The Girl He Could Be - Part 6

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October in Florida was still very warm, and the heat rose from the pavement as they walked to Pam's car. The cool breeze, blowing through his hair as they drove with the windows down, felt wonderful.

He looked up at the small, white, puffy clouds, and his heart soared. His wildest dream was coming true. They waited in the car while Patty went in for the cash. Tim tucked the two hundred dollars in his purse. It was amazing how comfortable he felt out in the daylight with the girls. They provided him with a perfect smokescreen. Tim spent the maximum time he could under the lamp without burning.

It had been a little strange, walking into the woman's locker room with the girls. There were women everywhere, but none of them gave him a second look. Even when he undressed in the middle of them and, wrapped just in a towel, walked the length of the room between partially dressed and, occasionally, nude women and girls. As a boy, it was difficult not to gawk, but he managed to control himself.

He was really more interested in how he looked compared to them. They watched him closely and enjoyed his discomfort at being there, looking the way he did. Nancy and the others couldn't help but notice how awkward he looked. "Relax, Tina. You're doing fine."

Nancy whispered in his ear.

"Just loosen up. You walk like you're modeling. That's fine if you're trying to catch some guy's eye, but not here. Just walk naturally." She was right; he was trying to walk the way he had practiced, and it wasn't right here, under these circumstances.

"I'll try." Patty's house was the next stop. They unloaded everything. Patty had Tim hang up his clothes in her closet.

It was almost seven thirty, and they were all hungry, including Tim. He hadn't eaten all day. Even given the opportunity earlier, his stomach, which was only just settling down, wouldn't have allowed him to keep anything down.

Patty invaded the refrigerator only to find that they had no leftovers. She announced to the others, "Girls, we're going to have to cook." That didn't go over well with the others.

"Jamie's working tonight at the food court. Let's go over there for a free meal." Pam didn't cook, ever. Tim was a little worried about going back to the mall. "Come on, it'll be fun. There's nothing to be afraid of. You'll be with us." Pam was very convincing. If 'Tina' had been one of 'her girls,' that would have been a black mark against her.

They introduced Tina, their new girlfriend, to Jamie. They all ate burgers and fries. The boss wasn't around tonight, and when he wasn't there, all Jamie's friends ate for free. They were very conscious of his posture and the way he sat.

He was sitting with his legs crossed as if he were wearing a skirt. "Tina, you really should relax. You're a fifteen-year-old teenage girl, not an old woman. It's okay to sit relaxed in shorts or jeans." Patty thought he was much too stiff. Tim got the hint and consciously let the muscles in his back and shoulders relax. He watched them and learned. They wolfed down the food. A few people they knew passed by. Sue and Pam couldn't let them just go by without making some picky or mean comment about them.

Tim noticed that Nancy and Patty didn't participate, and that made him glad. He was beginning to feel more comfortable around them. Sue was all right, but Pam... Pam, he just couldn't help mistrusting.

Nancy and Patty were sitting on either side of him and noticed how he just sat with his hands in his lap when he talked, and that he seemed afraid to express himself. It wasn't like guys did that sort of thing.

Patty leaned over close and whispered, "Tina, unless you're partially paralyzed, it's all right to let your hands and face help to say what you want to say.

Girls say more with their body language than with their mouths." She hoped she got the point across.

"And another thing, relax your wrists. You're a girl now; women are supposed to have limp wrists." Tim felt like it was a lot to remember all the time.

"Thanks, I'll work on it." Nancy felt frustrated.

"Don't 'work' on it; just relax and enjoy yourself for a change." She could see he was trying, but he had so much to learn. When they had finished, Nancy remarked,

"Tina, we just have to do something about those nails of yours. They're a mess." Tim's nails were short, and his cuticles were in bad shape, like most boys'.

They looked 100% better when the girl at the nail salon was done with them. Considering they were porcelain, they got away cheap at fifty dollars, and he had beautiful-looking, long nails when she was done.

Tim had put polish on his nails before, but he had never been able to let them grow. Work was really hard for them. He had small hands and slender fingers. With his nails done, he had pretty hands. He was really happy with how they looked.

Of course, in two weeks, they would have to go too, but for now he would enjoy them. It was a little difficult with long nails doing the things he always took for granted, and he had to learn to do them differently. They went back to Patty's, and Sue ran to get the phone first. She just had to call Randy, like she did every night. It killed her not to be able to tell him what they were doing with Tim. Pam gave Tina the tanning oil, explaining just how to use it.

They watched carefully and had to repeat the process to get the shade of tan just right so it blended perfectly. Pam couldn't resist giving Jim a call. "The girls tell me you thought Tina was nice." Pam thought it was fun to make Jim sweat a little. Jim was expecting this. "She was alright, I guess. Not as pretty as you, babe."

She knew he was squirming. Funny that the girl whose ass he had enjoyed grabbing was really a boy. "The girls said you got a little friendly with her. Did you enjoy having her sit on your lap?" "It wasn't my idea, Hon.. There was no place else for her to sit." He wasn't going to get out of this easily. "I'm sure it wasn't. You wouldn't fool around on me, would you, Jimmy?"

Of course, he would. She'd dump him if he weren't the quarterback and probably the most popular guy in school. "Never, Babe.

You're the only girl I think about." He was full of crap, and she knew it. She changed the subject and let him off the hook.

It was getting late, and they started to get ready for bed. Patty and Tim were in the bedroom getting undressed. Sue and Pam, in one of the other bedrooms, had a bathroom of their own. Nancy was still watching television. Tim was getting used to his new nails.

He was developing the technique for opening buttons and clasps without breaking them. Tim picked out a long white chemise that he had bought a long time ago and had never worn.

How nice it was to have it fit the way it was intended. "That's pretty on you." Patty sat on the bed watching him. Tim didn't realize she had been watching.

As wonderful as his fantasy was, he couldn't completely shake a feeling. "Patty, what do you honestly think of me?" Her opinion and Nancy's were the only ones that really mattered to him. Patty didn't answer immediately. She continued to look at him and contemplated his question for a moment.

"Honestly, really?"

"Yes, it's important to me." Patty felt a little sad for him.

She didn't imagine she understood his reasons for doing what he did, but there was one thing she did know.

"You should have been born a girl. It's not just because you look so much like one. There are things about you that are just all wrong for a boy. It's hard to explain."

The bedroom door opened, and Pam came in.

"Nice chemise, Tina." She looked at Patty. "Are you going to show Tina what she needs to do to get ready for bed, or do you want me to?" Pam wanted him to get used to the cleaning and moisturizing regimen that they went through each night. If he thought being a girl was easy, he had a lot to learn. "No, I'll do it." Patty hurried him into their bathroom.

For years, Tim had secretly taken care of his skin. It had been just part of his fantasy since he had started dressing up.

He wanted to have nice, smooth skin. He had watched his sister and had his own, hidden, supply of creams and lotions. There was little that Patty showed him that he was not accustomed to.

One of the things he would enjoy was getting his hands in better shape. Two full weeks of pampering them should make a big improvement.

After he asked her for her help, Patty showed him how to tie up his hair so he wouldn't wake up with it in his face again.

They were prepared to take their game to almost any length, but sleeping with him was the last straw for Sue and Pam. They used Patty's brother's room. Patty and Nancy didn't mind so much.

"We'll just push the beds together and sleep across them.

There's plenty of room for the three of us." Nancy and Patty didn't mind a bit. After all, it wasn't like they were sleeping with a guy.

"I know it's a little soon to ask, Tina, but are you having fun?" Nancy whispered as they lay there in the dark, facing each other.

"It still feels awkward," Tim admitted. "Give it a little time." She was enjoying it. "Good night, Tina."

"Good night, Nancy."

"Night, Tina." It was impossible for Patty not to overhear them.

"Night, Patty."

Tim was the one who felt a little awkward, lying in bed with two pretty girls. He was the last to fall asleep.

"So it's agreed! We take him to Jeff's parents' pool and invite a few of the other girls over, too. I'll arrange a little surprise for him." Pam and Sue couldn't sleep until they had made their plans for the next day. "Yes.

We need to have him meet as many kids from school as possible, especially the girls.

The more he hangs around with girls who don't know what he is, the better." Sue had a pretty good idea what Pam meant as a surprise.

Sue wanted him to be so used to playing the part of a girl that he would find it difficult to be anything else. What fun it would be when they finally exposed him. There were going to be a lot of embarrassed people.

"I didn't see a suit among his clothes. We may have to take him out for one if one of Nancy's doesn't fit him."

Pam thought one of hers should fit. Sue was too tall and Patty was too petite for theirs to fit him. She certainly wasn't going to loan him one of hers. She'd never be able to wear it again.

"Well, if we have to take him out for a suit, we should take him down to that big store at the beach. It's bound to be crowded."

"Sounds good to me." Pam liked the idea of him in a dressing room full of girls trying on suits.

Satisfied with their plans, they called it a night. Tim was the last to wake up. Patty was standing in front of her dresser with just a towel on; her hair was wrapped in another. He could hear the shower running; it had to be Nancy.

"Good morning." Patty turned around.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." He looked cute lying there.

"Did you sleep all right?"

With a stretch and yawn, he answered, "Just great."

"Nancy should be out of the shower in a minute, and it's already almost ten. How about you get your shower, and we can get going?" Patty pulled out a bathing suit from her dresser drawer.

He didn't see the suit yet. "Where are we going?" Patty dropped her towel, her back to him, and stepped into the bottom of the little two-piece. She turned as she pulled it up. "We're going over to Jeff's house and lying out at the pool."

With the little bottom in place, she reached for the top. Patty felt only a little strange, standing around naked in front of him. It was very hard not to think of him as one of them, as a girl. He didn't even gawk at her, like a boy would have. Tim felt more than a little strange watching her.

She was completely naked for a moment, in front of him, and it didn't faze her. What she said bothered him, and her being naked wasn't so significant anymore.

He didn't have a bathing suit, and even if he did, he didn't want to be around those guys in one.

"We're going over to his house? I don't even have a suit to wear." He didn't want to sound foolish, but, "Will they all be there, the guys, I mean?" The shower had stopped, and the bathroom door opened.

Tim turned to see Nancy walk out with just a towel on her head, in only her panties. She had heard them talking, and it took a little courage, but she wanted to make a point to Tim.

She had told him he was one of them now, so she should treat him like one and show him how girls act around girls. "Good morning, Tina," she said cheerfully.

He was a little shocked.

During the short time they'd been dating, he had never seen her in even so much as a bathing suit, and now she stood there, almost naked. Nancy was everything he thought she'd be in his dreams. Tim realized he was staring, but neither of the girls had been watching.

He stopped gawking and looked at her face. "Good morning," Patty told Nancy what they had been talking about.

"Don't be silly, you'll be fine. The only person that will be there besides the five of us and a few of the other girls will be Jeff's mom. The guys are all working."

Nancy and the others had discussed their plans for the day before Tim woke up. There was no point in worrying him now about what was going to happen later on. Tim wasn't so sure.

"I'm not sure how I'd look in a bathing suit. Maybe I shouldn't go. I could wait here." Patty laughed, "You'll do no such thing.

You're going to come with us. I thought you trusted us?" He did, at least the two of them. That wasn't the point. "I do. That's not the problem."

He hesitated a second. "I'm afraid to go out in a bathing suit." That got the attention of both of them. Nancy had gotten on her suit and pulled out another from her bag. She and Patty went to bed.

"Poor Tina. How many times do we have to tell you, you look wonderful? No one will know if you don't let on."

Patty tried to be as reassuring as she could.

"Try this on and see what you think." Nancy handed him the other two pieces she had brought with her. It wasn't too extreme, but it was a little revealing. Tim looked at the suit and then back at the girls. It was a lot more revealing than he would have cared for if he had to wear a suit at all.

The top was a strapless spandex with a built-in bra. The bottom had high-cut leg openings and scooped just a little in front. It was a multi-lilac print. Nancy pushed just a little, "Try it on and we'll see. If you don't like it, we'll go and buy you one you do like."

He was obviously not going to get out of going.

"I'll try it." Tim slid off the bed and pulled his chemise over his head. He wasn't nearly so uncomfortable now, naked in front of them.

He dropped the little panties to the floor and pulled up the suit's bottom. Nancy, standing behind him, pulled the sides up, over his hips where they belonged. She also helped him find the clip on the back of the top.

A big mirror stood only a few feet away, but he was almost afraid to go stand in front of it.

He was afraid he'd look terrible in the suit. The idea that he might actually look good in it didn't occur to him. "It looks fine on you." It really did.

"Go ahead and look." Patty got behind him and pushed him in front of the mirror.

He was surprised at what he saw. He liked it, but he was still very critical of himself. "My hips are too narrow."

"Listen to her. Every girl's dream, and she complains about them." Nancy thought he looked great in her suit.

"Tina, you're going to wear that suit today."

Tim liked them. They really were treating him like he was one of them, and they were cute about it. He looked back at the mirror. He was glad he had a slender waist. Even the top looked okay.

He had noticed it was slightly padded when he put it on, and he was thankful. The padding helped him to look more natural. He was admiring himself. He liked the way he looked. They exchanged approving glances.

"Now, Missy, if you'll please get done in the shower and fix your hair, we can get a bite to eat and get out of here."

Patty unhooked his top, and he went to get ready. He thought the wave in his normally straight hair would have washed out by now, but as he towel-dried it, he was glad it hadn't. Sue and Pam were relieved that they didn't have to go shopping.

"He really looks pretty good in the suit. You're going to be surprised," Nancy told them in the kitchen.

"We'll need to get him another, either later today or in the morning, before we go to the beach." Sue helped him with his hair when he was done in the shower. She showed him how to use gel to make finger curls in the wisps of hair that they didn't tie back with his big white bow.

Sue fussed over his hair until she was satisfied that it was perfect. With the bow holding the hair high on his head, it cascaded down the back.

She made sure every wave was in place and that each of the hanging curls was perfect. "Why go to all this trouble if we're just going to lie around a pool?" He didn't understand.

Sue thought to herself, Just like a guy. She explained, "No matter where you go, you always want to look your best." "But there won't be any guys there. Why go to all the trouble?" He didn't get it? "Tina, girls don't just go out of their way just to impress guys. It's just as important that we look good around other girls. Anyway, you never know when you might meet someone that you want to impress." Sue wasn't going to ruin the surprise.

Nancy gave him a short white knit cover-up to throw on over the suit, and after a quick bite, they were off.

The weather report had said it was going to be hot and sunny. They had been quite accurate, but the heat didn't bother them as they all climbed into Sue's little jeep, and, with the top down, they sped down the road.

They were a conspicuous group, and they got a lot of attention as they drove. Tim didn't look when they received an occasional catcall. He just kept his eyes straight ahead. Mrs. Brown was really happy to see them. Pam and Sue barely exchanged hellos with her before they hurried out to the pool. Nancy and Patty visited with her for a few minutes. Given the choice, Tim stayed with Nancy and Patty.

Even when they all sat down at the kitchen table to chat. Nancy had introduced him, and now the woman wanted to know all about the new girl in their group. Tim was thankful that he could think on his feet. The story he made up agreed with what he had told the guys yesterday.

His parents were preparing to move from Atlanta and let him come to Florida a few weeks ahead. Mrs. Brown, Carol, didn't approve of letting a girl so young be on her own.

"Tina, are you all right being on your own without your parents?" "Oh, I'm fine, Mrs. Brown. It's very nice of you to worry, though." She was a sweet lady. He didn't like lying to her, but he had no choice. "You would be welcome to stay with us until your parents arrive. I'm sure they'd feel better if you weren't staying alone."

Carol had plenty of room; with her oldest boy off at college, it would be fun to have her there. A girl in the house would be a nice change.

"Thank you anyway, I'm staying with the girls at Patty's house this week until her parents come back." She meant well, but that should take care of it. That was all right, Carol decided. At least she wasn't alone.

Tina was very nice, very polite. Carol liked that. "Maybe you'd like to spend a little time with us next week?" With that, Carol let it go and changed the subject.