Alex: 2

 

Allie goes away with his wife and sister and decides that skiing is not his cup of tea.
Thank you for the comments on Part 1. I'm very happy that the story is finding a home with some people.

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Author's Note: Please, everyone, Leave me a review? ~Clara.
 
This version of Alex: 2 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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Part 2
 

"Allie!" Mel shouted up the stairs. "When you come down, will you grab the toothpaste? I bought some tooth brushes at the discount store, but I forgot to grab toothpaste."

"Yep!" he called back down.

"Thanks." She turned to go back to checking the small suitcases she'd packed for both Alex and her, but noticed the large, black SUV outside, slowing to turn into their driveway. "Allie! Jill is here!" she called again.

"Be right down!" he shouted and Mel could hear him moving around hurriedly.

"Anyone home?" Jill shouted in her familiar way as she entered, even though Mel was just a few feet away, fussing with the suitcases on the couch.

"What do you think?" Mel laughed. "You're a few minutes early."

"Yeah, I was going to go past the donation boxes over on Lincoln St to get rid of those bags, but there was construction on Harris Boulevard, so I just came directly here."

Mel nodded. "Do want to leave the bags in here for the weekend?"

Jill laughed. "No. I think we've dragged those things in and out of this house plenty of times at this point. There's plenty of room in the car."

"Here's the toothpaste," Alex said, as he came into the room.

"Thanks, Allie," Mel smiled and looked at how well dressed her husband was. Nice, tan slacks, a red, loose fitting, crew-neck sweater with a snowflake design knitted into a classic ski-sweater pattern, and a nice pair of low heeled, brown, casual shoes. Even his hair had been washed, blown dry and brushed before being put into a ponytail. He did have rather prominent breasts as well, but she kind of liked that. "You look nice," she said, sincerely.

"Thanks," he replied, blushing slightly. "I put some water and soda in the cooler. I'll go get it." He left.

When he'd exited the room, Jill smiled at Mel and said, "Well... he looks nice in those clothes, but I'm assuming that he's wearing a shaper under them, right?"

Mel nodded. "They wouldn't fit him without one."

"So, he's ok with looking kind of..." Jill left the sentence hanging.

"Girly?" Mel giggled. "I guess so."

"And you're good with it, too?"

Mel blushed a little as she smiled and said, "I'm great with it."

Jill looked at her sister-in-law's odd behavior and her eyes grew wider. "Oh, my God!" she gushed in an excited whisper. "You two are playing games with my old clothes, aren't you!?"

Melody's blush deepened.

"You are, you tramp," Jill laughed, as she gently and playfully slapped Mel's upper arm. "I can't believe you two."

Mel let out an embarrassed laugh. "I know. I can't believe us, either, but... we're having fun and the sex is..."

"Nope, nope, nope," Jill insisted, covering her ears with her hands. "I don't want to hear another word."

"About what?" Alex asked, returning with a small cooler.

"Nothing," both women said in unison, giggling.

It took another ten minutes or so to get everything organized and carried out to the car. Then they were off for their trip. Alex sat in the back with his iPad and computer open so he could work on the graphics for his presentation of his customer's products in Dennis' stores. It was a three hour drive and they stopped twice, once for gas and once for lunch.

The little place where they ate was a clean, family-run restaurant with pleasant and pretty waitresses who referred to the three of them as 'you ladies.' It was, 'Can I get you ladies anything?' and, 'Would you ladies like a refill on your coffee?' and, 'You ladies have a nice afternoon.' Alex was relieved that no one suspected he was anything other than a woman, and Mel was enjoying every second of it. It was such a naughty thing to do and that naughtiness contributed to the sexual excitement of having her husband dressing in Jill's clothes.

Just after lunch, on the way north, Jill's phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw it was her mother. "It's mom. I'll put it on speaker."

She pushed the 'accept' button. "Hi, mom. How's everything in Maryland today?"

"It's just beautiful here, Jilly. I am so glad that daddy and I made this move. The winters are so much milder. How are you, dear?"

"I'm good, mom. We're on the way up to New Hampshire to go skiing. Remember I told you about it?"

"Oh, yes, I do. Now, you be careful doing that. And keep an eye on Alex, too. You know what a klutz he is. He'll probably end up in the emergency room."

Alex sighed in the back seat. His mother's faith in his ability to fail was unending. "I'm here, too mom."

"Oh, hello, Alex," she replied, unflustered that he'd heard her. "You know I'm right. You be careful and do what Jilly and Mel tell you. No broken bones, please." She giggled, thinking she'd made a pretty good joke.

"Allie closed a really big deal yesterday, mom," Jill told her, proud of her older, but smaller brother. "It should be very lucrative for him."

"That's nice, dear," their mother replied, hardly noticing what had been said. "Listen, I don't want to hold you up, but when might you be coming down to see us?"

"Gosh, mom, I'm not sure. I'm pretty busy right now and the weather is pretty unpredictable in the winter. Probably not until it's warmer."

"Oh... ok..." she sounded downhearted, but it was a device she used to get her way. It wasn't working at the moment, though.

"Mom, I told you when you and dad decided to move down there that I couldn't come running all the time. I will come when I feel like I have the time and the weather is cooperating. Ok?"

"I guess it'll have to be," she sighed.

"Ok, mom, I have to go," Jill said. "I love you and dad."

"And we love you, too, dear," she sighed, again. "Goodbye."

The call ended.

From the backseat, Alex quietly mimicked his mother's voice. "And Alex, we love you, too." Then in his own voice he said, "Love you, mom. See you someday." He shook his head and kept working.

Mel reached back and squeezed his hand in an 'I love you' gesture. Both of the women just glanced at each other, disappointed in Alex's parents' lack of interest in their son's life.

"Wow!" Melody said from the front passenger seat. Alex was still working on the presentation, but Melody reached back and tapped his leg. "Alex, honey, look at that!"

"Holy cow!" Alex gasped, looking up from his work.

The Omni Mount Washington Resort at Breton Wood was (and is) a stunning structure, sitting high on the side of New Hampshire's White Mountain range in the shadow of Mount Washington. A huge, white, wooden structure with a startling red roof that stood out dramatically against the snow covered mountains around it. It was of another time and couldn't help but impress guests as they arrived.

"Can we afford this?" Alex asked, without thinking.

"Of course we can," Jill laughed. "This is my anniversary present to you two."

"Oh, Jill, it looks so grand!" Mel gaped. "I've looked at it online a million times, but it's just breathtaking in person."

"It is beautiful," Jill agreed. She drove up the drive and into the parking area. They each pulled out their suitcases, rolled them through the well shoveled lot and entered the lobby, which was just as grand and impressive as the exterior.

"Wow!" Mel said, repeatedly, as she took everything in. She had her phone out and was taking pictures of everything. "I feel like I'm a big shot or something."

"Everyone who stays at the Omni is a big shot, Miss," a very friendly desk clerk remarked.

They checked in and found their adjoining rooms with a connecting door on the second floor. Both had amazing views of the mountains.

"I could just sit in the room all day and look at all of this," Alex said, not really meaning it.

"Like heck you are," Melody giggled. "Come on. Get your ski clothes on. We're hitting the slopes."

Fifteen minutes later, they were headed out the door and headed to the Breton Woods Ski Area, one of the highest rated ski areas in the country.

Their ski rentals had already been arranged, so when they showed up, boots, skis and polls were waiting. They got geared up as quickly as they could and soon were ready to do some warm up runs on an easy trail.

The crisp wind was a wonderful feeling as it blew across the exposed skin on their faces - Well, at least Melody and Jill found it wonderful. Alex was working hard to keep up and wasn't happy about any part of him being cold. He did have to admit, though, the ski-suit-hand-me-down from Jill was very warm. Much warmer than his old suit.

"So, let's take the lift up and do a real run," Melody suggested. "I can't wait to do a long trail."

"Awesome!" Jill agreed.

"Umm..." Alex began, but he couldn't finish because while standing there talking, one of his skis moved just enough so that he lost his balance and fell to the snowy ground.

"Oops," an unfamiliar voice said, skiing up beside them all. The man on the skis was a thirty-ish guy who's wind-blown face looked as if he'd been out in the sun and wind and snow his whole life. He offered Alex a hand and easily helped him to stand, again.

"It looks as if one of you could use a lesson or two," the man said with a big, white smile. "My name is Hans and I am a ski instructor here. I have one student for the afternoon, but there's always room for another. That is... if you'd like to join us, of course." When no one responded, Hans added, "It's free, of course. My services are included in your resort reservation."

"What do you say, Allie?" Melody asked, genuinely excited at the idea of having Alex learn to ski better so he could keep up.

"Well, I guess I could use some pointers," he shrugged. The truth was, he was petrified of going way up on the mountain and skiing back down. There were so many ways of getting hurt and he'd heard about experienced skiers getting badly hurt on slopes like this. "Would you mind if I spent some time on the smaller slopes getting better at the basics before I go up on the bigger slopes?"

"Allie, that's a great idea!" Mel beamed. "You go ahead and work with Hans and maybe tomorrow or the next day you'll feel up to joining us on the big runs."

"Sounds great!" Alex smiled, incredibly relieved to not have to take on the harder runs just yet.

All of a sudden, he felt an arm around his shoulder, squeezing him. "Don't worry, ladies. I'll take care of this girl for you."

"I bet you will," Jill smirked at her brother in his pretty purple, form fitting ski suit that nicely fitted his shape-wear encased body. Then she looked at the flirtatious, handsome, athletic man who had his arm around him and let out a little giggle. "Be a good girl, Allie," she grinned. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She and and Mel skied away towards the lift.

Hans gave Alex a reassuring squeeze and said, "Come meet my other student for the afternoon."

Alex followed him, skiing slowly, to the area near the T-bar lift for the beginners hill.

"Alice," Hans said, indicating the other student before swinging his arm back, "meet Allie. She will be joining us."

"Oh, thank God!" Alice laughed. "I thought I was the only adult here that couldn't ski!"

"I can ski, a bit," Alex said, defensively, "but my wife and sister want to ski the big slopes. I'm not ready for that."

"Same here," Alice laughed. "My husband is up there somewhere having a great time by himself while I keep trying to stay upright on these things."

Alex smiled. "I know how you feel. The rest of my family skis much better than I do. I'd rather not go up that mountain just yet."

"Alright, ladies," Hans said, "let's get to work."

For the next two hours, Hans worked them both hard. Pushing them to try harder and harder maneuvers in his efforts to make them both better skiers. They fell a lot and learned a little, but it soon became obvious that these two students did not have great aptitudes for this particular sport.

"That's enough!" Alice finally announced, smiling, but tired. "I've had enough for today. I don't know about you, Allie, but I am ready for a nice brandy in the lodge."

"That sounds perfect," Alex smiled in agreement.

"Are you sure ladies?" Hans asked, still being flirty. "You've both gotten better."

"We're sure," both students said in unison.

"Alright," Hans shrugged. "If you want some more pointers, just let the front desk know. I'll be here from nine to four tomorrow and every other day."

They thanked him and skied slowly and carefully back to the rental area. They both turned in their ski gear, put on their own boots and headed into the lodge.

Inside, Alice immediately pulled the zipper of her ski-suit down to the belt, pulled off her hat and gloves and pulled her arms out, leaving the top hanging down behind her and exposing her flowered, thermal top.

Alex kept his suit closed for a few steps, but the warmth of the lodge's interior made keeping the suit closed impossible. He was soon wearing his suit the same way that Alice was and also exposing his flowered, thermal top, which clung to the breasts that Jill's hand-me-down shaper created.

Alice was chatting about how odd she found it that her husband LOVED skiing so much as she slipped her arm into Alex's and spoke playfully and quietly to him until she guided him into the cozy lounge off of the lobby.

They stopped and took in the view of the mountains from the tall, wide windows.

"Ahh, this is how I like to take in nature," Alice laughed. "From behind thick plate glass, in the comfort of a well heated interior."

Alex laughed with her. "I have to admit, I agree with you. My sister and my wife are all about being on the slopes. This is my natural habitat - a nice room with good liquor."

"A woman after my own heart," Alice laughed. "Come on. Let's get something to warm us up."

Since it was still fairly early, there were plenty of seats available in the bar, so they sat at a table by the fire that still offered the alpine view.

A very attractive waitress arrived immediately. "Hello, ladies," she smiled. "May I take your orders?"

"Yes," Alice smiled. She put her hand on Alex's arm as if to tell him that she would place the order. "We'll each have a snifter of Louis XIII cognac, please. Oh, and a cheese-board, if you have them."

"Of course," the waitress smiled, but Alex felt a wave of panic rush across him. He'd never had Louis XIII cognac before, but he was certainly aware of it AND it's two thousand dollar a bottle price tag. He didn't know what they'd be charging for a snifter, but he was reasonably sure that the two ounces or so of liquor the eight ounce cup would contain would cost a lot more than he could afford.

"Oh," Alex said, stopping the waitress, "make mine a Courvoisier, please," he said, requesting the cognac he most frequently purchased at forty five to fifty dollars a bottle.

"Yes, Miss," the waitress' smile dimmed, disappointed at the change.

Alice scowled at Alex. "You will have no such thing. That doesn't taste like cognac, that tastes like rotten oranges. We'll both have the Louis XIII and charge it to The Presidential Suite."

When the waitress had walked away, Alex spoke quietly. "Alice, that's very generous of you, but each of those drinks is going to cost AT LEAST two hundred and fifty dollars. I can't let you spend that much on me."

Alice waved him off with a head shake and hand wave. "Don't be ridiculous. When I'm on vacation, I want only the best, and when I drink alcohol of any kind, I drink to enjoy the taste, not to get drunk. Once you've had good liquor, you'll never drink that cheap stuff again."

"I know..." Alex was not comfortable with this amount of money being spent on two drinks, "... but that particular liquor... couldn't we have made due with a Camus XO or something like that. Still top shelf, but a lot cheaper."

"Oh, so you know your liquor," Alice smiled, broadly. "That's perfect." She leaned in a bit and spoke more quietly. "Look, Allie, I hope this doesn't seem too... outlandish... or pathetic..." she laughed a little, "but I have to admit that buying you that drink is a bit of a bribe."

"A bribe?"

"Yes. You see, I love getting away on a vacation and relaxing in the bar or the spa or shopping, you get it, but my husband is 'Mr Outdoors' whenever he's not working. Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, but our ideas of vacations end at locations. If we go to the islands, he's off scuba diving and golfing. If we go to the mountains, he's skiing or, if it's warm, hiking or golfing. Lord, he'd be golfing every day of the week if he could."

At that point, the waitress reappeared and placed a cheese-board on the table along with two snifters with a little bit of amber-orange liquor in them. She smiled and asked if they needed anything before she left. Alice thanked her and sent her away.

"Which brings me to my bribe," Alice continued. "You make me laugh, Allie. I think I see a sister spirit in you. Now, I know you have your own vacation plans and I don't want to interfere with those, and I know I'm almost old enough to be your mom, but I am hoping that we might be able to spend a little time together over the next few days. You know - Just to have a friend to do a little shopping with or maybe meet for a drink. Nothing insane. Just something like this."

Alex nodded. He was very relieved that Alice was just looking for some friendship, he didn't want to be alone all week, either, and the idea of being on the ski slopes for six or eight hours at a time was exhausting. He smiled at his new companion and said. "Alice. I can't do outdoorsy things like skiing all day, either. I have absolutely no interest in falling down in the cold and I would love to hang out with you for the next few days, but not like this. I can't let you spend this kind of money on drinks for me. I'll pay for my own. Ok."

Alice smiled and squeezed his hand. "We shall see, but thank you for hanging out with me. We'll have fun, you'll see. There's lots of things to do here. That's why I booked it for an anniversary surprise. We'll have fun. I promise."

That sounded great to Alex.

Just then, Alex's phone chimed. He looked at it and saw a text from Mel. "WE'RE WAITING FOR THE LIFT TO DO ONE MORE RUN BEFORE WE CALL IT A DAY. ARE YOU STILL ON THE SLOPES?'

'NO. I FELL ENOUGH. IN THE LOUNGE OFF THE LOBBY WITH A FRIEND I MADE WHILE STRUGGLING TO REMAIN UPRIGHT.'

'HAHA. SEE YOU THERE IN HALF HOUR.'

"My wife," he explained to Alice. "One more run and they'll meet me here."

Alice glanced at her watch and said, "I'm sure that hubby will be down soon, too. He knows where I'll be." She smiled and took a tiny sip. "Oh, my. That is heaven. Try it."

Almost soft afraid to consume something so expensive, Alex raised his snifter to his nose and took a good sniff. If was fruity and full bodied, but not the typical smell of rotten oranges that he associated with Courvoisier. It was a more subtle aroma. Less overwhelming. More inviting. He took a very small sip and felt the subtle burn as it hit his tongue and throat and then... bliss. His tastebuds exploded with the variety of tastes hitting them all at once. Fruity and hot, but subtle and embracing. The warmth spread through his body quickly, pushing away the cold of the slopes and the aches from the falls. Just that one sip was almost life changing. He'd always loved good liquor, but could only afford it when he could get it wholesale. This was almost unfair. He could never afford this nectar on his own and having it just once was never going to enough.

"Well?" Alice asked, knowing the answer already.

"Holy Moses," he said, looking at the elixir in his glass and still running his tongue around his mouth to catch every atom of what he'd just tasted. "I've never tasted ANYTHING like that."

Alice laughed. "See. Stick with me, young lady, and you will learn a lot about good living. Now, nibble a little cheese on a cracker to cleanse your pallet and, in a little while, take another sip. If you don't drink it quickly, it'll never get old. Each sip is just as amazing."

Alice was right. It was the same blissful experience with each tiny sip. Twenty minutes later he'd barely made a dent in the two ounce serving, but he was content to keep sipping for hours.

"So, tell me about yourself," Alice said as they sipped.

"Not a very interesting story," Alex mused, nibbling on a cracker with a subtle goat cheese spread on it. "I live in central Massachusetts with my wife. I am in sales - wholesale sales - selling to merchants, that sort of thing. No pets and no children."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty five."

"Well, there's still lots of time for children if you want them. I had them early and it was a blessing, but my family had a little money and my husband went to work for my father right out of Boston College Business School. So, we were ok... financially, I mean. I was only seventeen when I met him. He was twenty two and... ahh... as handsome as an actor. He's still handsome, don't get me wrong. Anyway, after I graduated from high school, I wasn't interested in college, so I went to work for daddy. I flirted and flirted and flirted until I finally got Denny to ask me out. I was married at nineteen, had my first baby at twenty and my fourth at twenty four."

"Wow!" Alex said. "Four kids in four years."

"Five years... almost six," Alice mused. "I loved having babies around though. I know, they're not for everyone, but for me they were heavenly. I keep telling my girls that I need grand babies in my house, but it's harder today. Everyone needs a career and it takes time to establish yourself... I get it. One of my girls is a lesbian, too. She has as a wonderful wife. She's talking about artificial insemination for one of them to have a baby. Who knows. Someday I'll have another baby in my life."

Something about this conversation was starting to sound familiar to Alex, but before he could ask Alice anything more about her husband, a hand touched his shoulder, followed by a kiss on his cheek.

"Hi, babe," Melody said, pulling out a chair beside him. "Mind if we join you?" she looked across the table at Alice and offered her hand. "Hi. I'm Allie's wife, Melody."

"And I'm Jill, Allie's sister," Jill said, also offering a hand and pulling out a seat.

"Alice," Alice smiled. "Can I get you a drink?"

The waitress had appeared from nowhere.

"Two rum and cokes, please," Jill spoke up. "Charge them to room 207, please."

"Nonsense," Alice said. "On my bill, please, and while you're at it, bring a Sam Adams on tap for my husband. He should be here any minute, now."

"What are you drinking?" Mel asked, reaching for Alex's glass. He stopped her with a slight tap.

"I'll let you take a tiny sip, but that's all."

Melody took the glass and took the sip. Her eyes narrowed as the tastes hit her tongue. "My God. What is that?" she passed the glass to Jill.

'Just a sip," Alex warned.

"Whoa," Jill let out.

"That is one of the best and most expensive cognacs on the market," Alex said, as if he was a teacher talking to a class. "That little bit costs at least two hundred and fifty dollars, so each of those sips was probably ten bucks worth of brandy."

"Two hundred...!" Melody started, sounding almost panicky.

"Don't worry, it was my treat," Alice assured her. "Would you two like to try some, too?"

Both women shook their heads. The price was too steep.

"I'll stick with my rum and coke, thanks," Jill spoke for them both. "They'll probably charge me fifteen dollars for that here. That's more than expensive enough."

In fact, it was only eight dollars apiece for the rum and cokes.

Alex explained how he and Alice had met on the beginners slope and had given up after two hours of falling.

Alice explained how she'd asked Alex, or Allie as she knew him, to accompany her around the resort for the next few days. "We're both ski widows," she smiled. "Why not keep each other company and have some fun in the process."

"We'll, that's great!" Mel said, happily. "I felt like I was abandoning Allie earlier. I'm so glad you two made friends."

"Alice was just telling me about her husband... Denny, you said, right, Alice?"

"Yes, Denny," she smiled as she took another sip. The waitress dropped off the new drink order and receded back into the shadows. "Denny and I have been married thirty years, but haven't agreed on vacation activities once."

Jill glanced at Alex and surreptitiously mouthed the name 'Denny?' to Alex. Alex shrugged in return. There had to be millions of Dennises or Dennys in the world, right? What we're the chances...

"There you are! I knew I'd find you here," and all too familiar voice to both Jill and Alex came from a man entering their area of the lounge.

Dennis Cole approached the table and stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, my goodness! What are you two doing here?" he laughed good naturedly as he pulled a chair from a neighboring table and sat between his wife and Jill.

"You know each other?" Alice asked.

"I know Jill and Allie," Dennis smiled. "I've not had the pleasure of meeting this lovely lady, but if I had to guess, I'd say that this is Melody. Allie's lovely wife. Am I correct?"

Mel's mouth was hanging open in confusion. "I... ummm... yes, I am Melody... well, Mel... please... and I have to admit, I am very confused."

"Me too," Alice chuckled.

"I told you about these two," Dennis smiled, picking up the beer that had been waiting for him and taking a healthy gulp of it. "Allie, here, is one of my new suppliers and this is his sister-slash-hype-man, Jill. We had brunch yesterday morning. How did you all end up together?"

"Well, this trip is actually, my anniversary present to Mel and Allie," Jill explained. "That's why we're here. I'm waiting to figure out the rest of this story, too."

"Well, the long and the short of it is," Alice explained, "I tried and failed to stay up on those darned skis for a while and then I asked for an instructor. They gave me one named Hans - oh, ladies... he is gorgeous - anyway, Hans was about to start my lessons when we both saw Allie struggling to keep up with her party..."

"And falling while standing still," Alex added with a little giggle.

"So, Hans invited Allie to join us. Well, we gave it a good try, didn't we Allie? but we both got tired of ending up on our backs in the snow. So, we came in here about an hour ago to warm up with some Louis XIII."

"Huh," Dennis nodded, looking at the snifters of cognac. "Louis XIII is an expensive companion."

"We're on vacation, Denny," Alice smiled, playfully. "Let me enjoy myself."

He kissed her cheek. "Enjoy it all, my dear. I had a great time on the mountain."

He looked at Alex, Jill and Melody and smiled, a tiny bit embarrassed by his public display of affection. "So... this is all just a coincidence, then? Kismet, as they say."

"It is," Alex nodded, "but I do have my laptop with me and I have already sent off an order for graphics for your stores, if you'd like to see..."

"He would not," Alice said in a friendly, but emphatic tone. "No business on vacation. That's the rule."

"That's the rule," Dennis smiled at everyone and took another healthy swig of his beer. "We'll need to go get changed soon. We have reservations in the main dining room at seven thirty."

"We have plenty of time," Alice waved him off. It's only five fifteen and you get ready in ten minutes. I only need fifteen or so."

"Yeah," Dennis laughed. "You can get ready in fifteen minutes."

"Ok, forty five, but we still have plenty of time," Alice laughed. Then she looked at Alex. "Allie, what's your cell number? I'll give you a ring and then you'll have mine."

They took care of that and Dennis drained his glass.

"Ok," Dennis said. "Drink up, Alice. We need to get going."

"Drink up?" she laughed. "I'll have the bar hold this for me and send it to our dinner table."

Dennis smiled affectionately as he stood. He was obviously amused by his wife. "We'll we see you ladies in the dining room?"

Jill answered for them. "I don't think so. We were talking about pizza in Stickney's Pub. You know, the barroom, really."

Dennis scoffed. "I thought you were celebrating your anniversary?"

"We are," Mel said.

"Well, pizza in a pub is hardly the proper way to celebrate your anniversary. You're all coming to dinner with us. Our treat. Seven thirty in the dinning room."

"Oh, I don't know," Alex said, nervous about spending too much time with his biggest, and currently only, client. "You already have a reservation..."

Dennis wasn't paying attention. He was waving for the bar's manager to come see him.

"Yes, sir. How may I help you?"

Dennis was rummaging for something in his interior pocket as he spoke. "Would you please call up to the main dinning room and tell them that the Cole reservation at seven thirty needs to be enlarged from two to five?" he pulled something out of his interior pocket.

"Oh, sir, I'm not sure that they can accommodate a change that big at this late..."

It turned out that Dennis had taken out his wallet. As the bar manager spoke, Dennis pulled out two hundred dollar bills.

"... I will call them," the bar manager said, accepting the money.

Dennis helped Alice to her feet and grabbed a cracker from the cheese board while he waited. He put a chunk of a local cheddar on the cracker and ate it in two bites. He had just finished it when the bar manager returned.

"You're all set, sir," he said. "Five at seven thirty."

"Excellent," Dennis smiled and shook the man's hand. "Now, can you arrange for my wife's cognac to be on our table?"

"And Allie's too," Alice reminded him.

"And this young lady's as well," he added.

"Of course, sir," the manager smiled. "I will see to it myself."

"Thank you," Dennis smiled as the manager took the drinks.

"Then it's settled," Dennis smiled. "We'll see you at seven thirty." They said their goodbyes and left.

The moment they had left the bar, Jill looked at her brother and said, "It looks like you really stepped in it, Allie."

Alex nodded and sighed.

"What's the big deal," Melody asked. "You just tell them that they're mistaken about your sex because of the clothing issue... blah, blah, blah, and we go one with our lives."

Jill and Alex looked at each other and shook their heads. "No," Alex said. "Dennis must have said at least six times that he relied on gut instinct. If I tell him I'm not who he thinks I am, that's the end of our deal. I guarantee it."

"I agree," Jill chimed in. "I don't think he'd take it well."

"So, then you're a woman for the rest of the trip," Mel said with a sexy smile. "I don't mind."

"Ok," Jill said leaning in, "but we need to rethink what Allie's wearing around the resort. Since he's not just wearing the ski-suit most of the time, he'll need nicer things to wear around. Putting that off until tomorrow morning, though, what about dinner?"

"What about it?" Alex asked.

"Allie, the main dinning room is a formal restaurant. You can't wear jeans and a top. We need something nicer and, I know it's a lot, but you'll need to do your hair nicer and wear a little makeup."

"Really?" Alex wasn't thrilled at the thought of becoming even more feminine.

Jill nodded. "Let's go upstairs and empty a suitcase out. Then I'll go get some clothes from the car."

"Why do you need a suitcase?" Alex asked. "Are you planning on bringing a lot of stuff?"

"Well, yeah," Jill said, "and I'm not going to walk into the lobby of an Omni hotel carrying trash bags full of clothes." She shook her head at Alex's foolishness. "Come on, let's go."

As they passed through the lobby, Jill spotted a small pharmacy tucked away in the back of the resort's lobby. "You guys go ahead up and empty a suitcase. I'll be right up."
 

~^~
 

"Yeah, I agree," Alice said to Dennis, as she stood in the bathroom, wearing an elegant, black silk slip while doing her makeup, "she is a bit of an odd duck, but she's funny and seems smart. Besides, I always end up alone on these trips. We had a good time on the slopes and I would just like to have a friend to hang out with while we're here. That's all."

Dennis sighed in the other room. "Alright, but just remember that I don't love mixing work and personal life. As soon as you get too involved in your employees' personal life, things get messy."

"Well, she's not your employee, is she? She's an independent contractor that you hired as a supplier. No problem, then, right?"

Dennis looked at an assortment of ties as he spoke. "I did enjoy my time with her and the sister yesterday. The sister is very outgoing and smart, too. The wife surprised me though."

"How so?"

He shrugged as he picked out the evening's neckwear. "I don't know. I guess she just didn't give off a lesbian vibe."

"What the heck is a lesbian vibe?"

He shrugged again as he tied the tie. "You know what I mean. We knew that our Leslie was a lesbian when she was six years old. When she brought home Ramona, we knew she was the real deal, too. Allie certainly gives off that vibe, but her wife... what was her name?"

"Umm... Melody. Yes, they call her 'Mel.'"

"That's it. Thanks. This 'Melody' doesn't give off that vibe at all. She's too pretty and acts too normal."

Alice came back into the room and grabbed a cocktail dress that was hanging on the closet rod. "That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard," she chided. "My guess is that Mel has never had to defend her proclivities, while Allie, with all of her quirks and oddities, is just uncomfortable in new social situations. You know, not everyone bounced back from the lockdown the way you have. She probably spent the bulk of that time without a lot of social contact. For a girl as quirky as Allie, that has to have an impact of some kind. Zip me up."

Dennis ran the zipper up the back of his wife's dress. "I'm sure you're right."

"I always am."

He snickered at that. "Ok. Have a good time with her, then. She seems like a nice kid, but don't be surprised if she isn't as free-spirited as you are."

"Oh, she will be," Alice giggled. "Mark my words - by the time we leave here, Allie will be just as relaxed in her own skin as I am."

Dennis chuckled at his wife's perseverance. If this was how she wanted to enjoy her vacation, that was fine with him. He patted her back to let her know the zipper was secured.

She turned and looked at him, displaying the way her cocktail dress hung to her shapely body and said, "Tada! Now, look - we're ready and there's still an hour to go before dinner."

Dennis laughed. He knew she'd hurried just to prove a point.
 

~^~
 

In Mel and Allie's room, things were a lot more hectic. Mel had grabbed her suitcase because it was slightly larger than Alex's, dumped the clothes in it onto the bed and had it ready for Jill when she arrived a few moments later.

"I'll take the suitcase, you take this," Jill said, in a rush, handing Mel a bag from the pharmacy downstairs.

"What's this?"

"It's two bottles of Nair, some baby oil, hair ties, alcohol and sewing needles."

"Ok," Mel said, confused. "What should I do with all of this?"

"Use the Nair on his legs, chest, shoulders, face, sideburns, arms... anywhere that might show when he's wearing a dress."

"A dress?" Alex asked from across the room where he was getting undressed in preparation for a shower.

"I'm not sure what I brought that will work, Allie. Just get ready for maximum skin exposure - just to be sure."

"On his face, though?" Mel asked, wondering why he couldn't just shave there.

"Look, Mel... I can tell when Allie has shaved because his face gets a little rash from the blade. Just use the Nair so that his skin is smooth without any irritation. The the baby oil to sooth it even more."

"Ok," Melody sighed to the door as Jill closed it on the way out. Then she turned to look at Alex, still in his knee length body shaper, and shrugged. "Strip to the skin, babe. We're going to make you smooth as a baby's butt."

About fifteen minutes later, just seconds after Alex got into the shower, Jill came back into the room with a full suitcase. She tossed it onto the messy bed and pulled out a navy blue cocktail dress that she'd bought and worn one time to a Christmas party. It had a retro, quasi 1950s quality to it, with an off the shoulder, modest sweetheart neckline, short sleeves, a moderately high waist and a wide, swing skirt.

"What so you think?" Jill asked Mel. "It's exactly the kind of dress that's appropriate for a formal restaurant."

Mel shook her head. "I don't know, Jill. I mean, it's a beautiful dress, but do you think Allie will wear it?"

"I think it's his best choice," Jill said, sincerely. "So far, he's been the odd ball, tomboy, but I'm a little afraid that Dennis might find that tiring. He needs to be a pretty lady if we're going to a restaurant designed for handsome men and pretty ladies."

"Ok."

By the time Alex got out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, Jill had already run next door and showered. She was wearing a bra and a half-slip, stockings and nice heels. Her makeup was done and her hair was in hot rollers. Jill was a girl with a busy schedule and she knew how to hustle when she had to.

"I'm going to shower, now" Mel said to Alex. "Do what Jill tells you to do. It's important that we do this right for you, Allie."

"Ok," he said, knowing he'd dug himself a deep hole.

Jill had everything ready to go. "Ok, Allie. Turn your back to me and drop the towel. We're going to put baby oil on you to make sure that the Nair doesn't irritate your skin."

She poured some oil into his hands and told him to rub it into his upper thighs and belly while she went to work on his back and legs. Then she took his towel and dabbed him all over to be sure that there was no excess oil to get on his clothes.

"Here," Jill said, handing Alex a pair of black, nylon panties with a flowered panel in the front.

"These are fancy," Alex said, shaking his head and not wanting to make a big deal out of anything.

"Well, it's a fancy dinner."

As Alex pulled up the panties, Jill got an accidental glimpse of his now hairless groin. She hadn’t expected that area to be denuded, but it had been. Oh well.

Next came the body shaper. It was a different style than the one he’d worn before. Besides having no legs, it had no straps. It was also black and absolutely covered in a floral design.

"Make sure you’re all tucked in," she reminded him as he pulled the garment up his legs.

"Yep."

When he had the shaper in place, Jill shook her head.

"What’s the matter?" Alex asked.

"Well, the shaper gives you plenty of shape in the waist and sides, but without straps, your not getting enough lift to give you believable boobs." She stared for a moment, then snapped her fingers and ran back into her room and returned with what looked like two bra cups with shoelaces laces in between.

"Ok, roll your top down a little," she instructed.

He did so, but asked, "What’s that?"

"It’s a sticky bra. Look, I’ll loosen the laces. There’s a little toggle on the laces, see, so I just lower that. Now, I’m going to stick the cups to the underside of your natural boobs..."

"I’m a guy. I don’t have natural boobs."

"Yeah. Says you. Anyway, now that it’s stuck in place, I raise the toggle to tighten the laces and watch."

As she raised the toggle, it tightened the laces between the bra cups and pulled the extra skin up and together, forming a very impressive and very feminine cleavage.

"And there we go!" Jill announced.

"Damn," Alex said, shaking his head, both horrified and impressed by the results.

Jill pulled the shaper back into place, securing the new boobs.

"There we go!" Jill proclaimed. "Of course, now that I’ve loaned you my sticky bra, I can’t wear a bare-shouldered dress tonight, but you’ll look impressive. Now, come into my room and let me do your hair and makeup."

He was seated in a chair while Jill went to work with her hot rollers. She wound a dozen or so of them them into his hair and gave his head a quick dousing of hair spray before she went to work on his face.

"I need to clean up your brows a little, Allie," she explained, as she grabbed something from her cosmetic bag.

"Your not going to pluck them, are you?"

"Nope," Jill smirked as she flicked the switch on a little electric eyebrow shaver.

"Wait!" Alex said, pulling his head back. "You’re going to give me lady’s eyebrows? I’ll have those for months."

"I’m going to groom them a little bit, Allie. Lots of guys groom their eyebrows nowadays. No one will notice. Now, just let me do what needs to be done."

Reluctantly, he sighed and let his head return to its normal position, allowing Jill to get to work.

When that was done, she set about getting his makeup done. A light base was blended all the way down to his new cleavage. Then she went to work with brushes of various shapes and sizes as she worked with her makeup pallets to reach the effect she desired.

"I’m out of the shower," Mel called from the next room.

"Ok!" Jill called back. "I’m getting your wife ready."

Mel stuck her head into the room. She was wearing only her fanciest bra and panties and looking incredibly beautiful. Had his penis had the room to do so, Alex would have gotten hard at the sight of her, but currently, he was heavily restrained in the shaper.

"Ooh," Mel teased. "Black undies. I like it! Are your panties black, too?"

"They are," Jill answered for Alex. "They’re also silky and very pretty." She smiled and winked at Mel.

"Ooh, I can’t wait," Mel teased. "I’m just going to brush my hair and put on my dress. Be right back."

Moments later, Mel was back, dressed in a slender, black dress that showed off her incredible, fit body. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, yet, but that was not unusual for Mel. Heeled shoes went on as she headed out the door and came off as she came back in.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Mel asked.

"Take the ice bucket and get a little ice from the machine down the hall," Jill instructed.

"Ice? Why?"

Without stopping her work on his makeup, Jill pointed to Alex’s earlobe.

"Ahh," Mel nodded, grabbed the bucket and hurried out the door.

By the time she returned, Jill was just finishing her makeup work. Of course, Alex’s hair was still up in rollers, but Mel could see that Jill’s skill with makeup had transformed little Alex’s face tremendously. It was very exciting to be a part of this whole thing.

Jill grabbed an eyebrow pencil and made a dot on Alex’s left earlobe, then made a corresponding dot on the right lobe, careful to make sure that each dot was even and centered.

"What are you doing now?" Alex asked as his wife held a piece of ice on each side of his left earlobe.

"What my girlfriends and I did to each other when we were twelve years old. So don’t move." Jill said, with authority.

Hiding her hands from her brother, Jill soaked a large sewing needle in alcohol for a moment while she got a pair of large, dark blue stud earrings prepared. Once everything was ready, she gave Mel a nod, Mel pulled the ice away and Jill pierced Alex’s ear with the very sharp needle. He hardly reacted at all, so she wiped the lobe with alcohol and put the stud in place.

As she moved to the other side, where Mel was already holding the ice, Alex said, "I don’t know why you’re being so sneaky. I know your putting clip-ons earrings on my ears. Why are you numbing my ears first?"

"So they won’t hurt," Jill said with a smile as she pierced the other lobe, wiped it down and installed the other earring.

"Ok, hair," she said, tossing everything else aside and pulling the hot rollers from Alex’s hair. "How are we on time?"

"Thirty two minutes," Mel announced.

"Shoot," Jill grunted. "Are you ready to go?"

"Just need to slip on my heels and I’m good."

"Great. Do you think you can get his pantyhose on while I’m getting my hair brushed out and my dress on?"

"Of course." Mel seemed delighted to help.

"Pantyhose?" Alex was suddenly shocked. "Why on earth do I need to wear pantyhose?"

"Because they didn’t sell stockings in pharmacy downstairs," Jill said, grabbing a brush and blow-dryer and going to work.

"Why do I need to wear stockings at all? No one will see them through the slacks, right?"

Jill looked at Mel. "Show him his outfit."

Melody disappeared for a moment and returned with the dress.

"Oh, no, no, no," Alex said. "I am not wearing THAT! Come on. I know lots of women who NEVER wear dresses. I’m sure I can wear slacks."

"Well, you could if we had a nice outfit for you to wear, Allie," Mel said, calmly, "but Jill and I went through the bags and this is your best option to wear to a fancy restaurant. Honestly, honey, we just don’t have a lot of choices."

"Let’s just cancel, then" Alex said, feeling panic building.

"Cancel for the whole week?" Jill asked. "Allie... get a grip... just be a girl for the week, and you’ll be fine."

"But..."

Jill put her finger on his lips. "The Cole Liquors account is your biggest account at the moment, correct?"

He nodded.

"Do you want to lose it?"

He shook his head, slowly.

"Are you ready to be a big girl, then?"

He sighed and nodded, again.

"Good."

Jill did the best she could with his unruly hair. It certainly was better than it had looked in months, and the rollers and her work with the blowdryer had given it some height and body, but... it wasn’t perfect. It would have to do, though.

"Ok," Jill said, still in charge, "you get Allie into her dress and I’ll brush out my hair and get into mine. Time?"

"Twelve minutes," Mel announced, gently guiding Alex’s pantyhose up his newly smoothed legs before she’d allow him to stand. When he did stand, and she guided the hosiery higher, she couldn’t help but notice that this new style of shaper created a very smooth, very flat, very female groin on her husband and that sent a rush of desire through her.

"Those feel nice, don’t they?" Melody whispered to her husband.

"I guess," he said, but in truth, they felt amazing! They were tight and hot and hardly there at all and so cool. Such a very odd series of sensations were being sent through his skin to his brain.

"Wait till your skirt swings against them," his wife said, but she wasn’t really teasing. She was being serious.

She unzipped the back of the dress and held it low so Alex could step into it. Mel guided it up his body and ran the odd little sleeves up his arm. She situated everything nicely on his breasts, then slowly drew the zipper up his back. She looked him over from the back and then from the side and then from the front and she liked what she saw. It was still her husband, the man that she loved, but he was different. He looked smaller and so much prettier and so much more... vulnerable. Just standing next to him made her feel stronger than him. More in-control than him. More... manly... than him. Even though she was also wearing a cocktail dress, hers was sleek and tight and modern and showed off her strong, hard body. His was old fashioned and feminine and showed off his pleasingly plump, now feminine form. She liked this new juxtaposition and wanted to explore it more.

"You look very nice," Mel told Allie. "Very pretty, actually. How does it feel?"

"I don’t know where to put my hands," Alex said, quietly. "No matter where I put them, they’re touching the dress."

Mel smiled at him. "That’s ok, baby. Just let them hang at your sides, or fold them in front of you. The skirt of your dress blouses out quite a bit, so you’ll be touching it a lot. Now, remember, when you sit, you need to gently fold your skirts under you, like this." She sat and demonstrated. "You try it."

Alex tried it and it seemed pretty logical. The smoothed skirts were comfortable and he could see why it was important to avoid wrinkling the clothes by sitting on them without thought.

"Excellent," Mel complimented him. "Also, make sure that you’re always sitting up nice and straight, especially in a dress that shows off that much breast."

"Yeah," Alex sighed. "That is a lot, isn’t it?"

Mel smiled. "I have a nice, white, cashmere scarf you can wear over your shoulders, if you’d like."

He nodded.

Mel disappeared into their room for a moment and returned with a scarf that was bigger than he expected. It was about eighteen inches wide and more three feet long and made of the softest fibers he ever felt. Mel put it on his shoulders and it covered some of the exposed skin a bit, which was nice. It also smelled of Mel’s perfume, which was comforting as well.

"Zip me up," Jill said to Mel. She was wearing a beautiful, cranberry red cocktail dress that showed off her newly reduced figure beautifully. "Time?"

"Five minutes."

"Awesome!" Jill said, grabbing a clutch purse. "Are we ready?"

"Yes!" Mel bubbled, grabbing her shoes and slipping them on.

"Should I wear the shoes I wore yesterday?" Alex asked.

"Oops," Jill said. She hustled to the bed in Alex and Mel’s room and grabbed a pair of traditional, low pumps. She placed them on the floor and held out her hand to help him slide his feet into them.

"These are high heels." Alex whined.

"These are two inch pumps," Jill said, dismissively. "Just walk normally in them and you’ll be fine."

Once they were on, Alex found that Jill was right. They were quite easy to wear.

"Ok," Jill said. "Let’s go."

They walked down the hall to the elevator. Mel pushed the call button and they waited and that was when Alex got his first glimpse of himself in a full length mirror that was opposite the elevator doors.

"Oh, God," he gasped.

"Pretty good, huh?" Jill said, proudly.

Alex could see his wife and his sister. They were well dressed up, but he’d seen them dressed like that before. There was someone else in the reflection, though and Alex could not get his head around who that was. She was shorter than the other two women, and a bit too heavy to be considered conventionally beautiful, but she was not unattractive. In fact... she was kind of pretty for a hefty girl.

And she had breasts. Prominent breasts that she was showing off in the dress she was wearing.

"You look lovely, baby," Mel said, lovingly.

"I look like a woman."

"A pretty woman," she corrected. "And that’s what we want for now, babe."
 

~^~
 

Just as in the lounge down stairs, The Main Dinning Room at the Omni Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods had high ceilings and vast windows that allowed beautiful views of the valley below and the mountains beyond. It was dark by the time they entered the dinning room, but the moon was bright and its light reflected off the snow beautifully, creating a breathtakingly ghostly vista outside.

As the maître d' led them through the restaurant to the Cole’s table, Melody and Jill kept looking out the windows to see the beauty of the winter outside. Anyone looking at them would assume that Alex was doing the same, but in fact he was looking at the windows, not through them. He was far more interested in the image being reflected back at him than the world beyond.

"Oh, my goodness," Dennis Cole said as the party approached, "look at how well all of these women cleaned up!"

The maitre’d pulled out a chair for Jill and then for Melody, but Dennis scurried over and pulled out a chair for Alex, and gently pushed it back in under him, positioning it comfortably close to the table.

"Well, ladies," Alice said, sounding not just surprised, but almost relieved, "you all look lovely."

"Thank you," Jill said.

"Thanks," Mel said.

Alex just gave a small, nervous smile.

Alice seemed to sense that her new friend, Allie, felt self conscious about the way she looked and offered some support. "Allie, you look very nice, tonight."

"Thank you," Alex replied, with a tight smile.

Alice looked at all the others and smiled. "It’s nice to be able to get dressed up and go out again, isn’t it? Denny and I were going stir crazy during the lock down. I’m not sure Denny could have survived another season without getting away."

A waitress arrived and asked about drinks. Dennis reminded her about the two, very pricey glasses of Louis XIII cognac the bar was holding for Alice and Alex and everyone else ordered much less expensive drinks. Meals were ordered and chit-chat was made.

Soon, a band started playing on the far side of the room and they started to play an upbeat song from the nineteen nineties. Dennis stood and looked at Melody. "May I have this dance?" he asked, with a smile.

"Oh," she sputtered, a bit surprised, "wouldn’t you rather dance with your wife?"

"Not to a fast song," Alice laughed. "I am a slow dance girl."

"Oh, well... ok," Mel said, standing and taking the older gentleman’s hand.

As they left, Jill looked at Alex and Alice and said, "I am very sorry, but I have to excuse myself for a moment. Nature calls, as it were. I’ll be right back."

Alex thought about going with his sister for a moment, but he didn’t think he was up to entering a ladies room just yet.

Left alone with his new friend, he struggled for a moment to think of something to say. Finally, Alice broke the ice.

"I’m going to guess that you don’t get dressed up like this very often?"

"Not like this, no," Alex admitted, with a nervous laugh.

"Well, as a salesperson," Alice asked, genuinely curious, "don’t you find it beneficial to be dressed well when making calls?"

"Yes, of course," Alex said, "but that doesn’t mean I need to wear a dress! I used to wear a suit. Since COVID, I’ve done everything online, so I haven’t really had to present myself to anyone at all for the last few years. That’s is, until Dennis. He insisted on meeting face to face."

Alice gave a knowing smile. She knew Dennis prided himself on trusting his instincts. "Allie, you look absolutely lovely dressed like that. Truly, you do."

Alex shook his head. "If I am honest, Alice, I feel pretty foolish."

Alice shook her head. "I’ve never understood how girls could grow up not enjoying the benefits of womanhood. Trust me, Allie... by the time you and I are done this week, you are going to LOVE being a girl!"

Alex smirked a little and thought, ‘If only you knew how unlikely that is.’

The song ended and Dennis, Melody and Jill all returned to the table just as the food arrived. The food was amazing! Alex had seared salmon with celery roots and baby cabbages with Parmesan and pancetta. It was delicious.

When they’d finished the main course, Dennis ordered everyone a glass of grappa with a shot of espresso as an after dinner apéritif. They sipped and chatted and laughed until the band played an old song that everyone seemed to love.

"Come on, Alice," Dennis said, standing and offering a hand to his wife. "I love this song."

Alice stood and smiled at the young people across from her. "Come on, girls. You should dance, too."

"Yeah," Melody smiled as she stood and offered Alex a hand as well. "Come on, Allie. Let’s dance."

Alex looked petrified.

"Go on, Allie," Jill encouraged. "You’ve always loved this Rod Stewart song."

"Rod Stewart song!?" Dennis sounded horrified. "THIS, young lady, is a Van Morrison song." He shook his head. "And here I was thinking you were cultured." He headed for the dance floor.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" The singer crooned. "Have I told you, there’s no one else above you?"

Reluctantly, Alex took his wife’s hand and followed her to the dance floor.

It was odd to feel her arms crush the soft fabric of the dress against his body and feel the skirt of the dress sway against his legs, but oddest of all was feeling his breasts crushed against his wife’s firm, athletic body. Her breath on his bare shoulders. Her stray hairs tickling his bare neck. The weight of the earrings on his earlobes.

It was all new and all so very alien and... feminine.

"There’s a love that’s divine
And it’s yours and it’s mine
Like the sun..." the singer sang.

"I like dancing with you like this," Mel whispered. "You look very pretty dressed this way. With your hair and makeup done so nicely... I really like it."

"You like me looking like a girl?"

"Like a woman," she smiled. "Yeah."

"Why?"

Mel shrugged. "I don’t know. You look nicer. You smell nicer. You act differently."

"How do I act?"

"Sweeter. Softer. More like... my wife, I guess." She smiled more broadly. "I kind of like that."

Alex was about to continue the conversation, but the song ended and they applauded the band. The band started the next song.

"You never close your eyes any more when I kiss your lips," the singer sang in a deeper range. "And there’s no tenderness, any more in your finger tips..."

Mel wrapped her arms around Alex again and started the slow sway of dancing, but someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" Dennis asked.

"Oh..." Mel said, a bit surprised. "Of course."

Alex smiled and nodded, relieved to be able to retreat to the table. He turned to exit the dance floor, but was shocked to feel Dennis’ hand wrap gently around his wrist, turning him back towards the center of the restaurant and his biggest client.

Dennis’ grip on him was much firmer, much more formal, much tighter and much more manly. He was at least four or five inches taller than Melody, so Alex couldn’t see over Dennis’ shoulder at all. He was literally being led around the dance floor by this man.

"I have to admit," Dennis said in a casual voice, "I was surprised to see you dressed up this evening. I was under the impression that you were a casual person. Casual all the time, I mean."

"I kind of am," Alex admitted, "but my wife and sister forced me to dress up tonight."

"Well, you look nice," Dennis said, causing Alex to blush just a bit.

"Th... thank you."

"Not at all," Dennis smiled. "You know, Allie, when we spoke on the phone, I thought you were a man. You know how it is – Alex can be a male or a female name and your voice is not really indicative of a gender on the phone... I guess I just leapt to a conclusion. And to be honest, even when I saw you yesterday, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. You were dressed a bit oddly for a meeting."

Alex saw an opening to tell the truth. It wouldn’t be easy, but it was now or never.

"I understand, Dennis. You see, recently I’ve gained a bit of weight and Jill, who was much heavier than I was, lost quite a bit. So, when I went to get dressed for our meeting and found that my clothes didn’t fit correctly..."

"You wore your sisters," Dennis laughed. "I understand entirely.’

"You do?"

"Of course," the older man laughed. "That does explain a few things."

Alex let out a breath. "Oh, good."

"Good thing you’re both girls," Dennis laughed. "Imagine how difficult it would have been if one of you had been a guy."

Alex’s heart sank. "Yeah... imagine."

"Well, I have to tell you, Alice is just thrilled to have found a friend to hang out with while we’re up here. I hope it’s not going to keep you from the slopes." Dennis smiled, reasonably sure that Allie wasn’t an outdoorsy kind of girl.

"I’m happy to do anything that will keep me AWAY from the slopes. I was brought here by Jill and Mel. I’d rather be inside with my computer than outside in the cold. Don’t get me wrong, I love the views and everything, but I prefer them from the warmth of the lodge, not the cold of the mountain sides."

Dennis let out a guffaw. "Oh, my goodness. You and Alice really are soul-sisters. I have heard her say exactly those same words hundreds of times."

Alex smiled at that. "I’m glad to have someone to spend time with then, too."

The song ended and they applauded for the band. Alex was about to head back to the table, but Dennis stopped him with an arm around his shoulder.

"Can I give you big of advice, Allie? Old salesperson to a younger one?"

"Oh, umm... of course."

Dennis walked him over to a quiet area where there was a nice view, but no crowd. "Allie... when we spoke on the phone, I was impressed. You had good prices and great product. But when I saw you, in my office... well, as I’ve said... I had second thoughts. Then we spoke and I was back on Team Allie."

Alex nodded, not quite knowing what to say.

"My point is, appearance means a lot in sales. Now, if you’ll forgive me being blunt, I don’t mean the fact that you’re a bit hefty. I know lots of chunky salespeople. What I mean is... oh, heck, Allie, you looked like an unmade bed when I met you. Now, I might not have said anything about that if it weren’t for the fact that tonight you look a thousand times nicer, honey. Now, I’m not saying this to be sexist. I would be saying the same thing to a man. You’re a talented salesperson, Allie, but you need to up your game substantially."

"I hear you, Dennis," Alex said. "I’ll do my best."

"Good," he smiled. "Now, here’s the thing I’d like to offer. Alice loves a challenge and she loves to get her hair and nails and everything else that can be DONE done, so... let her get it DONE with you this week, too. Ok? Our treat. Alice will have a great time and you’ll come home from vacation with a new look, ready to take on the world. What do you say?"

What could he say? "Oh, gee, Dennis, I couldn’t let you spend that kind of money..."

"Enough, Allie. I’m happy to do it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s part of Alice’s vacation. Ok?"

There was no escape at this point. Maybe he could find one later. "Ok. Thank you, Dennis. That’s very kind of you."

"My pleasure. Come on. Let’s get back to the table."
 
 
To Be Continued...