The Luck of the Irish

 "Come on, can't we go double or nothing on the next game?" Aaron pleaded.

"A bet's a bet, buddy, and the agreement was that whoever lost would have to work the St. Paddy's shift. In costume." Sean crossed his arms and shook his head.

Having to work a holiday shift in costume might not sound that bad, but it wasn't the general scenario that Aaron was worried about. It was the costume. Sean was the owner of a local pub, and his best friend Aaron was his lead bartender, although Sean tended to take a hands-on approach and was behind the bar more often than not. This year, Sean and Aaron had gotten the idea to dress up for the occasion, with Sean ordering two costumes from some no-name website. When they arrived is when they discovered that something had gone wrong.

"Okay, so here's the leprechaun outfit..." Sean dug through the box. "And this is the beard, the pipe and... a shoe box?"

Aaron reached inside and pulled the lid off the box, revealing a pair of green high heels.

"Which costume does this go to?" Aaron asked as he held the shoe in his hand.

"Probably this one." Sean pulled out a plastic bag with an image of a redheaded woman dressed in a leprechaun costume, a short green blazer, white blouse, green vest, and a short green skirt, long socks, and heels, in addition to various accessories, including a green top hat on a headband and a belt.

"Who'd you order that for?" Aaron asked.

"I didn't..." Sean looked over the packing slip. "They screwed up. I put in for two leprechaun costumes and they sent us a his & her's set, probably mixed it with someone else's order."

"Looks like the right sizes, though. We're both around the same size, and both these costumes look like they'd fit either of us." Aaron said. "One of us'll have to go costume-less though, since with how long this took to get here, you'll never get a replacement by the 17th."

Sean thought for a moment and had a look in his eyes that Aaron had come to mistrust.

"Actually..." Sean smirked. "I've got an idea. We've got the one, and what if we used the other one for a little friendly wager?"

"What did you have in mind?" Aaron asked.

"Your favorite basketball team and my favorite basketball team are playing against each other in two days, right? Whoever's team wins gets the his costume, and whoever loses, has to wear the her's. During the St. Patrick's Day shift."

"So one of us ends up as a sexy leprechaun?" Aaron asked. "I admit, the idea of you in a skirt and heels is tempting."

"Then the wager's on?" Sean stuck out his hand.

Aaron thought for a moment, his team was having a great season, and had taken down Sean's team time and time again in the past. This was going to be a great St. Patrick's Day.

"Deal." Aaron shook Sean's hand.

Naturally, the luck of the Irish didn't hold true for Aaron, and Sean held steadfast on fulfilling the terms of the wager, hence why Aaron was staring at the costume and accessories, still in their containers, and sitting on his couch. He was broken out of his reverie when his roommate, and younger sister Eileen walked into their shared apartment. She took one look at the costume and sighed.

"If you expect any girl to wear that, especially any self-respecting Irish lass, you're nuts." Eileen giggled as she used a fake brogue.

"It's not for a girl... it's for me." Aaron sighed.

After Aaron explained the stakes of the wager to Eileen, she loudly guffawed as she cracked open two beers and handed one to Aaron.

"So what are the rules of the wager? Do you need to wear a wig or anything? What about makeup?" Eileen asked.

"We didn't really go over that, I think all he's expecting is for me to wear the costume, the satisfaction of winning comes from me being embarrassed." Aaron replied.

"Well, if that's all there is, I might have a solution for you." Eileen said.

"What's your idea?"

"If the humor comes from the fact that you're a guy wearing a sexy women's costume, why not take all the fun out of it for Sean by embracing it?

"Embrace it?"

"You know, the whole shebang, shave your legs, wear a wig or something, make yourself fully passable, so that all anyone sees is a sexy Irish girl serving drinks instead of a crossdressed dude. I guarantee no one'll laugh at you then. I might even have a few ideas."

Aaron mulled the idea over in his head for a few moments. His biggest fear was that his reputation would become that guy in the skirt and heels, equally afraid of videos or images making their way onto social media. But if he was unrecognizable?

"Sis, I think you're a genius!" Aaron exclaimed.

The night before St. Patrick's Day, Aaron looked over his shoulder as Eileen led him into a building with all the blinds shuttered. Eileen rolled her eyes as they crossed the threshold into an empty salon.

"And you're sure no one will come in?" Aaron asked.

"Don't worry, big brother, the salon closed over an hour ago. The only client coming in is you." Eileen motioned to one of the chairs situated near the mirror. "Take a seat."

Aaron nodded and sat down in the chair. He jumped when he heard a noise from the back room.

"You said no one else was here!" Aaron whispered.

"Calm down, it's just Molly. She's a stylist." Eileen said. "This is a two-person job, and before you ask, she's sworn to secrecy."

"No need to worry, we always use discretion here." Molly said, walking out of the back room carrying a box. "Ooh, you didn't tell me your brother was cute."

Aaron blushed slightly.

"Ew, Mol." Eileen said, turning to Aaron. "Now let's get to work. First things first, did you do what I asked?"

"Shaved everything below my eyebrows this morning." Aaron remarked, pulling up his pant leg and rubbing the smooth skin. "It's a weird feeling."

"Go into the back room, strip to your boxers, then sit back, and relax." Molly said as she started to fill the basin with warm water.

Aaron complied, returned a few moments later in just his boxers, allowing Eileen and Molly to get a look at his smooth body.

"Nice, I'd have expected a few nicks." Eileen remarked.

"You sure you've never done this before?" Molly giggled.

Aaron shook his head and laid back in the chair. Molly leaned his head back into the basin and started washing his hair, while Eileen pulled up a cart and started to work on Aaron's nails, shaping and buffing them. Aaron tried to follow along with the conversation, but being in the basin with running water near his ears was distorting his hearing. He decided to just shut his eyes and let everything happen.

"You know, I envy you two." Molly said as she scrubbed Aaron's scalp. "I wish I had the red hair that you have. Brown is fine, but your hair is gorgeous."

"We've got our mother to thank for that." Eileen said, as she filed Aaron's nails.

"So this is all for a sports bet?" Molly asked. "Seems a little... extreme."

"He and Sean are always doing stuff like this, but I'm the one who suggested taking it to the next level." Eileen said as she fit a nail extension to one of Aaron's fingernails. "Truthfully, I didn't think he'd go for it."

Once Aaron's fingernails were extended, Eileen began painting them with a shamrock green nail polish, while Molly started weaving ginger hair extensions that matched the color that both Eileen and Aaron sported into Aaron's hair. Once she finished with the acrylics, she moved onto buffing and shaping Aaron's toenails. Aaron rejoined the conversation as he looked at his extended nails.

"Wow..." Aaron said.

"It's a nice color, isn't it?" Eileen asked.

"Sure, but why are you doing my toenails? I'm gonna be wearing socks." Aaron said.

"It's an immersion thing, to make you feel like a sexy leprechaun... and maybe I just felt like giving you a pedicure." Eileen giggled.

"If no one sees it, I don't see why it matters." Molly said as she brushed out Aaron's hair.

Molly grabbed a makeup bag off the tray and started picking through items. It was a whirlwind, and Aaron wasn't even sure what everything was, as Molly and Eileen brushed, penciled, plucked and applied every cosmetic under the sun. When they were finished, Aaron wiggled his toenails as Eileen pulled out the separators and checked his fingernails for smudges, while Molly did some last minute touching up of the hair, before turning the chair around, to allow Aaron to see the final result.

"Woah..." Aaron remarked as he pulled at his long, curly red hair with his hands, now tipped with manicured nails. "Feels real."

"It is real, just not your own hair." Molly said.

Aaron's face had been expertly made-up, with his blue eyes defined by not only the slightly arched eyebrows that he now sported, but by the green eye shadow and curled lashes. All of his facial blemishes had been erased, and his face even appeared to be shaped slightly differently, being rounder and less angled, if that was even possible. His lips had even seemed to grow larger and more defined thanks to the red lipstick that he was wearing. Aaron gazed into the mirror, transfixed by his own reflection.

"Earth to Aaron... you okay?" Eileen asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. Aaron jumped.

"Uh yeah... I'm fine." Aaron muttered as he shook his head.

"Never realized you were this vain..." Eileen remarked. "Now come on, we've got a few more things left."

Eileen started to walk towards the back room, Aaron stood and followed her while Molly cleaned up around the chair.

"I thought it was just gonna be this." Aaron motioned towards himself.

"I had one more idea this morning, but I wanted to see if you would be up to it." Eileen said, taking out a box and showing the contents to Aaron.

"Fake boobs?" Aaron asked.

"The proper term is breast forms, but yeah, I figured the costume looks like it's for a busty girl, so you might want something to hold it up there." Eileen replied.

"I dunno..." Aaron mulled it over.

"Unless you'd rather be Erin Go Bra-less." Eileen giggled. "But if you don't wanna do it, that's fine."

"Eh, all right. I mean, I've already gone this far, what's one more step?" Aaron said.

"All right, lay down on the bench." Eileen shrugged.

Aaron complied and Eileen quickly pressed the forms down onto Aaron's chest, he shivered when he felt the glue touch his skin.

"And there we go!" Eileen clapped. "Goodbye Aaron, Hello Erin!"

Aaron sat up and adjusted to the new weight on his chest.

"Maybe we shouldn't have glued them..." Aaron said.

"Don't worry, I've got the solvent, so they can come off whenever you want 'em to." Eileen said, handing Aaron his shirt, which he pulled over his chest, adjusting it to fit over the breasts.

"Woah..." Molly remarked as she walked into the back room. "You look good, Aaron."

"Thanks." Aaron blushed. "You think anyone will be able to tell?"

"I did your hair and I can barely tell." Molly said, before turning to Eileen. "Lemme guess, you always wanted a sister growing up?"

"Maybe a little bit." Eileen held her thumb and forefinger with a small amount of space between them.

The next morning, Sean, wearing a green suit, cheap fake beard and green top hat, was sweeping up near the bar when he heard the door open and heard clicking steps approaching him.

"Top of the morning!" Aaron exclaimed.

"Glad to see that you're..." Sean started as he turned around and saw Aaron.

Sean's eyes immediately went down to the floor and traveled up Aaron's body, starting at the green high heels, the knee-high white socks, the smooth legs leading into the skirt with no sign of a bulge near the belt, then to his chest where the vest and blouse strained against a set of breasts, then to the head, where gorgeous, curly red hair framed a perfectly made-up face, topped with the small hat on the headband. Aaron smiled as he watched his friend's reaction.

"Holy crap..." Sean muttered. "Aaron! I didn't think... Wow."

"Not what you had in mind, right?" Aaron hesitantly smiled. "And according to Eileen, she's decided that I'm Erin when I'm dressed like this."

"Not at all... you look... hot!" Sean exclaimed. "You did that yourself?"

"I had Eileen's help." Aaron replied.

"That explains... well that explains everything actually." Sean chuckled. "She's outdone herself this time."

"You think?" Aaron asked. "I spent last night doing a crash course in walking in heels! Eileen insisted."

"Well, you're gonna need it, cause you're gonna be on your feet for a long time today." Sean said. "I hope you're ready to serve drinks to drunks who wish they were Irish."

"Aye! I am!" Aaron replied with a smile.

When the bar opened for business, Sean was inundated with several patrons praising the new bartender, surprised at how she already knew the regulars' orders, and even more surprised at the rapport she had. And a few even mentioned how they felt that Erin was far easier on the eyes than boring old Aaron. Sean decided not to tell them that he hadn't actually replaced Aaron, better to let them think what they wanted.

Aaron on the other hand, was having a rough night, despite appearances. His feet hurt, he knew he was getting stares and leers from the drunk patrons, but he couldn't let Sean have the satisfaction of knowing that he wasn't having fun, so he had to put on a brave face.

"Erin! Another round over here!" one of the customers shouted from a table.

Aaron quickly gathered a tray of fresh beers and went over to the table to replace the empties. As he went to pick up the tray once more, he felt a squeeze on his butt. Aaron quickly turned around, blushing furiously. The culprit was one of the regulars, that Aaron recognized as Clancy.

"Hey!" Aaron admonished.

Aaron was about to tell Clancy off, when he realized that Sean was watching from the bar, and quickly composed himself, playfully punched Clancy on the shoulder while giggling, and grabbed the tray off the table, before rushing back to the bar.

"Everything okay?" Sean asked.

"Of course," Aaron replied. "Nothing I can't handle."

Aaron remembered his crash course session with Eileen the night before, he only told Sean about the learning to walk in heels part, but it went a bit farther than that.

"Remember, if the patrons get handsy, you've got to keep your cool. After all, if Sean sees how disgusted you are, he gets the satisfaction, right?" Eileen asked.

"Yeah." Aaron said. "So what do I do?"

"Joke around, be playful. Trust me." Eileen said.

Sean was pretty impressed, Aaron even got into character, using a fake brogue as he spoke to the patrons, and when quizzed, made up an entire backstory for Erin.

"Where are you from, lass? Sounds like you're a Donegal girl!" one of the barflies, a handsome Irishman asked.

"No, am from Mayo!" Aaron giggled in response. "But me da's from Donegal!"

Aaron was surprised at just how easily he slipped into character, despite being uncomfortable. He was just taking Eileen's advice to its logical conclusion. After all, he couldn't give Sean the satisfaction of knowing how uncomfortable he really was. Course it helped that no one saw him as anything but the pretty Irish woman he appeared to be.

"Hey Erin! Look at my shirt!" one of the barflies, Brody exclaimed.

Aaron turned to Brody to see he was wearing a bright green t-shirt with large white letters proclaiming "KISS ME, I'M IRISH". Aaron quickly laughed it off.

"Nice try, Brody." Aaron chuckled.

Unfortunately, Brody's compatriots at the bar found it a far more enticing suggestion, and started pounding on the bar.

"KISS! KISS! KISS!" they shouted.

Brody leaned over the bar with his lips puckered. Aaron rolled his eyes and leaned in to kiss Brody's cheek. Aaron shut his eyes tight and prepared to feel Brody's stubble. At the last second, Brody turned and grabbed Aaron's shoulders, pulling him into a full-mouth kiss. Aaron's eyes shot opened and bugged out as he tried to pull away, but Brody's grip held firm in both his lips and his hands. Once it over over, Aaron pulled back and shot a nasty glare at Brody. He felt nauseous and leaned on the bar for support.

Sean shot a look of concern towards Aaron, but Aaron quickly shook himself and relaxed, simply smiling back at his best friend. He could be grossed out later, he can't let Sean see it, though.

As the night went on, and Aaron continued to serve drinks, playfully fought off the barflies pawing at his costume, and joined in on some traditional Irish songs, Eileen and Sean watched from the other end of the bar, both drinking beers as they observed Aaron.

"I've gotta hand it to ya, Eileen." Sean remarked as he and Eileen watched Aaron serving drinks at the other end of the bar. "He turned out really well."

"I know..." Eileen grinned, before Sean passed a $20 bill across the bar to her.

"So much for the luck of the Irish... I never figured he'd agree to the makeover, let alone all this." Sean said. "Wanna go double or nothing? I bet you he won't take it as far as going home with some guy."

Eileen thought for a moment and looked over at Aaron, who was giggling as he tended bar and chatted with the barflies. Eileen turned back to Sean.

"You're on." Eileen smirked.

After all, she was feeling lucky.

The End