A different kind of model 101 (Patreon)

Determined to keep control of the situation, Samuel was drinking his glass of wine very slowly, avoiding at all costs getting drunk. Despite his distress, he had to admit that Mr. Abano was a good company. He was nice and funny, and did most of the talking at first, perhaps realizing how nervous his date was. 

Samuel couldn't help it but thought that any woman would die to be in his place. Mr. Abano was a gentle, rich, relatively young (he appeared to be in his early thirties), and very handsome man, with a classic Italian beauty. 

He could certainly date any woman he wanted, so Samuel couldn't understand why he was the one sitting at that table hearing the Italian man saying over and over again how pretty "she" was.

I just can't believe how "lucky" I am, he thought cynically, though he kept smiling sweetly at Paolo. Why me? With so woman around, why did he have to fall in love with me?

"Oh, as a good Italian person, I've been talking too much!" Mr. Abano stated at some point, smiling. "But now I'd like to know more about you, Samantha."

"Well, there's not much to tell..."

"Umm... A girl with secrets... I like that!" Paolo said, and the two of them laughed. "Now serious, don't be shy... I'm sure someone like you has a very interesting story. How did you start modeling, for instance?"

"I always dreamed of being a model" Samuel lied, "since I was a young girl… but honestly, I never thought it would come true... especially not so soon."

"That's hard to believe, my dear. You are so talented... It seems like you were born to be a model. Not to mention how beautiful you are..."

"Thank you, Paolo. You really know how to make a girl happy, don't you? But let's say my situation was very different not so long ago... I was just a plain girl back in America. I was neither popular nor praised for my looks, if you know what I mean. I guess it started to change when I arrived in Italy. Then my friends, Mia e Greta, helped me to discover a side of me that I didn't know before... They gave me the confidence to start being a model. But this was supposed to be just a college thing... What's happening now, wow, I still can’t believe it! And all thanks to you who trusted me... " Samuel finished, drinking a little more wine and hoping that his story had been convincing enough.

"I'm happy for helping you to fulfill your dream, my dear. But the merit is all yours. I wouldn’t have hired you if I wasn’t absolutely sure about your potential, no matter what! And you're telling me you were a plain girl? You?! I can't imagine that!" Mr. Abano laughed again. "I'd need to see some old photos to conceive this idea!"

Upon hearing that, Samuel got so frightened that he choked on the wine. What would happen if Mr. Abano saw some old photos of him and discovered that instead of a plain girl, he had in fact been an ordinary guy only a few months ago? Just the thought of having his secret exposed made the feminized man completely terrified. He'd be sued, that’s for sure! And the story of a guy pretending to be a female model would certainly hit the news.

Seeing what was going on, Mr. Abano quickly got up. "Are you okay?" he asked, patting Samuel's back.

"Yes, I'm better now. I don't know what happened... I just choked on the wine and... Oh my gosh, I can't believe I’m embarrassing myself like that!"

"That's okay, my dear. There's nothing to be embarrassed of. These things happen, don’t they?" Paolo said, gently, now stroking Samuel's back and shoulders, which made the feminized man feel chills. That dinner was being so stressful for him... And they hadn’t even ordered the main course yet!