Star Crossed Lover

by Jennifer White

 

Dave always had a hard time finding a girlfriend. He lived in Centerville, which only had a population of 2000. That limited the market right away. And of the available women, only so many were attractive. So he felt like there were only a few that he was even interested in. Like Rita.

It was a farming community, so there were lots of guys in great shape, after working hard all day in the fields. Dave had a desk job, and earned good enough money, but when a hot girl like Rita was looking at guys, would she want someone 15 pounds overweight like him, or some hunk all buffed up from lifting bales of hay?

 

One weekend, Dave went to Chicago to visit Jack, an old friend who had gone off to college, then got a job in the big city. While they were out, they went bar hopping on Rush street. They listened to the blues band, drank a couple beers, then went on to the next spot.

At a couple bars in a row, Dave notice tables where there would be one guy, and six or seven attractive girls. He finally asked Jack what the deal was with that. He never saw that at home.

"That guy is gay" said Jack, pointing to the guy in the black turtleneck, with the neatly trimmed beard, with the seven hot chicks sitting around and talking to him.

"How can you tell?" said Dave.

"Trust me."

"Then how come he has all the babes? We're two normal guys here, and we don't get any action. But the fruit, he gets all the chicks. I don't get it."

"Well, I'm no expert, but from what I've seen at work, women think that they gay guys are cool. And they don't see them as a threat, because they don't go around trying to sleep with them. So they get all the chicks."

"That's kind of ironic" said Dave.

"Maybe we could write a blues song, and make a fortune playing it in Chicago."

"We could call it 'I had to be gay to get the girls' or something."

They fell over laughing, and called the waitress over to get another round of beers.

* * *

 

Back home, Dave sat at the bar, and watched Rita talking with some guy. He wished she was talking with him. She knew he liked her, but she never seemed interested in him.

If only she got a chance to meet him, and get to know him! Then she'd be sure to fall in love with him. But they never talked enough, so how was she supposed to get to know him?

 

Dave polished off his beer, and looked up to her at the bar. A light bulb went off in his head. The girls in Chicago all went nuts for the guys they thought were gay. What if he pretended to be gay, and then got all the chicks to like him?

He'd get to hang out with Rita, and she'd see who he really was. She'd fall in love with him, and they could get married. It was a perfect plan. Now all he had to do was to convince her that he wasn't straight. He ordered another beer, and thought until he came up with a plan...

* * *

 

It was the hardest thing that Dave ever did, leaving his house that night. He had plotted out in great detail what he was going to do. He had called ahead to verify that Rita was hanging out at O'Toole's pub, her usual haunt after work with the girls.

He drove there, knowing that when he stepped into the room, everyone would be staring at him. Everyone would get the wrong idea about him. But that was what he wanted.

Dave had considered trying something subtle, but he was afraid that it might go unnoticed. If he started dressing in black turtlenecks, and grew a beard like that guy in Chicago, people might think he just changed styles.

But he didn't want to go too far the other way. If he walked into the bar with a guy on his arm, or if he tried to kiss a guy...there was no way he could do that! No way!

So he thought of something in the middle. Something sure to get him noticed, but no something he couldn't do.

 

Dave pulled into the parking lot, and took a deep breath. He got out of the car, put on the high heel shoes he had ordered online to fit his size 11 feet, grabbed the purse he bought at the Walmart in the next town (where they wouldn't know him), and walked into the bar.

He entered, knowing that everyone would be looking at the makeup on his face, and the dress he had selected. He walked over to the bar where Rita usually sat. She was there, as expected.

Dave sat down, opened his purse, and pulled out a cigarette.

"Excuse me, do you have a light?" he said.

Rita pulled her lighter out, and lit Dave's cigarette for him.

"Nice lipstick. What color is that?"

"Peach Shimmer" said Dave. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's cool!" said Rita.

She looked Dave up and down.

"I never realized that you were...."

"Oh yes. But in such a small town, I was afraid to be who I really am. But I decided that I couldn't hide it any longer. So I had to make my debut today. What do you think?"

"I think you're very brave" she said. "I like that."

They ended up talking for hours. It was the best day in Dave's life.

* * *

 

From that day forward, Rita and Dave became fast friends. She invited him over to her place, and they hung out. She invited him to go out with the girls, and they had a grand time. Dave was like the guy at the bar in Chicago: one guy with seven girls.

At work, he took a lot of flak from the guys. Some of them were quite resentful of his new 'status'.

"I can't believe I played ball with you, then let you see me naked in the locker room!" yelled Phil, who was very upset with Dave.

Some guys were supportive, but he noticed that after everyone heard about him, almost none of the guys he thought were his friends would have anything to do with him.

But that was fine. At work, the secretaries asked him to join them for lunch every day. And he was with Rita all the time, and her group of girlfriends. He learned a lot about them, and how they acted, how they thought, and how they felt.

As he and Rita grew closer as friends, he thought everything was perfect. His plan was working. She liked him a lot, and soon she'd be in love with him. He'd let her 'convert' him back to liking girls.

* * *

 

"So how come I never get to come over to your place?" said Rita one night as she shared a glass of wine with Dave at her apartment.

"Oh, I don't know, your place is so cool, I don't think mine will measure up to your standards."

"Don't be silly. Why don't I plan on coming over on Saturday for dinner?"

Rita, inviting herself over to his place dinner? Dave had to take a deep breath to keep from falling over. This was like his wildest fantasy come true.

But he knew that he needed to get moving, fast. His place looked like a guy's place. If he was to keep up his sham, he would need to convince Rita that he lived at home like he was acting with her.

So he had to redo his whole apartment, in just three days. The first thing he did was to drive 45 miles to Rockford, to get some things to redecorate. He bought a couple of Monet prints, with pictures of pretty flowers. Just like she had in her house.

He also bought picture frames, and put out pictures of his parents and his sisters, just like she had. He bought candle holders, and dozens of candles, for every room. He bought throw pillows for the couch. Girly sheets and pillowcases for the bedroom. Stuffed animals to put on the bed. And other little touches like that, which he had seen at Rita's place.

He cleaned everything up carefully, and vacuumed twice, just to be sure. He made sure the kitchen sparkled, put out his new wine glasses, and his new vases full of flowers. He threw out the junk food in the cupboards and put in healthy things in its place.

He bought several new outfits of women's clothes, and hung them up in the closet carefully. He decided to wear a formal dress when she came over. He also got a couple of recipe books, and practiced the dish he was going to serve her.

Dave wasn't satisfied until his place looked like a chick's apartment. Rita would be impressed, and that would make her like him just that much more. And since he based the decor on what *she* liked, they'd have more things in common to talk about.

* * *

 

When Rita arrived for dinner, Dave was just finishing with the red nail polish. He was wearing a lovely red dress, and had shaved his legs that day. He wore a pretty necklace, and clip-on earrings. He had thought of buying a wig, but his budget was pretty much shot at that point.

He gave Rita the grand tour, and she was very impressed.

"Wow, you have the same Monet water lilies print that I do!" she said.

"Yeah. I guess we have similar tastes" he said.

He continued to show her the bedroom (where he hoped they'd end up later that evening), the bathroom, and the rest of his place. Just like he hoped, she was very complimentary, and seemed to like it that he had the same tastes as her. Perfect! Everything according to plan!

He cooked shitake mushrooms on the grill out on the desk, along with swordfish fillets. After the salad, they ate dinner, and Rita complimented him several times on his cooking skills. He really only knew how to cook the one dish, having practiced it for three days in a row, but hey, he'd take any compliments he could from her.

After dinner, they sat on the couch together, drank wine, and talked. Their conversation covered a variety of topics, and by the time the wine bottle was empty, both were ready for bed.

"I'm concerned about you driving" said Dave. "I'd hate to see you get into an accident. Why don't you stay here tonight?"

Rita loved it that he was so concerned about her. She agreed to stay there for the night. Bingo! But Dave offered her his bed, and said he'd sleep on the couch. He was hoping that she'd want to share the bed with him. But after trying to say that *she* would sleep on the couch a couple of times, she finally agreed to stay in his bed, while he got the couch.

So Dave finally got Rita in his bed, but without him. At least it was a start! He hoped that she'd start coming over more and more often. She *had* to be falling in love with him now. She just *had* to be. He was sure of it.

* * *

 

A couple of days later, Dave had a real shock. While out to dinner with Rita and a couple of her friends, he was sitting at the table when Becky arrived with a guy. They had never bought a guy into the group of girls, other than him.

"Dave, this is Julian" said Becky. "He's like you."

"Like me?" said Dave.

"Like you? I hardly know you!" said Julian.

Immediately, Dave knew that Julian was gay. Like he was pretending to be.

"Julian just moved here, and I thought you two might like to get to know each other" said Becky. "Its such a small town and all."

Oh no! He was being set up with another guy! Dave recoiled. There was no way that he wanted to be with a guy! No way! But he couldn't let on, and spoil all his hard work. He had to play along with this terrible game. He'd claim tomorrow that he didn't like Julian, and they weren't right for each other.

 

But as the night went on, to his horror, Dave found that Julian was very nice, and they all had a good time together. How was he going to work his way out of this? He needed to make his move on Rita quickly before this got out of hand.

So he invited her over to his house the next night. He'd settle things then, once and for all.

* * *

 

When Dave called up Rita though, she asked if he would come over to her place. She said that she had a surprise for him. So Dave was excited to go there, and see what she had in store for him. He went to the store and bought flowers for her.

Dave had also dressed up in a very nice outfit which he spent an hour picking out. He wanted to wear his navy skirt, but just couldn't find the right top to go with it. He considered the Capri pants, but they didn't feel right for the occasion either. So in the end, he went with the black slit skirt, and the halter top. Only then did he fuss with his hair and his makeup, which had to be just right for the occasion.

 

Dave drove up, and rang Rita's doorbell. She let him in, and made a big fuss over the flowers he handed to her. Dave followed her in, noting that he had worn the same shoes today that she had on. He was sure that she would notice that too. Girls almost always noticed things like that he had realized.

They went into the living room, and Dave reeled when he looked on the couch. There was a guy there, dressing in khaki pants, brown shoes (that he thought needed to be polished), and a dress shirt (which he decided was a size to big for the guy). He had brown hair, which really needed a trim.

"Dave, this is Allen" said Rita, with a noticeable nervousness in her voice.

"Hi Allen" said Dave.

"Nice to meet you" lied Allen, in a voice that told Dave that he was very threatened by him. A lot of guys feel threatened being with a guy dress up as a girl.

"I've been going out with Allen for a month" said Rita, "and we're in love with each other."

The two gave each other a kiss. Dave was sinking fast. Rita had a boyfriend now. And it wasn't him. All his hard work was for nothing. Here he was standing there in a dress, and the girl of his dreams had gone for another guy.

"Now that you have a boyfriend too, I thought that you should meet Allen so we could double date. Wouldn't that be fun?" she said.

They thought Julian was Dave's boyfriend! No! He didn't want a guy. He wanted Rita! How could she do this to him?

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" said Dave, his heart breaking as he stood there in his heels. "Alone?"

"Allen, can you run to the store and get us some more wine? We're out. And maybe some beer for yourself?"

"Sure. Be right back babe" he said, giving her another kiss, and a pat on the butt. He grinned at Dave, and went out the door. Dave collapsed to the couch.

"What's the matter? I thought you'd be happy for me" said Rita.

"Well Rita...it's just that....I....I mean...well I guess the thing is that I love you. I want to be with you. I would do anything for you, and I just can't believe that you're with another guy. I love you, and I want to be with you all the time."

"You can be with me all the time" said Rita. "As my girlfriend. I don't feel anything romantic for you David. I don't go that way. Girls don't turn me on. But I feel a special bond with you inside. You have been a good friend to me, as close as any of my other girlfriends. That is how I think of you, as a girl. And that is how I'll always think of you."

"But..." started David.

"No. Even if we went out together, it would be so weird to know that you look at guys like I do. You are *so* cool, and it's great that we like the same stuff, and like to do the same things. But to me, you are just a girlfriend. I hope you can understand that."

Tears welled up in David's eyes. It was like his world was crumbling around him. He was just a girl to her! She thought of him as a girlfriend! No!

And now the whole town knew about him dressing and acting like a girl. They all thought he was a girl too. There was no way out of this. No escape. He hadn't realized that while acting like a girl would get him close to women, it also meant that most women wouldn't want a relationship with him, other than as a friend.

Now he'd never get any women in town. He was doomed to always be alone, to always be a girl.

 

"Listen" said Rita. "My parents are coming over tonight too. That was the other part of the surprise for you. I thought you'd be glad to meet them, since we're such good friends. But they're kind of old fashioned. I'd have a hard time introducing them to 'David' in a skirt and heels. For tonight, I'd like to be able to call you by a girl's name. Can I call you 'Janie' tonight?"

David nodded.

"Oh thank you Janie. You're such a good friend."

Rita hugged him, but David felt nothing. He was Janie now, Rita's girlfriend.

 

At that moment, Allen returned with the beer and wine.

"What's going on you two?" he said, jokingly.

"I was just giving Janie a hug" said Rita.

"Janie? What happened to David?"

"I'm Janie now" said David. Rita was everything. If he was Janie to *her*, then that's who he would be, even for himself. He vowed to never call himself David again. That name was cursed, and he hated it. He was Janie. Now, and forever.

"When are your folks going to arrive?" said Janie.

"Oh, in about half an hour" said Rita.

Janie looked at the little watch with the thin band on 'her' wrist. Oh why did they have to make women's watches so small that they're hard to see?

"Well, we had better get to work. What can I do to help?" said Janie, walking towards the counter in the kitchen.

"I was going to get the cheese plate together, and start cooking the fish" said Rita.

"I'll work on the cheese. You get those flowers into a vase before they start dropping" said Janie.

The two girls got to work, as Allen sat on the couch and turned the football game on the TV...

* * *

 

Janie smiled as Rita held her hand. Today was such a big day! She waited for the sedative to kick in, so they could wheel her into the operating room. It wouldn't be long now. When she woke up, she'd have breasts, just like Rita's. Only Janie wanted bigger ones. They were going for 38D. She couldn't wait. She wanted to be just like Rita.

Ever since that day months and months ago when she had met Rita's parents, Janie had gone all out in her efforts to be a girl. Pretending wasn't enough anymore. She wanted to be a *real* girl, in every way.

The hormones she took every day gave her comfort. She knew the effects they would have on her body, and she gleefully waited for them to kick in. And now with some help from the surgeon, her shift towards womanhood would be more complete.

It seemed unfair that the doctor told her she'd have to live as a woman, taking hormones, for at least another year before he'd consider performing the operation she really wanted. But she could wait. There was plenty of time.

She just hoped that she could schedule the surgery so that she would be fully recovered in time to be Rita's maid of honor at her wedding with Allen. What an honor it was for Rita to ask her! She was looking forward to all the fun they would have. Picking out dresses for the bridesmaids, the bachealorette party, the wedding with all the dancing and the fun, and of course helping Rita pick out everything for the wedding decorations.

It would be a big year for both of them. Janie was so glad that Rita was her best friend. And she was proud that Rita thought of her as her best friend too. They were like sisters now.

As Janie drifted off to sleep, her hand went limp, releasing Rita. When she next woke up, she would be much further along her journey into womanhood and the happiness it brought her...

 

The End

  

  

  

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