Girltime at the Hideaway
by Sabrina G. Langton

***

Here is a story that has been running through my head for over a decade, ha, imagine, don't I need room for other, more important things? Like, um, politics, directions, and appointments I keep missing... Oh well, maybe not. I finished this over a year ago, and it wasn't working for me... I read, I tried, I changed, and then I gave up... pop. Then I had an epiphany, yes an epiphany.... I read it as a Television show, episodic, with a slight laugh track, and it worked. It totally worked for me, I hope it works for YOU as well. So here is Episode 1 of Girltime... I hope YOU like it...

***

Episode 1

"I think I want to start dating." That was the sentence that started it all.

***

My wife of three years, Lillian, had started dating a man after she found out I was a crossdresser. I discovered later that she was dating him for quite some time before that, she just used that as an excuse to get away with it.

Lillian then told me, "Starting now you can have every Friday to dress up. I will go out that night, after work, and you can have the whole day. Agreed?"

"Um, okay." She always makes it seem like she's doing me a favor, that was her thing. I didn't mind this time. I would have the entire day, maybe the entire weekend, it would be fun. Usually, I sort of snuck around and dressed when I could. I work a lot from home so I do have some alone time anyway, and Lillian absolutely hated this side of me.

"And take over that office and guest bedroom." She pointed to the rooms we never use. "I can have Chester help with your girly outfits if you want." She laughed.

Chester was her boyfriend. He was much older and shorter than me. Actually, he and Lillian were probably the same age and size around 5'3" and both a bit stocky. Me? I was around 145 pounds and 5'8" with blonde hair down past my collar. If you had to vote for who was the crossdresser between the three of us I would be the only candidate. Me, Sabrina, that was my femme name and I just turned twenty-six, I was eleven years younger than my wife and her boyfriend.

"No, I can manage." I didn't really want them to see all of my female clothes. I did have a lot, and what I had was pretty risque. Most of it was hidden in the basement.

"I'm goin' away 'til Sunday night. Try to be done by then. Actually, why don't you take all of your stuff in there, I want to bring Chester to MY bedroom for once." She tended to go to his house a lot. After she made me move out of the room she was at his house even more often, and when she wasn't, they were shacked up in my old bedroom. "You will be better on this side of the house. Sometimes the bedroom smells like a brothel from your perfume or soap, whatever the hell you use. Well? Get goin'." I wasn't moving quick enough for her as Chester leered. They left then slammed the door, I never got a goodbye from either of them. Ever.

***

That was a year ago. A year of Fridays, that was the day I lived for. Usually, if Lillian stayed at Chester's I would be a girl the entire weekend, but I only really went out on Fridays.

That's when I first went to M & C Photography & Salon. I met the owners Misty, a tall beautiful black woman with the sweetest eyes imaginable, and Chan, an Asian doll with the most luscious black hair I had ever seen. It landed right down to the cheeks of her backside. I was so embarrassed telling them that I crossdressed and wanted these two perfect female specimens to help me. They couldn't have been happier about it. I was so surprised, nobody had been this nice to me in years. They told me I was their new special project.

My itinerary for Fridays is; 8:00 am Dance Class with Chan, 9:00 am Exercise with Chan and Misty, 10:30 am shower, 11:00 am makeover with Chan, and then photos. It was a perfectly lovely morning. I would go shopping and drive around a while and be home by two.

So here I was on a late Friday afternoon, just a couple of hours since being at the studio, all dressed up in a sexy lavender skirt and jacket with a white blouse and matching heels. I finished all the laundry Lillian left me and then I accidentally walked in on her getting ready to go out. I looked very feminine with my long blonde wig on and slight makeup, listening to Lillian tell me about her evening with Chester. She did seem to have a good time, and she was out with him more than she ever went out with me. She used to be such a homebody. I wanted in on some of this action even though I knew that the two of them didn't like me that much, if at all.

"I think I want to start dating." I looked up at the two of them. "I just want to go out. Both of you always have so much fun."

Lillian sneered at me. "You think a woman is gonna want to go out with you dressed like Mary Poppins?"

"Well," I mentioned looking down, completely embarrassed. "Maybe I could go out with a man, does Chester know anyone?"

Chester laughed, a little too loud. "Yeah, I can just imagine my friends looking under that" And he pointed to my blouse and big breasts. "They wouldn't be friends anymore, heh heh."

"Oh, Chester find someone." She yelled at him and I was kind of surprised she was on board with this idea. And so quick too. "When does your sabbatical start?"

"Next Friday, Thursday night I guess." I had off the next three months. I was going to spend the entire time as a woman and Lillian seemed pretty disinterested in my decision.

"Thursday night then, don't get too glamourous, please, and embarrass us." She then took a couple of pictures of me with her phone to show my prospective date. And then they were gone.

***

It was late afternoon in Chester's office. A cold dark brown covered the walls, it was a construction firm filled with men hanging out at their desks.

"Hey, Buddy!" Chester called to his colleague. "Come here for a second."

Buddy sat at the chair facing the desk. "Yup. whatcha need?"

"Well, I need a favor." He pulled out his phone. "I need a date for this." And he showed the picture of Sabrina in all her lavender glory.

"Um, she's pretty," Buddy commented. "She looks kinda young. Is she your niece or something?"

"Yeah, something like that. She needs a date for Thursday, dinner, what are you doing that night?"

Buddy thought. "Nothing."

"Good, I'll drive."

***

I called and made an appointment for Thursday before my date, at the salon. Misty and Chan were my best friends, actually, they were my only friends. My male self only had co-workers, four to be exact. All my friends I left in New York when I left there years ago. I owned a computer business called Jukt Electronics, I started it in college, even though I was an art history major. I came up with a piece of hardware that every computer suddenly needed. That was how I met Lillian, she was a patent lawyer. Together we made money, more than enough for me, not enough for her.

I always brought coffee and muffins to the salon, or fruit and yogurt, or flowers, Champagne whatever... I couldn't do enough for these two beautiful women. I then realized this was my first time here not on a Friday morning.

I walked into the salon with the only dress of Lillian's that I liked. It was an elegant blue wrap with little white polka dots. She never wore it, but I wore it all the time. The hem came just above my knees, I couldn't wait to show off my legs.

"You are never going to guess what I am doing tonight," I asked them.

"What? Don't keep us in suspense." Misty said.

"I have a date."

Chan smiled at me "With Lillian?" They knew Lillian had a boyfriend, they knew everything.

"No, a man. A real live man. A double date, I cannot wait." They both smiled with surprise.

Misty asked. "When did you start dating men?"

"Well tonight, technically, but when I am all dressed up it is definitely men I would like to be with." Then I thought about it. "I think."

Chan took my dress. "Well, sister you better know, ha. Where did you get this dress from? It's nice."

"It's Lillian's, I love it."

"Well," Misty said looking at it. "If this is your wife's then you should wear something else, she might get mad. Especially since you are going to look so much better in it than she ever would."

"Ohh? Okay."

I let them pick me out something from the photography studio. I told them what Lillian said about dressing too glamourous and they picked out a short denim dress. It was casual, perfect for a first date. I felt myself start to get a little excited thinking about it.

In an hour and a half, they had me ready. They fixed and blew out my long blonde wig, did my makeup and nails then helped me get dressed. The tie-dye dress itself landed right in the middle of my thighs so I wore sheer nude pantyhose. It was a shirtwaist and it had a little belt and quarter sleeves. The girls gave me three-inch nude pumps for my dainty size eight feet. I had on big gold hoops and a couple of bangle bracelets they found in the salon. One spritz of my Chanel perfume and I was done. They made me put the important contents of my big pocketbook into a little clutch as I looked in the mirror, I was so excited.

"You know," Misty told me, "If I only knew that you were interested in men before this, your first date would be with someone else, someone perfect. I'm a fantastic matchmaker." She laughed and then walked into the back office.

***

Briiinnnngggg. Misty was making a call on her phone. Her office was surrounded by fashion pictures Chan and she had taken of their clients. As the phone rang she walked over to a picture of Sabrina on the wall, she touched it lightly. It was taken months ago and she was all in red and looked exceptionally feminine.

"Hey you, stand outside the Hideaway for a minute. I want you to see someone." She breathed into the phone. "Call me back, she will be walking out in a minute wearing a blue and white dress." Click.

***

Misty walked back in as Chan was taking some more pictures for my collection. "Beautiful. Now go and have a great time and tell us everything that happens." They smiled and led me out of the studio. I passed all the other customers getting their nails and hair done by the other workers and waved goodbye, then headed to my Jeep.

***

Misty answered the phone when she got back to the office.

"Wow, who was that?" He said

"That will be the love of your life." She told him. "You be nice to her and she will be the best thing that ever happened to you."

***

I was sitting at home waiting by the window, my legs crossed, playing with my hair. I was pretty nervous. I was more focused on showing Lillian that I could be a woman, though she didn't care either way. When she did see me dressed she usually complained I looked like a whore, but that's what I liked. I liked to dress sexy, I wasn't going anywhere, I could dress the way I liked in the house. I tried to hide from her but she insisted on talking to me when I was all dressed up, I think she just wanted to make me embarrassed in front of Chester.

Chester's truck pulled up in front and the three of them got out. My date wasn't as tall as I hoped, but he seemed nice from afar.

"Samuel, we're here." Shit, I just realized that Lillian didn't know my femme name. There was never any reason to give it to her.

I walked in. "Sabrina," I said, "My name is Sabrina."

"Of course it is," Chester commented. "This is Buddy."

He took my hand and shook it like I was one of his construction friends. Lillian dropped her briefcase and picked up her bag, and we all went back outside and got in the truck. I was glad I didn't wear the polka dot dress, they were all in flannel.

I was afraid to talk, they were conversing about something that happened at Chester's firm. I wished they would have explained it to me, I wanted to feel involved. Instead, I just listened and watched. We ended up at a place in LA off the Ventura Freeway called Montys Roadhouse, there were so many motorcycles outside, I got a little tense.

We sat at a big picnic bench inside. It was dark and loud. We were given paper menus before we even sat. There were only a couple of things on the menu and only hard seltzer and Pabst Blue Ribbon to drink. I ordered a beer and burger as they did.

"Ooh, can I have a cup or a straw, please?" I asked the waitress in my perfect voice, she seemed a little disinterested in me too.

"Sorry, princess no cups or straws. Just suck it up." She told me. I just smiled.

Lillian loved that. "Princess, ha."

They all ate pretty quick, I barely started it was so messy so I just stopped when they were done. I didn't even get to wash in the ladies' room. I was checking my lips in my compact and I could tell Lillian hated that I was so feminine, especially in front of these two men. She gave me a disdainful look while shaking her head, and told me we were leaving. In seconds we paid and were back in Chester's truck.

I didn't have to do that again.

We headed back the same way and soon we were sitting in front of my house. I was surprised. "Okay Princess," Lillian sneered. "I'll see you Sunday, do something constructive on your sabbatical."

They left and I stood in front of the house watching them drive away. Buddy didn't even say goodbye to me. I thought I looked so pretty. I went to bed early, my three-month sabbatical was starting off just great.

***

I canceled Friday morning for the first time. I left a message on their machine, I didn't want to get out of bed, I was too disappointed. I had decided I would try living as a woman from September until December, and if everything went according to plan, and okay with my doctor, I would start the process of becoming a real one. I felt I was already doing a bad job of it. I was in bed, my wig on the dresser and my mascara running around my eyes. I looked like hell.

When my phone rang I jumped. I was hoping things at work would go smooth without me so got up quickly to answer.

Click. "What do you mean you are canceling your appointments this morning. You better have a man in your bed, otherwise, get down here now or I am going to come and get you myself." It was Misty, she sounded disappointed.

"Uhh, last night was terrible." I sulked.

"Well then take a shower and come to the salon a little later. I have a surprise for you. I want you here no later than two-thirty. And get your exercise in, sweetheart, tighten up that butt. We will talk when you get here."

I loved the two of them. They were so nice to me and I would do anything for them. But I was feeling sorry for myself and didn't want to get out of bed.

***

I parked behind the salon and snuck in the back. I didn't want to pass all the gorgeous women getting their weekend on, I was a mess. I was carrying the denim dress on a hanger, I made sure it was all cleaned.

"Well, well, well," Chan said shaking her head, when she saw me in the long white dress, I changed into. "Someone slept late." She took the dress and ushered me inside.

Misty walked in and handed me a robe. "Get completely undressed and then put this on." And I did.

I told them of my first disastrous date, being ignored and slightly bullied, and they said the two of them have had so much worse.

Chan told me. "Going out will get much better when you hang with the right people."

After a couple of minutes, I forgot to be sad and enjoyed their presence. I was afraid they were spending too much time with me and ignoring their other clients, but Misty told me she had something special planned and everyone else can wait.

"Just sit back and relax."

I sat in the chair at 2:45 and I didn't get to look in the mirror until 4:45, I didn't recognize myself. The girls gave me hair extensions and my strawberry blonde hair cascaded over my shoulders and down to my boobs which were new breast forms size C and perfect. I had long lash extensions and even longer nails, they were 'morning glory mauve' and matched my plump lips. They even whitened my teeth, they looked wonderful with my plumper lips.

I had on the polka dot dress and it was so short. Chan said she changed the hemline and neckline a bit. I hoped Lillian wasn't going to wear this again, cause it landed right below my new 'pussy.' The girls tucked me in so tight, I had a perfect female outline. But the most surprising thing was the neckline, it showed a perfect amount of cleavage. My breasts have never looked so good. Without the forms, I would have never been able to pull off this look. They also put me in a corset which made my waist so much thinner and my hips look so much wider.

Chan smacked my backside as I was gazing in the mirror. "That ass will win you an award, glad all those squats are working out for you." She laughed.

The last thing they did was pierce my ears and put in little diamonds. Misty has been threatening to do that since we first met. I kept on my clip-on gold hoops anyway and they added a watch, some bangles, and a thick chain around my neck to hide the breast form seam. All the jewelry was from the salon, I didn't own any except for the dozen clip-on earrings hiding in my vanity.

"Here use this bag," Misty told me. It was beige and crochet and it matched the color of my five-inch pumps. I put it over my shoulder and fixed my short cap sleeves, then Chan started taking pictures of me.

After she was done Misty investigated and started to fix my hair a little better, the two of them were constantly fluffing me up and patting me down, I was always in need of improvement. "NOW you are ready for the next three months. Let's go."

***

They took me right across the street to a restaurant called The Hideaway.

"This is our 'starting the weekend' spot, every Friday at five since it opened seven years ago," Chan said as we dashed across the busy avenue. "Girltime."

We were greeted by a very pretty, very pregnant hostess who the two girls knew. Once they introduced me we headed to the bar.

Chan and Misty's hands went up in the air to wave at everyone. It wasn't too crowded but there were 'reserved signs' on three of the stools at the bar. "Sabrina, this is our favorite bartender, Brian."

"Hi."

And then Misty pointed to the back. "And hiding in plain sight is his girlfriend Marilyn." She waved to us. "She's studying for the bar at the bar. We don't know what's she is doing with Brian." They smiled and we then moved to the reserved spots. I met several other people and had so many offers for drinks even before I sat down. I had never had a bigger smile on my face before.

Chan asked Brian, "What's the drink du jour?"

"Peach sangria with a little Lemoncello. You will love it." He then smiled at me. "Sabrina, what's your favorite drink?"

"Mmm, I love everything. I am very easy to please." I told him.

"Well don't be too easy," Misty said. "Be a little more mysterious." She told me while looking at my considerable cleavage and breasts almost touching the bar.

"Where is the boss?" Misty asked.

"In the office," Brian then pressed a button marked 'Ross Boss.' "He's been on the phone all day trying to find a replacement for Elaine."

I turned around and a nicely dressed tall man walked out of a door at the back of the bar. He saw Misty and Chan at their regulation spots and he smiled. I watched him intently as he moved closer to us. His eyes went from them to me as he walked closer. He stopped right next to me and I spun on my stool.

"Uh, hi." He said.

"Ross," Misty told him. "This is Sabrina, she is VERY easy." I heard them laugh but I couldn't take my eyes off of his. He then grabbed both my hands and I shivered, I felt like I was transported into a computer game, infinity totally surrounding me, it was strange but not unpleasant. For those couple of seconds, it was only the two of us in the world.

"Hi, Sabrina, I'm Ross. Thanks for coming in."

Chan laughed. "Ahh, thanks for coming in, always the host." She said using her best Ross imitation.

He was still looking at me, I was enjoying the attention. "Can I get you something?" He said.

Misty was shaking her head. "Oh stop, we have been here for ten minutes, just tell her she's beautiful and get the hell out of here so we can enjoy Girltime. Haha."

***

It turns out Girltime has been a thing for them since College. Misty and Chan would chase all the guys away every Friday at five. Wine and cheese, or chips and dip, air and wind, whatever was around. They told me at one point there were sometimes eight or nine of them, but the numbers have slowly dwindled.

It was nice, I loved being a part of the crowd, as Sabrina I had never had that before.

The women told me all about Ross who stood by most of the night. He would make little appearances in my peripheral vision while I tried to look seductive at the bar. I loved catching him looking at my boobs or legs. It was so exciting for me to be attracted to someone in real life, and being seen as attractive to someone else.

***

Unfortunately, things had to end and Misty's husband Cal, showed up to drive her home. Ross came over and sat down with me at the now crowded bar as Chan also got ready to leave.

He had to lean close to me since it was so loud. "Would you like to have some dinner with me?" He asked. I wasn't hungry at all but I wanted to spend time with him.

"Okay."

The restaurant part of The Hideaway was packed as he took me to the far end, near the windows looking out onto the side street. I slid onto the chair fixing my short dress and we sat and we talked, it was nice. The waitress brought out cheese, fruit, and vegges and we noshed while I drank Iced Tea, I had to drive home afterward.

"Next Friday," He told me, "take a cab or I can pick you up. This way you can enjoy more of Brian's concoctions." I liked that he wanted to pick me up. This was my real first date, yesterday with Buddy was now just a blurred-out misstep.

He asked for my number and we exchanged them. I got the waitress to take a photo of us together. I told him I wanted to put his picture in my address book with his number, but in reality, I wanted a shot to prove it wasn't a dream. We left and he walked me across the street to my Jeep.

"Such a big truck for a little girl." He smiled.

"I know, I use it for work, plus the sound system is amazing." I looked at it and patted the fender, before getting in and turning on some music. "But I think it might be time for a major change." We hugged goodbye through the window and I magically made it home.

***

The next day I awoke forgetting I had all this new hair. Also, my eyes were still perfect after I took off most of my makeup last night, with the lash extensions and new improved eyebrows I still looked so feminine.

I took off my nightie and slipped on a robe and mules. I then relaxed and took pictures in my room all morning. I didn't even hear Lillian and Chester get home, a day early. I saw them as I tried to sneak into the kitchen for coffee, and then my phone rang in my robe's pocket. The two of them looked at me. I could tell they didn't recognize me.

"Hello?" I answered while Lillian moved closer to me. I could see her studying my hair and she tugged at it as I tried to answer the phone.

"Oww."

"Hi Sabrina, it's Ross. I had such a great time last night." I slightly heard him say. I was too distracted by Chester now looking at my breasts. The robe was now open and one boob was hanging out.

"What the fuck?" Lillian yelled as the boob came into view.

"Hi, I have to go. Can you call me back?" I think I said and hung up the phone. It was the first time a man had ever called me and I was stuck talking to Lillian.

"Wow, some rack you got there." Chester insinuated.

Lillian gave him a look and then told me to cover up. "What's the matter with you, you look ridiculous, and what's up with this stupid hair?" I felt her pull it again. She knew it wasn't a wig. I don't know why she was so annoyed. "I can now believe you always were a girl, I think you must of been one from day one, I just didn't notice. You are such a freak."

"You would of noticed those tits," Chester answered and she hit him again, I was uncomfortable the way he was watching me. I tightened my robe and ran back into my room to wait for them to leave again. It was like living with nasty older siblings. I heard them talking about me through the door, they called me some inappropriate names.

Ross never called back and I got a little depressed, but I couldn't stay that way for long it was going to be a busy couple of days.

***

During the week I had to take care of business at work. I was thinking of selling my company so I went to a lawyer I knew through my business. It was going to be a little uncomfortable introducing them as my femme self.

I walked into Mr. Able's office dressed in my finest business outfit. I had on a gray wrap dress with a big belt to give me more of a shape. I had on taupe pantyhose and three-inch chunky heels. The dress had long sleeves and showed no cleavage at all. I didn't want to distract anyone... especially myself. I wore a little makeup and brushed my hair. I would have to get to the salon soon, I wasn't the best at fixing either of those things.

I told my plans to the unsurprised lawyer and he introduced me to Susan, she was going to be my liaison. I had three important things to take care of; One, I wanted to sell my business. Two, I wanted to legally change my name. And three, I wanted to get divorced. Not necessarily in that order. Susan didn't bat an eye when she realized I wasn't all female, actually, it seemed to brighten her up.

"I can take care of all of that. Don't worry, leave it to me." I wasn't worried at all.

I also started going back to a therapist, Dr. P. He was the main reason I took a sabbatical, he said it was time I moved on with my life. He said having Misty and Chan around was the best thing for me. I needed strong female role models and they were perfect. He started me on estrogen again and convinced me it was time to break away from Lillian and her terrible choices, and also her awful boyfriend and his laundry. (Which they made me do.)

***

The rest of the week I worked with Susan and coordinated all my personal and business affairs. Of course, I had a different business dress or A-Line skirt for each meeting. I also took care of my room. I bought a floor-to-ceiling mirror and new curtains for the windows. I ordered flowers every couple of days from the florist to brighten my room and the house. Lillian killed everything but the ones in my room flourished and grew.

Finally, Friday came and I headed to the M&C Salon to start the weekend.

Chan was happy to see me but disappointed I hadn't checked in on them this past week. I told her I didn't want to bother them, I felt like I was a disruption they didn't need.

When Misty saw me on the elliptical she scolded me for not talking to Ross. "Later on I'm calling Ross over. Let's make some plans."

I was quite nervous thinking I was going to see him again. And in daylight, I never look good in daylight.

Misty told me, "We are introducing the world to 'Sexy Sabrina,' no more 'Timid Sabrina.' Everyone is ready to meet the real you, especially Ross." I hoped I was ready for that, usually, I saved the sexiness for my room with the doors locked. After fixing me up for the morning they told me to come back at three.

When I came back by car service and got thrown in the salon chair, Misty blew my hair straighter than last week and added more extensions. My reddish, blonde hair was now reaching the middle of my back. Then they gave me a tight pink sweater dress, but not before they put me in a corset again and some hip pads. I had to wear a strapless bra with glued-on breast forms because the dress was off the shoulder, but the dress was so tight there would be nothing falling out. I had on nude pantyhose even though the girls said I didn't need them, and my heels were black and five inches. I still had on my little diamond studs as my only jewelry and I was given a black bag.

"Are you going to be able to handle those nails?" Chan asked me.

I giggled. "I have been wearing nails since I was a little girl. Well maybe not a girl, but I was little. I started when I was about seven or eight." My mother had Lee press-on nails when I was younger. I wonder if she knew who wore them more, me or her.

When they took me to the mirror I got suddenly distressed. "Oh my God girls, I can't go out like this." I started to hyperventilate.

Chan laughed. "You can and you will, baby. You are stunning. Plus we will be as glam as you."

The dress was so tight and it clung to every curve. My boobs and rear looked so large and the dress was so short, coming a couple of inches above my knees. I was thinking that so much of my body wasn't even me and I felt like I would be lying to Ross.

Misty grabbed my shoulders and looked at me in the mirror. "You know this is the real you, and you look incredible. Why have you been hiding from the world all these years?"

I caught her eye. "Really? I look okay?"

"Stop, stop all that negative thinking right now, you are with us and everything is going to be fine." She said that while rubbing my back.

Chan added, "You are a stunning woman so start thinking like one." She then changed into her sexy outfit.

"I was thinking," I said as I was looking at Misty in the mirror. "When should I tell Ross that I'm a... you know."

"Don't worry about that for now, it will all work out. Let's introduce you to the world first and worry about semantics later."

I'm glad Misty and Chan had so much faith in my female self, I didn't know how much I had, but I was ready to just be me with no more secrecy. I put my hands on my hips and smiled at the girl in the mirror. I was loving the reflection, maybe it is time to be my sexy self. I was happy the girl in the mirror smiled back.

As the two of us stood looking I saw Ross's reflection as he walked in the door. When our eyes met I felt myself blush, it was so much brighter in here than the Hideaway. He suddenly stood behind me and immediately focused on my breasts. Misty walked away and there were only the two of us, I finally had a good look at him. He was an easy four inches taller than me, even in these high heels. He had dark eyes, dark hair and looked like he needed a shave. His arms and hands were so much bigger than mine and he was dressed in a nice jacket showing off his broad shoulders. We looked perfect together.

"Well?" I heard Misty's voice coming from somewhere in the world. We both woke up. "Ask her."

"Oh, uh." He said as I turned around to look at him and he touched my hands. "We are all going to the movies, after Girltime of course, would you like to come with me?"

"Oh, of course." I took one of my hands away and put it on my chest, I was surprised he was so nervous.

"Okay," Chan said, I could tell they were both loving watching us. "Mr. Hot Stuff we will be over in a little while. Go set up our spots." She laughed as I said goodbye to him. I watched him walk out the door, while in a daze, to the smiles of the girls.

***

We headed once again to The Hideaway and I met Elaine who was an easy eight months into her pregnancy. She was telling me Ross had been looking for a replacement.

"Really?" I asked. "I could help out, I would love to work here." Everyone was quite surprised but in the end, Ross said I could start work on Tuesday.

"Tuesday and Thursday 11:00 am to 3:30." Are you sure?"

"I am. I can't wait to go shopping for some outfits." Being a hostess was something I would fantasize about when I was younger.

"All the other girls were fighting over Friday," He said, "since it's the most popular day. You are going to have to give me your social security number and address later."

I gave a quick tense look to Misty "Okay."

Ross then went to take care of some business while the three of us sat once again with Brian and a little further away Marilyn.

Brian brought us coconut margaritas as we talked about Ross and I asked how long they knew him.

Chan told me. "We met at USC, that's, let me think, that's fifteen years ago."

"The three of you went together?"

Misty said, "Well that's where we all met. We were roommates. I met my husband there too."

"I found my husband at a flea market." Chan laughed.

They had so much history together but they never let me feel left out, they always explained their in-jokes and tastes. And I loved listening to their voices. When I sat too quiet, for too long with my legs crossed and bouncing, they would try to get me involved. My voice was becoming my best feature and all this practice was making it more than perfect.

We started delving more into all their relationships and they told me about Ross's ex-girlfriend.

Misty told me, "Ross never knows what's good for him, he was with Jennifer for about a year and a half, it was a terrible relationship. He never knew when to end it... and then fate ended it for him."

"Why what happened," I asked on the edge of my stool.

"She died in a plane crash, with her three best friends. They were coming back from Florida." Misty then pulled out her phone and showed me a picture. It was of her and Cal along with Ross and Jennifer. "She never went out with us, I don't even think she ever went out with Ross. It was mostly in his mind, haha. To tell you the truth I don't even know when we took this picture."

She aimed the phone at Chan who shook her head. "Her friends," Chan added, "were so unfriendly. The four of them were always together too. Ross would have to take them out to dinner all the time, and God forbid they ever came here. This place was way below their standards, heh."

I looked at the picture again. Jennifer was very thin, thinner than Chan, and she had no shape at all. She didn't look too happy to be in whatever situation brought her in contact with Misty.

Misty noted, "I'm glad we have found someone to take his mind off the past. You are going to be a great distraction... for all of us." They giggled, I giggled with them.

We drank a little more and we had to pause the conversation once the Husbands showed up. Then the six of us headed off to the movies.

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The End of Episode 1 (Stay tuned for Episodes 2,3 & 4... and maybe more)

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