America's Sweetheart

America's Sweetheart

(c) 2023 by Thrillerauthor

For those who missed America's Pastime, the players are:

Eric, who loses his college scholarship after he washes out of baseball before...

Coach Heller persuades him to play on the girls' softball team with the help of...

Jan, a cute left fielder who falls in love with Eric as she transforms him into Erin

After I pulled myself together, and Jan threw on a casual skirt and top, she dug a pair of pumps out of her closet and I was able to get my feet into them. "It's a good thing you're wearing stockings," she observed. "They make it much easier to squeeze into tight shoes." The science was lost on me, but I was more concerned about how I was going to be able to walk more than a few steps in three inch heels without falling flat on my ass.

Jan marched me around her dorm room until I started getting the hang of it. "Very good!" she said when I finally collapsed onto her sofa and kicked off my heels. She began rubbing my aching toes through my nylons, which almost triggered another orgasm, before she glanced at a text from Coach Heller. "You're on at the campus television station in half an hour," Jan told me. "You can walk there in your flats and change back into your heels for the press conference."

I looked down at the silky knees peeking out from under the hem of my dress and had a panic attack. "I can't go anywhere looking like this! I've never even been outside in a dress, and now you're expecting me to go on national television and pretend that I enjoy being a girl?"

"Isn't that what you just told me?" she purred.

"That's just between us, remember?" We kissed, a long, lovely kiss which had me stirring downstairs again. "Good thing I've got on control top pantyhose," I sighed.

"Better get used to them, you're about to become a media sensation. When we get to the studio, coach will take the lead, and all you've got to do is smile prettily and show them some leg."

"What if they start to grill me, like how long have I known that I wanted to be a girl?"

"You can't be half in, sweetheart. Best to just tell them it's something you always dreamed about, there's no way for them to know what's inside your head. Now let me fix your face, your lipgloss is all gone." Jan went to work, and after she was finished and I slipped my feet into my flats, I experienced walking outdoors in a dress for the first time. It was a cool evening, and my bare shoulders were colder than my legs, protected as they were by my stockings. My dress swirled around my knees in a gentle breeze, and I told Jan that I felt almost naked.

"You'll get used to it. Don't worry, you look very natural wearing a dress, did anyone ever tell you you've got pretty legs?"

"Oh, all the time." She laughed and took my hand, and for a few minutes we strolled across the leafy green campus like we were the only two people in the world, lost in love and alone with our thoughts. Mine were preoccupied with what I was going to say to the sports reporters who were crowding into the studio. We paused at a park bench so I could swap my flats for the heels that Jan was carrying in a shopping bag, and after she kissed me on the cheek for luck, I walked carefully up the steps into the building.

A madhouse awaited me. Coach Heller was surrounded by reporters, but as soon as I entered the room, a momentary hush fell over the crowd before the mob descended on me. "Are you sure that's him?" "That can't be a guy!" "Look at those legs!" I was getting ready to flee when Coach Heller caught up with me and pulled me into a small conference room where a woman I recognized as the Dean of Students was sitting next to a distinguished looking man who might have been Sigmund Freud.

After Coach Heller closed he door, the three of them just stared at me. "Is this really your shortstop?" the Dean finally asked.

"I told you she made a pretty girl," Coach Heller replied, "although I must say I'm astonished by the transformation, Erin. You clean up real nice."

"I thought if I put on something feminine, it might make things go a little easier."

"It's certainly going to help," the Dean said. "In a few minutes the press is going to be asking us all kinds of questions about you, and your appearance should go a long way. Up until now, we've been pretty relaxed about your transition because the laws in this state are so lenient, but the College Softball World Series takes place in Oklahoma City, which takes a dim view of transpersons, so I'm afraid we're going to have to tighten things up if we're going to allow you to play in the tournament with your team."

"Erin has to play or we won't get past the first round," Coach Heller broke in.

"What does 'tighten things up' mean?" I asked.

"I'll let Doctor Meister explain."

The egghead sitting next to the Dean began to recite from a text in front of him. It was in a binder marked with the NCAA logo.

"'She must provide a written and signed declaration issued by an endocrinologist that her gender identity is female.' I can take care of that after a brief consultation. 'She must demonstrate that the concentration of testosterone in her serum is less than 10 nmol/L.' This will require a blood test and, if necessary, the introduction of female hormones. Are you already taking them?" the doctor asked.

"No, never. I was told it wouldn't be necessary," I said, expecting Coach Heller to back me up.

"Erin is right. She is no naturally feminine, they didn't seem to be necessary given her self-identification as a female." I cringed at what she was saying, but I knew exactly what she was trying to do, walk a tightrope to keep me on the team without revealing that I was only pretending that I wanted to be girl. What Coach Heller didn't know was that I'd already crossed the Rubicon that afternoon, and my biggest concern was how taking female hormones might affect my lovemaking with Jan.

The crowd outside the door was getting boisterous, and the Dean stood up. "We can continue with this later. Right now, we have to face the press, and Coach Heller and I will do most of the talking. Erin, if you're uncomfortable in any way, you can simply refuse to answer their questions."

"You can always decline to answer any medical questions on the grounds of privacy, you have an absolute right to do that," the doctor added.

"Okay, showtime," Coach Heller said, and we went outside to confront the mob.

TRANSCRIPT

DEAN: Good afternoon. With me here today are Coach Heller, who has guided our women's softball team through an undefeated season. They are now on their way to the College Softball World Series. (Applause) Also here on the dais is Doctor Meister, an endrocrinologist and associate professor at our school of medicine. We know that there has been a tremendous amount of interest in our star shortstop, and Erin is here today to answer your questions, although I wish to make it clear from the outset that there will be no questions of a personal nature regarding her medical situation. As you already know, Erin was born male but she identifies as female, and as you can see for yourselves, in addition to being an outstanding softball player, she is a lovely young woman.

REPORTER: Erin, how long have you known that you wanted to be a girl?

ERIN: I don't know. For as long as I can remember, I guess.

REPORTER: Coach, how does Erin get along with the girls on the team?

COACH: She gets along great with them.

REPORTER: Any issues in the locker room? Does he shower alongside the girls?

COACH: I'm not aware of any problems.

ERIN: I wait until the other girls are out of the shower before I take mine.

REPORTER: I've seen you out on the field, but you never looked like this. Do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?

DEAN: Sorry, no personal questions please.

REPORTER: How long have you been taking female hormones?

DOCTOR: That question is off limits. Erin's medical history is protected by HIPPA.

REPORTER: Are you planning to have a sex change operation?

DOCTOR: Again, off limits.

REPORTER: I'm not asking about his medical condition, I'm asking if he, or she, wants to go under the knife in the future.

DEAN: Next question.

REPORTER: Give us a break. You've got a boy dressing up as girl to play on your softball team. We've got a right to know.

DEAN: You have no right to pry into her personal life.

REPORTER: Next week you're taking your team to Oklahoma City for the World Series. What kind of reception are you expecting from the other teams and the local fans?

COACH: We're expecting them to treat Erin like any other ball player.

REPORTER: In Oklahoma? Are you kidding?

REPORTER: Are you taking any security precautions?

REPORTER: Will he be wearing that dress to his funeral?

DEAN: This press conference is over!

* * *

Jan was waiting for me outside when we finally left the building. "I was standing in the back of the room. That was terrible!"

"It was a fucking nightmare," I said as I collapsed onto the same park bench where I put on my heels, and swapped back into my flats. Jan put my heels back in her shopping bag and sat down beside me. "After those assholes left, that doctor made an appointment for me to see him first thing tomorrow morning. Guess you know what's coming next."

"What?"

"He showed me the NCAA's requirements for trans athletes. I've got to get my testosterone level down below ten somethings, he'll give me a blood test and if I flunk it, they'll shoot enough estrogen into me to turn me into a girl."

"Please don't say it like that! The hormones aren't permanent, are they?"

"I'll know more after my 'consultation' tomorrow."

"Well, no matter what he tells you, you'll always be the same person as far as I'm concerned."

She leaned over and kissed me, and I kissed her back, a soft lingering kiss that lasted until....

FLASH! A newsman's camera exploded in our faces, catching us in the act! Jan was startled, and I was too, but when the newsman started to retreat, I vaulted over the bench despite my dress and ran after him. I caught him just before he could get to his car, grabbed his camera out of his hands, and smashed it to pieces on the sidewalk. Then I smoothed down my dress, spun on my heel, and walked back to the bench where Jan was waiting. "I'm gonna miss having testosterone in my system," I told her as I took her hand and walked her back towards her dorm.

*. * *

The next morning, I was back in my old jeans and top for my appointment with Dr. Meister. Before he saw me, a nurse came out and took a blood sample. She said they were going to rush the analysis so the results should be available before the doctor was finished with me. I sat down in the waiting room and started scrolling through my cellphone for news about yesterday's press conference, and it didn't take me long to find it.

MELEE ENDS PRESS CONFERENCE FOR TRANS SOFTBALL PLAYER

Mystery swirls around the boy who turned himself into a girl to play softball for her college women's team. The star shortstop showed up at a press conference looking like a starlet on the red carpet at the Academy Awards, wearing a little black dress and heels. All questions about her transformation and personal life were rebuffed by college officials, who asserted her right to privacy. The press conference got out of hand after repeated questions about her plans for gender affirmation surgery and potential threats to her physical safety at the upcoming College Softball World Series....

"The doctor will see you now."

I put my cellphone in my purse and followed a receptionist into the doctor's office. He beckoned me to sit down, and eyed me over his reading glasses for quite some time before he began. "This entire procedure as followed a very strange path. Ordinarily, a visit like this would have taken place long before a patient entertained any notion of changing genders. I don't fault Coach Heller for jumping the gun with you, given the benign laws regarding gender self-identification in this state, but now that you, and this college, are in the spotlight and likely to remain so, we're going to go by the book. Your answers to the questions I'm about to ask you will remain confidential, but it's important that you answer honestly. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"All right then. When did you first wish you were a girl?"

"Let's get real. Coach Heller told me I could join the women's softball team and save my scholarship without the need to do anything other than declare that I'm a female. I went along with her and made the team. Then the Dean got involved and I had to start dressing like a girl, get a girl's haircut and stuff and let the college change my record to female and my name to Erin."

"So you don't really want to become a woman," he said with resignation.

"I didn't say that. I started to hang out with one of the girls on the team, and she started to turn me into a girl, nothing physical, but she taught me how to act and look like a girl and let me try on some of her clothes. That dress I wore yesterday was hers, and I loved it. I don't know why, but I don't think I can go back to being a guy again."

"I see."

"There's more. I've been sleeping with this girl all season, and I think we're in love. She loves me even though I love being a girl. But I'm worried about what's gonna happen if I have to start taking hormones. Will I still be able to get it up for her?"

The doctor took a deep breath. "Thank you for being so honest. I frankly had no idea. In a way, this makes things easier for both of us because I can in good conscience prescribe hormones for you based on what I've learned. And they will impact your sex drive, although over time with the proper dosage we might be able to preserve your libido. But we're getting ahead of ourselves." He pressed a switch on his intercom. "Do we have those blood results." His receptionist told him they'd just come back, and the doctor excused himself to get them. When he returned to his office, his face was expressionless. "We have the answer," he said at length. "Your testosterone level is within the normal male range, 22 nanomoles per liter. We need to get it down below 10, so I'm going to prescribe a combination of spironolactone, which will reduce your body's production of testosterone, and estrogen, which will also reduce your testosterone levels while it begins to feminize you. Normally we would wait to let the spironolactone go to work before administering estrogen, but we need to get your testosterone down into the female range before Oklahoma City."

"Will I grow boobs?"

"Not right away, but over time, if the therapy is continued, you will begin to develop female breasts, your musculature will weaken, your hips and backside will become more rounded, your skin will become much softer and you'll get to keep that lovely head of hair."

"And what if I change my mind after the tournament?"

"I checked your team physical before you came in. You are in perfect health, which is why I'm comfortable short circuiting some of the protocols for the introduction of hormones, and provided you don't stay on them for an extended period of time, you should be able to revert to being a male without difficulty. Are you sure this is what you really want?"

I knew that the doctor was cutting corners to get me into the tournament, and that the hormones he was about to prescribe would start turning me into a woman, but by now there was no turning back. "How soon can we get started?"

"We'll start right now. I'll give you an injection to jumpstart the hormones and a supply of pills for you to take on a daily basis. The injection will be in your gluteus maximus, so please pull down your jeans."

*. * *

I was feeling a little sore from the needle during practice that afternoon, but all of the girls were so excited about playing in the tournament that I soon got caught up in it. At the end of practice, Coach Heller sat us down in the bleachers and made some announcements. "We'll be flying to Oklahoma City on Saturday. A limited number of tickets will be available for friends and family, so if any of your parents are planning on making the trip, let me know as soon as possible." No problem there, and I prayed to God that my parents hadn't seen the press conference. "One more thing: the athletic department has sprung for traveling uniforms for us, skirts and blazers which we'll wear on the plane, and that includes you, Erin," she said with a smile while the rest of the team laughed. "We don't want you upstaging us in another dress like you wore to the press conference."

After the rest of the team left, I popped my head into Coach Heller's office. "I started on hormones today, Coach. The doc thinks they'll get my testosterone down to girl level before the first game."

"Excellent. Erin, I'm truly sorry about the way things have gone down, I never dreamed that the team would make it this far, and we couldn't have done it without you."

"That's okay. I am a little worried about the reception I'm going to get in Oklahoma City."

"The city knows how important this tournament is for their economy, and even though the state laws are terribly unwelcoming for the LGBT community, they've assured us that extra security will be provided before, during and after the games, and I've been given similar assurances by the manager of the hotel where we'll be staying. Is there anything else on your mind?"

"I just want to thank you for making all this possible, and let you know that it's changed my life. I've come to like being a girl, so much that I might just want to stay this way when the season's over."

"I've seen the changes, Erin, although the sight of you in that dress yesterday was beyond anything I could have imagined. You know how you've gone from being a middling boy second basement to a superstar girl shortstop? We'll, you've also gone from being a scrawny, insecure young man to a beautiful, confident young woman. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you decide to stay this way."

Jan was standing outside when I left the locker room. "I was wondering what happened to you?"

"Oh, just a little girl talk with the coach."

"I picked up our skirts and blazers, they're so cute!" She reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out a white blazer with piping in our school colors, and a knee length pleated skirt in navy blue. "There's a little shell top that goes with them, and you can borrow one of my slips to wear under your skirt. Let's go back to my room and try them on."

Jan knew that I'd started in on hormones that morning. When we got to her room, I told her that I was feeling a little nauseous and my butt was still sore from the injection. She gently removed my jeans and top, pulled down my panties and slowly tried to stroke my penis into life. "I don't know if I'll be able to do this much longer," I told her, and she could tell that I was on the verge of tears.

"All that estrogen is messing with your mind, baby. It's really okey, there are so many ways we can please each other, just lay back and let me do the work for a change." She kissed my nipples, and although I'm sure it was all in my head, I could swear that I felt a new tenderness there when she played with them with her teeth. I started doing the same thing to her, wondering what it would be like to have luscious breasts like hers, and then I pulled down her panties and tickled her clitoris with my tongue until her whole body shuddered in ecstasy. It was the first time she'd ever beaten me to an orgasm, and I felt my penis softening in defeat.

"Let's play dress up," Jan suddenly said, and she grabbed a stocking out her dresser and started to roll it up one of my legs. My penis gave a little jerk, and she sucked on it until I lost myself in a sudden release, as intense as any orgasm I'd ever experienced, even though I never got totally hard. "That's my girl," she whispered, and I knew then that I'd made the right decision to start on hormones, that Jan would always be with me, and I wondered how I'd ever lived without a beautiful girlfriend who loved me, and who loved to dress me up in her wonderful, forbidden clothes.