Hero Worship Pt. 07

"That's alright. I'll be rocking a tux, assuming I can figure out how to rent one that doesn't look awful."

Harold pointed at his son. "I remember taking you for you first tux, your junior prom."

"Yeah, that was an experience."

I sipped my beer. "I've never done it before, so I'm not sure what to expect."

Mr. Winterburg looked at me thoughtfully. "When were you planning on going?"

"Probably Monday morning, before I head out to the warehouse for the day."

"Well, if you want some company, I'd be happy to join you. I'll even treat for lunch afterwards."

I was dumbfounded. "Sure. I'd, um, I'd like that."

- Aly -

I kept glancing outside to where my dad and Grandpa were sitting with Taylor, trying to get a read on their facial expressions.

"Alyssa Winterberg, you are going to slice up your finger if you do not pay attention."

"Sorry, grandma." I looked back down at the potatoes I was supposed to be peeling.

Grandma sat down next to me, snapping me back from gazing outside again.

"Aly, they are going to be fine. I like your Taylor. Your dad does, too."

"You met her like, five minutes ago, grandma."

"I can just tell sweetheart. And I can see the way you look at her. It reminds me of the way I used to look at your grandfather, when I first met him."

My brow furrowed. "Grandpa always said you ignored him when he tried to ask you out."

"Well of course I did, child. But that doesn't mean I didn't take him in when he wasn't watching."

"You're terrible."

Grandma giggled. "Probably, but I knew he was a good man from the first moment I met him. Just like I knew your mother was a good woman, perfect for my little boy."

"You think Taylor is perfect for me?"

"I do, Aly. There's an energy between you. It resonates, and it reminds me of what I felt when I saw your parents together for the first time. You tell me you don't feel it?"

I nodded. "Sure, of course."

"Had you ever felt it before?"

I shook my head. "Not really. Inklings, maybe, but never around boys. It was always girls, grandma, the girls on my soccer teams or at school. They're the ones I wanted to notice me, the ones I wanted to be close to. I was just too stupid to realize what it meant." Grandma glared at me. "Sorry."

"That's right. You are not stupid. It's not easy to figure out your life sometimes. And you did it before you were thirty-five, married, and with a couple of kids, so I think you're doing very well."

I glanced back outside, where my father was gesticulating while telling some story, and I watched Taylor laugh, her face and body relaxed. This was really happening. The woman I loved, accepted by my family, us spending a holiday together. And I was so, just, thankful, no other word really. Apropos for the day, I guess.

Dad's turkey actually turned out pretty well, moist and juicy and apparently fully cooked. At least it passed mom and grandma's inspection and was deemed worthy of being served to the family. He and grandpa were quite pleased with themselves.

After dinner I changed into some stretchy yoga pants and a loose top and waddled back into the family room. Grandpa had stolen dad's easy chair, and mom and dad sat on the short side of the sectional. Taylor was on the other side, up against the edge of the sofa, and her arm went around me as I snuggled in close to her "Who's playing?"

"Dallas and Washington."

"So no one we care about, right?"

Taylor shook her head while my dad made a scandalized noise. "Hey! Have some respect for tradition."

"It's almost over, but there's another one after this."

"And that one?"

"Steelers Ravens."

I rolled my eyes and groaned, which made Taylor laugh and give me a squeeze. For a moment I actually envied Kelsey and Grandma, who were in the kitchen cleaning up, but I'd had a lot of turkey and stuffing and potatoes and Taylor was warm and so comfy...

I woke up several hours later. I'd slid down so my head was laying in Taylor's lap, and someone had covered me with a blanket. My dad and Grandpa were both zonked out where I'd last seen them, Grandpa snoring magnificently.

I looked up into my girlfriend's beautiful blue eyes. "Hi"

"Hi, sleepyhead."

"Mmm, sorry."

"That's okay." Her fingers ran through my hair as she smiled down at me. She's so beautiful. "But you are going to have to take me home soon. I have to work tomorrow."

I whined for a moment. "Can't we just stay here?"

"I won't have a way to get to the beach, sweetie."

"Just take my car. Come back here after. Mom'll even make you a lunch."

Taylor thought for a second before agreeing. That burden lifted, I snuggled back down, but I really wasn't tired. Eventually mom got out the scrabble board, and Taylor, Grandma and I took her on. And lost. Miserably. But it was fun.

Unfortunately, the guest room, where my grandparents would be staying, was right on the other side of the wall from my bed, so there would not be any repeats of yesterday's festivities, but any night I got to spend cuddled up with Taylor in bed is a good night.

I know that I'd said my mom would pack Taylor a lunch, but I made sure to get up early and have one ready for her. I waved as she pulled away before I headed back into the house.

As much as they did love to shop, my mom and Grandma were not door-buster people, so we headed out to a local pancake house for a nice breakfast. Dad and grandpa were already watching football when we left, as things start early out here on the west coast. He'd enjoy his leisurely day with complete control of the remote, I'm sure.

I was excited, because I was going to the dress shop, the same place I'd bought my prom dress. I'd never had a chance to really dress up for Taylor.

I badly wanted it to be something special, and there it was as soon as I walked in the shop. They spent the next thirty minutes fitting me, and by the time they were done I was floating. I'm not going to tell you about it yet, I'll let Taylor do that on the night of the dance. I did pick up a few other pieces of clothing that I liked. Nothing too racy, I was with my grandmother, after all, but I'd had an idea and I needed the right thing to wear.

I knew where Taylor parked while at work, and I had no trouble finding my Mini in the lot where I had mom drop me off. I was wearing my brand new button fly cuffed denim short shorts, and a sleeveless, high necked top that showed a bit of midriff and had a laced window for a bit of peek-a-boo cleavage.

I was leaning against the driver's side door when Taylor came out.

I watched the smile break over her face when she saw me, but I didn't let myself return it, instead trying to look innocent and lost.

Taylor caught on as she approached, her face morphing into that seductive smirk of hers. "Hey, little girl. You need a ride?"

I looked up at her through my lashes and nodded.

"Where're you headed?"

"I don't know. I don't have anywhere to stay tonight."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh." My voice wavered. She was right up next to me now, and the reality of her presence was palpable.

"Well, I know a place, but it'll cost you."

I tried to look pathetic. "I don't have any money."

She ran a hand up my arm making me shiver from head to toe. "That's a shame. We'll have to think of something else, then."

"Something else? Mmfh!" Her mouth pressed against mine and I felt myself melt into her kiss.

Several hours later I was lying on my back in our bed at Taylor's apartment, gratefully paying for my room and board as Taylor sat on my face, turned away into a pseudo sixty-nine. We'd tried the full version of that position before, but Taylor's long torso and my shorter one didn't match up well. But this, where she could play with me as I ate her out, mmm, yummy.

I'd sucked her inner labia into my mouth, caressing it with my lips and tongue when she slipped two fingers inside me. I hadn't been expecting it, and I accidentally bit her labia for a second.

"Hey, no teeth. Bad girl." Taylor gently spanked my pussy, right over my clit. A spike of pleasure rocketed through my body, and I gasped loudly and wiggled my hips as I pulled my mouth from her sex.

She misinterpreted my reaction. "Oh, God, Aly, I'm sorry."

I pulled her back to me. "No, you can keep doing that. I was a very bad girl, biting My Lady."

She rubbed the inside of my thigh before softly spanking me again. Wow, that felt amazing. I moaned and wiggled my hips against her hand.

"Mm, my baby does like that. You better get back to what you were doing if you want me to keep going."

I instantly buried my mouth back into Taylor's wet folds, and she started a soft, rhythmic slapping against my clit. I'd been fighting back my orgasm for a few minutes, and this new sensation was suddenly making that extremely difficult. I redoubled my efforts, knowing that My Lady was more apt to give me permission to come after a climax of her own. Unfortunately I couldn't wrap my tongue around her from this angle, but still I felt her stiffen and release only a few minutes later.

My head fell back onto the pillow, my whole body trembling and shaking.

"Does my baby want to come?"

"If it pleases My Lady." I could barely get the words out.

"It does." She slipped two fingers back inside me. "Come for me, baby."

They were the four most beautiful, heavenly, glorious words ever spoken, and I relaxed my grip on my pleasure and let the bliss wash over me. It pulsed and pulsed, my toes, fingers and hair all tingling as I rode the waves of my orgasm. When it finally receded I had only moments to catch my breath as Taylor moved down the bed, her lips and tongue bathing my incredibly sensitive sex in attention, and it was probably less than a minute later I was spinning back into the heavens again.

Through our lovemaking I'd developed good control over my first orgasm, but once I'd let go I had almost no say in the subsequent ones. And there were always more, so many more I usually lost track, if I ever tried to count. Eventually Taylor stopped with her oral ministrations and climbed back into my arms as I tried to stabilize my breathing.

She pulled the covers around us, and I held her tight between the sheets. "Did you have a nice Thanksgiving, My Lady?"

Her hand twined gently through my hair and she kissed me on the forehead, making me purr. "Yeah, Aly, I did. Best in a long time. You?"

"It was great, mostly 'cause you were there. And you're getting along with my dad."

"Yeah. He was really trying. Did he tell you he wants to take me to the tux place Monday?"

"That's great!"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Just be yourself, 'cause you're amazing."

"Thanks, baby."

"And get something nice, 'cause my dress is amazing, too."

She laughed before asking me about it, but I didn't tell her anything, other than the color, which she might need to know. Silver and dark blue. "So after work tomorrow, come back over to my parent's house? We'll put the tree up." I could see that it made her uncomfortable for a second, but she pushed away the feeling, not without effort.

"They still make you nervous?"

"Your dad taking me out to lunch? Yeah, a little."

"No, I mean just being part of family functions."

"Sorry, I'm just..." Taylor choked a little on the words and her eyes flicked up, seeing old, painful memories I'd guess.

"I know. But my family can see how happy you make me, and they love you. Or they're starting to. Just trust yourself enough to let them."

"Trust myself?"

"Yeah. Think about it." With that I closed my eyes and turned in Taylor's arms, so she was embracing me from behind. I kissed one of her hands. "Good night, Taylor. I love you."

"I love you, too, baby." I could hear the emotion in her voice, the fear. Everyone she'd ever loved had rejected or abandoned her. But still she was willing to try again with me. I was going to teach her what it meant to be loved without conditions or expectations if it was the last thing I did, even if it took a lifetime. That didn't scare me in the slightest. A lifetime spent loving and being loved by Taylor? God, that sounded like heaven on Earth.

- Taylor -

If it hadn't been hammered home on Thanksgiving how different Aly's family was to mine, trimming the tree on Saturday night sure clinched it. It wasn't just the tree, it was the whole house, and they did it right.

Their tree was up, but they'd waited for me to get there before hanging any ornaments or setting out other decorations. We hung lights and ribbon before getting into the ornaments. I was the second tallest person in the room, so I helped Aly's dad with that. We really did work well together as a team. Everyone started hanging ornaments one at a time, a story being told as each was revealed, with brief, good-natured arguments breaking out when recollections differed.

"Taylor, I think you should hang this one." Jessica handed me an ornament I hadn't seen her take out of the box.

I looked down at it. It was a blonde lifeguard wearing a visor and a red swimsuit. She was blowing a whistle and holding a red flotation device. The words 'Tagalong Beach' were on the flotation device, and 'Taylor' on the strap.

My mouth hung open in shock. "When did you...?"

"The day after Thanksgiving, at one of those kiosks at the mall." Jessica put her hand on my elbow as I stared down at the figure. "All of my daughters have their own personalized ornaments. All of them."

I nodded my thanks, not trusting myself to speak. I got it hung up, and I was able to recover myself sufficiently to articulate my appreciation.

"You're welcome, dear," was all Jessica said. It meant so much to me.

We kept on our task. Aly hung her soccer player with her name on the back, and Kelsey's was a cheerleader. Jessica had a large Christmas village that covered a table set out for just this purpose, complete with a fluffy white tablecloth imitating a snowscape. There was also her collection of Santa Clauses from around the world, each a small statuette with a different country's take on St. Nicholas.

We spent the night on Saturday at Aly's parent's, but by the time I got back to my apartment after work Sunday Aly's car was in the driveway in what I was beginning to think of as her spot. When I entered the apartment there was Aly, standing next to a three foot Christmas tree, which now sat on one of my end tables up against the window.

"Just a little color." The only thing decorating it was a string of lights and a package worth of colored glass balls

I laughed. "I like it."

"And this one." She handed me another ornament. "I was at that Kiosk, too." This one was shaped like two people in pajamas embracing in front of a Christmas tree. You couldn't really tell if one or the other was supposed to be a man or a woman, but our names were on the caps they were wearing. I hung it up, marveling at how much this woman had changed my life.

***

Despite everything that had happened over the weekend to put me at ease I was still nervous about spending time alone with Aly's dad. He texted me the name and location of a tux shop that he said did rentals for women, and I met him there at ten, right as they were opening. The lady who helped us was very friendly, and she had obviously done tux fittings for women before.

She measured me quickly before sitting us down in front of a large touch screen computer.

"You said this is for a formal dance? Is there a certain style you're looking for?"

I grimaced. Like I knew anything about tuxedo styles. "My goal isn't to end up looking like a boy, I can say that. I want something that fits me."

The woman nodded and pulled up a group of photos. "Just look through these, favorite anything you like, and when you're done we'll take a look."

I nodded and started swiping through the pictures. If there was any awkwardness in doing this with my girlfriend's father it vanished quickly. I'd expected him to be the typical guy, without any opinions on the styles themselves, but he offered advice freely and seemed truly involved.

I'd marked a couple of possibles when I saw it. It was a two buttoned coat featuring a wide, velvet looking lapel. The model wearing it also had a white pleated shirt with a high lace collar, and lace ruffles poked out from under both jacket sleeves. There was also a loose western bow tie along with her fitted pants. I loved it.

"What do you think of this one?"

Mr. Winterberg frowned thoughtfully at the screen for a second. "Yeah, I like it. I think that would look really good."

"Did you find something you like?"

I showed the picture to the saleswoman and she nodded. "Actually, I might have something in that style in the back.. Let me see."

Ten minutes later I was wearing the top half of the outfit. The jacket they had on hand was a size too big, but I loved the lines. It was sharp and dignified, without being aggressive or too masculine. I just felt good in it.

Also, I really appreciated that Mr. Winterberg did not try to pay for it. I'm not sure if he was testing me to see if I would ask, or if Aly warned him off, but either way I didn't have to embarrass him.

He had offered to pay for lunch, so I figured I'd let him do that. I have my pride, but I'm not stupid. We ended up at a Ramen Noodle place, fancier than the one Aly and I had gone to, at least to my uncultured eye. He ordered the Gyoza to start and we both looked over the menu, which was full of a bunch of names I could barely pronounce. The descriptions were helpful though, and I managed to pick something out.

"Taylor, I just wanted to say thank you. That was something I never thought I was going to get to do."

I chuckled. "What, you never though you'd have to rent a lesbian tuxedo?"

He smiled and shook his head. "Just the tuxedo part. My dad took me for my first tux before my junior prom. I remember seeing myself in the mirror. I felt like I was so grown up, and my dad looked so proud of me. I always imagined doing that with my own son."

I smirked at him. "But life gave you daughters. And I'm not what you expected them to bring home."

He laughed and shook his head. "No, but that's par for course with children. My dad told me when Aly was born to set boundaries, not expectations. Let your kids surprise you. I've tried to do that. Although this was a big one, I'll admit. But Aly's always been very level headed, and I've always trusted her judgment. And the more I get to know you, Taylor, the more I understand. I can see it. You love my daughter very much, don't you?"

My cheeks colored, but I made myself answer firmly. "Yes sir I do. She's, um, she's the most fearless person I've ever known. Everything she does, she does with an unreserved joy. Just being near her is special. That she'd choose to be with me, it's very humbling."

Mr Winterberg nodded. "When Aly was born she came a couple weeks early, just under six pounds. She was so tiny. I remember being there in the hospital room. Jess was sleeping, she'd just finished feeding her for the first time, and I was sitting there, holding our baby. I never knew it was possible to love something so much. She opened her eyes and looked at me, and I could see she trusted me completely, to care for her, to protect her. For twenty-two years I've done those things. It's not easy turning responsibilities like that over to someone else. But, Taylor, well, I think my daughter's in good hands."

I was getting a little misty, and I couldn't help but dream about what it would mean to have my own father say something like that to me. "Thank you, sir."

He nodded, the emotion evident in his own eyes. "It's Thomas, or Tom. Someday, maybe even dad."

I nodded happily, and our food arrived. We talked through the meal, him telling me about his current projects, and I elaborated on some of the sculptures I was doing. I was in the middle of going on about Mr. Beville's studio, and that I'd likely find out the date of my show at his Christmas Gala in a few weeks, when we were interrupted.