Marina?! What is this?

Marcelo left, leaving me alone. I ended up taking a shower and reflected on how my life turned upside down overnight.

I got out of the shower and went through my bags to get some clothes to put on. I rummaged around and got angry with them. I couldn't like them anymore; I had used them to hide who I truly was. But I didn't want that anymore; I wouldn't hide anymore. "No man will ever have such power over me again," I muttered.

I looked at the makeup bag and opened it. Hopefully, the money was still there, exactly 10 thousand reais. Selecting a random dress, instead of resting, I called an Uber and went to the mall to refresh my wardrobe.

I walked into a store that caught my eye for its sexy clothes. The store was small and at the moment empty. A nice girl, of medium height, blonde and tattooed, came over to meet me. Her name was Kate, she told me, and her colleague Tânia, a tall brunette, stayed close by while no customer entered.

"And how is it? Come take a twirl outside for us to see," Kate said, trying to convince me to leave.

I was embarrassed; this black dress was shorter than the others and more low-cut too. "I don't think it's better than the others. I don't think it looks good on my body," I said, embarrassed.

"If you don't show us, how will we know?" said Tania trying to convince me.

"Okay, I'll show you, but be honest. I don't think this dress is for someone as fat as me," I said sadly and embarrassed.

"Wow," they both say.

"Friend, where's the fat one? I can't find her. You look really hot in this dress, and with that body you can wear anything. You are beautiful," Kate said, leaving me even more embarrassed.

"Thank you," I said shyly.

"Cat, with one of these you can get any man you want," Tania said, propping me up.

I re-entered the dressing room and looked at myself carefully. They were right; this dress fit me very well. I examined my body and realized that I was a beautiful woman. I had full and perky breasts, an ass that was neither too large nor small that matched my body of only 1.56 in height. My blond hair was long, almost completely down my waist, and my blue eyes stood out like the sky on a clear summer day.

I tried on the other clothes that I had separated and with the help of the sellers, Tânia and Kate, I left, my arms full of bags. I called an Uber, and to my surprise the driver turned out to be Marcelo.

"Marina? I thought you were going to stay home and rest?" he said laughing.

"I took a shower, and when I went to put on some clothes, I thought it was time for a makeover," I said confidently.

"That's good, leaving everything behind and going forward with your head held high. He's the one missing out," he said encouragingly.

"Certainly. And how was your rendezvous?" I asked, curious.

"He finished it early. Do you know a good way to forget unpleasant things?" he asks me with a wicked smile.

"No, what?" It was hard for me not to smile with him.

"Drink, drink till you drop," he said and let out a contagious laugh.

We got home and he went into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of gin.

"Do you like gin? It's all I have right now." asks Marcelo.

"I've never tasted it. I was never one to drink alcoholic beverages."

"Well, let's have a toast." He brought out two glasses. "In the future , may you never again depend on any man to be happy, and that none make you suffer again."

"Hear, hear," I agreed, tapping my glass against his.

"Tomorrow there will be a party in Jurerê, my friend got us invitations."

"I don't know if I'm ready for parties," I said, getting sad.

"We are going to, yes! You can't stay in this depression. While you're sad, he's out there having fun," Marcelo tried to cheer me up.

"Okay," I agreed, downing the cup of gin all at once.

"I'm amazed you don't drink," he said, amazed at how quickly I downed the gin. "I'll put on a song to listen to," he said and turned on the radio. We danced late, ordered a pizza, ate it, and finally the drink was starting to take effect. I could no longer stand up. I looked at Marcelo. He didn't even seem to be drunk.

"I am very dizzy," I complained.

"We're also already finishing the second bottle of gin. You've had too much," Marcelo said, laughing.

"But you don't even look like you're drunk."

"Baby, if I drank half a bottle it was too much. You drank pretty much everything by yourself." Cue laughter.

"That's not good." I fell to the ground and burst out laughing. Marcelo followed me.

"I think it's time to go to bed," said Marcelo, getting me up and putting me on a chair. While he arranged the sofa for me to sleep, I watched him.

"How cute!" I think it was the drink, but I was starting to get turned on.

"Come on, let's go to bed," he said as he helped me up. As he did, our faces ended up very close and I couldn't shake the urge to have those full lips on mine and grabbed him into a kiss. He politely walked away.

"Marina?! What is this? You know I don't like women!" says Marcelo smiling.

"You are gay?" I asked, confused and embarrassed.

"You forgot?" he said and started to laugh.

Soon the memory came back to me of that skinny boy who only hung around with the girls, loved tight clothes, and that everyone joked about being 'gay'.

"Marina, when I said you were important to me, it's because when we studied together, you were the only one who didn't care about my ways and defended me from others. I never forgot you. You were my anchor that for years kept me from sinking. I was so frustrated with myself for not being like the other kids that I was thinking about taking my life! So you came and stood by me, supported me, and encouraged me to tell my family and I ended up gaining their full support.," he told me emotionally.

"Sorry I didn't remember it like that right away, but now I do. I didn't know what I did had been that important to you." I got emotional and hugged him.

"That's why I'm happy to be able to help you now. Well, I'm going to bed because tomorrow morning I'll be out to work."

"Marcelo? Can I use your laptop tomorrow to make some resumes?"

"Of course, the password to access the laptop is 'Fred'." His face saddened as he spoke.

"Is Fred the person you went to meet today? What happened?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, he dumped me. He doesn't like me working an Uber, he never did! He thinks I'm cheating on him out there," he tells me with sadness in his eyes.

"You like him a lot right?" I commented sadly. He was in the same boat as me. I wanted to hug him but the dizziness wouldn't let me.

"Yes. I'm going to bed, ok? If you need anything, call me."

I turned to the side, grateful to have a place to stay, grateful to have a friend, but when I was alone the pain returned and the tears flowed.