Balcony

 10/25

Time was of the essence and Billy knew it. He had just enough time to slip into something uncomfortable and snap a few selfies before his girlfriend came home from work. To squeeze the seconds he could spend squeezed into a dress, he had already picked out an outfit in his mind, a belted mini-dress that he had meticulously sized up last time Abi wore it and so with it draped over one arm, he raided his hiding place for a wig, makeup and appropriately sized heels and made for the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later he emerged as Billie, tottering expertly on his platformed shoes, dark hair cascading over his bare shoulders and cosmetics delicately applied to a newly feminine face. After admiring himself momentarily in the mirror, he raised his phone to snap the first of many pictures for his Tumblr and then dropped his hands in frustration. The lighting was all wrong. The late afternoon sun was streaming into his tiny flat and making it impossible to catch himself in a flattering light. He groaned and then seeing Abi's sunglasses resting on top of the TV, he was struck with an epiphany.

Thrilled with his own ingenuity, Billy was feeling extra brave and snatching up the glasses, he pulled open the glass sliding door and made his way onto the balcony. It was small and the winter cold was biting but it would be all worth it if he got a few good shots. He held up the phone and took a picture. Checking the result, he sighed with disappointment. The glare from the sun was reflecting off the open glass door and ruining the shot. Quickly, he pushed the door closed and grinned with satisfaction that his picture was now perfect. It was only after a half dozen quality selfies that he realised his grave mistake. He had left the latch down on the sliding door and it had locked shut the second it clicked back into its closed position. The keys dangled from the other side of the glass – still swinging gently as if to taunt him. Billy shuddered in horror. His girlfriend would be home soon and he was trapped on their balcony trussed up to the nines in one of her dresses.

Once the futility of the situation had settled, Billy could only stare with defeat at his feminised reflection in the glass door. He had considered stripping naked but that would only pose more questions and the winter cold was already beginning to cut. He watched the minutes count down on the clock on their living room wall to his inevitable humiliation.. He couldn't for the life of him imagine how Abi was going to react. His madeup eyes fell to the calender beneath the clock and he saw a big ring around today's date. Oh right...tonight was the night Abi was bringing her girlfriends home from work for drinks. How had he forgotten? Suddenly, he heard the faint sound of the key in the apartment door and the chattering of female voices...