just a charade. This is bloody serious. I'm turning into a woman for real.'

    `You look as though you've already finished turning, from where I'm sitting,' Kerri said. Her eyes went automatically to the PVC panties. `Those knickers weren't with the outfit,' she said. `Can you get them off, or are they stuck too?'

    `Oh, I can take them off all right,' Martine snapped. `Not that it'll do me a lot of good, though. Look!' She staggered to her feet and all but ripped the panties down to her ankles, kicking them off in a bitter show of temper. `Look!' she repeated,  standing with her hands planted defiantly on her hips.

    Kerri looked and her hand flew to her mouth. Martine, who had not been able to bring herself to examine her genitalia for nearly two hours now, slowly lowered her own gaze and could not stifle a groan at what she saw.

    Where there had earlier been the shrivelled remnants of her previous sexual organs and the beginning of a feminine cleft, now there was a pronounced mound, heavy labial lips and a deep vaginal opening, from which just peeked what might have been the stub of a tiny penis, but which she knew, without having to examine herself closer, was a distended clitoris.

    `I hope you're satisfied!' she stormed. `Because that's something I'll never be again. It was one thing to dress up for the thrill of it, but not much point if I can't ... well, you know what I mean.'

    `How do you know you can't?' Kerri challenged. `Maybe not as a man, of course, but if you've got all the bits I've got, there's no reason - '

    `That I can't have a female orgasm?' Martine screeched. `Oh, that's jus wonderful. I've lost something I've had since I was born and you simply tell me it'll be all right, 'cause I can still come like a girl.'

    `Don't knock it till you've tried it,' Kerri pouted. `I've never had any cause to complain, I can assure you.'

    `No? Well, I suppose I ought to take that as a sort of compliment, but it won't do either of us any good now, will it? That's one thing we certainly won't ever be doing together again.'

    `Oh, I don't know so much.' Kerri smiled and stood up and for the first time Martine realised that her transformation had also involved the loss of at least four inches in height, for, despite her steepling heels, she was now still an inch shorter than her former girlfriend, whose own heels were little more than two inches in height. Kerri stretched out her arms and placed her hands on Martine's shoulders.

    `You may not believe it,' she said, `but I find you even more attractive now than you were before, though that shouldn't rea;lly surprise you if you think logically about that. I didn't just tolerate you dressing up, I actually encouraged it and you were in drag the very first time I set eyes on you.'

    Martine lowered her eyes. `You mean you preferred me to look like a girl?'

    `Well, yes, of course,' Kerri replied. `I mean, think about it; how often did we ever have sex when you were dressed as a male?'

    `Not many,' Martine admitted, sheepishly. `But at least even when I was dressed as a girl I still had the necessary male bits to satisfy you.'

    `There are other ways to satisfy a woman apart from with `male bits' as you call them,' Kerri said. `I could show you, if you like.' There was a sudden charge between them, but Martine suddenly shook her head and pulled away.

    `No!' she snapped. `I have to do something about this.' She gestured with her hands, indicating herself and the gleaming black fabric of the outfit. `You said something about a woman you got this lot from - where was it, a shop?'

    `Yes, a little place at the end of Target Lane. I first spotted it when I was coming back from the market, about four months ago, I suppose. You must have seen it. The window's full rubber and leather stuff and inside is like Aladdin's cave. I went in because I thought you might like a rubber dress as a special birthday present.'

    `And this woman was working in the shop?' Kerri nodded.

    `Yes. I think she was actually the owner. It was strange, really. After only a few minutes talking with her, I found myself admitting that I wanted a dress for my boyfriend. Then we talked about people not being certain about themselves, their identities, life and everything and she took that outfit out from beneath the counter.

    `She said it was the sort of present that everybody could do with and that it would help you sort out what you really wanted. Of course, as I said, I didn't really believe the rest of what she told me.'

    `You mean she actually told you it would change my body?' Martine challenged, accusingly. Kerri shrugged.

    `Well, yes,' she admitted. `But I didn't actually believe her. It was only when you started screaming down the phone at me that I realised she must have been telling the truth.'

    `Well, if you didn't actually believe her, why did you buy it in the first place? Did you really buy it four months ago? And if so, why have you kept it a secret for so long?'

    `Because she said I'd know exactly when to give it to you. And okay, perhaps I didn't really believe her, but I just knew you'd love the look and feel of something like this and I was right. You couldn't resist trying it on, could you?'

    Martine turned away. `So you're blaming me for all this, are you?' she snorted. `It's all my fault because I'm a transvestite who can't resist nice clothes. That's really rich, that is.'

    Kerri sighed. `Look, arguing over blame is a waste of time. Like I said, I knew you'd try that stuff on, but I really didn't think it would do what the woman said it would. She seemed a bit, well, strange - you know and if the outfit was what she claimed, why did she offer it to me so cheaply?'

    `How cheaply?' Kerri shook her head.

    `It doesn't matter.'

    `But you were still prepared to have me stuck in this - this thing, for five days? I never did anything to you to deserve that.' Martine stamped her booted foot angrily, a curiously feminine gesture and swung back to confront Kerri.

    `The woman must know of some way of releasing me from this,' she snapped. `There must be some sort of master key. You'll have to go back and see her and tell her you made a big mistake.' Kerri's eyes widened in alarm.

    `If you think I'm going back to that place on my own, after all this, you can think again, miss. Before, I just put her down as a bit cranky, but now, who knows what she really is.'

    `I don't care what she is,' Martine retorted. `I only know she's the only person who can help me get out of these things and even then it might be too late.'

    `Well then, you'll have to come with me. I'm not going back there alone!' Martine spread her hands in a gesture of astonishment.

    `How can I possibly come with you?' she gasped. `I can't go out of here looking like this.'

    `Well, maybe not exactly like that,' Kerri agreed. `You'd get arrested before you'd gone a hundred yards. The law takes a dim view on girls flashing their fannies in public, especially when they're dressed up like something out of a soft porn movie.

    `But we could find you some clothes to wear over that lot, though we need to do something about your hair. It's grown amazingly, but it needs trimming and styling properly. At the moment it's all shaggy and uneven.'

    She walked across the room and stood looking out of the window. Beyond the glass, the world seemed perfectly normal, with birds circling lazily against a clear blue sky and cars weaving their way through the street below.

    `We'll measure you and I'll go shopping,' she announced. `Unfortunately, none of your existing feminine wardrobe will fit you any more. Even my things would be too big for you. I'm a size twelve to fourteen and you, you jammy cow, can't be much more than a ten, apart from that bust.

    `Whilst I'm gone, I suggest you wash your hair and brush it out, but leave it wrapped in a towel and keep it damp. It'll    make it easier for me to trim it. I shouldn't be more than an hour.'

    Martine had long since realised that it was fruitless to argue with Kerri once she had made up her mind. As soon as Kerri had left, Martine made her way into the bathroom and stood studying her reflection in the mirror.

    Her hair had continued growing since the last time she had looked, but now, as Kerri had said, it looked unkempt and dishevelled. With a rueful grimace, she turned away and reached for the spray attachment that fitted onto the bath taps.

    Water seemed to run off the gloves as though they were rubber, but the layer of fabric made it difficult to judge the temperature. Martine decided to err on the side of caution and, as a result, the first water to soak through her long tresses felt uncomfortably cool. Blindly, she reached out and made the necessary adjustments.
 
    The high collar caused a few problems, but strangely, not only did the water not penetrate the fabric as with the gloves, it also seemed unable to seep between it and Martine's neck. She wondered about this briefly, but decided there were other things to worry about first.

    Fifteen minutes later, damp hair wrapped in a towel as instructed, she made her way through to the kitchen and filled the kettle in preparation for making a cup of coffee. Switching it on, she suddenly that her newly aquired female genitalia were still fully exposed and felt suddenly very naked and vulnerable.

    Leaving the kettle to boil, she hurried through to the bedroom as quickly as her high heels would allow and picked up the PVC panties. Perching on the edge of the bed, she pulled them over her booted feet and drew them up into place. Still not satisfied, she opened the smaller wardrobe and took out the grey silk robe that Kerri had picked up from one of the local charity shops only a few weeks back.

    At last, the robe covering the majority of the stunning black outfit, Martine returned to the lounge and sat down with her coffee to await Kerri's return. It was a long wait and the clock showed a further hour and a half passing before Martine finally heard the sound of a key in the front door lock.

    Kerri had evidently been busy, for she appeared in the doorway laden with large carrier bags, which she dumped in the middle of the floor with evident relief.

    `That lot's heavy,' she announced. `Be a good girl and make me a coffee, would you?' Martine was half way to the kitchen before she realised how easily Kerri had assumed control of everything. It wasn't just being addressed as "girl", for Kerri had often referred to Marty as a girl whenever he was dressed as Martine in their original relationship. No, there was something else there, but Martine could not put her finger on it.

    `Let's have that towel off, then,' Kerri said, finally, when she had taken a few sips of the coffee martine brought back for her. She stepped back and scrutinised the mane of blonde tangles critically. `That's quite a challenge,' she declared, finally. She drew a straight backed chair from beneath the folding dining table and planted it in the middle of the floor.

    `We can hoover up afterwards,' she said, indicating for Martine to sit down. Martine had tried to brush out her new tresses earlier, but not very effectively. Now Kerri went to work with a will and, after a series of protesting yelps and squeals, she finally had the tangle straightened to her satisfaction.

    `I picked up a pair of proper scissors from Boots whilst I was out,' she said, producing them from her handbag. `I used to cut both my sisters' hair when I was a teenager, but I'm a bit out of practice, so I'm not going to attempt anything too clever. I'll just trim the split ends and even out the - good grief!'

    `What's up?' Martine demanded, jerking her head round anxiously. Kerri shook her head.

    `Nothing,' she replied, slowly. `Well, nothing to worry about. It's just that there aren't any split ends - none at all. I find that hard to believe.'

    `What - harder than a set of clothes that can turn a man into a woman?' Martine exclaimed. `Oh, come off it, Kerri. Whatever this gear does, stopping hair ends from splitting must be well down its list of surprises.'

    `I suppose so,' Kerri agreed. `Now, sit still, unless you want to lose an ear.' For several minutes, she snipped away and the room was silent but for the sound of the scissors. At last, she straightened up, walked around in front of Martine and tilted her head, first one way, then the other.

    `Hmmm, not bad,' she said. `Better than I expected, but god, it's really thick and it's already well past your shoulders. If it keeps on at the same rate, you'll be sitting on it inside two days. I'd swear it's grown even whilst I was cutting it.'

    `Perhaps you'd better cut it shorter now then?' Martine suggested. Kerri considered for a moment, but then shook her head.

    `No, I don't think so. It really suits your face as it is and besides, I reckon that your outfit will stop doing whatever it is that it's doing some time before your hair gets totally out of control. I think you're intended to have lovely long hair and if I try cutting it off, it'll simply grow again - possibly faster than ever.'

    `I hope you're right,' Martine said. `I keep thinking about Jack and the Beanstalk.'

    Rapunzel would be more appropriate,' Kerri laughed. Martine scowled.

    `I'm glad you find this all so funny,' she snapped. `Don't forget, I'm still faced with the prospect of appearing in public like this.'

    `So? We've been to at least a dozen parties with you dressed as Martine.'

    `Yes. Fancy dress parties and usually parties where all the guys were expected to go in drag. This is slightly different, I'd say.'

    `You're quite right,' Kerri agreed. `It is slightly different. Before, although you made a more than passable female, you were still a man under all the clothes and if we hadn't had a few drinks, you wouldn't even have risked a taxi ride, let alone the top deck of a bus, which I remember us doing.'

    `Yes, well I was pretty pissed, as you said.'

    `Quite. And fear of being discovered didn't worry you. This time, there is no fear of discovery. Under the clothes you are female. Holy Harry, you're a more feminine girl than almost any girl you're likely to meet outside a modelling agency or a chorus line!'

    `Stop reminding me,' Martine retorted, sulkily. `Let's just get on with it and then we can go see your lady friend.'

    `Okay, okay, no need to get so huffy.' Kerri turned and picked up the hairdrier, plugging it into a short extension lead that usually lurked behind the sofa for just that purpose. `It'll be too late today, anyway. It's almost four thirty already and all the shops by the market close at five every day.'

    `Oh shit!' Martine slapped her hand against her thigh in frustration. `It can't be that late already. That means I have to stay like this until tomorrow. If I'm lucky, that is,' she added, darkly.

    `Well, it won't be the first time you've been dressed for a few days, as I said earlier. Is that corset getting uncomfortable?'

    `No.' Martine shook her head. `It's damned strange, actually. None of this stuff is uncomfortable at all, yet it feels so tight, it ought to.'

    `Well, there you are then. Let me finish your hair and do something about your face and then perhaps we can go out later. I'll treat us to a meal.'

    `You must be kidding. How can I possibly go out like this. I mean, it's one thing to jump in a car and nip across town to some pokey little shop, but going out on the town?'

    `Why not?' Kerri persisted, resolutely. `If we go uptown, there are really glitzy nightclubs and restaurants. People are expected to dress and act over-the-top. That place near Barbi's is full of transvestites and transsexuals and all sorts of weird people. I never could understand why you never felt like going there when you dressed as Martine before.'

    `Because I never felt right about it,' Martine said. `It's hard to explain, but there it is.'

    `Well, there's no reason why we couldn't go tonight. I've got an outfit here for you somewhere that will really knock 'em dead.'

    `You planned this deliberately,' Martine said, accusingly. `You purposely took so long shopping so that it would be too late to go back to that place tonight.'

    `No I didn't,' Kerri said. `But, by the time I'd all but finished, I could see the time getting on and then I saw this outfit and ... well, judge for yourself.' Martine stared back at her.

    `You didn't get it from the same shop, by any chance?' she demanded. Kerri smiled.

    `No. It came from that real swish place on the corner of Essex Street, the one that does all the really OTT party gear.'

    `You mean Fantasy Island? That's bloody expensive.'

    `So? Maybe I think you're worth it.'

    `Let's see the dress then.' Martine pouted, aggressively. Kerri's smile widened.

    `Not yet, little Miss All-in-a-rush. First we do your makeup and find you some decent earrings. And I'm still not totally happy about your hairstyle. If we hurry, we can get you into the hairdressers I usually use. They have three late nights a week. I'll look up the number and phone to see if they can fit you in. The manageress is an old schoolfriend of mine, so we ought to be okay.'

    `And what do I tell the hairdresser if this lot suddenly grows another three inches whilst she's working on it?' Martine demanded. `Besides, I thought you said it would be best not to cut it any shorter?' Kerri grinned.

    `Who said anything about cutting?' she said. `I was talking about a proper perm. I think your face is now just perfect for curly blonde hair. You'll be totally knockout, just you wait and see.'

    Martine opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again just as quickly. In this mood, Kerri was not going to be deflected from her chosen course and Martine was only too well aware that, without Kerri's help, she would be totally stuck - stuck in this flat, this outfit and this body.

    Whether she liked it or not, Martine was about to make her debut as an uptown party girl. If only she did not have the feeling that kerri was beginning to really enjoy the situation so much ...