Chapter 1

The thing with Halloween is that it's unpredictable; predictably so. Last year for instance, was not what Chris Burton would have expected even if he had been told it would happen beforehand.

Chris owned and ran a software company and business was a little down at that particular time. He had started the company in October of 1999, just when everyone was panicking about the Millennium Bug. You know, it was just prior to that time when all computers were supposed to go 'phut' and keel over onto their metaphoric backs, leaving big business in the brown, smelly stuff.

Thus Millennium Software (unimaginatively named it's true, but what the hey?) was born on the back of the switch to Y2K. He was contracting through an agency going around to different companies and sorting out their PC's. He was good with the customers, which meant business through referral. The work came in faster than he could deal with it and he found that his services were becoming more sought after requiring him to take on staff.

One, James Healey or Jamie, was a real whiz and between them, they managed to keep the company going well beyond Y2K and now, he is the Technical Director of Millennium Software, which in turn, is now a respectable software house, employing one hundred and forty staff, in their own building and okay, it's not big, but then neither was Microsoft to begin with.

Chris initially took Jamie on as an employee on the 31st — Halloween and since that was really the start of the company, it was decided that they'd throw a party each year to celebrate and being Halloween, it gave them an excuse to make the 'party' fancy dress. No-one really had trouble finding something to dress up as; well no-one except Chris that was, who regularly 'forgot' with the excuse that there were other more pressing things on his mind.

On this particular occasion, Chris was feeling down in the dumps. As mentioned earlier, the company was facing something of a slump and he and his wife, Jess, found it a pretty trying time. He was waiting to meet with a representative from a big company, SolTech and the project that promised (if it ever got off the ground) would be worth millions to Millennium Software. As far as Chris was concerned, it would also mean hitting the big time.

As a result, Chris's mind spent too much time worrying about the SolTech account and not enough on the present; the present being Thursday the thirty-first of October - Halloween. Needless to say, he had once again given no thought to a costume and was only reminded by Jamie that afternoon.

"What are you coming as?" He asked.

"What?"

"Tonight; what are you going to be? A werewolf, vampire or are you going to be that stupid ghost again?"

"Shit!" said Chris. "I haven't got anything."

"You ARE kidding aren't you?" said Jamie shaking his head. "Not again. Trust you." Chris mouthed something unrepeatable at Jamie.

"I'll have something by this evening, don't worry." he said, wishing he'd paid more attention. He'd have to get Jess to help him out. He phoned her immediately and when he broached the subject, she was not impressed.

"You want me to do what?"

"Well, I forgot, what with the up and coming SolTech project and all. Can't you whip something up for me?"

"And just when am I supposed to do that?"

"Please Jess. I've got to have something."

"Chris, you always leave it to me to fix these things for you and then you won't wear what I get for you. Last time you ruined one of my best sheets for that stupid ghost costume."

"Aw, Come on Jess. I won't this time, I promise."

"Yeah, we've been through this before and you always wimp out."

"I promise, what else can I say? I won't 'wimp out' Jess. I can't let the side down."

"Perhaps there's something I could do." she said and then paused. "Hmm, I Do have one idea."

"What have you got in mind, Jess?" he asked, recognising a scheme of some sort brewing in his wife's mind.

"Trust me. Well, you'll have to, won't you? You don't have much choice" There was another short pause. "Alright, I'll give it a go, but only if you promise to wear what I get you, because I'll never forgive you if you don't. I'm going to have to go some to get it together as it is." "It's a deal." he said, feeling quite smug that he'd finally talked her into it. "You're an angel!"

He got home later that afternoon and there was no sign of Jess. He was pretty worried since, as guests of honour so to speak, they were expected to be there, but it was nearing five o'clock and he was nervous as hell. The longer he was at home on his own, the longer he had to think about what Jess might have been planning and the more nervous he became, wondering whether giving her carte-blanche was such a good idea.

The intervening minutes between his arrival and Jess's seemed more like hours and he was nearly in a sweat by the time he heard her key turning in the lock.

"You're back!" he said, sounding extremely relieved and nervously excited.

"Of course I am! Did you think I wouldn't be?" she asked slightly amused.

"Well, we're supposed to be there at eight, I thought it might be cutting it a bit fine." he reasoned.

"Don't worry. There's plenty of time. We can get ready together. I have it all under control." she assured.

"Speaking of which, what have you got for me?" he asked.

"It's a surprise. In the meantime, go upstairs and have a shower after you've used this." She handed him a bottle. "Then once you've showered, rub this all over where... oh, just rub it all over and come back downstairs. Now be quick, we haven't much time." He took the second bottle and looked at the two of them, not really taking any notice of the brightly coloured labels.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" he asked.

"Just follow the instructions you idiot. It's not rocket science."

He wandered off upstairs, grumbling about the fact that when he mentioned the fact they didn't have much time, it was all under control, then suddenly, less than five minutes later, they didn't have enough. He sat on the toilet to read the instructions on the bottle.

"Er, Jess?" he shouted downstairs.

"What now?" she responded in a fairly bored tone.

"This stuff is hair removal cream."

"I know. That's why I bought it."

"So why have I got to use it?"

"You have hairy legs. They'll show through the costume. Just use it, it won't hurt."

"Won't hurt?" he thought. They weren't her legs were they?

"Don't forget to do your arms, chest, tummy and underarms as well." she shouted and he nearly had an apoplectic fit.

"But..." he started.

"You're not going to wimp out on me are you?" she asked sounding very dangerous. "You promised."

He did what he was told. He had learnt years ago not to argue back, it can get very messy very quickly, so he started to apply the foul-smelling pink gloop to his body.

He just applied it liberally from the neck down and stood statue-like for the requisite fifteen or so minutes wrinkling his nose at the distasteful odour. It started to sting a bit around the jollicals, but he was soon under the shower, scraping the gunk off with much relief.

Once he had showered, he applied the moisturiser from the second bottle and was more than a little surprised by the sensation and appearance. He felt like a schoolboy again. He shaved his face, pulled on his dressing gown and headed downstairs, the hem of which brushed against his thigh as he moved and with no hair, it felt quite different than it had before. In fact, he started to notice all of the hairless areas and was getting quite 'distracted' in more ways than one however his ardour was soon squashed by what Jess had in store for him. He was handed a bunch of lingerie items including stockings and suspenders, which was enough to get him asking questions; serious questions.

"You said you weren't going to wimp out on me." she said pouting slightly. "And besides, you never mind me wearing them."

"Yes, but they're for women. That's why you get to wear them."

"That's not very fair for a start and anyway, they're part of your costume."

"No wonder you wouldn't tell me what I was wearing." he said.

"Are you backing out?" she asked, that danger returning to her tone and he remembered the conversation earlier. He had promised and now he wished he'd thought a bit more before jumping in quite so readily.

"No Jess." he said looking at the floor in front of his feet and resigning himself to his fate. He gathered up the lingerie she had put together and went to go upstairs.

"Where are you going?"

"Upstairs to get dressed." he said.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not risking you laddering those stockings. I know you know how to get them off me well enough, but it's a whole other ball-game putting them on."

A few minutes later, he was stood in a pair of glossy black nylons and suspenders, black lace panties and he had to admit, he could see the attraction; they felt really nice.

He wasn't sure what Jess had in mind for the top half and then she advanced on him with an aerosol and squirted him on either side of his chest before sticking a large rubber 'breast' on his left side, telling him to hold it there, while she pressed another to his other side, telling him to hold that one as well.

"Hey! What's this?" he shouted, shocked at having the large prosthetics glued to him.

"It's just more realistic if they're glued on and not just dumped into the bra cups. We can add makeup and blend them in. They'll look like they're yours and you'll be able to show some cleavage."

He felt quite odd as they weren't light and when she said he could let go, he removed his hands and was completely dumbfounded by their realism. They hung there like the real thing, complete with raised nipples.

She spent a few minutes adding foundation type stuff around the edges and in the end, you couldn't see where he ended and they began.

"Put this on — if you can — before you get locked up for exposing yourself." she said, tossing him a black half-cup bra/girdle combination. This was tight and not the easiest thing in the world to do up, but he wasn't going to be beaten and within a few moments, he was complete and looking surprisingly feminine, the girdle pulling in his stomach and accentuating the boobs-waist-hips effect.

"I can hardly breathe." he said.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Just be thankful I didn't go for the lace-up version. Now, there's a dress on the bed, go and put that on. I'll go have a shower and we can finish off after that." she said and dutifully, he went upstairs.

On the bed was a midnight blue velvet dress that looked as though it had come out of the eighteenth century with a pair of leather ankle-boots on top. He gingerly stepped into the dress then tried to pull the zip up the back and when after much struggling, he got it all the way to the top, he looked in the full length mirror and was quite stunned. He stepped into the boots and as 'reasonable' a heel as they had (probably no more than two inches), it still felt as though he was walking on stilts.