Summary: This is the story of a year in my life. Well, maybe a little more than a year. It takes in from the middle of my junior year in high school, until the end of my senior year. It’s the story of my meeting the love of my life, Katie. And, what kind of trouble my brother got me into at the spring dance. Katie’s the love of my life, and we’ve learned a lot of things together. But, she had some ideas about Halloween that I wasn’t sure about. Then, Gwen go to the mall? Ah, I don’t know.

I ran over a little on my story, I felt that I need to take you through our high school graduation. So, this part of the story actually covers about sixteen months. After our visit to the mall, Kate and I, well Gwen, end up at a swim meet at State. And, that turned into a very interesting trip. Then just before graduation something happens that I think you’ve all been waiting for.

A Year In My Life

Part I - 4

Tuesday, January 2

This morning I learned something about Kate that I didn't know. She was a good cook. She had made us, and her mother, a very nice breakfast. And, as I was helping her clean up, and her mother was having another cup of coffee, Kate said, "Mom. Gwen and I are going to the mall this afternoon."

"That's nice dear. . . . Did you say Gwen?", her mother said.

"Yea."

"Gary, I thought that you only did Gwen for parties?"

"That's all we've ever done it for, Mrs. Branson.", I said, "But, we thought it might be fun to try hanging out for an afternoon as two girlfriends."

"Are you sure about this? Are you really ready to go to the mall looking like a girl?"

"Mom.", Kate said, "You've seen Gwen. What do you think?"

"Well. I've only seen her all dressed up for the dance, and in a costume for Halloween. Then yes. But, are you sure that going to the mall is a good idea?"

"How about if you decide for us?"

"Me?"

"Sure. Once Gwen is ready, you decide if she passes or not. If she doesn't, we won't go."

I looked at Kate's mother, and said, "If you say no. It'll be no."

She looked at me, smiled, and said, "Kids. I know you think this is fun. But, just be careful."

"We will mom.", Kate said.

Later, as we walked into one of the bigger thrift stores in town, I asked, "So, what are we looking for?"

"See how I'm dressed?", Kate said.

"Yea." She was wearing jeans, a light blue hoodie, and running shoes. And, looked damn cute.

"Something just like this."

We started looking through the racks of clothes, and there were a lot of things to look at. The first thing that she found was a pink T-shirt that would fit me.

I said, "Pink?"

"Sure love.", she said, "It's a girl thing. You'll learn."

Then she started looking through the long rack of hooded sweatshirts, or hoodies. She'd take one off the rack, look at it, put it back. Then do it again. She must have looked at a dozen or two, before she pulled what she called a cranberry colored hoodie, she held it up to me, smiled, and checked the size. Then handed it to me.

And, since we were right where the shoes were, we started looking at them. She mumbled something like, "I hope they have bigger sizes."

"Huh?", I said.

"Nothing."

After looking through a very large selection of shoes, she said, "Well babe. Nothing in your size."

"So, what do we do?", I asked.

"Go to a cheap shoe store when we're done here."

"You're the boss."

Then she spotted something, and said, "But, these jeans are so cute. I hope we can find a pair in your size."

What she was looking at were jeans with embroidery on the left leg. Some of the designs were very colorful, and some were very subdued. Again, after going through a number of pairs, she pulled out a pair that she really liked, looked at me, and said, "What do you think?"

They were a light blue with a rose embroidery running down the left leg from the hip to the knee. And, had a fancy, brown, tie belt with them. I said, "Might work. Will they fit?"

"They should. But, they're hip huggers. They'll ride a lower than what you're use to. And, you'll need to try them on."

"Try them on?"

"Yes love. You don't want to buy them, and not have them fit."

"But, they're girls' jeans."

"So what? Come on."

I followed Kate over to the dressing rooms, and there wasn't anyone around. She had me take both the hoodie, and the jeans in to try on. And, as I was walking into the room, she said, "Put them on, and come back out. I want to see them."

"Come back out? People will see me."

"There's no one around."

"Promise that you'll tell me if there is?"

"Yes."

I closed the door, and slipped off my shoes, pants, and shirt. Then I stepped into the jeans, and pulled them up. And, I was surprised that I was able to button and zip them up. Actually they were a little loose, and Kate was right they were hip huggers. I'd never worn anything that rode that low. I then slipped the hoodie on, and it also fit.

I opened the door, and looked out. Kate was standing there waiting for me. And, I asked, "Is there anyone around?"

"No, silly. Come on out here, and let me see."

I walked out of the dressing room, Kate smiled, and said, "That'll be really cute on Gwen."

I told her, "The jeans are a little loose."

"I think the next size smaller would be too small. I know of a way to make them fit better when we get them home."

I quickly went back into the dressing room, and changed back into my clothes.

After we had checked out, and we were walking back to the car, Kate said, "There's a large, cheap, shoe store about a mile from here."

"More shopping?"

"We were only in there for an hour."

With a smile, I said, "I know. Just kidding."

"But, shoe shopping is my favorite thing. We could be a couple of hours in that store."

"A couple of hours?"

With a really big smile, Kate said, "Just kidding."

A few minutes later we were in the shoe store looking around. And, after following Kate around, and watching her look at shoes, this was her favorite kind of shopping. We were looking at anything but running shoes. I finally said, "Katie. Remember me. Running shoes. The mall, where there are more shoe stores."

She looked at me, grinned, and said, "See, I told you that I liked shoe stores."

"But, you don't wear heels."

"I have a few. Besides, there are a lot of cute flats."

We finally ended up in the section of the store with girls running shoes, and it didn't take Kate long to find something that she liked. A pair of white New Balance shoes with pink accents. It took us some digging to come up with a pair that should fit me. And, again, Kate said to try them on. I just sat down, slipped off my shoes, and put on the running shoes. When I had gotten them laced them up, and stood, they felt tight, and I said, "Do they have anything wider?"

"Let me look.", Kate said. And, she started looking through the boxes, and finally came back with another box, and said, "Try these."

When we were back at Kate's house, we found that her mother had gone out for a couple of hours. So, after she had taken my new jeans to the laundry room off of the kitchen, where she put them in the washer, she fixed us some lunch. Then it was off to get me ready to go to the mall.

And, just before we went up to her room, she took the jeans out of the washer, and put them in the dryer. I finally asked, "What are you doing to the jeans?"

"Shrinking them a little.", Kate said.

"Not too much, I hope."

"If they do, they'll stretch."

Once we were in Kate's room, she walked over to her chest of drawers, and took out a white bra, the red satin panties, and a shaper. I looked at her, and said, "You're keeping my girl stuff in your chest of drawers?"

"Sure. You've got to take care of nice things."

She handed me the bra, and panties, and said, "Get these on, and we'll get started on your hair, and makeup."

I stripped, and slipped on the panties. There was something that I definitely liked about the feel of satin panties. Then, I actually put the bra on by myself. Kate smiled, and said, "See it isn't hard."

Then she went to work, finding a daytime look that would work on me. But, first it was the eyebrows again. And, again she spent enough time working on me that it had me worried.

Then it was the moisturizer, and foundation. She spent a while working with an eyebrow pencil, trying to get them just perfect. She then said, "We'll go really light on the eye makeup, just some light color on the lid. A touch of mascara, and really light on the eyeliner."

When she was happy with my eyes, she said, "We'll use a soft peach on our cheeks, and a soft pink creme lipstick."

It was like she was trying to teach me makeup.

Then it was on to my hair. Trying to turn my straight male hair into something feminine. Kate combed, brushed, sprayed, and teased my hair. She kept mumbling something about me having to get my hair done, and how I wasn't taking care of it. She finally finished, stood back, and looked at me. Stepped closed, fussed with my hair a little, stood back again, and smiled. And, finally said, "Lover. Gwen is back."

I turned, and looked in the mirror. Kate was right. Gwen was back, looking like an eighteen-year old girl. The makeup was perfect, as was the hair. But, Kate said, "Lets try something."

"What?", I asked.

She looked at me for a couple of seconds, then walked over to her desk, and took out a box. She walked back over to me, opened the box, and took out a pair of wire rimmed glasses. I asked, "Are those the ones I wore on Halloween?"

"Yea. Put them on, and let me see how they go with this look.", Kate said.

I slipped them on, and looked at Kate. She got a big grin, and just said, "Yes."

I looked in the mirror, and it did look good. It added a little look of sophistication to this blond girl. I turned, and said, "Katie. Is this Gwen's real look?"

"Lover. I think we've found the real Gwen. And, she looks great. But, we need to do her nails."

"Are you going to use the press ons?"

"No. Those are for only dressy stuff. I want to work on them a little, and put polish on them."

I watched as Kate, took each of my nails, worked on the cuticles, and used a file on the tips until all my nails looked the same. Then, as she set three bottles of nail polish on her dressing table, she said, "You get to pick the color."

I looked at the three bottles, and handed her one. She said, "Very nice. White pearl it'll be."

I then watched as she carefully applied a coat of polish to each of my nails. Then she said, "Don't touch anything until they're dry, or will have to start over."

I said, "I won't."

"While that's drying, Gwen needs some jewelry."

"Jewelry?"

"Sure love. First this." And, she showed me what looked like the fine gold chain, with a diamond heart, necklace that I had worn to the dance.

I asked her, "Is this the same one that I wore to the dance?"

"Yes. I don't know if you noticed, but I wore an identical one."

"No. No, I didn't."

She took it from me, and as she fastened it around my neck, she whispered, "Boys don't notice anything."

She checked my nails, and they were dry. So, I again watched as she applied a second coat of polish, and I asked her, "Why two coats? The first one looked good."

"Two will look even better. And, when I add a clear top coat, they will look as good as mine."

"I'm beginning to understand why it takes girls so long to get ready to go out."

She smiled, and said, "Looking pretty takes time."

Just as she finished applying the clear coat, she again took a look at me, and said, "You need earrings."

"Give me a pair of the clip ons.", I said.

"Won't work."

"Won't work. Why?"

"Those are really fancy. What you need is something like what I'm wearing. Something small and cute. Like hearts, butterflies, swirls, flowers, stuff like that."

"But, yours are pierced."

Kate just smiled. I knew what she was thinking, and I said, "No way."

"Why not?", she asked.

"It would hurt."

"Not really."

"My dad's mad enough about my long hair. He'd go ballistic if I came home with my ears pierced."

"Love. You're eighteen."

"I'd get a lot of ribbing from the guys at school for having both of them pierced."

"So, do one?"

"Maybe."

"I can do it for you."

"You can?"

"Sure. Wendy and I did our own."

"You did."

"Yea. When I was about eleven, and she was twelve."

"And, it doesn't hurt?"

"Just a pin prick."

"Well . . . All right. Lets do one."

Kate took another box out of her dresser, and opened it. It had a number of small square compartments, each with a two or three pairs of small earrings. She looked through them, and picked out a pair, and showed them to me saying, "These would go with the necklace."

I looked at them, and they were small gold, heart shaped, studs. I looked at Kate, and said, "Are you sure you don't have any small clip ons?"

With a little smile, she said, "Sorry lover. Everything I have is for pierced ears."

"Promise it won't hurt."

"I promise."

"All right. Go ahead and do one."

Kate went to the bath room, and came back with a few things. Then said, "I'm going to clean the earring, and your ear lobe. Then I'm going to mark it, and use a large pin, and a cork to pierce it. Then I'll replace the pin with the earring."

"A cork?"

"You put it behind the ear to push the pin into."

"Go on. Get it over with."

I watched as she poured some fluid into a paper cup, and dropped in the earring, and a T-shaped pin. She then took a cotton ball, put some of the same fluid on it, and cleaned my left ear lobe. Then she took a small marking pen, and made a mark on my ear. The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was her picking up the cork, and T-shaped pin. I felt her do something to my ear, heard a sound, then felt her fuss around a bit. And, then she said, "All done."

"All done!?", I said.

"Yea. You have a very pretty heart on your left ear lobe. It wasn't that bad was it?"

"No. I didn't feel anything."

"Told you."

I looked in the mirror, and she was right, it was pretty. When I turned around, she was looking at me with a puzzled little look. So, I asked, "What's wrong?"

"It doesn't look right."

"What doesn't?"

"One earring. It just won't work."

"What are you saying?"

"How many girls have you seen with one earring? None. We either need to go with none, or do your other one."

"But, won't the hole show after we take the earring out?"

"Yea. But, we can probably camouflage it with makeup."

"But, if we do the other ear, won't there be a hole there when we take it out."

"For a little while. It'll heal quickly."

"How long does it take for the hole to heal if you leave the earrings in?"

"Four to six weeks."

I sat there for a few minutes, looking at myself in the mirror, I looked back at Kate, and said, "Do the other one."

She smiled, and said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Do it, before I change my mind."

A few minutes later I was again looking at myself in the mirror, and seeing Gwen with a small heart on each of her ears. Kate was looking over my shoulder, and she said, "Sweetheart. Those are you. You look so cute with those earrings."

I couldn't help but smile.

Then she said, "Now, I'm going to run down, and get your jeans. While I'm gone, use the bathroom, so we can get you into the shaper. And, you'll find some nylons in the second drawer, use some of them to stuff your bra."

She walked out the door, and I walked over to her chest of drawers. I pulled open the second drawer, and saw some very pretty things. I took out what I thought would be enough nylons to fill the cups, and stuffed them into the bra cups. Then I made a trip to the bathroom.

When I got back, Kate was also back in the bedroom with my jeans, and a worried look on her face. So, I asked, "Katie. What's wrong?"

"Mom's home, and Wendy's with her.", Kate answered.

"Wendy?"

"Yea. Mom said, she's going to be staying with us for a while. Something about a big fight with her mom."

"Think we should put Gwen away?"

"No. Wendy's cool with it. I reminded my mother that you were up here, and when Wendy heard, Gwen. She said, ‘Gary is dressing as a girl again?' I told her that we planned on going to the mall this afternoon, and it was going to be as girlfriends. And, she said, ‘That's cool.' So, I figure it's not a problem."

"If you're sure."

"I've got some dirt on her. So, she won't pull anything. Now, I think we can put a few more nylons in those cups."

After she had stuffed a few more nylons into the cups, she helped me with the shaper. Then I slipped on the T-shirt, I looked in the mirror, and saw a girl's body. Then, I went to put the jeans on, and they were tight. I struggled with them. And, I was able to get them up, but I couldn't button them, or get the zipper all the way up even with the shaper on. I looked at Kate, and said, "I think they shrunk too much."

"No. There's a trick."

"A trick."

"Lay on the bed, and I'll bet up you can get them zipped, and buttoned."

"I've got a better reason to be on the bed."

"Later lover."

I did what Kate said, and she was right. I was able to zip them up, and fasten the button. They were tight everywhere. I said, "I won't be able to move in these."

"Sure you will.", Kate replied, "They'll loosen up fairly quickly."

"And, they do ride a bit low."

"It's the look."

She then retrieved a few rings, the same ones that I'd worn to the dance, and slipped them on my fingers. Then she said, "Put the hoodie on, and lets see the complete look."

I slipped on the hoodie, and zipped it up. Kate looked at me, shook her head, and said, "No. No. No girlfriend. Only zip it up a little way, you want to show off the T-shirt, and what's under it."

I unzipped the hoodie down about halfway, and Kate said, "Much better, love. Okay on with the shoes."

As I started to put the shoes on, Kate said, "Stop."

"What?", I asked.

"Socks."

"Socks?"

"Sure. A pair of socks to match the T-shirt."

Kate went to a drawer, and took out a couple pairs of socks, walked over, and found the pair that was a close match to the pink T-shirt. She handed me the pair, and said, "Put these on."

I slipped on the socks, then put on the running shoes. It was a little hard bending over to tie the shoes with the jeans being so tight, not to mention the shaper, but I managed. When I was finished, I stood up, Kate took a really good look, fussed with my hair a little, then said, "Looking good, girlfriend."

Then, she walked over to her closet, took out a small purse with a strap, and said, "The final item. Put your wallet in here, and we'll put in the other things that you need."

"Other things?", I asked.

"Lipstick, compact, perfume, and that sort of stuff."

I opened the purse to put the items in, and saw something. So, I asked, "What's the white stick?"

"Oh . . . I didn't know I'd left one in there."

"One what?"

"It's something a girl uses for that time of the month."

"Oh, sorry." I knew things like this embarrassed Kate a little. So, I was going to drop the subject. But, with a nervous little smile, she said, "No girl goes out without one. So, you might as well leave it in there."

Kate gave me another good look, and said, "Ready to see what mom has to say?"

"No.", I replied, "But, I guess we need to. What about Wendy?"

"I think she'll be very surprised."

"As long as she doesn't laugh."

"She won't."

Kate then took my hand, kissed me on the cheek, and said, "I don't know if I've said this today or not. But, I love you."

"I love you too, Katie."

Tuesday, January 2 - The mall

We went downstairs, and found Kate's mother, and Wendy, in the kitchen. I waited in the hall, and Kate went into the kitchen. And, I heard her say, "Mom. Are you ready to give a yes or no to Gwen going to the mall?"

"You really want me to do this?", her mother said.

"Yes. You have a good eye for fashion, and will know if she looks good enough to go."

"Where is she?"

I heard Kate say, "Gwen. Come on in the kitchen."

I took a deep breath, and slowly walked into the kitchen. The look on Wendy's face was one of pure surprise. And, Kate's mother wasn't far behind. Wendy was the first of the two to say something, "I saw the pictures from the dance in your school paper. But, seeing this, I'd swear that there's a girl standing here."

Kate's mother just shook her head, and said, "Kids, I don't believe this. I saw Gary dressed for Halloween, and I wasn't sure it was Gary when I saw him then. Now, he looks even better. In fact I'd say he looks very cute."

Kate said, "Mom. Did you say he?"

"I guess I can't. Can I?"

"No, you can't Aunt Viv.", Wendy said, "That's a girl standing there. A very pretty girl."

"Gwen. Honey. Lets see you walk."

To start with I was completely embarrassed by what Kate's mother and cousin had been saying, and was half tempted to run back upstairs. Kate looked at me, and said quietly, "What's wrong love?"

"I ‘m not sure how to take the comments.", I said.

"Take them as they're meant, as compliments."

"But, I'm still a guy."

"Lover, we know that, and you and I have been through this. You have the ability to look like a girl. And, have fun like a girl. Enjoy it."

"Gwen.", Wendy said, "I would be happy to have you as a girlfriend, and be seen anywhere with you."

"Really?", I said.

"Believe it. The only way that I'd know you were a guy, is that Kate said you are, and when you talk."

"So, you want to see me walk?"

"Please.", Kate's mother said.

I started walking around in the kitchen, and I'd remembered what Kate had told me about how a girl walks, short steps, one foot in front of the other, and let my hips swing a little. Kate's mother was the first one to say something, "Gwen. You have a very nice feminine walk. Even got a nice wiggle."

"Mom!", Kate said.

"Well. It's true.", Wendy said, "And, those hip huggers do a good job of showing it off."

"Come sit with us for a minute.", Kate's mother said.

I walked over to the table, and sat, crossing my legs.

Kate looked at me, and said, "I didn't know you could cross your legs that way?"

"What way?", I asked.

"Like a girl. I've never seen a guy cross their legs that way. Especially in those jeans."

"Sorry."

"Don't be."

Kate's mother said, "Gary. I don't understand why you like to do this. Do you know why?"

"I guess.", I said, "It's because Kate and I have fun with it. And, I'm beginning to like the way the clothes feel, and how they look on me. It . . . It feels good."

"So, you do like dressing as a girl?"

"I think so."

"And, Kate likes helping you?"

"Yes I do.", Kate said, "It's fun changing him from a boyfriend to a girlfriend."

"I guess I could sit here, and say that I didn't like what you were doing. But, that would be a lie. I'm sitting here seeing a pretty girl. I still don't understand why you do it, but you do, and you can. And, if I saw you out somewhere, I'd have no reason to figure that you were anything but a girl.

"Gary. And, I'm going to call you Gary right now. If you are comfortable doing this, and my daughter wants to go along with it, I can't see a problem with it. It's your life. And, you're just having fun, and not hurting anyone. Just be careful."

"Thank you Mrs. Branson.", I said, "My mom said just about the same thing, and we'll be careful."

Kate looked at me, and said, "Want to take Wendy with us?"

I looked at Wendy, and said, "Want to go to the mall with us?"

"I'd love to.", Wendy said.

About a half an hour later we of were pulling into the mall parking lot. And, I was nervous, very nervous. I was worried that I'd be read as a guy as soon as I walked into the mall, or do something that would tell everyone that I was a guy. It was actually fun getting dressed as Gwen. Even sitting, and talking with Kate, her mother, and Wendy. But, now being at the mall was a different story. It was daylight, there were a lot of cars in the parking lot, and since school didn't start again until Thursday, I figured that there would be a lot of people our age, and younger, here.

Kate and Wendy got out of the car, and I think they figured I'd do the same, but I just sat there. Kate looked at me sitting in the car, waited for a few seconds for me to get out, and, with Wendy, walked over to my door. Kate opened it, and said, "What's wrong lover?"

"I don't know if I can go in."

"Why?"

"If you're worried about being read.", Wendy said, "Don't be. No one, and I mean no one, is going to see you as anything but a girl. The look is perfect for you."

"I guess,", I said, "it's about being out in the daylight, and not being in some kind of costume."

Kate said, "At Ken's party you were closer to people then you will be here. You got hit on. Kissed. And, no one there read you as a guy. You weren't wearing a mask. It was just a good look for Gwen, and a sexy costume."

With a big grin, Wendy said, "You actually got hit on, and kissed. And, you're worried about being read as a guy. Girlfriend, I'd be more worried about getting pickup, and losing your virginity, then being read as a guy."

I looked at Wendy, and said, "Thanks. That's all I needed to hear."

Giving Wendy a nasty look, Kate said, "What Wendy meant, in her own crude way, was that you do come across as a very sexy girl. And, that you have a zero percent chance of being read as a guy, except for your voice. I don't know what else I can tell you. Accept, what I've always told you, that you make a very pretty, and convincing, girl. And, I love being with you."

"Gwen.", Wendy said, "I'm sorry. That didn't come out the way I meant it too."

Kate reached her hand out to me, and said, "Lover. Just believe in yourself. You can do this, and have fun with it. Just take it one step at a time."

I took her hand, and got out of the car. We walked into the mall shoulder to shoulder, with me in the middle. And, as we walked in, I felt that everyone was looking at me, and in away most were. Wendy saw me looking around, and said, "Girlfriend. Relax. You're with friends."

"I know.", I whispered, "But, it's like everyone is looking at me."

"Don't be so vain. They're looking at three pretty girls, you, me, and Katie."

"But, I feel like they're seeing me as a guy."

"No way. What they're looking at is a pretty girl. Some are jealous, some in want, and some in curiosity. We've gotten this a lot, haven't we cousin?"

"Wendy's right.", Kate said, "You need to get use to it, if you want to do this. You'll get this every time you go out. People, men and women, love to look at pretty girls. And, right now, you're a pretty girl. Also, don't pay attention to anyone. If another girl, or woman, walks past, and smiles, smile back. If a guy does, ignore them, unless you're looking to get picked up."

I was beginning to relax a little. Even though I was thinking about Kate's last statement. There was no way I want to get picked up. The girls were making this a fun thing, and we were having fun window shopping. We looked at a lot of nice things. The only problem that Wendy and I had was trying to keep Kate out of the shoe stores. But, it made for a lot of fun. And, we weren't always successful.

We'd been at the mall a little over an hour and a half, and Kate had a new pair of shoes. We'd also looked at a lot of pretty clothes, and in most cases it was, ‘Gwen, you'd look so good in this.' or ‘Gwen, this is just you.'

We decided that we needed to sit for a little while, and went to the food court. Wendy got us all drinks, and as she sat down, Kate asked, "Wendy. What happened between you and your mom?"

Wendy said, "I got home late last night, actually this morning. And, she got all over me. So, I called your mom, and asked if I could stay with you guys until things calmed down."

"You're nineteen. Why don't you just move out?"

"Cousin. If I could, I would. I just need to find a good job, so I can afford to."

"Why don't you go back to college? You've got a year completed, don't you?"

"Yea. But, I had to get out. After twelve years of public school, and a year of college, I just needed to stop going to school for a while."

"But, if you get your degree, it would open a lot of doors."

"I know. You two are going to State in the fall aren't you?"

"Yea. We're doing the dorm thing, and maybe coming home on weekends. You should really think about it."

"It could only help.", I said, "Maybe if you were gone for a while, things would clam down at home."

"Cousins, you might be right.", Wendy said, "I'll give it serious thought."

"Cousins?", Kate said.

"You two are getting married sometime, aren't you?"

Kate looked at me, then back at Wendy, and said, "I . . . I don't know."

Wendy just gave Kate a knowing smile. And, I gave her a strange, questioning, look.

We wandered around the mall some more. We watched as Wendy got a fourth piercing in her right ear, and a fifth in her left. And, as we were walking away from the piercing place, Wendy said, "Gwen. I forgot to tell you that I just love your earrings."

"Thanks.", I said, "Katie did them for me."

"That reminds me of a few years ago. Doesn't it cousin?", Wendy said with a smile toward Kate.

We window shopped some more. Then I whispered to Kate, "I've got to use the restroom."

"Can you wait until we get home?"

"I don't think so."

"All right. Come on."

Wendy and I followed Kate right into the lady's room. It didn't even hit me that we were in the ladies room until a woman walked out of one of the stalls. And, if Kate hadn't been standing between me and the door, I probably would have bolted out the door. And, she knew I was a little nervous, as she whispered, "Relax love. You're in the right place."

After the woman had left, I said to Kate, "The shaper."

"Shaper?", Wendy asked.

"It's what we use to give her a feminine shape, and it's really tight." Then looking at me, Kate said, "You can probably get it undone, and pulled down."

"But, how do I get it back on?", I asked.

"I'll help you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea. Go on."

I went into a stall. And, was able to get the shaper undone, and pulled down. I heard Wendy say, "That shaper makes it hard for her to stay dressed for more than a few hours, doesn't it?"

"Yea. It has been a problem. She has to watch what she drinks, and we may have over done it at the food court.", Kate replied.

"Did you ever try a waist cincher?"

"I never thought of that."

"Might be easier on her. She'd be able to use the restroom without a problem."

"You might be right."

I finished, and said, "Katie. Help me with this thing."

A few minutes later we were in a bridal store, and I whispered, "Why are we here?"

"We're looking for something for you.", Kate replied.

"The waist cincher?"

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"How could I help not hear what you two were talking about?"

We looked around the shop, and I noticed that Kate couldn't take her eyes off the wedding dresses. Wendy found the waist cinchers, and said, "Kate. Gwen. Come on over here."

Kate and I walked over to where Wendy was, and there were a number of waist cinchers. And, Wendy said, "With or without garters?"

"Hmm. Maybe one of each.", Kate said.

"One of each?", I said.

"A girl can't have too much."

I just looked at her, and shook my head. Kate and Wendy started looking through them, and it wasn't long before we were walking out of the mall. Kate carrying a bag from one of the shoe stores. Me carrying a bag from the wedding shop. And, Wendy sporting a couple of new piercings.

As we got into the car, Wendy asked me, "Well Gwen, did you have fun?"

"Actually.", I replied, "I did. I'm sorry I was such a baby about coming here."

"Maybe now you'll believe the real girls, when they tell you that you are very passable."

"I guess I should."

"You know it lover.", Kate said.

"There's only one thing."

"What?"

"I couldn't really join in any of your conversations."

"Your voice?"

"Yea. A dead give away."

"I know."

Kate then said, "I think those three guys that were following us around the mall really want you."

"What three guys!?", I asked.

"You didn't see them?"

"No."

"There were these three guys. I've seen them around school, and I think they're juniors. They were following us, and just paying too much attention to us."

"Did you think they were going to hit on us?"

"I thought they were working up the courage.", Wendy said, "But, there's something about some guys, they just can't come up to a pretty girl, and talk to them. And, when there's more then one girl, it's really hard on them."

When we were back at Kate's house, we found her mother in the kitchen, and she asked, "Did you have fun at the mall?"

"Sure did. Everyone found something.", Kate replied.

"Well, I see you found another pair of shoes."

Kate just smiled.

Then her mother said, "Your dad had to make an emergency trip out of town. I guess one of his customers has a major problem that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. So, if Gwen would like to join us for dinner, there's more than enough, and she's welcome. You girls have forty-five minutes before dinners ready."

"Good.", Kate said, "We have something we want to try on Gwen."

"All right. But, be back in forty-five minutes."

"Come on. Up to my room."

Wendy and I followed Kate upstairs to her room. And, as we closed the door, Kate said to Wendy, "Excuse us for a minute. There's something that I've missed all day, and I need to make up for it."

"Do you want me to leave?", Wendy asked.

As Kate grabbed me, she said, "Only if it bothers you seeing two girls kiss." And, she gave me a very long, sensuous kiss.

When we finally broke the kiss, Wendy was smiling, and said, "I've only seen two other girls kiss like that, and they're now in a committed relationship."

"Sorry. But, if I don't get my quota of those every day I throw a real tantrum."

With a real grin, Wendy said, "I understand. She's so cute. I could kiss her myself."

I don't know why I did it, but I turned, and gave Wendy a kiss. Nothing like what Kate and I had done, but a nice kiss none the less. When we broke this kiss, Kate, with a big smile, said, "You little slut. Are you sleeping around on me?"

"Lover.", I said, "I could never do that. Wendy and I are just kissing cousins."

"All I want to know,", Wendy asked, "is which one of you is going to wear the wedding dress?"

Kate just looked at her, and finally said, "Ah . . . I . . . Me, I guess. Sometime."

"You guess. I watched you when we were in the wedding boutique. You were really looking at the dresses."

"Wendy. Give us a chance. Maybe after college."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

I looked at Kate, then said, "Wendy. Could you leave us alone for a minute?"

As she turned, and walked out the door, Wendy said, "Sure guys."

I again looked at Kate, took her hands in mine, and said, "Katie. Why do you get so upset when anyone mentions marriage?"

"I don't know. We're only eighteen, and have a long time to make that commitment. I want to marry you one day, and as God is my witness, I will. But, it just gets to me when anyone brings it up."

"Do you think they're seeing that we belong together? And, that most of the comments are made in fun."

"I guess."

"Katie. It bothers me when you react this way. You know that I love you very much, and I do want to marry you. And, yes, after we're through college would be wonderful, and probably best. But, when I see you react this way I have to wonder what's going on."

"I'm sorry. I guess the guy is supposed to be the one that's nervous about this sort of thing. But, I just get a knot in my stomach whenever it's brought up."

"You aren't having second thoughts about our relationship. Are you?"

"God no, lover. There's no one in this world that I want to be with more than you."

We looked at each other for a few seconds, and then kissed again. A long, soft, gentle, kiss. Then we just held each other. There was a soft knock on the door, and Wendy said, "Your mom just said that dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"Come on in Wendy.", Kate said.

As she opened the door, Wendy asked, "Is everything all right?"

"Yea.", Kate said, "We just needed to talk for a minute."

"I was just a little worried that I'd done something?"

"No. It's fine. Now. We need to get Gwen into one of those waist cinchers. So, Gwen, off with the hoodie, and jeans."

Without thinking twice, I slipped out of the running shoes, the jeans, and the hoodie. Kate then quickly helped me out of the shaper. So, I was standing there in my panties, bra, and T-shirt.

Kate took one of the waist cinchers out of the bag, and said, "I think the one without the garter tabs for tonight."

She handed me the cincher, and said, "Step into it, and pull it up to your waist."

I did as she said, and once I got it on, she adjusted it, and said, "Now. What I'm going to do is tighten it. And, I don't want to get it too tight. So, you tell me when to stop."

Kate walked behind me, and I felt her pull on the ties. The cincher got tight. She pulled some more, and it got tighter. She asked me, "Isn't that tight yet?"

"Actually.", I said, "It feels better than the shaper did."

"I've got it fairly tight. I think we should stop here for now."

"All right."

I felt her tie it off. And, she said, "Okay. Get dressed, and we'll see how it looks."

I slipped my jeans back on, and then the hoodie. The two girls looked at me, and Wendy finally said, "I think that gives her more of a figure then the shaper did."

"I think you're right.", Kate said.

Just then we heard Kate's mother say that dinner was ready.

After the three of us had cleaned up the dinner dishes, Kate and I went to the pool house, and Wendy had an errand to run. So, we went our separate ways. Kate and I lit a fire in the fireplace, and cuddled up together on the couch. We were in our usual mode of just enjoying each others company. Not saying anything, just being together.

Finally Kate said, "I'm sorry I got that way when Wendy mentioned marriage."

"Katie. Don't worry about it.", I said, "We're too young to really worry about this right now. And, you need to stop worrying about it so much when someone jokes about it."

"You still want to marry me one day don't you?"

I looked at her, and said, "Katie. I only have one word to answer that question with, and that's, yes! But, only when we're both ready. And, I'll do everything in my power to make us one some day."

She turned around, and kissed me. Then we just looked at each other. Hoping to break the serious mood, I finally said, "So, you really throw a tantrum when you don't get enough kisses?"

"Enough of your kisses? Yes."

"I want to see this.", I said with a grin, "I don't think I'm going to kiss you any more tonight."

"You brat. You'd deny me those luscious lips of yours."

And, she tried to kiss me. I was able to hold her off for a little while. But, Kate had a way about her. She gets what she wants. Especially from me. And, it wasn't long until our lips were locked in a long kiss.

How long we were in this situation I don't know, but we both heard a little cough, and both looked quickly toward the sound. And, there stood Wendy. She said, "Sorry guys. I hope I didn't interrupt anything?"

"God. You scared me.", Kate said.

"Sorry. But, I brought a peace offering."

"A peace offering?"

"Yea. I upset you guys. And, I didn't mean to do that."

"That's all right. We got over it."

"So I see.", Wendy said. Then handing us each a large cup, she said, "Now, if I remember correctly. Kate, you love strawberry shakes. And, Gwen, I didn't know what you liked, but I took a chance on chocolate."

"Chocolate works.", I said.

Wendy sat down with us, and said, "I'm sorry I interrupted you."

"That's all right.", Kate said, "We have the rest of our lives."

"Now, don't get mad when I say this. But, you two are just meant for each other."

"I know. I wish we'd found each other a long time ago."

"You really mean that. Don't you?", I said.

"Lover. With all my heart, and in front of a witness."

"I'm going to leave you two alone.", Wendy said, "But, first I have something for Gwen."

"Gee. The chocolate milkshake was enough.", I said with a smile.

"I know when you take those cute little heart shaped earing out that you might let the holes heal up. But, Kate has some really great earrings. And, they'd look good on Gwen too. So, I got you the smallest studs I could find, and they're surgical steel. They won't show much. So, if you decide to keep them pierced, you can use these to keep the holes open until they heal. And, they won't show that much."

"Aren't you sweet.", I said. Where did that come from?

"Yes.", Kate said, "That's very sweet."

As she went to leave, Wendy handed me a small bag, and said, "Enjoy."

"Wendy.", I said, "Thank you. And, thank you for going to the mall with us. It was interesting seeing how girls interact without guys around."

"It was fun watching you interact with us once you relaxed. You became one of us for a little while."

Wendy gave both Kate and me, a hug, and a kiss.

After Wendy left, Kate said, "This is the longest that you've been Gwen. How does it feel?"

"It's been very interesting. And, it feels good."

Thursday, January 25

The past three weeks, had been a lot of fun for the three of us, Kate, Wendy, and me. We hadn't gone out as three girl friends again, but it was still fun to be out with these two. Last weekend, Wendy and her mother had made up, and she went back home.

Today, we had a real blaze going in the fireplace. It was very cold outside, but toasty warm inside in more than one way. We were laying on the couch, just looking at each other, and Kate asked, "Want to go some place with me Saturday?"

"Sure.", I replied, "Where?"

"There's a swim meet at State, and I'd like to go."

"Still thinking about trying out for their swim team?"

"Yea. And, I want to check out the competition."

I don't know if I'd mentioned this before or not, but Kate is a very good swimmer. I'd been swimming with her many times, not only in her parents pool, but at the lake. And, she wasn't only good, but fast, and strong. But, our high school didn't have a pool, let alone a swim team.

"Sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday."

With a little gleam in her eyes, and a smile on her face, she said, "As Gwen?"

"Gwen?"

"Sure."

"Drive over to State, spend the day, drive back, and do it as Gwen?"

In her very sweet way, Kate said, "It would be fun."

"Fun?"

"Sure spending a day with my favorite girlfriend."

"The whole day?"

"Yea. We'd have to leave early, and wouldn't make it back until late."

"So, I'd be Gwen the whole day."

"At least twelve hours."

"You are crazy."

"For you."

I thought for a minute, then said, "What do we have to do?"

"A little shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Sure. The pair of jeans you have will be fine, and the running shoes. But, a new top, maybe a light sweater, gloves, and a winter coat."

"When?"

"Tomorrow after school."

"All right."

Friday, January 26

After school we headed back to the thrift store, and Kate went shopping. She started looking through the sweaters, and she found a number of things that she liked, but in most cases they weren't my size. She finally picked up a pink, long sleeve, sweater, that buttoned up the front.

"This is so cute.", Kate said.

"Pink?", I asked.

"Sure love. With your coloring, pink is your color. And, feel how soft this is."

I touched the sweater, and it did feel very nice.

Then she said, "It's cashmere."

"So.", I said, "I'm going to be wearing a sweater?"

"Yes."

"But, I need to try it on, don't I?"

"Of course."

I just shook my head.

I tried on the sweater, and it fit. Not tight, but also not loose. And, it did feel very soft. We then went looking for a coat. And, ended up with a dark blue coat, with a hood, and fur trim, and a design on the front. I just tried this on right in the aisle. And, the gloves we found, almost matched the coat, and had a feminine design on the back.

When I took Kate home, her mother was there, and as we carried the packages into the house, she said, "I see you've gone shopping again Catharine?"

"Not for me. For Gwen."

"Gwen?"

"We're going to the swim meet at State tomorrow."

Kate's mother looked at me, and just said, "Gwen?'

I shrugged my shoulders, and said, "Yea. We figured that it would be fun."

She just shook her head.

Kate and I said a long goodnight. And, as I was walking out the door, I asked, "What time tomorrow?"

"Oh. About eight."

"Eight!"

"I'll make breakfast."

"All right eight o'clock. Do we have to do any thing about body hair?"

"You're learning. I think just for tomorrow, be sure your chest is clean."

"Why? The sweater buttons all the way up."

"Love. You've seen me wear sweaters. Right?"

"Sure."

"Do I button them all the way up?"

"No. I guess not."

Saturday, January 27

At eight I was sitting down to a very nice breakfast with Kate. Her parents had already left for the day. And, it wasn't much later that we were in her bedroom, with me in the red satin panties, and a white bra. She started working her magic to bring Gwen out, and, it didn't take her long. But, as she was working on my hair, she said, "Love. We really need to work on your hair. It could look so nice."

"Like what?", I asked.

"Have someone give it a nice cut. Wash it properly. Just take care of it."

When she had finished with my hair, makeup, and nails, she handed me the wire rimmed glasses, and I slipped them on. Looking in the mirror, there was Gwen. It still surprised me that I could look so good as a girl. But, I was really beginning to like it. And, that scarred me a little.

After our trip to the mall, when Kate had taken out the heart-shaped studs that I was wearing, she had replaced them with the small studs Wendy had given me. So, both of my ears were still pierced. But, the studs weren't ready to be taken out yet. So, Kate said, "You'll look fine with those studs."

Kate then helped me into the waist cincher, and it really didn't feel as bad as the shaper had. I was able to move better, I was more comfortable, and I could use the bathroom. Then I slipped on the jeans, and sweater. Of course, I had the problem of the buttons being on the wrong side. And, Kate chastised me for buttoning it all the way up, so I undid the top couple buttons, and she said, "Looking really good girlfriend."

I slipped on a pair of socks that Kate handed me, and then the running shoes. Kate put a little perfume on me, then handed me the same purse that I had used on the trip to the mall. And, she said, "Know what goes in here?"

"I think."

"Show me."

I picked up the lipstick that she had used, the soft pink creme one, also the perfume, mascara, and eyeshadow, and put them all in the purse. She smiled, and said, "You're learning. But, you also need your compact, blusher, some Kleenexs', and a small hair brush. And, don't forget your wallet, and cell phone."

I looked at her, and said, "Now I know why some women carry such large purses."

A few minutes later we were on the road heading toward the campus. The drive was a little over an hour and a half, and uneventful. We had listened to the campus radio station on the way over, and they played some great music. They mentioned that there was a possibility of a snow storm.

The swim facility at State was really great. There were two Olympic size pools, and a diving pool. All three pools had very nice seating areas for spectators, and there was a cafeteria. We found the swim venue that Kate was interested in, a couple of seats in the stands, and settled in. I leaned over, and whispered to her, "I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of time in these seats."

She looked at me, smiled, and said. "You know it lover."

As we watched the various women's competitions, Kate was taking notes. She was writing down, event, names and finishing times. After we'd been there for a couple of hours, I whispered, "I need to use the restroom."

She whispered back, "Go on. I'll be here when you get back."

"Go alone!"

"You're a big girl."

"But, I thought girlfriends always went together."

"I don't want to miss the next couple of heats."

"Okay I'll wait."

I waited. But, I couldn't wait as long as it was going to take to run the preliminary heats that Kate wanted to watch. So, I finally whispered, "I'll be right back."

"Okay love. You'll be fine.", she said with a little smile.

I got up, and headed for the facilities. As I walked up to the lady's room, there was a short line, so I got into it. It took about ten minutes before I was able to get into the restroom, and into a stall. And, no one, except a few guys, paid much attention to me. But, I was nervous being in there by myself. After I had finished, I checked my makeup, as Kate had always told me to do, and touched up my lipstick.

When I was back at our seats, Kate looked at me, and said, "See. You did well."

"Yea.", I whispered, "But, I've never had to stand in line before."

"Comes with the territory love. A guy can walk in, do his thing standing up, and walk out. A lady has to sit no matter what. It just takes longer."

It was after one, when the events that Kate was interested in were over, except for the finals. So, we went to the cafeteria for a little lunch, and noticed that we had gotten a lot of snow. We ate our lunch, then went back to the pool area, and our seats.

About two-thirty, the public address announcer said, "Ladies and gentlemen can I have your attention please. We've been in touch with the State Police, and they tell us that with the heavy snow fall north of us, and with the predicted continuing snow fall, that all roads north of here are closed. Everything east, west, and south is open. They also tell us that it will be tomorrow before the roads north will be open again."

We looked at each other, and I said, "That's us."

"I know." Kate said.

The public address announcer continued with, "The university has a few open dorm rooms that we'll offer on a first come first served basis, and there are a number of motels in the area. There will be a small fee for the dorm rooms. If you would like a dorm room, please come to the ticket window at the north end of the building. You will need to leave your drivers license. And, you will also be allowed to eat in the dorm cafeterias. We are sorry for any inconvenience."

Kate said, "It sounds like we won't be able to get home?"

"Yea.", I said, "I guess we need to get a couple rooms."

"A couple rooms?", Kate, with a grin, whispered, "Lover. I've wanted to spend a night with you for a long time. And, I'm not letting this chance go."

By the time we got to the ticket window, there was a short line. So, we waited our turn. Hoping that we wouldn't miss out on a cheap dorm room, and have to pay for a motel room.

Kate whispered, "I'd better give them my drivers license."

"Yea. It would look a little strange. Gwen with a male's drivers license."

When we got to the window, the girl said, "We only have one room left, and it's in the married student's apartments. Is that a problem?"

"I don't think so." Kate said, "Why would it be a problem?"

"The bed is a queen size, and there's only one."

Kate looked at me, smiled, then said to the girl, "No. No problem at all."

The girl took Kate's drivers license, and I handed her the fee. She handed us a key, some meal tickets, and a map of the campus. She had marked on the map, where we were, where the apartment was, and where the resident student cafeterias were. She also said, that there was a strip mall right across the street from the apartments if we needed anything. The university had also placed a minimum amount of linen in the room. And, that tomorrow morning, anytime between nine and noon, we could return the key to the ticket booth, and Kate would get her license back. We thanked her, and went back to the pool area.

"It looks like you get your wish.", I whispered to Kate.

"It does. Doesn't it."

With a big grin, I said, "Yea. You get to listen to me snore."

With her sly little smile, and a twinkle in her eyes, she said, "In that case, I guess I'll just have to keep you up all night."

We called our parents, and told them about the roads being closed, and that the university had given us dorm rooms. We neglected telling them that we were together in the married student's apartments.

My dad told me that they knew about the road closings. That they had already received eighteen inches of snow, and it was still snowing. And, that the wind was also causing problems. Both of our parents were glad that we weren't going to try to drive home. And, they told us to just behave, and drive carefully driving tomorrow. We told them that we would probably wait until early tomorrow afternoon to start home.

After the meet was over, we found my car. And, it was buried under eight inches of snow. As we were digging it out, I decided that running shoes weren't meant for weather like this. We finally got the car out, and headed for the student cafeteria.

After some dinner, we headed for the apartment, and it wasn't bad. It had a small kitchen, a livingroom, bedroom, and bath. And, was somewhat furnished, a refrigerator, stove, small table, and two chairs in the kitchen. Only a couch in the livingroom. A bed, and chest of drawers in the bedroom. But, there was room for more furniture.

We found that the university had provided, sheets, pillows, pillow cases, and a blanket for the bed, wash clothes, towels, and a roll of toilet paper for the bathroom, and a few large paper cups in the kitchen.

We made the bed, and sat in the livingroom for a few minutes, before Kate said, "We need to find a drug store."

"Why?", I asked.

"We need tooth brushes, and a few other things."

We drove over to the strip mall, and found the drug store. We spent a long time looking at makeup, and I asked, "Why are we looking at makeup?"

"Lover. We weren't expecting too spent the night, and we have to look nice for the drive home."

"Don't we have enough with us?"

"We didn't bring any makeup remover, moisturizer, or foundation, and we use different ones of that. And, there's a few other things. Do you need to shave tomorrow?"

"I shouldn't. I'm still only shaving ever other day or so, and I shaved this morning."

Along with the makeup, tooth brushes, and tooth paste. We also picked up something to drink, some snacks, a cheap clock radio, face soap, and body wash.

As we were walking back to the car, I said to Kate, "Think we should get some cheap boots for tomorrow?"

"Might be a good idea.", Kate said, "There's a shoe store at the end of the mall."

After we got back to the apartment, we set up housekeeping, at least for one night. I found a good radio station, and we got ready for bed. By the time we were ready, we had our makeup off, and were down to panties and bras. Kate then fixed us a little snack. And, we cuddled together on the couch, and listened to the radio. The necking got very heavy, and it didn't take Kate long to become amorous. Finally I got up, picked her up, and carried her to the bed room. It was very late by the time we got to sleep.

Sunday, January 28

The alarm clock went off at nine, and shook me out of a very sound sleep. It took me a few seconds to figure out where I was, and who I was cuddled up with. But, I remembered very quickly. I rolled over, and turned the alarm clock off. When I rolled back, Kate was looking at me with a big smile, she said, "Good morning lover.", and gave me a kiss.

"Good morning yourself.", I said, and I kissed her.

"You know. I could get use to this very easily."

"What? Getting snow bound."

"No. Waking up together every morning."

"That would be very easy to get use too."

One thing led to another, and it was closer to ten when we were finally in the shower. No, not together, there wasn't room. Kate redid my makeup, and hair. And, again said, "You really need to learn to do this yourself if Gwen's going to be around much."

"I know.", I replied.

"Now. Get dressed, while I get ready."

We cleaned up the apartment, and were back at the ticket booth at the pool facility just before noon. Just as we were ready to leave, we called our parents, and told them that we would be on the way home as soon as we had lunch.

The drive home was interesting. A drive that usually takes an hour and a half, took more than three hours. The roads were open, but only one lane in some places. And, we saw a number of abandoned cars and trucks along the side of the road. The farther north we drove, the deeper the snow got.

After we'd been on the road for a little while, Kate asked, "How does it feel to have been a girl for more than a day?"

I glanced at her, and said, "It's been very interesting, being treated as a girl. Having someone hold doors for you. Have women smile at you, and returning that smile. And, such things. I don't know if I like some of the looks I got from some guys, but I guess it goes with being a girl. It's been a real learning experience."

"So, would you do it again?"

"Sometime, maybe. The only thing I haven't liked while I was Gwen, was what happened at Ken's party. But, I did learn that a girl has to be careful, and stand up for herself."

"It happens to all of us. And, like you said, you just have to stand up for yourself."

"Why do you like it when I dress as Gwen?"

"I'm not really sure. It's fun being able to turn you from a guy to a girl. And, then watching you interact with others. You really become Gwen, a sweet, pretty, lovable girl, when you're dressed. When you, Wendy, and I were at the mall you were so cute."

"Cute?"

"You actually got into shopping. And, I thought you were really seeing things that would look good on you. You interacted with everyone just like a girl would. It surprised me that you learned that so quickly. Wendy even commented about it."

"So, you're saying that when I'm dressed as Gwen, I almost become her?"

"You really do slip into her like it's your other self. And, I'd say that you do become her."

"Really?"

"Yea. Did you ever try on girls' things before we did it for the dance?"

"No. That was the first time."

"How do you feel when you're dressed?"

"It's kind of nice. It sort of relaxes me. I like the clothes. They're actually more comfortable then most of my guy things, except for the shaper. But, I really like the panties."

"I've done some looking on the Internet."

"On what?"

"Wendy showed me some sites on crossdressing."

"Crossdressing? Like the guy we saw in the pantyhose video."

"Yea. He looked good. You look much better."

"Are you saying that I'm a crossdresser?"

"Maybe."

"So, I'm weird?"

"No, you're not weird! Wendy showed me some information that said that between two and three percent of the male population are crossdressers. And, that a very large percentage of those are straight."

"Two to three percent?"

"Yea. And, there are even girls that crossdress."

"I had no idea."

"I didn't either. The sad thing is, most of these guys don't have any support. In fact most are very hidden in their dressing."

"Like a lot of gays. In the closet?"

"Yea. Like that. And, that's sad. People are who they are. And, if you love them, you support them. Look at Jackie Yamashita. From what I've seen at school, most everyone accepts what she's going through. I've heard a few nasty comments, but not many. And, most of the friends she had when she was Jimmy, both guys and girls, seem to still be her friends."

"I know. I still like her. She's nice. So, if I'm a crossdresser?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you feel about it?"

"Lover. Am I sitting next to you right now?"

"Yea."

"We've gone shopping together. We've gone places together. And, haven't I suggested that you do a lot of these things?"

"Yea."

"And, haven't I said that I love you as Gary or Gwen?"

"Yea."

"So. How do you think I feel?"

"I guess, that you like it, and would support me if I am a crossdresser."

"You guess? Lover. I would more than support you. I love helping Gwen being who she is. And, one more thing. I saw some guys on the Internet that could look no more like a girl than the man in the moon. You, lover, can and do look like a girl when you want to."

I didn't say anything for a few seconds, then said, "What about my parents. How would they take it?"

"Both of our parents have seen you as Gwen. And, I think my mother might be more accepting then any of them. But, they all may be to some degree."

"You're kidding. Your dad always gave me a strange look when he saw me dressed as Gwen. And, my dad went nuts over the pierced ears."

"I know. But, you're bending the male image. You are supposed to be a typical macho male, and sometimes you are. But, then there are the times that you are feminine. Some people have problems accepting anything other than what they consider normal. And, it takes time for them to see who you really are."

"So. Do I hide this from them, and stay away from them when I'm Gwen?"

"I don't think you need to hide it, but give them some more time. My dad has seen you this way, and I know he and my mom have talked about it. She told me that he understands it a little bit, but less than she does. But, I don't think he has a big problem with it. With your dad, maybe we should talk with your mom, see how she feels, and if he knows much about Gwen."

"Now, aren't you being Gwen's advocate.", I said with a smile.

"Lover. You support me. I support you."

"Yea. But, you're almost normal. Your only quirk is that you love me."

A while later as we pulled into the driveway of Kate's house, the snow was up to the hood of the car. And, Kate said, "I'm glad we didn't change in the pool house, or it would take us the rest of the day to just dig a path to it."

"Yea.", I said, "But, your dad is probably going to see Gwen again."

"Remember what I said. Give them a chance."

Kate and I walked into the house, and her parents were just sitting down to a cup of tea. It looked like her dad had been outside shoveling snow. And, when he saw us, he said, "I'm glad you kids are home . . . Gary?"

"Yes sir.", I said.

"You're dressed as a girl again?"

"Yes sir."

"You went to the swim meet this way?"

"Yes sir."

"And, spent the night this way?"

"Yes sir. I didn't have anything else to wear."

He just shook his head. And, at least didn't ask who I'd roomed with.

"Anyway.", Kate's mother said, "I'm glad that you made it home safely. We were worried."

"Gwen's a safe driver mom.", Kate said.

I saw her dad give her a strange look, and she must have too. Because she said, "Dad! We can't call her Gary, when she looks like this."

He didn't say anything, just raised any eyebrow.

I called my parents, and told them that we were back at Kate's. Kate then grabbed my hand, and pulled me up to her room. And, yes, as she closed the door, she gave me a very long, soft, kiss.

Wednesday, February 14

I know today marks a year since I started my story, and it was supposed to be just a year in my life. But, I think I need to go on for a little bit longer. So, I will.

Wendy had told Kate that she had thought over going back to college, and was going to go to State with us in the fall.

Today is Valentin's Day. Last Valentin's Day I didn't have anyone to share it with. Today, I have the love of my life with me. And, I was going to take her out to dinner tonight. So, after school I dropped Kate off at her house, so she could get ready, while I went home to get ready.

When I picked her up, she opened the front door, and I could only stare. I'd never seen her look so beautiful. She finally asked, "What's wrong?"

I was finally able to get out, "Absolutely nothing. I've just got the prettiest girl in town. You are just beautiful."

I don't think I'd ever seen Kate blush before, but she was, and she almost whispered, "Thank you."

We went to one of the better restaurants in town, and had a very nice dinner. As we were having dessert, I gave her a card, and a present. I knew she liked very pretty cards, so that was easy. But, what I got for her took some thought. She unwrapped it, and opened the box. She looked at the contents, looked at me, and said, "Gary. You are so sweet. And, I love you."

"I thought you would like something like this. And, I love you."

I got up, walked next to her, and took the necklace out of the box. Removed the necklace that she was wearing, and fastened the new one around her neck. It was a gold double heart on a gold chain. I went back to my seat, and just looked at her.

Saturday, April 14

It had been two months since our overnight trip to the swim meet at State. And, something just didn't feel right. A few of us had met at Greg's Drive In for dinner, and then off to a movie. Then after the movie, Kate and I were back in front of the fireplace, just cuddled together.

I guess I'd been quieter than usual, because Kate asked, "Honey. What's wrong?"

"Nothing.", I replied.

"Nothing? Lover you've been quiet, and distant, for a few days. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure."

"Don't you love me any more?"

I looked at her, and said, "Katie. Don't say that. You know that you're all I care about."

"I know. So, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"It feels like something's missing."

"Between us?"

"Katie. No. Not between us."

"Then what?"

"That's what I'm not sure about."

"I think I might know."

"What?"

"What haven't we done since the swim meet?"

"Slept together."

"Yea. But, we didn't sleep much, and we're still doing what kept us awake. What else?"

"We've gone a lot of places together."

"Yea. Who went?"

"You and me."

"Yea. So, who was missing?"

"Wendy?"

"You can be so dense sometimes. Gwen hasn't been here. Has she?"

"You think I'm missing Gwen?"

"I don't know. Are you?"

"Maybe."

"We talked about this on the way home from the swim meet."

"Yea. I know."

"And, I haven't brought it up again, because I want to see if you would."

"And, I haven't."

"Not until now. I think it's gotten to you that you haven't been Gwen for a while."

Sunday, April 15

I was at Kate's at one. It was a nice day, and her dad had gone to play golf. I rang the door bell, Kate's mother answered the door, and said, "Hello Gary."

"Hello Mrs. Branson. Kate's expecting me."

With a smile. She said, "I know. Kate told me."

"Oh."

"She's in her room. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"That would be nice."

I ran up to Kate's room, her door was open, I stopped at the door, and said, "Hi."

Kate looked at me, smiled, and said, "Hi." Then she walked over to the door, pulled me into her room, closed the door, and gave me a long kiss.

"Your mom asked me to stay for dinner."

"I know."

"And, I think she knows about today."

"She does."

"You told her?"

"Sure. I told you that we weren't going behind her back again."

"We didn't tell her about the trip to State."

"That was different."

"If you say so."

"I do. Now, what do you want to do?"

"I though I was going to become Gwen?"

"Is that what you want to do?"

"Yea. I guess."

"No! No guess. Yes, or no? What do you want to do?"

I grinned at her, and looked at her bed.

She said, "You're impossible. I'm trying to help, and all you want to do is play."

"Sorry.", I said.

"Now. What do you want to do?"

"Become Gwen."

"Why?"

"Because I think, I miss her."

"I know I do."

"Really?"

"You'd better believe it lover." Then handing me the pair of red satin panties, she said, "Here put these on."

I undressed, and slipped the panties on. And, Kate said. "You really like those better than your male underwear?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"They're softer, fit better, and feel better."

She smiled, and said, "Lover. Today you start learning to do your own makeup. Have a seat at my dressing table."

I sat, and she sat next to me, and said, "I'm going to do one half of your face, and you're going to do the other."

I watched, and listened, as she worked on the left side of my face. Moisturizer, foundation, eyes, powder, blusher, and half my lips. It was strange looking at me that way, half Gary, and half Gwen. Then I went to work, under Kate's guidance. The moisturizer, and foundation weren't hard. But, trying to get the eyes the same as what Kate had done was impossible, and I started getting frustrated.

Kate finally said, "Easy. Don't get upset. Remember I've got a lot of practice. It will come in time."

"No, it won't. I've watched you do your makeup, and it amazes me as to how quickly and easily you do it."

"Lover. I've been doing it for a long time. Mom has some pictures of me when I first started playing with makeup, and I might let you see them sometime. If you promise not to laugh."

"No promises."

"Lets get this off of you. And, I'll redo everything but the blusher, and lipstick. And, you can do those."

We removed all signs of my lousy makeup work, and her expert work. And, she started over. She went slowly, and told me everything that she was doing. When she was done, she handed me the blusher and a brush, and told me how to apply it. I guess I did a good job, because when I was done, she smiled, and said, "Not bad love."

As she handed me a lip liner pencil, she said, "Now the lips. You need to make your lips look bigger, so use the pencil, and outline your lips just outside their natural edge."

I carefully outlined my lips, and Kate looked at it, and said, "Not bad. But, be sure to get right down into the corners."

I'd applied lipstick before using the stick, but Kate had always used a small brush when we did it at home. So, she talked me through using a brush to apply it, telling me that the brush did a better job, and it was easier to control where the lipstick went. When I was done, she gave me the once over, and said, "Looking good girlfriend. One last thing."

"There's more?", I asked.

She smiled, and said, "Beauty is an on going thing."

Kate handed me a tube that contained a clear liquid, and had an applicator of some kind. Then she said, "It's lip gloss, and I only want you to put it on the center part of your lower lip."

I did as she instructed. And, she said, "Doing it this way, highlights the lower lip, and makes it look poutier."

I looked in the mirror, and I saw Gwen. Kate then said, "Now. I'm going to do your hair, and I want you to pay attention to how I do it."

I watched as Kate spent a little while turning my guy hair into a girl's style. I looked at her, and said, "I'll never learn to do that."

"Yes you will. We'll work on it step by step, and it won't take that long. Just some practice. Now, I'll help you into the waist cincher, then you can get yourself dressed. Your bra, jeans, sweater, and shoes are on my bed."

After I was dressed, I slipped on the wire rim glasses, looked in the mirror, and Gwen was back. Kate walked up behind me, and said, "Well?"

"Well what?", I asked.

"Something still missing?"

"I don't think so."

"Me either. I watched a smile grow on your face, as you looked at yourself."

"It feels good. And, I love the look you've give me."

"It won't be long before you can do it."

I turned around, looked at Kate for a second, and then she gave me one of her very soft, very gentle, very long, kisses. When we broke the kiss, she said, "I just love seeing you as Gwen. You look so good. So at ease."

"Being with you,", I said, "makes me feel that way."

We spent the rest of the afternoon, until dinner time, trying different looks. But, what Kate had done, the first time, for the day time look was the best. Just before Kate's dad came home, we put Gwen away, and went to help her mother with dinner. As we walked into the kitchen, her mom asked, "Did you have fun?"

I looked at Kate, and she said, "She's learning. It'll take some practice. But, she'll get it."

"Can I show Gary the pictures of your first attempts of makeup?"

"No."

Saturday, May 19

The past month or so had been interesting. Kate had really worked with me on makeup, and different looks. And, this Saturday Kate and Gwen went to the mall. I'd done my own makeup and hair, under Kate's close supervision, and I think I surprised both of us. I actually looked like Gwen when I was done, and the only thing that Kate had to fix was my hair. Kate's comment was, "Girlfriend. You did great. If I was going to give you a grade, it would be a B+."

"Only a B+?", I asked, with a little pout.

"Yea. You took too long. Almost twice as long as it takes me."

I hung my head, and said, "I'm sorry."

"Look at me. Don't be sorry. You've learned a lot, and have done it very quickly. Are you really feeling better about this now?"

"Yes. I'm really enjoying it."

"Well. Then I guess my boyfriend is really a crossdresser."

"Is that a problem?"

"Lover. If it was a problem. I wouldn't have helped you, I wouldn't be here with you now, and I wouldn't want to jump in bed with you right now."

The trip to the mall was fun. I remembered what Kate and Wendy had said about everyone looking at pretty girls, and just to ignore boys. So, I just relaxed, fell into being Gwen, and Kate and I had fun.

Saturday, May 26

This was a long weekend, being Memorial Day weekend, and next weekend Kate and I would be graduating from high school.

Today, we had decided to go to our favorite secluded spot for a picnic. Kate put together a nice lunch, and after our hike and climb, we were back on top of the rock bluff. And, it was a mess. There was trash all over the place. I said, "Well it looks like others have found our spot."

"Yea.", Kate said, "And, what a mess!"

We always brought a trash bag to clean up our things, and we spent some time cleaning up all kinds of things, paper plates, cups, napkins, food scraps, and . . . well you know those things guys wear for protection. Not a fun clean up.

Finally we were able to spread out our blanket, enjoy our lunch, and then each other for desert. Afterwards as we were laying there enjoying the blue sky, and puffy clouds, we heard noises off in the distance. After listening for a minute, I said, "I think we're getting company."

"Really?", Kate said.

"Yea. It sounds like someone is making their way up here."

"Ah . . . "

"Don't worry. It'll take them better then ten minutes to get up here. Just get dressed, then we'll clean up our things, and start down."

We slipped on our clothes, picked up our picnic thing, shared a kiss, and started back down. As we started down, the voices we were hearing stopped. And, as we rounded a rock out cropping on the trail, there was another couple standing there. The guy was carrying a blanket, and the girl a small cooler.

I said, "Hi."

The guy said, "Uh. Hi."

"Enjoy your climb. We had to clean up a mess on top before we could have our picnic."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yea. Some people are slobs."

"Yea."

As Kate and I started to walk on, I said to the guy, with a wink, "Don't do anything we haven't already done."

"Uh. Yea. Okay."

After Kate and I were out of ear shot, I said to Kate, "I bet they, or some of their friends, left all that trash up there."

"It looked like they had party up there."

"If my boss finds out that it's being left a mess, I'll bet he'll close it off."

"He'd do that?"

"You bet. The narrow trail, and hard climb, makes it too hard to easily maintain."

"I really hope that doesn't happen."

"Me too. I really like coming to this spot."

"I think I've seen that girl at school."

"Really?"

"Yea. I think she's a sophomore."

"Ah. Young love.", I said with a grin.

Saturday, June 2

Tomorrow, Kate and I were graduating from high school, and in the fall we were we off to college together. Since Kate and I had so many of the same friends, our parents had planned a graduation party for us this evening, but this afternoon we wanted to be alone. So, we headed to the water fall.

Once we were there, we sat, and just cuddled together watching the water. After we'd been there about half an hour, I said, "Katie."

"What lover?"

I turned, looked at her, and said, "You know, I gave you that promise ring almost a year ago?"

"I know."

I reached into my pocket, and took out a box, and said, "And, it was a promise of my deep love for you, and that one day I'd give you something better."

"Better?"

As I opened the box, and as she looked at the contents, I said, "It was a promise that one day I'd ask you, Catharine Marie Branson will you marry me?"

I saw the tears come into her eyes, she wrapped her arms around me, and whispered, "Yes. Gary. Yes I'll marry you."

I whispered, "It doesn't have to be now. It can be after college, or whenever we decide."

"I know. I love you so much."

"I love you too Katie. And, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

We held each other for a long time, and I knew she was crying. I whispered, "Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry love.", she said, "But, I'm so happy, I can't help it."

We finally sat back, looked at each other, and I wiped her tears away. I was still holding the ring box, and I said, "Should I make this official?"

"Official?"

I got off the bench, and down on one knee, and repeated, "Catharine Marie Branson will you marry me?"

She looked at me, smiled, and said, "You are so sweet. Yes. Gary Kenneth Cutwright. I'll marry you."

I slipped the promise ring off her finger, took the engagement ring out of its box, and slipped it on her ring finger. I then sat back on the bench, and we kissed. After the kiss we sat there just holding each other for a long time.

Kate finally asked, "Did you say anything to my parents or yours?"

"No."

"I don't know how they'll take it. Maybe we should before the party."

"You're probably right. Or, should we keep it a secret?"

"No. I don't want to do that."

"My parents first, or your parents, or together?"

"I'll bet they're all at my house right now setting up for the party."

"So, together?"

"Yea."

"Well no time like the present."

As we were walking back to the car, I said, "Katie. I wish the ring could have been bigger. But, . . . "

Just as I said, ‘But', Kate stopped, turned me to look at her, placed her index finger on my lips, and said, "It's not the size that matters. It's the feeling behind it. This ring came from your heart, and it's all that I'll ever need. It's wonderful, you picked it out, and that makes it extra special."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted you to have the best."

"This is the best. It's from you."

A little while later we were walking back to the pool area at Kate's house, and I said, "I'm nervous as hell."

"Me too.", Kate said, "But, I have a feeling that it will be fine."

"I hope."

"It will."

As we walked into the pool area my parents, Kate's parents, and Wendy were setting up for the party. Wendy was the first to see us, and said, "It's about time you two. It may be a party for you, but we need help."

"Sorry.", Kate said.

"That's all right honey.", Kate's mother said, "We can manage."

Kate then said, "Wendy. Could we see you in the pool house for a minute?"

"Sure cousin.", Wendy said, and led the way into the pool house.

After we were inside, she looked at us, and said, "Kate what are you grinning about?"

Kate just held up her left hand. Wendy's eyes got really big, then she smiled, and said, "Wow! Before graduation. Do your parents know?"

We both shook our heads no.

"You going to tell them, or keep it a secret?"

"I'm not taking this ring off, so it wouldn't be a secret for long."

Just then Kate's dad stuck his head in the door, and said, "Come on you three. We need help out here."

"Daddy.", Kate said, "Would you ask mom, and Gary's parents to come in here for a minute?"

"Sure honey. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Her dad turned around, and said, "Viv. Phil. Marg. Come on over here. The kids want to see us."

We heard Kate's mother say, "Jim. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. The kids just want to see us for a minute."

After our parents were in the pool house. Kate and I just stood there for a minute, until her mom said, "Wendy why are you grinning?"

"Ah . . . No reason, Aunt Viv."

Kate's mother then looked at Kate, and said, "Catharine. What's going on?"

Kate and I were holding hand, and when her mom said that, Kate squeezed my hand, and whispered "Go on."

I finally got up enough courage, took a deep breath, and said, "I . . . I asked Katie to marry me, and she said yes."

Kate's dad said, "You're too young!"

"Daddy.", Kate said, "We'll probably wait until we graduate from college."

"You're still too young to take a step like this."

"Daddy. We just happen to love each other very much."

"Jim.", Kate's mother said to her father, "I think I've seen them together more then anyone, and I'm not surprised. I'm glad they just didn't elope. Just remember how we were."

"I do.", Kate's dad said, "But, we were in college."

"That's because we didn't know each other in high school."

My parents were just standing there, not saying anything, but my mom had a little smile. Finally my mom walked over to Kate, gave her a big hug, and said, "I'm so happy for you. Like your mother, I've known for a long time how you've felt about each other."

Then, my dad gave Kate a hug, while my mom hugged me, then my dad shook my hand.

Kate's mother then gave both of us a big hug. But, her dad just stood there, and looked at us.

Finally Kate's mom said, "Jim. I know she's your little girl, and she always will be. She's very happy. Be happy for her."

Kate's dad walked over to her, and gave her a big hug. Then he walked over to me, he'd been crying, and shook my hand.

As we all went back out to finish setting up for the party, Kate's dad put one arm around me, and another around Kate, and said, "Well kids. I guess I get to make an announcement this evening. Don't I?"

- End Part I -
------------------------

Well this ends a very interesting year in my life, well actually a little longer then a year. My college years have also been very interesting, and if I can get some time away from my graduate studies, I'll write about them. So, don't be surprised if you see that somewhere soon.

Gary/Gwen and Kate