SEATTLE GAL
Chapter 1
The Return Of Jessica
 
by Susan Jean Charles
 
He lost everything, but she gained so much more

A little over a year ago, Lauran published a story entitled, “Son” about how a widowed father and his son became a mother and daughter. The story ended just as the mother began living full-time with a man she’d first met while she was experimenting with being a woman.

I enjoyed the story, but wondered what happened afterwards. How does a man used to working full-time, providing for, and making decisions for himself and his son, adjust to living as a woman totally dependent on her man?

‘Seattle Gal’ began as my attempt to explore this question. But soon Jessica’s decisions and their consequences took over the story. Further along, a throwaway character opened her mouth and my story went in an entirely new direction.

While there is some explicit sex in the story, at its heart it is a romance. I’ll warn readers of the sections containing explicit scenes.

While many of the places in the story are real, none of the characters are and any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Several products and names that appear in the story are trademarked and I used them to provide color, background and authenticity. No infringement is intended. My only intent is to present a good story.

“Seattle Gal” is already completed, so readers will get to read the entire story in several segments. My great thanks to Holly H. Hart, who is so valuable in both editing and in providing much extra information that has helped make the story so much better. I’ve learned so much working with her!

 © 2012, by Susan J. Charles. All rights reserved.

A few short months ago, I never would have believed I’d be standing here like this.

Standing at the door wearing a new mini skirt, hose and two-inch heels and a cute, low-cut top, I was about enter some cross-dresser’s dreams. I was going to move in and live full-time as a woman with a great guy!

Back then, I was despondent. My wife of four years had left me. Cindy said she’d found someone else who could “meet her needs.” She told me I was distant, but also controlling, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She’d packed her suitcases and driven off with a guy from her workplace.

I wandered around in shock for days. The days grew into weeks. In a daze, I ate very little and didn’t care what I was wearing. My hair grew into a tangled mess, falling down below my shoulders. Showers became a thing of the past. About the only thing that didn’t get scraggly was my face. I’d never been able to grow much of a beard and it appeared the shock seemed to have killed off the few hairs I’d had.

Fortunately , I worked from home writing programming for a number of clients. I’d started my business while still in college and it had gotten to the point where we could all communicate electronically without the need for face-to-face meetings. Payments were automatically credited to my checking account and my affairs were managed by Karen, my business manager. Spending hours creating and checking massive lines of code enabled me to ignore the huge gaping hole that existed where my heart had been.

I didn’t want any human contact. I’d gone so far as to have food delivered directly from an on-line source. Some days I could barely drag myself out of bed. In short, I was a mess.

That all changed when Karen stopped past. She had some paperwork that I had to sign. An e-signature wouldn’t do.

Karen was my oldest and dearest friend. We’d known each other since we were two. She was the sister I’d never had, the proverbial girl-next-door, except she’d actually lived two doors down when we were growing up. I’d even had her as my “best man” when I married Cindy. It was only natural that I’d ask her to become my business manager when I started my business. At the time, she was almost done with her business degree and she went on to get her MBA, achieving Phi Beta Kappa along the way. I’d trust her with my life.

Karen let herself in after I’d ignored several phone calls and e-mails from her.

“Mark, are you okay?” she yelled from the door. I grunted back and she started to come into my home office.

“I’ve got to have these signed,” she began and then stopped. “My God! What died in here? This place stinks to high heaven.”

I’d also neglected doing dishes and several stacks in the sink were sporting fuzzy growths of various colors. The garbage was stacked high with partially full pizza boxes.

“Mark,” Karen began and then stopped staring at me. “Sweet Mother, you’re just a shadow of your former self. You’re so thin I almost wouldn’t recognize you.”

“I just didn’t feel like eating,” I explained. “I don’t feel like much of anything.”

“Mark, you’ve got to pull yourself out of this,” Karen said. “It’s been months since Cindy left.”

“I just feel so worthless,” I said.

”Listen,” Karen said. “What Cindy did was cruel, but you’ve got to get control of your life. Come on! We’re going to get you and this place cleaned up.”

Karen came over and pulled me up out of my chair. “But the code,” I protested.

“Screw the code,” Karen said. “It can wait. You get yourself into the shower and take a good long soak while I tackle the kitchen.”

Reluctantly, I allowed myself to be pushed into the bathroom. Karen pulled the grimy towels off the towel rack and replaced them with clean ones. “Shower! Now!” she ordered.

I turned on the water and stood under the warm water.

“Use lots of soap and shampoo,” Karen yelled in the door. “And put on some conditioner, too. You’re going to need it with that mess on your head.”

When I came out, I did feel a little better. As soon as I’d turned off the shower, Karen started the dish washer. She’d already carried the moldy pizza boxes out to the dumpster and was putting the mail that had been piling up into a box. “I’ll sort through all this back at the office,” she said.

“Grab a brush and start on that hair,” she commanded. “Boy you’ve really let things pile up.”

I started pulling a brush through my hair and immediately hit tangles.

“Here, you’d better let me do it,” Karen said. “You sit here and look through the mail and I’ll tackle your hair.”

A lot of tugging later, my hair was mostly untangled. “It’s interesting that it’s a darker red, almost brunette, with red highlights, when it’s grown out.” Karen said. “I can’t believe how long you’ve let it get,”

“Well, I’ve been busy,” I replied.

“Busy sitting around,” she said.

While my hair dried, Karen put me to work on the vacuum cleaner. She took my long neglected clothes to the washing machine and started a load.

After a couple of hours of work, the place was reasonably clean and straight.

“Now you can sign these papers and get back to your coding,” Karen said. “But don’t you dare to neglect yourself again. I’ll be checking!”

True to her word, Karen was back in a couple of days. And she found mail piled on the floor and take-out boxes in the kitchen trash with half-eaten food in them. I just hadn’t been able to work up any enthusiasm to do better.

Karen sat me down on the sofa and we talked. I talked about Cindy and how what I’d thought was an ordered life was suddenly shattered. I just couldn’t seem to find a way to pick up the pieces.

“I just don’t have the will to do anything,” I said. “What’s the use?”

Karen looked at me for a long time. Then it was like a light came on. Her face brightened. “You’re right.”

“Mark, you’re in a bad space and you’ve got to break out of your mood. You need to put some distance between this and yourself. I think it’s time for Jessica to reappear.”

My eyes got big. I’d not thought of Jessica in several years. Not since I met Cindy, in fact. Jessica was my girl name since Karen and I started playing dress up. We were probably three or four when I had stopped by Karen’s one day. She was excited and dragged me up to her room to show me her new party dress.

She stepped into a vision of soft green satin and lace. The color contrasted nicely with her blonde hair. She pushed her arms through the puffy sleeves and turned around and asked me to button her up in back. I was astounded at how nice the dress felt and how good she looked. Then she reached around and tied a big bow in the sash in back of her.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

“And it feels so nice and light,” she said twirling around. “I can’t wait to wear it to church.”

I nodded and continued to run my hands over the smooth material. “It’s so beautiful,” I kept saying.

“Would you like to try it on?” Karen asked.

“Could I?” I asked.

“Sure, help me get unbuttoned,” she replied.

The buttons were quickly undone and the sash untied. Karen stepped out of the dress.

“If you are going to try it on, you need to be properly dressed,” she said. She went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of shiny panties and a matching camisole top. I quickly shed my own clothes and pulled on the undergarments. Then I stepped into the dress and Karen buttoned it up and tied the sash.

It felt wonderful. It was light and I felt like I had nothing on. But when I looked down, I saw myself in this wonderful garment of shiny satin and lace.

“Here, come sit on the bed and let me get the shoes that go with it,” Karen said. “But be sure to pull the skirt under you as you sit down. I don’t want my new dress to get all wrinkled.”

She pulled a pair of white socks, with the tops folded down, and pulled them on my feet. Then came a pair of shiny black shoes with a strap across the top. Later, I found out they were called “Mary Janes.”

“Now wait a minute while I do something about your hair,” Karen said. She picked up her hairbrush and began to do something to my dark red hair. At that time, my hair wasn’t too long, but I was a couple of weeks overdue at the barber’s. Karen was able to brush my hair and put barrettes in it on each side. She grabbed a little tube of lip gloss from her table and put it on my lips. Then she let me look in her mirror.

I couldn’t believe my eyes! Looking back at me was a pretty girl in a party dress. Her hair was held out of her eyes by the barrettes and her lips were shiny. Every time she moved, the dress shifted and subtle patterns of light changed. The green satin looked even better against my dark red hair.

“Karen, I’m beautiful too!” I cried.

“Yes you are, Mark,” she said. “But I can’t call a pretty girl like you ‘Mark.’ We need a girl’s name for you.”

She looked around the room, and moved to pick up a pretty doll on her bed.

“Jessica,” she said. “I named my prettiest doll Jessica. So I’ll call my prettiest girl friend Jessica too.”

And that’s how Jessica was born.

We soon changed me out of the party dress because neither of us wanted it to be wrinkled. But Karen wanted to continue to play with her new girl friend Jessica, so she pulled another play dress out of her closet and I put it on.

We played with her dolls the rest of the afternoon. When Karen’s mother, Mildred, came by the bedroom, Karen explained that we were playing “tea party.”

“Well, why don’t you girls come down to the kitchen and add some milk and cookies to your tea party?” she asked. Obviously she thought a couple of three year olds were having an afternoon of play and wasn’t concerned. I think she mentioned it to my mother too, but no one gave it a second thought.

After that, Jessica played a lot with Karen. They went out to the park and even to the movies. Mildred watched me most days while my mother was working and was just grateful Karen had someone to play with.

By the time we were seven or eight, Karen’s room had accumulated a lot of costumes and cast-off clothing from Mildred. Karen and Jessica were ballerinas and princesses and even clomped around in Mildred’s high heels.

I was all boy in school and loved sports, as did Karen. Karen became the star on her soccer team, while I was one of the fastest runners on our track team. We were in school plays and spelling bees and all the other activities schools have. We were mildly popular.

But we always found time for some Karen and Jessica time. Later on, Mildred showed Karen how to put on makeup, and since, I was there, we both got to practice. We were both taught how to move in more grown-up skirts and how to sit properly in them. We learned how to do hair and Karen and I practiced rolling each other’s hair and trying out new styles. And so, I learned how to be a little girl as well as being a little boy.

Of course, it wasn’t all one way. There were days that two little boys went to the park and played. Karen became “Keith” then. And she learned to play rough and tumble with the other boys at the park. These were skills that served her well in her soccer games.

But we always seemed to have more girl time than boy time.

As we moved into middle school skirts became longer and we learned about hose and bras. One day Karen excitedly ran me up to her room. “Jessica,” she said, unbuttoning her blouse, “Look! They’re starting to come.”

Sure enough, her nipples were starting to swell. Karen was on her way to becoming a woman.

At this point, Mildred began to teach Karen things she wasn’t also showing me. But Karen wasn’t about to let her best girl friend Jessica be left behind. So Jessica also learned about things such as adjusting bras. Karen even showed Jessica how to put in a tampon as that time approached. Jessica was well versed in female things.

About that time, Karen and Jessica began to notice a reluctance on Mildred’s part to permit Jessica to show herself, so the girls began to be more careful. They would still go out, but started to take care that Mildred didn’t see Jessica as they left.

As Karen developed curves, we girls began to explore the internet so Jessica could keep up. We settled on birdseed in bags as the most practical. Real forms were way too expensive for young teens, and more birdseed could be added to the little bags in Jessica’s bra. As Karen grew, Jessica grew too.

The internet also provided information about how to take care of Jessica’s “extras” so that she could wear tight shorts in the summer time. It looked painful at first but it turned out that stuffing Mark’s testicles up into his abdomen wasn’t hard at all. And when Mark’s penis was pulled back and under tight enough, and taped down, the result in front was a depression that looked like the beginning of any girl’s crack. Jessica felt really good strolling down the mall with a flat and slightly curved front in tight shorts. She and Karen looked exactly alike below the waist, and they both enjoyed the stares from the males in the mall. It was realistic enough that after Ken Stevens and Jerry Glasscock treated the girls to the movies, Jerry’s fingers stroked Jessica’s crotch a couple of times before she moved Jerry’s hand and covered up with her own hand. Jerry was never the wiser.

No one connected the boy Mark, a geek who spent a lot of time in the computer lab, with the pretty, outgoing Jessica. She and Karen hung around the usual middle school hangouts and at the mall, and told everyone that Jessica went to a private school.

About that same time, many of the guys in school started to shoot up and develop deeper voices. Mark grew some, but stopped when he reached about 5’ 8” or so. His voice dropped a little, but he could still call up Jessica’s voice any time he wanted to.

Why did I keep being Jessica? I liked the way it felt, and the freedom Jessica had to be silly . Boys had to be “cool.” Girls could be themselves because they weren’t taken as seriously. I enjoyed being able to walk down the mall in a skirt with my legs free. Both Karen and I enjoyed having the boys check out our legs.

We could giggle and skip and dance and be excited about things with no one thinking any less of us. I knew underneath I was a boy, but I enjoyed the freedom and fun of playing the girl.

When we got to high school, I found I really had to keep a tight lid on Jessica when I was Mark. I began to spend more and more time in the computer lab so I wouldn’t get myself in a position where I might forget and make a “Jessica” move or remark. I found that I was good at programming and actually wrote some programs that the school ended up using.

As Karen became a star at girl’s sports, I spent more and more time in front of a computer screen. My mother didn’t mind. She was at work a lot. Since Dad had died in the Middle East wars, she’d had to work hard to keep us going. She’d done well and had moved up into management ranks, which meant she was at work a lot and I was on my own most of the time.

To my surprise, the school came up with some funds to pay me for the programs I’d written for it. The extra income helped Mom and me. And I was able to pay for more things for Jessica, including realistic breast forms bought from the internet. The birdseed was finally retired!

My house started to become a better option for Karen and Jessica since Mildred was really beginning to worry about me. We even had a talk where I assured her that I liked being male and wasn’t about to change that.

But at my house, I got to experience wearing Karen’s prom gown and she put on my Tux. We danced in my living room with Keith leading Jessica for practice. However, I took another girl to the dance and Karen went with one of the jocks from school. Karen and I were too close as siblings to ever consider a romantic relationship.

During our senior year, Karen and Jessica went on a couple of out of town college visits. But when we started to narrow down our choices, Mark was the one going to the visits. He, not Jessica, would be the one going to college, after all. Besides that, I really did like girls and didn’t want to mess up any future friendships by confusing anyone at the orientation gatherings.

The University of Washington was my final choice. Karen went to a different college a few miles away. We were close enough that Karen and Jessica could still go out, in fact, it was easier now that we were away from our mothers.

But, I was a computer science major. Soon, I didn’t have a lot of free time. Karen was busy in her Business courses, and couldn’t get away much either, so we saw less and less of each other. It just wasn’t much fun being Jessica without Karen around.

Then I met Cindy.

I was in the computer lab at the library, concentrating on a paper due the next day, when I heard “Oh no! Shit” behind me. I turned and saw a girl ready to punch her fist into the screen of her computer.

“Come on,” she yelled. “I’ve worked five days on this paper. It can’t disappear now!”

Moving closer, I looked at her screen. “Whatever you were working on is still there,” I said. “It’s just that you hit the function key for a new window.”

Reached over to her mouse, I moved and clicked it. Her paper reappeared.

“Before you do anything else,” I cautioned, “save your paper and back it up. Do you have a flash drive?”

The girl looked at me, her face a combination of relief and confusion. I reached in my backpack and pulled out a flash drive that I plugged into the computer tower. When the icon appeared on the screen I saved her paper to the drive.

“Now you have a copy in case anything happens,” I explained. “I’ve got a few things I need on that card too, but there’s enough space for you to share until you get your own flash card.”

Naturally, that led to us going together to the campus bookstore so she could buy her own card. And naturally, I had to show her how to use it. And naturally we ended up in the student center over a couple of cups of coffee. I looked into her large brown eyes, noticed the brunette curls which framed her face, and I was smitten.

Cindy was from a suburb of Chicago. She was currently in the Liberal Arts college but was thinking of switching majors to get a degree in industrial design. She loved taking an object and reconfiguring it so it was attractive and appealing as well as useful and practical.

Cindy complemented me. She was much more social and outgoing. Soon we were going to campus dances, athletic events and other campus activities. I, on the other hand, was able to help her by writing several computer applications which helped her with her school work and in keeping track of her homework and social calendars. Somehow, we fit together well.

Cindy’s father was a big-time corporate executive. When he saw the scheduling program Cindy was using, he saw an immediate use for something like it in his business. I adapted it for him and was paid quite well when the corporation adopted it for their worldwide use . This led to me writing a project planning program which could take all the actions involved in a project, together with all the deadlines and lay out a complete project timeline with necessary start dates, deadlines and interactions so that everything came together when it needed to.

Other companies heard about my program and, before I graduated from college, I was already making a yearly seven figure income from my programming. Things had gotten so big and complicated that I asked Karen to help as my business manager even before she completed her business degree. Naturally, I wrote a program that aided her with her duties. Luckily, Karen and Cindy got along well.

Cindy and I married the summer after our graduation. My own mother had passed away earlier that year, but Karen’s mother Mildred attended our wedding. I think she was relieved that I’d married a girl.

Cindy and I were happy and very much in love. Cindy kept me from retreating too far into my programming and I was able to help her set up her own design firm. Her firm gradually added Graphic Arts, which led to adding advertising and public relations. Cindy was somewhat surprised to find she excelled in those fields too.

We moved into a suite in downtown Seattle which was close to her office and large enough for me to set up my computer equipment. Karen maintained my formal office in a nearby building, but I found I often had breakthroughs in the middle of the night. When that happened, I needed my computer close by, so it was easier to work from home and visit the office only when necessary. After initial contacts, I could communicate with clients electronically and let Karen take care of all the administrative matters.

Both Cindy and I became heavily involved in our businesses. The nature of writing code is that one completely loses track of time. I didn’t notice when Cindy left for work and come home. As I became involved in larger and larger projects, I resisted Cindy’s efforts to get me to attend many social functions. I wrote my own scheduling program and assigned ratings from “Critical” to “Skip” to my activities. I did have Cindy’s birthday and our anniversary in the “Critical” categories. But a lot of the “Moderately important” social activities slipped into the “Skip” column.

I did add “Make Love” to the critical column. I was very conscious of my husbandly duties and responsibilities to my wife. Besides we were both really great together. Cindy especially loved giving me oral sex. I, of course, loved feeling myself in her eager mouth. We didn’t neglect her opening on the other end either. I made very sure I adhered to that scheduled item in my program.

One day, I was working hard on a program that was up against a deadline. I’d hit a snag and couldn’t find the coding error that was screwing up the program. And if there’s one thing I’ve always insisted on, it’s doing a job completely and correctly. Cindy came into my office and reminded me about the Chamber of Commerce banquet that evening. She was up for a “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” award and had to attend.

“Sorry, Honey,” I apologized. “I’ve got to find out what’s wrong. Is there anyone else who could take you?”

“I could see if Jake from work is willing,” she said. “But I’d rather have you there.”

“And there’s nothing I’d rather be doing,” I replied. “I’m so proud of you. But I’ve just got to find this bug.”

She left the office and I heard her talking on the phone. Later she stuck her head in the door. She looked absolutely gorgeous in a little black dress with one side off the shoulder. The diamonds hanging from her ears moved and sparkled every time she moved her head. She was wearing dark hose which accented the silver heels on her feet. The necklace and bracelet she had on matched her earrings. I’d given her the set last Christmas and she was a knockout.

“I was able to get Jake to go with me,” she said. “I’d still rather it was with you.”

“Me too,” I replied, looking up from my computer screen. “Have fun and I’m sure you’re going to win. Love you.”

“Love you,” she replied, but I was already looking back at the screen. I heard the door close a few minutes later

That was the first of several times Jake took Cindy to a function. I was so busy, I really didn’t notice how many. I was vaguely grateful to Jake for helping me out

Then Cindy landed a really big new contract designing the casing for a new teen cell phone and had to start spending a lot of time away from home. There were many nights when she came home really late.

The project took her around the country to listen to focus groups to help her find out what was most appealing. She tried to tell me about the comments from some of the groups, but I listened with only half an ear as I tried to mentally compose more lines of code.

Finally, Cindy dropped the bomb. I heard her come in with Jake. Soon there were some thumps in the bedroom. I suppose I should have gone to see what was going on, but I was engrossed in a new project. When I did look up, I could see Jake carrying some suitcases out the door of our suite. Then Cindy appeared at my door carrying an overnight case.

“Mark, I can’t go on living like this,” she said quietly. “You’ve become so distant that we don’t even talk anymore. You have no interest outside your programs and haven’t even noticed me in weeks. You try to control your life and mine too so tightly that you even schedule our sex life, for God’s sake! I can’t take it any longer and I’m moving in with Jake. I’ll send movers for the rest of my things soon.”

With that, she turned and walked out of my life.

I was numb. I didn’t know what had happened. I don’t know how long I sat there with the computer screen flashing at me.

Then, like the good orderly programmer I am, I saved my work and shut down my machine. In a daze, I went to our bar and poured myself a good, stiff drink. And another. And another.

At first I couldn’t remember why I wasn’t in my bed when I woke up on the floor sometime the next day. Then I started to cry as I remembered. I’d had no warning! What had happened and why?

Karen could tell something was wrong when she answered my phone call. She was there within minutes and spent the next few hours cradling my head as I cried myself out. She tried to get me to eat something but I really didn’t feel like it. I told her what Cindy had said, but she wisely didn’t say anything.

“I’m just here to listen,” she said.

The next few days were a blur. I slowly pulled myself back together enough to get back to work and lost myself in lines of coding. I lost all track of time. Weeks went by. Movers came and took the rest of Cindy’s things. I didn’t pay any attention to what they took. I didn’t eat much, didn’t go out at all and basically did nothing but sit in front of my computer and work.

And that’s how Karen found me.

For the first time in months, I actually considered something other than code when Karen made her suggestion. Then the second thoughts emerged. Jessica had been fun, but I just wasn’t up to doing all that work. I didn’t have anything of Jessica left anyway. I’d thrown everything away after I met Cindy. It was just too overwhelming.

“Jessica is in the past,” I told Karen.

“Mark, I’m not going to take no for an answer,” Karen said firmly. “You’ve got to break out of this. Jessica is a way to do this.”

Despite much resistance on my part, Karen managed to get me to me stand up long enough to measure me. “My God! You’re skinnier than you were in high school,” she said. “Okay, I’ll need one of your credit cards, one with a high limit.”

Reluctantly I fished a card out of my wallet and handed it to her. “I’ll be back later,” she said. In the meantime, shave your pits. I’ll have stuff to take care of everything else.”

’Oh, what the hell?’ I thought as she left. Dragging myself back into the bathroom, I ran my razor through my armpits. It was slow going because the long hair kept clogging up the razor. But I persevered. Any job is worth doing right and worth doing completely.

Karen came back a couple of hours later and found me sitting on the edge of the bathtub staring into space. She was carrying several bags from department stores and a couple with a drugstore logo on them. She reached into one and pulled out a couple of bottles.

“Here,” she said. “Smear this hair removal lotion on. Arms and legs! And be careful. This other is for your bikini area. Go for a landing strip. That’s popular these days. Do that one first, but don’t get them mixed up. Trust me, I know.”

I followed her directions, rubbing the bikini cream around my private area and into my public hair, leaving only a narrow strip running up from my penis. Then I used the other bottle to completely cover my arms and legs. Owing to my genetic makeup, I didn’t have any other hair on my body.

After about 15 minutes things started to tingle. It was time for the shower again. What hair I’d had left on my body was soon running down the drain. Karen handed me a bottle of skin lotion after I’d dried off. It actually felt good rubbing it over my hairless body. I was starting to remember how good I’d felt like this when I was a teen.

Karen worked on my hair while I filed my nails. Old skills rapidly came back. Soon my finger and toe nails were shaped into more attractive forms. As Karen placed rollers into my hair, I used the bottle she handed me to paint my nails.

By the time the polish had dried, my hair was dry too. Karen took out the rollers and brushed my hair. Bouncy curls framed my face. They swayed every time I moved my head, reminding me they were there. The curls really brought out my dark red highlights.

Then Karen handed me a roll of tape and left the room. I leaned back on the bed, secured my testicles up into me and bent my penis back between my legs. I taped it down, leaving only a small space near the tip exposed so I had room to pee.

When I brought my legs back together and stood up, I had a girl’s flat front. I remembered how good it felt to be able to walk around with nothing touching me or bouncing between my legs. It was as if those hanging boy parts weren’t weighting me down anymore. Jessica was back!

Karen walked back into the room and took a look at me. Then she came over and gave me a hug, running her hands over my hairless body. “Welcome back, girlfriend!” she whispered in my ear.

“I’ve got something a little different than we used to do,” she said reaching into another bag. “You’re so skinny, I picked up some panties with some padding on the sides and back so you’d have some curves. Otherwise, you’d be really straight as a rail.

“Oh, here’s something else,” she said. She held up a box with what looked like most of a woman’s chest, including what looked like C cup breasts with nipples. “This is something new,” Karen said. “Its called an ‘All-in-One and gives you breasts, but the seams are not as close to them as your old forms were. That makes it easier to hide the seams, because no one will be looking anywhere except your cleavage. It glues on, but it’s recommended that you don’t wear it while sleeping. It’s much too expensive to risk tearing it if you rolled over in your sleep. The woman who sold it to me said you need to remove it every day or two and clean both it and your real chest to avoid an odor buildup. She also had fake vaginas, if you’re interested, but I remembered you didn’t like to wear gaffs when we were teenagers.”

“I still prefer tape down there,” I said.

“Well, if you want to see any more choices, there are several places you could look online.”

She had me lie down while she positioned it on my chest and made some marks. Then she applied the adhesive to the backs of the form and a little on my chest and then stuck the cold form onto me. She had me lie there about five minutes while it set and then had me sit up.

The weight pulling from my chest was different from anything I’d felt before. Back in high school, I’d never dared glue forms to me since I’d have to appear as a boy again right away. Now, as I looked down, I had two realistic breasts hanging on my chest.

“I guessed right on the color,” Karen said. “It’s a perfect match. I’ll just have to work a little makeup around the seams and no one will ever know they’re not real.”

I’d forgotten how light girl’s clothing was. And how revealing. After I’d put on my new black panties, I pulled on the short black dress Karen had bought. The dress had spaghetti straps with a built-in shelf bra and an uneven hem that rose on one side to reveal quite a bit of thigh. I felt like I had nothing on. Yet, I was completely decent. . Karen pulled out a pair of “come-fuck-me” sandals with a three-inch heel and I proceeded to reacquaint myself with balancing on them.

It all came back in a rush and soon I was walking around, swaying my hips and bouncing my boobs like I’d just done it yesterday, instead of several years earlier. I felt lighter all over. When I became Jessica, all the weight of the male world fell away just like it had when I was a teenager. I could be as light and silly as I wanted. I could have fun. I decided to put Mark and his troubles away for a while and just be the best Jessica I could be. I pushed my chest out, put my hand on my hip, balanced on my back leg and struck a pose.

“Oh, girl, you are so ready!” Karen said.

I smiled and began to fix my face with the makeup Karen had bought. As soon as my foundation was on, I began to see Jessica in the mirror. I continued with my mascara and blush and the effect was heightened. But before I put powder on, I turned to Karen.

“Hun, could you please thin my brows? “ I asked, resurrecting my Jessica voice. “You were always better at it than me.” Karen and I had worked on that voice for hours until my voice, pitch and inflections were perfect. Then, I raised my brows in a puppy dog look and Karen laughed.

“You are getting back into this,” she said. “Come here and I’ll get the lawn mower out.”

When she finished, I was surprised how thin she’d made them. We used to make them into sort of an arch, but not enough that anyone would notice on Mondays after I’d washed the eyebrow pencil out. Now they were in a very attractive, very feminine arch. I looked at her with a question in my eyes.

“Hey,” she shrugged. “You need a complete break from Mark. I’m planning on having Jessica around for a while. In fact, I was thinking that I could put you up at my place. You need to get out of here.”

I was just going with the flow and letting Karen make all the decisions. So I agreed, with the stipulation that we’d move my computer equipment to Karen’s too. There was still a deadline coming up on my last contract, but it was close enough that Jessica could finish it quickly. Karen agreed.

I finished my makeup by putting on my lipstick. Then I stood up and gave Karen a twirl.

“Wow!” she said. “Jessica, you are still one of the hottest gals I know. We’ve got to go out dancing tonight.”

Fortunately, Karen had also brought a pair of jeans and a simple, sleeveless top so I changed so I could work. I pulled on my sneakers, which were unisex. Then two girls unhooked cables and moved computer equipment down to Karen’s car. We left old, gloomy Mark in the suite. I waited in the car while Karen went back in to tell the building manager that Mark was taking a vacation and arranged for the mail to be forwarded to our office address. Then we were off to her apartment.

After we’d unloaded the car and set up the computer in Karen’s guest bedroom, it was time to get Jessica some more clothes. Mark was worth a great deal, so money was no object. Both Karen and I jumped into shopping with enthusiasm. It was just like old times, except I was keeping many of the clothes I was trying on.

We tried on dresses, skirts, tops, slacks and shorts. I was a little hesitant at how short some of the skirts Karen pressed upon me were. But she pointed out that I had the legs for them. “Hey,” she said, “you’re young enough to wear them and they look good on you. Enjoy being a girl.”

Karen also insisted I even purchase a couple of skirt suits for when I need to look “professional.” When that might be, I had no idea. I ended up with enough clothing for Jessica to last me almost three weeks without cleaning a thing.

Of course, we didn’t leave out underthings. I bought bras, panties, camisoles, and slips. We got several pairs of panties with hip and rear end padding to make my dresses hang correctly. We found stockings and pantyhose and, naturally, shoes. I ended up with 10 pairs of shoes ranging from casual to flats to pumps and sandals. And I needed several purses to go with my outfits.

We didn’t neglect jewelry, either. My pierced ear holes had pretty much closed up after several years of neglect, but weren’t too hard to get open again. I even got second holes on each ear this time. After the earrings, there were bracelets, necklaces, a few cute rings and even some ankle bracelets. By the time we got back to Karen’s apartment, Jessica was all outfitted for quite a stay.

After unpacking and stowing all my purchases into the guest closet and dresser drawers, it was time to put the little black dress on and go out clubbing. Again I marveled that I felt so exposed and yet was perfectly decent for a girl.

As we approached the club, I had a moment of panic. Could I do this? It had been years since Jessica interacted with boys. I had been pretty good then, but these were men I was going to see and who were going to see me. Could I still pass?

“Jess,” Karen said. “Don’t worry. I see only a hot girl and everyone will too. You are a natural.”

The doorman waved us through with hardly a glance. But, as he turned to check some guy’s ID, I realized I was going to have to get some identification for Jessica. No one in the stores had questioned my using my “boyfriends” credit card, but the stores we were in dealt with that sort of thing all the time. Jessica needed some picture ID for Jessica first thing.

The music in the club was loud, and the crowd noisy. It was Friday night and people of both sexes were out to meet up and let the tensions of the week go. We finally found a table. Within seconds of sitting down, we were on the dance floor. Not weighed down by heavy men’s clothing, I just let myself go and moved my body with the music. Gyrating back and forth, I became one with the beat. Jessica didn’t have a care in the world and I lost myself in the dance.

Karen and I didn’t have to pay for any drinks that evening, but Karen reminded me to keep an eye on those drinks. “Drink only those the waitress brings, nothing any guy hands you,” she said. “And watch your drinks on the table. Date rape drugs are a lot more prevalent than they were when we were in high school.”

I certainly didn’t want any guy finding the tape in my panties while I was helpless, so I followed her advice.

It was a great time. I’d forgotten how fun life could be. And I’d forgotten how fun life could be for a girl.

We finally got back to Karen’s apartment at 2 a.m. after a late night coffee with a couple of guys we met at the club. Karen made it clear to the guys that coffee was the only thing we were interested in that night. As we left the coffee shop, I surprised myself by giving the guy I’d been with a “Thank You for a wonderful evening,” quick peck on his cheek.

Karen had to remind me to take off my makeup before I hit the bed. After it was all off, I slipped into a silky baby doll nightgown and rolled into bed. I thought again about how nice the dress had felt as I moved on the dance floor. And how much my ears had tickled as my earrings swung back and forth. It was an incredibly sexy feeling that kept reminding me that I was Jessica again--and I loved it!

I got out of bed and went out into the hall. I softly knocked on Karen’s door.

“Karen?” I asked.

“What is it?” a sleepy voice asked.

“Thank you!” I answered. “Tonight was the best night I’ve had in years.”

“Me too,” she replied. “I got my best girl friend back.”

I closed her door and fell back into my own bed. I was asleep in minutes.