Luck be a Lady
By Cathy_t
Parts 7, 8 and 9
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, ARRESTED?!" I practically yelled in Prue's
direction. "How the HELL did she get arrested?"
I admit it, I was losing it, BIG time! I mean, from finding two new
friends to help in our quest to reach L.A. and to find some answers and
safety, to total despair in less than three seconds flat is a hell of a
long way to go in a HELL of a short time!
"She said that she got busted in some place where she was trying to
find someone to help us with IDs!" Prue sobbed. "What are we going to
do, Billie? We can't just leave her there, in the clutches of some
small time cops! She's a tough kid, but sooner or later, they'll break
her down and she'll HAVE to spill the whole story about us! Of course,
they'll NEVER believe her but it's only a matter of time before those
people who have been chasing us get word about her story and then all
hell will be out for noon!"
I was trying to think but I was coming up with nothing. My mind just
couldn't deal with this one more thing! I guess it was like that
proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. My poor brain just
fractured a bit and the only thing I could think about was that this
whole game was over. We were done and would soon be caught and
questioned by the M.I.B. types that had been dogging our heels for the
last week or so.
Kim and Pickles, drawn by my tone of voice and Prue's tears, converged
on us, demanding to know what was going on. Prue filled them in while I
descended into a black pit of anger/despair/disgust. I was getting to
the point where it seemed that there wasn't any use in running anymore
and, somewhere in my mind, the thought of just giving up and
surrendering to the government types began to grow.
I had wandered over to the motel bed and was sitting there figuring how
to give myself up without involving Prue, Kim and Pickles. I couldn't
see any way to avoid getting Neri busted along with me, though. She was
already in jail and there was no way I could think of to get her out. I
sat there, my head in my hands and that long, luxurious red hair
spilling all around my face and feeling like my miserable luck had
finally caught up with me. The worst part was, this time it was gonna
bite a friend in the ass, along with me!
I was sitting there wondering if I could at least get back to my own
body before I turned myself in when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I
looked up to see Prue's other hand descending fast towards my face!
Before I could react, it struck the side of my head with a sound that
must have carried past the doorway and out into the hall! I fell
backwards on the bed, the left side of my face burning as if it were on
fire. My eyes teared up and, for a few seconds, all I could see was a
blur.
Gradually the blur began to clear up a bit and I could see Prue's tear
streaked face just a few inches from mine. She looked like a
thundercloud, about to burst in my face and, in spite of myself, I drew
back on the bed, suddenly all too aware of my female form and the fact
that Prue was easily as strong as I was right then. I had never seen
her this angry and it frightened me. I didn't really know her, after
all and I had no real idea of what she might be capable. I only knew,
right then, that she looked as angry and hurt as I have ever seen
anyone look. Kim and Pickles made moves as if they were going to pull
her back but she turned her furious face towards them and they stopped
in their tracks and backed off a bit.
Prue snapped her head back around, looking me in the eyes and then she
lit into me verbally. "BILLIE! Are you just gonna sit there and drown
in self pity or are you gonna get your head together and help me think
of SOME way of getting Neri out of this mess? After all, it's for YOU
and the rest of us that she was out there trying to help us find a way
out of this! She's just a KID, for CHRIST'S sake and all you can do is
sit there and snivel about your 'bad luck??' DAMN it, BILL," she
shrieked at the top of her lungs, "snap OUT of it! We need you now!!"
I couldn't speak! I was so beaten down by what I considered my lousy
luck and seemingly incapable of any thought beyond giving up. I had not
only hung myself with my greed but I had also endangered four other
people whose only faults were wanting to help me. Four people who had
been fast becoming friends. Now, they would all hate me and it was all
my fault! I turned over and buried my face in a pillow and began to
cry.
Nothing that Prue said or did seemed to make any difference to me. I
just sank deeper and deeper into self pity and guilt. Oh she screamed
and slapped me a couple more times but to no avail. Somewhere in there,
I remember hearing Kim and Pickles pleading with me as well but I
didn't hear what they were saying. I just buried my face deeper into
that pillow and retreated from reality for awhile.
After some time, I became aware that it was quiet in the room. I lifted
my face out of the pillow and looked around. I was all alone! I had
never even heard anyone leave and I didn't even know how long I had
been alone. I got up and quickly searched the other rooms but there was
no one there. All I found was a note, taped to the phone. It read:
Billie.
We have gone to try to get Neri out of the mess she is in. I
don't know if I ever want to see you again. I thought you were a
MAN that I could depend on. Instead, you're acting like some
little airheaded girl!
If you come to your senses and read this, you can reach us on
the mobile phone. The number is 555-1312 in case you've forgotten
that as well! We have taken a cab to the police station to try to
get Neri out and recover the van. In case you've forgotten, all
of the alien equipment is in that van and we CAN'T have the cops
finding that stuff!
If we're successful, we'll return to the room, get you back into
your old, male body and leave you here to do whatever you think
you should do. If you can't get it together, then we'll part
company then. FOREVER!
I sat there by the phone, reading that note and I began to get mad. Mad
at Prue for talking to me that way, for slapping me, for not
understanding that it WAS my fault that they were all in this mess with
me! The trouble is, the longer I sat there, the more I began to get
control of myself. Realizing that it WAS my fault and knowing that I
had to do SOMETHING about it, I went into the bathroom, washed my face
and grabbed my purse and a jacket I found on the floor. I looked up the
number of a cab company and called for a cab to pick me up at the motel
in ten minutes.
While I sat there waiting, I ran through what I considered to be my
options. I could go down to the police station and turn myself in but
that wouldn't help Neri. I could just take off. There was still money
in my purse. Enough to get me out of there and away from my friends
before the M.I.B guys caught up with me. That would give Prue and the
rest time to get away but it still wouldn't help Neri.
Lots of thoughts went through my head in that ten minutes but it all
kept coming back to this. Whatever I could think of, it would only help
me, Prue, Kim and Pickles. Neri would still be stuck in jail. I finally
gathered what was left of my dignity and courage and when the cab
arrived, I told the driver to take me to the police station. I had no
idea what I was going to do when I got there, but I knew I had to go
there. If for no other reason, to try to comfort Neri and let her know
that she wasn't facing things alone.
On the way to the cop shop, I caught a glimpse of what looked like our
van, headed in the opposite direction! I yelled at the cabbie to turn
around and follow it and he pulled one of those screaming U-turns in
the street and took off after the van. We followed it all the way back
to the Motel and, as I paid the cabbie, I saw Prue and the rest get out
of it, along with someone I didn't recognize and enter the room we had
been in before. The cabbie muttered something about "crazy dames" but I
was too preoccupied to pay any attention to him. I just threw some
money at him and took off running toward the room, as fast as those
damned heels would let me.
I burst through the door to see Prue, Pickles and Kim talking with the
stranger. He seemed to be explaining something, but when I came flying
into the room, he quickly shut up and moved to the other side of the
room. I looked at Prue and the rest but they seemed to be avoiding my
eyes. I knew that they were disappointed with me and I had no idea how
to make up for my flight into despair but I walked over to Prue and
drew her aside.
"Look, Prue." I said quietly. "I know you're pissed at me and I
understand why. I don't have an explanation for what happened to me.
Maybe I just finally let the 'guilts' get to me or maybe it was the
hormones flowing through this sexy body, I don't know! I only know that
all of this IS my fault and I gotta try to help. Now what's going on
and who is this guy?"
She looked at me coldly. "Are you sure you want to try to help, BILLIE?
The last thing we need right now is a panicky female like you seem to
be, messing about and ruining anything we might come up with to get
Neri out of jail!
"When we arrived at the Police Station, they told us that unless we
were family or her lawyers, we couldn't talk to her until she had
either gotten a lawyer or was released! We found out where she had been
arrested and went down there and, with a little cash thrown around,
were referred to this guy Henry, or 'The Professor' as it seems he's
known as. We located the van just where Neri had left it and we went
and picked him up and came back here."
I swallowed hard and looked back at her, saying. "Okay, okay! I lost
it. I admit it. I've been feeling really strange in this body and what
happened to Neri just pushed some buttons I didn't know I had! I'll
grant you that I should have been able to control my feelings but I
couldn't! All of a sudden it was like the whole world had crashed down
on me and the only thing I could do was cry! Can you understand how
strange that made me feel? I mean, all of my life, I've dealt with
whatever rotten break that fate threw at me, always hoping that the
light at the end of any tunnel I happened to see, wasn't the headlight
of an onrushing express train!"
I stopped for a minute to gather my thoughts and continued. "Prue, I'm
not USED to being a woman! I can't deal with all the strange emotions
and stuff that are going through me! You've had a lifetime to get used
to them and learn how to handle them. I've only had a few days! To make
matters worse, THIS body is much worse than the other one I was
wearing! I'm not sure, but I think this body has a higher libido or
something. I've felt out of sorts since you put me into it and, let me
tell you, it hasn't been fun. I can't get used to being stared at by
every guy that I pass, at least, I haven't been able to get used to it
in a day or two and to make matters worse, I've found myself liking
being looked at and looking back at them! Now, if you wanna be mad at
me, fine. Go right ahead. Maybe I deserve it and maybe I don't but
let's set that aside for the moment and concentrate on getting Neri
outta jail and ourselves outta this town!"
Prue glared at me for a minute or two and then she seemed to come to a
decision. She turned to the stranger and introduced him as Henry. She
told me that he had been talking to Neri when the bar they had been in
was raided by the police. He had managed to sneak past the police lines
and get away but everyone else in the bar had been arrested on charges
of either prostitution, gambling, or underage drinking.
Henry came over to us and said, "Look, I don't know what the hell is
going on here but all I wanna do is get the hell outta town! This
'Neri' seems to be a friend of yours and I'm real sorry she's in the
slam but I don't know what I can do to help her. I just deal in false
identification stuff. They call me 'The Professor' because I can make
anybody into somebody else with my IDs. Listen, I got all my stuff in a
bag in the van out there. This Neri was tryin' to deal me down in price
when the cops busted the joint and I just barely got outta there
without gettin' busted myself! If you want the stuff she was askin'
about, I can do it in about a half hour, right here in this room but
you gotta pay me my full rate so I got some bread to split with. I
ain't hangin' around here any longer than I gotta!"
Prue said, "Okay, Henry. Go ahead and do your thing. Give us some
identification papers but I'll show you the pictures of who they'll be
for besides the people in this room. One other thing, Henry. If I ever
hear of you narking on us, I'll find you, wherever you might be and
make you wish you'd never been born. You got it?"
Henry gulped a couple of times but, seeing the look in Prue's eyes and
hearing the tone of her voice must have convinced him that she was
deadly serious and just plain deadly!
He quickly went out to the van, accompanied by Kim and Pickles and was
back inside in seconds. He found a place to work and began 'doing his
thing' with a sheaf of paperwork.
Kim and Pickles joined Prue and me on the other side of the room and we
began to plot a way to get Neri out. We quickly discarded any ideas of
using the alien stuff to change her looks inside the jail since we knew
we'd be searched before being allowed to see her. We talked for about
ten or fifteen minutes until Henry announced that he was ready for the
pictures.
Prue got the laptop and Henry got out a small Polaroid type camera and
took quick snaps of all four of us. Then Prue sat down with him and
showed him the rest of the pictures contained on the alien discs. I
knew that we were taking a chance, showing Henry the pictures and the
laptop but he didn't seem to notice anything different about it. He
fooled around for a couple of minutes, trying to get the camera the
right distance from the screen of the laptop and then clicked shots of
all the pictures Prue showed him. He then offered some advice for
getting Neri out of jail.
"Look, folks, I know that you don't know me from Adam's off ox, but I
DO know about dealing with the law here. Chances are, your friend will
be arraigned tonight in front of old Judge Reynolds at the courthouse
downtown. Even if they bind her over for trial, they'll have to set
bail for her. She won't be accused of any major crime, only something
small like prostitution or gambling. If you can get down there and bail
her out before they can check out her ID or prints you stand a good
chance of getting outta here."
I looked at Prue and she looked at me. Then we both looked at Kim and
Pickles, astounded we hadn't thought of this ourselves! Of course Neri
would be allowed bail! Unless one was charged with a major crime, one
was almost always allowed bail! I almost felt like kissing Henry and
Pickles DID kiss him! All of a sudden we had hope again! If we could
get Neri out on bail, we could change her looks and those of whoever
went to pay the bail. Then we could get out butts out of town with
nobody, including the law, being the wiser!
I felt like a real idiot for not thinking about this bail thing sooner
but both Pickles and Kim told me that, in all the commotion, they
hadn't thought about it either. Now, the problem was, who was gonna go
down there and post bond? After a bit of conversation, we decided that
it should be Prue, in her original form. She still had her real ID and,
if she were questioned or any suspicion were raised, she would be
totally legal as far as her identity was concerned. I raised a small
objection about that, but was shouted down by the others. Hell, even
HENRY shouted me down and he didn't even know what we were talking
about!
About 25 minutes later, Henry finished his work and presented us with
identification for all the faces in the laptop as well as for the faces
we were now wearing. The IDs were impressive in their simplicity. They
looked, to my untrained eyes, absolutely real. They were even worn a
bit as if they had been used for awhile.
I asked him how he did that but he just smiled and said, with a grin,
"Sorry, sweetheart. That's a trade secret, ya know? Besides, you're
better off not known' how I do this stuff. You oughtta just concentrate
on lookin' pretty which you do VERY well, by the way."
I actually blushed! I know I blushed because I could feel the heat in
my cheeks! OMIGAWD, was this guy was HITTING on me? I heard Prue
sputtering behind me, trying her best not to laugh out loud at me, but
I was absolutely nonplused! I didn't know WHAT to do. I think I just
sort of smiled at Henry and turned and walked away but I believe I
could have lit a cigarette just by touching it to my face!
I shot an angry look at Prue as I passed her and that was all it took.
She burst into open laughter and Kim and Pickles joined in. That
embarrassed me even more and I stalked into the bathroom and slammed
the door. I looked into the mirror and took a really good look at the
face and body I saw there. It made me angry to have to look like this
but I had to admit that what I saw in that mirror WAS damned
attractive. No, it was beautiful. That long lush red hair just spilled
over my shoulders and down my back, framing an absolutely gorgeous
face. I know, without a doubt, if I had ever seen that face and body
while I was still Bill, I would have tried my damndest to get to know
her. I took out the pack of cigarettes and my girly lighter, lit a
smoke and just stood there, watching my self smoking, in the mirror.
What amazed me was the naturally feminine way I was holding and smoking
that cigarette!
I took puff after puff on that cigarette, wondering if I would EVER get
used to looking like this and hoping I wouldn't. I mean, it WAS a great
disguise, don't get me wrong. It just felt, well, wrong. Every time I
looked in a mirror, I expected to see me. Plain old Bill Butler.
Instead, I saw this goddess and it was so disconcerting that, for a
moment, I would feel disoriented. Then, all the trouble I had caused
myself and my friends would come rushing back in on me and I'd get
depressed. But FAR worse than all that, standing there watching myself
smoking and examining my reflection, I found myself actually admiring
the sleek, sexy redhead that looked back at me! She stood there,
mimicking my every move. A gorgeous sexy woman with a "come and get me
if you dare to try" look on her face and I wasn't TRYING to look that
way!. It was just the way her, I mean my, I mean, SHIT! Yeah, it was MY
face. Okay? Not the face I'd grown up looking at, but MY face! At least
for awhile.
It WAS a great body, though. I mean, it was FAR more limber than I had
ever been and much lighter too. If not for the heels that Prue insisted
that I wear, I felt like I could have jumped 10 feet in the air. It was
weaker, though. I had trouble just lifting things I used to be able to
carry without a thought. And then there were the hormones. I was having
some strange thoughts, in this body. Much more so than I'd had in the
first form I had disguised myself in. In fact, just standing there,
watching myself smoke and trying to calm down, I was turning myself on
with the sexy moves that I didn't even know I was doing, or COULD do!
My nipples were hardening and there was a heat, ummmmm down below that
was building with each passing second, each sexy move that this
beautiful woman that was now me, was making in that mirror. I tossed my
head just to se all that red hair float around my head and feel it
brushing against my shoulders. I seemed to feel things much more
acutely, in this body. My emotions were almost out of my control and my
thoughts were, well, let's just say, different. I was looking at Prue
and other women... differently. I can't describe exactly how or what I
was feeling. I had and still have, no real understanding of what I was
really feeling.
All of a sudden a thought went through my mind, strictly unbidden and
it scared the crap out of me when I realized what I had just thought. I
need a MAN! As that thought percolated through the first several layers
of concrete that must comprise my skull, trying to penetrate to some
neural matter, I freaked again! Only for a second, but it was a REAL
freakout! For just a few seconds I surrendered to that thought and was
actually fantasizing about having a strong, handsome, well built stud
lying on to of me! Penetrating me!
The cigarette fell, almost unnoticed into the sink and my hand began to
rub my groin area through the dress I was wearing. First gently,
hesitantly and then with increasing vigor until I was almost lost in
the sensations and the thoughts in my mind were only about being
possessed by that male image I had dreamed up. I could hear someone
moaning softly and my breathing was getting more and more ragged and
then I realized it was ME moaning! I almost came out of it right then
but the feelings from down below were too strong by then. I was lost in
my fantasy and before too long, I was shuddering in what could only
have been a female orgasm!!!
The waves went through me again and again leaving me shuddering and
hanging onto the sink with my other hand so I didn't fall on the floor.
Over and over the waves of emotion went through me and, when I finally
got a little control back, I brought my hand up from my crotch and it
was wet! So, for that matter were my crotch AND the insides of my legs!
I could feel the juices slowly running down my pantyhose clad legs and
THEN the shock set in. I had just ORGASMED as a WOMAN!!
Well, a LOT of thoughts tied to go through my brain at that point but
none of them seemed to be making any headway past the shame I suddenly
felt. I felt dirty and cheap and well, I guess used. Finally ONE
thought penetrated my dazed brain and that one thought was, That was
NICE!!! I mean, some part of my confused mind was telling me that the
feelings I had just experienced were nice and it would be even better
to do it again!
I was trying to find my way out of that mental maze when I suddenly
became aware of someone knocking on the bathroom door. I heard Prue's
voice asking me if I was okay in there and would I please come out so
we could begin planning. I swallowed a couple of times and, realizing
that there was no way out of this short of taking a bath or a shower, I
called out to her.
"Ummm, Prue? Would you please come in here? I think I have a problem."
I unlocked the door and Prue eased her way in, looking at me with a
somewhat concerned expression on her face. The minute she laid eyes on
me, however, she knew what had happened and she rushed to me and hugged
me tight.
"Oh, Billie." she crooned in my ear. "It finally happened, didn't it? I
wondered just how long it would be before you tried some
experimentation but I don't think that NOW is the time to be doing it,
do you? I mean, we've got Neri to get out of jail and 'The Professor'
to get rid of and..."
I stopped her right there and said, in a voice that was quivering,
"Prue! My God! What did I just do? How did that happen? I didn't mean
to do that! I was just standing here, smoking a cigarette and I
happened to notice how sexy I looked in the mirror and the next thing I
knew I was shaking all over and juices were running down my leg! Did I
do what I think I did? Omygawd, Prue! What happened?"
Yeah, you guessed it, I was losing it again. Well, it seemed to be my
day for losing it but can you blame me? I mean, there I was, a
normal(?) guy in his thirties, on the run with several new friends from
some secret government agency goons, standing shivering in a motel
bathroom having just fingered and rubbed his(?) way to his(?) first
female orgasm AND I had liked it! HELL, I had LOVED it! And I wanted
MORE!
Prue couldn't keep me from sinking to the floor in shock, amazement,
fear, shame and, yet, wonderment! Was I going to want more of that? Was
it okay to WANT more of it? Was I turning gay or something? Worse, at
least to part of my mind, was I beginning to LIKE being female? The
room seemed to get a bit grey and then faded out completely.
When the lights came back on I was lying on a bed with what turned out
to be a cool washcloth on my forehead. The room was quiet and I noticed
that I was under the covers wearing nothing at all. I laid there for a
few minutes, trying to remember how I got here but nothing was coming
to mind. Then, like a lightning bolt out of the blue, it hit me! I
remembered what I had done in the bathroom and the thoughts that had
gone through my mind at the time! I started to groan a little bit, the
memories becoming clearer and clearer and Pickles must have heard me
because she came over to the bed, sat down on the edge of it close to
me and took my hand in hers.
"Are you feeling any better, Billie?" She asked me in a concerned
sounding voice. "You passed out in the bathroom and Kim, Prue and I had
to carry you to the bed. Prue said there had been some kind of an
accident and she had undressed you before we got in there. Prue told us
about how you were feeling about having dragged all of us into the mess
you're in and that you had probably just let it all get to you too much
and fainted. Anyway, we put you in the bed here and I've been watching
you since they all left."
"Left?" I croaked out. "Where'd they go?"
"Well hon, Prue and Kim took the Professor to the bus station and then
were gonna go bail Neri out of jail. They asked me to stay here and
keep an eye on you so you wouldn't be alone when you woke up and, of
course, I said sure!"
She babbled on for another few minutes about how they were going to get
Neri out and then come back here and change her and all that but I
wasn't really listening. I was too ashamed of myself. I just wanted to
sink through the bed and the ground beneath it and never have to deal
with ANY of this stuff again, EVER! How could I have done what I had
done?
I felt my face starting to redden again and I guess Pickles noticed it
too because she said, "Look Billie, I don't give a rat's patoot about
who or what you used to be. I really only know you as the good looking
redhead you are now. Oh sure, I know you are really a guy under all the
sexy girlflesh and maybe you're feeling ashamed or something about it.
Well, sweetie, you can CAN the macho bullshit! I don't mean to be
insensitive, hon, but what you are right now is all that concerns me.
We got problems and we need you to help solve them. You ain't gonna get
anywhere feeling sorry for yourself or blaming yourself for dragging us
into the stink with you. From what Prue has told me, she WANTED to come
with you and she doesn't blame you one whit! As for Kim and me? Shucks
honey, me and Kim ain't had this much excitement in our whole lives.
Well, I ain't, anyhow. Kim was in the army and stuff but I've just been
a quiet country gal tryin' to get through life with as few problems as
possible."
She paused for breath and then continued. "Shoot, Billie. This is
excitin'! I mean, one minute I'm just another truck stop waitress in a
dead end job in a dead end town and, the next minute there's fightin'
and runnin' around and secret agents and ALIENS for God's sake! Not to
mention watchin' my brother get turned into a honest to God woman right
in front of my eyes! You couldn't PAY me to go back to that damn truck
stop and the dull life I was havin'. So you see hon, this ain't your
fault at all. Me and Kim NEEDED something to break us outta the rut our
lives have been in. Oh, shoot, I KNOW there's some danger but it's
worth it. So you just quit blamin' yourself for any of this mess and
concentrate on gettin' your mind right, okay? Heck, darlin' who knows?
After all this is over with, we might all get to go on Jerry Springer's
show!"
And then she laughed. "Now you just lay there for a bit and get your
strength back, hon. I gotta see to all this stuff the Prue and Kim left
here. They didn't wanna take all that alien foororaw with 'em to the
copshop. They thought it might be bad if they were caught with it."
For a minute I thought she was laughing at me but, as she continued to
giggle, it slowly dawned on me that she wasn't laughing at me. She was
laughing with excitement and joy! I sank back on the bed, trying to
sort out everything I had experienced that day and all that had gone on
through the last few days. I tried to look at things from Prue's point
of view and from Kin and Pickles' as well. I realized that she was
right. Prue HAD volunteered to come with me that first day! Kim and
Pickles had involved themselves and had ALSO volunteered to come along.
I hadn't talked anybody into anything! I just laid there in amazement.
In just a very few minutes this seemingly simple country girl had,
somehow, put everything in focus for me. Well, most of it anyway. There
WAS still the bathroom thing I had to deal with, but everything else
just seemed to fall into place and made sense! My ego had caused me to
try to blame everything on myself and my supposed "bad luck". As this
seeming catharsis or epiphany or whatever it was, was going on in my
head, a thought began to niggle it's way to the front of my brain.
Fooforaw? Alien stuff? They'd left all the alien equipment here?
I bolted straight upright in the bed, causing the covers to slide off
my umm prominent chest. "PICKLES!" I shouted. "You mean to tell me that
they went off without any means of protecting themselves if they got
caught?"
I was, of course, thinking of the ray guns or whatever you wanna call
them. I knew the power of the one that I had used and I knew that it
could have gotten Prue and Kim out of ANY trouble they might run into,
if they had to use it. Of course it MIGHT cause more trouble than it
solved but, with the body changing stuff, we could have slipped out of
almost any problem.
I jumped out of bed, completely forgetting that I was stark staring
naked under those blankets and ran over to where Pickles was standing,
looking at me in a somewhat embarrassed way. As I ran, I suddenly felt
all the extra flesh swaying and jiggling and I stopped dead in my
tracks. Well, most of me stopped. Some things took a few seconds to
come to a complete halt and, is that space of time it filtered into my
brain that I was in a motel room, in the nude, wearing a sexy female
body, with a more of less complete stranger! It took me a couple of
minutes of frantic movement to convince myself that I just didn't have
enough hands to cover up all that I needed to cover up and I stopped
trying, frustrated. Pickles just stared at me. I stared at Pickles.
Suddenly the whole thing seemed SO ridiculous that I started to giggle.
Then Pickles began to giggle as well and the next minute we were both
ROARING with laughter! I was TRYING to be serious but, somehow I just
couldn't. I laughed so hard I couldn't stand up and had to sit down in
a chair to catch my breath. Pickles just supported herself against a
wall and we both continued to laugh until we finally ran down.
Gasping for breath, I said "Okay. Okay. I know how this looks but I
REALLY wasn't gonna attack you!"
Well, that did it. We both dissolved into helpless laughter again and
it took several minutes before either one of us could speak
intelligently or intelligibly. Pickles staggered over to the bed and
grabbed one of the blankets and handed it to me, wordlessly. I think
she knew that if she had said ANYTHING, we would both be helpless in
our mirth again. I tried to thank her for the blanket but I couldn't
speak. I was too breathless. I just gave her a thankful look and
wrapped the blanket around me, covering my, as Radar O'Reilly would
have said, nudidity since it was making me breathe funny.
Finally I felt I had enough control to talk again and I began to tell
her what I had been feeling. I left nothing out, practically telling
her my whole life story before I was done. I finished by telling her
what I had done in the bathroom, although I know my face was as red as
a beet while I was telling her. Her expression changed from one of
intense concentration, listening to what I was saying, to one of
understanding and well, compassion is the only way I can describe it.
She rushed to me, the hilarity of but a moment before seemingly
forgotten and wrapped me in a fierce bear hug, murmuring calming words
of understanding.
"Oh, Billie, honey! No WONDER you fainted! Hell, the first time I
experienced an orgasm I thought I was gonna die, but WHAT a way to go!
I can just imagine what it must have felt like to you, being that
you're really a man and all! Tell me, hon, was it THAT much different
from what you remember feeling when it happened to you as a man?"
I stood there for a bit, snuggled in Pickles' reassuring hug,
contemplating what she had just asked me. Did I have an answer? If I
DID have an answer was I man or woman enough to tell her? Was it
different? Was it better? How DID I feel about it? All those questions
and more ran through my brain in about 3 nanoseconds. When I finally
DID answer her, I'm sure it wasn't the answer she was looking for.
"Pickles, I honestly don't know. I don't remember much of it after
those first waves of pleasure began running through this body. I can
tell you that it WAS different, but I can't really tell you HOW it was
different except to say that it felt like my whole body was involved in
it as opposed to just one specific area. I also know that I felt like
it would never end and I didn't want it to! Then, I'm afraid,
everything got a bit fuzzy and the next thing I can remember, I awoke
on that bed over there, naked and VERY confused."
I paused to think a bit and then continued. "I mean, I AM a guy, after
all. What I did in the bathroom has left me feeling very ashamed and
yet, strangely turned on and wanting more, but too ashamed of what I
had just done to even THINK about doing it again. It was... different
and I'm afraid that you're gonna have to be satisfied with that answer
until I can think clearly again. Right now, though, I need to get
dressed and take a look at what Prue and Kim left here."
I gently and reluctantly removed myself from Pickles' hug and went in
search of clothing. The clothes I HAD been wearing were pretty much
ruined. Well, they at least needed a GOOD washing. I dug around in the
duffle bag of clothing that I had found on the alien ship and the pile
of stuff that we had bought and, with Pickles' help, found some things
that more or less looked like they fit and went together. Then, with a
little help from Pickles again, I used the makeup machine to "fix" my
face. Even though the alien makeup was all but indelible, the wear and
tear I had put it through did fade it and smudge it a bit.
Pickles seemed pleased at the effect of the denim mini-skirt and crop
top we had found for me to wear and she DID help with the makeup,
suggesting different colors and the like. When I looked into a mirror
again, I was amazed yet again, by the vision that greeted me. I want
you, the reader to do me a favor. Look in any mirror you might have
handy. Notice the face that you have worn all your life. Now, imagine
that the face you normally see, the one you're used to, has been
suddenly replaced by the face and body of the most gorgeous display of
beauty, of the OPPOSITE sex, that you have ever seen. That's how I felt
EVERY time I looked in a mirror.
Absolutely freaked out, but turned on by the beauty displayed there at
the same time. God, I wanted to screw myself! I DID notice, though that
I did seem to be getting used to it. I had worn this body and face for
three days now and small things were beginning to make themselves known
to me. I was having less trouble moving the way a body like that should
move and I didn't seem to mind it at all. In fact, I kind of... posed,
there in that mirror, pursing my lips and making kissy faces at it!
Then I giggled! I mean, a full fledged, feminine, "delighted with what
I see" giggle! The only shoes I had to wear were the ones that went
with the other outfit I had been wearing but they were black 4 inch
heels so they looked okay with what I now had on.
The skirt WAS a bit short but, DAMN, I had great legs! I was actually
beginning to get used to wearing this body and even being a bit, dare I
say it, a bit proud of the glamorous looking woman who smiled back at
me. I sighed and, of what THAT did to those plump protrusions on my
chest! I was standing there, admiring myself when, out of the corner of
my eye, I saw Pickles looking at me with a funny look on her face. I
turned to her and asked her what was wrong.
"Oh, nothing, I guess." She replied. "It's just that, well, seeing you
gazing at yourself in that mirror kind of made me wonder if you're
beginning to LIKE looking like that! I mean, you were moving and posing
like a woman natural born and the look in your eyes was... well,
blissful, I guess. Maybe I'm wrong, but I hardly think I am. Is what
I'm saying making any sense to you, Billie? Am I right? I don't wanna
embarrass you any more than you already were but I just gotta know. God
knows, I'd be ecstatic if what I saw in the mirror looked like you do."
"I dunno, Pickles." I replied. "I think I AM becoming more at home in
here. I'll grant you that it IS a beautiful body and face. It's still a
shock every time I see it in a mirror but not as big a shock as it was
the first time I saw it and each successive time, it seems to be less
of a shock. I mean, I STILL want my old body back. I was born a man and
I can't wait until I am one again, but if I HAVE to wear a woman's
form, there are a LOT worse than this one."
She nodded at my answer, seemingly satisfied with my answer. Then we
attacked the pile of things that Prue and Kim had left in the room.
They had left EVERYTHING that I had recovered from that wrecked UFO,
taking nothing with them that could cause them any problems if
something went wrong. Even the gun taken from that MIB guy was here.
Since there was nothing more that Pickles and I could do, I spent some
time reading the "instruction manuals" that accompanied each piece of
equipment. I even tried to do some searching on that laptop that was,
in reality a body changing device. I found a section marked; WARNING!
INJURIES TO BORROWED FORMS!
In reading over that section, I found that injuries sustained to a
borrowed form were pretty much unhealable. Once someone wearing a
borrowed form was injured, the only way out was to take a different
form. Someone ELSE could switch into the injured form and it would heal
very rapidly but if the original wearer tried to get back into it, the
body would return to it's injured state. "Earth" medicine would have
little or no effect on injuries to borrowed forms.
"Well," I thought to myself, "THAT sucks!"
That means that I can never return to that less noticeable blonde
woman's form that I had originally been wearing. It also meant that I
was gonna have to be a little more careful of getting hurt while
wearing these forms since injuries prohibited one from ever using the
same form again. There WAS something very interesting further on in the
manual, though. I found a section entitled; AVOIDANCE OR PARTIAL
INVULNERABILITY TO INJURY. Basically it said that one could avoid being
hurt if one used a certain setting on the "laptop" while switching into
a body.
This setting allowed one to shrug off injuries that would harm, even
cripple someone, under normal circumstances! There WAS a penalty to pay
for this, though. That was, that if one were subjected to an injury,
while in a borrowed form, while the wounds/bruises would not only not
appear, but the impact from any such injury would be almost unfelt, the
injury would, after 30 minutes of time as measured on Earth, LOCK the
person into the form he or she then was wearing and would render the
body switching machine ineffective ever after. Fortunately, we had not
known about this when I had first hurt myself while wearing that blonde
form. Had we known and had we used that particular function, I would
have been uninjured but locked into that form for the rest of my life!
Oboy! I sat there thinking about what I had just read and realizing
that I had better read through this whole manual. I guess what they say
about "when all else fails, read the instructions" isn't just a
guideline! Pickles was busy watching something on the Television so I
did read through the whole manual. There were actually very few other
surprises, though. The only other one I found that disturbed me had to
do with how much time one spent wearing a "borrowed" form.
It said that if one wore a form for more than 2 weeks straight,
switching to another form would be difficult, if not impossible.
Apparently, if one wore a form for that long, it kind of "set" the mind
into the form, making it extremely painful at the very least to change
again. Death was also a possibility, in extreme cases, such as having
worn the form for more than 30 consecutive days. Well, I thought, this
is interesting and something I need to make the rest aware of. After
all, it'd be their choice to make about staying in their borrowed forms
or changing them or even returning to their old forms.
Great! Just one MORE problem to add to everything else! I was lost in
reading the other manuals and didn't notice time as it passed. When the
door burst open and Prue, Kim and Neri walked in, I was taken totally
by surprise and damn near jumped out of my skin! I jumped up and ran to
Neri, having no problems running in those heels, I noticed. I grabbed
Neri and hugged her tightly, telling her how glad I was to see her and
apologizing for having left her in such a spot. She gently disengaged
herself and, holding me at arms length, looked at me intently.
"Listen, Billie, I'm just fine. There was never any real cause for
alarm. This was just one more arrest for me. It's not the first and,
the way things are going, it probably won't be the last. What worries
ME is, are YOU okay? Prue told me about you 'losing it' and kinda
retreating from reality for a little while. You LOOK okay, but, are
you, really? I know how hard all of this has been on you, especially
being sort of forced to wear a woman's body for almost a week now."
She looked so concerned, standing there looking at me intently. It was
difficult to remember that this mature looking and sounding woman was
really just a 17 year old wearing a disguise, albeit a damned GOOD one.
I couldn't meet her gaze for long, though. I was too ashamed of having
been so selfish and egotistical as to have believed that everything had
been my fault.
I know that my face was slowly coloring again and, Neri, seeing that,
said, in a joking tone of voice, "Oho! Look here everyone! Our little
sexpot is blushing! How pretty it makes her look, too. Oh, Prue, isn't
our little girl precious? You better watch it, little one! If any guys
see you blushing like that you'll have to fight 'em off with a big
stick, or do you want to do that? Maybe you're thinking about that very
thing, huh? Maybe thinking that it might not be so bad to have a bunch
of hunky guys paying some attention to the sexy little redhead you are
now? Well, Prue, what do you think? Should we take our little sex bomb
here, out for an evening on the town and let her meet some cute men?"
The more she talked, the redder I got and I could actually feel the
heat in my cheeks. I knew she was teasing me and, somehow, I felt like
giving a little bit back to her.
I looked up from the floor and gazed right into her eyes and said, in a
kind of bemused tone of voice, "You know Prue, she might be right!
Maybe it IS time I got more familiar with this body and what it can do.
I might have to wear it for a long time, at least until we reach
somewhere we can feel safe and I certainly could use a good time out on
the town. I think that, after what I've been through today, I might be
able to handle going out for a few drinks and maybe even some harmless
flirting with some, as Neri calls 'em, 'hunky guys'! I AM a woman right
now and it seems totally normal to me. Besides, I don't plan on being a
monk, or should I say Nun?"
I looked at Prue and then, back at Neri. I gave them the sweetest smile
I could muster and turned on my heel and walked slowly away from Neri,
giving it all the feminine sway I could muster. Damned if I was gonna
let them get my goat this time! I walked as sexily as I could, over to
the bed, sat down and crossed my legs at the knees, just like a woman
would. I kept that smile on my face as I looked back at Prue and Neri.
They were still standing where they had been, shocked looks playing
over their faces.
Prue looked at me and asked, "Bill," pointedly using my real name. "Are
you all right? This doesn't seem like you! Is that body starting to get
to you? Maybe we'd better give get you back in your old form as soon as
possible. I knew this might be a mistake. We should've chosen a less
blatantly sexy female form for you to wear. Neri, get the machine! This
has gone far enough. I can't stand to see Bill acting this way. He's a
MAN for God's sake and he shouldn't be forced to wear a woman's body
just so he can be safe from these government goons! No wonder he lost
it earlier!"
Prue's voice kept rising in pitch and getting louder until I couldn't
take it anymore and I started to giggle again. Finally I just burst out
laughing and slowly collapsed backwards onto the bed. I was lying there
holding my sides and laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. Neri must
have caught on because she began to laugh as well and soon she was as
helpless from laughter as I was. Prue's face got redder and redder
until I thought she was gonna blow up like an overstressed pressure
cooker.
After a few minutes I calmed down enough to talk again and I said,
"Prue, chill out. I was just trying to get the two of you going and it
looks like I was successful. I've never seen you so concerned and IN
CHARGE! 'Neri, GET THE MACHINE!!!'"
As I said that, the laughter welled up in me again and I collapsed
backward on the bed again. Prue sputtered, trying to say something but
being unsuccessful at getting the words out. She advanced on the bed
and stood there glaring at me. I couldn't help it. At that point
EVERYTHING seemed funny to me and I began to make incomprehensible
noises, trying to talk and laugh at the same time.
The look on Prue's face was priceless and, every time I looked up at
her towering over me, it just got funnier. Finally, Prue jumped onto
the bed with me and began tickling me! As helpless as I had been
before, I truly WAS helpless now! Her fingers were everywhere on my
body and all I could do was laugh and quiver while she had her way with
me. I was shrieking with laughter and trying to beg her to stop.
She had an almost evil grin on her face and she was saying, "So! You
were trying to mess with my head, eh Billie! Well, let's see how you
handle having your BODY messed with!"
Her assault on my poor laughter tortured body continued, finding every
single place I was ticklish and there seemed to be a LOT of them
Finally, I was able to beg her to stop, telling her, "P... P... Prue!
Pleeease s... s... s... stop! Omygawd, PRUE, I'm gonna pee my PANTS!!!
EEEEK!!"
I pleaded with her, but to no avail. She just kept it up until I
actually DID pee my pants! Well, it FELT like I peed my pants. There
was something else, though. Something I had felt only once before, not
that long ago, in the bathroom! All of a sudden, Prue's tickling slowed
and became something different. She changed to almost caressing motions
all over my body, soothing me and exciting me at the same time!
Finally, She stopped, looking me squarely in the eyes. Something passed
between us right then, I still don't know what it was, for certain. I
DO know that, at that exact moment, our relationship changed. From
being just two friends, we had suddenly become something else. What
that was, I didn't know then but I could tell that Prue was feeling the
same things I was. Her expression changed and she got this "faraway"
look in her eyes. For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Finally, I ventured, kinda timidly, "Um, Prue? Do you think you could
let me up, please? I've REALLY gotta pee."
She moved slightly and I slid out from underneath her. There were a
million questions going through my head but the main thing was I DID
have to go! I scurried to the bathroom, shut the door, skinned down my
panties and hiked my little skirt and squatted on the toilet seat and
let go. When I was finished, I just sat there for a few minutes more,
thinking. Trying to sort out all that had happened that day. I knew
that something had changed between Prue and me and I hoped that it
meant what I thought it might mean.
I had been falling in love with Prue from the first time I had set eyes
on her and I had hoped that, someday, she might feel the same way about
me, but I was a woman right then! Was Prue falling for Bill, or Billie?
Was Prue bisexual, or a lesbian, or maybe she was just as confused as I
knew I was at that moment. When she was caressing me, just a few
minutes before, was she caressing Billie, or was she somehow, seeing me
as my real, male self? A shiver ran through my body as I sat there
thinking. Finally, I finished my toilette and dressed. I gave my
appearance a quick glance in the bathroom mirror and opened the door,
re-entering the room proper.
Neri, Prue, Kim and Pickles all looked in my direction when I entered
but I kept my cool, for once. Maybe that day had taught me something.
The old Bill would have tried to bluster his way past any lingering
embarrassment over what had happened, but Billie just sauntered over to
all of them, outwardly as cool as a cucumber. I looked at Prue, then at
Neri and cleared my throat before speaking.
"Okay, you two. What's the plan? Have you come up with anything or is
it gonna be all u to me again?" They both looked at me like I was from
Mars. (No pun intended)
"Well, Billie," Prue began, "we WERE waiting until we were sure you had
your head back together before we talked about any plans. Are you sure
you are okay now? Because if you are, we DO have to make SOME plans. My
thought is we forget all this back roads running around and hit the
main highway straight into L.A. the fastest way."
All of a sudden, everyone was trying to talk at the same time. It
seemed that each of us had a different plan and no two were exactly the
same. At the same time, everyone seemed to be pointedly ignoring, or at
least not mentioning, anything about what had gone between me and Prue
on that day. I could see a speculative look in Neri's eyes, but she
too, said nothing about it. We didn't have time to discuss that anyway.
It was too urgent to get back on the road and away from the trouble
that this town had brought us. At least now we had identification for
every form contained in that alien laptop and would not have to take
quite as many risks in the future...
I paced while the others planned, trying to figure out why I felt
differently in this body than I had yesterday. It seemed that I was
getting USED to it and that was making me uncomfortable. Not concerned,
mind you, just concerned that I might get TOO used to it. With every
hour that went by, I felt more at ease in this female form. My mind
seemed to be almost at war with itself. One side wanting to get back to
being just plain Bill and the other side beginning to appreciate the
benefits and differences between Bill and Billie.
As I paced back and forth across the room, the others talking and
planning, I could feel the hips swaying back and forth, the subtle body
motions needed to maintain balance, the heavy breasts swinging and
bouncing ever so gently in their confining bra and the legs lightly
brushing against one another. It's a totally different way of moving, a
kind of a sexy feeling for a former man, such as myself and there's no
way to explain it sufficiently to someone who hasn't had the chance to
experience it. Even the hands and arms move differently, with the arms
held slightly higher and the wrists slightly bending, to avoid brushing
against the hips when they swing back and forth. Then too, there's the
lack of pockets, someplace to put one's hands, so one tends to rest the
hands and arms by placing them on the wide hips thus presenting a
totally feminine posture to anyone looking on.
At one point, I looked back toward the rest and noticed them watching
me. Neri had a knowing look on her face while Prue looked a bit
worried. Kim was actually studying me and Pickles had a big grin on her
face. When they saw me looking at them, they all fell back into their
argument/discussion. I stayed out of it because I really had no ideas
or even thoughts about what to do next. It seemed that every time we
changed plans, or directions, or whatever, the MIBs only needed a
comparatively short time to get wise to us and be right on our butts
once again. Maybe Kim had the right idea about the MIBs having a way to
track those alien machines.
I decided that I might as well do SOMETHING while the others planned so
I sat down with that laptop and opened the files, beginning to read. I
was looking for anything that might tell me if there even WAS a way to
track the machines. About halfway through examination I noticed a
listing of the components. I called up that list and began tracing each
one of them. Lo and behold, I found one that didn't quite seem to fit!
I quickly got out the manual and compared what was written there with
the list shown on the screen and there WAS one component listed that
the manual didn't mention.
Further reading and comparison between the list on the screen and the
list in the manual showed that the additional component was an "add-on"
that was required for ANY alien equipment brought to a different
planet. Now the question was, could we remove that tracking device? I
called Kim over and when he, now she, came over, I explained what I'd
found. Kim was immediately interested and began looking over what I
showed her. Kim called up a schematic on the laptop and began searching
through it to find the tracker. Then she shut down the laptop and
turned it over, examining the back of it. She asked if we had a tool
kit and I replied that there was one in the van, along with a small one
I kept handy just in case. It was in my luggage.
I got the small one out while Neri went out to the van to retrieve the
other one. When we brought them to Kim, she waved us away and set to
work taking the back off the laptop. I was, I think, justifiably
concerned about Kim doing that. What if she screwed it up somehow and
we couldn't return to our original forms. I definitely didn't want to
be stuck forever in that sexy redheaded female body, regardless of how
much at home I was beginning to feel, in it. I didn't want to get in
the way, though so I stood back and let Kim do her thing. Before very
long at all, she had the back off that laptop and was gazing into it's
guts.
She was mumbling to herself and referring back to the printed schematic
constantly. I could see that part of the problem would be that the
printing was in an alien language. The only thing to go by was that
there was one more component listed in the schematic on the screen than
there was in the printed one in the manual. I finally couldn't take it
any longer and I stepped toward the door, intending to go outside and
have a cigarette in an attempt to calm down and cool off. I grabbed my
purse (MY PURSE!) from the couch near the door and grabbed my smokes
and lighter from it. I opened the door and stepped outside, lighting a
cigarette as I went.
I closed the door behind me and found a place where I could try to
enjoy my smoke without being concerned about being seen by anyone. I
was still uncomfortable enough in that form that I didn't want to have
to deal with being stared at by some horny male passer-by. It's funny.
Even being in a completely different form than the one I was born in, I
still felt that need to smoke. Yet, as I stood there, smoking that
cigarette, I couldn't help but notice how much differently I was doing
it. Instead of leaning against the wall with a hand in my pocket and
the other hand negligently hanging down at my side, holding the
cigarette, I had one arm crossed in front of my body, under my breasts,
supporting the other arm which was bent at the elbow and holding the
cigarette up near my face, with the cigarette delicately held between
the first two fingertips.
When I exhaled, instead of just blowing the smoke out in any old
direction, I tilted my head back slightly and blew the smoke upwards,
away from my face. It seemed very odd and yet, very natural to be doing
it that way even though I knew that it was a very feminine way to smoke
a cigarette. I wondered about that but, having read what I'd read about
the machine, I was beginning to understand that it was part of an
acclimatization process, designed to make it easier for the wearer of
any of the forms to appear to be naturally, what they were perceived to
be.
I finished that smoke and lit another, enjoying the outside air after
having been cooped up in that room for awhile, especially after what
had gone on inside that room today. I thought about a lot of things,
not the least of which was, would it be SO bad if I WAS trapped in this
body for the rest of my life? Granted, it WOULD take some serious
adjustments in my lifestyle, but then, what was so hot about my old
life anyway? I wasn't what you might call a screaming success with
women, having had only about 6 or 7 dates within the last year. None of
them went anywhere, most of them were your standard "one night stands'.
The body I was now wearing was designed to be admired and desired.
Granted, it would be desired by MEN, but it would be interesting to be
the chased for a change instead of being the chaser. Sort of "seeing
how the other half lives" if you will.
That last thought brought me up short as what was left of my maleness
came bubbling up inside me and made me choke on that last lung full of
smoke. What the HELL was I thinking? It HAD to be that damned
acclimatization thing working on me again. Man was it insidious! I was
gonna have to watch it a lot closer or, before I knew it, I'd be going
out on dates with guys and liking it!
I crushed out that cigarette and stepped back inside the motel room,
breathing a little raggedly. It appeared that some kind of decision had
been decided upon by the other four because there was no more arguing
going on. Kim was still working at that laptop but the rest were just
kind of sitting around in various stages of relaxation.
Prue must have noticed the look of consternation on my face because she
immediately got up and crossed the room to stand in front of me,
asking, "Billie, are you okay? You look as if you've just seen a ghost
or something!" She looked at me searchingly as if she could read on my
face, what was in my mind.
"OH, Prue," I began. "I wish I knew what was going on inside me right
now. While you were gone I read those manuals that came with the
machines and found out that there is something included in them that
makes the wearer of these forms comfortable with being inside them.
Maybe that's what's been happening to me these past few days. Since you
and Neri put me inside this body, I have been feeling strange and out
of sorts and VERY emotional! Prue, could it be the hormones rushing
through this body that are playing merry hell with my thinking? I mean,
I've been having these flashes where I find myself thinking that it
wouldn't be so bad to have to live in this body for the rest of my
life. I've also been having thoughts about, well, men and what it'd be
like to date and, umm... so forth."
I paused for breath and to gather my thoughts, then continued. "It's
scaring the hell out of me, Prue! Half the time I don't even think
about looking like I do right now, anymore! It's getting more and more
comfortable, to me, to be in this body but I don't WANT to be a woman!
Damn it, Prue, how the HELL can I be a woman if I'm in love with you?
You want a MAN, right? You don't want a woman. You're not a lesbian, Oh
GOD, Prue..."
At that point, I broke down, crying, something else I'd been doing a
lot more of in the last few days. Prue grabbed me and held me in her
arms, trying to calm me down but that only seemed to make the tears
come harder and faster. I don't know how long I stood there, cradled in
Prue's arms, crying. It must have been for a few minutes at least but
it seemed as though the tears would never stop. When they did finally
begin to slow a bit, I snuffled a couple of times, gently disengaged
myself from Prue's arms and ran into the bathroom, closing the door
behind myself. It seemed like I was spending a LOT of time in that
bathroom, lately!
I stood in front of the mirror, rinsing my face with cold water and
trying to get myself under SOME kind of control. I was SO embarrassed
to have broken down in front of Prue, again! What was she gonna think
of me? When I felt as if I had control of my emotions again, I turned
and left the bathroom, only to almost run right over Prue, who was
standing right outside the door. She grabbed my hands and led me to the
bed where she made me sit down.
She sat down beside me and began to speak, saying, "Oh, Billie, I am SO
sorry I raged at you earlier! I should have realized that it HAD to be
the unaccustomed hormones in your body that were making you act the way
you have been. I've been such a bitch to you and you're only doing your
best to get us out of this nightmare. Now, look. I don't know if I love
you. I haven't known you for very long, you know. I DO know that I DO
respect you. You've been willing to submerge your masculinity to try to
protect Neri and me and I DO have, umm, other feelings for you, rolling
around inside me. I don't know for sure what they are right now but I
think I COULD love you, given time."
She paused for breath and then continued. "Look, Billie, let's just put
this on a back burner for now and concentrate on getting to L.A. Once
we get there and find a place to hole up, THEN we'll have time to
switch you back into your male body and maybe explore these feelings."
She grabbed me and hugged me again.
"I DO want you to know that I admire your guts for doing what you're
doing and I gotta thank you for including me on this adventure. You
have to admit, that this whole thing HAS been exciting! I mean, sure we
stand a chance of getting caught and held, maybe forever, by some
nebulous secret agency but when in your life have you EVER had such a
wild adventure? Every DAY has brought something new and different!"
I looked at Prue and her face was positively aglow with excitement. My
GOD, she looked lovely just then! I wanted to take her in my arms and
kiss her and I almost did. Until, that is, I remembered the form I was
in and thought about how strange it would look.
Then I thought again and the thought was, 'What the HELL! These people
in this room are in the same boat that I'm in! They are ALL in
different bodies than the ones they were born into, except for
Pickles.'
So I DID grab Prue and I kissed the hell out of her! We were both
breathing kinda raggedly when I backed off of that kiss a little bit. I
recognized what I felt as feminine arousal in myself but I didn't find
it strange. I just found it, well, arousing! Prue had a faraway look on
her face with just a little bit of puzzlement thrown in. I wondered if
she felt as turned on as I did but I didn't ask her. I just let her go
and stood up.
I straightened my clothes, turned to the others and said, "Okay! What
are we sitting around here for? Let's get our asses in gear! What's the
plan?"
Kim, Neri and Pickles just looked at me for a moment and then they all
rushed me and grabbed me into a group hug! I heard, "Way to go,
Billie!" and That's the way to be!" and a lot of other complimentary
things, all babbled at me in a confusion of voices.
Somewhere in there Prue joined the hug and it became a sort of an
affirmation of our mission and our growing friendship. When we broke
the hug there wasn't a dry eye in the bunch but they were tears of
happiness and hope. Somehow, I knew, at that very moment, that, no
matter HOW this thing turned out, I would ALWA