Staying in the Family 13

He was grateful for the warm shower after such a rough morning, thankfully he was allowed to remove the painful pinching wig for this shower. Only due to the fact he was missing so many pins that the wig, once wet, would become too heavy and fall off. As luck would have it however, Shaun found a few of the missing pins and passed them to Emma as Nate showered. “We’ll see Fredrico later and he’ll give you some tips on how to care for your wig until you can grow out your own hair.”

The next two hours Emma went over what was to become Nate’s morning routine. After his morning shower he was expected to check his face for any arrant hair on his face, this included his eyebrows. He was also expected to pluck any that he found. Shaving when and if it was necessary. After he was certain his face was free of "disgusting man hair", as Emma called it, he was then expected to wash his face using various products meant to cleanse his pours and leave his skin silky smooth. Following that, Emma brought him into her room where he was given a bottle of nail polish remover to clean his nails of the previous night’s paint that was beginning to chip already. A small relief given what the rest of the day would bring. Afterwards he would then do his makeup for the day. "It's important you match your makeup with your outfit for the day."  When Nate stared at her dumbly she sighed and said, "How does a girly girl like you Natalie forget how to do something you love so much? It is fine, I'll teach you that too." The better part of the two hours that first day was spent teaching Nate all about makeup while he was made to do his own, stopping and restarting every time he got a question wrong or messed up his makeup, before stopping and moving on quickly through another simple addition. Perfume. The only reason they stopped was so Nate could fix Shaun and Emma's breakfast.

Nate enjoyed cooking for others, but being forced to do the task while looking like a girl, talking in the feminine husky voice changed something he enjoy into another form of torture. With a smile on his face Nate was forced to ask Shaun, ever so sweetly, what if anything he had eaten. All while still wearing the latest failed attempt of makeup on his face. Shaun sneered and said he hadn't eaten. "Looking at you, I doubt I'll ever be hungry again." Shaun snapped.

Before Nate could tell Shaun to fuck off, Emma jumped in. "Shaun!" She shouted with her hands on her hips, "Is that anyway to treat your girlfriend?!"

"He's not my–"

"She!" Emma corrected, "And if that is the best you can do then I might as well go ahead and release the videos right now.”

“You’re not fucking serious.” Shaun shouted, jumping to his feet. He had only ever hit his sister once, long ago when he was a preteen and his father had drilled the lesson home how that was never acceptable. He was to use his mind, not his firsts, the lesson had been enough that he had only ever raised his fist one other time in his life. Yet he couldn’t help clench his fist in utter frustration at what was happening to him. What he had to endure because his sister was being a bitch, being stuck in her power while he found out that not only was his step father that he had done his best to have little contact with, was cheating on his ma and was a fruit to boot.

“As a heart attack.” She glared at her brother.

“C’mon man!” Nate growled.

“Ah, ah! Voice, dear.” Emma said, turning her head to  correct Nate, the words he wanted to yell at Emma were clearly painted all over his face.

“Fine.” Shaun shook his head, “Bacon. Eggs. Thanks.”

“Oh no! You just insulted your girlfriend, don’t you think you should apologize?”

“Sorry.” He said through clenched teeth.

“Nooooo.” Emma added, elongating the word, “Like you mean it. She’s doing her best with her makeup and I think you should let her know just how beautiful you think she is. Like you did last night.” She added quickly as she pushed Nate closer to Shaun.

“You’re sick.” Shaun said to Emma.

“Not as love-sick as you two are.” Emma giggled, “Don’t forget to smile.”

Shaun rolled his eyes and looked down at Nate. His makeup looked like something a six year old might accomplish if she got into her mother’s makeup for the first time. But at least he was wearing the wig again. Shaun did his best to fake a smile, “I am sorry. You are…very beautiful. Gorgeous even.” Shaun shook his head and turned to Emma, “There. Happy.”

With a deep and heavy sigh Emma said, “For now.” She rubbed her temple, “Looks like I’m gonna have to teach you too.”

After breakfast, or rather, lunch by that point in the day, Emma took Nate back into her room and fixed Natalie’s makeup. She still gave Nate tips on what to do, warning that he would have to ask Shaun what he thought of his makeup every day before making breakfast, and at least one other time each day after having to reapply lipstick. She loved the idea of Nate face timing her brother to ask if she looked pretty. Another new addition to his morning routine was breakfast. Everyone usually heated up or made whatever it was they wanted to eat whenever they wanted it, but now Nate or more specifically Natalie  was in charge of the cooking. It surprised Nate that such a hard and fast feminist expected “Natalie” to cook for her man, but considering the last time Shaun tried to work the stove he started a small grease fire he couldn’t exactly blame her.

After finishing his makeup for him, Emma helped her prisoner pick out an outfit for the day. It was then Nate learned in addition to his clothes Emma had also donated all of his shoes as well. Leaving him with only two options, the heels he wore the night before on his date with Shaun or the four inch black stilettos. “We’ll get you more shoes soon, I know how much of a shoe girl you are.” Emma promised. But Nate wasn’t about to hold his breath to get something he wanted.

“Great. In the meantime I’ll be in the hospital with a broken neck.” He frowned as he stood in his heels. Sarah often wore heels, she said it made her feel not just prettier, but powerful in a way. It was something he loved about his gorgeous wife, but even she didn’t walk around the house in them.

“Oh hush. You wore them fine last night.” She gave Nate a quick once over, “Okay.”

“We’re done?” He hoped.

“Just about.” She said as she shot off a quick text, “Go ask Shaun what he thinks?”

“Really?!” Nate asked in surprise. Yet again he had her pegged for a feminist and didn’t expect her to think a man got an opinion on how a woman dressed. ‘Oh that’s it.’ He realized, ‘I’m not a woman so this is just some sort of pseudo-payback on all men.’

“Yes really.” She answered, “Your boyfriend’s opinion should matter to you. As long as I have known you Nat you have always wanted a man’s validation. I don’t get it, but you be you. Plus Shaun needs to learn to give better compliments. Or else he might lose you.” She added with a wicked smile.

“We wouldn’t want that.”

“No, I don’t think you would.” Her face may have worn a smile but her voice was nothing less than sinister as she placed her hands on Nate’s shoulders and turned him around to face the door, a move that had him almost tumble to the floor in his towering heels. “Now go out there and let your man get a good look at you.” She said sweetly and gave the feminized man a gentle shove out of the door.

Emma closed the door and leaned against it for a moment, shutting her eyes as she bit her lip. ‘Fuck, I shoulda done this years ago!’ She thought with devilish glee. She never knew just how much fun it was controlling and manipulating assholes! “Ugh if I knew this eight years ago Todd would be so fucked!” She giggled to herself at the thought of controlling an asshole of an ex.

In the living room Shaun clicked his tongue as he read the text message from Emma.

Harpy Queen: You need to learn to give better compliments to your girlfriend.

Harpy Queen: Since you’re so monosyllabic here’s a list of adjectives for you.

Harpy Queen: And a pic for inspiration.

The picture attached was one of Natalie’s many selfies the night before of him and Natalie in front of the rope ladder stall. Shaun huffed as he glared at the picture. She tricked him. He lied to women plenty, that was all part of the game, but none of them had lied about really being men. None he got further than a conversation with anyway. His glare softened as he stared at the genuine smile on the girl’s lips in the photo. It was taken a moment before she had been making fun of him for falling off the ladder and getting his “Ronald McDonald foot” twisted in the rope. Aside from his cheating, many had complained about how competitive he was and how he “ruined” their fun by making everything a competition. Natalie hadn’t though. She had acted almost as competitive as he was and she didn’t baby him like other girls had. If he was still around his grandpa would’ve said she was a spitfire. 

Nate walked awkwardly in the stiletto heeled boots, swaying his hips with each step like he has been shown and practiced before pausing at the end of the hall to catch his breath. The strappy block heels that he owned and wore the night before were much easier to move in. He didn’t want to do this! He could run, sort of. He would lose the comfort and safety of Sarah’s money; he hadn't married her for it, but had become accustomed to it over the year the two had been married. Yet, running would also allow him to be rid of her demon spawn. He paused and peaked past the wall and eyed his stepson who sat on the couch with a slight smile on his face as he looked at his phone. ‘The idiot will stop me.’ He thought as he took another breath and stepped out into the living room. He was stuck until he came up with a better plan than just bolting for the door.

Clearing his throat Nate stood in front of Shaun, “Well?” He faked a smile, “What do you think?”

“You look…” Shaun paused to swallow the lump in his throat, glancing at his phone before looking back up at Natalie, taking in her entire outfit. She wore a long sleeve black mock turtleneck with a wine red leather skirt and a pair of knee-high pointed toe stiletto boots “borrowed” from Emma at her insistence since it went so well with the outfit. “You look…pretty.” Shaun rubbed the back of his neck.

Nate frowned as he stared down at Shaun. “What?” Shaun asked, wondering what more the fruit wanted him to say. His first thought had been the word wow, but he wasn’t going to admit to liking what he saw.

“Nothing. I…guess that’s fine.” Nate shook his head, feeling the long hair of the wig shift and the tug on his ears from the weight of the unfamiliar earrings before walking back to Emma’s room. It wasn’t like he wanted Shaun to dote over him, he wasn’t some girl that wanted to know if her ass looked fat in an outfit, but he knew Shaun had it in him to be halfway charming if he wanted to be, so he hoped the bare minimum was enough to satisfy his scheming step daughter.

Shaun knew who he was looking at, he knew he was straight, yet he only saw a girl storming out of the room, clearly upset about something, expecting him to read their mind and obviously expecting him to chase after her. Shaun grunted and returned to watching sportscenter. ‘I’m being blackmailed to be with her, not be her bitch.’ 

Returning to Emma’s room, Nate grabbed the door knob, pausing a second before knocking. “Come in.” Emma called through the door. Emma sat at her computer desk, her back to the darkened screen as she smiled up at Nate, “Well?” She asked with all the enthusiasm of a tween at her first sleepover, “Didn’t he just absolutely love it?”

Faking a smile, “He said it was pretty.”

Emma frowned and she sat in silence for a second, “He said it was pretty or you were pretty?”

Nate blinked at her in confusion. He couldn’t remember his exact wording, he had only been listening for another insult and when none came he felt relieved. What did it matter either way? “Um…he said I’m pretty.” He guessed at which answer she was hoping for, and judging by the excited applause she gave when she stood, he had guessed right.

“And what did you say?!” She cheered.

“...I said that’s fine?”

Emma sighed and her smile dropped, though Nate was suspecting it had been fake. It was bad enough she was blackmailing him but did she have to act like they were gal pals?! “I should have known I would have to teach you the same lesson.” She rubbed two fingers into her right temple, “You two really are the same.” Emma continued, “It’s just as important to give as it is to receive. So if you want your boyfriend to compliment you what should you do?”

“Compliment him.” He said flatly.

“Yes, exactly. What else?” Nate froze and stared blankly at her. 

A few ideas came to mind, all of them sexual, none of which he wanted to answer with, fearing she may somehow make him enact them. He recalled Sarah had come up to him when he was watching something on tv before they were going to go out, asking him what he thought of her outfit. “Fuckable.” He had said, eyeing his wife and down. Nate remembered her spreading her feet a bit apart, putting her hands on her hips, glaring down at him. Thinking she was about to give him a tongue lashing for not giving her a sincere compliment, but instead she had said “Now? Or later?” The two hadn’t made it out that evening as they started a night of passion right there on the couch that Shaun was sitting on. The memory left him a little turned on, but didn’t want to relive that from Sarah’s point of view, so Instead he tried to come up with the least disagreeable ideas he thought he could tolerate. “Well…compliments…obviously. Uh….cooking…kissing?”

Emma shook her head and placed an arm around the feminized man in front of her, “Don’t worry Natalie,” She said in a falsely soothing voice, "I have a couple of magazines that may give you some ideas. After you finish your chores you can read them.” Before he could ask what chores she was talking about, she continued, “But you really need to work on your sexual hangups.” Again before he could say anything Emma preemptively interrupted him, “But that’ll be for later as well. Right now you’ve got work to do and you need your uniform!” Emma grabbed Nate’s arm and pulled him at a pace she knew he would have difficulty with as she moved into his and her Ma’s room. Getting there she briefly scoffed at the haphazard way Shaun had cleaned, before pulling him into her mother’s walk-in. “Now we can’t have you getting your pretty clothes all messed up. Thankfully we already have something for that!” Nate groaned, already knowing exactly what she was talking about. 

Three months into their marriage Sarah had a birthday, still not knowing much about his new bride he bought her something simple. A nice, new, apron. The entire month leading up to her birthday she had almost habitually mentioned how she wished she had more time to be a homemaker. “Or at least, cook more often.” Sarah wasn’t much of a cook and he didn’t want to cook all the time, so the prospect of eating something other than ready-made meals or takeout intrigued him greatly.

The gift did not go over as well as he thought it would. Sarah politely thanked him but was clearly not happy with the present. Emma was pissed and called him a pig. Shaun just sat there laughing his ass off, apparently he found it hilarious just how much it had pissed off Emma.

“Ta-da!” Emma cheered triumphantly as she held up the red and white polka dot frilly apron.

“Really?” Nate frowned, sucking air through his teeth as he did.

“Don’t frown, you’ll get wrinkles.” Emma said as she held the apron to his chest, “Now, normally I wouldn’t suggest this, being it harkens back to a much more sexist era, but I know a girly girl like you wouldn’t want to get your clothes messed up and you have a lot of cleaning to do. But I suppose if you want to stop and change your clothes and ask Shaun his opinion every time they get messy then you don’t have to wear it.”

“You expect me to change my clothes every time they get dirty?!”

Emma smiled viciously, “As I said, Natalie is a girly girl. So much girlier than anyone I have ever known really, so the choice is yours. A cute apron that I just know you love or changing a few times a day, something I also know you like doing.”

“Fine. I’ll wear the damn apron.”

“That is unlike you Nat, I just do not know what has gotten into you. I am here to help you get through this and help you find yourself again. Now would you like to try that again?”

Nate pressed his lipstick covered lips together in a line, his nostrils flaring as he took a few breaths to keep himself from saying what he wanted to. “It would be a real shame to ruin my outfit, so that cute apron would just be perfect!

“I thought you might want it. Now let’s go over your chore list.”

Nate, now firmly being treated like the fictional Natalie Bloom, was given her orders for this and following days now that she was dressed and her man had been fed. First Nate cleared the table and sink of dishes. Mostly. Nate and Shaun had a bad habit of leaving any dishware they used in the sink “to soak”. Of course eventually Emma or Sarah would eventually get tired of the sight and do the dishes. While the dishes were washing, Nate was instructed to dust and then sweep. Standing in front of the sink in the restrictive skirt and heeled boots made more for sitting than walking wasn’t close to how Nate wanted to ever spend even a minute of his day, yet his Stepdaughter had trapped him in a scheme making him do this and worse. 

Meanwhile, Shaun had vacated the living room to hide in his bedroom and watch television. Something he would do any time Emma and her mother mentioned cleaning. The same grin from before crept along Emma’s face as she remembered the power she now held, and she was going to wield it like a weapon..

Shaun sat on the edge of his bed, having just fired up his gaming console when his little sister burst into his room. “What the hell, Em!” He shouted, “I thought the house was caving in.”

“Do you plan to just sit on your butt all day while your woman cleans?”

“Hey you made Nat…Nat clean, not me.” He picked up the controller and turned his attention back to the tv, having avoided calling the skirt wearing man by his real name and maybe earning him the opportunity to go say something nice to the fruit. “‘Sides she’s not my woman.”

“Are you breaking up with her already?”

Shaun rubbed at his temple with his left hand, refusing to look in his sister's direction., “You know what I mean.”

“No, tell me. If you want to break up with her then there’s no point in stringing the poor thing along. Best to rip the bandaid right off as they say.”

“No,” He grumbled, “I’m not…” he paused for a second. “Breaking up with her.”

“So she’s your woman? Your girlfriend?”

“Yes.” he rolled his eyes, looking to his sister briefly before turning back to his game.

“Then get your butt up and get to work.” She commanded.

“What are you talking about?”

“Ma may let you get away with just laying around but not anymore. You have a girlfriend now and if you want her to stick around then you don’t want her to think you’re lazy.”

“I don’t ‘lay around’. I’ve been job hunting since college. I  have my CPA now, a test harder than any of your little exams. That’s why ma didn’t get on my ass like you.”

Emma looked at the tv then back to her brother, “This is job hunting?”

“It’s Saturday.”

“Exactly. So get your butt up and clean.” 

“Are you kidding?”

“You know I’m not.” She glared at him as she crossed her arms. “You can start in the yard if your male ego is too fragile to clean house.”

His lips twitched as he cursed his sister under his breath. “Fine.” he said and tossed his controller on the bed before opening his closet to change into something he didn’t mind getting dirty. 

“Good. There’s leaves all over, the patio’s a mess, and so many weeds out there that they’re about to gain sentience and demand voting rights. The thing’s a mess.” She added the last sentence as she walked away, unable to contain the smile on her face. ‘This is gonna be a fun month.’ She cackled.

An hour later Shaun was in the backyard with a pair of dirt covered gloves on, pulling weeds from the wood fence that separated their small yard from their neighbors’. He paused to lift his baseball cap and wipe the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. ‘Ugh, now I remember why I hated this.’ Fixing his cap back in place he caught sight of the woman next door. With his height he had an easy time seeing over the fence and enjoying the view of the MILF on her knees while she tended to her garden. He assumed she was listening to music as he watched her ass sway in her tight short shorts that showed off much of her sun kissed skin.

While Shaun heard the noise of the back door sliding closed he hardly paid any attention to the person walking closer to him as his eyes lingered on the woman over the fence. That was when he heard the husky voice of Natalie calling to him with a glass in hand. “Hey…baby.” 

“What?” It took a second for the reality to register, Nate had just called him, baby, “Wait, what?”

Nate had the type of smile on his face that showed all of his teeth, like brining his stepson a cold glass was the highlight of his day, but it slid out of place as he spoke softly in the feminine voice, “She told me to call you that…cause I’m your girlfriend.”

“Uh-huh.” He said slowly. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” His voice now returned to a normal volume, “You looked thirsty and I made lemonade and thought you might want something to drink.” He held up the glass of strawberry-lemonade.

“Oh…yeah, thanks.” Shaun nodded and gratefully took the glass and enjoyed the nice cold drink. The drink was the best tasting lemonade he had ever tasted, pulling the glass away from his lips he looked at the now half empty glass and then to his pretend girlfriend with a raised eyebrow.

“I made it fresh.” Nate looked away feeling embarrassed with the way the taller man was looking at him, it wasn’t the first time he had made a pitcher of something fresh in the house, but taking the time to make something like this. First you peeled the lemons, cut up the strawberries, and cooked them both with sugar. Running the mix through a sieve, adding the lemon juice along with water did take a lot of work, though he knew it tasted a lot better than anything someone could get at a store. Looking at the half full glass in Shaun’s hand made him wish he had his own, maybe with some vodka in it.

Smacking his lips together Shaun looked between Natalie and the glass bringing it back to his mouth to enjoy the beverage. Even with the usual fall chill in the air he had been working up a sweat with the physical labor he was forced into. A thought occurred to him as he drank, ‘She said I looked thirsty. Does that mean…was she watching me? Like I had been watching the milf?’ he wondered with an uneasy feeling. He didn’t work out to be strong, or even functionally strong, he went to the gym with one specific goal in mind, to make himself more desirable to women. So normally he would enjoy knowing a girl was staring at him. But Natalie…wasn’t one. He had to remind himself of that fact, because looking at her told him otherwise. Finishing the glass, he let out a satisfied sigh. “Thanks again.” He said with a small smile and handed the glass back to Natalie.

“Yeah…don’t freak out.” Nate whispered.

“What?” He asked, not hearing her whispered words. In lieu of words Natalie removed Shaun’s cap, wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him lovingly. After the initial shock left him Shaun tilted his head and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding the girl to him, tasting her lipstick as Nate tasted his own beverage on the man’s lips.

Though it felt longer, their kiss only lasted a few seconds before Natalie pulled herself away. “Let me know if you want more.” She licked her lips. “Uh, lemonade that is.” She cleared her throat and started to walk away before quickly turning back and handing Shaun his hat and hurrying back inside.

“...what?” Shaun asked the empty yard, out of the corner of his eye he saw the sexy neighbor lady standing on her patio with a knowing smile. Of course she didn’t know the pretty girl was actually his step-dad. ‘Not that I’d ever tell her that!’ Clearing his throat he put his hat back on, “How you doin’?”

“Not as good as you looks like.” She teased.

Shaun laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, “I guess so,” he continued to chuckle as he returned to the weeds, feeling heat passing to his ears. ‘Why did she kiss me?’ He wondered as he made a great effort to not look towards the MILF’s yard. Not seen by Shaun or the woman next door was Emma in the kitchen, putting her phone away, with a cheshire’s smile.

After Nate came back into the house he found Emma right where she said she would be, at the kitchen window, drinking a glass of her own. “Aren’t you two just the cutest couple.” She cooed playfully. 

“The cutest.” He lied, faking a smile as he picked up the apron off of the dining table. Ready to make his own glass of his strawberry lemonade so at least he would know the flavor in his mouth was from it and not from another man’s lips.

“Oh don’t worry about that for now.” She waved him off, “I think you earned a break.”

"Really?" He asked suspiciously.

Emma nodded, "You know Nat, considering how well you cook and clean, if you can keep your slutty behavior of sleeping around under control, or at least just focus it on one man, you would make a great housewife." She giggled, "You sit there. I'll be right back and you can start your break."