A man is feminized by his wife and his business partner and framed for embezzlement. Can he survive the humiliations his wife intends to subject him to and start a new life?

Thanks go out to Marina Kelly for her editorial assistance in improving the quality of this story.

Chapter 5

Sally answered the door when whoever was waiting knocked a second time. Her guest was not necessarily impatient, she was just in the process of finishing her cleanup in the kitchen and she saw no reason to rush to the door. She knew that Jim would not be offended if she did not immediately open the door for him, even though he had called ahead to let her know that he was coming. He would probably be thinking that she was paying him back for how he had treated her when he had broken off their relationship.

"Hi, Jimmy. Come in," Sally said, sounding chipper. It was a name that only she had used when they had been lovers. The breakup had been a couple of years ago and Jim suspected that he felt worse about it these days than she did.

"Hi, Sally," Jim stepped inside. Sally gave him a peck on the cheek, he still really did not know how she felt about him these days, even though he had just done her an expensive favor and was in the process of doing another for her. He knew that he would keep on doing favors for her, even though he wanted nothing in return.

Sally showed him into the living room. "Have a seat," she said, "I was in the process of getting coffee ready." She went back out to the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with a tray of cookies, cups, and a carafe of coffee.

As much as Sally wanted to hear about Jim's surveillance of Rob and his activities, she wanted hear about the other things that were taking up Jim's time. Like the Internal Affairs investigation Jim was involved in because she was almost directly responsible for in his current situation, she cared about how everything was going.

"When is your next interview with Internal Affairs?" She asked, taking a seat. She poured coffee for the two of them while they got comfortable.

"I go back in for more interrogation the day after tomorrow," Jim answered, shrugging.

"How is the whole thing going?" She watched his face as she took a sip of coffee.

Jim made a face as he contemplated the machinations of the Police Department Internal Affairs Division.

"They're going to make me tell the whole story again and explain how I came to be inside the city's most notorious brothel when the department decided to raid it."

"Why wasn't I interviewed?" she asked. "I'm the one who asked you to find Stacy."

"They may ask you at some point, but only as a final verification. Anything that comes from you will be considered hearsay or tainted evidence. Your testimony could be intended to save me or condemn me, depending upon your feelings for me."

"But I'm the one who called you about Stacy running away with that bastard boyfriend of hers," Sally said, exasperated.

"They know that Sally," Jim said. "They took statements from me and Stacy that confirm all of that and they just have to review everything before the commission makes their judgment. You have to keep in mind that this brothel has ties to the Mob and my presence there could look fishy.

"I told them that you had called me about your sister running away with her boyfriend and that you and your parents were worried about her. Once I tracked her phone's GPS signal and found out where she was, I broke in under everyone's radar to get her out. Where I got into trouble is that, once I knew that she was in one of the brothel's floating bordello parlors, I should have asked for backup from on-duty personnel.

"Stacy's testimony is really more important to my case in the long run anyway. She's implicated her 'boyfriend', David, as the one who forced her to runaway to work there. The fact that he was ten years her senior and already had a record for pandering made it easy for everyone to believe that he was actually a procurer for the brothel. When I got to her, they were already making preparations to ship her out of the city. Another couple of hours delay would have meant that she would have disappeared into the white slavery network and we would never have seen her again.

"The only reason that I'm on suspension at all is for those excessive force complaints from that raid on that meth lab house last year. As far as this particular case goes, everyone agrees, even the guys in Internal Affairs, that I'm innocent. But the legal process must be followed to remove any legal complaints the jokers involved with the brothel might have."

"When are they going to make their ruling? I know that you weren't too worried when you first told me all of this, but you've been on unpaid suspension for the past six weeks."

"My captain thinks that I should be cleared and returned to duty in a couple of weeks. Because Stacy is still a minor and she is willing to testify against David and the brothel in general, the city can bring even greater charges against them and probably get convictions. They're talking to all of the girls they rounded up too. They hope to get statements from some of them and get some of them out of the business, but that is going to be a harder job."

"I'm glad that you're going to be cleared. I felt bad asking you to save Tracy and then having you end up being suspended without pay…" Sally looked and felt guilty about the whole situation.

"Hey…Come on," Jim said, trying to jolly her around and prevent the onset of any waterworks. "I knew what I might be letting myself in for when I worked my way in there. But, if I had to do it again, I would. I've seen too many girls end up in bad situations like this and I would have felt far worse about myself if I had not done anything."

"I know, but this can't be good for your career. Can it?" Sally asked.

Jim waved his hand to dismiss her concerns. "I don't think that we have anything to worry about actually. If anything, it will be like a post-it note in my file that says that I was arrested as part of a departmental raid upon a brothel. The facts of the case will clear everything up.

"As far as being suspended goes it's not my first time and it probably won't be my last. Keep in mind that you're paying me to investigate your friend and that I will receive all of my back pay and benefits once I'm re-instated. So everything will work out. Also, think about this…If I had not pulled Stacy out of there, she could be in a third-world brothel right now. And…if I had not gotten suspended, I would not be available to investigate what is going on with your friend." Jim was fervently hoping that all of this was true. He didn't know what he was going to do if he was not reinstated.

His voice shifted to a lower, more intimate tone as he said, "I know that I explained to you why we needed to break up and I guess that it hurt you. But my job is dangerous and I just feel that it is wrong of me to put you through the pain and heartache of being married to a police detective. Let's face it, I'm just like most cops, I'm already married to my job. My job is to put my life on the line to keep folks like you and Stacy from harm. That means that I and the people in my life have to be prepared to see me get hurt and killed. I would rather keep you at arm's length from that than see you suffer when I get hurt.

"But I am willing to do anything for you or your family at any time. Not just because it's my job, but because I still care about you. I just don't want you to care for me as much."

Sally nodded at Jim with tears in her eyes. While his statement told her that he still had feelings for her, he was also saying that her feelings for him could not be returned. Her sadness at that was reduced by the amount of time that had passed since their breakup and the fact that she now cared for someone else now.

"I understand, Jim. But I will always love you. I think that caring for you as a lover might have changed to loving you as a brother. I'll do anything to help you too." She leaned over and hugged him fiercely. Just the human contact alone was enough to remind Sally that there was someone else that she needed to know about.

"Can you tell me anything about what is going on with Rob?" she asked, going back to the reason for Jim's visit.

"Whatever he's involved with is even stranger than what your sister was into," he began.

"What do you mean?"

"After you called me, I wasn't able to find out anything when I went to his house and it looked like they hadn't been there for a couple of days," Jim said, pulling out a steno notebook. "It's a good thing that you said that there was something fishy about your boss, Evan, because I decided to keep an eye on him to see if he would lead me somewhere. I got some pictures of him with a couple of guys that I recognize as part of an organized crime group."

He laid some pictures out on the table in front of Sally. She nodded and said, "I've seen the blond one talking to Evan several times."

"Once I saw them and that he matched the description of one the guys claiming to be a federal agent, I followed them to a private clinic on the west side. When the two guys came back out, they had two women with them. One was your friend's wife and the other one just had a different look or feel to her. Also, it looked like the two thugs were keeping a pretty close eye on the one woman. I didn't have anything else to go on, so I followed these guys to a house in the west suburbs."

"What was going on?" Sally asked.

"I really don't know. I called some friends in the department who tried to help, even though they shouldn't because of my status. They tried to get information for me about that private clinic and all of their inquiries came back with very general information. Anything deeper appears to be blocked by Homeland Security and the FBI."

Sally's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm confused. The clinic has ties to government agencies and to organized crime? How is that possible?"

Jim shrugged. "At this point, I don't know. I've kept my distance from everything while I watch. I would need to contact the FBI to find out if they are even aware of what this clinic is up to. It could be that someone is playing both sides of the street."

"What does this have to do with Rob?" Sally asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "I've seen guys who have tried to disguise themselves as woman to hide from the law, so I know what to look for. A predominate Adams apple, large hands and feet, clumsy mannerisms, beard showing through their makeup that kind of thing.

"It would appear that your friend is trying to hide his identity. Do you have any idea why?"

Sally shook her head and said, "No. He has absolutely no reason to want to hide from the police. Could he be in some trouble with those gangsters?"

Jim sat back and let out a sigh. "It's possible. It looked like he was moving willingly, but the way those thugs spaced themselves around him, it looked like that freedom could have been an illusion. They weren't keeping nearly the same watch on the wife. So he might be in trouble and not know it."

Jim clasped his hands on his head while he tried to think.

"Let's see here…Your friend appears to have been disguised as a woman and seems to be under guard by a couple of known Mob enforcers. But the wife does not appear to be under the same control. Your current boss has been keeping company with those same enforcers."

Sally raised her hand slightly and said, "There is something else too. Evan now has control over the company because Rob signed the documents turning control over to him. The blond guy was there."

Sally went on to explain that Evan had been given full control of everything in the company because Rob had told her that he had to go into hiding and why. In reviewing the computer security logs as part of her job, Sally had found that Evan was accessing more and more information about client accounts. She was not privy to more than that because she did not have quite the same clearance as Rob and Evan did.

"Well…Considering all of that, I'm pretty sure that there is something fishy going on with Evan and probably with Geri too," Sally said. "I'm wondering what Evan might be doing at work."

Jim acknowledged these revelations with a nod. "I agree that something is going on, we just don't have enough information yet. Once we do, I think that we are going to need to bring in the department and the feds. Right now, I don't have enough to go to the department to get them to listen to me. If I weren't on suspension, then maybe they would listen."

Sally looked down as he made that comment. She blamed herself for Jim's current situation. Her reaction didn't go unnoticed though and Jim said sharply, "Sally! My suspension was my own fault! If I had gone in with backup, there would be no question of wrong-doing and I would have still saved your sister. This situation is entirely different though. Until we actually have evidence of a crime, all it looks like on the surface is either some sex role playing or your boss is planning on having a sex change operation."

"Jim, you need to know that Rob is due to inherit a huge trust fund from his parents. The thing is that he changed the vesting date by a year and then made me the executor of the account in the event that there were problems. If he were going to have a sex change, do you think that he would have transferred control of that trust fund to me?"

"You're right. I'm not sure if your friend knew or suspected that something might be going on or if he's the kind of guy that just plans against problems."

Sally smiled. "Rob is the kind of guy that plans against problems. I think that he would have a bunker in his basement, but he didn't have the money for that kind of thing. Yet. He does know how to temper his pessimistic streak for the most part, but that also makes him a great financial advisor for our clients."

"I think that there might be something funny going on at your company and you might want an accountant to look into it," Jim said, sitting back.

"I'm afraid that I don't have any legal standing to request an audit. I would have to file a complaint with the SEC to initiate that kind of investigation and that could destroy the company. Plus, I don't know what else might be going on and Rob could get hurt."

"I could make some calls to the SEC and the FBI about all of this, if you would like," Jim offered. "If I don't tell them that it's your company, I could at least find out what the ramifications of calling them in would be."

Sally nodded as she rocked back and forth in thought. "Okay. My brother is studying accounting at the university and he already has a degree in computer security. I could ask him to look into what might be in our computer systems before I destroy Rob's company."

Jim groaned. "Another relative? Am I going to get into more trouble with the department?" His smile let Sally know that he was teasing her and that he was only partially serious.

"Well…He was arrested for computer hacking once," Sally said, deciding to twist the knife a little. "But once he showed Homeland Security how he got past all of their high-level security, they let him go. They now use him as a consultant." Jim could only shake his head in disbelief. "He does have a standing job offer from them though. But he wants to keep it on a part time basis. I don't think he fully trusts the government."

Jim smiled as he relaxed. Sally's brother was apparently a top-level computer hacker. Coupled with his accounting knowledge, he might be able to tell if there was some problem at Sally's company.

"Okay, then. I can't know any more about this then what you've already said. If you tell me anything else, I could be considered an accessory and could be charged, at the very least, for not reporting a crime that I knew was going to be committed. Go ahead and see if you can break into your computer files over the next couple of days or nights. If you find something, you need to call me and tell me that you have happened to discover a possible computer crime in your company. When I report it, they'll still wonder if I knew more about the whole thing, but they won't be able to prove anything. And they'll be more interested in catching and prosecuting perp's at that point anyway.

"I'll take the next few days and keep an eye on the house where they put your friend and his wife. If I see or find out something, I'll let you know. You and your brother need to be careful and let me know if you find out anything."

He looked into Sally's eyes and said, "Sally, I know that you're worried about your friend, but believe me that I will do anything in my power to keep your friends and family from harm."

All Sally could do was blink back tears and nod quickly. She gave her old lover a tight hug and a kiss before he left.

Jim headed back to his apartment for the night. He set his alarm for early the next morning and gathered some equipment he might need. The next few days were going to be spent either talking to Internal Affairs or watching that house in the suburbs.

He toyed with the thought that, if and when, Sally and her brother found any evidence in the company's computers, all hell would break out. He smiled at the thought that he stood a very real chance of getting his job back and a promotion because of this little adventure.

Chapter 6

The car following Rob kept several cars between them and Rob never noticed. After some exploring, he found the shopping center he was looking for. The other car was careful to never get too close.

Rob pulled into the closest parking space he could find to the store, the one really close up had been taken by a dark-colored car just as he saw that the space was open. He sat in the car for many minutes doing his best to combat the panic he felt. He was sure that Geri would understand if he turned the car around right now and went back to explain to her how frightened he was to go out in public looking like a woman when he wasn't.

He finally came to terms with the knots in his stomach and told himself that he couldn't let his wife down. She had shown him in the mirror that his disguise was good enough to make people think he was a woman; he just had to act like it. He was about to get out and go up to the store when he thought that he should make sure that he was presentable. He flipped down the visor in front of him and looked at himself critically. He had finished touching up his lipstick and tucking in a few stray hairs when he stopped himself. When had he learned to do that anyway?

Steeling himself for his first appearance in public as Diana, he made sure to keep his sundress pulled down as he opened his car door and swiveled his legs out. Walking in his high heels was second nature to him, partly due to the changes Winters had made to his posterior. He almost seemed to flow as he walked up to the store's entrance. The sundress came down to just above his knees and the electric feel of the fabric brushing against his bare skin bordered on the erotic. In the back of his mind, he wondered if the procedures he had just undergone made him enjoy these sensations, but he shrugged the thoughts off, he was feeling too good. His path took him past the car that had taken the spot he would have preferred and he did not even notice that the driver had not gotten out yet.

Once inside the store, he snagged a shopping cart and he fumbled with the catch on the unfamiliar purse to dig out the list that had wormed its way to the bottom. Why were there tampons and Midol in his purse he wondered? Stopping to admire his reflection in the store window he reflected that the purse's color matched perfectly with the sundress. As he moved through the store, he tried to watch the people around him, afraid that they would see him as a man masquerading as a woman.

At first, he was very nervous, his heart was beating like a drum and he felt like he was drowning in sweat. A couple of times he had seen people looking at him, but they hadn't frowned or scowled. No one dropped what they were carrying, pointed at him, and started shouting, "Fake! It's a guy dressed like a girl!" Everything was perfectly normal; there were even a couple of older men that had obviously appreciated what they saw.

Rob found himself relaxing and just enjoying the freedom of being able to walk through the store. He hadn't felt so good in a very long time. There were no pressures from the office weighing him down and he was not even concerned about Geri for the moment. He actually caught himself humming tunelessly as he moved through the aisles, surprising himself when he heard his high-pitched voice. It would be so easy right now to just let go, become Diana and forget about Rob…

He had finished loading the cart with everything, including a dozen pair of panty hose that would fit both Geri and himself. It had been a few hours now since breakfast and he realized that he seriously needed to use the restroom. And that is how he found himself frozen between the doors to the Men's room and the Ladies' room. He couldn't go into the Ladies', he was a guy, but he couldn't go into the Men's because he was dressed like a girl. What if he went into one and got caught by someone? His secret would be out! He might even get arrested or worse, humiliated by total strangers.

Just trying to work it out was starting to give him a headache, until he realized the simple facts: He was dressed as a woman and no one saw him as anything else but that woman. If he used the Ladies' room, he would be in a stall and no one would realize just who or what he was as long as he didn't stand to pee. He would be fine as long as he relaxed. Having arrived at his solution, he forged ahead into the Ladies room where was confronted with a new challenge.

The moment he opened the door, he felt like he was being assaulted by echoing screams from within the bathroom. Stepping all the way in, he found a young mother trying to deal with a small boy and a baby in a stroller, both children were crying as loudly as they could.

The baby was obviously unhappy as he or she struggled in the straps of the stroller. The toddler was just as big a problem for his mother as he was fighting her attempts to get him to sit on the toilet. It was so loud, that Rob could not hear if she was actually saying anything to her son. Then again, whatever scolding she might be giving her son might be contributing to the general cacophony in the room. The sound in the small tiled restroom was approaching the point where it seemed like the mirror would start to vibrate and Rob could barely hear himself think. It occurred to him that this was a perfect birth control tool. Put a teenaged girl in here for five minutes and she would never have sex again!

The door had just closed behind Rob when the children's mother realized that someone else was in the room. As she looked over her shoulder to see who it might be, her son took his shot at freedom. In a move worthy of a pro-football linebacker, feinted to his left and then threw himself to his right. This had the effect of putting his mother off-balance, who found herself falling on her ass as she tried to move back into position to corral her son.

While she sat there momentarily stunned, he tried to run around her and to the bathroom door, where he came face-to-face with Rob. At the same moment, the child in the stroller had managed to get his or her leg up and out of one of the straps and was in the process of sliding out the side of the stroller. It was as if both children had coordinated their getaways. It was the Great Escape!

Fortunately, or unfortunately, for the toddler, he was blocked in by Rob. As he skidded to a stop as he realized that there was now an adult in front of him, he found himself scooped up by his mother. She had managed to recover quickly enough to give chase. As she pulled her son back to the toilet, Rob saw that the baby was in the process of becoming entangled in the stroller straps and would be in need of assistance in a moment. He leaned down and scooped up the baby to prevent any harm, just as the young mother had seen the same problem.

"Can I help?" Rob asked in the momentary silence as both children realized that they were caught. They had continued to squall even through their escape attempts.

"I was going to say no," their mother answered with a lopsided grin as she looked up at Rob. "But these two apparently had other ideas. Thank you for catching April. She's been getting better at climbing out of the stroller these days. She'll probably be walking before too long."

Rob cradled April so that she couldn't wriggle away, but she was still unhappy. "Do you have a bottle for her?"

The mother nodded and said, "Yes. It's in the canvas bag in the back of the stroller."

Rob smiled and knelt next to the stroller, being careful to keep his knees together like a lady would. As he leaned forward, little April grabbed at Rob's sham boob and pulled. Before she could fully pull herself up to his breast and latch on, Rob grabbed the bottle and held it in front of April. Immediately, the baby recognized its food, stopped crying, and literally grabbed the bottle. Once the bottle had docked in its mouth, the she stopped squirming entirely and concentrated on draining the bottle dry. At about the same moment, the toddler succumbed to his mother's insistence, stopped crying, and climbed onto the toilet.

The young mother got up from her embarrassing position on the floor and turned to Rob. He beheld a pretty young redhead with a perfect snow white complexion. The only flaw was a small beauty mark on the side of her jaw bone that was just visible. There was something about it that called attention to her perfect skin, without ruining it. When she smiled, her light green eyes seemed to twinkle in unison with her perfect teeth.

Rob found himself holding his breath. This beauty was someone he would have only dreamed about meeting when he was still in college. He was glad that he was wearing the gaffe because he would have been in serious trouble otherwise.

In the ringing silence, the mother of the kids said, "Thank you. I guess I needed the help after all." Her voice brought Rob out of the trance he seemed to be in.

"You're very welcome. There're beautiful children, I am glad I could help." Rob said. The baby was now happily working on the bottle and had relaxed.

"April's teething and that's been making her cranky. This little imp is David. We're just finishing his toilet training and he didn't want to come in and try. I should have planned better before we left this morning. By the way, my name's Tanya."

Rob responded, "Hi, Tanya. I'm Diana." He barely paused when he realized that it would not be wise to use his own name. Rob looked over at David while he rocked April and said, "Hi, David."

The little boy looked up at David from his throne on the throne and said, "Hi. You're pretty." Which caused Rob to turn three shades of red.

All Rob could say was, "Thank you very much."

April's mother noticed the wedding band on Rob's finger asked, "Do you have any children of your own?"

Rob was caught off guard and responded, "No I….I'm not able to bear children."

Several expressions chased each other across her face when she realized that she must have touched on a sensitive subject. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" She faltered when she realized that she didn't know how to apologize for what she thought was her insensitivity.

Rob saw that the conversation had hit a sticking point and he tried to relax some of the tension. "It's okay," he said disarmingly, trying to make it seem like the subject was less than it seemed. "We're working on it."

"Well, you can have one of these imps if you want. For today only, I'll give you a real good deal. At least until my butt stops hurting." She grinned at David who grinned back at his mother. They obviously liked teasing each other.

Rob looked back down at April and saw that she was finishing her bottle. April's mother said, "You're pretty good with April. Can you burp her okay?" She was helping David off of the toilet and cleaning him up.

"I should be able to," Rob answered. "I may not have any of my own but I used to help out with the nursery at church." Seeing that April had finished with the bottle, he pulled it away from her and set it aside. In a quick easy motion, he moved her to his shoulder and began the patting and rubbing process of burping the baby.

After a few minutes, Rob was rewarded by a big wet burp. Both Rob and the children's mother got a funny look on their faces. The mother had a look of horror because she knew what that burp meant and Rob's was a look of confused surprise because he could feel the results of the burp soaking through his dress. From what it looked like, most of what April had inhaled from the bottle was now oozing down the front of Rob's blouse.

"Now is probably not a good time to ask you if you're interested in babysitting," Tanya said. They both broke out laughing at almost the same moment, with Rob lagging behind by just a few seconds.

"It's a rookie mistake, I forgot the burp towel," Rob said unnecessarily.

Tanya pulled David's pants up and stood quickly. "I'm so sorry about this. Let me take her." She reached for April and reluctantly Rob handed her over unexpectedly feeling an emotional loss. Tanya quickly fastened April back into the stroller.

She started pulling baby wipes and cloths out of the diaper bag and said again, "I'm sorry. Here let me." She began dabbing at the soured milk to clean it off. Once she was down to just the stain, she began trying to soak the stain out by pressing lightly and rubbing. As she got closer to Rob's fake breast, she seemed to be pressing and rubbing a little more than it seemed necessary, at least to Rob.

Before Rob could say something that would be awkward for the both, she must have recognized that she was being inappropriate as Tanya blushed bright red and turned to dispose of all of the towels. "I'm sorry," she said avoiding eye contact with Rob.

"It's all right," Rob assured her. He thought that the best thing to do was pretend that nothing had happened. "It's an occupational hazard when you feed and burp a baby."

"I’m afraid that you'll have a stain until you clean this dress. This isn't dry clean only is it?" Tanya's voice said that she was afraid of an affirmative answer.

"Oh, no," Rob said, having no idea if it was or not. "It should wash right out." He hoped that he was right. How was he going to explain to Geri how her dress got stained?

* * * * *

Tanya finished cleaning up the present that little April had splashed all over Rob's shoulder and pronounce her job done. She then apologized all over again. Rob again told her that it was all fine. He wouldn't have stepped in if he hadn't been willing to help in the first place.

Tanya and the kids headed on out of the restroom, but not before Tanya gave Rob her phone number. Rob explained that he was staying with friends and he did not know their number yet and his cell phone was out of network.

He took care of his own business in the restroom, making sure to sit, and was undisturbed. The damp spot on his blouse was almost dry, but there was the lurking aroma of sour milk. He knew that he would be glad to get the dress off when he got back to the house. Thought occurred to him that his wedding band did not really look like woman's wedding ring and that it might give him away, so he slipped it off and zipped into a small pocket in his purse. Then he wheeled his cart up to the front of the store and paid for everything. He noted ruefully that he had just enough to pay for everything. What was left would just about pay for coffee at Starbucks, but he was stuck not being able to buy any Rob-style clothes. He wondered if Geri had planned this out and then he wondered if he really cared.

Resigning himself to being stuck in women's' clothes for a while longer, he pushed the cart of bagged groceries out to the car. Of course, he took no notice that the black car was gone. He also did not notice that it had taken up station in a far corner of the lot. If he had, he would have wondered if the driver was actually following him and why.

Once the car was loaded and the cart safely put away, Rob again climbed demurely into the driver's seat. Where he was rewarded with just a surly grunt from the engine when he turned the ignition key. He tried again and this time heard nothing.

He sat in shock for a moment and reviewed his morning. First he had to go out in public dressed as a girl, alone, then a baby puked all over him, and now the damned car wouldn't start! He had no idea what to do. He didn't know the phone number at the house to be able to call Geri for help and she was the one with the list of numbers for the agents. Why hadn't they given the numbers to him? Everything seemed to be focusing through Geri, as if she were the one in charge. Was there something going on? But that didn't matter right now. He was stranded in a strange town with a dead car with no way to call for help. He realized the calling the police would be a problem too. He didn't look like his driver's license right now or even sound like what a Rob Tanner should sound like. Sure, they could check his fingerprints, but that would take time. He could only imagine the embarrassment he would go through.

For a few moments, everything just seemed to pile up and all Rob wanted to do was cry. It took several minutes for the feeling to finally go away. Pulling himself out of his funk, Rob looked around the parking lot. Happily, he saw a service station at the front of the parking lot. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he got out of the car and started walking.

The garage was deserted when he got there; obviously it was the quiet time of the day here in town. A well-built young man came out of the back in response to the bell when Rob stepped through the door.

"Yes, ma'am. Can I help you?" He came over to where Rob stood by the door. He stood at least six inches taller than Rob and Rob actually had to step back to look him in the eyes without hurting his neck. The mental image of looking like a baby bird wanting to be fed went through Rob's thoughts. Being a guy, the mechanic obviously liked what he saw, but Rob noticed that he was polite enough to look him in the eyes and not the breasts when he spoke.

"Well…My car won't start and I don't know why," Rob answered. He almost stuttered when he spoke to this stud and he was confused as to why. He felt something like a flush of warmth spread through his body and it seemed to settle on his tingling chest and points south. The room seemed to spin for a moment and Rob grabbed at the mechanic's arm for stability. "I'm sorry. I guess the heat made me dizzy."

"No problem," the young man said. "Do you feel okay though?"

"I'm fine now," Rob said, a little embarrassed. "That's never happened before."

"I'll keep an eye on you while you're here. Just in case," the mechanic said. For some reason, Rob felt warm again and a little shy with his flirting. The warm smile Rob was being subjected to wasn't doing anything to help either. "Now let's see about your car. Where are you parked?"

Rob blinked for a moment and said, "I'm over in front of the grocery store."

The mechanic nodded. "Okay. Let's go check it out first and I'll see if it's something that I think I can take care of or not."

As they started back toward the grocery store, the mechanic put his arm around Rob, his hand resting politely at his waist. Rob pulled back until the mechanic said, "I was only making sure that I could catch you if you had another dizzy spell." He pulled his arm back away from Rob.

"Well, I don't let stranger's put their arms around me," Rob said. Then he smiled and said, "At least not until I know their names."

The mechanic stopped and turned to Rob and said, "My name is Jake Adams, ma'am. I'm the owner and operator of this service station." He bowed slightly and held out his hand.

Rob smiled slightly and was caught in the dilemma of returning the gesture — why was his instinct to curtsey? He returned Jake's bow and took his hand politely and said, "How do you do Mr. Adams. My name is Diana." He avoided giving his last name as he did not want to give his own. Jake held Rob's hand, maybe a little longer than necessary as he looked into Rob's eyes. One more time, Rob felt warm. For some reason, Rob did not want to be the first to let go and Jake did so a moment later.

Jake held out his hand and Rob folded himself into Jake's arm, strangely liking the feeling of being taken care of. Rob reflected briefly that these emotions and feelings were starting to hit him more and more. He needed time to sort them out before he was totally lost. But it felt so good to be right here at this moment.

They were back to the car in no time and Jake tried to start it himself. This time there was a click before it refused to make any more noise. Jake turned on the radio and was rewarded with complete silence.

He looked up at Rob and said, "I'm pretty sure that it's the battery. I'll need to get it over to the shop and put it on the charger to be sure though."

"Well, I have a problem," Rob began. "I left the house without my credit cards and I used what cash I had buying groceries." He indicated the bags in the back seat. As far as the credit cards were concerned, they were in Rob Tanner's name and he did not look like Rob Tanner right now. It meant that he could still end up dealing with the police if he used them and if someone questioned them. For that matter, Rob did not know if he even had his credit cards with him in his purse.

"Let me get it over to the garage first. Then we'll see what needs to be done. At the very least, I can't leave a pretty lady stranded in the middle of the parking lot." He smiled at Rob, causing Rob to feel that strange warmth again. Jake looked the car over and then looked across the parking lot. He looked back to Rob and said, "This is a small car and it's pretty flat through here, so I don't think that it will be any problem to push it over to the garage. I'll need you to steer though."

Rob nodded as he got in and rolled down the window. Thank heavens that the car was old enough to not have power steering or power windows.

Jake went around to the back of the car and got into the standard car-pushing position. In a jiffy, the car starting rolling and was actually moving pretty well. Both Jake and Rob kept watch for problem traffic, but no cars came near them and they were at the garage fairly quickly. Rob steered around to the front of the station in response to Jake's shouted instructions.

Once the car was lined up with the front garage door, Jake came up to the driver's side and pushed the car from there. With him leaning on the door post as he pushed, all Rob could smell was Jake's perspiration. It was actually an intoxicating scent and Rob inhaled deeply before he caught himself. The thoughts going through his head scared him, was he somehow going gay on top of everything else that was happening to him?

Jake told Rob to stop the car once it was into the service bay. He quickly had the hood up and he was looking around at the engine. He was out almost as fast as he started.

"From looking at the condition of the terminals on your battery, I'm pretty sure that it just needs a charge. I could jump start you, but you would just have the same problem after you get home. A quick charge would take care of the problem and you would probably finish charging up by the time you get home."

"But I can't pay you," Rob said, his stomach twisting.

"I know that," Jake said. "I'll tell you what. I usually shut down for an hour or so when I take my break. How about you let me buy you a cup of coffee and keep me company over at Starbucks while the car charges up. We'll call it even."

Rob hesitated only for a moment. Jake pretty much had him between a rock and a hard place and they both knew it. "Okay," he said feeling like a little girl. He knew that Jake was hitting on him, but Jake did not know he was hitting on a guy and Rob would have to make sure that he didn't find out. He felt a little guilty about removing his wedding band too.

Jake worked quickly to clean up the battery and started the charging process. Then he escorted Rob back across the parking lot to the Starbucks by the grocery store. He kept his hands to himself and opened the door like a complete gentleman. The girl at the counter took their orders and they quickly had their coffee. They moved over to a small table in the corner and relaxed into their seats.

"Thank you for helping me," Rob said. "It's been a crazy day for me."

"You're very welcome. I couldn't very well leave a beautiful lady marooned, could I?" His frank look at Rob and being called beautiful made Rob blush deep red and feel a little nervous. Seeing Rob's reaction, he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"It's…It's all right," Rob answered. "I'm just not used to hearing someone call me beautiful." Rob's heart seemed to be going faster and faster.

"If you like, I could call you gorgeous…" Jake said, smiling and leaning forward. It hadn't escaped his notice that Rob's ring finger was bare, but the tan line on the finger showed that a ring had been not too long in the past.

Rob blushed an even deeper red and said, "Do you really think so?" He couldn't meet Jake's eyes as he played with his hair played with his hair. In the back of his mind, Rob was yelling at himself, 'What's wrong with you? You're flirting with him!"

Jake continued the standard interrogation process and asked, "Are you just visiting or did you just move into town?"

"Why do you ask that?" Rob's response was typical for a young lady sparring with a handsome young man. He vaguely remembered these kinds of exchanges from his years in college.

"Well, it sounds better than asking you if you come around here often," Jake answered with a smile. "Actually, I know most everyone here in town and there are only two service stations. Considering the condition of your car, I don't think you're passing through. So there you go." Jake spread his hands in explanation.

"That's pretty good," Rob said approvingly. Jake's demonstration of his logical reasoning showed that he was not the stereotype of a garage mechanic.

"I'm visiting some friends here in town and I didn't have their phone number to be able to call them. To tell the truth, I don't even know their address. I just know that it's over that way." He waved back the way he had driven into town from.

"So you navigate by landmarks?" Jake asked.

Rob nodded. "I'm afraid so. Give me a map and I fumble around finding my way. Give me a list of instructions to follow and I can go right there."

Jake took a sip of coffee, trying to look casual. "How long will you be here in town?"

Rob shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I'm waiting to hear from folks back in Philadelphia before I'll know. It could be a few weeks at least, maybe more."

Jake made no attempt to not look happy when he said, "Oh. That's good. For me, at least."

"Why do you say that?"

"I'd like to be able to see you again," Jake said, looking down.

Fortunately for Rob, his cup was almost on the table when Jake made his statement or dropping it might have made a mess. The truth was that Rob was finding whole the conversation confusing. He was enjoying just being with Jake, but he didn't know how to handle Jake's declaration that he found him, actually Diana, attractive. But the longer he sat here with this handsome, intelligent man, the more he wanted to be around him.

"Well, maybe we can. It depends upon how often I can get the car to come into town." Half of Rob's brain seemed to be running the conversation and enjoying it. The other half was standing behind a glass wall beating on it and asking what he thought he was doing. Rob couldn't believe that he was passing as an attractive woman and was flirting with an equally attractive guy.

They chatted for a while about their interests in food and music. Rob found that the town was just large enough to have a small shopping center, a McDonalds, and a Starbucks. There were a couple of good restaurants along the interstate, but a larger selection of shopping and food would require more of a drive in toward Philadelphia.

Rob found himself relaxing into the conversation more and more, almost forgetting that he was a guy under the dress he was wearing. Jake was a smooth talker, but respectful. At no time did he make an off-color remark or look at Rob in any manner that made him uncomfortable. He began to wonder why this guy was still on the loose, he was definitely a catch. He found himself interested in what Jake had to say and wanting to know what he liked and disliked.

Finally, their coffee was long gone and Jake said, "I think that we've overstayed my break."

"I'm so sorry," Rob said. "I was having so much fun just talking that I lost track of time." He was embarrassed with himself that he had let himself get so involved in everything.

Jake escorted Rob back across the parking to the station and they went over to where the car was charging. Jake nodded in satisfaction that the car battery appeared to have accepted the charge.

"Normally, I would charge a battery overnight. But I think that you will be okay to start the car and drive home on. You should be adding to the charge as you go, just don't using the headlights or the radio. Okay?" Rob nodded his understanding. Jake got behind the wheel and turned the key. The car started right up with a roar. Jake and Rob grinned at each in excitement.

Jake handed Diana a business card with his work phone and cell phone numbers. "Would you call me with your friend's phone number when you get home? I'd like to call you," Jake asked.

Rob looked down, suddenly shy. He had been feeling increasingly off-balance as the day went and he thought that had gotten control of himself during the conversation over coffee. Now those dizzying feelings seemed to come rushing back, but where were they coming from?

"I'm not sure if they even have a phone, I don't recall seeing one there." Rob was actually afraid that Jake would think that he was trying to come up with reasons to avoid talking to him.

"Well…I'll tell you what." Jake walked over to the office and took a cell phone out of the desk. "This is a pay-as-you-go phone that I bought some time back. It has a few hours of time left on it, I know because I checked it last week. I want to see you again and this will give you the ability to call me when you come into town again." Jake paused, suddenly embarrassed himself. "That is, if you would not mind seeing me again?"

"No…No…I mean, yes, I'd like that," Rob said. Rob could feel is face turning beet red. He felt like he was so screwed up that he didn't know whether to tell Jake that he couldn't see him again or the he would love to do so. Jake's face almost split in two with a smile when Rob said that meeting him again would be nice, but that Rob would buy the coffee. Jake countered with an offer to meet for drinks some evening, but Rob put him off by saying that he would need to see what his friend's plans were for the next couple of days.

Rob accepted the cell phone and its charger with a genuine smile and put them into his purse. Jake walked him over to the car and opened the door. Rob turned toward Jake with the intention of thanking him for what he had done. As he did so, he came face to face with Jake leaning. Their lips met and Jake's arms wrapped around Rob. The kiss seemed to last forever for Rob and his arms wrapped around Jake by reflex. For some reason, the act of kissing Jake just seemed so right to Rob and he moaned in happiness as Jake's hands slid down his back and squeezed his ass.

Rob's smile was a little dazed as Jake helped him climb into the car. He had to sit for a moment and get control of himself before he backed out and headed for the safe house.