Marooned
By
Melanie Brown
Copyright  © 2011

Alex was on a school band trip. But his flight was going to be slightly delayed..

I averted my eyes as Tamara Greenwood, the very cute girl sitting in the aisle opposite me turned to look in my direction. I’m sure she thought I was just another jerk, staring at her because she’s pretty. That was true enough that I looked at her because she was pretty, but I had another, and rather unusual, reason to stare at her. I would have given anything to be her. Or at least look like her.

It would probably surprise everyone on the plane who was from my high school, if they found out that for as far back as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a girl. All the pretty girls at school have caught me staring at them, but don’t know the real reason. That reason usually being that I’d love to be wearing their dress or skirt and annoyed that my make-up, when I get to wear some, never looked as wonderful as theirs. I keep my hair on the longish side. It helps hide my pierced ears, although these days, nobody really cares if a boy has his ears pierced.

The plane bumped again, jolting me from my thoughts. The turbulence was getting worse. I looked past Clay on my right to look out the window. It was growing dark outside. Lightning flashed in the storm below us.

I looked back over at Tamara, happily chatting with Zachary Carlisle and completely oblivious to the increasing roughness of the flight. They were the perfect couple. In fact, they had both been voted the “Best Couple” of our school, Timothy Leary High, two years in a row. I had to admit, the girl in me thought Zach was totally hot.

The plane suddenly lurched violently. The weather finally had gotten Tamara’s attention. She looked out the window as a bright flash of lightning arced through the sky. “Oh my God!” she squealed. She glanced quickly around the cabin and then asked, “Did you guys see that?” She looked out the window for a few more moments before turning back to Zach.

The speaker overhead crackled briefly before the pilot’s voice said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the turbulence we have been experiencing. We thought we were going to be able to fly above the storm below us, but it has been growing. We are going to divert our course to fly around it instead. This will delay our landing in Manila by about an hour. Please remain in your seats with the seat belts fastened. Thank you.”

The plane bounced again. I was starting to wish I had stayed at home. Our high school band had been invited, as part of an international cultural exchange, to the Music Festival they were having during the first week of June in Manila, the Philippines. It was all part of an overall band trip to Japan that we were all worried would be canceled at the last minute due to a lack of funds. Thankfully, a local business had donated the remaining funds.

Back home, or at least somewhere back in the States, Dad was at his annual summer camping spot where he and his buddies fish and hunt. The last few years I'd gone with him which was a big deal for me as this was always his “getaway”. There are other times when we have gone on family outings and Mom taught me how to scale and clean the fish Dad and I would catch, and cook it. And since Dad’s carpel tunnel surgeries, he lacked a lot of strength in his hands to do some tasks and his buddies usually had one too many beers to be useful, he started asking me to join him and his friends for a few days in the great outdoors with just “us guys.” Little did Dad know…

There was a sudden and exceptionally brilliant flash of lightning, and a peal of thunder exploded throughout the cabin of the plane. The interior lights blinked a couple of times, and then went dark. I could hear the turbines of the jet engines whining down. There was the unmistakable sensation of the plane starting to lose altitude. A sense of panic started to spread throughout the cabin.

A few seconds later, there was a noticeable sense of relief when the cabin lights blinked a couple of times before finally staying on. The steady, ascending whine of the turbines told us the plane was back on power. The overhead speaker crackled again and the voice of the pilot said, “Ah, ladies and gentlemen, it seems the aircraft has been struck across the nose and starboard wing by lightning. There is no need to be alarmed, but we are trying to locate a place to land in order…”

Before the pilot could finish speaking, the right engine suddenly began to belch black smoke and flame. The pilot must have cut the engine off because I could hear it start to whine down. However, it began to shudder and it continued to belch smoke. And then with a quick rip of metal and a lurch, the engine was gone. Some of the hydraulic system for the control surfaces went down with the engine. The seat belt dug into my gut as the plane made a sudden drop.

The left engine’s whine rose to a crescendo as it struggled to compensate for the missing engine. We began to lose altitude as the plane rocked and yawed. I could hear some of my fellow students, boy and girl alike, begin to cry. Most sat in their seats, wide-eyed, frozen with fear.

The view outside the windows of the plane disappeared in a dark swirl of clouds, punctuated by flashes of lightning. The pilot was obviously having trouble controlling the plane as we continued to lose altitude and flew directly into the storm.

The airliner bounced more violently and the pitch of the left engine’s whine rose and fell erratically as rain and hail brutally pelted the aircraft. There was still enough light to tell when the aircraft broke through the bottom of the clouds and into a very heavy rain. Everyone was then slammed into their seatbelts as the plane just fell as if the wings were no longer providing lift.

The whine of the remaining engine began to drop and even out as the nose of the aircraft noticeably dropped. The overhead speakers crackled again and the pilot made a terse announcement, “Flight crew, prepare for emergency water landing.”

I heard one of the flight attendants say, “Oh…my…God!”

Another flight attendant tried to stand as she announced over the speaker system, “We are going to make an emergency landing on the ocean. Please remain calm. Your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. Those of you sitting next to the emergency exit doors — please open those doors the moment the aircraft stops moving. Everyone please take your seat cushion and exit the emergency doors as quickly and orderly as you can.”

Christ! We’re heading down. In the absolute middle of nowhere. There was no telling how far the plane had been blow off-course. A sense of complete powerlessness overwhelmed me. On an impulse, I grabbed the phone in the headrest in front of me. I wanted to call home, so my parents would know. But the phone was dead.

The plane continued to bounce around a lot and then quite ominously, the nose of the plane lifted slightly and the left engine began to roar. We could feel the plane start to slow down. And then the nose of the plane suddenly dropped and we were all slammed forward against our seatbelts as the aircraft impacted the water. I whacked my head against the seat in front of me

Pandemonium broke out as the interior of the plane went dark. There were shouts from the flight crew advising everyone not to panic. Three of folks sitting next to the emergency exits managed to pop the latches and push the doors away. The girl next to the forth exit just sat there and cried. The girl in the seat next to her reached over her and managed to get the door open. Someone picked up the terrified girl and tossed her through the exit.

The aircraft pitched and rolled on the rough sea, which made moving even more difficult. Water splashed through the open emergency doors. The flight crew was amazingly professional as they opened the main doors as well and quickly started herding passengers through the exits.

For a few moments, I was stuck in my seat as the aisle was blocked by bodies trying to exit the plane. I looked in horror towards the front of the plane. The door to the cockpit was open and water was pouring through the broken windscreen. The plane began to roll on its left side as the remaining engine weighed it down which caused everyone still in the plane to stumble to the left side, falling into the water.

Oddly, the sounds of screams, splashing and creaking of metal seemed to fade as my focus changed to just getting to the nearest emergency exit. The interior began to darken. Water starting pouring through the left side emergency exits. I saw arms reaching through those exit openings, grabbing people and pulling them through. Clutching my seat cushion with one arm and pulling myself towards the exit hatch I slowly made my way. The way the plane was taking on water, every desperate second counted.

Only a few of us were left inside the pitching aircraft as I climbed over the seats and reached up to the exit hatch. An arm reached through and I heard a voice shout, “Alex! Alex take my hand! Hurry!” I grabbed the hand and was jerked out onto the right wing, which was almost at a forty-five degree angle as the plane continued to roll onto its left side. The hand belonged to Zach. Without really looking at me, he let go, and reached back through the hatchway and shouted to someone else.

The wing was slippery and at an odd angle, and with the wind blowing, I fell off the wing and into the dark water where dozens of other kids were clinging to seat cushions and other floating debris or thrashing in the water trying to find something to cling to. The sky was black and the wind and rain relentless, drowning out the yells and cries of kids in the water. I held onto my seat cushion for dear life as I bobbed in the water, waves crashing over my head, choking me on sea water.

I suddenly heard the rending of sheet metal as the plane made a final pitch to its left side, the right wing almost straight up as the nose of the plane started to rapidly slide into the sea, tail section sticking out of the water. I saw Zach tossed like a doll onto the fuselage of the sinking plane. A lightning flash lit up Zach, lying on the side of the plane; help a flight attendant to escape. Zach slid off the plane and I saw no one else come out. The next instant, along with a loud burbling sound as the air rushed out, the plane slid under the surface of the sea.

In the growing darkness, I was panicked to see that I was drifting away from the others who were starting to group as best they could. I tried desperately to push myself over to the them, but it seemed impossible. The waves kept trying to force me off the cushion, but I somehow managed to hold on. The lightning flashes showed that I was getting further and further away from the group. I tried yelling, but no one could hear me. I cried, prayed and wished that I was back home.

* * *

I woke with a sudden start as sea water filled my mouth. I panicked, sputtered water out of my mouth and tried to force my head above the water and thrashed about wildly. I tried to mentally tell myself to calm down…that panicking would only get me drowned.

Gulping air, I managed to get to a less panicked state and treaded water and looked around. It was still overcast but the storm was gone and it was obviously day time. I was alone in the middle of an ocean. The seat cushion floated a few feet away from me and was slowly getting away from me. I swam over to it and grabbed it, pulling it close to me. The gray water and gray sky mingled and disoriented me. I terrified myself with thoughts of if I didn’t die of exposure, or lack of water, then the sharks would have a snack with me. I cried at the utter hopelessness of my situation.

* * *

Again I awoke sputtering water from my mouth. I lifted my head, and noticed something was different. I felt something gritty under me, the sun on my back. I could hear the sound of waves rushing in and then enveloping me, then rushing away from me. I raised myself on my arms and was shocked beyond belief that I was lying on a beach!

Water splashed around my arms as I looked around with a stupid grin on my face. A beach! I was saved! I started taking in my surroundings and saw the seat cushion lying a few yards from me on the beach.

As I sat up weakly and looked around, I saw just how lucky I was. The stretch of beach was rather narrow, about one to two hundred feet across, sandwiched in between sharp rocks that jutted out into the sea.

I unsteadily stood up and got a better look at where I had washed ashore. There was a rocky hill in front of me, plants, palm trees. And then I saw them. Going from the beach towards the interior were foot prints! I walked over to them and saw a small depression in the sand being washed away. Someone else had washed up on this beach!

Hurriedly, I followed the tracks that led to the interior of the island. I wondered who made the tracks. They had to be someone from the plane, right? I hesitated for a moment when it occurred to me that it could be someone washed off a ship during the same storm. It could be a complete stranger. The tracks stopped at a rocky hill.

The hill was part of a stony peak that rose all of fifty feet from the beach. As I climbed over the small hill, I hoped this island — I assumed it was an island, wasn’t one of those that occasionally disappear. From the amount of vegetation, it looked like it had been here a while.

As I walked through an area of dense brush, I could hear a sound coming from ahead of me. The closer I got to it, the more the sound seemed like someone crying. Finally, I cleared the brush and could see a ridge of rocks coming from the hill and a longer stretch of beach. Sitting on a rock was a person crying.

“Zach?” I asked quietly as the person’s features became more clear to me as I approached from behind him. A riot of emotions suddenly ran through my mind. It bothered me that I was elated to see that it was Zach who was stuck on this island with me. “Zach…is that you?”

Zach stopped sniffling and wiped his nose on the back of his hand as he turned to face me. “Oh, it’s you. Hey Alex. I’m glad you’re okay.” His eyes were red from crying. That surprised me as I, as well as just about everyone at school, though of Zach as one of stoic, macho guys.

He sat back down on the rocks and said with a humorless laugh, “I guess we won’t die here alone, huh.”

“I’m just glad someone else made it here! It’ll be easier with two of us.” I said, genuinely glad that I wasn’t alone.

Zach frowned at me. “Easier for what, squirt? In case you haven’t noticed, this fuckin’ island ain’t very big. There’s no McDonald’s here. And if we’re outside the normal shipping lanes, no one will ever notice us. We can’t drink ocean water and there’s no food here. We just extended our time, that’s all.”

“Dude, don’t talk like that! Look at those trees” I pointed. “Those are coconuts. Inside is water we can drink. We can scrape the insides to get something to eat. We can catch fish and I’m sure there’s other plants here we can eat. We might be able to live here for months. Or longer!”

Zach jumped up, angry, his eyes flashing. “And so what? Do you want to live on this fucking shit hole island for the rest of your life?”

“No!” I yelled back at him. “But you know they’re looking for us. It’s probably just a matter of days before we’re picked up.”

Zach pointed towards the sea. “Look dumb-ass. Just look at that ocean out there. They don’t know where to look for us. We don’t know how far the plane was blown off course! We don’t know how far we drifted or even what direction. And…and…just over the horizon could be fucking Hawaii for all we know and we’d never see it.”

“Just calm down. Let’s not write us off yet. We just have to make sure we live long enough to be found. We can do it.” I hope I sounded like I had conviction.

Looking at the rocky hill, the most prominent feature of the island I asked, “Have you been to the top yet? We might be able to see something.”

Zach shook his head, pointed to the northern section of the island and said, “No. I just managed to walk down there and back before you showed up.”

“Let’s climb it,” I suggested. Zach just shrugged and followed me up the rough face of the hill.

I couldn’t see it from where we were, but as we stumbled our way up the steep rocky hill, I pointed and shouted, “Look! A cave! And there’s water trickling out down the cliff side to that small lagoon. Let’s take a look.”

It wasn’t easy making our way across to the cave. There was a rough path to it, but the side of the hill with the cave became a sheer drop. After stepping into the cave, we at first couldn’t see anything. When our eyes adjusted, we were not prepared for what we saw.

Inside the small cave were the remains of a rotting cot, a rusty shelf with tins of rations, a desk with a radio and what appeared to be a heap of old cloth near the desk along with other odds and ends.

Zach’s eyes went wide as he scanned the objects in the cave. “Oh my God! Look at this stuff! This has to be World War Two shit. I bet this was an observation post.” He moved to the desk and said, “I wonder if this radio still works?”

The face of the radio was still readable, if you could read Japanese. We fiddled with the knobs and switches, clicking them back and forth, but nothing happened. Zach turned the radio around, and found the back was open. The inside, especially the batteries were corroded.

“I didn’t think it would work. That’d be too easy,” Zach said sarcastically. He then bent down and picked up something that had fallen behind the shelves. “Cool! It’s an Arisaka Type 99 Rifle! Looks just like it does in the games. I bet this is worth something!”

While Zach looked over the rifle, I looked around for anything we could use. I was excited to find a cooking pot that was still usable, a few knives and a couple of mess kits still in good condition. I also found water tricking through a crack in the cave floor. With spring water available to us, our survivability was looking up. Later we’d discover mangos, kiwi and something I couldn’t identify growing on the island.

I turned around and saw Zach, wearing a Japanese helmet and holding the rifle making shooting sounds. I said, “Zach, can you help me find stuff we can use?” He nodded, made a couple more shooting sounds before setting the rifle down. He wandered back to the desk and then over to the pile of cloth.

Zach’s sudden yell made me hit my head against the cave wall as I jerked up to see what was going on. Pointing at the cloth, Zach said, “Holy shit! Look at that!”

When I looked closer at the pile of cloth, I found that it was more than that. It was a skeleton wearing a Japanese army uniform lying in a crumpled heap. The pistol lying under the desk told the rest of the story. “He must have committed suicide after hearing of the surrender.”

“Or when he realized nobody was going to find him.”

Laughing, I said, “Don’t be so melodramatic! Look what I just found!” I swung a case I had just opened to where Zach could see it. “A pair of binoculars! And a box that’s hermetically sealed. Look! A flare pistol and six flares.”

Zach grabbed the pistol and one of the flares. “Let’s see if they still work!” He quickly left the cave and began scrambling to the peak of the small hill.

It was a great view if you enjoyed looking at nothing but unbroken views of ocean. No where was any other patch of land that could be seen.

“Shouldn’t we save those?” I asked.

“We need to know if they work. We still have five others.” Zach loaded the flare gun and lifted it over his head.

“What if it explodes?”

Zach moved his hand as far as he could from his face and aimed it slightly at an angle. He closed his eyes and grimaced as he pulled the trigger. There was a crack followed by a fizzy sound as the flare skittered across the sky and a pop as it exploded in a brilliant ball of light that slowly glided earthward.

“The fuckin’ thing works!” exclaimed Zach as he watched the flare float down to the sea. “We might get off this rock after all!”

* * *

We spent the rest of the day building our shelter. We set up our camp just around the corner from where the cave was, hoping the hill would give us protection against the wind and rains. We thought the floor of the cave would just be too hard and cold to try sleeping on. There were a couple of blankets that were still usable in the cave. Using ropes we found, along with sticks and palm fronds, we constructed a lean-to. It wasn’t too bad and we could always add to it later. We made sure we weren’t going to be flooded during high tide.

We gathered rocks and made a fire pit. All we needed was some flint and dry wood. In the cave, we found that our Japanese friend left us flint and steel to start a fire. I joked with Zach that the only way it could get any easier for us would be for a cruise ship to arrive.

And speaking of Zach, seeing him walk around shirtless, his muscles gleaming from sweat was almost too much for me to take. He’d glare at me if he caught me staring at him. For the millionth time I cursed the fates that made me male.

* * *

“That’s a gorgeous sunset,” I said from my seat of sand and palm leaves, as the sun sank below the horizon.

“After five or ten years, you’ll be used to it,” said Zach sitting next to me. “We should try to catch some fish tomorrow. If I knew how to clean and gut them. That fruit will only go so far.”

“No problem there. I know how.” I said smiling at Zach.

He got up and stepped into our lean-to and started to lie down. “I knew you were going to say that. I’m tired. ‘Night.” He was instantly asleep.

I stayed up for a while, watching the sky grow dark, then ablaze with stars. I watched Zach sleep.

* * *

A thunderstorm came up abruptly during the night waking me with a jolt. The lightning was very bright and quite frightening. Rain pelted our lean-to and the winds managed to whistle around us. The thunder pounded and crackled across the sky.

I wanted so bad for Zach to hold me…to comfort me during the storm. He didn’t even wake up.

* * *

The next day, there were more coconuts on the ground and palm leaves scattered about. When I started tidying up around our camp, Zach just laughed, picked up the binoculars and said he was going to the top of the hill to watch for ships.

Other than watching Zach flounder around in the shallow lagoon trying to catch a fish trapped there not much happened during the day. The following day was more of the same. It has only been a few days and already they were starting to blur together. We were existing and not much else. And Zach never caught that fish.

The morning of our fourth day, I was making my normal walk around the island, I spotted some boxes of some sort had washed up on the beach where we had. Excitedly, I ran over to them.

I was surprised to see that it was luggage. Expensive luggage at that. There was a soaked tag on the handle of one of the pieces of luggage. It was smeared, but I could make out the name “Tamara Greenwood”. It was Zach’s girlfriend’s luggage and that could only mean one thing. They weren’t locked and I popped them open.

My heart leaped when I saw bras, panties, dresses, skirts and her make-up kit, all protected by the luggage’s tight seal. This was almost better than a yacht waiting to pick us up. Her clothes were always so nice.

I took a quick look over my shoulder. Zach was no where to be seen as he usually spent the day at the top of the hill under a makeshift umbrella we made to protect him from the sun. Quickly, I pulled off my t-shirt and jeans and found a sexy, lacy pair of red nylon panties. I slipped them on and was instantly in heaven. I found the matching bra. Her clothes weren’t an exact fit, but it was close. There was a pretty, floral print sundress that I just had to try on. There were several pairs of shoes and I put on a pair of high heeled sandals.

I rummaged through the make-up and found a nice rose pink lipstick that I put on immediately. I don’t know what I looked like, but I felt gorgeous! It was a little hard with the heels on, but I managed to start dancing with my eyes closed and shaking my butt.

“What the fuck are you doing??!” asked an incredulous Zach from somewhere behind me with his mouth hanging open.

Foolishly, I tried to hide the luggage with my skinny body. “What?” I said stupidly as I turned around.

Zach pointed at me angrily and shouted, “That! That girl shit! What the fuck are you doing?” He stepped up close to me and jabbed his finger at my face and growled, “I had you pegged for a twinkie from the start. I ought to…hey! That’s Tamara’s shit. Where did you get that? And why are you in it?”

Nervously I said, “It…it must have washed up on the beach last night.” Fingering the neckline of the sundress I continued, “And. And…and…y’know. I was bored.” I shrugged.

“Bored? What kind of stupid answer is that?” lashed out Zach. “Nobody puts on a dress because they’re bored! And get out of Tamara’s clothes before you ruin them!”

“I’m just having some fun. Not like there’s a lot to do here!” I said trying to sound reasonable.

Zach suddenly scowled and shouted, “Look! I don’t want to share this island with some transceptual or whatever. Get off my island!”

“Your island?” I said incredulously. “And just where do you expect me to go?”

Zach frowned a bit harder and then said, “Ok. Well then, you stay on the east side of the island and I’ll stay on the west.”

“Fine!” I shouted. “I don’t want to share this island with a gender bigot!”

Zach jabbed a finger at me and shouted, “You better not come crawling back to me twink-boy, begging me to take you back in. Starving or not, I’ll kick your ass!”

As I closed up Tamara’s luggage and hefted it up to move it more into the east side of the island I shouted, “Fine! And I hope your side of the island sinks!” And with that, I stormed off, headed for the east side of the island.

* * *

Needless to say, I was furious with Zach. How could he banish me to one side of the island? He saw me as a girl and rejected me. Well, maybe to him, he didn’t see me as a girl, with my longish hair greasy, matted, tangled and lying limp on my head, my face, legs and arms smeared with dirt and I didn’t use a mirror to apply my lipstick so I’m sure I looked like a mess.

Still.

Calling me names and wanting to vote me off the island because I was wearing a dress was ridiculous. I had no idea Zach was such an asshole. Well, he can just rot on his side of the island for all I cared!

* * *

Zach graciously allowed me to get water from the cave spring, but only if I wore pants to do so. First order of business was to wash that matted mop on my head and do a general clean up. I found a nice spot where I could set up a shelter and enough loose rocks to build a fire pit. For an afternoon’s work, I think I got a fairly comfortable camp set up.

He might have thought he was punishing me, and while I did miss seeing Zach for the next several days, I was in heaven, if you don’t count the rocks under the thin layer of sand where I made my bed, the bugs, the thunderstorms, being chased out of my camp by crabs and having my camp flooded by high tide. No, Zach wasn’t punishing me at all. I couldn’t wait to pull everything out of Tamara’s luggage.

I tried on everything in Tamara’s luggage I could squeeze myself into. I practiced with her make-up until I think I got it down pretty good. I painted my toenails and played with my hair, trying out different styles. I put on a bikini and went swimming in the ocean. And even though the hair was light, I shaved my legs and underarms. Thank God she packed a safety razor. Thankfully I don’t have much facial hair, but what I have, I got rid of daily.

When I wasn’t being girly, I was gathering various fruits and discovered an area of the beach where I dug up a clam or two. I went to a clam bake once on a California vacation. Hopefully I could remember how to cook them. I also found a few spots where the sand on the beach had been recently disturbed. I dug through the sand and discovered a pile of sea turtle eggs. Just the thought of scrambled eggs made my mouth water. I shook my head and covered the eggs back up.

My life was hardly exciting. I played dress up, lay on my back eating fruit and looking at shapes in the clouds and always kept an eye out on the ocean for a possible passing ship. To avoid Zach, I’d usually wait until dark to get spring water.

* * *

I was stretched out on the beach wearing a tank top, and a short denim skirt along with make-up, a bra and panties of course, lying in the cool shade of a palm tree, when I saw Zach approach. It’d been a week since I was banished from his side of the island and almost that long since I’d seen him last. He was looking a little gaunt, a little sunburned and even though he was starting to grow a beard, he was still gorgeous. Did I say that?

I stood up and stepped towards him as he got near. I shook my hair to get it to move out of my face as it cascaded about my shoulders. He looked at me with a funny look on his face. He was wearing the Japanese army helmet.

He stopped a few feet from me and after a moment said, “Wow. You look..um..you look, um…nice.” He swallowed, and then continued, “You look very nice.” He fell silent and just stared at me.

“Thank you, Zach.” I looked at him with a questioning expression, my head tilted to one side. “Did you come all the way over here just say that?”

He paused for a moment, looked thoughtfully at the ground and then back at me as he said, “No…no. I uh, I came to apologize to you Alex. I was wrong. I’m lonely, and I’m starving.” He spread his arms in a gesture of disbelief as he continued, “And look at you. You’re…you’re..really ho…um…really, um really nice.”

I smiled at him. I looked at Zach, asking me to return, standing there shirtless, hair unkempt, a stubbly face and wearing a Japanese helmet. I never had a stronger desire for a camera in my life. I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

His expression dropped to one of disappointment and his shoulders slumped. I quickly said, “Sorry. I wasn’t laughing at your apology or offer to take me back. I really would like to come back and we can share all of the island. Just one condition though.”

He frowned and said, “What?”

“That I can keep dressing like this without any rude comments from you.” I stood there with my hands on my hips.

Zach smiled and said, “Oh, no problem there. In fact, I insist.”

* * *

I almost felt like I had returned home. It was great to be back in our camp again. Everything looked the same, which it should since I was only gone a week. Still, it did need some tidying up.

For my “homecoming”, I thought I’d make something special for dinner as now I knew where to find clams and I desperately wanted to get revenge on some crabs. Even before the banishment, Zach had nominated me as chief cook and bottle washer. And now, I was officially the maid as well. As long as he doesn’t think of me as his Mom…

Zach was going to be on look-out duty most of the day. We took turns scanning the sea. Anyway, I had plenty of time on my hands and I gathered up the necessary rocks, dug the pit to bake the clams in, and then lined the pit with the rocks and started the fire to heat the rocks. We were going to be missing a number of ingredients, but it’s a long walk to the store.

I had a terrible time chasing the crabs around the beach. And when I caught one, I hated holding them. I don’t know how many times I slipped and fell on the beach chasing crabs and watching the crabs skitter away to freedom as I lifted myself up off the beach.

I had removed the fire and put the clams into the pit to start cooking, and the crabs where boiling in a pot left over from World War Two when I noticed the position of the sun. I had to hurry as Zach would be climbing down from his perch at the top of the hill before too much longer. I hurried to Tamara’s luggage and dug out her slinky black dress. I know it sounds goofy, but I wanted to look special for Zach for this special dinner. I felt like I was inviting my boyfriend over for dinner.

I laid the dress out on the floor of our lean to, along with black lacy panties and matching bra. I even slipped into a pair of pantyhose so my legs would look good. I didn’t bother with heels as it just made walking in the loose sand rather difficult. With the make-up, I went for my “evening” look, with smoky eye shadow and black eye-liner. Checking a compact’s mirror, I had to admit to myself that I looked like any typical teen-age girl.

I hurried back to the fire pits and laid out a blanket like a table cloth, complete with mess kits in place of the fine china. I was just checking on the crabs when Zach returned to the camp. He stopped a short distance away and just stared. Not sure if he was looking at me or the food.

He walked up to stand right next to me and said, “Holy shit, Alex! This is great! It must have taken you all day to prepare this.”

I dismissed his comment with a wave of my hand as I said, “It’s just something I tossed together. I hope you like it.”

In the slanting rays of the sinking sun, we sat next to each other on the blanket. We laughed and giggled as I hand fed Zach crab meat and fruit. Everything tasted great considering what I had to work with and my limited domestic experience. I caught Zach studying me a few times. I’d smile and he’d smile back.

“That’s a beautiful sunset.” I said, as the sun started to slide below the horizon. We were sitting by the campfire feeling comfortable and dreamy from finally having our hunger satisfied.

Zach didn’t say anything for a moment. He just looked at me, our faces reddened by the fading rays of the setting sun. He reached up and touched my cheek, then slid a finger down the side of my face, brushing strands of hair out of the way. “You’re a beautiful girl, Alex. No, seriously.”

I smiled at him as he ran his fingers down through my hair. “Thank you, Zach,” I said as a chill ran down my spine. I found myself moving a bit closer to him.

Zach put one arm around my shoulders and leaned in a bit. “I was crazy not to see it before. I mean, just look at you! You’re gorgeous, you’re a great cook. You’re smart. You’re funny…” He paused a moment as he just smiled at me. He ran a finger down the bridge of my nose.

And then, before I could even react, his lips pressed into mine. He pulled me closer to him as his tongue slid into my mouth. He kissed me with a pent up passion that almost overwhelmed me. I put my arms around his neck as we slid from a sitting position, to lying in the sand. The desire for each other became insatiable. We kissed and writhed in the sand and before I knew it, I was down to my bra and panties. Zach was pressing his raging hard-on into my panties.

He rolled me over and quickly removed my panties. And in one, unfortunately painful thrust, I gladly gave my virginity to Zach.

* * *

I saw Zach start to stir as I fought to keep breakfast from sliding off the make-shift grill I’d made from a sheet of scrap metal from the cave. My ass still hurt, but I didn’t mind. I smiled at the thought of last night.

“Wake up, sleepy head!” I called. “Time for breakfast!”

Zach snorted, looked up with one eye barely open and grunted out “Huh?”

The sun was already climbing into the sky. I walked over to where he was sleeping and nudged him with my toe. “I said, time for breakfast.”

He raised his head and mumbled, “Breakfast?” He sniffed the air and then started to raise himself. “What is that?”

He stood up and walked over to where I was just about to finish cooking. “Are those eggs? Where? How?” He frowned and said, “Are those…?”

I started scraping off the largest portion into Zach’s mess kit. I said, “Yes, they’re sea turtle eggs.”

Zach shook his head and said, “Mr. Ramos is going to kill you when we get back.” Mr. Ramos was the environmental science teacher that Zach and I had had together this past semester.

I handed Zach his mess kit and said, “Mr. Ramos isn’t stranded on a speck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He can just go fuck himself.”

Zach wolfed down the eggs so quickly, I wonder if he even tasted them. I said, “I only took a few and I we can’t have these every day. I’m not sure when they start to turn into little turtles.”

Zach just shrugged and said, “Well, we have to live too. That was great Honey. Who knew you were such a great cook. Wonderful dinner last night, and breakfast this morning.”

I laughed and said, “Well, my Dad always kept trying to make me an outdoorsm…um…woman. He gets some credit.” Did Zach just call me “Honey”?

Zach stepped up to me, put his arms around my neck and said, “You’re Dad isn’t here so you get all of it.” He bent his head and gave me a long, deep kiss. “I think I can we make a go of it here,” he said after he pulled away. He then picked up his helmet, a couple of coconuts for something to drink and started climbing back up to his perch on the hill top.

* * *

The next few days, or was it years? Who knew for sure? But it’s pure heaven. We had sex every day it seemed. It no longer hurt. We ate well, but tried not to over indulge as the island could only give us so much. The days blurred and I felt my crush on Zach turning into love that only grew so much deeper every day.

I pampered Zach as much as I could, massaging his feet, giving him baths, bringing him fruit while he was on look-out duty on the hill top. And though we missed movies, T.V., computer games and hanging out at the mall, we didn’t crave them like I thought we would. Sure, it got boring at times, but otherwise our lives seemed so perfect that sometimes I hoped we wouldn’t be rescued. In fact, one night on the beach, when I could tell Zach was almost about to release, I thought I saw a light on the horizon. It might have been a ship. But I didn’t want to spoil the moment, so I said nothing…

* * *

We laid on the beach, feeling satisfied and looking at the stars. I could never get over just how bright the night sky was on our little rock in the ocean. Zach had caught a fish in the shallow lagoon and we had it for dinner. Life had become routine for us on the island. And even though I’m sure it had only been at most two months, our old lives seemed as remote as if they had been on Mars.

“We’re incredibly lucky. “ Zach said matter-of-factly. “You know that, don’t you?”

“Oh, most definitely,” I agreed. “Just landing on the island at all was luck. The island having enough dirt on it to support palm trees and other plants was luck. And the island being a Japanese outpost was luck.”

Zach laughed, “And you knowing how to cook is the biggest luck of all! If any of those pieces were missing, we’d be up shit creek. In a way, we’re lucky it’s you who are here and not Tamara. I don’t have to worry about you getting pregnant. I can fuck you all I want with no worries.” He chuckled.

I jumped up, suddenly incensed. “What did you say? Am I just a fuck toy? Are you only happy I’m here so your precious Tamara won’t get pregnant? I thought maybe we were having sex because you loved me!”

Zach sat up just as suddenly, a look of cluelessness stretched across his star-lit face. “Babe! Of course I love you! I enjoy sex with you. It isn’t exactly like we’re up to our armpits in real girls here, you know. You do have a great ass and all, and what’s wrong with pointing out that as a bonus, you can’t get pregnant?”

In shock, I start random screaming, “What are you talking about? No real girls? I make love to you almost every night. I give you my heart, and all I am to you is a convenient fuck?”

Zach laughed as he said, “You think you’re a real girl? Are you serious? You must be out in the sun too much. Do real girls have a pussy? Yes. Do you have a pussy? No. I think that ends the discussion!”

“Get out!” I screamed. “Get away from me. Just get out of here!”

“We’re on an island, twink-boy,” laughed Zach. “You’re about as dumb as a real girl!” He reached out towards me.

Tears streaming down my face, I took a step backwards and shouted, “Don’t touch me! Stay away from me! Just get away from me! I don’t care where you go, just go!” I stood there, pointing in some random direction. I was so upset I was shaking.

“Okay, bitch! But I should be kicking you out of my camp.” As Zach picked up his blanket and started to walk away in the darkness, he said, “I honest-to-God wish it had been Tamara, and not you that washed up on the beach that day!”

I just stood there crying, my whole body wracking with sobs.

* * *

The sun was already quite high in the sky when I awoke. I was laying in an awkward position. I don’t even remember laying down. I finally rolled over and saw Zach leaning against a palm tree and staring at me.

“I thought I told you to get lost,” I said, not having enough strength to yell.

“You can’t get lost on this island.” He took a step towards me and said, “Look. I want to apologize for last night. I said a lot of really stupid things and I’m terribly sorry.”

I stood up and sounding really bitchy, I said, “You’re right. You did say a lot of stupid things. And you should be sorry. But this is now officially a no-fuck zone. So you need to go away.” I folded my arms.

Zach frowned and said, “I really am very sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said last night. It’s just the frustration of being stuck on this island. Yes, all our basic needs are met right now. But for how long? And don’t you ever yearn for something more? We might be on this island for the rest of our lives! That’s scary, even when you’re with some one love very deeply.”

“Nice speech. Now get lost.” I tapped my foot.

Zach gestured with his arm. “Come here, I want to show you something.”

“Can’t you bring it here?”

“No. Come with me, please.” Zach pleaded. “I just want you to see something.”

I shrugged, rolled my eyes and said, “Fine!”

He led me to a group of trees near the cave. In front of me was a large coconut, stuck on a stick and the coconut was wearing the Japanese helmet. Another stick had been tied across the first one to resemble arms. Palm leaves had been wrapped around the sticks to seem as if there was someone wearing a leafy jacket. There were two short rows of coconuts on the ground.

I pointed at it and asked, “What the crap is this?”

“Now give me your hand,” I hesitated and he pleaded, “Please?”

Frowning, I let him take my hand. He then started speaking in a strange voice I guessed was supposed to be the coconut with the helmet talking. “My friends, we are gathered here to day to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony…”

I pulled my hand away and said, “Are you nuts? What do you think you’re doing?”

“Just hear me out, okay?” He took my hand again.

In the strange voice he continued, “Zachary, do you promise to love and cherish Alex for as long as you both shall live on this island?”

“I do.”

In the strange voice he said, “Place the ring on her finger and repeat after me. With this ring I do wed.”

“With this ring, I do wed.” Zach slid an O-ring from some equipment in the cave onto my finger. He placed another O-ring into my hand.

Again using the weird voice he said, “And do you Alex, promise to love and cherish Zachary for as long as you both shall live on this island?”

I hesitated. I looked into Zach’s eyes. He was looking at me so earnestly. He seemed to be taking this all very seriously. I smiled at him. He’d gone to a lot of trouble for this. I stood there in the dirty wrinkled dress I was wearing last night, my hair disheveled. I said, “I do.”

“Place this ring on his finger and repeat after me. With this ring I do wed.”

“With this ring, I do wed. I slid the O-ring onto Zach’s finger.

“By the Power of Gray Skull, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Um, you may kiss the bride.”

“I love you, baby.” Zach put his hands on either side of my head, tilted his head towards me and gave me a long, deep, passionate kiss.

* * *

Things went back to normal after our “wedding” with the exception that Zach said “I love you” more often and meant it sincerely. He never mentioned Tamara again and started treating me more like a woman.

Over the weeks, our relationship grew deeper. We still had disagreements, but they were usually resolved quickly after I pointed out to Zach that he was wrong.

Even though our lives had fallen into a routine, we were doing more than just existing and we were happy. The island had become a home. Our lean-to had grown to a somewhat more elaborate shelter. And slowly but surely, we learned to manage the resources of our island. We could easily live here for the rest of our lives.

* * *

“Come here, you!” Zach laughed as he reached out to grab me while chasing me in the water at the northern beach. I let out a short scream as I lost my footing and fell onto the sand in the shallow water. Zach leaped on top of me and shouted, “Ah-ha! I got you!”

I pretended to fight him off as he pulled down my black bikini bottoms and tossed up onto the dry sand. “Get away from me, you beast!” I giggled as he tried to kiss me.

I finally surrendered to his desires as he slid his tongue deep into my mouth. We laid there, kissing and fondling each other as the ocean waves rolled up the beach and slid back into the sea. It was mid-morning and instead of going to his look out spot on top of the hill, he had been feeling a bit frisky.

A wave splashed over our heads, causing us to gasp and sputter, so we decided to move up under the palm trees. As we laid there in the shade, I massaged his hardness through his pants, soaked through from playing in the ocean. I pulled open his pants and grabbed his cock as I bent over and took him into my mouth…

* * *

“You are wonderful,” Zach said after I had retrieved my bikini bottoms and we started walking to the hill, hand in hand. “I love you so much.” He bent down slightly and gave me a quick kiss.

We walked silently to the hill, each deep in our own thoughts. Zach started to climb up. I watched him go about halfway when he suddenly stopped. He shouted “Oh my God! Alex! Up here quick!” He stared out into the ocean for a few moments and then shouted as he scurried to the top, “Get the flare gun out of the cave!”

My heart stopped and I swallowed hard. What had he seen that I couldn’t from sea level? I hurried up to the cave, scraping my bare legs on the rocks. Once inside the cave, I panicked as I couldn’t remember where the flare gun case was. I found it under the desk and hurried back out and started climbing up to the top.

Excitedly, Zach pointed off to the horizon. I shielded my eyes from the glare of the sun and looked out. Right on the horizon, about to disappear below it were two ships. I couldn’t tell what they were. Zach was looking with the binoculars. He said, “They look like military. Hand me the flare gun!”

I fumbled with the case, too excited to function properly. I pulled out the flare gun and loaded a flare into it and handed the gun to Zach.

As he raised the gun high, he said, “Oh God, please see this! Please see this!” He pulled the trigger and there was just a click. Nothing happened. The ships were sinking further down the horizon.

“It’s a dud! Fuck! Hand me another one!”

I pulled another flare from the case and handed it to Zach. He raised the gun again and pulled the trigger. Again, a click, but along with a fizzing sound. I yelled, “Unload that flare, quick!”

He pulled it out and tossed it over the side of the hill where it burst into flames and then just popped.

A look of anguish flashed across Zach’s face. “Oh my God. Did we use the only good one for the test shot? Hand me another one.”

There were only two left in the box. I handed him the next one. Zach loaded it, raises the gun high, closed his eyes and said, “Oh God please work…” He pulled the trigger.

There was a loud crack and a fizzle sound as the flare shot high into the air and a bright dot suddenly appeared in the sky and then began to drift slowly down.

We both had stopped breathing as we watched the flare soar into the air. Now our attention was turned towards the ships as they were about to disappear.

Zach started muttering, “Please see it! Please see it! Please, please, please.”

I held onto Zach’s hand tightly. I was visibly shaking. This might be our only chance ever to get off our island. The whole gamut of emotions rushed through my body. I prayed that we were about to be rescued, and fearful that Zach wouldn’t be mine any more.

We kept staring at the ships. I’m not sure what we expected to see. But suddenly a flare shot up from the direction of the ships. Zach started jumping up and down and shouting, “They saw us!”

We grabbed each other and started jumping up and down on the top of the hill. Zach gave me a long passionate kiss. “Oh my God, Honey, we’re finally getting off this island!” I laughed and hugged him tightly.

Then suddenly Zach stiffened. He pushed me gently away. He said, “Go find the clothes you wore when you washed ashore that day. Get out of that bikini.” He pulled a bikini strap back and said, “Ah shit, you have tan lines and nail polish. Nothing we can do about that I guess. Go change, hurry.”

I just stood there a moment, dazed by Zach’s sudden change and anger when we should be celebrating by hugging and kissing. In fact, I tried to put my arms around his neck and kiss him. “Zach. This should be the happiest day of our lives if we’re actually rescued. My love for you doesn’t need an island to hold my heart. I’ll love you anywhere.” I brought my lips close to his.

Coldly, he pulled my arms away from him and he took a step back. He then pointed aggressively at me with his finger. “Listen, you ever breathe a word of what happened here between you and me, and you will be in a world of hurt. That’s a promise.”

Tears started flowing as I looked up at Zach. “Zach? I..I love you…”

Angrily he shouted, “Go!” I started to protest and just pointed down towards the camp and said, “Go.”

I cried all the way down the hill towards the camp. Why was he treating me this way? Just minutes before I was making love to him and now he completely rejects my love. I collapsed in our shelter and cried with heaving sobs. I suddenly and irrationally hated those ships. We were happy! We could have been happy forever on our island! And now that happiness was being destroyed.

I pulled my jeans and t-shirt out of Tamara’s luggage where I had stored them. I just stood there in my bikini for a few minutes, looking around our camp…our home for past few months. To think that at first, we both wanted nothing more than to get off this rock in the middle of an ocean and now I was sad looking around at it, probably for the very last time.

Halfway to the top of the hill, I could see a Navy helicopter heading towards us. Zach leaned over the cliff edge and called to me, “Are you coming? They’re sending a chopper for us!”

Zach glanced at me and winced. “Sheesh. You still look like a girl. People are going to talk.” He kept shifting nervously from one foot to the other.

I frowned as I said, “You’re secret is safe with me. I love you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

He put his hands on his head in a frustrated gesture and said through clenched teeth, “Will you please stop saying that!?”

My nostrils flaring, I just said, “Fine!”

We both waved our arms in the air as the large gray helicopter approached. We could see from the marking that it was an American Navy helicopter. It turned out the two ships we saw were the tail end of a carrier group. As it got near, our hair and the grass on top of the hill started blowing around wildly. From a P.A. system on the helicopter a voice said, “There’s no place on the island for us to land. We’re sending someone down with a cable.”

A few minutes later, someone hooked themselves to a cable and he was lowered down to us. The helicopter was very loud and the prop-wash continued to blow dirt and other debris in our faces. A moment later, a man was on the ground and though he unhooked himself from the cable, he continued to hold the slack cable which I could now see had a harness on the end. We ran up to him.

Zach cried out, “Thank God you’re here!”

The helmeted man still had his visor down so it was hard to see his face. He shouted over the din of the helicopter, “I’m Petty Officer Owens. What is your situation?”

Zach shouted back, “We’re so glad to see you!” Then Zach tried to sound all official in saying, “I’m Zachary Carlisle and we’re American high school students. Our plane crashed in the ocean in June. We washed up on this island.” Petty Officer Owens nodded. Zach shouted a few more details to Owens.

Owens touched the side of his helmet for a moment then talked to someone apparently on the radio. “Yes sir. Two American teens.” He paused a moment to look at both of us and continued, “About seventeen or eighteen. One male, one female. Survivors of the Transworld crash last June. Both appear in good health. Yes sir.”

Zach made no attempt to correct Owens on my gender. Owens gestured to me to get into the harness. “We’re going to take you up one at a time using this harness. Ladies first.” I smiled at him as he helped me with the harness. Owens made a gesture at the helicopter and with a sudden jerk in my underarms, I was lifted from the surface of the hill and started swaying back and forth as I was reeled up to the helicopter.

After I was free of the harness, they started lowering it back down to get Zach. I was shaking. It was all just too much for me. I was totally dazed. Overjoyed at finally going home and heartbroken at Zach’s sudden behavior.

One of the helicopter’ s crew held out a blanket towards me and said, “Would you like a blanket, miss?” I nodded and wrapped it around my shoulders. I hoped the crew of the ship that rescued us wouldn’t make a fuss when they discovered I wasn’t quite a real girl. I decided I didn’t care. I was going home.

* * *

“I need you all to squeeze in just a little bit more.”

There was some giggling as we all pressed closer into each other. All the survivors of the crash, including the flight crew, were having our picture taken at the reunion party. One year ago, we all had experienced unspeakable terror together.

In front of us so it could be included in the picture, was a table with photographs of the five students who didn’t survive, two of which were never found. There were also pictures of the pilots whose last act was to push a flight attendant out the emergency hatch just before the plane disappeared beneath the waves. They were never found. Also on the table was a surprise. A picture of the Japanese soldier we’d found sent to us from a grateful family. Zach got to keep the helmet.

The Navy also recovered Tamara’s luggage. I was surprised when they sent it to me. What Tamara doesn’t know won’t hurt her.

Zach would barely look at me at the party. My hair was still long, but I was dressed like most of the other guys. It was a semi-formal party with a big dinner and dance and was held at the fanciest hotel in town. I listened to Zach exaggerate and well, outright lie about his exploits on the island. He made no mention of those nights when we made passionate love to one another under the blazing night sky. Or us getting married. But I doubt being married by a coconut would be recognized by most states.

I needed some air, so I quietly moved to one of the doors that opened onto the wide veranda overlooking the city below. No one was out there and I walked over to the edge of the veranda and watched the city lights. My reverie was broken by the sound of footsteps approaching. I turned to see Zach walking towards me.

He stepped next to be at the edge of the veranda and took in the view for a moment before saying, “I hoped I could talk to you alone sometime tonight.”

I shrugged and said, “I’m being good Zach. I’ve told no one about our relationship on the island.”

He smiled nervously and said, “Well, that’s what I want to talk about.” I looked at him curiously and he continued, “I never got to say good-bye and properly thank the one person who made those months on the island bearable.”

He stepped closer to me, plucked a flower from one of the planters lining the edge of the veranda, and placed it in my hair over my ear. He said, “Again, I was stupid and didn’t take the opportunity to say a proper good-bye to my wife and lover.”

He shocked me by bending his head towards me and parted his lips and closed his eyes. I put my arms around his neck, closed my eyes and felt the breeze coming over the veranda blow playfully through my hair. Once again we stood on that island as his lips pressed into mine. Our tongues caressed each other as he kissed me deeply.

He slowly pulled away and looked intently into my eyes. “Thank you so much, for being my wife and for being a real girl for me.”

I fought back tears as I said, “You’re welcome Zach. I would have been happy with you on that island forever.” I reached up and gave him another kiss.

He took a step back and we just looked at each other for a few moments. Suddenly we heard the door to the veranda open and a feminine voice call out, “Oh, there you are!”

I quickly reached up and pulled the flower from my hair. Zach turned around and said, “Oh, hi Tamara.”

Smiling her clueless smile, Tamara asked, “What are you two doing out here?” She looked at Zach and said, “They’re about to start the dancing.”

Zach smiled broadly and slipped his arm around Tamara’s waist and said, “Oh, we were just talking about the island and how hellish it was there.” He turned and winked at me.

Tamara frowned at her hair being tossed around and said, “It’s too breezy out here. Let’s go back inside.”

Zach smiled and said, “Sure.” Tamara took his arm and they walked back inside. I just stood there for several minutes after the door closed.

I picked the flower up from the veranda floor that Zach had put in my hair. I lifted it to my nose and deeply inhaled its delicate fragrance as I closed my eyes and felt the breeze stir my hair. I could almost see the sun setting on an endless ocean and hear the waves lap against the beach and feel the soft kiss of my lover as we lay in the sand.

I stood there on the veranda for a long time, and smiled.

* * *

The End

 
 

Copyright  © 2011
 

“Hello, miss?”

“Whatcha mean, miss?”

“Sorry. I have a cold…”

“Hello miss?....miss?”

Looking up with a start from the Monty Python sketch playing on my smart-phone, I saw a sandy haired boy around my age standing next to the bench I was sitting on. I recognized him from high school and from my English class here at Archibald Leach University. Brad something.

“Yes?” I said, looking up at him while shielding my eyes from the fall morning sun.

He gave me a nervous smile as his face reddened. He said, “Honest, this isn’t a line. But this is driving me crazy. You look soooo familiar. I know I’ve seen you before, it’s like I know you and don’t know you.”

I smiled at him and said, “I don’t think you’re going to pick up many girls with that line, Brad.”

His face reddened even more. “See? You know my name!”

“We’re in the same class together, remember?”

“Oh. Yeah. But still. I recognize you from somewhere.”

I hesitated at first. I really didn’t want to risk getting beat up by some drooler if it became widely known. There were already some people on campus who knew, so I just said what the heck. “I think we had a couple of classes together in high school. I’m Alex Hughes.”

Brad sat down next to me with an odd expression on his face. “You can’t be Alex Hughes. He’s a boy. In fact, he was one of two boys stuck on that island for three months. So quit foolin’.”

Giggling, I said, “I am Alex. I’m transitioning to being female.”

“Bull shit!” barked Brad, probably louder than he intended. “Sorry. But I mean, you’re so pretty and all.”

I said, “It’s true. And thanks. I’ve gotten my named changed and the college, after pressure from my lawyer, let me register as a girl.”

Brad just shook his head as he looked me up and down. “That’s amazing. I really thought you were a girl.”

“I am a girl.”

“No, I mean…you know, like born that way.” Brad was obviously outside his comfort zone. “Have you got your junk cut off then?”

I shook my head. “I still have all my parts…for now. I’m trying to save up money for it.”

Brad looked at the ground for a few moments before looking at me again. “Do you have time to head over to Starbucks before your next class? We can talk there.”

Actually, I was shocked Brad hadn’t run away screaming yet. I glanced down at phone and pressed the command button. The time displayed momentarily. “Yes, I have some time.”

* * *

“So, did that Zach guy know you’re a tranny?” Brad asked after we sat down with our drinks.

I frowned at him and said, “I don’t like being called that.” I could spill the beans and ruin Zach’s life, but I did make a promise. “No, Zach had no idea.” I looked at the lipstick smudge on my cup. It still tickles me to see my lipstick on a cup or a straw because, well, it means I’m wearing lipstick and not hiding.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything. I’ve never met a …um…girl…like you before.” Brad studied his cup a moment.

There was a long, uncomfortable lull in the conversation. I was about to say that I needed to get to my next class when Brad finally spoke.

“Um, would you be interested in going to a movie or something Friday night?” Brad studied his cup again.

Sitting there in utter shock, I said in disbelief, “Did you just ask me out?”

“Yeah, I hope that’s okay.” Brad said. “Sorry, I just assumed you liked guys. I’m just stupid, you know.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay. I like guys.” Those last three words came out slowly. I had never uttered those three words in public before. It felt like a great weight had slid off my shoulders.

Brad’s eyes brightened a little. He said, “That’s great. So? Do you want to go out?”

I smiled at him and said, “Sure. I’d love to.”

Brad smiled back at me. “Great! Thanks. Can I have you phone number?”

I nodded and told him my number as he typed it into his own phone. He then gave me his phone number.

Brad then said, “Hey, I’m going to be late. Thanks! I’ll give you a call later.” He slugged down the rest of his drink and got up from his chair. He waved and went outside.

I just sat there for a few moments, slowly finishing my drink smiling to no one in particular. I had a feeling I was going to enjoy college.

* * *

The End

“I can’t believe that you’re stressing out over a date.”

I continued looking into the mirror as I replied to Ashley, my roommate, “What do you mean? I’m not stressing out.”

Ashley laughed and said, “That’s the third time you’ve put on eye-liner.”

I smirked at Ashley’s reflection in the mirror. “It’s not stressing to want it straight. I want everything to be perfect tonight!”

Ashley pulled a chair up to my desk and straddled it backwards, draping her arm on the chair back. After taking a drink from the water bottle she always seemed to carry, she said, “I really don’t understand why you’re fussing so much about a date. Shit girl, you were a fuck toy for what, two years on a desert island? There ain’t nothing he can do to you that you haven’t done a billion times already.” She took another drink of water.

I frowned as I turned to look at my roommate. The shock of hot pink hair, the you-couldn’t-possibly-wear-anymore eye make-up, blood red lipstick and black finger nails didn’t really get my notice any more. Although some of her tattoos and piercings were more than a little disturbing. The university claims up and down it was random selection, but I’m sure they felt better about having a girl like me room with an out-of-the-closet and well, over-the-top lesbian. And despite her fierce appearance, she was actually quite nice and we’d stayed up all night one night telling our personal, deep, dark secrets.

“We were on the island for less than three months.” I said as I picked up my mascara. “And this is different. Brad seems very nice.”

Ashley grinned a toothy grin as she said, “Dearie, boys are all the same. They just want to poke you and they really don’t care which hole.”

“Don’t be so gross. Brad isn’t like that. I’ve checked around and everyone seems to think he’s a decent guy. Maybe a bit too quiet and shy, but that’s okay by me.” I stopped talking so I could hold my mouth open to continue to apply my mascara.

“For you, girlie, I sure hope so.” Ashley leaned in closer as she said, “You know that chick that your old boyfriend Zach is fooking works at the theater you’re going to.”

I sighed. “Yes, I know. That sucks.”

Ashley shook her head and said, “Why does she bother you? Other than being an airhead, she seems okay.”

“It’s stupid, I know. I don’t even like Zach anymore, but back when I had a super major crush on him, she was the girl that stood in the way of my dream.” I started rummaging around my desktop, looking for the lipstick I had found earlier that I thought would be perfect for tonight.

Ashley rolled her eyes and said, “At least then, though I’m not so sure now…Zach was straight and you were a boy and she was hardly your competition. Get over it”

“You’re right.” I looked in the drawers and then back on the desktop, looking under some school work and magazines. I threw up my arms and sighed loudly in exasperation and just sat there staring blankly at the mirror.

Ashley held up an object in front of her and said, “Looking for this?”

Scowling, I snatched the lipstick from her hand. “Jerk!”

Ashley just giggled.

“Hi, Alex. You look really nice!” Brad met me outside the girls dorm and took my hand. After eleven o’clock at night, the grounds surrounding the girls dorms become off-limits to boys. But that doesn’t stop certain activities from happening anyway.

“Thank you, Brad. You look nice too!” I enjoyed him holding my hand. I smiled at him and said, “Isn’t it a beautiful day?” It was late September and still warm.

Brad gave my hand a squeeze and said, “Well, it just got a lot more beautiful.”

As we got into Brad’s pickup truck he said, “I thought we’d go to see “The Rental Bride.”

I smiled as I said, “Oh, good! I’ve been wanting to see that!” Well, I did…sort of. It was the latest comedy chick flick about a woman who does proxy weddings. I was hoping he’d take me to the latest action movie with Tommy Kincaid. But the chick flick should make for good snuggling.

Aside from a few comments about the weather or the music coming over the radio, we were pretty quiet on the way to the movie theater.

After we bought our tickets and walked inside, Brad handed me some money and asked, “Would you mind getting the snacks? I need to make a run to the restroom. Small popcorn and Coke for me.” And he dashed away. I looked and there was Tamara working concessions. I froze for a moment. Then I realized Ashley was right. She’s not now, or was she ever my competition. And with any luck, Brad would return before I was at the front of the line.

“Two small Cokes and Two small bags of popcorn,” I said to Tamara after she asked what I wanted. There didn’t seem to be any recognition, so maybe I’d be able to get away without any comment from her.

As she rang up the total and I handed her the money, Tamara started to look at me funny. Her eyes went wide as she said, “You’re Alex!”

I held my hand out waiting for the change and smiling said, “Yep, I’m her.”

As she plopped the change into my hand, she said shaking her head, “I’m not really all that surprised to see you in a skirt. Especially from what Zach told me about that little hell he had to live on.”

I should have just walked away at that moment, but instead I said, “Oh?”

Leaning on the counter, Tamara said, “Yeah. I mean, like it’s obvious now, but I never really thought you were gay. Zach said almost every night you begged him for sex. But my Zachy wasn’t going to be corrupted by your perversions. He’s stronger than that!”

I fought the urge to drag her over the counter and beat the living shinola out of her, but instead I said, “Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I’m not gay. I’m a woman.”

“Well, whatever you are, it’s disgusting that you thought you could pervert my Zach!”

Shaking my head, I turned and started to walk away just as some others started to get in the concessions line. I suddenly turned back around and walked up to the counter before she could ask the new customer what they wanted. I leaned across the counter, but said in a normal speaking voice, “Does Zach still have that little bend to the left that requires you to guide him in every time?” I turned away and headed for Brad who had just come out of the restroom. I wished I had had a camera to capture the expression on Tamara’s face.

Oblivious to the daggers coming from Tamara’s eyes, Brad took his drink and popcorn and we hurried to the screen where our movie was playing.

The movie was a typical romantic comedy about an upper crust New York dude falling in love with the woman who was standing in for his bride. Hilarity ensued. Still, Brad held my hand through most of it, and I got to rest my head on his shoulder. I could tell he wanted to kiss me. But he was so shy! It was endearing and frustrating at the same time.

As we exited the movie, I noticed Tamara was nowhere to be seen. If I had to guess, she was probably paying Zach a little visit.

During our drive to dinner, we had a bit more to talk about, having just watched a movie. He was still very quiet though and I started fearing he was deciding he didn’t like me that much. I tried not to let the suspicions cloud my mood.

Brad pulled his car into the parking lot of a small Thai restaurant. Looking through the windshield, I said honestly, “I’ve never been here before. I don’t think I’ve even heard of it.”

Grinning, Brad said, “Yeah. It’s not well known but it’s very good. And my uncle owns it. His wife is from Thailand. They met when he was in the service.”

“Cool.” I said as I stepped out of Brad’s car and into the cool evening air. I wished then I’d worn pants instead of this denim mini. Brad then put his arm around my shoulder and led me into the restaurant.

After we got our seats and placed our orders, Brad leaned forward a little and placed his hand over mine. He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand for a few moments before looking up at me.

“You’re very pretty. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem so…um delicate. I just can’t see how you managed on that island all that time.”

I laughed and said, “I’ve lost weight since being on the island last year.” Had that actually been a year ago? “Believe it or not, I gained weight on the island.”

Brad laughed. He had such a great laugh. “Now I find that hard to believe!”

“You’d be surprised how much food was available. We were very lucky, I guess.”

Brad smiled for a few seconds before it faded. He studied me for a few moments before saying, “Can I ask you a personal question? Seriously?”

I thought, oh no, here it comes. I said, “Well, you can ask…” I gave him a smile

Brad said, “You don’t have to answer if it’s too personal. I’m just curious. When did you decide you were a girl? You seem so natural.”

I really didn’t want to focus on this. I just wanted him to accept me as a girl. Not a girl with something extra, not a tranny, not a drag queen, just a normal nineteen year old girl. I said, “I didn’t really ‘decide’. This is just how I am. The only real decision was to stop lying and trying to be a normal boy and just be who I really was.”

Brad nodded and said, “I can accept that. I still find it hard to understand how someone can just…switch sides like that.”

I smiled at him and said, “Easy. I never really was on the ‘other side’ to begin with.”

Squeezing my hand, Brad said, “Well, I have to say, I’m very happy that you’re on ‘that’ side. Are you going to go further with this?”

I was surprised, but happy that he was still sitting at the table, holding my hand. I said, “You mean surgery? Like I told you the other day, I’m trying to save up for it. My counselor said that at this point, surgery, for me, is almost optional. I’m pretty much ‘there’. But I do want it because I don’t want to be reminded of who I was and I hope to have relationships as close to being female as I can.”

“Your counselor is right. You are there. You are a very pretty girl and I’m happy you went out with me tonight.”

I smiled and said, “Thanks for asking me. I’m having a good time.”

Brad parked his car outside the girls dormitories. It was after eleven o’clock and the university rules didn’t allow him to walk with me to my dorm building. He turned towards me and said, “I had a great time tonight, Alex. I really enjoyed being with you.”

My nerves were tingling. I didn’t know what to expect. If he just shook my hand and pushed me out the car, should I be disappointed? I said, “I had a great time too. You’re very nice.” Oh, I shouldn’t have said that. What if he was going to kiss me and now he won’t?

He looked away for a moment, and then he looked in my general direction. It was as if he couldn’t focus for a moment. Finally me looked up at me and said, “Thanks. I..uh..I’d like to do this again sometime. If you want.”

I thought, have some more confidence, Brad. To Brad, I smiled and said, “Sure! I’d love to!”

“Great!” he said as he looked back at the steering wheel. Looking back towards me he added, “I’ll give you a call.”

I tensed up, my hand on the door release. Is that it? Do I open the door? I could tell he was hesitating. How long do I wait before it becomes horribly awkward? I just started to pull the door handle when…

Brad leaned towards me, came halfway the distance to me and stopped. I leaned towards him and we both closed our eyes and our lips met. Softly at first, then I pressed into him. He slid his arm around my neck and we sat there and kissed for almost a minute. It was the most genuinely affectionate kiss I’ve ever had. Zach’s kisses were wild, passionate kisses that I really don’t think he cared who or what he was kissing. But Brad’s soft kiss made me tingle all over.

We pulled apart, and then kissed a couple more times before I sat back and said, “I really need to go. I really enjoyed tonight Brad.” I pulled the door release and opened the door.

Brad grinned and said, “Me too. You’re a really nice girl, Alex. I…uh..I like you.”

I gave him a big smile back and said, “I like you too, Brad. Take care.” I stepped out of the car.

I watched Brad drive away until his car turned a corner and disappeared into the night. Still feeling the glow from Brad’s kisses, I walked slowly back to my dorm building. I really didn’t notice as I approached, but as I got almost to the building, I noticed a large shadow off from the sidewalk. I started getting nervous, wondering if I was imagining things or if I should run away. I took a couple of steps closer and a dark figure stepped in front of me. I stopped dead in my tracks. He took a step forward into the light.

“Zach? What are you doing here?” I gasped.

Zach grabbed me roughly by the shoulders. He brought his face close to mine and hissed, “Why did you tell Tamara that I had sex with you, bitch!?” He shook my shoulders before hissing a bit louder, “Why?!”

“Zach, please! Let go! You’re hurting me.” I tried to wriggle free from his grasp but couldn’t. Zach always had had a good physique.

“Oh, it’s going to get a lot worse, bitch!” growled Zach.

I tried pushing him away, but that did no good. In a loud voice, I said, “I didn’t tell Tamara I had sex with you! I never once said, ‘I had sex with Zach!’”

Zach looked quickly around. “Will you pipe down! I warned you about saying anything.”

Zach’s grip tightened on my arms. “Zach, you’re hurting me! Honest, I didn’t tell her. She must have…inferred it.”

Zach yelled, “Inferred it!? How the fuck could you infer that?” He let go with one hand and started to draw it back to strike me. I raised my now free arm up to try to block.

“Hey dick-weed!” called a voice from an upstairs window. I looked up and saw Ashley. “I called the campus police five minutes ago. They should be here in…oh…thirty seconds.”

Zach looked up and under his breath said, “Shit!” He let go of my arm and said, “We’re not done with this, twink-boy.” He turned and ran off into the darkness, leaving me standing there, shaking like a leaf.

A few moments later, the door to the dorm flew open and Ashley ran out. She threw her arms around me in a big comforting hug. “Are you all right Alex?” She looked around before continuing, “I can’t believe the nerve of that bastard!”

I was crying now and holding onto Ashley. I muttered some incoherent words into her shoulder. Other heads were now popping out of the dorm windows, some holding up their camera phones.

A few moments later, I could see several figures approaching in the darkness. Several had flashlights and one was struggling. I heard a familiar voice saying, “Let me go! You can’t do this. I ain’t done nothin’ wrong!”

Four uniformed campus police officers approached Ashley and me. Two had Zach restrained. One of the officers said, “Which one of you called for the police?”

“I did.” Ashley said. “That…thing…” she pointed at Zach, “over there was yelling at her” points to me, “and looked like he was about to hit her when I said something to him. He’s not even supposed to be here!”

The officer calmly said to me, “Is that true, miss? Was this gentleman about to assault you?”

Still clinging to Ashley, all I could manage to do was nod. Zach had stopped struggling and now actually looked scared.

“Miss, we’ll need you to come with us to the campus headquarters and sign some papers,” said the officer.

Pointing and still snuffling, I said, “What happens to Zach?”

Scribbling in a pad and not bothering to look up, the officer said, “This gentleman has bought himself a ride downtown. Assault is a serious charge and he’ll be handed over to the police for processing and to be formally charged.” Waving his pen to include Ashley and me, he continued, “I’ll need a statement from both of you.”

I hesitated a moment and said, “May I talk to Zach for a minute? Privately?”

The officer gave me an odd look but said, “If you want. He’s cuffed and …” he shot Zach a glance, “I doubt he’s so stupid as to try to run. Just stand in the light over there.”

Ashley said, “Alex! Whatever the crap you’re thinking, stop now. Let the police do their job…”

I waved her off saying, “Just a minute.”

I walked over to Zach, now standing alone, his hands in handcuffs behind his back. He didn’t look so tough now. In fact, he looked downright miserable. As well he should.

Zach looked at me with stony silence. I had him by the balls and he knew it.

“Zach, I just want to talk for a minute.” I said, not getting too close to him. “I don’t know what your plan was, Zach. Were you going to hurt me? Kill me? Everyone and their dog would know it was you who did it. There’d be no getting away.”

“I just wanted to scare you. Make you shut up. Tamara doesn’t know if she can trust me any more or not.” He spat something on the ground.

I looked at him incredulously. “Make me shut up? Seriously?” Trying not to get too loud, through clenched teeth I continued, “Why don’t you try shutting the fuck up? How many times have you told our friends…my friends and total strangers that I was some helpless little faggot that needed constant rescuing? Huh? How many Zach? And people believe you! People who should know better think you’re this big hero who’s bravery and quick thinking saved us from a horrible death. The reality of course is that you’d have starved to death…on an island loaded with food, you would have starved to death if I hadn’t fed you. And yes Zach…we fucked like bunnies. And I have no shame in that. Because stupid me, I loved you.”

Zach just looked at me with dull eyes and said, “I would applaud your stirring speech, but I’m tied up at the moment.” He jiggled his handcuffs.

I jabbed my finger into his chest and said, “Here’s the deal you worthless sack of protoplasm. I don’t want you to go to jail. It’d be a scandal for your parents. Ashley would be dragged in. My boyfriend would be dragged in, my transition would probably be dragged into it. I don’t think you want to go to jail. So look, stop trying to hurt me. Stop lying about what happened. You don’t have to say we had sex, but be honest about my contribution to our survival. In other words, stoop being just a fucking asshole! And stop trying to hurt me.” Did I just say “boyfriend”?

Zach just stared at me for a moment. “Are you saying you’ll not press charges if I stop calling you a gay little butt monkey?” He laughed and said, “Well that’s easy enough.”

“I want this to be over, Zach. O-V-E-R over. No more lies, no more threats to hurt me and try to set the record straight.” I pointed at Ashley. “See that girl with the pink hair and body piercings? If you’re thinking of going back on the deal? Well, let’s just say that she’s been arrested for man slaughter once and I’m sure she can make you look like an accident too.” Of course I was lying. Ashley just looks like she could kill someone.

He glanced over at Ashley to size her up. He looked back at me and said, “Okay. Deal. I’d shake on it, but…”

“What the hell were you thinking, girlfriend?” Ashley almost shouted after everyone had left. She pointed a finger at me and said, “You are going to regret that Alex-girl. Trust me, you are going to regret it.”

I just sat on my bed and cried. “I just know it’d turn into a zoo. My parents would have been there at the court, Zach’s parents too. I’m sure we’d have to go over details about our stay on the island because his assault was triggered by blowing the cover over our activities, and there’d be questions about why I’m now a girl. Brad would leave me because I lied to him about me and Zach.” I started crying hard again and blew my nose.

Ashley sat next to me on the bed and put her around me in a sisterly fashion. We sat there in silence, hugging each other for several minutes.

Sniffling, I softly said, “I just want my life to be normal.”

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, warm with just a touch of coolness to the air. I was sitting on the steps to the dorm entrance when I looked up to see Brad coming down the walkway towards me. I grinned at him and stood up to hurry over to meet him.

When we meet up, Brad bent down a little to give me a kiss. “You look radiant today!”

I grinned and said, “Thank you! I’m happy to see you, but I wasn’t expecting you today.”

He smiled back at me and said, “It was such a great day I thought I’d take a ride up the mountain to the observatory.”

“A ride?” I asked.

“On my bike! Wanna see it?”

“Sure!” We started walking towards the parking lot. “I didn’t know you had a bike.”

He laughed and said, “There’re lots of things you don’t know about me!” Great. I hoped one of things wasn’t that he was an axe murderer.

His bike was gorgeous. A sleek black crotch rocket. On the side of the gas tank, it said it was a Ducati. My dad was strictly a Harley man. No other bike measured up but he never commented on the ever present pool of oil under his vintage Electra-glide.

I saw Brad cringe a little as I slid my fingers down the glossy finish of the gas tank. I said, “Wow, nice bike! My dad would kill me if he saw me getting on it!”

Nodding with a knowing expression, Brad said, “Dad doesn’t approve of his daughter riding motorcycles?”

Grinning, I said, “No. Dad doesn’t approve of his daughter riding anything other than a Harley.”

Brad laughed. He said, “How did your dad take the news, anyway?”

I looked at him funny and said, “He doesn’t know I’m about to get on your bike.”

Chuckling, Brad said, “No, no. I mean the whole girl thing.”

I was annoyed that he’d bring this up again, but I guess I expect it. I said, “You won’t believe this, but he really just didn’t care. Much. Mom cried for days I think. She still calls me Alex.”

“Um…everyone calls you Alex, Alex.” Brad said looking confused.

“The boy Alex. You can hear it in the tone of her voice.” I laughed, but Dad just accepted it in his own way.” I hunched my shoulders and lowered the pitch of my voice to try to imitate Dad and said, “I had you pegged for a twinky from the get-go, boy. You wouldn’t play football or watch it with me, you dressed your G.I. Joe in doll dresses you stole from the neighbor’s daughter. Yep, I ain’t surprised one little bit. Now that you’re a girl, go bring your daddy a beer, okay?”

Laughing Brad said, “How did you turn out right?” Brad handed me a helmet and started to put his on.

I pulled the helmet halfway down my head and then stopped to say, “Dad always used to say that Mom was artificially inseminated by space aliens. I tend to believe him.” I slid the helmet down all the way and threaded the strap through the D rings.

Before I climbed on, Brad started up the Ducati and rapped the throttle a few times. I got on, wrapped my arms around his waist, and he snicked the transmission into gear. So he wouldn’t scare me, he gently let out the clutch and the bike was set into motion.

It had been a few years since the last time I’d been on the back of a motorcycle. I had had a dirt bike, but Dad sold it to help pay some bills one month. I’d forgotten just how much I enjoyed it. The stop and go inside the city wasn’t very exciting, but once we hit the highway, twisting our way through the mountains on our way to the observatory, I felt quite a thrill. Brad turned out to be a quite skillful rider, and I could tell he normally took the curves at a much higher speed. It was clear there’d be no “canyon bombing” with me on the back.

The road up to the observatory was just simply gorgeous. Not only the twisty, up and down road, but all the trees lining the roadway. Many trees were starting to change colors, and leaves drifted through the air, catching sunlight as they floated across our path.

Brad eased the bike into a parking spot and we dismounted. There was a flower lined path up to the observatory and a scenic overlook. The dome dominated the top of the mountain as we made our way to the scenic overlook. When we got there, it was quite breezy and a little too cold for my light jacket. Being the gentleman, Brad removed his jacket and insisted I wear it.

“Oh, this is just so beautiful, Brad!” I gasped as I looked down at the mountain valley below. On this side of the mountain was almost a sheer drop for several hundred feet. Brad put his arms around me, partly to block the wind and partly to snuggle.

“I know! I love it up here. I never get tired of this view.” Brad said, his cheek touching mine. “This is one of my favorite places to ride to, when I need to be alone and think.” There were only a handful of people milling around.

“Thanks for bringing me along this time.” I said, settling into his arms. “I think this is my new favorite getaway.”

We sat there, Brad and I, for over an hour, just listening to the birds and wind sweeping through the branches of the trees below us. This was the perfect antidote for the previous night. It was like some how he knew just what I needed, but there was no way he could know. I bent over and kissed him.

Darkness had fallen and the air was quite chilly as we rode into town. It probably wasn’t the best part of town that the road brought us to, but it wasn’t the worst. We hadn’t had any lunch as Brad pulled into the first place he saw that looked presentable. It was one of a local franchise called Taco Bueno. There was one near the university.

After we dismounted the Ducati, Brad asked, “Is this okay?”

I laughed and said, “Sure! I could use a mystery-meat taco about now.”

It was Saturday night and the place was actually pretty full of people. Date night crowd, I guess. Brad paid for our order and we managed to find a booth and sat down. I’m sure my hair was a disaster having been inside a helmet most of the day. Both our cheeks were reddened from the wind and cool air.

“Oh crap!” I squealed.

“What’s wrong?”

I said, “I was so surprised by you coming by, I didn’t get my purse! I was going to check my make-up and now I can’t. I must look a mess!”

Brad chuckled and said, “You’re gorgeous. Don’t worry about it.” About then they called our order number and Brad got up to retrieve it.

All during dinner, we talked about our day’s ride. We also planned some other rides before the weather got too cold and the roads too slick to take a bike. We also managed to hold each other’s hands and get some kissing in.

Brad checked the time on his phone and gave a low whistle. “It’s later than I thought. I should probably get you back to your dorm. It’s funny though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any campus police around.” I didn’t comment.

As we exited Taco Bueno, Brad suddenly stiffened and said, “Oh God. Why them, why now?”

I looked at where we had parked the bike. There were three other bikes parked next to it and three guys standing around. “What’s wrong, honey?” I asked.

“It’s Ed McLaughlin and his two in-bred toadies. Dammit! Look, stay close to me, but be ready to run, okay babe?”

“You got me scared now, Brad.” I said seriously.

I walked behind Brad as we approached the three guys. I was in near panic mode.

As we got near the bike, the one Brad said was Ed, made a couple of sloppy gang-like gestures and said, “Well, well, well. If it ain’t Bradford T. Wellington the third, esquire. Imagine my surprise when I stumble out of that little bar over there, I find your bike parked way too close to mine. In fact, I think you scratched my bike!”

“You’re not old enough to get in that bar. Now Ed, just let us go in peace, ok? I’m not really in any mood…”

“Mood!?” interrupted Ed. “I don’t give two shits in Hell about your…” Ed waves his hands around his head as he leans forward a little, and draws the word out, “…moooooood! You owe me, Bradford. You owe me big time!” Every time he said Bradford he practically spit the word out.

Sighing, Brad said, “I’ve told you, that was an accident. I don’t owe you anything. So do you mind? I need to take her home. We can discuss this tomorrow over a cappuccino.”

Ed grinned an ugly grin and said, “I don’t drink sissy coffees, so it looks like she’s going to be a bit late getting home. Chica, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to pound your boyfriend’s face into the asphalt.”

Before I could say anything, one of Ed’s charming henchmen said, “Hey Eddie! Guess what?” He points at me and says, “That chick is a dude, man! She’s a dude. She’s the one that was on that island with my bud Zach. She…he…was in my Math class in high school.”

Ed laughed and said, “Oh, this just gets better! Twinkle-Dee and Twinkle-Dum! Well, this explains a lot! Bradford here, the fudge-packing prep boy who’s too chicken-shit to man up to his actions and a cock-loving shemale! Don’t you two make a really cute couple! I almost feel bad because cracking you two’s skulls is just going to be too easy!”

All three took a step towards us. Ed said, “Now step back non-dude dude. I’m going to mess up your boyfriend first. Now, you might not want him any more after we’re done with him. Well, after the three of us have our way with you, he might not want you any more either.” He shrugs. “Sorry!”

Brad started to brace himself in a defensive posture. I was scared shitless.

I stepped in front of Brad and screamed, “Just leave us alone, dirtbag! We did nothing to you. Just let us go home!”

Ed took a step back, looking shocked at my outburst. He said, “She’s got spunk. I hate spunk.”

I didn’t want to damage Brad’s bike so while they were distracted laughing with Ed, I threw my helmet as hard as I could at the jerk that had fingered me. The helmet caught right on the bridge of his nose and blood started spurting from it. He yelled in pain and took a few steps backward holding his face.

I looked back over at Taco Bueno for a second. I laughed and yelled, “You are so stupid, Ed! If you’re going to attack someone, maybe you shouldn’t do it front of a plate glass window!” I pointed and Ed turned to see everyone in the small restaurant pressing their face to the glass. Many were holding up cell phone cameras. In the distance came the sound of sirens.

The one who wasn’t Ed and didn’t have his nose bleeding said, “Shit Eddie! Let’s get out of here. Someone’s called the cops!”

Ed pointed at Brad and yelled, “This isn’t over, asshole!” He turned to his henchmen and said, “Let’s get out of here!” Just before he rode off, he kicked the Ducati over onto its side.

As their taillights shrank into the distance I almost crumpled to the ground, being caught by Brad. I was shaking and crying. Several people from the restaurant walked up to us, a couple helped right Brad’s bike. Many had recorded the whole thing, at least the video, and offered to hand it over to the police. One thing that was funny, is that the siren that chased Ed away, wasn’t the police. It was an ambulance heading to the hospital.

“Stop apologizing, Brad. It’s not your fault.”

We had just gotten back from the police station and we were standing in the parking lot near the girls dorm. I had my arms around Brad so tight, I’m sure he was having trouble breathing.

“As soon as I saw them, we should have just turned around. My God Alex, what if they had hurt you? I could never live with that.”

I smiled at him and said through sobs, “Well, they didn’t. The police are looking for them. Sooo…we’re good. I feel bad about your bike.”

Brad looked down at me and said, “Don’t worry about it. Just a few scratches.” He bent down and gave me a long, long kiss. “I am just so sorry about everything. I should have protected you better.”

“Shush!”

“Oh my God, girl! You are trouble with a capital T. I was worried that I was going to have dull roommate.”

I fell back on my bed. “I wish you did have a boring roommate. I don’t think I could handle any more excitement!”

I laid there for I don’t know how long. I don’t even remember Ashley turning the light off in the room. I was tired. The past twenty-four hours was more than I could deal with. I was about to drift off to sleep when I felt Ashley get into my bed and slide under the covers. She kissed me on the cheek, slid in close behind me, and draped an arm over my waist. Feeling oddly safe, I fell quickly to sleep.

I was spending Sunday afternoon, lying on my bed studying for the government exam early Monday morning. I was beginning to feel it was time for a break. I had a headache and I was having trouble focusing on the text in the book. My phone rang and I found it on the floor where it has fallen from my bed. On the screen it showed the caller was Brad. How does he do it? It seems he always calls when I need help, or comforting or just a distraction. Of course, it could just be that I was always in constant need of these things.

“Hey Brad!” I cooed into the phone. “Perfect timing!”

Brad laughed and said, “You must be a mess all the time.”

“That is an understatement!”

Brad said, “Hey, just real quick. I know we we’ve only known each other for less than a week, but my parents are going to this big society type party next Saturday and they want me to come, and they would like for you to come too. It’s an annual event called the Cannon Ball.”

“Are you serious? The Cannon Ball?”

“The Robert F. Cannon Foundation holds this event every year to raise awareness for various charities. All the local business and community leaders are invited and it’s all very posh.” Brad said as if he was reading it from a brochure.

“And your parents asked me to go? They’ve never met me. I mean, we’ve only had one date, a ride, and fight with a biker gang.”

“They want to meet you.” Brad said. “I probably talk about you every day.”

“Have you told them everything about me?” I asked.

“No. I have to admit that I left out the part that your Dad rides a Harley.”

Laughing, I said, “You know what I mean!”

Taking a more serious tone, Brad said, “Um, no, actually. They do need to know about…um…your…uh situation. I just didn’t think this was a good time.”

He couldn’t see me of course, but I frowned and said, “And when is a good time? This doesn’t give me warm fuzzies about our relationship.”

Brad said, “I know it sounds bad, but hear me out. I want them to meet you and get to know you as the great girl that I know. Once they know and love you, it’ll be easier to let them know.”

“Or totally piss them off for lying to them!” I shouted into the phone.

“What do you want me to say? ‘Hey Mom! I want you to meet my girlfriend…who also has a penis.’ That will go over great.” Brad huffed at me over the phone.

“Yes, it’s awkward. I don’t think there’s an easy way no matter how you do it. I just haven’t really considered meeting your parents. It’s kind of early for that.” I sighed heavily.

“I know. But they decided they wanted to meet you and thought you might want to come to the ball with me.”

“Well you know, you didn’t run for the hills when you first met me.” I said. “Why would your parents be different?”

Brad grunted. “They’re old. Set in their ways and all that. I’m worried that they’d reject you.”

“You need your parents’ approval to see me?” I asked.

“No. Of course not. But I want their blessing. I want them to like you.” Brad said, sounding uncomfortable.

“I’ll come to your party, Brad. But your parents need to know about me soon. I don’t want to lie to your parents and if they find out about me from some other source, it could mean disaster for our relationship.”

“I’ll tell them, but after the party.” Brad said. “Mom wanted me to let you know that the ball is formal. No cocktail dresses, but a formal. She said you’d know what that meant.”

“I don’t have a formal. I don’t even have a little black dress yet.” I said, wondering how much a formal would cost me.

“Maybe you can wear your old prom dress?” suggested Brad.

“I don’t have a prom dress, Brad.” I said with irritation. “I was a boy then. And I stayed home.”

Brad said, “Maybe what’s-her-name…your roommate Ashley?”

I laughed, “Somehow I can’t picture Ashley in a formal, but you never know. I’ll ask her.”

“Great! We’ll pick you up around six thirty Saturday night.” Brad said. “Thanks for saying you’ll come. I really appreciate it.”

“Okay. I need to get back to my studying. Talk to you later, Brad. Take care.”

Ashley laughed, jiggling several of her piercings. “I’m sorry girlfriend, but I don’t have a prom dress. In fact, I wasn’t allowed to come to our prom because I wasn’t allowed to bring my girlfriend at the time. And then, she was going to wear the dress. I had a tux rented.”

“Sorry.” I said. “I didn’t mean to dredge up bad memories.”

“Don’t worry about it, hun.” She waved her hand dismissively. “But I’m not sure what to say about Brad not telling his parents. I mean, he’s only known you a week. If he told his parents and then you could decide he’s a jerk tomorrow, he’s got his parents thinking he’s weird for no reason.”

“You’re a big help.” I said, irritated.

Ashley shrugged.

“Can you at least help me pick out a dress? I need a nice one that’s cheap.” I said, frowning.

Ashley laughed again saying, “I think you’d do better to ask the janitor to help you with all I know about dresses!”

I grabbed her wrist and started pulling. “At least you’re a girl. You were at least immersed in this world. I wasn’t. I can use your insight!”

Ashley sighs and gets up. ”I’ll go, but mostly to laugh at you”

“I thought Sharon said that dress store was right along in here somewhere,” I said from the passenger seat of Ashley’s car. Sharon was a senior that knew Ashley and had lived in town longer than either one of us.

Ashley pointed, “There it is…Francine’s Bridals. Crap, there’s no place to park.”

As we drove past the store, I looked at the large display window where several gorgeous gowns were on display. Ashley managed to park about half a block down from the store.

After a short walk, we open the door to an á¼ber feminine environment. Walls painted pink with white trim, flowers all over, beautiful satin dresses on mannequins and stands put me in girlie overload. Ashley was definitely a fish out of water here.

A smartly dressed woman in her mid-forties, her hair perfectly coiffed came up to us and while looking over the top of her glasses said, “May I help you…ladies?” I could tell the sales lady did not approve of Ashley at all. And maybe me, too.

“I’m looking for a dress to wear to a big formal event.” I said looking around at all the dresses surrounding me. They mostly appeared to be bridal gowns.

A momentary look of surprised crossed the saleswoman’s face as she said, “Oh. Are you referring to the Cannon Ball next Saturday?”

I smiled at her and said, “Good guess!”

The woman said, “Come with me, please to the evening wear section. I have several dresses that will be at that event.”

Ashley said in a dead pan, “Anybody wearing them?”

Ignoring the comment, the saleswoman turned to Ashley and said, “Will you be needing a dress as well… miss?”

Ashley snorted a laugh and said, “Um, that would be a no.” She pointed at me and said, “I’m just her body guard.”

The saleswoman just looked at Ashley for a few moments, and then turned her attention back to me. “Now on this rack we have some beautiful dresses that are popular with the younger set. None of these are floor length. They are hemmed above the knee and come in quite a few styles and colors.”

I pulled one from the rack and held it in front of me and said, “What do you think, Ash?”

She shrugged and said, “Meh. I’m sure you’d look nice in it. It just doesn’t have what I like to call, pizzazz!” She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

“How much is this?” I asked.

The saleswoman said, “All the dresses on these two racks sell for between two fifty and four fifty.”

“Dollars?” I gulped.

The saleswoman looked over her glasses at me again and said, “Our dresses, miss, are of the highest quality and made from the finest materials.” She was starting to get that “stop wasting my time” look on her face.

“I was only going to allow myself to spend up to $100” I said, meekly.

Not bothering to hide displaying some disdain, the saleswoman said, “The bargain dresses are in the back. Would you like to see them, miss?” She looked at her watch and frowned.

Ashley stepped away from the wall and said, “No she wouldn’t. Come on Alex. There’re other dress stores in town.”

I held up the dress to Ashley and said, “But I like this dress.”

“You can’t afford that dress. Let’s go.”

I handed the dress back to the saleswoman and waved at her as Ashley dragged me out of the store.

Ashley rushed us back to her car. I said, “I liked that dress. It was the first one I saw, and we could have saved some time.”

Ashley stopped a few yards short of her car. “Are you sure you’re a girl? Even I know you don’t buy the first dress you see. You make an adventure out of it. And besides, those dresses were way over-priced. Let me see your phone.”

Ashley took my phone and brought up the web browser on it. “Let’s see what technology can do for us,” she said.

After a few moments, Ashley said, “Ah. This looks good. Margie’s Fashions and it’s just down the street.”

We got into her car and off we went, using the GPS feature on my phone for directions.

As we were driving, I said, “What makes this place look better to you than the last place? They sell the same stuff.”

Ashley said, “It’s a gamble, like anything else. We have all afternoon. I just figured that if they’re off the beaten path a little, and they’re smaller, that they might be a little hungrier and not try to gouge as much. And I didn’t like that saleswoman.”

A few minutes later, we pulled up into the parking lot of Margie’s Fashions. It was located in a shopping center and was very easy to get to.

As we entered, a woman came over from behind the counter and said, “Good afternoon, ladies. I’m Margie. How may I help you?”

I looked around at the array of bridal gowns and prom dresses on display around the store. I said, “I’m looking for a formal dress for a big party I’m going to.”

The woman smiled and asked, “Oh, do you mean the Cannon Ball?”

I said, “Yeah. I’ve never been to it before.”

“Come back here and let’s see if we can fix you up!” She led us to racks near the back of the store. She turned to me and asked, “Are you excited? Everybody who is anybody will be there. It’s always such a wonderful event!”

She pulled a couple of dresses from the racks and held them out for me. “Take your time, hun. Buying a dress like this isn’t something you rush. What kind of budget do you have so we can find something in your range.”

I touched one of the dresses she was holding and sighed, “These are so beautiful!” Then I remembered her question and said, “I’m trying to stay within a hundred bucks if possible.”

“We can do that,” smiled Margie. “Let me bring out a few dresses of various prices. Then try them on. I bet we can find one you can’t live without! Do you have any idea what kind of dress you’re looking for?”

I shrugged and said, “I really don’t have any idea! I’ve never thought about a dress like these. Sorry!”

Margie said, “Now don’t you apologize! We’ll find you a dress if it takes all afternoon!”

In a few minutes, Margie had laid out ten dresses she thought would be good for my size. I noticed they were all long dresses and remembered what the saleswoman at the other store had said. “All these dresses have long skirts. Shouldn’t I look for a short skirt?”

“Oh no,” said Margie. “You want to be elegant! You want every head to turn when you walk in with your man. You don’t want to look like some teeny-bopper showing up at her prom. You want every man in the room to wish he was the man you’re with.” I looked for Ashley. She was off staring wistfully at a particular wedding gown.

Margie handed me a dress. “Here. Try this on so we can see how you look. If you don’t like any of these, I have more in the back. The dressing room is right over there.”

I thought, oh my God. I have no idea how to get into this. I called out, “Ash? Can you come help me with this?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah sure, Alex. Let’s see what you got.”

We went through four dresses, all gorgeous except for some small detail that either Margie or Ashley shook her head at before I was given a royal blue satin dress that fit so tight and smooth over my butt and around my upper thighs that it actually restricted my movement. It also fit so tight and flat across my front that if I hadn’t done an extra good tucking that morning, my birth defect would be making a guest appearance.

I walked out of the dressing room, taking small steps that forced my hips to sway. Ashley ran out before me and stood with Margie. When I exited, Margie was wearing a big smile and Ashley let out a low whistle.

Ashley’s eyes went wide as she said, “Oh my God, Alex. You are totally stunning! I’d like to take you to that ball myself!”

After a quick glance at Ashley, Margie smiled at me and said, “Just beautiful! That is your perfect dress!”

Ashley nodded and said, “And the way the neckline ties behind your neck hides the fact that you’re boobless.”

Margie laughed and said, “That’s why I didn’t show her anything strapless.” She stepped up to me and looked close and I hoped not too close. “Maybe a few adjustments, and it’ll be perfect.”

“Ash, do you really think so?” I asked. “Is this the one I should get?”

“You’re gorgeous, Alex. We could try on a few others to be sure, but babe, that dress was made for you!”

Then the big question. “How much is it?”

Margie looked studious for a moment then said, “That dress normally retails for one hundred thirty-five. For you, I’ll let you have it for a hundred and ten. No charge for the alterations.”

I turned back to Ashley and before I could form the question, she said, “Yes!”

“I’ll take it!” I said, gushing.

“I know you’re going to love that dress hun! I’ll have it ready for you to pick up Friday morning,” said Margie. “Now all you need are a pair of matching shoes. The shoes are along that wall over there.”

Still wearing the dress, I padded over in my bare feet to the where the shoes were displayed. I almost felt dizzy looking at them all. I was glad we still had most of the afternoon left…

As we walked across the parking lot towards the beauty salon that Ashley had set me up with an appointment, I said to the tough looking girl next to me, “You go to a beauty salon, Ash?”

She stopped walking and gave me an annoyed look. “No. I stick my head in a pencil sharpener. Of course I go to beauty salons.” She gave the back of my head a playful whack. “Goof ball.”

As Ash pulled the door open she said, “Don’t worry. Your hair is in good hands with Denise.”

Upon entering, an attractive woman somewhere in her early thirties approached and said, “Ashley! Right on time!” She gave Ashley a quick, non-affectionate hug. She pointed at me and said, “Is this the one we’re working on today?”

“Yes ma’am” said Ashley. “She’s going to that big blow-out downtown tonight. So she needs your special magic on her hair and make-up.”

Denise ran her fingers up through my hair and frowned. “You have really good hair, thick with natural highlights. But good lord, girl! When was the last time you were in a salon?”

I shrugged and said, “Um…never?”

Denise frowned again and shook her head. “Good thing you didn’t wait any longer. Otherwise we might have had to shave your head. As it is, we’ll still have to cut it…”

“No!” I said as I pulled the strands of hair from her hand and held it defensively. “I love my hair long!”

Ashley poked my shoulder and said, “She doesn’t mean to cut it off, Alex! Just to even it up and to get rid of the split ends!”

Smiling, Denise said, “Come on…Alex is it? Come on Alex. Let’s shampoo first.”

Ashley jabbed my shoulder and said, “They use real shampoo here, Alex. Not dishwashing liquid.”

“Hey!” I said, trying to jab her back, but she was too quick.

Denise led me to the back room where there were five or six seats lined up in front of sinks. Two other women were having their hair washed. Denise motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs.

Ashley said, “What do you think, Denise? Can you save this hair? She has to be the most gorgeous girl at this shin-dig. Are you up to the challenge?”

Denise spread her arms out and said, “Hey, I did you hair, didn’t I?” She pulled up my hair and continued, “I think we’ll pull her hair up loosely with a high ponytail and some curls here in front of her ears and with bangs coming down over one eye, I’ll think she’ll look real cute.”

I was covered with a plastic sheet and I laid my head way back as Denise pulled my hair into the sink. As she started washing, Denise said to Ashley, “I have an invitation to the Cannon Ball if you want to go. I’m sure Alphonse over there wouldn’t mind being your beard.” One of the guys washing one of the other women’s hair looked up at the mention of his name.

I couldn’t see Ashley as she said, “Thanks, but no. I don’t even have one of those prom dresses and if I did, I think it might clash with my tattoos.

“Keep your hands off your hair!” scolded Ashley after we got back into her car. “And don’t touch your face. You’re absolutely gorgeous and you want to at least arrive at the Ball that way.”

“I’m sorry, but it just feels weird.” I said, trying to see myself on the mirror clipped to the car’s visor. “And I’ve never had this much make-up on before.”

As Ashley moved her car into the flow of traffic, she said, “Well, you’ll get used to it quickly. I know girly-girls like you just love getting dressed up.”

There was an audible gasp as I opened the dormitory door to meet Brad. He was looking me up and down and said, “Holy shit! I..uh…I mean, wow Alex. You are beautiful!”

“Thank you, Brad,” I cooed. “You look very handsome yourself!” And he did too. He looked real sharp in his tux. I felt really weird standing there in my blue satin gown, the slip, bra, panties, heels, long satin gloves, dangly earrings and my evening look make-up. I felt that every eye on the planet was glued to me and I just wanted to run and hide.

Brad just stood there staring at me with a goofy expression on his face for several moments before he finally cleared his throat and started acting like he knew what he was doing. Blushing slightly he brought up a box he’d been hiding behind his back. He opens it and says, “This is for you.” He pulls out a gorgeous wrist corsage that matches my dress perfectly. With an embarrassed grin and blushing some more, Brad slips the corsage on my wrist.

“Yeah!” came a voice from above me. I turned and looked up to see Ash giving Brad a thumbs up from our dorm window. Brad never called to ask what color I was wearing. I looked back and Ashley was gone. I was going to have to have a talk with her…

Now trying to act debonair, Brad said, “Shall we go?” I nodded and took his arm. We walked down the sidewalk towards the parking lot, the rustle of my satin dress almost making me puddle up in a pink pool of femininity.

Parked next to the curb was a gigantic black Lincoln Navigator, a SUV that will never see a dirt clod, much less a dirt road.

“What? No Hummer?” I said in jest to Brad.

“It’s in the shop,” Brad said seriously.

Standing next to the Navigator was a middle-aged couple. The woman, who I took to be Brad’s mother, was elegantly, but age-appropriately dressed. The very distinguished looking gentleman was Brad’s dad. The comparison between Brad’s dad and mine couldn’t be further apart if my dad had been from Mars.

Brad’s “call me Edith” mom held out her hand and gave me a very limp handshake. “Alexis! It’s so wonderful to finally meet you. You’re all he talks about!”

“Mom!”

“Well, it’s true,” continued Edith. “And you are simply stunning, my dear.”

“Thanks,” I said smiling. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Brad’s dad held out his hand and after he took mine, he lifted my gloved hand and kissed it. “You can call me Skip. Everyone else does. Except for Brad, of course. And I agree. You are very pretty. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Thanks! I’m happy to finally meet the two of you,” I said, actually more intimidated meeting them than happy.

Skip said, “Well, let’s get going. We’re not getting any younger standing here.” We all climbed into the Navigator. The length and tightness of the skirt made climbing into the vehicle a little difficult. A few moments later, we were on our way to the Cannon Ball.

I couldn’t believe it. It was a like a fairy tale. We made our entrance to the ball by descending a large stair case after being announced. I was worried sick that I was going to trip on my dress and fly headlong down the stairs. I glanced around and saw all the other women in their gowns and they had made it ok, so I was determined I would too. I also started to grow self-conscious as just as Margie had predicted, almost every guy watched me walk down those stairs. Maybe they expected me to trip too?

After pausing a moment at the bottom of the stairs to get our bearings, Edith said, “You too go mingle and have some fun. Skip and I have some schmoozing to do.” And off they disappeared into the crowd.

“See?” said Brad. “I told you they’d love you.”

Unsure, I said, “I still think it’s a bit early to meet your parents.”

Smiling, Brad said, “Don’t worry about it.”

It was quite noisy with all the people there speaking at once. And there were hundreds of people there. I was very nervous and could feel beads of sweat slide down my inner thigh.

There were guys walking around with trays of glasses of sparkling water and Brad grabbed a couple of glasses as one of these waiters came walking past us. As Brad removed the glasses, the waiter’s face became visible.

“You?” said the waiter.

“Zach?” I nearly gasped.

Zach frowned and said, “I should have known you’d find some way to weasel your way into the biggest party of the year.”

“Hey, I was invited,” I retorted. “You’re working here?”

Brad said, “Alex, I think there’s some food over there.” He tugged on my arm.

Smirking, Zach said, “Now that’s a stupid question, isn’t it?” He glanced at Brad and said, “Well, I see you’re here with Captain Underpants. Must be nice to have a date. You know that Tamara broke up with me because of you?”

Before I could answer, someone dressed as a waiter, but carrying an air of authority stepped up besides Zach, folded his arms and said, “Isn’t there something you should be doing?”

Looking sheepish, Zach said, “Yes sir.” He then walked quickly away, carrying his tray.

Frowning, Brad said, “For two people who don’t like each other, you sure run into each other a lot”

Smiling sweetly, I asked, “Jealous?”

“Let’s go find that food,” he said, still frowning.

We wound our way through the crowd before we finally found ourselves at a very large table, loaded with every finger food you could imagine. I picked up a plate and began loading it with cheese, ham, crackers, turkey until I mentally slapped myself to make me stop acting so much like a boy. I looked over at Brad and saw him piling his plate with everything he could find.

Finding a place to sit with our cheese and meat cubes, I turned to Brad and said, “You uh…you never told me you were rich.”

Brad had a little trouble swallowing a piece of cheese before answering. “Rich? Don’t be silly. Granted we may be… “ Brad made quote mark gestures with his fingers as he said, “…comfortable. But rich? Nah. Dad has little business. He’s a machinist, actually and does a lot of fab work. Hey, it’s paying for college.”

Before I could comment, an elderly guy with a woman around the same age started to pass us, then stopped and then vigorously shook Brad’s hand. “Bradford! Good to see you!” Nodding towards me, he simply said, “Miss.” And then he walked away.

“Not rich? Wasn’t that the mayor?” I asked. “You’re on a first name basis with the mayor?”

Brad waved away my comment and said, “It’s no big deal. I used to caddy for him when I was in high school.”

“Well, it looks like my invitation just lost some value.”

I looked up to see Tamara clinging to a lanky guy with a bad acne problem. I waved and said, “Hey”

Without another word, she turned walked away.

“What was that about?” asked Brad.

“She found out what really happened on that island.” I said. “And she thinks I turned Zach gay. Hey, I never asked Zach for sex.”

Brad held up his hand and said, “I really don’t want to hear about your sexcapades with Zach.”

Brad set down his empty plate on a handy flat surface and said, “Would you like to dance?”

I smiled and said, “I’d love to!”

Brad led me to the crowded dance floor. Despite trying to sound excited about dancing, I was really sweating it. I’d never really danced at all, much less slow dancing with my boyfriend, wearing heels and a formal gown. Not to mention that I have to dance backwards. Ashley had given me a quick lesson on slow dancing so I’d at least have some idea what to do. From her expression, I think she enjoyed the lesson maybe a little too much.

“This is great, isn’t it?” asked Brad after we started dancing.

“Yes, it is.” I said smiling at Brad. I was doing better at dancing than I expected and I certainly enjoyed being held this close to Brad.

“And it’s good exposure. Most of the area’s who’s who is here.” Brad said. “And you’re popular. Everyone’s looking at you.”

“Does that bother you?” I asked.

Brad let out a short laugh and said, “Just the opposite. It means I’m with the right girl.”

Just then, Brad’s dad, or should I say Skip, walked up and asked, “May I cut in?”

“Sure, Dad”

Skip smiled and assumed Brad’s position, although he held his body away from mine. “Thanks, son.”

“So Alexis, or is it Alex?” asked Skip

“Everyone just calls me Alex.”

“So, Alex. What do you think of the party?” asked Skip.

“It’s good. I’ve never been to a formal party like this before.” I said honestly.

“Well, it’s a great way to meet influential people. It’s definitely helped my business over the years.” Skip said. “How are you and Brad getting along tonight?”

I gave him a puzzled expression at the question, and said, “Just fine. He’s been the perfect gentleman.”

“That’s good. I’d have to give him a talking to if he wasn’t.” Skip said. I could tell there was something he really wanted to ask me, but he was struggling with it. He said, “Edith thinks you two make a lovely couple and I tend to agree with her!”

“Thank you. That’s very nice of you.” I said.

“Brad really does talk about you constantly,” confessed Skip. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I’ve never seen him carry on about any other girl he’s liked.”

The orchestra stopped playing and Skip said, “Thank you for the dance, Alex. Don’t tell Edith, but you dance better than her.” He gave me a wink as he turned to walk back to his wife. Brad started walking back up to me when his dad stopped him. I saw Skip look serious at Brad and even though the spoke in a low tone, I just barely made out “You need to tell her.”

Brad nodded sullenly at his father and whispered “Not yet.”

The orchestra started playing their next song as Brad came up to me, smiling broadly and said, “I want this dance all to myself.”

I laughed and put my arm around his shoulder and we began to dance. Rolling through my brain were their comments and I tried to figure out exactly what it meant.

Smiling, Brad asked, “Well, what do you think of high society parties? Are they everything you’ve ever dreamed?”

Smiling back, I said, “Oh, and more!” I giggled for a moment and then said, “It’s okay I guess. I never was a big party girl even when I was a boy. I like the way everyone is all dressed up and the ballroom dancing. It’s all very romantic. I feel like Cinderella.”

“I hope you don’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight,” Brad said with a grin.

“I might!” I smiled at Brad for a moment before turning my face away from him for a few moments while I summoned up the courage to ask my next question.

Noting the change in my expression, Brad said “Are you alright?”

Forcing a nervous smile, I looked back up at those beautiful eyes of his and said, “I…I overheard what your dad said to you. What does he want me to know?”

Brad frowned for a slight moment before giving me a wry smile. “I told you my parents love you. They’ve never warmed up to any girl I liked this quickly before. Every girl I start to get serious with, Dad thinks it’s only fair that the girl learns of my deep, dark secret before getting too serious. Most times, it does sour the relationship. I think it’s too early, but since you asked, I guess I should tell you.” Brad went silent while we continued to dance.

“Well, what is it? Is it bad?” This was really worrying me. I really liked Brad. More than I’ve ever liked another boy.

In a very serious tone, Brad said, “Well, I was born female. I’ve been on male hormones since I turned eighteen. In fact, in high school, I thought I was a lesbian and used to date Ashley.” He knitted his brows together and shrugged.

I stopped dancing and must have looked really stupid with my mouth gaping open. “Oh my God! Brad, are you serious??”

He looked at me with a stern expression for several moments before he cracked a smile and said, “No, silly. I’m kidding.”

Suddenly I was furious and I whacked him on the chest with the palm of my hand. “Don’t do that to me!” People were starting to stare at us. “Tell me the truth. Now!”

Brad put up his hands defensively and said, “Hey, hey. I was just trying to be funny. I’m sorry!” He took my hand and slid one arm behind my back and motioned for us to continue dancing. “Let’s not cause a scene. Everyone is looking at us.”

I started dancing with him and said in a stressed whisper, “I’m going to cause a scene if you don’t tell me!”

His smile dissolved and he looked down. “Okay, okay. It’s not that big a deal I don’t think, for you. I’m sterile. I can have sex okay, I just can’t father children. Some girls, who may be looking for someone to be a daddy for their kids tend to lose interest in me after I tell them that.”

Sincerely, I said, “Oh, I’m so sorry Brad. Learning that must have been devastating to you and your parents.”

Nodding, he said, “It was. Mom and Dad were really looking forward to being grandparents. I know there’s always adoption and that’s what I want to do if I ever find the right girl and get married. But it’s just not the same.”

“Still, I’m sorry to hear that. But you know, it doesn’t matter to me because I can’t give you children anyway.”

Brad smiled slightly and said, “I know. I hope it doesn’t bother you, but that was at the back of my mind when I first met you.”

“No,” I lied. It did bother me. More than it probably should. I’m not sure if I liked being the “safe” choice — the girl that can’t get pregnant anyway. I tried to put the thoughts out of my mind for now. I didn’t want to make any hasty decisions. In his mind, I was a logical choice for his condition. He could ease his conscience of his lack of performance by being with me.

Brad kissed me suddenly, just a quick kiss and said, “I’m glad you understand. Being with you relieves a lot of pressure.” In my mind, I shouted Stop Talking!

The orchestra stopped playing and everyone stopped dancing and politely clapped. The orchestra leader announced they were going to take a short break.

“Want some lemonade?” asked Brad. “The dancing made me thirsty…and hungry.” Before I could answer, he took my arm and led me over to a table with several large bowls of punch and lemonade.

As he handed me a plastic cup of lemonade, I said, “Thanks. So, when are you telling your folks about me?”

Frowning after taking a slug of lemonade himself, he said, “Soon. Just not tonight. I didn’t want to tell you about me tonight either. We just started dating. It’s too early.”

I shrugged and said, “Maybe.”

A woman I didn’t know walked by and said, “That’s a lovely dress.”

I beamed and said with a broad smile, “Thank you!” The woman smiled back briefly before walking off with her husband or whoever he was.

Brad held up his lemonade cup and said, “I’ll drink to that! You really are gorgeous tonight, Alex.”

Feeling my cheeks turning red, I said, “Thank you.”

From behind me, a voice said, “I have to agree with that.”

I turned and saw Zach in his waiter’s uniform. “Zach! Please, leave me alone. I’m sorry about what happened between you and Tamara. But I didn’t like you lying about me to everyone!” Brad stepped up next to me and put his arm protectively around me.

Looking a bit tired, Zach said, “Look. I’m sorry, okay? I...I admit it. I’ve been an ass. I…you know? I mean…shit. I just want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I mean, shit. You went out of your way to be a beautiful girl for me on that island, taking care of me, making love to me and I just used you and didn’t care.” He paused a moment before holding up his serving tray slightly and sighing said, “I have to go.” And he walked away.

Brad said, “Wow. Looks like Zach suddenly grew a conscience. I wonder what brought that on?”

I held Brad closer to me. “I don’t know. It worried me. I don’t trust him.”

We finished our lemonade in silence.

*          *          *

“How you kids holding up?” asked Skip as we left the dance floor again.

“We’re doing great, Mr. Wellington!” I said to Brad’s dad.

“Call me Skip!

“Sorry. I meant Skip.” I said sheepishly.

“Brad, your mother is getting tired. The party won’t wind down for at least another hour. If you want to stay, I’ll give you some cab money. But your mother and I are leaving now.”

Brad looked over at me and raised his eyebrow.

“To be honest, I am getting a little tired.” I said, suddenly feeling drained.

Brad grinned and said, “Yeah, me too. But I’m willing to stay if you are.”

I shook my head and said, “No, I think I’m ready to call it a night myself.”

Skip nodded and said, “Alright then. Let’s blow this scene.”

Brad grinned and said, “Whatever, Dad.”

Brad took my hand and led me through the ballroom as he followed Skip towards the exit. We didn’t have to go back up the grand staircase as there was an elevator at one end of the ballroom to take us back up to the parking lot level.

I squeezed Brad’s hand as we walked across the parking lot to his dad’s Lincoln Navigator and said, “I really enjoyed tonight, Brad. Thanks so much for inviting me.”

Brad flashed me a toothy grin and said, “You are very welcome, Alex. I’m glad you came.”

Edith said, “I’m so glad you came too, sweetie. Skip and I enjoyed meeting you. You are such a dear.”

“It was nice meeting you too. I…” I stopped talking when Brad suddenly stopped walking and tightened his grip on my hand.

“What the fuck…?” breathed Brad as three figures stepped out from behind Skip’s SUV.

“Well well well. If it isn’t Bradly T. Wellington the third, esquire. And you brought your boyfriend too. I think it’s time for a little payback, don’t you?”

“What’s the meaning of this?” shouted Skip, as he stepped in front of Edith.

“Shut the fuck up, old man!” Ed McLaughlin shouted as he smashed one of the Lincoln’s taillights with the large crescent wrench he was carrying. Edith let out a small cry and Ed brandished the wrench towards us. “I’m surprised you don’t remember what your piece of shit boy did to me!”

Brad stepped in front of me as he said in an even, strong voice, “It was an accident, Ed. In fact, it was your own fault and you know it.”

Ed smashed the back window of the Navigator as he shouted, “Fuck if it was my fault! You forced me off the road into that fucking tree! I almost died!” Ed’s companions moved up, one holding a length of chain and the other holding a long screwdriver. Ed kept walking towards us.

“You were going too fast on that canyon road, Ed! You clipped my fairing and I almost lost control too.”

In a mocking, baby voice, Ed said, “You clipped my fairing!” He suddenly let out a primal yell and charged at Brad, bringing his wrench down on Brad’s arm, causing him to release his hold on my arm as he stumbled backward to the ground in pain. Edith screamed. Ed grabbed me by my hair and jerked me toward him, causing me to loose my footing in my high heels and fall. Ed kept a grip on my hair and I twisted my neck as I landed on the ground.

“Get up, fag!” Ed shouted at me as he jerked on my hair. Arms flaying, I stumbled to my feet. Ed roughly grabbed my arm.

Skip shouted, “Unhand her!” He took a step towards Ed. Brad regained his feet and started to step towards Ed as well. Ed’s partner with the screwdriver was busy punching holes in the side of the Navigator.

“I wouldn’t if I were you, old man!” Ed’s fingernails were digging into my flesh.

“Let her go!” Brad shouted as he rushed towards Ed. Ed threw his wrench at Brad and caught him on the side of the head, blood splashing on his suit. Brad stumbled, dazed. The guy with the chain started swinging the chain at Skip.

“Stop calling this little faggot of yours “her”.” Ed’s eyes went wild. “You know what, society boy? I think me and my friends here are going to take your little boyfriend with us and have some fun. I have to admit, he is pretty, isn’t he?” Ed pulled a large knife from a belt clip and brought it close to my face.

Brad’s face was twisted in rage and pain. He started to run towards us, but Ed pulled the knife against my neck and said, “You don’t want to ruin this pretty dress with fag blood do you? I hear blood is hard to get out.”

All three started to back away, Ed dragging me with him. I tried to struggle free, but he was just too strong. Brad picked up the wrench that Ed had thrown at him and took a step towards the retreating Ed. Brad growled, “Let her go, Ed!”

“Don’t try to follow me, society boy! Not if you want your boyfriend back in one piece. After we have some fun, of course.” Ed started to laugh.

My arm was starting to loose feeling as Ed’s grip was so tight. I glanced to Brad, then to Skip and back to Brad. I screamed “Brad! Help me!”

*          *          *

End of Alex Exposed

Alex Has a Talk

By

Melanie Brown

Copyright  © 2011

“Brad!” I pleaded. Brad was completely unsure of what to do next. I could see the anguish on his face. I looked at Skip, whose face was a mask of grim determination. He slid his hand inside his coat jacket.

Others were starting to come out into the parking lot, shouting questions about what was going on.

Ed was pulling me backward faster and I kept stumbling. “Quit squirmin’, bitch!” Ed shouted at me. To his two friends, he said over his shoulder, “We need to get out of here!” I saw something fly through the air out of the corner of my eye followed by a dull thunking sound.

Ed suddenly let out an “Ow!” and he loosened his grip on me. His hand with the knife was right in front of me. I pulled my arm free of his grip just as I leaned forward and bit his hand as hard as I could. Again Ed yelped in pain. I stumbled forward and Brad rushed to catch me.

From the side I heard a shout. “You leave her alone, asshole!” I looked in the direction of the sound and saw of all people Tamara, barefoot, brandishing a shoe. Her other shoe lay on the ground near Ed.

Looking confused, Ed waved the knife towards me. With is free hand he started to grab at my hair again as Brad pulled me away.

I looked over at Skip and he had just pulled a large handgun from somewhere inside his coat. He said to Ed, “Looks like you brought a knife to a gunfight, son.”

Ed turned to run as he shouted, “Shit! Let’s get out of here!” All three turned and darted behind Skip’s Navigator and three engines roared to life as they rapped their throttles wide open and sped off.

Skip sucked in a deep breath and said, “I’ve been wanting to say that my whole life.”

I threw my arms around Brad’s neck and clung to him and cried. In a soothing voice he said, “It’s over Alex. It’s okay.”

Somebody in the gathering crowd said, “The police have been called.”

Tamara walked over to me and brushed my shoulder and said, “Are you okay?” When I nodded, still crying, she continued, “My boyfriend and I were a couple of rows over at his car when we heard voices and I rushed over here.”

“Thank you,” I said between sobs.

She waved me off and grinned, “Hey, if it wasn’t for you, I never would have met my new boyfriend.”

“Oh God Brad!” I cried in Brad’s ear. “I’ve never been so scared in my life!”

“I know, baby, I know. Me either.”

A few moments later, the parking lot was filled with red and blue flashing lights.

*     *     *

When the police had finished getting everyone’s statement, they left with the promise of catching Ed as quickly as possible. I was sitting on the pavement of the parking lot with the ruined remnants of my once beautiful dress gathered around me. Brad stood behind me, stroking my hair.

Skip walked up to us and said to Brad, “I’m taking your mother home, Brad. She’s had enough excitement for the week.” He tilted his head in my direction and said, “Take her home son. Make sure she gets safely to her dorm room. Don’t just leave her in the parking lot. When you get back…” he glanced down at me, “…we need to talk.” He then handed Brad some money to pay for a taxi.

“Yes sir.” Brad said simply.

Brad’s parents have now learned my big secret and I’m sure they are not happy about it. And I bet they’re not happy with me. I’m sure they feel Brad lied to them when he said he seeing a girl, but didn’t let them know just what kind of girl. I looked up at Brad and he just looked exhausted. I just stayed on the pavement and watched him call for a taxi on his cell phone.

*     *     *

It was late as well as cold as we approached my dorm room door. The only sound was the rustling sound of my dress and the clicking of my heels. Brad was right by my side, steadying me. I fumbled around in my purse for the keys to the door and after a few abortive tries at the keyhole, I finally unlocked the door.

Brad started to say good night and I said quietly, “Come with me. I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

“It’s a girls only dorm. I could get in trouble.”

I held out my hand and said, “Please?” Brad frowned slightly, then took my hand and followed me quietly into the dorm building, then up the stairs. It was unusually quiet and the floor planks on the stairs creaked noisily.

“Come inside with me for a bit, please Brad?” I asked as we entered the dorm room.

“Won’t we wake up Ashley?”

Feeling tired I plopped onto my bed and said, “She’s not here tonight.”

Brad pulled the blanket from my bed and wrapped it around me as sat on the bed next to me. He took my hand and gave it slight squeeze. “Oh baby. I am so sorry all this happened. What a rotten way to end such a wonderful evening. It’s so unfair to you. When he’s arrested, we’re prosecuting Ed to the fullest extent of the law.”

I was shaking slightly as I slid a finger lightly across Brad’s knuckles. I looked up at him, into those incredible beautiful eyes of his and said, “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know some crazed biker dude was going to try to kidnap and rape me.”

Brad shook his head and shushed me. “I feel ashamed, Alex.” Brad whispered. “I didn’t do enough to protect you. I should have done more. What if he’d taken you away? The thought of him hurting you…” He snuffled a bit. He was crying. The events must have finally caught up with him.

“Brad…what could you have done? He had a knife against my neck for God’s sake. I really felt he’d used it too if you tried anything.”

Shaking his head again, Brad said, “Ed’s a moron and a worthless, steaming pile of shit, but I doubt he’d really try to kill you. I should have protected you better.” He stared at the floor.

Using both hands I lifted Brad’s head to level with my eyes and almost pressing my nose against his I said, “Don’t beat yourself up. You did the best you could do under the circumstances of a crazy guy with knife.”

He smiled slightly and we just stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments. I leaned forward and kissed him, softly at first and then pressing harder. He kissed back and I put my arms around his neck. We fell back onto the bed, kissing and holding each other close. I wasn’t sure how, but a few moments later, Brad was down to his underwear and I my bra and panties.

We roiled around on the bed, kissing passionately, with me moaning and gasping with lust. Brad pressed his hardness into my panties and licked and sucked my nipples. I started tugging on his underwear and he finished pulling it off. His manhood pressed into my nylon panties and when it touched the soft bulge in my panties, he flinched back. I grabbed his shaft and started sliding my hand up and down it.

Brad suddenly kissed me with an impassioned determination and then suddenly rolled me over and pulled my panties to one side. The next moment I felt him slide into me. I gasped loudly, “Oh Brad!”

*     *     *

“You look like shit.” Ashley said as she handed me a cup of hot chocolate. “If I’d known the social event of the year was going to turn into a fight, I would have gone.”

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun…not!” I said as I sipped the hot chocolate. “I was scared totally out of my mind.”

“You made the news,” said Ashley as she held up the local newspaper. On the front page was a picture showing me sitting on the ground in my ruined dress. “Too bad about the dress. It was pretty. Looks like you finished it off after you got back to our room.” She gave me a wry smile. I was asleep when Brad left. He ran into Ashley as she was returning from her little outing and gave her a quick rundown of the evening.

“It’s bizarre that Tamara came to your rescue. I thought that bitch would have helped Ed knife you.” Ash tossed the paper onto the desk.

I nodded then sipped more of the drink. I said, “Yeah. She decided she was happy I screwed things up with Zach.”

There was a long pause, and then Ash said, “So now his parents know your deep, dark secret, eh? What do you think their reaction is going to be?”

I shook my head and said, “I have no freakin’ idea. I’m worried sick over it.”

Shrugging, Ashley said, “Well, at least his dad didn’t shoot you. That’s a good sign.”

“Maybe.”

*     *     *

“Hello?” I said into the phone, trying not to sound anxious and scattering several objects on to the floor in a desperate attempt to grab the phone.

“Hey babe,” said Brad from the phone. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing much,” I said casually. “Just watching T.V. You”

“Same here.” There was a rather long pause before Brad continued. “Uh, I um, talked to my parents. They kinda guessed why I was late. We had a long conversation.”

“Oh?” I said, trying not to sound interested. “What about?”

Another long pause and then Brad said, “You. I mean, what do you think?”

“And?”

“They were both very unhappy that I didn’t tell them up front that you’re not a real girl. I…”

“As far as I’m concerned, I am a real girl! You didn’t seem to mind last night!” I almost shouted, feeling suddenly testy.

“..I…hey, I’m trying to tell you something! Look, yes I accept you as a woman, but like it or not, when you get down to brass tacks, you have a dick! And most girls don’t have dicks. I’m sorry, but that’s biology. Personally, I try to ignore it.”

“So if I dressed and acted like a guy, you wouldn’t have sex with me?”

“No!” Brad said with frustration mounting in his voice. “…I mean yes…I mean…well I might now, but I wouldn’t if I only knew you as a guy! Can I tell you what my parents said before I don’t give a shit any more?”

Though he couldn’t see the gesture, I folded my arms defensively and said with a hint of anger, “Sure!”

“Okay then!” He took a deep breath. “So like I said, they were mad because I didn’t tell them you had a dick. I told them I thought it was too early in our relationship. At first, they liked you. They thought I’d finally made a good choice. Now they’re not so sure.”

“Just great.”

“Will you let me finish, please?” said Brad, his voice straining.

“They asked me how I felt about you, since I obviously knew you have a penis. I told them…”

“Will you stop talking about my penis?? It’s not like I want one, you know!”

Brad raised his voice, “…I said!...I said I loved you. More than any girl I’d known before. They said if I truly loved a girl, even though she has a penis!...” Oh, now he’s doing it deliberately. ”…that they’d support me and welcome her into the family.”

There was a long silence as I just sat there holding the phone. I finally said, “Serious?”

Brad paused briefly before saying, “Yes. Serious. Although I’m not sure why any more. I know we’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks, but Alex…and I don’t say this word lightly. Alex, I love you.”

Oh my God! He just said he loved me! I’ve only been with two boys in my whole life and he says he loves me. Does he really love me or is it the wild sex we had last night talking? Do I love him? Oh my God! Do I? It’s so soon. True, I think of him constantly. Ash had laughed at me the other day when she saw my doodle from English class where I’d drawn a bunch of hearts and written Brad’s name down a few dozen times. What do I tell him? It really is too early to profess love for each other. I should tell him that. How could we love each other? I mean, like I barely even know him!

“I love you too, Brad” I said with a breathy tone in my voice.

*     *     *

End of Alex Has a Talk

Alex Talks Turkey

By

Melanie Brown

Copyright  © 2012

“You said what to him?!”

I looked up at Ashley and said, “I told him I loved him. Are you deaf?”

Ash threw up her hands. “You haven’t known him that long! And you just don’t give it up so easily. He has to earn your love. You don’t make it easy for him! He’ll just take advantage of you.”

“He’s not like that. I believe he truly loves me. And…and…I love him! We faced death together! He saved my life!” I said, waving my arms around for emphasis.

“Technically, that bitch Tamara saved your life with her shoe. And I really doubt that your life, or your virtue…” Ash laughed at that part. “…was in danger. Ed’s not a killer and he’s probably too stupid to know what to do with that thing between his legs.”

“You weren’t there,” I said. “It was scary as hell. Have you ever had a knife to your throat?”

Ash smiled enigmatically and said, “Do I leave out the times during sex play?”

“I’m serious!” I said. “That was a life changing event and it brought us closer.”

Ash plopped down in her chair and said, “You’re such a girly-girl with all your silly romantic fantasies. If you think you love him and you’re happy, I’m glad. I’ve just seen a lot of friends get hurt is all.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I’ve never felt this way about any guy before. I thought my crush on Zach would turn into love, but it didn’t.”

Ash looked wistfully out the window and said, “It’s way too easy to fall in love.”

*          *          *

“Hello?”

“Miss Hughes?” asked the voice on the phone.

“Yes. This is she.”

“Miss Hughes, this is Sgt. Anderson at the police department. I’m calling to let you know that Edward McLaughlin has been arrested and is currently waiting to be arraigned by the county court. You will need to come down to the station to sign the complaint.”

“I’ll be there with bells on!” I exclaimed.

“The bells won’t be necessary,” said Sgt. Anderson as he disconnected.

I quickly punched in Brad’s number. After a few rings, he answered. “Brad! Did you hear? They caught that scuz-bucket Ed! Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Yes. I just got a call from the police about it. We have to go sign the complaint. Want to go with me?”

“Sure!” I said. “Call me when you’re in the parking lot.”

*          *          *

“I didn’t think a hundred thousand dollar bail is enough,” I said as we walked back to Brad’s car. “All he has to come up with is ten kay and he’ll be out.”

Brad laughed as he pressed the button on his key fob that unlocked his car’s door. “I doubt that Ed has ten cents. He’s not going anywhere.”

“I sure hope so,” I said as I opened my door and slid into the passenger seat.

As Brad backed his car out of the parking space, he smiled at me and said, “Hey, while it’s not really over, at least we don’t have to worry about that douche and his minions any more. I was getting tired of always running into them.”

I laughed and said, “Yeah, now all we have to worry about is running into that other douche, Zach.”

Pulling into traffic, Brad said, “Meh. I can’t image him bothering you anymore. I mean, he’s the one that’s creating his own problem. It’s not like you’re going around bragging you had sex with him.”

Frowning, I said, “Do you have to bring that up? I’m trying to forget.”

Smiling, Brad said, “Sorry. But you know…I sure wouldn’t mind being on a South Pacific island alone with you.”

I grinned and said, “I bet you wouldn’t!”

Except for the radio, silence reigned for the next few minutes on our way back to the University. We might not have been together for very long, but it’s been long enough for me to tell that he had something on his mind.

“You okay?”

“What?” asked Brad, seemingly distracted. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just…” his voice trailed away.

“Yes?” I prodded.

“Nothing. It’s just that my mom…um…she wants to invite you to Thanksgiving dinner at our house next Thursday on…uh…Thanksgiving.” I was a little surprised by Brad’s nervousness.

I laughed and said, “Yeah, that’s usually when most people have Thanksgiving dinner.”

“You are correct, sir! Um ma’am…uh Miss…damn!”

Shaking my head I asked, “Why are you so nervous?”

“I don’t know,” said Brad. “It just seems like such a big step.”

“I’ve already met your parents,” I said. “We’re past that already.”

Shrugging, Brad said, “I know. It’s still a big step in a relationship and I’m just afraid you’d say ‘no’”. He glanced over at me for a second before turning his eyes back onto the road and said, “You haven’t uh, answered yet…”

I smiled sweetly at him and said, “I’d love to come to your house for Thanksgiving.”

Brad grinned broadly. “I was hoping you’d say that!”

I laughed and though I knew I’d regret it, I said, “Besides, where else am I going to go? Dad’s on another of his deep woods camping trips.”

“Look, if you really don’t want to come, it’s okay,” said Brad as he stared straight ahead.

“I do want to come!” I said. “I can’t wait. I mean, really.”

Brad gave me a half smile and said, “Okay. Oh, and just in case you think we dress up for dinner, we don’t. But don’t wear sweat pants and a holey t-shirt.”

*          *          *

Ash’s car rolled to a stop outside of Brad’s house. I looked at the house for a long moment. This was a milestone in my life. I was about to go into my…dare I say it?...boyfriend’s house to have dinner with him and his parents. As a girl! What a difference a year makes. A sudden nervousness washed over me.

“Relax, girlfriend,” said Ash in a soothing voice. “You’re not going into the lion’s den. You already know his parents and they love you. You’ll do fine. And you look absolutely adorable.”

“Thanks, Ash.” I looked down for a second to make sure everything was right. I was wearing a short, tan, sweater dress, hose and really cute high-heeled boots. As I started to open the car door, I turned back to Ashley and said, “Are you sure you don’t want to come? Brad said you were more than welcome.”

Ashley flashed a quick smile and said, “Thanks, but I don’t think so. My piercings would probably clash with their décor. Don’t worry about me. I have some friends I was going to hang with. Hey, don’t give me that look. I promise we won’t knock over any convenience stores.”

I laughed and said, “Don’t roll any drunks either, okay?” Ash nodded solemnly. “Talk to you later! Bye.” I made a quick check of my make-up in the visor mirror.

Just before I closed the car door, Ashley said, “Give me a call to pick you up if he doesn’t offer to bring you back home. Have fun.”

Ash drove away as soon as I shut the door. I stood there and watched her drive out to the street from the wide, circular driveway. I turned around and started walking towards Brad’s house. It was a beautiful two-story dark brick house surrounded by tall trees and shrubs. The house took on almost a gothic look under the dark, cloudy November sky.

I rang the door bell and waited nervously for the door to open. I didn’t have to wait for long before the door opened and I was greeted by Edith, Brad’s mother.

“Welcome, dear. Please come in. Everyone is in the living room,” Edith said as she touched my arm lightly to lead me through the house. “And you look adorable, hun.”

“Thank you,” I said as I started walking beside her towards what I assumed was the living room. “You look very nice too, Mrs. Wellington.” She was wearing a nice, dark brown dress with a pleated skirt and matching low-heeled shoes. I was glad to see her wearing a dress. I had had a sudden fear that they were all going to be wearing sweat pants and holey t-shirts.

“Call me Edith!” Brad’s mom admonished me.

A few moments later, we entered the living room. And what a really nice room it was. Brad and his father had been sitting on a leather couch watching their sixty inch flat screen TV. Both got up when we entered the room.

Brad’s dad surprised me by giving me a hug. “Welcome hun to our modest little home.” As he hugged me close, he whispered in my ear, “You look adorable, by the way.”

I smiled and said, “Thank you Mr. Wellington.”

“I told you, call me Skip.” He then walked away towards something that looked like a kitchen entrance.

Brad took a step towards me and gestured wide with his arms. “Alex! You look…look…”

“Adorable?”

“Exactly!” Brad said as he leaned into me for a quick, soft kiss. He pointed at the large couch and said, “Sit down. Watch the game with us. The turkey should be ready about the time the game ends.”

I sat down on the couch, not really all that excited about watching a football game, but happy to be near Brad. About then Skip returned with a bowl of chips, a beer for him and he set down on the coffee table a soda each for Brad and I.

As they watched the game, I snuggled into Brad’s shoulder and closed my eyes as his scent filled my nostrils. Brad couldn’t keep his arm around me as he kept leaning forward to grab some chips. With my head on his shoulder, the crunching noise from the chips was actually getting annoying. I heard clanking of dishes coming from the kitchen and I felt a sudden pang of guilt. Edith was alone in the kitchen making the meal.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said to Brad. He didn’t notice as something with the game made both him and Skip jump up and shout. I made my way back to the kitchen and poked my head through the door.

“Hey, Mrs. Well…Edith,” I said as I looked through the kitchen door. “I was wondering if you could use some help in here?”

Edith looked up and smiled at me as she said, “You’re such a dear! I would love to have some help. The boys would help, but I won’t let them in the kitchen ever since a few years ago when the turkey exploded.”

“Exploded?” I asked, incredulous.

“Don’t ever put a frozen turkey in a hot oven,” Edit said matter-of-factly. She opened the door to the lower oven and peeked under the tinfoil. “Would you like to make the pies? We’re having pumpkin and cherry.”

“Wow,” I said. “My mom switched to store bought pies years ago.” Edith had already rolled dough and lined the pans with it. Nearby were cans of pie filler. I was worried for a minute that I was going to have to gut a pumpkin and cook that first. Fortunately, her stove had two ovens with the turkey in the large one on the bottom.

“It always tastes better when you make it yourself, I always say,” said Edith.

Smiling, I said, “I have to agree with that.”

As she started peeling potatoes, Edith said, “You know, Alex, I have to tell you…” She paused speaking and peeling, but didn’t look over at me. She continued, “I have to be honest, hun, I really don’t understand this trans-tranny-whatever stuff. I used to watch Sally Jessy, Phil Donahue…all those shows for years and I still never could understand it.”

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, I said, “It’s confusing for everyone, Edith.”

Edith put the potato down that she was working on and turned towards me. She said, “I just don’t see how a boy, or a man would choose to be a woman.”

“I didn’t choose this, Edith,” I said. “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. But it is who I am. Despite how I may look, I know I’m a girl.”

Edith smiled and said, “Well, you look adorable. At first, Skip and I had no reason at all think you were anything other than this very pretty, sweet girl. We started questioning everything when we found out you weren’t really a girl. Since Brad knew from the time he first met you that you were one of those two boys marooned on that island, we wondered if Brad was gay or have questionable judgment if he’s not.”

I stopped scooping pie filler into the pan and just stared at the spoon I was holding. Tears welled up in my eyes, and with a cracked voice, I said, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Wellington. I wasn’t trying to fool you. Or turn Brad gay…”

“Alex…”

“…or embarrass you…”

“Alex…”

“…and to me I am a real girl. I can’t help how I was born…”

“Alex, please…”

“…and you can’t help who you fall in love with. I…”

“Alex! Alex,” Edith interrupted. “Skip and I were wrong. Brad fell for a girl named Alex. You’re all he talks about…well, and computer games.” Edith paused a moment, looking out the kitchen doorway to where Brad and Skip were watching the football game. She turned back to me and said, “I may never fully understand the whys of who you are. But Brad is happier than he’s been in a long time. And I have the lovely, young woman who is standing in my kitchen to thank for that.”

*          *          *

Skip shook his head as he said, “You two were just kids. I don’t see how you survived living on that island for almost three months.”

I swallowed the piece of turkey I was chewing and said, “My dad’s a hunter and outdoorsman. I would go with him on camping trips and since Mom rarely went with us, it’d be my responsibility to cook dinner. We’d eat a lot of fish so I knew what to do. Once we established sources of water and food, I really think we could have survived for years there.”

I paused and chuckled before saying, “I really think Zach would have starved on that little island of plenty.”

Skip pushed his plate away from him and leaned back. He tried to cover up a belch, looked at me and said, “You’re a resourceful young woman. I like that.”

Brad smiled at me and said, “Yep, she’s pretty amazing.”

Edith added, “And adorable.”

Skip put his hands on the table to help him rise to his feet. “Mother, that was a wonderful meal. Everything was perfect.”

Edith nodded and said, “Thank you. And Alex was a big help in the kitchen. I don’t think it would have all come together on time without her.”

I felt my cheeks redden as I quietly said, “Thanks.”

As we were leaving the table to relax in the living room, I heard a phone ringing in the kitchen. Edith redirected herself back to the kitchen as Brad and I plopped down on the large couch.

Brad put his arm around me and said, “You really are beautiful.” He started to lean in towards me and my lips parted.

“Brad?” said Edith from the kitchen door. Brad stopped just before he kissed me and looked up towards his mother. Edith continued, “Brad, that was your friend Ray. He remembered you told him Alex would be with you today.”

Brad sat up a little straighter and said, “Mom? Is something wrong?”

Edith looked pale as she turned towards me and said, “My God, I’m so sorry Alex. Your roommate, Ashley…she’s been shot.”

*          *          *

End of Alex Talks Turkey

Alex Visits the Hospital

By

Melanie Brown

Copyright  © 2012

Tears began streaming down my cheeks as I pulled out my cell phone. “Did he say what hospital she was taken to? Oh God, she can’t be dead. She can’t. She can’t…”

Edith said, “It was probably Hinckley Memorial. That’s where the ambulances usually go.” She stood there looking worriedly at me.

I dialed 411 and asked for the hospital’s number. I then waited a few seconds while it connected me.

“Thank you for calling Hinckley Memorial Health System. How may I direct your call?” asked a tired sounding voice on the phone.

I gulped some air trying to regain some composure and asked, “Do you have an Ashley Norris there?”

The tired voice droned, “Just a moment. I’ll check.” Several agonizing seconds before the operator returned saying, “Yes. She’s in the E.D.”

“Is she okay? Is she alive?” I asked in near panic.

“That’s all the information I have, sir,” replied the operator.

Sir? The stress must have knocked my voice back. I let it go and said, “Thank you.”

Brad asked, “Well? What did they say?”

I slid my phone back into my purse, my eyes unfocused, said, “She’s there. They wouldn’t say much else.”

Skip said, “She must not be in a room yet. They would have given you the room number.”

Still not focusing on anything in particular, I said, “I have to go there.” I turned to face Brad and said, “Can you take me?”

Brad nodded and said, “Sure babe, let’s go.”

As I stood up, Edith took hand and hugged me. She said, “She will be in our prayers.”

*          *          *

“She’s in recovery, miss. You can’t see her until she’s been moved to a room,” said the triage nurse in the emergency room. “Are you family?”

I hesitated a second, then lied, “I’m her sister.”

The nurse nodded and said, “The doctor will want to visit with you for a few minutes. No other family is here?”

I shook my head and answered, “No.” I honestly had no idea where Ashley’s parents might be. She never really talked about them other than to say she doesn’t remember her dad and hasn’t seen her mother in a long time.

The nurse said, “Please follow me to the family consultation room.”

We entered the emergency room through a large swinging door. She led us down a corridor past several smaller rooms with a single gurney type bed, monitors and other equipment that I couldn’t identify. Some were empty and none had the curtains closed far enough. In one there was an old man moaning and fidgeting. In another, lay a little girl unconscious with her mother next to her crying. The nurse finally opened what looked like an office door and directed Brad and I inside and then left.

Brad looked at me funny and asked, “Why did you lie about being her sister?”

“Because I wanted to find out what is going on,” I said.

We sat in silence for several minutes.

A doctor walked in unannounced while looking at a sheaf of papers in his hands. He looked up and said, “Hello. I’m Dr. Mathis, Ashley’s surgeon. I’m not sure if you know the details. Ashley suffered from ballistic trauma from a single .22 caliber gun shot to her chest. Ashley is a very lucky young woman. She was lucky the bullet was small caliber. The bullet did not strike any bones, passing through her right lung and lodging a few inches from her spine. Right now she’s in very serious condition, but unless complications arise, I expect her to make a full recovery.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor,” I said through tears.

Dr. Mathis nodded and started to turn towards the door. He said, “She’s still in recovery for now, but when she’s taken to a room, you’ll be able to visit her.” Without another word, he left the room.

*          *          *

I double-checked the card on the wall next to the open door to make sure it was Ash’s room. I expected her to be in an ICU ward, with respirators and other machines attached to her. But the nurse said she was breathing on her own. She didn’t have a collapsed lung or anything like that. I told Brad to go back home and be with his family, that I’d be okay. I told him I’d call him when I was ready to leave.

I took a deep breath and not even trying to fight back the tears, I walked slowly into her room, afraid of what I’d see.

There was Ashley, lying on her back, attached to a bag of glucose and an infuser pumping God knows what into the hep-lock on her hand. Her hair stuck up comically. I’m sure she’d hate the hospital gown she was wearing. Her eyes were closed as I approached.

“Oh, Ash!” I sighed, letting myself cry. “I hate seeing you like this.”

“Meh…you should try feeling me like this,” whispered Ashley, her voice sounding dry.

“Oh my God, Ashley!” I yelped. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”

Ashley opened one eye slightly to look at me as she said, “Like I’ve been shot.”

“I’d hug you, but I don’t want to get all tangled in your hoses and stuff,” I said.

Ashley opened both eyes slightly and looked around the room. I’m not sure if she was actually focusing on anything. She said, “Yeah. Reminds me of a party I went to once…” Her voice drifted off and I think she fell asleep. I just stood there and watched her for a few minutes, afraid something might happen.

One eye opened again and looked at me. Ash whispers, “You’re still here?”

I smiled at her and said, “I just want to make sure you’re okay. Do you remember what happened?”

She closed her eyes and winced and with her eyes still closed she said, “Yeah. Sorta.” She looked back at me and frowned. “Stupid convenience store.”

I sucked in my breath and she said, “No, you goof-ball. I wasn’t robbing it. We ran out of beer at the party I was at, so I went to get some more. Good timing, huh? I walked in as they were being robbed. The robber recognized me, panicked and shot me and ran away without making sure I was dead.” Telling the events seemed to tire her out as she drifted back off to sleep.

A few minutes later she woke up, but didn’t say anything more about her adventure. I asked, “He recognized you? Who was he?”

Not opening her eyes, she said, “No one you know. A guy I dated in high school.”

“Really?” I asked sounding more shocked than I should have.

She glared at me with one eye and said, “Yes. Just like you, Alex, I tried to live up to someone else’s expectations.”

She just laid there, her breathing sounding labored. Something caught her attention as she looked past me towards the door. She tried to roll over, but couldn’t. With a croaking voice, she said, “Mom?”

I turned to see a tallish woman, with long disheveled dark brown hair with gray streaks, wearing a tank top and very obviously no bra and tight jeans with holes at the knees. Her arms were covered in tattoos and she had a nose and eyebrow piercing. She rushed past me as if I wasn’t standing there.

“My baby!” she cried as she stepped beside Ashley. “Oh my God, Ashley! I got here as fast as I could. Are you hurt bad, honey?”

Ashley nodded and smiled at her mother. She said, “It’s not too bad, Mom. I mean, it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve been shot.”

“It’s never a good thing,” said Ash’s mom matter-of-factly. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, baby. And now to see you like this…” Her tears cut off her words.

“It’s okay, Mom,” said Ashley. “I’ll be okay, I promise. I’m just happy to see you!” Ash then coughed, then howled in pain.

Both Ash’s mom and I said, “Take it easy!”

Two nurses came rushing into the room and said, “Would you mind waiting back out in the lobby? We’ll call you when she’s stabilized.”

We both started to leave when Ashley said, “Oh…Mom, meet Alex. Alex mee….aahhhh!”

One nurse spoke into a device attached to her lapel that I had thought was a pager and said, “We need Dr. Mathis in room 710A, stat!”

After we entered the lobby, I stood by the window and looked down at the ground seven floors below. It was night time now and the view of the city’s lights was spectacular. Well, as spectacular as anything gets in this town.

Ashley’s mom leaned against the wall next to me and said, “Alex is it?”

I said, “Yes. Alex Hughes.” I held out a wimpy girlish handshake, but her mom gripped my hand firmly.

“Margaret Norris. How do you know Ashley?”

“She’s my roommate,” I said. I saw her raise an eyebrow and quickly added, “At the university’s dorm.”

She smiled at me and said, “Well, you must be a good friend or you wouldn’t be here.”

“She is my BFF,” I said.

“I’m glad she has a good friend like you,” said Ash’s mother.

I smiled weakly and said, “Well, she has lots of friends. She was with some this afternoon.”

Margaret smiled at me again and said, “I don’t see any of them here.”

*          *          *

Margaret came out of Ashley’s room and said, “They just gave her something to make her sleep. But she wants to see you before she falls asleep.”

A nurse leaves the room, and then I walk in slowly. I really hated seeing her in that hospital bed. It was so unlike her. She’s so full of life. I walked beside her bed and said, “Hey, Ash.”

She looked up at me with sleepy eyes. “Hey girlie-girl. Thanks for coming here to check on me.”

“I’m just glad you weren’t hurt worse. And, thanks for waiting until after dinner to get shot,” I said with a smirk.

“Oww. Don’t make me laugh. Seriously.”

“I’m sorry!” I said, suddenly alarmed.

She winced again slightly and said, “It’s okay.” She closed her eyes, the medication taking effect.

“Good night, Ash,” I said in a hushed tone. “Just get better, okay?”

Her eyes still closed, she smiled slightly. I started to turn away, and she said in almost a whisper, “Alex?”

I leaned in close to hear her, saying, “Yes?”

Very softly, she breathed, “I love you…” and fell asleep.

*          *          *

End of Alex Visits the Hospital