Chapter One - Life Altering Events - Charles Fornau

“I’m NOT a little girl!” she yelled back at me. She was looking into the engine area with a questioning expression on her cute face.

“Sorry, uhh... young lady. And, I didn’t say little girl, I said little lady. I didn’t mean to upset you, just checking to see if you were OK. Could you come over here? Please? You have a problem there, young lady.” I tried to calm the situation as much as I could, being there was a small crisis brewing with her car. I saw something dripping, then there was a little blue flame.

“Not actually that, either,” she mumbled, but I caught it, not really understanding.

“Now, really quick, can you get back from there, before you get hurt?” I said, trying to get her back from the car without making her panic. Looking at me a little hesitantly, she moved back a little from the open hood of the engine compartment, and when she did, I grabbed her hand and pulled her away. I must’ve scared the hell out of her. She started swinging at me, but when the flash of heat and amber light caught us both on our sides, she calmed, then fainted.

Her car basically went up in a ball of fire, something I’ve never heard of that particular brand of European luxury sport sedan to be known for. I did catch her on the way down, though, and carried her back to my truck, not 30 yards away. I had seen the dripping under the steering and firewall area as I was passing by her on the way back from the rest stop men’s room, having just relieved a little pressure from driving too far without a stop. She was parked on my way, and it was just blind luck that I saw it.

A little, very unladylike, grunt came from her cute little face as I laid her down on the tailgate. She was cute, I mean CUTE! Shoulder length light red hair, a little button nose, a few freckles, and gorgeous bright green eyes. A really attractive little girl. Reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t place it. She seemed about 5 feet tall, more than a full foot shorter than me, and could not have weighed a hundred pounds, or a little less than half of what I weigh now. ‘She looks familiar,’ I thought, but who did she remind me of? Too bad I was so damned old. After what I’d been through, she could have been just what the doctor ordered.

One thing for sure was that she was going to need someone’s help for a bit, and I wanted to volunteer. Her car was a waste, and I don’t think anything in it could have survived.

She moved a little after the semi audible grunt, and I reached out to make sure she didn’t fall from the tailgate of the truck. “What happened? Why are you holding me?”

“Let’s start this way. My name is Charlie. Charlie Collins. And yours is?”

“Holly. Holly Fields.”

“THE Holly Fields? Seriously?” I exclaimed wondrously. I’m probably one of the few fans of hers over the age of 25. I thought there was a resemblance, and that was the familiarity I sensed, but never even considered that it could be her.

“Yeah. That one.” Her tone sounded defeated, tired, dejected, and just down.

“What in the world are you doing out here, on I-70, this late at night?” I asked. This would have to be good. Young, beautiful, wealthy, popular entertainer, alone, in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.

“I just wanted to get away for a while. Losing my parents was bad enough, but my aunt and uncle and the managers… The way they’re all acting and pushing… It’s just too much and I need a break from it all.” She really sounded terrible. Not like the jubilant teen idol with the golden voice that I love to listen to constantly. My late wife chided me about it, but never put her foot down. It was the one offbeat habit I kept that she couldn’t break me of. She didn’t try too hard, though, leaving me one habit to keep me happy. Smoking, heavy drinking, and frequent sexual relations with her having gone by the wayside over the years.

“OK, now that we know who we are, I’ll mention what we have. You have a pile of ashes that is going to burn for about an hour. The fire department will be here shortly, and probably the police. I was able to call in the fire while you were out of it. Just barely had phone service, but it seemed to work enough to get the authorities involved. Is everything you have in the car?”

“Yep. Oh, wait.” She rolled her little butt to the side and patted at her back pocket. She produced a driver’s license, a passport, and an American Express card from one of them. “Forgot to put them back in my purse after my last gas and potty stop!” She smiled, just a little, but enough to make my heart stop for a second. She is just the cat’s meow. Still a little groggy, a couple tears started to stream down her cheeks. I reached out to just show a little support, but she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged. “Thank you, Charlie. I have a feeling you just saved my life and helped a few really nice people. And maybe upset and disappointed some others. Let me get my head straight and I’ll share a little and maybe explain.”

That comment set me back a bit, and I thought back to my earlier thought about the fact that brand new little hundred thousand-dollar cars don’t just catch on fire like that. Sooooo, I figured from her rambling that the police were going to have a field day with this one. Gleaning evidence from burned out hulks wasn’t fun. But… not my problem anymore. Gave it up for Lent then changed religions. Just a joke on that. I’m a retired cop. Not going to stick my nose in this one unless I must, in order to protect my crush. When she spoke, I got butterflies. I had no idea I could still feel like this around a girl.

The fire started burning down a little. We could still feel the warmth, but it was getting smaller. I had earlier asked Holly to hang on and moved the truck away, throwing a piece of 2x4 down where my back tire was, just so the cops would get an idea of where I was when it all happened.

Then I remembered her mumbling just before the skirmish, the soft explosion, her fainting, my carrying her cute little self to the truck… I’m smitten, aren’t I?

“Holly, what did you mean when, earlier, you said ‘Not actually that, either’, when I called you ‘little lady’ and then ‘young lady’?” I really wondered where her mind was now, because the look on her face was … different. Scared? Apprehensive? Stunned? Kinda all those rolled in one. “Look Holly, I won’t judge. Never have, never will. You are a wonderful person. I’ve seen and read about all the things you do with kids in hospitals and such. Nothing you could tell me would make me think any less of you. Nothing.”

“Charlie, I don’t want to talk about me right now. I don’t know what’s happening, or going to happen, and I just can’t think right now. Suffice to say that you will be glad to be rid of me when this really sucky day, or night, I guess it is, comes to a glorious crashing halt.” She said it with finality, but yet, there was a bit of a quiver in her voice that told me she was a little unsure of herself at this point.

“OK, Holly. I’m not going to pester you, or try to pry, or insinuate myself into your affairs, but know this … I care. I’ve been a fan of yours since you were 15 at that awards show when you gave your first big time performance. You were a doll. A beautiful girl. Still are. Hell, that was in what, two thousand nine, two thousand ten? Crap, Holly, You’re a twenty-two-year-old woman!!!”

She looked at me for a minute and floored me. “If that’s what you want to believe, just keep on with that. Whatever makes you happy. I owe you now, so that’s the least I can do.”

Another couple tears came down, so I reached out again, wrapped my arms around her and patted her back a little. She repeated the process, putting her arms around my neck and giving a light squeeze. Then the sirens came. Lots of them. The police cruiser, then the Highway Patrol with a big old community fire engine right behind. I picked her up gently and set her on the ground in her cute little sandals. There I go again. She has the prettiest legs, the cutest little feet, a pair of knees that defy looking away, and a cute little butt. Oh, that butt in those shorts. I am a really bad person. I know that, now. And lost. Completely lost in thinking about her.

The police called in a suit, so I felt better. They thought the fire might be a little hinky as well. Thankfully they understood I wasn’t part of the problem after questioning Holly. So, when they did talk to me, it wasn’t an interrogation, just questions, and I cooperated. Up to and including my employment, my past, and a few other questions. Uh oh. Oh well, it would’ve come out sooner or later. Once Holly meandered over to where we were, and after making sure nothing of any value was to be had from her car, she heard me finish the “retired cop,” and “anything I can do to help,” lines. She looked questioningly at me but didn’t say much.

“Ma’am, do you have arrangements made for the evening?” the highway patrolman asked her. “No, not yet. My phone, my everything, I guess, was in that car. I guess I...” I interrupted.

“Holly, I can take you to town and get you into a hotel or something until we can get you straightened out.” I had to volunteer myself. I had to. I was in severe crushtivity with this lady, and just couldn’t handle not knowing she was OK.

“Charlie, you don’t need to bother. You’ve done so much already.”

It sounded like a half-hearted protest, so I came back with… “Nope it’s fine. You know I care. You know I’d worry. It’s fine. I’d like to help. Really.”

“How about your…” I interrupted again.

“I don’t have anyone. I’m just on my way home. There is Critter, but he’s fine. Doesn’t seem to like me much anymore, anyway, and doesn’t mind when I’m gone.”

“Critter?” She giggled.

I melted. AGAIN! I am toast. I would sign my orange yard tractor over to her if she asked. That is saying something. I love that tractor. It’s diesel. Little, but... Dang! Charlie is lost. “Cat. If you can call him that. Most of them are worth something or do something. Critter? Nope.”

“OK,” she said to the state trooper, “I guess I’ll let this gentle knight once again save me and carry me off on his giant steed.” She was smiling now, and I couldn’t really figure out why, until I realized… An attempt had been made on her life and they, whoever they were, were nowhere near here, nor did they know where she was, and she couldn’t be traced unless she used her credit card.

The suit, Detective Henderson of the local county Sheriff’s office, talked with us for a bit. “Miss Fields, you and this gentleman, Mr. Collins, Charlie, is it?” He looked at me and smirked, recognizing the name, but not letting on to her. “You need to remember, that the scrape marks we found on the sensors and those little gizmos the fire chief found on the fuel lines indicate someone, possibly, is trying to hurt you. After what you’ve told me about the last couple years, I’m not stating it as a fact, but I’d stay obscure for a while. We are not going to mention yours or Charlie’s name in the report yet, just in case someone comes a-lookin’. The only people that will know it was you involved are us here, and the DA. I’ll tell the Sheriff, as well, but he’ll be OK with it. He likes the cloak and dagger stuff and will be thrilled we were able to help a big star like you, Holly. Be safe. I have Charlie’s number and will call y’all in the morning.”

The flatbed wrecker showed up and dragged what was left of Holly’s car on board, and off to the cop shop as evidence. Someone had tried to murder one of the most popular country/pop singers of the age, and here she was sitting in my truck. I was still a few hours from home on the other side of Missouri, but I figured we could go to town where the Sheriff’s department was and find something there. Somewhere to stay, eat, let her recover. We were following the cruisers back to town when she broke the silence.

“You wanted to know what I meant earlier. It was Howard.” She huffed. “My name. I was born Howard Charles Fielding. You are now only the third living person to know that, besides some medical people, so be careful with the information.” Needless to say, after that being blurted out, I was stunned, flabbergasted, shocked, and well, I decided to tease her and act just a little bit miffed.

“I said I wouldn’t judge, but I was expecting you would proclaim to be an alcoholic, or a wanton slut, or a kleptomaniac, or something along those lines. I never expected that tonight I would find out I’ve been in love from afar with a little boy for seven years. Now what do I do??” I asked that with a bit of mirth, hoping to catch her off guard so that she wouldn’t clam up, withdraw, start crying, or whatever it is girls do when scared and confused. She acted a little dazed at my outburst. “Are you OK?” I asked, turning to her and smiling, hoping beyond hope she was. “We need to spend a couple days here in town getting your situation documented for the cops, then I’m going to ask you to let me take you to my place for a while. You’ll be safe there. It’s about four hours from here. I live about 10 miles outside of town. A bigger town than this, but not huge. You’ll have access to a phone, a car, and creature comforts, while you are out of sight from whoever it is that might want to hurt you.”

“You still want to help? Even knowing?” I nodded, smiling. “No, Charlie, I’m not ‘OK’ (she made air quotes). I will be, but I’m not now. I need to take a risk with you, so I’m going to. Remind me to talk with you about it later. I think I know who’s trying to hurt me. Thankfully, they don’t know that much about me. Not as much as you know now, actually. Like I told the police, it’s probably my aunt and uncle. Dad’s step-brother from when Grans, my grandma on my dad’s side, remarried. Never cared much for her new husband or his son, Gary, but such is life. Now I think that he and his wife Susan are trying to get my… my everything. I had a lot in Mom’s name, and some in Grans’, and now that they and Dad are gone, I need to fix all that. Gary and Susan are beneficiaries to a lot of my holdings, somehow. With a few charities aside, most of them. How stupid I am!!”

“Holly, what happened with your mom and dad? Was it an accident like the news said?” I really didn’t expect her answer, but then I don’t think she did either.

“I used to think so, until tonight.” She went quiet for a while, and I didn’t bother her after that. She clearly needed to think, and I clearly needed to pray that I could be gentleman enough to keep this beautiful little bird close to my nest. Shit, I’m in trouble. I hope she doesn’t see through me. She’ll run for the woods.

Once in town, we stopped at the Quality Inn and went to the desk. An old man and a little girl with no luggage. She really does look like a teenager. “Sir, we aren’t that kind of establishment,” the older lady behind the counter said. She had quite a nasty smirk on her face.

“What kind would that be, Ma’am? The kind that provides a room for a young lady traveler who is needing a place to sleep before she spends the day telling the cops about how her car blew up and she doesn’t have anything for clothes, or a toothbrush, ‘cause they burned in the fire? Or the kind that provides a room for an old man so he can get some sleep before he drives home to his cat in the morning? Is that the kind of hotel you aren’t?” Holly could tell I was getting a little unhinged and stepped up.

“Ma’am, we want a room with two beds, a bathroom, and a TV. Do you by chance have one of those?” She seemed determined to make the clerk and her companion, namely ME, freak out a little. I was definitely expecting two rooms. “Charlie, we need for you to pay for this so my credit card doesn’t bleep off where I am, and I certainly don’t want Miss Nosy here to know my name, so why don’t you use Mr. Smith and Ms. Jones on the registration for ONE room, and she can call the police to verify we’re not the bad guys. How does that sound?”

“Well, when you put it that way!” I exclaimed. The old lady capitulated and helped us. I shouldn’t call her that. Even though she in no way looked it, I’ll bet she was younger than me. Well, anyway, we finished checking in, then left for the Walmart across the street.

“I haven’t been in one of these since I was a kid, and they were a lot smaller back home then. This thing is huge,” Holly said as she looked around at the place. Open 24 hours, so we could stop over and grab her a few things to hold her over a bit. One thing she did was go straight for the girl’s section and grab a couple pairs of pink Hello Kitty underpants. Cute ones, then over to the men’s for a couple of Extra Large Tall T-shirts to use as night gowns. This was going to be fun. In women’s she also picked up a couple bras, a pair of tennis shoes, some socks, some shorts, a skirt, and a couple cute blouses to wear with them. While I was holding the bras, I noticed they were a 32A+. Oh shit, here we go again. I’m not too old to feel the way I’m feeling inside, but I don’t know if it’s proper or not. Lost. Totally lost on this little girl. We picked her up some personal stuff at the pharmacy and healthcare area, toothbrush, hairbrush, and such, then headed back to the hotel.

The desk clerk looked up as we walked by, and I swear, if looks could kill, I’d at least have a broken arm.

Holly went into the bathroom with her things, and after I heard the shower, then the sink faucet run a bit, she came out. Looking cute as ever, not a touch of makeup, hair a little damp. She wore the long T-shirt and since it was just a white one, I saw she had her new panties on under it. No evidence at all about what she mentioned earlier, though. Not a hint. She was all female from where I was looking. I thought about it for about three seconds, then asked Holly if I could brush her hair for her. She seemed a little shy about it but came over and stood between my legs at the end of my bed and let me have my fun. And it was fun. Just brushing her hair made me feel pretty good, I have to admit. Longish, reddish, curlish, cutish. Yeah, it was fun. For a bit.

She started fidgeting and, I thought, made it clear she wanted me to finish, so I stopped and handed her the brush, grabbed my go bag and headed for the bathroom myself. She noticed I didn’t quite want to quit brushing yet, evidently picking up on my attitude when I went to the bathroom, because when I got out, she said, “Charlie, I’m sorry I stopped you, but it felt so good with you doing it, and … well … it just seemed like maybe I shouldn’t have you doing it. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad at me.” She sounded very genuine and apologetic.

“Look, Holly. I don’t want to upset you. I don’t want to be a bother to you. I want to do nothing that makes you uncomfortable in any way. I just want to help you get through whatever it is you’re going through as unscathed as possible. I was serious when I said I cared. I really think you are a wonderful person. A great role model. You’re beautiful. Your music speaks to me. It has since you started out back in twenty ten, or whenever. My wife used to tease me about you all the time, asking when I was going to leave her for you. I’d joke back and tell her ‘right after she calls me!’ and we’d get a chuckle out of it.” I noticed then that her face sort of screwed up a little when I mentioned my wife.

“Charlie, I thought you didn’t have a family to go back to,” she questioned me, a little quietly, not wanting to cause any issues, I presumed.

“No, Holly, I don’t. She’s been gone a while now. Not something I talk about much.” I didn’t want to discuss it now, due to Holly’s circumstances, but I probably would explain it a little later if she was still around and wanted to know. It was a pretty horrible time for me and it’s just something I didn’t dwell on often. She wasn’t just gone, as in she left. She was taken. THEY were taken, and there was a lot more to the story to tell. Just not now. Holly didn’t need that kind of information now. Not now, at all.

“OK, but if you want to talk, I could listen,” Holly told me. I’m sure she was thinking she could help, but I’ve been through a lot since then, therapy, both professional and revengeful, and I was back in a fairly good place. Planning on staying there, as well.

“What I really want is to brush your hair a little more, then we need to get some sleep. Would that be okay with you, missy?” I asked her with a big smile, hoping that would let her know I wasn’t being condescending, but caring.

She came over and backed into my legs again, this time pushing back so her tush was up against me. I scooted back a little to give her more room so she could sit on the edge of the bed between my legs. “Yeah, so get to it, old man. I’m tired, too.” She giggled a little. I brushed a few strokes. “Charlie, what am I going to do now?” Her voice got a little shaky.

“Well, Holly. Notice that I used your name and not missy, little girl, or little anything for that matter, because I know you’re trying to be serious now. We are going to talk to the police in the morning. They will conduct an investigation. I’m sure the FBI will be involved, since you went over a few state lines with those devices and the damage to your car. If there are problems, you’ll need help. I’d like to offer that. I’m in a position right now to do that and can’t think of anything I’d enjoy more. If you’ll let me, that is.” I was hoping not to scare her off by sounding like a stalker or a perv or something, but here I was, perving out on her hair. Just brushing her hair was making my chest tighten with those butterflies I hadn’t felt since I was a youngster. First kiss and first other things kind of butterflies.

She pondered that for a minute, then started speaking softly, “You have been nothing if not a gentleman, even though I don’t know why. Especially now. You probably don’t know exactly how to react to finding that your little star crush is not what you thought she was. Now, I don’t want you to think badly of me, but I’ve been with people before. I mean been with people in a relationship way. After all, I am twenty-two now. Only one of those knows of my status as a trans girl. She won’t say anything to anyone. The others, a couple of guys, never got past second base, ‘cause I’m a little picky about boyfriends. I don’t care much for assholes, and most men seem to be in that category. Anyway, I can’t go home right now, and I do need help, you’re right about that, so I’m going to cave to your demands to be my knight in shining armor. I also still need time to unwind and face what’s happened recently. Since you say you have the time and want to help, maybe you can help me relax and sort it all out. So, you good with all that?” She was smiling again. I could her in the mirror on the wall over the desk.

“Yes, Holly. Whatever you need. I’m game. I have to be the luckiest guy in the world to have stumbled upon this mess. And by the way, I’ve been begging, not demanding. You do know the difference, yes?” She snickered at that. Then I asked, “Why did you mention relationships and the people just now?” I was curious. A girl and two guys, but she was obviously closer to the girl.

“I just wanted you to understand that I’m not a little girl. I’m a woman. I wasn’t born one, but since my parents were understanding enough to let me grow up as a girl, then help with the hormones, then the operation and such, when I was young enough for it to do some good, I’ve had it pretty easy. The girl I mentioned was in the same boat, but not as fortunate. It could be called a very strange lesbian relationship, since we were both trans girls. When she found out that I was also seeing one of the guys, she flipped. I hope she’s OK. She had other serious issues as well, but she didn’t believe me that I cared more about her than them. I had to at least show I was interested in guys to keep up appearances for marketing. I hated that part of it. I actually liked one of them, as a friend, but he got too pushy and demanding and ruined that for both of us. Anyway, I just wanted to share a little. I actually like you, and feel attracted to you, more than a little. I hate to be so forward, Charlie, but you are cute, in a hunky handsome guy sort of way, and you have been nice to me, and nothing but a gentleman. Girls like that in a guy.”

“Thank you, Holly. You just made my evening. Maybe my week, month, year, whatever. Can I ask a couple personal questions that are absolutely none of my business?”

“Sure, but before you begin, my boobs are small, but natural. I have a little tiny peepee that doesn’t work all that well, but well enough for me, and I don’t have any nuts, balls, testicles, or whatever you want to call them.” She rolled that out pretty quickly and left me with nothing.

“So much for my questions at this point. How’s your hair feeling? Well, how’s your head feeling? I know hair doesn’t actually feel. Unless you have a hangover,” I joked. She laughed.

“Absolutely wonderful. Thank you. No one has done that since Mom, and that was quite a while ago.” She got a frown on her face that just about killed me. She was recalling better times. Then cracked a little smile. “I’m not sure why, but for some reason, having someone else brush your hair, or shampoo it for that matter, just feels really, really good. It’s kind of like, excuse me for this, mas… masturbating. It feels so much better when someone else does it. That’s so embarrassing. Sorry, Charlie, that was a little forward. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Not at all, sweetheart. Don’t worry. I know what you mean, and we’re all adults here,” I said as I was trying unsuccessfully to block that thought from my dirty little mind. Remaining gentlemanly was going to take some doing. “Let’s get some shut eye. That detective will be calling in the morning. Remind me to stop by the desk on the way out to make sure they have us here for two nights, at least, OK, Holly?” I asked, as I was climbing under the covers.

She said, “I’ll try, but I don’t have the best memory for things like that. Thanks for asking me to help, though,” she giggled again, my chest fluttered. I am so totally toast. Her just giggling, or smiling, was enough to set off feelings I don’t think I have ever actually had for any other woman, up to and including my previous and late wives.

I watched her bend over to pull her blankets aside then crawl into her bed. SHIT!! Her legs were to die for, and her little butt was so cute. Hello, Kitty!!! She lay on the pillow, bid me goodnight, and that’s the last word I heard from her. Note I said word. I reached over, turning off the lamp and just looked at her while she snored softly. So darling. So cute. So vulnerable. How in the heck does a twenty-two-year-old woman look like such a little girl? Amazing, and so attractive. I realized then that while I don’t have a penchant for teenaged girls, I certainly did for this one, even though she wasn’t really that young. She sure looked it. I pondered that thought for about seven seconds, and the next thing I knew, my cell phone was going off. Not the alarm, I forgot to set it, but the phone.

“Hello, Charlie here,” I answered in my normal way, but with a bit of a drowsy voice. I hated doing that. It made me sound, I don’t know, less than par?

“Good morning, Charlie. Detective Henderson, Sheriff’s Department. Can you and Holly come down to the Sheriff’s office this morning around ten o’clock?” The detective sounded way too awake for being this early in the morning.

“Sure, what time is it now?” I asked, looking at my phone after asking, and saw it was eight already.

“A little after eight. Will that be OK?” I must’ve sounded a little irked, so he was going to give us a little time, I think.

“How ‘bout ten-thirty, so I can stop Holly and I off for a little something to eat on the way.” I hoped he wouldn’t mind too much, but I hate rushing around. Hate it.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Go ahead and make it eleven. We have plenty to do to get ready, and the FBI agent from Kansas City will be here around that time as well.” He sounded fine with it, so I was, too. “OK, thanks, see you then,” I said. I looked over at Holly, and saw the prettiest green eyes looking back at me. Damn that little girl is beautiful.

“Good morning, gorgeous. How’d you sleep?” I asked, really hoping she’d slept well with all this going on around her.

“Gorgeous, huh? Where’d that come from? You talk to all the women you meet like that?” she inquired.

“No, just the ones I sleep with and that have beautiful green eyes and Hello Kitty panties!” I answered.

She shrieked, “WHAT?!”

I went on, “You bent over last night to crawl into bed, and I saw the cutest little panties. Reminded me of what a seventh grader might wear at a sleepover. And you do wear them well, I must admit, with appropriate apology if I offend by saying so.”

“In the first place, you did not sleep with me, but thank you for the comment on my eyes. My mom always said they were my prettiest asset. And how would you know about 7^th grade girls?”

Hopefully this will go over OK. I started out with, “Any time I can hear a girl snore in my room, I’m sleeping with her. Your eyes are ‘may be’ your best asset, but your asset and your voice are right behind,” then I ended with, “and I had one once. A daughter. I know a little about them. They act like little girls at that age, then they change into…. Not little girls.”

“You’ll need to finish that story, I’m sure. My asset, huh? Charlie, are you a pervert?”

She smiled, to let me know she was just jerking my chain, but I probably caught her off guard with, “I wasn’t until last night. I’ve never considered teenage girls as a ‘thing’ before, and I realize you aren’t, but you look like you are, most of the time. I’m sorry, Holly, but I’m very much enchanted by you. I hope that doesn’t cause a problem.” I felt my happiness slipping away for a bit, not wanting to lose what I don’t have anyway, but I didn’t know how to feel.

“No problem at all. I told you last night, you wonderful man, that you are attractive to me as well. Let’s just see what happens. We’re going to be spending time together. Who knows? You may wind up thinking I’m some kind of bitch, or maybe you’re an axe murderer and I won’t be around long enough to disappoint you anyway.” She giggled again, and smiled brightly, then asked, “Was that the cops on the phone?”

“Yeah. I held them off ‘til eleven, but we need to get up and about if we want breakfast and all. It’s way after eight now.” I turned my phone toward her. She groaned. “What was that for?” I asked.

I was so happy when she said, “I never get up this late unless we’re on tour. I hate sleeping my life away. It must’ve been all the stress and activity of being saved by Sir Lancelot last night. But I did sleep pretty well, I think. I’ll know more after I get out of bed. Nice one, too. Mattress isn’t too soft. I hate soft beds.” I was loving this darling little thing more and more all the time. Except for being a girl, she’s a lot like me. Then it hit me. She’s… No forget it. She’s a girl. Don’t go there. That is all she is. A special girl. Don’t let me think otherwise. It’s not fair to her.

We took turns in the bathroom, her brushing her teeth and fixing her hair a little. Pigtails. How cool is that? Now I really get to feel like a pervert today. When she came out after putting the pigtails in, she smiled at me. Not just a smile, but a “See what I can do to jerk you around?” smile. I shook my head and she laughed, knowing full well what she had just done. My fantasies of Holly Fields had just been put into second gear, by her, no less.

On the way out the door, Holly tugged on my fingers. Silly me thought she just wanted to hold my hand. “You wanted me to remind you to let them know we were staying again tonight, Charlie,” she said, then just when I was thinking how nice it would have been, she grabbed my hand and we walked to the desk together. I was fine. All was good. Her hand, in mine. Life is gonna be so nice for a while.

Breakfast at Country Kitchen was great, as always, and only a couple of people recognized her. A tween girl and her teenage brother with their parents. They politely came over to our table and asked nicely if it was her. Holly gave them autographed napkins and asked that they keep it on the down low, since she was trying to get away on a little vacation. They agreed to do that. Thankfully. That could’ve caused a mess. We may have to be a little more careful.

The Sheriff’s office was no problem at all. We were in and out in … Four damned hours. Every question had to be answered three times to three different people. I got a little rude when I saw Holly getting frustrated. She was the victim here, not a perpetrator. Then my memory kicked in a little and I backed off. I knew they were just trying to do a good job. Experience told me that. The other side of that coin wasn’t comfortable. Brought back some thoughts of just how mad I made some people, both bad and good guys, while I was still in the business.

Mr. FBI said he was sorry, but they needed any little scrap of detail they could find. He had already started getting the LA office of the FBI on board and they were preparing to contact the aunt and uncle back there but needed ammo for the investigation. Finally, they said it was OK for us to take off. But not to leave town, just yet. They asked us to hang out for a couple more days. Holly was a little frazzled, scared of what was happening to her and what could have happened to her. The device on the car was set on a timer, so if she wasn’t at the rest stop when it started its process, she could’ve been in a lot of trouble, or dead.

Between the Sheriff, the DA, and the FBI, they were proceeding as if it was an attempted murder, money as the motive, the device as means, and the family relationship as opportunity. Not looking good for them at this point. Holly’s lawyers and money managers had been notified to lock down everything that anyone else had access to, just to make sure no one got their hands on any of her assets. While she wasn’t the richest person in the entertainment business, she had given away more than most people in the business ever made. That might have been the reason the vultures were circling when they did. Not wanting Holly to give any more of what they wanted to steal before they got their hands on it.

Holly also mentioned some background into her parents’ death, so they decided to open that little bag of worms back up and see what crawled out. I didn’t hear any details, but she told them it was eerily like this incident.

Holly asked if we could run back to Walmart for a couple of things, so we ran down that direction and went inside. She wanted some sunglasses and some stuff from the pharmacy area, so I told her I’d meander through sporting goods, and she could come get me whenever she got done. I thought about getting her a burner phone but decided just to wait ‘til we got home and I’d have one put on my account for the time she was with me. I hoped it was a while.

I felt her tugging on my fingers again. Such a nice feeling. Then she put her hand in mine and pulled me to the back of the groceries and asked me to buy a 6 pack of beer, if I didn’t mind. “You gonna share?” I asked.

She had the audacity to say if I wanted some, to get my own, then gave me a razzberry and said “Just kidding, hon. Of course, I’ll share. Number 1, you’re buying, and Number 2, I’ll only have one or two. I don’t drink much anymore. Ackkkk. Too many bad memories thinking back on that.” I figured more info would be coming on that subject, I’ll bet, then I almost fainted. She had called me ‘hon’. Flutter, heart, flutter.

At the checkout (self serves are a pain with alcohol) the clerk kinda looked at us funny when Holly asked me, “You are OK with Coors Light, right?”

I nodded at her, then the clerk laughed, smiled at Holly, glanced back up at me and said, “At least her parents know”.

It was my turn to laugh when I said, “She’s older than she looks. Card her if you want.” She just smiled and ran it over the scanner, then probably entered some fictitious date a million years ago. I don’t look under 40!

We left the store, took our loot back to the room, put the beer in the mini fridge and then I took Holly to dinner. It was still pretty light outside, so when we walked over to a bar and grill type of operation close to the hotel and sat in a sun flooded booth by the window, she kept her sunglasses on. Shouldn’t have a problem with the recognition factor now. We split a French dip and a plate of boneless buffalo wings. The food was edible, if not good, and we talked a little. It wasn’t crowded, so we figured no one would overhear us.

She filled me in a little more on her girlfriend and it seems that’s when she was drinking a little much. Not old enough to buy yet, the other girl was. And Rachel liked it a little too much. That led to some wilder times, and Holly dropped out of the relationship when Rachel started getting jealous and partying with people in the drug scene to show her displeasure. Their relationship was very private, out of the spotlight, never followed, so only a couple people ever found out about it, at all. Her parents were none too happy to see it end for fear their child would pay too big a price for the behavior, and the possible outing. Too much chance to waylay her life, career, family, everything. She missed the old Rachel, but not the new one. That was one of the living souls who knew Holly was born a boy. The other was her doctor (all of them and their staffs only counted as one, she said, because by law and ethics, they were sworn to secrecy). Each day she prayed some nurse somewhere wouldn’t want that huge payday the gossip rags would give for that kind of information. But it hadn’t happened yet, and she hadn’t been in a position to see but one doctor and one nurse in the last 5 years.

The boyfriends didn’t get spoken of much. They came, they went, one with no ripples in the water, and the other with some misgivings, but gone just the same. All the talk of these relationships led me to ask her about her future.

“I want to quit. Not permanently, but a hiatus of a year or so, at least, just to regroup. Maybe write, and definitely think. Away from LA. Away from Nashville. Can you help with that, babe? Would you like to be my muse for a while, just to see what I’m really like? I can pay my way, help out for all your trouble. You are a dear sweet man to offer, and to walk through this crap with me. I really do appreciate it. You said you find me attractive and such, and I need to tell you again. I find you the same way. In less than a day, you have gotten to me like no man ever has. The way you walk, talk, act, look, respond to me, just normal things, for some reason you have endeared yourself to me. I want to trust you, follow you, maybe even… well… hug you again if you’d let me. When you held me last night at the rest stop, I just wanted to melt into your arms. I don’t know why. I really don’t. But I liked it. Do you think things can happen that quickly? And you can’t be that old. If you are, you’re extremely well preserved. Anyway, I’m going to guess at 38. How’d I do?” She finally stopped and I tried to stack my answers. I’ll probably get them out of order, ‘cause all I remember was her calling me ‘babe’. Not too long after she called me ‘hon’. Not too long after she said she wanted to stay with me a while. And the ‘babe’ made me shudder.

OK, here goes nothing. “Yes, yes, yes, and terribly. Holly, yes, I will help you get away. Yes, I definitely want to act as your muse in any way I can. I not only THINK they can, but yes, things CAN happen that fast, and I think they did, at least with me and I pray, for you as well. Although I’ve loved you from afar as a fan and I mean fanatic, for ages, being close to you is breathtaking, in a good way. And you did pretty terribly at guessing my age. I only pray you don’t take a hike when I tell you that I actually qualify for AMAC and AARP discounts. Just barely, but I do. I just last month turned the big Five Oh. So now what do we do?” She didn’t bat an eyelid when I mentioned my age. She was just trying to be nice, I’ll bet.

“Well, I’m a little surprised at the age thing, but you gave me the answers I need. What will we do? Let’s see. Finish here with the police, go to your place, get me a makeover so I don’t have to wear sunglasses all the time, and live a little. How does that sound to my little Charlie Poo? And by the way, are you ever going to tell me about you? At least try to allay the fears that you might be an axe murderer?” She was wound up and smiling. I think she’s distractedly happy, in between miserable thoughts of the world around her.

“Sweetie, we have a long drive ahead of us when we leave here, so let’s talk about me on the way home. Sound good? I promise I won’t bring an axe into the hotel room in the meantime. Trust me. MwahHAHaHa,” I said in what I thought might be a scary voice. She giggled at that, and we got ready to leave. The sun was setting, but not fast enough that she had to remove the shades, thankfully. Walking back to the hotel, she held my hand again. It felt small, but it was warm, and right where it belonged. Very nice.

We told the desk clerk to set us up for two more nights, for a total of four. Surprisingly she apologized for her comment the night before and let us know that the last two nights would be on the county, or the Feds, but they were working that out. They had contacted the motel earlier in the evening. When we settled up, only the first two nights would be charged to my card. I thanked her and likewise said I was sorry for getting snippy with her as well. We all smiled at each other, and Holly and I went up to the room.

Laying on the beds, her in her T-shirt and panties, me in my boxers, with the TV on some obscure action flick, she looked over at me and asked if she could join me. I didn’t know what to say, I was a little surprised. “Charlie, I would like to be held for a little while. I promise not to damage your virtue, but my skin is a little hungry right now.” I held my arms out to her, and she literally jumped from her bed to mine and laid against me, head on my shoulder, arm on my chest. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled, and I felt her whole body start to shake. Then she cried, and cried, and cried. All I could do was hold her next to me and stroke her hair with my hand. I whispered to her that she was going to be OK, and everything would turn out fine. She actually fell asleep before she stopped crying. My T-shirt was on the bed next to me, so I grabbed it and dabbed her face a little, drying up the tears. I noticed something else about Holly then. As nice as she looked today, she wasn’t wearing a scrap of makeup. None. And yet she was the most gorgeous creature on the face of the earth. How cool is that? Did she ever wear it? Sure, she did. I’ve seen photos and videos of her on stage. But she looks just as good without. Pretty and cute and… feminine. She looks like a girl without trying. Nice to know.

Holly woke up in my arms. I really thought it’d be hard to sleep like that, but after my acknowledgment of her natural beauty, I fell asleep. Hard and fast asleep. When the alarm went off at 6:30, we both jerked a little, but didn’t move much. It felt too good. I tried really hard not to breathe on her, but she leaned over and kissed me, right on my chin. A little low considering, but it was a great start.

“Good morning, Charlie. I am so sorry about last night. Did I keep you up all night?” She sounded very sincere and worried she had caused a problem, but all she caused was for me to want to help her even more.

“No, my dear, you didn’t keep me up, and from what I can tell we both slept like logs. I didn’t even hear you snore last night, and you were right under my ear!”

“I don’t snore.”

“You did the night before.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did, and next time, I’m recording it. It’s cute enough, I might want it for my ringtone for when you call me.”

She’d had enough. “Charlie, if you record me snoring, you won’t have to worry about me calling you… Ever!!” And I let the conversation go at that point. I would record it, but I needed to be very careful with that recording…….

At that point, she jumped up with her T-Shirt hem caught around her waist and ran to the bathroom. Have I mentioned that her ass and her legs are world class? For such a short woman, her legs look long, and really are nice. “Hurry, sweetie, you aren’t the only one that needs to be in there this morning,” I hollered at her.

Much to my surprise, she hollered back, “I’m in the shower now, the toilet is free.”

OMYGODWHATDOIDONOW!?! flashed through my brain. Oh, never mind, I’m good. The shower doors here are frosted glass, so it won’t be like a life size naked poster of the lady I lust for. Although, just a hazy resemblance that will probably keep me from being able to pee, come to think of it. But I went in anyway. It was a hazy, blurred view, so I was able to pee before I got hard.

“Charlie, can you hang a towel over the shower door. Oh, you pee sitting down, too, huh?”

What? I thought everybody did when they could. It sure keeps from pissing women off with the whole toilet seat thing, and it’s much easier to clean the bathroom that way. “Yeah, sweetie, I do. Always have. Lots of reasons, but I do.”

She sounded pleased. “I’m glad. It’ll make cleaning the house so much easier when we’re living together at your place. You will let me help, right?”

I answered the only way I thought would be appropriate. “Yes, dear.”

She giggled. God, I love that giggle. I left the bathroom so she could have her privacy, then went into shower while she was getting dressed.

We got ready to go out for breakfast. Holly had on a ball cap. Royals. Whatever! She doesn’t know yet, but she will!! “Like it?” she asked me.

“Nope, but everybody has to root for someone,” I said in a gruff manner, thinking she would know I was pulling her leg a little. I told her, “This state has a highway running through it. The one you were on when we met. At one end you’ll find the Kansas City Royals, and yes, they recently won a World Series, but at the other end, you’ll find the St. Louis Cardinals. THAT is a baseball team. Eleven or so World Series and multitudes of pennants just below that. We’ll find you another hat and stuff. I hope we can go to Busch Stadium while you’re here. It’ll be fun to take you.”

She made a great smile at that. “Never liked the Angels or the Dodgers, maybe we can find me a team over there. Ya think?” That made me smile.

“Yes, sweetie, I’d love that. Let’s take off.” So, off to breakfast we went. A little diner a few blocks up the road from the hotel. The food was actually better than at the Country Kitchen, which meant it was really good. The place to be until we leave for home, most probably.

Detective Henderson called while we were eating. They didn’t need us today but were probably going to want to ask Holly some questions the next day, and since it would be in conference with the FBI offices in LA, we should plan on being there most of the day, off and on. At least we had a plan.

“What do you want to do today, my dear?” I asked Holly, hoping she’d have some ideas to burn some time.

“How about a movie? Then we can walk around that outlet mall up the highway a bit. Or vice versa, since the theater may not be open this early. We can pretend it’s a date, then we can have a late lunch somewhere, like here? The food here is great. Maybe the same crew will be cooking this afternoon.” She did it!! She came up with a plan, so at least I knew we’d be doing what she wanted for a while. Pretend like it’s a date, huh? My mind was reeling a little around that one. “Oh, and Charlie, I love it when you use those little endearments. Please don’t stop. I miss having someone around that actually sounds like they care if I’m happy. I care if you are, too, but you know what I mean, I hope.” She was a piece of work. I hoped this could work out.

“I love doing it, doll. You are definitely growing on me.” Not too sappy, I hope.

“Charlie, why didn’t you try to touch me last night?” CRAP, where did that come from? What do I say now? I gotta be careful here.

“Sweetheart, you have to understand how I feel. I have always admired you and fantasized about you more than a little. My wife even teased me about it, remember. If you think I don’t want to touch you, or hold you, or kiss you, you’re wrong. I just thought you might be a little uncomfortable yet, so I’m not going to do anything to offend or frighten you. And anyway, you were crying your eyes out while I was holding you, so it would have been a little… tacky.” Please, please, please be the right thing to say.

“That’s sweet, Charlie. Another reason you’re growing on me. So, it has nothing to do with me physically? You know, being trans and all?” her voice dropped a little, like she was afraid of the answer I might give.

“Not at all, sweetheart. Not at all. The only thing I see before me is a beautiful, smart young lady, and I would love to be in a position for you to want me to be with you, in whatever way you wish. If you do, and if you’re sure, I’ll probably pick up on that. Hold still for a second. Close your eyes. Don’t move.” She did, and I quietly stood, leaned over and kissed the tip of her cute little nose. Then sat down. “OK, you can open your eyes now. Holly, we have all the time in the world, or at least as much as you want to spend on me.”

“Thank you. Another way you show me you care. You know, I think I mentioned this, but I’ve never felt like this. When you kissed my nose, God, I hope it was you, my eyes were closed,” giggle, “my tummy churned a little, Charlie. And my chest tightened. Like butterflies. Like romance stories mention. I’ve never felt that before. Ever. Not even with Rachel, and I thought… never mind. This is new, that’s all.” She got a bit distant, looking out the window, in thought, so I was quiet. Let her think. Let her process.

Then she jerked her attention back to me saying, “Come on big guy, let’s roll. We’ll go to the mall over there and look around. Do you have any money you can lend me until we get things straightened out? You know, just in case I see something I like?” She sounded happy again. Good deal.

“Yes, sweetie, as long as they don’t have a Bentley or Ferrari dealership, we should be OK.”

She laughed at that. She didn’t need to know at this point that I would have, and could have, done that, too. Maybe I can help her pick out a pretty sundress, in green, and some spiffy heels to wear with it. There’s a question to be asked before our shopping trip. Does she even like to dress up? Dresses, hose, lingerie, high heels? My old fantasy of having a girl in hot pants, hose and heels still lingers. I wonder….

“Well, you know I’m good for it. At least I should be. No one has said any different yet, for sure. Anyway, I was hoping I could find something to dress up for you a little. Maybe you could take me out on the town when we get to your place. Any ideas?” She was playing into my deepest desires now, so I had to be careful.

“Yes, sweetie, I have some ideas. Let’s see if we can start with a couple of dresses you like. Maybe a sun dress that could also be worn in the evening, and a sheath or cocktail dress that fits your tastes. And every pretty girl needs an LBD.”

“My tastes? I thought I said I was dressing up for you! And what do you know about little black dresses? But you are so right. That happens a lot, doesn’t it?”

She was smiling broadly now, making sure I knew this was all about me. How did this happen? How did I get this lucky to fall into a relationship with my dream girl, for real? Serendipity? Whatever that is. I do know that stopping at the rest stop that night was indeed a life altering event.

“Honey, would you really let me dress you? I mean within reason in public, of course, but really?” I’m thinking ‘Please, please say yes’!!!

“Absolutely, babe. I’ll bet you want me in a dress, high heels, probably stockings and pretty lingerie underneath, am I right? I’m into all that girly stuff. Have been since I was little. All of it. I love heels. Must’ve had 3 pairs packed in the trunk of the car. Have a LOT more at home. Probably too many, but they say a girl can’t have too many pairs of shoes. I just don’t like those pointy toed things. Ickkk. I remember wearing Mom’s high heel pumps around the house when I was 10 or so. They didn’t fit very well. I could swim in them, but I loved ‘em. We’ll look. I’ll bet there are a couple of nice shoe stores at the outlet strip mall.” Well, that did it. I’m not only in lust, but in love with the closest thing to the perfect woman. No matter what else happened, we would build on that. “Oh, and babe, dressing up excites me, too.” BLAM - done.

“Well, off we go then. This will be fun. Very fun. Thank you, Holly. I am beginning to think your car blowing up was the best thing to ever happen to me. Come to think of that, we’ll probably need to run down to St. Louis, Chesterfield actually, to replace it when the insurance comes in.” There is a nice high-end dealership at The Crossing if she wants to replace it.

“That’s for later, and I don’t think I’ll get one of those again. Maybe downgrade to an Audi or something this time. That’s a high end, but low-key automobile. I didn’t get too attached to my car, thank heavens. I may just that… downscale a little. A nice SUV or something. The last thing I need is a flashy car running around rural Missouri.” She has evidently already thought this through. Good for her. I keep forgetting she’s an adult. A pretty smart one at that. Except for being taken advantage of by her “family”, she’s been known to be the brains behind her outfit and keeps bringing in the dough.

“Sounds good, sweetie, and you’re right. A nice SUV would serve you well on a half mile of gravel road off a three mile stretch of blacktop, which itself is 7 miles out from town on a small state highway. And it’s a little hilly.”

She gasped. “You really do live in the country then, don’t you?” she asked.

“Yes, my dear, but when you see the view when the sun comes up, you’ll know why I live there.” She smiled, knowingly. She seemed like she was eager to get there. That made me happy, so two smiling people went off to the mall.

On the road there, I had a thought pass through my inquisitive little brain, so I asked Holly, “Sweetheart, where were you going when you came through here?”

She pondered a bit and answered. “Nowhere, and possibly anywhere. I was actually headed toward the Smoky Mountains then Myrtle Beach. I couldn’t tell you why, other than seeing them in airline magazines or something. I know I had hiking boots and swimsuits in the trunk. I didn’t know anyone there, if that’s what you’re asking. I was just going. Pigeon Forge, maybe. Dollywood, you know? I might have stopped in to see her, actually. We’ve met a couple of times and might be working together before she retires completely, if I get one of my wishes. Hell, if Kelly and Reba can do it, why not. And, Charlie, if you’re worried about it, there is no one else. I thought I cleared that up.”

I looked at her, got a smile back, then returned it. I wasn’t going there, just wondering, but the answer was comforting, I guess.

We parked in the middle of the strip mall so we could walk to one end, shop in a line, dropping off purchases, then walk back from the end when we were done. Seemed easy enough. Then the shopping started.

A kitchen store was first in line, then a shoe store was the first we stopped in. She found a pair of taupe strappy 3” high heel sandals she liked. 3” heels on her small feet and petite frame looked to be what 4 to 5 inches would be on a taller woman. She looked great in them. A pair of bright green satin 4-inch platform pumps caught her eye next. They actually matched her eyes, but she didn’t see that, she just liked the shoes. “I’ll bet we can find a dress that will go well with these, don’t you, babe?” she asked.

“Anything you find you like in black, gray, white, beige, or the right green will work fine. Probably a lot of other stuff. They match your eyes, sweetie. They’ll go with almost anything between them and your eyes. They’re beautiful, by the way. Just so you know. Your eyes, I mean. Well, the shoes, too.” I was still reeling a little from the ‘babe’, hoping I wasn’t stuttering.

Putting her hand on my shoulder she pulled herself up a little, the green heels helped, and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Charlie. That is sweet of you to say.”

We packed up and moved on to a women’s clothing store up the sidewalk. Not a lot she liked, but a couple of the outfits might work if we couldn’t find anything else. So, on we moseyed. The morning went by, she found a few outfits, dresses, and such she wanted, so she was happy. I was ecstatic. The LBD she liked was glamour with a zipper. Low in front and back both, and midthigh length. Wow, she looked nice in it. A couple of sundresses, one in the perfect shade of green, and a business suit. No, I don’t know why, but I’m sure it’ll come in handy someday if she felt she needed it. They were all gorgeous. She was good at this.

Then she found a couple of lingerie stores. It looked like Victoria’s Secret was one of them. OH BOY!! I was pretty happy about the prospect, but she told me to get lost. I stuck my lower lip out and pouted a little too humorously, so she said, “Oh, poor baby, don’t step on that lip,” then kissed it. I tried to, really quick, kiss her back when she did, but she was fast. “Go for a walk. I’ll meet you by the truck in a bit. Give me an hour, okay, hon?” She wanted to surprise me, naturally, and I was all for it.

“Okay, sweetie. Whatever you need. Here’s a card. Remember, don’t use yours.” She told me she understood and shooed me away. Then I remembered… the kitchen store!!

I went back to the first store we walked by, and thought I’d just browse the kitchen gadgets. I love to cook. It’s not as much fun for one as it is for two, or a family, but I like it, nonetheless. They didn’t have any big items I needed, as I have all that, but there is always some new style of V-Slicer or something coming out. I found a few things, meandered a little, then checked out and walked back to the truck.

Sitting in the truck, listening to the stereo, and biding my time, I saw Holly come out of one of the stores and walk toward the truck. There were a couple of guys out in the lot and one of them glanced over at her. He spoke to the other fellow and they both started to move in Holly’s direction. I jumped out of the truck, and pulled my shirt tail out so my shirt would flutter in the wind. Jogging toward Holly, my shirt came up about elbow height, and the two guys saw my hip just as I was approaching her. The guys just stopped and walked the other way when they realized I was with her. I wouldn’t have done that, but they looked like trouble, not just innocent guys approaching a girl for a ‘get to know ya, talkin’ kinda thing’. You know? Sometimes my experience, or sixth sense, or whatever, kicks in a little. I’m thankful for that.

“Oh, so what have we here? You have a gun? Any special reason for that?” she asked, all at once.

“Yes, Holly, I always carry one. Pretty much always, but I generally have one on. Even if I wasn’t a retired cop, I’d still carry one. Too many reasons to explain all at once, but we can talk about it if you like.”

“Why did you want me to see it now, and not earlier?” She didn’t seem upset or anything, so I just told the truth.

“Sweetie, I wasn’t showing it to you on purpose. I saw those drifters over there when they saw you come out of that lingerie store. I didn’t like the look they had when they were checking you out, so I tried an old trick and it worked. They saw the gun before you did, with my shirt flapping up in the breeze, and turned around when they saw me go to you. No words spoken. No threats, no hostility. Now, can we just mosey over to the truck and leave before they get their gumption up to confront us?”

“Okay. Carry these.” That was it. She handed me the bags full of sweet nothings, and there were quite a few nothings in there from the feel of things, and we left. Nary another word was spoken about the incident.

We went a little farther down the road to a theater and found a romantic comedy that was starting in a bit, so we got tickets, and then went to order popcorn and drinks. “Babe, can you just get a large bucket and a huge cola, and we’ll share?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, doll, I can do that. You don’t have cooties, or anything do you?” I asked her, grinning fully.

After she slapped my arm, she giggled and said “Just girl cooties, but they won’t hurt you, I don’t think. We’ll just have to see.” It was fun acting young and crazy and foolish with Holly. She’s just fun to be around. It brings out the kid in me, I guess. I didn’t even know there was one in there, to tell the truth, as it’s been quite a while since I felt like anything was fun.

She took the bucket over to the butter dispenser and went nuts. “Never can have too much butter!” she hollered at me as I walked over with a paper cup of cola that must’ve been the half gallon size. Needless to say, we enjoyed the movie, sharing the goodies, with lots of napkins. The theater was almost empty for this matinee showing, so she had no qualms about putting the armrest up between us and snuggling up very close against me with her feet up under her in a way only girls can do. Something else to think about if that stupid niggling doubt comes back. I don’t want it to. She’s a girl. Period. Well, a woman who looks and acts like a girl, and that’s even better. You’re only as old as you feel. Right now, I feel like a teenager on a date back in high school.

When the movie was over, she stretched out, stood, leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Thanks, Charlie. That was fun. I think I ate too much butter. And some popcorn. Can you take us back to the hotel now?” I was in full agreement. “Yes, doll, I’d like nothing better. Fun movie, but I could use a nap.” She laughed a little and reached out for my hand, pulled me up, and off we went.

Back in the room, I flipped on the TV and we both leaned back in our beds and rested a bit. She asked for the remote, then came over to get it when I nodded, instead of letting me toss it to her. Then she crawled up next to me, turned the TV to GMT or some such country music thing and settled into my side. She kissed my cheek and said, “Really, Charlie, thank you for helping me out here. You’ve been wonderful. I am so lucky you found me out there.”

Putting my arm around her and pulling her in tight, I said, “You’re lucky? Look at me. A fantasy realized. No one is as lucky as me, as long as you’re around. Holly, can I kiss you?”

“Yes, Charlie. I was only kidding earlier. I’m cootie free,” she giggled. Then seriously, “I’d love for you to kiss me.” So, I did. And it was everything I ever thought a best-ever kiss could be. Soft, inviting, warm, tender, with butterflies so bad my chest hurt. She ran her tongue across my lips, but that’s as far as it went.

When she pulled back, she took a shaky breath and said, “The butterflies are back. I can’t breathe,” then she plopped back down with her head on my shoulder and laid her hand across my chest. “Damn, Charlie, I think I have a problem here. I’ve never felt like this for anyone, ever. That kiss just sealed it. You may not be able to get rid of me.”

“Okay.” I’m thinking ‘Sounds good to me!’ “We have a mutually shared problem then. I don’t want to let you go.”

She shocked me then, and moved her hand down to pull my shirt and t-shirt out of my pants and rubbed my stomach. It’s actually pretty smooth, since I have almost no hair on my chest or abdomen. “Sit up, Charlie, please?” I did so, and as I sat up, so did she. She pulled my shirt off my shoulders then my t-shirt up over my head and off. She laid the shirt down on the side of the bed. As I opened my mouth to say something, she put two fingers to my lips and said, “Shush, babe. I want to do this. It feels right. If you really don’t want me to, say so, but if it’s OK with you for me to be happy, then don’t say anything. Just lay back down and try to be quiet for a few minutes.”

I was a little worried things were moving too quickly, but she seemed to know what she was doing and what she wanted, so I held off saying anything for a bit. Her hands moved over my stomach and chest, brushing my nipples, causing me to shiver a little. “You like that, huh?” she whispered. “I like it that you aren’t all hairy and bushy. Your chest and tummy feel nice.” Thank God for small favors. If she liked big hairy guys, I would not have been her cup of tea!

“Hold on a second,” she said as she undid my belt buckle and that caught me short. “Holly, wait.”

“No, Charlie, I’m just going to take this holster off. I bumped your gun with my hip and that won’t do. Just lift your tushy for me a bit.” Then she pulled on my belt and wiggled the holster a little so the belt would come out and it would fall away. She held it carefully and looked it over, then set it on the nightstand. “Heavier than it looks,” she said. Then she pulled farther on the belt and noticed something fall off my left hip as well.

“Extra magazines for the pistol, sweetie,” I said, and reached down to grab them, but she crawled over me and got to them first.

“These are heavy, too! What kind of gun is that, anyway?” Her breasts were pushing into my sternum about this time, and I had to jog my concentration.

“Well, dearest, let’s start this out right, OK? It’s a pistol, but people do call them guns, so that’s not a big deal. We’ll talk more about that later. It’s a Kimber forty-five caliber carry pistol, an Ultra CDP Two, and it’s actually light, compared to a regular nineteen eleven style forty-five, but the ammunition is a little heavy, so that adds some weight. That’s why the magazines are heavy as well. Each has 7 rounds in it, and they are pretty big bullets, for a concealed carry pistol.” She was listening intently, almost like she was trying to learn. I found out later that she was. She was very interested. Another reason to love her. Egads! I said it. She put the ammo pouch with the two mags on the nightstand then turned back to me.

“Charlie, I’ve already told you I’ve never felt this way about anybody before. You know who I am, and what I am, and you still seem to like me. I know who you are, and what you are, and I like you, too. Probably more than like, but after only a couple days, it’s hard to use words meant for people who have taken a lot longer than we have to feel like this.” She was sitting up rubbing my chest with one hand then moved the other up by my cheek and ear, very softly tracing her fingers around. It felt really soft and endearing. I’ve never been touched like that before. None of the women I’ve been with, only two in the last 30 years, actually, were very romantic. Holly seemed to be that and more.

She continued, “What scares me, babe, is that we’re from two totally different worlds. I know we are. But right now, it doesn’t feel like we should be. I do want to spend some time away. I want to do that with you, and I mean that. I hope that’s still okay. I’ll make arrangements as soon as we get to your place in a couple of days. The reason I could take off when I did was that I don’t have any contracts open or pending deadlines or anything. So, when I got frustrated and overwhelmed, I just ran away, knowing I wasn’t hurting anyone else, business wise, and didn’t care personal wise, ‘cause everyone I used to worry about was either gone or damned sure not worrying about me.”

I wanted to reassure her about my feelings and wants, so I told her “Yes, sweetheart, I want you to come with me and stay a while. For as long as you want. For as long as you’ll have me. My house is not isolated in the boonies. You can do whatever you need at home for your business and career. We even have running water.” She laughed at that. I continued. “I can run you down to St. Louis and put you on a plane if you need, or want, to go back to LA, or Nashville for that matter. Hell, we could drive to Nashville and make it a weekend getaway or something. As far as different worlds are concerned, I’m between worlds right now, and I’d follow you to yours, if you don’t want to be in mine. Or we could combine them and make the best of it.”

“That sounds good, Charlie. Really good. I think we’re going to be a pair. Of what, I don’t know, but a pair, just the same,” she said laughing lightly, as she leaned down and kissed me again. She has nice lips. “Could I touch you, Charlie? I mean, there.” She pointed to my crotch.

She had an apprehensive look on her face like I was going to get upset, so I tried to be as calm as possible. “Holly, sweetie, are we ready for this? Are you ready for this? You know when this door opens, it will swing both ways, and I want to be sure that you can accept that.”

She giggled again, so sweetly, then said, “What a play on words. Swing both ways. Hah!” She got serious, then asked, “That’s the issue, isn’t it?”

I reached out for her and hugged her as closely and completely as I could. I needed to nip this in the bud right now. “No, baby doll, not at all. I have told you, and I’ll keep saying it if I have to, but maybe I need to show you that you are a girl to me. That’s all. Well, that’s not all, you are a special, beautiful, caring, funny, interesting, wonderful girl, but to me, a girl. Maybe that’s my issue. You seem so young to me that I want to protect you from myself. But geez, sweetie, you’re a woman. I need to realize that. You can make those decisions on your own, and if you want to decide to play with me, mores the better. Please drop the thoughts of your,” I made air quotes, “gender, OK? It’s not that, and when you’re ready, and it seems you might be, I’ll show you how I feel about you physically. I just don’t want to lose you yet. Will you give me a chance?”

“Yes, Charlie. I will. I promise. Another reason you endear me to you. You’re trying to protect my virtue from my own actions. Now can I play with your pee-pee?” she asked in her little girl voice. With that voice and her looks, at a distance she could pass for a 14-year-old girl. It’s just crazy how exciting that is, even if you aren’t a pervert. But then again, maybe I am. I just didn’t care anymore.

“It’s yours. Do with it what you will. Just be careful and don’t break it. Okay, doll?” She laughed and undid my pants. I lifted my butt off the bed, and she wrestled them down to my ankles. My boxers were still about half on. She reached down to my feet, giving me a wonderful view of her cute round ass, pulled my shoes and socks off, then finished the pants when I moved my legs a little. When she made it back, she ran her hand down inside the boxers and just brushed around the base of my dick, back and forth and the tops of my thighs.

“Charlie, you don’t have any hair there either, do you?”

“No sweetie, I keep it shaved. Might be a little stubbly now, ‘cause I didn’t this morning. I didn’t expect to have my dream fantasy wonder woman playing with my cock today. You know what I mean?”

She smiled when I called her that. “Thanks for that, babe, I do understand. I don’t have to worry about that anymore, but I used to be able to relate.”

“What do you mean, baby?” Another grin from her. She likes the terms of endearment. I like using them. “Weeelllll,” she stretched that out so cutely, “I had all the hair below my ears removed, completely. One hundred percent of the hair below my eyebrows and my hairline, gone. I know what you’re thinking, but no, they didn’t know who I was. Mom took me to a clinic in Japan, under an assumed name, of course, and I got lasered for about 3 weeks, until ‘voila’, all gone. That was a step I had to go through to make sure the doctors knew I was serious. Then after that, I had my orchiectomy, and then the little bump in my throat shaved down, and the hormones are taking care of everything else.” She sat by my hip and stretched her legs out toward the head of the bed. “See, smooth as a baby’s butt”. She took my hand and ran the fingers and palm up her shin and onto her thigh, stopping my hand just when my fingers touched the crease between her thigh and her abdomen. She was wearing shorts, and a tight tank top. I wasn’t getting anywhere dangerous yet, but it was tempting. Her legs felt like satin. Just soft, smooth, and very enticing.

“You are right there, little girl. Them are some nice, smooth legs!” I said then I grabbed her ankle, pulled her up so her back was on my stomach and kissed and smooched on the backs of her thighs. All the time, she was laughing and kicking up a storm. That was fun. I stopped and we settled, then she swung around and lay on my chest, arms crossed, chin on her hands and looked at me. “What?” I asked.

“Charlie, I’m in love. I’ll be the first to say it, okay? You’ve swept me off my feet. I am figuratively and literally in your hands. Don’t hurt me. Please, don’t hurt me.” A tear was forming. I reached around her and pulled her up a bit and kissed her again. This was a serious moment. What was beginning to form in my boxers miraculously went limp, mostly. Her leg, almost her knee, was pressing on my penis, but my thoughts were somewhere else. She needed some serious reassurance, and a horny old man was not who she needed to hear it from. With my arms around her, she laid her head on my shoulder.

“Holly, dear, I am not going to hurt you. I will be as careful with you as a man can possibly be, and I will do my best to see that no harm comes to you or your heart. You are precious to me. I will take care of you.”

“Okay,” she said, very softly. I rubbed her back and shoulders with my left hand and let my right hand drift down where I slipped just my fingers under her waist band rubbing the small of her back there. Just lightly, I stroked with just the fingers of both hands for a few minutes. Damn, if she didn’t start that sweet little snore of hers. She was comfortable enough on my chest to fall asleep. I didn’t see any reason to ruin the moment, so I followed her to meet the Sandman.

I woke when she moved down my chest and pulled my dick out through the fly in my boxers. I kept my eyes closed and tried not to stir. She just played for a minute, then bent down and kissed the head. Her little hands, just the fingers holding it up, felt so small, so delicate, as it started to grow from the feeling. Her little mouth went over the head, and she suckled a little and ran her tongue around some.

“Charlie, I know you’re awake. Lift your butt so I can take your underpants off.” I laughed and raised my ass a little. She pulled them down and off my legs when I lifted them. I now lay stark naked in front of my petite goddess.

“How did you know?” I asked her.

“Your breathing changed. It actually changed when I wiped a little bit of my sleepy slobber off your chest. I think that’s what woke you up. Sorry about that. I didn’t realize I still did that.”

“No biggie, my little vixen, you can slobber on me anytime you wish. Obviously, you are taking full advantage of that fact, from the look and feel of things.” My grin set her off. She was still giggling when I went back into her mouth. “Holly, you are such a dear. Take it easy, though. This hasn’t happened to me in several years. I’m not going to last very long.”

She lifted her head a bit. “Several years? Seriously Charlie, have you been alone all that time?”

“Yes, honey, it’s been a while.”

“Babe, you’ll talk to me on the way home, won’t you? You know so much about me, but I know so little about you. If you don’t want to share, I understand, but I really want to be your… your… shit, babe, your girlfriend. You lady. Your woman. I want to know all about you. Even the warts. OK?”

I had no choice. I was hers now. “Okay, sweetness. Everything. Even the warts.”

I asked her to stop for a minute so I could hug her and hold her. She got up and stopped. She removed her top, then popped open her front close bra, dropping it off her arms and shoulders in back then jumped up and shimmied her shorts off. She left her panties on, though. Well, what you might call panties. Actually, it was a thong. She was beautiful. A couple of beauty marks, puffy little nipples on perfectly shaped small breasts, an hourglass waist, flared hips, and legs that went all the way to the floor. I knew she was beautiful, so it shouldn’t have done what it did, but it shocked me. I couldn’t react. She bent forward, little breasts just perfect on her chest, and waved her hand in front of my eyes. “Charlie, honey, babe, are you all right?” Waving after each name.

“Yeah, doll, I’m okay. You just took me by surprise. In my wildest dreams and fantasies, it wasn’t this good. Mind you it was nice, but nowhere near this level of perfection and not as clear. Come to think of it, I doubt I could have described how I thought you looked naked if you asked me. But now I know. Please come to me and let me hold you like I need to. Please?”

“Yes, Charlie. Yes. I’m here.” I was sitting up at this point, so I just reached over and pulled her up on my lap, put my arms around her and squeezed. Softly, but I wanted her to feel what I had inside for her. Love, affection, admiration, and yes, lust, but not right now. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t hard. That didn’t last long. She moved her butt cheeks back and forth a little, knowing my dick was just under her, and teased a little. Little Charlie came out to play then. But I just held her and rubbed the skin on her arms, her back, her legs, all over. She leaned her head back and pulled mine down for another kiss. This one had the intensity of the first, only now there was nothing between us. It was skin to skin, all over.

“Charlie, lay back. I want to finish what I started, and before you ask, I’m not letting go when you do. Just let it happen. Okay, babe?”

She went back to work on my now hardened cock and all I could do was murmur “Mmhmmm”. Oh, man this felt good. Oh, Holy Crap, this felt really good. Her lips, her tongue, the head hitting the start of her throat, then a little farther. And then, just when I thought I had entered Nirvana, her tongue touched the crease of my thigh and the side of my scrotum. My ball sack. While my dick was in her mouth. By the Gods, she had me all the way down her throat and still licking with her tongue. That was the trigger. I came, and came, and came again. She took the first couple jets in her throat, then backed up with just a couple inches in and took the rest, still licking the head, as I convulsed and spurted, then died. I think I lost motor control for a second or two. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. She crawled up my body to my face and asked if she could kiss me. I had just enough power to nod, and she kissed me. Yes, with tongues and lips and bodies, and all. Best kiss yet and let me tell you there have been a couple of zingers.

“Did you mind, babe? Me kissing you after?” She was hesitant, but I wrapped my arms around her once again. “No, sweetheart, never. Not after that, not after anything. If you have duck poop on a cow patty for lunch, I’ll still kiss you, BEFORE you brush your teeth. Nothing will keep me from wanting to kiss you.”

“Nothing?” she asked with an evil grin. “We may test that someday. Maybe.” I think I know what she was up to, so I headed her off.

“Sweetheart, even if you wander farther down, I’ll still want to kiss you. I promise, that, especially in the heat of passion and ecstasy, I will never say no to kissing you.”

But I needed something from her now, and I was hoping she wouldn’t keep me waiting. Knowing she was OK with making love, having sex, performing oral, whatever we wanted to call that, I reached down and put my thumbs in her thong waistband and pulled down a little. “You sure?” she asked. I nodded again, this time with a little more energy.

She lifted her tummy up and I pulled down until she had to move up over me and out of them. “Right here,” I said. She was straddling my chest, nipple high, when I looked down and saw it. Her clitoris. Wasn’t much bigger than a big clit, either. An inch, circumcised. About the same size as the end of my first finger. And it was adorable. I put my arms under her legs, my hands on her waist, and lifted her groin up to my face. And I stuck it in my mouth. And I loved it. It tasted good. She was moaning and wiggling a little, but I kept it in my mouth. After a couple minutes of that and tonguing the underside where her balls might once have been, her taint, I guess, she started seeping fluid. A little at a time. My chin was near her anus, so I’ll bet I was putting pressure on her prostate, if she had one. I’ll bet she did. But it didn’t matter. I was never letting her go now. She would bury me in her near future, but I’ll never let her go. If I can talk her into keeping me, that is.

She kept up with the moaning and started humping a little, catching me off guard as she slipped back a little. “Stay here. I want this,” I told her as I put her back in my mouth. It took a few minutes, but I got her worked up again, and humping, and moaning, and it grew, and grew. It was two inches long and just a little thicker, maybe the size of my thumb, overall, then it happened. She screamed, and thrusted, and gave me a fat lip, and came in my mouth. Just a little, but I could taste it, and it tasted better than mine. Story for another time. I would never get tired of having this little pixie in my life. Never.

She fell backwards, her head nearly smacking Little Charlie, and swooned. “Oh, damn, Charlie, I never.” Never what, I thought. She’s twenty-two and has had a lover similarly equipped, so she should’ve. “I’ve never come that hard. You wonderful, wonderful man. If you do that again, you’re going to have to learn to sing and dance, ‘cause I’ll never let you out of my sight! You’ll even have to stay on stage with me!”

“Holly, you mean you’ve never felt that before?” I asked her.

“No, babe, never. Not like that. Rachel, evidently, wasn’t all that great at eating my clitty. I guess you need to know, she’s the only real ‘lover’ (air quotes) I’ve had. I’ve never felt like that alone. Honey, that was fabulous. Just amazing.” She was still lying on her back, but skootched a little to the side and kissed my dick, now hard again and leaking a little. I was really turned on sucking her that way. I grabbed her thighs just below her knees and tried to lift her ass to my face to kiss her on the butt. “NO! I’m dirty. Let’ go shower.”

“Huh? I was just gonna kiss your ass. You’d think I was gonna have it for dinner!” I laughed, she giggled, and I would have chased her into the bathroom, but she stopped by the dresser to grab a little red bulb out of a bag. She met me in the shower, and I had the water running.

“Charlie, honey, are you ready to see the kinds of things I need to do for you? If you aren’t, I can wait ‘til you’re done and be private about it.” She was worried I wouldn’t accept the fact that she had to feel clean, and why.

“Absolutely, but I’m going to set some ground rules, if you’ll let me. Sweetie, we’re moving awfully fast here, and I don’t want to burn out a wonderful thing. We need to slow down a little. We have already done so much, but I want to wait for a bit ‘til I make love to you fully. Completely. Do you understand that?” I was afraid she’d think I was pushing her away, but she said she understood. I reassured her, though, when I told her “But go ahead and clean up and out and whatever, because I’m not done accosting you with my lips yet. Then we need to go out for a bite.” She bared her teeth and growled. “A meal, silly girl.” She giggled again. Lord, I love that sound. She dropped the bulb on the shower floor and picked up the bar of soap and a washcloth and went over every inch of me. That was nice. It’s been so long since I’ve shared this much and these types of closeness with anyone. I got the shampoo that she had put on the shower rail and did her hair. She seemed to enjoy that quite a bit, and I enjoyed doing it for her, so shampooing my little darling went on my list of ‘things to do often’. I washed her with a bottled body wash that had a really nice smell of lavender, but with my hands. No washcloth. THAT was fun. She really enjoyed me running my soapy fingers across her breasts, her little pucker and around her clitty. It stiffened a little but didn’t grow much. Likewise, her nipples. I could feel them puff a little and the tips harden. She shuddered a little then she stopped me, and we rinsed. She ran me out to dry and wait for her in bed. I guess she didn’t want me watching yet.

She came out several minutes later, a vision of loveliness. Hair wet, still, but that only made it darker red. Naked as a newborn, skin looking soft and smooth. I noticed very faint tan lines, but she still seemed tan all over to me. Maybe she tans ‘sin bikini’. Nekkid. Tanning bed maybe? If so, she’ll be happy with the one at home.

I met her at the edge of the bed and hugged her naked body to mine, Little Charlie making his presence known. We kissed, and she pushed me back on the bed, crawling up my chest. She whispered in my ear “Accost me with your lips, you said?” I suddenly flipped her over on her back which made her squeal and laugh. Grabbing her ankles, I pushed her legs back over her head. Moving my hands to the backs of her thighs, I held her down and softly bit her clit, licked around it, then dragged my tongue down to the area between there and her anus. It was a lot of real estate since she was without balls in between. Licking around her asshole really set her off, jerking and crying out to “never, ever stop.” But I finally did, just a little after I felt her shudder and hunch upwards a few times. She had cum on her pubic mound. She must not have gotten any longer or anything, because the few drops that came out were right at the base of her clit.

That was a preview of Life Altering Events. To read the rest purchase the book.

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