Then You Wear It: 3

 

Against his better judgement, a man gives his wife a very feminine piece
of lingerie for their anniversary. She does not appreciate the gesture and makes
an offer that he takes her up on.

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Author's Note: I truly do appreciate all of the reviews BigCloset has been leaving me. It is inspiring to me in these most dismal of days. Just if you like what I write, let me know what you think of the tale, please? ~Clara.
 
This version of Then You Wear It: 3 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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Chapter 3
 
 

 

I just stared at her, my mouth agape. She was a man. A strong, handsome man. She looked like a man. She sounded like a man. She even moved like a man.

"Well?" she asked. "What do you think?"

I didn't know what to think, but I blurted out the thing that had been bubbling in my brain. "Oh, my God, you're Clark Kent!"

That caused her to let out a big, manly chuckle. "Yeah, I guess I am. Kimmy, look - all that girly stuff that Emma and Josie do so well... I hate it. It's all so fussy and time consuming... It's just not me. I was never meant to be that kind of a woman. I was meant to be THIS kind of a woman."

"A man?" I asked.

"I'm not a man," she said. "I'm a woman who presents in a non traditional way, that's all. Ok, yeah, I guess I do present as a man, but I have no lesbian interests whatsoever - other than seeing my lover in the girliest lingerie imaginable. Other than that, I'm all woman."

I nodded. I guess I understood. I mean, why not. It was the twenty-first century, right? She had the right to be whoever she wanted.

"Now, let me be very clear about something," she continued. "On Monday, when you gave me that nightgown, I definitely over reacted, but I don't regret it at all, because I think we discovered that as much as I need to express my masculine self, you need to express you feminine self - I mean I think the events of the last half hour have made that very clear. If you ask me, I think that our new life is about to begin.'

"Whoa, Opie, hold on a moment!" I panicked. "I'm wearing the nightie to prove a point and this outfit today is a lark, but I'm not suddenly going to start living as a woman!"

"Why not?" The calmness with which she asked this question shocked me.

"Opie... I have a job. I have friends. We have neighbors. It'd be embarrassing."

She nodded. "Kim, I just got signing bonus equal to nearly twice my current salary to accept a job that will be paying me nearly a million and a half a year..."

I felt the blood drain from my face. I'd had no idea she'd be making that much.

"... You can quit your job if you want, we can certainly afford it. Other than Emma and Josie, the only friends either of have are people from work and they are really just colleagues, not really friends and as for neighbors..." she smiled broadly, now, "... THIS is the big surprise."

She came to my side of the table an knelt beside me, taking my hand in hers. Her head was level with mine and she was smiling from ear to ear. "Kimmy, you know that place on the way to the Brookfields that you like so much - the big colonial with the farmer's porch and the huge yard? The green and white place set back with the poplar trees out in the distance? Well, it's for sale and I think we should go take a look at it tonight."

"What!?" I couldn't believe it! I'd loved this house since I was a child! It was absolutely beautiful. It sat back on a big lot, a stately old house with a perfect porch for rocking chairs. I always imagined what it would be like to sit on that porch and rock in an armed rocking chair and read a good book on a nice summer evening. "We could never afford that place!"

"Of course we can. Now, let's just eat up and go. I made an appointment to meet a realtor at seven thirty."

"Opie, I can't go out like this!"

Well, somehow Opie convinced me to go out dressed as I was. She was correct in pointing out that I was going to get into the car, which was in the garage, so no neighbors wouldn't see me, I'd see no one I knew and she'd be doing most of the talking - and that was what came to pass.

I remained a nervous wreck, none the less. Well, that's not quite true. I was a nervous wreck for the first forty five minutes or so, but then... maybe it was the excitement of viewing the house that I had been obsessed with since I was a child, or maybe things just got to feeling normal as began moving around, but my nervousness level certainly lowered from critical to cautious as the evening wore on.

As we headed west on the country road towards the house, I looked up the listing on my iPad, IT WAS NOT CHEAP! Of course, everything was pricey right now, but this was a pretty big number. Opie told me to relax, though, so I did.

The house exceeded all of my expectations! Oh, my God, it was gorgeous! The floors were the most beautiful wood I'd ever seen! Exquisite woodwork everywhere. The kitchen was modern, but maintained the nineteenth century aesthetic of the house, which we learned had been built in 1881. It was just getting a little dark when we went out to see the yard and gardens, but you could still see that everything had been kept beautifully by the previous owner.

Opie did almost all of the talking, occasionally asking me, 'What do you think, Kimmy?' and I'd respond with a breathless, 'It's beautiful!' no matter what I was looking at. Partly because, despite Opie's assurances that my voice was fine, I was nervous that I might give myself away if I spoke too much and partly because everything was, in fact, beautiful.

In the gardens, though, the realtor, a charming, but somewhat pretentious middle aged woman with bleached blonde hair turned her attention to me. "I assume that, being of Asian decent, gardening is a big part of your life, Mrs Reed?"

Now, my name was not Reed - at least it wasn't then. Reed was Opie's name and she had steadfastly not wanted to take my name when we'd gotten married, and I was fine with that. My name was Bristol. I thought about pointing out that the realtor's remarks were both sexist and racist, but I was kind of enjoying just being Opie's wife and the high I felt at the possibility of owning this amazing property was getting to me, so I found myself suddenly becoming very coy.

"Oh, I do what I can. My mother was quite a gifted gardener, but she died when I was very young. I only have a few window boxes and big pots along the walkway at home, now. This would be quite a challenge."

"Well, don't worry, baby," Opie chuckled in her oddly manly voice. "We can hire a landscaping company to come in and do the work and you can oversee it all. You know, work with the landscape architect to plan everything out, season by season, then enjoy the fruits of your labors. Be 'the lady of the house' from now on." The smile on her face was genuine. She was actually offering me a life of leisure that neither of us ever expected was possible. The idea actually knocked me off balance a bit.

We went back into the house and the realtor wanted to show us one last room. The 'crowning glory' of the house, she said, and she was right. She opened a set of siding, pocket doors to reveal the most beautiful solarium I'd ever seen in my life - well, the first I'd ever seen in person in my life. Three walls of beautiful, small paned glass, with a bronze fountain - an actual fountain - in the middle it. It worked and everything!

When the realtor flipped the switches that turned on the fountain and lowered the lighting to make the room's lighting soft and romantic, the look on my face must have given away how I felt.

"Well, Mr Reed," she said to Opie, "I think the little woman is sold. How about you?"

"Why don't you wander around the house a bit, Kimmy," Opie said to me. "I'm going to talk a little business."

Yeah, I know, I should have been insulted. I was an actuary, for crying out loud. I probably knew more about numbers then either of them, but I was in love with that house and all I wanted to do was look at it. Besides - as far as I was concerned, this was all a fantasy, anyway. I knew how much it cost and I knew how much it would cost to maintain and I knew how much I made. I could never afford it. Opie's new income still seemed unreal to me. Maybe after I'd had a chance to process it I could consider whether or not she could afford it.

I ran the toes of my heeled boots along the marble of the solarium floors. I felt the lead in between the glass panes of the windows. I ran my fingers along the oak panels on the walls and I imagined how a tall, decorated Christmas tree would look right there in the center of the windows - maybe not the tree where we'd open presents, the marble floors would be too cold for that. You know, a tree for guests at our holiday party. What perfect place for a party. I could picture it so well. Opie could invite business associates and their spouses. We'd have Emma and Josie come, of course. We could invite people from town - I mean, if I wasn't working, why couldn't I get to know some of the other wives, right?

Oh, it would be so nice! I could get Opie a nice velvet tuxedo jacket and maybe I'd wear a nice red velvet dress...

Wait a minute!

I took a breath. What the hell was happening to me? When I pictured my future in this beautiful house... I was Opie's pretty little wife. Is that what I wanted?

I was too scared to even consider it.

I folded my arms across my midriff and realized, again, that I was out in the world in a cute green tee shirt dress with tights and cute little boots. I saw my reflection in the leaded glass and I saw a cute little Asian housewife looking back at me. Oh, God! I thought I'd been playing a game, but I was a woman! An actual woman.

Or was I?

What had Opie said earlier about how she was still a woman? 'I'm not a man," she'd said. 'I'm a woman who presents in a non traditional way, that's all.'

Was I the opposite of that? Was I just a man who presented in a non traditional way? Was that ok? Was that what I wanted?

"Oh, you're still in here, Mrs Reed," the realtor entered the room, smiling broadly. "Your husband is on the phone with the owners. He asked me to come get you. I think he'll have some good new for you in a few minutes."

She held out her hand, and for some strange reason, I took it and allowed myself to be led by her to the kitchen. Along the way, she spoke to me in a somewhat maternal way, "So, how long have you two been married?"

"Oh, umm, just a year," I sputtered, still mulling over much bigger questions.

"Oh, married during the pandemic, then. Oh, it must have been a small affair, then. I'm so sorry. Maybe you could have a bigger one once you've moved in here."

"Oh, yes, maybe," I just agreed, without any thought.

"You'll get to wear your gown again."

'Oh, I just wore a suit," I said, without thinking.

"Really? A beautiful thing like you? Why on earth would someone as cute as you not wear a gown?"

'Because I'm a guy, you moron,' I wanted to say, but instead I said, "Oh, you know... it was just us and a friend officiating and Opie's sisters and mom, so we didn't do anything fancy."

"Opie?" She giggled. "Is that your pet name for Mr Reed? Opie? Like Ron Howard on The Andy Griffith Show? That's adorable. Where did that come from?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Ever since I've known him, his family always called him Opie."

We entered the kitchen and I heard my 'wife/husband/I-don't-really-know-what-to-think' on the phone speaking, "Yes, I can have a certified check to your lawyer by noon tomorrow. I do. Yes. Their offices are not far from mine. Very good. Just have them send those papers to me and my lawyers first thing in the morning and, provided everything is worded to my lawyer's satisfaction, I'll run a check over to them at lunch time and we'll be all set. Yes. Excellent. Thank you very much, sir. Yes, it has been a pleasure speaking to you. You have my contact information. Please feel free to contact me should you need to. Yes, good evening to you, as well. Thank you, very much." He ended the call.

She turned to me and smiled. "Well, Kimmy, provided everything goes well tomorrow morning and the inspection goes well tomorrow afternoon, this is your new house, baby!" She held her arms wide, thrilled that she'd been able to procure my dream house for me and, truth be told, I was thrilled, too, so I put my anxieties on hold and I ran over and I threw my arms around Opie's torso and hugged her.

"Thank you, so much," I said, on the verge of happy tears.

"Well... 'Opie'..." the realtor chuckled, "congratulations." She extended her hand.

Opie shook her hand in return. "PJ will do just fine," she smiled, friendly.

The realtor remained friendly, too. "Your wife used your nickname and I thought it was sweet. Sorry."

"No need," she said, still in a shockingly male persona. "It's a family name. Kimmy and I have been together a long time. I use PJ
professionally. You understand."

"Of course," she smiled. "Well, congratulations, you two."

Before we left, Opie had her take a picture of us in the solarium, then we headed home.

"Aren't you excited?" Opie asked, as we headed north-east. "It's the start of a whole new life. New career, new town, new house, new personas... it's exciting."

I sighed. "Ope, do you really want me to become a woman for you? To give up my manhood?"

"Oh, please," she laughed in an annoyingly mannish manner. "Listen, Kimberly, neither of us has fit into the traditional expectations of male and female beauty. You are a 'cute little' guy and I am a 'handsome figure of a woman.' Not exactly complimentary, if you ask me. I didn't 'give up' my womanhood. I enhanced the gifts I was given and made use of them. Sure, my coworkers think I'm a man, but who cares. The turn over in personnel at a hospital is insane. I don't think there are five people still there who knew me as Penelope and they're all still in lower management. I doubt they'd ever recognize me, now. I hated people saying things like, 'you know, with a little makeup, you'd be really pretty.' I like being PJ. I like being the guy in charge. Kim - I've just become the fourth highest paid person in the entire Caduceus Health Care System. Do you seriously think they'd have given that position to someone named 'Penelope?'"

"Maybe not, but since you mentioned treating women as second class citizens, what's with exiling me while you went out to the kitchen to talk business? I'm not some empty headed little, nine-teen-fifties-era housewife, Opie. I'm a grown man with math skills and business experience. You had no right to treat me that way." My voice must have conveyed my irritation, because before I'd even finished, Opie had pulled the car to the side of the back road we were traveling and put it in park. She took my hand in hers and looked really sad.

"Kim, honey, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean for it to come off that way. See... it's just that... honey... this house... since we were kids, whenever we'd come this way, like when your dad would drive us out here for ice cream, or later, when we could drive and we'd just take rides in the country on Sundays, whenever we'd pass this place, you'd always say, 'There's my house!' About a week ago I had to go to the Caduceus Hospital out in Warren and I came this way. I saw that the house was for sale and looked up the listing, but I knew that it would be irresponsible for us to buy it at the price they wanted. Today, when I met with the board and signed my new contract, the very first thing I thought was, 'I can buy that house for Kim.' I just didn't want you to hear the final amount I paid for it, honey, because it's my gift to you. That's all. I wasn't trying to exile you. I was trying to do something nice for you. I wanted the very first thing I did with the money from this new job to be something special for you. I'm sorry."

Geez, I mean, how do you stay mad at that, right?

"Opie... I'm sorry." All of a sudden I realized that she'd tried to make this evening the best evening of my life and I was being pissy about it. I reached over and hugged her as best I could. "Thank you, Opie. I just... I'm just worried about the cost. Are you sure we can afford it?"

"Honey - the house is expensive, but we just entered a new income bracket. We have the down payment in the bank, our house should fetch a nice three fifty or so in this market and I'll be making a million and a half before bonuses next year. We're in great shape - well - aside from the fact that my sister is going to be ticked that I bought it without her help. We'll let her sell our house, though. That'll make her happy."

"And the dresses?" I asked. "Are you serious about that? You really want everyone to think I'm your wife from now on?"

"Only if you're willing," she shrugged, "but I have to be honest - I think I'm done trying to be a guy at work and something else at home. I'm going to look like this from now on, Kim, and I have no problem with people drawing conclusions about us based on how we look. I hope you're ok with that, too."

"Opie, as long as we're together, I'm ok with it, but I need to think about being a full time wife, ok?"

"Fine. And you know that I'm ok with whatever you decide, too."

We both nodded and sat in silence for a moment.

"Can I ask for one big favor, though?" Opie asked, somewhat coyly.

"Sure."

She took a big breath and let it out. "Friday is kind of a big night for me and I'd kind of like to make it a big celebration."

'Right. The casino. I heard you tell Emma."

"Yeah, but..." she sighed. "I know it's a big ask, but... I think you're just beautiful like this, Kim and I'd really love it if you'd just give me one night of full blown Kimmy. I mean - Go with Josie and Emma to a salon, have your hair, nails and makeup done - the whole works. Pick out a beautiful dress and I'll buy a nice suit and let's do this in style. Just this once. Please. Then... if you choose to never wear a dress again, at least we have this memory. And if you do decide to be my wife... then you know whether or not you like go whole girly world of dressing up for fancy events - and if you do, we make fancy events a more frequent thing."

I thought about if for a moment. Josie and Emma would have no problem with it and Josie had her husband, Sam, wrapped around her little finger, so there was no problem there. "What about your mom?"

She snickered. "She'll make a few inappropriate remarks, but I'll give her a few hundred dollars to gamble with and she'll be happy as a clam."

Ok, that did seem true. Her mom was a casino maven who loved the slots. By the time we got to the casino, she'd be more focused on the games than the dress.

The more I thought about it, the more I kind of wanted to try it, too. I mean, I was really taken with the sensations of the clothes that I was wearing right at that moment, and I loved how I looked when I looked in the mirror. I also loved that Opie liked how I looked. I mean, she always 'liked' how I looked, but now she LIKED how I looked. If she'd really been a guy, I'd have given her a boner.

And then there was the fact that my wife had just given me a house that cost a loooooooooooooot of money.

A loooooooooooooot of money.

As a gift.

Did I mention that the house she bought was my dream house?

For me?

As a gift?

Now, all she was asking was that I do something fun, something that I really wanted to do anyway.

"Ok. I'll do it." Then I thought for a moment. "But I have to work tomorrow and Friday. When can I do everything that needs to be done?"

Opie shrugged. "If you won the lottery, would you keep your job?"

I shook my head. "No. I mean, I don't hate my job or anything, but if I could afford to not have to work..."

"Well - you just won the lottery." She interrupted.

"You mean I should just quit? Without any notice?"

"When we get home, type up a polite, businesslike resignation, effective immediately, and send it to your boss. Apologize, but explain that changes in your life require you to leave your position without notice. They'll be ticked off, but they'll survive. Believe me, I've had good people leave without notice more times than I can count. Things happen. People need to leave in a rush. It's not their fault."

"Huh." I thought about it for a moment or two. "Alright. I'll do it. I'll type up a letter and quit, effective tomorrow."

Opie squeezed my knee through my tights. "That's my girl!"

I swatted playfully at his hand. "Not yet I'm not... but, seriously, Opie... thank you for the house and... well... thank you."

She took, my hand and kissed the back of it. "That's what I'm here for, Kimmy."

I wrote the letter of resignation that night, it took a while. It basically thanked the company for all of the opportunities I'd been given and then apologized for having to leave without notice, but unexpected changes in my family situation had made it necessary for me to leave my position immediately. I didn't send it right away and then didn't sleep well as I kept wondering if I was doing the right thing. I finally made up my mind and sent it out to my boss at around four in the morning. He responded at around six that he understood and that the company would miss me and if I should need a job in the future, I should get in touch. I felt so much better after that.

When Opie came down for breakfast, she told me to take a nap on the couch, which I did for a very short time until I heard my sister-in-law scream from the kitchen, "You bought a house without talking to me first!" What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Shh," I heard Opie speak more quietly. "Kim is sleeping. I wanted to buy the house last night, without any delay. I knew you'd want to negotiate and play the 'I can get do better' game, and I appreciate that, but this is Kim's dream house and I just got my dream job. It was all about joy and not about money. Will you sell this house for us?"

She huffed a little and I sat up.

"Of course I'll sell it for you. Now, tell me - Do you want a profit or is this sale just about joy, too?"

"Thank you," Opie said and he kissed her cheek as I entered.

"Oh, hi," Emma smirked. "I hear you own a mansion."

I smiled. "Just a big old farm house."

"Yeah. I saw the listing online. It's a big old, FANCY farm house. Congratulations. Hey - why aren't you getting ready for work?" Then she looked at her sister. "And why do you look like a sitcom dad headed off to the office? You two used to be so boring and uninteresting. God, in the last few days you've become more interesting than anything on Tik Tok. What is going on around here?"

Opie pulled on her suit coat and glasses and looked even more manly than ever. "I'll let Kim explain. I have to run." She kissed Emma's cheek and then my lips before leaving.

"Well?" Emma crossed her arms and waited for an explanation.

So, I gave her a quick synopsis.

"She's been working as a guy!? Oh, my God, that explains so much! So - what are you are you going to do, then?" Emma was almost as titillated as she was shocked.

"I'm not sure."

"Are you seriously considering doing this full time, for the rest of your life?"

"Considering it, yes," I explained. "Seriously...? Not quite seriously, yet, but I am going to go through with my agreement to go all the way and be as pretty as I can on Friday night. Can you help me with that?"

Emma shook her head. "You know this kind of thing is all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Are you sure that your marriage is up to this kind of experimentation?"

I thought for a moment. "You know... Last week, when you and Josie convinced me that buying Opie some pretty lingerie, it seemed like a great idea, but... now I understand why it upset her. That's growth and that's a sign of a healthy marriage, right? And on Monday, when Opie showed up with this nightgown for me... I was really ticked at first and I really only put it on to prove a point, but... having put it on... and then having put on everything else... I'm feeling a lot more broad minded than I was a week ago. I think this is exactly the kind of experiment that our marriage needs."

She smiled at me. "Ok. I'll text Josie. There's more to be done than I can do, so we'll have to go see some professionals. I'll have her call around for appointments today and tomorrow and we'll have to go shopping for a cocktail dress or a gown - to be honest, I'm not even sure where to do that, but we'll figure that out. For now, though, let's go see if Opie has any lady razors or Nair still hanging around. Come on, little girl. There's a lot to be done." She took my hand and started leading me up the stairs. "You know, this is going to be kind of fun. I've never taught an awkward little boy to be a beautiful woman before."

Let me tell you, you may think that you've done embarrassing things, but until you've stood in a shower stall and had every inch of your body shaved by your sister-in-law, a woman you've known, and not always gotten along with, since before puberty, you have no idea what embarrassment is. To be honest, though, Emma was pretty cool about the whole thing. The only teasing she really did was done to make me relax and it was all over pretty quickly. One thing I had inherited from my Japanese mother was a dearth of body hair, and the little that I did have was very fine. Combine that fine hair with light brown hair color I inherited from my dad and I rarely had to even shave my face, but I did that day. Emma suggested that, should I decide to make womanhood a lifestyle choice, electrolysis would be a good way to eliminate the need to shave permanently.

At nine-thirty, Josie showed up with a dress she'd picked up for me at Emma's - Josie was a good deal too tall and busty to loan me any of her clothes - and a pair of low heeled sandals.

Emma and I were in the kitchen having a light breakfast. Me looking glorious in a towel-turban and my sheer robe and nothing else - NOTHING else.

"Somebody want to explain all of this to me?" Josie asked, playfully curious.

Emma gave her the gist of the situation, including the news of our new house. "Oh, and you should see our sister in her work persona. She's been living a double life as a man at work for years."

"Well, that explains a lot," Josie laughed.

"Exactly what I said," Emma agreed as she stood to clear the table.

Josie turned her attention to me at that point. "So, what's going to happen with you, then? Gardening Club? PTA? Sewing classes?"

I shrugged. "I know you're teasing, but none of that sounds all that bad to me."

She smirked. "Me neither, actually. Ok, listen - I got an appointment to get our hair colored and trimmed at eleven and our nails done at two. Tomorrow, we get our hair and makeup done at noon. Now, get your iPad and show me this house of yours."

For the next few minutes we looked at pictures of the house Opie had bought me - well, provided all went well that morning.

At some point, Emma was brushing out my hair and saying that I didn't need to worry about how it looked too much, since the salon visit was in our near future. As she went to work on my face, she sent Josie upstairs to get a bra and panty set for me to wear.

A few minutes later, with no sense of impropriety at all, my older sister-in-law casually removed my robe while my younger sister-in-law ran my silk panties up my legs. Hey - my groin had just been shorn by Emma. What was left to hide, right?

I tucked myself and let Josie fasten my bra, then accepted her playful teasing. "Ooh, you have a nice little rack there, Kimmy."

"I have an expensive bra, is what I have," I teased back.

The dress that Emma had had Josie grab for me that day was far from a loose fitting tee shirt dress. "It's important that the hairdresser knows that you're a 'lady' when you go in for a coloring today," she explained. "You looked cute as hell yesterday, but that was a kind of a 'work day' dress. This is a 'my husband is a somebody important and I can afford to be treated well' kind of dress, without being a 'I'm a fucking bitch' kind of dress."

"Ok," I shrugged.

Regardless, it was an adorable dress. Soft, soft, soft cotton. Really pale, baby blue with little white flowers and stems all over it. The bodice was all smocked, so it kind of made it look like I had a little more bust than I did. It had a square neck line and these littlegirlish puffy sleeves with a little ruffle that made my arms look even more slender than they were. It had a slightly high waist, and the skirt fell to a couple of inches above my knees. It had a soft cotton under dress skirt. I don't think it was a real expensive dress, but it was a good quality dress and it gave me tickles when I wore it. I mean, if I'd been out and about and saw a woman wearing that dress, I would have looked twice - not because I wanted to sleep with her, but just because she was... well... so feminine.

The sandals were a simple affair, narrow straps with a little heel. Nothing challenging - but challenging heels were in the not too distant future.

"What do you think?" Emma asked Josie.

"You know, she cleans up pretty well for a guy. I do admit that I'm a little peeved that you had her all dressed up yesterday and didn't share her with me. So what's the plan for the rest of the day?"

Emma checked time. "We've got a little time before we leave for the salon. Then lunch. Then mani/pedi's..."

Josie glanced at me, "Have you ever had a mani/pedi before?"

"Of course not!"

A huge smiled crossed her face as she gripped my shoulders. "Oh, you're going to love it! Emma and I have been getting them together every week since I was, what, nine or ten. Opie used to come with us sometimes, but it was too girly for her. It'll be nice to have a third sister again!"

Emma snickered as she logged onto my iPad. "Honestly, Josie, you should have seen Opie when she walked out of this house this morning. She DID NOT look like our sister. I swear there was a penis in her trousers somewhere. Alright, look - I just entered a Google search for cocktail dresses in Worcester County and all I got is prom dresses."

"I got my wedding rehearsal dress at Nordstrom's out in Natick. We could head there after our mani/pedis."

"Natick!?" I asked. "That's like an hour away. We wouldn't be headed that way until... what... three thirty or so? I have to make Opie supper and..." they were staring at me, wide mouthed. "What?"

They burst into laughter. "You have to make Opie supper?" Emma could hardly speak through her spasms.

"You're already Opie's wife!" Josie screamed in glee.

"I am not," I insisted, but the pretty flowered dress with the flouncy skirt and the puffy sleeves did nothing to instill a sense of masculinity.

"Alright, alright," Josie put her arm around my shoulder. "Don't get your panties in a twist. Em will text your hubby that she'll have to have to fend for herself tonight. I'm sure that Opie will be happy to go one night without a hot meal to have you all dolled up for her tomorrow night."

"Ok. I just sent her a text, Kim. I'm sure everything will be fine. Let's get ready to go. Does Opie have an old purse around that you can use for now?"

I ran upstairs to look and came back down with a plain brown bag with a shoulder strap that was received with raised eyebrows, smirks and a resolution to fix that problem today.

"Opie just text back," Emma said as we walked out the door. "She's wrapping up everything on your house after work tonight. She says, 'enjoy your time with the girls and find a pretty dress.'"

"Nope. You are definitely not Opie's wife," Josie said, as she held the back door of Emma's car open for me. "Smooth your skirt as you sit, then pivot into the car, Mr Macho." She closed the door behind me when I'd done so, then got into the front herself and Emma drove.

The salon was quite an experience. Shampooing, conditioning, coloring, tinting, trimming...There was a lot of discussion about what needed to be done. What colors would look best. What would best frame my face. I wasn't involved in any of those discussions, but there were an awful lot of them.

When all was said and done, my hair was much lighter, nearly blonde, with gold and reddish highlights, layered and given enough of a perm to make it look full and lively. I have to admit, I was pretty shocked by the whole thing. My brown hair and Asian face were always a bit of a dichotomy. Now, with my hair so light, my features seemed downright exotic.

At Emma's instruction, two earrings were installed in each of my earlobes. Josie lobbied for a belly-button piercing, but I drew the line at that. Then it was several different makeup trials with discussions of how each would work with different hair treatments, depending on dress styles, and finally I was able to stand, again.

Lunch was at a trendy place I'd never been that was on the first floor of The Mill. The place specialized in soups and salads, therefore it's clientele was primarily female. I was surprised by how pleasant the company of women actually was. Sure, some were loud and some were crude, but the subjects discussed tended to be less... disgusting than those subjects discussed by men.

Then we had our mani/pedis - and experience I cannot recommend more highly. Oh, my lord, why do men not do this!? The feeling of soaking your hands and feet in warm liquid, then having them worked on by skilled people is just indescribable! Oh, especially the pedicure! I was in Heaven!

My toenails were sculpted and filled and filed and painted 'candy apple red.' I had acrylic nail extensions applied to my fingers and they were also sculpted and filled and filed and painted 'candy apple red.' I was informed that, should my dress for Friday evening require a change of nail color, we would return the next day. I made it clear that, should the change of color require the entire treatment I'd just endured, I'd happily return every day, but that was just received with laughter by everyone nearby.

On the way to Natick, Emma's phone, which was also acting as our music source, rang. "It's your hubby," Josie teased, as Emma punched the 'answer' button. The phone answered through the radio, so we could all hear.

"Hi, Opie," Emma said. "What's up?"

"Hi, Em. Hey, is Kim with you?"

'Yeah, I'm here!" I shouted from the back seat so that the speaker could pick up my voice.

"Hey, honey! Why aren't you answering your phone?"

"My phone?" I grabbed the purse I was carrying and pulled out my phone. 'Eleven missed calls.' "Oh, Geez. Sorry." I shouted. "It's on vibrate and in my pocketbook."

I could hear Opie chuckle. "You bought a pocketbook?"

"No, it's one of your old pocketbooks, and knock it off, smart ass. You want me all dolled up for you for tomorrow, night, well you and I are paying for all of this, so I need to carry my wallet somewhere and this Holly Hobbie outfit your sisters have me in doesn't have any pockets."

"Holly Hobbie!?"she laughed. "You two aren't torturing him, are you?"

Without warning, Josie turned and pointed her phone at me. "I just sent you a picture. Does she look like she's a Holly Hobbie or that she's being tortured?"

"Let's see," Opie, grunted on the phone and there was a bit of silence, then a long exhalation. "Wow... Kimmy... wow..."

Emma and Josie gave each other triumphant smiles.

Opie cleared her throat and came to her senses. "Umm, anyway, the reason I called, is... WE GOT THE HOUSE! IT'S ALL OURS! LOCK STOCK AND BARREL! We even own the furniture. We can get rid of any thing we don't want, but it's all ours, baby! Are you happy!"

Honestly, I could barely process it! "I'm thrilled!, Opie! I'm absolutely thrilled! Thank you, honey!"

"Oh, I'm glad, baby. I'm really glad. Hey, remember that adjustable bed you liked at that furniture store we walked through like two years ago? I called them and ordered one along with their best gel-top mattresses. They're being delivered this evening along with new linens and everything. So, if you want to pack a bag we can start living there this weekend."

"Oh... wow!" I gasped at the suddenness of everything. "How are the delivery guys getting in?"

"There's a key code on the door by the garage. I just drove out and changed it from what it used to be. Now, it's a new eight digit code. Your birthday."

Honest to God, I thought I was going to cry.

"Oh, Opie."

"There's another code for the delivery guys, too, and we'll get rid of that as soon as they're gone. So - am I a super hero, or what?"

"Captain America, Iron Man and Thor all rolled into one." I said, smiling from ear to ear. I noticed that Josie and Emma exchanged looks at that.

"Ok, Baby. Where are you headed, now?"

"Nordstrom's," Emma announced.

"Pretty, pretty dresses," Josie shouted.

"Gross," Opie joked. "Have fun, girls. Bye bye."

The call ended.

"Was that really my sister Penelope on the phone?" Josie asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Emma answered.

Josie shrugged. "Well... the voice sounded kind of deep. Manly, in a way. Then, there was all that 'baby' stuff. That sounded kind of like a guy, too. Not to mention the fact that the person on the phone seemed repulsed by the idea of dresses."

"Well, then that was definitely our sister Penelope." Emma laughed.

Josie turned and looked at me. "How are you enjoying your foray into girlishness?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I certainly understand it's appeal. It is awfully fussy, though."

Josie smiled. "Yeah, but look how pretty you get to be. That makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?"

I smiled. "I don't know. Maybe it does. I'm not sure if this is how I want to live my life, but it's fun to spend time with you guys."

"Well, unlike our sister, we are most definitely not 'guys,' Kimberly." Josie laughed.

"Now... as for Opie, though," Emma said, cautiously, as she glanced at me in the rear view mirror. "I don't think that 'androgynous' Opie is coming back, Kimmy. I think 'manly' Opie is here to stay. Can you live with that?"

I just sighed. "You know, you two never seem to get it. I love your sister. It doesn't matter to me if she's got long hair and wearing a dress or short hair and wearing a Brooks Brothers suit, I love her and that's the end of the story. She can be whoever she wants to be and I will never ask her to change."

"That's awfully sweet," Emma said, with sisterly kindness, "but she's asking you to change, isn't she?"

I shrugged. "That's not how it started, but... I think what she's asking... actually, not asking... what she's encouraging me to do is to explore a part of myself that I found accidentally when I first put on that nightgown."

"A part of yourself that she finds exciting." Emma pointed out.

"Because she likes being a guy," Josie pointed out.

"Which is something she stumbled into as well." I pointed out. "I think that Opie feels like... if she found joy as a man, maybe I could find joy as a woman."

"And do you?" Josie smiled.

"I'm certainly having some fun today."

Now, I'd been to plenty of stores before - the most fancy of which, probably, being Filene's or JC Penny's, but they were NOTHING like Nordstrom's. This place was like a chrome plated shrine to consumerism. Everything was beautiful. Everything was well made. Everything gorgeous. And everything was outrageously expensive!

We hadn't even reached the clothing department and I'd already spent six hundred dollars on makeup, hair products, skin creams and tools I'd never heard of - a rotating makeup organizer, a jade facial roller, makeup brushes, a lighted makeup mirror, a mascara shield, an eyebrow kit, a heated eyelash curler, and a derma-planing tool - Yes, dermaplaning. A phrase that still scares the liver-and-lights out of me.

Finally in the women's clothing area, it still seemed a good long while before we reached the area featuring the cocktail dresses, and even then, I was overwhelmed by the vast variety of styles, colors and fabrics. My God, growing up in men's departments, and without much female input in my life, I couldn't imagine that anyone put this kind of thought and energy into their clothing. I have to admit that the challenge of finding the right dress, not just for me, but for my sisters-in-law was a very exciting prospect!

They began grabbing a dress here and there, asking opinions on shapes and colors and trusting each other's input. It was fascinating. They were a team. A well oiled shopping machine and they taught me as we moved slowly, very, very slowly down the aisles.

This was very different than my usual, "Hmm, I guess I'll go with charcoal grey this time. Yeah, two button coat, no pleats on the pants... these will do,' style of shopping I'd always done. It was really exciting and fun!

Finally, we were in the dressing room - and that's what I mean, too. WE were in THE dressing ROOM. All three of us in one room trying on dress after dress. Emma and I were similar in size, of course, so some of the things chosen for her were passed to me and vice-versa. There was a lot of harsh, yet loving, remarks between sisters, but they were kinder to me... at least at first. Eventually, I was subjected to some pretty harsh teasing, too.

"Geez, Kim, you have no tits or ass at all," Josie shook her head at one point. "How is that even possible."

I was wearing a clingy, silver dress that she's pulled for me. "How is it possible that I would have them?" I pushed back.

"Well, what the heck do you sit on, for crying out loud?"

"Stop it," Emma interrupted, a little peeved. "We can get her a padded panty if we need, but I don't want to do that unless we have to. It might get uncomfortable, wearing it all night." She stared at me for a moment. "I have an idea, though. Kimmy, I'm a C cup, but I think that might be a bit much to tackle right out of the gate. With that push-up bra you're wearing and the padding, you're barely an A cup. It's cute one you, but I think a B would look a little more... sexy. Womanly, you know? What do you say. This may be your one and only night to go put and play as a woman. Do you want to play with the big girls?"

I thought about it for a second or two and shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

"Ok. Hang on a minute." Emma disappeared out of the dressing room wearing the dress she'd just tried on.

"Where's she going?" I asked.

"To get you some tits, I'd guess," Josie smirked. "Here. Zip me up."

I did.

"Kim... I just want you to know... I really admire what you're doing for Opie."

I shrugged as I took off the silver dress. "Like I keep saying, I love her."

She nodded. "I love my husband, too, Kim, but if I bought him something really butch to wear and he made me wear it, I probably would have spit in his eye and walked out on him. You just rolled with it. And now look at you. You're like a whole new person." She looked in the mirror. "Do you like this?"

It was a yellow mini dress that clung to her like a second skin and made her look like a movie star. "I do. You look gorgeous in it."

She smiled at me in the mirror. "Thank you, Kim. You're a very pretty girl, you know."

"Thanks," I laughed, assuming she was teasing.

"I mean it. Look at yourself. I mean, you're a kind of cute guy, Kim, but as a girl... Damn, honey. You are are a good looking girl. You know what I think? I think that you and Opie are meant to be together, but that you were born the wrong sexes. That Opie was always meant to be the man and you were always meant to be the woman and somehow... the universe is just correcting itself."

"Josie..." I sat on the bench and looked at myself in the mirror and thought about my wife and how manly she suddenly looked last night and her statement that she was going to live that way form then on. "... right now... I'm not really sure who I am, but I think that... I kind of like the person I'm looking at in the mirror better the person who I used to see. I mean... this person doesn't look as... awkward and... out of place. Maybe it's because of all of the help that you and Em have given her, but the girl in that mirror... she looks... right... she looks... pretty... she looks... like..." I couldn't find the right words.

Josie sat beside me and put her arm around me. "She looks like you. Like the real you."

"Yeah... I think that maybe she does."

We sat there in silence for a few moments until Josie, a person I had known for years, but felt as if I barely knew, kissed the side of my head, hugged me and whispered, "Well, thank God we found her, then."

"Alright, here we go," Emma said, as she exploded back into the dressing room with a box in her hand. "I had the clerk call over and have these sent. Now, if you like these, we'll attach them for tomorrow night, but for now, here." She handed me a very pretty bra, but one with cups that were obviously bigger than those in the bra I was wearing.

"What do I do with this?"

"Put it on," she said.

"Here," Josie said as she turned me and undid the hooks at the back of my bra. Then she put the new bra on me. "It's a little empty," I pointed out, although it did push up my extra skin and had a shape of its own.

"Ah, but that's where these come in," Emma gloated as she opened the box to reveal two very real looking breasts.

"Yikes," I said out loud. "They look real."

"They cost enough to be real," Emma laughed. "Here... just put them in your bra for now. If the look good with the dress, you can put them on for real tomorrow. If you like the way they look, you can wear them for a couple weeks without taking them off."

She inserted them into the cups of the new bra I was wearing and their size and heft immediately made me stand somewhat differently. Straighter.

"Oh, I like them already," Emma nodded. She looked around and grabbed a shimmering, black dress that she had tried on, but I had not. "Let's try this."

She unzipped it and had me step into it. Even before it was zipped up, I knew we'd found exactly the right dress for that Friday night.

But when the zipper closed, my heart leapt.

The silk lining felt elegant, but the look of the dress was amazing. Two inch shoulder traps led to a V neck line that showed a cleavage that hadn't existed moments earlier. Silver threads sparkled almost magically in the deep black material. The fitted bodice hugged me tightly and made me look small and elegant and feminine. The back was also V shaped and revealed lots of creamy skin. There were no sleeves to interrupt the slender lines of my arms.

Then there was the skirt.

It was beautiful.

The same magical black material with the sparkling silver thread, but so different. Not fitted at all. It was flounced and flounced and flounced and... oh, my, it was just so beautifully bell shaped. It barely touched me! It made me want to swirl! I couldn't help it! I swayed a few times and then I swirled right around. The feeling of the magical skirt, with its hem falling three or four inches beyond my finger tips, twisting around my legs and then relaxing was the most amazing thing I'd ever felt in my life! I adored it. This was it! I'd found it! I'd found my dress!

"Well," Josie giggled, "I think you worked your magic, Fairy Godmother. Cinderella seems to love her dress for the ball."

That actually snapped me out of the spell that the dress had cast on me. I know I blushed a little, but I didn't get embarrassed because both of the girls hugged me, happy that I was happy.

Shoes were next. We all had new dresses, so we all needed new shoes. A pair of three in heeled, strappy sandals, also in glittery black, were chosen for me. I was surprised by how comfortable they were and how easily I was able to walk in them. I was, of course, back in my baby blue dress and the bra I'd worn shopping. For some reason, the girls insisted that when I wore my breast forms and my posture improved even more, I'd find walking even easier. I don't know why that should be so, but I accept it.

They argued about whether I should wear hosiery or not and the final decision, Josie's choice, in fact, was no. I had the legs to pull it off and I shouldn't over complicate things with unnecessary clothing.

One last stop for a very sexy, black bra and panty set for me, as well as new undies for them - I was suspecting that women disposed of garments rather than wash them since new undies, dresses and shoes were needed for all of us - and we were headed out. Honestly, I was exhausted. I didn't know how women did it all the time. Emma and Josie seemed ready to continue shopping for hours more, but we headed west again, back home.

I was a little surprised when we didn't turn towards our town, though.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To see your new house," Emma smiled at me through the mirror.

"Oh, yay!" Josie clapped her hands and turned to face me. "Are you excited?"

"Overwhelmed is more like it. I mean, a week ago, I was a happy, little, weird insurance nerd with a somewhat plain wife. Now, my wife looks like my husband, I look like her wife, I'm unemployed, she's worth a fortune and we're starting over in the house of my dreams. Yeah, I'm excited, but I'm scared, too, and I just hope that we're doing the right thing."

"Well, I have to tell you," Emma said, with what was obviously mock irritation, "I'm not at all happy that you're going to be fifteen minutes further away from my place. I like being able to drop by anytime."

"You can still do that," I said, actually a little saddened by the thought that I might not see Emma as frequently."

"Yeah, but you'll be closer to Sam and me," Josie pointed out. "Only about seven minutes up the road, I think."

"Hmm," Emma grunted. "Looks like I'm in the market for a new house."

In no time, we were pulling into the driveway of our new house. It was a truly grand place and my heart leapt as it always had when I looked at it.

We parked by the garage and walked to the doorway in the hall between the garage and the house. There was keypad on the doorknob plate. I entered my birthdate and was surprised that the knob turned and allowed us to enter. As soon as we entered the kitchen and turned on the lights, the girls oohed and ahhed at the place - and they are in and out of houses that are for sale all day every day. That felt good and made me excited.

As I showed them around, the place started to feel more... I don't know... like... mine! I nearly bounced from room to room, showing them the things that I found the most beautiful the previous day.

When I reached the master bedroom, I laughed when I saw the two deflated mattresses on our new adjustable bed frames. Emma explained that the foam mattresses took about twenty four hours to fully expand. It was just as we got there that we hear the sound of men's laughter down stairs. We looked around, confused and headed in that direction to see who was there. We found the source in the kitchen where Opie and Sam each had a bottle of Sam Adams IPA as they too looked around the house.

"Here they are!" Opie smiled. "My three favorite ladies." She kissed each of their cheeks and then kissed me a bit more passionately than perhaps was appropriate in front of her sisters. "So, did you all find pretty dresses for tomorrow night?"

All three of us were baffled by the scene before us. Emma spoke for us, though. "Yes, we did. I think you'll be very pleased with how Kim looks for your big night, but... can you please explain how Sam knows all about the all new Opie and Kim before Josie has even seen him?"

Opie smiled and nodded. "Ok. So, it's not uncommon for me to run into Sam at this coffee shop I stop at sometimes. Since I never stopped in guy-mode before, I'd never run into him as PJ."

"PJ?" Josie asked.

"That's her work name," Emma explained.

"Yeah," Opie nodded. "So, this morning I see him and we make eye contact and we nod and I can see that he has that 'do I know you' look in his eye, so I figured it was as good a time as any to explain things, so - long story short, Sam knows everything, and we just went and got a couple of pretty slick Italian suits for tomorrow night." She held up her bottle in a toast to her brother-in-law and Sam returned it.

"We did! And I have to say that PJ is a pretty awesome dude and Kim... Damn... Kim... Damn." Sam smiled and nodded.

"Eloquent as always," Emma shook her head. "So, we all know and my date doesn't need to know so that leaves mom. When do you intend to tell her?"

Opie sipped her IPA. "On the way down, I guess."

Emma slapped Opie square in the chest. "Oh, like hell you are."

"Ow!" Opie shouted. "There's still breasts in there you know!"

"Well maybe you should have them removed and give them to Kimmy," she said, tersely. "I'll tell you something, though, young lady," she laid into Opie, "I have no intention of sitting in a van or a limo or whatever you're renting for an hour or more while you explain to our judgmental mother why you suddenly look like 'Joe Average' and Kimmy looks like 'Miss America.' Do you understand me? You find the time to drag you hairy, manly ass over to her place tomorrow morning and you explain this situation to her and make sure that YOU are the only one who's made to feel uncomfortable by it. You got me? NOT me. NOT Josie. NOT Sam and ESPECIALLY NOT KIMMY! Are we on the same page, little sister?"

Now, Opie may have towered over Emma and Opie may have taken on a male persona and Opie may have just been given a position that put her in charge of thousands of people, but Opie had always been Emma's little sister and Emma had always called the shots in their family. 'What Emma says goes.' That was the golden rule among the three sisters and the look on the face of the cocky, masculine PJ disappeared pretty quickly and it was replaced by the Opie I'd always known - Emma's sister. She looked at the counter top and nodded. "Yeah. We're on the same page. I'll take an early lunch and go see her."

"Alright then," Emma said. Then she took a breath. "I'm sorry I slapped you in the boobs. I guess I forgot they were there."

Opie chuckled at that. So did the rest of us.

"Hey," Sam said, "can I see the rest of the house?"

"Sure," Opie smiled and we headed off into the house again, friends again and that's the way it was with Opie and her sisters. They could be upset with each other one second and all was forgiven the next. I loved that about them.

As we wandered through the sprawling first floor, Opie never took her arm from around me. First it was around my shoulder, but then it was lower on my back, playing with the ruffles of my sleeves or caressing my bottom. It was always surreptitious, but it was none stop.

As we reached the staircase, she looked at her phone. "Oh, hey, I need to talk to Kim about something for a moment. You guys go ahead up. We'll meet you up there in a few minutes." She smiled, but looked as if there was something important on her phone. So, the others went up and I followed her back towards the living room.

"Is everything ok?" I asked.

"Not really," she said.

'Great,' I thought. 'I'd just started to get happy about the house being ours. What had happened, now!' "What's wrong?"

She turned as we entered the living room and smiled. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you look right now?"

I smiled. "Really? Thanks. Why are we in here?"

She leaned in and kissed me. "Kim... that dress and the way your hair looks and," she pulled my hair back a bit, "your ears look so pretty with earrings and," she took my hands, "your nails are just... Kimmy, I just need you, right now."

"What!?" I looked around. "You mean... you want to have sex? Here? Now? With them upstairs?"

She grinned and shook her head, then gently lifted me and laid me down so that I was on my back on the huge, sectional sofa. She knelt next to me and gently lifted the hem of my dress, revealing my panties.

"Opie," I gasped, excited, but nervous. "They're just upstairs."

"I won't take long." She grinned and lowered the waist band of my panties. "Kimberly Bristol, you are the most beautiful, feminine, exciting thing I have ever seen. Do you know that?"

I couldn't help but smile and gasp as she kissed the hairless skin of my lower abdomen and guided my penis out from where it had been nestled between my legs.

Now, a hand job from Opie was a very rare event. As I believe I'd mentioned several times, our sex life, until that precious Monday evening, had been very mundane. Satisfying and loving, but mundane.

"When I saw you in this dress, Kim... my heart nearly stopped. I swear, if you saw a girl that looked as beautiful as you, you'd have a hard on so stiff you couldn't walk."

Ok, it was crude, especially for a woman, but maybe she was trying out her manly sex talk. I didn't know. All I really knew was that my wife, who's always had a bit of 'a thing' about touching my penis was fondling it like a pro, now, and I loved how it felt - and I loved that she loved how I looked.

"You must know how beautiful you look, don't you?" She kissed me, right next to the base of my penis. "Don't you?" She did it again. "Don't you?" She did it again.

I could only groan and gasp. Her kisses were so close to my penis. She hated blowjobs. She hated the very idea of blowjobs. She called them demeaning. When they'd occur in a movie, she'd shake her head and mutter, "Here we go." Now, she was teasing me with kisses that nearly touched my shaft.

"Kimberly Bristol, you are most beautiful girl I know." She whispered as all of a sudden, with no warning whatsoever, she devoured me. She wrapped her mouth around my penis and took me so deeply that I had to be in her throat. I don't know how she did it! I'd never been with another woman and as far as I knew, Opie had never been with another man, but if this sex act wasn't the act of an experienced woman, then it was the act of a woman so caught up in heat of passion that she was acting on pure instinct and not thinking at all.

My breathing was becoming erratic and I was feeling lightheaded. I knew that I wouldn't last long. I was about to tell Opie that I needed to pull out of her mouth when I felt it. It was a feeling unlike anything I'd ever felt in my life. So unexpected. So shocking. So intimately violating when a finger from the hand that had been caressing the areas between the tops of my legs suddenly entered deeply into me and touched something that sent me into waves of ecstasy I didn't know existed before. I struggled to catch a breath as I thrust and I pumped and went blind with rapture.

Opie kept her mouth locked onto me as I bucked and shot and spasmed and finally slowed down as my elation subsided and my breathing returned to normal. She slurped as she pulled free of me and with a churlish smiled made a show of swallowing as she pulled a handkerchief from her back pocket. After a quick dab of her lips, she carefully cleaned up the residue left behind around my sex organ.

"There we go," she said as she finished up. "Nice and dry." She tucked me back down and raise my panties back up. As she lowered my dress and helped me up, she smiled and said, "I meant what I said, you know. I've never seen another girl as pretty as you look, now, Kim. I'm not saying that to put pressure on you. I'm saying it so that you know how how I feel."

She stood and I thought she was going to offer me a hand, but instead, she put one arm under my arm pits and the other under my knees and lifted me effortlessly off the couch, surprising the hell out of me. I continued to be carried until we reached the foot of the stairs where I was finally set down and allowed to walk on my own, again.

As I climbed the stairs in front of her, it occurred to me; Opie had always loved me, but I don't think she'd always been all that attracted to me is a sexual way before. Not when I was presenting as a guy, I mean, but now that I looked like a girl, or, more appropriately, a woman... and she was discovering her own 'inner man,' well I guess that she was just becoming a more sexual person. Maybe, since I was submitting to her more aggressive sexual hungers, I was was discovering my own 'inner woman' too and also becoming a more sexual person. Those were good things, right?

My thoughts were interrupted when Opie said, "You know, Kim, when we were growing up, Emma and I used to look at how pretty Josie was and we'd say, 'Some girls were just born to wear dresses and Josie is one of those girls.' Well, Kimmy, you're one of those girls, too. The way that dress hangs on you and the way you move in it... you just look so..."

"Ok, ok, ok," I said as I reached the landing and waited for Opie to catch up. "Look, honey, I admit, I like the dresses. I do. And I feel really good about myself - and us - when I look like this, but what you're asking me to do - to give up my life and start all over again as a woman for the rest of my life... it's tempting and I am considering it, but let me make up my mind on my own, ok. Don't try to flatter me into it."

She smiled and put her arm around me. "I'm sorry. Honestly, that's not what I meant to do. I'm just amazed at how quickly you've become such a beautiful woman. I just want you to know that."

"Ok," I smiled and stood on tip toe to kiss her cheek. "Now, on a different topic, when I walked through the house with the girls before, I was thinking that we need at least three Christmas trees down stairs."

"Three?"

"Yeah. One in the foyer, one in the living room and one in the solarium. Then upstairs, I think we need one in the foyer up there, too. You'll see it from the street if we put one there.'

"So, four trees?"

"Well, maybe five. A small one in the lounge room near the back of the upstairs. I think you can see that window from the side road."

"Ok. Five trees, then."

"And all the windows that don't have a tree need one of those electric candles. You know the ones I mean?"

"Sure. Window candles, ok. Anything else? It is almost August. We need to get everything we need pretty quickly."

"Oh, shut up," I giggled as I elbowed her.
 
 
To Be Continued...