The Invitation Part 5

"Hi," he said again, holding out his hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Jack shook the proffered hand and managed a quiet "hi" in return, hoping
that he managed to pitch his voice high enough to sound like a girl. He
watched Sally pay for the wine and swap small talk with Tony. As he rang
up the purchases Jack could see that Tony was repeatedly eyeing him up.
Finally the transaction was complete and Sally picked up the bag from the
counter.

"Have a great evening girls, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
called Tony as they headed for the door.

Back out on the street Jack felt a feeling of relief sweep over him. He
had got away with it and was safe again. But then it dawned on him - he
was considering being on the street a hundred yards from his house wearing
a dress to be safe. That was fucked up thinking!

"He really is a lecherous old sod, isn't he?" Sally asked, rhetorically.

"He kept staring at my chest. It was really weird," Jack replied.

"Welcome to my world!" she joked as they turned up the street and
resumed their journey. "Being leched at is all part of being a girl. It's
just something you have to live with."

They walked for another 10 minutes before turning into another anonymous
Victorian suburban street of small terraced houses. It was almost
indistinguishable from their own. Mark and Lucy lived at the third house
along.

"Here we are," Sally said as she swung the short garden gate open.

Sally took the three steps from the gate to the front door and pressed
the bell. Jack heard it ring inside.

He heard it ring. There was no other noise. That was weird if there
was a party, but maybe they were early. He heard the unmistakable sound of
high heels on wooden floor and saw a silhouette through the glass. The
door swung open revealing Lucy. She was wearing a blue and white cocktail
dress that covered her slim frame like a glove and finished just above the
knee.