***

Author's Note: The Last Call? I am just so clever, ha... well not really I just realized that right now, ha... But it is The Last Chapter, everything comes together, things get sad, aww... but life is full of ups and downs, ins and outs, over and easies... even princesses and cocktails... Surprisingly I put a little bit of music in this chapter, usually, I have a soundtrack from the beginning, but I guess this one didn't need it, well until the end... I hope YOU like it, oh, and the ending as well... I love you all and thank you for making it to the end... S.

***

THE LAST CALL

"Beth wants us to call, make plans to pick them up."

"Oh, okay. Let me get changed."

It was the beginning of the week, we had just gotten home from Carol's party yesterday. We were outside in the garden, it was warm, getting cooler. Max walked over to me, he took my hands. He was looking at me, his eyes made their way down to the silicone breasts, I was practically hanging out of this little dress. And it was so short, the tops of my stockings were showing. I couldn't wear this dress to talk to Lula and Beth, they would say inappropriate things to me the entire call. His hands went onto my back as he pulled me to him, they drifted to my ass. We started to kiss, make out. If the neighbors looked out their side window they would see Max's hands now up my dress, playing with my ass, fingers inching inside of me. I was so loose from our fucking, he slid in so easily, he was up to the knuckle before another one slipped in.

"The women are going to look at you and know that you have changed."

I stopped kissing him, I looked up, I loved he called them 'the women' and not 'the girlfriends' now. "Have I changed?" He had three fingers inside me and his hard cock pressed against my tight stomach. We squeezed our bodies together. I was having trouble talking, paying attention. I was on my way to another wonderful orgasm.

"You have, you have changed so much since you first walked into this house and I gave you a key. You have changed even more since I gave you another key, I would like to experiment with more keys." He laughed.

*

Max wouldn't let me change. I went to my room and put a little choker around my neck, pink to match my short dress. Pink to match my nails and lips, pink to match my high sandals. I brushed my hair in the mirror, I loved the new style, the new cut. I loved I didn't have to wear a wig anymore unless I wanted a different look, become a different person. Amber took so long to decide what would look best on me. She went through so many pictures on her phone, she wanted me perfect. She even had me in different wigs to check the length, the color, I let her mold me like a doll. She called Anja and her husband in to check our status, check the cut, the style, I had three people fussing with me. I would let them do whatever they thought was right, friends always knew what was best.

There was always someone who knew what to do in the world. You had to trust some people, not everyone, but you could easily weed out the ones that didn't know, didn't know what was right for you. Gretchen and Eric at the German restaurant knew what to eat, drink, knew what everyone would like. Max knew how to make me feel wonderful, take me over the edge and make me feel like a 'woman.' Max's sister, Carol, knew how you felt, what you needed, spiritually, she had a road map to your heart. And she knew how to have fun. Even me, I could turn your room, your house, your life, anything into an oasis, I just needed you to trust me.

Thick, bangs, blunt cut right above my breasts, darker, almost red. No extensions, all me. I have changed. Max was right, I was a completely different person. It had almost nothing to do with my hair, that was just the most obvious.

It had been two weeks since I had been on a video call with the women in Argentina, on the other side of the world. The two of them were nasty to me, I really didn't understand it, they were so encouraging when this whole thing started. Now, I wished they were staying there forever, I didn't miss either of them, I was dreading them coming back. They would tease me, judge me, ignore me... which was probably the worst thing. I haven't even gotten a text from Lula in so long, it had to be over a month. She had forgotten about me just like I had been forgetting about her.

I put perfume on my wrists and then made my way to the other side of the house, the one where I have spent most of my time in. I had completely taken over Beth's place in the house, her bed, her relationship with her man.

Max was holding two glasses of beer, almost black, our new favorite. Something we didn't share with the women, something that I never would.

"Ready?"

I smiled, I wasn't. I was even more uncomfortable with them watching me, studying. They were going to think I was flaunting my breasts, my legs, even my long nails, but I wasn't. This was just me. It felt like that long ago dinner when I introduced them to my girl self. When I was so much younger, with no confidence or even a sexual history. I was a completely different person, with completely different hair.

*

Max, clicked, the camera went on, a couple of dings. The two women were in t-shirts on the couch, their legs were cut off. They were sitting as far apart from each other as was possible on the gray couch.

"Hey, can you hear us?" Max adjusted the laptop and smiled at the camera.

"Hi," I spoke, I was planning on staying quiet after that. I smiled.

"Yeah," Beth was bored, Argentina was probably no fun anymore. "God, I can't wait to get back to California,"

"Soon."

Lula was on her phone, "Max, I'm sending you the information, for Thursday."

"What are you wearing?" It was Beth, we guessed she was talking to me. "Sabrina, what, you have breasts now?" She started laughing. "You finally went through your changes. I guess you are using all my Tampax now, ha."

I just smiled, I was.

"You look a little ridiculous. That wig is terrible." Lula looked up from her phone, I could tell she disapproved. "I hope you don't go out like that." Lula went back to her phone, she couldn't even be bothered to look at me properly, for more than a few seconds. They were obnoxious, terrible humans.

Max ran his fingers through my hair, moving it slightly from my eyes, proving that it was real. He spoke to me, "You look incredible." I smiled, he was right, I didn't need to listen to them, their negativity, their teasing. His hand went down my cheeks, he made me feel warm inside, I had to cross my legs. I realized that I didn't need their approval anymore. He moved closer to me, our legs were touching.

Max looked back at the laptop, "So Thursday, okay. I have to leave Friday morning, go up north I will be back sometime Sunday."

The conversation was moving on, it was about the flight, the pickup, though I could tell Beth was annoyed with me. Annoyed that Max was showing me too much affection. I crossed my legs again and she made a face, shook her head. I had my heel against Max's leg, slightly rubbing it, I didn't even realize it. Max leaned into me, put his arm behind me on the couch, and Beth and Lula both shook their heads. Beth was looking up at the ceiling. She was getting angry, I didn't care.

"How is the weather there?" He asked, they didn't answer.

They haven't seen me in so long, they never ask me any questions, in four months, not one hello, how are you, what have you been doing.

Finally, the call was over, it was the longest fifteen minutes of my life. I was finally able to breathe when Max's backsplash of a '57 Chevy, showed up on his Laptop. Max handed me the black beer, he smiled at me, he played with my hair. We drank, he kissed me, we drank and he kissed me again.

"Lula and Beth don't like me anymore."

"Who cares about them? They are just grouchy, they have been away too long." He whispered, he licked my chest, my neck, my lips. He started kissing me, we have kissed so much since I moved into his apartment, barged into his life. The strong alcohol on our tongues, my fingers playing with his hair. Soon we were fucking. We were fucking like long-time lovers on the couch. The voices of the two disapproving women were still circling the living room, I could even smell them, Lula's musk soap and her smoker's breath, and Beth's overuse of perfume. I shook my head, I concentrated on Max's penis ramming inside of me. To think this used to hurt, now it was so wonderful. Just the weight of his body on top of me made me excited, just his breath on my neck, his touch on my cheek. I knew, I realized why I waited so long, part of me wanted to make sure that Max was serious about me. I wanted to make sure I wasn't just a diversion while Beth was far away. I also wanted to make sure this was the right direction for me.

The couch was making so much noise. I wanted him to call them again, I wanted them to spy us fucking. I wanted the two of them jealous. I wanted to tell them I have been sucking his cock for months, kissing his lips, doing everything for him, unlike either of them, especially Beth. He never even talked about her anymore.

I spied my tiny pink panties, they were on my right ankle. My small 'clit' was dangling, I was covering it with my hand, my long pink nails drawing attention to that part of my body. His hard large cock was going in and out of me, I watched it disappear. I soon had my legs over his shoulders, the nylon brushing his cheeks. I now covered myself with both of my hands, my dress was pushed way up, my nakedness was completely on display, my thighs, my crotch, my belly, I was always a little embarrassed by it.

"Sabrina, you don't have to hide that part of yourself."

He smiled, he held my calves as he plowed his hard cock into me. My clit was so small, if I took it into my mouth I would be able to fit the 'clit' and balls at the same time. It wouldn't be a problem at all. I always figured I should have been a female, ever since I was young, my genitals were so feminine looking already. Even in pictures if I was far enough away from the camera it looked like a slit, I wouldn't even have to tuck. Lula said she didn't care, she was more interested in my mouth, my tongue. Max seemed to like everything.

"I don't want you to see it."

He still kept fucking me, his smile was so perfect, he was okay with everything. I leaned to the side, I felt his cock get inside me so much deeper. "You know we watch those videos together, we see those bits on other girls. I don't mind, I like it. I love when they are small and feminine, like you."

He made me feel so good, I took my hands away, I put them on his chest. I had to come to terms with who I was, and I was almost the complete opposite of Max. He was so hairy, his chest was so hard, his shoulders so wide, he was so different than anyone I had made love to before. I was always on the bottom now. He was my favorite, there wasn't even a second or third favorite, in my mind, in my feminine head, right next to where the princesses lived, it was just him.

"Okay." I made an uncomfortable smile.

I started to think, to suddenly realize that it was 'girls' like me that turned him on, made him hard. Like me, he loved watching crossdressers, trans women pleasing men. So what if we could see them dangle or a mound in their panties. That's what we both needed, sometimes we needed to be sure, even though I liked when they were flat or tucked. That was his fantasy, not someone like Beth. He didn't jerk off to grouchy women with terrible taste in jeggings on YouTube, he didn't play with himself watching nasty women on the phone complaining to her limited friends. I wanted to be more like her because I thought that's what he loved, but now I'm realizing it's not. It's just what he was used to.

He pushed even harder, our bodies were shaking the entire couch, it was moving inch by inch closer to the kitchen. He lifted me higher, my legs went together, I had more friction. I started to mumble, I started to cum as he watched.

"Oh my god Sabrina, I have never seen you cum before," He started pumping me harder, my orgasm was lasting so long, my cum was hitting my belly sliding down to my breasts as he pushed and thrust. He moaned, he held my legs, I felt his cock pulse, I felt his jism shoot into my tunnel, my hole, my imaginary 'vagina.' "Baby you feel incredible." And it felt like his cum wasn't stopping, he was filling me up. He watched me, watched my eyes as he rubbed my beige nylon legs. He then rubbed my sperm into my belly, and then he slowly slipped out of me.

I reached over, I took Beth's now empty box of Tampax and Max inserted the last one inside of me. She was right I was using them, I wanted to keep his cum in me until I was ready, ready to feel him drip out, maybe ready to take some pictures. Maybe a video of his sperm dripping from my hole, my man leaving his deposit, leaving a part of himself inside of me. We would always remember how great this fuck was. We kissed again, he played with my breasts, he tickled me, we laughed, I cupped his tender balls. Finally, he pulled off my panties from my ankle. He smiled at me as he sniffed them and then put my pink panties in his sweatpants pocket. I smiled, I liked he wanted a part of me with him. We got up and finished the warm beer, it was still drinkable, it was still amazing.

"Sabrina, what do you love?"

I smiled, I licked his cheek. I gave him the look I use when I am thinking, when I want him to know I am being serious. Our noses were touching, my hair was falling into his eyes, his cheeks. "Hmm, what do I love? I do love this beer."

"Ha, do you."

"I also love chocolate chip cookies, but for some reason I never have them. And... I love that I let you get into my panties. I think that was a good idea of mine." And he laughed and we kissed again, I dropped my empty glass on the floor. I pushed my body into him and I came again, this time all over HIS belly.

*

"Max?" I was in his room, I was leaning against the dresser brushing my hair. I was looking at him through the mirror.

He looked up, "Mmm."

My lingerie had gotten very erotic, and extremely sexy since we started sleeping together. Since I started sharing a bed with a big hairy man. He took up most of it, I had lost a little weight, tightened up and I feel like I shrunk, I felt like I took only a tiny bit of his bed, he would move and I would end up under him, on top of him. I was easily shifted and played with. I was smiling at myself in the mirror, I was wearing a purple transparent bra, my nipples looking real showing through the sheer material. The panties, tiny, covering my bottom, a little bit of surgical tape keeping me tucked. An extra strap for sexiness around my belly. I also had on nude thigh highs, Max liked how it felt rubbing against his legs, his balls, I wanted to make him happy. I wanted to make him happy all night long.

"Max, there is none of Beth's lingerie or even her underwear, do you think she took it all with her?"

"Um, Beth didn't wear lingerie, she was not as sexy as you. And most of her things are probably at her mother's house, she had never completely moved in."

I turned around, I was totally sexy, I had my hands on my hips. I was playing with my hair. "Really?"

"Yeah, her mother lives right near the office, she ate dinner almost every night there. I only saw her on weekends or if we were going out."

*

We were in bed, I was kissing his back and playing with my breasts, my phone started to ring.

"What is wrong with you?"

Lula was calling me, she never called, she told me she was always busy. I left Max's bedroom and curled up on the couch in the dark living room.

"What, what do you mean?"

"Before, on the call, Max couldn't keep his hands off of you, your legs. God, Beth was screaming, god she is such a pain."

Lately, Max was very affectionate toward me, when we were alone he was constantly playing with my hair, rubbing my back or boobs. I liked it, I had never had someone interested in me like that. I didn't even know what to tell Lula, Max said they probably assumed we would have an affair while they were gone, I didn't realize it would be an issue.

"I'm sorry, I will let Max call on his own."

"Beth can't wait to leave, shit, we are not going to have to talk again anyway. I can't have her pissed off the rest of the week. I'm sick of her whining." I heard her cursing, I couldn't make out what she was saying, I think she was talking to someone else.

"Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Yeah, that's all I need, her screaming at you over the phone. What is actually going on, are you two fucking now?" I could tell Lula was getting angry at me too, I didn't understand why they were all so on edge, this was mostly their idea.

"Um, we are."

"Shit, shit, I can't even tell her, she would be livid. What the fuck, since when do you sleep with men?"

"Um, I don't know, he is very nice to me."

"Jesus, I figured you would keep him company, tease him a little, not let him fuck you." And she hung up, I looked at the phone for a while. I liked it better quiet, I liked it better without Lula on it. I went back into Max's room. I didn't feel too good, I was so looking forward to having Max make love to me again, but now all I could think about was Lula's phone call.

"Is everything okay?"

"It is." I slipped under the covers, I leaned against him, I let his hands wander my nylon-encased legs.

***

Four months. Four whole months without Lula, and Beth, and their friends. Except for the one meal, I didn't hear from them either. No one called, no one asked about her, me, them, the selling of the house nothing. It was just Max and me and my new friends, I was starting to live the best life. I was finally starting to become myself. Next week hopefully my name will become legal and then Max was going to go with me to talk to my Doctor. He was going to ask all the right questions just like when I had my nail tips done, three months ago. I needed someone to take control for me, I needed a partner.

I didn't know how things were going to progress from here. For the last hour, I was on the phone. I talked to Amber, Anja, and Tiffany. I even called Max's mom, I needed all the love and respect I could get, could handle.

"All ready?" Max was calling, we were procrastinating, leaving at the last second.

"I guess." I changed, I put on a long tan dress, still with lots of flowers. Nothing too sexy, revealing, nothing that I would have wore this last month, being Max's provocative girlfriend. Even the heels were only two inches, tiny. They still had a sexy ankle strap, around my smooth ankles, showing off my smooth legs.

"Beth texted they want us to drive home another couple from work." He smiled he took my hand and we drove to the airport. "Hey, things might be weird with the two of them, ya know Beth and Lula, just go with the flow, okay."

"Okay," I told him, I was worried though, I knew my life was going to get a major disruption, I wasn't really prepared for the flow.

The airport wasn't that far. We were so quiet, it felt like a new beginning but if I closed my eyes it also felt like the end. It seemed so long ago we dropped them off, things were different, uncomfortable. Now they were comfortable but complicated.

*

"I can feel the tension with my hands," I told Max as he checked the flights. "I can feel it, it's making me so eh."

He put his hand on my shoulder, he lifted his eyebrows, "They've landed. Gate 14."

And we walked. I held his hand, I wanted them to see us together immediately. I wanted the surprise over by the time we were in hitting distance.

"Max!" We heard Beth. She walked to the front of the crowd. Her mouth was open wide, she threw her arms around him, he let go of me abruptly, he held her, she pushed him back. I was lagging beside them when Lula moved through with three other people. She was quiet.

"Megan?"

"Hi Sabrina, you look nice." Lula put her arms around her shoulder, smiled at me, then gave me her bag.

"This is Katey and Tom. We all left together." She laughed she was looking for Beth. "The whole team is in Cali now. Let's get out of here I need to smoke." She took Megan's hand and walked in front of me, in search of Beth and Max. I stood still, I watched them walk away from me, I was confused.

Everyone was so far ahead, I was the last one to get to the Jeep. Beth was already in the front seat. Lula was already yelling at me. "Come on, get in, I'm not sitting back there." Max took the bag from me and helped me into the back, the bench, I was next to Katey and Tom whoever they were. I was officially the seventh wheel again.

*

I wanted to know why Megan was with her, why she was in Argentina and why was it a secret. I felt I was staring at the back of their heads way too intensively. Why wouldn't they explain themselves, I was feeling they weren't being nice to me, or truthful. I finally asked, I needed to know.

"What? I met her the same day as you, remember? I have been seeing both of you. If you paid attention you would know. Who do you think comes to the socials with the Antonellis? Beth?" And she laughed, she shook her head like I was insane to ask her such a stupid question. "Oh and Marion called me, she told me you two went out to eat with them."

The Jeep got a tiny bit quiet after that.

The couple next to me talked on their own. I listened to Lula. I listened to Megan, I could tell they were together, I could hear that neither of them cared I was behind them. Even Max seemed to be ignoring me, I guess the four months were up, over, and done. I was just the diversion he needed with his real girlfriend on the other side of the world.

We dropped off Megan first. Lula got out and I helped with the bags, it wasn't that easy with my long nails.

"For years I have been trying to get you to do tips. Maybe you needed a different stylist." Megan was holding my hand looking at my nails, they have never looked better I had them on for almost three months.

"Mmm." I started thinking maybe I needed a different friend too. Why didn't she just tell me she was in Argentina, what was the big deal. Why did she lie to me for the last four months? Why wouldn't she tell me she was seeing Lula? I decided I would never talk to her again. I didn't even say goodbye.

I went to get back in the Jeep but Lula didn't move.

"Where's mine?"

"Your what?" I was confused she looked annoyed.

"My bag I'm staying here with Megan. I'm sure Beth needs a break from me, I need one from her that's for fucking sure."

She laughed and Beth gave her the finger.

"You're not coming to the apartment?"

"No, bring all my stuff tomorrow. I'm staying with Megan, you do what you want." She turned she was done with me too, but I was okay with it. I just wish she was happier to see me, happier to see me go. It was weird, it was unexpected.

I had to get into the back seat by myself the others took the middle bench. No one talked to me, Beth monopolized the conversation just like when she was at the socials with her friends. She was in charge, she was the one with the feminine energy in the Jeep.

I was just little fake Sabrina, hiding in the back, hiding by herself.

*

We dropped off Tom and Katey and then we passed by Nicole and Nickolaus's house, I was wishing they were outside. I wouldn't have made Max stop, I would have lept out of the Jeep, I would have let Nicole and her brother teach me to ride a bicycle. I would have excused myself and cried behind one of the big trees. I would have let Beth and Max go back to the house without me.

He pulled the Jeep into the garage next to the violet car, I would miss it, I would miss him. He smiled at me as he took her bags into the house. I let his hands graze my shoulder and arms. I stood outside as they closed the front door, it was getting dark, I waved to the neighbors, I pet one of the dogs. I didn't want to go into the house by myself. I didn't want to start sleeping by myself, I was finally used to sleeping next to a big hairy man.

*

I put on my new back nightie, it had spaghetti straps, very sheer, very short. I put on stockings and my seven-inch black heels, they had a two-inch platform, they were sexy as fuck. "Fuck." I whispered. I slipped on my bracelets, they were big and thick, I wanted to play with them on my arm, I wanted my own distraction. I put on a little bit of perfume on my wrists.

The washer and dryer had been going non-stop since we came home from the airport. I didn't hear Max or Beth at all, and I figured they were in bed getting to know each other all over again. I put on music and lightly sang as I brushed my hair. It was late, I needed to hear a voice.

Briiiiing. "Hi, Amber?"

"Yes, hi Sabrina, how much are you loving your new hair?" I was so glad I called, I needed to hear the voice of someone who liked me. Someone who would never ignore me, make me feel uncomfortable.

"I love it, thank you for everything." I started to cry, I had to put the phone down. "I'm sorry, things aren't working out like I thought they would."

"Things with Lula and Beth?"

"And Max." I sniffed.

"I wish I was in Malibu, I would be over, we could have gotten drunk, watched old movies. I'm sorry baby. Wait hold on." And then her husband got on the phone, Ray, he had a deep voice, he could rattle my room if he was on speaker.

"Sabrina, hi, are you okay, do you need me to talk to someone?"

"No, thank you anyway."

"Maybe we should get you. You could spend the rest of the week with us."

I giggled, I missed the two of them. "No, don't be silly, but I would love to be sleeping in between you two, I would love the company." I talked to Amber again, I said good night, I told them to have fun and for god's sake don't worry about me. Amber laughed and I felt so much better. Fuck Megan and Lula and Beth. Fuck Max too.

*

I read some of Tiffany's book. It was nice, but after a couple of pages I actually started loving it, I could see why she loved reading it over and over. I slipped under the covers, I kept on my heels, I was a gorgeous crossdresser sleeping in her nightgown, hose, and heels, reading about princesses. I would do this all the time from now on. If I was going to be by myself then I was going to sleep the way I wanted. Everyone else could go eff themselves.

I was out, two hours later or so, my phone buzzed.

"Hello?"

"Hi Sabrina, can I come lay with you?" Max was calling, he wanted to lay with me? What the fuck.

"When now?"

"Are you okay? I want to see you before I leave, I'm leaving in the morning." So I told him to come over. I tried to fall asleep, I wanted him to see I didn't care, I couldn't even stay up to see him.

I heard him, all the lights were off. I heard my door. He walked around the bed, he laid down, he kissed my cheek. I made believe I was sleeping. I didn't move.

"Mmm, I was missing the scent of your hair." I felt his face against me, his lips on my neck, I still didn't move. I was ignoring the semi-naked man in my bed. I felt him rubbing my stockings, felt his hard cock push against my silky panties. Felt him breathing on my neck and kissing my ear. He was pushing against me, his cock in the crack of my ass, rubbing. He had one hand on my waist, another on my shoulder as his body pushed into me as his cock made its way under my crotch, between my thighs. I didn't move, he could have my body but he wouldn't get any of my love. Let him go back to Beth for that, cruel, mean, angry Beth with wonderful hair and symmetrical face. Let her yell at him, let her tell him he disappointed her, let her tell him to fuck off.

I felt his cock start to rub against my ass again, he pushed, he now held me tighter his hands around my body, playing with my D-cup breasts. He started pushing into me harder, his breathing was getting louder and more ragged, soon he was cumming, I felt his sperm hit my thighs, my ass. He rubbed it into my nylon, my stockings. It was the first time since we got together that I didn't take it into my body.

"Thank you, baby." He kissed my shoulder, he turned around, he fell asleep. We were back to back. I had to stretch I had been in the same position for an hour. I moved, I laid on my back and fell asleep.

*

I heard a crash.

"When are you getting up?"

I heard someone, I was having a nightmare, I recognized the voice. "What? What's the matter?"

Beth was hovering over me, I was now staring at her crotch, it was covered by her gray leggings, she was wearing white sneakers. "Max wants you out, Carol is ready to move in. Max wants you out today!"

"Really?" I checked behind me, the last time I was with him his cock was pushing against me, I checked the empty space behind me to make sure he was gone. I was probably just his backup for sex, maybe he was bored with me. I then realized I didn't have my panties on, Max always needed them with him after we had sex. I was surprised he would take them last night, I was surprised I didn't wake up.

"Just go, he let you stay here rent-free, the least you can do is just leave."

She slammed the door, I rubbed my eyes. I couldn't really think straight, I went into the shower. When I came out I saw my mirror, it was broken. There were pieces of it on the dresser, on the floor. How did I not notice it before?

*

Two men were outside the bedroom door, they were from Beth's office, they were going to help me pack and load up the car. I didn't understand why she needed me out of the house so quickly, she was still yelling, barking orders. I was looking at my phone, I wanted to call Max but I just couldn't.

For the next hour, I filled up the two bags from Anja and Amber. The men put most of my other things in boxes, in black plastic garbage bags. My books, my computer, everything was now in the blue car in the parking spot out front. I was going to say goodbye to the Cascada, to this house, to my life as Max's girlfriend. I was sad, I hoped no one was looking at me. I was hoping all of the neighbors were gone for the day.

My phone buzzed, and there was a text from Max. 'Whatever you don't take now I can have someone bring it to you.' It was such a weird text. Usually, he would call, if I was shopping, or home while he worked, he called, he never texted. I was thinking maybe he was really done with me, he didn't even want to hear my voice.

The two men and Beth were waiting for me, I took another quick look around the room, the kitchen, I decided to just leave everything. If it wasn't in my closet or drawers then I didn't want it. Carol could have the new TV, the bench, even the dressers. She could keep all the wine and beer I have collected since moving in, all the mixers for drinks that Max and I would try and share. The only thing I couldn't take that I wanted was my vanity, it would never fit in the car. I knew Beth would never use it, she put on her makeup in the car, it was the last thing she did, she wasn't happy about it. She was a terrible woman in more ways than one.

"Meeting you was such a bad idea." She told me, while I slipped into the car. I didn't look at her. She was by herself the two men were gone. "Lula and Megan were full of bad fucking ideas."

I didn't say anything, I took out my keys for the ugly blue car, I hadn't touched them in months. I put it in the ignition. Nothing, a little click, nothing. Something was dead.

"Shit." Beth was pissed she kicked the car, "Just get the fuck out of here!" She was screaming, she was cursing. "God just go, I do not want to look at you anymore."

I called Max, his voice mail went on. I asked him to call me. I started to cry. I took out the two new bags and my computer, I walked away from Beth. I didn't turn around, I let her scream to herself, I didn't understand why she was so agitated. I would make it to the corner and then call car service. I couldn't even call Amber, she was away. I couldn't call Anja, she would tell Amber and her husband, and then ruin their Vegas trip. I didn't want anyone worried about me. Obviously, no one was worried about me anyway. I texted Max again and surprisingly got a text back. 'goodbye sabrina.' I looked at the phone, I was amazed, I was completely unprepared for it. I blocked him. I blocked Beth and Lula and Megan.

"Fuck all of you," I yelled into the street, into the white fence four feet to my right. An older woman opened the gate, she had a tiny dog on a rope, she looked at me for a long time.

"Are you talking to me, dear?"

I gave her a sad smile, I made my way down the street, I wanted to head to the avenue, where the stores were, where the people were. I called car service, I sat and waited in the sun. I went to a motel next to the Black Forest Inn.

***

'Was it you that said
How long, how long, how long to the point of no return?
How long, how long to the point of no return'

The man in the room next to me was obsessed with the band Kansas.

"God I love this song, wanna beer?" Raj was in 101, I was in 102, Raj had a boom box, it had to be from the 90s'.

'How far to the point of no return?
To the point of no return
How long, how long?'

"I have been listening to this song since I was in High School." He gave me a beer. I smiled, I said thank you. It was light, it tasted like wet cardboard, I was on my third.

"You sing this song very well." I didn't mind the company.

"Watch this." He told me and I did, I shook my head as he did air organ, air violin, he was very good. Raj was keeping my mind off of everything I didn't want to keep my mind on.

I had been in the motel for three days, I had enough clothes for a week, enough makeup for at least two months. I had enough money to stay here for a couple of years. I was on a dirty beach chair. I was wearing one of my favorite dresses, it reminded me of the time Beth and Max came to visit for dinner for that first time. It was white, with little straps and full of blue flowers. I had on my four-inch sandals, I had sexy straps around my ankles. I was way overdressed for the motel parking lot. Raj said I looked nice, he said I could be in movies. He was on his seventh beer.

I talked to Tiffany this morning, I called her every day. I read the book she gave me four times, I found out she was going to be twelve. She told me so much about her life so far. I didn't tell her I was living in a motel, I didn't want to disappoint her. I didn't tell Amber or Anja either. I figured I would just fade away.

Beep, beep.

I was drinking the beer, I had my legs crossed, I was playing with my hair, I was distracted. I had beer all down the front of my dress.

"Hey! You forgot your car!"

Raj looked up, "No I didn't. It's right there right behind you." Raj was pointing to his white Honda, I was looking at a violet Cascada.

"Not you, you." He said as he parked, he parked in front of 102. I decided not to look at him. What the hell, he was mean to me, and now he's back for forgiveness. This wasn't going to fly.

"Raj, can you chase him away?"

***

"What did I love? Hmm." I was on my freshly made bed, I was bouncing, my legs were crossed and my heel was dangling from my foot. It never fell off, ever. "Mmm, what did I love?"

I love that he asked me that question, he asked it all the time, I knew exactly what I loved, what turned me on, what made me warm and fuzzy inside. I loved that I was completely dressed, like a girl, like I have always wanted to be. I was completely feminine from the skin out. Now I had to, for him and to match my legal name.

If I closed my eyes I could imagine that I was in my long-forgotten room, I could also imagine I was on the whole other side of the house. The colors were the same, the curtains, the white vanity filled with my makeup collections, my new gift, a Malibu Barbie car right on the shelf above it. I knew what I loved, I should have always known, I have taken my colors with me wherever I have gone. I loved what Carol loved, we had the same color palette stuck in our minds. Red wine and flowers. I didn't even have to repaint, change the rugs, change the comforter on her new bed in her new bedroom, her bedroom with her fiance. If I listened really closely I could hear them.

"Are you ready?"

I opened my eyes, felt my long lashes, was I ready? I guess. I held out my hand and he pulled me to my feet. I had on high-heeled sandals, my eyes came up almost to his nose. He ran his hands on my back, he pulled me into him. I felt my cheek against his lips. He has been extremely nice to me lately.

"I have a little bit of a surprise for you." He told me, he led me out of our room. He brought me to the mirror right near the front door of our house. I took the brush out of my bag, and he watched. My hair was the longest it had ever been, still reddish blonde, still smelled wonderful. I stepped back, I was wearing an off-the-shoulder blue dress, very thin, short, up to my beige nylon knees. My breasts looked nice under the fabric, the fluffy sleeves making their way down to my elbow. Both my heels and my bag were cream, matching the handle on my brush.

"Do you want to drive?"

I turned around, put my brush back. Kissed him on the cheek. I took my keys off of the hook near the door. Half of my name glistened in the soft light of the afternoon. The key chain was cracked but I didn't care.

*

I was checking the mirror, the back seat was full of shopping bags but I wouldn't ask, this was his surprise. I loved sitting in this car, some nights if he couldn't find me I would be out here reading one of Tiffany's books that she would send me, she was the only person I knew that used the US Postal Service. Sometimes I was in the backseat, a twelve-ounce glass of Celebrator in the cup holder. He would lightly knock on the hood of the clean violet car, he would smile.

"I'm missing you." He would go back inside, he would be searching for some clip on YouTube, something he wanted me to see. He would be waiting to watch with me. I would make him wait.

I told him about the time when Lula and I first met. I told him how angry she was that she found I was crossdressing, I told him I left her, I didn't need to be with someone who didn't appreciate me. She made me give her a second chance and I still don't know why.

"I'm not like that, I love everything about you. You have to forgive me."

The day at the motel I told him, "I don't have to do anything, I'm an adult." I told him he could have Beth, if that's who he loved, I completely understood. They had history and I was perfectly happy for them, I was completely happy in the motel, I would be perfectly fine on my own, I could drink beer with Raj.

"Right Raj?"

"What? Oh yeah right."

I told him I had enough makeup for months. I could come up with a plan, I had friends, I didn't need him, or Lula anymore.

He told me Beth was so angry about him giving the car to me that she broke the front windshield. He told me she was so mad at our new relationship she rammed a screwdriver into my mirror in my room, completely smashing it. He told me he wrote; 'Sabrina, I am going to miss you, I love you, Max.' with my favorite plum lipstick. He wanted me to see it when I got up in the morning, so I would think of him.

Beth saw it first.

I saw the pieces.

He told me Beth was so pissed off at Lula and Megan, that she quit her job. Megan now has her office. Beth now lives and has dinner with her parents every night, even on weekends. I think Lula eats with Megan, I haven't seen either of them since, but I don't have them blocked on my phone anymore. I would love for them to call me, I call them and it always goes to voice mail. I would invite them to dinner, invite them to see how nice the house was now. Max let me repaint, he let me spruce it up a little.

He told me Beth was so mad at him for writing 'I love you' on my mirror, she stole his phone from his car, right before he drove away that long ago Friday morning. She sent me text messages, she was mean, she was very clever. I haven't seen her since.

I told him that I would forgive him but it would take some time. He said okay, he would give me as much as I needed. I didn't need much I was very low maintainance.

"Make a right, then left."

I changed lanes, I smiled to myself, I had a strong warm feeling I knew where we were heading. I made another right, drove three blocks, and then parked on the corner. My favorite spot.

"We are here." He had a big grin on his face. This wasn't that much of a surprise, I was here all the time. If he was missing me and I wasn't in the backseat, then I was here, but he knew that, we called each other all the time.

"Sabrina!" Nicole was calling me, she was dressed so nice, she was always so happy to see me. I always cried, it made me feel so good to know someone was waiting for me, looking forward to being with me. Even Nikki couldn't wait for me to get on the other side of her gate. Her husband Nick came from the side of the house with Nicklaus, Max gave them the shopping bag full of beer, the box of herbs and plants, and seeds for the kid's garden. I had been keeping them in the car for when we visited.

We moved to the back, I could smell the fire, I could smell lunch. Nicole was dragging me into the backyard, she seemed over-excited, and she was giggling.

I put the rest of the things that Max had in the car onto the table. "Hi, Sabrina."

I spun around, there was a princess, long purple and pink dress, little heels, short dark hair just up to her shoulders. She looked so beautiful, I was so proud of her. We talked all the time but I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks, I cried again as she ran over to me. I got on my knees and hugged her. Maybe I went through a portal, maybe I ended up in a different dimension and she was me when I was young. I was going to tell her everything would be fine, don't get discouraged. I was planning on telling her life gets better, once you meet the right people.

Life was so wonderful for me, right now especially. I still looked around for the portal just in case.

She hugged me tight, she always smelled like strawberries. "Nicole's mom and my mom say I can stay until Halloween on Tuesday."

I looked at her, my eyes wide, she made me very happy. When my heart was broken I thought of her and it healed itself.

*

We were at the picnic table, a table for six. Nicole and Tiffany at the end, I was in a folding chair next to them. We were getting ready to eat.

"Looks like I am the seventh wheel again." I giggled, it's funny how I always considered myself this mythical seventh wheel, almost always, but I never said it out loud before. It sounded crazy, why did I ever think of this, I wouldn't think of it again.

"What? What does that mean?" Nicole looked at me, the whole table was watching me, the whole table was paying attention.

"Um, you know, all of you are the six wheels of a bus or a truck or something." I started to explain, "I'm like the unneeded one." I shrugged my shoulders. I could tell Max was enjoying this, me trying to tell everyone what is inside my crazy, hypothetical imagination.

"Wait," Tiffany, touched my hand. "Like a semi-tractor trailer?"

"Sure I guess," I giggled.

"Well, if you are the seventh wheel then you are the most important, it's the um..." She made a face, she was thinking.

"The spare?" Max said.

"Mmm, the spare. You know in case something happens." She smiled, her beautiful eyes nice and wide, she was surprised she knew something other than princesses and Barbies. I held her hand. "That should be your nickname, I have been trying to find something for you as cool as mine, I think 'The Seventh Wheel' is perfect."

"So we will be four Nickys, Max, Tiff, and the Seventh Wheel?"

"Yup." Everyone laughed or giggled we had decided something as a group. Tiff started to think, "Well, maybe we should go with my first choice."

"And what's that?"

"Bree." And everyone laughed and giggled again.

"Okay, I am so glad that's settled, and we all sound so cool now." I squinted my eyes, and squished my face, I thought I was cute. We laughed some more, we drank, we ate, and I realized I wouldn't mind being seen as the Seventh Wheel sometime in the future. It was pretty important, you know in case something happens, I will be there to take care of it. I can handle that, you wouldn't even know I am here, I'm pretty low maintenance.

"Ha."

And we laughed and we giggled some more, it was going to be a great afternoon and sometimes that's all you need.

***

The End

***