Part 1
If you look exactly like your sister, never say "yes" when she asks you for help...
“Well, it is just a little embarrassing,” I said, standing on a chair, wearing the outfit my sister was going to be wearing the next day at the drag races. It was a skimpy, red, white and blue sequined dress. Holly was making adjustments to it.
She rolled her eyes at me and said, “You always say that. Nobody is going to see you, silly.” She put the needle between her lips as she ran her hands along the hem. Taking the needle from her mouth, she added, “Besides, next year, if I'm still doing this, you'll probably be too tall to be my model. As it is, we're the same size in everything.”
Folding my arms, I said, “Thanks for reminding me...”
I jumped when the doorbell rang.
Holly didn't even look up as she checked out the over-all fit of the dress. “I bet that's Angie.”
Angie was the assistant to Melvin “Mad Dog” Slater who owned the drag strip and quarter mile dirt track on the east side of the Interstate. On weekends, he'd hire my sister and other girls to be eye candy at the tracks and present trophies.
I heard my mom open the door, followed by a muffled conversation for a few moments. Then Mom yelled out, “Holly! Angie is here!”
Over her shoulder, Holly shouted, “Cool! Send her on back, Mom.”
My eyes widened as I hissed, “Are you crazy? She'll see me!”
Holly dismissed me with a wave of her hand as she pulled herself off her knees to her full height. She picked up a few items that were lying on the chair I was standing on.
Then Angie walked in, looked up at me and said, “Hey Holly. Hey, here's the boots Mel wants you to wear tomorrow. Hey, when did you cut your hair? Looks cute.”
"I'm not Holly!” I said with a scowl.
Holly giggled as she stepped out from behind me. “That's my brother, Ang. Ang, meet Caleb. Caleb, meet Ang.”
Angie put her hand over her mouth as she said with surprise in her eyes, “Holy shit! Pardon my French, but hey, you two look just alike. In that dress and with his hair combed over his eyes like that, I thought for sure he was a girl.”
“That’s not funny!” I scowled.
Shrugging, Angie said, “Well it’s true. A little make-up and your hair fixed, you’d have guys drooling over you the same as they do with your sister.” Before I could protest, she continued, “Oh, that reminds me. Looks like you’ll be on your own tomorrow.”
Holly stopped fussing with the dress and looked over at Angie. “Oh? Why is that? Something happen to Sandy?”
Angie nodded. “Yep, she called Mel that she can’t do it anymore. It’s too short notice to find another model for tomorrow.”
Holly plopped down in a nearby chair and said with a disgusted voice. “Well, that sucks! Ang, you know I hate doing that stuff alone!”
Angie stiffened slightly and said, “I’m sorry. I have no idea where we could find another girl on such short notice.”
Suddenly, without them saying anything, they both turned to look at me.
“No!” I almost shouted. “You can get whatever stupid idea right out of your heads now.”
Angie said, “You look enough like your sister to be her twin. Don’t you want to help your sister out?”
“No. Are you kidding?” I said scowling.
“Wouldn’t you like to get some extra money?” asked Holly.
Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “How much money?”
Angie laughed. “Mel pays girls two hundred dollars to stand around smiling all afternoon and handing out trophies. And there’s always the possibility of doing local promotions which will bring in more money as well. Holly, you remember Lisa don’t you, from a couple of years ago. She caught national attention and now does runway and some magazine work in New York.”
“We know you’re not going to be a fashion model Caleb, but two hundred dollars for one day? That’d almost pay for that bicycle you were wanting.” Holly said, trying to sound reasonable. “Girls are always trying out for this job, so Mel is sure to have someone to work with me next week.”
“Let’s at least see what you’d look like,” suggested Angie. “It might all be a moot point.”
“You two are freakin’ nuts! I’m not dressing up like a girl!” I almost shouted.
Smirking, Holly said, “Caleb…you’re already wearing a dress.”
Frowning, I said, “That’s beside the point!”
Giggling, Angie said, “Oh come on! It’ll be fun!”
“For you.” I said. “It wouldn’t be fun for me.”
Holly pointed to her vanity and said, “Here. Sit down. Let’s have a look.”
“No!” I protested. “I don’t want to.”
Frowning, Holly said, “Like you have anything better to do! Come on. Nobody’s gonna know.”
I looked at my sister and Angie who were looking pleadingly at me. Against my better judgment, still in the dress, I took the offered chair and sat down. “Oh. I’ll do it. Just no video, okay? I don’t want to see this on YouTube.”
Holly giggled, “All right, this will be fun!” She pulled a chair up next to me and started gathering various make-up containers. Angie just stood behind me, her fist closed before her mouth trying to hide her grin.
Holly said, “I won’t put on a lot. I just want to see what you look like. Hold still while I put your foundation on.” She seemed to put putting a lot on by brushing on various powders, almost poking me in the eye with her eye liner and mascara. While Holly worked on my face, Angie played with my hair, trying to get it to look girlie.
After what seemed an eternity, Holly took a step backwards. She said, “Holy crap, Ang! It’s unbelievable!”
Angie stepped back to get a better look herself. “That…is totally amazing. I was just joking before, but that’s just crazy!”
“What?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of my overall disgust at the idea of wearing make-up.
My sister motioned me to stand and said, “Well, come over here to my mirror.” Holly had a full length mirror mounted on her bedroom closet door. I walked over in front of the mirror and my jaw dropped.
“Oh my God. Is that me?” I asked, incredulous. “That’s not possible! I…I…I look just like a girl!” Angie had combed my longish hair over one eye and while Holly had thankfully gone easy on the eye make-up, she’d given me an incredible sexy look. Add in the rose pink lipstick and I was one hot looking babe.
Giggling, Holly said, “That’s you!”
Angie said, “My God, Holly! You two could be twins!” She laughed. “No kidding. You two could easily pass for twin sisters.”
“What’s all this commotion going on in here?” asked my Mom as she entered Holly’s room. She looked straight at Holly and me and stopped in her tracks, whatever words she was going to say next suddenly forgotten. Looking completely confused, Mom looked at me and said, “Holly?” She paused for a moment, and then said, “Caleb? What are you doing dressed like that?”
“Hey, Mom.” I said. “We’re just goofing around.”
Ignoring Mom, Holly said, “Here. Try on the boots.”
“Holly.” Mom said. When Holly continued to push my foot into the boot, Mom said with more irritation in her voice, “Holly!”
My sister looked up at Mom and said, “Yes, Mom?”
“What are you doing with your brother?”
“Just what he said, Mom. We’re just goofing around. He always models my dresses so I can see how they’ll look on me.”
“I do?”
“He does?”
Holly frowned at me and said, “What do you think you were just doing when Ang came in?”
Mom wasn’t convinced and said, “He wears your make-up too?”
“That’s new,” said Holly. “I may start doing that more often. It’s better than looking in a mirror!”
“I don’t think so,” I said in protest.
“No, seriously though, Mom,” grinned Holly, “Angie has a great idea. Caleb gets a job and out of the house and away from those stupid computer games over the weekend.”
Mom sat on Holly’s bed and said, “Oh? This I gotta hear.”
Holly then told Mom Angie’s idea of me modeling at the drag strip with Holly on the weekends. While she was talking, I felt extremely silly standing there wearing the short dress, boots and make-up.
When Holly was finished, Mom laughed, “You can’t be serious.” She stared at the three of us and said, “You are serious!”
“The jury is still out for me,” I said. “I think they’ll be out for a long time.”
Mom stood up and said, “Personally I think it’s a crazy idea. And you don’t have to guess what your father will say.”
Dad wasn’t real big on cross-dressing. Mom mentioned that Dad had walked out of the movie “Tootsie”. He really can’t hide his disappointment that I’m not a tall, broad-shouldered football jock.
“Well, we won’t tell Dad. It’s just one day, after all,” said Holly when Mom had left the room.
“I haven’t said I’d do it yet,” I protested.
“It’s a piece of cake, Caleb,” Holly said. “Like Angie said, you just stand there, look pretty and hand out trophies.”
Angie said, “I got an idea. Mel is still at the office. Let’s take Caleb over there and get Mel’s opinion. I mean, it’s his racing arena. We can’t assume he’d want to hire Caleb no matter how hot he looks without seeing him first.”
“I’m not going out in public like this!” I raised my voice, hoping Mom would hear and put an end to Holly’s mad scheme.
Angie smirked and said, “If you got the job, you’ll have hundreds of people staring at you.”
“That doesn’t help,” I said.
“Don’t be a baby, Caleb. What’s it going to hurt?” asked Holly as she picked up her purse and car keys.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea…” I protested.
“This is your brother?” Mel asked incredulously. He shook his head and said, “She’s gorgeous. Just like you, Holly. I don’t think it’d be a problem at all, as long as she doesn’t do something stupid like take a piss in public.”
“Stop saying ‘she’, please,” I said feeling overwhelmingly embarrassed.
“Since you’re getting me out of a bind, I’ll pay you both three hundred dollars tomorrow. I really prefer to have two girls posing with the winners,” Mel said as he just stared at me.
Just then, the door to Mel’s office opened and a man in his early twenties entered saying, “Hey, boss. I just finished checking out the Christmas tree and the traps and…” He suddenly became aware of Holly, Angie and me in Mel’s office, which apparently made him lose his train of thought. His eyes lingered on me and I felt my cheeks flush.
“Oh, hi Eric,” Holly said with that little lilt in her voice that comes when she’s talking to someone she likes.
Angie said, “Hey Eric. Meet Holly’s little brother, Caleb. He’s going to work with Holly tomorrow.”
Eric’s expression changed from the surprise of seeing three other people in Mel’s office to one of utter confusion as he said, “Her…what? You said brother?”
Before Angie could answer, Holly said, “Yeah. Caleb is auditioning for the modeling job with me tomorrow. We thought it’d be a little fun.”
The tall man scratched his head as he continued to stare at me and said, “He’s pretty enough, that’s for sure. He looks just like you, Holly. But shouldn’t he be an actual girl?”
Angie said, “Mel couldn’t get a girl to replace Sandy on such short notice. We’ll have a regular model next week end.”
Eric shifted his gaze from me to Angie. With obvious disappointment in his voice, he said, “Oh? What happened to Sandy? She didn’t say anything to me.”
Sounding a little pissed, Mel said, “Yeah. She called a few hours ago to tell me she’s quitting. Now look what I have to do in order to keep the business up.” Mel shook his head as he pointed at me.
“At no point in any of this have I said I’d do this!” I said, trying to sound as annoyed as possible.
Holly said, “Caleb, please take this job. I would love to have you with me. I’m asking you to please help me out.”
“Everyone will see me in a dress!” I exclaimed.
“No one will know it’s you!” Holly countered. “No one is going to walk up to you and say, ‘Hey, nice legs, Caleb!’ “
Eric said, “And those are nice legs.”
Angie said, “If only Holly’s legs were that nice.” Holly stuck her tongue out at her.
I stood there a moment, trying to evaluate the situation. I’d never worn make-up before and I have to say it annoyed the crap out of me from the feel and taste of my lipstick to how my eyelashes felt. Still, three hundred bucks to just stand around and Holly was right, no one would know who I was. When I had looked in the mirror back home, I didn’t know who I was.
“Okay, you win,” I said, feeling I was going to regret it. “I’ll do it.”
Holly leapt up and hugged me saying, “Yay! Thank you so much! I’ve always wanted a sister.”
“It’s just for one day!” I said a little too loudly.
“Ah, crap!” I grumbled as we approached our house. “I was hoping we’d beat him home so I could change.” Dad’s car was parked in the drive-way. Most Saturday nights, he was out bowling with his friends into the early hours. Or maybe it was bowling and drinking. Or maybe just drinking. I’m no longer sure.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Holly. “I mean, what’s he gonna do? The worst thing he can do is tell you to change, which is what you’re going to do anyway.”
“He could always beat me,” I said grimly.
“Don’t be stupid, Caleb,” admonished Holly. “Has he ever hit you? Recently?”
Holly pulled her car into the driveway and we both got out and started walking towards the house. I really didn’t want to go inside. Dad wasn’t going to hit me, but I didn’t want to get yelled at, and have my computer games taken away or something.
As we went inside, I was relieved to see Dad wasn’t in the living room. I might be able to make it back to the bathroom to wash my face. Holly sprinted back to her bedroom.
I was halfway through the living room to the hallway when Dad came out of the kitchen.
“Hey, Holly,” said Dad. “Have you seen your brother?”
I just shook my head.
“No big deal,” Dad said. “I was just curious where he was.”
I shrugged and hurried to my room.
“Hey, wait!” Dad shouted. I stopped and he looked at me a little more closely. “Caleb? What the hell are you doing?”
“Doing what, Dad?” I asked.
“Caleb! You look like some goddamned girl!” yelled Dad.
Holly re-entered the living room right then and said, “Well, gee thanks Dad. Do you ever listen to what you say?”
“That’s enough out of you, young lady,” snapped Dad. “I want to know why my son looks like my daughter.”
Before I could say anything, Holly said, “I asked and Caleb graciously agreed to help me tomorrow at the drag races as a trophy presenter. We were just doing a test to make sure he’d look the part.”
Dad just stood there a moment staring at both of us, his face turning a few different shades of red. After a few more moments of silence, he burst out laughing. “You know what? It suits him!” Still laughing, he turned and headed for the garage.
Holly saw me tense up. If there was a way to put me down, Dad would always manage to say it. Holly touched my arm and said, “Don’t worry about what Dad thinks, Caleb. You know he’s disappointed that you didn’t become the football star that a torn ligament prevented him from becoming.”
“I know,” I sighed. “But just once I wish I could hear him say, ‘I’m proud of you, son’ or some such. Even if I liked sports, I couldn’t live up to his expectations.”
Holly gave me a light, girlish punch on the shoulder and said, “But you know what? He just gave you permission to be a trophy girl with me tomorrow. You won, whether he knows it or not.”
We changed into our “uniforms” in Mel’s office about an hour before the drag races. I’d worn Holly’s jeans, t-shirt and a bra and light make-up driving up to the track. We didn’t want anyone to notice a guy going in and a girl coming out. Angie did my hair again while Holly spent a good twenty minutes fussing with my make-up.
“Quit complaining, Caleb,” said my sister as she worked her brushes to smooth my face and complexion. “You want to look good honey for all those cameras. You can’t have a flaw anywhere.”
“She’s going to need a wig until she can grow her hair out if she’s going to do this very often,” grumbled Angie. “I can fem her hair up a little since it is longer than most guys. But it’s still kinda short. She needs a flowing mane like you have, Holly. That’d be so sexy.”
“Stop calling me ‘she’,” I said to Angie. “I’m not a girl. I just play one on T.V.”
Angie stopped fussing with my hair and said, “Oh! What are we going to call this girl? We can’t call her ‘Caleb’.”
“Crap! I haven’t even thought about that!” exclaimed my sister. “What are we going to call you, my smoking hot brother?”
I actually had been giving it some thought, since I didn’t want to leave it up to Holly and Angie. I said, “Well, how about ‘Callie’?” I asked. “That way it’s close to my real name and we’re not likely to forget it at an embarrassing moment.”
Holly grinned and said, “Hey, you’re really getting into this chick thing, aren’t you? Cool. Callie it is. Holly, Angie, and Callie…the three mascara-teers.” She then laughed at her joke.
There was a sudden knock on the door and Mel’s slightly muffled voice said, “You girls ready in there? I need you on the platform in five minutes.”
Angie shouted through the door, “We’ll be there, boss!”
Holly stood up and said, “I think that’s all the damage I can do for now. Let’s go meet our fans…this is your acid test, Callie.”
“Gee thanks,” I said. “You’re expecting me to crash and burn, aren’t you?”
Angie said, “Shush! Don’t say that expression at the drag strip.”
The three of us walked briskly out of the office towards the race track. Holly and I in our red, white and blue mini-dresses with the Pennzoil logo across our breasts. I had practiced walking in the boots and I felt pretty confident in them. Along with over-done make-up, heavy eye-liner and false eyelashes, Holly had gotten me some clip-on white plastic hoop earrings to match the dress. Her earrings were pierced, so I was guessing she was in less pain than I was.
As we climbed the few steps up to the platform, Mel was busy doing a sound check. It was already getting noisy with the un-muffled nitro-fed engines warming up. We were already getting whistles and cat-calls from the audience in the stands. A cold shock flushed down my spine as I saw literally hundreds of cameras all pointing at me. The worst was the television camera from the local T.V. sports team.
I felt my face flush as I said to Holly, “Oh my God, Holly! This is embarrassing as hell! I want to run and hide!”
My sister raised an arm and gave the crowd a wave. She said while smiling broadly, “You’ll get used to it. Just smile and wave, sis…just smile and wave.”
I smiled as best I could without forcing one and waved at the thugs, murderers, rapists and politicians perverts all, in the audience. Well, I was just guessing about the murderers.
Mel turned to us and said, “Okay, girls. Let’s get this party started!” He then picked up the microphone and said to the crowd, “Welcome everyone to Mel’s Racing Arena, the largest Raceway in the tri-state area. I want to thank each and every one of you for spending your weekend, and your money, with us! There’s going to be some great racing today folks, so let’s get started!”
As Mel began announcing the first two cars, I said to Holly, “We just hand the winner a trophy, right, then boot them off the stage?”
“No, Callie,” Holly said, rolling her eyes. “And we don’t hand out trophies for every race. We have a class trophy and an over-all trophy. One of us hands the winner the trophy and then we both kiss him on the cheeks.”
I frowned and said, “I have to kiss a guy?”
Laughing, Holly said, “Just on the cheek. It’s just like giving Aunt Ruth a kiss.”
I stood on the platform next to Mel and watched the first two cars roll to the starting line. I had always wanted to see a drag race close up, but Dad was never into motorsports and wouldn’t take me and for some reason it just never occurred to me to ride out with Holly on the days she modeled, or hosted or whatever the hell she does…I guess today’s it’s we.
It was pretty exciting with the cars’ engines roaring and watching the ‘christmas tree’ flash down to green. However, after a few races, it quickly got a little boring to me. Well, the one car blowing up at the starting line was exciting, at least for a few seconds.
Mel had Holly and I mingle in the pit area during the races to have our picture taken with some of the cars and the drivers. I felt completely humiliated. We were surrounded by people who were staring and smiling at us. I felt overly conspicuous wearing make-up and a mini-dress. But no one caught on that I wasn’t female. It took a while for me to realize that they weren’t looking for me to be faking. They just accepted who I appeared to be. It felt weird to walk past guys and hear them make comments about you. It both boosted my confidence and creeped me out at the same time.
It had been a long, hot afternoon when the part I dreaded the most was finally upon us — the awards ceremonies. Holly and I both had to disappear a few times during the afternoon to refresh our make-up so we’d look all fresh for presenting trophies. The ceremony took a while as there were trophies for first through third place for each of the classes.
As the first winner was called up to the platform for all the spectators to see, Holly whispered to me, “Just relax. Kissing a guy on the cheek is no big deal. We just have to hold it long enough for the photographer to get a shot. Make sure you leave lip prints on his cheek.”
“My feet are killing me and my earlobes are numb. I think the kiss will be the least of my problems,” I whispered back.
Holly laughed and whispered, “Yeah, if you were going to stay a girl, I’d recommend getting your ears pierced.”
The first winner came up on the platform and Holly and I stood on either side of him. Watching my sister for cues, after Holly presented the driver with his trophy, we both leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. We both had to stand on our tip toes as the dude was rather tall. Kissing him was a lot like my Aunt Ruth, only less stubble. What I really didn’t like was putting my lips on all that sweat and grime.
The evening sun hung low in the sky, peeking through the purplish clouds gathering around the western horizon. The cars, drivers and spectators were all gone. Holly and I, along with Eric and Angie and a couple members of Eric’s crew that no one bothered to introduce, were all gathered in Mel’s office. Mel wrote out checks for Eric’s crew and they left. Eric and Angie apparently draw a regular salary from the race track.
Mel was grinning from ear to ear. As he unlocked his desk and pulled out a cash box, he said, “Excellent job today, girls! I must say, you two generated quite a bit of buzz today. I heard both the guests and the media talking about you two as they were leaving the track this evening.”
Mel counted out two stacks of three hundred dollars. I said, “Is that good?”
“Talking about you,” Mel said, still smiling. “…is talking about the track. Very good publicity.”
Angie said, “It was funny though, when that Rick guy was presented with the top trophy, turned at the last second and lip-locked with Callie! I almost died!”
“I almost threw up!” I said, frowning. “Isn’t that against the rules or something?”
“Technically, yes,” said Mel matter-of-factly. “But I let it go. It’ll make a great photo and gives us more buzz.”
“Photo? Someone was taking pictures?” I said, suddenly alarmed.
“Duh!” laughed Holly. “A couple of thousand people taking pictures of the day’s big winner, you can bet someone got a pic of that. Don’t worry though. Nobody knows it was you, Caleb.”
Dad laughed as he read the morning newspaper before going to work. “Great picture of you Holly. That Rick Barrister is from a wealthy family. You might want to get to know him better.”
“Yeah, right,” muttered Holly as she scooped up some scrambled eggs.
“Can I see that for a minute, Dad?” I asked, feeling a bit worried.
Not bothering to swallow first, Dad said, “I gave you the funnies, what else would you want?”
“I just want to see the sports section for a second,” I said trying to sound nonchalant.
He handed me the newspaper and said, “Here take the whole thing. I need to get to work anyway.”
I turned to the Sports section and immediately sucked in my breath. “Oh…my…God! I am so dead.”
Holly stood up and came around the table saying, “Let me take me a look.” She took the paper from me and sucked in a breath. “Oh…my…God! That is so cool!”
Centered on the Sports section’s front page, in four color glory, was a large picture of me being kissed by Rick Barrister. The picture was unusually clear and detailed. The picture caught me while I was blinking and my eyes were closed, so I looked like I was really into the kiss.
Holly looked puzzled for a moment then said, “How could Dad miss the hair? My hair is so much longer than yours.”
“That’s not the point,” I said. “Thousands of people are going to see that picture!”
Holly shrugged and said, “So? I mean like really Callie. Nobody is going to associate that girl in the picture with you. I mean really.”
Frowning, I said, “I sure hope you’re right.”
Holly laughed, still looking at the newspaper. “Mel’s gonna love this! ‘Top racer Rick Barrister gets an enthusiastic kiss from Callie Simmons, trophy presenter for Mel’s Racing Arena, brings sighs from female racing fans in the capacity crowd.’”
Gasping, I almost shouted, “They used my name? Oh my God! They…they…they used my name!”
Holly set the newspaper on the table and said, “Holy shit, they did, didn’t they. Don’t worry, sis. They used Callie’s name, not yours.”
“Stop calling me ‘sis’ and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see a resemblance between Caleb and Callie.” I said, folding my arms and slumping into my chair at the kitchen table.
Holly laughed again and said, “Oh, really?” She suddenly stood up straight and in a wimpy voice said, “I’m Clarke Kent!” And then she pretended to remove a pair of glasses, deepened her voice and said, “I’m Superman!” She then spread her arms and shrugged.
“That’s a movie,” I protested. “That’s an actual picture of me!”
Holly shook her head and said, “Look, doofus. Unless you plan to go to school wearing your hair that way, wear big hoop earrings and false eyelashes, I really don’t think anyone will make the connection.”
“I’m not going to school today.” I said slumping further. “Pretend to be Mom and call the school and tell them I died or something.”
“Just go,” scolded Holly. “Trust me, no one will notice. If someone asks you about the girl with your same last name, just say she’s your cousin. Besides, all your friends are geeks who aren’t likely to read the Sports section.”
“Hey, Caleb! Wait up!” called a voice from behind me. I had been enjoying being in my own thoughts as I walked leisurely down the crowded hall to my next class.
I turned around and saw my pimple-faced friend Isaiah breathing hard from running to catch up to me. “Hey, Izzy. What’s up, man?”
Still catching his breath, Izzy said, “I just wanted to ask you…” He paused to suck in a few short breaths. “I’m curious if you know that bodacious babe on the front sports page in the paper this morning. She has your last name and I know your sister works at the race track.”
Frowning, I said, “She’s my cousin. And I know her more than I know.”
Izzy blinked at me a couple of times, and then said, “Do you know if she’s single?”
I couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Izzy, the day a girl like that would go out with either one of us is the day Hell freezes over.”
Izzy shrugged and said, “According to Dante’, the ninth ring of Hell is ice, so it already has frozen over.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Forget it, Izz. It ain’t gonna happen.”
“Well, I know one thing for sure! I’m going to tractor pulls next Friday night and I’m going to get my picture taken with her!” Izzy grinned from ear to ear.
“Don’t count on her being there,” I said, feeling queasy.
Izzy kept grinning and said, “Of course she’ll be there. The race track owner’s got a gold mine with your sister and cousin.”
Feeling embarrassed about being fawned over even though I knew Izzy didn’t know it was me in the picture, I said, “You can’t see her face! She might be ugly.”
“Jeb was at the drag races Sunday and he saw her,” Izzy said casually. “He said she was drop dead gorgeous.”
I frowned and said, “Well, I’m sure she has a lousy personality…”
I had just turned on the game console when Holly popped her head into my room and said, “Put your face on, sis. Mel wants us to meet him at the garage at the track all dressed up for business. He wants to do some publicity pictures.” She then disappeared behind the door.
I threw the controller onto my bed and stormed into her room. “Holly!” I shouted. Then in a more normal volume, I said, “That was a one-time deal, remember? He’s going to get a new girl, right? So there’s no reason to take pictures of us…me…is there?”
“Yeah…Mel wanted me to talk to you about that,” said Holly looking a little sheepish. “He wants to extend the deal, at least for the next few weekends. He wants us both to work this Friday at the tractor pulls. And Saturday night for the quarter mile dirt track races.”
Holly sat before her mirror and began putting on her make-up. I said, “Why? This is stupid! I…I’m not a girl. Once was a fluke, but I can’t keep pulling this off.”
“Mel thinks so. The fans think so. I’m jealous, girl. More people were asking him about you, than me. Get started with your make-up. I’ll help you when I’m finished with mine. I think I can fix your hair like Angie did.” I just sat there for a few moments. Finally Holly looked away from the mirror and said, “Scoot!”
I went sullenly into the bathroom where Holly kept some extra cosmetics. I stared at my face in the mirror, and then stared at the cosmetics sitting on the bathroom counter. “I don’t want to do this!” I said out loud. I thought, I don’t have to do this.
From her room, Holly called out, “Mel’s going to pay us for the publicity pictures. And it’ll only take an hour or two.”
I stepped back into Holly’s room while holding a bottle of foundation. It bothered me that I now knew how to use cosmetics. I said, “And Friday? Will he have a new girl by then?”
Holly stopped putting on mascara and turned to me and said, “No silly. He wouldn’t be spending money on taking pictures of us, if he was just going to get a new girl for Friday. And don’t worry. You’ll do fine. Tractor pulls are more casual events and we’ll probably be spending most of our time posing with fans.”
“Can we refuse certain people?” I asked, thinking of Izzy’s plans to get a picture with me.
Holly waved me off, turned back to the mirror and said, “Go get started with your make-up. I’ll be there in a minute.”
The last rays of the sun were striking the top of the garage at Mel’s Racing Arena as we pulled up and parked just outside the large open door. The bright fluorescent lights already had the interior brighter than day. Holly and I, both wearing our uniforms, got out of Holly’s car and quickly strode inside, the sounds of our boots echoing through the large garage.
“Come on in, girls,” Mel called out as he motioned for us to come towards him. He was busy talking to who I assumed was the photographer. There were several light stands with the flash umbrella already set up. A woman sat at a table where cosmetics were arranged before her.
As we approached, Mel pointed to the photographer and said, “Girls, this is Tod Bingham from Bingham Photography. He’ll be doing the shoot. Sitting at the table is Ms. Mary Fisk. She’s a make-up artist with Bingham Photography. We’ll try to do this pretty quick.”
I raised my hand to get Mel’s attention and said, “Um, Mel. Why are you going to take pictures of me? Why not the new girl? I was just going to fill in for last Sunday.”
Looking annoyed, Mel said, “For one thing, there is no new girl. The public want to see you two. From the pictures taken tonight, we’re going to make a calendar, some posters to sell at local auto parts houses and a full size cardboard standup. And yes, I plan to compensate you girls for use of your images. We’ll come up with a contract or something later.”
“Mel,” I said, my voice starting to become whiney. “I can’t do this! You need to get another girl.”
“Come over here for a minute, Callie,” Mel said with a gesture to follow as he walked a short distance away from the others.
When we had gotten far enough away, Mel almost whispers, “Please, I need you and your sister to do this. I heard from parts stores, car dealers, you name it, after Sunday. Everyone wants you and your sister to model at their events. I can act as your agent. This could be a sizeable amount of money for all of us. So you have to dress as a girl for a few weekends. It hasn’t killed your sister, has it?”
I laughed and said, “My sister is a girl. It’s normal for her to dress as a girl. I don’t like to wear make-up and dresses. It’s embarrassing. Find a real girl, Mel.”
Looking frustrated, Mel said, “Are you allergic to making money? There’s…there’s magic with you two that I haven’t seen in several years. Every once in a while, a pair of models click and it’s pure magic. Everybody wants them for their events. Everyone wants them to advertise their products. It’s a win, win, win for all of us. Do I have to get down on my knees and beg? Because I will.”
Waving my arms in frustration, I said, “Mel, come on, man!” Lowering my voice, I continued, “I’m not a girl! I can’t have pictures of me in your skimpy uniform plastered all over the place!”
Frowning, Mel said, “Don’t you understand the opportunity I’m giving you? You can make quite a bit of money just by showing up for events and doing little more than smiling. About five years ago, one of my girls…um…Linda…no…Lisa Carter, went national. She endorsed, modeled, posed and smiled her way into a fortune. I think she even went on to make a few porno movies. “
“Mel, I can’t do that! I’d be found out. I’d never be able to dig out of that shame and humiliation,” I said, getting tired of the conversation.
Mel snorted. “Only if you’re stupid, kid. Chances are, you’ll be old news by the end of summer. But until then, you’ll have a lot of chances to earn a lot. I’ve had six requests for appearances by you. Just you. Not with Holly. You. How can you walk away from that?”
Stunned, I asked, “Really? How could I be more attractive than a real girl?”
Mel’s face reddened slightly as he said, “Now don’t think I’m gay or anything, but Callie, I have to admit, you are smoking hot.”
I thought, wow. Now that’s funny. People think I’m as pretty or even prettier than Holly. It would be hilarious to lord that over her! She’s not as hot as her own brother. I felt myself grinning.
“How much money are we talking about?” I asked.
Mel looked from side to side before answering and just said, “Serious...” He paused for a second or two and then continued, “…money.”
“Okay, you convinced me,” I said with resignation. “I’ll do it. But no porno movies.”
Mel just laughed and led me back to where the others were waiting.
Mel clasped his hands in a loud clap as he said, “Ms. Fisk. If you would start on Callie’s make-up, we’ll get this show on the road. I want to be done by ten.”
I sat down and endured Ms. Fisk redoing my make-up. I thought she was going too heavy with the eyeliner, false eyelashes and the dark, smoky eye shadow. But when she was done and held up a mirror for me, my breath was taken away by the totally gorgeous girl looking back at me. Dad would go into cardiac arrest if he saw me. Or maybe he’d just laugh…
“Holy crap, girl!” exclaimed Holly as she came over for her turn with the make-up artist. “I can’t believe how beautiful you are!”
“I don’t even understand how it’s possible, to be honest,” I said as I stood up.
My sister laughed as she sat down and said, “Because you look just like me! We’re the same size and everything. I bet in two years or so, you won’t be able to do this anymore.”
Mel said, “All the more reason to take advantage of it now.”
Frowning, I said, “Mel, you just want to make money off us.”
Mel just shrugged and said, “Yeah? And?”
We spent the next couple of hours posing in and around some of the race cars stored or being worked on in the garage. I had a blast sitting behind the wheel of several race cars and Mel would cringe but otherwise remain silent as Holly and I would either sit or lay across the hood of one of the cars.
While we were getting what I thought were our last set of photos, Mel had disappeared. Holly shouted when the photographer was done, “Mel! It’s after ten. We need to be going.”
Mel came back through a door carrying four, quart cans of motor oil. He said, “We need to get one last shot of you two posing sexy and holding up these cans of oil. This picture will be a full sized cardboard cut-out that I’ll place in auto parts places around town. I’ve got a licensing deal that lets me promote these oil products along with the track and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Holly turned her car from the access road to the race track onto the highway that led back to town. Holly turned to me with a big grin across her face and said, “Well, gorgeous, what did you think of your first real modeling session?”
“I have to admit, I had fun. I never really cared about being the center of attention before, but to look like this and being fussed over and the photographer saying things like ‘beautiful’ and ‘gorgeous’, it kinda starts to get to you.” I looked over at Holly and said, “I hope you don’t think I’m gay or something for saying this, but I kinda hate to wash my face now.”
Holly laughed slightly and said, “So you enjoy being beautiful and getting attention. We’ll make a girl out of you yet.”
After driving for about twenty minutes, Holly rolls her car into the driveway and shuts off the engine. She bit her lip before saying, “We have a problem. Dad won’t care that I’m wearing too much make-up, but he’ll go ape-shit if he sees you.”
I frowned and said, “No he won’t. He doesn’t care about me. He just laughed when he saw dressed like a girl before.”
My sister shook her head and said, “I’m not so sure, with you looking like such a little tart. Look. I’ll go in first and distract him. The moment his back is turned, you run to the bathroom, okay?”
I nodded and followed her to the front porch. Holly then ran in and sat on the ottoman and said excitedly, “Hey Dad!” Dad turned to face her, putting his back towards the door. I then charged through the door, got cleanly past Dad and into the hallway. Just as I started to dart into the bathroom, Mom starts to walk out of it.
Mom just says, “Be careful, Holly!” and continues on out into the hall. I rush in and close and lock the door. Through the door, I hear Mom say in a surprised voice, “Holly! How did you get over here?”
Izzy sat next to me at lunch. Several other guys I hang out with were also at the table. Izzy looked around the table and said, “Anybody going to the tractor pull tonight?” He was answered by a chorus of “no’s”. Grinning, he continued, “Well, my dad got us tickets. But that’s not all. My dad said he’d pay the twenty bucks to have my picture taken with that Callie girl.”
Kyle laughed and said, “That’s not how it works, dweeb. You buy a picture and she signs it. They’re not going to let a pimple sack like you get that close to those girls.”
Izzy shook his head, his red curly hair quivering. He said, “No, you’re wrong! Tonight only they’re letting you have your picture taken with them. I want my picture with Callie. She is sooo hot!”
Kyle grinned and said, “Oh yeah! That bitch is smokin’! I’d do her in a heart-beat.”
Hunter laughed and said, “Shit, Kyle. You couldn’t do her if you had half an hour!”
I felt my face flush. It got worse when I couldn’t hold it back. I felt sick that my friends thought I was hot and also a little annoyed that I was just a sex object to them.
“That blonde one is pretty hot too,” said Hunter. “
Scowling and with a genuine anger in my voice, I said, “That’s my sister, dipshit. Careful how you talk about her.”
Hunter rolled his eyes and said, “Well, you have a hot sister. You can’t complain, Caleb. She exposes herself every week of her own free will. What’s-his-name that owns the race track wouldn’t hire her if she wasn’t hot. So chill, dude. It’s not like I said I wanted to fuck her.”
Kyle said, “What about Izzy’s girlfriend? She has the same last name you do. Is she your sister too?”
Turning my disdainful glare at Hunter over to Kyle, I said, “No. She’s a cousin or something.”
Kyle laughed and said, “That sucks for you dude. She’s family.”
I’m not sure why, but I said, and quite truthfully, “I’ve seen her naked.”
Looking horrified, Izzy blurted, “Bullshit!”
I said, “God’s honest truth.”
Looking defeated, Izzy said, “Man, I wish that had been me!”
Hunter said, “Nobody wants to see you naked, Izzy.”
Flustered, Izzy said, “That’s not what I meant!”
“I really don’t think I want to do this anymore,” I said to Holly as I put on my lip gloss. “Today at lunch my friends said some, well, crude things about Callie…me”
My sister snorted and said, “Was it the same sort of crude things that you say about any girl you think is cute, when you’re with your friends? Give me a break, Callie.”
I leaned into the mirror to check my lips and said, “Izzy has a crush on me.”
“Izzy?”
“You know, Isaiah? The red haired kid” I said.
“Oh yeah. The pimple farm,” said Holly flatly. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure there are dozens of boys with a crush on you.”
I stopped fluffing my hair and gave Holly an annoyed look. “Is that supposed to help?”
Holly laughed and said, “No.” She stood up and smoothed down her dress, which didn’t need smoothing. She shook her head to tousle her hair and said, “Come on, sis. Let’s go break some hearts.”
We followed the cacophony of roaring engines and yelling crowd to the dirt track where at other times you might find quarter mile flat track motorcycle races and other times sprint cars. I had never been to a tractor pull and was shocked as we approached the infield to see the stands overflowing with fans.
As we crossed the infield where Mel had bulldozed up some hills and mounds and dug out some mud pits, I yelled to Holly, “I can’t hear myself think!”
“What?”
“Nevermind.”
Mel came running down from his platform towards us. When he got near us, he yelled over the noise, “We have about half an hour before the first event. I need you two to go pose with each driver and his truck for pictures. During the events, you’ll be down over there where fans will get their picture made with you. Hah. They’re lining up already.”
I looked and sure enough, about fifteen people, most of them teens with a parent or two were already standing in line. To my horror, the first one in line was Izzy. I could see him follow us as we headed to the pit area to get shots of us with the drivers and their monster vehicles. Mel was calling it a tractor pull, but it was mainly a monster truck show.
I have to admit, I was really enjoying being a model, even though it meant being a female one. It was fun posing around or even on the trucks and tractors with the drivers either posed next to us or in the driver’s seat. There were ten trucks in all with a few of them actually famous. Mel was not happy that it took us almost forty-five minutes to finish the pictures.
“Okay, girls,” said Mel as he led us from the pit area. “I need to get this show started so you two head over to the photographer. There’s already a good line started. I have a feeling I’m going to make a killing off those pictures!”
I said, “We get a cut, right?”
Mel frowned and said, “Of course, honey. You never know why something takes off, but you girls are a gold mine right now, and I’m going to take care of you. In a few months, it may all be over, so enjoy it while you can!” He then walked back towards his stand.
Holly punched me in the shoulder and said, “Don’t insult Mel. He’s always been fair with me and never cheated me out of a dime. Show some respect!”
Rubbing my shoulder, I said, “Sorry. I was just asking.”
As we approached the photographer, I saw that the line had grown by another thirty or so people. I turned to Holly and said, “We’re going to be doing this for hours!”
Holly shrugged and said, “Did you have something else planned this evening? Just remember sis. It’s easy money.”
I became really uneasy watching Izzy’s expression as we got closer. He was standing there slack-jawed, staring directly at me. It bothered me that one of my school buddies was so infatuated with me. I could just imagine what was going through that pimple-coated brain of his. That’s when it really hit me. I have fans. There are people I don’t know talking about me, have pictures of me and I felt suddenly disgusted and dirty when I thought what they might be doing with those pictures.
“Hey, girls!” said the photographer with a wide grin. “We’re just about ready to get started as soon as they bring the tractor around that we’re using as background.” He turned to check his camera.
Holly stretched her arm out over her head and waved as she shouted, “Hey y’all! It’s great to see you all here at Mel’s Racing Arena, the largest Raceway in the tri-state area!” The people in line waved, cheered and shouted. All except Izzy, who still just stood there with his mouth hanging open.
I was taken by surprise when a voice said, “I…It…It’s great to finally meet you, Callie. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” I looked over and it was Izzy. I gave him an uneasy smile. I go to school with this kid and I’ve known him for years and he’s idolizing me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through the first picture.
Addressing Izzy, the photographer said, “Okay, kid. Stand on that spot on the ground there and we’ll get our lovely ladies to stand behind you. Just hand me your order form first.”
Looking very nervous, Izzy quietly said, “No offense to Holly, sir. But I just want Callie in my picture.”
The photographer shrugged and said, “We can do that. No problem. Same price though. Callie, you want to pose next to him? We have a lot of people waiting, so let’s do this.”
I stepped close and put my arm around his shoulder, his curly red hair tickling my arm. I turned on my practiced model smile and waited for the picture.
“Can I have a kiss?” asked Izzy. “Just on the cheek is all.” He looked really embarrassed and I was surprised he had the guts to ask. In all honesty, though, I’d rather slit my wrists than kiss Izzy.
The photographer looked around from behind his camera. “Is that it, kid? Any more requests? No? Good. Cassie, can you put a big lip print on his cheek so we can move this along?”
I hesitated for a moment, and said, “I think that’s against the rules…”
Holly leaned over and whispers, “Just kiss him! This might be the biggest moment of his life and we have a lot more pictures to take.”
Surrendering to my fates, I leaned in, closed my eyes as I couldn’t bear to watch and kissed Izzy on the cheek. There was a flash and I heard the photographer say, “Perfect! We’ll call you when your picture is ready for pick up. Next!”
Izzy lifted his hand up, his fingers almost touching my lipstick print on his cheek. He looked dazed and his eyes glazed over. He finally stumbled away, oblivious to everything around him.
Holly leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Wow. He’s really got the hots for you. You couldn’t see his face, but when you kissed him, he instantly hit nirvana. If we’re lucky, he’ll be the only one to react like that.”
“This is insanity.” I said. “Why would total strangers even want a picture of me? Of either of us?”
Holly shrugged and said, “What about that picture you had taken with the Hooters Girl at their booth in the county fair?”
“That’s different.” I said flatly.
“How?”
I didn’t answer. She had me there.
The photographer said, “Come on, girls. This little fella…” he pointed to a man at least six foot four, “…wants a picture with both of you.” We took our places on either side of the large man and we put on our best smiles as he draped his arms around our shoulders. And I just kept thinking…why did I ever agree to do this…?
The picture taking continued for about another twenty minutes after the event ended. A lot of people wanted their picture taken with us, including a group of three nuns.
As Holly and I walked back to Mel’s office to change, I said to her, “You know, sis, what a lot of those guys are going to be doing with our picture, don’t you? And does it disturb you as much as it does me?”
She laughed and then said, “Oh, I’m sure. I can’t help what they do with them. It’s kinda sad, really, if all they have.” I just nodded and we walked the rest of the way in silence.
Wednesday at lunch, the following week after the tractor pull event, Izzy came hurrying up to the table in the lunch room where I and some friends were seated. He sat down in the empty chair next to me and waved a manila envelope at us.
“Look what I got, guys. This is totally awesome!” Izzy fumbled with the clasp on the envelope for a few seconds before pulling the flap back and extracting an eight by ten photograph. He then proudly held up the photo for all of us to see. On the picture was a close up of Izzy’s pimple peppered face glowing with an ear-to-ear grin, a lip print prominently on his cheek and finally me smiling with my head up against the side of Izzy’s. I wanted to run and hide.
Kyle took the photo carefully from Izzy’s grasp to get a closer look. “That’s a great pic, Iz. You got her to kiss you? Wow. She’s both cute and brave.” He handed the picture back to Izzy while saying, “Good job, Iz.”
Hunter then took the picture and gave a low whistle. “Damn! She is mighty fine. Much better looking than…” He glanced over at me. “…her cousin? Your sister, right? Sorry, no offense.”
Before handing the picture back, Hunter glanced at the photo and then back at me several times. “Damn! Talk about strong family resemblances! You look just like your sister and Callie.” He squinted at me and as he handed the picture back to Izzy, he added, “You don’t have some deep, dark secret, do you Caleb?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked nervously.
Hunter leaned over the table and said, “Well, have you and Callie ever been photographed together?”
Kyle laughed and said, “Hey, let’s start a rumor!”
Izzy said, “Don’t you dare try to ruin my dream girl!”
Laughing as well, Hunter said, “It’s a great conspiracy theory! Callie…Caleb’s secret double life! This is one rumor that could spread like wildfire though the school!”
Scowling, Izzy almost shouted, “Don’t be ridiculous!” People began to stare at our table.
Fear of exposure inching up my spine, I said, “Yeah, come one guys knock it off. That would make my life a living hell, not to mention hurting Callie’s career.”
Looking genuinely pissed, Izzy started to stand up saying, “That’s right. That Mel guy probably has an army of lawyers and would sue you into oblivion.”
Hunter said, “Izzy, I’m just joking with you. We’re not going to really say anything. Sheesh, grow a sense of humor! Look at Caleb. He’s not pissed, is he? Can’t you take a little ribbing?”
Actually I was pissed. What Hunter was saying, even though he thought of it as a joke, could easily get away from him. I said, “That was pretty low, Hunter. Even for you.”
Kyle looked at me and said, “Don’t be a pussy, Caleb.” Hunter and Kyle looked at each other and both started laughing.
“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” asked Kyle as he caught up with me as we walked through the parking lot after school.
“I don’t even know if I want to ride with you to my house. I can walk, it’s not that far.” I said. “You and Hunter need to watch your words. Can you imagine what would have happened if anyone else had heard you?”
“Dude, chill out. You seem to be taking this way too seriously,” said Kyle. He was right. I was protesting a bit too much. Before I could reply, his cell phone rang and he pulled it from his belt holster and answered it.
Kyle turned to me as he replaced the cell phone back in its holster and said, “That was Hunter. Do you want to just go home or come with me? He and his dad are putting the engine of that ’74 Mustang back in. He wanted me to pick up some oil on the way over. They might need some extra hands too. Wanna come?”
I said, “Sure! I’ll just need to call home so my mom will know where I am.” Hunter and his dad were rebuilding a ’74 Ford Mustang to its showroom muscle car glory.
A few minutes later, Kyle parked his car outside the auto parts house. Moments after entering the store, I stopped in my tracks. Right there at the entrance was a life-size cardboard image of Holly and Callie holding up cans of oil and smiling.
Kyle called over to the guy behind the counter, a guy who I think graduated last year. I didn’t really know him, but Kyle comes in this store a few times a month. “Hey, Scott! Nice decorations!”
“Kyle! Yeah, we got that in today, along with a few posters. I’d show you one, but they’ve sold out already.”
Kyle nodded and said, “They’re definitely hotties.”
After we got up to the counter, Scott said, “You know I’ve done the blonde?”
Kyle gave him a quizzical look and side glance at me. He said, “Oh, really?”
Looking smug, Scott said, “Yeah. She was unbelievable. I’m planning on doing the other one soon to see if she’s as hot as the blonde.”
I leaned on the counter and idly picked up a pen and started twiddling with it. I said, “You know, that ‘blonde’ is my sister. I don’t keep track of her boyfriends, but I feel quite confident she wouldn’t get within fifty feet of you. And for the other one, I know for a fact you have no chance with her either.”
Looking deflated, Scott said, “She’s your sister? For reals?”
I nodded. Kyle nodded.
Looking down at his feet, Scott said, “Well, maybe it was someone who looked like her.” He looked up, avoiding eye contact with me and said to Kyle, “So, what can I do you for?”
My cell phone started to ring, so I stepped away before answering it. The caller ID showed it was Holly calling. Interesting timing. I said, “Hey, Holly.”
From the phone, Holly said, “Mom told me you going over to Hunter’s to help work on a car?”
“That’s right,” I said. “An old muscle car.”
“Well, forget about doing that, girlie,” admonished Holly. “Look at your hands and nails. There’s another drag race this Saturday and remember how hard it is to get the grease completely off your hands and out from under your nails?”
I looked at my hands with the almost femininely shaped nails. I said, “Can’t I just watch?”
“You know you won’t be able to keep from getting your hands into it,” said Holly. “Your mechanicing days are over, girl. For a while at least. Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
I stepped further away and said in a low tone, “Now hold on, Holly. I’m not a girl twenty-four seven. I still have all my hobbies and interests!”
“You might not dress all the time as a girl, but you need to think all the time like one,” said Holly. “I’m serious, sis. You need to always keep in mind what your job is if you want to continue to be a successful model. You’re very popular right now. You don’t want to lose that.”
“Okay, sis,” I said, defeated. “I’ll let them know I’m not going with them.”
We walked slowly back to Mel’s office after wrapping up another drag race and anxious to get out of our high heels. It was getting easier for me. I actually started enjoying getting attention from the crowd. And, kissing the winners no longer bothered me.
“Good job today, girls,” said Mel as he went through the receipts. “Oh! I need to tell you about next week. No races next weekend. But, there’s a big car show in the Community Center and the Lexus dealer wants to hire both of you to be eye candy with his cars. He wants you to wear formals though. I’m sure your prom dresses will be fine.”
“Formals? Really?” moaned Holly. “My prom dress was way too short for this event. I’ll have to buy a new dress.”
Plopping down on the couch in Mel’s office, I said, “I haven’t been to my prom yet..and I’m not wearing a dress to it.”
Giggling, Holly said, “Maybe that Isaiah guy will ask you to the prom!”
“That’s not funny!” I said acting offended.
Still looking through the paperwork on his desk, Mel said, “I really don’t care about your boyfriends as long as it doesn’t interfere with work.”
“I…I…I don’t have a boyfriend!” I shouted.
Looking serious, Holly said, “You know…we might want to get you one, just to keep the guys off you. Just sayin’…”
“I don’t think so!” I said quickly.
“I know!” said Holly. “Get one of your geeky friends to date you. That way you don’t have to worry about having sex!”
“What about this one?” I asked while holding up a gown in front of me. Holly and I were out looking for formals to wear to the car show. Naturally, I had to go as Callie. I noticed that I seemed to be spending more and more of my time as Callie.
“It’d be great if you had boobs,” said Holly. Don’t even bother looking at strapless gowns. And you need to be looking at those two racks. Those are the rental dresses.” Fortunately for us, Mel had agreed to pay for renting dresses instead of making us buy any.
I hung the gown back on the rack and went over to look at the rental dresses. I frowned. The rental dresses just didn’t seem as pretty as the new ones. I walked over to where Holly was holding out a silver sequin dress.
“Oh, Callie! I think I found your dress!” Holly said with genuine excitement. “It’ll hide your lack of boobage and I think it’ll look really pretty on you.”
I took the dress from her and girlishly held it up in front of me. “Do you really think so?”
“Mmmhmmm,” nodded Holly. “You’ll have to beat guys off with a stick wearing that dress.”
“Well, by all means let’s get this one,” I said, frowning.
Holly snatched the dress from my hands and looking smug said, “Alright, we will!”
“What about you?” I asked as she head towards the sales counter.
“I already picked mine,” she said. “That blue one on the counter. I’ve been waiting for a good reason to wear that dress!”
We had to rent shoes to go with the dresses. Matching pumps with three inch heels. I could feel my feet begin to hurt already.
We arrived at the Community Center about an hour before the car show opened. There were already some people milling around outside. The Channel 7 Action News van was parked near the entrance and the female anchor was yelling orders at her crew. Just outside the door stood Mel, with another person next to him.
“Holy shit, ladies!” whistled Mel as we approached. “You two are really hot. Girls, I want you to meet George Ferguson. He owns the Lexus dealership that you will be modeling for.”
George extended his hand and said, “Nice to meet you ladies. Did you get a chance to look over the brochures?”
Mel had given us several Lexus brochures as well as some spec sheets for the cars we’ll be modeling for. Holly and I memorized them as best we could so we could be more likely to answer questions from the public.
Holly shook Mr. Ferguson’s hand and said, “Oh yes. I think Callie and I probably memorized them!”
I shook George’s hand with a girly limp grip and he flashed a dazzling smile at me. The way he looked at me made me uncomfortable. George said, “I feel very fortunate to be able to get you two lovely ladies for this event.”
Smiling, Holly said, “We’re happy to be here, Mr. Ferguson.”
Returning the smile, George said, “Please. Call me George. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you where we’re set up.”
We followed George into the huge community center. There was quite an array of new cars and pick-up trucks. Bikini clad girls and few others in formals were either chatting with each other or helping dress the area for the dealership they represented. As we neared the Lexus display, I was surprised to see Angie moving potted plants around and adjusting signs.
“Angie!” shouted Holly. Angie looked up for a moment, smiled, waved and went back to what she was doing. I noticed George frowned slightly at being interrupted as he was about to begin speaking.
“Here we are, ladies,” George said, his voice smooth and clear. “These three cars are the most expensive we have on the lot. One of the things I need for you to do is shoo away little children with sticky fingers. No, really, I’m serious.”
Smiling, I said, “We’ll do the best we can, George.”
“I need to get some things from the dealership,” George said. “I should be back before they open the doors.” He again flashed me a smile and hurried away.
“Angie!” said Holly again. “What are you doing here, girl?”
“Hey you two! Wow. You girls are stunning!” Angie said shaking her head. “I’m here because I work for Mel. I do whatever job he needs me to do.”
Mel grunted and said, “That she does. That she does. Hey, excused me a minute. I’m going to see if I can sell some advertising.”
After Mel had walked away, I tried to look serious and probably just looked pouty instead. I said, “That’s something that’s been bothering me a lot lately, Angie. You said we were stunning. Really? Are you really saying I’m ‘stunning’?”
Giving me a “what’s up with you?” expression, Angie said, “You don’t analyze a compliment, Callie, but yes. You are most definitely stunning. Absolutely gorgeous.”
“But how is that possible? I’m still a guy, but guys are lusting after me, one of my school friends is in love with me. I mean, everywhere I go, guys drool over me.”
“And you’re complaining?” laughed Angie. “But seriously, Callie. Ease your mind. Your sister is totally gorgeous, with or without make-up. And like it or not, right now, you look exactly like her. I mean you look like twins. I expect in a year or two, your features will take on a more masculine appearance. But right now, if Holly is gorgeous, then you are gorgeous. Look at you! Your dress is beautiful, your make-up is perfect, your hair is feminine, and I just love your earrings.”
“But why isn’t Holly just as popular?” I continued to press Angie. “Mel tells us that my posters are selling almost two to one over Holly’s.”
Angie looked thoughtful for a moment, and then answered, “Since you are a guy, there’s some innate masculinity emanating from you, but since you are so obviously and gorgeously female, it comes off more of an exotic quality, rather than masculine. And I guess that’s what guys are finding attractive.” Angie laughed and said, “Stop worrying about it, girl! Just enjoy it and have fun!”
Holly laughed and said, “That’s what I keep telling her! I wish I had guys drooling over me!”
I frowned and said, “Yeah, but you’re a girl.”
Angie said, “Have you looked in a mirror lately, hun?”
I pondered that for a while. Maybe I was over reacting to guys desiring me. It wasn’t me, Caleb they wanted. It was Callie. They had no reason to believe I wasn’t a genuine girl. Angie was right. I just needed to roll with it and have a good time, because there was no way this was going to last forever.
About then the car show’s promoter walked out to the center of the community center and welcomed everyone to this year’s show. He talked for just a few minutes, but ending saying, “Remember, you can touch the cars all you want, but not the girls.”
The first half hour of the show wasn’t too bad. I actually knew some of the things people asked about the cars Holly and I were promoting. I was shocked when someone brought the current issue of Hot Rod Magazine to have Holly and I sign the picture of us that was inside.
“Can you hold down the fort Callie?” asked Holly. “I need to go to the little girls’ room.”
“Sure,” I said. “It’s pretty quiet right now.”
About thirty seconds after Holly left, from behind me, I heard, “How’s everything going?”
I turned and it was George. “It’s going great Mr. Ferguson. We seem to have a high traffic area.”
George smiled and said, “Well, that’s what I had hoped with you two here. And please, call me George.”
“Sorry George,” I said with a sheepish smile. “I keep forgetting.”
“It’s quite alright, miss. May I call you Callie?” George stepped a little closer towards me. He was close to violating my personal space.
I smiled and said, “If I can call you George, then I guess you can call me Callie!”
George flashed a toothy grin at me and said, “I really feel fortunate that I was able to get both of you tonight. I was afraid you’d have a date with your boyfriend tonight.”
It wasn’t until after I said, “Oh, I don’t have a boyfriend,” that I realized I probably shouldn’t have admitted that.
George suddenly looked shocked and said, “I have to say I’m surprised that a creature as stunning as yourself wouldn’t have that special guy…or two or three.” He grinned again after his comment.
I said, “Well, I’m just too busy right now for a boyfriend.”
George looked serious as he said, “Oh, I can relate. Managing six dealerships in the tri-state area keeps me hopping.”
Not able to hide my surprise, I bubbled, “Wow, really? You have six Lexus dealerships?”
Moving closer to me, George chuckled in a tone one would use with a child and said, “Oh, no, sweetie. Just one Lexus lot, but I have five other lots that I own as well. In this area.”
“You must be rich,” I said stupidly.
George smiled and said, “Let’s just say I’m comfortable. I like to enjoy my money. What good is it collecting dust in a vault, eh? No, it’s much better to use it for fine wine and dancing. Do you like to dance, Callie?”
I blushed and said quite honestly, “Well, I don’t dance very well.”
George shook his head and said, “I’d bet you’re a wonderful dancer.”
I laughed and said, “I wouldn’t take that bet!”
He smiled and I swear his eyes twinkled and said, “Oh, I’d take it. I’m sure I wouldn’t lose either way.”
I grinned at him and said, “Well, I bet your feet would lose.”
George laughed a short laugh and said, “I like you, Callie. You’re a beautiful woman, you have a sense of humor and you have a quality I can’t put my finger on.”
I thought to myself, you wouldn’t want to put your finger on it.
George hesitated for a moment, and then said, “I was wondering, Callie, did you have any plans after the show closes at six tomorrow evening?”
I said, “Well, I…”
“If you have plans, that’s fine,” said George. “But if you didn’t, I was hoping to invite you to dinner and some dancing afterwards.”
Holy shit. A guy, standing right in front of me, just asked me out on a date! People are always shouting out asking for dates, but I always treat them as joking. But here was a guy, asking me out and waiting for an answer. Why wasn’t Holly here to tell him no? What do I say? What do I do? I know I have to decline his offer, but my brain was vapor locked.
I said, “Well, um, no, I don’t have any plans…”
George smiled, “So you’ll go? I’ll wear my steel toed dancing shoes.”
I laughed and said, “I don’t know...”
“I have reservations for two at Ciccone’s for tomorrow night, and the lovely lady who I had invited had other plans come up and had to cancel. You know how hard it is to get reservations there and it would be a shame to cancel when an even more lovely and delightful creature could join me instead.” George flashed his dazzling smile again and said, “You wouldn’t want me to dine alone, would you?”
I felt very frustrated. I wanted him to go away. He had his charm cranked up to eleven and he was getting to me. I couldn’t go on a date with George even if I thought he was totally awesome. Looking at my feet, I said, “Well, no. Of course not. But I…”
“So you’ll join me then?” George asked as he closed in to almost touching me.
“You’re very nice and it all sounds wonderful, but…”
Still smiling, George pressed on and said, “What will make it wonderful will be if the most beautiful woman in town joins me. You are that woman, Callie. You are lovely and delightful and I’d find it an honor if you would join me for an evening of fine food and dancing!”
“Just dinner and dancing?” I asked, making the mistake of looking into his eyes and seeing his undeniable sincerity and being washed by his charm. I thought he was going way overboard. But he did seem very nice and sincere about just wanting to use his hard to get dinner reservation.
My will power worn down and the prospect of a free dinner, I said, “I will.” I gave him a weak smile.
Beaming, George said, “I’ll look forward to it! Pick you up at eight?”
What I just said started to sink in as I smiled nervously, “Sure. Eight will be fine.”
He touched my arm and said, “See you later, sweetie.”
Holly came back a few minutes later and looked at me and said, “You look ill. Something wrong?”
“I have a date with George.” I said simply.
Part 2
If you look exactly like your sister, never say "yes" when she asks you for help...
“I’m sorry,” said Holly. “I must be getting old, but I could have sworn my little brother just said he has a date with a man?”
I frowned and looked at my sister as I said, “You make that sound so dirty. I said I have a date with George, not just some man.”
Smirking, my sister said, “For you sis, George is just some man. How did you manage to get a date with George?”
I shrugged and said, “I dunno. He broke my will. He’s very charming and he said I’m the most beautiful woman in town.”
Holly laughed and said, “I shouldn’t have left you alone! I had no idea you could be charmed by a used car salesman. I understand that to everyone, including me by the way, you’re a pretty girl. I know I tell you all the time you’re a girl and that you should consider yourself to be a girl even when you’re not dressed as one. But sheesh, Callie! Even you should know you can’t date a man! Especially George.”
I started to say something when a man, his wife and two little girls walked up and started looking at the cars. Holly was annoying me now. It’s not my fault I had a date. The man asked Holly for a brochure on all three cars on display. She smiled vacuously and gave the brochures to him.
When the family had left, I said, “What’s wrong with me dating? Especially George. He seems very nice.”
Holly just stood there and stared at me for almost thirty seconds. She said, “Seriously? I mean seriously? Girl, you can’t date men, period. You can’t even date the little dweebs you go to school with. You’re not a girl. You just play one on TV. I know how easy it is to let all this go to your head. But there’s no way you can date a man. Especially George. One, he’s a man. Two he’s a sleaze bag used car salesman! Three, he’s too old for you. Even if you were a genuine girl, you are only seventeen.”
My eyes went wide and I almost raised my voice. I said, “I’m not having sex with him! It’s just dinner and dancing for crying out loud!”
Frowning, Holly said, “Which usually leads to sex. Something tells me George isn’t interested in boinking a boy.”
Folding my arms and scowling, I said, “I’m not being boinked by anybody! George has reservations at a fancy restaurant and he didn’t want to go by himself. That’s all there is to it.”
Holly stepped up close to me and said, “You know what sis? I’m not going to demand you call off your date. Go ahead and go on the date. It’ll teach you a lesson!”
“It’s just a dinner and maybe dancing. How bad could it be?” I asked, frowning at my sister.
Holly rolled her eyes. She said, “He may be the perfect gentleman who just wants some company during dinner. His interest in you may be purely platonic. But keep your knees together.”
I was posing in front of the full length mirror, wearing Holly’s little black dress and three inch pumps, twisting left and right when Mom came into my room. I had a very short time after the car show closed down to get home and get ready. I have to admit that getting ready for a date was a bit exciting. I said, “What do you think, Mom? Does this dress make my ass look too big?”
Frowning, Mom said, “Your butt looks fine, Caleb. What’s this that Holly is telling me? You have a date? With a guy? An older guy?” She folded her arms and gave me a stern look.
I leaned into the mirror to double-check my make-up. I said, “What’s the big deal? It’s not a real date. He had a reservation at Ciccone’s that he didn’t want to just go to waste and he didn’t want to go by himself. He was really nice about it. I just see it as a free meal. I just don’t see what you and Holly have against me going.”
Still frowning, Mom said, “For starters you’re a boy.”
I shrugged and said, “Nobody’s perfect, Mom. Look. Holly is always telling me I need to be a girl. I need to think like a girl. I need to act like a girl. So when I do, you make a federal case out of it!”
Shaking her head as well as wagging her finger, Mom said, “Don’t drag me into this. I thought this was a bad idea from the get-go. I just never would have believed that you’d develop an interest in men.”
I rolled my eyes and with exasperation in my voice, I said, “I don’t have an interest in men! I did get caught up in the glamour of how I was dressed and the amount of attention I was getting. It wasn’t like I was trying to get a date or anything.”
Mom shook her head again and said, “Even Holly wasn’t this naïve about guys. I just don’t want you to get hurt. And I don’t like you fooling this guy.”
I said, “I’m fooling people every time I go out at Mel’s raceway wearing boots and a mini-dress.”
Mom laughed without humor and said, “That’s completely different! You’re not trying to date anyone. It’s like acting. You’re putting on a show. Going out to dinner is a bit more intimate.”
“I’ll be good,” I said with a smile. To be honest, I was starting to regret the whole thing. I got caught up into the moment and let it carry me away. The problem is that when I’m dressed as a boy, I’m ignored by everyone. But dressed as Callie, I was beyond popular. It was intoxicating.
Mom said, “I could put my foot down and put a stop to this. But you know what? I agree with Holly. Just go ahead and go.”
Mom started to turn away. She stopped and gave me the once over. She grinned and said, “You’re gorgeous, by the way.”
He was late. I sat on the couch looking nervously at the front door. Mom had managed to get Dad out of the house on some pretext, but I know they won’t stay away for long. I was a mixed bag of emotions. I was both excited about going on a date as Callie and bothered that I had probably just made a big mistake.
I let myself get carried away with all the attention and compliments I get as Callie. Guys and girls both smile and talk to me. As Caleb, I have a few pasty faced fellow loser friends and even they don’t want to do a lot of things with me. How can I resist someone telling me how beautiful and sexy and wonderful I am?
I jumped when the doorbell rang. I knew at that moment that Holly and Mom were right. This was stupid. But I was committed. I know I could open the door and then tell him to go to hell. I was sure Mel would frown on that since George is a big advertising customer. With a loud sigh, I got up and walked to the door.
When I opened it, there was George wearing a big grin. In his hand was a big bouquet of flowers. He said, “You look beautiful! Here. These are for you.” He handed me the flowers. I’ve never been given flowers before so I wasn’t sure how to react. I tried to remember how Holly acted.
I smiled and said, “Thank you, George! They’re gorgeous!” I sniffed them for a moment. “Let me put these in water. I’ll be right back.” No way in hell was I inviting him inside the house. I grabbed a tall glass from the cupboard, quickly filled it and stuffed the flower stems into the glass and set the glass on the kitchen counter.
My first flowers. I should probably take a picture. But I didn’t want to keep George cooling his heels on the front porch. I tried to hurry back to the door, but my movement was restricted by the tight skirt of the dress and my high heels. I was oddly turned on by this restriction.
I stepped out the door and shut it behind me. I said, “I’m ready.”
George leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He grinned and said, “You are very lovely tonight, Callie.” He took my hand and led me back to his car, a competition orange Lexus RC F sports car. Just riding in this car will make the date worth it.
Ever the gentleman, George opened the car door for me, held my hand as I tried to gracefully as possible maneuver into the passenger seat. Getting into a sports car wearing a short, tight dress and high heels and maintaining a feminine posture isn’t particularly easy. After I was seated, he closed the door for me. I wasn’t sure if he was being chivalrous, or he just didn’t want me touching the car much.
Moments later, we sped away from the curb. I ran my fingers along the dash board and said, “This is a really nice car! It must be expensive.”
George waved his hand dismissively and as he removed my hand from the dashboard, said, “No big deal. This is the car I just go get groceries in.” I smiled as I looked over at the odometer and noticed it only had fifteen miles on it. I had a feeling this car just rolled off the showroom floor for the express purpose of this date.
“So, Callie. How long have you been working for Mel?” asked George as we breezed through a red light.
Feeling a bit nervous, I said, “Just a few months. Holly talked me into trying it.”
As we zipped past a few cars going the speed limit, George smiled and said, “I’ll have to remember to thank Holly. You two together have helped bring interest and a bit of glamour back to local racing. I love those life-size cut outs of you in the automotive stores. When I asked the guy at the store if I could have your poster, he told me to get in line. You’re very popular it seems. It’s really wonderful to have you has my guest tonight for dinner.” George drifted the car around a tight corner through another red light.
Holding on to the arm rest, I said, “If we live.”
George just laughed. I guess I was supposed to be impressed by his reckless driving.
A few minutes later, we thankfully arrived at Ciccone’s, an expensive Italian restaurant. George hurried around the car to open my door and he held out his hand to assist me in exiting the vehicle. And trust me, I needed the help. Taking my hand again, he led me to the entrance to the restaurant and continued to hold my hand as we were directed to our table. The waiter pulled my chair out for me and then slid it under me as I sat down.
After the waiter left so we could look over the menus, George placed his hand on top of mine and said, “This is nice, isn’t it? It’s my favorite restaurant.”
I smiled at George and said, “It is very nice. I’ve never been here before.” I picked up the menu and started glancing over it. None of the items had prices. I guess if you were worried about cost, you’d eat somewhere else.
George turned his menu around and pointed at some objects on it. He said, “If you’re worried about your figure, you might try the pasta primavera. But I recommend the chicken parmigiana.”
I said, “I like lasagna.”
George grinned and said, “That’s good too.”
As we waited for the food to arrive, George talked about what he loved most; his car business. Oddly, he even talked about his ex-wives. They were apparently all beautiful and apparently all just interested in his money. “That’s what I like about you, Callie,” George said just as the waiter was bringing our dinner. “You’re real. You’re not just some gold digger.”
Looking at my plate, I said, “Wow. This looks good.”
George took a bite of his dinner, closed his eyes and moaned. He said, “Oh yes. This is wonderful. So, Callie. I’ve been doing all the talking. You know all about me now. What about you? Who is Callie Simmons?”
I poked another mouthful of Lasagna into my mouth before answering. After swallowing, I said, “What do you want to know?”
George shrugged and said, “Well…for starters, are you going to college or are you staying with a modeling career?”
I said, “I’d like to go to college, but I have to finish high school first!” I giggled. Seeing the expression on George’s face, maybe I should have said I was going to stick with modeling.
I said, “Yeah. I’ll be a senior next year. I turn eighteen next October.”
Looking like he’d been shot, George said, “You’re seventeen?”
Without looking up from stabbing my next bite, I said, “Yep.”
George was quiet for the next few minutes while we ate. I didn’t hear anything, but he pulled out his phone and glanced at it. He frowned and said, “I’m so sorry, Callie. But it seems something important has come up. I’m going to end our evening early. I sincerely apologize.”
I actually felt disappointment that I wasn’t going to get to go dancing. I said, “Was it something I said?”
Shaking his head and waving his hands a bit, George said, “Oh no. It’s not you. You’re perfect. Something I can’t help has come up. I hope you understand.”
“Of course,” I said, carefully wiping my mouth so I didn’t smear my lipstick.
Fifteen minutes later, George was helping me out of his car in front of my house. He shook my hand and said, “I had a lovely evening, Miss Simmons. I wish you continued success in your modeling.” He hesitated a moment. I could tell he wanted to kiss me. He shook my hand again and hurried back to his car. He sped off, leaving me standing alone on the sidewalk in front of my house.
“I’m glad you told him your age, Callie,” said my sister Holly. “Even a douche like George can’t afford to date under-aged girls. Not if he wants to keep his business anyway.” We were sitting on Holly’s bed. I had snuck through the living room after Holly distracted Dad. We were both in our nighties.
“And you were right,” I said holding up my hands. “It was really stupid of me. I just got carried away.”
Holly sat there a moment, her jaw set in thought as she scratched her chin in the same way Dad does when he’s thinking. She said, “You know. You need a boyfriend.”
Furrowing my brow, I said, “I can’t have a boyfriend! We just talked about how my date was a big mistake!”
Frowning, Holly said, “Not a real boyfriend. Just a beard. Get everyone to think you have a boyfriend so most guys will leave you alone. Hmmm. I wonder if Eric would do it.”
“Isn’t he something like twenty?” I asked. “Isn’t he still too old for me?”
“He wouldn’t actually date you or anything,” said Holly. “We’ll just tell everyone that you’re dating him. So then all the Georges in the world will leave you alone.”
“Think he’d do it? I mean, if he’s dating me, even if it’s pretend, he can’t date other girls. He might not care for that idea much,” I said.
Holly shrugged. She said, “I have no idea if he’d do it or not. I’m going to bring it up next weekend at the track.”
“Eric wouldn’t be a bad choice,” I said. “He knows who I am at least. I like him. He seems nice.”
Holly shook her head and gave me a funny look. She said, “It’s my fault you’re suddenly boy-crazy.”
I rolled my eyes and said, “Are you going to act this way for everyone I say I like? I like Eric as a friend. He seems like a nice person! I’m not attracted to him! Sheesh!”
Holly said, “I was starting to wonder. I’m worried I’ve created a monster or something.”
I looked at myself in Holly’s mirror and said, “At least I’m a pretty monster…”
Grinning his pimpled face, Izzy said as he chewed his hamburger, “Caleb, I can’t believe you missed the car show!”
I shrugged and said, “I didn’t feel like going. I mean, I can’t afford any of the cars that were on display. So why bother?”
Izzy said, “Who cares about cars? I went to look at the chicks. Mel’s Racing Arena Twins where there. Holy shit are they hot! I got a boner just walking past them.”
Scowling, I said, “That’s my sister and cousin, asshole. And they’re obviously not twins.”
Kyle laughed and said, “You have to have a dick first, before you can have a boner!”
Indignant, Izzy said a bit too loudly, “I have a dick!” A couple of girls sitting at the table next to us giggled. Izzy turned beet red.
After his color started to return to normal, Izzy said, “Well anyway, I wasn’t really looking at your sister. She’s pretty and all, but holy shit your cousin rocks.
Hunter said, “Yeah, she can sit on my face anytime!”
“I don’t appreciate you saying that crap about my cousin,” I said, fuming. “Trust me. If she sat on your face, she’d fart.” I guess I used to be like my friends before I became a weekend girl. Now I’m bothered by this talk in general towards girls. I know they don’t know about my duality, but fuck. Hearing them talk about me this way is really pissing me off.
Hunter put up his hands and said, “Whoa. Chill, dude. Just remember though. If that bitch wasn’t your cousin, you’d be like us, not able to get within fifty feet of her.”
I stood up and said, “Don’t call her a bitch!”
Hunter laughed and said, “What? Are you going to hit me? Sit down. Of course she’s a bitch. She beautiful, she’s sexy and she unobtainable. And she knows exactly what she’s doing. When she shakes that little ass of hers in that miniskirt, she knows she’s giving every guy blue balls. Shit man, even my dad jerked off in the bathroom to her picture.”
I did not need to hear that. I wanted to throw up. These were all my nerd gaming buddies and now they’ve turned into sex fiends. And from the looks and cat-calls I got when in my drag strip outfit, I knew guys might find me attractive, which was hard enough to deal with. But this…this just made me ill.
“Okay, guys. Knock it off,” I said. “Let’s change the subject.”
Izzy said, “Yeah, Hunter. Stop talking about the girl I love that way.”
Kyle just sat there and laughed.
Hunter shrugged, turned to me and said, “Is it my fault your cousin is a future porn star?”
Mom met me at the front door as I entered the house. My sister Holly was sitting on the couch watching TV. Thank God my dad wasn’t home from work yet.
I said, “Gee, Mom. You’re home early.”
Scowling, Mom said, “I took off early so I’d be here when you got home. What’s this call I got about you getting into a fight at school?”
Frowning, I said, “Hunter called me a bitch and a future porn star!”
Looking surprised, Mom said, “Why would Hunter call you that?”
Throwing my arms up, I said, “Not me. Callie! It made me mad, so I punched him.”
Scowling again, Mom said, “Sit on the couch next to Holly.” She then walked over and turned off the TV.
Holly said, “Mommmm! I was watching that!”
Mom folded her arms and said, “Look girls. This has…Awk! Look, this has got to stop. If your father ever found out what you’re doing, he’d skin all of us! This has already gone too far. Wasn’t it just supposed to be a onetime thing? I went with your father the other day to the auto parts store. And there I saw not only my daughter, but also my son dressed up as prostitutes selling motor oil! And to hear my own husband say when he looked at Caleb’s picture, ‘Wow. That’s one hot chick.’ I almost lost it right there.”
Holly said, “Dad doesn’t need to know we’re doing this, even though he did give Caleb the go-ahead. I know Callie and I can finish out our contracts with Mel without Dad finding out.”
Mom shook her head and said, “I’ve never liked this. You shouldn’t be lying to your father. He’s probably forgotten that you were even doing this.”
I said, “Mom, we’re not lying. We’re just withholding the truth.”
Mom frowned at me and said, “I’m going to have a talk with that Mr. Maddog.”’
Holly grinned and said, “That’s not his name, Mom.”
Folding her arms again, Mom said, “This isn’t funny, young lady. I want Caleb to stop doing this today!”
Sounding a bit too whiny, I said, “But Mom! The money is really good. Have I pestered you or Dad lately to buy gold for World of Tanks? Now that I’m over the initial shock of dressing as a girl, I’m actually having fun being at the race track. It’s amazing to hear people yelling and cheering when you walk out on that platform! Everyone from kids to old geezers wanting your autograph on a picture of you; it’s intoxicating! Our contract runs out in December, which is two months away. I want to do this through next summer. It won’t be long before I have a beer belly and stubble on my face like Dad and I won’t be able to do this anymore. Don’t make us quit, Mom. Dad might not approve, but I have to live my life, not his!”
Mom slowly golf-clapped. She frowned and said, “Nice speech, Caleb. I think that’s the most words you’ve strung together at one time in probably three years. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re going out there and fooling people. It may be just acting like I said before, but it’s going too far. I mean, it’s deeply disturbing that your own father thinks you’re hot.”
Holly frowned and said, “It’s not Callie’s fault Dad is attracted to seventeen year old girls. The thing is Mom, is that Callie is just acting; playing a character. Don’t you find it amazing that she’s famous? Okay, it’s only locally, but she and I are both getting modeling offers from local clothing stores. I think it’s really cool.”
Not budging, Mom said, “You think it’s cool that your brother accepted a date with not only a man, but a man too old for her…uh, him?”
I said, “I admit that was stupid, Mom. I’m not going to do that again. In fact, Holly is going to see if Eric from the track is interested in being my boyfriend so guys won’t ask me out anymore.”
Raising an eyebrow and somehow managing to look even more pissed off, Mom said, “Boyfriend? You want a boyfriend now?”
Holly scowled at me and said, “A pretend boyfriend, Mom. Callie and Eric wouldn’t actually date. It’s just to throw off the wolves. And I haven’t even asked him yet if he wants to do it. But. But! Be that as it may, we’re a successful team, Mom. I’d hate to throw this all way.”
Mom frowned even more and said, “So you’re using your little brother”
Holly jumped up and shouted, “That’s not fair, Mom! And besides, Callie is more popular than I am! And what she says is true. She can’t be a model for much more than another year. You don’t want her to miss an opportunity!”
Mom was not convinced. She said, “An opportunity to dress like a prostitute? That’s what you girls look like! Not girls. I mean…you know what I mean. It’s a small step up from what you’re doing to flashing your breasts in some porn magazine!”
“I don’t even have boobs, Mom!” I exclaimed.
“Mom, that’s just crazy and you know it!” said Holly. “We’re just trying to have some fun and get paid doing it. We’re not going to be in some porn magazine. That’s not how you raised us!”
Scowling, Mom said, “I didn’t raise my son to be a scantily clad sex pot selling oil to horny men, but there he is.”
“It’s just a picture, Mom,” I said. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
Looking at Holly, Mom said, “Your father doesn’t much like these posters and ads. He didn’t mind you being a model who hands out trophies. Now your picture is plastered in every tool and automotive store in town. People ask him at work when your next poster is going to come out. It embarrasses the crap out of him.”
“He shouldn’t be,” said Holly. “We’re both fully dressed. Nothing shows in the pictures. Mel makes money on them, we make money from them. You should be proud of your two beautiful daughters.”
Mom laughed and said, “I am proud of my beautiful daughter. But I’m worried about my son. And I am worried about both of you showing so much flesh. I really don’t want people thinking my kids are just sluts.”
Holly said, “There’re going to be perverts no matter what we wear, Mom. Look. If it makes you feel better, I’ll tell Mel to tone down the sex appeal if we do another set of pictures.”
Mel was grinning broadly as he waved us over to him after we arrived for the day’s racing events. As we approached, Mel said, “I know you need to get dressed, but we have a few minutes. I’m going to pop if I have to wait until the events are over!”
Furrowing her brow, Holly said, “What’s up, Mel. I’ve never seen you so giddy.”
“Girls, listen to this. This is big news. Big, big news!” Mel paused a few moments to catch his breath. He said, “I just got off the phone a few minutes ago with a big name producer. Here’s the deal! You’re not going to believe this!”
“What!?” Holly almost shouted.
“This producer wants to sign you girls up, with me as your agent, to a feature in the July edition of Maxim magazine. And! And this is even bigger. He wants you girls to appear live at several NASCAR events. Mostly as eye candy, but also to promote various products along with a national promotion of Pennzoil. He wants to do a contest where the winner gets a date in Hollywood with both of you! Isn’t that awesome!?”
Mel was met with silence. “Isn’t it?”
“Girls?”
I looked over at Holly and said, “Mom and Dad are going to kill us.”
Part 3
If you look exactly like your sister, never say "yes" when she asks you for help...
“What?!” shouted my dad with a fury that’s rare even for him. If he’d been a cartoon character, steam would have been blowing from his ears. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could have sworn I saw sprinkles of plaster floating down from the kitchen ceiling. Mom, Holly and I were sitting at the kitchen counter on one side, while Dad stood in the kitchen, his face so red I thought he might be close to passing out.
“Dad…” said Holly sounding frustrated.
“No. No. Tell me I didn’t just hear what I just heard,” scowled Dad.
I pushed a form across the counter to him. “Dad. No big deal. Just sign this waiver and we’re good to go.”
Dad picked up the form from the counter and snarled, “Did I just hear you say this is no big deal? Are you out of your fucking mind?!” He glanced over to Mom and with an incongruent sheepish expression said, “Sorry, honey.”
Holly said, “Dad. Did you even read Mel’s proposal? The only bad thing about is that Caleb and I will have to pay taxes this year.”
Dad was still holding Mel’s proposal in one hand. He waved it angrily in the air. “You mean this one that says my daughter AND my son will be posing in some girlie magazine?”
“It’s not like we’re going to be naked or anything,” I quietly said.
“Oh yes. That’s very true,” sneered Dad sarcastically. “My son will only be dressing as a prostitute!”
“Dad!” shouted Holly as she stood up. “I’ve been dressing the same way for months at the race track before Caleb started there. Do I dress like a prostitute? You’ve never said a word about it. So by your own words, you have no problem with me dressing as a prostitute? Am I just a whore to you, Dad?”
“Sit down, young lady!” shouted Dad, pointing his finger at Holly. “You’re twisting my words! What father would want to see their son dressed in skimpy outfits and made up like a whore?”
Holly didn’t sit back down. She said coldly, “But it’s okay for your daughter?”
Scowling, Dad said, “Caleb’s not a girl.”
Shouting, Holly said, “So, by your own definitions, it’s okay for your daughter to look like a whore? Are you not listening to yourself?”
Pointing again, Dad yelled, “I said to sit down! Now listen. It’s normal for a girl to wear those outfits, but Caleb…”
Mom slapped the palm of her hand on the kitchen table with a loud whack. “Shut it, everyone.”
“Mom…” Holly started to say.
Pointing at Holly, Mom said, “I said shut it!” Pointing at Dad who was opening his mouth, Mom continued, “You too!”
Mom stood up and took the document from Dad’s grasp. In a calmer voice, Mom said, “From day one, I was opposed to Caleb dressing as a girl to work at the track. But Holly assured me it was for only one weekend and the track would hire a new model. But that didn’t happen, did it?”
Holly looked sheepish. “Mom. I can explain…”
Mom held up her finger and said, “Don’t interrupt. But Mr. Dog or whatever his name is, saw that he had a money maker in the team of Holly and Callie. And now he sees a way to make even more money from you two.”
“We make money too,” I interrupted Mom. “It’s all in that waiver thing. All you have to do is sign it since I’m under eighteen.”
“Is this what you really want, Caleb?” asked Mom. “To wear these skimpy outfits, look and act like a girl, to have men desire you and jerk off to your picture?”
Holly said, “Gee, Mom. You make it all sound so dirty. I’m doing this too you know. I don’t know about Caleb, but I do enjoy the attention. It’s really cool to hear people cheer and whistle and yell out marriage proposals and crap like that. Having fans is amazing.”
Mom said, “I’m sure it is, Holly. But how do you think your fans would react if they knew Callie was your brother? Think they’d be happy about that?”
I folded my arms. “They’re not going to find out. I mean, Holly, Mel and I aren’t going to tell. You and Dad aren’t going to tell. That leaves just Eric and Angie who know. They wouldn’t tell.”
Still scowling, Dad said, “You sure about that? Can you chance it? That’s a good sized little conspiracy you have there. All it takes is for one to get pissed at you. That’s when the lawyers for those companies promoting you start to descend.”
Holly folded her arms as well. “This isn’t forever. How many times do we have to say it? Why can’t you just be happy for us? They’re going to plaster our images all over twenty states at minimum. We’ll be on the major networks as well as ESPN as representing clean-cut all American girls. To shield Callie’s real identity, Mel has agreed to put her pay into an escrow account.”
Dad shook his head. “This is insane. There’s just no way I’m going to let my son, twink that he is, run around dressed as a girl!”
Holly said, “Dad. We’re going to be at the Indy Five Hundred. We can bring guests. I’ve already asked. I’m getting pit passes for you.”
Dad’s expression softened. He said, “Pit passes? Are you sure? You really think you can get a pit pass?”
Holly smiled. “Done and done, Dad. All you have to do is sign the waiver.”
Dad looked over at Mom with a pleading look in his eye. “You know, honey. Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea. They might meet influential people. Maybe we shouldn’t just automatically say no.”
Mom frowned at Dad. “Well, your principals are for sale cheap.”
Dad picked up the form and glanced over it again. “We’re talking pit passes for God’s sake. For Indy! It’s like a dream come true!”
“Then sign the waiver already!” I said, getting exasperated.
“Just hold on a second,” said Mom narrowing her eyes. “I need to know who all is going? Is this dog person…”
Holly interrupted, “Sheesh Mom. His name is Mel. Mad Dog is just a nickname.”
Mom gave Holly dirty look, “… Is this dog person going along too? Holly is an adult, in theory, but Caleb definitely isn’t. Is there going to be a chaperone of some kind?”
I wrinkled my nose at Mom, “What do you think we’re going to be doing?”
“I’m thinking of your safety, even if your sister and father isn’t,” Mom said matter-of-factly.
Holly shook her head. “No. Mel is too busy to go on most of our trips. Our first two trips for sure, Angie will be going as well as Eric.”
Mom raised her eyebrows, “Eric? Who’s Eric?”
Holly looked incredulously at Mom. “Don’t you remember, Mom? We talked about Eric before. He helps Mel around the track. He runs a small crew to set up the sound system and do some maintenance. He’ll have similar duties on the trips. And in case it’s needed, he can pretend to be Callie’s boyfriend to keep her rabid fans at bay.” I laughed nervously.
Dad looked up from reading the waiver and set it down on the kitchen counter. “Hold on a minute. How old is this Eric guy? I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with some older man being alone with my daughters.” I wonder if Dad realized he said “daughters”?
Holly said, “Actually, he’s younger than me. He’s eighteen.”
I looked over at Holly, “I thought he was twenty-something.”
Mom looked shocked, “I’m not sure I like that any better! Some hormone fueled, sex-crazed teenager being alone with you two.”
Holly laughed, “Eric isn’t like that at all, Mom. He’s very laid back. We’re all good friends. He took me to a movie once. And only Callie and I will share a room. Eric and Angie get their own rooms. So there’s no mixing.”
Frowning, Mom said, “I’m not sure if like this.”
Dad said, “How soon will you have the pit passes?”
Grinning, Holly said, “Two weeks before we leave for Minneapolis.”
Dad set the waiver down on the kitchen counter. He pulled out his pen from his shirt pocket and said, “This is against my better judgment. You two seem hell-bent on doing this and I know you’ll whine, scream, cry and carry on until I capitulate. So to save time, I’ll just cut to the chase and sign it. But here’s the deal. This goes especially for you, Caleb. If you decide you’re no longer comfortable with dressing like prostitutes and getting all that attention from men and everything that goes with that, I’m not going to bail you out. You have to live up to this contract.”
Grinning, I said, “I don’t think that’ll be a problem, Dad. Holly and I are already doing it.”
Dad gave me a dour smile and said, “We’ll see. But don’t come to me when it does become a problem.” He signed the waiver.
Holly snatched the waiver from the kitchen counter and squealed, “Thanks Dad! I’ll get this back to Mel right away.”
Mel looked up from some photographs he was studying on his desk as Holly and I walked up to him. It was another racing Saturday and we were dressed and ready to greet our fans.
Smiling, Mel said, “I’ve got good news, girls. The papers have all been signed and returned.” He passed a couple of pages each to us. “Here’s the upcoming schedule and agenda. Your rooms and flights are booked. We’re good to go.”
With a huge grin, Holly hugged me tight. “You hear that, Callie? We’re on our way to be famous!”
I looked over the schedule and gave a low whistle. “This is a pretty tight schedule. We’re booked on several cable shows, mall appearances, NASCAR races in Atlanta. Some of these are during the week. I’m going to miss some school.”
Mel shrugged. “You’re just going to have to make it up, kid. This is the price for fame and glory.”
I frowned looking at the aggressive schedules. I thought this was just going to be on weekends and holidays. Some of the events, like magazine interviews and photo shoots are right in the middle of the week. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“You okay, sis?” asked Holly.
I sighed. “Yeah. I’m okay. Let’s get to the track.”
As we walked out to the track in our short, skimpy dresses and high heels, Holly kept looking at me with concern. “What’s wrong, Callie? Afraid of success?”
Looking at the ground and not at her, I said, “Maybe. This is fine for you. This is your job for the most part. I’m going to be missing a lot of school. It’s my senior year.”
Holly wrinkled her nose at me. “Does it really matter? I mean, except for that geek squad you hang out with, you really don’t have much in the way of friends anyway.”
“They’re still my friends!” I frowned at Holly.
“Some friends!” snorted Holly. “They all lust after you. Your alter-ego anway. Especially that one pimple-farm what’s-his-name. They want to see you naked. That’d be a shock for them!” She laughed. “Besides, you’ll be there for graduation.”
I stopped walking and touched my sister’s arm. “This is a lot of exposure, Holly. I mean, TV and magazine interviews, personal appearances, and that stupid date we’re supposed to go on. Jeesh! There’re just too many opportunities to be found out.”
Holly just smiled at me and poked my arm. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fun. Just imagine, girl. This is the only time in your life where you’ll be desired and adored by literally millions of men. We’ll be presenting the trophy at that NASCAR race in Georgia. We’ll be in the winner’s circle at the Indy 500. We’ll be on magazine covers. It’s gonna be awesome! Come on. Let’s go wave at the crowd.”
“Regrets already,” asked Mom as she looked up from the magazine she was reading while sitting at the kitchen counter. I was sitting across from her. Dad and Holly had gone to a movie.
Looking at the pencil I was spinning instead of doing my math homework, I said, “Not really regrets. Just some concerns.”
Mom set the magazine down on the counter, “Oh? What kind of concerns?”
I spun the pencil again, “I didn’t realize that the schedule was so aggressive. I’ll have to miss some school. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it up.”
Mom nodded, “I was wondering about that when I looked it over after you brought it home Saturday. You and Holly are gone almost the whole month of April.”
I looked up and exclaimed, “I know! That’s insane! I’ll flunk out and not get to graduate.”
Mom just looked at me, “That does cause a problem, doesn’t it?”
Twirling the pencil with my fingers, I said, “I really don’t know what to do.”
Mom leaned on one arm, “It’s really too much to ask of you. Are you wanting to back out?”
I stopped fidgeting with my pencil and knitting my brows looked hard at Mom. “No. I want to do this. I really do. But I can’t let it cause me to fail. I don’t want to go to summer school.”
Mom just sat there in silence for almost a minute just staring at me. “I still don’t really get it. I mean, for Holly, it’s just fun. She likes to flirt and tease and she’s caught up in the glamour of it, such as it is. But honey, you’re a boy. What can you be getting out of doing this?”
My eyes focused behind Mom. “It’s fun for me too, Mom. Think about it. For a few hours I get to be someone not me. I don’t have many friends, I’m someone nobody looks twice at, I’m pretty boring. What do I do? I don’t play sports or anything. And almost every date I’ve had with a girl, they almost always tell me how safe they feel with me. Like I’m their brother.”
Mom smiled wryly, “I’m sorry honey.”
I sat up straighter and said brightly, “But doing this? I’m no longer invisible. People notice me! Complete strangers like me. Not just guys, but girls too. You should read my fan mail. It’s a hoot! And sometimes scary. But the point is, as Callie, people want to be with me. They want to take pictures with me. People talk to me. They yell out marriage proposals… and, um … other things. For a few short hours, I’m a somebody.”
Mom clasped her fingers together, “But it’s not real, Caleb. They’re not seeing you.”
Still focused on the wall behind Mom, “You and Dad should come out to the track sometime. It’s so awesome! When Holly and I run out, you should hear the cheers and clapping! It’s incredible. Those cheers Mom. Those cheers are for us! For me…”
Mom reached over and took one of my hands. With a slight smile she said, “Look. How about I talk to this Mr. Dog and see if we can’t make the schedule less aggressive.”
I focused my eyes back to Mom, “Thanks. That’d be great.”
“I can’t believe you went to Mom and got her to talk Mel into changing the schedule!” Holly scowled from the driver’s seat of her car. It had been a hot day and the car’s air conditioner felt wonderful. I’m sure I looked pretty much the way she did. Her hair a mess, make-up smears on her uniform, sweat, dirt and grime on her face, only traces to indicate she’d been wearing lipstick. “They had to reschedule everything. EVERYTHING! That cost money. Do you understand?’
I wrinkled my brow, “Calm down, Holly! Sheesh. After Mom explained a few things, Mel agreed that the original schedule was too tight. He hadn’t even noticed he’d booked at two different malls for the same time. This is going to work out better.”
Still angry, Holly said, “I sure hope so, squirt. This is just fun and games for you, but I hope to get a modeling career out of this.”
“I know. I know already,” I said turning to look out the car window. Mom also made arrangements with school telling them that I have some family travelling I can’t avoid. They can’t really argue about. So I’m much more comfortable about it all.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Holly sneered sarcastically.
I glanced back over at Holly, “Oh just stop. It’s got to work for both of us, or it doesn’t work at all.”
Holly looked over at me, “Well, girl, let’s hope so. We fly to our first gig next weekend.”
Holly held my hand as we left Mom and Dad at the security checkpoint at the air terminal. She looked over at me with an impish grin, “Oh Callie, I can’t believe this is actually happening. This is it! We’re on our way. Our first big trip without Mom and Dad.” She suddenly looked sober, “Kinda scary actually.”
I squeezed her hand. What had me sweating bullets was going through security. Mel knows a guy who knows a guy who makes fake IDs, passports, whatever. I got a fake non-drivers drivers license. It looked pretty damned good and it seems to have gotten me past security. Mel’s friend of a friend guaranteed it. But I’d be the one hauled off to jail, not him.
He forged a new birth certificate in case we needed it, to show me as eighteen instead of seventeen. What’s another lie and felony charge among friends?
Angie touched Holly’s arm, “This is exciting! I’ve never even been out of town before!”
Looking incredulous, Eric asked, “Are you kidding? For reals?” Angie nodded. “You need to get out and drive or something.”
Holly and I both got some stares and smiles as we entered the lobby to wait to board our plane. I was going to just go grunge on the clothes, but Mom insisted we show a little class when traveling by air. Both of us were wearing rather tight skirts, blouses and heels. Which meant we also had to do our hair and make-up.
Thanks to Mom’s negotiations, our first trip was just a taste of things to come. We were flying up to Oklahoma City late Friday to make an appearance at the mall on Saturday to sign (and of course sell) pictures and calendars. It was also a promotional for an automotive parts dealer. And then off that afternoon to a attend (and present trophies) at a major track in the motocross circuit. Then an interview with a local TV station. Of course we get a big dinner and lastly for Saturday night we’d get to officially start a sprint car race and then hand out trophies. Sunday we’ll be flying back. Not bad for the first time out.
Holly poked me, “Hey girl. Time to board the plane. Are you shaking?”
I nodded. “You know I’ve never flown before. I’ve never been away from home before. I don’t know if I can do this.”
Eric smiled at me, “Hey. Don’t be nervous. I’ve been on planes before. It’s no big deal. I’ll let you sit by the window.” He offered to hold my hand.
I pulled my hand away, “I’m fine now. Really. This is just a lot to take in.” I took a deep breath as we started walking towards the loading tunnel with everyone else.
I shook my head a couple of times. Oh my God! I’m getting on plane. And dressed as a girl!
I took Eric’s hand.
Flying is awesome! I just sat there with my hands folded in my lap formed by my tight skirt and stared out the window. The sun was close to setting and below me the clouds looked like a sea of fire. Eric was sitting between Holly and me. Angie was in some row behind us.
Eric chuckled, “You’re going to get a crick in your neck if you stay in that position the whole trip.”
I looked over at Eric and frowned. “This may be old hat to you, but this is my first time! Um, to be in a plane.”
Holly frowned at me. “How did you rate getting a window seat? I’d like to see something too, you know.”
I pointed at Eric. “He said I could. And he represents Mr. Dog, as Mom would say.” Mom never would get it that Melvin’s Mad Dog wasn’t his name. I think she did it on purpose.
There was a noticeable attitude change to the aircraft. Eric asked, “Feel that? We’re making our descent.” There were a few big bumps as the plane flew through some turbulence. I took Eric’s hand and held it. Eric just grinned at me.
Holly leaned across Eric to punch my shoulder. “Oh stop, you big baby. You get turbulence in every flight practically.” The aircraft made a sudden drop before another bump of turbulence. She grabbed Eric’s other hand and held it tight.
Eric laughed. “Man, I could get used to this.” Holly frowned.
I sat up straight and let go of Eric’s hand. “You know I wasn’t scared, right? I just wasn’t expecting the ride to be so rough.”
Holly pointed at me. “You were scared like a little girl!”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re one to talk!”
Eric shook his head. “Girls, girls. Knock it off. People are looking at you. Nobody likes turbulence. We’ll be landing in a few minutes.” He then placed his hand on my knee.
I frowned at Eric. “Really?” I picked up his hand and moved it. He just grinned and shrugged. He then laid his hand on Holly’s knee.
Holly frowned at Eric and picked his hand up and moved it from her knee. “Hey, you’re Callie’s boyfriend, remember?”
I leaned across in front of Eric and exclaimed, “No he’s not! Well, only when it’s an emergency.”
The plane bumped again from turbulence. I grabbed Eric’s hand again. Eric grinned at me.
The pilot then announced we were approaching Oklahoma City and gave us weather conditions.
I leaned over and poked Holly. “Are we going to eat as soon as we land? I’m getting hungry.”
Holly shook her head. “Let’s get checked into the hotel first. I’m sure there’s something around the hotel to eat at.”
Eric looked over at Holly. “Is anything on the itinerary for tonight?”
Shaking her head, Holly said, “No. We just need to check into the hotel. But tomorrow is crazy. We should all hit the hay early.”
I was still holding Eric’s hand. “Let’s see. There’s a TV interview, then we pose for about an hour at a mall, pose at some auto parts place during lunch and then hand out trophies at a motocross. I hope we brought enough sunscreen!”
Holly said, “Don’t forget the sprint car race that evening! That is one full day!”
Eric chuckled as he looked back and forth at Holly and me. “Are you girls up for that? You’ve never had a day that full.”
Holly sighed heavily. “I sure hope so. This is just the start of us being the face of the southern race circuit.”
I grinned, “Not to mention posing for new cardboard images holding bottles of Pennzoil Motor Oil.”
Holly said, “That’s next week. We also have that magazine interview.”
I was going to say something, but the flight attendant started telling us to bring our seat back to a full upright position and put the tray table back up. I wanted to look out the window, but I closed my eyes and tightened my grip on Eric’s hand. I didn’t like the big bump when the plane touched down and I really didn’t like the roar of the engines during reverse thrust. When the engines quieted down and I heard belts getting unbuckled, I opened my eyes to see Eric grinning down at me. I discovered I’d been holding my breath as well. It was probably a mistake to have watched that show of plane crashes on YouTube all last week. I gave Eric an embarrassed smile.
We slowly made our way off the plane and then everyone was walking quickly down the little tunnel to the lobby. Signs directed us to the baggage claim. Eric laughed when he picked up his solitary overnight bag while Holly, Angie and me all struggled with two large suitcases each.
I frowned at Eric. “You don’t have make-up and three changes of clothes. Not to mention our boots.”
Eric raised his hands defensively. “Did I say anything?”
Still frowning, I said, “You laughed.”
Eric rolled his eyes. “I laughed? Oh, the humanity! Can you ever forgive me?”
I frowned deeper and said, “No.”
“Hhmmph?”
Someone shook my shoulder. Holly said, “You need to wake up, Callie. The TV station is going to pick us up in about two hours.”
“Go away.” I mumbled as I rolled over. Since we’re siblings, Holly really didn’t have a problem with us sharing a room. But sharing a bed was a bridge too far. And I agreed. I’m not a girl after all, though I’m about to play one on TV.
The covers were jerked from covering me and my butt was slapped. Holly raised her voice. “Get up, Goofus! You’re taking your shower first so you don’t fall back asleep while I’m taking mine! Now get up!”
I raised myself up on one arm and looked at the hotel room window. “It’s still dark outside!”
Holly tugged on my arm. “We only have about two hours to get ready. It takes you that long to put on your make-up! Get the lead out!”
I sat up in the bed and rubbed my eyes. “Okay, okay. Sheesh.” I ran my fingers through my hair. While it’s gotten longer since I started this craziness, it still wasn’t anywhere near as long as Holly’s. I chuckled when I looked at Holly. “Your hair has that freshly fucked look. You should go with that for today.”
Scowling, Holly growled, “Just go take a shower so I can get ready!”
In the bathroom, I let my nightgown drop to the floor. I turned the water on and adjusted the temperature. I stepped in the tub and made sure the curtain was inside the tub. I just stood there for a few minutes feeling numb as the warm water hit my face. This was just too early. I had shaved my legs and pits before we left. I hoped that was good enough.
After a few minutes, I stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around my head and another around my body even though I don’t have boobs. I said, “Your turn.” Holly didn’t reply. She had fallen back asleep.
I was leaning into the mirror to check my lipstick when Holly put down the receiver for the room phone. “The lobby says our ride is here. Put your robe on and let’s go.”
I frowned at the silky robe Mel had provided us so we could cover up when doing things like walking through a hotel lobby. Emblazoned across the back of the robes were the words “Melvin’s Mad Dog Racing” in a garish red and gold. I did like how my oversized hoop earrings looked against my hair.
“I think we’d get less attention if we just wore our bras and panties,” I said frowning at the robe folded on my bed. The robes were almost as short as the dresses we wore underneath them.
“Yes, they’re ugly,” agreed Holly. “To Mel we’re just walking billboards. Just put it on, grab your purse and let’s go.”
Under the robes we wore our trademark red and black micro dresses that just said “Mel’s” on the back. We wore black four inch pumps instead of our white go-go boots. We’ll change into those later when we changed dresses to hand out trophies at the motocross. I liked the way our legs looked wearing the shiny hose.
When we stepped out of the elevator, every man in the lobby turned to gawk at us as we strutted across the room. At seven in the morning there weren’t a lot of men, but we had the attention of every one of them. Including the staff. Their wives weren’t thrilled to see us though. I admit I really did love the attention.
Eric and Angie were already waiting outside the hotel. The van for the TV station was parked by the curb and a camera operator was out on the sidewalk getting a shot of us approaching their van. A station representative was standing outside the van. She extended her hand to us as we approached.
“Welcome, ladies,” the rep said brightly. “Thank you for coming. I’m Gladys O’Conner. I hope you had a good flight up here.”
Smiling, Holly took the offered hand and shook it. “Thank you Ms. O’Conner! We had a great flight up here. We’re very happy to be here.”
Holding a microphone up to her face, the rep said, “Today we’re welcoming two ladies bringing fashion and glamour to the world of racing, mixing a little bit of perfume with the high octane fuel.” She cut the video and motioned for Holly and me, as well as Eric and Angie to get into the van and ride over to the TV station.
As we walked into the studio, O’Conner pointed at two chairs and said, “Take a seat, ladies. Now, this isn’t going out live. We’re going to record it and edit it for later for our six and ten o’clock newscast.”
After we sat down, O’Conner stood on an X marked with tape on the floor and faced a TV camera.
O’Conner smiled and said, “Evening everyone. Tonight’s special guests are two lovely young ladies who, if you’ve been to an auto parts store lately, you have seen their image advertising various products. Let’s welcome Holly and Callie!”
Her smile faded as she stepped off her mark and said, “Okay. Swing that camera to point at the girls.” She moved a chair near to where we were sitting and continued, “And then focus camera two on this chair. Let me sit so you can adjust it.” She looked up. “Okay guys. You ready?”
Holly and I had removed our robes and were sitting on a pair of hard plastic chairs and wearing our very short and very tight dresses. Holly sat with her legs sexily crossed in a way I wish I could. I did have those bit a girl shouldn’t have tightly packed away and out of view. I hoped. A light would come on to clue us which camera was active. There was also a director and a guy handling the boom mic.
O’Conner smiled when the light became lit on the camera facing her. “Welcome back everyone. I’d like to introduce everyone to Holly…” Holly waved when our camera lit up. “… and Callie.” It was my turn to wave.
Still smiling, O’Conner said, “The girls have a very busy day planned. This morning at ten, you can see them at the mall visiting the Speedway Museum’s display of racing cars and then at one PM, they’ll be out at Big Al’s Moto Arena for the motocross championship where they’ll be presenting the winner with their trophy. And if that’s not enough high RPM action for you, Holly and Callie will also appear at Big Al’s Quartermile Extravaganza’s Sprint Car Championships, starting at six PM. Sounds like a full day, girls.”
Holly laughed. “It sure does Gladys. Maybe we should have worn sensible shoes!” Gladys chuckled.
Attempting to look interested in the question, Gladys leaned forward and asked, “So tell me. How did you girls get involved in this world of racing?”
Holly looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “I answered an ad for a model and trophy presenter at Melvin’s Mad dog Race Arena along with several other girls. After an interview, me and well, another girl were selected.”
Interrupting, Gladys asked, “Was the other girl Callie?”
Holly shook her head. “Oh no. It was a different girl. But after a few weeks she wasn’t able to do it any longer. Callie and I were close friends and I recommended her to Mel. When Callie came on board, I don’t know. Things just clicked. We were suddenly a team and the fans loved it.” Close friends? Hah… she’s my sister. But we can’t say that.
Gladys said, “So Callie. You seemed to fit in right away. Did you have any prior modeling experience?”
I smiled big and said, “Actually it was all new to me.” Dressing like a tart for men to drool over was a totally new experience. Of course I couldn’t say that. “But like Holly said, we just clicked as a team. We were suddenly in demand for many motorsport related events.”
Gladys leaned forward again and asked, “And how did you feel about that, Callie? Being objectified and put on display for the pleasure of men?”
Holy shit. That question wasn’t in the script. I hesitated for a few moments. Holly looked terrified that I was asked such a question. I said, “It took some getting used to. I never had that kind of attention before. But I quickly came to enjoy it.”
Gladys said, “Are you saying you enjoy the catcalls and humiliation?”
I narrowed my eyes at Gladys. “Neither Holly or me think we’re being humiliated. We’re entertainers. It’d be kinda sad if Holly and I walked out there in front of the crowd and was greeted with silence. I mean, it’s fun for us to hear guys yell out asking for dates and marriage proposals. Even some of the ladies at the track yell out marriage proposals. Everyone’s having a good time. Everyone knows it’s in good fun.”
Gladys continued and asked, “What about those people who don’t consider it fun?” What the hell’s with this asshole? This was just supposed to be a promotion.
I chuckled and pointed at Eric who was out of the shot. “Then Eric tosses their butts out of the track and bans them. No one argues with Eric.” The camera panned over to Eric and he waved. Eric is a big guy.
Gladys smiled nervously. “I don’t suppose they do.” She turned to Holly. “So Holly. You feel this will lead you to a modeling career?” What the hell? I felt very uncomfortable and just wanted to leave.
Ten minutes later, the interview ended and Gladys thanked us for coming on. We caught an Uber from the studio to the mall.
I watched the Uber car drive away as all four of us stood at the Quail Springs Mall entrance.
“Shouldn’t we get a limo or something?” I asked in a slightly whiny voice. “I mean, we’re the VIPs right?”
Angie chuckled. “You’re eye candy, not a movie star.”
Holly folded her arms and looked pissed. “I just hope we don’t have another interview like that one. Wasn’t expecting that.”
Angie squinted in the bright morning sunlight. “Let’s go ahead get inside. We’re supposed to meet with Big Al.”
As we started to walk into the mall, Eric curiously took my hand. He didn’t say anything. We just fell in behind Holly and Angie. I probably should have pulled my hand away, but I did feel more at ease at being in an unfamiliar place. As we started to garner stares walking through mall, I found that I tightened my grip on Eric’s hand.
We got the usual sappy grins from the men. From women, we got both curious as well as disapproving looks. One woman actually covered her kid’s eyes and said, “Don’t look, Tommy.” It’s not like we were naked or anything.
Just a minute or two of walking brought to an area where several racing cars were on display along with a banner hanging from the ceiling announcing “Big Al’s Racing Museum.” Standing next to one of the race cars was a grinning man in cowboy boots and a black, ten gallon Stetson. He beckoned to us with a wave.
Beaming, the man stepped up to us. “Ladies! Welcome, welcome! I’m ‘Big Al’ and we’re all thrilled to have such beautiful ladies officiate at our events today.” Big Al shook Holly’s hand by just holding her fingers. Eric let go of my hand so Big Al could shake it. It was obvious that Big Al could have crushed my hand if he’d wanted to. He said our names as he took our hands. Angie got the same handshake though she had to introduce herself. But for Eric, he gave a solid, bone crushing handshake. He said, “And who is this fine looking young man?”
Holly smirked and said, “That’s Eric. He’s Callie’s boyfriend.”
Eric stepped close behind me and put his arms around my waist. He rested his chin on the top of my head and grinned. “Yep. This little girl is all mine!” Holly chuckled.
I pulled his hands away from me and said, “Down, boy.”
Laughing, Eric patted my butt and whispered, “Just playing with you.”
Holly pointed at Angie and said, “And Angie is here to represent Mel and to keep us on track.”
Smile fading, Big Al said, “Okay ladies. Let’s get down to business. I need you to pose near these cars so we can get some promotional pictures. We’re also going to get a live video of me talking with you girls to promote the races today.”
A guy standing behind Big Al, holding a camera said, “Live feed coming up in ten minutes. We’re all set.”
Holly and I moved close to a NASCAR car and posed for a few pictures. Big Al said, “The video feed is about to start. Can one of you get in the drivers seat”
I looked at the side of the car. “There’s no door.”
Big Al chuckled. “You’ll have to slide in through the window.”
I looked around the room and then waved at Eric. “Hey Eric, can you give me a hand getting inside, please?”
Eric grinned. “No problem!” He walked over to me, picked me up as if I weighed nothing and helped me slide my legs in through the window. I ignored the tingle I felt when he lifted me up.
It felt like I was sitting too low. We didn’t bother with the belts. Big Al made sure none of the webbing inside hid me from view. I was surprised by all the instruments in the cockpit. That seemed a more appropriate word than merely “driver’s seat”. They handed me a card with the line I was supposed to say. I quickly memorized it.
The camera guy said, “Five seconds…” Big Al switched on his artificial smile and stood between Holly and me inside the car. The camera guy pointed at Al.
Grinning, Big Al said, “Greetings race fans! I’m Big Al here today at the Quail Springs Mall with the beautiful and sexy Pennzoil girls, Holly and Callie.” He stepped next to Holly. “So, Holly, tell the fans why you’re in Oklahoma City today.”
If she was being honest, Holly should have said, “We’re here to entice horny men to come stand in the hot sun and dirt all day at your track.” Instead, she said, “Well, Al, Callie and I are here to catch all the exciting motocross action today at the famous Big Al’s Racing Arena.”
Big Al prompted, “And you’ll be handing out the trophies to the winners along with something extra special?”
Flashing a big smile, Holly said, “That’s right Al. Each winner today will also receive a kiss from Callie and me.” I grinned at the camera thinking just don’t expect a kiss on the lips.
Al grinned, “A little extra incentive to win. I might get my bike out to race.” He laughed. “Track opens today at eleven AM. We start this year’s motocross championship, so come out to see all the biggest names in motocross!”
Still grinning, Holly said, “And, come see Callie and me!”
Big Al, pointed at me and said, “And let’s don’t forget the stunningly gorgeous Callie!” The camera panned over to me sitting in the NASCAR race car.
I smiled and said, “And race fans, don’t forget to come see Holly and me tonight for Big Al’s Quarter Mile Sprint car blowout! See you there!”
The camera guy said, “And we’re done.”
I looked over at Eric. “Can you help me out?”
As Eric walked over towards me, Holly pointed at me and asked, “Why is she ‘stunning’?”
As Eric carefully extracted me through the window of the car, he said, “I think she’s stunning.” He kept his arm around me after setting me down.
Looking actually pissed, Holly said, “I can’t be stunning?”
Shaking his head in annoyance, Big Al said, “I’ll introduce you as stunning at the track. How’s that?”
Holly said, “I guess that’s okay.”
Big Al said, “Now that that’s settled, we have a half hour to get more pictures of you girls around these cars and then a van will take us to lunch at one of our sponsors, Rosita’s Mexican Cantina. From there we’ll head to the track.”
For more pictures, Eric helped Holly into a Formula One car. I just sat on the hood of the sprint car. We posed for half an hour around the cars, and one with us holding up heavy bottles of motor oil. And of course one with Big Al along with one having us giving Big Al a kiss on the cheek.
Finally, Al informed us that the van to take us all to lunch had arrived. His video crew quickly packed all their equipment. Al was going to want pictures while we ate lunch. A couple of his employees stayed behind to keep an eye on the cars on display
Holly frowned slightly when she noticed Eric taking my hand and leading me through the mall to the waiting van. I looked over at her and shrugged but she still looked annoyed.
Big Al told us we could order whatever we wanted from the limited menu he handed us when we got into the van.
I sat next to Holly as Eric and Angie got into the seat behind us. I poked her and whispered, “You seem to have a bug up your butt. What’s the deal?”
Holly folded her arms and looked sternly at me. “Oh, like you don’t know.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Frowning, Holly said, “Oh like you’re not aware of flirting with every man within twenty feet of you? Look at me! I’m stunning! Oh Eric honey, can you help me? Hold my hand, Eric. Hmph.”
I just looked at Holly like she was nuts. “Did you hit your head or something this morning?” I asked. “I didn’t call myself stunning. I did need help getting into that car. Eric’s the only one allowed to touch us. And holding my hand was Eric’s idea, not mine.”
“You didn’t pull your hand back,” said Holly as she continued to be upset over nothing.
Scowling, I said, “Well excuse me all to hell and back. I wasn’t aware that Eric was your property.”
“It’s just that you’ve been flirting with him the whole trip,” exclaimed Holly. “You flirted on the plane. You flirted on the ride to the hotel and to the mall. You’re not even a girl, so just lay off.”
I leaned back in my seat and grunted. “You’re serious, aren’t you? For starters, keep it quiet about who and what I am. Don’t forget you announced to God and everyone that Eric is my boyfriend. I know he’s just a beard. So should you. I think Eric is just having some fun since he’s usually stuck in the background all the time.”
Continuing to frown, Holly said, “Just stop hogging Eric, okay?”
I laughed and pulled on a strand of her hair. “You’re jealous! That’s it, isn’t it? You’re jealous of Eric showing attention to me.” I laughed.
Holly looked down her nose at me. “Jealous of you? Don’t be crazy.”
I tapped Al on his shoulder and asked, “Do you have a plumber’s helper? I need to remove a huge bug from Holly’s butt.”
Eric leaned forward with his head over the seat. “Are you girls fighting again? Don’t you remember Mel telling you guys to behave?”
I pointed at Holly. “Tell her that. I was just minding my own business.”
From behind us, Angie said, “It takes two to tango. So shut up and grow up. Both of you.”
Big Al chuckled from the front passenger seat. “Women.”
Holly finally settled down by the time we got to the restaurant. We sat at a large table and Eric sat between Holly and me. Angie sat next to Big Al. The food was actually quite good. Eric kept an arm around Holly.
It was a warm, sunny day with no chance of rain in sight. Big Al was hoping for a muddy track.
We stood with Big Al on a low tower high enough to see most of the track. Eric also joined us along with a few race officials. The tower had a tent on the top to shield us from the sun. There was a pretty good sized crowd, not just around the tower, but scattered around the track.
Taking a microphone to the PA system, Big Al said, “Welcome everyone to Big Al’s Motocross Arena. We have some of the top national racers contending in the national championships. To cheer them on, we have with us today, the beautiful AND stunning Holly and Callie. You’ve seen them on TV and radio and today you can see them here! The winners not only receive a trophy, but a kiss from these sexy girls as well.”
A yell from the crowd went up as Holly and I waved to the crowd. We were both wearing our microdresses and white go-go boots. I was also wearing large, white hoop earrings while Holly’s earrings were red. We were both wearing red lipstick so we could leave very visible lip prints on the winner’s cheeks along with long red nails.
Big Al said, “I’m going to hand the mic over to Albert Johnson our race official. Let’s get these races started!” He passed the microphone over to Albert who along with a cowboy hat, sported dark glasses and headphones.
Albert said, “Thank you Big Al. It’s a beautiful day here at Big Al’s Motocross Area. Expect to see some great racing today. First moto today we have…” I kinda stopped listening.
Leaning on the tower’s railing next to Holly, I said, “Wow. This is a lot more people than Mel ever gets. And it’s hot.” I fanned my face with the palm of my hand.
Holly agreed. “It’s pretty warm for sure. Mel said he wants to start doing motocross races. He bought some land south of the drag strip.”
“That’s cool,” I said. I hope he puts in a BMX track as well. Remember when I used to race BMX? That was fun.”
From our vantage point in the tower, we could see most of the race. A couple of places were hidden by trees. But there were observers there even though cutting the course would have been difficult. The first race was the 100cc class and had mostly teens racing. The big competitors would be in the open class. The winner of the first race grinned from ear-to-ear when Holly and I kissed his cheeks and presented him with a trophy.
And that’s how the day was going for the most part. The day just got hotter and while the winners started to get a bit older, the men were still excited to get our kisses. While I have kissed many men’s and some women’s cheeks during my short career, I still really don’t like pressing my lips against a sweaty, unshaven face. What’s bad is when the man I’m about to kiss, deliberately turns his head so I kiss him full on the lips. And then holds me so I can’t back away. And today was no exception. It’s irrelevant if the guy is cute. A full on kiss is a bit too intimate. Even Holly, who’s hobby is kissing men, gets annoyed when a racer tricks her into a real kiss. For the racer, there’s no downside to doing it. No punishment, no cash fine, they don’t take their trophy away. They just get to kiss a pretty girl. Big Al, like Mel seem to view it as a good promotional photo opportunity. They both just shrug and remind us that it all pays the same.
Towards late afternoon, it was getting quite warm and Big Al had provided a large ice chest filled with water bottles and soda. We weren’t given the chance to take breaks. Al even brought us each a hotdog in the middle of the afternoon. It bugged the crap out of me to see dozens of phones lifted up to snap a picture when I put the hotdog in my mouth.
Holly and I were alone on the tower, not counting Albert. I said to Holly, “I really need to go to the little girl’s room.” Calling a porta-potty a little girl’s room is a stretch.
Holly turned from watching the racers get positioned for the next race and said, “Can you wait? There’s about an hour left.”
I shook my head. “I’m about to take a piss right here. I gotta go.”
Holly looked around. “You know we’re not allowed to leave the tower without an escort. I don’t see Eric or Angie anywhere.” A few months ago at this track, a different trophy girl was assaulted on her way back from using the restroom. So now Al requires an escort.
My eyes were crossing. “I can’t wait for that. I’m going.”
Holly said, “Okay. But be careful. If I see Eric, I’ll tell him where you are.”
I quickly got down from the tower and tried not to run. They had placed the potties a good distance from where the crowd was gathered.
I got the looks in my direction that I expected. There were some good natured catcalls and marriage proposals. I just waved and hurried on my way. When I arrived, there were lines of women standing outside the porta potties labeled “Women”. What the hell? These things are all the same. Several that were labeled “Men” showed to be unoccupied.
I opened the door of one labeled “Men”. The woman near me said, “You can’t go in there.”
I started to step in and asked, “Why not? They’re all the same.”
The woman laughed and said, “To hell with this.” She got out of the line and went to the one near me that was empty. Several women stepped out of their line. I think I started something,
I locked the door and looked down at the urine spattered seat with a recent skid mark. Attached to the wall was a small urinal attachment. I’m not supposed to do this, but what the hell. Nobody can see me. I pulled my skirt up and peed standing up. Holly would not approve. Oh well.
I made sure everything was put back snug in their place and smoothed out my skirt and stepped out. I got some stares from men. I just looked at them and shrugged.
The concession area was near the tower and I thought I’d get a snowcone. I stood there for a moment, but the line here was just too long. I can’t leave Holly alone up in the tower to take care of race winners. I frowned and turned away from the concessions.
Two young men stepped away from the line they were in and got in front of me. The tall one with dark hair said, “Hey babe. I know I got what you want.”
The blond guy patted the front of his pants. “No waiting here.”
I groaned and tried to step past them. “Seriously? You’re doing this here?”
The blond guy said, “Not here. We have a van. We know you want what we have. Babe, you’re hot.” Some people turned to look at us, but nobody tried to get these guys away from me.
The dark haired guy grinned, “Come on sexy. We didn’t win a race, but we still want a kiss.”
I kept walking to the tower. I was scared, but there were just too many people around for them to try to force me into something. As the dark haired guy got closer I could smell the beer.
The blond guy got close and tried to grab my arm. “Quit walking away. We know how to show sexy bitches like you a good time.” Oh yeah, Casanova. Calling me a bitch is a sure way to win me over. He touched my arm. I stepped backwards into something solid.
The tall, dark haired guy frowned and said, “Get lost. This is our bitch. Go get your own.”
I felt an arm go around my waist and I was pulled close to someone. I heard the voice of Eric. “That’s hilarious because Callie is my girl.”
I turned to look at him and shouted, “Eric! I’m so glad to see you!” Without thinking about what I was doing, I threw my arms around Eric’s neck, stood on my tiptoes and kissed him hard.
Eric stepped towards the dark haired guy. He said, “You were saying?”
The dark haired guy slapped the blond’s arm and said, “Benny, let’s get out of here.”
I buried my face into Eric’s chest and cried. I know it was unlikely those two men could have actually done anything, but it still scared me. I was shaking. “Eric, thank God you showed up.”
Eric continued to hold me. He said, “I’m glad I could help. You missed a race and we wondered where you were.”
Holly shouted down from the tower. “Are you okay, Callie?” When I nodded, she held up her phone and said, “I got a picture of them. A couple police officers are working security here and Al’s already called them. Now get your butt back up here!”
I looked at Eric. “Do you have a tissue? I got lipstick on you. I apologize about kissing you. It was just a gut reaction.”
Eric grinned. “No need to apologize, Callie. I’m just glad you’re safe. Let’s get back to the tower.”
Holly wasn’t sure she was mad because I’d left her alone to kiss one of the winners or glad I wasn’t harmed. She opted to give me a hug. She did smile knowingly when she saw the lipstick on Eric.
The rest of the race day went without issue. We kissed a lot of cheeks and a few lips. Eric wore my lipstick smudge like a badge of honor. The two men who tried to molest me got a ride down to the police station, but weren’t charged since they had done nothing physical. Al banned them for life from the track. At the end of the day, Big Al bought us and the crew dinner from some place called The Garage.
Holly and I were both beat and just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. But after we finished our burgers, Al carried us in golf carts over to the quarter mile track to kiss sprint car drivers. At least it was at night and a bit cooler.
Gritting her teeth, Holly slowly pulled her boots off. I was already down to my panties and bra numbly watching TV. We no longer cared if we saw each other in our underwear. We did draw the line at being naked.
Her boots finally off, Holly fell back on her bed. She glanced over at me and growled. “Next time girl, you wait for an escort. If I hadn’t looked over the rail from the tower and sent Eric down to rescue you, God knows what would have happened.”
I frowned. “Sis, I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to go. And I honestly doubt those two would have actually done anything. It was right there in broad daylight!”
Holly laughed. “Is that why Eric got that kiss to end all kisses?”
I sighed. “I admit I was scared. It was just a spontaneous thank you.”
Grinning, Holly asked, “Do you think he meant it when he told those guys you’re his girlfriend?”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “Don’t be stupid.”
Holly sat up and grunted. “Well, I’m tired of smelling like sweat, dirt and fuel. I’m going to hit the shower.”
As she made her way to the restroom, I looked about the room. “Hey. Do you know where my phone is? I promised Dad to text him before going to bed.”
Looking thoughtful for a moment before closing the bathroom door, Holly said, “Oh you know what? I bet it’s still in your purse in the backseat of the car.”
I nodded. “You’re probably right.”
It was dark and late and I didn’t want to get dressed. So still just in my bra and pnties, I just grabbed my robe and tied it off. I wasn’t going to bother with shoes. I grabbed the car key and the room card and left the room. Not meaning to, I accidently let the door slam shut. I rode the elevator down by myself. I ran on my tiptoes out the door towards our rental car.
At first I was worried because I couldn’t find my purse in either the front or back seat. I sighed with relief when I found it laying on the floor. I slowly backed out of the car, turned around and bumped into something.
I looked up and saw Eric being taller than me. He glared at me and folded his arms. “Callie, what are you doing out here in the dark, half naked?”
Holding up my purse, I said, “I forgot my purse. I just came out to get it. No big deal.”
His arms still folded, Eric said, “It’s not safe at night out here for a girl alone. Especially a half naked one. If you hadn’t slammed your door, I wouldn’t have known you had come out here. Always call me.”
I stood there, feeling like a child being scolded by my parents. “I’m sorry, Eric. It was late and I didn’t want to wake you up. I was only going to be a minute.”
Eric put his hands on my shoulders. “That’s why I’m here. This afternoon is never going to repeat. I’m never letting you out of my sight.” He smiled at me as he brushed a few wayward strands of my hair from my face. “I’m here for you, Callie. Remember that.”
I nodded and then glanced at my bare feet. “I’ll remember. And thanks again for being my knight in shining armor today. I was very scared.”
Eric lifted my face up with two fingers under my chin. Grinning, he said, “That’s me. Your knight in shining armor.”
He kept smiling at me as he ran his fingers through my hair. He gently slid his finger tips down my cheek. He then bent down towards my face. His lips parted. Oh my God! He isn’t doing this! Oh my God! He is. I parted my lips just as his touched mine. I closed my eyes and slid my arms around his neck. I moaned as I melted into his kiss. We kissed in the dark, cool night air swirling around my legs and up my robe. I broke from his kiss long enough to sigh, “Oh, Eric!” and then we kissed into the night.