By Tyrone Slothrop

Moonlight poured into the canyon providing a pale illumination of the dotted line on the county road. Brian felt sleep beckoning while he decided whether to pull the Orca Girl into the viewpoint lot ahead or run to the coast and then stop on the beach.

Stretching legs seemed like an effective compromise as he swiveled the wheel and the RV glided into the viewpoint parking space. Cowgirl and Pits were having a snoring duel, Carmen and Big El slept undisturbed despite the change in motion.

Brian grabbed a sweatshirt jacket as he opened the door. He wanted the chill air to wake him up, but the shorts and bikini top offered no protection at all. The gravel crunched under his sandals as he pulled the zipper up over his breasts slowly. One more everyday reflex he had unlearned and learned anew. He pulled his blonde hair out from the hood and let it fall around his shoulders.

Holding a travel mug, he sipped the warm coffee and stared out at the valley below. It seemed like the first time he’d been quietly alone in the whole insane two week odyssey. He held himself with both arms as he shivered in the night air.

He grinned as he felt a slight bladder pressure. Before, he would have just found a spot and relieved himself. Not now. Oh well, he would at least not have to wait for the bathroom with all the girls asleep.

Wisps of fog covered the arroyos below, giving them an unnatural softness to their normally sharp contrasts. As his gaze looked up the Pacific shone with a silver gleam, the reflected light of the sun caroming off Luna to display what appeared as ghostly ripples in a huge pond.

The throaty rumble of a big block V8 broke his musings as it got closer.

The old Chevy roared up next to him, brakes squealing as the driver tapped the concrete bumpers , misjudging the stop. The Impala bounced up and lodged a wheel on the barrier while doors slammed open and men tumbled out.

Brian dropped the mug and began to scramble into the lavender RV.

“Hey Puta! Get me Carmencita!” said the leader, his broken yellow teeth glinting in the reflected light as his two companions tried to free the right front wheel of the Chevy. Twix was aptly named, a testament to junk food and bad dental hygiene. He still had a large bandage over his right ear and wore a neck collar, courtesy of their last two encounters.

Brian cranked the engine as he was still closing the door, causing Carmen to open her eyes. Twix was pounding on the outside of the RV, screaming expletives as Brian floored it, the rear drive wheels spitting gravel as they sought traction. Orca Girl began the lumbering slow acceleration backwards onto the road.

Carmen opened a window and began screaming at Twix to do various anatomically impossible things to himself and his friends. This just increased the fury of his futile punching at the RV’s exterior walls.

“Carmen! Get down! He’s gonna grab you!!” Brian yelled, thankful that Cowgirl was wrestling Carmen back inside and closing the window. He pushed his foot down hard on the accelerator as he slammed the transmission into drive.

Orca Girl responded in her usual sleepy fashion, slowly gathering speed. Brian saw the Chevy headlights coming onto the road about a mile behind him. He felt chill of beads of perspiration fly from his forehead as he whipped around for a look to the rear, splashing on his exposed cleavage. Despite the situation, the senses built into his appliances sent a tingle to his nervous system.

He knew outrunning them was hopeless.

Ally examined the vast array of products at the cosmetics counter, made purposefully more confusing by highly sophisticated merchandising which reached past the rational mind and directly addressed a woman’s emotional core.

She sighed. All she needed was a new lipstick, and they never had it in the same place. They always did this when she just wanted to pick up something quickly and get home before the snow got any worse.

“Excuse me, Special Agent Burns, but do you think this color works for me?”

Ally startled and spun around. She knew that voice.

A brown haired woman in a sophisticated black suit sat at a stool in front of a trial mirror, applying a shade of deep red to her lips. She smiled at Ally, except with her eyes.

Ally was sure those eyes could never smile.

“I believe it works for you, it is such a classic look, Angel.” Ally said, acknowledging her recognition.

Making sure nobody was in earshot, Ally continued “Most guys couldn’t wear that color, on you, it’s really pretty.”

Angel grinned. Ally was so nice she couldn’t pull off sarcasm at all and ended up being sincere.

“I see you’ve read my file. I really enjoyed the one with the ‘secret’ attachments, it was fun composing those. And I got notified you checked it out twice. It is mostly true, like all those files.” Angel paused, and watched Ally’s expression. She held a poker face.

He continued. “Buy you a coffee? The snow is thinning out and you can let the worst of the traffic slide into each other for a bit. We need to talk.”

Her instincts told her this was important, and that she had nothing immediate to fear from this strange man. On their last meeting, he had proven to be trustworthy in everything he told her.

Settled in over cups of Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kona at the coffee bar in the lobby, both lipstick purchases secured in their purses, Ally let Angel open the conversation.

“Your after action report on the rescue of Margo’s victims showed very good work. Congratulations.” Angel began.

“You are making me very nervous about your claim to access to department data, Angel. I should arrest you right now.”

“Probably not a good idea, Ally. I won’t hurt you, and you don’t need any more adversaries than you already have. Allies are a better idea.

“I came here to thank you for helping out with the TransTalent operation. My group was very reluctant to touch that franchise, with all the political connections and possibility of congressional oversight and what not.

“So it was much better that you folks did it, and you did it well. I am truly sorry that a number of powerful congressmen have you targeted now, but that’s the price you pay for success. And you can probably withstand their attacks, if you are nimble.”

“You’re welcome. And we did it all legally too. Unlike your Group.” Ally countered.

Angel sighed. He looked at Ally with those penetrating eyes, and she saw a deep sorrow, something not usually evident.

“I would love to discuss the philosophy of justice with you, Ally, but there is no time, and frankly, you are not ready for the talk. I hope you never are. I look at you and wish I could have been you, and all that you are.”

Ally startled and looked again at Angel. She saw he was sincere in his comment.

Angel continued. ”Let me just say that I believe in the constitution and the law for human beings. But among us are a small number of sociopaths who use those protections as a shield to spread pain and suffering without a thought. Some of us do not think the law extends to them. I sincerely hope you never have the life experience where you come to agree with me. “

Ally began to retort, but Angel gently held an open hand close to her mouth.

“Please, I must tell you this and then go. I know your unit handles internet based predators. Our last operation gave us access to a fair amount of information on the people and sites which were used to lure the TransTalent victims into the franchises. “

“We owe you this for helping. “ Angel handed a CD-ROM in a plastic case to Ally.

“We are also concerned about the continuing threat that Margo poses. She still has friends on the outside So we do offer to help you in a direct way.” Angel said, getting up to leave.

Ally looked at him as he rose.

“What is your offer?”

“Let Margo out and we’ll remove her for you. No questions asked. She resigned the human race a long time ago, if she ever had membership.”

“I can’t do that!” Ally said softly.

“I know.” Angel said wistfully, an approving smile crossing his red lips.

“ I’m sorry I don’t have more.” Angel gently touched Ally’s cheek with a gloved hand. Ally felt the warmth of genuine affection from what was almost a complete stranger, a feeling of closeness, of trust conveyed in that momentary contact.

“Ally, there may come a time when the Bureau can’t help you or even turns against you. If you ever need us, follow the instructions on the back of this card. Thank you again for all the help. Nice working with ‘The Protector’.” Angel turned and began to leave.

“Wait! How do you know so much about the Bureau?” Ally shot at the departing Angel.

Angel turned. “Your Directors have been partial to men in skirts for a long time, darling. Good luck, Special Agent Burns.”

Ally watched the movement of Angel’s skirted hips as he walked away, along with every male in the lobby. How does he walk like that? I can’t walk like that!

Oblivious to the chill wind that whipped across the terminal entrance Angel saw the man smiling sweetly and chatting with a beautiful flight attendant as he stepped out of the cab.

The young woman was sparkling with a visible giddiness as the craggy gray haired man effortlessly lifted the luggage from the trunk and set it on the sidewalk. She pulled him over and kissed his cheek, leaving a lipstick smudge as her brand, giggled and trotted off, the wheels of her TravelPro roll-aboard making growling sounds as they encountered some sand and salt chunks scattered in their way.

Angel positioned himself just beyond the doors, next to the kiosk of flight information screens, one of their prearranged spots, never to be repeated in sequence. If he had stood next to the First Class check in, like he did the last time, Sol would know something was very wrong.

Solomon McConnell eased into the terminal with a crowd of Korean tourists and Midwestern Corn Oil lobbyists, and slowly meandered towards Angel.

“Well, me lassie boy, you’re looking prettier than ever! Got a kiss for your Grampa?” Sol stood there in his herringbone jacket and jeans, a typical contrast of a four thousand dollar garment on top of fifteen dollar jeans from a warehouse club, with an expensive set of sneakers that were almost hiking shoes.

Merge Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery and set the age somewhere in the sixties. Dark hair, full yet mostly gray now, piercing dark eyes and a solid, almost thick muscular build. That was Grampa Sol.

Huge hands, gnarled and knuckles enlarged from long past breakage grasped Angel’s shoulders. All the feelings of his teenage years, where Sol, his foster mother’s father had been a large part of his life emerged. Angel reserved affection for a very small handful of people, and Sol was a long standing member of that list.

He threw his arms around Sol’s neck and kissed his sandpapery cheek while hugging the man he called “Gramps”.

Sol let out a hearty chuckle. “Now, lassie boy, you’re gonna have the people wondering about us! Although on your best days, it’s getting harder to see the boy side of my sonny girl.”

Angel had never appeared all that male, and increasingly found he either went all the way femme or settled into an androgyny of long, beautifully conditioned hair pulled back, a delicate face without makeup and clothes which just seemed to offer a neutral presence. His voice was in a neutral register which provided no clues as to his gender unless he used inflection purposefully and his hands were thin, with manicured nails kept short but not too short.

In a black leather waist belted trench coat over black jeans and blazer, most of the crowd would assume he was female, but would concede they could not be sure if pressed.

“Good to see you, Gramps! I see you haven’t lost your touch with the ladies.”

“Now, Angel, she happens to be the niece of an old friend who had never seen our nation’s capitol.”

Angel grinned. Sol always seemed to attract a lot of ‘nieces of old friends’ when he traveled.

“Did you plant the seed with fair little Ally, darlin’?”

“Yes, Gramps. And I saw the lights come on and the wheels grind when I did. She’s a real smart one. I wish I could tell her the whole story.” Angel said sadly.

“You know she’d chew on it like a dog with a bone, sonny girl, and that would only attract some very bad things her way. Better she’s got the hint, and pray to God she never needs it. So far, she hasn’t crossed their path except peripherally. Now we both have to get somewhere. You back to your lovely bride and me off to Kyrgyzstan and my good friend Sergei. Now be careful Angel. You’re a much bigger target for them now. Them and others.”

Angel watched one of his handful of loved ones walk away into the machine of air transportation. He closed his eyes and issued a prayer he would see Sol again.

A solitary walker up on the bridge is not an unusual sight, even at that early hour. The bridge policewoman grabbed her coat and decided to keep an eye on the young man from a distance. Hope he’s not a jumper, or worse, a clinger she thought to herself. Still fatigued from the tourist rush of the holiday weekend she felt the chill of the damp ocean air. It was as if the heavy fog just sucked the heat from your body. She had read about the city before moving here, and remembered Twain’s famous quote.

“The worst winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”

She grabbed a pair of binoculars and began her stroll, calling in her position and intent. Traffic roared on past, the trickle of early Marin county commuters rolling south, the occasional truck and motor home rolling north. She stepped back, taking in the vista as she began the trek up the walkway. Steel towers and cables in part, pieces of the shoreline, all were obscured by thick roils of white-gray fog, settling over the black water below.

Holding the Nikon zooms up to her eyesockets, she casually scanned the scene, trying to slowly sweep past her intended target without spooking him.

“My God he’s cute!” was her whispered comment, which coincidentally met with the approval of the seagull who swooped down and emitted a normal cry. The man was young, nicely built, not skinny but more towards the thin side than the thick, with a nice tight ass and beautiful long blonde hair, now blowing in the constant wind through the Gate. He was backlit by the sun’s first attempt at rising over the Sierra mountains in the east, a dim pink glow.

He seemed to be talking to himself. She chuckled. Used to be, talking to yourself in public was a good sign you were a little off, and a sure sign that he might be contemplating the long dive. Today, with cell phones, headsets and sundry other technotoys, wandering talkers were commonplace.

Brian Dupre was not talking to himself.

“Well Dad, here again. It’s been nine years today. When I was little a year seemed to take forever, and now, now they …. they …. well, they don’t take forever anymore, but I guess you knew that, huh?

Dad smiled, the one that always made Brian feel warm inside. The one Mom said he’d not only inherited from Dad, but had improved on.

“Almost done my undergrad, almost a whole year early, too. Business, just like you. Mom’s the scientist, I tried it, but you have to love it, and I didn’t. Yeah, Stanford is pretty good. Damn hard, but real good.

Dad nodded, an affirming gesture.

“Life’s been on a pretty regular track, since that scary time six years ago. Mom’s got your company really moving, with John Carter. He helped me learn to play basketball, and I finally learned not to get my ass kicked all over the playground, thanks to Sean Taylor. You’d like her, she’s a great person. Yeah, I’m still a nerd though, all school. Managed to break the videogame habit though….Not much time for girls….. Well, until this year…

Bernie Dupre broke into his famous mischievous smile.

“Her names Carmen, Dad, and I have no idea what kind of deal we have. She drives me crazy, but it’s like were friends only, and then it keeps feeling like she wants more, but then again…..I’m going to see her now, Dad, and her Uncle Mitzi. You’d like him too, he’s been a good guy. And he’s about as different as they get too. Summer job for the company, now that my last class and papers are in.

Brian looked down as the sun began breaking through, beginning to shine on the water’s surface. A boat moved slowly against the current, under the bridge. He imagined he saw a twelve year old boy and his tall beautiful mother pouring an urn of ashes off the fantail, into the roiling waters. It must have looked like that, he thought.

“Bye Dad. I love you.”

The images of Dad fading out, Brian rolled his Mustang past San Francisco Airport, heading south to Monterey. He didn’t mind the occasional tears that welled up, it happened every year since he could drive and had made the pilgrimage.

He smiled at the thought of seeing Mitzi again. Mitzi Diamond was, without a doubt, one of the most comical, unusual and good friends a weird, geeky young boy could have had.

And Carmen would be there. He suspected Mitzi, Carmen and Mom had made sure he would take this short term job. And knowing Mitzi, it would be an unusual experience.

“An adventure, maybe, one you should be perfect for, and a break after so much hard school.” Mitzi had said over the phone when he arranged their meeting.

Women. He was shaking his head and grinning a resigned acceptance. He would do it because of the two women. Three if you counted Mitzi, who acted more woman than most women he knew.

His mind wandered back to Carmen. He remembered the first time they met….

Carmen had stolen his heart from the moment he laid eyes on her back in the fall on campus. So elusive yet so promising, so exotic and yet so approachable he had nearly fallen out of his chair when she walked right up to him at the coffee shop in the student center, plopped down, took a sip of his coffee and made a face.

“Hey, Blondie! My Uncle Raymond tells me I should look you up, maybe you can help me. And that needs sugar! How can you drink that?”

Shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs out, he looked at her. This startlingly beautiful girl just comes over and informs him somebody named Raymond says he can help her? What’s with that?

Carmen was quick and intensely observant. Brian’s puzzled expression turned to a radiant smile when she clarified.

“You know him as Mitzi. I’m Carmen Diamond, and my uncle says you’re all right.” Carmen extended a hand. Brian’s smile sent small spasms running from her crotch to her nipples and back, causing her to flush. His blue eyes had a kindness that brought out happy, safe feelings from somewhere in her past. She clamped down into her street face before he noticed her reaction. Uncle Raymond never said he was so, so so ‘attractivo’.

Uncle Raymond had only asked her to do one thing specifically, and Carmen was deeply in debt to her uncle. She owed him her life. Being nice to this hunk, this fox, that was easy, especially if he smiled at her like that again.

Gathering her breath, she completed her mission.

“I love that hair, so nice! “ Carmen touched Brian’s shoulder length blonde locks. “Don’t cut it, please!”

Carmen received another smile and wished she’d brought another pair of panties with her.

“For Mitzi’s niece, sure. I’m Brian Dupre, by the way” Brian grasped Carmen’s hand. She felt his gentle touch as a surge through her body.

Brian had seen Carmen more and more. She always ran hot, making him feel as if they were going somewhere, and then, somehow, she would just hang back, stopping short of intimacy. The final year of school was difficult, but that was never much of a challenge. Carmen was the challenge, one for which he had no plan, no strategy, no way to see the next step. Running without a plan was really out there for him, he mused.

Mom was the other woman. She was everything in his life, up until now. She wanted him to do this job too, but had seemed a bit conflicted about it.

Brian remembered his last birthday, his twenty first, just two months ago.

Brigit hugged Brian when he arrived, still treating him at twenty one much as she had when he was ten. Brian could see slight evidence of her ageing, somewhat related to his desire that she not change for she was one of the constants in his universe.

He towered over her by five inches but that did not diminish her sense of command. This household was hers to run and he and Mom were parts which needed occasional corrective action. She was stern and full of love, sparing of praise but unsparing of devotion.

“Marissa is on the phone with the company but she knows you’re here. And where’s Carmen?” Brigit said with a trace of her brogue.

“Carmen had to study for her finals, and she sends her regrets, especially since I told her we were having your pot roast, Brigit.” Brian said as he embraced the housekeeper in a warm bear hug, forcing an uncharacteristic giggle out of her normally taciturn demeanor.

“Can I have some of that?” Marissa Dupre said, standing there in her imposing height, still cutting a movie star visage at forty five, her centerfold looks perfectly preserved. She lit up even more as Brian made eye contact and threw an arm around her to make the hug for three.

“Come with me! We have to show you your present before Brigit serves!” Marissa led Brian by the hand through the door to the garage with Brigit following.

Sitting in the garage was a cherry red 1965 Mustang convertible, in perfect restoration. His father’s old car brought back to life.

Brian was stunned. Mom had made a pile of money but had never spoiled him. This was uncharacteristic for her.

“Now, Brian, normally you work for the company during summer break but this year we have a special assignment which needs a company car and I decided that at twenty one years old I can spoil you a little bit. This is yours. Now the company will cover the insurance , gas and maintenance as long as you work there, but the title is yours if you decide to leave.”

“Oh Mom….” Brian was stunned happy and Marissa smiled as he ran his hands over the fenders.

Over dinner, Brian chewed the tender beef, the savory southwestern spices permeating his mouth. His favorite meal, his family, a car he had wanted for years all combined into one of those moments. He made sure to lock the memory in. A birthday to treasure.

“Brian, you know we set your friend Mitzi up with a research team. He requested your help this summer….” Marissa began. She spelled out something about product testing, and the need to keep it quiet, and looked concerned when he had said he’d probably do it.

“You don’t have to, you know. You could take a summer off, you’ve been grinding out school so much, with summer sessions, maybe you should just take some time…” Mom had said.

“Well, three weeks for $1000 a week? Seems like a good way to bankroll a fun August before graduate school. I’ll go see him after I wrap up my research paper Mom.”

The car was fantastic, Brian’s most prized possession. The traffic flow cleared south of Palo Alto and he opened it up, feeling the confident power just ease the car down the road.

Time to see what the mystery was all about. He knew better than to pry more from Mom. He may have been her only son, but Mom was all business, and was a firm believer in “Need To Know”. He trusted that it may be strange, but was safe enough.

Industrial section. Buildings from another century, built for another purpose, long forgotten except for the faded signs. Shadows moved undisturbed by any activity as the sun moved into the noontime position.

Brian pulled his treasured Mustang up to the space in front of the dusty building, set the parking brake and put the shifter into neutral. Carmen Diamond flowed out of the opening garage door as he exited the idling car. She was tall, almost six foot, with long straight black hair that caressed her back, flowing over the light brown skin of her shoulders and stopping at her bare midriff.

She moved with cat like grace, her dark eyes large pools of attraction which left his heart racing when ever he took the plunge into them. Her hands settled firmly on his buttocks and squeezed as she managed to kiss his mouth passionately while moving her body slowly into contact with his.

“Yes, Brian. Yes. I am happy to see you. I’m so glad you’re here now.” Carmen said in a whisper that eased into his mind and settled in comfortably.

“Now come inside! Mitzi wants to explain what he needs and he’s bubbling over to show you his new toys!” she giggled and hopped into the driver’s seat. Brian winced as his rear tires squealed while Carmen fishtailed into the large open loading bay, parking the cherry red convertible next to Mitzi’s Infiniti Q 45. He walked in, hitting the huge red button which lowered the bay door, large enough to admit a loaded semi when raised to its full extent.

Thinking about the gathering, Brian tried a mind’s eye exercise, zooming outside himself and describing the scene. His theatre coach had made him do that while he had flirted with some stage performances, and his Professor who taught negotiation techniques was a whole hearted supporter of the method.

“Brian? You awake, boy?” Mitzi’s booming voice broke through Brian’s mental exercise.

“Some lasagna, Brian? It’s not your Mom’s recipe, I guarantee it!” rumbled Mitzi’s musical voice as he deftly dropped a small pile of noodles and cheese on Brian’s plate. Carmen poured some more Chianti Classico for all of them and Rossini provided the soundtrack.

Brian almost choked with a giggling fit at Mitzi’s joke. Marissa Dupre, Mom, was a world class biochemist and potentially the world’s worst cook. Brian had survived his childhood due to his father’s culinary skill, followed by Bridget, who became their housekeeper when Bernie Dupre, Dad, had passed away. Mitzi and Marissa had become business partners and also good friends in the last five years and Brian knew there was no malice in Mitzi’s gentle comedy.

The smells of garlic, basil and rich tomato sauce, of ricotta and spicy sausage entered his awareness, energizing his appetite. Mitzi’s cooking was a gift to be savored. Brian chewed slowly, the sensations of the tastes competing with the visual delights of watching Carmen smile across the table.

Brian heard one of his Dad’s sayings echo inside his head, the image of his large soft eyes looking down at his twelve year old son.

“Don’t let the little moments go by unnoticed, Brian, when you need those memories, make them sharp and clear.” Dad had tried to jam a lifetime of fatherly advice into his last six months. Brian had every word locked in his mind.

Brian smiled. He knew Dad would have.

Carmen increased her smile wattage by at least fifty percent. Mitzi giggled in a basso thunder, a pleasing yet eerie sound. Pleasant small talk filled the mental appetite while they all enjoyed the food. Carmen’s beach volleyball team, Brian’s plans for graduate school, Mitzi’s boyfriend’s tragic yet comic relationship with his mother all flowed smoothly as Rossini gave way to Mozart and Mozart gave way to Marvin Gaye.

Satiated with the meal, Carmen snuggling next to him on the couch playing with his hair by twirling it in her fingers, coffee steaming in his nostrils, Brian watched Mitzi watching him.

He had seen the giant man at least once a month since he could drive, having met him six years ago under very odd circumstances. They had since grown to be good friends, and Brian was overjoyed when Mitzi and his Mom became business partners. Mitzi had been a father figure of sorts when Brian struggled through his teen age years, and he viewed Brian like a family member.

Brian waited, knowing Mitzi was waiting for him to ask. It had become a game with the two of them, a friendly chess game on who opened the conversation first. He knew Mitzi was bubbling over and decided he could win this round.

“Haw! Ok, this round to Brian! I’ve just got to tell you what your Mom and I have been cooking up, sweetie! And you know me too well!” Mitzi’s bass voice rumbled.

Brian smiled and then emitted an “OUCH” as Carmen yanked a strand of hair. She smiled sweetly and Mitzi giggled.

“Ok, well you both know what I am known for aside from being the gayest, biggest black man in the area. I make girls and boys girlier. Like the old sword makers for the samurai, I am the “Tits-Master” to those who need, shall we say ‘something extra’.

“Carmen, you have some idea of this, but I don’t know if Brian has every told you about his little masquerade five or six years ago? I have pictures, he was quite an achievement.”

“Yes, Uncle Ray, he told me you and your spook friends hid him out, that he had to be a girl for a while so his Mom could be free to help get the bad guys.” Carmen said.

Mitzi pulled out a set of leather bound albums and looked Brian in the eye.

“You okay to share these, Brian?” he asked, his face in a mischievous expression.

A look of stunned horror crossed Brian’s features. He knew this would come out some time, but had wanted a bit more solid relationship with Carmen before they did.

With a sinking feeling that he could be throwing away his chances with her, he nodded yes.

Carmen had stopped giggling hysterically as she paged through the photo albums. Mitzi had lovingly assembled Brian’s adventures as “Michelle’ and ‘Charlene’ six years ago captured in images from his own process as well as many supplied by Cissy Carter.

“Ohh, Brian, you did make a very hot little sister. Who’s the tall black woman hugging you?” Carmen said.

“That’s Sean Taylor. She’s my big sister and she’s very cool. She was my bodyguard.”

“Big sister? Um Brian.. I’ve heard about ‘black sheep relatives…” Carmen mused.

“Well I was a black sheep myself at the time…” laughed Brian.

“Carmen, Sean is one of my very special friends. You can trust her completely.” Mitzi laughed with a musical tone.

“Also be a good idea never to piss her off either…” Brian said with a sly smile. Mitzi laughed even more.

“Why? She doesn’t look so tough…” Carmen jokingly smiled.

“Baby, you have no idea….” Mitzi giggled with Brian grinning along.

The pictures showed Michelle, a cute young girl of around fourteen, coffee and cream coloring with wavy black hair in a pageboy to her shoulders, a very developed figure, her butt being a little too pronounced. With some foreknowledge that it was Brian at age fifteen, Carmen could see the facial resemblance, but would never have made that connection unaided.

The next set was Charlene, this time as a very fair skinned girl with a French twist, heavy but well done eye makeup and a less pronounced but still curvaceous figure in her short shorts and camisole. Charlene at the beach, posing in dresses, getting hugged by two gorgeous identical twin girls, one with short black hair and one with long hair just below her mid back.

Carmen wrinkled her brow. Brian was not just passable, he was attractive, cute, sexy and wholesome all at once. A strange wave of jealousy rolled over her. Seeing another woman look good is one thing, but seeing your boyfriend look this good was wholly another. It became very clear to her why Mitzi wanted Brian for this job.

“Carmen, you need a better poker face! I can read you across the room, dear niece. We caught this bubee at the perfect age! And he had such, such, such talent for projecting a role!. I’ve had serious drag queens who couldn’t lay a finger on this sheygets! He was such a sheyner ponim!” Mitzi giggled. Brian found it hysterically funny when Mitzi slipped into his yenta mode, complete with Yiddish accent.

“Brian, you were beautiful! I’m jealous….” Carmen started, finding herself interrupted by a passionate kiss from Brian.

“When you two come up for air, I want to explain to Brian what we need to do….” Mitzi said calmly.

A smile crossed Mitzi’s face, and he gave an approving nod to Brian. The young man was very secure and clearly trusted Carmen. Of course, Brian did need some explanation for Carmen how he had met the notorious Mitzi Diamond.

The usual young men who came to Mitzi were very skilled transvestite performers who wanted to enhance their careers. His other clientele included some very dangerous people, agents and operatives who knew Mitzi from his past. His primary income still came from a ‘figure enhancement’ service for the entertainment industry, making the girls in music videos, movies and TV more than they were, but he had moved to owner, having franchised that operation to trusted partners.

For the last few years he had dealt with a handful of clients personally and was back in research, combining his practical ‘hands on’ experience with his Doctorate in chemistry and now the resources of Junecellular, the fastest growing bio-nano tech company in the world, where Marissa Dupre was one of the two founders.

“Brian, Carmen, my dears, there’s a line in the Godfather. ‘It isn’t personal, it’s business’. Well, sometimes you need to do something where you need very smart, loyal capable people who you can trust implicitly. So then you turn to family…..”

“You remember the “PleasureJac” thing that your Mom’s company got caught up in Brian. Well, exploiting that technology led them to me, through Sean and Larry’s recommendation. Plus, Marissa’s head guy on the technology knew about some patents I had , so let’s just say we decided to pool our talents.” Mitzi began.

Needing to make sure Carmen’s insecurity was pushed back, Brian held her tightly on the couch and whispered in her ear. "Carmen, remember, with me it's an act, but you don't need to fake it.."

He felt a purring sound. Mission accomplished.

Mitzi continued. The research and product development plan unfolded before Brian and Carmen’s eyes.

“Ok Mitzi, so you need some family to do a long term test of your latest stuff. It’s very high tech, needs someone who can keep their mouth shut and it lasts for three weeks. Ok. Go that.”

“Right Brian. You and Carmen are family, and you meet all the criteria”

“So I get some bigger boobs and Brian gets the works? “ Carmen chimed in.

“Well, yes dear. Brian is ‘a better test bed’ as the team put it. He gets all four modules.” Mitzi grinned.

“Mitzi, I understand the breasts, there’s a ready market for those between cancer victims and just enhancement in general…” Brian began.

“We call them our cash cows, pardon the pun..” Mitzi deadpanned. Carmen giggled and Brian let a smile cross his face.

“The waist thing is like a living body shaper, and it adjusts, ok, I can see selling those, and the hip and butt pads I wonder about, but the last item? That’s a puzzle. Why? Why make it?”

“Let me back up a bit. The ability to have appliances which talk to the nervous system in a limited way is the major thing here, all the others, expansion and contraction, adapting to skin color and temperature, an almost seamless adhesion, all pale to the fact that the wearer feels as if it were their own. The breasts have the sensitivity, we hope, of real ones. You are right about the waist cincher, it’s a pure vanity product, but one you can wear to the beach without detection. The hip and butt pads are really artificial skin for burn victims as an application, as well as the body sculpting possibilities.

Mitzi paused, a huge grin breaking across his wide face.

“But the greatest challenge made us push the tech hard. Equipping you with as close to a vagina as we can while not hurting your own equipment, determining the nervous system interface in simple enough terms so we didn’t need a supercomputer just to handle the signal processing, being able to allow orgasms but prevent erections, all that was tough.”

Brian and Carmen’s eyes went wide, for the same yet different reasons.

“Prevent….allow…WHAT?” they both went, as if rehearsed.

A booming, window rattling laugh came from the huge man.

“Well dears, we can’t have those inconvenient mechanical eruptions messing up the unit now, can we? It’s purely temporary while the unit is on, and the result should be as close to a female experience as we can get.”

“Female experience…..WHAT? MITZI!!!!”

Mitzi had just completed his pitch, and looked over at Brian. He waited for an answer.

The women. Carmen, Mom and Mitzi. He knew he would do it. For Mom and the family business, for Mitzi who he loved as a friend and mentor, and for Carmen who he wanted to please just to see her smile.

Brian remembered a line from somewhere. “We’ve settled on what you are, now we’re just haggling over price…”

He would do it. Besides, what could go wrong in three weeks? Three weeks…

A snippet of a song ran through his mind…

“All Right! Big day tomorrow! We get started with your prep work in the afternoon and then things get rolling!” Mitzi laughed, offering a toast.

“We have some places to go in the morning, too.” Carmen smiled, squeezing his hand.

The sun shone on the windshield frame, glinting off the running horse embossed on the ignition keys. Wind blew their hair back as Brian rolled along the coast, looking for the exit for the state park. Carmen wanted him to meet her friends, and they had an early start covering the ten miles north from town.

Glancing over , he saw the morning sun light up Carmen’s face, suffusing it with a glow. She reached over and grabbed his thigh.

“Pull into the Hyatt on the next block. We need to talk, Brian.”

“Are we checking in?”

“Let’s say it’s time I checked you out, honey.” Carman giggled.

There are moments in a man’s life when all lights go green, all barriers fall away, all the others fall behind. These are usually accompanied by stammering, tongue swallowing and general comedic elements. Brian’s concession to this was a tire squealing left turn, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. Making the whole moment complete was the absence of a local cop and an open space right in front of the main hotel entrance.

Despite Carmen’s manner of easy intimacy and despite Brian’s obvious attraction to her, they had not been physical at all since they met. They enjoyed each other’s company immensely, found joy in their differences and learned each other’s annoying traits.

After nine months, Brian began to chalk up the whole Carmen episode to “best friends” status, although he found they spent loads of time on campus with each other. The one time he had tried to push the issue of going further, Carmen had held him tightly and cried. He knew she was in pain and would tell him when she was ready.

He also knew he loved her.

The challenge he faced was accepting that she did not love him back.

So here he was, about to participate in a weird test with her at her uncle’s request, one where he would ‘lose his manhood’ right in front of her. Somehow, it hadn’t bothered him much. Carmen wanted a friend, well then, he could do that.

And now she wants to pull into a hotel, at nine AM.

Leaving the Mustang convertible parked, she grabbed his hand and led him inside the lobby.

“I’ve got a room already, Brian. Mitzi called in a favor from the hotel manger and we can sort things out in the penthouse suite. You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this…” her hands began moving over his back and thighs as they entered the interior glass elevator.

The three people in the lobby smiled as they averted their eyes, all projecting themselves into one of the young, attractive couple. The desk clerk grinned and hoped they made it to their room before he had to call security to gently remind them about the purpose of hotel room doors.

Brian would always remember those few hours. A jumble of passion and tears. Nine months of sexual tension released. A lot of truth revealed.

Fifteen floors high, the Pacific Ocean filling a mural size window with an expanse of deep blue covered in bright sunshine, the king size bed was prominently placed. Carmen had extricated the plastic sliver of a room key from her shorts pocket and handed it to Brian to open the door while she began taking his shirt off in the open hallway. Several housekeepers were titteringly amused.

In the room, she slammed the door behind them and handed him a letter sized piece of paper.

“Read this. I’ll answer whatever questions you have.” Carmen said, an unusual look of total vulnerability on her face.

Brian forced himself to pace his breathing. The letter was from a doctor, dated two days ago. It notified Carmen that she had tested negative for HIV, which meant two years with that result. She also showed no signs of any other STDs at this time. The doctor was also very pleased that her system showed no traces of any controlled substances. A hand written personal note added a comment:

“I can explain now or later…” Carmen’s tear rimmed eyes locked his emotions with a tight grip.

“Later….” He replied, taking her hand into both of his own and leading her to the bed.

Perfect eggs graced the plate, sunny side up, just cooked, slightly crisp on the bottom, with flat, crisp strips of bacon in parallel formation next to them. A pot of soft cream cheese waited next to warm bagel halves. Brian stared at Carmen’s cleavage displayed perfectly in the folds of her white fluffy robe. Breakfast of champions, he mused.

The glare of the noontime sun drove them off the balcony and back indoors to enjoy their room service orders.

“Ohhh, can I have half of your bagel? It looks so good…” Carmen cooed. Brian smiled at her change in mood. The last three hours had exhausted them both and the king size bed seemed to have all of it’s surface in a state of extreme rumple.

“I told you that breakfast is the best thing room service does. Your club sandwich is enormous.”

“Trade you?” Carmen batted her eyelashes as she offered him a quarter of her sandwich, itself enough to be considered a full meal; a triangle of toast, turkey, bacon, tomato , lettuce and mayonnaise.

Taking her offer, he covered his eggs with the plate lid and began slathering a bagel half with cream cheese. As he reached out to offer her a bite, Carmen’s foot opened his robe and began stroking his inner thighs, while her own robe fell open, revealing her sensuous brown body.

The bagel, being subject to Murphy’s law of falling buttered bread, landed cream cheese down right on the top of her heaving breasts. Carmen laughed a free, happy laugh, one Brian had never heard from her, the laugh from childhood we all remember but frequently unlearn as life accumulates it’s toll of experience and pain.

He loved the sound, he loved the sparkle in her eyes.

"Let me clean that up Carm" Brian leaned over and began licking the white smear off her warm breasts. His arm slid between her legs and grasped her soft buttocks firmly. His other arm caressed her back , his hand cradling her head. Lifting her up, he rocked her gently back and forth as he made his way to the bed.

“Your eggs will get cold.” Carmen whispered in his ear as her hands locked around his neck.

“I’ll order more….”

“Make that for two, baby…”

Carmen quivered and purred as Brian began his attentions. Their body scents had already commingled, making her taste like an echo of their previous hectic lovemaking.

Gently settling her down on the mussed bedcovers, he maintained his cradle, massaging her neck, still rocking her as he firmly gripped her ass. His mouth moved to her left nipple and his tongue slowly gave it attention.

“Ohhh Ohhh Ohhhh OOOHHHHH!” Carmen said through gritted teeth and increasing volume.

Brian broke the cradle, slowly, carefully and spread her legs open.

Two new plates of eggs and bacon sat between them, and Brian was enthusiastically mopping up the yolk with his bagel. Sex with Carmen was satisfying, but his food level warning system was chiming in his ear. Carmen had wrapped his blonde hair in a turban affair, similar to her own after their long shower, room service taking precedence over blow drying.

“I know you want to ask me Brian. I’m going to tell you who I was, especially before you meet my girls…” Carmen’s resolve had stiffened, and it appeared to Brian as if she had been rehearsing this for a while.

He felt her overwhelming need to tell him this.

“You talk, you have my undivided attention. Anyway, I’m too drained to move anywhere.”

Carmen finished her last piece of bacon and sipped her coffee. She closed her eyes for a discernable moment and began her story.

Daddies are a keystone in a girls identity. Remove it and the structure crumbles, needing to be rebuilt anew, and never to be the same.

Momma was silent and in such pain, beautiful behind her black veil, stately, and somehow frozen in ice, viewable yet untouchable. George Washington Diamond was there only in thought, his body never returned, his last location never disclosed by the representatives of a grateful government.

Uncle Raymond, huge and close enough in looks to his now dead younger by one year brother, was a constant reminder of Daddy. Tears ran down his face, Carmen hoped enough tears for all of them, since she could not cry anymore, and Momma held it all inside.

Fifteen is painful for a girl too tall, too gangly, not pretty and petite like all the popular ones. A girl who was prone to anger, locked in household dominance games with Momma, and Daddy home on leave less and less.

The pretty little neighborhood was showing rough edges, as the money from crack and meth insidiously exerted it’s influence, and the gangs became bolder. Master Sergeant Diamond had pledged to move them but Momma wanted to none of it.

“You go off and fight those punks in Africa and Whatsisstan and Whositown, I stand here and am not letting these punks run me off. This is my home, George Washington Diamond! And don’t you forget it!” Momma had said, while Daddy had laughed his booming laugh and held her tightly.

Daddy and Uncle Raymond had enlisted long ago, long before Carmen was born. Uncle Raymond had left the army, but Daddy had stayed in, moving into increasingly elite yet inherently dangerous commands. Rangers, Special Forces, Delta and a whole bunch of ones he could not talk about at all. Not that Daddy ever talked much about what he did, even when he came back on a stretcher. If there was some nasty business, Daddy was often not just the early in, but the extreme sharp point on the tip of the spear.

He used to tell his little girl that she and her momma were the only things that kept him alive, knowing he had to come back to them. Carmen felt she had failed him somehow. She hadn’t kept him alive this time. Maybe it was her arguing with Momma, maybe it was because she wasn’t a pretty, cute girl like the rest, maybe, maybe maybe….

Where was Twix with her fix? Carmen giggled at the unintentional rhyme as she stared at the paint peeling on the ceiling. She thought about food briefly, and let it go. Scratching the swelling fleas bites on her arm she was suddenly taken with a mild shaking. Shaking had become a common event, like breathing.

“Momma?” she whispered. Then she knew again. Momma was gone, burned to a crisp. She was organizing her neighbors against the dealers and they burned her alive in her own house. Momma was with Daddy now.

Maybe her girls would get her some stuff. Her girls. Rag tag bunch of runaways when she found them. Running wild. Leadership came easy to the wounded girl who had just lost her Daddy. Sneaking out of the house and running wild, arguing with Momma, who was at her wits end with the rebellious Carmen, she had a wild ride.

Funny how she sought out ones who were all bigger than she was. For once, Carmen was the small girl, surrounded by bigger ones. Cowgirl was a gangly trailer trash runaway from west Texas, six three at age sixteen. Big El was six foot and fond of eating, her plump body masking extreme rapid movement she learned surviving South Central. Pits was shorter than Carmen’s five eleven by an inch, but had been body building since she was twelve.

It had been an adrenaline high, the rush of a doing a crime, getting away, joy riding free and wild. Showing the wanna-be gangsta boys how it was done.

A year of pulling street cons, jacking cars and staying neutral in the various gang and mob affiliations, the girls bonded together. George Washington Diamond would have grinned at Carmen using the same leadership style he had in small unit tactics and survival in a hostile environment.

Uncle Raymond had tracked her down and read her the riot act twice, Momma having exhausted all argument. Get back to school, get away from the street.

Then Momma was gone and the hurt wouldn’t stop. The girls tried to help, but Carmen wanted oblivion. Twix found her and helped her find it. He got her high, she let him think he loved her. She wanted to go, pain free, into nowhere.

She heard the footfalls outside, and got up to get her works ready. Twix was coming back.

The room shuddered as Twix’s unconscious body was thrown face down on the carpet. Raymond Diamond stood in his full imposing height and slapped the tether and spoon from her hands.

“I’m not losing you, dammit. If you scream I’ll gag you, fight me, I’ll knock you unconscious. You’re going to live, Carmen Diamond. And you can thank your girls for letting me know where you were squirreled away..”

Carmen looked up at his eyes and collapsed in his arms.

Lady Jean Thomas was perplexed at the sudden appearance of a lavender motor home in the parking lot of her central coast ranch-rehab center. A wealthy American widow of an Australian with a British title, she had devoted her life and fortune to recovery of the lost and abused. Visiting from her home in the high sierras of Northern California, she enjoyed the gentle rolling hills of the land just north of Santa Barbara, with it’s canyons and scrub.

“I swear, Lady Jean, it was just sitting there, and the guy who stole it , I mean owned it didn’t know where it came from, and he couldn’t get it started…” Florentina “Pits” Alvers stammered, her detailed musculature evident in the sleeveless blouse and shorts set she wore. Lady Jean had the ability to make almost everyone feel like they were in the second grade explaining themselves to a stern teacher.

Doctor Karen Peters, longtime friend and house physician to Lady Jean’s foundation, rolled her eyes and failed to mask a smirk. Life at the rancho had been entertaining since Carmen had arrived. The girls had followed, dropped off by her huge Uncle Ray when she had failed to respond to any treatment beyond the detox.

Lady Jean and Raymond had made a deal. The girls had agreed to work at the center, cleaning, being orderlies and other work. They had also agreed to home school there, get their GEDs, and ‘stay straight’, which meant no crimes. In exchange, Doctor Karen had seen their presence drag Carmen across the line back to wanting to live.

Every once in a while, some of their old habits surfaced, usually with semi-comedic results. The somewhat questionable recreational vehicle was the latest.

“Jean, they do need something to use when they chase this beach volleyball tournament thing this summer, and if Pits says she didn’t steal it, then I assume a young lady would never lie to you.” Karen said.

Lady Jean smiled. “Florentina, I’ll have Steve Dunbar check the legality of this ‘purchase’ of yours, and assuming he can find a way to keep you out of jail with it, then you may refurbish this lavender eyesore for your travels. And while one of my young ladies would never never lie to me, that doesn’t mean I’m not aware they aren’t selective about telling the whole truth either.”

The elderly woman staggered back as Pits hugged her tightly and giggled.

“Thank you! Thank you Lady Jean! It’ll be sooooo cool!”

Carmen felt happy, happy to be alive, happy to have friends, happy she had someone like Uncle Raymond who had dragged her screaming to this place.

Six months after she arrived her, when she was lucid and mostly through the detox program, she had seen on the TV news that the LAPD had found seventy eight gang members or suspected gang members dead, scattered all over town, in the space of a week. Many were in her old neighborhood. She knew she would never ask Uncle Ray, but also knew that her Daddy had friends, friends who were very good at killing. She suspected Uncle Ray was too. Payback for Momma. Somehow it felt right, but didn’t feel good. Momma was still gone.

Carmen finished her story and stared at Brian, her eyes a mixture of hesitancy and fear….

“Momma and Daddy wanted their little girl to live on. It took me a year to figure that out.” Carmen whispered, exhausted at the end of her story.

Brian’s eyes filled with tears. He wrapped Carmen in his arms and held her to his chest, stroking her hair and rocking slowly back and forth.

The 289 V8 burbled through the exhaust pipes as the Mustang rolled north from town. Brian had settled on a hair clip to avoid the tangled mess that a run with the top down would surely inflict on him. Huge sunglasses hid Carmen’s eyes and she had a tied a red silk scarf around her head. Her hand rested firmly on his thigh and her index finger made slow stroking motions.

Throwing the shifter into fourth gear, Brian settled the Ford into a comfortable cruising speed and drank in the scenery in large gulps. White foam breaking a blue green ocean surface, white light bouncing off sand, tiny swimmers and surfers bobbing up and down, white concrete stretching out before the hood of the car, it was the kind of day that consumed your conscious mind as the vista slammed into your visual cortex at 60 miles per hour.

Giving Carmen’s hand a squeeze, he settled back in the seat and connected his senses to the road surface by his grip on the steering wheel.

“Here’s the turn! “ Carmen shouted over the wind rush.

Entering the State Park, he navigated to the left, where the sign indicated “Camping”. Scrub pine and beach grass surrounded the asphalt road with a row primitive alcoves , each containing a vehicle space, a metal grill for cooking and a concrete anchored picnic table. Some tents, a few trailers and a handful of RV’s occupied each one. They passed a common restroom with outdoor showers.

Brain spotted the huge lavender blur, the RV Carmen had said was the girls living quarters.

“There’s Orca Girl! Pull up into that space where the chairs are!” Carmen stood up in the car, waving frantically

“Carmen! Sit down! You want me to run over those people in the chairs?”

“Just pull in! Trust Me!”

Shaking his head, Brian dropped it into second gear and began crawling into the parking space. A very tall blonde and a sizeable black girl bounced up and folded the chairs just the Ford rolled into the space.

A highly muscled girl with raven black hair and fiery eyes was speaking to a seriously upset group of three men, her face just inches from one’s nose. They seemed mad, but it was clear they weren’t going to back her down.

“Goddammit! You’re not allowed to reserve parking spaces! I’ve had it with you girls!” shouted the man in the South Park tee-shirt, his beard seeming to stick out in all directions, as if possessed of a static charge.

“Go back and annoy your wife you jerk! I’m sure she’s used to your crap by now! If you still had a car that wasn’t repo’ed, you might have a case!” the girl stood firm, dark eyes flaring, deltoids rippling as her arms seemed to swell. The fact that she was clad in an electric blue bikini seemed to distract the compatriots of the aggrieved man.

The angry bystanders backed off, screaming about ‘hogging spaces’, while the girl managed a taunting smile and posed with her hand on her hip and index finger waving in the air.

Carmen was pulled from the car by the muscled one, while the blonde and the black girl hugged her in mid air.

“Boss Chick! Bout time you got here! We got your text an hour ago honeychile! Where you been all morning?” The blonde said.

Brian got out of the car, keeping his distance from the throng.

“Yo Momma! Now I see where you been, girl!” The big black girl, six foot one and maybe two twenty gave Brian a full body scan that had him wondering if his pants were still around his waist.

“Almost tall, and pretty too! Not bad at all, Carmen!” The blonde came up and put her hands on his shoulders, squeezing him while they traveled down his back. “Oohh, and firmly muscled, too. Hi, Handsome , I’m Wanda June Evers, but you can call me Cowgirl. In fact, you can call me anytime…” Cowgirl was six three and big shouldered, well muscled but lean, with a nose that had obviously been broken at least twice. Her blonde hair was almost as long as Brian’s, hitting the very tops of her shoulder blades.

Carmen came over and got between them.

“He’s taken, girls. This is Brian. And Brian, you just met Cowgirl. This one with the steroid problem – now don’t you start that arm wrestling crap, Pits- is Florentina Alvers or Pits.”

Brian could see Pits size him up and knew her grin meant she was about to try a bonecrusher handshake. He returned her smile and thanked Sean for the hours of practice on the wooden boards and the grip workouts. “Never know when all there is between you and a mile drop is the grip of one hand, Brian” Sean had said repeatedly.

Pits went for the superior position but Brian calmly countered, while giving her his warmest smile. “Nice to meet you, Florentina”.

“Ay yi yi, Carmen, you got a good one! Same here, sweetie!” Pits returned his smile, relaxing her powerful grip. Brian was grateful, knowing she could have probably won given a little more time.

“And this one is Eloise Winters, Big El to us, cause she’s the petite one..”

Big El managed to make plump look good, moving with a grace and sureness that indicated an athlete’s training and skill.

“Hello, Brian Dupre! Of the Junecellular Dupre’s I assume? Carmen? You know his family business is on the Business Week fastest growing list? Your mother is an inspiration to girls everywhere, Brian. Pleased to meet you!”

Brian took her outstretched hand and kissed it, amused at her obvious use of street talk and attitude to play a role for the world. He saw her carrying the books she had taken off the folding chaise, a LINUX manual and “The Structures of Everyday Life” by Brandel.

Big El giggled and let Carmen shoo them all inside the Lavender RV, the name ORCA GIRL in large script on the side.

Despite all windows being open, the interior maintained a musty smell and would have failed to meet even guy’s college dorm room neatness levels. Take out containers scattered everywhere interspersed with pizza boxes, random sneakers, brassieres and cosmetics.

Cowgirl brushed aside the rubble and found a coffee maker with a near full pot. Blowing the detritus out of two Styrofoam cups, she poured two cups and set them in front of Brian and Carmen. Pits threw sugar packets and non dairy creamer which Carmen seamlessly grabbed from mid air.

Brian closed his eyes a second, said a calming word and got over his internal cringing. Neatness was in his genetic code, about at the same priority as breathing. He sipped the black liquid and felt the burnt, re-re-re-reheated brew attack his palate.

“How’s the Java, Handsome?” Cowgirl asked, her expression indicating she really wanted to know. Brian could not break her heart.

“S’fine, Wanda June. Just my fifth cup of the day.”

Cowgirl beamed. She produced a black leather wallet. Brian’s wallet.

“In that case, darlin’, you can have this back. Always like a man who lies to make me happy! But wait! Carmen! Have you seen this pretty filly in his wallet?” Cowgirl opened the billfold.

Big El looked over before Carmen could see. “You honky twit! That’s his momma! My O my, she’s beautiful! No wonder you’re so hot, Brian.”

Brian managed to blush deep red. Growing up with a mom who looked better than a Playboy centerfold was not only a burden, it had taught him not to enter into a fight with his right hand too high.

“For God’s sake, El, you’re makin’ the boy blush! But, honey, your momma is real pretty, nothin’ to be ashamed of. Mine was so bad they used to…”

“Shut up, CG! I can’t take another down home shit kicker saying today!” Pits rang in, clearly exasperated.

“Well, she started talkin’ ghet-toe before, and we all know that’s an act…”

Brian watched the group go round and round, insults not masking the deep affection they held for each other.

“Is that ‘Stang pure stock?” Pits threw her arm around Brian and caught him in a rib compressing squeeze. “Show me?”

“Almost” gasped Brian. He knew a motorhead when he met one and the next step was inevitable. “Let’s go see..”

“You’ll need these, Pits!” Cowgirl giggled as she threw the car keys to her.

Brian cracked a grin. Wanda June was a very good pickpocket. Of course, she was rather distracting.

“Shit, you take all the fun out of it, CG! I could wire that Ford in less than 30 seconds!”

Brian wandered outside , following Pits who already had the hood up and was crawling under the rear suspension. Their discussion settled into uttered nouns and adjectives, with the occasional ‘uh huh’.

“Hi-Po 289” “Swaybars” “Non stock wheels” “Bigger drums” “uh-huh” threaded through the pair as Brian saw Pits mind merge with the vehicle. He listened to her coo and moan as the engine rumbled on.

“Ohhh, baby, that’s good, ohh keep it up.” Pits turned to him and batted her eyelashes. “I love a big old V8. It’s like sex.”

Brian guessed he was supposed to blush, so he smiled instead.

“It was my Dad’s car. I guess my mom thought the same thing.”

Pits looked puzzled and then grinned at his deflection of her come on. “You do this yourself?”

“I wish. School’s got me strapped for time. The Head Security guy at my Mom’s company restores these for fun. He told me he made it a driver’s car, stock looking but some aftermarket stuff, mostly suspension so I ‘wouldn’t slide it into a rock wall’.”

“Cool! Some of those restoration guys get really tweaky, like they never get any kick from , you know , actually driving the bitch! This one is reborn to run, I can feel it!”

“So take her out.”

“Nah, we got to practice now we got Carmen back. She’s been gone for two days and it’s hard to play fours with only three. And she’s gonna be gone again for a few more days! You know you’re playing hell with our team, Brian Dupre!”

Brian could see Pits was kidding. The smile on her face was missing the “I’m going to break you in half and laugh” element. She turned off the motor and threw him the keys, which he barely snagged at the top of his reach.

“Good hands, Guy. Maybe you should come play some V-ball.”

The volleyball net was set up just past the beach path as they team plus Brian wandered down, carrying a couple of balls, a larger cooler of water and a videocamera. Carmen had shed her shorts to reveal her bikini, apparently the preferred team uniform.

“We found another four squad to scrimmage with, Carm, they’re good guys. Some of them are hot too..” Big El said as they approached the marked off area. Four classic California beach guys, apparently ranging from sixteen to twenty something waited, tanned tight bodies still wet from the water, glistening in the hot sun.

Brian could read their smiles and their puzzled look as they saw him. All coyotes hate to see the border collie guarding the flock. Four girls on four guys equals a chance at some fun later, four girls with a guy trailing along means the odds got longer and the match ups confusing.

“Now Brian, we need to see where our recovery from shot blocks is screwing up. Make sure you record those.” Carmen said, handing the Sony Videocam to him.

Brian looked it over and decided he could operate it, checking the battery and tape levels. He knew from Carmen that the girls had started this as a summer break thing two years ago, and this year were determined to get ranked in the big tournament in Malibu a few weeks from now. What had started as a fun diversion had become a serious sport to them.

The guys did what guys do, they stopped playing the attraction game with the girls as soon as the scrimmage started. Competitive instincts came out when it became suddenly obvious the girls were very very good.

Brian filmed what he hoped were key plays, catching some missed sets, and several missed blocks. Sweat poured from all the players as the afternoon sun burned down. After a solid hour of non stop play, they group collapsed on the beach grass, drinking water and catching their breath.

Big El was giggling at the reasonably lame jokes of the tall blonde guy, Cowgirl was listening to the surfing adventures of the two youngest, a conversation consisting of singular words broken by the punch phrase “Wow, you shudda been there!!!”, and Pits was admiring the guy with the biggest biceps, listening to his weight routine.

With Carmen leaning against him, Brian was amazed at the shift in the team, from self assured, competitive street toughs to quiet, slightly uncertain flirting.

“Hey, Brian! You play for me next! I’ll take the camera.” Pits said as the team got up for another half hour of workout. Carmen laughed and dragged him with her onto the court, positioning him in the backfield.

Play resumed and Brian felt like the village idiot for at least ten minutes until he got the flow down. He had never played much volleyball, just in gym class, but was a fairly accomplished basketball player. He got the pace, and the girls began to put him into the play.

Rotated to the net, he could read the moves of the shot blockers, just like anticipating a rebound. Getting his timing down, he was able to repel several hard blocks, with a staccato BOP BOP, two of them off the face of the other team.

“Hey, get that new girl a bikini top! We can use her!” Cowgirl shouted, a wide grin on her face as Brian repulsed yet another block attempt.

Carmen began laughing so hard she missed a setup. “Just wait....mmgggghhh”

Brian cut her a glare, followed by a smile. Sweat soaked and hot in the mid afternoon sun, the teams took that as a signal to knock off.

“See you later at the Anchor Inn, girls? Decent band tonight!” the tall blonde said as they began toweling off.

“Maybe, maybe. Thanks for the practice guys!” Big El said as the two surfers ran into the waves to cool off, followed by the other two heading for the outdoor showers.

Looking at her watch, Carmen blinked. “Oh no, we gotta run! We have to do some stuff for Uncle Raymond! See you girls in three days! Com’n Brian, lets rinse off and head back!”

“You’re not staying for lunch? We had it catered!” Pits said, waving at the pair as Brian followed Carmen, half running to catch up with her.

“McDonalds?” yelled back Carmen over her shoulder.

“Burger King!” Pits laughed.

“You owe me a Whopper next time!” Carmen laughed as she ran under the showerhead.

Driving back the sun was in the three o’clock position over the ocean. Feeling a bit drained, from the morning with Carmen and the volleyball, Brian could sense the need for food.

“Going to grab a sandwich here, Carmen. If I don’t eat before this appointment , I’ll pass out. “

“Go ahead, let’s go inside. We have an hour before we’re due there.”

Sitting inside the café, he was on his second iced tea while the tuna salad sandwich arrived. Carmen had decided to ‘nibble on his’ , which meant he gave her half and sighed. Her annoying habit of randomly deciding to eat after he had ordered was one of her worst traits. Oh well.

“The girls like you. I was afraid they’d freeze you out.” Carmen said with a mouthful of tuna.

“Hey, I get along with everybody. Besides, they’re fun. It’s a good thing for the cops they agreed to retire with you.”

Carmen chewed thoughtfully. She met his eyes and peered deeply into his head.

“Question. Don’t answer if you don’t want to.” She said. Brian knew how loaded that was and waited for the hook. He nodded.

“Does this girly stuff bother you? Do you like it? You just don’t seem…? I mean, you know…?” she asked, her eyes open, showing a bit of worry at the possible answers.

Brian knew this one was coming. He sat back and took a breath.

“Do I like it? I don’t get turned on by it, but it never really bothered me. The last time, it all happened so fast, and Mom was in danger and Sean was pretty insistent… and she never made me feel anything funny, it was just like playing at undercover stuff, spy stuff. Almost cool. And Mitzi, well, imagine being fifteen and meeting Mitzi!”

Carmen nodded. Brian continued.

“And the Carters, the family I stayed with, they were real nice, it was like a game. No one made me feel ashamed, and no one thought it was funny. Well, except when I was learning to do makeup, that was pretty funny. It was just doing a job. Did it feel good to do it well? Sure.

“This time? Well, Mom and Mitzi wanted a volunteer, it’s only three weeks, and it’s not like you weren’t influential. A thousand dollars a week for three weeks, plus expenses? Sounds like easy money. The only thing I’d worry about is what you thought…”

Carmen smiled and snuggled in next to him in the booth.

“It’’ll be fun! Plus, the team needs a sub, we’re so short handed…”

“Wait a minute, Carmen, I never agreed to do this and play volleyball…”

“Oh hush, you’ll look cute! I have the bikini already picked out!”

“We’ll talk later, Carmen. Let’s go to meet Mitzi’s friend.”

Knowing she was almost sure of getting what she wanted, Carmen smiled and got up. Brian would stew a little , but she knew he would go crazy just hanging around the lab for three weeks.

“Honey, give me your keys, I need my purse and it’s in your trunk..”

Brian handed her the key ring as they headed out the front door.

As Carmen opened the trunk of the Mustang, a 70s Chevy Impala rolled into the lot and screeched to a stop behind the Ford, blocking their escape. The lot was deserted in mid afternoon. The car had been modified to be a low rider, with a paint job of bright canary yellow which was painful to look at in the brilliant sun.

A man of indeterminate ethnicity got out of the passenger side, his teeth yellow, chipped and some missing, his skin a light brown, his eyes dark and his head covered by a knit hat. Misspelled tattoos covered his upper arms and a paunch crept out of from under his tank top tee shirt. A faint mustache, resembling an anorexic caterpillar graced his upper lip, punctuated by an unfiltered cigarette which had gone out.

He stood up to Brian and managed to reach almost the top of Brian’s shoulders. The driver sat inside the Chevy, the motor rumbling through the minimal exhausts.

“You her new guy, asshole? You the one she’s fucking now? Long hair faggot like you?” Twix pushed his face inside Brian’s defensive space.

“She’s mine, you asshole! I took care of her! And I finally tracked her down!” Twix continued. “Carmen! Daddy’s come for you! I got what you need, Chiquita!”

Brian guessed this was Twix from the ink tattoo of the word on his cheek. Sean’s insistent lesson came back to him. As Twix made to sweep him aside Brian blocked the oncoming arm and buried his other curled knuckle hand into Twix’s solar plexus.

No time for thought, just responses honed by training.

“Don’t wait for the first shot to land, Brian” Sean had drilled into him over and over, usually painfully.

Twix was taken by surprise and let out a forced exhale. Brian stood over him. He had held back from a more deadly blow and knew this was damned dangerous. He didn’t want to disable or kill the guy, who had really only tried to shove him so far. It tended to look bad in court. His mind was completely focused on Twix’s next move, which would dictate his reaction.

Twix settled the indecision by coming up off the ground with a knife. Brian fell back, avoiding the slash. As he was sizing up what to do, Carmen came out of nowhere and landed a blow to Twix’s head , right on top of his right ear with the tire iron from the Mustang.

The edge, while not sharp, managed to split open where the ear connected to the skull, splattering blood all over as the man fell back. His eyes indicated consciousness was fading.

“Chico, you piece of shit, get him out of here and never come near me again!” Carmen screamed to the driver as she proceeded to splinter the Chevy’s windshield to punctuate her statement.

“Help me throw him in the car, Brian.” Carmen began dragging the inert and bleeding Twix into the Chevy’s front seat. Brian grabbed the legs and finished the job.

“I said get out! If you get him to a hospital, you may save that ear, you scumfuck!” Carmen waved the tire iron at the shaking Chico, who dropped the Chevy in drive and drove off after caroming off a steel post at the exit, peeling at least ten layers of yellow paint off the right side of the car.

“Nice of you to render medical assistance, Carmen.” Brian said as they stood there, watching the yellow blur roll down the highway.

“It’s the least I could do for that piece of shit. Take me out of here, we have an appointment. And I’m not talking about this now, Okay?” Carmen said as she returned the tire iron to the trunk and entered the Ford.

Adrenaline high receding, Brian began the mental exercises Sean had taught him to regain a clear state. Carmen wanted to talk later, he would talk later. But not too much later. He started up the car and pulled out onto the divided highway.

White overwhelmed his vision. White walls, white chairs, white lighting, white carpet. Bobbi’s Beauty Shop was an attempt at someone’s dream of heaven.

A steady stream of muted Ella Fitzgerald covered the auditory spectrum. Brian smiled at that, since she had been one of Dad’s favorites. They had arrived and were immediately ushered into a private room by a diminutive receptionist with an elaborate beehive and five inch heels , both of which brought her up to a towering five foot four. She was, of course, wearing a white uniform dress with a nametag of Georgie.

“Bobbi’s been expecting you! Can I get you some coffee or a soft drink? She’ll be with you as soon as she can!” Georgie’s voice was a husky alto.

The salon appeared to be a converted gas station, one with several bays. Brian noticed at least ten staff and over twenty customers in various stages of re-work.

“Coffee sounds good, Georgie.” Brian said quietly.

“Bottled water, please.” Carmen said as she sat back, crossing her legs and examining her toenails with a look of distress. Beach sand is a fine abrasive.

Georgie minced out. Brian leaned over and whispered.

“Do you know why we’re here? What’s the relationship with Mitzi?”

Carmen giggled. “I’m not sure, but it’s some kind of prep work for tomorrow when they fit us up. Mitzi and Bobbi have some kind of business deal. He’s like the body shop and Bobbi does the paint and finish.”

Brian blinked his eyes and a thought crossed his mind. “Given Mitzi’s business, that means that some of the folks out there are all..”

“Most of them I would expect, sweetie. Wasn’t Georgie precious?” Carmen giggled.

“Have you ever met this Bobbi person?”

“Never.”

“Well! We can fix that!” the door pushed open and a vision in black and red with feather trim bustled into the room.

“OOOhhh, Mitzi that little minx said you were cute cute cute!” Brian felt his cheeks being pinched.

Bobbi weighed in at a svelte two hundred and fifty pounds, nicely proportioned across her five foot ten inch height, and her dress accentuated every curve and bulge. Endless hips seemed to be in constant motion, and her derriere was something Rubens would have ordered an extra truckload of paint for. Bright red hair flowed around her bosom, and a small hat was precariously pinned to the right side of her head, whose sole purpose was supporting a swatch of three black feathers.

After paying attention to Brian, cooing and examining his cheekbones, his shoulders and hair, she cursorily patted Carmen on the head and made a grand display of taking her seat, showing off her plump yet shapely legs encased in patterned black hose ending in slingback heels.

“Now, kiddies, Mitzi has issued very specific instructions and I must say this is quite unusual. He normally sends me his boys after the body work is done, for the ‘exterior coat’ so to speak, but this time, he must have something very special going on. Now you must be Brian? That can’t do, sweetie, I need your femme name, dearie? Maybe a Jasmine? Or a Carlotta? Something exotic?”

Brian wondered if Bobbi ever took a breath, or just ran all day on her morning’s inhale. Bobbi continued her exposition.

“And you! Carmen! Mitzi must be proud of you, honey! You’re very good! If it wasn’t for those shoulders and that neck, you’d pass as a girl with anyone, except me, I’m an old pro, tee hee. Well, not that kind of pro…. Except for that time in Fresno…tee hee. “

Brian tried to hide a smirk as he saw Carmen begin to lose composure, while she self consciously touched her neck and shoulders. Bobbi’s eyes lit up.

“Sorry dear, just having some fun. Mitzi said his niece was beautiful and he understated it. Forgive your Aunt Bobbi?” Bobbi got up and extended a bear hug to Carmen, Brian broke out laughing and Carmen giggled and hugged the salon owner.

Carmen turned and glanced at Brian’s mirth and her look at him let him know he would pay for it later.

Coffee and water arrived. Georgie wiggled in, effusive and bubbly as she served, trading insults with Bobbi as she packed up the excess material and loaded the tray for removal.

Bobbi seemed to relax and turn the verbal flow down to torrent from waterfall as she sat back in her chair.

“Ah, coffee, the only vice I have left. My final lover, I guess.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Not counting cheesecake, chocolate and anything deep fried. Ah, you should have seen me when I was on stage, I was petite, well, never petite, but an honest size 8, well maybe a 10, but you know us girls. Would you like to see my album?”

Carmen was about to say something about getting on with it, but Brian liked this strange person, and touched Carmen’s arm gently in a signal.

“We’d love to Bobbi. I trust you’ll get us to Mitzi’s on time. Let’s see your album.”

Bobbi’s eyes lit up to halogen levels. She opened a drawer and produced a large, leather bound photo album, with the gummed corners holding the photographs to the page. Old fashioned.

She opened the book and turned it to her guest across her desk.

A gangly teen age boy with long red hair graced the first pages, in basketball and track uniforms as well as casual clothes. Brian could see the facial resemblance.

“Oh yes, that was me. Wasn’t I adorable?” Bobbi asked, her eyes getting misty.

Pages flipped, showing Bobbi dressed en femme more and more often. Some outrageous showgirl costumes and theatre stages were included. Bobbi ran a running commentary, highlighting her career as a drag performer.

Georgie popped in, with a huge slice of cheesecake and two more modest ones on fine china plates.

“OOhhh, snack time! Please join me, I hate to eat alone. Well, I don’t hate it, but … in fact I do it all the time… but I do love having company.” Bobbi said.

“It’s so hard to get decent cheesecake out here. Now when I lived in New York! Ah! Heavenly! Ever see that Bogart movie with his cheesecake line?” Bobbi bubbled while navigating forkfuls to her mouth.

“This isn’t cheesecake! It’s mucilage!” Brian chimed in. “All Through the Night.”

“Yes! That’s the one! With Jackie Gleason and Phil Silvers in bit parts! “ Bobbi laughed.

Carmen focused on her dessert, trying not to look bored to tears.

“Ok, children. Now, Mitzi wants some odd services. Darlings, you get a nice facial, a wash and set, where we leave you up so Mitzi has your hair out of the way for his nefarious stuff. Manicures, pedicures if you want, no polish for you, Brian, so sad. Carmen, you get a leg wax and any stray upper torso hairs taken care of. Brian, now sweetie, you get the full body deal.”

Brian got a questioning look. Carmen giggled.

Bobbi smiled. “All your hair, dear, from the sideburns down. Mitzi wants a clean slate for his work.”

“All of it? .. Even you know..”

“Oh yes, even there. My girl Lorena is a gifted artiste with a straight razor, especially ‘down there’. You’ll be fine, just don’t upset her….”

Brian swallowed hard. “Lorena….?”

“Oh she’s a dear, don’t mind her mumbling in Spanish. Just some ritual cursing..”

Four hours later, Brian felt like a turkey ready for the oven. His hair washed and rolled up, his nails kept short but neatly worked with a clear polish, his eyebrows ‘thinned just a bit’, his beard lasered, leaving a reddish burn on his cheeks, back, legs and chest waxed clean of hair, he was in a chair seemingly designed for gynecological exams while Lorena, a short, south American woman with a hard , bitter face and hawk nose stared at his genitals with beady eyes.

“El dios, hace mi mano constante para rebanar este cerdo” Lorena muttered while spreading shaving cream on his stubble around the base of his penis. She had buzzed off most of it with an electric barber’s razor.

“Wait a minute! Slice? Not shave?”

Lorena looked at him and glared. Then she smiled.

“Afeitado, si” she said, giggling.

Stropping the shining steel razor on the leather, she tested the result with a loose hair. Satisfied it split just right, she began smooth stokes on his crotch.

“No move.” She said.

Brian kept the image of the shining steel in his mind, trying to ignore the warm feeling of the shaving cream on a sensitive area. No sudden moves, right. Erections were like cops on the highways, always there when least convenient…

Lorena gently cradled his scrotum, flicking off any errant hairs left.

She stood up and applies a moist towel to her work, cleaning off the residue of the shaving.

“You done.” Lorena leaned over and kissed Brian quickly. “I like you, you nice guy.”

She turned on her heel and walked out.

Dressed back in his Hawaiian shirt and shorts, hair rollers tied in a net, body eerily smooth, Brian, along with Carmen was receiving goodbye hugs from Bobbi and the staff.

“Now darlings, you come back and let me finish the job! A nice dramatic makeover, nail extension, and oh that hair! Come back to see Aunt Bobbi! Kiss Kiss!”

Out in the parking lot, Carmen turned her be-rollered head to Brian and said “Put the damn top up. I know it’s only a few miles, but put the damn top up, okay?”

“No argument here, darling. Kiss Kiss!” Brian mimicked Bobbi’s inflection, forcing a smile on Carmen’s face.

He’d imagined a lab like he saw in the movies. Fluorescent lights, endless white corridors, security guards, scientists in lab coats, blinking lights and strange equipment everywhere. It turned out to be nothing like that.

The ‘fitting room’, part of the warehouse space, looked like a cross between a dorm room and a sculptor’s loft, the two expensive motorized operating tables/recovery lounges being the only exceptions. It was clean, in a fashion, but cluttered, and the team was definitely not the white lab coat type.

He conjured up an 80’s Grunge band approaching middle age deciding to do body enhancements in their garage loft.

The visuals receded as a worry when Brian got to meet the Junecellular team. All either Doctorates or masters in their fields, they were personable and quite comical, despite the ripped jeans, scattered hair and flannel shirts that had seen better days.

“Mitzi tells me you did this before using his old tech, Brian.” Lars Bludge said in his cheerful lilt. As head tech, he ran the show hooking Brian and Carmen up for their testing of Mitzi’s latest gadgets. He had sad beagle eyes and a hang dog expression which always made Brian want to cheer him up.

“Yes, I was only fifteen at the time, Lars. It wasn’t bad, I got used to them pretty quickly.”

“Well, old Mitzi knows his stuff. His practical experience at actual field stuff sped this whole thing up faster than any pure researcher would. The body/synthetic interface is tricky engineering. Now hold still, we need another reading.”

Carmen squealed out a giggle from the other room. “Cold hands! Stop with the cold hands you muchacha tonta!”

“Ok Brian, we’re ready. Going to feel a needle then you’re going to sleep. Just lay back….” The ping of the monitors were the last things he heard.

Blink. Blink Blink. Light. Consciousness returned quickly. Memory filled in location.

Wall Clock. 08:00 AM July 10. Okay, time check done.

“He’s awake. Telemetry acquisition active. CNS interface nominal. “

Brian heard the voices murmuring. His mouth was a desert where many camels had roamed. His tongue needed a shave.

Carmen’s face came into his field of view. She offered him water through a straw. She looked different somehow. Oh my God she was big!

“Ah, I see your eyes like my new boobies! Typical man! “ Carmen laughed, causing her now bulging DD cups to jiggle in her camisole.

"Well, Brianna, you better get used to never being looked in the eye." Carmen said as Brian tried to swing out of the recliner and began to pitch face forward, out of balance.

Lars caught him and helped the naked but enhanced Brian to his feet. The mirror was a Twilight Zone experience.

A tall blonde with her hair up in rollers, a slightly thick but still tapered waist, wide hips, soft round rear end and a shaved genital area showing a definite vaginal opening stared back. All this was overshadowed by the enormous breasts which firmly stood out on her chest. Bigger than Carmen’s. Bigger than life. Brian was staring at a stranger, at himself. Smooth skin from the neck down, Mitzi’s new appliances were indistinguishable from his own skin. The color match was perfect.

He felt the slight constriction at his waist, and the weight of the breasts was throwing his balance off. Suddenly he had to urinate, but that felt very different, a more general pressure than the localized one he was used to.

He nearly swallowed his tongue when he realized he looked like Mom, or a fairly close version of Mom. This is weird, just go numb, deal with it, you’re standing naked in front of your girlfriend, your mother, your mentor/friend and a room full of flannel shirted lab techs, and you look girl girl girl, and not just like any girl. Like Mom. He wondered about Greek tragedies and if they covered this one….

Carmen put a robe around his shoulders and Jerri, the tech took his hand.

“Telemetry says you need to pee, girl, and it’s a bit different with this gear. Lets get you to the ladies room.”

"Does Telemetry say how?" Brian, still groggy and a little dazed, let the two girls lead him away while Lars and the guys chuckled.

Mitzi and Marissa looked on from the other room.

“Well, you did it, Mitzi. I have a daughter again. It’s amazing how real it looks.” Marissa giggled.

“Oh now, dear, you had some fun with poor Brian last time. He’s a great kid. Lets hope it looks this good after the three weeks is up and you get your son back.” Mitzi said quietly.

“If Carmen doesn’t rip it off him before that……” Marissa told an uncharacteristic joke and Mitzi laughed loud enough to rattle the walls.

Being adaptable, smart and having worn breast prosthetics the last time he’d been dragged into a masquerade, Brian found himself returning to the habit of sleeping on his back. It seemed as if every arm movement reflex he had resulted in bashing into his bosom, and unlike before, this time it hurt.

‘Mitzi’s Titzies’ as the team called them, were a marvel of at least four cutting edge technologies ranging from nervous system connection by induction to synthetic skin which color matched to surrounding tissue like a chameleon. Brian felt every touch, to the lab grunts delight as they ran the two of them through a long day of tests.

The body gel felt good washing the exuded anesthetic wastes from his pores. Warm water made a tinkling sound on his shower cap which protected his wavy style. He closed his eyes and marveled at the sensations his breasts gave as he lathered them up gently.

“Did Mitzi have to make them so big?” He thought. “These are going to take a long time to get used to”. He could already feel muscles all over his back begin to complain from the weight.

“These are our biggest to date, Brian. About a kilo and a half each.” Lars had said.

It was coming back to him. Three weeks as a girl. Brian sighed and settled into his fate for the next three weeks. He had agreed, and was not going to be some clown who couldn’t color match, accessorize or fix his face. Suck it up, Dupre!, oh well, maybe choose another term….

He remembered girl mornings were very very different from guy mornings. Hair, face, who will see me today?, what’s the weather? What kind of lighting? He’d had a relentless taskmaster when he was fifteen, and she never let him leave the room without dealing with his current and planned appearance for the rest of the day. He smiled as his memory conjured up the image of Cissy Carter. His first serious crush.

Jerri had been insistent he be very fussy about cleaning ‘down there’.

“Now Brianna, this is one pussy that loves warm water. Keep it clean at least once if not twice daily or the smell and mung buildup will be quite unpleasant. We’ve got you all nicely set up in there, but we don’t want some bacterial infection invading your catheter or scrotal cocoon. I recommend a douche in between thorough washes. And for God’s sake, wipe yourself completely when you go!” deadpanned the biochemist, a woman of incongruous appearance. Tattoos and pearls, old jeans and a beautiful silk blouse, spiky hair and conservative makeup, a kind of Goth soccer mom.

Brian let the shower trickle over him, savoring the peace and tranquility for the first time in the last few days. He reached for the shower massage wand. Time for ‘daily maintenance’ he said resignedly. A minute later he found himself gripping the handrail with white knuckles.

Brian remembered another shower, another time, when he was yet another person…..

“Charlene! Don’t forget the conditioner! Leave it on longer this time!” came Cissy’s voice through the bathroom door. The warm water of the shower felt good as Brian worked the conditioning rinse into his now black hair. He was still adjusting to the new breasts and hip pads Mitzi had shipped down now that the skin dye had faded and he was white again. At least they weren’t as big as the other ones had been.

Finishing his shower and donning a white terrycloth robe, he began running a comb through his wet hair, straightening out any tangles as he sat down at the vanity. Blow dry and just a little eye makeup he decided. Cissy was relentless at making sure he ‘passed’. It was becoming important to Brian that Cissy was happy.

The dryer was gently removed from his hand. Tall, beautiful and smiling, Cissy Carter stood behind him, hair in rollers, face perfect and camisole showing her pronounced bosom.

“No blow dry today, Charlene. We’re going downtown this afternoon so I can show you off to my friends at work. Let’s do this right, okay hon?” Cissy leaned over and kissed Brian full on the lips, her tongue gently making circles around his.

Brian’s heart fluttered. Cissy giggled and took a strand of his hair and began wrapping it around a roller.

The thoughts receded and he was back in the present…..

Brian recovered his composure. It now became perfectly clear why there was never any hot water in the house he shared with two adult women. He threw on his hospital gown and took off the shower cap, shaking his hair out and touching it up with a brush before moving back out to the main lab area.

“Well Carmen, Brian, it all checks out. We have just a few more tests to run, but we’re very happy with what we’ve seen so far. How does it feel?” Lars said to the assembled team, with Mitzi and Marissa looking on.

Carmen, having fun showing off her new found cleavage smiled brightly.

“It’s amazing. They feel like part of me! They seem a little more sensitive though.” Carmen said while the gaggle of flannel shirts nodded and scribbled notes on PDAs.

“Yes, the feedback loops are being adjusted, we’re tweaking them down a hair. The interface to your nervous system is encountering less resistance than we anticipated.” Jerri said.

“I knew you were a perfect conductor, Carm” Brian chortled.

“Watch your mouth BRIANNA, or it’ll be more like the perfect resistor!” Carmen grabbed Brian’s newly slimmer waist and pulled him closer.

“Well, Brian? What’s your assessment so far?” Lars continued, a sparkle in his sad basset hound eyes.

“I had no idea…well, all I can say is WOW! Like Carm, it just feels like it’s me! I’m finding I need new reflexes, and the sensitivity is a little overwhelming.. and my balance is off….but I’m adapting. The plumbing , I mean my old… my new …damn” Brian stammered, an unaccustomed feeling.

Having a natural charm and empathy, Brian had rarely been at a loss for words. Marissa often told him he had his father’s gift, the ability to make people feel comfortable and believe in him. Yet here he was, in the standard drafty hospital gown, bumbling for words to describe his new body sense.

Images ran through his mind and Jerri fit none of them. Hooked up to sensors, feet into stirrups, hospital gown lifted up, Brian tried to relax in the examination chair. No mad scientist, no vicious dominatrix, no cackling crone like witch, all he could conjure up was a pleasant grade school librarian with body tattoos.

Jerri turned to the short balding fat guy who had followed her in, sweating as he compulsively ate from a large bag of potato chips. “Walter, I’ll handle this part, go help Lars with the data integration.”

Walter nodded and waddled off.

“Now Brianna hon, this is a bit awkward but I wasn’t about to let any of the guys do it. We need to test your response to interior stimulation. So just relax and I’ll get this over with.” Jerri’s warm smile somehow diffused a decidedly odd situation. She had pulled her hair back into a bun, quite a contrast from the gel rigid spikes she usually wore.

He didn’t know where the feminization of his name came from, suspecting the team had cooked it up as part of their test protocols. For some reason, Carmen and Jerri had just naturally switched their mode of address, in a way that indicated he was a girl to them. The guys fumbled his name a few times. Mitzi immediately embraced Brianna like she had always been there.

Mom had hugged him tight, called him Brian with just enough hesitation that he knew she had to consciously think about it, and told him she’d see him at Brigit’s birthday party in two days. She was then scheduled in New York for a conference and Wall Street analyst briefing right after the event.

“Now you know your testicles and scrotal sac are encased in a protective cocoon, and your penis is catheterized in Impolecs, which provides tactile input. If this all works, you are going to get excited, but it will be different, closer to the way I get excited. So, girlfriend, call this your ‘coming in party’. Today you will be a woman. “ Jerri said, soothingly.

Brian felt a natural panic, a classic ‘flight or fight’ reflex as he saw her test probe, which looked surprisingly familiar except for the cables attached to the other end. Realizing the stirrups prevented both flight and fight, he had little choice but to lay back.

Jerri held his hand tightly as she inserted the probe. Brian felt the lubricant react with a moistening feeling inside himself. The sensations started pleasant and began increasing in intensity. Jerri had been right, it was nothing like male sex. No erection but massive stimulation. A clenching of his insides began, pulsing rhythmically to the probe’s motion.

He could see Jerri reading her laptop screen, having left the device to run it’s preprogrammed cycle.

“Sweet! Look at that! Damn! My turn next, honey!” she giggled as her eyes glanced back and forth between the readouts and Brian.

Time suspended. Sweat formed a sheen on his skin as he felt transported to a sexual universe he never imagined. His body had hit some peak at least twice, he knew he had emitted some fluid, but it was different. No explosive erection, just a whole body, moving pulse that seemed to flow from his crotch to his nipples while his insides were reversing.

He felt Jerri’s touch on his hand and cheek, and the feeling of release as the probe retracted.

“Don’t stop….” He whimpered. Brian was drained. His mind raced with the sensations, the residue of his total surrender to the physical stimulation.

Jerri hugged him. “That’s my girl, Brianna. Even the mechanical guys never last…”

“How long…” Brian said, as he hugged Jerri back, finding the comfort of another person’s heartbeat comforting.

“About ten minutes, sweetheart. I want you to know I tested that device myself after I built it. My husband ran the gear, and told me he felt totally inadequate. I fixed that, of course…”

Brian laughed and Jerri giggled.

“Oh yes, since this is your first time, I got you a present, well actually we all did. “ Jerri handed a gift wrapped box to Brian as he sat next to her on a couch.

While Brian fussed with the wrapping paper, Jeri continued. “I had wanted to make this more real life, my mechanical stallion. In my design, it never calls you back, you stress out by the phone, and the hip and butt pads blow up another ten pounds, simulating you eating ice cream directly from a container. Lars thought it was a little extreme….”

Brian laughed. Jerri was all right.

Ribbon neatly pulled and folded, set next to the box lid, Brian took one of the contents and held it up. Panties. Very nice ones, and Brian could tell they were expensive. The box contained a selection of very pricey lingerie.

“La Perla, hon. Every girl should have some nice ones, and we had to special order the brassieres. Your Mom insisted we get some good ones.” Jerri watched his eyes, trying to see if there was some embarrassment evident in him.

“Thank you Jerri! I guess I am going to need these.” Brian’s winning smile lit up Jerri’s face in his normal, contagious manner.

“So, Jerri, can you explain why you guys built this? What’s the purpose? Is there a market?”

“Well, we all think we built it because it was Mitzi’s Holy Grail, the ultimate crossdressing accessory. He then actually convinced us it was useful as a project to tackle the nervous system interface in a more complex manner than the other ones use, and also that if nothing else, there was a high end market for the ‘sexually bored and adventurous’ as he calls them. Based on your response, I think he’s right.

“Now, shower up and try on the pink ones, Carmen wants to take you out and show you off!”

Traffic was heavy but moving, the best that could be hoped for as the Mustang moved north , past Palo Alto and through San Mateo. Brian had the visor down, using the mirror to check his appearance for the thousandth time while Carmen drove.

Some strange character had emerged in her girlish boyfriend, one Carmen had never seen. It was not quite disturbing, but a little confusing. Brian had always been fussy with his appearance, but not in an unusual way. Carmen had expected to have to coach him on the finer points of ‘going out girl’ but he seemed to just submerge into the role, and it irked her that his makeup was not just perfect but subdued and tasteful, his hair nicely brushed out and showing the waves and curls, Brian having touched it up with a curling iron before they left.

“We have to stop and get the groceries on the way over to Pleasanton later, Carm. I always cook the meal on Brigit’s birthday, and it’s quite a gathering there tonight.”

“Well, I wish I’d known we needed to dress for this Brianna. You never mentioned it was posh..”

“So we stop downtown, pick up some clothes and head over. What’s the big deal? I need to pick up the swimsuits at Mom’s friend’s shop anyway. It’s right off Union Square, and there’s lot’s of places we can go and pick up a dress.”

Rolling her eyes and sighing while giving the finger to a driver who tried to cut her off on a lane change all just coordinated.

“Look, my sweet girlfriend-for-a-while. You may look sexy as hell, but you still think about shopping like a damn man.” Carmen pronounced sentence as she emphasized the word ‘sexy’ with a gentle squeeze of Brian’s left breast, her finger moving the nipple slowly.

Brian stopped touching up his lipstick and gripped the sides of the car seat.

“Aha, I like that reaction!” Carmen giggled.

His eyes rolling back to vision position and his breathing function returning, Brian lay his head on Carmen’s shoulder and began stroking her thighs with a slow, rhythmic motion.

After a few minutes, she gasped “You want this car wrapped around a truck? Later for that!”

He giggled and sat back. The truck driver in the cab next to him blew him a kiss. Brian decided it was a good enough gesture to rate a smile and turned on his high intensity variant. He slightly arched his back and the spaghetti strapped camisole top Jerri had provided for him strained as his cleavage opened and his boobs thrust out. The truck driver smiled back appreciatively.

“Well, I am sorry, I should have mentioned it babe. It got lost in the whole rush of events. Plus, I never anticipated my whole wardrobe that fits would suddenly consist of a box of panties and bras and this one pair of jeans and cami. And I never would have guessed you didn’t own at least one dress.

“Well, the good news is Mom said we can use the company card to buy a wardrobe ‘within reason’. At least it’s a business expense.”

“Like some special hooter loophole? The IRS allows that?” Carmen asked.

“No special loophole, hon. We’re product research, and supporting these “ Brian lifted his chest with both hands “is a legitimate research and development expense, just like Lar’s salary and the light bill for Mitzi’s loft. Now, if we get audited, we may have to convince an IRS guy these are worthy of support…”

“Oh great, I finally get some big ones and I gotta flash a government jerk. Great deal.” Carmen laughed. “And I do too own a dress! But it’d never fit me now with these!”

Malls are malls. There is a comforting universality to their intentionally scattered layout, the mix of shops driving a determined consumer to need to fight the preplanned, programmed impulse buy. Brian remembered one of his lecturers who had made millions in retail explaining the secrets of the set up.

The pair collapsed at the coffee shop table with their bags of the few essentials they would need for their three week tour as busty babes during a Northern California July, and some key accessories for their ‘posh’ birthday dinner at Brian’s house.

“Just the dresses now, and picking up your swimsuits. You can’t play with the team without your bikini, Brie.” Carmen said, deciding that the short form of his name suited Brian now that he was passing so well as a woman.

“Seems ok and thank God there was a sale at the Gap on the summer stuff. As it is, we ran up over $500, and that’s just for shorts, tee’s and a few pairs of sandals.” Brian smiled internally. Listen to yourself, Brie, my God you sound like such a girl…Oh well, just playing the role, right?

“And cosmetics, and pantyhose and so on…welcome to chickhood, Brianna darling!”

Brian smiled and Carmen felt a new attraction. Maybe it was the person and not the body, but that smile made her vibrate. This lesbian stuff could be fun for a while.

“Question, Brie?”

“Go ahead, Carm.” Brian sipped his latte.

“You seem to handle the girl stuff really well. I saw those pictures of you back then, when you hid out. All that coming back?”

“Truth time, I guess. My first real crush, Carmen, was Cissy Carter. I wanted to please her so bad, I got the whole thing down. Plus there was Mom….

Staring at the ceiling, Brian felt the urge again. Cissy was sleeping across the hallway and he could picture her face, and had seen most of her body in the six months he had spent hiding out here as “Cousin Charlene”.

Long legged and with a shapely pair of breasts, not big but nicely sized, smooth skin and beautiful long black hair, Cissy was occupying his dreams more and more. Here he was, sleeping right across the hall, but to her, he was a girl. Cissy had taken over making sure Brian did not flub the masquerade and was merciless at drilling the finer points of girlhood into him, in a most friendly way.

A week ago, while brushing his hair, Cissy had leaned over and kissed him. Kissed him long and soft, with pulsing tongue and caressing hands. Brian almost fainted, and his member strained against his panty girdle.

Brian found some form of restraint was becoming necessary to avoid ‘embarrassing bulges’ around the Carter household. Strangely, Cissy’s twin sister, Cecilia, while very pretty, didn’t seem to have the same effect on him.

Cissy had smiled and run off to her room, leaving Brian flabbergasted and lovestruck, struggling to finish his eye makeup.

Tonight, he heard the door to his room open. He felt the warmth of her body as she crawled into the bed with him.

“Charlene? Sorry, I’m just used to calling you that. This question is for Brian. Do you know what I am?” Cissy whispered while clutching his hand. There was enough light to see that she had been crying, tears still moistening her face in the moonlight shining through the window, bouncing off the dark Pacific waters.

“I know you were Alan, and found out you were Cissy. And you’re doing the stuff to be a girl. But you’ve always been a girl to me, Cissy.” Brian said, choosing his words as carefully as a fifteen year old boy can.

“I like you a lot, Brian. I’m so unsure of a lot of stuff, I just know you’re a good guy. I’m trying to sort out who I am. I think I like boys, but I’ve been afraid to find out. Maybe it’s because you’re being a girl for now, but I think it’s also because I can trust you. Can I use you, Brian? I’m sorry, that came out all wrong…” Cissy began whimpering, holding Brian tightly.

There are moments when a boy grows up emotionally. It is never steady, but occurs in bursts. Brian grew up a whole bunch in the next moment.

“I really like you Cissy. I think I know what you want, and it’s fine with me. No, it’s more than fine, it it’s … important.” He held Cissy gently and began to rock her slowly.

Cissy stopped crying and began to use her hands to explore Brian’s body under his babydoll. She pulled his panties down and began to kiss her way to his engorged penis. Brian began kissing her breasts, licking her nipples slowly. His hand began stroking her soft genitals.

Cissy determined she liked boys. Brian determined that Cissy was beautiful. Several times a week, during his last month in the Carter Household, Cissy would visit during the night.

Brian bought several new panty girdles.

The end of the month came and another twist occurred. The crisis was over, the bad guys dealt with and Mom was coming to pick him up, to return home, and to return to being Brian.

Cissy hugged him tightly as he packed a few things, mostly mementoes of his stay, since he didn’t see a need for the wardrobe he had accumulated over the seven months.

“Brian, thanks so much. I have a lot to sort out now, but you were a big help. I’m not sure I could have been with any other guy…”

“You’re just saying that because you’ll miss nagging me about my nails, Cousin Cissy. “ Brian went quiet, his smile turning wistful. “I’ll miss you Cissy. You meant a lot to me. I guess it’s back to being a boring old guy for now.”

“Well, we need to talk about that. We’ve been invited to a wedding in a week, we being Cecilia, Cissy and Charlene. It’s for the man who planned the whole thing with Sean and Larry and a whole bunch of others. Cecilia and I would love it if you could be Charlene for just another few days. Mitzi’s going, and Mom and Dad. And Charlene was part of the whole operation, it’d be a shame for her to miss it…..”

“But Mom is coming and I’m going home…”

“Oh silly, we’ve already arranged with Marissa, she’s Dad’s partner you know. She said she’d be happy to have a daughter around the house for a week, if you were willing. She also said Brigit was giddy over the idea…”

Brian stood there, in bra and jeans, holding his top in his hands, stupefied.

“Oh, say yes, silly girl! It’ll be fun, and I’ve already picked you a dress. Plus I get to see Charlene at least once more! Now lets pack up all of this stuff, you’re going to need it, Cousin.”

So Charlene lived on, back home in Pleasanton, for another week. Brigit, unlike her normal stern demeanor with a hidden smile she reserved for Brian, positively gushed over her. Marissa seemed to smile a little more, treating Brian with a different tone, subtle touches and many compliments on his newly acquired skills.

Cuddling on the couch one night, watching a movie, Brian finally got out the question.

“Mom, did you want a daughter? Is this better for you?”

Marissa sat up and looked in her son’s eyes.

“Brian, I’m not going to lie to you. This has been kind of fun for me, and every mother sometimes wishes they had a daughter, but no, it’s not better. It’s been cute and cuddly and I am beyond impressed at how well you took to the role. That’s you’re Dad, you take after him. He was a perfectionist and if he committed to do something, he gave it everything he had. “ Marissa touched his shoulder and stroked his hair.

“Okay. It’s just been too easy, I mean everyone just treated me like I had always been a girl, it made me wonder…”

“You are a very good, and an awfully pretty girl, Brian, and that’s a compliment to your acting ability. I asked you to do this when Sean thought it up because we were dealing with some very bad people, and you took it seriously, with some help from that Mitzi Diamond, of course.”

Brian giggled and indicated his breasts. “Yeah, it will seem weird to lose these after all this time. But come Monday after the wedding, I’ll be back to being your son again.”

Marissa hugged Brian.

“You never stopped being my son, and you have probably learned some unique things with this little adventure. Some girl is going to be very lucky some day..”

Brian thought of Cissy’s lips and thought to himself. You don’t know the half of it Mom…

Carmen looked over at her girlfriend, Brian. She began to understand him a little better. Seven months as a girl with ‘positive reinforcement’ from Cissy, along with everyone else, and his first ‘serious sex’, all at age fifteen.

Then there was Marissa. Carmen was petrified of her. It was like Wonder Woman was your boyfriend’s mother. Smart, rich, successful, and beautiful and did she say rich?

And to make it worse, Marissa had never treated her with anything but kindness and open arms, and treated Brian so damn well, Carmen wished Marissa had an opening for a daughter position.

Marissa made Carmen feel insecure, unworthy, unaccomplished and definitely not pretty in comparison, just by being wonderful.

Brian sipped his coffee and sat thoughtfully. Carmen waited for him to say something, anything.

“You know, Carmen, when Dad died, Mom was broken into pieces. But she stopped work for three months and just hung out with me. She’s always been there for me, and I guess I see her as someone to be like. Last time, she asked me to hide out to protect me, this time, it’s just a just a favor, helping with the business.

“What gets me is how much I see her in my mirror, and suddenly I realize I’m half her. So if I’m going to do this, I have to do it right. Does this make any sense?”

Carmen smiled.

“Well, they said never mess around with a momma’s boy, but nobody warned me off a momma’s girl, especially with momma’s like those, girlfriend! You’re fine with me, Brie.

“Oh yeah, how do the ears feel? Those studs look hot, sweetie. I’m so glad you wanted two per ear….” Carmen giggled.

Brian rolled his eyes. There were times when it was just easier to let Carmen lead, which seemed to be all the time. The girl at the store had wanted to pierce every part of his body and he had walked it back to just two per ear, with Carmen egging her on.

But she did rub his rear end in a way that felt very very nice, and seemed to embrace showing him off as ‘her chick’. This lesbian stuff might be some fun, especially the way Mitzi’s appliances seemed to fire up his pleasure points.

The Mustang safely parked in a public garage, Brian was getting used to having guys stare uncontrollably at his boobs, in fact finding it amusing. The attendant couldn’t seem to keep his mouth closed when he was handing them their ticket, having made a huge display of opening their doors and helping them out of the car. It didn’t help that with his thick soled sandals, his nipples were much closer to the guy’s eye line than his own eyes.

The Square was busy with tourists and locals taking in the beautiful day, a balmy 70 degrees with a mild breeze blowing from the ocean. Surrounded by palaces of shopping and elegant hotels, it was the picture of a vibrant city.

“There it is, just around the corner after the Saint Francis lobby! Come on, Carmen!” Brian got into the urban flow with Carmen looking around. He stopped, and realized she had never been here before.

“Come on, girlfriend, dresses are waiting just for us. We can walk slow for you.” He took her hand and gently got her moving. Carmen was staring at a time machine of elegant shopping, in the days before malls, when cities were the center of convenience and commerce. Window shopping in actual outdoor windows, adorned with names from all around the world, designers and brands she had heard of, in fact had stolen a few times.

Her sordid past was like a bag of bones she dragged behind her, always creeping out whenever she felt like she was beginning to resemble a normal person. She wondered if she’d ever put it away.

GINA’S DIVAS a division of June’s Accessories was painted on the door of the seemingly small entrance. Inside Brian gawked at a spacious multilevel layout, wooden catwalks and stairs leading to small displays of clothing, providing a feeling of quiet and comfort , each seemingly it’s own little world separated by elevation and strategically placed ferns and plants.

They entered and a tall woman from three levels above them, wearing a simple floral print dress with glasses perched on her head waved.

“Marissa! I didn’t know you were coming yourself! I’ve been expecting your guests!”

It took Brain a full minute to realize that she was addressing him while he watched a flutter of flowing fabric and long legs pounding down several staircases.

Gina Davidowicz was almost the tallest woman Brian had ever seen, standing at a statuesque 6’ 4” in flats. Her height did not detract from a perfectly proportioned body, willowy not gaunt. She moved her glasses down to her nose and saw Brian was indeed not Marissa Dupre.

“Oh! My apologies! You resembled an old friend, almost my first customer. I’m so sorry! I’m Gina Davidowicz and welcome to my store! The home for fashions for the tall woman! Please, have some refreshments, Millie! Bring the tray!”

Brian took her proffered hand and gently grasped it.

“Marissa is my mother, Ms. Davidowicz. I’m Brianna and this is Carmen Diamond. Mom said you could help us find some dresses for this evening and she ordered some swimwear for me?” he said as they settled into some elegant Queen Anne chairs.

Mille, a mere six foot beauty, brought a tray of coffee, tea , water and several diet sodas. Grabbing a Diet Coke, Carmen thanked her and then selected a water for Brian.

“Oh! Of course, Brianna! You must be Brian’s sister. I remember meeting Brian when he was just six, oh that was so long ago and dear Bernie was so alive. I miss him so. And please call me Gina! “

A sadness passed over Brian, noted by Carmen, who also saw him shake it off. She puzzled out that Gina knew Brianna wasn’t quite who she presented, but had either been alerted by Marissa or was just very discreet.

“And Carmen Diamond, any relation to Mitzi?”

“Oh yes, he’s my Uncle.”

“Ahhhh. Mitzi is such a dear, he helped build my business early on with a lot of referrals. His customers did tend to be taller than your average girl. Please give him my regards, dear, it’s been too long since we’ve seen each other.” said Gina as she began to piece the puzzle together of the two guests.

“Now, let’s get to business, girls, I have a few levels we need to look at quickly and then get serious, since I understand you are the chef tonight for Brigit, Brianna? Please give her a kiss for me, she’s such a dear.”

They three trouped through several levels, listening to Gina describe the conspiracy of the fashion industry to force taller women into small selections and awful styles, or face the expense of custom work on their wardrobe. Carmen nodded at every detail, from shoes to pants, having faced a lifetime of limited selections. Brian just absorbed the flow of the place, and began wondering at the genius of the store layout architect. The feeling of privacy and intimacy in what was essentially an open grid of platforms in a five story building, was so well executed he thought he could do a paper on it next semester.

On the third platform, Carmen knew she was hooked on a peach colored sleeveless dress ending in a slight ruffle at the hem, which a crossed bodice that displayed her new assets without being too showy. Brian nodded appreciatively, flashing that smile that made Carmen tingle.

Brian had clung to her gently, which Carmen found a subtle change. She guessed Gina probably knowing who he was had rattled him a bit, and he let her take the lead, deferring to her judgment as he held up several selections.

Gina and Carmen both had Brian settled on a black cocktail dress with thin straps, driving him to get fitted for a strapless bra.

Twirling in front of a mirror, Brian was amazed. He saw Mom in the mirror, knowing she wore a similar dress on many occasions. His blonde hair framed his face and covered his slightly bulky shoulders with soft curls at the ends, just like hers. His face was hers. The prominent globes of his breasts were hers, caressed in the cups of the dress. His hips and rear were a little more prominent, but with his thicker waist it showed the same proportions as hers.

He noticed his hands were too big, not Mom’s delicate and graceful ones, but Dad’s larger, thicker fingered inheritance. He was also aware of the weight of the four earrings, small weight but so close to the center of balance, it intruded every time he moved his head suddenly.

“Brie, you look sooo hot in that!” Carmen gushed.

The technology again amazed him. He blushed, and looked at the red flush spread almost instantaneously across his cleavage, the chameleon color matching keying to his neck and face. He stood there and watched it fade, seemingly naturally.

“It’s like Marissa was here when we first met each other. That one is your dress, honey.” Gina said softly, her eyes misting over.

“I guess I’ll take this one, Gina. Right Carmen?” he looked to Carmen who gave a nod, smiling at the thought of getting Brian alone later that night.

Matching shoes were the next stop, some classic low heeled open toe sandals and a pair of clutch purses finished the ensembles.

Brian’s bikini fitting was the first time Carmen had seen him get flustered with his situation. After waiting outside for him to come out she entered the fitting room. She was amused at the panicked look on his face as he stood there like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car, too scared to walk outside and show her.

“Brie, what’s the problem, it doesn’t fit?” Carmen asked.

“It fits fine, but it’s like walking around in my underwear! For God’s sake, look at this! There’s nothing to it! My bra and panties cover more than this!”

Carmen was thinking the thong model was a touch extreme, but that she needed to put her foot down.

“Now, girlfriend, you like me prancing around in one, it’s your turn. Get used to it. Pick four and get on with it!”

Brian settled down and was soon displaying most of his breast flesh and butt cheeks with almost minimal fabric coverage for the store’s patronage to view. He quickly selected the four sets that seemed to support him the best and provided the most of a skimpy coverage selection.

He felt reassured that Carmen had ‘taken charge’.

Carmen gave his derriere several pats and shooed him back to the changing room. He giggled as the feeling of her touch tingled inside.

When she tried to present the corporate credit card to Gina, she was floored at her refusal.

“Carmen, dear, do you know who owns this store? June Carter, wife of John Carter, who owns half of Junecellular. And is Marissa’s partner. If they heard I didn’t comp you kids for a few dresses and bikini’s I’d never hear the end of it. It would just go from one pocket to another, and the bookkeeping would cost more than it’s worth. So, my treat, dearie, and please hug that teddy bear uncle of yours. And tell him I still have his size in stock, should he ever need it again.”

The couple left, after Gina presented her card to Carmen, with the invitation to come back anytime. A quick set of hugs and cheek kisses later, the couple returned to the parking garage with their bags.

San Francisco being the cultural phenomenon where reality usually exceeds reputation, the sight of two tall, pretty and big busted girls in revealing camisoles and tight jeans walking down the street, squeezing each other’s butts, and nibbling each other’s ears was taken in stride by the populace. While no one stared, the erotic levels of the men and women who watched them walking went up at least several notches and at least one fender bender could be attributed to their two block walk.

Their car retrieved by a drooling attendant, Carmen threw the keys to Brian.

“Brie, you know the city, and I’ll get us lost trying to get out of town in time to get to your Mom’s. “

Brian grinned, his initial anxiety of getting pulled over by a cop on the drive up and having to explain his appearance felt silly now. He knew he was prone to over thinking, over planning everything, coupled with a neatness fetish that could drive people crazy. Some came from his Dad, some came from Mom, some from Sean Taylor, the ‘security consultant’ who had taken him under her wing a few years ago, and some from Brigit, who ran their home with rigid proficiency.

He was getting more comfortable as Brianna, feeling himself being drawn into her personality, one that was still him, but emphasizing some other aspects that were usually submerged and pushing some others into the background. Maybe it was the increased sensitivity of his breasts, his wholly different responses from the vagina appliance, maybe it was Carmen’s shift to accommodate their new situation, her increasing assertiveness, maybe it was seeing Mom in the mirror, but Brianna felt a little looser, and maybe a touch more impulsive than Brian.

The sunny day had Brian pull the top down on the car, and both of them pulled their hair back into pony tails with some of their new accessories. It was a fantastic day for the ride across the bay and over into the heat in the valley, the kind of day convertibles use to justify their existence.

Bags safely in the trunk, Brian pulled out onto the city street and began to make his way to Interstate 80 and the Bay Bridge. Idling at a light, city traffic being fairly light in the early afternoon, he saw the familiar yellow Chevy low rider roll up behind him, just slowing to a stop.

“Oh shit” they both said in chorus. Carmen looked at him with the unstated question What are you going to do?

Brian answered with actions. Seeing Twix in the passenger side leaning out the window, his ear in a white bandage, he waited for the door to open all the way and Twix to get his feet on the street.

Idiot, he thought.

The light was yellow in the other direction and Brian anticipated the change to green by a good half second as he punched the accelerator and spun the wheel left, crossing two lanes and gunning up the hill on Powell Street, just missing a cable car clanging to a stop.

Slowing two blocks up, he saw the Chevy squeal around the corner and heard the big engine growl it’s way up the hill.

Damn, he’s got tall gears in that thing, he muttered to himself. The Ford was more set for highway cruising, not drag racing. Down on horsepower, he had agility and lower weight on his side.

“Buckle in tight, Carmen, this is gonna get hairy!” he yelled over the street noise as the blockage cleared and he punched through the hole.

“I see the asshole fixed his windshield” Carmen said, calmly. This was far from her first car chase.

Slamming left on California Street, he threw down into second as he ran the revs up while sliding the clutch into place, feeling the Pirelli’s grab the uneven concrete and stone, squealing on the steel cable car tracks.

“Has Twix ever been in this city before?” he yelled to Carmen.

“I don’t think so!” she answered.

Looking back at the low rider, a plan formulated in a split second. He continued up Nob Hill seeing the next intersection, the hilltop crest, was clear. The white tower of the Mark Hopkins Hotel was on the left, it’s courtyard entrance right off the Mason-California crossing. A cable car on the California Street run was just about to enter the crossing.

Twix was gaining on them, the Chevy grinding out torque to the drive wheels.

Just before they entered the intersection, Brian stood on the brakes and slid the rear out, squealing to a stop on a river of rubber in the hotel courtyard. Twix’s driver, Chico followed and was caught, having to correct back to avoid the slowly rolling cable car, causing him to shoot down Mason.

Mason was a pure San Francisco street, dropping at a staggering angle and the reason automatic transmission shops were a thriving business in the Bay area. Brian watched as the Chevy went airborne, and the world went into slow motion. He and Carmen stood up and watched the heavy nose contact first, heard the sound of crumpling metal, followed by the front suspension collapsing as the rear contacted concrete. Two wheels on the left side were askew as the already low to the ground Chevy slid down Mason, shooting a stream of contact sparks.

“We need to talk about that guy, Carmen. This is getting out of hand.” Brian said, pulling out of the hotel lot to the stares of a bewildered doorman and the valets.

Fluorescent lights cast their bright wash over the rows of shelving as Brian mused over the shrimp in the seafood case.

“Well, Carmen, what’s with this maniac chasing you?”

Carmen had retreated into herself after the car chase, so Brian had said nothing as they drove over the Bay Bridge, through Oakland and then east into the valley where Pleasanton sat, astride Interstate 580.

“It’s my fault.” Carmen said, each word seeming to burn as it came out. “He thinks he loves me.”

“Kind of odd way to show it, giving you that stuff…”

“Dammit, Brie, I made him do it! He didn’t want to, he wanted me…”

Brian saw she was on the verge of some painful emotions. He snuggled up to her and stroked her hair, pulling the raven tresses aside so he could nuzzle her neck.

The butcher behind the counter managed to drop his cleaver with a clang on the floor as he observed the two girls being intimate one counter over. The teenager counting out Brian’s order of precisely six dozen jumbo shrimp lost track for the third time, his jaw descending lower as Brian’s lips pulsed just below Carmen’s right ear.

Carmen’s breathing smoothed out, and Brian disengaged, continuing to gently squeeze her hand.

“Can’t you just buy this in pounds, Ma’am?” the teenager plaintively whined, counting to 72 seeming an insurmountable task.

“Oh, honey, you can do it, I know you can.” Brian fell into his role, standing with a hand on his hip and gently thrusting his chest forward, just enough to open his cleavage without being obvious. Carmen batted her eyes in support, and was considerably less subtle about using her new accoutrements to fluster the poor kid.

No way I’m going to let him out flirt me! She thought, finding Brian’s ability to pose both amusing and amazing.

Damn, this girl stuff is fun sometimes, especially when you’ve been on the other team Brian smiled internally, finding his new body’s affect on people nothing short of incredible.

With an unaccustomed burst of focus and drive, the clerk closed his eyes and successfully made it to 72, under Brian’s watchful eye.

Wandering over to the produce section, he began searching for some fresh basil. Carmen came back from some side jaunt and threw a couple of boxes into their cart.

“What’s that?” he asked, eyeing the pink shrink wrapped boxes adorned with flowers.

“Dessert.” Carmen giggled, showing him the package of strawberry scented douche. “Jerri told you to use these, sweetie…”

As Carmen’s implication came clear, it suddenly rattled him. She planned on continuing their new, intimate relationship, despite some minor adjustments. Oh boy, this was going to get weird…..

“And Twix is someone we’ll avoid, Brie. I just want him to cool off some…” Carmen whispered.

“ Carmen, it’s been a few years and he doesn’t seem to be cooling off below the level of hot lava. Maybe we need to call the cops?”

“Not unless he does something crazy…”

Brian now worried what level of terrorism was required for Carmen to classify it as ‘crazy’, but decided to drop it for now. Besides, he had to find some proscuitto ham before they checked out. He knew the rest of the ingredients for the feast were either at home or about to be delivered.

After a painful debate with the deli clerk, he decided the prepackaged proscuitto was superior to the fatty slab they offered to slice for him, so he settled for it.

“Brie, I need some blush and some eye shadow before we go, and I bet the drug store next door has a better selection….” Carmen stated.

Nodding, Brian realized he was going to need some of his own. Not going to borrow Mom’s he mused. He guessed he could have saved himself some grief by doing this test the easy way, just wear the appliances and record the results, not really attempting to play the part, but part of him refused. Brigit was special to him and her birthdays were always dress up affairs, a concession to her constant railing about ‘you casual Californians’ in her Irish brogue.

If he was going to dress up, looking like he was, that meant doing it right. A worry about what that meant crept through his head, and he banished it as Carmen squeezed his ass again. Oooohh that felt good he shivered. It was a different sensation than he remembered before he wore the appliances.

After a half an hour of searching the long aisle of cosmetics, Brian pleaded with Carmen to make up her mind about the eye shadow, that the Evening Flare coloring was perfect for her new dress, and they needed to get moving, he had a dinner for fourteen to make and a cake to bake.

“Brie, you are really turning into some kind of Martha Stewart. I am amazed.”

Blushing furiously, he felt embarrassed for the first time. He knew he was obsessively neat, fussy, and a geek, and now the girl he loved was making fun of him.

Carmen read her boyfriend’s face and mentally kicked herself, hard. Shit! He was so self assured! And here I go making him feel like he’s some kind of mutant or something. Carmen Diamond, you are a destructive force to the men in your life.

“Oh no, honey, I didn’t mean it that way! Please! Look, you just are so damn good at so many things, you scare me! You cook, you drive like a madman, you graduate early, with honors, you can even play volleyball and fight. And in bed, Madre Dios, you make me sing. I am so lucky to be with you….”

Carmen hugged Brian and they held each other for almost a full minute.

Dupre Home, Pleasanton, California, July 14, Current Year

Carmen was always amazed at the interior of the house. Nestled on a cul-de sac backing to hilly open land, it was nice looking, but not like some mansion on “Lifestyles of the Rich and Obnoxious”. Inside, it became apparent that the Dupres were not cash poor. The artwork, the furniture and the appliances were all very expensive and very tasteful. It made her feel uncomfortable; reminding her that she didn’t belong here.

The house was unoccupied except for the resident Junecellular security guy. The guard had nodded and smiled at the pair, obviously clued into Brian’s altered appearance. He then went back to tending his hobby garden, a concession he had negotiated with Brigit over several months of hard argument.

“The wildflowers are a nice touch, Hank.” Brian had said.

Hank looked up and smiled. “Looking a little different, Miss Brianna. Nice legs. You too, Miss Diamond.”

Brian wondered if the whole world had been sent the memo about him.

Traipsing the groceries directly into the kitchen, Brian asked Carmen to set their clothing bags in the guest bedroom.

“I’ve got a lot of prep work to do here, and we can get dressed later. You want to help?” he asked.

“Sure, teach me something useful, girlfriend. I’ve never made a cake before, Momma always did that.”

Brian began arranging the various ingredients and tools necessary for the production. A dinner for fourteen, a cake, various wines and coffees, all threaded into a seamless project plan. Dad was a hobby chef, and Brigit was an excellent cook. Brian found it a useful skill, and very relaxing.

Carmen was amazed at the ease with which he tackled the effort, knowing her ‘help’ was probably going to make the task more complicated.

“Ok, cake first. Black Forest with chocolate bark and cherries. Hand me the flour, Carm.”

“Where’s the mix?”

Brian eyed her with a stare that told her that was the wrong thing to say.

“No mix, Carmen. We do this from the ground up.”

She watched as he began throwing the batter ingredients together, and giggled as he touched her nose with a finger of flour. After kissing it off he walked her through the process of mixing and pouring the result into the mold.

Cake safely in one of the three ovens, they began tackling the shelling and butterfly de-veining of the mass of fresh shrimp, a job made easier for two by the large sink and disposal, allowing them room to work side by side. Their reflexes not quite matched to their new bodies, their breasts made frequent contact, making the chore subject to laughter and serious giggling.

“Don’t let me break anything up, kids!” Jerri’s voice carried through, startling the two of them.

The lab tech was dressed for the evening, quite a change from her normal jeans. Her hair in a pretty upsweep, make up subdued and a simple blue dress belied the image she had cultivated with them. The Goth soccer mom was gone, hidden under this pretty suburban woman.

“Brianna, I’ve got that Greek salad stuff you said sounded good, and I had to make two stops to find decent kalmata olives and feta. So you want me to get it together now?” Jerri said.

“Sure, Jerri! Thanks, it will be a big help. I’ve got the steaks for grilling, and after this shrimp appetizer, we then just need to get the lyonaisse potatoes ready.” Brian answered while he continued shelling.

“Honey, let me tell you, you let the men grill. That’s the prerogative you get, comes with the special package you got. Open flames are for the guys, sweetie. Joe will do fine, just make sure he knows which are to be cooked how. He does it at home all the time.”

“Joe Bean? He’s your….??” Brian looked surprised.

“For ten years now, Brianna. When he took the job as head of security for your Mom, I was part of the package. Been fun, too. Much better than that big old company back in New Jersey. And yeah, that makes me Jerri Bean, I’ve heard it before…bad Japanese accent and all.”

Carmen finished the shrimp, and Brian had a huge bowl of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, white wine and chopped garlic ready for them to marinate.

“What now, Chef?” Carmen asked, kissing Brian on the cheek while she grabbed a runaway olive Jerri was chasing as it rolled across the counter.

“Now, we peel and slice potatoes, slice onions and the get the steaks ready for grilling. Setting Carmen up at the cutting board, he saw she was very handy with a knife, not making a single errant move as the skins flew off the russets.

Checking his cake, he set about cleaning and then pounding green peppercorns and garlic into the New York strip steaks, fourteen perfectly matched cuts from their local meat market.

“Has either of you two heard from Lars? I’ve been trying to reach him all day.” Jerri said, while adding oil to her bowl of greens.

“Nope, we’ve been downtown shopping. Not a word.” Carmen said, slicing the potatoes with a precise eye.

“Damn that man. I’ve told him to have his phone on. Drives me crazy. Well, he’ll be here tonight.” Jerri rolled her eyes.

“Ok! We’ve got an hour, and then we assemble the appetizer and add the icing to the cake. I’m going to shower and change. The guest should be arriving in two hours. Carmen?” Brian said.

“Me too, Cities always make me feel covered in soot, not to mention getting hit by bugs at high speed in your car.” Carmen giggled.

“I’ll keep an eye on things, you two go make yourselves beautiful. Brianna, you want me to get the icing ready?” Jerri smiled, continuing to finish her salad.

“Sure, Jerri, all the stuff is out next to the mixer.”

Grabbing Carmen’s hand, Brian led her upstairs to the guest bedroom.

Carmen felt more secure with Brie holding her hand. Somehow his touch offset her out of place feeling. Funny, I’m thinking of her as Brie, not Brian…I mean him not her,,,,oh screw it…

A few minutes later, Brie was kissing her in the double sized massage shower, their hair safely encased in large plastic shower caps. His lips perched over her right nipple as the twenty water jets pulsed on them both, and then began to surround it with a slowly rhythmic stroking of his tongue.

Carmen grabbed his soft buttocks and gently squeezed as the warm water flowed over them both. Her own tongue found his breast and worked down to the erect nipple protruding from his soft warm globe.

Brian began moaning wildly. Carmen began soaping him down with the bath gel and their bodies joined, rubbing up and down each other until they both collapsed on the floor, giggling hysterically.

“Brie.”

“Carm?”

“You have guests coming.”

“Shit.”

Brian scrambled off the floor reluctantly, the spray bouncing off his body in a multitude of directions. Carmen laughed and slowly got up, finishing her rinse before he shut the water flow off.

“I could get used to this shower, hon.” she said, holding him from behind.

“Me too, but we have to get going. Lots of stuff to do.”

Toweling off, they got down to the business of dressing. Brian knew girls could move like lightning getting ready when they had to, and this occasion qualified. A flurry of body powder, lingerie, make up, pantyhose, dresses and hair brushing ensued.

Carmen felt good in the peach dress. It had been a long time since she had dressed up, and it just felt good. She was satisfied with her long black hair, and Brie had been right about the eye shadow. Her décolletage spread out much more than ever before, and she smiled to herself. Not bad, sexy in a Hollywood starlet kind of way.

She glanced over at Brie, who just finished his makeup, making those blue eyes come out even more. Dating a hot blonde, girl. Damn if she doesn’t look good enough to eat…her? him? …confusing…

“You look really good, Carmen. Very hot…” Brie smiled his winning smile, now set off by lipstick and expressive eyes which seemed larger and even more absorbing than usual.

Carmen blushed and smiled, then struck a provocative pose.

“You too, girlfriend, you’re scrumptious. Can you relax those shoulders a bit?” Carmen asked Brian, who was checking his appearance in the full length mirror.

She watched as Brian closed his eyes and then saw his shoulders drop, softening up his appearance an amazing amount for such a small change. The blonde curls flowing to mid shoulder blade helped mask his build even more.

Taking in a breath, Carmen steeled her nerves for the event. She knew she looked good, but felt like people could see right through her. Hey, look at the little slut junkie thief street gangsta girl….

Jerri threw them aprons as they entered the kitchen, after pausing to gush over them.

“Carmen! Oh that’s so pretty! Brianna! Oh my but you clean up well! You are the going to be the belle of the ball tonight! I feel outclassed, so I guess I’ll just have to blindfold the husband…” Jerri laughed.

“Not while he’s grilling the steaks, Jerri!” Brian said, while tying the apron behind his back.

“Icing’s ready, and the cherry fill. All set for your artistic touch, Brianna.” Jerri chimed in.

“Ok, can you two handle the shrimp? Just take each one out of the marinade, careful, they are slippery with the olive oil, wrap it in a basil leaf and then roll a strip of proscuitto around it like this, then skewer it, about six to a skewer. They only take about ten minutes to grill. I’ll do the cake.” Brian demonstrated for the two helpers, who proceeded to set up an assembly line to handle the mountain of crustaceans.

Carmen and Jerri found the advice about ‘slippery’ was an understatement, causing a raucous contest on who could get a whole half dozen on a skewer without one popping out of their fingers and escaping down the disposal.

Taking his two cake layers, Brian went to work, slathering the cherry filling and then layering on the icing with deft strokes. After adding a generous amount of dark chocolate bark, thin and fragile to the top and sides, he got out the pastry bag and began writing the birthday message on the sixteen inch diameter surface.

“There she is! Carmen! How are you! Oh, you look wonderful! That dress is beautiful!” Marissa Dupre swept into the room, followed by a six foot tall black woman with short cropped curly hair and a much shorter man, olive skinned, thin, almost gaunt, with a thin lipped smile.

Carmen steadied her fluttering insides. Marissa and the legendary Sean Taylor, also tall and beautiful. Oh Shit. Now the poor little street kid has to impress Wonder Woman AND Cat Woman. Oh Shit.

Carmen had extracted some of Sean’s past from Mitzi. She surmised that the shorter guy was Larry Elger, a very shady spook type who was freelance. Uncle Raymond was very respectful when it came to him, the way you were respectful of a deadly snake. Larry was a good guy unless you pissed him off. And if Uncle Raymond was wary of him, then Holy Shit.

Sean Taylor was retired Army, and Uncle Ray told her she was a helo pilot until she got into a bad crash, which damn near killed her, and left her painfully disfigured. Somewhere in Somalia. She and Larry were a team, and Uncle Ray had hinted they were more than just a team, they were a couple. Carmen noticed the high neck blouse with long sleeves, and the gloves Sean wore. Must’ve been a bad crash.

Brian had told her that Marissa and her partner used these two for some very complex security work for their company. That covered a lot of ground in Carmen’s mind. She had seen those looks on the street. These two were familiar with death, it was something in their eyes. Daddy had that look too, especially when he just came home on leave.

Carmen felt her knees begin to buckle as Marissa came over and hugged her, with Sean close behind.

Exchanging greetings, she felt the warmth of Marissa’s hug, the genuine feeling it conveyed. Carmen knew her issues with Marissa were hers and hers alone, that bag of bones she carried around with her.

Sean made a direct beeline for Brie.

“Little sister is really grown up! My God, you are your mother’s daughter! Look Larry!” Sean opened up a wide expanse of brilliant white teeth in her coffee and cream face. Larry’s smile widened a millimeter or so and he gave a nod.

Carmen heard her whisper in Brian’s ear. “Mitzi told me he’d surprise us with his new stuff, but this, Brian, oh wow! Now introduce me to Carmen, you little twerp…”

Brie turned and began the series of introductions, Sean to Carmen first. Carmen felt that Sean was sizing her up for a pine box as she scanned her. The woman was beautiful, tall, obviously in excellent physical condition and very scary. And Brian was her charge to protect.

“Carmen, I’m so pleased to meet you. Remind me to catch you later when we have a quiet moment…” Sean said as Brie began putting out soft drinks, wine, beer and various snacks. Carmen’s heart stopped for a moment, and then Sean smiled and moved on to meet Jerri.

“Jerri! How are you? Joe coming soon?” Sean went on, while Carmen decided to exhale for what seemed like the first time in ten minutes. She could guess at what Sean would tell her…

The party began to pick up speed as Joe Bean showed up and was immediately dragooned by Jerri into getting the gas grill fired up. Brie helped him lay the shrimp skewers on the lower rack and went over the steak set up for him.

Carmen thought Joe looked like a high school principal or an accountant. Average size, wire rimmed glasses, partially balding, he was thoroughly undistinguished. She also knew that was a mask. Marissa would not have him as security chief unless he was really good. Jerri and he were a fine match, she teased him, he smiled and occasionally came back with a real twisted barb which was very funny.

Marissa and Brie were the center of attention, everyone commenting on how much they looked alike, everyone just falling into the role that Brianna had always been Brianna, and little mention was made of Brian at all.

Carmen’s out of place feelings were closing in more and more on her until Mitzi arrived. Uncle Ray came in and hugged his niece, a big booming laugh echoing off the walls, followed by Mort Zucker, Uncle Ray’s boyfriend.

Mort took her hand and kissed it, bowing.

“I do declare Miss Carmen, you look fabulous tonight” Mort said, his raspy voice sounding comforting. Mort stood at six four and weighed in at about 250 pounds, looking small only in comparison to Uncle Ray. Tonight he looked great, dressed in a perfectly fitting suit with an open collar shirt, giving truth to the belief that gay guys know how to dress better than anyone. Carmen caught a glimpse of the Beretta automatic under the coat. Mort was also known as ‘Red Five”, one of the guys who had been brought in by Joe Bean to provide security for Marissa’s company.

She had met Mort a few times before, usually coming and going with her Uncle. Uncle Ray may joke about being gay to close friends, but he was very discreet about his relationships. Mort and Mitzi had been a couple for the last four years, keeping separate lives. Carmen knew they seemed to be good for each other, and Uncle Ray deserved someone to make him happy.

Brigit showed up, uncharacteristically bubbly, probably due to her new boyfriend. Billy Boyle was a tall, craggy Irishman, with chiseled features and full white hair. He stood with the bearing of his thirty years of being a cop with the NYPD, retiring as a Captain. Twinkling eyes surveyed the room, which he worked with the ease of a natural politician, that being a large part of an executive level job on the force.

Carmen was totally charmed as he took her hand and made her feel as if she was the most important person there when he exchanged greetings with her.

Brigit hugged her and Carmen gave her a kiss for more than her birthday. Brigit was one of those people who the phrase ‘salt of the earth’ was invented for. Her attitude and tough minded approach to life reminded Carmen of her own mother.

A short woman with a young girl followed her inside the house.

“Carmen, I’d like you to meet Billy’s daughter and granddaughter, Molly and Colleen. They keep twisting his arm to move away from New York and live out here in the sunshine.” Brigit said, digging Billy in the ribs with a good natured jab.

“Molly, Colleen, this is Carmen Diamond, she’s Brianna’s friend, and is also the niece of that really big one over there.” Brigit went, as Carmen picked up the cue that not everyone was in on who exactly Brianna was.

Great. Hi, meet the Lesbian girlfriend Carmen thought to herself.

“Brigit’s told us so much about you, Carmen, how you and Brianna go to the same school, and you’re an athlete. Pleased to meet you.” Molly said, a small red headed woman nicely dressed in a skirted suit. Carmen guessed she was in her thirties.

“You play beach volleyball! That’s so cooooool! I’m Colleen!” the young girl was at the coltish stage, about thirteen, with red hair like her mother’s and freckles. She was wearing a new dress, one which she wore with some obvious discomfort.

Carmen smiled and felt warmed. She had been introduced as a somebody, and it felt good.

She observed Marissa and Brie, fussing over their guests, Brie directing the food out, bouncing around between the kitchen and the grill, where Joe Bean was talking with Larry while keeping a watchful eye on the sizzling meat.

Carmen was crossing the patio and overheard them.

“I don’t know, Larry. We’ve gotten three data anomalies in the security system. If we’ve been penetrated, they are damn good. The kind who leave no tracks.” Joe said, flipping a piece of steak.

“Inside job?” Larry said in a whisper.

“Most likely. Someone’s funneling data out.”

Brie came up and handed her a plate of the grilled shrimp.

“Try these, Carm, they’re going fast!”

Carmen took a bite and the sizzled, salty flavor of the proscuitto merged with the meaty crisp prawns.

“Ohh, these are gooood, Brie!”

“Well, you did make them, Carmen, you and Jerri did all the real work. Now we need to get everyone sitting down, I’m ready to serve.” Brie kissed her cheek, and began moving people to the dining room.

Thirteen people sat around the long oak dining room table, Brigit at the head of the table, flanked by Billy and Marissa. Carmen was flanked by Sean and Brie’s empty seat, her girlfriend serving Brigit’s meal where everyone else had assembled a plate in the kitchen and brought it with them. One empty chair was noticeable, Lars Bludge.

“Joe, tell Hank to come inside and eat. Lars isn’t showing and we can survive a few minutes without him outside.” Marissa said in a sweet but clear tone.

Joe knew better than to get in a huff, especially since he had other men outside that Marissa didn’t know about. He smiled and got up.

Jerri got a worried look on her face, shared by Mitzi. Carmen could read that something was not feeling right. Hank arrived and everyone began eating, the conversation turning to the steaks, the potatoes and Jerri’s Greek salad, compliments flying all around.

Carmen was amazed at how Brie had just pulled off a dinner party with flawless precision. She worried if she could have gotten a pizza delivery to work as smoothly. Marissa was so beautiful and so nice, and damned if Brie wasn’t just like her! This was her…his world. Smart, successful people. Tough, beautiful. Police Captains, scientists, millionaires…and here’s the little street junkie girl. I can’t even decide on a major and I suspect Uncle Ray pulled in some favors to get me into Stanford..

The party broke from the table, gathering into small knots. Carmen felt a tug on her arm. Sean. Here it comes…..the you’re not good enough for Brian lecture…funny, I always thought Marissa would do this herself…..

“Lets get some air, Carmen.” Sean said, her smile easing across her face.

Carmen followed Sean across the patio and past the pool. Much as she tried to keep her face, a tear rolled down her cheek.

Sean turned to her. “Carmen, Brian really likes you. I’ve watched him grow up, and he’s very important to me.”

Carmen nodded, waiting for the But….

“I want you to know I checked you out. Marissa was fine after just meeting you, but I’m a suspicious bitch. I’ve known Mitzi for years. I also know Lady Jean. She speaks very highly of you, young lady. So does Doctor Peters. But the one person who spoke for you first was your Dad.” Sean said, looking into her eyes with a penetrating gaze.

Carmen felt a rush of emotion and looked at Sean, pleading for her to continue.

Sean nodded. “I flew helos in the Army. In Africa for a while. You must’ve been about seven. Sergeant Major Diamond was somewhere he wasn’t, and they needed a pilot who could get him from where he wasn’t and make him not there, quietly and fast. I was volunteered. He came home wounded that time, you must remember. You probably don’t know he carried three guys through fire to my Blackhawk and threw them inside. We were lucky to get out with only a few holes. During the flight back, he told me about the prettiest little girl in the world. He had to get home to see her again.”

Carmen was crying, sobbing. She let Sean take her into an embrace. When she calmed down, Sean continued.

“When I was laid up and in a lot of pain, your Dad came to see me. I lost my own family too, both Momma and Dad, and other than Larry, George was one of my few visitors. Of course, I only saw him twice, his schedule being what it was. He also made sure I met Mitzi when I needed prosthetics. He talked about his pretty little girl both times.

“Carmen, when my parents died, I joined the Army, partly because I wanted to kill my old life. You lost your Dad and your Mom a lot younger than me. And you wanted to die. You aren’t the only one, honey. What’s important is two things. You aren’t dead, and Brian loves you. So what are you intentions?”

Carmen looked at Sean. No threat on her face, just a question.

“I love him. I don’t know, I’m not right, I’m not ….” Carmen stammered.

“Got it in one, sweetie. Forget the rest of that crap. Sergeant Major George Washington Diamond’s girl is as fine a catch as Brian could get. Anyone who says different has to deal with Marissa and me. Now I expect to hand over the “Watching Over Brian” duty sometime, and you’d better be ready to take over. Especially now that he’s so cute, he’ll be fighting off guys with a stick. Lots of girls too.”

Carmen threw her arms around Sean and held her.

“Carmen…one thing. You beat a tough thing, the junk. You have a lot of people who can help you. Don’t forget it, or I will kick your ass from here to wherever. Got that, honey?” Sean’s fierce look returned.

Carmen nodded. She decided Sean was much better as a friend. She felt ecstatic, lighter than air. A weight was gone. Sean thought she was good. The Cat Woman seal of approval.

The bag of bones, the skeletons of her past fell from her hand, making not a sound as it faded into the dim recesses where metaphors go. Hey, I know about metaphors, I’m not so dumb…

“Come on, dear, we need to mingle, and Brigit will be having that yummy cake soon….” Sean grasped her hand and led the smiling Carmen back across the patio.

Carmen left her issues behind her as they rejoined the party. Her step was lighter and she felt more relaxed and in tune with her surroundings than she had since before she started college. This was Brian's world and now, it could be hers as well.

Looking around, Carmen saw Brie talking to Colleen over in a corner, the young girl in rapt attention, and Carmen noticing Brie twirling a strand of hair, a sure sign of nervousness.

Brian wondered what to say. His current position was the most challenging one he had encountered yet in this masquerade.

“Brianna, there’s this boy. He so ewww most of the time. I don’t know what to do. I kind of like him…” Colleen asked with an earnest look combined with freckles. She was clearly having serious anxiety.

Brian, an only child, with little experience with young girls was close to swallowing his tongue. She wants some advice from an older woman he thought. Sheesh

“Colleen, does he ignore you or annoy you?” summoning all he knew about behavior of pre-teen boys, he figured that one was safe.

“He calls me skinny! And freckle head! And carrot top! Oooooh, I hate it!”

“Does he insult all the girls, Colleen, or just you?” another stab in the dark. He knew boys only teased girls to get a reaction.

“Usually just me.”

“Sounds like he thinks you’re a fashion model thin, beautiful redhead with freckles that drive him wild, but he’s just way too immature to say it…” Brian scrambled for a way to some closure before he began visibly sweating. His meal was still pushing against the waist control appliance, which he desperately wanted to adjust open just a bit.

Colleen visibly brightened and bounced up. “Right! That’s right! I’ll tell him that next time!”

Panic seeped into Brian as he worried the impact of his off hand advice.

“Colleen, are you bigger than he is?”

“Sure, he’s shorter and I can always beat him at arm wrestling..”

A sigh of relief washed over Brian. Well, girls need to stick together … he mused with a trace of irony.

“Thanks Brianna. I’ll bet you never had boys making fun of you…”

“You’d have been really surprised to see me at your age, Colleen. I guess it’s time to serve the cake, let’s go find Brigit, shall we?”

Birthday. Magnificent cake mostly eaten, Brigit’s candles blown out, traditional songs sung, photos taken, gifts exchanged.

Brigit kissed Brie and went on about her cooking talents, how she loved the party and so on.

Carmen looked over the scene and felt a part of something new. A new family. With wonderful and strange people. Uncle Raymond and a whole lot more. Sean looked over at her and smiled. Marissa was happy when she and Brie were together. Damn! Wonder Woman and Cat Woman think I’m ok! Maybe it’ll be alright. And Daddy. Daddy talked to me one more time.

Carmen decided she would get ready to take over the “Brian Watch”.

The guests all departed, and Brigit on her day off, Marissa was packing for a midnight flight to New York.

“I’ll be gone a week, these damn bankers need reassurance on the new research, which means they need to see me twist in the wind on their home turf. Sean’s coming along for the shopping, right, Sean?” Marissa said, hugging Carmen and Brian together.

“You get much better deals from the back of a Buick in Brooklyn, Marissa. But you never want to do that kind of shopping. Downtown is a fun place to look, though.” Sean said.

“Oh you, you love it and you’ve said so! Plus, you scare the bankers. Let’s go, we need to catch this flight! Love you! Bye!!!” Marissa and Sean ran out the door while Hank loaded their bags in the car.

“Girlfriend, we’re alone.” Carmen said, licking her lips at Brie.

“Well, except for Hank, but he has an “I See Nothing” attitude unless it’s a direct threat to the company policy.”

“I was thinking more of a direct threat to you, Brie.”

Brian looked at Carmen, her face lighter, happier than almost any time he had seen it before, with a new glint in her eye. She strode forward and grabbed his face in her hands, her tongue slowly touching his lips, outlining them, before entering his mouth to encounter his own.

Carmen led him upstairs, back to the guest bedroom.

“I’ve been wanting to do this since you tried that dress on, Brie. You are sooooo hot, it’s making me tingle. Just relax.” Carmen whispered in his ear.

She began unzipping his dress, slowly, while moving her other hand up his thigh. Throwing the garment aside, she removed his pantyhose quickly, but lingered then, touching his breasts through the bra, gently, with just a fingertip motion. Brie reached back and slid the bra around, moving the clasp to the front, then parting it. It joined the dress on the floor.

Carmen began unzipping herself, and Brie aided, large hands stroking her shoulders and aiding the descent of the peach ruffles to the floor. Hosiery and brassiere gone, she began the rhythmic kissing exploration of Brie’s chest and neck. Brie clung to her, moaning, moaning ever louder as she continued her pulsing tongue.

She worked her way down to Brie’s panties, opening them, smelling the strawberry scent. Always liked strawberries… Her fingers found the opening and began gentle stroking. Brie was twisting, grabbing onto Carmen’s back and shoulders as Carmen continued. She moved her face down and replaced her fingers with her tongue.

Brian screamed in pleasure, eyes closed. Carmen’s hands began manipulating his nipples while she continued to use her tongue in his vagina. He moaned and began shaking his head back and forth.

Suddenly, he was shaking all over, then fell back. He crawled over and grabbed Carmen, cuddling up to her, holding her arm with both of his hands.

“Oh Carmen. Oh . That was… oh Carmen”

A wide smile crossed Carmen’s face as she held Brie, still quivering. After a few minutes, she felt a tongue in her ear.

“Payback, girlfriend, payback”

Carmen felt her panties coming down and fingers making slow circles on her mons. Strong but soft hands moved her on her back and the roles reversed. Brie worked like a sculptor, removing some invisible layers from her body, each one increasing the sensations as it fell away. Her thighs were vibrating as he used his fingertips to make slow upward motions along them.

She felt his tongue enter and gripped his ass, making him cry out with her, his muffled as he spoke into her.

After a while, they collapsed, his head resting on her shoulder.

“I could go on all night.”

“Me too.”

“You’re fantastic.”

“You too.”

“We need to get to the lab.”

“I’m beat.”

“Traffic sucks in the morning.”

“Now there’s a good word…sucking…”

“I thought you wanted to go…”

“Oh shit, yeah. We can fly this time of night. Let’s go.”

“We already flew, honey. But yeah, let’s go.”

Carmen sipped at a coffee mug while keeping one hand on the wheel, watching for CHP as the speedometer hovered around 85 MPH. Feeling comfortable again in her cami and jeans and warm in one of Marissa’s sweatshirts she watched the hypnotic affect of the white dotted highway lines blur by.

Brian looked cute in a pink sweatsuit Carmen had grabbed from the same closet, also Marissa’s. She had taken Carmen aside and told her to borrow liberally from her wardrobe before she left, that they were all six feet tall, ‘overly endowed’ and clothes that fit were hard to find.

She had then kissed her and asked her to look after her boy.

“Carmen, you’re family now. At least as far as I’m concerned.”

Carmen had cried her eyes out as Marissa was driven away.

“What did you and that cute little Colleen talk about, Brie?”

Brian opened his eyes and looked around, the normal re-orientation process when a person wakes up in a moving car.

“Just some advice on boys, Carm. You know…girl talk..”

Carmen laughed out loud.

“Girl talk. Oh my. Any other guy and I’d be calling her mother. You, I can guess you did the best you could..”

Brian related the conversation and Carmen smiled.

“Not all that bad, Brie. Not too bad at all.”

“I’ve been wondering about this tech, Carmen. You think I’m acting different?”

“Well, sex is different.”

“Not that, dammit, I meant me…my personality..”

“Ok. Let’s see. You seem to be really getting into this role, but that’s you. Maybe you seem a little looser? A little less tight ass white guy?” Carmen said, hoping Brian was in a thinking and not a feeling mood. This conversation could get ugly, fast.

“You may be right. I do feel different. I wonder how much of your personality is driven by what you feel. Stub your toe, you get grouchy, have headcold, you feel irritable…”

Carmen tried to check her speed and was confounded by her own breasts. Damn, these take getting used to….

“It’s not like you’re someone else, Brie. Just parts of you are more there and up front than usual, and some others are in the background. You worried about being a girl?”

“I don’t know. Shouldn’t I be?”

“Look, BRIAN. I know who the hell you are under those boobies. You’re my guy. Right now, you get a chance to play a game, be someone else, and you are not the first girl I’ve had sex with, but wow, you are the best. I’m fine with my sweetie Brie being around for a while. Just lay back and enjoy it, honey. You know you’re gonna do the whole test anyway, once you make a promise, especially to Uncle Ray, you’re gonna finish the job. Just friggin relax, girlfriend, and enjoy the ride. You get a vacation from yourself. Go with it!” Carmen slapped his thigh and giggled.

Brian felt a calmness roll over him, a surrender to the logic. What the hell, that sex WAS fun….and for the first time in years, I have nothing to do, no papers, no tests….

“Carm, since we’re comparing notes, what were you and Sean talking about?”

She turned to him and grinned.

“Just girl talk, sweetie. About you. No big deal…”

Brie closed his eyes again, a smile on his face as he lay back on the headrest. Carmen wondered What makes him so special? He’s got a whole flock of Amazon Guardian Angels protecting him. And I just got asked to be the new Junior Assistant Angel In Training….well it’s a step up from junkie slut street gangsta girl….

The warehouse district was deserted, as one would expect at 3 in the morning. Carmen rolled up and parked in front of the huge garage bay door.

“The damn remote’s not working, Brie, can you go use the key?”

Brian got out, making sure he closed the car door, and began fumbling in his purse for his key ring. Finding it, he inserted it into the security panel.

Nothing. No response. This was strange.

Carmen’s phone rang.

“Carmen! Are you at the Loft?” Mitzi’s voice lost it joking quality. Carmen could hear the deadly serious tones.

“We just pulled up? What’s wrong?” Carmen could hear what sounded like gunshots on Mitzi’s end of the line.

“Get away! Now! Grab Brian and get outta town! I’ll call you soon. Just get away and go to ground!” Mitzi cut off the call as Carmen heard Mort yelling about throwing him a spare clip in the background.

Brian looked up as a Chevy van consisting mostly of rust careened around the corner and Twix jumped out. He stood about half a block away.

“Brian! Get in the car! Right Fucking Now!” Carmen screamed, her head sticking out the window. The top had been up to ward off the night chill.

Hell broke into reality as the blast shook the top floor, blowing the walls out, window glass showering the street. As the sound wave broke over them, the next set of charges went on the ground floor, imploding the structural supports of the building.

Carmen watched as Brian was blown back by the concussion wave. The windshield sheltered her from the shock. Flames bellowed out, missing Brian by mere feet, receding into the creaking, heaving mass of steel and concrete. The van was in flames and Twix had been thrown across the entire street. The steel bay door saved Brian’s life, taking the force and holding the great bulk of it back.

Carmen got out, adrenaline driving her to grab the unconscious Brian and throw him into the car’s back seat, his legs askew over the folded front passenger chairback.

The building was creaking, a low rumble growing from the ground. Carmen slammed into the driver’s seat and threw the shift lever into reverse, the clutch squealing as gears engaged and engine torque flowed to the Pirelli’s.

A concrete slab from the top floor fell where the Mustang had just been as Carmen looked over her shoulder, rolling as far away from the dying warehouse as fast as possible. Pieces of rebar stuck out of the broken wall, resembling a dying spider, legs broken.

She headed north. It’s was better to go to ground with some help. And she knew just the gangsta girls who could help her. She reached back, making sure Brie had a pulse.