Headlights Girl

by Catherine Linda Michel

part 9

  

Eric and Nancy sat there with expectant looks on their faces. I cleared my throat and announced,

"Before I tell you what my decision is, I want to make some things clear to both of you, and to add one more proviso to this deal."

They looked at one another and then back at me. Eric said,

"All I can promise you is that I'll listen, Jim. I can't quarante anything beyond that. I WILL say that as long as your proviso isn't out of line, or unworkable under the rules of the club, I'm sure we can come to an agreement. So let's hear what you have to say."

Nancy chimed in, saying,

"Jim, is there anything else you want or need to know about this before you make your decision? Do you have ANY other questions for either of us?"

"No, Nancy." I replied. "You two have answered every question I can think of. You've also addressed some concerns and worries I had, even though I didn't know that I HAD them. So, my decision is that I agree to take over as Holly, for Eric. I'll do it for the full three years. I won't be asking to get out of the contract for anything other than a death in my family or something equally as devastating as that. I apologise for freaking out like I did. I was so uncertain and so convinced that you two had set me up for the greatest humiliation of my life, and I acted out of emotion, not out of thought. Had I thought about it for even one second, I'd have recognized what you two were doing at the salon, and I'd have taken it just for what it was. Please forgive me?"

Eric got up off the couch and came over to me slowly, accompanied by Nancy.

'There's nothing to forgive, Holly. I should have been more understanding and should have recognized that you weren't picking up on our little "joke". I will promise you right now, that I'll never knowingly try to humiliate you or make fun of you, ever."

Nancy also said much the same things, and I got up from my chair. We did one of those group hug things and all breathed a sigh. Me from having reached a decision about the biggest change in my life, ever, and then, I assumed, from relief that I was going to honor my word, thereby allowing Eric to carry through with his plans for his life.

"Wow." Eric exclaimed. "That's a load off my mind. Oh, don't get me wrong, Holly. It was great fun being Holly, as well as being VERY profitable and educational. It's just that MY cover story is about to run it's course, and my folks and friends are waiting for me to contact them to let them know that I'm back from my "commitment to my country". That's the story I gave them to explain my three year absence. That I was doing some kind of 'Peace Corps" thing and I'd be out of the country and out of touch with them for most of that time. I still wrote a letter or two, both to them and to a couple of friends, but that was the extent of our contact for three years."

By this time, it was getting late, and Nancy looked like she wanted to get going, so I stopped Eric right there and mentioned that to him. He agreed and, after Nancy and I said our goodbyes, they headed for the door. I called after them, saying,

"I'll be here when you get back, Eric. Don't worry. Just drive carefully."

'Okay Holly." He called back over his shoulder. "I shouldn't be more than a half hour, tops. If you want or need to talk more when I get back, it's no problem. You might as well get a bath or shower while I'm gone. I'll lock up and set the alarm. See you in a little while, Holly." And with that, he and Nancy walked out the door.

I heard the door close and lock, but I didn't get up from the couch right away. I just sat there and thought about what I'd just agreed to do. After this was over, I'd have to go some to top it for experiences, I knew THAT for certain. Chuckling to myself a little bit, I also thought that nothing short of an alien abduction could possibly top THIS.

Well, sitting there wasn't accomplishing anything so I figured I might as well get up and take a bath. I strolled into the bathroom and began filling the tub, adding some bath salts and some bubble bath to the mix. 'What the hell'. I said to myself. 'I might as well enjoy this, or LEARN to enjoy it. I'm going to be doing this for the next three years.'

I went to the bedroom while the tub was filling, and got undressed. It was still very, very new to me to see this extremely female body in a mirror, and I took my time, enjoying what I saw, while marveling at the sheer amount of technology that must have gone into the design of this suit and the others like it. I could feel every touch, every breath of air on my skin, no matter how light it was. I felt...well, sensual, I guess. It was still too new to me, to feel that way, and I wasn't really used to it, that feeling of softness, of sheer sexiness that this body, this suit seemed to exude.

Shaking my head a little bit to clear my thoughts, I scurried back to the bathroom to make sure the tub didn't overflow, and to make sure that the water temperature wasn't too high. I was just in time, and I shut it off, checked the temperature, and grabbed a couple of towels from the cabinet just inside the bathroom door. A large one to wrap around myself when I was done, and a smaller one to use as a turban for my hair.

I placed them near enough to the tub so I could get them without leaving the tub, and then I eased into that lovely smelling water. Once in, I just laid back and enjoyed the feel and the aroma of the bubble bath. Again I marveled at the suit. It felt for all the world like my own skin, and I luxuriated there for a little while. Finally, I began the process of getting clean. I washed my hair(what a job THAT was with all that long hair), rinsed, relathered and rinsed. Then I applied a conditioner making sure I got that all the way out to the ends of my hair. While that soaked in, I washed, and that was another one of those "I don't have the time to explain my feelings about it" things. Suffice it to say that it was totally different from when I bathed as Jimmy, and it took longer. I guess I lingered in certain areas for a bit longer than I ordinarily would have.

When I finished my bath, I grabbed the large towel and began to pat myself dry, while draining the tub. By the time I was sufficiently dry to wrap myself with the towel, the tub had drained, and I adjusted the shower head to rinse the conditioner out of my hair. The warm water seemed to finish the job that the bath started, and I felt really relaxed and more at ease than at any time since this whole thing had begun. I finally got all the conditioner out of my hair and started the process of getting the excess water out of it. Again, a significantly bigger job than when I was Jimmy. I finally got it dry enough so I could wrap the smaller towel around it, (actually getting it right!) and stood at the sink, looking into the mirror at the pretty girl with the towel on her head.

Then I began a process that would become normal for me for the next three years. Deep cleansing and moisturizing. Being very careful, even though I knew that my new skin, while softer and smoother, was very tough stuff. Far tougher than my 'real' skin was. When I finished that process, I headed for the bedroom. About halfway there, I heard the door opening and I called out,

"Is that you, Eric?"

"Yes, it is, Holly." Was the response from Eric. Let me get locked up and get the alarm set and then we can talk if you need or want to. Do you want anything to eat, or drink?"

"Nothing to eat, Eric," I shouted back, "but a drink would be nice. Something non-alcoholic, I think would be best. Actually, an ice cold Pepsi™ would be just great. I'll be out in just a few minutes, as soon as I dry my hair, and put on some clothes."

"Okay, Holly." He answered. "One ice cold Pepsi™coming up. I'll just watch some TV while I wait for you."

I sat down at the vanity in my room and got my hair dryer going. Surprisingly, in a very short time, my hair was pretty much completely dry, and I got up to find some pajamas. Finding a really pretty sleep set consisting of a lacy top and some very silky bottoms, I climbed into them and, began brushing my hair. It seemed to fall right into place without too much assistance from me, again surprising me a little bit, but I figured it was either a quality of the suit itself, or the skills that I was learning from the tapes. Finishing that little job, I walked back out of the bedroom towards the living room.

I couldn't help noticing the way I walked now. It felt so completely different to me from the way I'd walked as Jimmy, but at the same time, it seemed very natural to have my hips swaying back and forth and my elbows held close to my sides with the forearms bent outwards and my wrists bent downward slightly. I could feel my hair brushing against my shoulders and back, and it felt very soft and heavy, but nice.

I was beginning to notice a lot of things that I did differently now, though. The past two days had been SO frantic and seemingly rushed, that I hadn't had a lot of time to notice these differences. Now that I was somewhat relaxed, they were making themselves known. I even noticed the way I smelled now. Kind of fresh and clean and....well, girly.

Well, I found Eric watching TV, a mixed drink in his hand and a bag of Cheetos™ in his lap. 'Typical guy'. I thought to myself. We just ate not two hours ago and he's snacking already. He looked up when I entered the room, and said,

"Your Pepsi™ is in the fridge. I opened it for you, but I left it in there so it wouldn't get warm. Go ahead and grab it and come sit down. Do you feel like you need to talk some more? Do you have any more questions or doubts you need to get answers for?"

I went and got my soft drink and then went into the living room, sitting down on the couch, facing Eric. Taking a drink, I settled into the couch and thought for a moment, then I said,

"I've learned a lot today, Eric. I now know a whole bunch of things I never did before. Some of them I hadn't ever even THOUGHT about before, quite honestly. All that stuff about Transsexuals and Transvestites and cross dressers was all lumped together in my mind under the heading of 'queer' until tonight. I never knew there were differences between them, nor did I know the definitions, for that matter. It's a lot to take in, in one sitting, but I can see where I was wrong to think the way I did for all this time as Jimmy. The way I was raised and all my school friends, all used the word 'queer' to cover all those things, and that's the way _I_ learned. I know now that it was wrong. Now, ESPECIALLY now, wearing this suit, and listening to you and Nancy this evening has made me see just HOW wrong it was to think that way and I'm a little bit ashamed to admit that I was that prejudiced and ignorant."

Eric put aside his cheetos™ and drink and leaned toward me. He said,

'Look, Holly. A lot more people than you would think, suffer under the same prejudices you just admitted to, and THEY don't realize how wrong THEY are either. Unless someone explains it to them, in terms they can understand, they don't see how hurtful they can be. Now, granted, wearing the suit and pretending to be Holly, doesn't strictly fall under ANY of the headings you've learned about tonight, but it kind of covers all the bases. You don't want to be a REAL woman, so you're not transsexual. You are wearing, and will be wearing, woman's clothing, but only because looking the way you do, you're EXPECTED to wear women's clothes, so you're not technically a cross dresser. You aren't deriving any sexual thrill from wearing woman's clothes other than the normal way a woman feels when she wears them, so you aren't a Transvestite. Yet, you ARE pretending to be a real woman, so technically you fall into ALL the categories. I know it's confusing, but if you don't think about it too much, you'll find that thoughts like those tend to be forgotten, or at least minimized with the trials and tribulations of everyday life as a gorgeous woman becomes normal for you."

He stopped and took a drink and continued.

"Holly, believe me. This is going to be THE most eye opening, educational and probably the most profitable thing you're ever going to do, in your whole life. The things you're going to be learning and experiencing in the next three years, are going to serve you in ways you can't begin to imagine and the money you're going to be able to put away, if you're smart, is going to set you up so you can do just about anything you want to do. Whether you want to go to college, or set yourself up in some kind of business, or just take it easy for a few years, is going to be completely up to you and not up to the caprices of fate. Added to all that, there IS the possibility that you're going to enjoy yourself SO much that you decide to go for another three years, or even decide to STAY as Holly for the rest of your life. That's not as unbelievable as you might think right now, you know. Nancy is just one of many who decided they had better, more rewarding lives as women than they could EVER have had as men."

When Eric stopped again to take another drink, I broke into his monologue, saying,

"That's not something I even want to think about at this stage, Eric. I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that, for the next three years, everyone is going to see me and know me as "That Sexy, young cutie at HEADLIGHTS". I'll be presenting myself a gorgeous young woman. A WOMAN, for God's sake! Oh, don't worry. I'm not backing out. I'm going through with this, no matter what. You can't tell me that you didn't have a lot of these questions and fears when YOU started this, can you?"

Eric shook his head in the negative.

"No, Holly. I honestly can't say that I didn't have questions. I did. Many of them. I guess I've been Holly for so long that the answers to these questions seem self evident to me and I don't even think about them anymore. I've forgotten what it was like for me, the first time _I_ climbed into that suit. Look, it's getting late. What do you say we go to bed and get some sleep. I'm tired and you must be exhausted. Things will seem a lot different, maybe better, after a good night's sleep. What do you say?"

I couldn't argue with his reasoning. I WAS exhausted. This whole day had been a roller coaster of emotions and I felt very drained, physically and emotionally. I yawned just about then and then I said,

"You're right again, Eric. I think I really need some shuteye. Let's call it a night and see how differently things look in the morning."

I got up from the couch and took my empty soft drink can to the sink where I dumped what was left and rinsed the can out. Setting is in the sink I turned to Eric who was watching me and said,

"Good night, Eric. Thanks for being so understanding and honest with me. I know I was a pain in the ass today and you and Nancy stood by and let me have my hissy fit. That went a long way towards calming me down, and it figured, in a big way, in my decision tonight. I appreciate it, and I appreciate the chances you've given me. This is the biggest thing that anyone could possibly offer someone. A chance to see how things REALLY are on the other side of the gender line, and to put away a nice chunk of money besides. I'll see you in the morning, Eric."

I actually hugged Eric then, and as I turned to head for my bedroom, I heard Eric say,

"No problem, Holly. I had the sense from you from the very start that you were a person of honor and commitment. I'm glad to see that I was right about you, and you are quite welcome. As a matter of fact, it's _I_ who should be thanking you, Jimmy, and that's the last time I plan to use that name for you for the next three years or more. By taking over for me, you're giving me the chance to pick up my life where I left it, only much better off for my experiences, and quite a bit better off in my finances. So, goodnight, Holly, and thank YOU!"

I scampered back to my bedroom, feeling a lot better about a lot of things. The trust between me and Eric had been restored. I'd found a new friend in Nancy, I believed. I'd made my decision, one I wasn't going to back out on, no matter what happened from here on out. Hell, I was even still feeling the excitement and savoring the experiences I'd had in the salon that day, notwithstanding my emotional meltdown immediately following it. Even that had taught me something, and had led me to a greater and clearer understanding of myself, and of other people who I used to view as sick, or perverted. I knew, now, that the way I thought back then was wrong. In fact, the way I'd thought back then was, itself, perverse. All in all, a hell of a day.

I turned back the covers on the bed and climbed in, pulling the sheet and blanked back over me. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I slept the night through with a clear conscience, and a happy heart.

 

PART 10 follows as soon as I can get it wrote....rit...aw the hell with it. It'll be here soon, trust me! LOL! Cathy_t_

  

  

  

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